Ectoplasm (paranormal)
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| Terminology | |
|---|---|
 An image purporting to be of a man with his late wife, partially materialized, by the photographer William Hope. Almost all of Hope's work on spirit photography (including this one), are now universally discredited as hoaxes. |
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| Coined by | Charles Richet (1894)[1] |
| Definition | An identified substance said to be excreted by mediums during trances; a slime-like substance associated with hauntings. |
| Signature | White/gray/transparent, viscous; resembles mucus; said to ooze from solid objects or from medium's bodies involving mucous membranes (nose, eyes, mouth); usually takes form as a misty substance. |
| See also | Spiritualism Parapsychology |
Ectoplasm (from the Greek ektos, meaning "outside", and plasma, meaning "something formed or molded") is a term coined by Charles Richet to denote a substance or spiritual energy "exteriorized" by physical mediums.[2] Ectoplasm is said to be associated with the formation of spirits,[by whom?] and asserted to be an enabling factor in psychokinesis.[by whom?]
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[edit] Phenomenon
Ectoplasm is said to be formed by physical mediums when in a trance state. This material is excreted as a gauze-like substance from orifices on the medium's body and spiritual entities are said to drape this substance over their nonphysical body, enabling them to interact in our physical and real universe.
Although the term is widespread in popular culture, the physical existence of ectoplasm is not accepted by science. Some tested samples purported to be ectoplasm have been found to be various non-paranormal substances.[3][4] Other researchers have duplicated, with non-supernatural materials, the photographic effects sometimes said to prove the existence of ectoplasm.[5]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Taylor, Troy. "Ectoplasm". The Haunted Museum. http://www.prairieghosts.com/ectoplasm.html. Retrieved 2011-12-04.
- ^ "Ectoplasm". Glossary of Key Words Frequently Used in Parapsychology, Parapsychological Association (2006-01-24).
- ^ Keene, M. Lamar (1997) [1976]. The Psychic Mafia. New York; Amherst, N.Y.: St. Martin’s Press; Prometheus Books. ISBN 1573921610 (reprint).
- ^ Baker, Robert A.; Joe Nickell (1992). Missing Pieces: How to Investigate Ghosts, UFOs, Psychics and Other Mysteries. Buffalo, N.Y.: Prometheus Books. ISBN 0879757299.
- ^ Dawn M. Peterson, "Mysterious Beings or Mere Accidents?", Skeptical Briefs newsletter, June 2004.
[edit] External links
- Online References on Ectoplasm
- Ectoplasm used during spirit materialization, Example of physical medium Ethel Post Parrish producing ectoplasm to materialize the entity Silver Belle during a seance under test conditions in the United States, 1953.
