Ectoplasm: Ghostly Goo Appears During Seances (TG Hamilton's Work)

Ectoplasm is a paranormal phenomenon in which a strange, liquid-like substance flows from the orifices of a medium, specifically during a seance or other forms of contact with the dead. The word ectoplasm is derived from the Greek word "ektos", which means outside, and "plasma" which is a liquid substance found inside the human body.

The existence of ectoplasm really became well-known in the early 1900s, specifically due to research done by a man named TG Hamilton. TG Hamilton held hundreds, if not thousands, of seances in his home in Winnipeg, Canada in an effort to capture the purpose or essence of ectoplasm. I believe that he was searching for validation of life after death and he was also trying to truly comprehend the mysteries of the paranormal. One of the paranormal phenomena that TG Hamilton obsessed over during his life was more obviously ectoplasm.

There is a collection of ectoplasm photographs, taken by TG, that displays the creepy and somewhat revolting effects of psychics who were caught on camera exuding this "ectoplasm" from their bodies. Most of the ectoplasm is spewed out from the psychic's mouth and nose, sometimes one will see it depicted as coming from the ear or even vagina of the psychic medium. A video has been created of TG Hamilton's ectoplasm photos and can be viewed below, but be warned...the video will leave you indefinitely CREEPED out, after you watch it.

In the early 1900s through the 1920s, seances (including ectoplasm) thrived as an extremely popular pastime for people who had prematurely lost loved ones and seemingly disturbed housewives. TG Hamilton was only one of the many paranormal researchers who photographed ectoplasm. Unfortunately, many of these photographs were debunked on separate occasions.

One of the stories I read involved one particular psychic medium who used a silk scarf in which to create the illusion that this ectoplasmic fluid was seeping from her orifices during her contact with the dead. Of course this seems like a silly scam to us, but back then this was something that many people believed...and it was easy for people of that time to be more naive than we are today. All a phony psychic had to do was to create the perfect setting for the ectoplasm scam...she turned the lights down low, sat behind her seance table, and positioned the scarf so that she could convince her clients that this paranormal fluid was spilling from her orifices. This ectoplasmic fluid was supposed to prove that she was a very powerful psychic and that she held the ability to acquire contact with that client's lost loved one. I am not sure who exposed her scam, but the scam was eventually exposed and she discontinued her work.

In some pictures of ectoplasm, one will notice the uncanny image of a human peeking out from between the watery, ectoplasmic waves. Many of these particular photographs of ectoplasm were discredited to photography tricks...some of the peoples' faces displayed within the ectoplasm were discovered to have been copied over from newspaper clippings and other printed media. Still, there are many researchers and scientists that still claim that ectoplasm has not been fully debunked. It is difficult to discover who these particular scientists are, however. I did much research on the topic of ectoplasm and found that many other people have tried to find a more detailed account of what researchers still believe about the existence of ectoplasm, but to no avail.

The appearance of ectoplasm has inevitably evolved from what ectoplasm was once known to be. Today's ectoplasm is much different than the undulating fluid exiting from the psychics' bodies in the roaring twenties. Ectoplasm in modern times is any sort of orb or light caught in film or photography that is believed to be directly related to spiritual activity.

Modern photographs of ectoplasm are rarely discovered online today. This is most likely because the ectoplasm photographs of the past were either fake or maybe the truly powerful psychics have all died out? If you were to do a search for pictures of ectoplasm of the new millennium, you will find that most of the photos are of unidentified orbs of light or veils of fog, captured on camera in highly paranormally-active locations.

Is ectoplasm real? I don't know and I do not have the experience to say one way or the other; however, I believe that I have a picture that demonstrates the misty-smoke ectoplasm that ghost hunters believe in, even today. Whether ectoplasm exists or ever existed, one thing is for sure...ectoplasm is a creepy concept and thought.