Heinrich Melzer (born 1873) was a German spiritualist

medium Medium may refer to: Science and technology Aviation *Medium bomber, a class of war plane *Tecma Medium, a French hang glider design Communication * Media (communication), tools used to store and deliver information or data * Medium of ...

History

Melzer was born in Dresden, Germany. For thirty years he gave

séance A séance or seance (; ) is an attempt to communicate with spirits. The word ''séance'' comes from the French word for "session", from the Old French ''seoir'', "to sit". In French, the word's meaning is quite general: one may, for example, spea ...

s and claimed to have the ability to materialize

stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

s and

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

s. In the séance room he would only materialize the flowers under the table, and as the table was not checked

skeptic Skepticism, also spelled scepticism, is a questioning attitude or doubt toward knowledge claims that are seen as mere belief or dogma. For example, if a person is skeptical about claims made by their government about an ongoing war then the ...

s accused him of simply hiding the flowers under the table before his séances. When the room was checked and scientific controls were introduced no flowers appeared. In 1926 Melzer was exposed as a fraud as he was caught with small stones attached to the back of his ears by flesh coloured tape. E. Clephan Palmer. (2003). ''The Riddle of Spiritualism''. Kessinger Publishing. pp. 35-39.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Melzer, Heinrich 1873 births Year of death missing German spiritualists Spiritual mediums People from Dresden