# Glowing ghoul or chemical tool? The toxic chemistry behind Victorian séances

- Source: Phys.org
- Published: 2026-10-26T22:50:01+00:00
- Category: Science
- Original: https://phys.org/news/2026-10-ghoul-chemical-tool-toxic-chemistry.html
- Canonical: https://groundlevelnews.com/story/glowing-ghoul-or-chemical-tool-the-toxic-chemistry-behind-victorian-s--d8e07d/

In November 1857, during a séance in Jersey City, the medium Leah Brown claimed her body produced luminous particles. So intense was the luminosity emanating from her, she recalled in her memoir, that it almost burned her hands. She rinsed her hands under a tap and then pushed them into the damp earth outside.

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