Ectoplasm (paranormal)

Lore & Background

In spiritualism, ectoplasm is said to be formed by physical mediums when in a trance state. This material is excreted as a gauze-like substance from orifices on the medium's body, and spiritual entities are said to drape it over their nonphysical body to interact in the physical universe. Some accounts claim ectoplasm begins clear and almost invisible, darkening as psychic energy strengthens, and in extreme cases developing a strong odor. According to some mediums, ectoplasm cannot occur in light conditions as it would disintegrate. Psychical researcher Gustav Geley defined ectoplasm as 'very variable in appearance, being sometimes vaporous, sometimes a plastic paste, sometimes a bundle of fine threads, or a membrane with swellings or fringes, or a fine fabric-like tissue.' Arthur Conan Doyle described it as 'a viscous, gelatinous substance which appeared to differ from every known form of matter in that it could solidify and be used for material purposes.'

Reader's Guide

Ectoplasm has been central to physical mediumship, but its existence has not been scientifically demonstrated. Tested samples purported to be ectoplasm have been found to be various non-paranormal substances, and other researchers have duplicated the photographic effects with non-supernatural materials. The idea was merged into the notion of an 'ectenic force' by early psychical researchers seeking a physical explanation for psychokinesis, but this fluid was never discovered. Many mediums were exposed as fraudulent, using methods such as swallowing and regurgitating cheesecloth, textile products smoothed with potato starch, or paper, cloth, and egg white. The Society for Psychical Research investigations into mediumship exposed many fraudulent mediums, contributing to a decline in interest. The exposures of fraudulent ectoplasm in séances caused a rapid decline in the practice.

Did You Know?

• The term 'ectoplasm' was coined in 1894 by psychical researcher Charles Richet.
• Some purported ectoplasm was exposed as cheesecloth, gauze, or other natural substances.
• Medium Eva Carrière's ectoplasm faces were found to be cut from the French magazine Le Miroir.
• Mina Crandon's ectoplasmic hand was discovered to be a piece of carved animal liver.

Origins and Linguistic Roots

The term ectoplasm entered the vocabulary of spiritualism in 1894, coined by the French psychical researcher Charles Richet. The word itself is a compound drawn from Ancient Greek: ektos meaning outside and plasma meaning something formed, together suggesting a substance shaped from within and projected outward. In the framework of spiritualist belief, this material was understood as a kind of spiritual energy or physical substance that a medium could exteriorize during a trance state. The concept quickly permeated popular culture and parapsychological discourse, yet no scientific evidence has ever substantiated its existence. Purported samples, when subjected to scrutiny, consistently turned out to be mundane materials—cheesecloth, gauze, or other natural substances—fashioned into convincing-looking props. Despite its absence from any verified scientific record, the shorthand ecto persists in both fringe research and mainstream media, a linguistic fossil of an era when the boundary between the physical and the supernatural was far more porous than it is today.

Alleged Properties and Descriptions

Within spiritualist accounts, ectoplasm was said to emerge from orifices on a medium's body during trance, taking on a gauze-like consistency. Spiritual entities were believed to drape this substance over their otherwise invisible forms, thereby gaining the ability to interact with the physical world. Various mediums reported that the material began as a nearly invisible, clear substance and gradually darkened as the supposed psychic energy intensified. In extreme cases, practitioners claimed it developed a pronounced odor. A further constraint in the lore was that ectoplasm could not manifest under direct light, as the substance would supposedly disintegrate. The psychical researcher Gustav Geley catalogued its variability, describing it as sometimes vaporous, sometimes a plastic paste, sometimes fine threads, or a membrane with swellings and fringes. Arthur Conan Doyle offered a more dramatic characterization, calling it a viscous, gelatinous substance that seemed to differ from every known form of matter because it could solidify and serve material purposes. These vivid descriptions, however, remain entirely unverified by any laboratory science.

The Ectenic Force and the Psychode Hypothesis

Before the term ectoplasm became standard, some early psychical researchers attempted to ground séance phenomena in a physical mechanism. Count Agenor de Gasparin, a physician active in the mid-nineteenth century, hypothesized an ectenic force to account for table turning and tapping observed during séances. His colleague M. Thury, a professor of natural history at the Academy of Geneva, helped name the concept, and together they conducted experiments they claimed were successful, though no independent verification ever followed. The idea evolved into the notion of a psychode or psychic force—an unidentified fluid within the human body capable of being released to influence matter. Prominent figures such as Camille Flammarion and William Crookes endorsed this view. W. J. Crawford, a psychical investigator, claimed to have photographed such a fluid after witnessing the medium Kathleen Goligher, describing it as an invisible plasma that could be felt but not seen. Yet Hereward Carrington later noted the fluid was purely hypothetical and had never been discovered, and physicist Edmund Fournier d'Albe, after investigating Goligher independently, concluded no paranormal phenomena occurred and identified ordinary muslin as the source of Crawford's photographs.

Exposures and the Decline of Physical Mediumship

The history of ectoplasm is inseparable from its repeated exposure as fraud. Mediums employed tricks such as swallowing and regurgitating cheesecloth, smoothing textiles with potato starch, or constructing materializations from paper, egg white, and butter muslin. The Society for Psychical Research conducted systematic investigations that unmasked numerous fraudulent practitioners, significantly eroding public interest in physical mediumship. In 1907, Hereward Carrington catalogued the deceptions behind slate-writing, table-turning, materializations, and spirit photography. A particularly detailed case involved the medium Eva Carrière, investigated by Albert von Schrenck-Notzing. Schrenck-Notzing attributed her materializations to ideoplasty—a mental imprinting onto ectoplasm—and published photographs in his 1923 book Phenomena of Materialisation. Critics, however, spotted magazine cut-out marks, pins, and string in the images. A photograph taken from behind one face revealed the letters Le Miro, identifying it as a clipping from the French magazine Le Miroir. Carrière had used cut-outs of Woodrow Wilson, King Ferdinand of Bulgaria, and Mona Delza. When confronted, Schrenck-Notzing defended her by suggesting her memory had recalled the images, a position that earned him ridicule among medical colleagues. Magician Carlos María de Heredia demonstrated that a comb, gauze, and a handkerchief could replicate the entire effect.

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