Robert Cassidy - Seance

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Bob Cassidy

Copyright©2009 by Robert E Cassidy


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Séance

We ask, yet nothing seems to know;


We cry in vain--
There is no master of the show,
Who will explain,
Or from the future tear the mask,
And yet we dream and yet we ask.

"Is there beyond the silent night


An endless day,
Is death a door that leads to light?
We cannot say.
The tongueless secret locked in fate
We do not know, we hope and wait.

- Robert Green Ingersoll

Sweet souls around us, watch us still.


Press nearer to our side.
Into our thoughts, into our prayers,
with gentle helpings glide.

- Richard Matheson (The Legend of Hell House)

I shall not commit the fashionable stupidity


of regarding everything I cannot explain as a fraud.

- C.G. Jung

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Introduction

A fascinating article by British psychologist Kenneth Bacheldor was published in the


September 1966 issue of “The Journal of the Society for Psychical Research”. Entitled
‘Report on a Case of Table Levitation and Associated Phenomena’, it described the
results of some two hundred experimental sittings in which participants attempted to
duplicate the phenomena of “table turning” or “table tilting.” In eighty of the sittings the
tables moved or other seemingly paranormal events occurred.

Whether or not Bacheldor’s results were actually evidence of the paranormal is beside the
point – what is of interest to the mentalist is the manner in which he “stimulated” the
movement of the tables. He theorized that if one participant, acting as a confederate,
consciously got things going by pushing on a table, an atmosphere would be set that
would make it more likely for paranormally produced movements to occur.

In other words he intentionally employed a fraudulent method in order to get things


rolling.

The popular “spoon bending” parties in the 1970’s (at least the ones hosted by
mentalists!) were based on the same premise. All of the participants would hold a spoon
or other piece of silverware and attempt to cause it to bend by the power of their
concentration. Once the first spoon bent (usually the one held by the host/mentalist or one
of his confederates) the gathering would generally take on a life of its own and spoons
would start bending all over the room. The phenomenon was very similar to the so-called
“Geller Effect,” which referred to the numerous instances of mental bending and other
paranormal phenomena that purportedly occurred in peoples’ home when they watched
the Israeli psychic, Uri Geller, bend metal on television.

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Séance

For our purposes as mentalists it isn’t necessary to consider whether or not the Bacheldor
or Geller effects stimulated legitimate paranormal occurrences. The important thing is
that they both unquestionably caused things to happen that were ultimately no longer
under the direct control of the experimenter or his instigating confederate – things that
were clearly not caused by any trickery on the part of the mentalist/host/presenter.

And that is the simple theory that underlies the material contained in these pages.

Conducting a Séance

The general public perception of the spirit-raising activity known as a séance has been
largely formed by motion pictures and the media, which in turn is based on the manner in
which sittings were conducted from the mid 19th Century through the early 20th. For an in
depth description refer to David P Abbott’s Behind the Scenes with the Mediums (1907,
Open Court Press), which is included with this e-book. If you were to ask a New Age
practitioner (a non-mentalist) how to do a séance, you would get something very similar
to the following (which is an amalgam of various popular instructions):

1. Assemble the participants. No fewer than three people should attempt a séance.

2. The medium should be a person who has had experience with séances or someone
who believes in or possesses psychic abilities. [Of course, in our case it will generally be
the mentalist.]

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3. Try to use a round table. Many believe that a symbolic circle is necessary for the event
and the table serves this purpose. [Note, however, that for “table-tipping” séances a light
weight folding card table works best.]

4. Light candles. Also in the center of the table, place no fewer than three candles (or a
number divisible by three) lit candles; the more candles, the better. Spirits still seek
warmth and light.

5. Dim the lights and eliminate any distractions.

6. Seated around the table, the participants must all join hands in a circle.

7. Summon the spirit. The participants or the medium generally does an invocation such
as – “Our beloved [name of spirit], we bring you gifts from life into death.
Join us and move among us." [Refer to the first two quotes on page 3, supra, for
examples I have used.]

8. Wait for a response. If none comes, repeat the invocation


.
9. If and when the spirit responds - either by rapping or some other means or through the
medium - ask your questions.

10. Ask yes and no questions at first, especially if you are receiving raps. One rap can
indicate “No,” and two can mean “Yes.” If the spirit chooses to speak through the
medium, you may ask any kind of question.

11. Always keep the proceedings under control. If things start to get out of hand, end the
séance by breaking the circle of hands, extinguishing the candles and turning on the
lights.

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Séance

12. Close the séance. When you're done with the questioning, thank the spirit for joining
you and tell them to go in peace. Break the circle of hands and extinguish the candles.

While the foregoing seems pretty simple, it contains all of the necessary ingredients for a
very successful sitting.

Most of the above instructions needn’t be taken literally. The important thing to
understand is that the atmosphere set for the séance is critical to obtaining successful
results. The entire undertaking must be done seriously.

The First Rule of ALL Effective Séances

Arguably this is the most important secret in this book: The effect of the preliminary
ritual and atmosphere is the same as that created by a stage hypnotist in his introductory
lecture. Done properly it can plant the seed for spontaneous manifestations produced
unconsciously by the sitters themselves, thus rendering most of the séance self-working
and self-fulfilling.

This does not mean that everything must be deadly serious. Indeed, a certain amount of
humorous interactive byplay can add greatly to the overall presentation. It must NOT,
however, detract from the sense of a serious underlying purpose.

The Philip Group - How to do a Séance without “communicating with


the dead)

Before I go any further I should mention that it isn’t necessary (or particularly desirable)
to “communicate” with the spirits of your sitters’ loved ones. [Disclaimer - Keep in mind

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Bob Cassidy

that the séance material I’m discussing is intended for entertainment purposes only.] It is
often better to “communicate” with an imaginary “spirit guide” or a famous historical
personality.

To avoid the possibility of offending the sensibilities (or affronting the intelligence) of a
particular audience, keep in mind that a successful séance can be presented along the
lines of the sittings once held by the so-called “Philip Group.”

“Philip” was the result of an experiment conducted in the 1970’s by the Toronto Society
of Psychical Research. The purpose was to determine if a totally fictitious character
invented by the members of the group, could manifest itself in a séance. Rather than
communicating with the dead, the idea was to communicate with the “group mind” of the
sitters. This is an excellent approach to take if you are working with a group for whom a
traditional séance would be inappropriate.

It also opens up a pathway to some interesting possibilities as to mental effects. Prior to


the séance, for example, members of the group can be asked to contribute details about
the fictitious spirit entity – name, gender, age, etc. These can be jotted down by the
performer to obtain a “Confabulation” type revelation following the séance. (“You know,
I had a dream last night about someone and I made a few notes about it after I woke up.”
The mentalist removes an envelope from his pocket and it contains a written description
of the fictitious “spirit” just created by the group.)

Secrets of the Séance

As I’ve noted, the essential secret of a successful séance is the creation of expectations.
That is why atmosphere, ritual, and seriousness of purpose are so important. With those
three elements alone you will often get interesting results without having to help things
along at all.

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Séance

Nowadays, the application of so-called “scientific methods” to paranormal investigations


(of which the séance is certainly an example) has been popularized in the media by such
successful programs as “Paranormal State”, “Ghost Encounters” and “Ghost Hunters.”
Armed with electromagnetic frequency (EMF) detectors, digital recorders, cameras,
laptop computers and other impressive looking equipment, these 21st Century Ghost
Busters have managed to convince countless viewers of the reality of ghosts and other
paranormal activity. (This despite the fact that these programs are broadcast primarily on
the Science Fiction Channel SYFY!)

Again, it’s not my purpose to endorse or debunk anything done on these programs. But as
mentalists it should be apparent to you how effective the use of such equipment can be in
creating atmosphere and believability. (In fact, there are quite a few ‘paranormal addicts’
who might well question the authenticity of what you do if you DON’T mention or use
this type of equipment.)

Before I describe my particular approach to presenting the séance that incorporates some
of these modern “paranormal” investigating techniques, you should be aware that there
are several different types of séances, each of which requires a different presentational
approach.

Types of séances:

The Message Reading Séance – This is type of séance that gave rise to modern day
billet work. It is described in detail in Abbott’s book. I have often adapted my
Name/Place routine and 4th Dimensional Telepathy to this type of setting. Rather than
using a large pad to record my “impressions” (as in the platform version), the pad is
placed on the table and is used for “automatic writing.” Since I am seated at a table most
of the dirty work can be done in the lap or in my outside jacket pockets. (Of course,
virtually all of the early billet-switching methods were designed for use at a table.) Refer

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Bob Cassidy

to my DVD “The Black Box” or the e-book “Ten Switches” for detailed explanations,
with accompanying video, of many of these techniques.

Message Reading séances are not always performed at the séance table, however. In the
old days they were often presented from the altar of a Spiritualist church or in a meeting
room.

Cold Readings (John Edwards style) – This is representative of the purely mental style
of mediumship that became popular after numerous exposes of physical manifestations
(ectoplasm, apports, etc.) made them risky to perform if skeptics were present. In
combination with pre-séance work (i.e. pre-show) this can make for a very powerful
presentation. Like message reading séances, this type of work can be done at the séance
table or with the medium standing in front of a small group.

Physical phenomena – As noted previously, physical phenomena went out of style for a
long period of time due to repeated exposures of fraudulent methods. The use of modern
“scientific” equipment in popular paranormal investigations has given a new life to
physical manifestations of spirit presence. Very often, this type of equipment, if set to
sensitive levels, will produce all kind of interesting phenomena that cannot be readily
explained and will add greatly to the overall believability of the séance. Additionally a lot
of undetectable fakery is possible that creates some very impressive – and often scary –
effects. It is this type of work that forms the basis of the séance I will be describing
shortly.

The important thing to remember about physical phenomena, though, is to be very careful
not to “go over the top.” It’s all too easy to end up with something that looks like it came
from Disney’s “Haunted Mansion” that will appear patently fraudulent to all but the most
naïve spectators. When it comes to physical phenomena “less is more” as will be seen
shortly.

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A Brief Diversion to Edenhall

One of the greatest, and to my mind one of the most overlooked, effects that appeared in
Annemann’s “Jinx” was called “The Goblet of Edenhall.” If you have the “Jinx” by all
means look it up. It is the perfect example of the importance of atmosphere in creating
seemingly paranormal effects.

For those of you who don’t know it - it did not appear in Practical Mental Effects - the
effect is, briefly, as follows: (I will be discussing other aspects of the effect in my
upcoming audio series “Forgotten Mysteries.”)

A cut crystal goblet stands on a table flanked by two candles. The other lights in the room
are either dimmed or turned off.

In a preliminary talk in which the mentalist describes the mystical properties of the
legendary “Fairy Goblet of Edenhall”, it is explained that by gazing into the liquid in the
goblet, long forgotten memories will come into the viewer’s mind.

It works as advertised for most people who come forward and gaze into the glass. The
atmosphere created by the candlelight flickering through the cut crystal of the goblet
(which creates the effect of light particles dancing over the surface) provides all of the
suggestion that is needed.

After each of several participants gazes into the goblet, they are each asked to reveal what
memory came to mind when they gazed into the glass.

The second part of the routine was a living and dead test in which folded papers were
dropped into the glass – only the one bearing a dead name would sink to the bottom.

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Interestingly, the second part of the effect DID appear in Practical Mental Effects.
Presented out of its original context it was not a particularly impressive effect and is
rarely seen performed today.

The goblet and the candles are props that I always use in my séance presentation. Instead
of evoking memories I explain to the sitters that by gazing into the glass the will be
attuned to the presence of paranormal entities that my be present in the room – and may
possibly even hear their voices!

While occasionally someone does claim to hear a voice while they are looking into the
goblet, that result is not my primary purpose. Instead it is a set-up for the production of
an EVP (electronic voice phenomenon).

The EVP Séance

Prior to the séance I’ve explained to the group that everything will be recorded because
occasionally voices that cannot be heard by the unassisted human ear will say things
during the séance. I always use a borrowed pocket-sized digital recorder for this. (I
advise the host before hand that this will be required.) Whether or not the recorder is
digital or uses a mini-tape, it must be demonstrably unprepared and devoid of any pre-
recorded sounds.

Also required is a laptop computer on which you’ve installed a sound editing program. I
use a free program called “Audacity” which is available at
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/. The program has an interface that looks exactly like the
one used on the popular paranormal program to “analyze” EVPs. Following is a screen
shot of the program in action:

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I’ll explain in a bit what this all means and what you need to know about the program.

EFFECT

The overall effect – minus the essential atmosphere – is this:

A borrowed mini recorder is verified to be unprepared. If it uses a tape the tape should be
new and still sealed. (Preferably purchased by the host)

Prior to the demonstration – in this case just before the spectators take turns staring into
the goblet – the recorder is turned on. After the participants have finished the recorder is
turned off.

After the séance, the recording is played back for the group. They hear their own voices
and that of the mentalist giving them instructions – they also hear the periods of silence
that take place when someone is gazing into the goblet.

The recording is now transferred to the laptop where it will be analyzed to check for
EVP. (This is easily done by connecting the headphone jack on the recorder to the sound
input jack on the laptop. You should have mini jack to RCA jack adapters handy
(available at Radio Shack) so that you can attach any recorder to your laptop.

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Save the recording as a .wav or .mp3 file and open it up in the Audacity program. You
will see the sound represented as in the above illustration. You may now play the
recording once again through Audacity. (Click the play button on the screen.)

At one point during the playback you appear to hear something unusual and stop the
recording at that point. You rewind slightly and play it forward again, but this time at a
very slow speed. (The Audacity program lets you play back at any speed you want.)

Sure enough, there is something there that sounds different from the other voices and
sounds on the recording. It sounds vaguely like a human voice, but what ever it is saying
is unintelligible.

Since the Audacity program allows you to delete everything that comes before and after
the suspected sound, you do so. You can now play it back as a loop – that is it keeps
playing over and over again. The spectators try to decipher what the voice is saying.
Sooner or later – and if not you suggest it yourself – someone will say that the voice
sounds backwards.

Audacity, of course, allows you to playback in reverse, so you do just that. This time it
clearly sounds like a voice saying “Help me!” (Or whatever else you’d like it to say.)

METHOD

While this all seems very high tech and scientific, there is really nothing to it. The tape
and the recorder are legitimate and unprepared, as is the transfer to the laptop and the
analysis on Audacity. (In fact, a participant may do all of this by himself as you explain
the program to him.) Afterwards, the owner of the recorder and/or tape can keep it as
evidence of a paranormal event.

The “how” is rather simple. You make the sound yourself beforehand, using the same
Audacity program. Record the words “Help me!” or whatever. Use the program to slow

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down the speed of the brief recording and then to reverse it. (Not surprisingly, this is
done by using the “change speed” and “reverse” options on the “Effects” tab menu.)

Save the now unintelligible “EVP” and record it to your own mini-tape recorder – the one
no one knows about that you will later have hidden in you side or inside jacket pocket.
The EVP should be about one minute into the recording.

The performance goes like this – Secretly turn on the recorder in your pocket. You have
about one minute from then until the EVP plays. You are holding the borrowed recorder
in your hand. You openly turn it on to “Record” as you tell one of the participants to
approach the goblet and to gaze into it. Casually drop your hand to your side or to the
spot outside of your clothing that is closest to the second recorder hidden in your pocket.

Note that the playback volume on the hidden recorder needn’t be high as the two
recorders will be practically next to each other when the secret sound is played. Since the
sound is very brief and at low volume it will not be heard by the participants, especially if
you are talking at the same time it plays.

Everything else goes as described under “Effect”.

If the effect sounds complicated, trust me, it is not. It is one of those rare electronic
effects in mentalism that I actually have found to be practical and powerful. And it has a
powerful built in logical disconnect: it really isn’t an electronic effect at all – just lo-tech
cheating with hi-tech props. (And need I mention that if you have a confederate you can
let him/her hold the recorder and do the secret work.)

________________________________________________________________________

Should you choose to use the EVP effect in your presentation, it probably should be the
only thing that you do involving trickery during the séance proper. Personally I always

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perform one or two “tests” before the séance to help establish the mood and then let the
manifestations in the séance pretty much take care of themselves. One of my favorite
preliminary effects is one I call “The Five Candles.”

The Five Candles

Basically this is just a fancy presentation for a Living and Dead test. You will require five
votive type candles – the kind with a flat top that you’ll see in short glass holders down at
the Cathedral. (Do not steal them from the Cathedral however – they are available at
almost every department store.)

Burn each of the candles for a few minutes and then extinguish them. The brief lighting
will cause a small depression to appear around the base of each wick.

To prepare for the effect use an eye-dropper to put a drop of water or two in the
depression on top of one of the candles.

In performance, living names are written on four billets and a dead name on the fifth.
Five participants do the writing – the billet that you gave to the person who is asked to
write the dead name is marked.

The participants are asked to fold their slips. One person collects them, mixes them up
and hands them to the mentalist. He, in turn, places on folded billet in front of each of the
candles, which he then lights. (He takes care, of course, to place the marked billet in front
of the candle that has been loaded with the water drops.)

The candles will burn for ten seconds or more (depending on the length of the wicks)
before, suddenly, one of them goes out. The billet that lies in front of it is opened and is
seen to bear the dead name.

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That’s the easy way to do the effect- it is, admittedly, very basic but as a simple way of
building up the atmosphere for the séance, it fills the bill admirably.

Now if you want to get a bit more complicated, you can do what I do. It’s a little more
difficult but it eliminates the need to prepare the candle beforehand and a participant can
mix the folded billets and place them in front of the candles in any order he/she likes.

As before, the billet bearing the dead name is marked. After the slips are mixed and
placed in front of the candles, you simply note the position of the marked one. During the
writing and mixing you have secretly obtained the eye-dropper from your right jacket
pocket. You will find that it is easily concealed in the hand. With your other hand remove
a lighter from your opposite pocket.

When you light the candles with the lighter held in your left hand, “cup” the flame with
your right. This gives you perfect cover to add drops of water to any candle of your
choice.

Either way I think you’ll find this to be an excellent lead in effect. (Note: you could, of
course, take things a step further and reveal the name on the dead slip before opening it.
A simple lap switch or peek would accomplish that for you. But don’t! The purpose of
the effect is not to demonstrate your abilities as a mind reader but to establish the
possibility of a paranormal presence within the room.) (Now reread the italicized line
in the preceding note until it has embedded itself into your subconscious.)

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The EMF Detector

An excellent resource for all of the “ghost busting” tools used in popular “paranormal
investigations” can be found at http://dvice.com

Here is a photo of an electromagnetic frequency detector available through the site for
less than forty dollars:

EMF detectors (aka Gauss and K2 meters) are used by paranormal investigators to detect
unexplained spikes in electromagnetic fields. The theory is that, if you’ve eliminated
more mundane sources of EMF such as power cables, electronic devices, etc. these may
be attributable to spirit activity.

They may also be attributable to the presence of a large PK magnet under your shirt,
strapped around your chest with an Ace bandage. You can set the sensitivity of some
EMF devices. You want to set it low enough so that it will only respond to the magnet
when the meter is held within a foot or so of its field.

Some EMF meters have a needle (as in the above illustration. Others have a light that
goes on when an EMF is present.) Either works fine with the magnet. [Note that if
someone in the next room is turning an EMF source on and off it can cause the meter to

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react if the sensitivity is set to high. Thus it is quite possible and practical to use the meter
to get ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answers from suspected spirit entities.}

You needn’t, of course, use any trickery at all with the EMF detector. It is simply a prop
that adds a sense of verisimilitude to the proceedings. Or just do as I sometimes do – set
the sensitivity to high and let one of the participants wander around with the device
during the séance. Very often it will go off for any number of unexplained reasons
without any effort at all on your part. Remember the first secret of séances, a proper
atmosphere and heightened expectations can cause any number of mundane events or
phenomena to appear to be paranormal. Only cheat when you have to.

Orb Photography

Here is an actual photo of a suspected “spirit orb”. Unlike those orbs that appear in most
photos of this type, note that this orb has a shadow. The photo is not gimmicked or
“photo shopped” and was taken on a perfectly normal Sony digital camera. I have no idea
what caused the orb – all possible physical explanations seem to be ruled out by the
shadow.

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This is an example of the completely unexpected things that often occur in a typical
“scientific” paranormal investigation.

An interesting thing about orbs is that they seem to be a unique product of the digital
camera era. Most every orb photo every taken was done on a digital camera. This has led
some skeptics to feel they may be artifacts unique to digital photography. Additionally,
orbs can be created by dust motes or beads of moisture in a room that are illuminated by
the flash of the camera. (One reported orb was apparently produced by the wing of a fly
that was stuck to a nearly invisible strand of a spider’s web.)

Whether or not the pictured “unexplained” orb is evidence of anything is beside the point.
What’s important is that you can often successfully set the stage for participants to get
successful orb photographs of their own, using their own cameras.

While trying to duplicate orbs I made an interesting discover. A tiny droplet of super glue
attached to a long strand of invisible thread can produce very convincing orbs. The idea is
to hang a few of these around the séance room preferable from a chandelier or other light
mounted on the ceiling. If they’re attached to the ceiling, hang them high enough so that
no one walks into them.

That’s all you have to do. Let them take pictures during parts of the séance ostensibly to
see if you can get some spirit photos.

Often you’ll get orbs caused by the gimmicks. Sometimes you’ll get orbs caused by
something else and occasionally you’ll get no orbs or photographic anomalies at all. But
you’ll get something often enough to make the preparation worthwhile.

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Thread

Invisible thread isn’t the only type that I often use in séances. Regular black thread can be
very useful as well. Strategically placed, either type of thread (depending on the strength
required) can be used to cause objects to move or fall over during the séance. The target
object should not be on the séance table. It should be peripheral to the events and take
place in an unoccupied part of the room.

One of the best uses of thread in a séance is to cause a picture on the wall to suddenly tilt.
This is accomplished simply with a long length of thread and some magicians’ wax. You
can also get a very good effect using a standard magician’s locking reel. With that device
you can control the motion of an object while apparently sitting still and with no overt
movement.

Back to Bacheldor

Most of the techniques I’ve described are designed to create an atmosphere conducive to
spontaneous unexpected happenings caused by the unconscious activities of the sitters
themselves. Table-tilting, as Bacheldor discovered, is an ideal framework for eliciting
this type of phenomena.

Table tilting experiments are generally conducted by four participants seated around an
ordinary folding card table. The table should be on a solid floor, not on a rug. (If the floor
is waxed so much the better – although you may end up having the table travel all over
the room!) Each sitter is told to put his/her palms face down on the table and to “apply
pressure, so that the table can’t move.” The wording of the last sentence is an important

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part of the instructions – it plants the idea into the sitters’ minds that the table may move
and, further, that they should try to prevent it from doing so.

Since the table is rather flimsy to begin with and the pressure on its surface being
unevenly distributed, only a slight unconscious movement by one of the sitters will cause
some movement. Resistance by the other sitters serves to amplify the effect. (If, of
course, you are using Bacheldor’s idea of having a confederate as one of the sitters to get
things going, the movement will happen sooner than later.)

The interesting thing about table tilting is that it can be done with several tables at once.
It doesn’t matter if there are no confederates at the other tables. Once the motion starts on
one table, it will begin on the others. The effect is contagious as those who have tried it
(or done metal bending séances) will attest.

Two Bottles – Questioning the Spirits

Obviously, table tilting is better suited for exhibition type presentations rather than for
séances per se. But the same principle can be applied in the séance setting if you have
two more bottles on the table, each containing a pendulum of a different length hanging
from corks used to stop the bottles. In this case you want the card table to be on a rug
rather than on a wooden floor – the object is to make the pendulums move either one at a
time or together, not to fly off the table!

Since the rate of each pendulum is different (rate refers to the length of the cord)
unconscious pressure on the table top by the sitters will cause them to move
independently of each other. It really is rather uncanny when the sitters are working well
together. They all concentrate on bottle #1 and its pendulum starts to swing, eventually
striking the sides of the bottle while, all the time, the other pendulum remains motionless.

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Transferring their attention to bottle # 2 produces the same result while the pendulum in
bottle #1 remains still.

This dual movement makes for an ideal means of asking questions of the ‘spirits’. It’s
just a combination of the effects discovered by Bacheldor and later, I believe, exploited
by the Philip group.

Conclusions and Final Thoughts

Every séance you perform using the ideas and principles I’ve set out in this manuscript
will be a unique event. No two sittings will be the same and you will never be precisely
sure of all of the “phenomena” that will occur.

The best way to prepare for your own séance presentation is to invite some guests to a
“legitimate” séance. That is to say, a sitting that pretty much sticks to the standard
instructions I listed on page 6. Make a sincere effort to make some kind of contact with
either an historical personage or a fictitious personality created by the group ala the Philip
sittings.

Record the séance, take photographs, let someone use an EMF detector or even a non-
contact digital thermometer (to detect the sudden drops in temperature that some believe
signal that a spirit entity is present.) For this sitting do everything “straight” - no secret
gimmicks, confederates or trickery. You can have pendulums on the table or the goblet
and candles – just don’t cheat with them – let things happen by themselves. The only
thing you must consciously create is the atmosphere. You must also, of course, give the
impression that you are an authority on the subject.

I think you and your sitters will be surprised at some of the things that will happen
spontaneously during the sitting. Afterwards you will understand exactly where to insert
the subtleties and utilize the secrets I have given to you in this manuscript.

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Bob Cassidy

It should go with saying (but I’ll say it anyway) even though some of the methods and
techniques I’ve described are remarkably simple and often self-working, please keep
them to yourself. And remember, these secrets can have powerful psychological effects
on your participants. Please use them responsibly.

Good Thoughts,

Bob Cassidy
Seattle, WA
October, 2009

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