an Italian salad (possibly drugged) and much punch before the midnight start of séances in a darkened room with a black-draped altar. A robed Schrepfer performed the rituals and demanded his followers to remain seated at a table or face terrible dangers if they didn't. He made use of a mixture of Masonic, Catholic and Kabbalistic symbolism, including skulls, a chalk circle on the floor, holy water, incense and crucifixes. He started with a long prayer that addressed Jesus Christ, God and the Holy Trinity, asking for the protection of good spirits. He usually raised three different ghosts: one good soul in beautiful white, one neutral in subdued white and one evil in awful brown and black. The arrival of ghosts was mostly accompanied by a sound like that of wet fingers on glass, which sometimes grew louder and could continue for about an hour. The spirits he raised were said to be clearly visible with recognizable features, hovering in the air with their arms crossed in front of their chests. They seemed to be vaporous, not made of flesh, and at times they screamed terribly. Viewers agreed that these spirits were Gallic in origin as their shreiks were reminiscent of the ravings of those unfortunates suffering from the French disease. Ghosts could answer his questions and their voices sounded hollow. Apparitions reportedly raised by Schrepfer over the years included Frederick the Wise, August III, the beheaded Danish "traitors" Johann Friedrich Struensee and Enevold Brandt with their heads in their hands, Count Brühl, Maurice de Saxe and the Knights Templar's last Grand Master Jacques de Molay. During a séance in Dresden Schrepfer ordered a spirit to bring a letter to a companion in Frankfurt. The spirit obeyed and returned half an hour later with an answer signed in Frankfurt by the companion. Another spirit appeared engulfed in flames begging Schrepfer not to torture him so. Apart from raising ghosts, Schrepfer also demonstrated his powers by making a star shine much brighter at his command and by raising a storm in a forest. Most spectators of Schrepfer's séances were convinced that the apparitions they saw were real. No clear evidence of deceit seems to ever have been found, but critics have described several suspicions. A local merchant who frequented Schrepfer's lodge claimed in his diary that he once barred the door behind them before the seance had started. Consequently, the expected