Alec Harris

Alexander Frederick Harris (1897–1974) was a Welsh Spiritualist medium.

Biography

Harris was born in Treherbert, Wales. As a young man he joined the army as World War I (1914–18) began. He married in 1928 and in the 1930s was introduced to Spiritualism. He attended séances with the fraud medium Helen Duncan which he was convinced were genuine. After attending other séances he became a medium himself and claimed the ability to materialize spirit guides. Harris would only work in dark conditions with a cabinet in a curtained-off alcove from his audience where the spirits were reported to emerge.^[1]

In the 1940s it was stated by spiritualists that he could materialize as many as 15 to 30 spirits in a single séance. He later moved to South Africa to resume a career as a medium. He conducted séances until his death in 1974. He died on 12 February 1974 in Johannesburg. His wife, Louie Harris, wrote a biography of him after his death.^[2]

Claims investigated

In January 1955, Tony Cornell attended a séance to investigate the mediumship of Harris. In the séance Harris sat behind a curtain cabinet and in total eleven "spirit" figures came out from behind the curtain at different times dressed in different clothing. They walked around the room and communicated with the sitters, and then disappeared behind the curtain. The room was in complete darkness apart from some dim light in the middle of the room.^[3]

Cornell noted that all the figures had a similar stature, they dressed similarly but used different masks and hats. Only one figure came out from the curtain at a time and always minutes after the previous one. According to the sitters who had touched the figures, their skin felt coarse and rough even though some were supposed to be female. Cornell wrote that a stomach rumble, nicotine-smelling breath and a pulse gave away the fact that all the figures were in fact Harris and that he had dressed up as each one behind the cabinet. The cabinet was not examined before or after the sitting and Harris refused to be searched before or after the sitting.^[3]

The spirit figures were also reported to creak and move floorboards as they walked on them, indicating that they were human.^[3]

Footnotes

↑ Walter Martin. Jill Martin Rische and Kevin Rische. (2008). The Kingdom of the Occult. Thomas Nelson. p. 238. ISBN 978-1418516444
↑ Louie Harris. They Walked Among Us. London: Psychic Press, 1980. ISBN 978-0853840558
1 2 3 Tony Cornell. (2002). Investigating the Paranormal. Helix Press New York. pp. 327-338. ISBN 978-0912328980

Spiritualism and spiritism

History and beliefs	Automatic writing Cross-correspondences Ectoplasm Materialization Mediumship Séance Spirit guides Spiritual healing Spirit obsession Spirit photography Spirit possession Spirit world Table-turning Theism

Spiritualists	Derek Acorah Rosemary Altea Charles Bailey Ada Besinnet Eddy Brothers Bangs Sisters Stephen E. Braude Rosemary Brown Sylvia Browne Eva Carrière Doris Collins Florence Cook Mina Crandon William Crookes Geraldine Cummins Pearl Curran Frank Decker Arthur Conan Doyle Helen Duncan Harry Edwards John Edward William Eglinton Colin Evans Fox sisters Leslie Flint Arthur Ford Colin Fry Eileen Garrett Kathleen Goligher Rita Goold Jan Guzyk Robert Hare Alec Harris Gordon Higginson Richard Hodgson Daniel Dunglas Home Elizabeth Hope William Hope Cecil Husk Swami Laura Horos James H. Hyslop Allan Kardec Franek Kluski Gladys Osborne Leonard Oliver Lodge Heinrich Melzer Carmine Mirabelli Francis Ward Monck William Usborne Moore William Stainton Moses Einer Nielsen Eusapia Palladino Leonora Piper Ethel Post-Parrish James Van Praagh Bert Reese Estelle Roberts Jane Roberts William Roy Rudi Schneider Maria Silbert Henry Slade Doris Stokes Emanuel Swedenborg Rosina Thompson Stanisława Tomczyk Ena Twigg George Valiantine Jack Webber Etta Wriedt

Organizations	List of Spiritualist organizations Spiritualist churches Spiritist centres National Spiritualist Association of Churches Spiritualists' National Union Spiritualist Association of Great Britain Spiritual Church Movement Arthur Findlay College International Spiritualist Federation

Skeptics	David Abbott John Henry Anderson George Miller Beard Ruth Brandon Lionel Branson Derren Brown William Carpenter Milbourne Christopher Edward Clodd Edmund Smith Conklin Tony Cornell Millais Culpin Stuart Cumberland Eric Dingwall Joseph Dunninger Henry Evans Chris French Martin Gardner G. Stanley Hall Trevor Hall William A. Hammond C. E. M. Hansel Carlos María de Heredia Carl Hertz Terence Hines Harry Houdini Joseph Jastrow C. E. M. Joad Stanley LeFevre Krebs Rose Mackenberg David Marks John Nevil Maskelyne Henry Maudsley Joseph McCabe Henry C. McComas Georgess McHargue Charles Arthur Mercier Albert Moll John Mulholland Fulton Oursler Joe Nickell Ernest Clephan Palmer Ronald Pearsall Frank Podmore Massimo Polidoro Harry Price Julien Proskauer James Randi Joseph Rinn C. E. Bechhofer Roberts Chung Ling Soo Gordon Stein Amy Tanner Ivor Lloyd Tuckett Lyttelton Winslow Richard Wiseman

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