The Margery Mediumship Investigations

Record summary

Mina Crandon, known as “Margery,” became the subject of extensive séances, investigations, and public controversy in Boston during the 1920s. Her controls and supposed spirit communicator “Walter” generated claims involving voices, movements, writing, and physical phenomena. Supporters cited experienced investigators, while critics alleged fraud, leakage, and inadequate safeguards; the Scientific American committee’s involvement made the dispute especially visible. The case is useful for comparing séance methodology, adversarial testing, and gendered expectations of mediums, but its evidential record is fragmented and strongly contested.