Noah's Ark Society for Physical Mediumship

Noah's Ark Society for Physical Mediumship originated on April 25, 1990, in a Spiritualist home circle in Ilkeston, Derbyshire, England. The people sitting in attempt to communicate heard an independent voice message (heard apart from any of their member's speaking), that urged those present to form an organization specifically devoted to the promotion of physical mediumship and the development of mediums in whose present physical mediumship occurs. The voice identified himself as Noah Zerdin, a Spiritualist known for his having founded The Link , a network of Spiritualists groups built around small groups that sat for spirit contact in their homes. Zerdin had been the mentor of Leslie Flint, who died in 1994.

Physical mediumship includes those paranormal phenomena that has an effect upon the medium, others present, or an object in the immediate space where spirit contact is being attempted. It would include the materialization of spirit entities, apports, transfiguration (when a spirit's face is superimposed on that of the medium), psychic photography, direct voice through a trumpet, independent voices, and electronic voice phenomena (imposition of voices on an electronic tape). Such physical mediumship has all but disappeared in the wake of discoveries of numerous fraudulent mediums. Most of these phenomena have never been known to occur apart from stage magic.

Soon after its founding, the society began promoting what it termed the safe practice of physical mediumship and encouraged the development of home circles for the development of its practice. The society also holds weekend seminars, limited to society members, which incorporate experimental seances. The society now claims some functioning physical mediums among its members. The Society is not affiliated with any religious body, though it recognizes its primary members appear to be Spiritualists.

Noah's Ark Society operates primarily in England, thou it claims affiliates in other countries. It began publishing the Noah's Ark Society Newsletter soon after its formation. The Newsletter became The Ark Review in 1988, which includes speculative articles on physical mediumship as well as accounts of the experiences of affiliated home circles with physical mediumship. The society supports an Internet site at http://home.clara.net/noahsark/ind1.htm.

Sources:

Noah's Ark Society for Physical Mediumship. http://home.clara.net/noahsark/ind1.htm. May 23, 2000.