Stanislawa P. (ca. 1930)

Polish medium, wife of a Polish officer, and subject of psychical experiments by Baron Schrenck-Notzing for research materialization. At the age of eighteen, Stanislaw believed she saw the phantom of a friend, Sophie M., at the exact time she died. Soon afterward spontaneous telekinesis phenomena developed. After Stanislawa joined a Spiritualist circle, "Sophie M." began to materialize through her and "Sophie" became the medium's permanent attendant, occasionally sharing control with "Adalbert" and a young Polish boy.

In 1911, P. Lebiedzinski, a Polish engineer, began a series of experimental séances that lasted intermittently until 1916. His report, published in the Revue Métapsychique (1921, no. 4) was favorable. Schrenck-Notzing's experiments began in 1913. After a few months, Stanislawa's mediumship lapsed and did not return until 1915. In 1906, when Schrenck-Notzing recommenced his séance observations, he became assured that Stanislawa produced flows of ectoplasm. Schreneck-Notzing took many photographs.

In 1930, her reputation, based on the early favorable reports, suffered a blow. Stanislawa appeared at the Institut Métapsychique shortly after a special automatic registering apparatus for phenomena produced in the dark was installed. She produced nearly blank séances until assured that no registering apparatus would remain in the room.

Eugene Osty suspected that the abortive phenomena noticed in séance was brought about by Stanislawa's secretly freed hand. He decided to attempt to catch her in the act. During a later séance, when Osty heard the objects on the table move, he exploded a secret flashlight and took three stereoscopic photographs. Both the sudden light and the developed photographs showed that Stanislawa's hand was free and manipulating the table.

Osty concluded in the Revue Métapsychique (Nov.-Dec. 1930): 1) Stanislawa played a joke on the Institute; 2) her fraud was persevering and organized; 3) her procedure consisted of giving the illusion of being restrained while she temporarily disengaged one of her hands from the restraints; and 4) used this procedure to displace objects and show luminous movements. Osty, however, hastened to add that his findings made no attempt to judge the phenomena of Stanislawa that were produced elsewhere.