Last night, I either witnessed a remarkable display of physical mediumship by David Thompson, a Brit who now resides in Australia and who claims to produce full-form materialisations (the black box replaces his image, at his request), or a blatant deception that is succeeding in fooling many otherwise sensible people. So which was it?

The only way to make up one's mind in such a situation – in which the 40-plus people attending this séance at Jenny's Sanctuary in Oxfordshire were literally in the dark – is to examine both scenarios and ask which, logically, makes the most sense. That's what I'm about to do, in the hope that the views of visitors to this Blog may also contribute some useful insights.

Many of us arrived at 6pm in order to meet the strict 6:30pm deadline, expecting a prompt 7pm start. But Thompson, a stocky, personable and confident 45-year-old, whose Cockney origins are now vocally mixed with an Australian twang, took a very long time to explain proceedings to newcomers, as well as the reasons for the state of high security (more about that later).

He also regaled us with some of the outstanding evidence that has been produced through his mediumship at the Circle of the Silver Cord before dealing with some of the questions and criticisms that have been raised about his mediumship.

It must have been around 7:30pm before his lecture ended and his partner Christine Morgan, also a medium and the circle leader for the evening, began her extended explanation of why things would be done in a certain way. At long last, it was time for the séance to begin.

I'm going to write two reports: the first from the viewpoint of someone who believes he has been privileged to witness the exceedingly rare phenomenon of materialisation; the second from a sceptical perspective. You can be the judge of which one comes closest to capturing the truth.

What a believer saw
The séance began with Thompson selecting two "checkers" to help make sure his cardigan was securely fastened with plastic cable ties and that the straps that secured his arms and legs to the armchair were tight and also secured by cable ties. That done, Christine Morgan produced a flimsy scarf that was used as a gag – the middle placed between Thompson's teeth and the ends knotted at the back of his neck.

The chair was inside a curtained cabinet with a long piece of board on the floor in front, covering the carpet. The front curtain was pulled and lightbulbs removed from their sockets, then black tape placed around the door to ensure not a glimmer of light could penetrate the darkness. Those precautions in place, a Circle of the Silver Cord member, guided by Christine, started playing recorded music and everyone sang along for about 10 minutes while we waited for the first manifestations.

When the physical phenomena started, it was immediately impressive. We heard distinct footsteps and then a very loud voice addressed us from the centre of the room. It was William Charles Cadwell, Thompson's main spirit control, speaking very distinctly.

Not only did the materialised spirit walk around the room, speaking to various individuals, but he also placed his hand firmly on some individual's heads, having first sought their permission to do so. They felt "a large hand" and Cadwell said they should check out the medium's hands at the end of the séance and they would see that they were small for a man.

I was one of those he approached, observing that I was of "an inquisitive nature". I can confirm that his hand, which was placed on my head very precisely in the pitch-black room, felt large and solid. He then said that he would demonstrate he was fully materialised by touching my feet, at which point I felt the spirit's feet placed firmly on mine.

"What does that tell you?" he asked. "That you have one hand and two feet," I replied, to the amusement of some of those present. He then made it clear that he had materialised more than one hand, placing one each side of my face. They felt warm and human.

William Charles Cadwell spent a considerable time answering sitters' questions of a spiritual nature in language that was flowery and rather old-fashioned.

The next spirit to materialise was Timmy, a mischievous boy who put on a very impressive aerobatic display with a trumpet (a long conical megaphone, used in séances to amplify spirit voices) whose luminous marking created a "light show" as it flew around the room, coming astonishingly close to our faces and even nudging us.

The Circle of the Silver Cord's "regulars" then appeared. Quentin Crisp, the writer and homosexual rights campaigner, was as flamboyant as ever; May, a black woman from America's deep south who called female sitters "Missie" and raised our spirits with her shrill laugh; and Louis Armstrong, the jazz trumpeter proved he is still in good voice despite having been dead for 30 years.

The biggest surprise for me was the spirit return of Prof David Fontana (right), who spoke with Ray Lister (who has considerable experience of physical phenomena) who was sitting on my right. Suddenly, the materialised spirit said words to the effect, "Goodness, is that Roy Stemman?". I assured him it was. "How is your book coming along?" he enquired. I told him it was finished and he informed me that he had helped me with it. I said I was not aware of his help but was grateful for it. And with that he was gone.

Two sitters received brief personal messages and then the proceedings came to an end with a loud bang, which Christine informed us was caused by the medium's chair. A beautiful song was played while Thompson came out of trance and then, when light was gradually allowed into the room and lightbulbs put back in place, Thompson was seen to be still in the armchair, which was no longer in the cabinet but on the board outside the curtained recess. His arms and legs were still securely tied and the cable ties were also in place. But incredibly his cardigan, also still securely fastened, was now back to front!

It was a wonderful display of physical phenomena, conducted under the strictest of conditions, reuniting us with those eager to demonstrate that death is not the end, while this talented medium remained firmly tied up.

What a sceptic saw
Everything about the David Thompson séance lent itself to the interpretation that what we saw was a carefully stage-managed and orchestrated performance which, when analysed, provided no evidence that what was taking place was paranormal, let alone proof of spirit return.

The medium controlled everything. He knew who would be attending because we were required to provide our details in advance and bring with us photo ID to prove we were who we said we were.

Before being allowed into the séance room we had to remove our shoes, watches and jewellery and empty our pockets. Nothing metallic was allowed into the séance room, so belts had to be taken off too. People wearing rings that were too tight to be taken off had to cover them with black tape. It was explained that anything that might produce a source of light would be a great danger to the medium's health as it could cause the ectoplasm to return to his body rapidly, with fatal consequences.

We were each then subjected to a pat-down search before entering the séance room, where Thompson then ran a metal detector over each of us before directing us to the seat he wanted us to occupy. Where he placed us, it was explained, depended on "balancing the energies" but it also meant, of course, that he knew where each of us was.

Because so many attended, the seats were assembled in two rows along two of the room's walls and a single row along a third, which was where I was sitting.

The phenomena that were alleged to be occurring would also have been remarkable if there had been a red light to allow us to see at least some of the phenomena taking place. Instead, we were in total darkness the whole time. It has been reported that Thompson does produce phenomena in a red light, but his guides chose not to use it for this séance!

A red light would also have confirmed that Thompson did not have a way of getting out of the restraints, impersonating the spirits who were supposed to be walking among us, before pulling the cardigan over his head and then putting it back on, the wrong way round, and then slipping back into the straps.

He and his supporters will argue that what I am suggesting is impossible, but a competent stage illusionist can easily accomplishes such trickery, as Thompson should know since Harry Houdini is said to be one of his regular séance visitors.

Though Thompson and Morgan had spoken of full-form materialisations, we never saw any such thing.  When a voice announced the arrival of a new communicator we all had to join hands. This was to ensure we didn't accidentally touch the materialised spirit, which could cause the ectoplasm to recoil and damage the medium. But, the spirits could apparently touch us with immunity. It was simply a way to ensure no one reached out with their hands and felt more than they should have done.

These spirits were invisible to our eyes but they felt like a normal human being, which they clearly were. When "William Charles Cadwell" proved his physical presence to me he had done so with a hand on my head and then stepping on my feet. Not only did he have the weight of a normal person but he was also, clearly, wearing trainers. I could feel the hardness of their ridged soles (Thompson was wearing trainers) on my toes. I, of course, was wearing only socks on my feet as shoes were not allowed in the séance room.

I was also surprised that David Fontana recognised me. I had met him only once and, though we had briefly corresponded, he showed no signs of recognising me when we attended subsequent meetings of the Society for Psychical Research (SPR). During the séance he asked me how my book was coming along and volunteered that he had helped me with it. If he had helped me with it, as claimed, why was he unaware that it was finished? I wrote recently about sending the manuscript to my publisher.

I was astonished that Fontana, a former president of the SPR who knew the importance of providing good survival evidence, offered none, apart from giving me a word that he said could be used as a cross-correspondence in the future, presumably to confirm it is he who is communicating.

Only two of the sitters received personal messages from "materialised" spirits but they were hardly packed with evidence. After the séance, I spoke with one of them, whose name (Tony) had been called in a weak voice by a communicator. It claimed to be his partner, though it was Tony who volunteered the name George, to encourage the voice to speak. The communicator mentioned the number 28 and Tony asked if he meant the number of years they had been together, receiving an affirmative response. In fact, they had been together 21 years. George also mentioned Sandy, and this, I learned, was the name of a dog about which George always showed concern. [I discuss this message, and an interesting discovery, in my reply to Thomas in the Comments at the end of this Blog.]

The other communicator was a father looking for his daughter, who answered very cheerily and exchanged pleasantries, but nothing strikingly evidential appeared to be said.

In other words, everything we heard and witnessed could have been produced by the medium, once he had got free from the straps.

Conclusion

So, two different accounts, written from different perspectives, of the same event. Where do I stand? Apart from feeling still slightly in the dark about the methods David Thompson uses, I feel much more drawn to the sceptical viewpoint than a believer's.

I say that despite knowing that others, whose views I respect and who have had plenty of experience of physical mediumship, are very firm believers in the authenticity of Thompson's mediumship.

Rather than argue about its genuineness or otherwise, let me make some more general observations and pose some logical questions.

Those of us who believe that physical mediumship, such as full form materialisation and direct voice, is possible and has been demonstrated in the past, fully understand the need for precautions that protect the well-being of the medium. I have no qualms about that. But the end result is what counts, and that should be the production of evidence that goes beyond, or at least matches, what can be obtained through other forms of mediumship, such as clairvoyance and trance.

What is the point of us all being searched and passing through the levels of security one normally experiences only at airports, just to hear in a darkened room the philosophical meanderings of someone who claims to be a 19th century philosopher?

What is the point of going to all the trouble of manifesting ectoplasm, just so that a poor imitation of Quentin Crisp can carry on cheerful banter with sitters, and Louis Armstrong can once again rasp away in something approaching his inimitable voice?

Why, if enough ectoplasm is being produced to allow these long-dead celebrities to perform for us again, is it not being used more effectively to reunite loved ones and provide real evidence that the phenomena is real? The grieving sitters who travel long distances to attend Thompson's séances do so not for cheap entertainment but hopefully to receive convincing proof of life after death – and that's not what most of them are getting.

I paid good money to see and hear Quentin Crisp's one-man show in London many years ago. Listening to his second-rate performance in the dark was not an experience I would want to repeat.

And why, oh why, does Thompson and his team not do more to remove the doubts that inevitably exist about his mediumship? If he really is entranced and sits the whole time in the armchair, why not allow two independent individuals to sit either side of him and place a hand on his arm? That way, there would be no need for cable ties and all the other paraphernalia of a good escapologist. At the very least, place luminous bands at various points on his body to indicate the presence of his entranced and lifeless body.

I know that the answer to such questions is that such measures would prevent the phenomena from occurring in some way. But, without them, such doubtful performances are likely to bring physical mediumship and Spiritualism in general into disrepute.  Which raises another question: why are the major Spiritualist organisations not either investigating Thompson's mediumship or expressing a view on the conditions under which his seances are held?

Their silence is tantamount to endorsing them.

Clearly, I find myself more in the sceptical camp than the believers. But I would love to be proved wrong.

On a more positive note, Christine Morgan told us that the Circle of the Silver Cord is moving towards the production of phenomena in light conditions. If that is achieved, then most of the doubts expressed above would melt away. Until then, I question the wisdom of allowing these public "displays" in darkened rooms that provide very little in the way of evidence that they really are what they purport to be.

Tonight, at the same venue, David Thompson and Christine Morgan are giving a double demonstration of mental mediumship. My guess is that it will provide much more in the way of evidence than last night's blacked-out proceedings, and for just £5, compared with £45 per person for the physical séance.

And that underlines the absurdity of public physical séances that fail to deliver the goods. If you can shed further light on what I witnessed – or rather, what I didn't witness, let me know. One last observation: I've just come across an account of a séance Thompson gave in America in 2007 which shows that all the elements – total darkness, actions of the "materialisations", were the same then as they were last night. It's like a scripted play with the same actions but with some of the dialogue changed to suit the participants.

As well as the Comments below, visitors with a particular interest in this subject may also care to see the comments that have been made on the SpiritofPN website, following a brief account of my Blog by its editor, Sue Farrow.

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