In early 1900s Paris, a young medium named Eva Carrière claimed she could manifest spirits from her body in the form of ghostly ectoplasm. A fan named Baron von Schrenck-Notzing spent four years documenting what he believed were genuine supernatural phenomena. The séances involved explicit elements — Carrière's assistant would perform intimate examinations before sessions, and Carrière would often end up nude, engaging in sexual activities with audience members, as reported in The Public Domain Review.

While Sir Arthur Conan Doyle praised Carrière's abilities, skeptics weren't convinced. The Society for Psychical Research in London investigated her in 1920 and found out that her "ectoplasm" was actually chewed paper. The ghostly faces she produced were cut from issues of Le Miroir magazine, featuring recognizable figures like Woodrow Wilson and Raymond Poincaré.

A 1913 newspaper revealed her technique: "Miss Eva prepared the heads before every séance, and endeavoured to make them unrecognizable. A clean-shaven face was decorated with a beard. Grey hairs became black curls, a broad forehead was made into a narrow one. But, in spite of all her endeavours, she could not obliterate certain characteristic lines."

This bizarre piece of history is preserved in Phenomena of Materialisation (1923). My favorite part of the book are the incredible photos from the séances, which show the props that were used to make it seem like real ghosts and spirits were present.