Eusapia Palladino and the Rising Tables
In a darkened hotel room in Naples, three sceptical investigators watched a table rise from the floor and a curtain billow by itself. They came away shaken.
What was reported
Eusapia Palladino, a medium from southern Italy, became famous across Europe for séances in which tables levitated, objects moved, unseen hands touched sitters, and strange shapes appeared. She was studied by many scientists, including the criminologist Cesare Lombroso, who was won over.
In 1908, three experienced investigators from the Society for Psychical Research, all practised at exposing fraud, held sittings with her at a hotel in Naples. Their report said they had seen things they couldn't explain.
Explanations offered
Palladino was caught cheating several times, most famously in New York in 1909, when observers hidden under the table saw her free a foot to move objects. She admitted she would cheat if allowed. Some investigators still believed some of her phenomena were genuine, but most now think all of it was trickery.
- When
- 1890s–1910
- Where
- Naples, Campania, Italy
- Witnesses
- Scientists including Cesare Lombroso, and investigators from London
- Status
- Partly exposed
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.
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