Female mediums vomited gooey ‘ectoplasm’ to communicate with the dead
In the early 20th century, mediums and psychics were a growing force in a burgeoning Spiritualist movement. They conducted seances during which some allegedly emitted “ectoplasm,” a viscous, reptilian substance, from their mouths or other extremities.
Spirit guides like Stanislawa P. (pictured above) claimed ectoplasm was a means by which departed souls communicated with the living realm. Some spiritualists even emitted “spirit stuff” picturing faint images of faces.
As a result, ectoplasm photography became popular: mediums sat inside shrouded dark booths and photographers captured their excretions using flash.
By the 1940s, Spiritualism died out, nearly a century after abolitionist women, including Sojourner Truth, studied and popularized the movement.
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