Metapsychical Phenomena: Methods and ObservationsMaxwell, J. (Joseph)
Philosophy
Metapsychical Phenomena: Methods and Observations
Maxwell, J. (Joseph)
Parapsychology -- Investigation
As for luminous phenomena, I cannot help wondering how some of them
could have been simulated. In order to give a precise physiognomy of
the conditions under which they were observed, I will briefly relate
one of the most curious seances of the series.
There were about a dozen persons present. Five or six sat down to the
table, and raps were obtained, now on the table, now on the floor.
Obscurity was asked for and gradually given. The phenomena increased
in intensity as the darkness deepened. When we could no longer see,
the usual levitations, violent knocking, and displacement of furniture
had their own way. The seance was discontinued for a few minutes, and
resumed towards eleven o’clock. The table requested that the medium
might be placed in the cabinet, which was in a corner of the room, and
made of white curtains. The medium was placed as requested. The table
then asked the experimenters to withdraw from the vicinity of the
cabinet; when giving these directions, the table appeared to strike the
floor of its own accord. It told us to seat ourselves at a distance
of 6 feet from the cabinet, and then asked us to sing. We droned out
the air, ‘Frère Jacques, dormez-vous?’ At the end of ten or fifteen
minutes, milky-looking phosphorescent lights were seen on the curtains
of the cabinet; then luminous hands appeared. One very luminous hand
rose rapidly outside the curtains and seized a bell, which had been
hooked on to a nail at about 7 feet 6 inches above the floor. This hand
was visible to every one.
Then the milky-lights were again seen, larger and more brilliant
than before. One of these lights, the outlines of which were very
indistinct, floated about the room, and withdrew to about 9 feet
from the cabinet, along the wall opposite the one near which the
experimenters were grouped. This light appeared to be 4 feet above the
ground; it was about 3 feet high by 10 inches broad, and appeared to
float in the air. It remained visible for several seconds.
Afterwards, other lights were seen near the curtains; finally, one
extremely brilliant light appeared above the curtains near the
ceiling. This light was about 1 foot 6 inches high by 1 foot 2 inches
wide. The outlines of this luminosity were more clearly defined than
those of the light which floated about the room.
These phenomena were clearly visible to every one. Some of the
experimenters thought they could see shadowy forms in these lights.
As for me, I could distinguish no human appearance therein. The first
light I described gave me the impression of a luminous pillar; the
second, whose outlines were better defined, awakened no idea of any
definite form. We ceased experimenting shortly after this seance.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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