Communicating with the dead has a long and winding history. The rise of seances and the showmanship of paranormal activity rose to prominence in the late 19th century.  Spiritualism was entering a new wave, and communicating with the spirit world was now making itself physically evident through bodily manifestations of Mystics. Enter Ectoplasm.  For some of us, our first introduction to Ectoplasm was seeing it on the big screen watching Bill Murray get slimed in Ghostbusters, or Regan excreting from the mouth in The Exorcists. However, Ectoplasm exists outside the silver Screen and Efram Sera-Shriar is joining us to discuss its rough and tumbling history. If you’re a sceptic, spiritualist or some in-between, there’s no denying how fascinating the topic is. Join us for the weird, wonderful and out-right disturbing history of Ectoplasm, Seances and Spiritualism.  Edited by Tom Delargy, Produced by Freddy Chick & Alex Carlon. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long. Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, James Holland, Mary Beard and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code PATENTED. Download the app on your smart TV or in the app store or sign up at historyhit.com/subscribe You can take part in our listener survey here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.