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Franek Kluski

March 03, 2023

Franek Kluski, real name Teofil Modrzejewski (1873-1943), was a Polish physical medium criticized by trained magicians and skeptics as a fraud. Kluski was best known for his séances in which alleged "spirit" molds of hands materialized. It was later demonstrated by Massimo Polidoro and chemist Luigi Garlaschelli that these molds could have easily been made by fraudulent methods.[1][2]

Franek Kluski
Kluski with cloth phantom

Career

 
Hand mould from a Kluski seance

Kluski was born in Warsaw. According to French psychical researcher Gustav Geley, Kluski's claimed psychic powers manifested themselves during childhood and after undergoing a psychological change he became Franek Kluski. Kluski's powers during séances were said to include physical manifestation of human limbs and various animals.[3]

Between 8 November and 31 December 1920, Geley of the Institute Metapsychique International attended fourteen séances with Kluski in Paris. A bowl of hot paraffin was placed in the room and according to Kluski spirits dipped their limbs into the paraffin and then into a bath of water to materialize. Three other series of séances were held in Warsaw in Kluski's own apartment, these took place over a period of three years. Kluski was not searched in any of the séances. Photographs of the moulds were obtained during the four series of experiments and were published by Geley in 1924.[4] Skeptics have pointed out that the experiments were not conducted in fraud proof conditions and the moulds could have easily been produced by fraudulent techniques.[1]

Geley has been described as an unreliable investigator. Physician Antônio da Silva Mello noted that Geley "published many writings on ectoplasms and teleplastic phenomena, things which today are quite out of date and totally discredited."[5] Magicians have been able to easily replicate the "materialization" moulds.[6] The magician Carlos María de Heredia revealed how fake materialization hands could be made by using a rubber glove, paraffin and a jar of cold water.[7]

Geley and Arthur Conan Doyle objected to the medium having used a rubber glove. In response, Harry Houdini demonstrated that a glove was not needed as he replicated the Kluski materialization moulds by using his hands and a bowl of hot paraffin.[8]

Harry Price wrote regarding Kluski "His mediumship is unsatisfactory from the point of view that no scientific body has investigated the alleged miracles. On each of my two visits to Warsaw I attempted to obtain sittings with Kluski, without results."[9] Researchers have compared Kluski's mediumship to the medium Eva Carrière and have speculated that he introduced items in the séance room by fraud.[10] A psychical researcher sent a letter to Hereward Carrington claiming Kluski had been detected in fraud.[11]

Massimo Polidoro and Luigi Garlaschelli have produced wax-moulds directly from one's hand which were exactly the same copies as Geley obtained from Kluski, which are kept at the Institute Metapsychique International.[1][2]

Fraud incident

In a notable incident during a séance that Paul Heuzé attended the medium was requested to produce a face impression. However, a large-sized buttocks impression was found in the wax.[12] It was alleged by a séance sitter that "Kluski dropped... his pants and placed his buttocks in the paraffin".[13]

Heuze believed the impression was Kluski's. This was later confirmed as it was discovered that Kluski had suffered from a burnt buttocks for many days after the incident.[12]

Confession

Some later authors have written about an alleged confession from Kluski. In his book Sixty Years of Psychical Research (1950), magician Joseph Rinn claimed that Kluski had confessed to fraud.[14]

In 1978, researcher Melvin Harris also noted that Kluski had confessed to fraud.[15]

References

  1. ^ a b c Polidoro, Massimo. (2003). Secrets of the Psychics: Investigating Paranormal Claims. Prometheus Books. pp. 168-176. ISBN 978-1591020868
  2. ^ a b Polidoro, Massimo (1 March 2009). Frazier, Kendrick (ed.). (PDF). Skeptical Inquirer. Amherst, New York, United States of America: Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (Center for Inquiry). 33 (2): 22–24. ISSN 0194-6730. OCLC 4081591. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 June 2021. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
  3. ^ Geley, Gustav; Brath, Stanley De. (2003). Clairvoyance and Materialization. Kessinger Publishing. ISBN 978-0766163140
  4. ^ Chéroux, Clément. (2005). The Perfect Medium: Photography and the Occult. Yale University Press. p. 268. ISBN 978-0300111361
  5. ^ Mello, Antônio da Silva. (1960). Mysteries and Realities of This World and the Next. Weidenfeld & Nicolson. p. 291
  6. ^ Lycett, Andrew. (2007). The Man Who Created Sherlock Holmes: The Life and Times of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Free Press. p. 433. ISBN 978-0743275231
  7. ^ De Heredia, Carlos María (1 July 1923). Windsor, H.H. (ed.). "Spirit Hands, "ectoplasm," and Rubber Gloves". Popular Mechanics. Chicago, Illinois, United States of America: Popular Mechanics Co. 40 (1): 14–15. ISSN 0032-4558. OCLC 7081364 – via Google Books.
  8. ^ Polidoro, Massimo. (2001). Final Séance: The Strange Friendship Between Houdini and Conan Doyle. Prometheus Books. pp. 71-73. ISBN 978-1573928960 "At the time Houdini didn't press the argument further, but later on, experimenting with paraffin, he found no artifice was needed to duplicate Kluski's moulds. As a series of pictures for a newspaper of the time shows, he immersed his hand in the hot paraffin, let it dry, and then carefully removed the hand from it. When one experiments with this technique, one realizes that it is not the plaster cast that has to be removed from the thin wax mould, which would be impossible to do without breaking the mould. One almost forgets that what has to be removed is the living hand, possibly the best-suited object to slip out of a mould without damaging it. In fact, a real hand is even more effective than any other artifice dreamed up to substitute for it. First, the paraffin doesn't stick to skin, only to quite long hair. Nonetheless, if one moves the fingers very slowly, one will realize that every small bit one pulls out will gradually allow the rest of the hand to be removed; that's similar to what happens when one pulls off a tight glove."
  9. ^ Price, Harry. (2003). Fifty Years of Psychical Research. Kessinger Publishing. ISBN 978-0766142428
  10. ^ Franklyn, Julian. (2003). A Survey of the Occult. p. 381. Kessinger Publishing. ISBN 978-0766130074
  11. ^ Carrington, Hereward. (1988). Letters to Hereward Carrington from Famous Psychical Researchers. Society of Metaphysicians. p. 89. ISBN 978-1852287986
  12. ^ a b Mello, Antônio da Silva. (1960). Mysteries and Realities of This World and the Next. Weidenfeld & Nicolson. p. 408
  13. ^ Brower, M. Brady. (2010). Unruly Spirits: The Science of Psychic Phenomena in Modern France. University of Illinois Press. p. 171. ISBN 978-0252077517
  14. ^ Rinn, Joseph. (1950). Sixty Years of Psychical Research: Houdini and I Among the Spiritualists. Truth Seeker Company. p. 441. "The medium Kluski produced a paraffin hand of a spirit for Dr. Geley, but when Dr. Geley wanted to bring him to the United States, Kluski confessed he was a fraud."
  15. ^ Harris, Melvin. (1978). Strange to Relate. Granada Publishing. p. 102. ISBN 0-583-30342-0 "Doyle was also duped by Kluski, a medium who produced wax moulds, said to be made by 'spirit hands'! Yet Kluski later admitted that he was just a cunning trickster."

Further reading

  • Hereward Carrington. (1907). The Physical Phenomena of Spiritualism. Herbert B. Turner & Co. pp. 224–229 reveals the "Paraffine Mould Test" trick mediums used.
  • Polidoro, Massimo; Garlaschelli, Luigi (1997). Schofield, Michael; Weaver, Zofia; Dempster, Tammy; Mörck, Nemo C.; Parker, Adrian (eds.). "Spirit Moulds: A Practical Experiment". Journal of the Society for Psychical Research. London, United Kingdom of Great Britain: Society for Psychical Research (SPR). 62 (842): 58–63. ISSN 0037-9751. OCLC 230704032 – via APA PsycNet.
  • Coleman, Michael H. (1994). Schofield, Michael; Weaver, Zofia; Dempster, Tammy; Mörck, Nemo C.; Parker, Adrian (eds.). "Wax moulds of 'spirit' limbs". Journal of the Society for Psychical Research. London, United Kingdom of Great Britain: Society for Psychical Research (SPR). 59 (834): 340–346. ISSN 0037-9751. OCLC 230704032. Retrieved 29 June 2021 – via APA PsycNet.
  • Coleman, Michael H. (1994). Schofield, Michael; Weaver, Zofia; Dempster, Tammy; Mörck, Nemo C.; Parker, Adrian (eds.). "The Kluski moulds: a reply". Journal of the Society for Psychical Research. London, United Kingdom of Great Britain: Society for Psychical Research (SPR). 60 (837): 98–103. ISSN 0037-9751. OCLC 230704032. Retrieved 29 June 2021 – via APA PsycNet.
  • Zofia Weaver. (2015). Other Realities?: The Enigma of Franek Kluski's Mediumship. White Crow Books.

External links

  • Harry Houdini Exposes Fraud (Houdini making hand moulds)

March 03, 2023
franek, kluski, real, name, teofil, modrzejewski, 1873, 1943, polish, physical, medium, criticized, trained, magicians, skeptics, fraud, kluski, best, known, séances, which, alleged, spirit, molds, hands, materialized, later, demonstrated, massimo, polidoro, c. Franek Kluski real name Teofil Modrzejewski 1873 1943 was a Polish physical medium criticized by trained magicians and skeptics as a fraud Kluski was best known for his seances in which alleged spirit molds of hands materialized It was later demonstrated by Massimo Polidoro and chemist Luigi Garlaschelli that these molds could have easily been made by fraudulent methods 1 2 Franek Kluski Kluski with cloth phantom Contents 1 Career 2 Fraud incident 3 Confession 4 References 5 Further reading 6 External linksCareer Edit Hand mould from a Kluski seance Kluski was born in Warsaw According to French psychical researcher Gustav Geley Kluski s claimed psychic powers manifested themselves during childhood and after undergoing a psychological change he became Franek Kluski Kluski s powers during seances were said to include physical manifestation of human limbs and various animals 3 Between 8 November and 31 December 1920 Geley of the Institute Metapsychique International attended fourteen seances with Kluski in Paris A bowl of hot paraffin was placed in the room and according to Kluski spirits dipped their limbs into the paraffin and then into a bath of water to materialize Three other series of seances were held in Warsaw in Kluski s own apartment these took place over a period of three years Kluski was not searched in any of the seances Photographs of the moulds were obtained during the four series of experiments and were published by Geley in 1924 4 Skeptics have pointed out that the experiments were not conducted in fraud proof conditions and the moulds could have easily been produced by fraudulent techniques 1 Geley has been described as an unreliable investigator Physician Antonio da Silva Mello noted that Geley published many writings on ectoplasms and teleplastic phenomena things which today are quite out of date and totally discredited 5 Magicians have been able to easily replicate the materialization moulds 6 The magician Carlos Maria de Heredia revealed how fake materialization hands could be made by using a rubber glove paraffin and a jar of cold water 7 Geley and Arthur Conan Doyle objected to the medium having used a rubber glove In response Harry Houdini demonstrated that a glove was not needed as he replicated the Kluski materialization moulds by using his hands and a bowl of hot paraffin 8 Harry Price wrote regarding Kluski His mediumship is unsatisfactory from the point of view that no scientific body has investigated the alleged miracles On each of my two visits to Warsaw I attempted to obtain sittings with Kluski without results 9 Researchers have compared Kluski s mediumship to the medium Eva Carriere and have speculated that he introduced items in the seance room by fraud 10 A psychical researcher sent a letter to Hereward Carrington claiming Kluski had been detected in fraud 11 Massimo Polidoro and Luigi Garlaschelli have produced wax moulds directly from one s hand which were exactly the same copies as Geley obtained from Kluski which are kept at the Institute Metapsychique International 1 2 Fraud incident EditIn a notable incident during a seance that Paul Heuze attended the medium was requested to produce a face impression However a large sized buttocks impression was found in the wax 12 It was alleged by a seance sitter that Kluski dropped his pants and placed his buttocks in the paraffin 13 Heuze believed the impression was Kluski s This was later confirmed as it was discovered that Kluski had suffered from a burnt buttocks for many days after the incident 12 Confession EditSome later authors have written about an alleged confession from Kluski In his book Sixty Years of Psychical Research 1950 magician Joseph Rinn claimed that Kluski had confessed to fraud 14 In 1978 researcher Melvin Harris also noted that Kluski had confessed to fraud 15 References Edit a b c Polidoro Massimo 2003 Secrets of the Psychics Investigating Paranormal Claims Prometheus Books pp 168 176 ISBN 978 1591020868 a b Polidoro Massimo 1 March 2009 Frazier Kendrick ed Ghostly Molds How to make a plaster cast of your hand even if you are not a spirit PDF Skeptical Inquirer Amherst New York United States of America Committee for Skeptical Inquiry Center for Inquiry 33 2 22 24 ISSN 0194 6730 OCLC 4081591 Archived from the original PDF on 26 June 2021 Retrieved 29 June 2021 Geley Gustav Brath Stanley De 2003 Clairvoyance and Materialization Kessinger Publishing ISBN 978 0766163140 Cheroux Clement 2005 The Perfect Medium Photography and the Occult Yale University Press p 268 ISBN 978 0300111361 Mello Antonio da Silva 1960 Mysteries and Realities of This World and the Next Weidenfeld amp Nicolson p 291 Lycett Andrew 2007 The Man Who Created Sherlock Holmes The Life and Times of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Free Press p 433 ISBN 978 0743275231 De Heredia Carlos Maria 1 July 1923 Windsor H H ed Spirit Hands ectoplasm and Rubber Gloves Popular Mechanics Chicago Illinois United States of America Popular Mechanics Co 40 1 14 15 ISSN 0032 4558 OCLC 7081364 via Google Books Polidoro Massimo 2001 Final Seance The Strange Friendship Between Houdini and Conan Doyle Prometheus Books pp 71 73 ISBN 978 1573928960 At the time Houdini didn t press the argument further but later on experimenting with paraffin he found no artifice was needed to duplicate Kluski s moulds As a series of pictures for a newspaper of the time shows he immersed his hand in the hot paraffin let it dry and then carefully removed the hand from it When one experiments with this technique one realizes that it is not the plaster cast that has to be removed from the thin wax mould which would be impossible to do without breaking the mould One almost forgets that what has to be removed is the living hand possibly the best suited object to slip out of a mould without damaging it In fact a real hand is even more effective than any other artifice dreamed up to substitute for it First the paraffin doesn t stick to skin only to quite long hair Nonetheless if one moves the fingers very slowly one will realize that every small bit one pulls out will gradually allow the rest of the hand to be removed that s similar to what happens when one pulls off a tight glove Price Harry 2003 Fifty Years of Psychical Research Kessinger Publishing ISBN 978 0766142428 Franklyn Julian 2003 A Survey of the Occult p 381 Kessinger Publishing ISBN 978 0766130074 Carrington Hereward 1988 Letters to Hereward Carrington from Famous Psychical Researchers Society of Metaphysicians p 89 ISBN 978 1852287986 a b Mello Antonio da Silva 1960 Mysteries and Realities of This World and the Next Weidenfeld amp Nicolson p 408 Brower M Brady 2010 Unruly Spirits The Science of Psychic Phenomena in Modern France University of Illinois Press p 171 ISBN 978 0252077517 Rinn Joseph 1950 Sixty Years of Psychical Research Houdini and I Among the Spiritualists Truth Seeker Company p 441 The medium Kluski produced a paraffin hand of a spirit for Dr Geley but when Dr Geley wanted to bring him to the United States Kluski confessed he was a fraud Harris Melvin 1978 Strange to Relate Granada Publishing p 102 ISBN 0 583 30342 0 Doyle was also duped by Kluski a medium who produced wax moulds said to be made by spirit hands Yet Kluski later admitted that he was just a cunning trickster Further reading EditHereward Carrington 1907 The Physical Phenomena of Spiritualism Herbert B Turner amp Co pp 224 229 reveals the Paraffine Mould Test trick mediums used Polidoro Massimo Garlaschelli Luigi 1997 Schofield Michael Weaver Zofia Dempster Tammy Morck Nemo C Parker Adrian eds Spirit Moulds A Practical Experiment Journal of the Society for Psychical Research London United Kingdom of Great Britain Society for Psychical Research SPR 62 842 58 63 ISSN 0037 9751 OCLC 230704032 via APA PsycNet Coleman Michael H 1994 Schofield Michael Weaver Zofia Dempster Tammy Morck Nemo C Parker Adrian eds Wax moulds of spirit limbs Journal of the Society for Psychical Research London United Kingdom of Great Britain Society for Psychical Research SPR 59 834 340 346 ISSN 0037 9751 OCLC 230704032 Retrieved 29 June 2021 via APA PsycNet Coleman Michael H 1994 Schofield Michael Weaver Zofia Dempster Tammy Morck Nemo C Parker Adrian eds The Kluski moulds a reply Journal of the Society for Psychical Research London United Kingdom of Great Britain Society for Psychical Research SPR 60 837 98 103 ISSN 0037 9751 OCLC 230704032 Retrieved 29 June 2021 via APA PsycNet Zofia Weaver 2015 Other Realities The Enigma of Franek Kluski s Mediumship White Crow Books External links EditHarry Houdini Exposes Fraud Houdini making hand moulds Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Franek Kluski amp oldid 1134238692, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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