HOAXES  & HOAXERS 

 IN MEDIUMSHIP & THE PSYCHIC FIELD     9

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As recently as 1960, there was a major expose of a group of materialization Mediums at Camp Chesterfield, an independent Spiritualist camp near Anderson, Indiana, USA. The Mediums, including the camp's leading Medium Mabel Riffle, were caught on infrared film impersonating Spirits and moving in and out of a trap door. Then in the mid-1970s, Lamar Keene, a Medium from Florida, resigned from his church and confessed to playing tricks on his congregation and on other clients who came to him for readings.

One of the most impudent was that of Charles Eldred, who always took his "highly magnetized" armchair to seances. In 1906 the chair was examined and it was found that the back was really a box with a concealed lock and key. Inside was found a collapsible dummy, yards of cheesecloth for "ectoplasm," reaching rods, wigs, false beards, a music box (for "Spirit music"), and even scent (for "Spirit perfumes").

Laszlo, after many years of involvement in criminal activities, started to work as a journalist for occult stories, when he stumbled upon Schrenck-Notzings books.

Laszlo displays a feat, that was originally observed with the Medium Stanislawa Tomczyk, who said it showed for the first time fine spider web like exteriorisations from her fingertips; to me a fine thread.

Laszlo was most impressed by the phenomena Eva C. had produced. Looking at some of the photographs I can see similarities with the cloths being used by her in the photos take by Baron Schrenck Notzings of Eva C.

Notice the lips are tight, holding onto the cloth so it cannot fall out of his mouth while being held.

Laszlo cut human forms into the cloths to imitate several forms..

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Cut ragged at the bottom of this white cloth

Laszlo in faked alleged trance.

Laszlo always let the researchers touch his productions.

Again a researcher examines the substances as he holds it tightly in his mouth.

Seemingly well controlled

An examiner moves Laszlos head to be exposed to the magnesium flash in full while he has the cloth in the mouth.

After the body search it was no problem for him to hide the fake materials which was passed to him by an accomplice without being detected.

Laszlos seances were normally held in red-light.

Again display of the alleged ectoplasm fine thread between the fingers, which is supporting a piece of cloth purported to be ectoplasm.

Thread drawn across from the fingers holding up a lighter box which is attached to the thread

The veil like substance that many genuine Mediums were producing and that was able to protrude experimental head nets (for control reasons - see "Phenomena of materialisation") Laszlo was not able to produce.

The allowance of strictest controls Laszlo provided made him interesting for Baron von Schrenck.

Alleged Ectoplasm display by Ladislaus Laszlo, known now as cloth