4. A Question of Propriety

About this episode

The episode explores the controversial experiments of Dr William Jackson Crawford with a teenage medium and the ethical implications of his methods.

The story of Dr William Jackson Crawford, an engineer and teacher, who carried out a series of strange experiments with a teenage medium and her family before his untimely death on the shores of Belfast lough in 1920. Dr Crawford’s findings were extraordinary and widely published – but was it all a hoax? Episode 4 – A Question of Propriety Dr Crawford records his experiments with Kathleen and her family in painstaking detail – but some feel his methods, which frequently involve underwear, are not appropriate. Reggie visits the archives of the Society for Psychical Research in Cambridge to see photographs taken by Crawford during his experiments, along with dozens of handwritten letters and notes. Reggie also gets a chance to see and hold a sample of historical ectoplasm, though it isn’t quite what he is expecting. Written and presented by Reggie Chamberlain King Readings by Dave Fleming Lucy McConnell Mark Claney Stephen Beggs Produced by Conor McKay Editor Andy Martin A BBC Northern Ireland Production

People in this episode

Host: Reggie Chamberlain King

Topics covered

• psychical research
• experiments
• mediumship
• historical analysis
• ethics in research

Keywords

• Dr William Jackson Crawford
• medium
• experiments
• Belfast lough
• ectoplasm
• Society for Psychical Research
• psychical research
• ethics

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Society for Psychical Research

Places: Belfast lough

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