'Flesh and Blood' Materialisations by Maurice Barbanell.
I can always appreciate the
outlook of the honest sceptic because I was one myself. I began my
investigation in my teens at a time when I was an agnostic after having been an
atheist. I was not impressed at my first s'ance, but at the second one
something happened which shattered my scepticism. I discovered, what I had
never before known, that I was a potential medium. Later I will describe in
detail what occurred - and the surprising sequel.
This is a necessary preamble
to what I am about to relate. So far as the sceptic is concerned, especially
one who is materialistic in outlook, the most convincing form of psychic
phenomena is materialisation. At s'ances where this occurs, the 'dead' who
return appear as seemingly solid figures endowed with temporary existence and
in bodies which, to all intents and purposes, duplicate the outward physical
appearance they had on earth. They are, when they materialise,
�flesh-and-blood� human beings.
I want to stress they are not ghosts, apparitions, phantoms or spectres.
They speak, move and have
heart and pulse beats. Nerve, sinew, muscle and cell are all there. The hand is
solid when you grasp it; the fingernails are complete. The features can be
identified, as also can the voice.
They are swathed and garbed
in dazzling white raiment composed of the mysterious substance known as
ectoplasm which mainly extrudes from the medium. He or she usually sits on a
chair behind a �cabinet� that is a curtained-off enclosure in the room. Even
when the materialisation moves many feet or yards away from the medium there is
an invisible lifeline, the equivalent to an umbilical cord, which is attached
to the materialisation.
When the power is weak -
another way of saying that the psychic conditions are not at their best - the
materialised face is veiled by the ectoplasm and the figure does not move very
far away from the medium. When the conditions are good, the barrier between the
two worlds is completely removed. Then, as have often been the case with me, I
have had the remarkable experience of witnessing spirit return in its most 'physical' form. What has happened is that something akin to the process of
birth has been accelerated from the normal nine months to a few seconds.
One of the finest
materialisation mediums is Alec Harris, whose s'ances I first attended in
Cardiff a score of years ago. On these occasions there is always a good red
light. White light is always detrimental to this type of s'ance. There is an
analogy with all processes of birth which are accomplished in the absence of
white light and more often in the dark.
The spirit forms were
clearly visible and I had sustained conversations with several of them. As it
was my first experience of Alec Harris's mediumship, I approached it with my
typical critical outlook. Though I was then, as I am now, a convinced
Spiritualist, I do not possess the will to believe or incidentally the will to
disbelieve. I still regard myself as an investigator with an exacting standard
to be fulfilled before I will accept the results.
The difficulty with some
investigators is that they inhibit the results by the wrong approach. They make
it clear that the medium is fraudulent in their view unless he or she can prove
genuineness. This atmosphere of suspicion towards mediums, who are by their
very nature sensitive, is always a deterrent towards the production of
worth-while phenomena.
I was glad to co-operate
when Alec asked me beforehand to make a thorough examination of the s'ance room
and the cabinet, which was merely a recess with some curtains across one
corner. He invited me to search him, which I did. All he wore were a thin pair
of trousers made of black material and a black vest.
Before I describe this
s'ance I must take you behind the scenes.
The reason for my
invitation to be present had its origin en years earlier at a s'ance with a
famous trance medium and clairvoyant, Helen Hughes. The sitter was Mrs. Harris.
At that time she was told by Helen that if she and her husband
would start a home circle with regular sessions they would one day obtain
full-form materialisations. The prediction had been fulfilled. Because Helen
and I were appearing at a public meeting in Cardiff we were asked to be present
at an Alec Harris s'ance later that night.
It lasted two and a half
hours. We did not start until 10.30 p.m. I counted twenty-seven sitters and I
saw thirty spirit forms materialise. To this I must add that as most of the
sitters had come by coach from the Welsh valleys about twenty-five miles away,
few of us got to bed before 4 a.m.
Helen and I were given 'places of honour' immediately in front of the cabinet. Indeed, I was so close
that several of the forms that emerged from the cabinet had to walk over my
feet.
At this stage I should
explain that I spent some years in the textile industry, and as a result became
familiar with the feel of most materials. That night, and more than once, I handled
the flowing ectoplasmic robing. These, though soft and silky to the touch, were
unlike the texture of any material I have before and since examined. I also
shook hands with two figures and report that their fists were firm and
normal.
For Helen Hughes it was an
outstanding occasion. One of the first to materialise was a young man, Douglas
Hogg, a Battle of Britain pilot who had died on active service. He had since
proved his survival to his parents through her mediumship. He showed his
features distinctly and asked her to stand up so that he could talk to her face
to face.
It was touching when, after
gripping her by the hands, he thanked Helen for making it possible for him to
convince his parents of his continued existence.
I was moved to observe that
almost with reverence he kissed her on the forehead. She had no difficulty in
identifying him because clairvoyantly she had seen him on many occasions.
Another spirit form to
greet Helen was a Red Indian guide to whom I have often spoken when he
entranced his medium. He appeared as a magnificent figure, far taller than the
medium, complete with headdress. He spoke his name in a voice that was far
different from that which normally issued through Helen�s lips. The cast of his
features was characteristic of his race.
The highlight of the s'ance was the materialisation of a man known to several
people present because he was one of their colleagues. For many years, they
told me later, he had laboured for Spiritualism in South Wales. He came right
out of the cabinet, and walked about ten feet to where two friends of mine were
sitting. At first he did not give his name because he said he could be easily
identified by his face and voice. He was speedily proved right.
This feat of walking away
from the cabinet was demonstrated by other materialised figures, some of which
would even sit in a chair and carry on a long discussion. Occasionally one of
them would say that he must return to the cabinet for 'more rations'. We
watched the figure walk back. A few minutes later he came out, moved across to
his former chair, sat down and continued where he had left off.
I must mention that several
materialisations turned round to display their backs and prove that they were
indeed solid figures. One form stooped to straighten a rug which had been rucked
by another materialisation.
When the curtains slowly
opened to reveal one form I laughed at what I saw. 'What is the joke?' Helen
asked me. 'Look and see,' I replied. She did - and joined my laughter. To
dispose of any suggestion that the s'ance was fraudulent, Alec�s guides had
arranged to materialise a girl. She stood there, dropped her ectoplasmic
veiling down to her waist and revealed her feminine form.
On another occasion a materialisation parted the curtains so that we could see
his figure and the medium at the same time. Frequently throughout the s'ance I
heard the medium conversing with communicators who were not then visible to us.
This indicated that at intervals Alec was almost conscious.
Towards the end there was
an impressive demonstration. One of his guides materialised and gave healing
treatment to a sufferer. I should explain that in addition to his gift of materialisation,
Alec for many years has also given proof of successful psychic healing, which
incidentally attracts him more than anything else. Jokingly he has always said
that as he is unconscious he does not know what happens at materialisation
s'ances. When he gives healing at least he is aware of what transpires.
A few years ago Alec and his wife went to live in South Africa. I still get
excellent accounts of his materialisation s'ances. One of his most frequent
sitters is my friend, Vidie Carleton Jones, who became interested in
Spiritualism after the passing of her husband, one of the leading figures in
the gold-mining industry. For Vidie it is quite usual not only to see her
husband materialise and to converse with him, but even to be embraced by him.
Perhaps the best testimony
to this medium's materialisations comes from a medical man well known to me,
Dr. Douglas Baker. He was allowed to examine the materialisations, which he
told me had 'weight, could be embraced, had pulse beats, breathed, had intelligence
of their own and personalities'.
In three hours at one
s'ance he watched thirty different forms materialise and disappear. Some stayed
as long as twenty minutes, answered questions and submitted to examination. He
felt their bones. He volunteered they appeared normal in most ways except that
some lacked colouring. Occasionally bare feet were visible.
Not one materialisation
objected to his examination. He felt the pulse of several. Their hearts beat at
72 to the minute. He noticed that some figures had hair on the backs of their
hands. One old woman who appeared had hardened veins clearly visible on the
back of her hands. He even applied his stethoscope. Dr. Baker volunteered that
the materialisations he saw at one s'ance ranged from a man six feet in height
to babies in arms.
As
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