2023-07-03, 05:30 PM
(2023-07-02, 09:11 PM)Max_B Wrote: [ -> ]Yeah, I do, I found the same short news report in an archive of the Danish Newspaper Berlingske Tidende, containing exactly the same key facts Indridi had provided at the sitting (according to Haraldsson's paper). As for Emil Jensen, there was no Emil Jensen at that sitting, there was just Jensen...
The Copenhagen fire was just one of many uncanny phenomena that Indridi demonstratrated during his career. In order to validly claim that Indridasson was totally fraudulent you need to convincingly, plausibly, debunk all of these other mediumistic phenomena which he was witnessed producing, as actually fraud, which means finding plausible "normal" explanations.
Regarding criticism at the time, according to Haraldsson, "Defenders have pointed out that most of the criticism was religiously motivated opposition to claims of spirit communication, made by people who had little or no first-hand experience of Indridi’s phenomena, as occurred in every country where physical mediumship was reported. Claims of fraud – for instance that Indridi had been once seen to kick a chair said to have been moved by spirits – were few and were unsubstantiated."
As a matter of observation, a number of the most highly verified and investigated mediums of the past were indeed caught occasionally faking it, but that turned out to be only when they just weren't able to manifest much due to fatigue or some other condition. They so strongly felt the need to demonstrate the phenomena and maintain their reputation that they resorted to fraud on those occasions. Eusapia Palladino was one of most prominent of these.
Some samples from the article in the Psi Encyclopedia:
Quote:"Indridi Indridason (1883-1910) was an Icelandic trance medium who produced physical phenomena of strength and variety comparable to that of DD Home, but who, unlike Home, was unknown outside his own country. The phenomena were closely observed by investigators and detailed records were kept. A sceptical Icelandic scientist subjected Indridi to close scrutiny with strict controls, but was unable to detect fraudulent behaviour, while continuing to observe striking phenomena.
Physical phenomena
Raps, cracking sounds in the air. Knocks, some of them loud and heavy, were heard responding to the sitters questions or demands. Knocks were also heard on the body of the medium.
Gusts of wind. Cold or hot winds, strong enough to blow paper, were common. Sometimes these winds seemed to emanate from points far away from Indridi.
Olfactory (odour) phenomena. Sometimes a sudden fragrant smell occurred in Indridi's presence; sometimes there were other smells, such as seaweed. The odour would sometimes cling to a sitter after being touched by Indridi.
Movements and levitations of objects. Frequently objects, small and large, light and heavy, were observed to move over short or long distances within a room or hall and sometimes flew quite high. Some of these objects moved as if thrown forcefully; at other times their trajectories were irregular. Sometimes objects were found to tremble. Curtains were pulled back and forth on request of the sitters.
Levitations of Indridi. Many instances of the levitation of Indridi are reported, often with him holding onto another person. During violent poltergeist phenomena, he was dragged along the floor and thrown up into the air, so that his protectors had difficulty pushing him down.
Playing of musical instruments as if by invisible hands. This might occur while the instruments were levitating and moving around in mid-air.
Light phenomena. Fire-flashes or fire-balls, or small and large fire-flashes, appeared on the walls. Sometimes there were luminous clouds as large as several feet across. These might be described as a ‘pillar of light’, within which a human form appeared.
Materializations. The shadow or shape of materialized fingers, a hand or foot, or a full human figure were seen. Sitters touched materialized fingers, limbs or trunks that were felt as solid.
Dematerialization of Indridi's arm. Indridi’s shoulder and trunk was inspected through touch by several sitters, yet the arm was not detected.
Sensations of touch. Sitters often reported the sense of being touched, pulled and punched by invisible hands, also of being kissed.
Strange sounds. Odd sounds were heard around Indridi – laughter, footsteps, buzzing sounds, the clatter of hoof beats, the rustling noise of clothes as if someone was moving.
Direct writing. Writing appeared on paper without human touch.
Disembodied voices that spoke and sang (see below).
Responsive xenoglossy. There were conversations between sitters and the disembodied voices in languages unknown to Indridi
Direct Voices and Xenoglossy
Voices, heard mostly about Indridi, were among the most persistent of his séance phenomena. They were recorded in more than three quarters of his ordinary sittings. Each had its own characteristic and style of speech: male or female, high or low-pitched, loud to the point of shouting or softly spoken, or merely a whisper in the ear of a sitter. The voices were in most cases recognized as those of deceased people known to one or more of the sitters (but not to Indridi), addressing individuals and responding to questions. They frequently offered convincing evidence of their identity by describing incidents from their life or possessions they had once owned. A few spoke in French, Norwegian, Dutch or Danish, languages not known to Indridi, possibly apart from some Danish words. A few voices sang as well.
One of the frequently heard singing voices, a female, was also heard to speak in French (and sometimes in English and German). Few Icelanders spoke French in those days, but some present were able to test her: In September 1907, GT Zoega addressed her in French and found that she understood him. Zoega clearly heard French words and phrases in her speech, although not whole sentences. This singing itself was of a highly trained quality, far beyond that possessed by the medium or anyone present (no opera singers lived in Iceland at this time). The singer was eventually identified as the celebrated mezzo-soprano Maria Felicia Malibran, who died in a riding accident when she was 28. On one occasion, Indridi said he saw her standing between the cabinet and a chimney close by.
Another incident is reported by Brynjolfur Thorlaksson:
Once in the middle of the day, as often occurred, Indridi was at my home. While he was there I played on the harmonium a melody by Chopin. Indridi sat to the left of the harmonium. I expected that Mrs. Malibran knew the melody that I was playing for I heard her humming it around Indridi. Then I saw him falling into trance. … I heard many voices, both of men and women singing behind me, but especially to my right with Indridi being on my left. I did not distinguish individual words, but the voices I heard clearly, both higher and lower voices, and they all sang the melody that I was playing.
This singing differed from ordinary singing as it sounded more like a sweet echo. It seemed to come from afar, but was at the same time close to me. No single voice was discernible except the voice of Malibran. I always heard her distinctly."