Research source

The process is the same in the employment of Fig

Date of account: Published 1855
Source: Experimental Investigation of the Spirit Manifestations Demonstrating the existence of spirits and their communion with mortals. Doctrine of the spirit world respecting heaven, hell, morality, and God. Also, the influence of Scripture on the morals of Christians.
Reference: Experimental Investigation of the Spirit Manifestations Demonstrating the existence of spirits and their communion with mortals. Doctrine of the spirit world respecting heaven, hell, morality, and God. Also, the influence of Scripture on the morals of Christians. · selected passage 12
Rights: public_domain
Language: English
Record updated: 2026-08-24

Record summary

Published source text

Read the available text below. Archive transcriptions may contain OCR errors; later context is labelled separately. A recorded claim is not a finding that it happened.

Source passage

Source text · mention only

The process is the same in the employment of Fig. 1 Plate IV. under consideration. It may be better understood in this case, as the illustration of the lever board _L_ is more conspicuous. In the ordinary mode of operating without test conditions, the hand of the medium is so situated as to have nearly half of it beyond the fulcrum, marked by the line _F L_. When test conditions are imposed, the tips of the fingers only reach to that line, without going beyond it. Situated as last mentioned, the medium to whom they appertain cannot move the rod _R_, because it is already against the lower edge of the disk, which prevents it from moving upwards. In the opposite direction the medium can create no pressure, since her efforts could only tend to lift her hand, _per se_, from the disk.

Historical context

Contextual commentary · mention only

This comes from historical psychical research. Methods, witness handling and standards of evidence differ from present-day research and should be assessed from the cited passage and edition.

Modern context

Contextual commentary · mention only

The passage can support a history of claims and recurring descriptions. It does not establish a paranormal mechanism, and competing psychological, social and physical explanations remain relevant.

Investigate related details with Anomaly Graph’s account-based search, or read how matching and provenance work.