Paranthropology Vol. 2 No. 3 - Now Available to Download

Visit the journal's new website at www.paranthropology.co.uk to download the July 2011 issue for free. Download current issue at

http://www.box.net/shared/namkaf0chc08vnzuqglj

Welcome to the July 2011 issue of Paranthropology. This issue marks the first anniversary of the journal’s existence. By now the journal has attracted well over 200 subscribers and is continuing to grow and develop in new directions. At this point I think it would be useful to try to outline some of the directions I would like to see the journal move towards. The first is to put together a board of reviewers to peer-review articles submitted to the journal and to thus increase the academic respectability of the publication. This, I feel, is a necessary step as it will, to a degree, improve the way in which this sort of eclectic research is perceived by the academic establishment. This will also ensure that the quality of the articles published in the journal maintains a high standard both in terms of their content and style of presentation. To find out more about the review board, and information about submissions and subscriptions, visit the journal’s new website at www.paranthropology.co.uk.

This issue is also the first to be made available as a physical print-on-demand magazine. The hope here is to expand the availability of the journal, and to make it easier for libraries and other institutions to keep hard copies. Although it is necessary to pay for physical copies, the journal will continue to be made available online for free. It is important that Paranthropology remains freely available. All too often high quality research into paranormal topics is difficult to access, and it is about time that this changed. As you can see from the contents list this issue is packed with fascinating articles which I sincerely hope you will find inspiring and thought provoking. 

Jack Hunter

New book: "O fotógrafo dos Espíritos" (The Spirits' photographer) II - Ectoplasm in color.

Ectoplasm (from the Greek ektos, meaning "outside", and plasma, meaning "something formed or molded") is a term coined by Charles Richet to denote a substance or spiritual energy "exteriorized" by physical mediums.(Wiki quote)

There is a lot of confusion and misunderstanding concerning the purpose and raison d'etre of such material that today stands as a mythical substance so many times discredited and ridiculed by skeptics, but that is the basis of some psychic manifestations produced by physical mediums.

The production of this substance requires a unique set of special conditions besides a capable physical medium. Such conditions were reproduced in several séances that took place in Campinas/SP, Brazil, between 1955 and 1965 under the mediumship of Mrs. Otília Diogo and Mr. Antônio Feitosa and that were investigated by Mr. Nedyr M. da Rocha (1932-2010) and dozens of other people. In our previous post, we have already discussed and presented some excerpts from Mr. da Rocha book 'O fotógrafo dos Espíritos' (1) (The Spirits' photographer) edited by EME. Here we translate a passage by Mr. da Rocha describing the circumstances of the phenomenon and providing further details.

On a certain occasion in Uberaba/MG (1960), the black curtain that was hanging on a clothesline wire limiting the medium´s cabinet was removed by the spirits, allowing us to clearly see the mediums.

Nineteen physicians were present and also observed the phenomenon. The mediums could be seen expelling ectoplams through several natural apertures of their bodies, what was registered by a camera (2) attached to the ceiling. The same image shows Mrs. Otília Diogo at distance lying on a lounge chair and also producing ectoplasm. 

The same scene was registered by another camera in my hands (3).

In other words, the photo below is the same scene showed before (our previous post) as captured by another (much closed) camera.

A color photo by Mr. Nedyr M. da Rocha showing ectoplasm: Medium Otília Diogo (handcuffed) in deep trance and an ectoplasmic 'beard' coming out of her nose and ears (1960). A harmonica is seen close to the ectoplasmic mass (on the medium´s neck). According to Mr. da Rocha, this object was the result of an apport phenomenon.

Most of the photographs showing ectoplasmic prominences and other bodies around materialization mediums are old B&W photographs, taken at a time when color techniques were still in their infancy. Although color photography dates back to J. Clerk Maxwell (1831-1879), color photographs of good quality were only available after the second half of the XX century. On the other hand, materialization phenomena are almost always produced in total darkness. In this case, a flash light was used after permission to take the shot was given by the controlling spirits.

Notes and references

(1) da Rocha, N. M. (2011), O fotógrafo dos Espíritos, Ed. EME, Capivari/SP.

(2) Roleiflex camera, Tessar lens 1:3.5, f75 mm, Ilford 120 B&W film, 100 ASA. Reference (1), Footnote on p. 72.

(3) Roleiflex camera, Planar lens 1:3.5, f75 mm, Kodacolor 120 film. Footnote on p. 72.

For more about materializations see: Felix Circle page.