Jack Webber (1907–1940) was a Welsh 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 ...

. Webber worked as a miner in Loughor, Swansea and was introduced to spiritualism by his wife. He claimed his own mediumistic abilities such as

levitation Levitation (from Latin ''levitas'' "lightness") is the process by which an object is held aloft in a stable position, without mechanical support via any physical contact. Levitation is accomplished by providing an upward force that counteracts ...

of objects, ectoplasm,

psychokinesis Psychokinesis (from grc, ψυχή, , soul and grc, κίνησις, , movement, label=ㅤ), or telekinesis (from grc, τηλε, , far off and grc, κίνησις, , movement, label=ㅤ), is a hypothetical psychic ability allowing a person ...

and communicating with spirit voices. Webber claimed his

spirit guide A spirit guide, in Western spiritualism, is an entity that remains as a discarnate spirit to act as a guide or protector to a living incarnated human being. Description In traditional African belief systems, well before the spread of Christ ...

s were 'Paddy' and 'Reuben'. Webber was not scientifically tested by the

Society for Psychical Research The Society for Psychical Research (SPR) is a nonprofit organisation in the United Kingdom. Its stated purpose is to understand events and abilities commonly described as psychic or paranormal. It describes itself as the "first society to co ...

and some researchers have speculated that he performed his phenomena through trickery. During séances infrared flashlight photographs were taken of his phenomena which spiritualist writers have claimed is evidence for spirit communication, however, skeptics have written the ectoplasm in the photographs resembles

cheesecloth Cheesecloth is a loose-woven gauze-like carded cotton cloth used primarily in cheesemaking and cooking. Grades Cheesecloth is available in at least seven different grades, from open to extra-fine weave. Grades are distinguished by the nu ...

or gauze. According to the magician

Julien Proskauer Julien J. Proskauer (June 14, 1893 – December 18, 1958) was an American magician and author. Proskauer was born June 14, 1893, to Joseph Proskauer and Bertha Richman Proskauer in New York City. He was a friend of Harry Houdini and was well kn ...

the floating trumpet of Webber was a trick. Close examination of photographs reveal Webber to be holding a telescopic reaching rod attached to the trumpet, and sitters in his séances only believed it to have levitated because the room was so dark they could not see the rod. Webber would cover the rod with crepe paper as ectoplasm to disguise its real construction. During the

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 of Webber "spirit" voices were heard and the psychical researcher

Hereward Carrington Hereward Carrington (17 October 1880 – 26 December 1958) was a well-known British-born American investigator of psychic phenomena and author. His subjects included several of the most high-profile cases of apparent psychic ability of his times, ...

speculated that the voices were a trick performed by the medium himself by attaching a trumpet to the end of a telescopic reaching rod or a rubber tube. The spiritual writer Harry Edwards supported the mediumship of Webber and included the photographs in his book ''The Mediumship of Jack Webber''. The book was heavily criticized by the psychical researcher Michael Coleman who wrote "Edwards's book is essentially anecdotal, written from memory, often long after the events described. Thus we do not know where, when or for how long the individual sittings were held. We do not know how many sitters were present at each sitting, and we know the names of very few of them. But most importantly, we do not have those detailed sequences of events, with timings, that are necessary to arrive at a realistic assessment of any supposedly paranormal occurrences. Most of Edwards's account is unsupported by any independent witnesses".Coleman, Michael (1998). ''Letter to the Editor''. Journal of the Society for Psychical Research. Volume 62: 372–374.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Webber, Jack 1907 births 1940 deaths Psychokineticists Welsh spiritual mediums