The Seances Are Never Held in the Dark

The existence of a secret world of spirits, only accessible through skilled mediums, was early 20th century’s favorite conspiracy theory. Today we’re reading reports on a Polish medium, Miss Tomczyk, who developed skills of telekinesis in the early 1900s - or did she? Let's find out!

[@Dont_Tell_Anyone_Its_Me]

- I saw a thread in your hand. - What thread ? - In your hand, I saw a thread. So it wasn't magic after all ? - Of course it was ! - Then how do you explain the thread ? - ✨Magic thread !✨

[@ladygravenly]

😂

[@Bildgesmythe]

That's why you use human hair. You just blame it on a new hair brush. Short hair makes that trick harder. 😊

[@elisatantari6867]

Honestly this situation would be a great premise for a comedy

[@TheGabygael]

I imagine it as a comedy and/or an urban fantasy or superhero origin story

[@ellokittyca]

"King of delulu" killed me. I've been laughing for like 5 minutes as you continue to describe this thread.

[@ErieRosewood]

oh boy do i have some family history for you. back in 1928, some of my ancestors took part in a series of semi-famous seances in st. catharines ontario guided my William Cartheuser and written about in the book by Jenny Ohara Pincock "Trails of Truth". i own an original copy of the book that was passed down to me (having unpopular hobbies like old book collecting really benefits you sometimes). i read it last year, just the chapters including my family and oh boy did i learn some things. first of all, this hack had my great great grandparents fully speaking with one of their miscarried children which im sure was a fun experience, i found out my great great uncle fred was named after a ghost. and i also learned my great great grandpa was friends with a free mason and invited him to one of the seances. my dad tried to ask his great uncle ted about the experience, who was a child at the time, but never got any info. i think everyone likes to pretend it didnt happen cause william cartheuser is a very obvious hack. but i wouldve never shut up about it if that happened to me.

[@janerkenbrack3373]

Right at the end of the video you hit the nail on the head. They were an act, a pair working together in a confidence game. She, a medium for a precocious child, is unaware of what will happen; he, the ardent skeptic, refusing to be convinced, but seemingly convinced nonetheless. Just enough obvious trickery to cast doubt, but still many instances of the truly unexplained, to leave the majority of suckers as true believers.

[@jessicaclakley3691]

Nailed it!!!

[@anastasialudwika]

You know, what's interesting? While listening to your podcast, KZbin showed me also a fair number of adds and all of them were some middle aged dudes posing as your stereotypical businessmen from some early 2000s cheap tv series, all of them were trying to sell some bs courses on starting business from scratch/personal grows/ being confident dude and similar stuff combined all together... and a thought came to me. Those are some charlatan "mediums" of our days and perhabs in the future they will be viewed and talked about (maybe, a lot) not alike Stanisława and her colleagues albeit with a way smaller share of romanticization.

[@ladygravenly]

👏

[@maidende8280]

Snake oil (whether tangible or not) salesmen have been around forever. Second oldest profession.

[@KJayPlays]

He wanted a medium so he got himself one. She probably was in on it, got well taken care of, but I have no doubt that this was his project and he was the one orchestrating it.

[@fikanera838]

I love these, espresso when you introduce us to little-known Polish personalities! Thankyou from Czechia!

[@polygonvvitch]

It's important to note how much World War 1 also impacted spiritualism. After so much senseless death that established religions couldn't justify or soothe the pain of, people were desperate to find some solace.

[@iriskemper7989]

These articles are from 1908/1909, so before WWI

[@jessicaclakley3691]

Well, spiritualism itself comes out of movements associated with the civil war where thousands of soldiers died without experiencing the “good death” and parents sought the solace found in spiritualism as an opportunity to say their last goodbyes to those lost. I believe Ask a Mortician has a video or two on this (this also leads to the increase in embalming nationwide 😅)

[@LordVader1094]

Your hypothesis is pretty off the mark, religion was still quite strong after WW1 and this spiritualism was far stronger in the Victorian era. In fact it largely died out in the decades after WW1.

[@jcasillas78]

Little Stacha sounds like a Tulpa, a Tibetan concept. Basically a thought form that breaks off of a human consciousness that develops it's own will.

[@maidende8280]

Tulpas are in Kim Harrison’s Rachel Morgan series. I had no idea they came from Tibetan mythology (?).

[@writinggamer8059]

"When I want to move an object a thread appears... you know, the thread that I use slight of hand to hide." I will also say little Stacha reminds me a lot of the show What We Do in the Shadows and Nadja's little ghost dolly version of herself. I wonder if they were inspired by this medium for that.

[@juliastrzyga2274]

This series is GOLD! :)

[@SquabAttack]

It’s a great day when I can listen to Textory on the way to or from work. Thank you!

[@MatchaLatteIsLife]

i enjoy your podcasts, but i really wish you would include sources, at least for the pictures since you dont show anything on-screen :(

[@Bildgesmythe]

Reminds me of the more modern Uri Gellar and his bending spoons and keys. He was very convincing.

[@JamieLBW]

James Randi, who was always showing how Uri G faked his powers, also led 2 young magicians in tricking scientists over the course of a year into thinking they were psychic. If someone, even a scientist, wants psychic powers to exist, they are much easier to trick

[@triangle_cat]

"How did a snowball get itno the room???" So... Maybe... Someone THREW IT IN???

[@helza]

My paternal grandmother was a spiritualist and when my dad was born there was a ceremony where he was "given a native american spirit guide"... this was in Scotland in the early 1930s.

[@teabloom4132]

the girl was a regular spiderman

[@LadyDarkSunMoon]

Up to the part with the thread, I was thinking maybe she suffered from a form of schizophrenia, but that bit just flat out sold her out! And OMG, that picture must have looked like a really art class homework!

[@MeemsyD]

I was cracking up at the description of Little Stasia, a wispy milky 1-foot tall leprechaun just making mischief. Then I saw the actual "selfie" of Stasia and was sorely disappointed, just a regular young girl. 😂

[@anastasialudwika]

Marvelous podcast!!!🤘🏻

[@nadyayurukova]

This was an awesome episode!

[@paigeellis1033]

I LOVE THIS PODCAST SO MUCHHHH PLEASE NEVER STOP POSTING IT!!

[@chrononautspodcast]

Fantastic episode! A number of legitimate scientists and engineers like Oliver Lodge and William Crookes were really taken with the Spiritualist movement, and plenty of more obscure figures tried to build "psychic telegraphs" to explore the phenomenon further. An endless rabbit hole of weirdness

[@darlenemahaney1258]

Just found this channel and so happy to see all the past videos I can binge!

[@EdgyEspresso]

Love this podcast. ❤❤❤❤

[@rrr11]

Why isn’t the video version of the podcast available on KZbin?

[@yarya3797]

How I love this podcasts! Thaaank you!

[@Robiness]

Lil Stasha is sick 😎

[@erinlewis13]

NEW TEXTORY LETS GOOOOOOOOOOO

[@nviz47]

This is so interesting 🌻😁!!!

[@vivimaria7243]

Very entertaining!

[@frankharr9466]

Fascinating.

[@I_am_Lauren]

I love this episode so much! I could see a TV series made about this story.

[@bereniced7155]

I'd love to see the picture of little Sasha. What words should I put in my search bar to see it?

[@Killian11]

I love this series!

[@darthbee18]

Well Julian's totally in on it IMO. He might have started as a true believer, but somewhere along the way he found out and then decided to go along with it anyway. Ms. Stanislava Tomczyk, at any rate, was a talented young lady, just not at the thing people thought of... 😉😜😏

[@iriskemper7989]

Do you know Hilma af Klint? She was an artist from the same time period and made her paintings by channeling angels and etheral beings. She was part of an artist group: The Five, which would come together to channel and write down the information transferred to them. She was more serious in it and not using it for a fraud though 😊

[@jessicaclakley3691]

That’s fascinating!! I’ve never heard of this, I must investigate immediately

[@mynotificationsareoff.400]

I came to say this. I love Hilma so much.

[@kyradanesaralde5289]

soo early for this!!

[@deszeldra]

Very Halloween feel to this episode!

[@skeinofadifferentcolor2090]

Finally getting around to listening to this while cleaning the bathrooms.

[@ellaisplotting]

I'm listening whilst washing up 😅

[@SuperSpider-qx6ct]

Omg.. didn't know this was new vid! Please change the thumbnail. How many vids have I missed?! lol

[@mynotificationsareoff.400]

Hilma Af Klint next please :)

[@barbaraszpunar6909]

Bardzo ciekawa konkluzja na koniec

[@gino7lord]

Scamtina Mcfraudestein

[@solventman8307]

You would REALLY benefit from just putting numbers on these thumbnails. One can't be sure if they saw the video or is it a new one

[@nickolasmarmaras]

You can always check if you have previously pressed the like button

[@ladygravenly]

Your critical comment history has me like 😒

[@Bildgesmythe]

I always hit the like button so I instantly know if it's blue, I've seen it.

[@BellaVita1890]

You would REALLY benefit from listening to the podcast on Spotify where it tracks your listening progress.

[@Laras_Backpack]

You would REALLY benefit from being polite

[@olafsigursons]

🔥🔥🔥

[@eternaldoorman5228]

Stay spooky!❤😂 It sounds to me like really mixed up interpersonal stuff and as you say, a large dose of economic issues. But I can quite imagine a poltergeist type of thing going on with bits of coal and lumps of snow flying around the room and that story early on of the mischievous moving of the clock was a good one. I think I've seen ghosts, but maybe they were just actors putting on a show to fool me. Maybe spirits also do that?

[@_FMK]

Stasia 🌟

[@nyves104]

💜💜💜💜

[@AlexanderDRamos]

how'd you put a 1:1 thumbnail on the vid :000??? da fuck?? that's amazing

[@prettykitty39]

I respect the hustle to be studied and try to pull one over the scientist, but damn, sounds like a lot of work.

[@nospoonfulofmayonnaiseforme]

no idea u had a podcast hmm

[@deusvitae69]

the tea is PIPING HAWT maw maw

[@Heothbremel]

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@marcherwitch9811]

"me? i'm just a simple peasant girl, ugu..."

[@Lunettarose]

"This is an energy thread" hahaha ffs!!

[@0er_71m3]

Co powiesz o SFR?

[@jamestolson2804]

"You Can Do Magic" AMERICA 1982

[@peterjohnstonfl]

“Little Sasha” is a demon/familiar spirit. That’s where the power comes from. This is very real and very dangerous.

[@jessicaclakley3691]

I’m not doubting your convictions but it’s pretty clear that she was an exceptionally skilled “medium” and exhibited the expected qualities that come with that title. Which happens to include sleight of hand, misdirection and a heavy dose of confirmation bias 🤓 She was so skilled in fact that even some modern people believe in her “magic” lol Negative energy exists but it had no impact on the events described here.

[@rachelbennett9150]

Very possibly. Either that or they were both in on the fraud.

[@peterjohnstonfl]

Yes you are probably right. But the other situation happens as well.

[@laurelanne5071]

She was legit. I've seen some of the same things, although, only after like 6 benadryl

[@manvendrasingh3705]

First❤❤

[@adjappleton]

Fakedy fake fakerton!

[@ayannadivineempathpsychict9838]

Such a great read. I'm a medium and I mess with a ton of other mediums and I've never seen anyone with telepathic ability. Not to say it's impossible but they are almost always fraud. I also find it sus this chick was living with him and going to his room alone all the time. Very sus.