Charles Miller (medium)
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Charles Victor Miller (1870–1943) was an American spiritualist
medium Medium may refer to: Aircraft *Medium bomber, a class of warplane * Tecma Medium, a French hang glider design Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''The Medium'' (1921 film), a German silent film * ''The Medium'' (1951 film), a film vers ...
.Anderson, Rodger. (2006). ''Psychics, Sensitives and Somnambules: A Biographical Dictionary with Bibliographies''. McFarland. pp. 120-121. Miller was born in
Longeville-lès-Saint-Avold Longeville-lès-Saint-Avold (, literally ''Longeville near Saint-Avold''; ) is a commune in the Moselle department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. Population See also * Communes of the Moselle department The following is a list of ...
,
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, but moved to
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where he took up mediumship. Miller produced 'spirit' materializations in and outside his cabinet during séances. He managed to convince several psychical researchers such as Willie Reichel that the manifestations were genuine. Reichel in his book ''An Occultist's Travels'' (1908) described witnessing
paranormal Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as being beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. Not ...
phenomena at many séances with Miller. However, most researchers were not convinced the materializations were genuine. They noted he only chose favourable conditions to work in, or worked before an audience of his choice which allowed easy opportunity for trickery. In 1908, Miller was eventually exposed as a fraud. He was invited by spiritualists to
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
but during a séance it was noted that the materialization figures looked very suspicious. When his cabinet was searched,
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and a perfumed
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were found.
Charles Richet Charles Robert Richet (; 25 August 1850 – 4 December 1935) was a French physiologist at the Collège de France and immunology pioneer. In 1913, he won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine "in recognition of his work on anaphylaxis". Riche ...
commented that Miller was exposed as an "evident fraud". Richet, Charles. (1930). ''Thirty Years of Psychical Research''. The Macmillan Company. pp. 463-471


References


Further reading

*Moreman, Christopher M. (2013). ''The Spiritualist Movement: Speaking with the Dead in America and Around the World''. 3 Volumes. Praeger. * Rinn, Joseph. (1950). ''Sixty Years Of Psychical Research: Houdini And I Among The Spiritualists''. Truth Seeker. {{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Charles 1870 births 1943 deaths American spiritual mediums