Lajos Pap

Lajos Pap (1883-1941) was a Hungarian carpenter and spiritualist medium.[1][2]

Lajos Pap (middle)

Career

Lajos Pap was originally investigated by the psychical researcher Chengery Pap in the 1920s in a series of experimental séances. He was alleged to have produced apport and psychokinetic phenomena. Various dead and living animals were discovered after his séances such as frogs, lizards, mice and snakes.[2] Chengery Pap stored many of these specimens in a museum. However, it was destroyed during World War II and only photographs remain. The scientific reception to the experiments was not favourable. In 1928, Theodore Besterman from the Society for Psychical Research attended séances and concluded the phenomena was fraudulent.[2]

In 1935, Lajos Pap was investigated by the International Institute for Psychical Research in London by the psychoanalyst Nandor Fodor. He reported that the phenomena was fraudulent and not evidence for the paranormal.[2] During the séance a dead snake appeared. Pap was searched and was found to be wearing a device under his robe, where he had hidden the snake.[3]

Other psychical researchers such Harry Price also considered Pap to be a fraud and his mediumship discredited.[4]

gollark: I don't know. I don't think it's a significant amount but I don't have metrics on how often:- there actually is something like that going on/obviously visible, and nothing else happening in non-off-topic channels people actually discuss esolangs in- this is likely to make someone who may otherwise be an active member not be (I'd expect this is driven by other things)
gollark: Not sure if this is actually the case.
gollark: If it's nonjokingly we should maybe not do that then.
gollark: When did we actually *incite* violence?
gollark: It turns out that they are, but luckily I can't punch very hard.

References
  1. Anderson, Rodger. (2006). Psychics, Sensitives and Somnambules: A Biographical Dictionary with Bibliographies. McFarland & Company. p. 132. ISBN 978-0-7864-2770-3
  2. Gyimesi, Júlia. (2014). Between Religion and Science: Spiritualism, Science and Early Psychology in Hungary. International Psychology, Practice and Research 5: 1-20.
  3. Fodor, Nandor. (1960). The Haunted Mind: A Psychoanalyst Looks at the Supernatural. Helix Press. pp. 100-122
  4. Price, Harry. (1939). Mechanics of Spiritualism. In Fifty Years of Psychical Research. Longmans, Green & Company.

Further reading
  • Theodore Besterman. (1929). Report of a Four Months' Tour of Psychical Investigation. Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research 38: 409-480.
  • Nandor Fodor. (1936) The Lajos Pap Experiments. International Institute for Psychical Research. Bulletin II.
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