The Lights in the Cellar at Scole
In a cellar in a Norfolk village, a small group said spirits sent them floating lights, voices and images on sealed rolls of film.
What was reported
From 1993, a small group of mediums met in the cellar of a house in the village of Scole, in Norfolk. In the darkness they reported dancing points of light that touched the sitters, voices, objects that appeared from nowhere, and pictures and messages on rolls of camera film that had not been opened.
Three senior members of the Society for Psychical Research attended many sessions and in 1999 published a long report saying they had found no evidence of fraud.
Explanations offered
Critics noted the sessions were held in total darkness and that the group refused infrared cameras, which would have let observers see what was happening. Without that, trickery couldn't be ruled out. The group stopped in 1998, saying the spirits had ended the experiment.
- When
- 1993–1998
- Where
- Scole, Norfolk, England, UK
- Witnesses
- A group of mediums and three investigators from the Society for Psychical Research
- Status
- Disputed
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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