Energy-Based Physical Phenomena - Is it Really New?

Ever since the energy-based work of our 1993-1998 ‘Scole Experiment’ (with its unique physical phenomena) became well-known within the realms of Psychic Research and Spiritual Science, the connections with ‘energy’ seem to have caught on and now seems to be the ‘in thing’ – this being a very popular expression used within both mental and physical mediumship alike. 

The majority of newer groups and circles who sit for physical phenomena, often follow advice from Spirit as outlined in the Scole Experiment’s ‘Basic Guide’ and use the specially blended mix of three different sources of natural energy which Spirit refer to as ‘Creative Energy’. I personally know of a number of experimental groups who have already achieved excellent energy-based phenomena developed in this way.

However, what I do find surprising (and what worries me to a certain extent) is that a number of bloggers, writers, authors and mediums themselves have begun to refer to their work, and that of groups seeking to develop energy-based physical phenomena, under the general heading of having been engineered by Spirit using ‘new energy’.

Whilst it is quite correct to describe most of the energy-based physical phenomena witnessed during the Scole Experiment as ‘unique’ and ‘incorporating brand new types of physical phenomena’ which had never, to our knowledge, been previously witnessed anywhere else in the world at that time, it would not be accurate to state that the work and phenomena could be accredited simply to the use of ‘new energy’. 

As we were told by our Spirit Team, many other circles, groups and physical mediums in the past also worked in this energy-based way, right back (way beyond modern Spiritualism) to time immemorial and the days of Atlantis! The difference at that time was that few of them actually understood that they were working with ‘Creative Energy’. We were extremely lucky at Scole, in that our own wonderful Spirit Team (many of them scientists and engineers during their earth lives) chose to discuss their methods and spirit technology with us in as much depth as possible so that others might gain a clearer understanding of exactly how energy-based phenomena worked. We were also led to believe that for the first time in decades, the work at Scole enabled our Spirit Team to control the use of energy-based phenomena in better ways than were previously possible.

Let us look at some examples of physical mediumship and its phenomena and why I believe that ‘Creative Energy’ played its part – just as it did for us at Scole:

Henrietta ‘Etta’ Wriedt

​Arthur Conan Doyle, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Henrietta “Etta” Wriedt (1859-1942) of Detroit, Michigan, was described by some researchers as the ‘best ever physical medium’. She was studied and validated by esteemed researchers such as Sir William Barrett, a physics professor who co-founded the Society for Psychical Research (SPR), Sir Oliver Lodge, a physicist remembered for his pioneering work in electricity and radio, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the physician who created Sherlock Holmes, Dr. John S. King, a physician who founded the Canadian branch of the SPR, and Vice-Admiral William Usborne Moore, a retired British naval commander turned researcher.

Wriedt was not a trance medium. Her mediumship came under the heading of ‘Independent Voice’ mediumship, where Spirit Communicators were able to speak independently of the medium’s vocal cords, with the voices appearing to come from ‘mid-air’. While skeptics claimed that direct voice mediums were expert ventriloquists, Wriedt was observed by researchers talking to people sitting next to her at the same time as spirit voices came through. It was reported that as many as four spirit voices would be talking simultaneously to different sitters and, although Wriedt knew only English, spirits communicated in French, German, Italian, Spanish, Norwegian, Dutch, Arabic and other languages. 

Usborne Moore, who had investigated a number of mediums in England before sailing to the United States, first visited Wriedt in Detroit in 1909 and then again in 1910 and 1911. He arranged for her to visit England in 1912. Moore noted that the spirit voices came through in broad daylight or gaslight, but they were louder in the dark. Moreover, Wriedt was open to sitting anywhere in the room so that the investigator could watch her and rule out fraud.

Moore further observed that Mrs. Wriedt spoke ‘Yankee,’ yet the voices of his English relatives and friends came through in ‘pure English,’ while discussing ‘very evidential’ personal and family matters. There was never any talk of Etta Wriedt using a cabinet for her work, or of any direct observation by sitters of any form of ectoplasmic substance. These are indeed the classic conditions ideal for Energy-Based Physical Phenomena, and I believe that Etta Wriedt’s work was therefore, energy-based.

Pearl Judd

For me, this is yet another case of early Energy-Based Physical Mediumship and ‘Independent Voice’ Phenomena. Pearl Judd was a young girl who sat with her uncle Clive Chapman in a family home circle at Dunedin, New Zealand during the 1920’s. The ‘Independent Voice’ phenomena occurred in the light and was very strong. Full details are in a (now rare) book published by Clive Chapman in 1926 called ‘The Blue Room’, which I can thoroughly recommend to anybody who has not yet read it! Once again, there was no cabinet, no trance and no mention of ectoplasm. Classic Energy-Based Physical Phenomena.

The Elmer Browne Home Circle in Leicester

I joined my first home circle in 1973 which proved to be a ‘Physical Circle’ run by local businessman Elmer Browne in Leicester in the UK. There was no cabinet in the circle; trance was not allowed, and nobody ever witnessed ectoplasm, as such. Elmer (‘Bill’ to us) ran the group under similar conditions to Pearl Judd’s Dunedin Circle – aiming for ‘Independent Voice’ in the same way, and using ‘The Blue Room’ as his ‘Bible’. In the two years I sat with that circle, I did indeed witness several examples of ‘Independent Voice’ during sittings, along with being ‘poked in the back’ by a ‘teleported’ Spirit Finger! Looking back, I have no doubt that the phenomena I witnessed there at Leicester was indeed energy-based.

The Rita Goold Circle in Leicester

There were a number of reports in the Psychic Press during the 1980’s of the ‘new type’ of physical phenomena that was being witnessed at that time in the home circle of Physical Medium Rita Goold. The circle was experiencing materialization in a ‘different’ way, so it was said. The Spiritualist Community was suspicious that the phenomena was not genuine, as ‘everybody who was anybody’ in that community argued vehemently that materialization could only come about through the use of ectoplasm. In the Goold Circle, ‘solid’ Spirit personalities were visiting the circle every week, including the very solid Spirit boy Russell Byrne who acted as a guide and Spirit ‘compere’ within the circle. Another regular prominent Spirit helper in that circle was the famous materialization medium Helen Duncan. In life, Helen had been a large lady. When she manifested in the circle, she occasionally sat down on a settee during a séance and her heavy weight was felt by other sitters in a physical way!

Russell Byrne’s parents attended the circle at the invitation of Rita, and were able to verify absolutely 100% that the solid visitor Russell was indeed their son! The Spirits of Russell and Helen spoke in their own voices during sessions (see the book ‘Russell’ by Gwen Byrne – Janus Publishing). Our friend Alan Crossley (medium and experienced psychic researcher regarding physical mediumship) who knew Helen Duncan well and used to organise some of her séances when she was alive, also stayed with Rita at one point and attended her séances. Alan was able to confirm totally that the solid visiting Spirit of Helen at Rita’s séances was indeed Helen herself, and that Rita’s mediumship was genuine. On more than one occasion (not during a séance), Alan actually watched stuffed toy animals climbing up the wall in full daylight!

It is still a mystery to me as to why, but Rita was dramatically vilified by much of the Psychic Press because leading Spiritualists could not understand how her phenomena was produced. Shamefully, Rita even received a number of ‘death’ threats at the time, which eventually led to her abandoning her amazing, successful and absolutely genuine mediumship! I do not think that it was ever explained to Rita’s Circle during sittings that the materialisation and independent voice phenomena they were experiencing, was actually energy-based and was similar to our own Spirit Team worked at Scole. I have no doubt whatsoever that Rita’s phenomena was indeed an earlier manifestation of our energy-based phenomena at Scole a decade later, and that the materialisations of spirits who visited Rita’s seances were in fact teleported into the room in exactly the same way that was used during ‘The Scole Experiment’.

The Streatham ‘Theatre School’ Circle

This was another amazing circle in the 1990’s where energy-based physical phenomena was prevalent. During a seminar by the Noah’s Ark Society, which I founded in 1990, Sandra and I were approached by a delegate who was sitting in this circle (which apparently had no medium as such), but which was nevertheless experiencing amazing phenomena including Materialisation and Independent Voice. We agreed to sit with the circle for a while to assess the situation and offer advice if necessary, which led to our sharing several sittings with the group over a period of time. It was a few months before we were able to conclude that a young French man in the circle was actually the medium, as the initial assessment seemed to point to the fact that the group as a whole supplied the ‘Creative Energy’ for their Spirit Team to operate.

On the first occasion, we climbed the stairs to the third storey room and (in full light), I was again ‘poked in the back’ by a solid Spirit finger urging me up the stairs. We were able to verify that the phenomena was unusual in the way that it was engineered by the Spirit Team, and comprised of everything that the delegate had originally described – and more! This group had a tea and cake break in the middle of the sitting and we all left the room and moved across the corridor to a kitchenette. An Independent Spirit Voice’ would tell us when it was time for the break and if we stayed too long, would inform us that it was time to return to the séance room as they were waiting for us.

There was no cabinet in the room in which the circle sat, nobody went into trance and there was no suggestion whatsoever of ectoplasm but with everybody wide awake, the phenomena happened! The Spirit Visitors amongst us were quite solid to the point that – on more than one occasion – a large and heavy male Spirit person gently pulled up one of the ladies in the room and danced with them! This happened to Sandra, and she was quite blown away by the experience. Knowing what we do now, and after the later sessions we held at Scole, it is quite obvious that the superb phenomena was energy-based, and that the solid Spirit visitors were teleported into the room in exactly the same manner as we later enjoyed at Scole.

So you see – in my own mind – with all these examples to draw upon, I am absolutely certain that energy-based phenomena is not new, but has been ongoing for over two centuries, if not longer.

​Note: This article was originally published in the Afterlife Magazine by The Otherside Press which has since joined the PDN group.

Teleportation in Wartime Experiments and Physical Mediumship - Then and Now

I have written often about the many instances of teleportation that my wife Sandra and I have experienced over the last 44 years, both in and out of the séance room. This includes inanimate objects such as ‘apports’ which appear in the room almost magically from ‘nowhere’ during both ectoplasmic-based and energy-based physical séances; by way of small ‘presents’ for us from the Spirit Team that works with us during sittings.

What readers may not know, is that additionally, from Victorian times in the 1800’s, the Spirit World has used teleportation to transport live animals, insects and even human beings, often over considerable distances in a dramatic way - as I have personally witnessed. This shows that the technical knowledge of how to achieve this remarkable feat has existed in the Spirit World for over 150 years, although science in our earthly world has not yet been able to duplicate these amazing results!

That is not to say that our earthly scientists have not tried to teleport large objects from one place to another. A particularly striking example of their efforts can be found in the almost legendary ‘Philadelphia Experiment’ that took place during the Second World War in the USA. Exact details of this wartime project, unfortunately, remain in the ‘Top Secret’ military files – but the gist of that attempt (and partial accidental success) as I understand it, is as follows:-

The Philadelphia Experiment

USS Eldridge (DE-173)

​U.S. Navy, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The Experiment was conducted by Dr. Franklin Reno (or Rinehart) as a military application of a Unified Field Theory. The theory, briefly, postulates the interrelated nature of the forces that comprise electromagnetic radiation and gravity. Through a special application of the theory, it was thought possible, with specialized equipment and sufficient energy, to bend light around an object in such a way as to render it essentially invisible to observers. The Navy considered this application of the theory to be of obvious military value (especially as the United States was engaged in World War II at the time) and both approved and sponsored the experiment. A navy destroyer escort, the USS Eldridge, was fitted with the required equipment at the naval yards in Philadelphia.

Testing began in summer 1943, and was successful to a limited degree. One test on July 22nd resulted in the Eldridge being rendered almost completely invisible, with some witnesses reporting a “greenish fog” in its place. However, crew members complained of severe nausea afterwards. Equipment was not properly recalibrated for this eventuality, but in spite of this, the experiment was performed again on October 28th. This time, Eldridge not only became almost entirely invisible to the naked eye, but actually vanished from the area in a flash of blue light. Simultaneously, the US naval base at Norfolk, Virginia, just over 600 km (375 miles) away, reported sighting the Eldridge offshore for several minutes, whereupon the Eldridge vanished from their sight and reappeared in Philadelphia, at the site it had originally occupied in an apparent case of accidental teleportation.

The physiological effects on the crew were profound. Almost all of the crew were violently ill. Some suffered from mental illness as a result of their experience; behavior consistent with schizophrenia is described in other accounts. Still other members were physically unaccounted for or supposedly vanished, and five of the crew were allegedly fused to the metal bulkhead or deck of the ship. Still others were said to fade in and out of sight. Horrified by these results, Navy officials immediately cancelled the experiment. All of the surviving crew involved were discharged; in some accounts, brainwashing techniques were employed in an attempt to make the remaining crew members lose their memories concerning the details of their experience.

One reason that the USA wanted to undertake this ambitious experiment was the rumour (not substantiated – but possibly true) that the Germans were undertaking similar bold experiments in invisibility for military purposes.

First Reported Instance of Human Teleportation

But I digress! The first well documented, reported instance of human teleportation during the time known as ‘Modern Spiritualism’ occurred at a séance in London, and has been substantiated by a number of evidential statements by reliable witnesses.

London Mediums Frank Herne and Charles Williams were holding a joint seance with a circle of eight visitors at 61 Lambs Conduit Street in London on June 3rd 1871, when they heard the Spirit voices of John King and his daughter Katie. Katie agreed to bring any particular thing to the circle at the request of the sitters and a Mr Harrison asked her (half jokingly) to produce well-known Medium Mrs Guppy. Katie laughed and despite her father’s protests, insisted that she would comply, even though Mrs Guppy was a very large lady!

The sitters all laughed until they heard a loud thump on the table just three minutes later. Several of them screamed and one of them lit a lamp, and there in the middle of the table sat Mrs Guppy. She seemed to be in a deep trance and held a pen and an account book in her hand when she was precipitated into the room. Unfortunately, she was only half dressed, with her shoes off but to save her modesty, the apportation of respectable clothes in which she could travel home, followed shortly afterwards.

When Mrs Guppy was gently roused from her trance, she was a little perturbed. The last thing she remembered was sitting at home three miles away in Highbury, London. The sitters escorted her home, where an anxious friend awaited. Apparently, the two had been in Mrs Guppy’s room together when Mrs Guppy suddenly disappeared, leaving only a slight haze near the ceiling.

Catherine Berry, in the book ‘Experiences in Spiritualism’ (1876), writes of many strange happenings through Mrs Guppy’s mediumship. She was a very powerful physical medium in her own right. A white cat and a Maltese dog belonging to Mrs Guppy appeared in a séance in Berry’s house during a Guppy sitting. On another occasion, three ducks prepared for cooking were brought into the circle in Mrs Guppy’s home. Showers of butterflies also descended from the ceiling.

Teleportation of Animals in the Foy Home

Shortly after Sandra and I were married in the early 1980’s, we ran a Physical Circle at our then home in Harold Wood, Romford, Essex. On one occasion after a séance, we discovered that our daughter’s cage for her pet hamster (although still locked) was empty. Eventually, after searching around the lounge on our hands and knees (with the help of our sitters), the hamster was found – happily wandering around the lounge.

The next week, after our home circle, we once again discovered that the hamster missing from his locked cage (which stood on a spare kitchen unit). This time, it occurred to us that Spirit might have had a hand in the hamster’s disappearance, and Sandra stood in the kitchen, loudly appealing for Spirit to bring back the hamster if they had it so our daughter wouldn’t be upset by her loss.

Moments later, Sandra saw a small patch of bright, shimmering light appear just in front of her on the kitchen unit – in full light – and noticed that it was beginning to form into the semi-translucent outline of a hamster. The outline intensified and became more solid until the hamster was back, completely solid and suffering no after effects from his ‘adventure’. The way the hamster came back was very reminiscent of the teleportation scenes in the TV programme ‘Star Trek’, when ‘Scotty beamed them up’!

A couple of weeks later after our circle sitting, Sandra locked our black collie-cross dog Ben outside in the garden so she could prepare some snacks in the kitchen. When another sitter brought our used water glasses into the empty kitchen, the rest of us heard a scream. Ben had been teleported from the garden through the solid wall or door and into the kitchen, and placed his wet nose on sitter Lisa’s leg!

The same thing happened to Ben on several other occasions in his lifetime, and to our other two dogs Jock and Brandy who joined us after Ben passed to Spirit. This unusual phenomenon continued regularly in full light when our first cat and ‘the Spanish cats’ joined us following our dogs’ passing, and it still happens from time to time today. None of the dogs or cats ever suffered any ill effects from teleportation.

Energy-based Teleportation of Scole Spirit Visitors

During the five years of ‘The Scole Experiment’ in the 1990s, we came to learn much more about teleportation through members of our Spirit Team and various other Spirit Visitors including Angels and E.Ts. Our ‘Scole Group’ sittings regularly enjoyed the solid presence of Spirit people in the room – moving round; interacting with us; touching us; holding our hands and demonstrating their presence in a very physical way.

The feeling that accompanied these teleported ‘Spirit Friends’ was amazing. The room was filled with tangible love. That is the only way I can describe it. These visitors became so familiar to us that they felt just like family, and we loved them dearly. On occasions, we had as many as eight solid Spirit Visitors with us in the room at any one time!

I must stress that this was not ‘Materialization’ in the classic sense, with the Spirit personalities being dressed in ectoplasmic white robes and drapes. There was NO ectoplasm involved in any of our experimental work at Scole or elsewhere. The work was totally energy-based. The fact was that our Spirit Visitors were indeed usually quite solid, but by personal mind control and by drawing on the reservoir of ‘creative energy’ supplied by the Spirit Team and stored in the glass dome, they were able to vary the density of their Spirit bodies (or Spiritual Essence aka ‘Soul’) from virtually invisible to totally (or partially) solid. They were invariably dressed in quite ‘normal’ clothes.

The ‘Spiritual Essence’ of each of our ‘Scole Spirit Visitors’ was initially teleported through a ‘Portal’ which our Spirit Team had constructed in the ‘Experimental Room’ – whether that was at Scole or elsewhere during one of our ‘mobile’ demonstrations in other parts of the world. The Spirit Person concerned (depending on specific need) would then mentally increase the density of all (or just part) of their body.

Sometimes this could be just their head, shoulders and arms. To show themselves to us, they frequently held a spirit light in front of their face as they moved around the room. It was not unusual for a spirit person to show themselves totally in the glow from a ‘sheet’ of Spirit Light. Then again, they might just solidify a hand and arm.

A lady who attended one of our demonstrations in Reseda, California (Tricia Loar), had quite a shock when she was touched in a loving way by a Spirit hand. When this happened, our Spirit Team would frequently encourage the sitter to ‘touch back’. Tricia did this and felt up from the hand. She noted the shirt, and then the jacket sleeve of the male Spirit who was touching her. The arm was still fully animated and solid, but when she moved her hand up to the Spirit Person’s shoulder, she discovered that the rest of the person was not there in solid form (although she was assured by the Spirit Team that the whole of that Spirit Person was indeed present)!

​Note: This article was originally published in the Afterlife Magazine by The Otherside Press which has since joined the PDN group.

​Robin Foy passed away on April 10, 2022, aged 78. This fitting tribute article appeared in the Eastern Daily Press: https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/obituaries/20626912.obituary-man-behind-norfolks-life-after-death-experiment-dies-aged-78/

Book Recommendations:

Witnessing the Impossible by Robin P Foy

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The Case for the UFO by Morris K Jessup (2016 Reprint Edition)

‘This 2016 Edition of the classic book “The Case For the UFO” published in 1955 brought the legend of the Philadelphia Experiment into the public sphere, and created saucer controversy for decades. Why has this book been suppressed for so many years? It is a well-reasoned review of the UFO record by an eminent astronomer, mathematician, and archaeologist: Dr. M.K. Jessup. His conclusions are breathtaking and incredible, but inescapable.

This special reprint edition features not only the familiar introduction by Frank Edwards, but also the "lost" introduction by noted zoologist Ivan T. Sanderson, as well as cover design based on publisher Gray Barker's original concept.’

(Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform by author Frank Edwards and Gray Barker, author and owner of publishing house, Saucerian Press.)

Jacket Text:

​Flying saucers are not new! For thousands of years, men have seen mysterious objects in the skies. Now, a prominent scientist proves that unidentified flying objects originate here, on Earth.

If you have ever wondered about the things today's scientists do not, will not, or cannot explain, this book is for you. Such questions might be:

What is the hidden meaning of the comet's tail?

What caused the "Devil's Footprints" of Devonshire?

Why are we wrong to think of space flight only in terms of rocket power?

How was a soldier "teleported" from the Phillippine Islands to Mexico City within one hour?

What force lifted 1200-ton stones in ancient Peru?

How is acceleration achieved by UFOs?

What caused the disappearance of the crews of the SS Sea Bird and the Marie Celeste?

Was the "secret" of space flight known 50,000 years ago?

What is the strange truth hidden in the ancient ruins of Baalbek?

And finally, and most importantly: Are the UFOs friend, or foe?

This note was added to the Amazon listing: This original edition of "The Case For the UFO" does NOT include the scrawled "annotations" of the infamous Carlos Allende (who may or may not have tormented Jessup into committing suicide). You will find this version much easier to read than the Varo Edition, and probably much more meaningful.

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The Case for the UFO - Varo Edition (original version)

​’The original version of The Case for the UFO was first published in 1955. It is widely considered to be an excellent overview of UFO encounters and strange phenomena occurring throughout human history. This version, known as The Varo Edition, appeared later that year when one copy, containing additional material not penned by the author, was anonymously sent to Admiral N. Furth, Chief of the Office of Naval Research.

The notes and additional material reflected so much inside knowledge on the subject, that various military people took a special interest in the book. They had it privately published in very limited form, meant only for those with special access. It seems that three unknown individuals made color-coded notations that are preserved in this edition, now made available to the general public. Over the years this book has been one of the most rare and sought after manuscripts to be found within the UFO field.’

(Publisher: Booktree, January 5, 2021)

The Very First Public Séance of Physical Medium, Colin Fry

A few months before he passed to Spirit in August 2015, Sandra and I enjoyed an excellent lunch with our good friend Colin Fry at a restaurant in Mazarron, close to our home in Spain. We shared some lovely memories of the early days, when Colin was just starting to develop what became a superb (and eventually quite famous) physical and later, clairvoyant mediumship.

What made the memories even more precious at our final meeting was the fact that we had been there in the very beginning – I had myself been a member of his development circle (the ‘Swift’ Circle) at Hove for some time, and was privileged to witness some of the Colin’s first physical phenomena.

Colin Fry (19 May 1962 – 25 August 2015)

Shortly after my formation of the Noah’s Ark Society (NAS), we planned our first residential members seminar at the Park International Hotel in Leicester, UK, in May, 1991. By then, Colin’s own physical mediumship was sufficiently developed for us to consider the possibility of inviting him to undertake the responsibility of being the very first physical medium to demonstrate Physical Mediumship for the NAS at that seminar.

It was important for us that Colin Fry, as a new and unknown physical medium at that time, first put the suggestion to his personal and circle guides for their approval before he agreed to do the demonstration. We were delighted to soon learn that Colin’s spirit team were happy for him to agree, so the arrangements for the experimental séance went ahead, with the actual event planned for Saturday May 11th.

Physical mediumship séance preparations

The Noah’s Ark Society felt that we should protect the identity of any of our demonstrating physical mediums (once news of their mediumship was out) to prevent them being inundated with requests from the public for private sittings before they were ready to do general public work, and I therefore came up with the pseudonym of ‘Lincoln’ for Colin Fry, which was as near as possible an anagram of his Christian name. So our demonstrating medium at that time simply became ‘Lincoln’.

The Park International Hotel provided a large conference room with 20 foot high ceilings and we prepared it very carefully for the séance. 96 people including the medium, attended, with an inner circle of 16; a middle circle of 32 and an outer circle of 47 people.

Although every effort was made to darken the room, a sliver of dim light still got in, due to the large size of the conference room and its many windows. Two light metal ‘trumpets’, painted with fluorescent bands; a tambourine; pen, pencils, and paper – plus vitamins and water were placed at the center of the circle before the sitting began.

What particularly struck the President of the Noah’s Ark Society, Alan Crossley, when he first met Colin Fry, was his striking resemblance to famous physical medium Jack Webber who, like Colin, also worked in an ectoplasmic-based way. Alan Crossley was a veteran medium and researcher who was an expert in Physical Mediumship and its phenomena and had often organized séances for Helen Duncan (the well-known materialization medium).

A symphony of spirit

Cable ties were used to secure the medium’s wrists to his chair, and his feet were also tied to the chair legs. Once fastened, these cable ties cannot be undone. They have steel teeth in them and are normally used in engineering work. Consequently, at the end of the séance, the medium has to be cut loose. I explained to the delegates that, whilst hoped for, results could not be guaranteed, as this was an experimental séance, but it was important that the test conditions were strictly adhered to. We tried to reproduce as faithfully as possible the conditions the medium sat in during his own home circle.

There was a short period after the séance started where we were quiet, to allow the medium to enter his usual deep trance state but, as soon as everybody began to sing, the phenomena started to happen. One of the trumpets moved off the floor and started to tap the tambourine – quite clearly in time to the music. It then rose high up in the air as if conducting the song whilst tapping out the beat. At the end of the singing, the trumpet ‘dipped’ as if it was taking a bow!

Because of the small amount of light that was entering the room, it was possible for us to see the outline of the top of the medium’s head during the proceedings. We also witnessed the two trumpets up in the air simultaneously (although many feet apart), and the levitated tambourine being shaken in time to the music. One member of the medium’s circle asked that the tambourine be levitated high into the air, whereupon it shot up to a height of 15 to 18 feet, and was waved over the heads of the sitters – some distance away from the medium. It then moved rapidly in an arc before landing with a bang under a seat at the back of the second row.

First ‘Voice’ Communication from ‘The Mandarin’

The first ‘voice’ communication received was from a teaching guide known as ‘The Mandarin’, who spoke through the levitated trumpet. He recommended that all physical circles placed some crushed or powdered vitamins and minerals in their circle. Vitamins C; D; Riboflavin (vitamin B2); iron; magnesium, calcium and salt were all recommended. ‘The Mandarin’ also stated that a new baby – who was a potential physical medium – had been born that very day in Leicester.

The second communicator was a young ‘Cockney’ named ‘Charlie’, who was a regular speaker in the home circle. He suddenly announced that he was NOT going to use the trumpet, which was then thrown into the middle of the circle before he then started to speak in ‘Independent Voice’, using the ectoplasmic ‘voicebox’, which he said was built about two feet away from the medium. Because of the unusual conditions and the unintended influx of light, he explained that Spirit were unable to move the ‘voicebox’ about as they did in their home circle.

Whilst ‘Charlie’ was answering questions from the floor, we could hear paper being torn off the pad, and one piece of this actually landed on the lap of one of the ladies who was present. Jokingly, he said that he could not find the pencil – so he would have to write the messages elsewhere, and then ‘apport’ them into the circle. These would be found at the end of the séance, and would be evidential to the recipients.

Messages from beyond

As predicted, when the séance was over, two screwed-up pieces of tissue paper were found. No tissue paper of any kind had been brought into the circle by anybody present, so, indeed these must have been apported into the room. When one of these messages was opened, it was intended for a lady who was present, and was from her deceased 10-year-old son. It read: “Mummy xxxx Richard”. This was indeed very evidential to the lady sitter. The second message read: “Annie, I still love you”. This, too, was extremely evidential to the lady who received it. The words were printed in the form of little dots – very much like braille – or the print from a dot matrix printer.

The third communicator ‘Daphne’ was also a regular visitor to the ‘Swift’ home circle. She explained that her role was to convey personal messages during sittings but in the Spirit World, her main function was to help children who passed over at an early age. Even though the lighting conditions were less than adequate – nevertheless – the Independent Voices were loud and clear.

During the séance, those of us close to the cabinet were able to confirm that at no point had the medium moved from his chair, as we were able to see the top of his head at all times. When the sitting was over, the medium remained firmly bound by cable ties, and had to be cut free. We also noticed that the bowl containing the vitamins and minerals showed signs of its contents having been used.

Special thanks went to ‘Lincoln’ and his circle members for taking part in this historic experimental séance, particularly in view of the fact that Colin Fry had only been sitting for development of just over ONE year! Needless to say, this public demonstration by physical medium Colin created headlines in the ‘Psychic News’ in its May 25th issue 1991.

Colin Fry continued to demonstrate for members of the Noah’s Ark Society on many occasions – both at our home in Scole and during subsequent residential seminars. In fact, it was this first demonstration in Leicester that prompted deep trance and physical medium Stewart Alexander (who was present) to speak of his own mediumship, and to volunteer, like Colin, to demonstrate physical phenomena for members of the Noah’s Ark Society.

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in The Afterlife Magazine by The Otherside Press which has since joined the PDN family.

Deadly Departed: Jock Brocas’ Vintage Interview Series With Historically Significant Mediums

​Colin Fry On TOSP | The Interview Spiritualists Still Talk About