Shannon Taggart is a Professional Photographer who has worked for different Publications like the NY-Times Magazine, Wallstreet Journal or Newsweek. Among her many projects theres one about Spiritualism and Seance Room Phenomena. Her photowork is characterized by impressive portrait-photography and about showing the individual during unique moments within different religious or belief-systems.
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| Shannon Taggart in Lilydale |
Shannon says: ‘These FEG seances were unlike anything I have experienced before. They were completely fantastical and shocking, in the sense that they literally put the impossible right in front of us, to contemplate and to experience.
On August 15 & 17, 2013, I attended seances with Kai Muegge and the
Felix Circle Spirit Scientists, hosted by Dr. Neal Rzepkowski in
Cassadaga, New York.
Before the sittings, Kai allowed the room and the
medium’s cabinet to be searched and he was examined (unclothed) by a
randomly chosen attendee. His wife Julia was seated as his control on
the right, a randomly chosen attendee was placed to control on the left,
each responsible for holding his hands and knees. We were told to hold
onto one another’s hands and maintain a chain to ensure nobody was
moving around the room, including those in control of the medium.
Once
the circle was seated and the lights were off, Kai spent time achieving a
trance state by utilizing a holotropic breathing technique. Almost
immediately we heard loud tapping on the ceiling. Rattles and
tambourines that had been placed in the middle of the floor began making
sound and moving around.
Gradually the phenomena turned into flying
lights that flew all around the room.
Various touches were felt by most
of us, including myself. Some felt caresses on their heads, others felt
touches on their knees and some reported paw-like movements on their
body.
Hans Bender, Kai’s main guide, instructed Julia then to put out glow in
the dark marbles which we saw move around and also flicker on and off.
A
glow in the dark plate was also placed on the floor and we saw the
formation of a hand appear over it.
A trumpet then was placed on the
floor and it then flew round the room with great speed.
When it came
time to work with the ectoplasm, Julia was instructed to use a red
flashlight at various times. We saw large and small formations of
ectoplasm, some of which had clear faces suspended within it.
At times
it streamed all over the medium seemed to emerge from his ears, nose or
mouth.
It changed shapes multiple times, going from a covering to piles.
A large pile then appeared on the floor under the chair.
Over time, a
very clear hand appeared on top of the pile and moved around.
The circle
was closed shortly after.
No ectoplasm remained anywhere in the cabinet
or on the body of the medium.
The photos I took are astounding to me, as they allow a re-experience of
this phenomena. The condition of the room was the most technically
challenging situation I have ever photographed in.
So, I am very
thankful we were able to make these photos and to document and show what
objectively happened – phenomena we all saw with our own eyes, not
clairvoyantly or hypnotically.
Shannon Taggart