It certainly seems a possibility, and something more than a possibility, that vampiric entities may be on the watch and active to avail themselves of the chances to use the ectoplasmic emanations of mediums at séances, and this certainly constitutes a very formidable danger. It is even a fact that if a person who, consciously or unconsciously possesses the natural qualities of a materializing medium, is placed in certain nocuous circumstances, for example if he visits a house which is powerfully haunted by malefic influences, especially if he be fatigued and languid so as to offer little or no resistance, a vampirish entity may temporarily utilize his vitality to attempt a partial materialization. This seems clear from the many instances of persons who for no obvious reason are in certain spots, it may be a place, a house, or even a room overcome with a depression, which if they do not shake off by an act of will or by leaving the particular locality may develop into actual debility and enervation. A very striking example of an entity who in this way made an attempt at materialization is recorded by Miss Scatcherd in her contribution to Survival, a symposium which was published under the editorial care of Sir James Marchant. Miss Scatcherd relates: “I saw ectoplasm in solid form for the first time when looking for rooms in the neighbourhood of Russell Square. My friend, many years older than myself, was tired. She wore a black velvet cloak, and was sitting on a high chair, so that her mantle hung in long folds to the ground, while the light from the large windows fell full on her face. Suddenly I observed, on her left side, just above her waist, a patch of cloudy white substance, becoming bigger and denser as I watched its uncanny growth. Meanwhile, I was discussing terms with the landlady, a frail little woman, when a look of terror came into her eyes. She, too, was staring transfixed at the globular mass of white substance on my companion’s black mantle. For out of it looked a living face, normal in size—a man’s face with rolling eyes and leering grin that made one’s blood run cold. When I mentally ordered him away, he grinned defiance. Fearing to startle my friend, I took the landlady aside and asked what was the matter. She burst into tears.
“ ‘Oh, miss! did you not see him? He was my first. He come like this several times, and has never forgiven me for marrying again.’
