Carlos María de Heredia

In this article, we will delve into the fascinating world of Carlos María de Heredia, exploring its origins, impact and relevance today. From its emergence to its influence in various spheres of society, Carlos María de Heredia has played a fundamental role in shaping our world. Throughout this detailed analysis, we will examine its most relevant aspects, as well as the controversies and debates it has raised over time. From its impact on popular culture to its influence on politics and the economy, Carlos María de Heredia has positioned itself as a topic of unavoidable interest in contemporary discourse. Join us on this journey of discovery and reflection about Carlos María de Heredia, to better understand its importance and significance in our society.

Carlos María de Heredia

Carlos María de Heredia (1872-1951) was a Mexican magician and Jesuit priest. He was a leading Catholic critic of spiritism.

Biography

Heredia was born in Mexico City and spent his life investigating and exposing the tricks of spiritism.[1] He worked as a professor at the College of the Holy Cross. At the Catholic Club of New York in 1920, he held a mock séance for five hundred people. He showed the audience how easily one could fake mediumship tricks such as the levitation of objects and how easily people can be fooled in the séance room.[2] Heredia had revealed how the fake ectoplasm "spirit hand" was made by using a rubber glove, paraffin and a jar of cold water.[3] The work of Heredia in debunking the tricks of fraudulent mediums has been praised by the skeptic Daniel Loxton.[4]

His book Spiritism and Common Sense (1922) has been described as a "highly critical examination of paranormal phenomena."[5]

Heredia was a friend with the magicians Harry Houdini and John Mulholland.[6] In his Magician Among the Spirits (1924), Houdini cited a fraudulent method that Heredia had used to produce a spirit photograph.[7]

Publications

  • Spiritism and Common Sense. New York: P.J. Kenedy & Sons. 1922. OCLC 421406262.
  • True Spiritualism (1924)
  • Los Fraudes Espiritistas y los Fenómenos Metapsíquicos (1931)
  • The Quest of Ben Hered: Memoirs of a Reporter in the Time of Christ (1947)

References

  1. ^ Peabody, J. L. (June 1923). "Spirit Pictures and a Speaking Skull". Popular Mechanics. Vol. 39, no. 6. pp. 817–820.
  2. ^ Samuel, Lawrence R. (2011). Supernatural America: A Cultural History. Praeger. p. 7. ISBN 978-0-313-39900-8
  3. ^ "Spirit Hands, "ectoplasm," and Rubber Gloves". Popular Mechanics. Vol. 40, no. 1. Hearst Magazines. July 1923. pp. 14–15.
  4. ^ Loxton, Daniel (January 22, 2013). "Same Darkness, Same Light". Skepticblog.
  5. ^ Rooney, David M. (2009). The Wine of Certitude: A Literary Biography of Ronald Knox. Ignatius Press. p. 111. ISBN 978-0-313-39899-5 "A highly critical examination of paranormal phenomena published in 1922 by C.M. de Heredia, a Mexican Jesuit and former magician who earned some fame as a debunker of Spiritualist phenomena."
  6. ^ "El jesuita mexicano que fotografiaba espíritus - CSI". www.csicop.org. 16 May 2017. Retrieved 2017-05-22.
  7. ^ Houdini, Harry. (1924). A Magician Among The Spirits. Harper and Brothers. p. 114