Ectoplasm
Ectoplasm had more power than just appearing out of thin air. Stories from seances of the past include ectoplasmic tendrils tipping over tables. But most ectoplasm was simply some sort of slime or material. Psychical research G.C. Barnard called it “…variable in appearance, being sometimes vaporous, sometimes a gelatin, or a plastic paste. It is sometimes a bundle of fine threads, or a membrane with swellings or fringes, or a fine fabric-like tissue.” It was usually white – a color most easily seen in a dim séance setting.
Mediums like Eva Carrière (aka Eva C.) could allegedly produce ectoplasm. The skeptic’s spirit photography, however, caught Carrière in her deception – when photographed, the ectoplasmic faces she emitted were pictures of “two well-known men” painted with phosphorescent paint (Black, 1922). Despite their impressive efforts toward misdirection, ectoplasm made for an eerie photograph, but was never proven as anything but audience misdirection.
