The battle over materialisation phenomena

2 on Earth in the past. These processes were so impressive and for our natural sciences and our religious view of the world so momentous that they were branded by critics and disbelievers right across the board as a swindle and “modern” animistic minded parapsychologists completely ignore them these days. When Munich neurologist and parapsychological researcher Albert Freiherr von Schrenck-Notzing published a comprehensive work about “materialisation phenomena” in 1913, he immediately expected considerable attacks on his work and therefore wrote in the preface of the book amongst other things: “Dealing with the discredited subject of so-called ‘spiritual apparitions” still results in certain disadvantages for the relevant researcher. He isn’t only accused of being devoid of observation capabilities, critical prudence and credibility, thereby exposing himself to ridicule and the accusation of ‘charlatanism’, as for instance the late criminal-anthropologist Lombroso , he also risks the danger of being accused of being mentally deficient, if not outright mentally deranged, something that happened to the astronomer Zöllner and the English physicist Crookes” 1 Schrenck-Notzing was in indeed severely attacked after his book came out, that is to say, the apparitions observed and described by him were declared to be clumsy tricks and swindle. The physician Mathilde von Kemnitz , nee Spieß (1877 – 1966) was particularly vocal amongst his detractors. Her second marriage was to General Erich Ludendorff , former German First Quartermaster General in WWI. She was later the main driving force behind the so-called Ludendorff-Movement during WWI fighting against Freemasons, Jews, Jesuits and Marxists. In his book “Der Kampf um die Materialisationsphänomene. Eine Verteidigungsschrift” (The Battle against the Materialisation Phenomena) a defence statement 2 published in 1914, Schrenck-Notzing extensively dealt with her and refuted her incorrect assertions. What are we actually dealing with when it comes to paranormal materialisations? The apparitions that are “formed” are not created from nothing as far as we know, but extracted from our physical environment, preferably from the body of the medium that is present. This extraction takes place as a clearly visible stream from the body of the medium and it has often been photographed. The substance that becomes visible and tangible in the process is called “ectoplasm” or “teleplasm” most of the time. From the numerous photographic pictures of this process disseminated through literature I have rendered two of them here to begin with. The first image shows the English deep-trance and materialisation medium Jack Webber (1907 – 1940) sitting on a chair like being pinioned by a trance. A broad veil of ectoplasm streams from his mouth. The ectoplasm observed and photographed streaming from him was up to five metres long. The second image shows the Danish medium Einer Nielsen . 3 He is also in a trance. A gauze-like substance, ectoplasm, flows from his mouth. Its structure was usually denser than the one produced by Jack Webber. It could also extend to a few metres, separate from the mouth, carry out independent movements, as the third image shows, and form into a human shape for a short time. 1 Schrenck-Notzing, A. Freiherr von: Materialisation Phenomena (1923), Preface 2 Schrenck-Notzing, A. Freiherr von: The Battle against the Materialisation Phenomena. A defence statement. – Munich: Ernst Reinhardt, 1914. 3 Einer Nielsen (8-12-1894 – 26-2-1965), for 50 years an important materialisation medium in Copenhagen. His psychic abilities started at age 17 as a trance medium. His first full-materialisation happened on the 1-9-1914. Nielsen was a commercial clerk and started his own small business, he trained to become a naturopath and functioned as a paranormal healer from then on.