Ectoplasm is not an invention of the creators of the cult film "Ghostbusters". At the beginning of the 20th century, some famous scientists carried out serious research on the secretions of mediums during sessions. It was believed that this is the materialization of the spirits themselves, or some substance that exists in the human body and is activated during a session.
One of the researchers of this phenomenon in 1890 was Charles Robert Richet. Rishev 1913 was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his study of anaphylaxis, a severe allergic reaction that is potentially life-threatening.
Robert Brain, professor of history at the University of British Columbia, Canada, described Richet's research in a paper titled Materializing Mediums: Ectoplasm and the Quest for Supernatural Biology. Brain and Richet "want to distance themselves from the old generation of ghostbusters and offer a new scientific perspective on the paranormal and occult phenomena that have been documented."
Richet coined the term "ectoplasm", it means a jelly-like substance that mediums secrete. He believed that, probably, all people have a similar substance in their bodies, and they are able to release it during hysteria. He considered mediums hysterical. Richet described ectoplasm as follows: “A white veil and milky spots appear, and gradually faces, fingers and images are formed inside this jelly-like mass. It looks like wet and sticky muslin."
The alleged release and absorption of ectoplasm by a medium, which was observed by the German physicist Albert von Schrenck-Notzing in 1913.
Suspected ectoplasm on a woman's chest that was excreted through the breast. From the book by J. Bisson "The phenomena of materialization, experimental research", 1914
Ectoplasm was thought to be usually excreted through the mouth, as well as from the crown of the head, fingertips, and other extremities. It does not freeze in place like a lifeless substance, but moves, sometimes very quickly along the surface of the body and takes on different shapes.
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Albert von Schrenck-Notzing, a German physicist and psychiatrist at the University of Munich, described ectoplasm like this: "It looks like a liquid with white and sticky flakes that range in size from a pea to a five-franc coin."
The German embryologist Hans Dritsch compared this so-called "materialization" during seances with the development of the embryo. He characterized the ability of ectoplasm to take shape as "orthogenesis." He wrote: “Imagine a small material object called an ovum and think what a huge and complex body it can make, for example, an elephant. Here the process of materialization takes place before your eyes in the form of assimilation."
He also compared the process of this materialization to the recovery of the brain after damage. Dritsch himself did not conduct experiments with this substance, but basically spoke philosophically from the standpoint of biology. He became president of the Society for Paranormal Research in 1926.
Neuropathologist Jules Bernard Louis conducted experiments to prove that "the bodies of hysterics convulsively consume energy and release a" luminous neutral force "in the form of a sticky fluid that is released through the holes in the body, especially through the eyes and mouth," explained Brain. He used photographic plates on different parts of the body to show that emotions and thoughts lead to the release of this substance from the body, which takes on different images in photographs.
Other scientists of the 1920s who studied ectoplasm are Theodore Flornoy, professor of psychology at the University of Geneva, Italian criminologist and physicist Cesare Lombroso, and British physicist Oliver Lodge.
Brain explains in his talk that new discoveries at the time led to the creation of measuring instruments. For the first time, these devices were able to detect electromagnetic waves, radio waves, X-rays, etc. The atmosphere of this era was marked by great excitement, caused by the ability to measure previously invisible matter. Ouija sessions in dark rooms filled with many appliances have become popular. “The interaction of spiritualism with instrumentation and new discoveries in physics have given rise to the idea of a vast and unexplored world full of invisible forces,” says Brain.
Ectoplasm today
Ouija fell out of fashion, and interest in ectoplasm faded after some mediums were exposed as charlatans and their emitting of ectoplasm was deemed falsified. But some modern mediums still claim that they can emit ectoplasm.
Scientists of the late XIX - early XX centuries. studied ectoplasm by observation and photography. However, it was not possible to study its samples in the laboratory. Presumably, this substance is sensitive to external influences, and by the end of the session it dematerializes.
For example, journalist MontagKin attended a modern seance and was instructed not to make any movement towards ectoplasm. The organizers of the session explained that "any forbidden contact with the ectoplasm can endanger the medium."
Keane described his experience in an article on SurvivalAfterDeath.org. He was invited to the room before the session to make sure that there were no devices there that could create a fake ectoplasm.
The medium David Thomson was emitting a substance, and the spirit allegedly used his body to speak. The spirit partially materialized in ectoplasm, which enveloped the medium's larynx and controlled his voice.
After the session, Keene was told that the ectoplasm had scattered, and "the ectoplasm coming out of the medium is dangerous."
The Spirit said through Thomson: “Of course, there are always those who cannot prove anything. In your sphere there will always be those who believe or want to believe, as well as those who do not believe. This is the truth of life."
