"What word was coined by Charles Richet to denote a substance or spiritual energy ""exteriorised"" by physical mediums, said to be associated with formation of ghosts?"
Ectoplasm (paranormal) Ectoplasm (paranormal) Ectoplasm (from the Greek "ektos", meaning "outside", and "plasma", meaning "something formed or molded") is a term used in spiritualism to denote a substance or spiritual energy "exteriorized" by physical mediums. It was coined in 1894 by psychical researcher Charles Richet. Although the term is widespread in popular culture, the physical existence of ectoplasm is not accepted by science and many purported examples were exposed as hoaxes fashioned from cheesecloth, gauze or other natural substances. In spiritualism, ectoplasm is said to be formed by physical mediums when in a trance state. This material is excreted as a gauze-like
Charles Richet his 1928 book "Our Sixth Sense". Although he believed in extrasensory perception, Richet did not believe in life after death or spirits. He investigated and studied various mediums such as Eva Carrière, William Eglinton, Pascal Forthuny, Stefan Ossowiecki, Leonora Piper and Raphael Schermann. From 1905-1910, Richet attended many séances with the medium Linda Gazzera claiming she was a genuine medium who had performed psychokinesis, i.e. that various objects had been moved in the séance room. Gazzera was exposed as a fraud in 1911. Richet was also fooled into believing Joaquin María Argamasilla, known as the "Spaniard with X-ray Eyes", had