Leslie Flint
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Leslie Flint (1911–1994) was a British medium known for his claims of direct-voice mediumship.
Biography[edit]
Flint was born in London in 1911 and reached the peak of his fame from the 1930s to the 1960s as a medium. He was famous for claiming to contact spirits of dead celebrities, and his sessions were often recorded.
Overview[edit]
According to spiritualists, direct-voice mediumship occurs when those who have died can be heard talking in their own voices in the presence of a medium. The spirits do not use the medium's voice box or vocal organs but rather speak through a voicebox constructed of ectoplasm, a substance that forms from the medium's body.
All ectoplasm has been proven to be the result of fraud made of cheesecloth, butter, muslin, or other natural substances, so it is safe to conclude that direct-voice mediumship is also a scam. Flint prohibited any lights in his recording sessions, and he would sometimes even perform his direct-voice mediumship in a cupboard. The question needs to be asked: if direct-voice mediumship is genuine then why do mediums need dark conditions and have to hide in a cupboard? The reason, of course, is because in dark and hidden conditions all kinds of trickery can be performed by the medium.
Flint also disallowed any filming of any kind in his recording sessions and insisted on performing in the dark, thus all seance-goers and investigators were unable to see him during the performances. So, it is very easy to suggest that he could have been using prerecorded tapes to produce voices, as well as to have live accomplices for providing two-way voice channels. The Society for Psychical Research investigated Flint and concluded that the voices heard at his seances were auditory hallucinations brought on by hypnosis.
Voices[edit]
The voices of the spirits via Flint's direct-voice mediumship sound like nothing of those who lived on earth. Amongst those who Flint claimed to have contacted were:
- Arthur Conan Doyle
- Marilyn Monroe
- Winston Churchill
- Mahatma Gandhi
- Oscar Wilde
- Harry Price
- Frederic Chopin
- Charles Dickens
- Elizabeth Fry
- Bessie Smith
James H. Foreman in an article for The Skeptic Report wrote:
“”1) Every single one of the speakers on the audio files has an English accent. Even Bessie, the stereotypical cotton picker from Alabama. Her accent fluctuates from a lame attempt at an American south accent to British cockney to Scottish. Listen to her recording and see if you don't agree.
2) Chopin speaks perfect English. He was Polish, and ostensibly only visited England a few times. 3)The speakers all have the same basic speech pattern, with little to no deviation between them. They all talk about the same stuff, about how wonderful it is on "their side." They all use the same terminology, no matter what time period or part of the world. Also, the English of 18th Century England is very different from the English of the 20th century, which is something that obviously has slipped Elizabeth Fry's mind.[1] |
The Flint recording sessions of Gandhi also sound nothing like Gandhi, the accent, the intonation, etc., is totally different. Compare Flint's Gandhi with Gandhi's real voice. Flint's direct-voice mediumship of the psychical researcher Harry Price (found here) also sounds very different from the voice of the real Price.
Sources[edit]
- Theresa Cheung (2006). The Element Encyclopedia of the Psychic World. Harper Element. pp. 214–216
- Alexander Walker (May 10, 1994). "Obituary: Leslie Flint". The Independent. pp. 16