Zé Arigó and the spirit Dr. Fritz

Record summary

José Pedro de Freitas, popularly called Zé Arigó, became famous in Brazil for trance healing and surgical procedures attributed to a German spirit identified as Dr. Fritz. The case generated medical examinations, press coverage, religious controversy, and legal proceedings, making it unusually useful for comparing intermediary-being claims with clinical and legal documentation. Researchers should distinguish Arigó’s own statements, observers’ reports, Spiritist interpretations, and skeptical explanations. The historical existence of Arigó and the public episodes is well attested, but the claimed spirit identity and paranormal mechanism remain disputed.