TUBE AND PISTON ARRANGEMENT FOR MAKING RAPS.
Many mediums will not depend on these methods but use more complicated ones which produce the raps by means of mechanical devices which they conceal about their person. One of these consists of a small hollow metal tube in which a long, heavy burlap needle is arranged to move up and down like a piston, and attached to it to operate it a stout black thread. The tube is fastened to the inner side of a trouser leg. The free end of the thread is brought out through a seam and an inconspicuous little hook attached. After being seated at the seance table the medium attaches the little hook to the opposite trouser leg and draws on it until the needle point comes through the cloth. He then watches an opportunity to press on to the point of the needle a cork to which has been attached a piece of lead. This accomplished, all he has to do is to place the knee in the proper relation to the table and by moving the other back and forth the piston is made to work up and down, causing the leaded cork to rap out all sorts of messages.
RAPPING MECHANISM IN HEEL OF MEDIUM’S SHOE.
Another ingenious mechanical contrivance is built into the heel of the medium’s shoe and operated electrically by running a wire from it up through the sole of the shoe and passing it between the back of the shoe and the foot and so on up the leg to batteries concealed in a pocket. By placing this heel against a table leg the raps can be made to sound as though coming from the middle of the table and with a proper amount of “suggestion” the sitters can be made to believe that the mysterious taps are produced in turn under each pair of hands on the table.
Table levitating is easily accomplished in the dark, through the aid of a confederate, by several different methods. If the medium and his assistant are seated opposite, by raising their knees at a signal they can lift the table from the floor without difficulty. By slightly rocking or tipping the table the medium and assistant can simultaneously slip a foot under table legs diagonally opposite, lift the table and keep it balanced by the pressure of the hands on its top. These and many similar methods are perfectly practical in dark seances but for manifestations where there is any danger of the sitters being able to see mechanical contrivances are resorted to. The oldest form is simply a light, though powerfully strong, length of blue steel riveted to a stout leather wrist strap. When not in use the whole thing is concealed in the medium’s sleeve. Sometimes both the medium and the assistant are thus equipped.
This has been somewhat superseded by a chamois-covered flat steel hook concealed under the vest and riveted to a tight-fitting leather belt encircling the medium’s body. With this hook under the table edge great power can be exerted upon the table with very little strain upon the operator. The lifting strength of a human hair is not generally known, yet by means of one freshly taken from the head, long enough to span a small light table, the table can be lifted. One of the more modern contrivances is a steel belt which the operator wears and to the front of which is attached a short metal arm which can be engaged under the table top in such a way that the operator can take his hands off the table and still support it in the air. When releasing the table the metal arm is slipped back and the steel belt shifted to another position on the body, the medium’s coat concealing both.
Just as advances are made in other lines of work, so too mediums advance in their methods of deceiving their subjects. Few would resort to the old-time methods of releasing a foot from under the foot of an investigator. They have devised a new and baffling method. The medium’s shoes are especially made for her in such a way that by a certain pressure on the sole it is possible to withdraw the greater portion of the shoe with the foot from a false front. This front is made of metal and padded. When the medium asks the committee to place their feet on hers she makes sure that they do not over-reach the portion she can withdraw from. In the full glare of the light the investigator thinks he feels the medium’s foot securely held under his own and as he cannot see under the table the medium has the full use of her foot to produce manifestations.
I once gave a seance while I was touring in England. It was a dark seance and just at the psychological moment a Spirit came through the window and walked around on the wall and ceiling of the room and then out of another window. The explanation is simple. On the bill with me were two acrobats, hand to hand balancers. One took off his shoes and stockings and the other sneaked up to him. He pulled down the window and then did a hand-to-hand balance with his partner and walked around the room. He then went back to his seat, put on his shoes, and looked as innocent and meek as possible under the circumstances when the lights were turned on. I told every one present that it was only a trick but as usual they insisted that I was a medium.