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Eusapia Palladino

Eusapia Palladino
Eusapia Palladino, 1893

Eusapia Palladino (1854-1918, sometimes spelt Palladino) was an Italian spiritualist who travelled and performed throughout Europe. Her skills were said to include levitation, elongation, spirit materialization and channeling.

In 1908 Eusapia Palladino was famously tested by a committee appointed by the American Society for Psychical Research. The three-person committee was so impressed by her powers that they declared her to be genuine. Lesser-known was a subsequent test in 1910 that included William Marriott, a conjurer who had previously exposed fraudulent psychics. Being familiar with their tricks, he exposed Palladino as a fraud.

Tricks used by Eusapia Palladino include:

Throughout her life Palladino's powers apparently became weaker. Supporters claimed this was due to advancing age. Skeptics argued that observers became more aware of common tricks, and stricter controls made these more difficult.

Table levitating
This photo, taken in 1898 at the home of French astronomer Camille Flammarion, shows a table apparently levitating during a séance.
  Levitation
This 1903 photo of a séance in Munich, Germany, shows a mandolin (the striped object) apparently levitating.