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WORK-IN-PROGRESS (JULY 19, 2020) PARALLEL CHART FOR
Chapter 3 — The Modern Spiritualist Movement
from The Truth About Spiritualism (1923)by
William S. Sadler, M.D., F.A.C.S.
© 2011, 2013, 2019, 2020 Matthew Block
Sources for Chapter 3, in the order in which they first
appear
(1) John Herman Randall, The New Light on Immortality: or, The
Significance of PsychicResearch (New York: The Macmillan Company,
1921)
(2) Alexander James Grieve, “Swedenborg, Emanuel,” in
Encyclopaedia Britannica (11th ed.,1911)
(3) Carlyle B. Haynes, Spiritualism versus Christianity
(Nashville, Tennessee: SouthernPublishing Association, 1918)
(4) Joseph McCabe, Is Spiritualism Based on Fraud?: The Evidence
Given by Sir A. C.Doyle and Others Drastically Examined (London:
Watts & Co., 1920)
(5) Edward T. Bennett, Psychic Phenomena: A Brief Account of the
Physical ManifestationsObserved in Psychical Research (New York:
Brentano’s, 1909)
(6) Mme. Dunglas Home, D. D. Home: His Life and Mission, Edited,
with an Introduction bySir Arthur Conan Doyle (London: Kegan Paul,
Trench, Trubner & Co., Ltd., 1921)
(7) Isaac K. Funk, D.D., LL.D., The Psychic Riddle (New York:
Funk & Wagnalls Company,1907)
(8) Seybert Commission, Preliminary Report of the Commission
Appointed by TheUniversity of Pennsylvania to Investigate Modern
Spiritualism in Accordance with theRequest of the Late Henry
Seybert, with a Foreword by H. H. Furness, Jr. (Philadelphia:J. B.
Lippincott Company, 1920 [original copyright 1887])
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Key
(a) Green indicates where a source first appears, or where it
reappears.
(b) Yellow highlights most parallelisms.
(c) Tan highlights parallelisms not occurring on the same row,
or parallelisms separated byyellowed parallelisms.
(d) An underlined word or words indicates where the source and
Sadler pointedly differ fromone another.
(e) Bold type indicates passages which Sadler copied verbatim,
or nearly verbatim, froman uncited source.
(f) Pink indicates passages where Sadler specifically shares his
own experiences, opinions,advice, etc.
(g) Light blue indicates passages which strongly resemble
something in the Urantia Book, orwhich allude to the Urantia
phenomenon.
(h) Red indicates either an obvious mistake, in most cases
brought about by Sadler’smiscopying or misunderstanding his source,
or an otherwise questionable statement onSadler’s part.
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Work-in-progress Version 13 juli 2011© 2011, 2020 Matthew
BlockRevised 28 May 2013, 22 July 2014, 2 March2019, 19 July
2020
III — THE MODERNS P I R I T U A L I S T I CMOVEMENT
I: THE NATURE OF THE NEW LIGHT(Randall 1)
3:0.1 MY RESEARCHES have led meto believe that
The rise of modem spiritualism the modern cult of
spiritualism,
as we understand it and recognize ittoday,
is usually associated with the Fox sistersof Hydesville, New
York, thoughProfessor Hyslop regards Swedenborgwho died in 1772 as
the real originator (R5).
really had its origin with the teaching anddoctrines of Emanuel
Swedenborg (1688-1772).
“SWEDENBORG, EMANUEL” (Grieve)
SWEDENBORG (or Swedberg),Emanuel (1688-1772), Swedish
scientist,philosopher and mystic, was born atStockholm on the 29th
of January 1688....
... In no field were Swedenborg’sresearches more noteworthy than
in thoseof physiological science (G n.p.)
Swedenborg was a physiologist of moreor less note, who lived in
Stockholm.
In 1734 he also published Prodromusphilosophiae ratiocinantis de
infinito etcausa finali creationis, which treats of therelation of
the finite to the infinite, and ofthe soul to the body, seeking to
establisha nexus in each case as a means of over-coming the
difficulty of their relation.
His first published works dealing with philosophy and theology
appeared in1734,
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From this time he applied himself to theproblem of discovering
the nature of souland spirit by means of anatomical studies(G
n.p.).
and it was about at this time that he beganhis extensive
researches in physiologyand anatomy for the purpose of locatingthe
human soul,
He travelled in Germany, France andItaly, in quest of the most
eminent teach-ers and the best books dealing with thehuman frame,
and published, as theresults of his inquires among other works,his
Œconomia regni animalis, (London,1740-1741) and Regnum animale
(Hague,1744-1745; London, 1745) (G n.p.).
and he published numerous works dealingwith his researches along
this line.
His friend Robsahm reports, fromSwedenborg’s own account to him,
thecircumstances of the first extraordinaryrevelation of the Lord,
when He appearedto him [in 1745] and said, “I am God theLord, the
Creator and Redeemer of theworld.
He claims to have had Divine revelations
I have chosen thee to unfold the spiritualsense of the Holy
Scripture. I will Myselfdictate to thee what thou shalt write.”
in which were revealed to him thephilosophy of the spiritual
world,
From that time on he gave up all worldlylearning and laboured
solely to expoundspiritual things.... His life from 1747 wasspent
alternately in Sweden, Holland andLondon, in the composition of his
worksand their publication, till his death, whichtook place in
London on the 29th of March1772 (G n.p.).
and he published numerous workscontaining these alleged
revelations.
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1. THE FOX SISTERS
3:1.1 While it is probably true thatSwedenborg was the father of
modernspiritualism,
II: THE ORIGIN OF SPIRITUALISM(Haynes 14)
Origin of Modern Spiritualism (Haynes 16)
Modern Spiritualism American spiritualism, as a
spectacularphenomenon,
had its beginning in Hydesville, N.Y., inthe year 1848 (H
16).
seems to have had its origin in Hydeville,near Rochester, New
York, in 1848.
In the year mentioned, a farmer by thename of John D. Fox lived
in Hydesville,near Rochester, N.Y.
Near this little village there lived a farmerby the name of John
D. Fox.
He was the father of six children, two ofwhom were living at
home. There wereMargaret, who was fifteen years of age,and Kate,
aged twelve.
He had a family of six children, two ofwhom (daughters) were
living at home.
They had been recently moved, It seems that the Fox family, who
had butrecently moved into this home,
and they found the house they occupieddisturbed, especially at
night, by peculiarnoises.
were early disturbed by peculiar noctur-nal noises.
They attributed these noises at first tomice and rats, and then
to a loose board.
These strange sounds were attributed torats and mice, loose
boards, and what not,
They soon discovered, however, thatthese noises were distinct
and intelligentrappings (H 16).
but ere long it appeared that these noiseswere more or less
systematized,
and so it is recorded that
[contd] After retiring on the night ofMarch 1, 1848, the parents
and childrensleeping in the same room,
on the night of March 1, 1848, when theparents and the two
daughters had gone tobed in the same room,
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these rappings commenced with greaterviolence than usual. Mr.
Fox arose andtried the window sashes, and, findingthem all secure,
was about to return to hisrest, when Kate, observing that when
heshook the sashes the rappings seemed toreply, turned in the
direction from whichthe sound seemed to come, and snappedher finger
several times, at the same timeexclaiming, “Here, Old Splitfoot, do
as Ido” (H 16-17).
these noises, or as they were later called,“rappings,” became
unusually violent.
It would seem that Mrs. Fox becameinordinately interested in
these pheno-mena,
[contd] Instantly the rappings repliedwith sharp, distinct taps.
This frightenedthe girls so that they had no further desireto
continue the conversation with “OldSplitfoot.” But the mother
continued tocultivate his acquaintance
and she embarked upon a program offurther acquaintance and
experimentationwith this strange force or intelligencewhich had so
unceremoniously invadedher quiet and unpretentious home.
According to report, it seems that
until she received a message whichprofessed to come from the
spirit of aman by the name of Charles B. Rosma.
Mrs. Fox succeeded in eliciting theinformation that these
rapping forcespurported to be the spirit of a dead manby the name
of Charles B. Rosma,
and as time went on
This message informed her that this man,Rosma, had been murdered
in that veryhouse some years before (H 17).
the spirit communicated to Mrs. Fox theinformation that this man
Rosma hadbeen murdered several years before in thehouse in which
these manifestations weretaking place.
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Other Messages Received (Haynes 18)
[contd] The members of the Foxfamily continued to press their
inquiriesupon the intelligence which was back ofthe rappings,
3:1.2 By this time the other membersof the Fox family had
resumed interest inthese manifestations,
and for miles around the news of the“rapping spirits” and the
Fox sisters hadspread,
and they received other messages and as time went by many
messages werereceived from what purported to be thisdead man
Rosma’s spirit returned to thescene of his murder.
which were verified. It is claimed that many of these
messageswere verified,
Margaret Fox soon developed veryremarkable occult powers in her
con-tinued intercourse with the spirits.
and Margaret Fox began to develop veryextraordinary occult
ability as time wenton,
By the aid of the spirits lost articles werefound, hard
questions were answered, anddifficult problems solved.
and many remarkable seances were heldby her with the rapping
spirits.
Neighbors came in to investigate. Somecame from long distances
to look into this“rapping delusion,” as it was first called,and
finding the answers given by thespirits to be in the main correct,
manybecame convinced that
Scores of people who attended theseseances were led to believe
that
the Fox girls were actually in commun-ication with the spirits
of the dead (H 18).
the Fox girls were really in commun-ication with the spirits of
dead anddeparted souls.
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III: THE MYSTERY OF RAPS ANDLEVITATIONS (McCabe 42)
These raps were clearly associated withthe two girls,
These raps were always clearly associ-ated with the two
daughters,
Margaretta (aged fifteen) and Katie orCathie (aged twelve).
Margaret (aged fifteen) and Kate orCathie (aged twelve).
A third, a married elder sister, namedLeah—at that time Mrs.
Fish, and laterMrs. Underhill—came to Hydesville,
A third, a married elder sister, namedLeah—at that time Mrs.
Fish, and laterMrs. Underhill—came to Hydeville,
and, at her return to Rochester, tookMargaretta with her.
and, on her return to Rochester, tookMargaret with her.
Leah herself was presently a “medium.” Leah herself was
presently a “medium.”
The excitement in rural America wasintense.
The excitement in the neighborhood wasintense.
Throughout the whole country
Mediums sprang up on every side, andthe Foxes were in such
demand thatthey could charge a dollar a sitter.
mediums sprang up on every side, andthe Foxes were in such
demand thatthey could soon charge a dollar a sitter.
The “spirits,” having at last discovereda way of communicating
with the living,rapped out all sorts of messages to thesitters (M
44).
The “spirits,” having at last discovereda way of communicating
with the living,rapped out all sorts of messages to thesitters.
2 . S P I R I T U A L I S M I NAMERICA
3:2.1 As near as I can ascertain, theconcrete, organized,
spiritualistic move-ment in the United States had its originand
spread from this New York episode.
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Spiritualism, it should be known, issimilar to socialism, in
that there aremany ramifications and branches of thecult, while
there are tens of thousandswho believe in its essential tenets who
arenot formal communicants of the organ-ized movement. Later on,
the phenomenaof spiritualism were so enlarged as toinclude such
stunts as table tipping, slatewriting, and subsequently to the
actualmaterialization of alleged spirit entities.
II: HOW GHOSTS ARE MADE(McCabe 17)
The real crusader of this importantdepartment of the movement
[i.e. ghostmaterializations] was Mrs. Underhill,
3:2.2 So the real pioneer of Americancommercial mediums was
Leah, (Mrs.Underhill),
the eldest of the three Fox sisters whofounded Spiritualism (M
19).
the eldest of the three Fox sisters whovirtually founded
American Spiritualism.
She was an expert in fraud and awoman of business.
She was an expert in fraud and awoman of business.
Until her own sisters gave her away,forty years after the
beginning of themovement, she was never exposed;
Until her own sisters gave her away,forty years after the
beginning of themovement, she was never exposed;
and even an exposure by her sister inthe public Press and on the
public stagein New York made no difference to hercareer.
and even an exposure by her sister inthe public press and on the
public stagein New York made no difference in hercareer.
She was the Mme. Blavatsky, the Mrs.Eddy, of Spiritualism (M
19).
She was the Mme. Blavatsky, the Mrs.Eddy, of Spiritualism.
[contd] Leah began in 1869, everyother branch of Spiritualist
conjuringhaving now been fully explored, toproduce a ghost at her
sittings (M 20).
In 1869 she first produced “Ghosts” ather sittings.
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A few months later a wealthy New Yorkbanker, Livermore, lost his
wife, and the“hyenas”—as Sir. A. C. Doyle callsmediums who prey on
the affections ofthe bereaved—hastened to relieve hisgrief and his
purse. For four hundredsittings, spread over a space of six
years,Katie Fox impersonated his dead wife. AsKatie Fox confessed
in 1888 that Spirit-ualism was “all humbuggery—every bitof it,” we
need not enter into a learnedanalysis of these sittings (M 20).
Her sister Katie (so Katie laterconfirmed) impersonated the dead
wife ofa New York banker.
III: THE MYSTERY OF RAPS ANDLEVITATIONS (McCabe 42)
3:2.3 Confession of the Fox Sisters.
Margaretta Fox married Captain Kane,the Arctic explorer, who
often urgedher to expose the fraud, as he believedit to be.
Margaret Fox married Captain Kane, theArctic explorer, who often
urged her toexpose the fraud, as he believed it to be.
In 1888 she found courage to do so(New York Herald, September
24,1888).
In 1888 she found courage to do so.(New York Herald, September
24,1888.)
She and Katie, she said, had discovereda power of making raps
with their toe-joints (not knee-joints), and had
hoaxedHydesville.
She and Katie, she said, had discovereda power of making raps
with their toe-joints, and had hoaxed Hydeville.
Their enterprising elder sister hadlearned their secret, and had
organizedthe very profitable business of spirit-rapping.
Their enterprising elder sister hadlearned their secret, and had
organizedthe very profitable business of spirit-rapping.
The raps and all other phenomena ofthe Spiritualist movement
were, Mrs.Kane said, fraud from beginning to end.
The raps and other phenomena of theSpiritualist movement were,
Mrs. Kanesaid, fraud from beginning to end.
She gave public demonstrations in NewYork of the way it was
done;
She gave public demonstrations in NewYork of the way it was
done;
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and in October of the same year heryounger sister Cathie
confirmed thestatement,
and in October of the same year heryounger sister Cathie
confirmed thestatement,
and said that Spiritualism was “allhumbuggery, every bit of it”
(Herald,October 10 and 11, 1888).
and said that Spiritualism was “allhumbuggery, every bit of it”
(Herald,October 10 and 11, 1888).
They agreed that their sister Leah (Mrs.Underhill), the founder
of the Spiritual-ist movement and the most prosperousmedium of its
palmiest days,
They agreed that their sister Leah,(Mrs. Underhill), the founder
of theSpiritualist movement and the mostprosperous medium of its
palmiest days,
was a monumental liar and a shamelessorganizer of every variety
of fraud.
was a monumental liar and a shamelessorganizer of every variety
of fraud.
That a wealthy Spiritualist afterwardsinduced Cathie to go back
on thisconfession need not surprise us (M 45).
That a wealthy Spiritualist afterwardsinduced Cathie to go back
on thisconfession need not surprise us.
3. SPIRITUALISM IN GREATBRITAIN
II: THE MOVEMENT OF OBJECTSW IT HOUT AN Y A P P A RENTPHYSICAL
CAUSE (Bennett 16)
TESTIMONY COLLECTED BY FREDERIC W.H. MYERS. (Bennett 26)
3:3.1 Spiritualism, in its earlier historyin England, was given
a great impetus by
[contd] Next in order of time come twopapers by Mr. F. W. H.
Myers, one Mr. F. W. H. Myers,
who took it upon himself,
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under the title of “Alleged Movements ofObjects without Contact,
occurring not inthe Presence of a Paid Medium.” Theyare published
in vol. vii. of the Proceed-ings of the Society for Psychical
Research(B 26).
in connection with the PsychicalResearch Society, to collect
togetherevidences of moving objects,
[Compare B 15.] noises, lights, etc., in connection withspirit
seances.
The two following cases in the firstarticle present the
strongest evidence.
(1) THE ARMSTRONG CASE.—Mr.George Allman Armstrong, of 8 Leeson
Place,Dublin, and Ardnacarrig, Bandon, writes anaccount dated 13th
June 1887.
It was he that reported the famous Arm-strong case
After vouching for the perfect good faith ofthe small group of
experimenters, he describesin detail the movements of a table.
The“rising” was generally preceded by a continu-ous fusillade of
“knocks” in the substance ofthe table. When the knocks had, as it
were,reached a climax, the table slowly swayedfrom side to side
like a pendulum.
where the tables pranced about
It would stop completely, and then, as ifimbued with life, and
quite suddenly, wouldrise completely off the floor to a height
oftwelve or fourteen inches at least. It nearlyalways came down
with immense force, andon several occasions proved destructive
toitself, as the broken limbs of the table used atKinsale could
testify (B 27).
and on one occasion came down withsuch destructive force that
the legs werebroken.
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(2) A BELL-RINGING CASE.—Mr.Myers, in introducing this case,
says: “Theusual hypotheses of fraud, rats, hitched wires,&c.,
seem hard to apply....” The following isan abstract:—
... Nine bells hung in a row just inside thearea door, opposite
the kitchen door, and therewas one bell—a call bell—on the landing
atthe top of the house.
Mr. D. frequently saw several of thesebells ringing at once, the
ringing being suddenand very violent, louder, he believed, thanthey
could be rung by pulling the handles.[Etc.] (B 27-28)
He also gave publicity to extraordinarybell-ringing,
The second paper by Mr. Myers isdevoted exclusively to some
“strange exper-iences” which occurred several years previousto
1891, at the village of Swanland ... Therewere no intellectual
phenomena, nothing butthe apparently meaningless throwing about
ofpieces of wood—directed, however, by someintelligence, so as to
attract attention withoutdoing harm (B 30).
and other stunts which were supposed tobe of spirit origin.
XI: THE SUMMING UP OF THEWHOLE MATTER (Bennett 121)
3:3.2 It should be stated that,
As long ago as the year 1874, Sir WilliamCrookes
as far back as 1874, Sir William Crookes
became attracted to spiritualism
gave permission for the reprint of alimited number of copies of
variousarticles which he had contributed to theperiodical
literature of the day. These,with some other original matter,
werepublished under the title of “Researchesin the Phenomena of
Spiritualism” (B124).
and read papers and made many addressesconcerning his
experiences with allegedmediums.
[INTRODUCTION, by Sir Oliver Lodge (B 9)] His interest in the
movement considerablyanti-dated that of Sir Oliver Lodge.
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4. HOME—THE PATRONSAINT OF SPIRITUALISM
3:4.1 D. D. Home seems to have beenthe central character around
whichspiritualism in Great Britain had its originsome fifty or
sixty years ago,
[INTRODUCTION, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle(Mme Home iii)]
and Sir A. Conan Doyle elevated him tothe pedestal of the Patron
Saint ofModern Spiritualism.
I: SCOTLAND AND AMERICA (Mme.Home 1)
[contd] Daniel Dunglas Home wasborn near Edinburgh, March 20,
1833.
3:4.2 Home was born near Edinburghin 1833,
His parents both came of ancient Scottishfamilies. Through his
mother, whosemaiden name was McNeill, he was de-scended from a
Highland family in whichthe traditionary Scottish gift of
the“second-sight” had been preserved.
of a Scottish family that is reputed tohave had a traditional
“second sight” as apart of its heredity.
Mrs. Home possessed it herself; Home’s mother is supposed to
have beena sort of clairvoyant, or to have beenotherwise endowed
with second sight.
and while her son was still an infant shehad a vision concerning
him that foundfulfilment more than twenty years later
atFontainebleau (MH 1).
He was a sensitive, delicate child, of ahighly nervous
temperament, and of suchweak health from his infancy that he hadnot
been expected to live (MH 1).
He was a delicate child, of highly nervoustemperament.
An aunt, who had no children of herown, adopted Home; and his
infancy waspassed in her care at Portobello.
He was raised by an aunt,
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When he was nine years old, she and herhusband emigrated to
America, and tookwith them the boy whose life wasdestined to be so
wonderful (MH 1).
who, when he was nine years of age,immigrated to America.
3:4.3 Home’s spiritualistic experienceseems to have had its
origin in 1845,
A few weeks before [he went with hisrelatives to live in Troy,
New York],Home was, as usual, with his friendEdwin in the woods (MH
2).
when he and a young companion were outin the woods
On this occasion—it was in April, 1845or 1846—Edwin was full of
a ghost-storythat he had just read (MH 2).
reciting a ghost story,
When Edwin’s story was told, thetwo boys set themselves to
discuss it, andalso the possibility of such apparitions ofdeparted
spirits appearing to those whomthey had loved on earth. With
theromance of their age, they ended byagreeing to bind themselves
by the samepromise that the two lovers in the legendhad taken; and
exchanged vows on thespot, in the most solemn manner theycould
devise.
and they agreed between themselves thatwhichever one should die
first he wouldsubsequently reappear to the survivingmember of the
duet.
A few weeks later, Home went to live atTroy. He was then about
thirteen years ofage (MH 2).
They were soon separated by Edwin’sparents moving away,
[contd] In the month of June following, and Home, a few months
afterwards,
... at the moment when the boy, havingfinished his prayers, was
slipping intobed, [the moon’s] light was suddenlydarkened. Startled
by this phenomenon,Home looked up, and beheld a vision thathe has
described in the opening chapter ofhis Incidents in My Life,
published in theyear 1863 by Messrs. Longman:—
is reported to have had a vision oneevening, shortly after
retiring,
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“[T]hrough the darkness there seemed to be agleam of light,
which I cannot describe ... Thislight increased; and my attention
was drawn to thefoot of my bed, where stood my friend Edwin....
Helooked on me with a smile of ineffable sweetness,then, slowly
raising the right arm, he pointedupward; and making with it three
circles in the air,the hand began slowly to disappear. Then the
arm,and finally the whole body, melted away.... I wasspeechless and
could not move, though I retainedall my reasoning faculties. As
soon as the power ofmovement was restored I rang the bell, and
thefamily, thinking I was ill, came to my room, whenmy first words
were—‘I have seen Edwin—he diedthree days ago’” (MH 2-3).
after which he said to the family:“I haveseen Edwin. He died
three days ago.”
[contd] A day or two afterwards aletter was received, announcing
the deathof Edwin after a very short illness (MH3).
And two or three days afterward wordwas received announcing the
death of hiscompanion.
[See MH 4, re Hume’s hearing loud blows at thehead of his bed
one night, and raps on the tablewhere he and his aunt were sitting
at breakfast thefollowing morning.]
3:4.4 From now on ensue a successionof marvelous events,
demonstrations, etc.,
Much to the displeasure of his aunt, whowas a member of the Kirk
of Scotland,
much to the displeasure of his aunt, whowas a member of the
Church of Scotland,
he had joined the Wesleyan communion;but her opposition to this
step was sopersistent and violent that
and who opposed her nephew’s Wesleyanconnections so much
that
her nephew finally compromised mattersby leaving the Wesleyans
for theCongregationalists, whom she regardedwith less dislike (MH
4).
he finally joined the Congregationalists asa compromise.
These events, it should be borne in mind,are occurring
About two years earlier, theknockings at Rochester had
attractedpublic attention. Home’s aunt had heardof them from some
of her neighbours, andbelieved them to be works of the Evil One(MH
4).
about two years after the famousknockings of the Fox sisters at
Rochesterhad attracted so much attention.
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II: ENGLAND AND ITALY (Mme.Home 23)
3:4.5 It would seem that Home, afterall, created much more of a
stir inEngland than he had in America. Therewere no Fox sisters
there to shareattention with him. He was the wholeshow in Great
Britain.
Home’s presence in London soonbecame known, and without
havingcourted it, he found the notice of Englishsociety attracted
to him.
The best of society took an interest inHome’s
manifestations;
More requests for séances were pressedupon him than he could
gratify; andamong other noted personages of the day,Lord Brougham
expressed a desire toinvestigate the phenomena. [Etc.] (MH23)
earls, lords, and what not became hispatrons,
[It is true that he did not charge so much a sitter. and while
Home does not seem to havesought to commercialize the
immediateseance,
He had a more profitable way. He lived—apartfrom his wives and a
few lectures (supported by hisfollowers)—on the generosity of his
dupes all hislife (McCabe 8).]
it is evident that he received liberalsupport from numerous
sources.
I: SCOTLAND AND AMERICA (Mme.Home 1)
The results of numerous applicationsmade to the friends of Mr.
Home in boththe Old and New Worlds, together withthe correspondence
preserved by him,enable me to supply most of the namesomitted in
the Incidents, and in variouscases to add the personal testimony
ofinvestigators concerning their exper-iences.... My only
difficulty will be tocontain the record of a life so full
ofwonderful and various incident within thelimits of a single
volume (MH 7).
It would require a book twice the size ofthis little volume to
reproduce all theletters from prominent people
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who were willing to swear to theremarkable things they saw at
the seancesconducted by Home from time to time.
II: ENGLAND AND ITALY (Mme Home 23)III: ITALY AND FRANCE (Mme
Home 40)IV: FRANCE AND RUSSIA (Mme Home 56)
In the years that followed, Home visitedItaly, France, and
Russia, where heconducted many seances,
VI: ENGLAND (Mme. Home 91)
[contd] Friends in Russia had beenurging Mr. Home to re-visit
them; butfinding that there was no immediateprospect of his making
the journey, twoof their number, Count Alexis Tolstoyand Count
Steinbock-Fermor, determinedto go to him instead; and he
hadaccordingly the pleasure of welcomingthem to London about the
middle of June,1860. [Etc.] (MH 91)
and became a fast friend of AlexisTolstoi.
V: ENGLAND (Mme. Home 69)
[contd] The second residence of Mr.Home in England lasted from
November,1859, unto the last week of July, 1860. Hereturned a third
time in the followingwinter, and was in England during thewhole of
1861 (MH 69).
3:4.6 From 1859 to 1861 he seems tohave been back and forth
between thecontinent and England,
[See Chaps. IV, V, VI.] holding seances for the highest
societyand royalty,
[See MH 71, re Faraday’s theory of “involuntarymuscular
action”.]
and it was about this time that thescientist, Faraday,
contemplated aninvestigation,
“He” (Faraday) “prescribed certainconditions which it would have
beenutterly impossible for Mr. Home, whetherthat gentleman be the
apostle of a newscience or a mere pretender and humbug,to
accept...” (MH 71).
but it seems that his conditions were notaltogether acceptable
to the medium
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Faraday’s second condition, of openand complete examination,
Home wouldas readily have accepted as he afterwardsdid in the case
of Crookes; but was itconceivable he should accept this? Mr.Robert
Bell was so assured he would not,that he did not think it worth
while evento transmit to Mr. Home a proposal soinsulting;
and accordingly the negotiations betweenBell, Sir Emerson, and
Faraday weredropped and never resumed (MH 72).
and so the test never came off.
At these séances in Hyde Park Place,and at others that Home held
in Londonduring 1860 and the years following,many of the best-known
figures inEnglish society were present. The effecton some was to
convert them to a beliefin the spiritual origin of the
manifest-ations; others preserved a suspense ofjudgment as to their
origin, whileadmitting the facts (MH 76).
By 1860 a number of influential convertsto spiritualism had been
made in England.
VIII: AMERICA, RUSSIA, ANDENGLAND (Mme. Home 129)
At this visit [to the Spiritual Athen-æum in London], Mrs. Lyon,
an absolutestranger to Home, entered into conver-sation with him
concerning his work,Incidents of My Life, which she declaredherself
to have read with much interest(MH 141).
3:4.7 In London Home met Mrs. Lyon,
A day or two afterwards she made a giftof £30 to the funds of
the Athenæum, andfollowed this act by astounding Mr.Home with the
declaration that she hadtaken a great fancy to him, and
wasdetermined to adopt him as her son, andsettle a handsome fortune
on him (MH141).
who subsequently took a fancy to him,adopted him—
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Early in December, 1866, Mr. Homeformally assumed the name of
Home-Lyon.
he changing his name to Home-Lyon—
Without saying anything to him, Mrs.Lyon wrote on this occasion
to the samesolicitor:—
“ 7th December, 1866.“MY DEAR MR. WILKINSON,—On the
occasion of my adopted son taking the name ofLyon, I wish to
give him a little surprise. I intend toadd six thousand pounds to
the twenty-four I havealready given him, making a sum total of
thirtythousand. . . . Yours very truly,
“JANE LYON” (MH 144)
and settled upon him twenty-five or thirtythousand pounds at
first,
[contd] Mr. Wilkinson in reply oncemore suggested that, as he
had known Mr.Home long and intimately, she shouldemploy another
solicitor to transact thebusiness. Mrs. Lyon refused ... and
verysoon afterwards informed him of herdesire to transfer a further
sum of £30,000to Mr. Home (MH 144).
and subsequently another thirty thousandpounds,
V : PHYSICAL PHENOMENAALLEGED TO HAVE OCCURRED INTHE PRESENCE OF
DANIELDUNGLAS HOME (Bennett 41)
The gift to Home by Mrs. Lyon of a largesum of money, the
subsequent lawsuit,and the judgment in accordance withwhich the
money was returned to itsoriginal owner, excited much attention
atthe time (B 54).
all of which ended in a lawsuit
This episode with Mrs. Lyon has prob-ably had more effect than
any othercircumstance in causing the feeling ofaversion which large
numbers of peopleregard Home and all his doings (B 54).
which detracted much from Home’spopularity,
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Mr. H. Arthur Smith further says:“There was also an admitted
letter fromMrs. Lyon to Home, in which she statedthat she presented
him with the £24,000as an ‘entirely free gift.’ This, she said,was
written by her at Home’s dictation,under magnetic influence” (B
55).
as Mrs. Lyon claimed that the money wasextracted from her under
spiritualisticinfluence.
[She swears that Home brought a fictitious messagefrom her dead
husband, ordering her to adoptDaniel and endow him, and she gave
him at once£26,000. She swears that, when Home’s birthdaycame
round, another fictitious message ordered herto give Daniel a
further fat cheque, and she gavehim £6,798 (McCabe 9).]
She claimed that her deceased husband’sspirit, speaking through
Home as amedium, directed that she give thismoney to Home.
The courts decided against Home, andordered the money returned
to Mrs. Lyon.
XIII: 1876-1886 (Mme. Home 216)
To relate in detail Home’s life duringthese last years on earth
would simply totell a story of great suffering patiently
andcheerfully borne. In place of this, let me,now that I approach
the close of my work,state briefly the substance of
manycommunications made concerning the lifebeyond this. The greater
part of suchcommunications were given throughHome while he was in a
state of trance.[Etc.] (MH 225)
3:4.8 It seems that in the later years ofHome’s life he received
the majority ofhis communications in a state of trance.
In June, 1886, the complication ofwhich he had foretold the
dangersupervened, and attacking the lungs,proved quickly fatal (MH
229). Home died of his lung trouble and other
affections
Home’s grave is at St. Germain. Aplain cross of white marble
rises from aCalvary, on which is engraved: “DanielDunglas Home.
Born to earth-life nearEdinburgh (Scotland), March 20th, 1833.Born
to spirit-life: ‘To another discerningof spirits’ (1st Corinthians,
12th chapter,10th verse): June 21, 1886" (MH 230). on June 2,
1886.
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3:4.9 The careful study of Home’s lifeand the perusal of his
writings suggeststhat there is indeed a great paucity of“leading
lights” in the modern spiritisticmovement—or else the present
daysponsors for this new religion wouldhardly settle upon such a
character asHome for its Patron Saint. His wholecareer was “fishy”
from first to last;though notwithstanding the unsavorylawsuit and
the adverse judgment of theBritish courts, directing him to return
thefortune he had secured from Mrs. Lyonunder the guise of spirit
messages fromher dead husband—notwithstanding theutter
preposterousness of the impossibleclaims and assertions of
Home—hisfanatical followers believed in him to theend, and today
they would commemoratehim, in the words of Doyle, as
PROLOGUE (Mme. Home vii)
By sacrificing himself to everydescription of research, he
enabledscientific investigators to establish theexistence of forces
that until his day hadremained unknown; and he founded beliefin a
spirit-world on those remarkableevidences of identity that will
remain thebases of the true modern spiritualism(MH vii).
“the basis of the true modern spirit-ualism.”
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5. REV. STAINTON MOSES
[Note: Moses lived and worked in England, nevervisited America,
and became known there onlyafter his death.]
3:5.1 About the time that Home was invogue in England, the Rev.
StaintonMoses was occupying the center of thestage in America.
Reverend Moses seems,like Home, to have made little attempt
tocommercialize his seances, but he wasone of the earlier and more
pretentiousadvocates of spiritualism in America.
VI: PHYSICAL PHENOMENAALLEGED TO HAVE OCCURRED INTHE PRESENCE OF
WILLIAM STAIN-TON MOSES (Bennett 58)
LIGHTS WITHOUT APPARENT PHYSICALCAUSE (Bennett 72)
[contd] The phenomena of Lightwithout any apparent physical
cause wasa frequent one with Mr. Stainton Moses,and the
manifestations were of a veryvaried character (B 72-73).
The seances of Reverend Moses are saidto have been particularly
characterized bywhispering voices in the magic circle, aswell as by
numerous lights whichappeared from time to time.
III: THE PRODUCTION OF SOUNDWITHOUT ANY APPARENT PHYSIC-AL CAUSE
(Bennett 31)
Some little time later, at a similar seanceat the [house of
prominent Londonspiritualist, Mr. Thos. Everitt, Mrs.Everitt being
the medium], the sittingwas terminated by the singing of a hymnby
three or four soft, gentle voicespurporting to be “direct” voices,
The voices are repor ted to have
sometimes, blended into a quartet or achoir which could be heard
in gentlemeter
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which sounded as if they proceeded fromthe top of the room close
to the ceiling....I can only compare it to the singing of achoir of
boys’ voices, high up out of sightin Truro Cathedral, which I had
heardmany years before (B 34-35).
as if the music were being wafted to thehearers from a
considerable distance.
V: A CHAPTER OF GHOSTLYACCOMPLISHMENTS (McCabe 77)
He worked always in the dark, or in avery bad light;
Of course, these manifestations alwaystook place in a perfectly
dark room.
and his doings are mainly described byhis trustful friend and
host, Mrs. Speer(M 87).
The majority of the seances of theReverend Moses were conducted
for hisfriend, Doctor Spear.
[Mr. Stainton Moses’ most intimate friendswere Dr. and Mrs.
Stanhope T. Speer (B 60).]
Like Home, and only a few of the quiteholiest mediums,
3:5.2 Like Home,
he was occasionally lifted off the ground; the friends of Moses
claim that he wasfrequently lifted off the ground,
or, which is, of course, the same thing, hesaid that he was.
or that he told them of experiences inwhich he had been
levitated.
Raps were common when he was about. So-called “rappings” were
often asso-ciated with this medium,
but his chief spirit pursuit seemed topertain to automatic
writing.
Automatic writing of the most elevating(and most inaccurate)
description flowedfrom his pencil. From his hand, by automatic
writing,
there would ensue a flood of elevatingand interesting, but
always more or lessinaccurate, material.
As previously noted,
Lights floated about the room; lights were frequently seen
floating aboutthe room,
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and once or twice he dropped and broke abottle of phosphorus in
the dark (M 88).
and on one occasion the medium was sounfortunate as to drop and
break a bottleof phosphorus
whose fumes soon penetrated the wholeatmosphere of the darkened
seance room.
6. LATER SPIRITUALISTICLIGHTS
3:6.1 During the half century thatspiritualism has been
masquerading inthis country and Great Britain, a vastnumber of
leading lights have come andgone. Among this number may
bementioned:
A pretty variation of musicalmediumship was next introduced by
Mrs.Annie Eva Fay, another American fraudwith whom Sir W. Crookes
made solemnscientific experiments (M 81-82).
3:6.2 The Case of Mrs. Fay.
She came to London in 1874, andeverybody soon went to see and
hear the“fascinating American blonde” at theHanover Square Rooms (M
82).
A few years back the world wasentranced by the astonishing
seances ofMme. Fay.
[See M 82.] In her performances, she was alwaysaccompanied by
her husband, theColonel, and she practiced and prospereduntil one
time
By an accident at one of her performances an accident occurred
in one of herperformances
which was attended by Mr. Podmore,
Mr. Podmore was enabled to see how shedid it, and the secret has
long beenknown.
and he made the discovery of just howshe liberated herself.
The tapes supplied had to be fastened insuch a way
She had perfected a method of fasteningthe tapes that bound her
hands together,
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that she could with great speed slip themup her slender arms and
get into aworking position.
so that she could liberate herself at willand carry on the
numerous stunts,
all of which, of course, were done in aperfectly dark room.
Maskelyne also exposed her, A London Museum proprietor1
alsosubsequently exposed Mrs. Fay,
and trade fell off so badly that she madehim an offer, by
letter, to go on his stageand, for payment,
and her income as a medium was soreduced that she offered, by
letter, to goon his stage, for a fee,
show how all the tricks were done. and show how all of her
tricks and thoseof other mediums were done.
This sort of thing becomes a real tragedywhen we come to think
that
She had by that time converted hundredsto Spiritualism (M
83).
by this time she had been the means ofconverting hundreds, if
not thousands, tothe cause of spiritualism
and influencing them to become devoutbelievers in the
supernatural.
VI: THE SUBTLE ART OFCLAIRVOYANCE (McCabe 93)
Mrs. Piper, the great Americanclairvoyante, the medium
whoseperformances are endorsed as genuineeven by men who regard
Spiritualism asninety-eight per cent. fraud, began hercareer as a
“psychic” in 1874 (M 101).
3:6.3 The Interesting Mrs. Piper.
Mrs. Piper is probably one of the mostinteresting specimens of
mediumship thatever attracted attention in America, orwho was ever
investigated by anythinglike what could purport to be a
scientificcommission.
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Mr. Podmore, who, in spite of hishigh critical faculty, was
taken in by thisepisode [i.e. Mrs. Piper’s four-year periodof
transmitting messages by her thenspirit control, “George
Pelham”],
Mrs. Piper was even able to take in theshrewd and critical Mr.
Podmore;
thinks that telepathy alone can explain thewonderful things
done. He does notbelieve in ghosts.
although Podmore would not accept thehypothesis of “spooks” or
“spirits,” hewas disposed to grant the genuineness ofsome of her
performances and to explainthem on the hypothesis of telepathy.
Mrs. Piper’s “subconscious self,” hethinks, creates and
impersonates thesespirit beings,
He resorted to the theory that it was Mrs.Piper’s subconscious
self that thinks andcreates these spiritual beings,
and draws the information telepathicallyfrom the sitters (M
102).
and that she elicits communications fromher sitters by making
telepathic contactwith their respective minds.
3:6.4 Now when we are discussingMrs. Piper, the reader should
bear inmind that
I am, you see, not choosing “weakspots,” as Sir A. C. Doyle
said, and amnot quite so ignorant of psychic matters,in comparison
with himself, as herepresented (Debate, p. 51). I am takingthe
greatest “clairvoyant” in the history ofthe movement,
we are considering a woman who wasregarded as the “greatest
clairvoyant inthe history of the movement”
and in precisely those respects in whichshe was endorsed by Dr.
Hodgson and theAmerican S. P. R.
and that she was endorsed by DoctorHodgson and his American
Society forPsychic Research;
and Sir O. Lodge and all the leadingEnglish Spiritualists.
and that she was further endorsed by SirOliver Lodge and the
leading Britishlights in the firmament of spiritism.
She failed at every crucial test. But Mrs. Piper always fell
down when itcame to the actual test—
when it came to “brass tacks,” in thelanguage of slang.
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Phinuit, who knew so much, Her spook, Phinuit, who could
commun-icate so much through Mrs. Piper to theinvestigators, on
subjects of a generalnature,
could not give a plausible account of hisown life on earth,
could not give a sane or connected ac-count of his own life on
earth,
or how he came to forget medicine (M103-04).
or give a plausible reason why he shouldforget the medical facts
and knowledgewhich he had possessed when in the flesh.
When Myers 3:6.5 When Myers,
the renowned English investigator andwriter on spiritism,
died in 1901 and left a sealed envelopecontaining a message,
died in 1901, and left a sealed envelopecontaining a test
message,
she could not get a word of it. Mrs. Piper could not get through
to theinvestigators a single word of thismessage.
When Hodgson died in 1905 and left alarge amount of manuscript
in cipher,
When her long time sponsor, Hodgson,died in 1905 he left behind
a largeamount of manuscript in cipher,
she could not get the least clue to it. but Mrs. Piper was
unable to catch theleast clew to his writings
and this experiment added but another tothe long list of dismal
failures to makegood under real test conditions.
Even when she claimed to have called upProfessor Hodgson from
the grave,
When friends put test questions to thespirit of Hodgson about
his early life inAustralia,
when his friends put test questions to her,or to what purported
to be his spiritspeaking through Mrs. Piper as a medium,about his
early life in Australia,
the answers were all wrong (M 104). her answers were all
consistently wrong.
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She was completely baffled when amessage was given to her in
Latin,
3:6.6 She was completely baffledwhen a message was given to her
inLatin,
though she was supposed to be speakingin the name of the spirit
of the learnedMyers,
though she was supposed to be speakingin the name of the spirit
of the learnedMyers,
and it took her three months to get themeaning (out of a
dictionary?) of one ortwo easy words in it.
and it took her three months to get themeaning (out of a
dictionary?) of one ortwo easy words of it.
She gave a man a long account of anuncle whom he had never
had;
She gave a man a long account of anuncle whom he never had;
and it turned out that this informationwas in the Encyclopædia,
and related toanother man of the same name.
and it turned out that this informationwas in the Encyclopedia,
and related toanother man of the same name.
In no instance did she ever give detailsthat it was impossible
for her to learn ina normal way,
In no instance did she ever give detailsthat it was impossible
for her to learn ina normal way,
and it is for her admirers to prove thatshe did not learn them
in a normal way,
and it is for her admirers to prove thatshe did not learn them
in a normal way,
and, on the other hand, to give a moreplausible explanation of
what Dr.Maxwell, their great authority, calls her“inaccuracies and
falsehoods” (M 104-05).
and, on the other hand, to give a moreplausible explanation of
what DoctorMaxwell, their great authority, calls her“inaccuracies
and falsehoods.”
VII: MESSAGES FROM THE SPIRIT-WORLD (McCabe 109)
3:6.7 The Famous Bangs Sisters.
Among the most interesting of thephysical-manifestation mediums
of therecent past were the Bangs Sisters ofChicago, whom I have
seen operate verymany times.
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[Carrington] tells in his PersonalExperiences in Spiritualism of
a pair ofChicago mediums—the same MissesBangs who painted spirit
pictures beforeyour eyes, as I have previouslydescribed—
They were the same Misses Bangs whopainted spirit pictures right
before theeyes of their sitters.
whose method was extraordinarilydifficult to detect (M 120).
And many of their methods, it must beconfessed, were very
difficult to detectand expose.
Here were two quiet and inoffensive-looking spinsters earning a
good living bydeceptive practices
3:6.8 These interesting maiden ladiescontinued their work of
deceiving thepublic—
(this and the spirit-painting trick) whichthey had themselves,
apparently, origin-ated, and which taxed the ingenuity of anexpert
conjurer to discover (M 121)
and they were very clever at it—
[Note: The Bangs Sisters were arrested in Chicagoin April 1888
but continued in their trade till the1920s.]
until they were finally rounded up by theChicago police and
their profitablebusiness was brought to an end.
3:6.9 Sooner or later, it seems, themost brilliant mediums are
detected; andthis same thing occurred in the case of
Mrs. Ebba Wriedt came from thatperennial breeding-ground of
greatmediums, the United States, where shehad long been known.
the famous Mrs. Wriedt, the Britishmedium
In 1912 she illumined London.... Lighthad wonderful columns on
Mrs. Wriedt’smarvels (M 124).
who flourished in England,
[See M 125-26.] but who was caught in Norway.
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III: COMMUNICATIONS PURPORT-ING TO COME FROM DR. RICHARDHODGSON.
(Funk 47)
3 . INTERESTING BUT SCARCELYEVIDENTIAL (Funk 71)
Rev. Mr. Wiggin, a noted platformmedium, in his church in Boston
on Sunday,January 28, 1906, announced—or was it, as heclaims, the
spirit control through him thatmade the announcement?—that Dr.
Hodgsonwas present, and desired to speak [to his oldfriend in New
York, Dr. I. K. Funk] (F 73).
3:6.10 And so the Rev. FrederickWiggin
was able to put many things over, butwhen he got up against the
shrewd DoctorFunk, the wires got crossed
The message unfortunately contains avery grave error. My wife
did not die becauseof an “accident,” but, some thirty-five
yearsago, died of peritonitis in childbirth; but mymother, over two
score years ago in Ohio,died exactly in the way described in
themessage except that she stept down from achair, on a needle
which resulted in herdeath—she did not fall. [Etc.] (F 75)
and he got Doctor Funk’s mother’s deathmixed up and attributed
it to his wife.
III: THE MYSTERY OF RAPS ANDLEVITATIONS (McCabe 42)
Again let us, in order not to wastetime, address ourselves at
once to theclassical case of Eusapia Palladino. 3:6.11 The Classic
Palladino.
Not many years ago, they brought toAmerica the classic medium
ofcontinental Europe, Eusapia Palladino.
Your common or garden medium, withhis uncritical audience, has a
dozen waysof tilting and lifting tables and pullingfurniture about
the room about the room.[Etc.] (M 52-53)
She was not the common garden varietyof medium,
but the real thing.
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You all know how she came, heralded, tothis country; how
this
Eusapia Palladino was an Italianworking girl, an orphan,
Italian working girl,
who married a small shopkeeper ofNaples. She remained throughout
lifealmost entirely illiterate, with no education, the daughter of
a
shopkeeper in Naples,
held the attention of scientists andinvestigators,
but she came in time to earn “exorbitantfees” (Lombroso’s
daughter says) by herséances (M 53-54).
and how she earned fortunes through herprofession.
And you will recall how
In 1910 the Americans tried her. the late Professor Hugo
Munsterberg andhis assistants trapped her in this country.
At one sitting Professor Münsterberg wascarefully controlling
her left foot, as hethought, when the table in the cabinetbehind
her began to move.
In the midst of her wonderfulperformance,
she uttered an outlandish scream.
3:6.12 The seance was suddenlyterminated.
But one man had stealthily crept into thecabinet under cover of
the dark,
One of Professor Munsterberg’sassistants had crawled along on
the floor,
and in the midst of the performance
and he seized something. Eusapiashrieked—it was her left foot!
(M 56)
had seized the medium’s leg.
She was carrying on her wonderfulperformance by means of the
dexteroususe of her toes, handling instruments, andcausing the rest
of the phenomenaassociated with her seance.
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3:6.13 It should be borne in mind that
From 1905 to 1907 she was rigorouslyexamined by the General
PsychologicalInstitute of Paris. They reported constanttrickery and
evasion of tests. Sitters werenot allowed to put a foot on her
right foot
the investigators and observers of Eusapiawere not allowed to
put a foot on herright foot
because she had a painful corn on it. because of the fact that
she claimed thatthat foot was “afflicted with a painfulcorn.”
At the same time we should rememberthat
One of her hands must not be clasped bythe control
one of her hands must not be clasped bythe investigator
because she was acutely sensitive to painin that hand.
because of the further fact that she “wasacutely sensitive to
pain in that hand.”
She will not allow a man to stand nearand do nothing but watch
her.
Under no circumstances would thisfamous medium ever allow a man
to standnear her with nothing to do but intentlyobserve her
performances.
It would seem that she was able to
She wriggles and squirms all the time,and releases her hands and
feet. release her hands and feet from almost
any ordinary control by means of herconstant wriggling and
squirming.
3:6.14 One of the early frauds Eusapiawas detected in was
effected by means ofan investigator who sneaked in a camera
She learns that, in a photograph they havetaken of one high
“levitation” of a stool,
and took an exposure of the levitation ofa stool high in the
air.
When the photograph was developed
it is plainly seen to be resting on her head, it was plain to be
seen that the stool wasresting on the medium’s head.
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so she allows no more photographs ofthis. And so on (M 56).
From that time on she developed apeculiar phobia for
photographers oranyone carrying anything that in the leastresembled
a camera of any size.
VII: MESSAGES FROM THE SPIRIT-WORLD (McCabe 109)
The supreme artist in [the trick ofreceiving messages from
spirits on slates]was Henry Slade, 3:6.15 Slade, The
Slate-Writer.
whom Sir A. C. Doyle regards as agenuine intermediary between
the loftyspirits of the other world and ourselves.
As Truesdell’s account of the way inwhich he unmasked Slade as
early as1872 contains one of the richest stories inthe whole
collection of Spiritualistanecdotes, one would have thought that
astory-teller like Sir A. C. Doyle could notpossibly have forgotten
it (M 112).
Truesdell undertook a serious inves-tigation of Slade.
Truesdell paid the customary fivedollars,
Having paid the customary five dollars,
and received pretty and edifying, butinconclusive, messages from
the spirits.
he received a number of interesting andpretty messages
purporting to be of spiritorigin,
but wholly unsatisfactory and un-convincing to the
investigator.
Incidentally he detected that the spirit-touches on his arms
were done by Slade’sfoot,
He soon discovered that the supposedspirit touches on his arm
were executedby Slade’s foot.
He concluded that they were performed
to distract his attention; in order to divert his attention away
frombeing too closely concentrated on theslate-trick.
but he could not see the method of theslate-trick.
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However, as the main theme of themessages
3:6.16 The main theme of the messages
which most sitters received on Slade’strick-slates
was an exhortation to persevere in hisinquiries
was in the nature of an exhortation topersevere in the
investigation of thingsspiritual,
and of course this meant—although notdirectly implied—that
(at five dollars a sitting to the medium),he made another
appointment.
the investigator would pay the medium,Slade, five dollars a
sitting.
How else could these investigations besuitably or successfully
carried on?
3:6.17 Truesdell tells of a subsequentvisit to Slade
It was on this occasion that he left amisleading letter in his
overcoat inSlade’s hall,
at which time he left a misleading letter inhis overcoat pocket
out in Slade’s hall,
and found the spirits assuming that hewas “Samuel Johnson, Rome,
N.Y.”
and subsequently found that the all-wisespirits assumed that he
was “SamuelJohnson, Rome, New York.”
But before Slade entered the room, But before the medium had
entered theseance room,
and while he was presumably out in thehall,
or while Slade was going through hisovercoat-pockets,
going through the investigator’s overcoatpockets,
he rapidly overhauled Slade’s room. Truesdell rapidly overhauled
Slade’sroom.
He found a slate with a pious messagefrom the spirits already
written on it,
He found a slate containing a carefullyprepared and pious
message, purporting tocome from the spirits,
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signed (as was usual) by the spirit ofSlade’s dead wife,
Alcinda.
already written and signed, as was Slade’scustom, with the name
of his dead wife,Alcinda.
Beneath the message Truesdell wrote Directly underneath this
message on theslate Truesdell wrote:
“Henry, look out for this fellow—he is upto snuff! Alcinda,”
“Henry, look out for this fellow—he is upto snuff! Alcinda.”
and replaced the slate. Then he carefully replaced the
slate,
leaving everything exactly as he found it.
Slade came in, and gave a most dramaticperformance.
Presently Slade came into the room andgave a most dramatic
performance,
In his contortions, during which he indulged in
numerouscontortions,
under the spirit-influence, and under the apparent influence
ofinvisible spirits
he drew the table near to the hidden slate, he gradually drew
the small table onwhich his slates rested nearer and nearerthe
location of the hidden slate,
and “accidentally” knocked the cleanslate off the table.
whereupon he “accidentally” knocked theclean slate, which was
about to be usedfor test purposes, off the table.
Of course, This of course
was nothing more nor less than a ruse togive him an excuse
for
he picked up the prepared slate. picking up the prepared
slate,
which by this time was near at hand.
His emotions can be imagined when heread the words which
Truesdell hadwritten on it.
The reader can easily imagine whatSlade’s emotions must have
been when heread the words which Truesdell hadwritten on the
slate
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SOURCE 3: THE TRUTH ABOUT SPIRITUALISM
underneath his message but a few minutespreviously.
However, the medium soon overcame hisembarrassment
After a little bluster, however, helaughingly acknowledged that
he was amere conjuror,
and after a little confusion he “laughinglyacknowledged that he
was a mereconjuror,”
and he told Truesdell many tricks of hisprofession (M
112-13).
and told the investigator who had out-witted him about many of
the tricks of hisprofession.
[See M 113-14.] He was many times arrested and exposedin both
this country and in England.
3:6.18 The Seybert CommissionFindings.
V: A CHAPTER OF GHOSTLYACCOMPLISHMENTS (McCabe 77)
Henry Seybert, a Spiritualist, left a largesum of money to the
University ofPennsylvania
Henry Seybert bequeathed funds to beused by the University of
Pennsylvania
on the condition that the Universityauthorities would appoint a
commissionto examine into (among other things) theclaims of
Spiritualism (M 86).
in the scientific study of the phenomenaof spiritualism.
PRELIMINARY REPORT OF THESEYBERT COMMISSION FORI N V E S T I G A
T I N G M O D E R NSPIRITUALISM (Seybert Commission)
[contd] A Commission was accord-ingly appointed, composed as
follows:
A committee, consisting of ten eminentmen,
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SOURCE 3: THE TRUTH ABOUT SPIRITUALISM
Dr. William Pepper, Dr. Joseph Leidy,Dr. George A. Koenig,
Professor RobertEllis Thompson, Professor George S.Fullerton and
Dr. Horace HowardFurness; to whom were afterwards addedMr. Coleman
Sellers, Dr. James W.White, Dr. Calvin B. Knerr and Dr. S.Weir
Mitchell (SC 5).
By the advice of Mr. Hazard weaddressed ourselves first to the
inves-tigation of Independent Slate Writing, andthrough his aid a
séance for this purposewas arranged with a noted Medium, Mrs.S. E.
Patterson (SC 6).
made a thorough-going investigation ofslate writing,
trance mediums, and other mediumisticphenomena,
and came to the conclusion that the wholesordid mess was
fraudulent.2
[Very few mediums would face the professors, andthose who did
were shown to be all frauds (M 86).]
They caught their mediums again andagain in cheating,
When the slate is held under the table,knees and feet and
clothing exert nodeleterious effect, but the gaze of ahuman eye is
fatal to all Spiritualmanifestation; although to one of ournumber,
on three occasions, a pocketmirror, carefully adjusted, unknown
tothe Medium,
and by means of mirrors and other devices
gave back the reflection of fingers, whichwere clearly not
Spiritual, opening theslates and writing the answer (SC 15-16).
were able to detect the deceptive methodspracticed by the
mediums.
[See endnote.] And subsequent investigations haveconfirmed the
findings of the Philadelphiainvestigation.3
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1. John Nevil Maskelyne (1839-1917) was an English stage
magician and inventor.
2. We request your honorable body to note that this Report is
preliminary and that we do not consider ourinvestigations in this
department [i.e. Independent Slate Writing] as finally closed, but
hold ourselves ready tocontinue them whenever favorable
circumstances arise (SC 21).
3. Slade was one of these [fraudulent mediums], and the
Pennsylvania professors, wondering how any trained mancould be
taken in by so palpable a fraud, sent a representative to Leipsic
to investigate the experiences of ProfessorZöllner and the three
other German professors who had endorsed Slade. The gist of his
report was that of the fourprofessors one (Zöllner) was in an early
stage of insanity (he died shortly afterwards), one (Fechner) was
nearlyblind, the third (Weber) was seventy-four years old, and the
fourth (Schreibner) was very short-sighted, yet did not(as Sir.
A.C. Doyle says) entirely endorse the phenomena! (M 86)
The Seybert Commission in its reportsays:
An eminent professional jugglerperformed, in the presence of
three of ourCommission,
“An eminent professional jugglerperformed, in the presence of
ourcommission,
some Independent Slate Writing far moreremarkable than any which
we havewitnessed with Mediums.... We wereutterly baffled. For one
of our number thejuggler subsequently repeated the trickand
revealed its every detail (SC 19-20).
some independent slate writing far moreremarkable than any we
have witnessedwith mediums.”
3:6.19 And so no matter whether theinvestigation is conducted by
UniversityProfessors or by the ScientificAmerican—so far, at any
rate, themediums have all turned out to becheats—they have all been
detected infraud.
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THE TRUTH ABOUT SPIRITUALISM - Chapter 03KEY 3. The Modern
Spiritualistic Movement