Theos-Talk Archives (November 2003 Message tt00204)

ORIGIN OF A PURLOINED APPORT 

Tim then announced that he would bring an apport for Bianca. She 
promised she would wear it all the time. Veronica asked where he got 
the apport from. He said he would have to seek permission to tell 
her. There was a short pause, then he announced that he had been 
given permission. He said there was a stall half way down the 
Portobello Road(6) that sold curios: he thought it was called Jan or 
Jane's Curios - or something like that. "We borrowed it off of her" 
[laughter]. "We asked her mum in the spirit world if she would mind 
and she said she won't even miss it - but she did, you know: she
was looking for it to try and find it!" [cackle] "And just to make 
it more interesting, when we switch the red light on, we'll try
and materialise it: we'll apport it out of his mouth, shall we?"
[Chorus of assent]. "We'll materialise it in the ectoplasm and try
bringing it out of his mouth." When DF pointed out that David had a 
gag in his mouth, and implied that this might make things difficult, 
Tim said: "You'd be surprised. He's got a big mouth" [laughter
and cackle]. He said they might need music to enable them to do what 
they had to do. He would let us know when he was ready.

After a brief interrogation about the curtains and lights, and 
whether the music should be played throughout, Tim promised to make 
a bang when they were ready. He didn't want the red light too low
or too high because they (the spirits) had never attempted this 
before... They might see the medium's face contorted a little. He 
was asked whether he could knock three times to ensure that we knew 
when he was ready, to which he responded, amid laughter by singing 
Knock three Times on the Ceiling if you Want me. Music was re-
started. We joined in singing An Alien in New York. Paul then asked 
for the music to stop and everyone to remain absolutely quiet. I was 
asked to turn on the wall switch governing the red lamp. There 
followed much manoeuvring while the curtain on my side was opened 
and the light, pointing downwards to avoid shining in the
medium's face, was adjusted. Bianca checked to ensure everyone
could then see the medium. We then saw a white substance stretching 
from the medium's face and across his chest to his lap. After
about half a minute Tim asked for the light to be turned off at the 
main. The music resumed. Tim explained that the music and singing 
were needed to generate the energy, a lot of which was needed for 
this sort of demonstration. He asked DF when was the last time he 
had seen ectoplasm. DF replied that it was about three years ago in 
a sitting with Stewart Alexander. Since then there had been some 300 
people attending his séances. 

Addressing me as "Uncle Monty" Tim asked for my reactions. I 
wondered what had become of the ectoplasm. Tim said it had been 
dematerialised: it was dangerous when the ectoplasm was out of the 
medium. He had kept a little bit for himself to enable him to talk 
to us. This was the first time they had brought through an apport 
via the ectoplasm with the red light on: it was dangerous. Veronica 
described a light she saw in front of her. DF said it was the same 
as the light he saw. Tim asked me whether my wife usually saw such 
things. I said she did, but I did not. Tim observed amid laughter 
that if "your missus sees things it's got to be true" - followed
by another cackle. He called for music. It was switched on. I did 
not see the apport being produced, but it was on the floor near 
Bianca when the séance ended.

After one song, the music played a Louis Armstrong song, Wonderful 
World. Armstrong's voice was heard on the music, and then a voice 
apparently identical to Armstrong's accompanied it. It was quite 
clear. This was followed by the voice introducing himself thus: "How 
are all you fine people here this evening? May I introduce myself? 
My name is Louis Armstrong" [expressions of welcome], "known by many 
as Satchmo. I've got to say this is very difficult speaking
through this here voice box" [murmurs of sympathy and 
encouragement]. Bianca sought permission to pose a question, "Yes 
you can ask me a question if you wish, my dear." She said she had 
lost a tape with Satchmo singing with a lady, and she could not find 
it. "Well my dear you've got the record at home". Bianca
expressed gratification. "So you didn't have to look that far did 
you?" (pause) "I'm just going to materialise." There followed a
whooshing noise followed by the sound of a minor collision. I 
commented that he'd tripped over something. "No I haven't my
frien'. I'm just showing you I've materialised." There
followed several knocks and bangs, and it became clear it was some 
sort of soft shoe shuffle. "There you are my friends, and I bid you 
good night". The voice was loud, clear and highly idiosyncratic, 
immediately recognisable as Satchmo's uniquely guttural 
pronunciation.

After a pause, we heard some heavy breathing sounds, and a very 
croaky voice, which shortly became firmer, addressed us: We welcomed 
him. We were asked to keep talking to help the vibrations. Paul 
greeted him, and the voice asked everyone to sit still. "I wish to 
fully materialise..." He introduced himself as Sir William 
Crookes. "Some of you may know me from my scientific research, but 
some of you by means of my communication and friendship with the 
physical medium Florence Cook. At no time was there any doubt in my 
mind of any fraud or of Miss Cook. [Comment from DF: There are quite 
a few photographs showing Florence and Katie (King) 
separately.] "There are two reasons why I came to this gathering 
this evening. One was purely to make my presence felt here and to 
commune with people of like minds. One was also because of my 
interest in this young man's mediumship. As you have seen this 
evening, ectoplasm was exuded from this young man in red light and 
seen, and as you know I myself witnessed full materialisation in 
light, that of the materialised form of Kate King. Are you all 
familiar with this [general assent]? I shall endeavour to move 
further into the room. Now I am sure there are those amongst you who 
may have questions of me. Please feel free to ask and I shall 
endeavour to answer."

I asked whether those guilty of unfair opposition and criticism 
during his lifetime had now recanted in the afterlife. He 
replied: "I would not say they have recanted. I would say their 
minds have been firmly changed." He asked my name, and I told 
him "Ah, so you're Keen are you? I have heard words of you, I can 
tell you, dear boy. I understand you are going to endeavour to 
continue some of the work that I started". [We are] "Well carry on 
the good work, dear boy". I commented: "Your work was an inspiration 
to us and many others". He replied: "I was not swayed, dear friend, 
by any means." I then quoted his words "I did not say that it was 
possible; I simply said that it happened."

At this point I felt my tie being unknotted. I commented on this, 
saying that the hands unknotting it were firm. "My tie is now being 
pulled out and I think undone by firm hands. Thank you. Both my 
hands are being held and - ah! My tie is being taken off! I hope it 
won't dematerialise". "As you can see, my friend, anything is 
possible", the voice resumed. "Let me explain something in regard to 
external energies being brought into the séance room. Some of you 
may know I myself was a party to developing vacuum tubes which were 
part of X-ray tubes, you understand. Do you know of this Keen?" [I 
do, sir] "Well you will know that X-ray is something which exudes 
energy, does it not, which can sometimes be detrimental to that of 
the patient in large degrees. Well, within the séance room the 
energy is in heightened state, and bringing into the séance room
any form of electricity other than that that is compensated for, 
which sometimes proves to be quite difficult to work with, can have 
a disastrous effect on the mediumship of the individual within the 
chair. When I witnessed the materialisation of Katie King, that was 
the most thought-provoking change in my life. It was at that time 
that the reality of life after death really touched my soul. Then 
there was no going back. Then I had to bring to the world the truth 
of the continuity of life. Now I would say this to you: put away 
your electrical equipment of infra-red status for this young man and 
other physical mediums, manifestations will be seen again in that 
sort of light produced either by the spirit vibrations or by that of 
your own means, if we allow it in the séance room. That is all I 
have to say."

Q: When working with the medium you worked with, did you witness her 
materialise from nothing, or from scratch basically to full form, or 
did you just witness her coming out of the cabinet?

A: At one time I was privileged to see ectoplasm exuding from the 
medium's body by means of the mouth and solar plexus, and from
this even what seemed to be ectoplasm on the floor in front of the 
medium the materialised form began to arise until there was a full 
form materialisation before my very eyes. 

Q: How long did the process take?

A: About five minutes from nothing to full materialisation. 

Q: Do you have a laboratory of some sort now?

A: There is not necessarily a need for a laboratory where I am in 
the spirit dimension, but I do quite often visit chemists and such 
that work in laboratory environments on this earth vibration to 
learn new skills. I must go now. It has been a pleasurable 
experience to be able to speak to you good people.

Something fell or was pushed between my left arm and Veronica's 
right. Veronica also said she felt it. Music followed, accompanied 
by bangs, clashes, rattle-swinging, drumsticks etc without relevance 
to the music, and amid a good deal of reports of touches, 
interspersed with the occasional mild scream from Veronica. Almost 
everyone appeared to report touches or minor knocks. Immediately the 
music stopped, Alan reported that two rings were over his wrists. 
Tim asked for the music to be changed: a nice uplifting one - the 
energy was becoming a bit thin.

Bianca expressed renewed gratitude for her apport. There followed a 
reprise of I'm an Englishman and a loud farewell from Tim. Then 
another song, unaccompanied this time. The music faded out, and the 
séance ended as the red light was slowly restored amid some heavy 
breathing. The sound of sealing tape being ripped off the light 
switch was accompanied by instructions from Paul to remain 
completely quiet while Veronica retrieved her camera from the 
anteroom. The medium's eyes were protected from the flashlight
for the four or five pictures taken by Veronica, showing the medium 
strapped to his chair in the centre of the room. When the
medium's blindfold, which had been used as a gag was removed Paul 
drew attention to the remnants of ectoplasm still on the material.

ASSESSMENT AND COMMENTS 

It is almost an article of faith among many psychical researchers 
that unless physical phenomena are capable of being clearly 
witnessed, or alternatively that infra-red video recording is 
available, no persuasive evidence of anything paranormal is 
possible. Although the spirit portrayed as Sir William Crookes 
explained why an infra-red video camera might be damaging to the 
medium at his present stage of development, the general rule of 
evidentiality may be broken if the other security measures justify 
an unambiguous assertion that deception on the part of the medium 
was impossible. The nature of the ties would have prevented the 
medium, no matter how strong or agile, from escaping his bonds 
without first managing to cut the ties. Even had he been able to do 
so, he could not have regained his seat and retied the knots 
unaided, employing a new set of uncut ties, unless he had been 
helped by someone able to work deftly, accurately and swiftly in 
pitch dark. No-one in the séance room could have attempted that 
without ready detection. Moreover my careful examination of the 
chair showed no sign of any movable join. Finally, the reversal of 
the medium's cardigan while he was still bonded to his seat
defies normal explanation. The precautions here were superior even 
to those employed by Schrenck-Notzing on Eva C, who was sewn into a 
single garment, or on the physical medium Jack Webber, where less 
sophisticated tying methods, and materials, were used. 

During the brief time when the red light was switched on, we could 
all see, the medium draped with a white cloth-like foam substance, 
presumably ectoplasm, albeit not with great clarity in some cases. 
It corresponded in appearance with many of the photographs showing 
ectoplasmic emissions from past mediums; but the facilities for 
overt examination of it contrasted rather strikingly with these 
available to Harry Edwards in his supervision of Webber, who was 
extensively photographed by flashlight in various stages of 
ectoplasmic production, apparently without injury to the medium 
(Edwards, 1961). For this apparent anomaly I was given two reasons: 
Webber may well have been more strongly developed as a medium; the 
photographs were all taken with the consent of the spirit guardians, 
who had an opportunity to withdraw the vulnerable animation spirit 
from the ectoplasm before photographs were taken. There are also the 
very large number of flashlight photographs taken by or on behalf of 
Schrenck-Notzing, and reproduced, albeit poorly, in The Phenomena of 
Materialization (Schrenck-Notzing, 1923). 

The voices themselves could not have come from the gagged medium. 
The only other "regulars" on whom suspicion might rest were Bianca, 
his wife, Paul the leader who was seated next to me, and whose voice 
and location would have clearly identified him, and DF, the host, 
who was seated at the opposite end of the room from the medium. Any 
of these possibilities would have easily and immediately detectable 
by those present, as well as likely to be defeated by listening to 
the tape recording. While the communications did not contain 
anything which could be regarded as convincingly evidential, the 
information was consistent with what is known of Crookes, and the 
answers to all questions were unhesitating, coherent and sensible.

The remaining physical phenomena did not appear to me to be 
susceptible to any normal explanation, considering that hand-holding 
(despite Eusapia Palladino's purported skill in
hand-substitution) effectively ruled out those closely associated 
with the medium: Bianca and Paul, as well as DF.

FEASIBILITY OF DECEPTION 

Although much of what occurred was expected, save for the use (for 
the first time, we were told, in a non-domestic circle setting) of 
red light to enable ectoplasmic extrusion to be seen, and in 
accordance with reports which had appeared in the Spiritualist press 
(e.g. Alexander, 2003, Eccles, 2002, Fairbairn, 2002, Fairbairn, 
2003 Hunt, 2000 (and Pearman, 2002), I have listed above some other 
remarkable physical phenomena which have little or no dependence on 
the frailties of memory or the defects of observation.

Footnotes:

1."Substantiate" is used in a strictly accurate, but today 
unaccustomed, sense here.

2. Jack Webber, who died aged 32 in 1940, was a prominent physical 
medium who was befriended by the celebrated healer Harry Edwards. He 
published many photographs showing Webber, without a cabinet, and 
with apparent ectoplasmic emissions from and around him.

3. This was a semi-public séance as distinct from one where
regular 
sitters meet privately in a domestic or home circle.

4. It is not unknown for ostensible children to perform quite adult 
functions in séances. Mrs Osborne Leonard's principal control
was Feda, whose childish mispronunciation and temperament was allied 
to considerable intelligence, as here.

5. Paul's nick-name.

6. A popular street market in West London.

7. There appears to be a direct relationship between the "strength" 
or vitality of the ectoplasm and its distance from the medium.

MONTAGUE KEEN

Journalist, agricultural administrator, magazine editor and farmer. 
A member of the Council of the Society for Psychical Research for 55 
years, chairman of its Image and Publicity Committee and secretary 
of its Survival Research Committee, he was principal investigator of 
the Scole Group of physical mediums, and author of the Scole Report, 
published in the Proceedings of the SPR (Vol 54 Pt 220) in 1999 with 
his co-investigators Professors Arthur Ellison and David Fontana.

http://www.survivalafterdeath.org/articles/keen/thompson.htm


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