Ectoplasm (paranormal)

Infobox Paranormalterms

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Image_Caption = A photograph allegedly showing ectoplasm
Usage = Terminology
Name = Ectoplasm
Origin = Charles Richet (1923)
Short =
Additional_Names =
Definition = An unidentified substance said to be excreted by mediums during trances/A slime like substance associated with hauntings
Characteristics = White/Gray/transparent, viscous. Resembles mucus. Said to ooze from solid objects or from medium's bodies involving mucous membranes (nose, eyes, mouth). Usually takes form as a misty substance.
Extra_Title =
Extra_column =
See_Also = Mediumship,
Spiritualism,
Ghost hunting,
Parapsychology

Ectoplasm (from the Greek ektos, "outside", + plasma, "something formed or molded") is a term coined by Charles Richet to denote a substance or spiritual energy "exteriorized" by physical mediums. [ [http://parapsych.org/glossary_e_k.html#e Ectoplasm] —Glossary of Key Words Frequently Used in Parapsychology, Parapsychological Association (2006-01-24).] Ectoplasm is said to be associated with the formation of ghosts, and hypothesized to be an enabling factor in psychokinesis.

Phenomenon

Ectoplasm is said to be produced by physical mediums when in a trance state. This material is excreted as a gauze-like substance from orifices on the medium's body and spiritual entities are said to drape this substance over their nonphysical body, enabling them to interact in our physical universe.

Physical mediums are rare in modern culture. Physical medium David Thompson is one of only a few individuals in the world today who claims to produce this phenomenon and has provided photographic evidence of ectoplasm produced under red light conditions. [ [www.silvercordcircle.com/phenomena/Phenomena_30sep2003.pdf Ectoplasm photographs] —Photographic evidence of physical medium David Thompson exuding ectoplasm in 2003.(Link found dead on 2008-04-08)]

Although the term is widespread in popular culture, the physical existence of ectoplasm is not accepted by mainstream science. Some tested samples purported to be ectoplasm have been found to be various non-paranormal substances, including chiffon and flakes of human skin. [cite book
last = Keene
first = M. Lamar
title = The Psychic Mafia
origdate = 1976
date = 1997
publisher = St. Martin’s Press; Prometheus Books
location = New York; Amherst, N.Y.
isbn = 1573921610 (reprint)] [cite book
last = Baker
first = Robert A.
coauthors = Joe Nickell
title = Missing Pieces: How to Investigate Ghosts, UFOs, Psychics and Other Mysteries
date = 1992
publisher = Prometheus Books
location = Buffalo, N.Y.
id = 0879757299] Other researchers have duplicated, with non-supernatural materials, the photographic effects sometimes said to prove the existence of ectoplasm. [Dawn M. Peterson, [http://www.csicop.org/sb/2004-06/mysteries.html "Mysterious Beings or Mere Accidents?"] , "Skeptical Briefs" newsletter, June 2004.]

In popular culture

Since its inception in the field of spiritualism, the concept of ectoplasm has escaped to become a staple in popular culture and fictional supernatural lore. Notable examples include Noel Coward's 1941 play "Blithe Spirit", and the 1984 film "Ghostbusters"; in which "ectoplasmic residue" secreted by ghosts is portrayed as viscous, cloudy and greenish-white, similar to nasal mucus, famously referred to in Bill Murray's line, "He slimed me!"

In "" (1997), a hovering enemy called "Ectoplasm" is found in the Long Library, which curses Alucard when it touches him. Many future Castlevania games featured the same enemy after this.

In the White Wolf game "", ectoplasm is a substance that can be created to act as a body for manifesting ghosts.

In Dungeons & Dragons, in the campaign setting book "Ghostwalk," Ghosts are not undead creatures, but in the city of Manifest they can create bodies and weapons out of ectoplasm.

In an episode of the telivision show Southpark, Stan's dad claims a "spooky ghost" caused the "ectoplasm" covering the walls of the room after having been caught masturbating.

Ectoplasm appears regularly in the "Hellboy" comic books. In the short story "Goodbye, Mr. Tod", a psychic medium is overtaken by a ghost while conducting an out-of-body reading. The creature attempts to manifest a physical form made of ectoplasm derived from Tod's bodily fluids. Unfortunately for the medium but fortunate for the rest of the world, his body ran out of fluids before the massive spirit could finish manifesting. Also, one of the current members of the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense (B.P.R.D.), Johann Kraus, was out-of-body during a psychic reading when his mortal form was slain. His ectoplasmic form currently resides within a containment suit to prevent it dispersing and leaving him dead.

In the movie "Topper" based on the novel of the same name, the ghosts, George and Marion Kerby attribute to their material form to a limited supply of ectoplasm. To save ectoplasm, they dematerialize leading to visual gags of actions without a visible cause.

The cooperative online role playing video game "Guild Wars" uses "Globs of Ectoplasm" as a very expensive ingredient to make in-game armour. Other video games also use ectoplasm as ingredients or as a rare item or quest item. In ' and ', it is a very common item found when dispersing spirits and skeletons.

In the Nickelodeon animated television series, "Danny Phantom", the titular character, Danny Phantom, a.k.a. Danny Fenton, is involved in an accident in his parent's Basement/Laboratory where-in Danny, standing inside his parents 'ghost portal' when it activated, is infused with ectoplasm all the way down to Danny's molecular level--the end result is Danny's is rendered with 'ghost powers'. Furthermore Danny's parents, Jack and Maddie Fenton's 'Ghost portal' is an artificial gateway into the 'ghost zone' which co-exists with the physical world, their mutual existence is interlinked; they are the proverbial 'flip-side-of-the-coin' to each other. The 'Ghost Zone' is a dimension composed of variations of ectoplasm where 'ghosts' exist and through naturally occurring portals can cross-over into the human world, hoping to make a scene or one way or another take over mankind.

In the Japanese media franchise Bleach, ectoplasm is the same as living tissue, but naturally charged with spiritual energy. This makes beings made of ectoplasm impossible to be seen unless one is spiritually sensitive.

In the American TV show Supernatural, it is said that ectoplasm is created by "seriously pissed off spirits," and thus not a typical symptom of a haunting.

See also

* Aura (paranormal)
* Kirlian photography
* List of basic parapsychology topics

References

External links

* [http://www.survivalafterdeath.org/articles/richet/conclusions.htm "General Conclusions on the Sixth Sense"] , excerpted from "Our Sixth Sense" (Rider & Co.) by Charles Richet, SurvivalAfterDeath.org. (Link found dead on 2008-Aug-13)
* [http://survivalebooks.org/SilverBelleBig.jpgEctoplasm used during spirit materialization] , Example of physical medium Ethel Post Parrish producing ectoplasm to materialize the entity Silver Belle during a seance under test conditions in the United States, 1953.
* [http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/613962/1/26348107/Medium A photograph taken in the dungeon of Alnwick Castle]
* [http://www.csicop.org/ The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry]