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Eusapia Palladino, Queen of the Cabinet, Part 2

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Eusapia Palladino, Queen of the Cabinet, Part 2 SI J-A 2009 pgs 5/28/09 10:30 AM Page 23 NOTES ON A STRANGE WORLD MASSIMO POLIDORO Eusapia Palladino, Queen of the Cabinet, Part 2 leven extraordinary séances with with Eusapia, and the stenographer was at fascinating opportunity to admire medium Eusapia Palladino, de- another table. The fact that all the hap- Eusapia Palladino’s superb deceptions. scribed in Everard Feilding’s re- penings observed during the séances have E The Conditions of the Séances port, were held at the now-defunct Hotel been described to the stenographer and Victoria in Naples, Italy. More precisely, then published in detail in the Feilding Two thin black cashmere curtains, sup- they were held in Feilding’s room on the Report has been cause for admiration. plied by Eusapia, were hung at an angle fifth floor, usually starting at 10 PM and However, these detailed descriptions in the room the spirit cabinet was lasting about three hours. The experi- allow us to better understand the medi- located; a small table and various toy menters (sometimes two or three plus um’s techniques, already generally known musical instruments were inside, pur- some visiting observers) sat at the table but never presented in such detail. It is a chased for the occasion. The depth from Photo: H. Mairet One of the eleven séances conducted by Everard Feilding, et al., in Naples in 1908. SKEPTICAL INQUIRER July / August 2009 23 SI J-A 2009 pgs 5/28/09 10:30 AM Page 24 the angle of the walls to the middle of almost pitch black, and it was Eusapia to her. On the back, the skirt touches the curtains was two feet, eight inches who dictated whether the lights were the curtains, again black. In near dark- (eighty cm). Immediately in front of it raised or lowered according to her needs. ness these are the perfect conditions for sat Eusapia, with the back of her chair It is important to stress the fact that allowing her to use her feet to raise the touching the curtains. Eusapia didn’t usually want complete table or to bring one foot inside the cab- In front of her she had her custom- darkness but exactly the right amount of inet behind her. made rectangular table and sat at the nar- light that she needed, according to the As for the table, the one Eusapia used row end of it with the experimenters on phenomena she was going to produce or in most of her séances was custom- every other side. These were Eusapia’s the controls to which she was subjected. made: 2 feet, 10.75 inches long by 1 usual conditions, the ones she dictated to If, for example, she was going to move an foot, 7.25 inches wide, weighing only the experimenters and the ones they object, she needed enough light to allow 10.5 pounds. Such a light table is very allowed her: even the curtains and the the sitters to see the object move but not easy to lift: imagine Eusapia sitting at table were her own. The only new condi- enough that they could understand how the narrow end of it, with her legs tion was the presence of the stenographer, the movement was being accomplished. touching the inside legs of the table to whom the experimenters continuously Furthermore, as opposed to complete (separated by only 1 foot 4.5 inches, the It is well known from the many exposures to which Eusapia was subjected that she was not the kind of medium who used trick apparatus or conjuring machines . typically she only relied on her hands and feet. dictated their observations: a fantastic darkness, such dim-light conditions pre- width of the table minus the width of advantage for Eusapia, who could con- sent various other advantages for a the legs of the table). By slightly open- stantly be kept informed on the state of medium. The experimenters, for example, ing her legs she could very easily seize the controls moment by moment. already have so much trouble trying to see the table and move it about or lift it a Since illumination was very important what phenomena are happening that their few inches from the ground. in allowing Eusapia to present the effects attention is obviously distracted away as needed, she went so far as to demand from the mechanisms of control, here The Séance Phenomena control of it, and the experimenters, mainly Eusapia’s hands and feet. Then, The 470 phenomena described as occur- again, satisfied her requests. They pre- with some suggestions, it’s easy to lead ring during the eleven séances belonged pared an elaborate system of electric people to believe they are seeing things to Eusapia’s usual repertoire. First of all lights, which possessed varying degrees of that they aren’t. Finally, for a medium it is were the movements and levitations of illuminating power. This allowed an very useful to continually see the experi- the séance table: “partial” levitations, ample choice of low-power lights: from menters, to know where they are and where the table remained tilted at an dim light (the strongest prevailing light is what they are doing to prevent any angle on two legs, and “complete” levi- described as a light “in which we were unpleasant surprises. tations, where the table was lifted on all able to read small print,” p. 331) to As can be seen from the picture of four legs simultaneously. Levitations of Eusapia taken from the Report (see this kind lasted momentarily “but occa- Massimo Polidoro is an investigator of the photo 1), she is wearing black clothing sionally for several seconds” (p. 347) paranormal, author, lecturer, and co- with a long, full skirt. When she is and the table was lifted, at the most, founder and head of CICAP, the Italian seated, the skirt covers the sides and the about a foot off the ground. skeptics group. His Web site is at www. front of the chair, hiding both Eusapia’s Then there were the phenomena massimopolidoro.com. feet and the ends of the table legs close happening inside the cabinet: noises 24 Volume 33, Issue 4 SKEPTICAL INQUIRER SI J-A 2009 pgs 5/28/09 10:31 AM Page 25 coming from it, objects moved about or F. (Feilding) on her right (p. 364): have used it (p. 357); this is a convic- taken out, appearances of indefinable 10:58 p.m. The table tilts on the two tion that an experimenter should never objects from the curtains and move- right legs. have, especially in similar conditions. ments of the same. Also, a small stool, C: The medium’s left hand is held in Every now and then, they tried to check which stood about three feet from the mine over the table, her left foot if there had been a substitution (for medium, was occasionally moved and being pressed on my right, and my example, checking by the position of the right knee being in contact with her various touches were felt by the experi- left knee. fingers if that was really the hand they menters. Note that all the phenomena F: Her right hand was on my shoul- thought they were holding); but this, occurred within hand or foot distance der. according to the transcripts, only hap- from the medium. F: The table was then completely lev- pened occasionally. It must be stated It is well known from the many itated, and both C. and she after- wards pressed on C.’s side of the table, that in a few occasions they found that a exposures to which Eusapia was sub- which went up in spite of their pres- substitution had in effect been made, jected that she was not the kind of sure. but they noticed it only by chance (for medium who used trick apparatus or C: I pressed strongly. example, somebody had been able to conjuring machines. At most she could 11:00 p.m. Complete levitation of the discern, in near darkness, her free hand table. use a thread or hair for some psychoki- moving about) and only after the fact, nesis demonstrations, but typically she This poverty of means certainly not while it was happening. They had to only relied on her hands and feet. This posed a limit to the spectacle of the admit (p. 326) that “the skill with which was enough to produce the phenomena phenomena besides protecting her from the substitution was performed was attributed to her: to move or levitate a the risks of deliberate fraud. In fact, remarkable. The tactile sensation of con- table she could use hands and/or feet whenever she was caught using a free tinuity of contact was unbroken. On and/or legs; to move a curtain or the limb, she claimed she was in a trance neither occasion in Séance III, when the objects in the cabinet she could use a and excused herself by saying that she substitution was performed, was F. hand, an elbow, or a foot. acted involuntarily; furthermore, she aware of it, though it was immediately Let’s examine, for example, the com- blamed the experimenters for not being seen by C., on whose side the hand was plete levitation of the table. Eusapia’s sufficiently alert with their controls. In released; while in Séance XI, though vis- main method of accomplishing such an similar cases the experimenters were ible to F. from the other side of the effect was to tilt it sideways on two legs more than willing to think her behavior table, the release was not felt either by (usually the legs on her right side) by innocent.
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