ScienceThe ConversationGlowing ghoul or chemical tool? The toxic chemistry behind Victorian séances
Victorian-era mediums used toxic white phosphorus to fake glowing ghosts at seances, a neat piece of spooky chemistry history just in time for Halloween.
Our Halloween decors today are filled with spooky things that glow. But decades ago, that glow was often caused by toxic phosphorous.
A look at the chemistry behind Victorian seances reveals that mediums secretly used white phosphorus to create an eerie glow and convince audiences of supernatural presences.
White phosphorus glows faintly as it reacts with oxygen, a process called chemiluminescence, and was also used in matches, where factory workers developed a painful disease called phossy jaw.
In one 1857 case, medium Leah Brown admitted phosphorus was present but insisted her own body had produced it, showing how the chemical was used to blur science and spectacle.
Five minutes for you
More from Cuppa
New iPad Mini Gets OLED Upgrade, Thinner Design, and Sizable Price HikeApple's new iPad mini gets an OLED screen and thinner design but now starts at $699, a $200 jump from the 2024 model due to a memory shortage.
Barley seed could carry fungicide-resistant disease into next crop, researchers findUniSQ researchers found that fungicide-resistant barley disease can be carried on seed and passed to the next crop, posing a new risk for Queensland growers.
‘Cocaine is the Gollum of drugs’ - and other things we learned from Anthony LaPaglia’s surprisingly juicy memoirAdelaide-born actor Anthony LaPaglia has written a candid memoir spilling on his abusive childhood, cocaine use, and Hollywood run-ins with the likes of Val Kilmer and Quentin Tarantino.
Audi CEO faces backlash after joining Trump at midterm campaign rallyAudi's CEO appeared at a Trump campaign rally to announce a $4 billion US factory, sparking a backlash from Germany's top union over political neutrality rules.
Chris Brown: US singer given suspended eightChris Brown got a suspended eight-month sentence in London after hitting a music producer twice on the head with a glass bottle at a Mayfair nightclub.
Jacinda Ardern joins University of Sydney as lecturer and mentorJacinda Ardern has joined the University of Sydney as a lecturer and mentor, focusing on leadership, public health and social cohesion.
Chris Brown Sentenced to Eight Months, Suspended for 12 MonthsChris Brown avoided jail after being sentenced to eight months suspended for a bottle attack on a man at a London nightclub in 2023.
Netanyahu faces reckoning for October 7 in Israel's first vote since attackIsrael is holding its first election since the October 7 Hamas attack, with many voters hoping to hold Netanyahu accountable for the security failure.