Apport (paranormal)

According to parapsychologists and spiritualists, an apport is the paranormal transference of an article from one place to another, or an appearance of an article from an unknown source that is often associated with poltergeist activity or spiritualistic séances.[1][2][3]

History

The Skeptic's Dictionary states that apports reported during seances are likely the result of magic tricks.[4] A famous apport fraud is attributed to Charles Bailey (1870-1947). During a séance, Bailey produced two live birds out of thin air but was undone when the dealer who sold him the birds appeared in the crowd. Common objects that are produced are stones, flowers, perfumes, and animals. These objects are said to be "gifts" from the spirit(s).[5]

In March 1902 in Berlin, police officers interrupted a séance of the apport medium Frau Anna Rothe. Her hands were grabbed and she was wrestled to the ground. A female police assistant physically examined Rothe and discovered 157 flowers as well as oranges and lemons hidden in her petticoat. She was arrested and charged with fraud.[6] After a trial lasting six days she was sentenced to eighteen months imprisonment.[7]

In 1926, Heinrich Melzer was exposed as a fraud as he was caught in the séance room with small stones attached to the back of his ears by flesh coloured tape.[8] According to Terence Hines "Some female mediums went so far as to conceal in their vagina or anus objects to be "apported" during the seance and gauzy fabric that would become "ectoplasm" during the seance. These were places that Victorian gentlemen, no matter how skeptical, were highly unlikely to ask to search."[9] There are many cases where apports have been smuggled into the séance room.[10]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Historical Terms Glossary (Parapsychological Association, retrieved Sept 6, 2007).
  2. ↑ Fontana, David (2005). Is There an Afterlife: A Comprehensive Review of the Evidence. Hants, UK: O Books. pp. 352–381. ISBN 1-903816-90-4.
  3. ↑ "Kentucky Paranormal Research". Retrieved 2007-09-19. "An apport is any object the spirits or the medium makes disappear or teleports to another location."
  4. ↑ Apport (entry in the Skeptic's Dictionary by Robert Todd Carroll, retrieved June 19, 2008).
  5. ↑ J. Gordon Melton. (2007). The Encyclopedia of Religious Phenomena. Visible Ink Press. p. 12. ISBN 978-1578592098
  6. ↑ Corinna Treitel. (2004). A Science for the Soul: Occultism and the Genesis of the German Modern. The Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 165. ISBN 978-0801878121
  7. ↑ Trial Of German Medium Frau Rothe
  8. ↑ E. Clephan Palmer. (2003). The Riddle of Spiritualism. Kessinger Publishing. pp. 35-39. ISBN 978-0766179318
  9. ↑ Terence Hines. (2003). Pseudoscience and the Paranormal. Prometheus Books. p. 51. ISBN 978-1573929790
  10. ↑ Lewis Spence. (1985). Encyclopedia of Occultism & Parapsychology. Gale Research Company. p. 504. ISBN 978-0810301962

External links

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