{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_66451/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_66451","id":"gutenberg_66451","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/66451","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Biographies","Category: History - Other","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Spiritualism"],"text":"Transcriber\u2019s Note: Italic text is enclosed in _underscores_.\n\n\n\n\nA MAGICIAN AMONG THE SPIRITS\n\n\n[Illustration: SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE AND HOUDINI PHOTOGRAPHED AT THE\nAUTO CLUB, LONDON, ENGLAND]\n\n\n\n\n A MAGICIAN\n AMONG THE SPIRITS\n\n\n BY\n HOUDINI\n\n\n _Illustrated_\n\n\n [Illustration]\n\n\n _Publishers_\n HARPER & BROTHERS\n New York and London\n _MCMXXIV_\n\n\n\n\n A MAGICIAN AMONG THE SPIRITS\n\n Copyright, 1924, by Harry Houdini\n Printed in the United States of America\n\n _First Edition_\n\n O-Y\n\n\n\n\n IN WORSHIPFUL HOMAGE\n I\n DEDICATE THIS BOOK\n TO THE MEMORY OF MY SAINTED MOTHER\n IF GOD\n IN HIS INFINITE WISDOM\n EVER SENT AN ANGEL UPON EARTH IN HUMAN FORM\n IT WAS MY\n MOTHER\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS\n\n\n CHAPTER PAGE\n INTRODUCTION xi\n\n PREFACE xxi\n\n I. THE FOUNDERS OF MODERN SPIRITUALISM 1\n\n II. THE DAVENPORT BROTHERS 17\n\n III. DANIEL DUNGLAS HOME 38\n\n IV. PALLADINO 50\n\n V. ANN O\u2019DELIA DISS DEBAR 66\n\n VI. DR. SLADE AND HIS SPIRIT SLATES 79\n\n VII. SLATE WRITING AND OTHER METHODS 101\n\n VIII. SPIRIT PHOTOGRAPHY 117\n\n IX. SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE 138\n\n X. WHY ECTOPLASM? 166\n\n XI. BY-PRODUCTS OF SPIRITUALISM 180\n\n XII. INVESTIGATIONS--WISE AND OTHERWISE 191\n\n XIII. HOW MEDIUMS OBTAIN INFORMATION 217\n\n XIV. WHAT YOU MUST BELIEVE TO BE A SPIRITUALIST 229\n\n XV. MAGICIANS AS DETECTORS OF FRAUD 244\n\n XVI. CONCLUSION 266\n\n APPENDIX 271\n\n\n\n\nILLUSTRATIONS\n\n\n SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE AND HOUDINI PHOTOGRAPHED AT THE AUTO\n CLUB, LONDON, ENGLAND _Frontispiece_\n\n PAGE\n JOHN D. FOX AND HIS WIFE 10\n\n THE FOX HOME AT HYDESVILLE 10\n\n LEAH FOX FISH 14\n\n KATIE FOX JENCKEN 14\n\n MARGARET FOX KANE 14\n\n ELISHA KENT KANE, M.D. 14\n\n IRA ERASTUS DAVENPORT AND HOUDINI, TAKEN ON JULY 5, 1911. The\n last photograph of the old showman 26\n\n FACSIMILE OF PORTIONS OF A LETTER WRITTEN TO HOUDINI BY IRA\n E. DAVENPORT 28\n\n DANIEL DUNGLAS HOME 44\n\n DIAGRAM SHOWING ARRANGEMENT OF ROOMS, WINDOWS, ETC., WHERE\n HUME\u2019S REPUTED FEAT OF FLOATING TOOK PLACE 47\n\n EUSAPIA PALLADINO AND HER SEANCE TABLE 60\n\n ANN O\u2019DELIA DISS DEBAR 76\n\n HENRY SLADE 88\n\n LOCKED SLATE USED BY DR. HENRY SLADE IN HIS WRITING TESTS AT\n PHILADELPHIA 96\n\n SKETCH SHOWING SLADE\u2019S SEAT AT THE TABLE, DIFFERENT POSITIONS\n OF SLATES, LOCATION OF SPONGE, AND METHOD OF MOVING BOOK\n 98\n\n WRITING ON HONEST SLATES BY MEANS OF WEDGE AND WIRE 104\n\n HOUDINI, MRS. HOUDINI, AND MR. TEALE, DEMONSTRATING A METHOD\n OF SWITCHING SLATES OVER A SITTER\u2019S HEAD 106\n\n RAPPING MECHANISM IN HEEL OF MEDIUM\u2019S SHOE 111\n\n TUBE AND PISTON ARRANGEMENT FOR MAKING RAPS 111\n\n SO-CALLED \u201cSPIRIT EXTRA\u201d ON PHOTOGRAPH OF HARRY PRICE MADE BY\n WILLIAM HOPE OF THE CREWE CIRCLE 130\n\n HOUDINI AND ALEXANDER MARTIN 134\n\n PHOTOGRAPH OF HOUDINI MADE BY ALEXANDER MARTIN, AT DENVER,\n COLORADO, ON MAY 10, 1923, SHOWING SO-CALLED \u201cSPIRIT\n EXTRAS\u201d 136\n\n MME. BISSON, MRS. FEILDING (TOMCHICK), AND MLLE. EVA 170\n\n KELLAR AND HOUDINI 224\n\n\n\n\nINTRODUCTION\n\n\nFrom my early career as a mystical entertainer I have been interested\nin Spiritualism as belonging to the category of mysticism, and as\na side line to my own phase of mystery shows I have associated\nmyself with mediums, joining the rank and file and held seances as\nan independent medium to fathom the truth of it all. At the time I\nappreciated the fact that I surprised my clients, but while aware\nof the fact that I was _deceiving_ them I did not see or understand\nthe seriousness of trifling with such sacred sentimentality and the\nbaneful result which inevitably followed. To me it was a lark. I was a\nmystifier and as such my ambition was being gratified and my love for a\nmild sensation satisfied. After delving deep I realized the seriousness\nof it all. As I advanced to riper years of experience I was brought\nto a realization of the seriousness of trifling with the hallowed\nreverence which the average human being bestows on the departed, and\nwhen I personally became afflicted with similar grief I was chagrined\nthat I should ever have been guilty of such frivolity and for the first\ntime realized that it bordered on crime.\n\nAs a consequence my own mental attitude became considerably more\nplastic. I too would have parted gladly with a large share of\nmy earthly possessions for the solace of one word from my loved\ndeparted--just one word that I was sure had been genuinely bestowed by\nthem--and so I was brought to a full consciousness of the sacredness\nof the thought, and became deeply interested to discover if there was\na possible reality to the return, by Spirit, of one who had passed\nover the border and ever since have devoted to this effort my heart and\nsoul and what brain power I possess. In this frame of mind I began a\nnew line of psychical research in all seriousness and from that time to\nthe present I have never entered a seance room except with an open mind\ndevoutly anxious to learn if intercommunication is within the range of\npossibilities and with a willingness to accept any demonstration which\nproves a revelation of truth.\n\nIt is this question as to the truth or falsity of intercommunication\nbetween the dead and the living, more than anything else, that has\nclaimed my attention and to which I have devoted years of research and\nconscientious study. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle says in one of his lectures:\n\n\u201cWhen one has a knock at the door, one does not pause, but goes further\nto see what causes it and investigates, and sooner or later one\ndiscovers that a message is being delivered,...\u201d\n\nSo I have gone to investigate the knocks, but as a result of my\nefforts I must confess that I am farther than ever from belief in the\ngenuineness of Spirit manifestations and after twenty-five years of\nardent research and endeavor I declare that nothing has been revealed\nto convince me that intercommunication has been established between the\nSpirits of the departed and those still in the flesh.\n\nI have made compacts with fourteen different persons that whichever of\nus died first would communicate with the other if it were possible,\nbut I have never received a word. The first of these compacts was made\nmore than twenty-five years ago and I am certain that if any one of the\npersons could have reached me he would have done so. One compact was\nmade with my private secretary, the late John W. Sargent, a man of\nmature years. We were very much attached to each other. The day before\nhe underwent an operation he said to me:\n\n\u201cHoudini, this may be the end. If it is, I am coming back to you no\nmatter what happens on the other side provided there is any way I can\nreach you. And if I can come, you will know it is I because I am going\nto will it so strong that you cannot be mistaken.\u201d\n\nHe died the next day. That was more than three years ago and there\nhas been no sign. I have waited and watched believing that if any man\never could have sent back word he would have been the man. And I know\nthat our minds were so close to each other that I would have received\nthe signal that my friend wanted to call me. No one could accuse me of\nbeing unwilling to receive such a sign because it would have been the\ngreatest enlightenment I could possibly have had in this world.\n\nSir Arthur Conan Doyle, a sincere and confirmed believer in Spirit\nphenomena whose acquaintance I esteem, advises me that I do not secure\nconvincing results because I am a skeptic and I therefore want to\nmake it clear that I am not a scoffer. I firmly believe in a Supreme\nBeing and that there is a Hereafter. Therefore since their departure\nfrom this earth it has been my practice, as a final duty, to visit\nthe sacred resting places of my dearly beloved parents, and ask their\nprotection and silent blessings through the Omnipotent Almighty.\nThe very first place I visit when I return from a trip is this same\nhallowed spot. Both promised me faithfully innumerable times in this\nlife that if they could aid and protect me from their graves or from\nthe Great Beyond, they would do so. My mind has always been open and\nreceptive and ready to believe. In attending seances I have always\nmade a pledge of honor with myself to banish all profane thoughts\nfrom my mind to the utmost of my ability. I further pledge myself to\nconcentrate. I have persuaded my whole soul, brain and thought to a\npoint where the medium has my attention to such an extent that at\nthe finish I feel as much exhausted as the medium who shows to those\npresent the effects of great strain irrespective of its cause. Thus it\nmust be seen that I am not a skeptic. However, it has been my life work\nto invent and publicly present problems, the secrets of which not even\nthe members of the magical profession have been able to discover, and\nthe effects of which have proved as inexplicable to the scientists as\nany marvel of the mediums, and I claim that in so far as the revelation\nof trickery is concerned my years of investigation have been more\nproductive than the same period of similar work by any scientist; that\nmy record as a \u201cmystifier of mystifiers\u201d qualifies me to look below\nthe surface of any mystery problem presented to me and that with my\neyes trained by thirty years\u2019 experience in the realms of mystery and\noccultism it is not strange that I view these so-called phenomena\nfrom a different angle than the ordinary layman or even the expert\ninvestigator.\n\nA memorable incident in my life and one that shows how little the world\nat large understands the methods by which my mysteries are produced\nand also shows how easy it is for even a great intellect, faced with\na mystery it cannot fathom, to conclude that there is something\nsupernatural involved, has to do with Madame Sarah Bernhardt.\n\nDuring one of my various engagements in Paris she had witnessed my\nperformances and was anxious to see one of my outdoor exploits, so,\nwhen we were both playing at the same time in Boston, out of good\ncamaraderie I gave a special performance at my hotel adding a few\nextra experiments for her benefit. As we were seated in the motor\ncar on the way to my demonstration she placed her arm gently around\nmy shoulder, and in that wonderful speaking voice with which she was\ngifted and which has thrilled thousands of auditors, but now stilled\nforever, she said to me:\n\n\u201cHoudini, you do such marvellous things. Couldn\u2019t you--could you bring\nback my leg for me?\u201d\n\nI looked at her, startled, and failing to see any mischievous sparkle\nin her eye replied:\n\n\u201cGood heavens, Madame, certainly not; you cannot be serious. You\nknow my powers are limited and you are actually asking me to do the\nimpossible.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d she said as she leaned closer to me, \u201cbut you do the impossible.\u201d\n\nWe looked at each other; she, the travel-worn, experienced woman of the\nworld; I, the humble mystifier, nonplussed and thunderstruck at the\nextraordinary, unintentional compliment she was paying me. Then I asked:\n\n\u201cAre you jesting?\u201d\n\n\u201c_Mais non, Houdini, j\u2019ai jamais \u00e9t\u00e9 plus s\u00e8rieux dans ma vie_,\u201d[1] she\nanswered as she slowly shook her head.\n\n\u201cMadame, you exaggerate my ability,\u201d I told her.\n\nEach of the marvels of modern scientific achievement such as the\ntelephone, radio, flying machine, radium, etc., were at one time\nclassed as impossible and would have been looked upon as supernatural,\nif not Spiritual manifestations. Similar mysteries, but more frail in\nprinciple and constructive detail, were the instruments used by the\npriestcraft of ancient religious cults for the purpose of holding the\nmass of unintelligent beings in servitude.\n\nIt is not unusual for the eye or ear to play tricks with one but when\nsuch illusions and delusions are taken for the Spirit forms of the\ndeparted and voices of the dead instead of being recognized as some\nsubjective phenomena brought about by a physical cause the situation\ntakes on a grave aspect. It is this transfer of an inner reaction to an\nexternal object which constitutes practically all that is necessary to\nbe placed in the category of \u201cpsychics,\u201d who represent the priests and\nministers of Spiritualism.\n\nDistressed relatives catch at the least word which may remotely\nindicate that the Spirit which they seek is in communication with them.\nOne little sign even, which appeals to their waiting imagination,\nshatters all ordinary caution and they are converted. Then they\nbegin to accept all kinds of natural events as results of Spirit\nintervention. This state of mind is productive of many misfortunes,\nincluding suicides by those who think they are going to happiness\nwith loved ones beyond the pale. When in Europe in 1919 finishing\nan engagement interrupted by the World War I was impressed by the\neagerness of grief-stricken parents for the solace of a word from the\nboy who had passed on and my desire for the truth was renewed with\nfresh vigor. I am informed that so great has the \u201cmedium\u201d craze become\nin Berlin that the grief-stricken residents have spent great sums of\nmoney in the hope of discovering mediums who will \u201cguarantee them a\nglimpse behind the veil.\u201d It is with the deepest interest and concern\nthat I have watched this great wave of Spiritualism sweep the world in\nrecent months and realized that it has taken such a hold on persons of\na neurotic temperament, especially those suffering from bereavement,\nthat it has become a menace to health and sanity.\n\nProfessor George M. Robertson, eminent psychopathologist, and\nPhysician-Superintendent of the Royal Edinburgh Mental Hospital, made\nthe danger of insanity resulting from strong belief in Spiritualism by\nneurotics the subject of a part of his annual report in 1920. He says:\n\n\u201cThose who had sustained bereavements during the war and bore them with\nequanimity in the days of crowded incidents and amidst the pressure of\nwar activities, such as Red Cross and other work, find it much harder\nto bear up now, although time has elapsed. Some have broken down since\nthe war came to an end. Many, as a solace to their feelings, have taken\nan interest in Spiritualism. Since Dr. Charles Mercier quoted in the\npreface of his book \u2018Spiritualism and Sir Oliver Lodge\u2019 my warning on\nthe danger of neurotic persons engaging in practical inquiries of a\nSpiritualistic nature, I have received many requests to say more on the\nsubject. I have little to add save to reaffirm the statement then made.\n\n\u201cI do not consider either Sir Arthur Conan Doyle or Sir Oliver Lodge\nto be safe judges, whose opinion should be accepted on this difficult\nand important subject, in view of their bereavement and unconscious\ndesires. If the wish be father to the thought, it is mother to the\nhallucination of the senses.\n\n\u201cThe tricks the brain can play without calling in Spiritualistic aids\nare simply astounding, and only those who have made a study of morbid\nas well as normal psychology, realize the full truth of this.\u201d\n\nI have read with keen curiosity the articles by leading scientists on\nthe subject of psychic phenomena, particularly those by Sir Arthur\nConan Doyle and Sir Oliver Lodge, in which they have discussed their\nrespective conversions to a belief in communication with the dead.\nThere is no doubt in my mind that some of these scientists are\nsincere in their belief but unfortunately it is through this very\n_sincerity_ that thousands become converts. The fact that they are\n_scientists_ does not endow them with an especial gift for detecting\nthe particular sort of fraud used by mediums, nor does it bar them from\nbeing deceived, especially when they are fortified in their belief by\ngrief, for the various books and records of the subject are replete\nwith deceptions practised on noted scientists who have essayed to\ninvestigate prominent mediums. It is perfectly rational to suppose\nthat I may be deceived once or twice by a new illusion, but if my\nmind, which has been so keenly trained for years to invent mysterious\neffects, can be deceived, how much more susceptible must the ordinary\nobserver be.\n\nDuring my last trip abroad, in 1919, I attended over one hundred\nseances with the sole purpose of honest investigation; these seances\nwere presided over by well-known mediums in France and England. In\naddition to attending these seances I spent a great deal of time\nconferring with persons prominently identified with Spiritualism.\nIn the course of my intense investigations I have met most of the\nfamous mediums of our time. I have submitted to conditions imposed\nby them and religiously awaited results, but I still question any\nso-called proof of the existence of Spirits who are interested in any\nway, physically or mentally, in the welfare of mortal men. It is not\nwithin the province of this book, which is the result of my years of\ninvestigation, to give all the historical detail concerning every\nmedium mentioned, though enough are furnished in each instance to\nestablish my claims, each of which is based on a thorough study of\nthe records as are also my statements many of which are supported by\ndocumentary evidence in my possession.\n\nI have spent a goodly part of my life in study and research. During\nthe last thirty years I have read every single piece of literature on\nthe subject of Spiritualism that I could. I have accumulated one of\nthe largest libraries in the world on psychic phenomena, Spiritualism,\nmagic, witchcraft, demonology, evil spirits, etc., some of the material\ngoing back as far as 1489, and I doubt if any one in the world has so\ncomplete a library on modern Spiritualism, but nothing I ever read\nconcerning the so-called Spiritualistic phenomena has impressed me\nas being genuine. It is true that some of the things I read seemed\nmystifying but I question if they would be were they to be reproduced\nunder different circumstances, under _test conditions_, and before\nexpert mystifiers and open minded committees. Mine has not been an\ninvestigation of a few days or weeks or months but one that has\nextended over thirty years and in that thirty years I have not found\none incident that savoured of the genuine. If there had been any real\nunalloyed demonstration to work on, one that did not reek of fraud,\none that could not be reproduced by earthly powers, then there would\nbe something for a foundation, but up to the present time everything\nthat I have investigated has been the result of deluded brains or those\nwhich were too actively and intensely willing to believe.\n\n HOUDINI.\n\n\n\n\nPREFACE\n\n\nGladly would I embrace Spiritualism if it could prove its claims, but I\nam not willing to be deluded by the fraudulent impositions of so-called\npsychics, or accept as sacred reality any of the evidence that has been\nplaced before me thus far.\n\nThe ancients\u2019 childish belief in demonology and witchcraft; the\nsuperstitions of the civilized and uncivilized, and those marvellous\nmysteries of past ages are all laughed at by the full grown sense of\nthe present generation; yet we are asked, in all seriousness, by a few\nscientists and scholars, to accept as absolute truth such testimony as\nis built up by their pet mediums, which, so far, has been proven to be\nnothing beyond a more or less elaborate construction of fiction resting\non the slenderest of foundations, or rather, absolutely no foundation.\n\nNot only educated men and women with emotional longings for some\nassurance of the continued existence of departed loved ones, but people\nof all phases and conditions of life, have completely surrendered\nthemselves to belief in the most monstrous fiction, vouched for by\nonly a single witness of the so-called phenomenon, and that too when\nthe medium, through whom the phenomenon was supposed to have presented\nitself, had been caught cheating time and again.\n\nI believe in a Hereafter and no greater blessing could be bestowed upon\nme than the opportunity, once again, to speak to my sainted Mother who\nawaits me with open arms to press me to her heart in welcome, just as\nshe did when I entered this mundane sphere.\n\n H.\n\n_Spring, 1924._\n\n\n\n\nA MAGICIAN AMONG THE SPIRITS\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER I\n\nTHE FOUNDERS OF MODERN SPIRITUALISM\n\n\nThe story of modern spirit manifestations, so called, dates from\n1848 and the \u201csolitary farmhouse\u201d of John D. Fox and his wife in the\nvillage of Hydesville, in New York State, and centres around their\ntwo little girls, Margaret, eight, and Kate, younger by a year and\na half. Successfully exploited while still children; credited with\noccult power; becoming world-famous as \u201cThe Fox Sisters,\u201d--their record\nis, without exception, one of the most interesting in the history of\nspiritualism.\n\nJohn Fox and his wife appear to have been of the \u201cgood, honest,\u201d but\nnot mentally keen type of farmer folk. Of the two, the wife was the\nmore \u201csimple minded,\u201d and when the \u201cnervous, superstitious woman\u201d\nbegan to hear unusual noises which she could not account for, and\nwhich seemed in some peculiar manner connected with her children, she\nconcluded at once that the sounds were \u201cunnatural\u201d and began to brood\nover the matter. Her fears increased with the persistent recurrence of\nthe mysterious sounds, and before long she took some of the neighbors\ninto her confidence. They were as puzzled as the mother, the Fox home\nbecame an object of suspicion and the neighborhood set itself the task\nof solving the mystery.\n\nWith the increase of interest came a proportionate increase in the\nnoises, which commenced to be known as \u201crappings,\u201d and which, in spite\nof the positive denials by the children of any knowledge of how they\nwere produced, regularly answered by an uncanny code questions asked\nthe two girls. The possibility of duplicity in such children never\noccurred to any one in Hydesville, with the result that the timid hint\nof a \u201cdisembodied spirit\u201d soon became a theory. Some one asked the\ngirls if a murder had ever been committed in the house. The ominous\nsounds of the code answered in the affirmative and at once to the eager\ninvestigators, the theory became a proven fact and there flashed up in\ntheir minds the vision of a personality in the Spirit World endeavoring\nby crude means, which somewhat resembled telegraphy, to give to human\nbeings the benefit of its vaster knowledge, the whole affair in some\nobscure manner being connected with two little girls.\n\nAt this critical moment a married daughter of John D. Fox and his wife\ncame home to Hydesville for a visit. Twenty-three years older than\nlittle Margaret, of a very different type than either father or mother,\nshe seems to have grasped instantly the possibilities in the \u201coccult\u201d\npowers of her little sisters and to have taken complete command of the\nFox family\u2019s affairs at once. Her first move was to organize a \u201cSociety\nof Spiritualists\u201d and encourage crowds to come to the house to see\nthe children. Hydesville became famous almost overnight. News of the\npeculiar \u201crappings\u201d spread with lightning-like rapidity and soon became\nan absorbing topic of conversation, not only in the United States, but\nin England, France, Italy, and Germany as well. Women like Harriet\nMartineau and Elizabeth Barrett Browning were said to have given their\nwhole thought to it, and men of the strongest intellect and will to be\n\u201ccaught in the meshes it had woven in contemporaneous thought.\u201d\n\nHydesville became too small a field for the operations of Mrs. Fish,\nthe older sister, very quickly, and soon she appears in Rochester with\nthe girls, publicly exhibiting their feats to great crowds for money,\nrealizing from one hundred to a hundred and fifty dollars a night in\nprofits, which she pocketed. From Rochester she took them to New York\nCity, and later the girls made a tour of the cities of the United\nStates, attracting the \u201cmost prominent theologians, physicians, and\nprofessional men of all kinds, as well as great crowds everywhere.\u201d\nThere is no record that the girls were ever under the management of\nMrs. Fish after they left New York City although she menaced them\ncontinually and Margaret feared her as long as she lived.\n\nThe grand tour over, Kate, sponsored by Horace Greeley, went to school\nand Margaret, just developing into an attractive young woman, and\ndestined to become the more famous of the two mediums, began a series\nof seances in rooms occupied by herself and mother at the Union Hotel\nin Philadelphia. There romance entered her life on a day in 1853 in the\nperson of Dr. Elisha Kent Kane, the noted Arctic explorer.\n\nHis had been a remarkable career. Belonging to one of the most\naristocratic families in Philadelphia; the son of a judge; handsome;\nstill under thirty-four; graduated more than ten years previously from\nthe University of Pennsylvania, he had gone out to China with Commodore\nParker as \u201csurgeon of the embassy,\u201d later obtained a leave of absence\nand travelled through Greece on foot, went up the Nile, toured India,\nCeylon, and the South Sea Islands, and even \u201cdared the Himalayas.\u201d\nThe Mexican War had furnished him an opportunity to \u201cwin spurs for\ngallantry.\u201d and, this over, he had joined a relief expedition which\nwent in search of Sir John Franklin in 1850.[2]\n\nThis much travelled, much experienced man of the world was instantly\nand irresistibly attracted to the young medium. An acquaintance\nwas formed and it was not long before Doctor Kane determined that,\nregardless of all obstacles, she should be his wife. In spite of the\nefforts of his family, he soon made arrangements to educate Margaret,\nand she was placed with a tutor in a quiet suburb of Philadelphia,\nwhere an aunt of the doctor\u2019s could have an oversight of her and where\nin addition to her other studies she was to be made proficient in\nFrench, German, and Italian, as well as vocal and instrumental music.\nHer vacations were spent with a sister of Senator Cockrell. For some\nthree or four years she was thus sheltered from the world, while the\ndoctor did all in his power to eradicate from her mind everything\nconnected with spiritualism and \u201crappings.\u201d Then came the turn of the\ntide.\n\nThe doctor became broken in health as a result of exposure in the\nArctic and decided to go abroad. There had been neither civil or\nreligious ceremony to mark his marriage to Margaret, but just before he\nsailed, in the presence of her mother and other witnesses, he declared\nthat they were husband and wife. His health grew worse in London and\nhe left there for the West Indies, where Margaret and her mother were\nto join him, but their preparations for the journey were cut short by\nthe announcement in the papers of his death in Havana on the 16th of\nFebruary, 1857. Margaret was prostrated by the blow. A long sickness\nfollowed and when she finally recovered it was to face the world, not\nonly friendless and alone, but penniless as well, for, owing to a\ncompromise, she did not share in the doctor\u2019s estate. Disappointed,\ndisheartened, and bitter she went back to her Spiritualism and\n\u201crappings.\u201d For thirty years she wandered from place to place holding\nseances. For thirty years she suffered the tortures of remorse and ill\nhealth. She believed she was being driven \u201cinto hell.\u201d She loathed\nthe thing she was, and tried at times to drown her troubles in wine.\nFor thirty years she lived in constant fear of her older sister. Then\nMargaret Kane found a temporary solace in the Catholic Church. But\nthere were still more months of struggle before she finally found\ncourage to tell the story of the world-famous \u201crappings\u201d in a signed\nconfession given to the press in October, 1888.[3]\n\n\u201cI do this,\u201d she said, \u201cbecause I consider it my duty, a sacred thing,\na holy mission, to expose it (Spiritualism). I want to see the day when\nit is entirely done away with. After I expose it I hope Spiritualism\nwill be given a death blow. I was the first in the field and I have a\nright to expose it.[4]\n\n\u201cMy sister Katie and I were very young children when this horrible\ndeception began. I was only eight, just a year and a half older than\nshe. We were very mischievous children and sought merely to terrify our\ndear mother, who was a very good woman and very easily frightened.\n\n\u201cWhen we went to bed at night we used to tie an apple to a string and\nmove the string up and down, causing the apple to bump on the floor,\nor we would drop the apple on the floor, making a strange noise every\ntime it would rebound. Mother listened to this for a time. She would\nnot understand it and did not suspect us as being capable of a trick\nbecause we were so young.\n\n\u201cAt last she could stand it no longer and she called the neighbors in\nand told them about it. It was this that set us to discover a means of\nmaking the raps more effectually. I think, when I reflect about it,\nthat it was a most wonderful discovery, a very wonderful thing that\nchildren should make such a discovery, and all through a desire to do\nmischief only.[5]\n\n\u201cOur oldest sister was twenty-three years of age when I was born. She\nwas in Rochester when these tricks first began but came to Hydesville,\nthe little village in central New York where we were born and lived.\n\n\u201cAll the neighbors around, as I have said, were called in to witness\nthese manifestations. There were so many people coming to the house\nthat we were not able to make use of the apple trick except when we\nwere in bed and the room was dark. Even then we could hardly do it, so\nthe only way was to rap on the bedstead.\n\n\u201cAnd that is the way we began. First, as a mere trick to frighten\nmother, and then, when so many people came to see us children, we were\nourselves frightened, and for self-preservation forced to keep it up.\nNo one suspected us of any trick because we were such young children.\nWe were led on by my sister purposely and by mother unintentionally. We\noften heard her say:\n\n\u201c\u2018Is this a disembodied spirit that has taken possession of my dear\nchildren?\u2019\n\n\u201cThat encouraged our fun and we went on. All the neighbors thought\nthere was something and they wanted to find out what it was. They were\nconvinced that some one had been murdered in the house. They asked the\nspirits through us about it and we would rap one for the spirit answer\n\u2018yes,\u2019 not three as we did afterwards. The murder they concluded must\nhave been committed in the house. They went over the whole surrounding\ncountry trying to get the names of people who had formerly lived in the\nhouse. Finally they found a man by the name of Bell, and they said that\nthis poor innocent man had committed a murder in the house and that\nthe noises came from the spirit of the murdered person. Poor Bell was\nshunned and looked upon by the whole community as a murderer.[6]\n\n\u201cMrs. Underhill, my eldest sister, took Katie and me to Rochester.\nThere it was that we discovered a new way to make the raps. My sister\nKatie was the first to observe that by swishing her fingers she could\nproduce certain noises with her knuckles and joints, and that the same\neffect could be made with the toes. Finding that we could make raps\nwith our feet--first with one foot and then with both--we practiced\nuntil we could do this easily when the room was dark.\n\n\u201cLike most perplexing things when made clear, it is astonishing how\neasily it is done. The rappings are simply the result of a perfect\ncontrol of the muscles of the leg below the knee, which govern the\ntendons of the foot and allow action of the toe and ankle bones that\nis not commonly known. Such perfect control is only possible when a\nchild is taken at an early age and carefully and continually taught\nto practice the muscles, which grow stiff in later years. A child at\ntwelve is almost too old. With control of the muscles of the foot, the\ntoes may be brought down to the floor without any movement that is\nperceptible to the eye. The whole foot, in fact, can be made to give\nrappings by the use only of the muscles below the knee. This, then, is\nthe simple explanation of the whole method of the knocks and raps.\n\n\u201cIn Rochester Mrs. Underhill gave exhibitions. We had crowds coming\nto see us and she made as much as a hundred to a hundred and fifty\ndollars a night. She pocketed this. Parties came in from all parts to\nsee us. Many as soon as they heard a little rap were convinced. To\nall questions we answered by raps. We knew when to rap \u2018yes\u2019 or \u2018no\u2019\naccording to certain signs which Mrs. Underhill gave us during the\nseance.\n\n\u201cA great many people when they hear the rapping imagine at once that\nthe spirits are touching them. It is a very common delusion. Some\nvery wealthy people came to see me some years ago when I lived in\nForty-second Street and I did some rappings for them. I made the spirit\nrap on the chair and one of the ladies cried out:\n\n\u201c\u2018I feel the spirit tapping me on the shoulder.\u2019\n\n\u201cOf course that was pure imagination.\n\n\u201cKatie and I were led around like lambs. We went to New York from\nRochester and then all over the United States. We drew immense crowds.\nI remember particularly Cincinnati. We stopped at the Burnett House.\nThe rooms were jammed from morning till night and we were called upon\nby those old wretches to show our rappings when we should have been out\nat play in the fresh air.\n\n\u201cNobody has ever suspected anything from the start in 1848 until\nthe present day as to any trickery in our methods. There has never\nbeen a detection.[7] But as the world grew wise and science began to\ninvestigate we began to adapt our experiments to our audiences. Our\nseances were held in a room. There was a centre-table in the middle and\nwe all stood around it.\n\n\u201cAs far as _Spirits_ were concerned neither my sister nor I thought\nabout it. I know that there is no such thing as the departed returning\nto this life. Many people have said to me that such a thing was\npossible and seemed to believe so firmly in it that I tried to see, and\nI have tried in every form and know that it cannot be done.\n\n\u201cAfter I married, Dr. Kane would not let me refer to my old life--he\nwanted me to forget it. But when I was poor, after his death, I was\ndriven to it again, and I wish to say clearly that I owe all my\nmisfortune to that woman, my sister. I have asked her time and again:\n\n\u201c\u2018Now that you are rich why don\u2019t you save your soul?\u2019\n\n\u201cBut at my words she would fly into a passion. She wanted to establish\na new religion and she told me that she received messages from spirits.\nShe knew that we were tricking people but she tried to make us believe\nspirits existed. She told us that before we were born spirits came into\nher room and told her that we were destined for great things.\n\n\u201cYes, I am going to expose Spiritualism from its very foundation. I\nhave had the idea in my head for many a year but I have never come to\na determination before. I have thought of it day and night. I loathe\nthe thing I have been. I used to say to those who wanted me to give a\nseance:\n\n\u201c\u2018You are driving me into Hell.\u2019\n\n\u201cThen the next day I would drown my remorse in wine. I was too honest\nto remain a \u2018medium.\u2019 That\u2019s why I gave up my exhibitions. I have seen\nso much miserable deception! Every morning of my life I have it before\nme. When I wake up I brood over it. That is why I am willing to state\nthat Spiritualism is a fraud of the worst description. I have had a\nlife of sorrow, I have been poor and ill, but I consider it my duty, a\nsacred thing, a holy mission to expose it. I want to see the day when\nit is entirely done away with. After my sister Katie and I expose it I\nhope Spiritualism will be given a death blow.\n\n\u201cI do not want it understood that the Catholic Church has advised me\nto make these public exposures and confession. It is my own idea. My\nown mission. I would have done it long ago if I could have had the\nnecessary money and courage to do it. I could not find anyone to help\nme--I was too timid to ask.\n\n\u201cI am now very poor. I intend, however, to expose Spiritualism because\nI think it is my sacred duty. If I cannot do it who can? I who have\nbeen the beginning of it? At least I hope to reduce the ranks of the\neight million Spiritualists in the country. I go into it as into a holy\nwar. I am waiting anxiously and fearlessly for the moment when I can\nshow the world, by personal demonstration, that all Spiritualism is a\nfraud and a deception. It is a branch of legerdemain, but it has to be\nclosely studied to gain perfection. None but a child at an early age,\nwould have ever attained the proficiency and wrought such widespread\nevil as I have.\n\n[Illustration: JOHN D. FOX AND HIS WIFE]\n\n[Illustration: THE FOX HOME AT HYDESVILLE]\n\n\u201cI trust that this statement, coming solemnly from me, the first and\nthe most successful in this deception, will break the rapid growth of\nSpiritualism and prove that it is all a fraud, hypocrisy and delusion.\n\n (Signed) \u201cMargaret Fox Kane.\u201d[8]\n\nMrs. Kane\u2019s \u201cconfession\u201d was published in the Sunday edition of\nthe New York _World_ on October 21, 1888. Arrangements had been\nmade for her to give a public demonstration and exposition of the\nso-called \u201cmarvellous\u201d Spiritualistic \u201cphenomena\u201d that same evening\nat the Academy of Music in New York. Meanwhile, in order to foil the\n\u201cattempts\u201d of certain mediums to \u201ckidnap her\u201d she was being closely\nguarded at her hotel where during the day she was interviewed by\nnewspaper men. Expecting when she left her room to answer questions\nonly she nevertheless readily consented to give some evidence of \u201chow\nthe trick was done\u201d in order to do all in her power to \u201ccomplete the\nexposure and demonstrate the utter absurdity of the claim made by\nmediums that she was possessed of spiritual power in spite of her\ndenials.\u201d The _World_ reporter told of this private demonstration as\nfollows:\n\n\u201c\u2018Now,\u2019 said Mrs. Kane, \u2018I will stand up before these folding-doors and\nyou may stand as near as you please and I will call up any \u201cspirit\u201d\nthat you wish and answer any questions. One rap means \u201cno\u201d and three\nraps mean \u201cyes.\u201d Are you ready?\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Is Napoleon Bonaparte present?\u2019 the reporter asked, watching Mrs.\nKane closely. Three raps (yes).\n\n\u201c\u2018Does he know me? I mean did he ever meet and converse with me?\u2019 Three\nraps.\n\n\u201c\u2018That is strange, isn\u2019t it,\u2019 remarked Mrs. Kane, smiling, \u2018in view of\nthe fact that he must have died before you were born? Try again.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Is Abraham Lincoln present?\u2019 Three raps.\n\n\u201c\u2018Well you see the \u201cspirits\u201d are very obliging.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Will Harrison be elected?\u2019 One loud rap (no).\n\n\u201c\u2018Will President Cleveland get another term?\u2019 Three raps.\u201d\n\nThat night some two thousand or more persons crowded the Academy of\nMusic to witness the sensational expos\u00e9. Most of them were sober,\nsensible people who \u201chailed with delight\u201d the announcement that one\nof the famous Fox Sisters was to make a \u201cclean breast of her share in\nSpiritualistic humbuggery.\u201d But certain portions of the house were\npacked with pronounced Spiritualists, men and women who regarded\nall efforts to disillusion the public as so many personal insults,\nand when, previous to Mrs. Kane\u2019s appearance, Dr. C. M. Richmond, a\nprominent New York dentist who had spent twenty years and thousands\nof dollars investigating mediumistic tricks and wiles explained and\ndemonstrated in full light the full methods of producing them, this\nSpiritualistic contingent became decidedly hostile and when Mrs. Kane\nfinally stepped before the big audience to \u201cconfess orally what she\nhad already confessed in print\u201d she was laboring under too great a\nnervous strain to make any \u201cintelligent utterance.\u201d Those in charge of\nthe affair realizing that an address was out of the question at once\nsuggested that she immediately give a demonstration of the \u201crappings.\u201d\nOne of the New York papers the next morning published the following\ndescription of what happened.[9]\n\n\u201cBut if her tongue had lost its power her preternatural toe joint had\nnot. A plain wooden stool, or table, resting upon four short legs and\nhaving the properties of a sounding board was placed in front of her.\nRemoving her shoe, she placed her right foot upon this little table.\n\n\u201cThe entire house became breathlessly still and was rewarded by a\nnumber of little short, sharp raps--those mysterious sounds which have\nfor forty years frightened and bewildered hundreds of thousands of\npeople in this country and in Europe.\n\n\u201cA committee consisting of three physicians taken from the audience\nthen ascended the stage, and having made an examination of her foot\nduring the progress of the rappings, unhesitatingly agreed that the\nsounds were made by the action of the first joint of her large toe.\n\n\u201cThe demonstration was perfect and complete and only the most\nhopelessly prejudiced and bigoted fanatics of Spiritualism could\nwithstand the irresistible force of this commonplace explanation and\nexhibition of how spirit rappings are produced.\u201d\n\nThe exposure attracted widespread attention. Letters poured in from\nfar and wide begging for confirmation, explanation or denial. The rest\nof the tribe of mediums naively hinted that if there had been fraud it\nwas well to have it exposed but of course _they_ were genuine. Many\nwho had believed in Spiritualism wrote most pathetically. One of these\nwriting from San Francisco says:\n\n\u201cI have been a believer in the phenomena from its first inception\nthrough you and your sister, believing it to be true since that time.\n\n\u201cI am now eighty-one years old and have but a short time of course, to\nremain in this world, and I feel a great anxiety to know through you if\nI have been deceived all this time in a matter of vital interest to us\nall.\u201d[10]\n\nBut perhaps of them all none better expresses what a blow the exposure\nwas to thousands who had accepted as genuine the messages of the\nmysterious raps or describes more vividly the effect of Spiritualism\non many who are attracted to it than the following from a woman in\nBoston.[11]\n\n\u201cHundreds of thousands have believed through you and you alone.\nHundreds of thousands eagerly ask you whether all the glorious light\nthat they fancied you had given them, was but the false flicker of a\ncommon dip-candle of fraud.\n\n\u201cIf, as you say, you were forced to pursue this imposture from\nchildhood, I can forgive you, and I am sure God will; for he turns not\nback the truly repentant. I will not upbraid you. I am sure you have\nsuffered as much as any penalty, human or divine, could cause you to\nsuffer. The disclosures that you make take from me all that I have\ncherished most. There is nothing left for me now but to hope for the\nreality of that repose which death promises us.\n\n\u201cIt is perhaps better that the delusion should be at last swept away by\none single word, and that word \u2018fraud.\u2019\n\n[Illustration: LEAH FOX FISH]\n\n[Illustration: KATIE FOX JENCKEN]\n\n[Illustration: MARGARET FOX KANE]\n\n[Illustration: ELISHA KENT KANE, M.D.]\n\n\u201cI know that the pursuit of this shadowy belief has wrought upon\nmy brain and that I am no longer my old self. Money I have spent\nin thousands and thousands of dollars within a few short years to\npropitiate the \u2018mediumistic\u2019 intelligence. It is true that never once\nhave I received a message or the token of a word that did not leave a\nstill unsatisfied longing in my heart, a feeling that it was not really\nmy loved one after all who was speaking to me, or if it was my loved\none that he was changed, that I hardly knew him and he hardly knew\nme. But that must have been the true intuition. It is better that the\ndelusion is past, after all, for had I kept on in that way, I am sure\nI should have gone mad. The constant seeking, the frequent pretended\nresponse, its unsatisfying meaning, the sense of distance and change\nbetween me and my loved one--oh! it has been horrible, horrible!\n\n\u201cHe who is dying of thirst and has the sweet cup ever snatched from his\nlips, just as the first drop touches them--he alone can know what in\nactual things is the similitude of this Spiritualistic torture.\n\n\u201cGod bless you, for I think that you now speak the truth. You have\nmy forgiveness at least, and I believe that thousands of others will\nforgive you, for the atonement made in season wipes out much of the\nstain of the early sin.\u201d\n\nMargaret Kane\u2019s \u201cconfession\u201d did not bring her the relief or friends\nshe had hoped for, nor did it end her connection with Spiritualism for,\nglad as she would have been to give it up for good, her theatrical\nexposure was a financial failure and before long she was down and\nout again and once more she resorted to Spiritualism as a means of\nlivelihood, giving seances and mediumistic meetings in a number of\ncities throughout the United States; but her power of fooling the\npublic was gone. Having confessed to deceit once, no amount of\npersuasion on her part could convince the public that she was genuine,\nand in place of the thousands who had flocked to her in her younger\ndays she never had more than a handful at her meetings. Her only\nfriends were Spiritualists for strangely enough some of them still had\nfaith in her, even when she was exposing Spiritualism, believing that\nshe had fallen into the hands of evil spirits when she confessed that\nshe was a fraud.\n\nSome time after the confession a \u201crecantation\u201d was circulated as coming\nfrom Mrs. Kane. I was never able to find any proof of its authenticity\nbut my friend, Mr. W. S. Davis, who knew her well, informed me that\nshe did make it--that she had to, or starve. It was not wholly\nvoluntary though as Mr. Newton (then President of the First Society of\nSpiritualists) convinced her that it would be for her interest, and the\ninterest of Spiritualism as well to do it. It made little difference,\nhowever, for the career of the unfortunate woman was nearly over.\nFrequently overcome by drink, forced on by privation and misery, death\ncame to her, on March 8, 1895, less than seven years after she had\nstood in a crowded theatre and deliberately shown the method of making\nthe raps which had brought her fame for four decades.\n\nThe Fox Sisters used Spiritualism only as a means to \u201cget while the\ngetting was good.\u201d Fortunately for the general public Spiritualism\nreceived a severe jolt in the confession of Margaret Fox Kane; there\nwas an end to the Fox \u201cswindle\u201d and an untold amount of blood-money\nand grief saved to poor misguided souls so easily fooled by a simple\nphysical trick.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II\n\nTHE DAVENPORT BROTHERS\n\n\nSuch evidence of spirits as the simple \u201crappings\u201d of the Fox Sisters\nsoon gave place to more elaborate \u201cmanifestations\u201d and with the\nappearance of Ira Erastus Davenport and his brother William Henry\nHarrison Davenport, working together, and known as the \u201cDavenport\nBrothers,\u201d these manifestations became complicated exhibitions\ninvolving the use of a cabinet, rope tricks, bells, and various\nhorns and musical instruments. These brothers have always been, and\nare still, pointed to as being indisputable proof of the reality\nand genuineness of mediumistic phenomena and public interest in\nSpiritualism was greatly stimulated by the tremendous sensation and\ndiscussion caused by their demonstrations, yet an interesting train of\ncircumstances put me in possession of facts more than sufficient to\ndisprove their having, or even claiming, spiritualistic power.\n\nDuring many of the years in which I have been making a study of\nSpiritualism I supposed both of the Davenports dead and when my\nfriend, Harry Kellar, in recounting some of his early experiences and\nhardships told me that he had been associated with them at one time and\nthat Ira Davenport was still living I was surprised indeed. I at once\ncommunicated with him and there followed a pleasant acquaintance which\nlasted until his death and furnished me with much of historic value\nconcerning the brothers which has never appeared in print.\n\nHeretofore all published accounts of the Davenport Brothers\u2019 doings\nhave been vague, speculative, lacking in actual knowledge, and\nmisleading because the authors have been victims of delusion, but\nthe information here given is based on a long correspondence with\nIra Davenport as well as an open hearted confession which he made to\nme shortly before his death, answering all my questions unreservedly\nand offering to assist me in every way he could as he wanted my\nstatements[12] to be accurate in the book on Spiritualism which he knew\nI was writing.\n\nThe Davenport Brothers were devotedly attached to each other and when\nin 1877 William died while they were in Australia, Ira the surviving\nbrother was completely upset. He made one feeble attempt to reinstate\nhimself, but the \u201cSpirit\u201d was lacking and he returned, a discouraged\nman, to spend the remainder of his days in peace and quiet at home.\nWhile playing Australia early in 1910 for Harry Rickards I hunted\nup the grave of William Davenport and finding it sadly neglected I\nhad it put in order, fresh flowers planted on it and the stone work\nrepaired.[13] It was also on this trip that I met William M. Fay of\n\u201cDavenport Brothers and Fay,\u201d who told me many interesting things about\nthe brothers and on my return to America one of the first things which\nI did was to go to Maysville, Chautauqua County, New York, to make Ira\nDavenport a visit. He met me at the station and took me to his home, an\nexceptionally happy and restful one presided over by the second Mrs.\nDavenport, the first having died in childbirth.\n\nThis second marriage was most romantic. During a seance which the\nBrothers were giving in Paris[14] Ira noticed a strikingly beautiful\nBelgian girl intently watching him. After the performance he managed\nto meet her only to find that she could not speak a word of English.\nHis French being limited to the usual two or three word table d\u2019h\u00f4te\nvocabulary of the average American tourist he called his interpreter\nand through him asked the girl to become his wife. Bewildered by such\nan audacious proposal she blushed deeply, and cast down her eyes, then\nslowly raising them looked straight into Ira\u2019s. There was a quick\nexchange of admiration and her woman\u2019s intuition must have read deeply\nand correctly for she then and there consented to wed this American\nwho had so unconventionally asked her to be his wife, a decision which\nshe never had occasion to regret for they were a remarkably happy\ncouple.[15]\n\nIn the tranquil atmosphere of his porch we turned back the pages of\ntime, Mr. Davenport re-living in retrospect the trials, battles, praise\nand applause of long ago. Among other things we talked over the magical\nmystery performers of other days which led him to say very generously:\n\n\u201cHoudini, you know more about the old timers and my arguments, than I\nwho lived through those troublesome times.\u201d\n\nHe said that he recognized in me a past master of the craft and\ntherefore spoke openly and did not hesitate to tell me the secrets of\nhis feats. We discussed and analyzed the statements made in his letters\nto me and he frankly admitted that the work of the Davenport Brothers\nwas accomplished by perfectly natural means and belonged to that class\nof feats commonly credited to \u201cphysical dexterity.\u201d Not once was there\neven a hint that Spiritualism was of any concern to him, instead,\ndiscussing his work as straightforward showmanship.\n\nFor me it was a memorable day and did not end with the setting of the\nsun, for we talked far into the night,[16] I with notebook in hand, he\nwith a long piece of rope initiating me into the mysteries of the real\n\u201cDavenport tie,\u201d which converted thousands to a belief in Spiritualism\nand was the genesis[17] of the rope-tying stunts which gave such a\nstimulus to Spiritualistic discussion in connection with the brothers.\nThough many attempts were made to imitate it, to the best of my\nknowledge and belief, no one, not even the magical fraternity, was ever\nable to detect the method used in these famous rope tricks, the secret\nbeing guarded so carefully that Ira Davenport\u2019s children did not know\nit. I have tested it and for uses such as they made of it I consider it\none of the best rope ties in existence to-day, and it is only because\nI want it on record when I eventually pass to the Beyond that I am\nexplaining to the public the _modus operandi_ which was as follows.\n\nBuilt into either side of the cabinet used by the Davenports[18] was a\nbench through which two holes had been bored a little distance apart.\nThe Brothers seated themselves on these benches, and opposite one\nanother, with their feet squarely on the floor in front of them. The\nend of a rope was passed around the legs of one of the brothers, close\nup by the knees, and tied. The rope was then wound around the legs\nseveral times, fastened at the ankles, the remaining portion carried\nstraight across the cabinet to the other brother\u2019s ankles, fastened,\nwound about his legs and tied at the knees. A shorter piece of rope\nwas then tied to each of their wrists with the knots lying next to the\npulse. These ropes were threaded through the holes and the wrists drawn\ndown to the benches, and the ends of the ropes fastened to the ankles.\n\nTheir method of releasing themselves was comparatively simple. While\none extended his feet the other drew his in thus securing slack enough\nin the wrist ropes to permit working their hands out of the loops.[19]\nThe second brother was released by reversing the action.\n\nAfter the demonstrations were completed the brothers slipped their\nhands back into the loops from which they had drawn them, placed their\nfeet in the original positions and were ready to be examined. When the\ncabinet was opened the ropes appeared as taut as when put on by the\ncommittee.\n\nIn order to disprove the frequently made claim that the Davenports\nleft their benches to produce certain manifestations they asked\ninvestigating committees to place sheets of paper under their feet\nand mark around them with pencil or crayon thus making it seemingly\nimpossible to move a foot without detection. But this in no way\ninterfered or hindered in their performance for Ira told me they used\nto slide their feet, paper and all, and still keep the feet inside the\nmarks, a method I can vouch for as being practical for I have tried it\nsuccessfully.[20]\n\nWith the advantage of working together it was simply impossible to\nsecure both of the brothers in such a manner as to prevent their\nproducing the expected results. If one was in trouble the other was\nalways ready to come to the rescue for no matter how securely the\ncommittee tied them one was sure to be more loosely tied than the other\nand could get a hand free to reach over and help.\n\n\u201cThere was one chance in twenty million to hold us both at the same\ntime,\u201d Ira told me.[21]\n\nThe Davenports\u2019 strictest test was known as \u201cThe Tie Around the Neck.\u201d\nThis was also explained to me by Ira. A committee of three was called\nupon one of whom was a woman and for that reason the least suspected\nalthough in reality a confederate.[22] She and the Davenports were each\nin turn tied around the neck. The woman released herself by cutting the\nrope.[23] Hiding the pieces in her bloomers she performed her share of\nthe manifestations and retied herself with a duplicate piece of rope.\nNo one was the wiser for so curiously allied are our five senses that\nthe committee, bereft of its sight while such dark deeds were being\ndone, seemed to have lost the use of its reasoning power as well.\n\nThe first of the Davenports\u2019 public performances were given in a large\nhall with rows of seats for the audience and a small raised platform\nwhich served as a stage. Someone, thinking to prevent the possibility\nof assistance by visitors, or confederates in the audience, asked if it\nwere possible to have the manifestations occur in a closet. Receiving\nan affirmative answer one was built with openings large enough to\n\u201cinsert the spirit hands.\u201d This closet was a decided advantage to the\nBrothers as it gave them an opportunity to work in total darkness\nwhich was an essential element of their performance. The closet was\nimproved upon by placing a big box in the center of the stage and there\ngradually developed the cabinet[24] as we know it to-day.\n\nDuring that eventful visit Ira emphatically denied many of the absurd\ntales and popular beliefs concerning the Brothers, among them being\nthe \u201cflour test,\u201d the \u201csnuff test\u201d[25] and such stories as the claim\nthat when a boy at home he gave a seance for his parents and during\nlevitation[26] was raised up until his head touched the ceiling\nbreaking both lath and plaster; that he was once levitated across the\nNiagara River, a distance of three thousand yards, and the one telling\nof his having effected an escape by Spiritual means from a prison in\nOswego, N. Y., in 1859.\n\nThe Davenports were constantly on their guard against surprise and\nexposure and Ira explained to me that when they were suspicious of a\ncommitteeman who wanted to go into the cabinet with them they would\ninsist that he be tied too in order to prevent the audience from\nthinking he was a confederate. Fastened to a bench as well as to each\nof the Davenports he was absolutely helpless for while one was getting\nloose the other would strain the ropes on the committeeman\u2019s feet\nholding him tight.\n\nHe also told me that they were in the habit of reserving seats in the\nfront row for their friends as a protection against anyone breaking\nthrough. At private circles they ran a cord through button holes on\nall present, ostensibly to \u201cprevent collusion with the medium,\u201d but in\nreality as a protection against a surprise seizure. They once heard\nthat the Pinkerton Detective agency had been hired to catch them and\nin order to effectually forestall any meddler, they had a confederate\nsmuggle in a bear-trap and after the seance room was darkened set the\ntrap in the aisle.\n\nI called Ira\u2019s attention to a clipping concerning the \u201cDark Seances\u201d\nfrom the London _Post_, a conservative paper, which read:\n\n\u201cThe musical instruments, bells, etc., were placed on the table; the\nBrothers Davenport were then manacled, hands and feet, and securely\nbound to the chairs by ropes. A chain of communication (though not a\ncircular one) was formed, and the instant the lights were extinguished\n_the musical instruments appeared to be carried all about the room. The\ncurrent of air, which they occasioned in their rapid transit was felt\nupon the faces of all present._\n\n\u201cThe bells were loudly rung; the trumpets made knocks upon the floor,\n_and the tambourine appeared running around the room, jingling with all\nits might. At the same time sparks were observed as if passing from\nSouth to West. Several persons exclaimed that they were touched by the\ninstruments, which on one occasion became so demonstrative that one\ngentleman received a knock on the nasal organ which broke the skin and\ncaused a few drops of blood to flow._\u201d\n\nAfter I finished reading it Ira exclaimed:\n\n\u201cStrange how people imagine things in the dark! Why, the musical\ninstruments never left our hands yet many spectators would have taken\nan oath that they heard them flying over their heads.\u201d[27]\n\nIra Davenport positively disclaimed Spiritualistic power in his talk\nwith me, saying repeatedly that he and his brother never claimed to\nbe mediums or pretended their work to be Spiritualistic. He admitted,\nhowever, that his parents died believing that the boys had super-human\npower. In this connection he told me of a family by the name of Kidder\nin which the boys faked Spiritualistic mediumship. The mother, a\nsimple woman easily misled, became a confirmed believer. After a time\nthe boys got tired of the game they were playing and confessed to her\nthat it was all a fake. The shock of the disillusion almost drove her\ninsane and Ira said it was the fear of a similar result which kept\nhim from confessing to his father the true nature of their work. So\nwhen the father asked the boys to do tests for him they declared that\nthe spirits said \u201cno\u201d and explained that they could only do what the\n_spirits_ asked.\n\nBut if the Davenport Brothers did not claim spiritual powers themselves\nthey nevertheless allowed others to claim them in their behalf. One\nof the first to do this was J. B. Ferguson, variously known as \u201cMr.,\u201d\n\u201cRev.,\u201d and \u201cDr.,\u201d but I have no way of knowing how his titles came to\nhim or just what they represented. If I am not mistaken he had been a\nminister in the Unitarian Church. He travelled with the Davenports as\ntheir lecturer, a position filled later by Thomas L. Nichols. Ferguson\npositively believed that everything accomplished by the Davenports\nwas done with the aid of spirits. That both Ferguson and Nichols\nbelieved in Spiritualism is shown by their writings. Neither of them\nwere disillusioned regarding the spiritual powers of the Brothers, the\nsecret of the manifestations being religiously kept from them. Their\nremarks were left to their own discretion, the Davenports thinking\nit better showmanship to leave the whole matter for the audience to\ndraw its own conclusion after seeing the exhibition. Then too with a\nminister as a lecturer who sincerely believed the phenomena many were\nled to believe, which helped to fill the coffers, meet the expenses,\nand increase the publicity which was a necessary part of the game.\n\n[Illustration: IRA ERASTUS DAVENPORT AND HOUDINI, TAKEN ON JULY 5,\n1911. THE LAST PHOTOGRAPH OF THE OLD SHOWMAN]\n\nIn one of the letters which Ira wrote me he says:\n\n\u201cWe never in public affirmed our belief in Spiritualism, that\nwe regarded as no business of the public; nor did we offer our\nentertainment as the result of sleight-of-hand, or on the other hand\nas Spiritualism. We let our friends and foes settle that as best they\ncould between themselves, but unfortunately, we were often the victims\nof their disagreements.\u201d\n\nIn a letter which Ira wrote from Maysville, dated January 19, 1909,\nwhich I received while in Europe, he says:\n\n\u201cYou must not fail to do me the honor of a visit when you return to\nAmerica, although two years is quite a long time, and in the mean time,\nplease let me hear from you whenever the \u2018_Spirit_\u2019 moves.\n\n\u201cRegarding the future, I think the possibilities within your grasp are\nalmost boundless, splendid new territory, all South of Central America,\nMexico, Australia, New Zealand, India, Spain, Portugal and Africa.\u201d[28]\n\n\u201cMy old-time travelling companion, William M. Fay, told me four years\nago while on a visit here from Australia, that he and Harry Kellar\ncleared over $40,000 in about eight months in South America, and\nMexico, and that was thirty-four years ago, and that the opportunities\nare now vastly improved, such as _railroads, instead of mules_,\nincrease of population, advance in civilization in those backward\ncountries. He says it would be a pleasure trip now to what it was when\nhe and Kellar had to travel on muleback. He was very enthusiastic on\nthe subject of making another tour and we would have done so but for\nthe fact that his physicians strongly advised against it on account of\npoor health and weakened physical condition. He is living at present\nin Melbourne, Australia, having settled there with his family in 1877,\nshortly after the death of my brother, which occurred July 1, 1877.\nHe is not at all contented, notwithstanding his pleasant surroundings\nand ample fortune; after a man has become a regular \u2018_Globe Trotter_,\u2019\nI don\u2019t think it possible for him to settle down and lead a quiet\nmonotonous life.... I wish here to say that our first tour through\nEurope consumed four years, leaving this country, August 26, 1864,\nreturning September 29, 1868. Our second trip took us over three years,\nleaving here March 22, 1874, and returning October 20, 1877, four\nmonths after the death of my brother.\u201d\n\nWhen exhibiting in Liverpool the Davenports were the cause of quite\na riot[29] which not only militated against them but stirred up some\npolitical strife as well. I will quote Ira\u2019s account of it from a\nletter to me dated January 19, 1909.\n\n[Illustration: FACSIMILE OF PORTIONS OF A LETTER WRITTEN TO HOUDINI BY\nIRA E. DAVENPORT]\n\n\u201cWell, yes, regarding Liverpool, I have very vivid recollections, and\nafter forty-four years they are far from being \u2018scenes of mystified\nevents,\u2019 they were results of peculiar combinations, of unfortunate\ncircumstances, _professional jealousy_, _religious prejudice_,\n_anti-American feeling_, with a few other disturbing elements thrown\nin, including \u2018fenianism,\u2019[30] which was engaging the public attention\nat that time, all worked up to a _white heat_ culminating in one of\nthe most spectacular displays of \u2018English Fair Play\u2019 that was ever\npresented to an appreciative English public.... While in Liverpool and\nsome other towns in England, we could not appear in the streets without\nbeing greeted by threatening crowds, with such exclamations as \u2018Yankee\nDoodle,\u2019 \u2018John Brown\u2019s Body,\u2019 \u2018Barnum\u2019s Humbug,\u2019 \u2018Yankee Swindle,\u2019\n\u2018Fegi Mermaid,\u2019 and many other nice things too numerous to mention....\n\n\u201cI think my experience in Liverpool stands out as the most prominent\nexample of \u2018Fair Play\u2019 ever dealt out to any American citizens and a\nnauseating example to all foreigners of \u2018\u2019ow\u2019 the average Englishman\ndoes things at \u2018\u2019ome.\u2019... It was well known that we were Northern\nmen, and the world knows how the English sympathized with the slave\nholders\u2019 rebellion, and they did not miss any opportunity of showing\nhow they felt at the time on the subject. While pretending that their\nbrutal displays of hostility were caused by our refusal to be tied by\na particular kind of knot, in fact our only offence was, objecting\nto be tortured at the risk of being permanently maimed or crippled\nfor life.... Our appeal to the British public at the time is a plain\ntruthful statement of the facts, regarding the riots in Liverpool,\nHuddersfield, and Leeds which several of the English papers had the\nfairness to publish. All England seemed to have gone mad on the subject\nof cabinet smashing and speculative sharpers reaped a rich harvest\nselling bogus pieces of smashed Davenport cabinet. Wood enough was sold\nin small pieces to make ten times as many cabinets as the Davenport\nBrothers ever used during their public career.... Although I am now in\nmy 70th year, I would not for one moment hesitate to face the public\nof Liverpool, Huddersfield, and Leeds, and try conclusions with them\nagain, drawing no line or limitations except those of torturing or\nmaiming one for life.... I shall always feel a great deal of pleasure\nin your success, especially in meeting and overcoming anything in the\nnature of hostility and opposition. I remember seeing a notice of the\ndeath of Dr. Slade quite a while ago. I became acquainted with him in\n1860. He then resided in the State of Michigan.\u201d\n\nThe above excerpt shows the pluck and courage of a genuine showman at\nthe age of seventy, still ready for a tussle with an entertainment\nbased on natural laws.\n\nThe Davenport Brothers while exhibiting in Manchester, England, had\nthe distinction of being publicly imitated and ridiculed by two\ncelebrated actors, Sir Henry Irving and Edward A. Sothern, who were\nappearing at the Theatre Royal. With some friends they had witnessed\na performance by the Davenport Brothers and determined to expose what\nIrving termed a \u201cshameful imposture.\u201d With the assistance of these men\nhe gave a private performance in imitation of the Davenport seance at a\npopular club and was so successful that he was requested to repeat it\nin a large hall. So on Saturday, February 25, 1865, the Library Hall\nof the Manchester Athen\u00e6um was filled with an audience invited to\nwitness \u201ca display of \u2018preternatural philosophy\u2019 in a private seance\n\u00e0 la Davenport provided by some well-known members of the theatrical\nprofession playing in the city.\n\nA wig, a beard, a neckerchief, a tightly buttoned frock coat, and\nartistic makeup so completely transformed Irving that he looked the\nexact double of Dr. Ferguson. With his inimitable charm of manner\nIrving assumed the dignified air and characteristic gestures of the\ndoctor and impersonating his reverend tones he gave an interesting and\nsemi-jocose address with just enough seriousness to keenly satirize\nthe old doctor and at its close received thunderous applause from the\ndelighted audience.[31]\n\nIrving and his friends then proceeded to imitate the manifestations\nwith a remarkable degree of accuracy. \u201cThe \u2018brothers\u2019 were tied\nhand and foot, placed in a cabinet, and immediately began their\nmanifestations. Weird noises were heard, hands became visible through\nthe opening in the cabinet, musical instruments were seen floating\nin the air, and the trumpet was several times thrown out. When the\ndoors were opened, the brothers were shown to be securely tied. They\nreproduced every effect of the performances accompanied by appropriate\nremarks and delightful witticisms from Irving.\u201d\n\nAt the close of the seance, the performers received a vote of thanks,\nthe audience cheering Irving repeatedly. The Manchester papers were\nfilled for several days with accounts and letters concerning the Irving\nseance, and in response to many urgent requests it was repeated a\nweek later in the Free Trade Hall, but the net result of the exposure\nto Irving was the loss of his engagement at the Theatre Royal as he\nrefused to capitalize its success by giving nightly performances at the\ntheatre.\n\nThe extent to which people allowed themselves to be deluded by the\nDavenport exhibitions is evident from the following passage taken\nfrom D. C. Donovan\u2019s \u201cEvidences of Spiritualism.\u201d As a voluntary\ninvestigation committee of one he had been allowed to sit in the\ncabinet with the Brothers while the manifestations were in progress. In\nhis account of his experiences he says:\n\n\u201cWhilst I was inside, several arms were thrust out at the openings and\ndistinctly seen by persons outside. Now it is certain that these were\nnot the arms of the Brothers, because they could not have reached the\nopenings without rising from their seats, and had they done this, I\nshould have detected it in an instant; moreover, if their hands had\nbeen free, they could not have played six instruments at once and still\nhave hands left with which to touch my face and hands and pull my\nhair. Some of my friends endeavor to persuade me that the Davenports\ndid move, but that being in the dark I did not notice it. Darkness,\nhowever, although highly unfavorable to seeing, is not at all so to\nfeeling, and I had my hands on their shoulders, where the slightest\nmuscular moving would have been detected.\u201d\n\nIn view of what Ira Davenport told me about their manipulations I\ncannot read the above account without feeling sorry for Mr. Donovan,\nwho, if his belief was genuine, had reached the highest point of\ndelusion.\n\nBecause of the particular qualifications and aptitude of magicians to\ndetect fraud it is not surprising that Spiritualistic publications\nseize eagerly any word coming from them favorable to the cause of\nSpiritualism. With the comment, \u201cit is well worth preserving and\nplacing beside that of Belachini, the German conjuror, as an answer\nto those of our opponents, who, ignorant of legerdemain, declare our\nphenomena to be of that character,\u201d \u201cThe Spiritualist\u201d of September 9,\n1881, quoted from the Paris \u201c_Revue Spirits_\u201d the following statement\nof E. Jacobs, a French prestidigitator:\n\n \u201cRelating to phenomena which occurred in Paris in 1865, through\n the Brothers Davenport, spite of the assertions, more or less\n trustworthy, of the French and English journalists, and spite\n of the foolish jealousies of ignorant conjurors, I feel it my\n duty to show up the bad faith of one party, and chicanery of\n the other.... All that has been said or done adverse to these\n American mediums is absolutely untrustworthy. If we should\n judge rightly of a thing we must understand it, and neither\n the journalists nor the conjurors possess the most elementary\n knowledge of the science that governs these phenomena. As a\n Prestidigitator of repute and a sincere Spiritualist, I affirm\n that the mediumistic facts demonstrated by the two Brothers\n were absolutely true, and belong to the Spiritualistic order\n of things in every respect.... Messrs. Henri Robin and Robert\n Houdin, when attempting to imitate these said feats, never\n presented to the public anything beyond an infantine and almost\n grotesque parody of the said phenomena, and it would be an\n ignorant and obstinate person who could regard the question\n seriously as set forth by these gentlemen. If, as I have reason\n to hope, the psychical studies to which I am applying myself at\n this time, succeed, I shall be able to establish clearly (and\n that by public demonstration) the immense line of demarcation\n which separates mediumistic phenomena from conjuring proper,\n and then equivocation will be no longer possible, and persons\n will yield to evidence, or deny through predetermination.\n\n (Signed) \u201cE. Jacobs.[32]\n\n \u201cExperimenter and President of Conference to the Psychological\n Studies at Paris.\u201d\n\n\nDion Boucicault, an Irish Dramatist and actor of prominence in\nAmerica and equally so in Europe, entertained the Davenports at his\nhome in London (1865) where he felt assured that the room could not\ncontribute to fraudulent results. Twenty-three friends, men of rank\nand some prominence, among them clergymen and medical doctors, were\nin attendance. He did not report if any were believers, but it is\ninferred from his writing that none were. As in other cases, the utmost\nprecaution was taken to render conditions most acceptable to the\ninvestigators, nevertheless, the usual manifestations took place and\nMr. Boucicault wrote lengthy reports as to details, and as a conclusion\nto his report he wrote:\n\n\u201cAt the termination of the seance a general conversation took place on\nthe subject of what we had heard and witnessed. Lord Bury suggested\nthat the general opinion seemed to be that we should assure the\nBrothers Davenport and Mr. W. Fay, that after a very stringent trial\nand strict scrutiny of their proceedings, the gentlemen present\ncould arrive at no other conclusion than that there was no trace of\ntrickery in any form, and certainly there were neither confederates\nnor machinery and that all those who had witnessed the results would\nfreely state in society in which they moved, that, so far as their\ninvestigations enabled them to form an opinion, the phenomena which\nhad taken place in their presence were not the product of legerdemain.\nThis suggestion was promptly acceded to by all present.\n\n\u201cSome persons think that the requirement of darkness seems to\ninfer trickery. Is not a dark chamber essential in the process of\nphotography? And what would we reply to him who would say, \u2018I believe\nphotography to be a humbug--do it all in the light, and we will\nbelieve otherwise\u2019? It is true that we know why darkness is necessary\nto the production of the sun-pictures; and if scientific men will\nsubject these phenomena to analysis, we shall find out why darkness is\nessential to such manifestations. It is a subject which scientific men\nare not justified in treating with the neglect of contempt.--I am, etc.,\n\n \u201cDion Boucicault.\u201d\n\n\nRichard Francis Burton, eminent English traveller, writer, and\ntranslator of _The Arabian Nights_, wrote to Dr. Ferguson, Davenport\nBrothers\u2019 lecturer and manager:\n\n \u201cI have spent a great part of my life in oriental lands, and\n have seen there many magicians.... I have read and listened to\n every explanation of the Davenport \u2018tricks\u2019 hitherto placed\n before the English public, and, believe me, if anything would\n make me take that tremendous jump \u2018from matter to spirit,\u2019 it\n is the utter and complete unreason of the reasons by which the\n \u2018manifestations\u2019 are explained.\u201d\n\n\nNor was it in England alone that able men were completely fooled by\nthe Davenports\u2019 performance. Frenchmen as well, after seeing the\nexhibition, hastened to put their favorable opinions in writing.\nHamilton, a well-known expert in the art of legerdemain, and\nson-in-law of Robert Houdin, the famous conjuror, wrote:\n\n \u201cMessrs. Davenport,--Yesterday I had the pleasure of being\n present at the seance you gave, and I came away from it\n convinced that jealousy alone was the cause of the outcry\n against you. The phenomena produced surpassed my expectations,\n and your experiments were full of interest for me. I consider\n it my duty to add that those phenomena are inexplicable, and\n the more so by such persons as have thought themselves able to\n guess your supposed secret, and who are, in fact, far indeed\n from discovering the truth.\n\n \u201cHamilton.\u201d\n\n\nM. Rhys, a manufacturer of conjuring implements and himself an inventor\nof tricks, wrote the Davenports:\n\n\u201c... I have returned from one of your seances quite astonished. As a\nperson who has devoted many years to the manufacture of instruments\nfor legerdemain performances, my statement made with due regard to\nfidelity, and guided by the knowledge long experience has given me,\nwill, I trust, be of some value to you.... I was admitted to examine\nyour cabinet and instruments ... with the greatest care but failed\nto find anything that could justify legitimate suspicions. From that\nmoment I felt that the insinuations cast about you were false and\nmalevolent.\u201d\n\nThese are but a few of innumerable instances where men of culture,\nknowledge and experience, were deluded by the performance of the\nDavenport Brothers, just as men are to-day with my presentations, and\nwhen the reader takes into consideration the confession of Ira Erastus\nDavenport[33] to me in 1909, and the fact that he taught me his full\nmethod of manipulating seances, he can then form some conception of the\nextent to which the most intelligent minds can be led astray by what\nseem to them phenomena, but to me, mere problems susceptible of lucid\nexplanation.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III\n\nDANIEL DUNGLAS HOME\n\n\nFollowing the first seances of the \u201cFox Sisters,\u201d in 1848, mediums\nsprang up all over the country like mushrooms but of this multitude\nthere have not been more than a dozen whose work, in spite of repeated\nexposure, is still pointed to as proof of Spiritualism, and whose names\nhave found a permanent place in connection with its development and\nhistory. Of these, one of the most conspicuous and lauded of his type\nand generation was Daniel Dunglas Home. He was the forerunner of the\nmediums whose forte is fleecing by presuming upon the credulity of the\nsubject. A new and fertile field was opened and from that time to the\npresent day there have been numerous cases of mediums falling into the\nclutches of the law as a direct result of using his methods, but Home\nhad characteristics which went far in many cases to keep him out of\ntrouble. Outwardly a lovable character with a magnetic personality and\na great fondness for children; suave, captivating to the last degree,\na good dresser fond of displaying jewelry; an appearance of ill-health\nwhich aroused sympathy and with an assumption of piety and devotion\nto established forms of religious worship, he made his way easily and\nfound favor with many who would have spurned him under other conditions\nand this too, strange as it may seem, in spite of persistent _rumors_\nof immorality in his private life.\n\nHome helped to build up his reputation by not charging for his\nmediumistic services. The claim that he did not accept fees for his\nsittings may, or may not, be quite true, but the fact remains that the\nspirits were good to him and provided for his temporal needs abundantly\nand sumptuously, and he subsisted on the bounty of his Spiritualistic\nfriends who seemed to rival one another in entertaining him in their\nhomes for long periods and showering him with gifts, a practice which\nbegan in America and was continued in England and on the Continent to\nan extent which made a life of positive luxury possible.\n\nIt is strongly intimated that the gifts which Home received were in\nmany cases _suggested_ by the _Spirits_ he invoked and his spirit\nguide seems to have always kept a sharp eye on his need for earthly\nsustenance even to the point of satisfactorily bedecking his person\nwith jewelry. This was always _materialized_ for him when required, and\nsince he, personally, could not be held responsible for what wicked\nspirits might do, and as they used good judgment in picking victims,\nnothing was said about it and he escaped the prison fate of Ann O\u2019Delia\nDiss Debar.\n\nHis early life was spent in Connecticut but whether at the home of his\naunt in Waterford or with his mother in Norwich, twelve miles away,\nis a question, but certain it is that at the death of his mother he\nwent to the aunt\u2019s. This was when he was seventeen, two years after\nthe \u201cFox Sisters\u201d had begun their career in New York State. How much\nhe had heard of them is uncertain, something no doubt, and it is not\nstrange that a youth of his characteristics might want to emulate them.\nThen too his mother had the reputation of being possessed of so-called\n\u201csecond-sight\u201d and he may have inherited traits which helped to make\nthe life of a medium look attractive to him. At any rate, claiming the\nassistance of his mother\u2019s spirit, he tried out his mediumistic powers\nat the homes of the neighbors with such success that before long he\nannounced to his aunt that he was going to set up as a _professional\nSpiritualist_. The lady, a devout Trinitarian, was so shocked and\ndisturbed, he tells us, that \u201cin her uncontrollable anger she seized\na chair and threw it at me.\u201d But much as she disliked the idea of the\nyoung man becoming a medium his performances soon attracted so much\nattention that she was reconciled to his leaving her home in Norwich\nto go to Willimantic, Connecticut, where he began his life-long custom\nof living on the bounty of friends and dupes. His first feats were of\nthe simplest kind such as are in the repertoire of every itinerant\nsideshow proprietor, but his success seems to have been instantaneous.\nOne reason for this was that while mediums as a class were a lazy lot\nHome was an untiring worker as well as an unflinching egotist and his\npersonal qualities went far to disarm suspicion and inspire confidence\nin the minds of his dupes.\n\nWhere he obtained his early education does not appear but the records\nare full of indications of considerable intellectuality. He claimed to\nhave studied medicine and obtained a degree in New York but he never\npracticed. In his later years he set up a studio in Italy[34] and gave\nhis attention to sculpture between seances and \u201csold busts at prices\nquite out of proportion to their artistic merits.\u201d He studied elocution\ntoo and is said to have given many successful readings.[35] He also had\nthe credit of being quite a musician and playing several instruments,\nwhich partially explains his accordion trick. With it all he was\nconsiderable of a linguist, toward the last being able to speak most\nof the modern tongues. He was the author of two pretentious books[36]\nwhose chief purpose seems to have been to establish the impression that\nwhile all other mediums cheated at times _Home was strictly honest_ on\nall occasions, and in proof it was said that he was never exposed and\nnever received a fee for his sittings. Nevertheless one charge of fraud\nwas proven against him in court.[37] It may or may not be true that\nhe was never completely exposed but many of his manifestations were\ndiscovered to be fraudulent and every one of them can be duplicated by\nmodern conjurors under the same conditions. The principal reason why\nhe was never _completely_ exposed was that he gave no public sittings,\nalways appearing as the guest of the family where he was living and as\none writer expressed it, \u201cone would no more think of criticising his\nhost\u2019s guest than he would his host\u2019s wine.\u201d\n\nOn one occasion Robert Browning, the poet, attended one of Home\u2019s\nseances. He had become somewhat alarmed by his wife\u2019s interest in\nSpiritualism, and when a face was materialized and said to be that\nof a son who had died in infancy, Browning seized the supposed\nmaterialized head and discovered it to be _the bare foot of Mr. Home_.\nIncidentally, Browning had never lost an infant son. The living son,\nR. Barrett Browning, in a letter to the London _Times_, December 5,\n1902, referring to this occurrence said, \u201cHome was detected in a vulgar\nfraud.\u201d In the same letter he tells of the modification of his mother\u2019s\nbelief after having been deceived by a \u201c_trusted friend_\u201d and his\nclosing words were: \u201cThe pain of the disillusion was great, but her\neyes were opened and she saw clearly.\u201d\n\nWhat might be called Home\u2019s American apprenticeship began in 1850 and\nin spite of his youth and inexperience he succeeded in convincing\nmany prominent persons of the genuineness of his phenomena, among\nthem being such men as Judge Edmonds,[38] William Cullen Bryant, and\nBishop Clarke of Rhode Island. In the spring of 1855 a committee of\nadmirers collected a sum of money sufficient to send him to England\nand establish himself comfortably. He carried with him a letter of\nintroduction to a man of scientific tastes by the name of Cox who\nwas proprietor of Cox\u2019s Hotel, in Jermyn Street, and through whose\ninfluence he was able to arrange sittings with Lord Brougham, Sir David\nBrewster, Robert Owen, T. A. Trollope, Sir E. Bulwer Lytton, and others\nequally prominent.\n\nAfter only a few months\u2019 stay in England Home went to Italy, ostensibly\nfor his health, and for the next four years he lived on the Continent,\ntravelling from place to place, living in luxury, being almost\ncontinually entertained in the homes of \u201cfriends,\u201d which in almost\nevery case were people of rank and wealth. He seems to have had little\ndifficulty in meeting royalty and nobility on terms of intimacy even\nnumbering among his patrons the Emperor and Empress of France as\nwell as the Czar of Russia. From this clientele he received many and\nvaluable gifts. At the Russian Court, with its leaning toward the\noccult, he was especially welcomed and lived for weeks at a time in\nthe palace of the Czar, like the similar careers of Washington Irving\nBishop, Mons. Phillipi, and Rasputin. During his stay in Russia he\nmet a beautiful young lady of rank and with the approval of the Czar\nmarried her.[39]\n\nHome at this time had already begun to show that fondness for precious\nstones which finally became so pronounced that a few years later an\nEnglish writer in describing him said:\n\n\u201cBut the salient feature of the man after all was his jewels. On the\nthird finger of the left hand he wore an immense solitaire, which\nflashed imperial splendors with every movement; above that a sapphire\nof enormous size; on the other hand was a large yellow diamond and a\nsuperb ruby set in brilliants.\u201d\n\nBut these were not all for the writer adds a list of others in\nHome\u2019s possession which would easily arouse the envy of any\nmulti-millionaire\u2019s wife. In view of this fondness for jewels an\nincident which occurred just prior to Home\u2019s leaving the Russian Court\nis interesting. The story was told me by Stuart Cumberland. I have\nheard him repeat it to others and he also tells it in his book, \u201cThat\nOther World,\u201d from which I quote.\n\n\u201cWhilst in Petrograd--so at least, a famous diplomat assured me when I\nwas there--Home did a feat of dematerialization before the Court which,\nhad it not been for the favor in which he was held in high places,\nmight have curtailed his liberty for a period.\n\n\u201cHe had dematerialized a splendid row of emeralds lent the \u201cdear\nspirits\u201d for the purpose of the test; but up to the time of his\ndeparture from the seance, the emeralds, for some occult reason, had\ndeclined to materialize and be given back to the confiding owner.\nThey were, of course, in the spirit land engaging the attention of\nthe spooks, who seemed to have a pretty taste for valuable jewels.\nBut the chief of police had not that faith in spiritual probity\ngenerally accepted at the Court, and before leaving the palace, Home\nwas searched, and--so the story came to me--the dematerialized emeralds\nwere found materializing in his coat-tail pocket. They had been placed\nthere by an evil spirit, of course, but the chief of police impressed\nupon the medium that the climate of the Russian Capital might not be\ngood for his health--that an early departure would probably benefit\nit. Home took the hint and his early departure. To his dying day, I\nthink he regretted the interference of the evil spirit (or the police).\nIt would have been so much more satisfactory for the jewels to have\nremained dematerialized in the spirit land, to be materialized at will\nwith no interfering police around, for they, the jewels, were of great\nearthly value.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: DANIEL DUNGLAS HOME]\n\nThe year 1859 found Home back in England and marked the commencement\nof what proved to be the period of his greatest success. It was but a\nfew years later that he attempted his most noted financial venture.\nHe had become established in Sloane Street, London, as Secretary of\nwhat was called \u201cThe Spiritual Athen\u00e6um.\u201d One day, late in 1866,\nthere came to him a widow by the name of Jane Lyon who was anxious to\njoin his society. She was seventy-five years old and besides being\nwealthy in her own right had been left ample means by her husband.\nPrevious to calling on Home she had read his book, believed it, and\nin addition been having a series of unusual dreams. The medium had\nlittle difficulty in finding a way to make it possible for her to\njoin the Athen\u00e6um, and she told how later at this first meeting her\nhusband\u2019s spirit \u201chad communicated with her through Home, and knotted\nher handkerchief.\u201d Just all that the spirit of her husband said to her\nat this interview does not appear but it was enough to persuade her\nto give him twenty-four thousand pounds. The spirits became very much\ninterested in Mrs. Lyon\u2019s affairs and in November, at their direction,\nHome burned her will and before long she gave him another six thousand\npounds.\n\nThe attachment between the widow of seventy-five and the medium of\nthirty-three grew apace and soon the spirit of her husband suggested\nthat she adopt Home as her son \u201cfor he would be such a comfort to her.\u201d\nThe suggestion was immediately acted upon and the medium began to call\nhimself Daniel Home Lyon. Nor was the spirit forgetful of the needs\nof a son, suggesting that an allowance of seven hundred pounds a year\nwould be about right. In January (1867) Mrs. Lyon assigned a mortgage\nof thirty thousand pounds to Home, only reserving the interest as an\nannuity for herself. Not until a month later did she become worried and\nconsult a lawyer, who assured her that she had been imposed upon, but\nshe was not convinced until she had questioned the spirits through a\ngirl of twelve, the daughter of a flower medium by the name of Murray.\nAs reported by this girl even the spirits seemed to think that Mrs.\nLyon had been fleeced out of sixty thousand pounds and she accordingly\ndemanded its return by Home. He ignored the demand but offered to\nreturn the mortgage if she would give him undisputed possession of the\nfirst thirty thousand pounds and allow him to drop the name of Lyon.\nShe would not agree to this. Home was arrested and a suit for recovery\nbegun. The litigation was long, the case finally ending in May, 1868,\nwith a judgment in favor of Mrs. Lyon; the Court holding that as the\ntransfer of money and deed had been accomplished by _fraud_ it was\ntherefore void. In his closing remarks the Vice Chancellor referred\nto Mrs. Lyon as an old lady with a mind \u201c_saturated with delusion_\u201d\nand characterized Spiritualism as being, according to the evidence, a\n\u201csystem of mischievous nonsense well calculated to delude the vain, the\nweak, the foolish, and the superstitious.\u201d[40]\n\nHome continued his mediumship, notwithstanding, and between 1870 and\n1872 he held several seances with Sir William Crookes,[41] who was so\nimpressed that he credited him with being \u201cone of the most lovable\nof men--whose perfect genuineness was above suspicion,\u201d an opinion\nstrikingly in contrast with the verdict in the case of Mrs. Lyon, but\nwhich shows how thoroughly and easily the followers of Spiritualism are\nbeguiled and misled. _No_ medium is _ever_ open to suspicion by the\nfaithful and Sir William Crookes\u2019 statement encourages the belief that\neven scientists are not always immune from the influence of _personal\nmagnetism_. He is also quoted as saying:\n\n\u201cAs to the theory of fraud, it is obvious that this theory can account\nfor a very small portion of the facts observed. I am willing to admit\nthat some so-called mediums of whom the public have heard much, are\narrant impostors, who have taken advantage of the public demand for\nSpiritualistic excitement, to fill their purses with easily earned\nguineas; _while others who have no pecuniary motive for imposture are\ntempted to cheat, it would seem, solely by a desire for notoriety_.\u201d\n\nSo it will be seen that even Professor Crookes, while defending the\nso-called genuine medium, in the same breath admits that there are\nfraudulent practitioners.\n\n[Illustration: DIAGRAM SHOWING ARRANGEMENT OF ROOMS, WINDOWS, ETC.,\nWHERE HOME\u2019S REPUTED FEAT OF FLOATING TOOK PLACE.]\n\nHome gained wide notoriety for unusual phenomena by his reputed\nlevitation acts, wherein he would slide from the chair on which he was\nsitting to a horizontal position, then ask to have the chair removed as\nit was not supporting him, and would \u201cfloat\u201d under a table and back,\nbut his masterpiece, the incident oftenest referred to, was sailing out\nof a window feet first, and sailing into another, seven feet and four\ninches distant, landing feet first in an adjacent room, where he \u201csat\ndown.\u201d Lord Adare, an observer, expressed surprise that he could have\nbeen carried through an aperture so narrow as eighteen inches whereupon\n\u201cHome, still entranced said, \u2018I will show you,\u2019 _and then with his back\nto the window he leaned over and was shot out of the aperture head\nfirst, with the body rigid, and then returned quite quietly_.\u201d[42][43]\n\nThis is the way the story has been recounted again and again by\nSpiritualist writers and speakers and to this day is told by Sir Arthur\nConan Doyle with as much seriousness as if he had been an eyewitness of\nthe occurrence in the full glare of a noon-day sun.\n\n\u201cWhen D.D. made that \u2018home-run\u2019\u201d around the outside of his house he\nseems to have been seeking an altitude rather than a speed record, as\nthe three reliable (?) witnesses agree that the windows through which\nhe floated were in the third story and either sixty or eighty feet from\nthe ground. This would make the height of each story from twenty to\ntwenty-seven feet, but _tall stories_ appear to have been a specialty\nwith these remarkably observant gentlemen.\n\nIn 1920 I made plans for reproducing this window feat under the same\nconditions as Home and the late Stuart Cumberland openly challenged\nSpiritualists that I was ready to submit to such a test but no response\nwas received before I left Europe. Consequently I desire to go on\nrecord as being able to perform the same phenomena (?) provided I am\ngiven the same conditions and scope which Home was. I believe that\nthose who witnessed the feat were sincere in giving credence to it but\nthat it was an illusion and they were deceived by Home, for the mind\nof the average person accepts what it sees and is not willing to apply\nthe laws of physics, no matter how much or how glaringly the act defies\nthe fundamental principles upon which our very existence depends.\n\nThe years between 1859 and 1872 were those of Home\u2019s greatest success.\nToward the end of this period, however, his popularity waned and having\nfor a second time married a lady belonging to the Russian nobility,\nhe gave up the practice of his profession, broke with nearly all\nhis former friends and returned to the Continent where he devoted\nmuch of his time to writing. He died in 1886 and is buried at St.\nGermain-en-Laye.\n\nHis active career, his various escapades, and the direct cause of his\ndeath[44] all indicate that he lived the life of a hypocrite of the\ndeepest dye. How strange that these inspired agents of \u201cSummerland,\u201d\nthese human deliverers of messages, these stepping stones to the\nBeyond, are, for the greater part, moral perverts whose favorite\ndefence is the claim that they are forced to do such deeds by the evil\nspirits which take possession of them.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV\n\nPALLADINO\n\n\nEusapia Palladino, an Italian, has to her credit the successful\ndeception of more philosophic and scientific men than any other\nknown medium, being regarded by some as the most famous of them all,\nnotwithstanding the fact that she seems to have made no pretence of\nproducing the class of miracles claimed by D. D. Home and many others.\nMaterialization was rarely resorted to by her and there is very little\nvariety in her program from 1892 up to the time of her death in 1918,\nevidently being content to astonish investigating scientists with the\nlevitation and gyrating of inanimate things.[45]\n\nPalladino was born in the Neapolitan district of poor peasants who\ndied when she was a mere child. Naturally bright, even shrewd, her\nperceptive instinct seems to have developed early in life and continued\nthroughout her career though she had no education and to the end was\nscarcely able to read or write.\n\nHer first contact with the mysterious arts appears to have been when\nshe was a mere child of thirteen (1867) in the service of an acrobat or\n_conjuror_[46] from whom she must have acquired some degree of skill\nand knowledge of the uncanny which she may have coupled up with the\nmarvellous success achieved by Home, and her quick wit may have opened\nvisions of a change from poverty to that affluence which she saw was\nthe reward of the professional phenomena producer, for she began her\nSpiritualistic work just following his successful operations in Italy\nwhich served to spread Spiritualism in spite of Papal opposition. Her\npart must have been learned well and her plans carefully laid before\nshe made her debut as a full fledged medium because she succeeded from\nthe start in baffling brainy men of science, and while as the wife of a\nsmall shop-keeper she was very poor, she became wealthy within twenty\nyears after taking up mediumistic work.\n\nShe did not attract the attention of the public until about 1880 when\nProfessor Chiaia, who had been giving her a lot of attention without\ndetecting her methods, challenged Professor Lombroso, at that time\nthe most distinguished scientific man in Italy, to investigate her.\nProfessor Lombroso did, but failed to detect any fraudulent work though\nhis decision was delayed for so long a time that when it was finally\ngiven it was claimed that his mentality had weakened considerably.[47]\n\nIn 1892 Palladino had begun to attract the attention of scientific men\nin different Italian cities and had also been brought to the notice of\nsome of the English Spiritualists but it was not until 1894 that she\nwent to France. This trip was brought about through the influence of\nProfessor Richet, and Sir Oliver Lodge, Professor Sidgwick, and Mr.\nMyers took part in the proceedings. On the return of Lodge and Myers to\nEngland they aroused interest in Palladino by reporting her phenomena\nto be genuine.\n\nThe first exposure of Palladino was made by Dr. Richard Hodgson in\n1895. A committee from the English Society for Psychical Research,\nconsisting of Hereward Carrington, Hon. Everard Feilding, and Wortly\nW. Baggally, which had held a series of test seances with Palladino in\nItaly, brought her to England for a fresh try-out and another series of\nsittings was held. Very early in the series suspicious movements on the\npart of the medium were observed. Later Dr. Hodgson joined the circle\nand was able to show conclusively that by clever manipulation--sheer\ntrickery--she was getting one hand free and with it making the\nmovements observed.\n\nHer method[48] was to begin by allowing one hand to be firmly held by\nthe sitter at her side (say on the left) and let the fingers of her\nother hand (right) rest on that of the sitter on her right. In the\ncourse of some rapid spasmodic movements she would bring the sitters\u2019\nhands so close together that one of her own could do duty for two,\nbeing held by one sitter while its fingers rested on the hand of the\nother sitter,[49] leaving her (Palladino\u2019s) right hand free to produce\nthe desired \u201cphenomena\u201d after which it was restored to its original\nposition. Other devices equally dishonest were observed or inferred.\n\nAll of these men were experienced seance observers[50] but the report\nof their conclusions shows how easily such experts were deceived by\nthe very tricks which were later proved fraudulent by the New York\nbranch of The Society for Psychical Research. Mr. Feilding\u2019s reports\nwere the least positive of the three and show that when the best\nphenomena were observed the control was not complete and that the\nstenographic notes were deficient, and when read over the day following\nthe sitting they seemed weak in comparison with a recollection of the\nmanifestations. That the final reports were based largely on these\nrecollections is indicated by Mr. Feilding\u2019s statement that:\n\n\u201cWe were forced from our proposed colorless attitude to one of almost\nproselyting affirmation.\u201d\n\nWhen Palladino came to America in 1908 she was beginning to be world\nfamous and her reputation was established; she was a shrewd woman with\na large experience in the art of misdirection, and with a convenient\nsubterfuge of unaccommodating Spirit guides whenever her own resources\nwere exhausted because of some over-zealous observer. For twenty\nyears or more she had avoided detection because she had fixed the\nconditions under which tests were made and consequently as scientific\ninvestigations they were simply farces. But in New York conditions were\nintroduced which she did not approve for the simple reason that she did\nnot know that they existed. Another difference was that in New York\na number of rehearsals were held and each investigator was assigned\nto a special part of the work, thus guarding against the old trick\nof drawing the attention away from the place where a manifestation\nsuddenly developed. The result was Palladino\u2019s downfall.\n\nOn her arrival in New York a group of Columbia professors became\ninterested in Palladino and arranged for a series of ten test seances\nat one hundred and twenty-five dollars a sitting. Eight of the ten\nseances had been held and though a majority of the professors were\nsatisfied that she was cheating they were unable to prove it. Although\nthe seances were being conducted secretly by the scientists one of\nthem, Professor Dickinson S. Miller, discussed Palladino\u2019s best trick,\ntable levitation, with a friend of mine, Mr. W. S. Davis, himself\nan ex-medium whose seances were always given under test conditions.\nDavis not only explained to the Professor the probable method used\nby Palladino but demonstrated it as well with the result that the\nProfessor declared that a full exposure of Palladino should be made\neven if it cost ten thousand dollars and invited Davis to aid at\nthe next seance candidly admitting that he and his associates were\nincapable of proper investigation.\n\nDavis replied that scientists were not the kind of men he could work\nwith but if he would let him bring along a couple of \u201cFlim-flam\u201d men he\nwould help. Professor Miller consented to this arrangement provided the\nmen were palmed off as college professors as otherwise they would not\nbe admitted. Davis then sent for John W. Sargent, a past-president of\nthe Society of American Magicians, and for years my private secretary.\nHe also sent for another magician, James L. Kellogg. Both agreed with\nDavis that his theory of Palladino\u2019s method was correct. Professor\nMiller then suggested, that in order to make the discovery complete and\nto corroborate any and all observations, two other persons should be\nselected to watch the feet of the medium. Davis accordingly selected\nJoseph F. Rinn, another member of the magicians society, who had\nassisted in various exposures of pseudo-mediums and Professor Miller\nnamed Warner C. Pyne, a student at Columbia. It was agreed that these\ntwo should be clad in black even to a head covering and smuggled into\nthe room under cover of darkness after the seance had convened and\nwere to sprawl under the chairs and table in order that their heads\nmight be near enough Palladino\u2019s feet to detect any movement. I am\nindebted to my friend Davis for the following inside story of the\nsitting just as he gave it to me.\n\n\u201cAfter the arrival of Eusapia and Mr. Livingston and when both had\nentered the seance room, Rinn and Pyne came downstairs and hid in\nthe hall where they waited for their signal. When we were introduced\nand after the usual conversation, Eusapia said that she would begin.\nBefore she had time to pick her controllers, Professor Miller ushered\nKellogg and myself into the positions next to her. She took a seat at\nthe narrow end of the table and with her back close to the cabinet\ncurtains. (The cabinet was formed by placing curtains from the ceiling\nto the floor, extending out from one corner of the room). Kellogg sat\nat her right and I sat at her left. Eusapia sat close to the table\nand her black dress touched the table legs. She placed her right foot\non the instep of Kellogg\u2019s left foot and her left foot on my right\nfoot, which was her guarantee that her feet should play no part in\nthe production of the phenomena. We did not reduce the light at the\nbeginning of the seance.\n\n\u201cThe rest of the party sitting around the table then placed their hands\non its upper surface and formed the well known chain. Eusapia stamped\nKellogg\u2019s foot and mine and asked us if the control was satisfactory\nwhich of course it was. Eusapia then drew her own hands away from ours\nand soon light raps were heard. _They were such as are easily and\nimperceptibly produced by sliding the finger tips upon the table top._\n\n\u201cWe were next favored with responsive raps,--doubling up her hands she\nbeat the air with her fists in a jerky, spasmodic way when we heard\nthe light noises on the wood. The exhibition above board did not\noccupy our entire attention. Every one in the party was interested in\nthe theory of using a foot as a lever to raise the table. As she beat\nthe air with her clenched fist, she correspondingly slid her feet away\nuntil we felt the pressure on the toe end of our feet only, whereas\nthere had previously been pressure on the insteps. Kellogg and I both\nsuspected that she had succeeded in removing one foot and was making\nthe other do duty for two. From then on we commenced to get heavier\nraps, as though she struck the table leg with her foot.\n\n\u201cIn striking the table leg with the side of her shoe, thus producing\nraps, Eusapia also got the exact position in which her foot should be\nplaced for levitation. When she rocked the table from side to side it\nwas only necessary to switch her toe an inch when the left leg of the\ntable would come down on it, then all she had to do was to elevate her\ntoe while the heel remained on the floor and either partial or complete\nlevitation followed.\n\n\u201cWe looked pleased and Eusapia began to feel at home. With a little\nrest, the rocking was resumed and she considered it safe to risk the\nentire levitation. Holding Kellogg\u2019s left hand up in the air with\nher right she put my right hand, palm down, on the top of the table,\ndirectly over the left table leg; then put her left hand over mine,\nthe tips of the fingers extending rather over my hand and touching\nthe table. No other hands were upon it. Then, after a few partial\nlevitations, the table went up into the air with every leg off the\nfloor. It was our first complete levitation. As beautiful as any on\nrecord and _given under bright lights_.\u201d\n\nI asked Davis how he knew the levitation was fraudulent and he answered:\n\n\u201c(1) During the partial levitations I casually lifted my left foot,\npassed it over the right foot in the direction of Eusapia and was\nunable to touch her left leg in the place where it should have been.\n(2) Her black dress touched the table leg and as she took her toe\nsuddenly out from under it, her dress moved accordingly. (3) By the\nthud which the table made when it was deprived of its very material\nperch. (4) By the fact that any juggler can perform the feat when the\n\u2018_modus operandi_\u2019 is fully understood, though perhaps not with the\nsame skill. (5) Every one present knew that the table was steadied at\nthe top by Eusapia\u2019s hand, which rested upon mine, in turn bore down\nover the table leg, held up presumably by Eusapia\u2019s toe which formed\na perfect human clamp.[51](6) What Rinn and Pyne told us after the\nseance. They said that from their position under the chairs they saw\nEusapia place her right foot upon Kellogg\u2019s left and her left foot upon\nmy right, later they saw her tapping upon our feet with hers while she\nmade some changes in the position of her feet. They also saw her slide\nher left foot away by a few hitches as her right was twisted around to\ncover my right foot which had previously been under her left foot. They\ndistinctly saw Eusapia strike the table leg with the side of her foot\nto produce the raps and they also saw her slide her toe under the table\nleg and force the table up by toe leverage.\u201d[52]\n\nDuring his narration I asked Davis to tell me if this astute Italian\nwho had fooled the scientists of the world was not suspicious or did\nnot sense that she was being checked up in her movements.\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d he replied dryly, \u201conce during the seance she asked every one to\nstand up. Two of the ladies in their inexperience proceeded to obey the\ncommand. We had two spies under our chairs and as we did not want her\nto see them something had to be done immediately, so I pretended to\nhave severe cramps in my legs and while the interpreter told Eusapia\nof it Sargent and Kellogg nudged the ladies to sit down and the medium\nthen resumed her seat.\u201d\n\nI will not bore the reader with a detailed account of the cabinet\nphenomena at this seance under a subdued light but suffice to say that\nDavis and Kellogg tricked her as before and were able to explain every\nmanifestation. The whole Miller seance was carried out as planned so\ncarefully that Palladino on the way to her hotel afterwards told the\nColumbia student who had acted as interpreter[53] for her that she was\nwell pleased with the evening and that the seance had been one of the\nmost successful of the series.[54]\n\nI quote by permission from a letter written me by Mr. Davis under date\nof June 22, 1923:\n\n\u201cRupert Hughes, in an attack upon Spiritism some time ago, said\nthat favorable reports on Palladino constituted a vast literature,\nand he was right. The public libraries both in this country and\nEurope contain many books in which it is claimed that it has been\n\u2018_scientifically_ demonstrated\u2019 that Eusapia possesses some occult\npower.\n\n\u201cGenerations for centuries will probably be influenced by these books.\nThey are only calculated to create superstition and ignorance and it\nis a shame that they are permitted to circulate. Eusapia was one of\nthe world\u2019s greatest mountebanks. Her dupes were our foremost men of\nlearning--they were not of the rabble. She was the greatest mountebank\nproduced by modern Spiritism, and she duped more scientists than any\nother medium. In that respect D. D. Home does not compare with her. The\n_important lesson in the case_ is that so-called \u2018scientific\u2019 testimony\nis just about worthless. That is an important educational fact and a\nvaluable lesson to the general public.\u201d\n\nMr. Davis is quite right in his view of the seriousness of the possible\ndanger and damage to the reading public from the effects of the grossly\nmisapplied energy of the prominent scientists who have so unqualifiedly\nendorsed Eusapia Palladino as a genuine miracle worker, and the hosts\nof Spiritualistic enthusiasts who have repeated their published\nstatements. Even Sir Arthur Conan Doyle unqualifiedly lauds Home and\nPalladino as patron saints of his psychic religion (?). He accepts as\nproof the fact that these learned scientists met their Waterloo in an\nattempt to fathom the simple tricks of impostors, and like all other\nSpiritualists refuses to accept the positive proof of the deception\nsecured by men schooled in the science of magic which at times is\nas seemingly unexplainable as the more profound subjects of natural\nscience.\n\nThe reader should bear in mind that Mr. Davis\u2019 _sincerity_ is just as\ngreat as is Sir Arthur\u2019s. _Sincerity_ is Sir Arthur\u2019s strong magnet\nand the reader should attach as much importance to _sincerity_ on\nthe part of an opponent. We must also take into consideration the\nfact that Mr. Davis was at one time a _medium_ himself and he has had\nmuch opportunity for observing the qualifications of scientists as\noccult investigators. We must notice too the methods of conducting\nthe seances in which such diverse results were obtained. Those held\nwith only scientists as observers were under the full control of the\nmedium and all her conditions were conformed to, but in New York it\nwas practically a case of fighting fire with fire. It is proverbial\nthat \u201cit takes a rogue to catch a rogue\u201d--just so a trickster is more\ncapable of setting traps to detect trickery than the grave scientist\nin his endeavor to solve the problem by mathematics or logic. In the\nsuccessful instance the plan of operation had been carefully worked out\nin every detail, each participant was assigned a specific work to do\nand did it. A number of rehearsals were held so that each person was\nfamiliar with their part. All the conditions so strenuously adhered to\nin previous seances, were safeguarded and the result was a successful\nexposure.\n\n[Illustration: EUSAPIA PALLADINO AND HER SEANCE TABLE]\n\nWhen Carrington brought Palladino to this country he announced that he\ndid so in the interest of \u201cscience.\u201d Publicity was not to be ignored\nthough and consequently the first seance was given before newspaper\nmen. William A. Brady (the theatrical man) occupied the seat of honor\nwhich made it look as though Carrington hoped for some theatrical\nbusiness as a side issue to the seances with scientists at a hundred\nand twenty-five dollars a sitting. It is also known that Carrington\nmade a contract with a popular magazine which gave it an exclusive\nright to publish reports of the seances and naturally Carrington was\nto have received a liberal fee. But Mr. Davis in 1909 furnished the\n_New York Times_ with two articles making a sensational attack on\nPalladino whereupon the magazine people cancelled their contract with\nCarrington on the ground that Davis had put a \u201cfrost\u201d on their plans.\nAs a result Carrington threatened the _Times_ with a suit for a hundred\nthousand dollars damage. The threat was dropped after Palladino\u2019s\ncomplete exposure and her refusal to go to the Times Building and win\nthe two thousand dollar prize offered by Rinn. In all the seances\nconducted by Carrington the program was the same and the phenomena\nof precisely the same character as in the one which resulted in\nPalladino\u2019s complete exposure. The value of Mr. Carrington\u2019s opinion\nas evidence may be judged from excerpts from an article in _McClure\u2019s\nMagazine_ for October, 1909. In this article he answers his own\nquestion \u201cDoes Eusapia Deceive Her Investigators?\u201d by saying:\n\n\u201cWell do I know the condition of mind induced by one or two seances\nwith Eusapia. All one\u2019s previous experience is refuted, and the mind\nfails to grasp the facts or to accept them as real. It is incapable of\nabsorbing them. It requires several seances before one is convinced of\nthe reality of the phenomena, and of the fact that one\u2019s observation\nis not mistaken. Personally, I had to witness six seances before I was\nirrevocably and finally convinced of the reality of the fact. Before\nthat, although I was quite unable to explain what I saw by any theory\nof fraud or trickery, and although I was quite certain the facts were\nnot due to hallucination, still I could not believe them. I felt that\nthere must be a loophole somewhere; and I know that my colleagues\nfelt exactly as I did. But at the sixth seance when I was controlling\nthe medium myself, in such a manner that I was quite sure as to the\nwhereabouts of her whole body, and when it was, moreover, light enough\nto see the whole outline of her body clearly,--when, in spite of this,\nphenomena continued to take place all around us in the most bewildering\nmanner and under the most perfect test conditions, I felt that there\nwas no more to be said; certainty had been achieved; and from the sixth\nseance onward, and forever after, I shall remain as certain that these\nphenomena are facts, and form a part--however sporadic--of nature, as I\nam that I write this article.\u201d\n\nThe foregoing shows how vacillating the mind of Mr. Carrington was at\nthe time he was conducting the Palladino seances, and when after a\npersonal contest with the medium he stated his conviction he should\nhave known he was talking the impossible; that no one man could control\nPalladino beyond the possibility of fraud and at the same time detect\nher false moves. In the same article he writes:\n\n\u201cI may remark just here that this medium has been caught in trickery\nfrom time to time, and will almost invariably resort to it unless\nshe is prevented from doing so by the rigidity of the control (that\nis, the degree of certainty obtained in holding her hands and feet).\nThe reason for this is that Eusapia, knowing that the production of\ngenuine phenomena will exhaust her nervous forces, resorts to this\nsimpler method, if her sitters are sufficiently credulous to allow\nit, in order to save herself from the painful after effects of a\ngenuine seance. Nearly every investigator has at one time or another\ndiscovered this fraud, which is petty, and more or less obvious to any\ncareful investigator, and consists in the substitution of one hand for\ntwo, and in the production of phenomena with the remaining free hand.\nIf, however, sufficient precautions are taken, it is a comparatively\neasy matter to frustrate her attempts at fraud; and when this is done\nso-called genuine phenomena are produced. Many of the phenomena are\nso incredible that by far the simplest explanation is that fraud has\nbeen operative in their production; but I can say positively (and I\nbelieve the records will show this) that fraud was quite impossible\nthroughout our seances, not only because of the nature of our control\nof the medium, which was rigidly exacting, but because of the abundance\nof light. Any theory based upon the supposition that confederates were\nemployed is absolutely discounted: first, because the seances were held\nin our own locked rooms in the hotel; and secondly, because throughout\nthe seances it was light enough for us to see the whole room and its\noccupants. It is hardly necessary to add that we examined the cabinet,\nthe table, instruments, and all articles of furniture, both before and\nafter each seance.\u201d\n\nThis last seems just as a manager might be expected to talk of the\nmerit of his own show. A salesman should not decry his wares.\n\nThere is no question but what Palladino was given to fraud.[55] In\npersonal conversations with Hon. Everard Feilding, W. W. Baggally, E.\nJ. Dingwall and Hereward Carrington, each stated positively that they\nhad caught her cheating and that they knew her to be a fraud. They\nclaimed that toward the end of her career she lost her occult power and\nat such times as the Spirits failed her she would resort to trickery\nrather than confess failure. They believed her a genuine medium because\nof the things which she did under test conditions which they could not\nexplain, their knowledge of fraud being overpowered, apparently, by a\nwillingness to believe in the impossible simply because they were not\nable to solve the problem.\n\nIf you go to a department store and ask for a well advertised bit of\nmerchandise and when you get home you find the clerk has substituted\n\u201csomething just as good\u201d you either report the clerk to the management\nor else you do not patronize the store again; if you go to a tailor and\nhe sells you an \u201call-wool\u201d suit and you find that most of the \u201cwool\u201d\ngrew on cotton plants you pass that store by when you are ready to\nbuy another suit; if you catch your best friend cheating at cards you\nrefuse to play with him again ever and a life-time friendship is broken\nup. But Palladino cheated at Cambridge, she cheated in l\u2019Agu\u00e9las, and\nshe cheated in New York and yet each time that she was caught cheating\nthe Spiritualists upheld her, excused her, and forgave her. Truly their\nlogic sometimes borders on the humorous.\n\nF. W. H. Myers wrote in \u201cBorderland\u201d in 1896:\n\n\u201cThese frauds were practiced in and out of the real, or alleged, trance\nand were so skillfully executed that the poor woman must have practiced\nthem long and carefully.\u201d\n\nPalladino is summed up in these few lines.\n\nMy opinion is that Palladino in her crafty prime may have possessed the\nagility and abundant skill in misdirection together with sufficient\nenergy and nerve to bamboozle[56] her scientific and otherwise astute\ncommitteemen, but as time demanded its toll she probably lost her vim\nand nerve and became unable to present her \u201cperformances\u201d with the\nsuccess that attended her earlier demonstrations.\n\nMy old friend, John William Sargent, who died on September 24, 1920,\nwas one of the committee which finally dethroned Palladino, and I\nbelieve it no more than just that the last word of this chapter should\nbe said by him.\n\n\u201cEusapia Palladino is dead and I have little doubt that she departed\nhence without forgiving me for the part I took in spoiling her business\nin America by assisting in the exposure of her little bag of tricks.\nIt is an open question, however, whether the exposure of her trickery,\nor in fact of any of the class of sensation mongers to which she\nbelonged, ever turned a soul from belief in Spiritism; some of the\nleading newspapers, in commenting on her death, show that in spite of\nthe complete exposure of her methods, there still remains in the minds\nof many intelligent people the conviction that she was far from an\nimpostor. I cannot understand how any reasonable person could see in\nthis woman anything more than a fairly clever charlatan, whose success\nwas due more to the credulity of her audiences than the skill of her\nperformances. What did all her exposures amount to? Those who believed\nhave continued to believe, and in spite of the old saw, \u2018Truth is\nmighty and must prevail,\u2019 the name of Eusapia Palladino will be on the\nlips of men long, long after her exposers are forgotten dust.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V\n\nANN O\u2019DELIA DISS DEBAR\n\n\nThe coming and going of Ann O\u2019Delia Diss Debar are mysteries for there\nis no record of her birth and no trace of her death, but the \u201cin\nbetween time\u201d furnished material enough for an entire book rather than\na single chapter, and gave her sufficient opportunity to have it said\nof her that she was \u201cone of the most extraordinary fake mediums and\nmystery swindlers the world has ever known.\u201d Some even have classed\nher among the ten most prominent and dangerous female criminals of the\nworld, and her repertoire is claimed to have run the full gamut from\npetty confidence games to elaborately contrived schemes aimed at the\nmagnates of Wall Street. According to report she did not hesitate to\nvictimize the innocent and the mentally unsound and left behind her a\ntrail of sorrow, depleted pocket-books, and impaired morals that has\nseldom been equaled. Like many master criminals she escaped punishment\nfor a time but in the end fell into the toils of the law and served\ntime both here and in England. The marvellous tact with which she\ndevoted her great powers to the purposes of self aggrandizement and\nprofit is without parallel, and for cunning knavery, Cagliostro, by\ncomparison, seems to have been an amateur. It is alleged that her\ncrimes ranged from the smallest to the largest with morals as low as\none can imagine in a human being while, worst of all, she flaunted this\nviciousness openly, making no effort whatever to cloak her degeneracy.\n\nNevertheless her name stands among the half score or more in the front\nranks of the history of Spiritualism and with Daniel Dunglas Home\nshares the palm for the successful manipulation of big schemes. It\nwas not unusual for her to make deals that ran into the hundreds of\nthousands of dollars and though the two were early in the mediumistic\nfield, I believe that to this day they have had no peer in this\nrespect. Possibly all other mediums combined could not have aggregated\nthe amount of money obtained by these two.\n\nWhether Home outbids Diss Debar for pre\u00ebminence as to gain it is hard\nto say but it is certain that he \u201ccould not hold a candle\u201d to her\nversatility. Both appear to have had the advantage of being scholastic,\nand well versed in historic lore and the classics, which gave them\ngreat prestige with cultured people, opening the doors to the social\nlife of the \u201cupper-ten,\u201d and bringing within their reach people of\nwealth as well as scholars and scientists, all of whom were apparently\nperfectly willing to be deceived, and to unwittingly aid in making the\ncareers of these two adventurers \u201chowling successes\u201d up to the time of\ntheir undoing in the courts.\n\nUnlike Home, who never in all the vicissitudes of his career denied\nhis personality, Diss Debar as frequently as she changed her base of\noperations seems to have changed her name and her ancestry. Once in the\nheyday of her career she gave a series of interviews claiming to be the\ndaughter of King Louis I of Bavaria and Lola Montez, a Spanish-Irish\ndancer who had a spectacular and adventurous career which covered\nEurope in its course, reached to the Russian Court and later America.\nIt is supposed that Diss Debar was the daughter of a political refugee\nby the name of Salomen who settled in Kentucky and that she was born in\n1849 although there is no documentary proof of it. According to the\nstory she was named Editha and as she grew up became known as a wayward\nchild bent on doing what she should not and perfectly callous to all\nrestraining influence of parental affection. \u201cAt times her waywardness\ntook such extraordinary turns that her parents thought she was not\nentirely sane and sought the advice of a doctor, who said she was\nreally a sort of victim to an unholy passion, but that she would grow\nout of her failing as she grew older,\u201d a prophecy which never came true.\n\nWhen Editha Salomen became of age she left home and for several years\nher father lost all track of her. Later, to his great astonishment, he\ndiscovered her settled in Baltimore, moving among the best of society,\nand posing as a member of European aristocracy. As the \u201cCountess\nLandsfeldt and Baroness Rosenthal\u201d of the peerage of Bavaria she\navailed herself of all the privileges which members of nobility enjoyed\nin the Republic, was courted by American youth and found American women\n\u201conly too delighted to be led by a Countess.\u201d\n\nWhere the Kentucky girl with her peculiar temperament and\ncharacteristics could possibly have secured the education and knowledge\nwhich she displayed through all her exploits I am at a loss to\nunderstand. She must have inherited a liberal share of shrewdness,\ntogether with a fancy for reading ancient history, and at an early\nage realized that although not handsome she possessed some charm of\npersonality which attracted attention and which enabled her to pose\nsuccessfully as a member of the nobility.\n\nIt is said that in this r\u00f4le Editha had no difficulty in raising funds.\nIt was easy to encourage a prosperous young man into a love trap and\nmake him believe she would soon marry him. \u201cThen one day she would\nfind that she had to pay a large sum of money to meet a necessary\nobligation, that her careless bankers in Bavaria had failed to remit a\nfew hundred thousand dollars, on account of which she most reluctantly\naccepted temporary relief from the rich suitor. She took as much as\nshe dared and thereafter cut him.\u201d In this way she managed to cheat\nthe youth of Baltimore out of about a quarter of a million dollars.\nShe gave herself up to luxury and extravagance; took freely to smoking\ncigarettes impregnated with opium and was soon landed in Bellevue\nHospital suffering from \u201cacute nervous exhaustion.\u201d\n\nOne day, just as she was nearly cured, she sprang out of bed, stabbed\nan attendant and attempted to kill her doctor, and several persons were\nseriously wounded before she was secured. As a result she was sent to\nthe asylum for the insane on Ward\u2019s Island, where she was detained for\na year, during which time she showed no traces of insanity and it was\nconcluded that her attempt at murder was premeditated; but as she had\nbeen committed as insane with no evidence to controvert it the law was\npowerless and she was released.\n\nHer next venture was in the field of hypnotism, where she was an\nadept, but now known as Mrs. Messant and a widow, for though a young\ndoctor, either through fear or fondness, had married her soon after her\ndischarge from Ward\u2019s Island, he had survived the marriage less than a\nyear. As \u201cone can always find fools if one really looks for them\u201d she\nhad no difficulty in surrounding herself with dupes but as the widow\nof an obscure doctor was not _persona grata_ in the circles of high\nsociety where the highest paying fools are to be found she set to work\nto find an entr\u00e9e. Her search was not for long. Soon she discovered a\ncertain General Diss Debar; a man without money or \u201cmind of his own\u201d\nbut he filled her need, easily yielded to her cajoleries and presently\nEditha Salomen, Countess Landsfeldt, Baroness Rosenthal, Messant became\nAnn O\u2019Delia Diss Debar. As the wife of a general, society smiled on her\nagain and she lived in comfort. The rich courted \u201chypnotism and general\nhumbug and the wily woman was equal to the requirement.\u201d As time went\non, however, she began to squander the money that flowed into her\ncoffers. A couple of children were born to her. People began to tire of\nhypnotism, her income waned, and it became necessary for her to set her\nwits to work and cast her net for a fresh victim.\n\nThis proved to be Luther R. Marsh, a brilliant and wealthy lawyer of\nNew York City. Mr. Marsh was an ideal subject for the hypnotizer\u2019s\nattention. Though a learned lawyer he was not free from superstition\nand his wife had died but a short time before he was discovered by Diss\nDebar. At an early opportunity she \u201creceived\u201d messages from his spirit\nwife which the distinguished member of the bar accepted as genuine so\ngratefully and without question that the woman saw at once that she had\nopened up a new field with more and greater possibilities than she had\never worked before; she realized that she had gifts which fitted her to\nbe a first class Spiritualistic medium. Nor was her judgment in error.\nThe credulous lawyer proved an exceedingly easy mark. Very quickly she\nwon his full confidence and it was not long before he invited her to\nshare his hospitality at 166 Madison Avenue. There was no delay in her\nacceptance. With the owners\u2019 full consent the home was transformed into\na Spiritualistic Temple in which Ann O\u2019Delia Diss Debar was the high\npriestess. Soon it was evident that there were spirits in profusion\nand the new medium was able to produce any type of phenomena desired,\neven to spirit painting. The venture was a profound success and a\nflourishing business was developed with an upper-ten clientele in which\nMr. Marsh became the chief and real victim.\n\nNot only was Mr. Marsh mourning his wife but he had also lost a little\ndaughter but a short time before and so when \u201cEva\u2019s\u201d supposed spirit\nsuggested to him that he make over his property at 166 Madison Avenue\nto Diss Debar the father was ready for the sacrifice.[57] The deeds\nwere drawn and the transfer made but the medium was prevented from\nenjoying her booty by legal proceedings which vigilant relatives of\nMarsh instituted based on his mental condition.\n\nBoth Ann O\u2019Delia Diss Debar and her husband, General Diss Debar, were\narrested and held on bail for trial.[58] As not infrequently happens\nin such cases the litigation was long drawn out and much astonishing\nevidence produced.[59] When placed on the witness stand her first\ntestimony demonstrated her character. A man by the name of Salomen\nhad testified that he was her brother. She denied that he was and\ndeclared that he was a vile wretch who had come to her to borrow money.\nShe admitted to an inspector afterwards that the man was her brother\nbut that he would not dare go on the stand against her for she knew\nsomething about him that would blast him forever and would not hesitate\nfor a second to tell it if she needed to.\n\nAnother indication of her character is furnished by the story that in\nchoosing between two lawyers to represent her in court she not only\ninquired into their legal ability, but desired to know about their age\nand looks as well, finally deciding upon the younger and better looking.\n\nShe testified that all the trouble had been caused by Mr. Marsh giving\nher his house and in answer to a question as to why she did not get\nmoney from him instead of real estate she replied that she had tried\nto but that he was very mean with his cash. The last time she had gone\nto him for money he had refused it, offering her instead a deed of his\nproperty in Newport. This she had refused fearing it would get her into\nmore trouble.\n\nDuring the early part of the trial Diss Debar conceived the idea of\nconsulting the spirit world in regard to her own course of action and\nsoon after, on \u201cthe advice of Cicero and his colleagues in council of\nten\u201d she returned the deeds of the Madison Avenue property to Mr. Marsh.\n\nOne of the surprises of the trial was the calling by the prosecuting\nattorney of a professional illusionist, mesmerist, and conjuror, Carl\nHertz, as a witness to prove by duplication that the tricks practiced\non the unsuspecting Marsh by Diss Debar were simply applications\nof the ordinary laws of physics. This he succeeded in doing to the\nsatisfaction of the court.\n\nWhile Hertz was exhibiting \u201cspirit message\u201d reading on the stand Diss\nDebar did everything in her power to embarrass him but without success\nas he met every condition she suggested including some under which Diss\nDebar herself would have failed to \u201cmanifest.\u201d Mrs. Hertz had been\nher husband\u2019s assistant in reading the billets. Diss Debar proposed\nthrough her lawyer that she be allowed to take her place. Hertz readily\nconsented. The Judge examined a fresh piece of paper and Hertz passed\nit to Diss Debar who deliberately tore it in two pieces and handing one\nof them back said to Hertz:\n\n\u201cI always mark mine; now let me see you do the trick with one of these\npieces.\u201d\n\nHertz availed himself of the regular mediumistic subterfuge\n\u201cunfavorable conditions\u201d explaining that it was only a trick and being\nexhibited as such. To this Diss Debar retorted:\n\n\u201cI rest my honor upon its _all being done by Spiritual power_ when I do\nit.\u201d\n\nAt this the court ordered her from the stand refusing to allow\ndiscussion along such lines. Later in the trial Hertz was recalled to\nthe stand by Diss Debar\u2019s counsel and asked if he could produce the\ntrick with Mr. Marsh as an assistant. He replied that he \u201ccould and\nwould.\u201d From a newspaper account[60] we learn that excitement in the\ncourtroom ran high while he proceeded with the trick. Diss Debar told\nMarsh to \u201cmark the tablet.\u201d\n\nThe conditions were not favorable to the performance of a\nsleight-of-hand trick. Mr. Marsh and Mr. Hertz were less than two feet\napart and people crowded around so close that the magician scarcely had\nroom to move, and yet he succeeded completely in deceiving Mr. Marsh.\nWhen Hertz handed the tablet to Mr. Marsh he calmly said:\n\n\u201cIf you wish to tear a corner off the tablet so as to identify it, I\nhave no objections.\u201d\n\nMr. Marsh tore the corner off the tablet, nevertheless he was\ncompletely tricked, and he so admitted to the court.\n\nNothing could show more clearly the methods used by mediums than the\nfollowing account, written by Hertz himself, of the means which he used\nin the demonstration described above. The letter was in response to one\nof mine in which I asked him to let me know the method he used as I\nthought it should be put in this record.\n\n 8 Hyde Park Mansions,\n London, N.\u00a0W.\n July 16, 1923.\n\n Dear Houdini:\n\n I am in receipt of yours, with reference to the manner in which\n I manipulated the paper to fool Mme. Diss Debar. I worked it\n as follows: When she was in the witness box, I showed the jury\n and Mrs. Diss Debar a half sheet of plain white note paper with\n nothing on it. I then told her to examine it and fold it four\n times (I had a duplicate piece with a communication written on\n it palmed in my hand), when she handed it back to me, I quickly\n made the changes, and giving her the piece with the writing on\n it I told her to hold it against my forehead. She then stopped\n me and said: \u201c_one moment please_, whenever I do this trick, _I\n let them mark the paper_,\u201d and suiting the action to the word,\n she took the paper, and without opening it again, she tore a\n corner off the blank piece, but, as it was already changed it\n made no difference.\n\n You will see, I took a big chance, but it came off. I had\n an idea she would do this, so I actually changed the papers\n before I should have done so in the ordinary way, and she\n was flabbergasted when she opened the paper and found a\n communication written upon it, and on the same piece of paper\n which she had marked.\n\n The writing pad trick which I did in the witness box with\n Luther R. Marsh, I did as follows:--\n\n The trick, if you remember, was to show a pad of about a\n hundred sheets of paper unwritten upon, and to wrap the pad up\n in a newspaper, and to allow Marsh to hold one end while she\n held the other. Then the sound of writing was heard as if some\n one was writing on the paper, and when the newspaper was opened\n every sheet in the pad was written upon.\n\n I had two pads alike, one I had concealed under my waist-coat,\n and the other I gave to Marsh to examine; as I proceeded to\n wrap the pad up, under cover of the newspaper, I changed them,\n quickly drawing the pad from my waist-coat and leaving the\n other one in its place.\n\n I then proceeded to wrap the pad up when Diss Debar shouted\n from her seat in the Court Room \u2018Don\u2019t let him fool you, mark\n it!\u2019 but as it was already changed, it did not matter so I let\n them tear a corner off.\n\n I then let him hold one end, while I held the other, and amidst\n a great silence the sound of writing was heard, as if a pen\n was rapidly going over the paper, and I then told him to open\n the newspaper and look at the pad, when he found every sheet\n written upon.\n\n I then showed the Court how I produced the sound of writing, by\n having the nail of my forefinger split, and simply scratching\n the newspaper underneath while I held it.\n\n Kind regards to self and wife from both of us.\n\n Yours sincerely,\n (Signed) CARL HERTZ\n\n\nRegardless of Carl Hertz\u2019s testimony and demonstration Mr. Marsh\u2019s\nbelief in the genuineness of Spiritualistic phenomena was unshaken and\nremained so until the time of his death. Not only the extent of this\nbelief and his mental condition, but his confidence in Diss Debar as\nwell, are revealed in the following excerpt from the _New York Times\u2019s_\naccount of the trial.\n\n\u201cA short communication from St. Paul was read by Mr. Howe (the\nProsecuting Attorney) to the Court, and Mr. Marsh read a very long one\nfrom St. Peter. It required fifteen minutes and a half to read this\ncommunication, and Mr. Marsh said it had come in the tablet written in\ntwo minutes. Judge Cross and Luther Colby were in his study when it\ncame. He knew that the tablet was blank before he and Mme. Diss Debar\nheld it together in their hands.\n\n\u201cMr. Howe asked Mr. Marsh if he really believed the communication was\nfrom St. Peter, the apostle, and Mr. Marsh replied that he knew it was.\n\n\u201c\u2018Then you still believe in it!\u2019 exclaimed Mr. Howe.\n\n\u201c\u2018I do,\u2019 was the firm reply, and the Spiritualistic element applauded\nvigorously. Mme. Diss Debar and Mr. Marsh both seemed pleased with this\ndemonstration which the Court, however, stopped summarily.\u201d\n\nTwelve ballots were taken by the jury before an agreement was reached\ndue to the fact that one juror, evidently in sympathy with the accused,\nobstinately held out for acquittal. His reasons were as little logical\nas most Spiritualistic arguments and had no connection with the\nevidence. In fact the other jurors said that when they tried to talk\nevidence to him \u201che wouldn\u2019t have it, but hung to one line of thought,\nnamely, that he believed Mrs. Diss Debar to be the daughter of Lola\nMontez and that a woman born out of wedlock was just as much entitled\nto consideration as one who was born in wedlock, and as Mrs. Ann\nO\u2019Delia Diss Debar claimed all the honors of illegitimacy, he was on\nher side for keeps.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: ANN O\u2019DELIA DISS DEBAR]\n\nFinally after a long wrangle and with the prospect of being locked in\na jury room over Sunday, an arrangement was reached whereby a verdict\nof guilty was to be brought in but with a recommendation for clemency.\nThis was done and Diss Debar and her husband were sent to Blackwell\u2019s\nIsland for six months.[61]\n\nWhen she was released she disappeared from America only to reappear\nafter a little in London, England, where under the names of Laura and\nTheodore Jackson she and her husband soon found themselves in trouble\nfor starting an exceptionally immoral cult[62] which they called a\n\u201cTheocratic Unity.\u201d[63] She was sentenced in December, 1901, to seven\nyears of penal servitude in Aylesbury Prison. Even here her persuasive\npowers found a use for it is said that she gained favor because of the\nmarvellous influence which she had over the refractory element which\nthe officers in charge had difficulty in keeping in subjection. At any\nrate she was released after serving five years, \u201chaving obtained the\nmaximum reduction of sentence for good behavior.\u201d[64]\n\nOut in the world again she ventured into vaudeville and afterwards\nburlesque but in these r\u00f4les she was a complete failure. Later she\ncame back to America and was next heard of in Chicago as Vera Ava.\nShe succeeded in marrying a wealthy man there but before long was\nin more difficulties in connection with the pursuit of spookery and\nsentenced to the Joliet Penitentiary for two years.[65] Once more she\nappeared--in New Orleans as the Baroness Rosenthal--then in 1909 this\ncreature, who for more than a quarter of a century had been swaying men\nof prominence and women of society, dropped out of sight and for the\nlast fifteen years nothing has been known about her.[66]\n\nIn mothering this immoral woman, Spiritualism is guilty of the grossest\nmisconduct and proves conclusively that she does not protect her own\nfrom the wiles and immorality of mediums even though they are found\nguilty of base criminality by the courts. Were I permitted to go into\ndetail I could tell tales of Diss Debar that would shock even the worst\nrou\u00e9 of the Montmartre. Suffice to say that her crimes were not so much\ncrimes of gain as they were insults to the decency and morality of the\ncommunity.\n\nAnn O\u2019Delia Diss Debar\u2019s reputation[67] was such that she will go\ndown in history as one of the great criminals. She was no credit to\nSpiritualism; she was no credit to any people, she was no credit to any\ncountry--she was one of these moral misfits which every once in awhile\nseem to find their way into the world. Better far had she died at birth\nthan to have lived and spread the evil she did.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VI\n\nDR. SLADE AND HIS SPIRIT SLATES\n\n\nSlate writing was an especially fortunate \u201cfind\u201d for mediums. Its\nresults were obtained in full light and the whole thing seemed so\nsimple and direct that apparently there was nothing to investigate and\ncomparatively speaking there were no blank seances. Such success led to\ncarelessness and exposures followed, so numerous and complete that it\nis quite unnecessary to list them all here.[68] Every once in a while\nthough some medium still takes a chance when opportunity offers and\ngives a test to especially gullible sitters, but to-day no medium with\nany pretentions to \u201cclass\u201d would think of anything so \u201ccommon\u201d as slate\nwriting in its old form. Spirit slates are now listed in the catalogues\nof houses dealing in conjuring apparatus and the fraud mediums who\nformerly made use of them are employing the safer and easier swindles\nof automatic writing, trance or trumpet messages, and the \u201couija board.\u201d\n\nThe infinite grafting possibilities of the Spirit slates seem to have\nbeen overlooked until adopted and put into usable form by Dr. Henry\nSlade,[69] a man who had acquired an unenviable reputation in New\nYork City, but it is extremely doubtful if the present generation\nwould have known anything about Dr. Slade had the perpetuation of his\nname been left to the quality of his mediumship, for he was only one\nof a large number of conjuring fakirs who bamboozled the credulous of\nhis day. However, he was brought into the limelight on two notable\noccasions: first by being exposed and criminally prosecuted in London;\nand second when poor old Professor Zollner, a noted German astronomer\nand physicist, \u201cfell\u201d for his simple conjuring and fell so hard that he\nmade Slade the hero of his great (?) work, \u201cTranscendental Physics.\u201d\n\nLike D. D. Home, and many others, after making a reputation in America,\nSlade jumped over to London, for England\u2019s arms seem ever open for the\nreception of mediums who have made good here and if a medium escapes\nthe toils of American investigators he has little to fear from willing\nbelievers on the other side of the Atlantic, though as a matter of fact\nseveral were sent to jail there. Slade reached England in July, 1876,\nand began to hold sittings at once, and was soon \u201ccleaning up\u201d in fine\nshape. The late John Nevil Maskelyne, the great English magician, told\nme that:\n\n\u201cCrowds of people rushed to witness the phenomena (?) paying one guinea\neach for a sitting lasting but a few minutes. You would think they were\ngiving gold guineas away. The \u2018Doctor\u2019 must have netted some hundreds\nof pounds weekly which in those days was rated a high sum of money for\nan individual \u2018performer.\u2019\u201d\n\nThen, just as things were going so nicely for Slade there came a sudden\ncrash, for which two men were responsible; Professor Ray Lankester (now\nSir Ray Lankester) and Dr. Horatio Donkin (now Sir Horatio Donkin).\nThese men applied certain effective methods of scrutiny to Slade\u2019s\nexhibitions which resulted in his arrest. The trial created a big\nsensation, not only in Spiritual circles, but throughout the civilized\nworld, and the Bow Street Court was the most popular show in London for\nseveral days; the \u201ctop-liner\u201d being J. N. Maskelyne, the magician, who\nperformed all of Slade\u2019s tricks in the witness box.\n\nSlade was convicted and sentenced to three months at hard labor. An\nappeal was taken and the decision quashed on account of a flaw in the\nindictment. While Sir Lankester was procuring new summonses for Slade\nand his manager, Simmons, they both skipped across the channel into\nFrance, thus closing the doors of England against Slade for all time\nas he never dared to set foot on her unfriendly shores again. He made\nready for a Paris performance but a friend of Sir Lankester\u2019s sent\nan account of the court proceedings to the Paris press so the French\npeople had the whole story before Slade was able to begin.\n\nWhile touring Europe in 1920 I had the pleasure of meeting Sir Ray\nLankester and hearing from him an account of Dr. Slade\u2019s undoing. Both\nhe and Donkin were physicians. They had been laying their plans to\nexpose two other mediums, Herne and Williams, but Slade\u2019s unexpected\narrival in London changed these plans and instead they plotted the\nseance which proved to be Slade\u2019s downfall. Donkin was away from London\nat the time but Sir Lankester wired him and while waiting for his\nreturn attended one of Slade\u2019s seances. He pretended to Slade that he\ncame to see if the Spirits would write a message on the slates if he\nheld them himself. Slade assured him that they would and arrangements\nwere made for a second sitting. Before Sir Lankester left Slade asked\nhim if he had been in communication with any departed relatives.\n\n\u201cNo, but I have an Uncle John,\u201d Sir Lankester replied.\n\nConsequently at the second sitting the following message was received:\n\n\u201cI am glad to see you here again.--John.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut have you an Uncle John?\u201d I asked.\n\n\u201cNo, Houdini,\u201d he replied smiling, \u201cthat is why everyone laughed in the\ncourtroom at the time of the trial. You see, Slade thought I was a firm\nbeliever, and I allowed him to distract my attention. He said to me\n\u2018You have a great deal of mediumistic power about you. I see them over\nyou behind your head.\u2019\u201d\n\nAs he said this Sir Lankester raised his head with seeming credulity\nacting the part splendidly.\n\n\u201cWhat made you suspect Slade?\u201d I asked him.\n\n\u201cAt the first seance I noticed the tendons move on Slade\u2019s wrist as he\nheld his hand outstretched under the table,\u201d Sir Lankester replied,\n\u201cand while making a number of suspicious moves he scratched the slates\na number of times with his finger nail to simulate the noise made by a\nslate pencil when writing on a slate.\u201d\n\nOn the return of Sir Donkin it was arranged that he and Sir Lankester\nshould attend a seance together and that Sir Donkin was to watch\nfor the \u201csuspicious move\u201d and when he saw it signal Sir Lankester.\nEverything worked as planned. On receiving the agreed signal from\nDonkin, Lankester seized the slate containing the finished message\nproving that a skillful exchange of slates had been made by Slade and\nthis was the _real evidence which caused the downfall of Henry Slade_\nin England.\n\nBlocked in Paris from working his tricks because of the publication\nof an account of his exposure in England Slade seems to have gone to\nGermany for it was during the next year, 1877, that he so successfully\ndeluded Professor Zollner. \u201cZollner\u201d is one of the names on which\nSpiritualistic enthusiasts bank most heavily for proof of their\nclaims. Even Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to this day quotes Zollner as\nindisputable authority. Nevertheless Zollner is discredited by Mr.\nGeorge S. Fullerton, Secretary of the Seybert Commission. While in\nGermany Mr. Fullerton made a special business of investigating the\nvalue of this Zollner endorsement, and at the time all of the men who\nparticipated in the Slade investigation were alive with the exception\nof Zollner himself. Mr. Fullerton in the summary of his report to the\nCommission said:\n\n\u201cThus it would appear that of the four eminent men whose names have\nmade famous the investigation, there is reason to believe one,\nZollner, was of unsound mind at the time, and anxious for experimental\nverification of an already accepted hypothesis; another, Fechner, was\npartially blind and _believed_ because of Zollner\u2019s observation; a\nthird, Scheibner, was also afflicted with defective vision and not\nentirely satisfied in his own mind with the phenomena; and a fourth,\nWeber, was advanced in age, and did not even recognize the disabilities\nof his associates. None of the men named had any previous experience or\nknowledge of the possibilities of deception.\u201d\n\nThe Seybert Commission, in 1884, seems to have made the first\nsystematic, organized effort to fathom the so-called phenomena of\nSpiritualism, and this Commission sent for Slade, who was then\noperating in New York, and had him give a number of seances under their\nobservation, but in spite of the fact that Slade gave the Commission a\npersonal letter thanking them for their courtesies and expressing his\nwillingness to sit with them again, the Commission considered his work\nfraudulent throughout.\n\nAt a very early stage of the sittings, the Commission noticed two kinds\nof communications. Those in answer to questions were slovenly written,\noften illegible, while those which came as voluntary contributions from\nthe Spirits, were more carefully written, even to punctuation. It was\nvery evident that this writing on the slates had been prepared previous\nto the sitting, while that written under the restraint of observation\nwas the crude scrawl, abrupt in composition, and often almost or quite\nillegible. It was evident that where the nicely written communications\nwere used an exchange of slates had been effected, whereas the other\nwriting was the result of such skill as could be brought to bear\nwithout detection under the unfavorable conditions. It was also\nnoticed that all of the long messages most suspiciously resembled the\nhandwriting of the medium. Every test to which Slade submitted proved\nto be transparent to the Commission and some of his efforts to mystify\nit were referred to as:\n\n\u201cSeveral little tricks which he imputed to Spiritual agency, but which\nwere almost puerile in the simplicity of their legerdemain, and which\nhave been repeated with perfect success by one of our number.\u201d\n\nAfter all the slate-writing mediums who came in answer to an\nadvertisement broadcasted by the Seybert Commission had been examined\nby it, the acting Chairman of the Commission, Mr. Horace Howard\nFurness, invited the late Harry Kellar to exhibit his slate-writing\nskill before it, not with any claim to supernatural phenomena but as\na magician openly admitting his purpose to baffle by purely natural\nmeans. Mr. Kellar submitted to a series of tests far more complicated\nand difficult of execution than any produced by Slade or any other\nmedium; nevertheless the Commission was unable to detect his methods\nand admitted itself completely baffled.\n\nMr. Kellar told me that when Mr. Furness, and Coleman Sellers, another\nmember of the Commission who was himself an amateur entertainer,\napplied to him for an exhibition of his skill as a slate-writer they\nexpected him to do the stock tricks of Slade. But someone tipped\nKellar off that Sellers had told the members of the Commission what\nKellar was to do and his probable method of doing it and for them to\nwatch out for his _modus operandi_. So, not to be \u201ccaught napping,\u201d\nKellar, like the skillful mystifier that he was, determined to out-do\nSlade and beat Sellers. As he told me about it he laughed heartily,\nsaying:\n\n\u201cIf you could have seen Mr. Sellers\u2019 face at the time of the unfolding\nof the mystery, it would have done your heart good.\u201d\n\nWhen Kellar arrived for the demonstration he insisted that the\nCommission furnish its own slates, so a boy was sent out who brought\nback about a dozen of various kinds. Then all sat down around the table\nwith hands resting, palm down, on its top. The Commission opened the\nsitting by writing questions on the slates. Kellar held them under the\ntable with the thumb on top and when he withdrew them in a few moments\nthey had answers to the questions written in a clear round hand. The\nquestions gradually became longer and longer, but the replies kept pace\nwith them, sometimes covering a whole side of the slate. Although the\nslates were all different and could not possibly be mistaken for one\nanother, the Commission began to put identifying marks on them. Once\nno pencil was put on the top of the slate but the reply came just the\nsame. This fact was commented upon and Kellar replied:\n\n\u201cOh, my Spirits can write _without_ pencils,\u201d a statement which puzzled\nthe members of the Commission all the more.\n\nFinally the magician asked them to write a question on a slate and\ncover it with another, placing the pencil between the two. Even this\ndid not bother the \u201cSpirits,\u201d for when the slates were returned, both\nsides were found covered with writing.\n\nThe following extract from the Preliminary Report of the Seybert\nCommission, originally published in 1887, describes this performance of\nHarry Kellar before members of the Commission and shows the impression\nwhich it made on them.\n\n\u201cAn eminent professional juggler performed, in the presence of three of\nour Commission, some independent slate-writing far more remarkable than\nany of which we have witnessed with mediums. In broad daylight, a slate\nperfectly clean on both sides, was, with a small fragment of slate\npencil, held under a leaf of a small, ordinary table, around which\nwe were seated; the fingers of the juggler\u2019s hand pressed the slate\ntight against the underside of the leaf, while the thumb completed the\npressure and remained in full view clasping the leaf of the table.\nOur eyes never for the fraction of a second lost sight of that thumb;\nit never moved; and yet in a few minutes the slate was produced,\ncovered with writing. Messages were there, and still are there, for\nwe preserved the slate, written in French, Spanish, Dutch, Chinese,\nJapanese, Gujorati, and ending with \u2018_ich bin ein Geist, und lieb, mein\nLagerbier_.\u2019 For one of our number the juggler subsequently repeated\nthe trick and revealed its every detail.\u201d\n\nThe method which Kellar used, and which he described to me, was this.\nWith the consent of the owner of the hotel, whom he agreed to pay for\nany damage, he had a small trap made in the floor of the room, about\nas large as a hot air register, with the necessary means of opening\nand closing it. A plush rug with rectangular designs was placed over\nthis trap, and one of the designs, which was just the size of the trap,\nwas cut out with a razor, these cuts being imperceptible. The piece\nof rug was glued firmly to the top of the trap. In addition to these\npreparations, Kellar bought a specimen of every variety of slate to be\nfound in the downtown section of Philadelphia.\n\nWhen the time for the \u201cseance\u201d arrived, Barney, Kellar\u2019s clever young\nassistant, was seated on a platform in the room underneath the trap\nwith the assortment of slates by his side. As soon as the Commission\nwas seated around the table he opened the trap and could then hear\nall that was said in the room above. When the exhibition commenced\nhe simply took the slate Kellar put under the table leaf, selected\none from his assortment to match it, wrote on it the answer, and then\nslipped it under Kellar\u2019s fingers. In the case of a marked slate he\nused that instead of a duplicate. Of course it was perfectly easy for\nKellar to do his part without removing his thumb from the top of the\ntable.\n\n\u201cA fake, pure and simple, you will say,\u201d Kellar remarked to me, and\nthen added, \u201cbut that\u2019s what all Spiritualistic manifestations are.\u201d\n\nIn point of time John W. Truesdell was probably the first exposer of\nSlade as he investigated him as early as 1872, but the results of his\ninvestigation were not made public until he published his book, \u201cBottom\nFacts,\u201d in 1883. In this book he tells of setting a trap for Slade and\nproving that he substituted slates.\n\nAs Sam Johnson of Rome, N. Y., Truesdell arranged for a seance with\nSlade. Knowing that his overcoat would be searched, he left it hanging\non the hall rack with an unsealed letter in the pocket and while\nwaiting in the Spirit room he made the most of his opportunity to look\naround. Under the sideboard he found a slate with a message written on\nthe lower side which read:\n\n \u201cWe are happy to meet you in this atmosphere of Spirit\n research. You are now summoned by many anxious friends in the\n Spirit life, who desire to communicate with you, but who cannot\n until they learn more of the laws which govern their actions.\n If you will come here often, your Spirit friends will soon be\n able to identify themselves and to communicate with you as on\n earth life.\n\n \u201cAllie.\u201d\n\n\nIn a bold hand Truesdell added:\n\n \u201cHenry, look out for this fellow. He is up to snuff.\n\n \u201cAlcinda.\u201d\n\n\nThis was the name of Slade\u2019s deceased wife, a fact which Truesdell\nhappened to know. He replaced the slate as he had found it. Slade\npresently appeared and the seance began with the general phenomena\nof moving chairs, etc., preceding the slate-writing. When the name\n\u201cMary Johnson\u201d appeared plainly written on the slate Slade said it was\nTruesdell\u2019s sister. Upon being told that this was incorrect, Slade,\npretending to change the light, drew the table over by the sideboard.\nAs usual he _lost control_ of the slate, letting it fall to the floor,\nand as he stooped over to pick it up took the prepared one instead.\nWhen he read the two messages he became livid with rage and turning to\nTruesdell demanded to know what it meant and who had been meddling with\nthe slate.\n\n\u201cSpirits,\u201d was Truesdell\u2019s reply.\n\nThere were a few tense seconds and then the seance continued serenely.\n\nI was too young in Slade\u2019s time to seek an audience with him but I have\nthe good fortune to know Mr. Frederick E. Powell, a prominent magician\nand a member of the Society of American Magicians. He is one of the\nvery few persons now living who had seances with Slade and with his\npermission I quote the following description of his experiences with\nSlade.\n\n[Illustration: HENRY SLADE]\n\n\u201cIn the Autumn of 1881 or 82, Henry Slade, the famous Spirit medium,\ncame to Philadelphia and took quarters at the Colonade Hotel, where he\nopened a room, in which to hold seances. At that time I was instructor\nof Mathematics in the Pennsylvania Military College at Chester, Pa.\nReading the announcement of Slade\u2019s seances in a Philadelphia paper,\nI wrote to him, and made an appointment for myself and Capt. R. K.\nCarter, to be present at one of them. Capt. Carter was at that time our\ninstructor in Civil Engineering. Reaching the Colonade at the appointed\ntime, we were ushered into Slade\u2019s presence, in a room, bare of\nfurniture, save a rather long table and several chairs, placed in the\ncenter of the room, while at the side and just back of where Slade was\nto sit, was a smaller table on which were piled a number of ordinary\nlooking school slates, of various sizes. The center table had no cloth\non it. Several small articles were on the mantelpiece, such as a smoker\nmight use, viz.: a match box, etc.\n\n\u201cAccording to my recollection, Slade was rather tall and slim, and of\nan ingratiating presence. He was expecting us and at once placed me at\na long table.\n\n\u201cThe seance began, with Slade holding two slates of rather large size,\nand showing all their surfaces devoid of writing, placed them on the\ntop of the table, and while rubbing their surfaces kept up a running\nfire of conversation. He then told us to place our hands on the table\nas near the center as possible with our little fingers touching. Slade\nplaced the slates together, and after a moment or two separated them,\nsaying he had forgotten to put a piece of pencil between. This he did,\nand holding them together placed them under the table with one hand,\nwhile he placed the other on the table so that his fingers touched our\nhands. This position was held for several minutes, when he said he\nwould see if he had gotten any results. Bringing the slates from under\nthe table he laid them on top and after a moment told Capt. Carter to\nlook at them. Following this direction, Capt. Carter separated them,\nwhen one was found to have its entire surface covered with writing.\nThis message, according to Slade, came from a man who had just died.\n(Notice of the man\u2019s death had been published in the morning paper.)\nThe message was signed with the full name, but as neither Capt. Carter\nnor I knew the man, we could not affirm or deny the correctness of the\nhandwriting, nor the truth of the signature.\n\n\u201cCapt. Carter asked Slade if he might copy the message, but Slade\ndemurred, saying he did not know if the Spirits would like the message\ncopied. I found it difficult to account for the reticence of the Spirit\nor Spirits since the message had been written for our information. Its\npurport was, as far as I can recall, that everything was very glorious\nin the Spirit World, and that he, the writer, was very happy. There\nwas nothing in the message that was above the mentality of Slade or\nthat was, in any sense, descriptive of Spirit Life. All was vague and\nunsatisfactory, where real information was desired.\n\n\u201cDuring this demonstration and indeed throughout the entire seance,\nSlade sat sidewise to the table, his left hand resting generally on its\ntop and his right hand free. Several short messages were next produced\non a small slate held by Slade, under the table, and out of sight, a\nshort piece of slate pencil always being placed on the upper surface\nof the slate. Two points were made very emphatic by Slade. First, that\nthe piece of pencil was always found just at the end of the last word\nof the message, and second, that the messages were found on the upper\nside of the slate, which according to Slade was held close against the\nunder surface of the table top. However, as we could not see the slate\nwhen placed under the table, since we were reaching as far as we could\nto get our hands on the center of its top, and the slate was only shown\nto us when being brought from under its surface, it would have been\nan easy thing to lower the slate after placing it under the table and\nwriting with a single finger of Slade\u2019s right hand, then bringing the\nslate to the under surface of the table, bring it slowly into sight.\n\n\u201cOnce when the small slate was laid on top of the table the sound of\nwriting was distinctly heard. During this time Slade had both hands\non the upper surface of the table and in full sight. This was quite\nstartling at the time, but later I discovered how to produce this sound\nof writing myself and without the aid of Spirits.\n\n\u201cOnce, while we were having our attention directed to a slate held by\nSlade, the unoccupied chair on the side opposite to Slade and almost\nat the side of Capt. Carter, suddenly rose so that its seat struck the\nunder side of the table, and then fell back with quite a thud.\n\n\u201cAnother telling effect was carried out, when Slade gave me one of the\nsmall slates telling me to hold it under the table. I did so and felt\nit suddenly snatched from my hand (I was holding it with one hand, my\nother hand was on the top of the table) and carried with a scraping\nnoise to the very end of the table and there it rose above the surface\nenough to disclose about a third or possibly a half its length. Then it\nwas carried swiftly back and put in my hand.\n\n\u201cThis concluded the first seance; when Slade, after a moment, said he\nthought that was all he could get at the time.\n\n\u201cOn our second visit I need recount but three effects: First,\ndifference in the method of obtaining writing on the large slates\nwhich began the seance, as in the first visit. Slade showed one slate\nand cleaned it thoroughly, then while keeping up a running fire of\nconversation, he casually reached to the small table, spoken of as\nhaving several piles of slates on it, and taking one as though at\nhazard, placed it flat on the big table. Rubbed its upper surface\nwith his fingers, and placed a piece of pencil on it, held it under\nthe table. After a pause he brought it out and taking the upper slate\noff the under, showed both surfaces without writing. He remarked that\nperhaps a different piece of pencil would be better and he placed\nanother pencil on the upper surface of the top slate and then placed\nthe lower slate over it, without at any time having shown its under\nsurface. This surface was found covered with writing, the purport of\nwhich I do not now recall.\n\n\u201cThe second variation of the first seance was when Slade asked me if\nI had ever seen the \u2018dematerialization of a solid object?\u2019 I said I\nhad not, whereupon Slade took a small slate and, looking around as\nthough to find a proper object for his test, picked up a match box\nfrom the mantelpiece, and put it on the upper surface of the slate\nrather close to where he would hold it. He then placed the slate and\nits superimposed object carefully under the table and after a moment\nbrought out the slate, without the match box. I looked under the table\nbut found nothing suspicious there.\n\n\u201cIn a moment Slade replaced the slate under the table and on bringing\nit out, we saw the match box in its former place. This disappearance\ndid not impress me greatly as I concluded the whole secret of\ndematerialization consisted in turning the slate over and holding the\nbox in place by a finger, then after showing the surface empty, the\nslate was again turned over on being replaced under the table, and so\nthe materialization of the box was realized.\n\n\u201cThe last test was quite startling. Slade drew his chair close to mine,\nplaced one of his hands on the chair back and the other on the table.\nMy hands were resting on the table top. Suddenly I felt the chair rise,\nand I was tipped forward, but kept my balance by pushing back with my\nhands, which, as I have said, were resting on the table top. Then the\nforce was quickly withdrawn and my chair and I came back to the floor\nwith a grand thud. This concluded the second seance. I never saw Slade\nagain.\u201d\n\nPowell explains the levitation thus:\n\n\u201cWhen Slade drew his chair close to mine he crossed his legs and was\nthus enabled to bring his foot under the rung of my chair. The leg\nresting over the knee gave considerable leverage to the limb having a\nfoot under the rung of my chair. Now he exerted the necessary strength\nby pressing upward with his foot, and holding the chair back with\nhis hand while the other hand steadied the whole, by bearing against\nthe table. Slade took his hand away from the back of my chair for\nthe fraction of a second _before he released his foot_. I was thus\nnaturally tilted forward and had to exert some force to keep myself\nfrom sliding off the chair. This effort kept me from seeing Slade free\nhimself and get his limbs back to their normal position, viz., one hand\non the table, and his feet and legs fairly under it. Slade was rather\ntall and, though somewhat slim, was very muscular. Of course I did not\nactually _see_ Slade use his foot to do the lifting, but his position\nand all the circumstances surrounding the effect tend to prove my\nclaim as to what I believe he did. Further, while I was far from being\nas strong as Slade, I succeeded in duplicating this \u2018Levitation\u2019 by the\nmeans I have described.\u201d\n\nWhile searching for material about Slade I heard of an old medium\nliving in Philadelphia by the name of Remigius Weiss, known as Remigius\nAlbus, who had testified before the Seybert Commission regarding\nSlade\u2019s manipulation of the slates. I went over to Philadelphia to\nhis home and there met the only man who had tangible evidence of Dr.\nSlade. This he thoroughly explained to me. I asked him why he had never\nexposed it to the world and he told me that he held back at first\nbecause of pity for Slade\u2019s condition and afterwards figured that if\nthe fraud mediums and other potential criminals knew Slade\u2019s methods\nthey might make use of the methods to gain control of poor human beings\nwho wished to get in touch with loved ones who had passed away. He\ndid not hesitate to give me full details and at my request wrote me\na letter describing his experience with Slade. I quote it because I\nbelieve it to be the best expos\u00e9 ever written of Slade\u2019s slate writings.\n\n \u201cAugust 18, 1923.\n\n \u201cMy dear Houdini:--\n\n \u201cPlease accept, from me, this Lock-book, and the locked\n double-slate--as a small token of comradeship--in combating\n Spiritualistic deception, popular superstition and Delusion.\n\n \u201cThe book and the slate were my own. I put the lock and hinges\n on the slate, and prepared the book, and a number of other,\n different objects--(such as Professor Zollner had, when he,\n in his foolishness, was pleased to be deceived by Dr. Slade\u2019s\n Humbug).\n\n \u201cIn order to gain the perfect, full confidence of Dr. Slade,\n and to have him give a seance in my home, and in order to\n counteract and overcome his explicit aversion as to do writing\n on or between a sealed slate or a locked book--I showed him\n letters from (two eminent and confiding Spiritist Authors)--Dr.\n Heinrich Tiedemann and Tiedemann\u2019s intimate friend Hudson\n Tuttle, promising to me that they would be present at that\n seance (at 148 Fairmount Avenue).\n\n \u201cDr. Slade had handled and inspected that Book and Slate,\n during a Seance, at my residence (at 148 Fairmount Avenue,\n Phila., Pa.), where I, together with Mr. Wertheimer (then a\n student of Jurisprudence)--and in presence of other witnesses\n (who were concealed and not seen, nor suspected by Dr. Slade,\n nor his \u2018Spirits\u2019) detected the manipulations, pedalations\n (foot, leg and other bodily movements)--and the general _modus\n operandi_ of his simple Legerdemain at the seance. I had ready,\n for that seance, three different suites of Furniture, and thus,\n I found out that he would, or could, perform only at, or on a\n certain kind of plain, square or drop-leaf table and ordinary\n wooden chairs or cane seat chairs.\n\n \u201cEach person present at the Seance, wrote, _independent_ of\n and _before_ communicating with, the others, a personal,\n individual report of the Seance and signed it within the next\n few days. A day or two after, I put these papers in my pocket\n and also another paper I had prepared, to serve or use as Dr.\n Slade\u2019s confession to be signed by him. I went to the Girard\n Hotel, Room 24 (N. W. corner of 9th and Chestnut Streets,\n Philadelphia, Pa.), to have Dr. Slade arrested for obtaining\n money under false pretense,--or to get him to sign his own\n confession. There, in his room, No. 24, in the Girard Hotel,\n I had another, a different Seance, with Dr. Slade. He again\n carefully scrutinized the book and the slate, and then,\n holding the book under the table, secretly and carefully,\n attempted to open the lock, with a small key, hidden in his\n handkerchief.\n\n \u201cDr. Slade and his pretended \u2018_Spirits_\u2019 could not write in\n the book. While holding it under the table, he attempted to\n pull out of the book that thin, wooden, square frame, I had\n put there at the edges of the leaves so that the small piece\n of lead pencil could move about.--Then, in a similar attempt,\n he worked and perspired, on, and over the double slate. His\n \u2018Spirits\u2019 could not write in the locked slate and he could not\n open it.\n\n \u201cHe said, \u2018The Spirits seem to be angry at your skepticism,\n it\u2019s no use to lose more time by trying. My guide don\u2019t want to\n have anything more to do with you.\u2019\n\n \u201cThen upon Dr. Slade\u2019s request I unlocked the slate, and he\n wrote in the ordinary way, as writing generally is done in\n schools, two short sentences in the slate. Then he worked\n the sponge,[70] and turning the written on side downward,\n sleight-of-hand trick, tried to palm this off, claiming that\n this is \u2018Genuine, independent, Spirit slate writing.\u2019\n\n \u201cUp to this time, November the 4th, 1882, I had shown to Dr.\n Slade friendly, joyful attentiveness. We talked about some of\n my newspaper articles I had published some weeks before he\n consented to give me a seance.\n\n \u201cIn these newspapers I had described him (Dr. Slade) as \u2018The\n Modern Cagliostro, a celebrated necromancer, martyr or a\n charlatan, of radical free-religious proclivities, fine manners\n and a humistic, witty and forceful public lecturer and most\n powerful Spiritistic Medium, who again and again has been\n and is challenging exposures, and calling special attention to\n the fact that Dr. Slade has, in his lectures, and otherwise,\n again and again publicly announced that he is prepared to\n pay a thousand dollars ($1000.00) to any person that can\n prove that he (Dr. Slade) is a humbug, or that Dr. Slade\u2019s\n \u201cmanifestations\u201d are trickery, legerdemain, humbug or in any\n way fraudulent.\u2019\n\n [Illustration: \u201cLOCKED SLATE\u201d USED BY DR. HENRY SLADE IN HIS\n WRITING TESTS AT PHILADELPHIA]\n\n \u201cDr. Slade seemed to be pleased by my description. After some\n pleasant talk as to his appearance with Scientists, Kings and\n other royal persons and Rulers in Europe and his success as a\n lecturer and his way of living, he gave me his address, No. 221\n West 22nd Street, _New York_.\n\n \u201cThen I asked Dr. Slade that we change \u2018r\u00f4les,\u2019 he to take my\n place and be the Investigator,--and I to play the \u2018medium,\u2019\n there, in his room, as an \u2018experiment.\u2019\n\n \u201cDr. Slade also said that if I could overcome my skepticism I\n would be a good \u2018psychic,\u2019 having \u2018mediumistic\u2019 gifts.\n\n \u201cI suggested that he should watch me carefully and then\n honestly tell me, as to the effect and \u2018impression\u2019 my\n \u2018manifestations\u2019 could (or would) be producing on his mind,\n and eventually on the outcome of the \u2018Spiritualistic, the\n Harmonial, Philosophy, or so-called, Scientific Religion of the\n Spiritists.\u2019\n\n \u201cThen, to his consternation, I, earnestly, by actual\n demonstration, reproduced every one of his manifestations,\n _exactly_ (and by the same _modus operandi_, as I, and my\n witnesses had seen and detected) as _Dr. Slade had performed\n them_. He asked me, how, and by what means we detected his\n \u2018occult\u2019 or secret mode, or \u2018process of wonder working\u2019 or\n miracle?--I mentioned that he had positively refused to try\n any \u2018experiment\u2019 on the first and second sets of tables and\n chairs, and had requested me to substitute them by a plain\n kitchen table and chairs of a certain construction.\n\n \u201cI told him that I had bored observation-holes in the _corners_\n of the panels (particularly so through the _lower_ corners)\n in the parlor doors, the floor, ceiling and other places from\n where my concealed witnesses observed, and have seen exactly\n all the movements of his feet, hands, etc., _below_ and above\n the table,--saw how he raised (\u2018floated\u2019) Mr. Wertheimer\n sitting in the chair, saw how he (Dr. Slade) with his foot\n upset chairs, kicked a book (extending over the edge of the\n table), tossed a slate pencil from the edge of the table from a\n slate held under and at the edge of the table, etc., etc.\n\n[Illustration: SKETCH SHOWING SLADE\u2019S SEAT AT THE TABLE, DIFFERENT\nPOSITIONS OF SLATES, LOCATION OF SPONGE, AND METHOD OF MOVING BOOK.]\n\n \u201cDr. Slade, now turned very pale and wiping off the thick\n perspiration from his forehead and face, said:--\u2018Well, what of\n it?\u2019 and rashly asked:--\u2018Where were Hudson Tuttle and Dr. H.\n Tiedemann?\u2019 I reminded him of the fact that they had sent an\n excuse, being unable (by reason of unforeseen circumstances) to\n attend that seance in my house.\n\n \u201cThen I sternly gave him the alternative:--That either he _sign\n his own confession_ (as to the fact)--that he has (during the\n many years in his career as a professional Spirit medium and\n in everything he had professed or pretended to be \u2018genuine\u2019\n Spiritistic or Spiritualistic) deceived and defrauded the\n public.--I read the confession to him and sternly demanded,\n \u2018Either you sign this or you will be put behind the bars.\u2019--\n\n _CONFESSION_\n\n \u201cThe undersigned, Henry Slade, known professionally as Dr.\n Henry Slade,--the powerful Spiritistic medium--by reason of\n the force of unfavorable circumstances, years ago became\n a Spiritualistic slate writing (etc., etc.) medium, and\n Spiritistic lecturer and he herewith confesses that all\n his pretended Spiritualistic manifestations were and are\n deceptions, performed through tricks.\n\n (Signed) H. Slade.\u201d\n\n\n\u201cI (R. Weiss) had also stipulated that he (Dr. Slade) promises to\ndiscontinue his present dishonest, criminal method of gaining a\nlivelihood by preying on the superstition of Spiritualists and through\nthe gullibility of the public,--Dr. Slade then remonstrated and\nsaid:--that I could not affect his standing in the eyes of those who\nhad seen and believed his manifestations, mentioning the Czar of Russia\nand others of world prominence.\n\n\u201cI then walked to the door, signifying that _my part_ of the interview\nand argument was ended--and also conveying the \u2018impression\u2019 as to my\nintention to have him arrested.\n\n\u201cHe then changed his attitude and in a cringing manner he pleaded with\nme to have mercy on him, as he had only this one method of earning a\nlivelihood. All of this, and his pleading, was so strenuous that he\nfell in a \u2018dead\u2019 faint.--\n\n\u201cThen, after I \u2018revived\u2019 him out of a \u2018_genuine_\u2019 fainting spell, he\nbegged me to desist from having him arrested and then _he signed the\nconfession_.\n\n (Signed) \u201cRemigius Weiss.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VII\n\nSLATE WRITING AND OTHER METHODS\n\n\nA remarkably large number of methods have been used at one time\nand another by the numerous mediums of lesser repute than Slade\nwho prospered on slate writing. Slade himself, like any skilled\nprestidigitator, had a variety of ways which he used to produce his\neffects. His usual method was very simple. A common kitchen table with\nthe leaves extended was used, the Doctor being seated at the end and\nthe client on the side against the leaf, at the Doctor\u2019s right.\n\nAfter the slate had been thoroughly washed on both sides he placed it\nunder the leaf at the left of the sitter, holding it in position with\nthe fingers of his right hand, with his thumb above the table. The\nsitter was requested to hold the left end of the slate with one hand\nand with the other to grasp the Doctor\u2019s left hand near the center of\nthe table. In such a position it was impossible for the sitter to see\nthe slate or the fingers of the medium.\n\nOn the forefinger of his right hand Slade had a sort of thimble or ring\nto which was attached a bit of slate pencil. With this he wrote a short\nmessage on the bottom side of the slate, the scratching of the pencil\nbeing quite audible to the sitter. When this scratching ceased the\nDoctor would be seized with a series of nervous spasms during which the\nslate was snatched from the sitter\u2019s hand for the fraction of a second\nand, unknown to him, turned over, thus bringing the message to the top\nso that when a few minutes later it was shown the message appeared as\nthough written between the slate and the table leaf.\n\nA second method, which produced longer messages, was the substitution\nof slates. If this message was of a general character the slate was\n_switched_ for one bearing a previously written message concealed about\na nearby piece of furniture. If a special message was required it was\nwritten by an assistant listening in the next room. When the slate had\nbeen cleaned ready for the message the Doctor gave the cue and the\nassistant rapped on the door. The Doctor answered the knock in person,\ntaking the slate with him, and while listening to some commonplace\nreport the slates were exchanged. On resuming his seat the slate was\nplaced under the table leaf as before. No sound of writing being heard,\nhe would examine the top of the slate several times but of course find\nno writing. Finally, claiming that the influence did not seem powerful\nenough, he would lay the slate on the top of the table, message side\ndown with a piece of pencil under it, and then take both the hands\nof the sitter in his. Soon a sound of writing would be heard and on\nexamination the message would be found. It was possible for Slade to\nproduce the sound of writing while his hands were holding those of his\nclient by slipping a piece of pencil through threads on the side of his\nknee and rubbing it against another piece held to the table leg by a\nwooden clip.\n\nOne of the most common methods of slate writing is known as the \u201cflap\nslate.\u201d The message is written beforehand and concealed with a flap of\nsilicated gauze, or thin slate, which fits closely within the slate\nframe. One side of this flap is covered with cloth to match that used\non the top of the table and when it is dropped is unnoticed. A better\nway is to cover the back of the flap with newspaper and by dropping it\non a newspaper it becomes invisible.\n\nThere is an ingenious double form of this flap slate with which it is\npossible to make a message appear on both inside surfaces of a pair of\nlocked slates without having them leave the sight of the sitter for\nan instant. The two slates are hinged together like the old-fashioned\nschool slates but with the hinges on the outside of the slates. The\nslabs of slate are very thin and the ends of the frames bevel toward\nthem slightly. One end of each frame is so made that by pressing on\none of the hinge screws the frame end is released and can be drawn out\nabout a quarter of an inch. A very thin slab of slate called the \u201cflap\u201d\nis arranged to fit snugly over the real slate when the frame ends are\nin place but drops out as soon as they are released and drawn out. In\nworking these slates the medium writes a message on the inside of one\nof them, say the left, and also on one side of the flap. The end of\nthe slate with the message is then drawn out and the flap inserted,\nmessage side down, and the frame fastened back in place. A secret mark\non the outside of the frame shows which slate is written upon. The\nslates can then be shown and will appear clean on all four sides, and\nit is possible to either seal or lock them without interfering with the\nsuccess of the demonstration. They are then placed on the table with\nthe fake ends nearest the medium and while he leans on their ends with\nhalf-folded arms, engaging the sitter in conversation, he at the same\ntime with the fingers of his concealed hand pulls out the frame ends,\nallowing the flap to fall from one slate to the other, and then secures\nit in place by putting the ends back. Of course when the slates are\nopened a closely written message is found on both.\n\nAnother sort of double slate intended for producing a similar effect\nin dark seances or cabinet work also has a loose end which instead of\nmoving a quarter of an inch draws out to any length, bringing the slab\nwith it. After the lights are out or the cabinet closed it is an easy\nmatter to draw out the slab and write a message on it.\n\n[Illustration: WRITING ON \u201cHONEST SLATES\u201d BY MEANS OF WEDGE AND WIRE.]\n\nWriting is sometimes produced between two perfectly honest slates which\nhave been fastened together at the corners by inserting a wedge of hard\nwood between the frames, thus separating them enough to slip between\nthem a piece of wire with a bit of slate pencil fastened to its tip. By\nthis means a message can be produced at a dark seance in a few minutes\nwithout breaking the seals.\n\nThere is a form of slate where the slab is invisibly hinged on the side\nso that it opens like a door and is held shut by a secret catch. This\nslate can be used in a dark seance or under the table at a light one.\nIt can also be used on a cloth-top table with an invisible trap. The\ntrap and the hinged slate drop down together and the medium is able to\nwrite on the slate by reaching under the table.\n\nStill another scheme used with a pair of hinged slates is to have a\nhole through both frames at one end and locking them with a padlock.\nIn working this the pins are pushed out of the hinges and the frames,\nmoving easily on the shackle of the padlock, permit the medium to\nwrite on the inside of the slates without difficulty, afterwards\nfastening the slates together again by simply replacing the pins in the\nhinges.\n\nA method of concealing an extra slate is to have it a trifle smaller\nthan the rest and then hidden in some convenient place, say the seat of\na chair. A large slate is first examined and laid on the chair. Later\nit is picked up with the extra one under it. Sometimes the extra one is\nhidden under the edge of a rug on the floor and worked in the same way.\nAt other times it is hidden on the medium\u2019s body and slipped under a\nlarge slate when the medium stands with his right side on a line with\nthe sitter\u2019s vision.\n\nAn entirely different method is employed to some extent by mediums\nwho are very rapid and interesting talkers. Throughout the seance the\nmedium walks nervously about the room, keeping up a continual flow of\nconversation. He passes two slates to the sitter for examination. A\nthird, the same size, with a previously written message on one side,\nbeing concealed in a large pocket inside the breast of his coat. While\nthe slates are being examined he walks about the room sometimes behind\nand sometimes in front of the sitter, tapping him on the shoulder to\nemphasize his remarks. As soon as the slates are examined he takes\nthem and, passing behind the sitter, places them on his head and asks\nhim to hold them there and at the same time continuing his walk and\ntalk. Of course when the slates are examined there is a message on the\ninside of one of them. When the medium steps behind the sitter with\nthe slates in his hand he quickly changes the slate with a message\nwhich he has hidden for one of the blank ones. This is no more bold or\ndifficult than many mediumistic tricks but it requires a particularly\nfluent conversationalist to successfully produce the needed amount\nof misdirection when the slates are switched. Women mediums effect a\nsimilar exchange sometimes by the aid of a special pocket in the dress.\n\nA very effective method of getting a direct answer to a question on\nthe inside of a sealed double slate is as follows. The slates are\nthoroughly cleansed by the sitter, who writes a question on a slip of\npaper, folds it and places it between the slates, with a bit of pencil.\nThe medium keeps at a distance during the writing and cannot see what\nhas been written. The slates are then sealed with strips of paper and\nplaced on the table and the sitter holds both hands of the medium.\nAfter a time, as no sound of writing is heard, the medium shows some\nconcern as to the possibility of failure and _suggests_ that the sitter\nhold the slates at the top of his own head. Still there is no sound\nand the slates are returned to the table, where they remain for some\ntime without any sign of writing. The medium becomes very much worried\nand suggests that the slates be placed on the sitter\u2019s head again,\nremarking that if no sound is heard he will be obliged to postpone that\ntest till a future sitting. This time the writing is heard almost as\nsoon as the slates touch the head and when it ceases and the slates are\nunsealed a complete answer is found written on the inner surface of one\nor both slates.\n\nThis seeming marvel is produced in the following simple manner. The\nmedium\u2019s assistant steals into the room with a duplicate pair of sealed\nslates and stands behind the sitter. In the act of placing the slates\non the head a switch is made, and the sitter holds the duplicates while\nthe originals are taken into an adjoining room by the assistant. He\nlifts the seals with a hot table knife and after reading the question\nhe writes an appropriate answer, reseals the slates and returns to his\nposition behind the sitter. Another exchange is made when the slates\nare placed on the sitter\u2019s head the second time. The sound of writing\nis made by the medium under the table with a piece of slate pencil and\na bit of slate, but it is so faint that the sitter cannot locate it.\n\n[Illustration: HOUDINI, MRS. HOUDINI, AND MR. TEALE DEMONSTRATING A\nMETHOD OF SWITCHING SLATES OVER A SITTER\u2019S HEAD]\n\nIn Bohemia, Province of Prague, I ran across a medium who was\nespecially good in slate writing. At first I could not \u201cget\u201d his work.\nWhen I was playing in Berlin, at the Wintergarten, he came in one night\nand wanted to give a performance to the directors. I was guest but went\nprepared for him. His work was so designed that he walked behind us and\nin so doing he baffled me. I asked for a private sitting and he readily\nconsented.\n\nWhen he did the slate writing at this sitting I felt someone\u2019s\npresence, and, sure enough, when he took the slates away there was\nan almost imperceptible hesitation. In this fraction of a second the\nslates were switched through a _trap in the panel_ behind me. I had a\nmirror on a rubber elastic fastened to my vest and as I took my seat\nI pulled the elastic so I could sit on it. I managed to secure this\nmirror and keep it palmed in my hand, and with it saw the panel slide\nopen, the arm extended with the duplicate slates, and the exchange made.\n\nS. S. Baldwin, an acknowledged expert in Spiritualistic and Telepathic\ntomfoolery, was bamboozled by a Dr. Fair, according to his own story\nwhich he told to me in December, 1920. He received a message on a slate\nheld by himself under a table, and afterwards, at the suggestion of\nthe Doctor, made a thorough examination of the table, the room, and\neverything in sight, but failed to discover a concealed door in the\nwainscot of the wall through which a man in black garments could find\nhis way to space under a sofa and thence to the table, which was a\nrather large one, do the Spirit writing and then make his exit while\nMr. Baldwin was fully occupied holding the slate under the table with\nhis eyes fixed on space above it.\n\nOne of the very best mediumistic tricks, and one that has made the\nreputation of more than one well-known medium, is done with a number of\nsmall slates and one large one. The size of the slates is immaterial\nbut the large one should be three or four inches larger each way than\nthe others. The manner of presentation differs somewhat with different\nperformers but in general is as follows.\n\nWhen the sitters arrive the slates are piled near one corner of the\ntable, the larger one at the bottom and eight or nine smaller ones on\ntop of it. The medium stands at the end of the table nearest the slates\nand after a few casual remarks he picks up the top slate with his\nleft hand, changes it to his right and passes it to the sitter to be\nexamined and cleaned if desired. When he is quite satisfied the medium\ntakes it back, glances at both sides, and then places it on the table\ndirectly in front of the sitter. This is repeated with the remaining\nsmall slates, which are not stacked up evenly but left in a haphazard\npile. While the last small slate is being placed on the pile with the\nmedium\u2019s right hand he picks up the large slate with his left and rests\nit on top of the others, at the same time passing the sitter a pencil\nand asking him to write a few lines on it requesting the Spirits to\nfavor him with a message and to sign his name to it. He is at liberty\nto examine this slate also and to write his message on either side.\n\nThe large slate is then placed at the right of the sitter and he is\nasked to place his right hand on it. The small slates are then evened\nup by the medium, secured by a heavy rubber band and then placed in\nthe center of the table. The medium then takes a seat at the table\nopposite the sitter and they clasp hands at the sides of the slates.\nAfter a sufficient pause the slates are unbound by the sitter and on a\nslate near the center of the stack a message is found written in chalk\nor slate pencil and signed by a departed friend.\n\nThe secret of this startling effect is extremely simple. Concealed\nbeneath the big slate at the beginning of the seance is a smaller\nslate with the message already written on it. This is picked up with\nthe larger one when the latter is placed on the stack for the sitter\nto write on it and dropped on the others, written side down. The\nextra slate is never noticed as the pile has not been counted and the\nbusiness of passing the slate pencil occupies the sitter\u2019s attention so\nthat he does not realize that the large slate rests on the small ones\nbefore he examines it.\n\nThe medium then takes about half the small slates, evens them up and\nlays them to one side and repeats with the remaining ones, laying them\nevenly on the others. This is a perfectly natural move as the whole\nstack makes more than a handful and by means of it the slate with the\nmessage is placed in the middle of the stack. The stack is then set\non end, the rubber band placed around it, and it is then ready to be\nplaced in the middle of the table for conclusion of the seance.\n\nTwo methods of writing between locked or sealed double slates when only\none or two words were needed puzzled the investigators for a long time.\nThe first was worked with a strong magnet. The bit of slate pencil\nwhich was put between the slates was specially prepared with either\npowdered soapstone mixed with iron filings, water, and glue, or a small\npiece of iron was used covered with a paste of soapstone, water, and\nmucilage. By holding the magnet under the slates and tracing the words\n_backwards_ the prepared pencils would follow the magnet and write the\nwords. The other method was worked with an electro magnet set in the\ntable, the necessary wires running down one leg and making contact with\na copper plate in the floor under the rug by means of a sharp metal\npoint on the end of the leg.\n\nSince the introduction of \u201craps\u201d[71] by the Fox Sisters various methods\nhave been devised for producing them. One of the simplest expedients\nis for the medium to slightly moisten the fingers and slide them very\ngently on the top of the table. A little experimenting soon shows the\namount of pressure necessary to produce the desired amount of sound\nand of course the medium is cautious to let the fingers move only the\ndesired distance and that too when no one is looking.\n\nAnother simple method is to place the thumbs close together in such a\nmanner that the nail of one overlaps the other a trifle. Then while the\nthumbs are pressed hard on the table if one nail is slipped up or down\ndistinct raps are produced which seem to come from the top of the table.\n\nSome mediums produce raps by slipping a knee up and down against a\ntable leg. Others have been known to fasten blocks of wood to the knee\nunder the skirt and rap on the table leg with a sidewise motion of the\nknee. Still others strike the table leg with the heel of the shoe or\npress the side of the heel against the table leg and by moving the heel\nup and down the friction of the leather against the wood produces raps.\n\n[Illustration: TUBE AND PISTON ARRANGEMENT FOR MAKING RAPS.]\n\nMany mediums will not depend on these methods but use more complicated\nones which produce the raps by means of mechanical devices which they\nconceal about their person. One of these consists of a small hollow\nmetal tube in which a long, heavy burlap needle is arranged to move\nup and down like a piston, and attached to it to operate it a stout\nblack thread. The tube is fastened to the inner side of a trouser\nleg. The free end of the thread is brought out through a seam and an\ninconspicuous little hook attached. After being seated at the seance\ntable the medium attaches the little hook to the opposite trouser leg\nand draws on it until the needle point comes through the cloth. He then\nwatches an opportunity to press on to the point of the needle a cork to\nwhich has been attached a piece of lead. This accomplished, all he has\nto do is to place the knee in the proper relation to the table and by\nmoving the other back and forth the piston is made to work up and down,\ncausing the leaded cork to rap out all sorts of messages.\n\n[Illustration: RAPPING MECHANISM IN HEEL OF MEDIUM\u2019S SHOE.]\n\nAnother ingenious mechanical contrivance is built into the heel of the\nmedium\u2019s shoe and operated electrically by running a wire from it up\nthrough the sole of the shoe and passing it between the back of the\nshoe and the foot and so on up the leg to batteries concealed in a\npocket. By placing this heel against a table leg the raps can be made\nto sound as though coming from the middle of the table and with a\nproper amount of \u201csuggestion\u201d the sitters can be made to believe that\nthe mysterious taps are produced in turn under each pair of hands on\nthe table.\n\nTable levitating is easily accomplished in the dark, through the\naid of a confederate, by several different methods. If the medium\nand his assistant are seated opposite, by raising their knees at a\nsignal they can lift the table from the floor without difficulty. By\nslightly rocking or tipping the table the medium and assistant can\nsimultaneously slip a foot under table legs diagonally opposite, lift\nthe table and keep it balanced by the pressure of the hands on its top.\nThese and many similar methods are perfectly practical in dark seances\nbut for manifestations where there is any danger of the sitters being\nable to see mechanical contrivances are resorted to. The oldest form is\nsimply a light, though powerfully strong, length of blue steel riveted\nto a stout leather wrist strap. When not in use the whole thing is\nconcealed in the medium\u2019s sleeve. Sometimes both the medium and the\nassistant are thus equipped.\n\nThis has been somewhat superseded by a chamois-covered flat steel hook\nconcealed under the vest and riveted to a tight-fitting leather belt\nencircling the medium\u2019s body. With this hook under the table edge great\npower can be exerted upon the table with very little strain upon the\noperator. The lifting strength of a human hair is not generally known,\nyet by means of one freshly taken from the head, long enough to span\na small light table, the table can be lifted. One of the more modern\ncontrivances is a steel belt which the operator wears and to the front\nof which is attached a short metal arm which can be engaged under\nthe table top in such a way that the operator can take his hands off\nthe table and still support it in the air. When releasing the table\nthe metal arm is slipped back and the steel belt shifted to another\nposition on the body, the medium\u2019s coat concealing both.\n\nJust as advances are made in other lines of work, so too mediums\nadvance in their methods of deceiving their subjects. Few would resort\nto the old-time methods of releasing a foot from under the foot of an\ninvestigator. They have devised a new and baffling method. The medium\u2019s\nshoes are especially made for her in such a way that by a certain\npressure on the sole it is possible to withdraw the greater portion of\nthe shoe with the foot from a false front. This front is made of metal\nand padded. When the medium asks the committee to place their feet on\nhers she makes sure that they do not over-reach the portion she can\nwithdraw from. In the full glare of the light the investigator thinks\nhe feels the medium\u2019s foot securely held under his own and as he cannot\nsee under the table the medium has the full use of her foot to produce\nmanifestations.\n\nI once gave a seance while I was touring in England. It was a dark\nseance and just at the psychological moment a Spirit came through the\nwindow and walked around on the wall and ceiling of the room and then\nout of another window. The explanation is simple. On the bill with me\nwere two acrobats, hand to hand balancers. One took off his shoes and\nstockings and the other sneaked up to him. He pulled down the window\nand then did a hand-to-hand balance with his partner and walked around\nthe room. He then went back to his seat, put on his shoes, and looked\nas innocent and meek as possible under the circumstances when the\nlights were turned on. I told every one present that it was only a\ntrick but as usual they insisted that I was a medium.\n\nA rope trick which always causes astonishment and helps to create a\nbelief in supernatural aid is done by a woman medium who enters a\ncabinet with a rope bound around her neck. The loose ends of the rope\nare forced through opposite sides of the cabinet and held tightly by\ntwo members of the committee. Nevertheless the manifestations take\nplace just the same and when the cabinet is opened afterwards the\nmedium is found bound just as she was before the seance. As a matter of\nfact when the curtains have been closed and the committee have a grip\non the ends of the rope the medium cuts the specially tied loop around\nher neck. When she is ready to come out she simply ties another loop,\nusing a duplicate piece of rope which she had concealed on her person.\nWhen the committee release the ends of the rope she slips the mutilated\npiece into her bloomers and appears with the duplicate, which looks\nlike the original one.\n\nThere are various methods of producing Spirit photographs. One is to\nhave a table prepared so that a developing pan is placed where an X-ray\npenetrates to the negative. This produces a \u201cSpirit light.\u201d Another is\nto fix the side of the plate with some luminous substance, shape, or\nflash, and it is astonishing what these things look like. You get forms\nand frequently recognize faces in the splotches. Father de Heredia\nhas palmed a figure in his hand and as the investigator signed the\nnegative remarked: \u201cI might as well sign it myself.\u201d In so doing he\nrested the left hand over the plate while signing with his right and\nthe phosphorous figure in his hand was photographed on the negative. A\nsimple method is to have something concealed in the hand and hold it\nover the lens instead of a cap, and still another is to get the camera\nout of focus and snap it secretly, then when the regular exposure is\nmade there is an additional hazy something on the plate.\n\nOne of the most startling swindles I ever heard of a medium working\nwas called \u201cfinger-printing a Spirit.\u201d In this test the medium shows\nthe sitter finger prints of the departed soul. I hesitated at first\nabout including this fake, fearing to add to the stock of unscrupulous\nmediums but I finally concluded that the public should know about it.\nThe scheme was first discovered by a sculptor who dabbled some in\nSpiritualism. One day, several years ago, a workman fell from the top\nof the building, in which this man had his studio, and was killed. The\nbody was carried into the studio and while alone with it the sculptor\nconceived the idea of fooling some guests who were to hold a seance\nthat night. He hurriedly made a plaster of Paris mould of the dead\nman\u2019s fingers and later filled it with a rubber-like substance used in\nhis work. When this had hardened and the plaster had been removed it\nresembled, even to the most minute detail, the dead hand.\n\nDuring the seance that night he produced finger prints with it on a\ntrumpet which he had lampblacked and upon investigation it was found\nthat these finger prints corresponded exactly with those of the man\nin the morgue. No one was able to explain the mystery and he kept the\nsecret for some time but later another medium learned it and obtained a\nposition in an undertaking establishment where he found an opportunity\nafter a while to secure the finger prints of several of the dead who\nbelonged to the wealthy class. In due time he arranged seances with\nthe relatives and convinced them of his genuineness. There are two\ncases on record where fortunes were at stake because of this sort of\nfraud. In one case five hundred thousand dollars changed hands upon\nthe recognition of the finger prints of a man who had died two years\nbefore. His hand had been maimed in an accident and all the scars\nshowed in the impression on the Spirit slate. Fortunately a confession\nwas wrung from the medium and the money went to the rightful heirs.\n\nA \u201cmanifestation\u201d which seems mysterious but which is in reality\nridiculously simple is worked as follows. A glass is filled with water\nand placed on the table in a cabinet. Ribbons or bands of tape are then\ndrawn over it at right angles and the ends fastened to the table with\nnails. Thus secured the glass cannot be lifted and the top is entirely\ncovered except some small openings. The medium is then locked into\nthe cabinet for a few minutes, during which he keeps up a continual\nclapping of his hands, but when the cabinet is unlocked the glass is\nempty of water and the general impression is that the Spirits drained\nit. As a matter of fact the medium had worked his hands up near his\nface and shifted from slapping his hands to slapping his face with\none hand. This left a hand free and with it he had no difficulty in\nproducing a straw from his pocket and sucking the water from the glass.\n\nOf course these examples are only a few of the many means employed by\nmediums to produce their \u201cmanifestations\u201d and take advantage of the\ncredulity of the average sitter, but they are enough to show the reader\nthe sort of methods practiced and the lengths to which they will go in\ntheir deceptions.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VIII\n\nSPIRIT PHOTOGRAPHY\n\n\nWith what is perhaps pardonable pride we point to the genius of\nAmerican enterprise in scientific advancement but it is with decided\nchagrin that I repeat that, as modern Spiritualism was born in America,\nso also have been most of the phenomena that under the mask of\nSpiritualism have unbalanced so many fine intellects the world over.\nSpirit photography, the most prominent of mediumistic phenomena, had\nits beginning in Boston, \u201cHub\u201d of intellectual development, its coming\nbeing announced by Dr. Gardner, a devout Spiritualist, who discovered a\nphotographer that \u201cin taking a photograph of himself, obtained on the\nsame plate a likeness of a cousin dead some twelve years before.\u201d\n\nThis was in 1862, but a little more than a decade after the original\ndemonstration of so-called Spirit power at Hydesville. Fortunately for\nthe success of the new art the photographer selected by the inhabitants\nof \u201cSummerland\u201d[72] to use for the demonstration of the new phenomena\nwas a medium and of all the hosts in heaven the spirit chosen to be\nphotographed was (singular coincidence) a cousin of his who had passed\nthe border some years previous.\n\nNo sooner had the discovery been announced than spiritual enthusiasts\nin large numbers began flocking to the studio of the medium, Mr.\nWilliam H. Mumler, and this kept up until evil spirits (?) began to\ncreate an atmosphere of doubt and skepticism, whereupon he abruptly\ntook himself and his new enterprise to New York City, a precipitous\nplunge presumably prompted by his Spiritual guides.\n\nThe change proved to be of great financial benefit to Mumler until the\nire of the evil Spirits was once more aroused and he was arrested on a\ncharge of fraudulent transactions. A most interesting and sensational\ntrial followed with many noted people appearing as witnesses, among\nthem being that prince of showmen, Phineas Taylor Barnum, who testified\nfor the prosecution, and Judge John W. Edmonds, of the Supreme Court\nBench, for the defence.[73]\n\nMr. Barnum testified to having spent much time and study in the\ndetection of humbugs and had recently written a book called \u201cThe\nHumbugs of the World.\u201d He knew Mumler only through reputation but had\nhad some correspondence with him in regard to his pictures, wishing to\nlearn his process and expose it in his book, and some pictures which\nMumler sent him Barnum paid ten dollars apiece for and put in his\nmuseum labelled as \u201cSpiritualistic Humbugs.\u201d\n\nBarnum\u2019s testimony was attacked by Mumler\u2019s lawyer who characterized it\nas being a \u201cvery pretty illustration of humbug\u201d and added that even if\nit were true Barnum violated the \u201cgreat precept relating to honor among\nthieves,\u201d but I want to go on record as believing that Mr. Barnum told\nthe truth in the Mumler case.\n\nJudge Edmonds declared on the stand that he had seen Spirits although\nmany Spiritualists could not and recalled an instance when he was on\nthe bench trying a case in which the payment of an accident insurance\npolicy was the issue. He told the court that the whole aspect of the\ncase was changed after he saw the spirit of the suicide and several\nquestions which this Spirit had suggested were put to the witness, the\ndecision being reversed on the testimony thus brought out. He also\ntestified to his belief that Mumler\u2019s pictures were genuine photographs\nof Spirits.\n\nDuring the trial many methods[74] of producing Spirit \u201cextras\u201d were\nshown in court by expert photographers and the possibilities of the\neffect being produced by natural means proven. The investigators,\nhowever, did not have their case in good shape. There were strong\ngrounds for suspicion but they were unable to present positive proof\nand though the court was morally convinced that fraudulent methods had\nbeen practiced sufficient evidence to convict Mumler was lacking.\n\nAlthough acquitted, it is significant that Mumler refused an offer\nof five hundred dollars to reproduce his pictures in another studio\nunder test conditions and while free to resume his business so far\nas the court was concerned, with a full harvest of dupes waiting to\nbe fleeced, he was nevertheless soon lost to view and seems to have\nvanished entirely after the publication of his book in 1875.\n\nSpiritualistic mediumship is not immune to the flattery of imitation\nfor even a casual examination of Spiritualistic history and development\nshows that just as soon as a medium forms a new alliance with the\npsychic power dispenser and produces phenomena unknown before, other\nmediums immediately begin to produce it also and the new manifestation\nsoon becomes epidemic. It was so with Spirit photography. No one had\nthought of such a possibility before Mumler invented the mystery but\ntalented mediums everywhere when they heard of his pictures began to\nproduce them also. Stories of his success crossed the sea and Europe\ndiscovered equal talent there.\n\nIn the summer of 1874 a Parisian photographer by the name of Buguet\nwent over to London and attracted considerable attention with his\nSpirit pictures. They were of much higher artistic quality than any\npreceding ones and Podmore in his \u201cModern Spiritualism\u201d tells us that:\n\n\u201cThe Spirit faces were in most cases clearly defined, and were, in\nfact, frequently recognized by the sitters, and even W. H. Harrison\nfailed to detect any trickery in the operation.\u201d\n\nAfter a short stay during which his demonstrations completely\nsatisfied such men as Rev. Stainton Moses, who was liberal with his\nendorsements, Buguet returned to Paris, where the next year he was\nplaced under arrest \u201ccharged with the fraudulent manufacture of\nSpirit photographs.\u201d Unlike Mumler, his conscience did not prove\ncourt-proof, or perhaps the evidence against him was such that a\nfriendly Spirit advised confession, at any rate he told the court that\nall of his Spirit photographs were the result of double exposure. On\nthe strength of this confession Buguet was convicted and sentenced to\none year of imprisonment and a fine of five hundred francs. A like\nsentence was given to M. Leymaire, Editor of the _Revue Spirits_, who\nadmitted suggesting to Buguet that he should enter the field of Spirit\nphotography.\n\nThe police seized all the paraphernalia in the studio of Buguet and\ntook it to court. Amongst it was a lay figure and a large stock of\nheads. These with dolls and assistants at the studio took turns as\ninspirations for Spirit extras. But the real interest of the trial\nwas not these revelations, Podmore tells us, for after all Buguet did\nlittle to improve on the methods inaugurated by his predecessors. It\nis the effect produced on his dupes by Buguet\u2019s confession, and the\ndisplay of his trick apparatus, which is really worthy of attention.\nWitness after witness--journalist, photographic expert, musician,\nmerchant, man of letters, optician, ex-professor of history, Colonel\nof Artillery, etc., etc.--came forward to testify on behalf of the\naccused. Some had watched the process throughout, and were satisfied\nthat trickery had not been practiced. Many had obtained on the plate\nunmistakable portraits of those dear to them, and found it impossible\nto relinquish their faith. One after another these witnesses were\nconfronted with Buguet, and heard him explain how the trick had been\ndone. One after another they left the witness-box, protesting that they\ncould not doubt the evidence of their own eyes. Here, chosen almost at\nrandom from many similar accounts, is the testimony of M. Dessenon,\npicture-seller, aged fifty-five. After describing how he had obtained\nin the first instance various figures which he could not recognize, he\ncontinues:--\n\n\u201c\u2018The portrait of my wife, which I had especially asked for, is so like\nher that when I showed it to one of my relatives he exclaimed, \u201cIt\u2019s my\ncousin!\u201d\u2019\n\n\u201c_The Court_: \u2018Was that chance, Buguet?\u2019\n\n\u201c_Buguet_: \u2018Yes, pure chance. I had no photograph of Mme. Dessenon.\u2019\n\n\u201c_The Witness_: \u2018My children, like myself, thought the likeness\nperfect. When I showed them the picture they cried, \u201cIt\u2019s mama.\u201d A very\nfortunate chance!... I am convinced it was my wife.\u2019\n\n\u201c_The Court_: \u2018You see this doll and all the rest of the things?\u2019\n\n\u201c_The Witness_: \u2018There is nothing there in the least like the\nphotograph which I obtained.\u2019\u201d\n\nIncidentally there were two or three curious bits of evidence on the\nvalue of recognition as a test. _A police officer stated that Buguet\nshowed him a portrait which had done duty as the sister of one sitter,\nthe mother of a second, and the friend of a third._ Again, it came out\nin the evidence that a very clearly defined head (reproduced as an\nillustration to Stainton Moses\u2019 articles in _Human Nature_) which had\nbeen claimed by M. Leymaire as the portrait of his almost life long\nfriend, M. Poiret, was recognized by another witness as an excellent\nlikeness of his father-in-law, _still living_ at Breux, and much\nannoyed at his premature introduction to the Spirit world.\n\nFrom Mumler\u2019s first pictures to the present day, Spirit photography\nhas played a large part in the field of Spiritualistic devotion, and\ninnumerable mediums have discovered that they possessed the same\nphenomenal power for producing the coveted likeness in the form of\n\u201cextras\u201d on the sensitized plate. The art has now advanced to such a\nstage that it is no longer necessary for one to sit but all that is\nneeded is a relic of the departed one, something which either belonged\nor was of especial interest, to the person. This relic is photographed\nand when the plate is developed there appears beside it as an \u201cextra\u201d\nthe face of the departed; that is, I should say, if your imagination\nis strong enough to see a resemblance to the person supposed to be\nrepresented.\n\nNor is a camera necessary in these days, according to Spiritualists.\nIn fact, I am told that it is not necessary to even open a box of\nplates, but that they can be \u201cmagnetized\u201d just as they come from the\nmaker _provided_ the box is in the possession of the medium a few\ndays in advance of the sitting. This single condition fulfilled and\nthe demonstration will follow if the sitters, including the nearest\nrelative, pile their hands on top of the medium\u2019s. Then to create a\nsolemn atmosphere the sitters are usually asked to join in some form\nof religious devotion such as singing \u201cNearer, My God, To Thee,\u201d or a\nfervent prayer.\n\nThis is the type of performance conducted by what is known as the\n\u201cCrewe Photographers\u201d and supported and defended by the present day\nleaders in Spiritualism. This Crewe combination of photographers is\nunder the management of professional Spiritualists and is an organized\neffort to promulgate this particular phase of Spiritualistic phenomena.\nThe group consists of Mr. William Hope and Mrs. Buxton, Crewe; Mrs.\nDeane of London; and Mr. Vearncombe of Bridgewater.\n\nMy friend, Harry Price, attended a sitting given by Hope and tells of\nthe religious exercises as follows:\n\n\u201cMrs. Buxton sang several verses of \u2018Nearer, My God, to Thee,\u2019 after\nwhich Mr. Hope made a long impromptu prayer in which he thanked God\nfor all our many mercies, and hoped He would continue His blessings at\nthe present moment. He also craved blessings on our fellow creatures\nand friends on the other side and asked assistance in the attempt to\nlink up with them, etc. Then Mrs. Buxton sang another hymn, after which\nMr. Hope picked up the package of dry plates, put them between the\nhands of Mrs. Buxton, placed her hands on his, and others in the party\npiled their hands on top. Then we had another impromptu prayer by Mrs.\nBuxton. Then the Lord\u2019s Prayer was sung, and a short hymn concluded the\nservice.\u201d\n\nCan one imagine a sacrilege more revolting than singing hymns, saying\nprayers, and calling on the Almighty for help in such fraudulent work?\n\nThe combination evaded detection and were doing a most successful\nbusiness when in the spring of 1921, Mr. Edward Bush, of the Society of\nPsychical Research, laid a snare into which Hope walked with his eyes\nwide open. Mr. Bush wrote for an appointment under the assumed name of\n\u201cD. Wood,\u201d enclosing a photograph of a son-in-law who was alive. On the\nback of the photograph was written:\n\n\u201cTell Dad, if anything happens to me, I will try and let him have a\nSpirit Photo. Tell him to shout up to let me know where he goes to.\n\n \u201cJack Ackroyd.\u201d\n\n\nHope arranged a time for a sitting but returned the photo, saying he\nregretted that it had been sent as it subjected him to suspicion. When\nthe time for the sitting arrived Hope went under control and Mr. Bush\nmanipulated the plates as he directed but no \u201cextras\u201d appeared. On the\nnext day, however, when the plate was developed after another sitting,\nthere was an \u201cextra\u201d which proved to be a likeness of the son-in-law.\nMr. Bush published the details of this exposure in a pamphlet and the\nLondon _Truth_ said editorially:\n\n\u201cBut not only have William Hope and his sister medium, Mrs. Buxton,\ncause to kick themselves at Mr. Bush\u2019s exposure, Sir Arthur Conan\nDoyle,[75] Lady Glenconner, the Rev. Walter Wynn, and many other\nleading lights of the movement have brought these products of faith and\nhope forward as conclusive proof of the continuation of existence and\nthe possibility of communication with the next world.\u201d\n\nLater in the same year, Mr. C. R. Mitchell, a former leader of the\nHackney Spiritualistic Society and well known in mediumistic circles in\nLondon, was selected to \u201cundertake certain tests of a scientific nature\nfor the purpose of ascertaining the value of these Spirit phenomena.\u201d\nMr. Mitchell was a photographer and wished to use his own plates in the\nexperiment but Mrs. Deane, who was to conduct it, refused to let him\nunless he _first left them with her for a few days to be magnetized_.\nHe objected to this and it was finally agreed that he could use his own\nplates provided he would magnetize them himself but the results were\nunsatisfactory. He then purchased from Mrs. Deane a package of fresh\nplates, which, it was claimed, had not been opened since it left the\nmanufacturer. The likeness of a soldier appeared on one of these which\nMr. Mitchell developed himself and he concluded that not only had the\nplates been \u201cmagnetized\u201d but that they had been exposed in a camera as\nwell.\n\nThe issue of _Truth_ for June 28th, 1922, gives an account of the\nexperience of an ex-Indian missionary, who, with three others, visited\nthe Crewe photographers and sat for Spirit pictures. Four exposures\nwere made and Spirit \u201cextras\u201d appeared on two of the plates but the\nmen could not remember whether the plates had at any time been beyond\ntheir control so the missionary arranged for another sitting taking the\nprecaution to have his plates marked on the corner with a glazier\u2019s\ndiamond. At this second sitting one Spirit extra was produced but\nthere was _no diamond mark_ on the plate, positive proof that an\nexchange had been effected.\n\nDuring 1922 the Occult Committee of the Magic Circle took up the\ninvestigation of Spirit photography first giving its attention to Mr.\nVearncombe who produced Spirit extras in connection with some object\nonce in possession of the deceased. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle put this\ncommittee in touch with the Honorary Secretary of the Society for\nthe Study of Supernormal Pictures, Mr. Barlow, and at the latter\u2019s\nsuggestion sent him an unopened package of plates for Mr. Vearncombe.\nAlthough Barlow objected, \u201cfor Vearncombe\u2019s satisfaction, though not\nessential,\u201d the package was enclosed in a lead case. Also at Barlow\u2019s\nsuggestion a fee accompanied the package. After a month of waiting the\ncommittee received a photograph of the package and on the photograph\nwas a spirit message which read: \u201cBarred your side.\u201d\n\nIn order to remove the barrier a fresh package of plates was forwarded\nto Vearncombe, this time in an ordinary wrapper. Some months later,\nafter the plates had been Spiritually treated by Vearncombe, they were\nreturned to the committee. When developed \u201cpsychic extras\u201d were found\non two plates. There was evidence that the package had been tampered\nwith and the same spirit had been seen on other photographs.\n\nThe committee sent Vearncombe a package of plates under an assumed name\nbut received word from him that it was not necessary to send plates.\nThat small objects which had belonged to the deceased would do and\nthat if the proper fee were enclosed photographic prints showing the\n\u201cpsychic extras\u201d obtained would be supplied. As a full compliance with\nthis suggestion would have been useless as a test, a box of plates, a\nsmall object supposed to have belonged to the deceased, and the fee\nwere sent.\n\nAgain Vearncombe protested that he did not treat unopened boxes\nof plates owing to many failures but offered to expose plates on\nthe object which had been supplied. He was informed that such\nexposure would be unsatisfactory whereupon rather than disappoint\nhis correspondent, he consented and forwarded the package with the\nstatement that he had treated the plates as desired and hoped for\nsuccess. On development a \u201cpsychic image\u201d appeared on one of the plates\nbut the committee found that the wrappers of the package had been\nunsealed and the plates disturbed in their arrangement.\n\nIn order to clinch the results of their trapping Vearncombe was\ninformed that the experiment had been a \u201csuccess\u201d but in order to\n\u201cavoid criticism\u201d he was asked for an assurance that the package had\nnot been tampered with. It soon came in the form of a written statement\nthat the package had been treated by him and returned to the sender as\noriginally sealed when he received it.\n\nThe committee has arranged fourteen tests, twelve of which had been\nviolated, and as two or three violations would have been sufficient\nevidence of fraud it did not consider more necessary but reported that\nit had been established by the evidence that fraud-proof packages\nproduced no results whereas it found \u201cSpirit extras\u201d in packages which\nhad been tampered with and that \u201ccollectively the result is damning.\u201d\n\nThe committee next directed its attention to Mrs. Deane who, because of\n\u201ccomplications from annoying sitters,\u201d had given up private practice at\nher residence and was working under engagement with the British College\nof Psychic Science. The Principal of the College, Mr. McKenzie, had\nvouched for her as being absolutely conscientious and straightforward\nin her work and one fully qualified to produce \u201cpsychic extras without\nresort to trickery.\u201d Mr. Harry Price and Mr. Seymour negotiated for\na private sitting with her. She required that sealed plates should\nbe sent several days in advance for \u201cmagnetization.\u201d Six plates were\nexposed at the sitting and on most of them \u201cextras\u201d appeared, but\nevidence was obtained that the package had been opened previous to the\nsitting and the plates _treated_ but there had been no substitution of\nplates.\n\nAn effort was made to get more convincing evidence and after\nconsiderable difficulty a second sitting was arranged for. This time\nthe committee went to a manufacturer, whose plates had been mentioned\nby the college people as being preferable, and had a special package\nmade up and sealed. In this package each plate was so marked that\nsubstitution or manipulation were sure to be revealed. It was simply\nfraud-proof.\n\nAt the sitting the regular prayer and hymn singing were conducted as\nusual after which the plates were exposed and developed. It was found\nthat the package had been opened previously, the top plate removed\nand another substituted for it and on this substituted plate, only,\nthere was a \u201cSpirit extra.\u201d At a third sitting a fresh box of secretly\nmarked plates were opened in the presence of Mrs. Deane. Four plates\nwere loaded into as many separate slides and Mrs. Deane carried them\ninto the adjoining studio. On a table in the studio was a hand-bag\nand beside it a hymn book. The hand in which she held the four slides\nmomentarily disappeared inside the bag while at the same time she\npicked up the hymn book with her other hand. With the hymn book she had\npicked up a duplicate slide which, with a perfectly natural movement,\nshe added to the three in her other hand one of the four marked plates\nhaving been dropped in the bag where it was found later by one of the\ninvestigators who examined the bag while Mrs. Deane was absent for a\nmoment.\n\nFollowing the customary religious service the four plates were exposed\nand then developed. Three plates which had the identifying marks had no\nSpirit extra, but the fourth plate which had no identification mark did\nhave a Spirit form.\n\nAs a result of this investigation the committee found that whenever\nthere was an opportunity packages were opened and treated, plates\nsubstituted, and in the tests which followed \u201cSpirit extras\u201d were\nsecured, but when the conditions were absolutely fraud-proof there were\nno \u201cextras,\u201d and so far as it was able to discover all the so-called\nSpirit photography rested on the flimsy foundation of fraud.\n\nIn December 1921 I tried to visit Mr. Hope and have some Spirit\nphotographs made but I was informed that his engagements would keep\nhim busy for months and that I would have to wait my turn. I then got\nin touch with a friend of mine by the name of DeVega[76] who lives in\nGlasgow and asked him if he would not see Hope and arrange to sit for a\nphotograph. After considerable correspondence between DeVega and Hope\nthe latter agreed to make the photographs provided DeVega would go to\nCrewe. DeVega assented to this, and an appointment was made and the\nsitting took place. The following account of DeVega\u2019s experience is\ntaken from a full report which he sent me.\n\n\u201cDec. 16, 1921.--Arrived at No. 144 Market Street, the door was opened\nby an elderly lady. I asked if Mr. Hope was in and presently he came\ndown. I told him that a well known member of the Spiritualist Society\nand a man known to be a collector of Spirit photographs sent me and\nthat seemed to be sufficient for Mr. Hope.\n\n\u201cI had brought my own camera along and asked him whether the pictures\ncould be taken with it. However, he said he used his own camera but\nwould let me investigate it all I wanted to. He told me he could not\npossibly photograph me that forenoon as there was another gentleman\ncoming but arranged for two o\u2019clock.\n\n\u201cI watched Market Street, from a distance, all the forenoon but saw no\none go in. I arrived there promptly but it was 2:30 before Mr. Hope\narrived. A Mrs. Buxton joined us. She, Hope and myself sat around a\nsmall table. They sang hymns, said a prayer and asked the table if all\nwas favorable.\n\n\u201cAt his request I placed my packages of plates on the table. They\nplaced their hands above them and sang again. Hope suddenly gave a\nquiver and said, \u2018Now we will try.\u2019 He showed me the dark room, which\nis a small arrangement of about six feet high, three feet wide and five\nfeet long. There were two shelves and on these were dusters, cloths,\nbottles of chemicals, a lamp, etc. The lamp is an old affair lit by a\ncandle. The room is so very small that when two people are in it there\nis no room to move about.\n\n\u201cHe next showed me the camera and asked me to examine it. I gave a\nglance at it and told him I did not doubt his word, which seemed to\nplease him a great deal. I thought if it was a fake he would not allow\nme to examine it as closely as he asked me to. It was an old make, one\nfourth plate, studio camera and had no shutter, but worked with a cap\nover a lens (the cap was missing). He next showed me the dark slide.\nIt was an old-fashioned, double wood end slide. I examined it very\nclosely but it was unprepared.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n SO-CALLED \u201cSPIRIT EXTRA\u201d ON PHOTOGRAPH OF HARRY PRICE MADE BY\n WILLIAM HOPE OF THE CREWE CIRCLE\n]\n\n\u201cThe studio itself is a little glass hot-house arrangement built on to\nthe side of the house. A green curtain is hung at the one end at which\nthe sitter sits.\n\n\u201cWe went again into the dark room to load the plates. He gave me his\nslide and told me to leave two of my own dark slides down in front of\nthe light as he would try my camera too. I opened my plates and placed\ntwo in his dark slide and closed it. It was placed on the under shelf\nwhere I could see it faintly. He then asked me to open my own two\nslides slightly and sign my name on them. (I signed J. B. Gilchrist.)\nAs I signed them he moved the lamp to let me see better. This threw the\none fourth plate in the shadow. After that he handed me the one fourth\nplate slide to sign the two plates in the same way.\n\n\u201c_I am sure, although I did not actually see him, that the slide I\nloaded, was changed for another one._ It was too dark to see under the\nlevel of the shelf. I, for a moment, considered letting my pencil slip\nand spoil the plate and load in another from my packet but I thought\nit advisable to let things go on as I would then see just what his\nusual procedure was. I wondered at the time _Why I could not have been\ntold to take the plates from the package, sign them and then place the\nplates in the slide and place the slide in my pocket until they were to\nbe exposed. Why was it necessary to sign my own plates in my dark slide\nat all? In fact, there was no necessity for me to take my slide in the\ndark room._\n\n\u201cWe went back into the studio, again I was asked to examine the camera.\nHowever, I took up my position in front of the camera. Mrs. Buxton\nstood at one side and Mr. Hope at the other. The dark focusing cloth\nwas low over the lens (the cap being missing) and the slide open.\nMrs. Buxton and Hope sang a hymn and each took an end of the cloth,\nuncovering the lens. This was repeated with other plates as well.\n\n\u201cNow my camera was set up. I was asked to open the slide and show them\nhow the shutter worked. The exposure was made. He placed his hand in\nfront of the camera, covering the lens and asked me to open the slide\nmyself as he did not want to touch it. _Now why did he close the lens\nin that way?_ It would have been simpler to have pushed down the open\nfront of the slide, closing it, but I believe that on his hand was a\nspot of some radiant salt or some such substance that would cause a\nbright spot to appear on the negative, such as appeared on that plate\nwhen it was developed. Holding his hand in front of the lens while an\nexposure was being made is such an unnatural action that I believe\nthat was the cause of what he called \u2018a Spirit Light,\u2019 when it was\ndeveloped. The next photograph I told him to press the release again to\nclose the shutter. He did so.\n\n\u201cWe then adjourned into the dark room to develop the plates. The two,\none fourth plates were placed by me, side by side, in a dish and the\ntwo three and a half by two and a half in another dish and developed.\nBy pouring the developer from one dish to another, one of the one\nquarter plates flashed up dark. I remarked that one was coming up very\nquickly and he replied that \u2018when they come up like that it is a good\nsign for it is very likely there is an \u201cextra\u201d on them.\u2019 I said no more\nbut in my experience and knowledge of photography, such an occurrence\nis impossible unless the plates have been previously exposed.\n\n\u201c_The two plates were taken from the same packet, loaded into the dark\nslide at the same time, with the same dark room light and the same\ndistance from the light. They were then exposed on the same subject\nimmediately after each other; the same length of exposure being given\n(I counted them mentally) with the same aperture of lens. The plates\nwere then placed side by side in the same dish of developer and I\ncontend that the image must come up at a uniform speed on both plates\nand that it is impossible for one to flash up before the other and\ndarken all over unless it was previously exposed, especially when there\nwas no variation in the light when the exposure was made, it being\nthree P.M., December 16, clear sky, no sunshine._\n\n\u201cAn \u2018extra\u2019 did appear on this (one fourth plate). It is a clean shaven\nface above mine and drapery hanging from it. On my own three and a half\nby two and a half a light splotch is over my face. Mrs. Buxton informed\nme that it was a \u2018Spirit light\u2019 but Mr. Hope believed he saw the faint\nfeatures of a face in it.\u201d\n\nWhile in Denver, Colorado, in May, 1923, I called one morning on Mr.\nAlexander Martin, whom Sir Arthur Conan Doyle had told me was a noted\npsychic photographer and a very wonderful man in his particular line.\nDoyle himself had called on Martin the day before but as Martin did not\nfeel in the mood there had been no demonstration. In this Sir Arthur\nwas no more unfortunate than Hyslop, the eminent Psychic investigator,\nwho, according to Sir Arthur, had made a special journey from England\nto Denver in order to have a seance with Martin but had not been\nsuccessful.\n\nMartin lived about fifteen minutes out of town by taxi. I took with\nme my chief assistant, James Collins, so I would have a witness if\nanything of a psychic nature occurred. Collins had my camera as I\nwanted at least to get a picture of Martin. We found him standing in\nthe doorway of a rear building and after I introduced myself he seemed\ncordial. I showed him some Spirit photographs which I had with me and\nafter a few minutes talk I asked him if he was willing that Collins\nshould take a snap-shot at us. He thought I was asking for a sitting\nand replied that he did not feel good and besides had been engaged to\ntake the pictures of the children in two schools. I kept on talking\nin my most entertaining manner and before long he invited us into the\nhouse saying he would photograph both of us. Meanwhile Collins had\nsecured five snap-shots at close range without Martin knowing it.\n\nWhen we went into the house I walked right into the dark room but\nMartin called me saying:\n\n\u201cNow don\u2019t you go in there, just wait a minute.\u201d\n\nWhile we waited outside Martin spent about eight minutes in the dark\nroom. Then he came out and we went into his studio, a simple room with\na black background. He had me sit down and placed Collins behind me on\nmy right. As a test I told Collins to step over to the other side as\nit might look better. Then when he had done so I turned to Martin and\nasked:\n\n\u201cIs that all right or is it better to have him take the original\nposition?\u201d\n\n\u201cI think it would be nicer if he stood where he was in the first\nplace,\u201d Martin replied.\n\nThis led me to think he was keeping that side of the plate clean for\nsomething to appear. There was considerable light in the room and\nMartin pulled a dark screen on our right explaining that he did not\nneed much light for the psychic stuff, then putting a shade on his eyes\nhe turned to us and said:\n\n\u201cNow keep quiet and I will try and do something.\u201d\n\nWhen he uncovered the lens I counted the time of the exposure which was\nabout fifteen seconds. As he covered it again he said to us:\n\n[Illustration: HOUDINI AND ALEXANDER MARTIN]\n\n\u201cThat is all I can do to-day. Now I must hurry away.\u201d\n\nWe thanked him and as we were going out I asked him if he had any\nphotographs we could see. He went into an adjoining room but closed the\ndoor so we had no opportunity to look in. When he came out he had four\nphotographs which he allowed me to keep but he would not write on them\nwho they were of.\n\nThe next day I went to see him again and he gave me another seance.\nThis time he said he would have to cut a plate and he gave me a book\nto read while I waited. In looking for a piece of paper on which to\nwrite my address he picked up a lot of newspapers and I noticed some\nscientific publications systematically inserted between the leaves\nwhich led me to think he was trying to hide his knowledge and wished to\nappear as a simple minded old man who knew but little about photography.\n\nI have not the slightest doubt that Mr. Martin\u2019s Spirit photographs\nwere simply double exposures. I think his method was to cut out various\npictures, place them on a background and make an exposure. His plates\nwere then ready for his next sitter, which in the above instance was\nmyself. Being an expert photographer he might have used the original\nwet plate method of making an exposure, developing it, washing the\nemulsion off the plate and refinishing it with a new emulsion but I am\nconvinced that the two Spirit photos which he made of me were simply\ndouble exposures.\n\nThe technique of photography does not trouble the psychic operator.\nHe has no regard for the laws of light or chemistry. The fact that in\nall of his pictures the Spirits appear to be perfectly conscious of\nposing does not disconcert him, nor is he disturbed because they always\nappear as they were in life. How much more interesting it would be and\nhow much more such photographs would add to our knowledge and aid the\nadvancement of science if once in a while the Spirits would permit\nthemselves to be snapped while engaged in some Spiritual occupation.\n\nFrom a logical, rational point of view, Spirit photography is a most\nbarefaced imposition and stands as evidence of the credulity of those\nwho are in sympathy with the superstitions of occultism. It is also\nevidence of how unscrupulous mediums become and how calloused their\nconsciences.\n\nIn this country there is no such organized group of Spirit\nphotographers as the Crewe photographers in England. Since Mumler\u2019s\nnarrow escape from deserved punishment and his disappearance there have\nbeen few who had the courage to operate as boldly as he did. The most\nconspicuous one practicing at the present time is Dr. (?) W. M. Keeler,\nwho according to Spiritualistic publications has a nerve and conscience\nequal to any psychic undertaking.\n\nWith Spirit photography as with all other so-called psychic marvels,\nthere never has been, nor is now, any proof of genuineness beyond\nthe claim made by the medium. In each and every case it is a simple\nquestion of veracity, and when the most sincere believers in\nSpiritualism unhesitatingly admit, as they do, that all mediums at\ntimes resort to fraud and lying, what dependence can possibly be placed\nin any statement they make?\n\nThere can be no better evidence of rottenness in the whole structure\nthan the fact that for upwards of forty years there have been standing\noffers of money in amounts ranging from five hundred to five thousand\ndollars for a single case of so-called phenomena which could be proven\nactually psychic. Knowing the character of mediums as I do I claim if\nproof were possible there is not a single medium, including Spirit\nphotographers, who would not have jumped at the chance to win such\na prize. If there are any who are operating honestly let them come\nforward with proof and take the reward.\n\n[Illustration: PHOTOGRAPH OF HOUDINI MADE BY ALEXANDER MARTIN, AT\nDENVER, COLORADO, ON MAY 10, 1923, SHOWING SO-CALLED \u201cSPIRIT EXTRAS\u201d]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IX\n\nSIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE\n\n\nSpiritualism has claimed among its followers numbers of brilliant\nminds--scientists, philosophers, professionals and authors. Whether\nthese great minds have been misdirected, whether they have followed\nthe subject because they were convinced fully of its truth, or whether\nthey have been successfully hoodwinked by some fraudulent medium, are\nmatters of conjecture and opinion; nevertheless they have been the\nmeans of bringing into the ranks of Spiritualism numbers of those who\nallow themselves to be led by minds greater and more powerful than\ntheir own.\n\nSuch a one is Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. His name comes automatically\nto the mind of the average human being to-day at the mention of\nSpiritualism. No statistician could fathom the influence he has exerted\nthrough his lectures and his writings or number the endless chain\nhe guides into a belief in communication with the Realm Beyond. His\nfaith and belief and confidence in the movement have been one of the\ngreatest assets of present-day believers and whatever one\u2019s views on\nthe subject, it is impossible not to respect the belief of this great\nauthor who has wholeheartedly and unflinchingly thrown his life and\nsoul into the conversion of unbelievers. Sir Arthur _believes_. In his\ngreat mind there is _no_ doubt.\n\nHe is a brilliant man, a deep thinker, well versed in every respect,\nand comes of a gifted family. His grandfather, John Doyle, was born\nin Dublin in 1797. He won popularity and fame in London with his\ncaricatures of prominent people. Many of his original drawings are\nnow preserved in the museum under the title \u201cH. B. Caricatures.\u201d He\ndied in 1868. An uncle of Sir Arthur\u2019s was the famous \u201cDicky Doyle,\u201d\nthe well-known cartoonist of _Punch_ and designer of the familiar\ncover of that magazine. In his later years he became prominent as an\nillustrator, making drawings for _The Newcomes_ in 1853, and becoming\nespecially successful in illustrating such fairy stories as Hunt\u2019s \u201cJar\nof Honey,\u201d Ruskin\u2019s \u201cKing of the Golden River,\u201d and Montelbas\u2019 \u201cFairy\nTales of all Nations.\u201d The fact that he leaned toward Spiritualism is\nnot generally known. Sir Arthur\u2019s father, Charles A. Doyle, was also an\nartist of great talent though not in a commercial way. His home life\nis beautiful and Lady Doyle has told me on numerous occasions that he\nnever loses his temper and that his nature is at all times sunshiny\nand sweet. His children are one hundred per cent children in every way\nand it is beautiful to note the affection between the father, mother\nand the children. He is a great reader who absorbs what he reads\nbut he believes what he sees in print _only_ if it is favorable to\nSpiritualism.\n\nThe friendship of Sir Arthur and myself dates back to the time\nwhen I was playing the Brighton Hippodrome, Brighton, England. We\nhad been corresponding and had discussed through the medium of the\nmail, questions regarding Spiritualism. He invited Mrs. Houdini and\nmyself to the Doyle home in Crowborough, England, and in that way an\nacquaintanceship was begun which has continued ever since. Honest\nfriendship is one of life\u2019s most precious treasures and I pride myself\nin thinking that we have held that treasure sacred in every respect.\nDuring all these years we have exchanged clippings which we thought\nmight be of mutual interest and on a number of occasions have had an\nopportunity to discuss them in person. Our degree of friendship may be\njudged best from the following letter of Sir Arthur\u2019s.\n\n \u201c15 Buckingham Palace Mansion,\n S.\u00a0W. 1\n \u201cMarch 8, 1923.\n\n\u201cMy dear Houdini:--\n\n For goodness\u2019 sake take care of those dangerous stunts of\n yours. You have done enough of them. I speak because I have\n just read of the death of the \u201cHuman Fly.\u201d[77] Is it worth it?\n\n \u201cYours very sincerely,\n (Signed) A. CONAN DOYLE.\u201d\n\n\nIt would be difficult to determine just when Sir Arthur and I first\ndiscussed Spiritualism, but from that talk to the present we have\nnever agreed upon it. Our viewpoints differ; we do not believe the\nsame thing. I know that he treats Spiritualism as a religion. He\nbelieves that it is possible and that he can communicate with the dead.\nAccording to his marvellous analytical brain he has had proof positive\nof this. There is no doubt that Sir Arthur is sincere in his belief\nand it is this sincerity which has been one of the fundamentals of\nour friendship. I have respected everything he has said and _I have\nalways been unbiased_, because at no time have I refused to follow\nthe subject with an open mind. I cannot say the same for him for he\nhas refused to discuss the matter in any other voice except that of\nSpiritualism and in all our talks quoted only those who favored it\nin every way, and if one does not follow him sheep-like during his\ninvestigations then he is blotted out forever so far as Sir Arthur\nis concerned. Unfortunately he uses the reasoning, so common among\nSpiritualists, that no matter how often mediums are caught cheating he\nbelieves the only reason for it is that they have overstepped their\nbounds and resorted to trickery in an effort to convince. I wonder if\nsome day Sir Arthur will forget that he is a Spiritualist and argue a\ncase of trickery with the sound logic of an outsider. I firmly believe\nthat if he ever does he will see and acknowledge some of his errors.\nI am ready to believe in Sir Arthur\u2019s teachings if he can convince me\nbeyond the shadow of a doubt that his demonstrations are genuine.\n\nThere is no doubt in my mind, Sir Arthur believes implicitly in the\nmediums with whom he has convened and he knows positively, in his own\nmind, they are all genuine. Even if they are caught cheating he always\nhas some sort of an alibi which excuses the medium and the deed. He\ninsists that the Fox Sisters were genuine, even though both Margaret\nand Katie confessed to fraud and explained how and why they became\nmediums and the methods used by them to produce the raps.\n\n\u201cLike C\u00e6sar\u2019s wife--always above suspicion,\u201d Hope and Mrs. Dean\npass in his category as genuine mediums. He has often told me that\nPalladino[78] and Home some day would be canonized for the great work\nthey did in the interest of Spiritualism, even though they were both\nexposed time and time again. In all gravity he would say to me, \u201cLook\nwhat they did to Joan of Arc.\u201d To Sir Arthur it is a matter of most\nsacred moment. It is his religion, and he would invariably tell me\nwhat a cool observer he was and how hard it would be to fool him, or\nin any way deceive him.[79] He told me that he did not believe any of\n\u201cthe nice old lady mediums\u201d would do anything wrong and it was just as\nunlikely for some old gentleman, innocent as a child unborn, to resort\nto trickery. But there comes to my mind the notorious Mrs. Catherine\nNicol and her two daughters who were continuously getting in and out\nof the law\u2019s net, usually breaking the heads of a few detectives in\nthe process. Among the \u201cnice old lady\u201d mediums might be mentioned a\nprominent medium of Boston who was accused of taking unlawfully from\none of her believers over eight thousand dollars in cash.\n\nAnother case was that of a medium who received $1,000 from a man in\nBaltimore for the privilege of a few minutes\u2019 chat with the Spirit of\nhis dead wife. He later sued her for fraud. Later she was exposed while\ngiving a seance in Paris, but after a few years she appeared in New\nYork City.\n\nAt this time Asst. District Attorney Krotel asked that she be brought\ninto court to answer to a charge of selling California mining stock to\nher followers through the advice of certain disembodied Spirits. The\nstock was found to be worthless.\n\nThere was also a woman, who was arrested and convicted for vagrancy\nin Seattle and numerous other cases, such as that of Katie King of\nPhiladelphia in 1875; however, no matter how many cases I cited, it did\nnot seem to make any impression on Sir Arthur.\n\nI had known for some time that a number of people wanted to draw Doyle\ninto a controversy. When I saw Sir Arthur I told him to be careful\nof his statements and explained a number of pitfalls he could avoid.\nNevertheless, despite my warnings, he would say: \u201cThat\u2019s all right,\nHoudini, don\u2019t worry about me, I am well able to take care of myself.\nThey cannot fool me.\u201d To which I would reply he had no idea of the\nsubtleness of some of the people who were trying to draw his fire.\n\nWhen I called Sir Arthur\u2019s attention to the number of people who have\ngone crazy on the subject because of persistent reading, continuous\nattendance at seances and trying automatic writing, his answer would\nbe: \u201cPeople have been going mad[80] for years, and you will find on\ninvestigation that many go mad on other subjects besides Spiritualism.\u201d\nOn being reminded that most of these people hear voices and see\nvisions, he denied that they were hallucinations, and insisted that he\nhad spoken to different members of his family.[81]\n\nI recall several flagrant instances in which Sir Arthur\u2019s faith has,\nI think, misguided him. One particular time was when he attended a\npublic seance by a lady known as \u201cThe Medium in the Mask.\u201d Among those\npresent at the time was Lady Glenconner, Sir Henry Lunn and Mr. Sidney\nA. Mosley, a special representative of a newspaper.\n\nAccording to reports, the medium wore a veil like a \u201cyashmak.\u201d She\nappeared very nervous. A number of articles, including a ring that\nhad belonged to Sir Arthur\u2019s deceased son, were put in a box, and the\nmedium correctly gave the initials on the ring, although Sir Arthur\nsaid that they could hardly be discerned, even in a good light, they\nwere so worn off.[82]\n\nLater in describing another article, the medium said the words,\n\u201cMurphy\u201d and \u201cbutton\u201d and it was afterwards explained that \u201cMurphy\u2019s\nbutton\u201d was a surgical operation term. She said that the person\ndescribed would die as a result of the operation. Unfortunately, for\nthe medium, no one present knew of such a case and yet, _Sir Arthur\ndescribed this seance as very clever_.[83]\n\nThe \u201cMasked Lady\u201d was sponsored by a theatrical agent and illusionist\nand all proceedings of the seances were brought to light in a suit\nagainst Mr. George Grossman and Mr. Edward Laurillard, theatrical\nproducers, to recover damages for breach of agreement to place a West\nEnd theatre at his disposal.\n\nAccounts of mediums by the name of \u201cThompson\u201d have misled several\npeople. There is a Thompson of New York and a Thomson of Chicago. Sir\nArthur had a seance with the Thompsons of New York and according to\nall the news clippings I have had they claimed to have brought back\nhis mother. In fact it was stated that he asked permission to kiss his\nmother\u2019s hand.\n\nThe Thomsons got into trouble in Chicago and New Orleans also.[84]\nAs a matter of fact I was in Chicago when their trial took place. I\nhad been present at two of their seances. The first was in New York\nat the Morosco Theatre and I had all I could do to keep J. F. Rinns\nfrom breaking up the performance. The second was in Chicago. It was\na special seance given after my performance at the Palace Theatre. I\nwas accompanied by H. H. Windsor, Publisher and Editor of _Popular\nMechanics_; Oliver R. Barrett, a prominent member of the bar; Mr.\nHusband Manning, author; and Leonard Hicks, a well-known hotel\nproprietor. Among others present at the seance were Cyrus McCormick,\nJr., Muriel McCormick, and Mrs. McCormick McClintock. We witnessed a\nnumber of unsatisfactory phenomena and afterwards adjourned to the home\nof Cyrus McCormick and discussed the seance, being unanimously of the\nopinion that it was a glaring fraud just as I had believed the one in\nNew York to be.\n\nAt the Morosco Theatre, New York City, the Thomsons made the broad\nstatement that they had been tested by Stead and Sir Oliver Lodge and\nat a special seance he had come out and publicly endorsed Mrs. Thomson\nas being genuine. The following letter not only disproves this but\nexplains the feeling of an active Spiritualist toward the Thomsons.\n\n \u201cNormanton,\n \u201cLake,\n \u201cSalisbury.\n\n \u201c7th January 1921.\n\n \u201cDear Mr. Houdini:--\n\n \u201cIt is a pleasure to hear from you, and I thank you for asking\n the question about the Thomsons. I have replied to one or two\n other queries of the same kind, but I would be grateful if you\n would make it known that any statement that I have vouched for\n their genuineness, is absolutely false.\n\n \u201cI only saw them once, at a time when they called themselves\n Tomson. It was at Mr. Stead\u2019s house, at his urgent request.\n I considered the performance fraudulent, but the proof was\n not absolutely complete because the concluding search was not\n allowed, and the gathering dispersed in disorder, or at least\n with some heat.\n\n \u201cI felt sorry at this termination, and it is just possible that\n Thomson genuinely thought I was favourably impressed. That is\n the charitable view to take, but it is not the true view, and\n Mr. Stead was annoyed with me because of my skeptical attitude.\n (He has since admitted to me, from the other side, that he was\n wrong and I was right; bringing the subject up spontaneously.\n This latter statement, however, is not evidence.)\n\n \u201cWhat I should like the public to be assured of, is that I was\n _not_ favourably impressed, and never vouched for them in any\n way.\n\n \u201cI am afraid I must assume that Thomson is aware of that, and\n therefore is not acting in good faith, because once in England\n the same sort of statement was made, either at Leicester or at\n Nottingham I think, and I wrote to a paper to contradict it.\n\n \u201cWith all good wishes believe me,\n\n \u201cFaithfully yours,\n (Signed) \u201cOLIVER LODGE.\u201d\n\n\nSir Arthur personally told me that he was convinced of the genuineness\nof the Welsh miners of Cardiff, or Thomas Brothers. Stuart Cumberland\nwho was infinitely my superior in investigation (he had a start of 20\nyears) told me that there wasn\u2019t a chance of the Thomas Brothers being\ngenuine, and related how, owing to the great interest of Sir Arthur\nin them, the _London Daily Express_ eventually induced them to hold a\nseance before a committee of investigators. Cumberland was to have been\none of the committee, but the mediums refused to allow him to be \u201cAmong\nthose present.\u201d As they refused to proceed if Cumberland was admitted,\nit was thought advisable to eliminate him. Before leaving, Cumberland\narranged the musical instruments that were used and instructed the\ninvestigating committee how to detect fraud. The feature of the\nseance was the passing along in the circle, of a button and a pair of\nsuspenders, which were thrown on the knees of a news Editor present.\nI ask the common-sense reader what benefit this would be--to project\na button clear across the room and to find a pair of suspenders on a\nsitter\u2019s knee? If there is any object lesson in this, please let me\nknow!\n\nAt the seance, Lady Doyle was asked whether she was cold, on answering\nin the affirmative a holland jacket which had been worn by the medium\nwas dropped in her lap. The Thomas Brothers claimed this had been done\nby the Spirits. When the seance was over, the medium was found bound\nbut minus his coat.\n\nWhen I quizzed Sir Arthur about the manner in which the Thomas Brothers\nof Cardiff were bound during a seance which he attended, he told me\nthat they were secured so tightly that it was impossible for them to\nmove as they were absolutely helpless. I told him that did not make it\ngenuine, for any number of mediums had been tied the same way and had\nmanaged to free themselves. He replied that I might be able to release\nmyself by natural means, but that mediums do not have to, as they\nalways receive Spiritual help. Maybe so, but I should like, sometime,\nto tie them myself and see whether the Spirits could release them under\ntest conditions.[85]\n\nI reminded Sir Arthur of the Davenport Brothers and called to his\nattention the fact that they were able to release themselves. Sir\nArthur feels very strongly in the matter of the Davenport Brothers and\nalthough I have told him and proven to him that I was a pupil of Ira\nErastus Davenport[86] and that Ira personally told me that they did not\nclaim to be Spiritualists and their performances were not given in the\nname of Spiritualism, Sir Arthur insists that they _were_ Spiritualists\nand has strongly said that if they did their performances under any\nother name, then Ira was \u201cnot only a liar, but a blasphemer as he\nwent around with Mr. Ferguson, a clergyman, and mixed it all up with\nreligion.\u201d\n\nI want to go on record that to the best of my knowledge and belief I\nnever stated that Sir Arthur endorsed the mediumship of the New York\nThompsons. I did say there were full page articles[87] where he was\nillustrated as accepting the genuineness of the materialization of his\nmother. I never claimed that Sir Arthur\u2019s son or brother came through\nthe Thomas mediums in Cardiff. I did state that Sir Arthur said they\nwere genuine and that they, the mediums, were helpless to move because\nhe had tied them and in his judgment if they were tied in my presence\nI would be convinced of their genuineness. I wish to call attention\nto the fact that in a letter written by the late Stuart Cumberland he\nagreed with me that there was not a vestige of truth in the mediumship\nof the Thomas Brothers, and regarding Sir Arthur\u2019s endorsement of the\n\u201cMasked Lady,\u201d I did not say he endorsed her although I should judge\nfrom newspaper[88] accounts he seemed very much impressed.\n\nSir Arthur has rarely given me an opportunity to deny or affirm any\nstatement. In fact one of our sore points of discussion has been the\nmatter of being quoted, or misquoted,[89] in newspapers or periodicals\nand it seems that Sir Arthur always believes everything I have been\nquoted as having said. When I was in Oakland, California, I was\ninterviewed by a Mr. Henderson of the _Oakland Tribune_. I gave him\nsome material to work on, enough for one article from which, to my\nsurprise, he wrote a series of eight articles enlarging and misquoting\nto an \u201cnth\u201d degree. Sir Arthur took exception to a number of statements\nwhich I was supposed to have made and he replied to them caustically\nthrough the press and then sent me the following letter in explanation.\n\n \u201cTHE AMBASSADOR\n \u201cLos Angeles\n\n \u201cMay 23, 1923.\n\n \u201cMy dear Houdini:--\n\n \u201cI have had to handle you a little roughly in the _Oakland\n Tribune_ because they send me a long screed under quotation\n marks, so it is surely accurate. It is so full of errors that\n I don\u2019t know where to begin. I can\u2019t imagine why you say such\n wild things which have no basis in fact at all. I put the\n Thompsons down as humbugs. I never heard of my son or brother\n through the Thomas brothers. They were never exposed. I never\n said that Masked Medium was genuine. I wish you would refer\n to me before publishing such injurious stuff which I have to\n utterly contradict. I would always tell you the exact facts as\n I have done with the Zancigs.\n\n \u201cYours sincerely,\n \u201cA. Conan Doyle.\u201d\n\n \u201cI hate sparring with a friend in public, but what can I do\n when you say things which are not correct, and which I have to\n contradict or else they go by default. It is the same with all\n this ridiculous stuff of Rinn\u2019s. Unless I disprove it, people\n imagine it is true.\n\n \u201cA.\u00a0C.\u00a0D.\u201d\n\n\nAt the written invitation of Sir Arthur and Lady Doyle Mrs. Houdini\nand I visited them while they were stopping at the Ambassador Hotel in\nAtlantic City. One day as Sir Arthur, Mrs. Houdini and I were sitting\non the sand skylarking with the children Sir Arthur excused himself\nsaying that he was going to have his usual afternoon nap. He left us\nbut returned in a short time and said \u201cHoudini, if agreeable, Lady\nDoyle will give you a special seance, as she has a feeling that she\nmight have a message come through. At any rate, she is willing to try,\u201d\nand turning to Mrs. Houdini he said, \u201cwe would like to be alone. You\ndo not mind if we make the experiment without you.\u201d Smilingly, my good\nlittle wife said, \u201cCertainly not, go right ahead, Sir Arthur; I will\nleave Houdini in your charge and I know that he will be willing to go\nto the seance.\u201d Doyle said, \u201cYou understand, Mrs. Houdini, that this\nwill be a test to see whether we can make any Spirit come through for\nHoudini, and conditions may prove better if no other force is present.\u201d\n\nBefore leaving with Sir Arthur, Mrs. Houdini cued me. We did a second\nsight or mental performance years ago and still use a system or code\nwhereby we can speak to each other in the presence of others, even\nthough to all outward appearances we are merely talking, pointing\nor doing the most innocent looking things, but which have different\nmeanings to us.\n\nIn that manner Mrs. Houdini told me that on the night previous she had\ngone into detail with Lady Doyle about the great love I bear for my\nMother. She related to her a number of instances, such as, my returning\nhome from long trips, sometimes as far away as Australia, and spending\nmonths with my Mother and wearing only the clothes that she had given\nme, because I thought it would please her and give her some happiness.\nMy wife also remarked about my habit of laying my head on my Mother\u2019s\nbreast, in order to hear her heart beat. Just little peculiarities that\nmean so much to a mother and son when they love one another as we did.\n\nI walked with Sir Arthur to the Doyles\u2019 suite. Sir Arthur drew down the\nshades so as to exclude the bright light. We three, Lady Doyle, Sir\nArthur and I, sat around the table on which were a number of pencils\nand a writing pad, placing our hands on the surface of the table.\n\nSir Arthur started the seance with a devout prayer. I had made up my\nmind that I would be as religious as it was within my power to be and\nnot at any time did I scoff at the ceremony. I excluded all earthly\nthoughts and gave my whole soul to the seance.\n\nI was _willing_ to believe, even _wanted_ to believe. It was weird to\nme and with a beating heart I waited, hoping that I might feel once\nmore the presence of my beloved Mother. If there ever was a son who\nidolized and worshipped his Mother, whose every thought was for her\nhappiness and comfort, that son was myself. My Mother meant my life,\nher happiness was synonymous with my peace of mind. For that reason,\nif no other, I wanted to give my very deepest attention to what was\ngoing on. It meant to me an easing of all pain that I had in my heart.\nI especially wanted to speak to my Mother, because that day, _June 17_,\n1922, was her birthday.[90] I was determined to embrace Spiritualism\nif there was any evidence strong enough to down the doubts that have\ncrowded my brain for the past thirty years.\n\nPresently, Lady Doyle was \u201cseized by a Spirit.\u201d Her hands shook and\nbeat the table, her voice trembled and she called to the Spirits\nto give her a message. Sir Arthur tried to quiet her, asked her to\nrestrain herself, but her hand thumped on the table, her whole body\nshook and at last, making a cross at the head of the page, started\nwriting. And as she finished each page, Sir Arthur tore the sheet off\nand handed it to me. I sat serene through it all, hoping and wishing\nthat I might feel my mother\u2019s presence. There wasn\u2019t even a semblance\nof it. Everyone who has ever had a worshipping Mother and has lost\nearthly touch, knows the feeling which will come over him at the\nthought of sensing her presence.\n\nThe letter which follows, purported to have come from my Mother, I\ncannot, as much as I desire, accept as having been written or inspired\nby the soul or Spirit of my sweet Mother.\n\n\u201cOh, my darling, thank God, thank God, at last I\u2019m through--I\u2019ve\ntried, oh, so often--now I am happy. Why, of course I want to talk to\nmy boy--my own beloved boy--Friends, thank you, with all my heart for\nthis.\u201d--\n\n\u201cYou have answered the cry of my heart--and of his--God bless him--a\nthousandfold for all his life for me--never had a Mother such a\nson--tell him not to grieve--soon he\u2019ll get all the evidence he is so\nanxious for--Yes we know--tell him I want him to try and write in his\nown home. It will be far better.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will work with him--he is so, so dear to me--I am preparing so sweet\na home for him in which some day in God\u2019s good time he will come to it,\nis one of my great joys preparing for our future.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am so happy in this life--it is so full and joyous--my only shadow\nhas been that my beloved one hasn\u2019t known how often I have been\nwith him all the while, all the while--here away from my heart\u2019s\ndarling--combining my work thus in this life of mine.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is so different over here, so much larger and bigger and more\nbeautiful--so lofty--all sweetness around one--nothing that hurts\nand we see our beloved ones on earth--that is such a joy and comfort\nto us--Tell him I love him more than ever--the years only increase\nit--and his goodness fills my soul with gladness and thankfulness.\nOh, just this, it _is_ me. I want him only to know that--that--I have\nbridged the gulf--that is what I wanted, oh, so much--Now I can rest in\npeace--how soon--\u201d\n\n\u201cI _always_ read my beloved son\u2019s mind--his dear mind--there is so\nmuch I want to say to him--but--I am almost overwhelmed by this joy of\ntalking to him once more--it is almost too much to get through--the\njoy of it--thank you, thank you, friend, with all my heart for what you\nhave done for me this day--God bless you, too, Sir Arthur, for what you\nare doing for us--for us, over here--who so need to get in touch with\nour beloved ones on the earth plane--\u201d\n\n\u201cIf only the world knew this great truth--how different life would\nbe for men and women--Go on let nothing stop you--great will be your\nreward hereafter--Good-by--I brought you, Sir Arthur, and my son\ntogether--I felt you were the only man who might help us to pierce this\nveil--and I was right--Bless him, bless him, bless him, I say, from the\ndepths of my soul--he fills my heart and later we shall be together--Oh\nso happy--a happiness awaits him that he has never dreamed of--tell him\nI am with him--just tell him that I\u2019ll soon make him know how close I\nam all the while--his eyes will soon be opened--Good-by again--God\u2019s\nblessing on you all.\u201d\n\nIn the case of my seance, Sir Arthur believed that due to the great\nexcitement it was a direct connection.\n\nThe more so do I hesitate to believe and accept the above letter\nbecause, although my sainted mother had been in America for almost\nfifty years, she could not speak, read nor write English but\nSpiritualists claim that when a medium is possessed by a Spirit who\ndoes not speak the language, she automatically writes, speaks or sings\nin the language of the deceased; however, Sir Arthur has told me that\na Spirit becomes more educated the longer it is departed and that my\nblessed Mother had been able to master the English language in Heaven.\n\nAfter the purported letter from my Mother had been written and I had\nread it over very carefully, Sir Arthur advised me to follow out the\nadvice, given by my Mother,--to try to write when I reached home.\n\nI picked up a pencil in a haphazard manner and said, \u201cIs there any\nparticular way in which I must hold this pencil when I want to write,\nor does it write automatically?\u201d _I then wrote the name of \u201cPowell\u201d\nentirely of my own volition._ Sir Arthur jumped up excitedly and read\nwhat I had just written. He saw the word \u201cPowell\u201d and said, \u201cThe\nSpirits have directed you in writing the name of my dear fighting\npartner in Spiritualism, Dr. Ellis Powell, who has just died in\nEngland. I am the person he is most likely to signal to, and here is\nhis name coming through your hands. Truly Saul is among the Prophets.\u201d\n\nI must emphatically state that this name was written entirely of my\nown volition and in full consciousness. I had in my mind, my friend\nFrederick Eugene Powell, the American Magician, with whom at the time\nI was having a great deal of correspondence regarding a business\nproposition which has since been consummated. There is not the\nslightest doubt of it having been more than a deliberate mystification\non my part, or let us say a kindlier word regarding my thoughts and\ncall it \u201ccoincidence.\u201d\n\nA few days later Sir Arthur sent me the following letter in reference\nto my explanation of the writing of the name, \u201cPowell.\u201d\n\n \u201cThe Ambassador,\n New York,\n June 20th, 1922.\n\n \u201cMy dear Houdini:--\n\n \u201c... No, the Powell explanation, won\u2019t do. Not only is he the\n one man who would wish to get me, but in the evening, Mrs. M.,\n the lady medium, got, \u201cthere is a man here. He wants to say\n that he is sorry he had to speak so abruptly this afternoon.\u201d\n The message was then broken by your Mother\u2019s renewed message\n and so we got no name. But it confirms me in the belief that\n it was Powell. However, you will no doubt test your powers\n further.\n\n (Signed) \u201cA. Conan Doyle.\u201d\n\n\nI had written an article for the _New York Sun_, October 30, 1922,\nwhich gave my views in reference to Spiritualism and at the same time\nanswered the challenge offered by the General Assembly of Spiritualists\nof New York State. This had been called to the attention of Sir Arthur,\nwho wrote as follows:\n\n \u201cWindlesham,\n Crowborough,\n Sussex.\n\n November 19, 1922.\n\n \u201cMy dear Houdini:--\n\n \u201cThey sent me the _New York Sun_ with your article and no doubt\n wanted me to answer it, but I have no fancy for sparring with a\n friend in public, so I took no notice.\n\n \u201cBut none the less, I felt rather sore about it. You have all\n the right in the world to hold your own opinion, but when you\n say that you have had no evidence of survival, you say what I\n cannot reconcile with what I saw with my own eyes. I know, by\n many examples, the purity of my wife\u2019s mediumship, and I saw\n what you got and what the effect was upon you at the time.\n You know also you yourself at once wrote down, with your own\n hand, the name of Powell, the one man who might be expected to\n communicate with me. Unless you were joking when you said that\n you did not know of this Powell\u2019s death, then surely that was\n evidential, since the idea that out of all your friends you\n had chanced to write the name of one who exactly corresponded,\n would surely be too wonderful a coincidence.\n\n \u201cHowever, I don\u2019t propose to discuss this subject any more with\n you, for I consider that you have had your proofs and that the\n responsibility of accepting or rejecting is with you. As it\n _is_ a very real lasting responsibility. However, I have it at\n last, for I have done my best to give you the truth. I will,\n however, send you my little book, on the fraud perpetrated upon\n Hope, but that will be my last word on the subject. Meanwhile,\n there are lots of other subjects on which we can all meet in\n friendly converse.\n\n \u201cYours very sincerely,\n (Signed) \u201cA. Conan Doyle.\u201d\n\n\nTo which I replied:--\n\n \u201cDecember 15, 1922.\n\n \u201cSir Arthur Conan Doyle,\n Windlesham,\n Crowborough,\n Sussex.\n\n \u201cMy dear Sir Arthur:--\n\n \u201cReceived your letter regarding my article in the _New York\n Sun_. You write that you are very sore. I trust that it is not\n with me, because you, having been truthful and manly all your\n life, naturally must admire the same traits in other human\n beings.\n\n \u201cI know you are honorable and sincere and think I owe you an\n explanation regarding the letter I received through the hands\n of Lady Doyle.\n\n \u201cI was heartily in accord and sympathy at that seance but the\n letter was written entirely in English and my sainted Mother\n could not read, write or speak the English language. I did not\n care to discuss it at the time because of my emotion in trying\n to sense the presence of my Mother, if there was such a thing\n possible, to keep me quiet until time passed, and I could give\n it the proper deduction.\n\n \u201cRegarding my having written the name \u2018Powell.\u2019 Frederick\n Eugene Powell is a very dear friend of mine. He had just\n passed through two serious operations. Furthermore Mrs.\n Powell had a paralytic stroke at that time. I was having some\n business dealings with him which entailed a great deal of\n correspondence; therefore, naturally, his name was uppermost\n in my mind and I cannot make myself believe that my hand was\n guided by your friend. It was just a coincidence.\n\n \u201cI trust my clearing up of the seance, from my point of view\n is satisfactory, and that you do not harbor any ill feelings,\n because I hold both Lady Doyle and yourself in the highest\n esteem. I know you treat this as a religion but personally I\n cannot do so, for up to the present time I have never seen or\n heard anything that could convert me.\n\n \u201cTrusting you will accept my letter in the same honest, good\n faith feeling as it has been written.\n\n \u201cWith best wishes to Lady Doyle, yourself and the family, in\n which Mrs. Houdini joins,\n\n \u201cSincerely yours,\n (Signed) \u201cHoudini.\u201d\n\n\nIn January 1923, the _Scientific American_ issued a challenge of\n$2500. to the first person to produce a psychic photograph under test\nconditions. An additional $2500. was offered to the first person who,\nunder the test conditions, defined, and to the satisfaction of the\njudges named, produced an objective psychic manifestation of physical\ncharacter as defined, and of such sort that permanent instrumental\nrecord may be made of its occurrence.\n\nThe committee named were: Dr. William McDougall, D.Sc., Professor of\nPsychology at Harvard; Daniel Frisk Comstock, Ph.D., former member\nof the Faculty of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Walter\nFranklin Prince, Ph.D., Principal Research Officer for the S. P. R.;\nHereward Carrington, Ph.D., Psychic Investigator; J. Malcolm Bird,\nMember of the Scientific American Staff; and myself.[91]\n\nSir Arthur\u2019s letter is self-explanatory.\n\n \u201cWindlesham,\n Crowborough,\n Sussex.\n \u201cJanuary 1, 1923.\n\n \u201cMy dear Houdini:\n\n \u201c... I see that you are on the Scientific American Committee,\n but how can it be called an Impartial Committee when you\n have committed yourself to such statements as that some\n Spiritualists pass away before they realize how they have\n been deluded, etc? You have every possible right to hold\n such an opinion, but you can\u2019t sit on an Impartial Committee\n afterwards. It becomes biased at once. What I wanted was five\n good clear-headed men who can push to it without any prejudice\n at all, like the Dialectical Society[92] of London, who\n unanimously endorsed the phenomena.\n\n \u201cOnce more all greetings,\n\n (Signed) \u201cA. CONAN DOYLE.\u201d\n\n\nOn May 21, 22 and 24 the _Scientific American_ held their first test\nseances. The permanent sitters were Mr. Walker, Mr. Lescurboura, Mr. J.\nMalcolm Bird of the Editorial staff of the _Scientific American_, Mr.\nOwen of the _Times_, Mr. Granville Lehrmann of the American Telephone\nand Telegraph and Richard I. Worrell, _a friend_ of the medium. Drs.\nCarrington and Prince of the Committee of Judges sat on Monday. Dr.\nPrince and myself on Thursday. On Tuesday the Committee was represented\nby Mr. Frederick Keating, conjuror.\n\nThe medium, a man by the name of George Valentine of Wilkes-Barre,\nPenn., claimed to be genuine. He was trapped by being seated on a chair\nwhich was so arranged that when he arose an electric light arrangement\nwas fixed in the room adjoining, together with dictographs and a\nphosphorous button. In the estimation of the Committee, Mr. Valentine\nwas just a common, ordinary trickster.\n\nLady Doyle, Miss Juliet Karcher, Mrs. Houdini, Sir Arthur and I were\nlunching at the Royal Automobile Club in London, May 11, 1920, and Sir\nArthur called attention to the fact that a few days previously they had\nbeen sitting at the same table with a powerful medium, and he told me\nin a very serious tone, which was corroborated by Lady Doyle, that the\ntable started to move all around the place to the astonishment of the\nwaiter, who was not aware of the close proximity of the medium.\n\nAll the time he was relating it, I watched him closely and saw that\nboth he and Lady Doyle were most sincere and believed what they had\ntold me to be an actual fact.\n\nThere are times when I almost doubt the sincerity of some of Sir\nArthur\u2019s _statements_, even though I do not doubt the sincerity of his\nbelief.\n\nI have been over a number of letters which I have received from Sir\nArthur during the last few years and selected the following excerpts\nwhich show his viewpoint regarding many of the matters we have\ndiscussed.\n\n\u201cI do not wonder that they put you down as an occult. As I read the\naccounts I do not see how you do it. You must be a brave man as well as\nexceptionally dexterous.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow you get out of the diving suits beats me, but the whole thing\nbeats me completely.\u201d\n\n\u201cI spoke of the Davenport Brothers. Your word on the matter knowing, as\nyou do both the man and the possibilities of his art, would be final.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou are to me a perpetual mystery. No doubt you are to everyone.\u201d\n\n\u201cIn a fair light I saw my dead Mother as clearly as I ever saw her\nin life. I am a cool observer and I do not make mistakes. It was\nwonderful--but it taught me nothing I did not know before.\u201d\n\n\u201cOur best remembrances to your wife and yourself. For God\u2019s sake be\ncareful in those fearsome feats of yours. You ought to be able to\nretire now.\u201d\n\n\u201cThese clairvoyants whose names I have given you are passive agents\nin themselves and powerless. If left to themselves they guess and\nmuddle--as they sometimes do, when the true connection is formed,\nall is clear. That connection depends on the forces beyond, which\nare repelled by frivolity or curiosity but act under the impulse of\nsympathy.\u201d\n\n\u201cI see that you know a great deal about the negative side of\nSpiritualism.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf you think of a lost friend before going to a seance and breathe\na prayer that you may be allowed to get in touch you will have a\nchance--otherwise none. It really does depend upon psychic or mental\nvibrations and harmonies.\u201d\n\n\u201cI fear there is much fraud among American mediums where Spiritualism\nseems to have deservedly fallen into disrepute. Even when genuine it is\nused for stock exchange, and other base worldly purposes. No wonder it\nhas sunk low in the very land that was honored by the first Spiritual\nmanifestations of the series.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou certainly have very wonderful powers, whether inborn or acquired.\u201d\n\n\u201cI envy you the privilege of having met Ira Davenport.\u201d\n\n\u201cMost of our great mediums at present are unpaid amateurs, inaccessible\nto any but Spiritualists.\u201d\n\n\u201cSomething _must_ come your way if you really persevere and get it out\nof your mind that you should follow it as a terrier follows a rat.\u201d\n\n\u201cMental harmony does not in the least abrogate common sense.\u201d\n\n\u201cI heard of your remarkable feat in Bristol. My dear chap, why do you\ngo around the world seeking a demonstration of the occult when you are\ngiving one all the time?\u201d\n\n\u201cI _know_ Hope to be a true psychic and will give you my reasons when\nI treat it, but you can give no man a blank check for honesty on every\nparticular occasion, whether there is a temptation to hedge when\npsychic power runs low is a question to be considered. I am for an\nuncompromising honesty--but also for thorough examination based on true\nknowledge.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am amused by your investigation with the Society for Psychical\nResearch. Have they never thought of investigating you?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt was good of you to give those poor invalids a show and you will\nfind yourself in the third sphere alright with your dear wife, world\nwithout end, whatever you may believe.\u201d\n\n\u201cIncredulity seems to me to be a sort of insanity under the\ncircumstances.\u201d This was in reference to some photographs of ectoplasm\nwhich I questioned.\n\n\u201cThis talk of \u2018fake\u2019 is in most cases nonsense and shows our own\nimperfect knowledge of conditions and of the ways of Controls, who\noften take short cuts to their ends, having no regard at all to our\ncritical idea.\u201d\n\n\u201cOur opponents talk of one failure and omit a great series of\nsuccesses. However, truth wins and there is lots of time.\u201d\n\n\u201cI never let a pressman (newspaper man) get away with it with impunity\nif I can help it.\u201d[93]\n\n\u201cOur relations are certainly curious and likely to become more so, for\nas long as you attack what _I know_ from experience to be true I have\nno alternative but to attack you in turn. How long a private friendship\ncan survive such an ordeal I do not know, but at least I did not create\nthe situation.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou have a reputation among Spiritualists of being a bitterly\nprejudiced enemy who would make trouble if it were possible--I know\nthis is not so.\u201d\n\nOn page 150 of Sir Arthur\u2019s book \u201cOur American Adventure\u201d he says:\n\n\u201cHoudini is not one of those shallow men who imagine they can explain\naway Spiritual phenomena as parlor tricks, but he retains an open--and\never, I think, a more receptive--mind toward mysteries which are beyond\nhis art. He understands, I hope, that to get truth in the matter\nyou have not to sit as a Sanhedrim of Judgement, like the Circle of\nConjurors in London, since Spiritual truth does not come as a culprit\nto a bar, but you must submit in a humble spirit to psychic conditions\nand so go forth, making most progress when on your knees.\u201d\n\nSir Arthur has told me time and time again that his whole life is\nbased upon the subject of Spiritualism and that he has sacrificed some\nof the best years of his life to the betterment and spread of the\ncause, which, due to his sincerity, is a beautiful faith.[94] But in\nmy opinion it is no \u201csacrifice\u201d to convince people who have recently\nsuffered a bereavement of the possibility and reality of communicating\nwith their dear ones. To me the poor suffering followers eagerly\nsearching for relief from the heart-pain that follows the passing on of\na dear one are the \u201csacrifice.\u201d\n\nSir Arthur thinks that I have great mediumistic powers and that\nsome of my feats are done with the aid of spirits. Everything I do\nis accomplished by material means, humanly possible, no matter how\nbaffling it is to the layman. He says that I do not enter a seance in\nthe right frame of mind, that I should be more submissive, but in all\nthe seances I have attended I have never had a feeling of antagonism.\nI have no desire to discredit Spiritualism; I have no warfare with\nSir Arthur; I have no fight with the Spiritists; but I do believe it\nis my duty, for the betterment of humanity, to place frankly before\nthe public the results of my long investigation of Spiritualism.\nI am willing to be convinced; my mind is open, but the proof must\nbe such as to leave no vestige of doubt that what is claimed to be\ndone is accomplished only through or by supernatural power. So far I\nhave never on any occasion, in all the seances I have attended, seen\nanything which would lead me to credit a mediumistic performance with\nsupernatural aid, nor have I ever seen anything which has convinced me\nthat it is possible to communicate with those who have passed out of\nthis life. Therefore I do not agree with Sir Arthur.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER X\n\nWHY ECTOPLASM?\n\n\nYears have passed since my first meeting with the Hon. Everard\nFeilding! Many times during those years I have discussed Spiritualism\nwith him and no one has ever been more interested than he in the\nresults of my investigations and study of it and it was through his\nhelp that I was able to investigate personally the famous Eva Carriere,\nbetter known perhaps as Mlle. Eva.\n\nOne evening in the spring of 1920 during a quiet dinner at his\nhome in London the conversation drifted toward Ectoplasm. I told\nMr. and Mrs.[95] Feilding about attending a Sunday meeting of the\nLondon Psychical College through the courtesy of Hewat McKenzie. At\nthis meeting Mme. Bisson and Mlle. Eva were introduced by Fornieur\nd\u2019Albe and Mme. Bisson while delivering an impromptu talk seized the\nopportunity to resent the attack of a French magician and to explain in\nunmistakable tones her antagonism toward prestidigitators.\n\nMr. Feilding assured me I was correct about her antipathy towards\nmagicians and suggested that the only way I could ever hope to attend\none of her seances was to convince the medium that I was not one of the\nbiased prestidigitator class, and proposed as a means to attain this\nend a theatre party to see my performance and thus enable Mme. Bisson\nand Mlle. Eva to judge for themselves. This was arranged and the night\nthey came to the theatre to see me I did the Torture Cell Mystery, in\nwhich I am completely submerged, head foremost, in a tank of water,\nand it is a physical impossibility to obtain air while locked in the\ndevice. They were so much mystified that they expressed a desire to\nattend another performance of mine sometime in the near future. I had\njust accepted a challenge to escape from a packing case which was to be\nbuilt on the stage by experienced carpenters and thinking that it would\nbe an interesting performance for Mme. Bisson to witness I extended her\nan invitation and received the following letter in reply.\n\n \u201cMay 19, 1920.\n\n \u201cDear Mr. Houdini:\n\n \u201cWe, Mlle. Eva and I, shall be charmed to see you at the\n performance of which you have spoken to me, on next Wednesday.\n Since you have had the great kindness to offer us several\n tickets, it gives me great pleasure to accept, and if you wish,\n you may send us four, as we expect to join in the applause with\n Mr. and Mrs. Feilding.\n\n \u201cI also wish to tell you something else!\n\n \u201cYou know that we give seances here, showing the phenomena\n of materialization. These are not spirit studies. They are\n scientific.\n\n \u201cIt would interest Mr. Feilding and ourselves to have at\n our seances a master in the art of prestidigitation, but\n I have always refused to admit to my house, an ordinary\n prestidigitator, or even one of better rank. Our work is\n serious and real, and the gift of Mlle. Eva might disappear\n forever, if some awkward individual insists on thinking there\n is fraud involved, instead of real and interesting facts, which\n especially interest the scientific.\n\n \u201cFor you this does not hold! You are above all this. You are a\n magnificent actor, who can not call himself a prestidigitator,\n a title beneath a man of your talent.\n\n \u201cI shall therefore, (rather we shall) be proud to see you\n attend our seances and hear you tell us all, after you have\n been thoroughly convinced yourself, that their merit is far\n beneath your own, for these manifestations depend merely upon\n allowing the forces of nature to act, and lie simply in truth\n of fact. Whereas with you, it is your merit, your talent, and\n your personal valor that have enabled you to attain the place\n of King in your art.\n\n \u201cWith kind and esteemed regards to Mme. Houdini and yourself,\n\n (Signed) Juliette Bisson.\u201d\n (Translated.)\n\n\nWhen I showed this letter to Mr. Feilding he was both surprised and\npleased for it gave him an opportunity to invite me to become one of\nthe Committee which was to investigate Mme. Bisson and Mlle. Eva\u2019s\nseances to be held by the Society for Psychical Research, and so at the\ncombined invitations of the mediums and Mr. Feilding I attended eight.\nEach of them lasted three hours and I firmly believe that a description\nof them and their results is important.\n\nAt these seances my word was pledged to give full and sacred thoughts\nand I tried to control my thoughts so that my whole attention could\nbe given to the medium. There was no scoffing and there was the will\nto believe. I felt that if anything was manifested by the Spirits my\nconscience would be clear. However, I sat with my eyes open, taking\nin even the most minute details and keeping on my guard against any\ntrickery. A number of times I occupied a \u201ccontrol\u201d chair at the\nmedium\u2019s left with her left limb between mine and both of my hands\nholding her left hand and wrist, while Eric Dingwall had the Committee\nseat on her right. Eva was accompanied at all of the seances by Mme.\nBisson and the method of procedure was always the same. After Eva had\nbeen stripped and searched[96] in an adjoining room by the lady members\nof the Committee, she returned dressed in tights and Mme. Bisson would\nthen put her into a mesmeric sleep. There is no doubt in my mind\nthat the girl was really put to sleep. We were requested to all join\nin asking her in unison for about fifteen minutes at each crisis to\n\u201cgive\u201d--\u201cdonnez\u201d--then, after about three hours, she would bring forth\nthis alleged ectoplasm.\n\nAt one of the seances the Hon. Feilding did insist on Eva\u2019s eating\ncrackers and drinking coffee, so that if she had anything concealed in\nher stomach, which she might by regurgitation expel, the coffee would\ndiscolor it.\n\nThe seance of June 22, 1920, was held at 20 Hanover Square, London.\nMme. Bisson and Eva retired to another room and Eric Dingwall sewed\na black lace veil to the tights which Eva wore. This veil completely\nenshrouded her and looked like a sort of bag or net. The object of this\nwas to prevent her from placing anything in her mouth or get anything\nfrom her tights to the neck--in fact, it was a double security against\nfraud. We sat and waited and finally she expelled from her mouth a\ngreat deal of foam.\n\nFeilding and Baggley stated that it looked as though it had come from\nher nose. I saw distinctly that it was a heavy froth and was adhering\nto her veil on the inside. Dingwall, who sat next to the medium, agreed\nwith me it had emanated from her mouth, but when she leaned forward\nit looked as though it was coming from her nose. She produced a white\nplaster and eventually managed to juggle it over her eye. There was a\nface in it which looked to me like a colored cartoon and seemed to\nhave been unrolled.\n\nThe last thing she produced that evening was a substance which she said\nshe felt in her mouth and asked permission to use her hands to show.\nThis was granted and she took a load from her mouth behind the veil\nwhich was wet and looked soaked. It appeared to be inflated rubber.\nNo one saw a face painted on it. Presently it seemed to disappear.\nThey all said it \u201cvanished suddenly,\u201d but my years of experience\nin presenting the Hindoo needle trick[97] convinced me that she\n\u201csleight-of-handed\u201d it into her mouth while pretending to have it\nbetween her fingers. I know positively that the move she made is almost\nidentical with the manner in which I manipulate my experiment. Dingwall\nwas very confident and told Mme. Bisson that he was _nearly_ satisfied\nwith Eva\u2019s experiments. She showed her peevishness to Feilding so\nplainly that I could scarcely conceal my smiles.\n\nIn the course of conversation after the seance, Mme. Bisson told the\nCommittee that at one time Eva had materialized on the top of her knees\nthe head of an American soldier with a heavy mustache and blue eyes.\nIt caused some merriment when Dingwall asked her how she could tell\nthe color of a man\u2019s eyes in the dark. Mme. Bisson, perplexed and in\ngrieved tones, asked whether they were suspicious or simply did not\nbelieve her. They tried hard to pacify her but to no avail.\n\n[Illustration: MME. BISSON, MRS. FEILDING (TOMCHICK), AND MLLE. EVA]\n\nAt the seance of June 24th, held in the same place, I arrived somewhat\nlate but the Committee allowed me to come in. That evening I felt that\nthere was something wrong in the air and after the lapse of two hours\nMme. Bisson told us that she was in grief and greatly disheartened\nbecause there was so much suspicion aimed at her. She was especially\npeeved at Dingwall, who had told her that he was only \u201calmost\u201d\nconvinced. At no time was I antagonistic but, on the contrary, willing\nto help along.\n\nPresently Feilding in a rather jovial mood left the room for a breath\nof fresh air. When he came back he was very serious and asked that\nthey continue. Mme. Bisson thought he was trying to tease her and\nbecame very angry. She was wrong, in my opinion, but they argued and\nexpostulated for half an hour and then the seance broke up. During the\nargument Eva, who was in a cabinet in a \u201ctrance state,\u201d spoke out as\nthough she had not been in a trance. I afterwards asked Mr. Feilding\nif this was not suspicious, but he told me that it was possible for\na human being while in a trance or hypnotic state to carry on a\nconversation consciously. When Mme. Bisson left us Mr. Feilding told\nme that he was very sorry about the unpleasantness and would make all\npossible amends to her.\n\nAfter a number of sittings with Eva during which nothing startling\noccurred I made up my mind to be lenient with the medium and help her,\nso I held her hands for some time and gradually withdrew both of mine,\ngiving her all the leeway she needed in case there was any desire on\nher part to use the hand which I was supposed to be holding, but she\nmade no move whatever.\n\nI was not in any way convinced by the demonstrations witnessed. I\nbelieve that Eva\u2019s feats are accomplished by regurgitation. If not,\nthe work she is reputed to do is an \u201cinside job.\u201d[98] I regret that I\ndo not believe Mme. Bisson entitled to a clean bill of health. During\nthe seances which I attended she kept up a quasi hypnotic work full of\ngestures and suggestions as to what could be seen, putting into the\nminds of those present \u201cshadowy forms and faces.\u201d In my estimation she\nis a subtle and gifted assistant to Eva whom I do not believe to be\nhonest. On the contrary, I have no hesitation in saying that I think\nthe two simply took advantage of the credulity and good nature of the\nvarious men with whom they had to deal.\n\nIn this conclusion I am not alone, for in reviewing the Villa Carmine\nseances of Mlle. Eva, Mr. Heuze states in the _London Telegraph_ of\nSeptember 4th, 1922:\n\n\u201cThe whiteness supposed to have come from the \u2018world beyond\u2019 was\nnothing but a Communicant\u2019s veil rolled up in the medium\u2019s pocket.\u201d\n\nHe also quotes Mlle. Eva as saying:\n\n\u201cMonsieur, I never made any confession.\u201d\n\n\u201cIn that case,\u201d he comments, \u201call I can say is that M. Carborrnel, M.\nCoulom, Ma\u00eetre Marsault, Ma\u00eetre Jourman, Dr. Demis, Mlle. Mare, M.\nVerdier, Cochet M. Portal, Mme. Portal and others must have all lied in\na body to persecute Mlle. Eva.\u201d\n\nAlso the Sorbonne scientists at Paris, according to a report in the\n_New York Times_, stated officially that during fifteen seances with\nMlle. Eva there was nothing beyond the simple act of regurgitation.\nIn two instances there was no ectoplasm seen at any time in spite of\nthe fact that Mme. Bisson suggested that two little discs produced\nby Mlle. Eva were assuming forms and faces. None of the professors,\nhowever, were able to see anything of the kind, but on the contrary\ndeclared that:\n\n\u201cThe substance was absolutely inert, only moving as movement was\ngiven it by the medium\u2019s mouth. The substance having been reabsorbed\nthe medium seemed to be chewing for some seconds and then apparently\nswallowed it.\u201d[99]\n\nW. J. Crawford, Doctor of Science, and a lecturer on Mechanical\nEngineering, of Belfast, Ireland, became very much interested in a\nfamily of mediums consisting of a father, four daughters, a son, and\na son-in-law and known as the Goligher Circle. Of the seven, the most\nsuccessful was Miss Kathleen Goligher.[100]\n\nWhile at Mr. Feilding\u2019s home in London I had the pleasure of meeting\nthis Dr. Crawford and talking with him for several hours. During the\ntalk he showed me pictures of what he claimed was ectoplasm exuding\nfrom different parts of Kathleen Goligher\u2019s body and told me he was\ngoing to use them in a forthcoming book.\n\n\u201cDo you honestly believe that everything you have experienced through\nyour contact and experiments with the girl is absolutely genuine?\u201d I\nasked him.\n\n\u201cI am positive in my belief,\u201d he answered.\n\nAfter he had gone Mr. Feilding turned to me and asked:\n\n\u201cWhat do you think of Dr. Crawford?\u201d\n\n\u201cHe seems mad to me,\u201d I answered.\n\n\u201cHoudini, you are mistaken,\u201d he replied.\n\nNevertheless I do not think that Dr. Crawford was the right man or had\nthe right sort of a mind for an investigation. To me his credulity\nseemed limitless. E. E. Fournier d\u2019Albe\u2019s report of Dr. Crawford\u2019s\nseance with the Goligher Circle coincides with my judgment. In a\ncommunication addressed to \u201cLight\u201d in August, 1922, d\u2019Albe referring to\nhis own tenth seance says:\n\n\u201cI found to my surprise that I could myself with some little\nmanagement, produce the phenomena with my feet exactly as I had\nobserved them.\u201d\n\nDr. Von Schrenk-Notzing[101] charged d\u2019Albe with entering his\ninvestigation with \u201cprejudice against the genuineness of the Goligher\nphenomena.\u201d This d\u2019Albe denied, saying:\n\n \u201cI had gone to Belfast fresh from Eva C\u2019s seance with a strong\n conviction of reality and with firm faith in Dr. Crawford\u2019s\n reliability and accuracy. I expected a gifted medium surrounded\n by her honest folks, but then came the blows: first, the\n contact photographs, then the evidences of trickery. The sight\n of the \u2018medium\u2019 raising a stool with her foot, filled me with\n bitter disappointment. _The simple, honest folks all turned out\n to be an alert, secretive, troublesome group of well-organized\n performers._\u201d\n\n\nHere is the experience of a man, who, with a mind _prejudiced in\nfavor_, entered upon a series of tests expecting full confirmation of\nimpressions already gotten from his experiences with Eva C., but though\nready to believe, not biased against the conclusions or rational\ndeduction. His summary, though brief, is worthy of note:\n\n \u201cThe Goligher Circle has repeatedly been urged, by myself\n and others, to submit to further investigations by a fresh\n investigator, but so far without success. If it does consent, I\n can predict two things with confidence:\n\n I. No genuine psychic phenomena will be observed.\n\n II. No evidence of fraud will be obtained, as the members of\n the Circle are exceedingly wary, and the evidence of trickery\n which I obtained was gathered under conditions which they had\n not foreseen, but which they will doubtless avoid in the future.\n\n \u201cI also feel safe in predicting that if Miss Goligher\u2019s feet\n and hands are controlled, _and the cooperation of the other\n sitters eliminated_, there will be no levitation of any kind.\n\n (Signed) E.\u00a0E. Fournier d\u2019Albe.\n 21 Gower Street,\n W.C.1\n\n\nPoor Dr. Crawford! He committed suicide in Belfast in 1920 and left a\nnote saying that his research into Spiritualism had nothing to do with\nhis self-murder. I am very sorry indeed that this sincere investigator\nbecame his own judge because what he had written had been done in good\nfaith.\n\nA short time after Dr. Crawford\u2019s death his literary executor requested\nDr. d\u2019Albe, early in 1921, to undertake a further series of researches\nwith the same medium and circle in order, if possible, to obtain an\nindependent confirmation of his results and theories and to collect\nmore data concerning the nature of these manifestations. d\u2019Albe tells\nin his book how he caught Katie Goligher manipulating and how he saw\nagainst the dim, red background of the wall the stool held by Katie\u2019s\nfoot and a portion of her leg. In some of these manipulations the\npeople around the table assisted.\n\nWhen he left Belfast he wrote a very nice letter in which he intimated\nthat the result of his three months\u2019 experience with the Goligher\nCircle did not furnish any definite proofs of the psychic origin of the\nnumerous phenomena witnessed by him, and as they were of no scientific\nvalue he had decided to have no more sittings. It was suggested that\nKatie Goligher give twelve more sittings under test conditions, but she\nrefused on the ground that her health would not permit her to entertain\nsuch a proposal for at least a year.\n\nI sat with d\u2019Albe at one of Mlle. Eva\u2019s seances. I liked his methods\nand believe him to be a sincere investigator. I have the following note\nfrom him in answer to a letter of mine.\n\n Kingston-on-Thames.\n October 10, 1922.\n\n \u201cDear Houdini:\n\n \u201cYours of the 26th ult. just received. Yes, the Goligher legend\n has lost its glamour. I must say I was greatly surprised at\n Crawford\u2019s blindness....\n\n \u201cSincerely yours,\n \u201cd\u2019Albe.\u201d\n\n\nIn 1920, Capt. C. Marsh Beadnell, of London, published a pamphlet in\nwhich he offered twenty pounds if Dr. Crawford\u2019s mediums would produce\na single levitation under conditions which would preclude trickery. I\nam certain that any magician with a circle of six of his own choosing\nand with only one observer of the Crawford type could, under the same\nconditions, produce effects much more startling than any of those\nrecounted by the trustful doctor.\n\nThe book to which Dr. Crawford referred when he showed me the\nphotographs he intended to use in it has, since his death, been\npublished by David Gow, Editor of the Spiritualistic paper _Light_. In\na prefatory note he writes:\n\n\u201cI could say much about the present book with its remarkable\nelucidation of many problems connected with the psychical phenomena of\nSpiritualism, but I content myself with a reference to such experiments\nas those with the soft clay and the methylene blue, which finally clear\naway certain suspicions which have always attached to psychical mediums\nin connection with materialization phenomena amongst uninstructed\ninvestigators. This is not the least valuable part of a valuable book.\u201d\n\nThe above statement raises the question of what bearing any of these\nexperiments, supposing every detail claimed were a fact, has on a\nfuture state. What possible information could impressions in clay, or\nstockings soiled by dye, furnish concerning the future state of a soul?\n\nEjner Nielson, of Copenhagen, was sponsored by Dr. Oscar Jaeger,\nProfessor of Economics at the University of Christiania, Norway, and\nPresident of the Norwegian Society for Psychical Research. Professor\nJaeger was invited by the Editor of the _Politikon_, at Copenhagen,\nto hold a seance with Neilson. He accepted and it took place in\nJanuary, 1922, before a specially selected committee[102] appointed\nby the president of the Norwegian University, Professor Frederick\nStange. A few weeks later the committee reported that Nielson had\nnot been capable of producing any so-called teleplasma or phenomena\nof materialization. Subsequently the Society for Psychical Research\nreported that teleplasma had been \u201cartificially brought into the body\nof the medium.\u201d\n\nPaul Heuze, writing of the Polish medium, in the _London Daily\nTelegraph_ of September 18, 1922, says:\n\n\u201cS. D. Stamislaski arrived in Paris on April 7th. On the 10th he had an\ninterview at the Sorbonne with Professor Pi\u00e9ron and on the 11th I went,\nat his request, to take part in the initial seance which was held in a\nbedroom of his hotel. This was, of course, merely a preparatory seance.\nMy impression was not at all favorable.\u201d\n\nIn speaking of the subsequent seances of this medium he declares:\n\n\u201cThe whole thing may be summed up in a single sentence; the result\nwas pitiable. Suffice it to say that in spite of inadequate control,\nnot only did I never see any of the luminous phenomena of the first\nseances but that hardly anything took place at all and when it did it\nwas merely one of those clumsy pieces of deception that are practiced\nin the most ordinary Spiritualistic seances:--Articles moved, thrown\nforward, touchings, slaps, books dropped on the head, etc. The whole\nthing carried out in such a manner that there could not be the\nslightest doubt as to the gross trickery with which it was performed.\u201d\n\nI have personally attended seances held by two of the ectoplasmic\nmediums, Mlle. Eva and Mrs. Thompson, and I have no doubt that it\nis only a question of time when all such mediums, as well as these\ntwo, including Stamislawa, P. Frank Kluski, S. G. Stamislaski, Jean\nGuzek,[103] Kathleen Goligher, Ejner Nielson, Frau Siebert and Willy\nSch, will be authentically classified as questionable.\n\nBear in mind, I am not a skeptic. It is my will to believe and\nif convincing evidence is brought forward I will be the first to\nacknowledge my mistake, but up to the present day nothing has crossed\nmy path to make me think that the Great Almighty will allow emanations\nfrom a human body of such horrible, revolting, viscous substances as\nBaron Von Schrenk Notzing claims, hideous shapes, which, like \u201cgenii\nfrom the bronze bottle,\u201d ring bells, move handkerchiefs, wobble tables,\nand do other \u201cflap-doodle\u201d stunts.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XI\n\nBY-PRODUCTS OF SPIRITUALISM\n\n\nIt has come to my attention in talking to numbers of laymen that\nthe general public thinks of Spiritualism only in terms of mediums\nand seances and that the average man does not seem to realize the\nsuffering, losses, misfortunes, crimes and atrocities of which it\nis the underlying cause and must bear the primary responsibility.\nDuring the more than thirty years in which I have been investigating\nSpiritualism I have industriously collected all possible data on the\nsubject and in the thousands of clippings, dating from 1854 to the\npresent time, which are filed away in my library, there are hundreds\nwhich tell of crimes attributable to Spiritualism. In my great\ncollection of books there are many by world-renowned writers, men of\nscience, physicians, and philosophers, each dealing with the curse of\nSpiritualism. It touches every phase of human affairs and emotions,\nleaving in its wake a crowd of victims whose plight is frequently\npathetic, sometimes ludicrous, oftener miserable and unfortunate, and\nwho are always deluded. It is to these effects of Spiritualism which\nare seldom considered that I wish to call the reader\u2019s attention in\nthis chapter.\n\nThe _New York Herald_ on June 16, 1923, told under a Syracuse date line\nthe following incident:\n\n\u201cWilliam H. Burr of Rochester, speaking to-day at the business session\nof the New York State Assembly of Spiritualists, of which he is\nPresident, said he could prove scientifically and conclusively the\nfact of communication with the Spirit world. Mr. Burr appealed for the\nabolition of capital punishment. He explained that he had communicated\nwith Spirits from the bodies of murderers and realized their\nsufferings, as those skeptical of psychic communication never can.\u201d\n\nThe _New York Evening World_ of March 8, 1922, reports that:\n\n\u201cThurs Bergen Vigelius, a student in chemistry, of Brooklyn, N. Y.,\nwith faith that a Spiritual \u2018glimpse\u2019 of the hereafter and power to\nwrite a book thereof would be a distinct contribution to science and\nliterature if he could \u2018project himself into a comatose condition\nsimulating death,\u2019 drugged himself frequently into experimental sleep,\nbut on his last experiment his consciousness not only deserted him, but\nbreath and life accompanied it. He was regarded as an exceptionally\nbright student with every prospect of a promising career, had he not\nbeen susceptible to a fallacious belief.\u201d\n\nOne of the saddest cases of modern times is that of the young Barnard\nCollege student, Miss Marie Bloomfield, who declared herself in love\nwith a Spirit and finally was driven to suicide in order to join him.\nThe young lady had been an ardent student of Spiritualism and very\nactive in its cause. All the newspapers of February 9, 1923, carried an\naccount of her death, which attracted so much attention that a law was\nproposed in the New York Assembly to prevent seances but it failed of\nbeing passed.\n\nThe _Washington Times_ (D. C.) of January 14, 1923, tells of an Earl L.\nClark who secured a divorce on the grounds that his wife claimed that\nshe had a \u201cSpirit affinity\u201d named Alfred and that this Alfred through\nClark\u2019s wife made his life unbearable, even predicting his death so\nthat she might marry some man who would \u201caccept Alfred\u2019s Spiritual\nguidance.\u201d\n\nAccording to an account in the _New York World_, John Slater, chief\nmedium of the National Spiritualists Association, claims that there\nwere over five hundred Spiritualists who served with the American\nExpeditionary Force, none of which were wounded or afflicted with\n\u201ccooties.\u201d The freedom from wounds he attributed to the influence of\nSpirits.\n\nThe _New York Times_ on April 27, 1922, told of a John Cornyn, in San\nFrancisco, who shot and killed two of his boys, one seven and the other\neight, because, according to the police, he had been in \u201ccommunication\u201d\nwith his wife who had been dead a year and she \u201chad asked him to send\nall of their five children to her.\u201d\n\nThe following story in the _New York Times_ of April 22, 1887, comes\nfrom Philadelphia:\n\n\u201cThe jury in the case of Mrs. Sarah Patterson, an alleged medium,\ncharged by the County Medical Society with practising medicine and\nsurgery without being registered as a physician, this afternoon\nreturned a verdict of guilty. The defence set up by the defendant\u2019s\ncounsel was that Mrs. Patterson was a medium and under the control\nof Spirits, and was not therefore responsible for what she did in a\ntrance. The defendant\u2019s counsel are both Spiritualists and the case has\nattracted considerable interest, the court room being crowded since the\ntrial began.\u201d\n\nThese are the sort of things for which Spiritualism is responsible that\nare being told of in the papers frequently. To these few examples I\ncould add hundreds from my files and they are constantly growing.\n\nA hoax which usually creates a sensation, but which is apt, ultimately,\nto have a decidedly bad effect on believers\u2019 nerves, consists in\nallowing some person to touch or even fondle a materialized Spirit.\nOne such demonstration occurred in a Southern city, where there lived\na medium known as Mrs. M----. Her seances were always well attended\nand largely made up of the elite of the town. On one particular night\na Spirit came forth and called for Andrew, saying in the most austere\ntones:\n\n\u201cI am the Spirit of \u2018Josie\u2019 and I want to see my beloved whom I left\ntwenty years ago. I know that he is present and that he wants to hear\nfrom me, and more important, I know he still loves me, for in those\ntwenty years he has never married.\u201d\n\nWith trembling knees and shaking hands the man climbed to the stage\nand in the midst of sobs recognized and embraced his sweetheart. It\nwas a very touching and pathetic scene and the believers were greatly\naffected, and at some one\u2019s suggestion an ex-minister and editor of a\nSpiritualistic magazine, who was present, married the Spirit bride to\nthe live groom. It was a sensational proof of mediumship and Mrs. M----\nwas headlined in all the local papers. Unfortunately, however, for the\ncause of Spiritualism, my old friend, Professor Harry Cook, happened to\nbe in the neighborhood and on hearing about it hired a hall, challenged\nthe medium to a test, and with a lady assistant performed and exposed\nthe miracle.\n\nI recall another instance where one of my friends was investigating a\nmaterialization seance. It was claimed that the Spirit of his deceased\nwife was manifesting and he asked permission to kiss her. This was\ngraciously granted and he told me later that she must have forgotten to\nshave for she had a stubble beard. Incidentally I might add that while\nhe attended the seance his real wife waited for him at a nearby theatre.\n\nSuch an eminent scientist as Sir William Crookes evidently fell for\nthe materialization hoax, judging from what he tells us about his\nexperience at a seance where Florence Cook was the medium and Katie\nKing the phantom. I will quote the story in his own words as he tells\nit in his book \u201cResearches in Spiritualism.\u201d\n\n\u201cSeveral times she took my arm and the impression I received that it\nwas a living woman at my side and not a visitor from the other world\nwas so strong that the temptation to repeat a recent and curious\nexperiment became almost irresistible.\n\n\u201cRealizing then that if it were not a Spirit beside me it was in any\ncase a lady, I asked her permission to take her in my arms in order\nto verify the interesting observation that a bold experimenter had\nrecently made known. This permission was graciously given, and I took\nadvantage of it respectfully, as any gentleman would have done in the\nsame circumstances. The \u2018ghost,\u2019 which made no resistance, was a being\nas material as Miss Cook herself.\n\n\u201cKatie then declared that on this occasion she felt able to show\nherself at the same time as Miss Cook. I lowered the gas and with my\nphosphorus lamp entered the room which served as a cabinet. It was\ndark and I groped for Miss Cook, finding her crouched upon the floor.\nKneeling down, I let the air enter my lamp and by its light saw the\nyoung woman dressed in black velvet, as she had been at the beginning\nof the seance, and appearing completely insensible.\n\n\u201cShe did not stir when I took her hand and held the lamp near her\nface, but she continued to breathe quietly. Raising my lamp, I looked\naround me and saw Katie, who was standing close behind Miss Cook. She\nwas clad in flowing white drapery, as we had already seen her in the\nseance. Holding one of Miss Cook\u2019s hands in mine, and still kneeling,\nI raised and lowered the lamp, as much to illuminate the whole figure\nof Katie as to convince myself fully that I really saw the true Katie,\nwhom I had held in my arms a few moments ago, and not the phantom of a\ndisordered brain.\n\n\u201cShe did not speak but nodded her head in recognition. Three different\ntimes I carefully examined Miss Cook, crouching before me, to assure\nmyself that the hand I held was indeed that of a living woman, and\nthrice turned my lamp toward Katie to scrutinize her with sustained\nattention, until I had not the slightest doubt that she was really\nthere before me.\u201d\n\nAnother instance of this sort is told of by Florence Marryat in her\nbook \u201cThere Is No Death.\u201d\n\n\u201cI opened the curtains of the cabinet and there stood John Powles\nhimself, stalwart and living. He stepped up brusquely and took me in\nhis arms and kissed me, four or five times, as a long departed brother\nmight have done; and strange to say, I did not feel the least surprised\nat it, but clung to him like a sister. John Powles had never once\nkissed me during his life time. Although we had lived for four years in\nthe closest intimacy, often under the same roof, we had never indulged\nin any familiarity.\u201d\n\nUnfortunately mere deception is not the only or the worst evil in these\nSpiritualistic materializations. Frequently they are made the means of\naccomplishing criminal designs. There came to my attention a case of a\nvery peculiar nature in which a widow was robbed of a large fortune. It\nappears that there was a wealthy old widower, a devoted Spiritualist,\nwho was easily influenced by certain mediums. These same mediums also\nhad among their clients a rather weak-minded widow. At a seance they\ngot the old man to propose marriage to this widow who, in turn, was\nbeing advised through them by the Spirit of her husband to marry the\nold man. The old man did not live very long after the wedding and on\nhis death bed promised the woman that he would come back to aid her and\ngive her financial advice. He had previously made a will giving her\nabsolute control of his estate.\n\nThe body was taken to an undertaking establishment to be cared for\nuntil the funeral and on the day before the service the widow attended\na seance at which her husband told her:\n\n\u201cYou go to my coffin to-morrow morning before the ceremony and I will\nspeak to you, giving you my final instructions from my mortal body.\u201d\n\nThe next morning, accompanied by a nurse, the woman went to the\nundertaker\u2019s and was taken to the room where the body lay in its\ncasket. She spoke and to her astonishment the corpse opened its eyes\nand said:\n\n\u201cI want you to give half of the fortune I willed you to B---- and\nM----, the mediums. They have helped me for years and I would like to\nshow them my appreciation. Farewell, I will speak to you at seances but\nnever again from the body.\u201d\n\nThe astounded widow threw herself on the body crying:\n\n\u201cI promise! I will! I promise!\u201d\n\n\u201cPromise?\u201d asked the corpse.\n\n\u201cI promise faithfully,\u201d she replied.\n\nTrue to her word, the widow divided the fortune with the mediums, who\nare now in foreign countries living a peaceful life unless troubled by\ntheir consciences.\n\nThe deception was worked as follows: the mediums, taking advantage of\nthe undertaker\u2019s weakness, kept him intoxicated and were thus free to\ndo whatever they cared to around his establishment. The casket was\narranged with a false bottom which ran in and out on ball bearings\nand one end was made to open. Just before the widow\u2019s visit to the\nundertaking establishment this false bottom with the old man\u2019s body was\nrun out of the casket and hidden in an adjoining room and one of the\nmediums, made up to represent the dead man, was placed in the casket.\nAs soon as the act was over the corpse was put back in its proper place.\n\nThis is not the only instance of this sort by any means. I have known\nof two other instances in which corpses have been used for purposes\nof fraud. In one a man was dying. A lawyer was sent for and the nurse\ngotten out of the way on some plausible excuse. After the man died,\nbut before the lawyer arrived, his body was hidden under the bed. One\nof the gang took his place in the bed and dictated a will with gasping\nbreath and afterwards made his mark in the presence of a perfectly\nhonest attorney and witness. Before the nurse got back the corpse had\nbeen placed in the bed and there was nothing to show that a fraud had\nbeen committed.\n\nTo show that such things are possible and that exchanging bodies in a\ncoffin can be accomplished, I want to call attention to the coffin act\nwhich I did for the Boston Athletic Association. A solid oak coffin\nwas furnished by the National Casket Company and delivered to the\nAssociation. Six-inch screws were used to fasten down the lid but I\nmanaged to escape nevertheless, leaving no traces.\n\nIt is not generally known that Charles J. Guiteau, the assassin of\nPresident Garfield, was a pronounced Spiritualist. He claimed that he\nwas inspired by the Spirits four times. Once in connection with his\nentering the Oneida community. Once preceding his attempt to establish\na newspaper called \u201cThe Theocrat.\u201d Again when writing his book \u201cThe\nTruth a Companion to the Bible,\u201d and still again when he was inspired\nto kill the President.\n\nAnother case in which Spirits were claimed to have been responsible for\ndiverting funds is told in \u201cThe Fallacies of Spiritualism.\u201d\n\n\u201cIn September, 1920, an action was brought in the New York Courts\nagainst a medium named Mrs. Mabelle Hirons, for the recovery of twelve\nthousand four hundred dollars, alleged to have been obtained by\n\u2018Spiritualistic\u2019 means from Dr. J. B. Hubbell, of Rockville, Maryland.\nDr. Hubbell declared that after the death of Clara Barton,[104]\nfounder of the American Red Cross, to whom he had been secretary, it\nwas intended to erect a memorial to that lady, to which he proposed\ncontributing twelve thousand four hundred dollars of his own money,\nincluding nine hundred dollars bequeathed him by Clara Barton herself.\nIn 1914 he visited Mrs. Hirons, who, he said, went into a trance and\ngave him a \u2018message\u2019 that was supposed to come from Clara Barton\nand which directed him to give all the money to Mrs. Hirons for the\nmemorial. Dr. Hubbell believed the \u2018message\u2019 to be genuine and gave her\nthe money, but the memorial was never erected--hence the action.\u201d\n\nA few years ago the papers told of the case of a woman in the Middle\nWest who was sensationally and cruelly deceived by a medium. When she\nlost her little girl it was feared that she would not recover from the\nintense grief with which she was overcome. On the woman\u2019s farm was a\nhired man whose wife was a medium. He talked sympathetically with her\nand got her to allow him to send for his wife, who was in Chicago.\nShe began preaching Spiritualism as soon as she arrived, finding the\nwoman a willing listener. When it was apparent to the medium that\nthe woman thoroughly believed her doctrine she began to advise her to\npray nightly for the restoration of her child and finally one night\nshe announced to the credulous woman that at midnight four days later\nher child would be restored to her. She cautioned her that she must\nfast that day, dress her room and bed in white, and sleep alone that\nnight. The instructions were followed to the letter. At midnight she\nheard the stairs creak. Then suddenly her door was pushed open and she\nsaw something luminous approaching her bed. It carried a bundle and a\nvoice announced that her daughter was coming back to her. After the\napparition left the woman found a baby girl in the bed with her. Soon\nafter the medium persuaded the woman and her husband to dispose of\ntheir property and go to a Spirit Colony in California. After nearly\nthree years they came back to their home with practically no means but\nwith the knowledge that the baby girl came from a foundling society in\nChicago.\n\nNot the least of the evils of Spiritualism is the insanity which it\ncauses. A mental specialist of high standing in Birmingham, England,\nissued a warning in 1922 quoting numerous cases which came under his\nobservation and were the result of Spiritualistic teaching. An English\ndoctor has estimated the number of such cases at a million. It is\na well-established fact that the human reason gives way under the\nexciting strain of Spiritualism. The list is not limited to European\ncountries; we have a goodly share of baneful results right at home. Not\nlong ago Dr. Curry, Medical Director of the State Insane Asylum of New\nJersey, issued a warning concerning the \u201cOuija-board\u201d in which he said:\n\n\u201cThe \u2018Ouija-board\u2019 is especially serious because it is adopted mainly\nby persons of high-strung neurotic tendency who become victims of\nactual illusions of sight, hearing and touch at Spiritualistic seances.\u201d\n\nHe predicted that the insane asylums would be flooded with patients if\npopular taste did not swing to more wholesome diversions.\n\nIn March, 1920, it was reported in the papers that the craze for the\nOuija-boards, with which it was thought spirit messages could be\nreceived, had reached such a pitch in the little village of Carrito,\nacross San Francisco Bay, that five people had been driven mad.\n\nThe available amount of evidence of this sort is almost unbelievable,\nbut enough has been given to show the extent of the evil. The average\nmedium works only for the money he or she can extract from the public;\nmoney obtained by moving the deepest sentiments in the human soul.\nIs it right to legally sanction the medium, to allow him to prey on\nthe public--not only allowing him to take the earthly possessions\nof his victims, but their soul, and oftentimes their mind as well?\nSpiritualism is nothing more or less than mental intoxication, the\nintoxication of words, of feelings and suggested beliefs. Intoxication\nof any sort when it becomes a habit is injurious to the body but\nintoxication of the mind is always fatal to the mind. We have\nprohibition of alcohol, we have prohibition of drugs, but we have no\nlaw to prevent these human leeches from sucking every bit of reason\nand common sense from their victims. It ought to be stopped, it must\nbe stopped, and it would seem that the multiplicity of exposures and\nthe multitude of prosecutions that have followed rational investigation\nshould be sufficient to justify, yes, demand legislation for the\ncomplete annihilation of a cult built on false pretence, flimsy\nhear-say evidence, and the absurdity of accepting an optical _illusion_\nas a fact.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XII\n\nINVESTIGATIONS--WISE AND OTHERWISE\n\n\nSpiritualism has been the cause of much discussion between men of\nscience, men of magic, and believers in the \u201cSpirit World.\u201d Countless\ninvestigations, wise and otherwise, have been held in most of the\ncountries of the globe. Many of them have been made by fair-minded,\nunbiased men; men who delved deep into the unknown with a clear\nconscience and whether successful or not were willing to give the world\nthe result of their probings. Men who were not afraid to admit that\ntheir experience was not sufficient to cope with the medium\u2019s skill and\nyears of training and that they had been fooled. But there have been\nother so-called investigators who have attended seances wishing to be\nfooled and as \u201cthe wish is father of the thought\u201d they have been misled.\n\nWhat these investigators _see_ done and what they _think_ they see\ndone are in reality two entirely different things and by the time they\nstart to write their experiences there are usually complications. I\nrarely believe a full hundred per cent the explanations I hear or\nread. It is to be said to the credit of the investigators that they\ndo not deliberately make misstatements but the nature of the brain is\nsuch that it is almost impossible to avoid mal-observation and these\nmal-observations are the curse of investigation.\n\nInvestigations under conditions favorable to the medium cannot be\ntermed \u201cinvestigations.\u201d They are nothing more than a demonstration\nof the medium\u2019s power to divert the attention, carrying it at will\nto any place they wish and numbing the subconscious mind. Under\nsuch conditions they are not only able to delude the innocent and\nsimple-minded but also men whose accomplishments have proven their\nintellects to be above the average.\n\nWhen a medium is subjected to conditions which are, to say the\nleast, disconcerting, and the usual effects are not obtained, almost\ninvariably the claim is made that there are antagonistic waves and\nthat the \u201cauras\u201d are bad, and if, as often happens, the result is an\nunqualified expos\u00e9 and the medium\u2019s fall from power the followers\nof Spiritualism usually put forth a statement saying the medium\noverstepped the bounds in trying to give results and resorted to\ntrickery, but that the majority of previous seances were genuine.\n\nPerhaps my ideas on the subject of how to conduct an investigation are\nwrong; I am fully convinced, however, that the only way to conduct a\nsuccessful one is to get the committee together previous to the seance,\ndiscuss the expected manifestations, formulate some plan for concerted\naction and if possible assign each member some specific part as was\ndone in the case of Palladino\u2019s fall. These parts should be rehearsed\nand then when the seance is held there is a much greater possibility of\nthe committee being able to judge intelligently. But when scientists\nreport some feat of legerdemain as being abnormal simply because\nthey cannot detect the deception, I think it is time to add to each\ninvestigating committee a successful and reputable professional\nmystifier, and I might add that all mediums hate to have a magician\nattend a seance.\n\nOf the many investigations, since the beginning of modern Spiritualism,\nI have selected a few of the most important and will try and show the\nreader the necessity of placing on investigating committees men who\ncannot be prejudiced or influenced by subdued lights or weird and\nmystifying sounds; men who use their God-given gift of reason to the\nbest of their ability; men whose attention cannot be diverted by the\nmedium; men whose brain cells are versatile and not overdeveloped\nin one particular direction; men who can pay strict attention to\ntheir commission and not be led astray by the glib-tongued medium\u2019s\nmisdirection. Then we will have real investigations and the world at\nlarge will benefit.\n\nA short time before his death Henry Seybert, an enthusiastic\nSpiritualist with a conscientious desire that Spiritualism should\nbe authentically established, gave the University of Pennsylvania\nsufficient money to establish a chair of Philosophy on condition\nthat a commission should be appointed to investigate \u201call systems of\nmorals, Religion or Philosophy which assume to represent the _truth_\nand particularly modern Spiritualism.\u201d Accordingly there were selected\nfrom among the doctors and professors of the University ten men to be\nknown as the \u201cSeybert Commission.\u201d A fairer-minded and more impartial\ncommission could not have been appointed. Each man had declared\nhimself holding an open mind and ready to accept whatever there was\nevidence to prove, but realizing \u201cthat men eminent in intelligence and\nattainment yield to Spiritualism an entire credence,\u201d they felt that\none could not \u201cfail to stand aside in tender reverence when crushed\nand bleeding hearts are seen to seek it for consolation and for hope.\u201d\nIn order to be amply prepared to do their work in an intelligent and\nunderstanding manner they provided themselves with the best literature\nof the day on the subject and such records of previous investigations\nas were available. After a careful digest of all this information\nthe Commission was ready to begin its actual work in March, 1884.\n_The entire ten men_ of the Commission _were willing to believe_, and\ntheir adviser, Mr. Thomas R. Hazard, had been a personal friend of\nMr. Seybert and was known throughout the land as an _uncompromising\nSpiritualist_.\u201d\n\nThe first medium to which the Commission gave its attention was Mrs.\nS. E. Patterson, a slate writing mystifier and automatic writer.\nThe result of this first case was _nil_. After waiting patiently an\nhour and a half for the spirits to move the meeting adjourned to the\ndisappointment of all. Mr. Hazard was especially chagrined, for the\nmedium was considered \u201cone of the very best in the world.\u201d She had\ngiven him a private sitting the evening before at which \u201cmessages from\nthe Spirit of Henry Seybert came thick and fast,\u201d but they declined to\nmanifest for the Commission.\n\nThis seance proved to be typical of all that fell to the lot of the\nSeybert Commission to investigate. It continued its work for three\nyears and investigated every case of importance which came before\nit. One of these was Margaret Fox, with whom the Commission had two\nsittings and became convinced that the raps came from her person. When\nshe was told of its conclusion she admitted that the seances were not\nsatisfactory but declined further sittings on the ground of ill health\nand because she doubted if more satisfactory results would follow\nand admitting that they might result in a \u201c_confirmation_\u201d of the\nCommission\u2019s belief as to the cause of the raps.\n\nMany of the most prominent mediums of the day appeared before the\nCommission during its three years of work. Some of them underwent a\nwhole series of tests and the phenomena covered the whole gamut from\nsimple rapping to spirit photography, automatic and slate writing,\nmaterialization, etc. In every case with but one exception the result\nwas either a blank seance, a positive failure, or a deliberate cheat.\nThe exception was when Mr. Harry Kellar was called in as a magician\nto demonstrate his power as a slate writer. The Commission was\nsuccessfully baffled, not a single member being able to fathom his\nmethod until he explained it.\n\nThe Commission carefully weighed all the evidence placed before it\nand formed its conclusions with such deliberation and thoroughness\nthat the most critical on either side found no cause for objecting or\nsaying that it was swayed or biased by any undue influence whatever.\nIt pursued its work on purely rational, scientific lines, strenuously\navoiding all conditions which might be construed as conducive to\ndoubtful conclusions. It was looking for facts in a matter-of-fact way\nand as there was no opportunity for screening artifices no occult or\npsychic phenomena were proven to have existed. As an evidence of the\nfairness with which the Commission was considered to have done its\nwork, I quote the following letter to the Commission from Dr. Henry\nSlade.\n\n \u201cNo. 11 E. 13th Street, N.\u00a0Y., Feb. 4, 1885.\n\n \u201cDear Mr. Furness:--I take this opportunity to express to\n you, and through you to the other members of the Seybert\n Commission, my hearty approval of the course pursued by them\n in their investigation of phenomena occurring in my presence.\n Fully realizing that I am only the instrument or channel\n through which these manifestations are produced, it would be\n presumption on my part to undertake to lay down a line to\n be followed by the unseen intelligence, whose servant I am.\n Hence I did say their conditions must be acceded to or I\n would return to New York. That they did so, is evident to my\n mind from the results obtained, which I regard as a necessary\n preliminary to a continuation, when other experiments may\n be introduced with better prospects of success. It may be\n well not to insist on following the exact course followed by\n Professor Zollner, but leave it open to original or impromptu\n suggestions that may be adopted without previous consideration,\n which, if successful, would be of equal value as evidence of\n its genuineness, at the same time give greater breadth to the\n experiments. In conclusion, allow me to say that in the event\n the Committee desires to continue these experiments through\n another series of sittings with me, it will give me pleasure to\n enter into arrangements for that purpose.\n\n \u201cVery truly yours,\n \u201cHenry Slade.\u201d\n\n\nIf all the investigators were to adopt the rational methods of the\nSeybert Commission they might easily discover the truth and no longer\nsubmit to imposition by charlatans nor aid and abet them by accepting\nas true the claims made by a class which they admit is of a low type,\ndishonest, and otherwise disreputable. If sincere, they would assist in\nall reasonable attempts to detect fraud and not accept the irrational\npretext that light and touch are detrimental to the health or life of a\nmedium.\n\nFollowing in the footsteps of the Seybert Commission the Society for\nPsychical Research was organized in America and England for the purpose\nof investigating all so-called phenomena and freak occurrences not\neasily accountable for by natural law and in spite of the following\nmessage which it is claimed was sent by the spirit of the late William\nWalker, President of the Buxton Camera Club, to the Crewe Circle, I\nbelieve they are doing good work.\n\n \u201cDear Friends of the Circle,[105]\n\n \u201cI would not spend a moment with the Psychical Research\n Society, because they are nothing more or less than fraud\n hunters and I want you to come to Buxton for a sitting with\n Mrs. Walker, 3, Palace Rd., about the 8th, 9th, of Aug. Then\n the spirit friends can further demonstrate the wondrous powers\n which to-day are needed more than ever. Peace be with you.\n\n \u201cYours faithfully,\n \u201cW. Walker.\u201d\n\n\nThe membership of these societies is made up of men and women who have\na certain degree of scientific training, all classes of scholarship and\nall professions being represented. As a consequence the investigations\nhave been most exhaustive and carried out by persons especially\nqualified for the work, but the results have been most emphatically\nagainst a belief in the return of a soul after death in the guise of a\nspirit or the occurrence of anything supernatural at the bidding of a\nmedium.\n\nNaturally, we might not expect a general agreement among a group\nof scientific scholars who had entered the field of research from\ndifferent points of view, but I believe I can say without fear of\ncontradiction, that of all who have undertaken the task without\nprejudice the majority agree in the opinion that all phenomena ascribed\nto spirit power developed through, and presented by, a medium, are\nwithout foundation in fact, and that the result of their investigations\nhas agreed perfectly with the findings of the Seybert Commission.\n\nIn January, 1869, the London Dialectical Society appointed a committee\nwith thirty-three members to investigate the phenomena alleged to be\nSpiritual manifestations and to report on its findings. Professor\nHuxley, Professor John Tyndall, and Mr. George Henry Lewes, were\ninvited to co-operate with the Committee. Professor Huxley refused to\nhave anything to do with the investigation and in the following letter,\nwritten in answer to the Committee\u2019s invitation, he terms Spiritualism\na \u201cgross imposture.\u201d[106]\n\n \u201cSir,--I regret that I am unable to accept the invitation of\n the Council of the Dialectical Society to co-operate with a\n Committee for the investigation of \u2018Spiritualism\u2019, and for\n two reasons. In the first place, I have no time for such an\n inquiry, which would involve much trouble and (unless it were\n unlike all inquiries of that kind I have known) much annoyance.\n In the second place, I take no interest in the subject. The\n only case of \u2018Spiritualism\u2019 I have had the opportunity of\n examining into for myself was as gross an imposture as ever\n came under my notice. But supposing the phenomena to be\n genuine--they do not interest me. If anybody would endow me\n with the faculty of listening to the chatter of old women and\n curates in the nearest cathedral town, I would decline the\n privilege, having better things to do.\n\n \u201cAnd if the folk in the Spiritual world do not talk more wisely\n and sensibly than their friends report them to do, I put them\n in the same category.\n\n \u201cThe only good that I can see in a demonstration of the truth\n of \u2018Spiritualism\u2019 is to furnish an additional argument against\n suicide. Better live a crossing-sweeper than die and be made\n to talk twaddle by a \u2018medium\u2019 hired at a guinea a _seance_.\n\n \u201cI am, Sir, &c.,\n \u201cT.\u00a0H. Huxley.\u201d\n\n \u201c29th January, 1869.\u201d\n\nA few days later Mr. Lewes declined the Committee\u2019s invitation as\nfollows:\n\n \u201cDear Sir,--I shall not be able to attend the investigation\n of \u2018Spiritualism\u2019; and in reference to your question about\n suggestions would only say that the one hint needful is that\n all present should distinguish between facts and inferences\n from facts. When any man says that phenomena are produced by\n _no_ known physical laws, he declares that he knows the laws by\n which they are produced.\n\n \u201cYours, &c.,\n \u201cG.\u00a0H. Lewes.\n\n \u201cTuesday, 2nd February, 1869.\u201d\n\nUnder date of December 22, 1869, Professor Tyndall wrote the following\nin response to his invitation to aid the Committee.\n\n \u201cSir--You mention in your note to me three gentlemen, two\n of whom are personally known to me, and for both of whom I\n entertain a sincere esteem.\n\n \u201cThe house of one of these, namely Mr. Wallace, I have already\n visited, and made there the acquaintance of the lady who was\n the reputed medium between Mr. Wallace and the supernatural.\n\n \u201cAnd if earnestly invited by Mr. Crookes, the editor of the\n \u2018Chemical News,\u2019 to witness phenomena which in his opinion\n \u2018tend to demonstrate the existence of some power (magnetic\n or otherwise) which has not yet been recognized by men of\n science,\u2019 I should pay due respect to his invitation.\n\n \u201cBut understand my position: more than a year ago Mr. Cromwell\n Varley, who is, I believe, one of the greatest modern\n Spiritualists, did me the favor to pay me a visit, and he\n then employed a comparison which, though flattering to my\n spiritual strength, seems to mark me out as unfit for spiritual\n investigation. He said that my presence at a _seance_ resembled\n that of a great magnet among a number of small ones. I throw\n all into confusion. Still he expressed a hope that arrangements\n might be made to show me the phenomena, and I expressed my\n willingness to witness such things as Mr. Varley might think\n worth showing to me. I have not since been favored by a visit\n from Mr. Varley.\n\n \u201cI am now perfectly willing to accept the personal invitation\n of Mr. Crookes, should he consider that he can show me\n phenomena of the character you describe.\n\n \u201cI am, sir, your obedient servant,\n \u201cJohn Tyndall.\u201d\n\n \u201cG. W. Bennett, Esq.\u201d\n\n\nUnlike the Seybert Commission, which made a formal report to the\nUniversity of Pennsylvania immediately on the completion of its work,\nthe Committee of the Dialectical Society which was appointed in 1869\ndid not make any report until 1877 and then only what seems to be a\ngarbled report of sub-committees. The _Spiritual Magazine_ in 1870\ncommented on this lack of a report as follows:\n\n\u201cWhere is the report of the Dialectical Society? This is the question\nwhich many people are asking, but to which no one seems prepared\nto give a satisfactory reply. Has this Report, which was to settle\nthe question of Spiritualism, only unsettled the Dialectical\nSociety--causing, as we learn, some of its principal officers and\nmembers to secede from it on finding that the investigations of the\nCommittee pointed in a different way to what they anticipated, and to\nwhich they had committed themselves? People ask--Have the Committee\ncome to an opinion on the subject or have they too many opinions?\u201d\n\nThe only information I have come in contact with referring to the\nDialectical Committee and its work has been from Spiritualistic\npublications, most of them under authorship of Mr. James Burns, and I\ncopy the following from \u201cThe Medium and Daybreak\u201d of November 16, 1877:\n\n\u201cObjection has been taken in some quarters to the fact that the\nSociety itself did not publish the Report, but left the matter of the\npublication as an open question to its Committee.\u201d Again: on the 20th\nof July, 1870, the council passed a resolution--\u201cthat the request of\nthe Committee, that the Report be printed under the authority of the\nSociety, be not acceded to.\u201d\n\nThe exact nature of the work done by the Dialectical Society\u2019s\nCommittee can be summed up by another extract from the same issue of\n\u201cThe Medium and Daybreak\u201d:\n\n\u201cIn due time the Committee presented to the Council the General\nand Sub-Reports, supplementing the same by a voluminous mass of\nevidence taken directly from the _lips of Spiritualists practically\nacquainted with the subject--persons of the highest respectability and\nrepresenting nearly every grade of society_.\u201d (The italics are mine.)\n\nAnother element of discord in the Dialectical investigation is shown by\nthe following:\n\n\u201cAttempt has been made, of course, to undervalue these telling\nresearches. The non-successful Committees have been brought gleefully\ninto prominence, in hope that _positive_ results obtained by the\nsuccessful Committees might thereby be discredited.\u201d\n\nIt seems to be a published fact that this movement on the part of the\nDialectical Society resulted in much discord amounting to a split in\nthe Society. Mr. Burns in his editorial column of the \u201cMedium and\nDaybreak\u201d says:\n\n\u201cOur present issue affords an important and valuable addition to the\ncheap literature of Spiritualism. It is filled with useful matter for\ninvestigators, _judiciously extracted from the Report of the London\nDialectical Society_.\u201d (My italics.)\n\nThe supporters of Spiritualism lay great stress and importance on the\nfact that a few of their co-workers are men prominent in scientific and\nliterary circles, but these are in such a minority, when compared with\nmen of the same time who do not co-operate, that the Spiritualists in\norder to give force and dignity to their argument \u201cring the changes\u201d on\nthese few names and keep them prominently to the front, notwithstanding\nthat it has been proven beyond question, time and again, that these\nsages themselves have frequently been the victims of fraudulent\nmediums, sometimes knowingly.\n\nDoyle in his book \u201cThe New Revelation\u201d says:\n\n\u201cThe days are surely passing when the mature and considerate opinions\nof such men ... can be dismissed with the empty \u2018all rot\u2019 or\n\u2018nauseating drivel\u2019 formul\u00e6.\u201d\n\nPerhaps the most prominent man in this respect and whose conclusions,\nespecially in his later years, were pointed to by Spiritualists as\nbeing beyond dispute was the eminent chemist, Sir William Crookes. He\nbecame intensely interested in Spiritualistic research work as early as\n1870 and for the first four years devoted most of his attention to D.\nD. Home, who seemed successful in baffling Crookes\u2019 super-knowledge of\nscientific investigation. In 1874 he turned his attention to Florrie\nCook, a fifteen year old medium who had been commanding attention for\nabout three years. She seems to have captivated him within the first\nmonth to such an extent that he went to her defense in print after a\n\u201c_disgraceful occurrence_\u201d had given rise to a \u201c_controversy_,\u201d after\nwhich he entertained her at his house. The most convincing test,\nthough, took place at her home in Hackney. In February, 1874, he wrote:\n\n\u201cThese _seances_ have not been going on many weeks but enough has taken\nplace to thoroughly convince me of the perfect truth and honesty of\nMiss Cook, and to give me every reason to expect that the promises so\nfreely made to me by Katie will be kept. All I now ask is that your\nreaders will not hastily assume that everything which is _prima facie_\nsuspicious necessarily implies deception, and that they will suspend\ntheir judgment until they hear from me again on this subject.\u201d\n\nIt was not long, evidently, before the scientist awoke from his dream,\nfor on August 1st, 1874, he wrote to a Russian lady that after four\nyears of investigation, including months of experience with Home, Katie\nFox, and Florence Cook, he found \u201cno satisfactory proof that the dead\ncan return and communicate.\u201d A copy of this letter was sent by Aksakoff\nto _Light_, and was published in that journal on May 12, 1900. \u201cSir W.\nCrookes did not dissent.\u201d[107] Sometime along about 1875 forty-four\nphotographic negatives which he had made of Katie King and her medium,\nFlorrie Cook, together with what prints he had, were, for some reason\nnot given, accidentally destroyed and he forbade friends who had copies\nto reproduce them. He must have made some sort of a discovery for he\n\u201cburied himself in a sulky silence which he would not break\u201d for\nforty years. \u201cNo one knew whether he was a Spiritualist or not,\u201d his\nonly statement being that \u201cin all his Spiritualistic research he had\n\u2018come to a brick wall.\u2019\u201d[108] In 1914 when asked plainly if he were\na Spiritualist \u201che evaded the question.\u201d Perhaps the change in his\nopinions came over him when he learned that Florence Cook (who became\nMrs. Corner) was exposed[109] on a continental tour and sent back\ndisgraced. But in 1916, notwithstanding his statement in 1900 and other\nprevious statements, he went on record in the December 9th issue of\n_Light_ as accepting Spiritualism.\n\nAll of this stands as proof that Professor Crookes, even after he was\nknighted, was of a vacillating mind and for some reason seemed to be\ndeficient in rational methods of discovering the truth, or at least\ndisinclined to put them in force outside of his particular line of\nscience. Possibly, one of the convincing proofs to him may have been\nthe \u201ctricks\u201d played on him by Annie Eva Fay, for if I am not in error\nhis failure to detect her trickery was the turning point which brought\nhim to a belief in Spiritualism. She told me that when Maskelyne, the\nmagician, came out with an expos\u00e9 of her work she was forced to resort\nto strategy. Going to the home of Professor Crookes she threw herself\non his mercy and gave a series of special tests. With flashing eyes she\ntold of taking advantage of him. It appears that she had but one chance\nin the world to get by the galvanometer[110] but by some stroke of luck\nfor her and an evil chance for Professor Crookes, the electric light\nwent out for a second at the theatre at which she was performing, and\nshe availed herself of the opportunity to fool him. One of the tests\nwas duplicated by Professor Harry Cooke, a magician.\n\nThere is not the slightest doubt in my mind that this brainy man was\nhoodwinked, and that his confidence was betrayed by the so-called\nmediums that he tested. His powers of observation were blinded and\nhis reasoning faculties so blunted by his prejudice in favor of\nanything psychic or occult that he could not, or would not, resist\nthe influence.[111] This seems more difficult to comprehend when one\nremembers that he did not accept Spiritualism in full until he was\nnearing the end of his earthly career. The weakness and unreliability\nof Sir William\u2019s judgment as an investigator is further proved by the\nfact that he admitted that many of the tests he proposed were rejected\nby the mediums he was investigating. Such conditions made the test\nimpossible and he did not seem to realize it, but notwithstanding all\nthis he is one of the most quoted authorities in Spiritualistic realms,\nparticularly by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.\n\nAnother who was misled by the chicanery of mediums which he\ninvestigated during many years of research is Sir Oliver Lodge.\nHe failed to find sufficient evidence to prompt him to spread the\nteachings of Spiritualism until 1904, after which he occasionally\nsent a \u201cglow through the Spiritualistic world by some bold profession\nof belief.\u201d In 1905 he was not quite ready to endorse but strongly\ncommended mediums. But by 1916 he had become \u201cthe great scientist\nof the movement, the link between the popular belief and scientific\ntheory.\u201d It is extremely difficult, however, to understand how a\nleading scientist can permit his pen to lay before a thinking world\nsuch inconsistent impossibilities as the following:\n\n\u201cA table can exhibit hesitation, it can seek for information, it can\nwelcome a newcomer, it can indicate joy or sorrow, fun or gravity, it\ncan keep time with a song as if joining in the chorus and most notably\nof all it can exhibit affection in an unmistakable manner.\u201d\n\n_What has all this to do with the spirit of the departed?_ How is it\npossible to accept such silly nonsense? Think of it! A _table_ with\nintelligence, brains--a _table_ with consciousness--a _table_ with\nemotion. Yet that is the sort of reasoning used by Sir Oliver in his\nbook \u201cRaymond\u201d and it is acceptable to all enthusiastic advocates of\noccult teaching. When we read of a mind of such high culture being\novercome by such misfortune we are moved to compassion rather than\ncensure and can only conjecture that the loss of his beloved son,\nRaymond, in an accursed war was the cause of it.\n\nMargaret Deland wrote:\n\n\u201cAs for the scientific value of the evidence submitted by Sir Oliver,\none must not lose sight of the fact that by far the greater part of it\nis from the experience of others and accepted by him as established\nfacts, in many cases with little or no investigation as applied to\ntelepathy. By following his career, one familiar with the psychology of\ndeception will see that he has been an exceptionally \u2018easy mark.\u2019\u201d\n\nIn describing a private performance of what is known among magicians as\n\u201clong-distance second-sight,\u201d after detailing the tests in full, Sir\nOliver writes:\n\n\u201cAs regards collusion and trickery, no one who has witnessed the\nabsolutely genuine and artless manner in which the impressions are\ndescribed, but has been perfectly convinced of the transparent honesty\nof all concerned.\n\n\u201cThis, however, is not evidence to those who have not been present, and\nto them I can only say that to the best of my scientific belief, no\ncollusion or trickery was possible under the varied circumstances of\nthe experiments.\u201d\n\nFrom the above, the reader may form his own opinion as to the value\nof Sir Oliver Lodge\u2019s investigation, and at the same time should\nbear in mind that his so-called investigation is typical of all the\ninvestigations by scientists and sages who have accepted Spiritualism\nas a fact or a religion (?).\n\nThe remaining figure of this type most conspicuously in the spotlight\non the Spiritualistic stage at the present time is my esteemed friend,\nSir Arthur Conan Doyle. Very much like Sir Oliver, his opinion hung\nin the balance during many years of _investigation_, some thirty or\nthirty-five, and it is significant that he did not manifest his deep\nconcern in the cult until he too, like Sir Oliver, had lost a son in\nthe late war and his heartstrings had been wrung by a similar grief.\n\nIn \u201cThe New Revelation,\u201d which was written after he had lost his\nson, he tells us that for thirty years he had studied the subject\nof Spiritualism \u201c_carelessly_,\u201d _then suddenly in a crisis of\nemotion_,[112] he sees a possible balm in it, but instead of realizing\nthat this was, or should be, the time for real investigation, he threw\nup his hands with the cry:\n\n_\u201cThe objective side of it ceased to interest, for having made up\none\u2019s mind that it was true there was an end of the matter._\u201d[113]\n\nIt is evident from his own confession that he decided to accept\nSpiritualism regardless of any real revelation that might present\nitself at a future time and the fact that he did cease intelligent\ninvestigation is proved by his own published statements quoted below.\n\nIn a letter in the _New York Evening Mail_, Dec. 29, 1921, he says:\n\n\u201c_I don\u2019t need scientific proof of what I hear with my own ears,\nsee with my own eyes. Nobody does. This is one of the fine things\nabout Spiritualism. Each person can prove it for himself. It proves\nimmortality and the better you live here, the further you\u2019ll go there,\nprogressing finally to the perfect state._\u201d\n\nIn the _New York World_, June 22, 1922, he says:\n\n\u201c_That mediums I have recommended have been convicted of fraud; any\nmedium may be convicted, because the mere fact of being a medium is\nillegal by our benighted laws, but no medium I have ever recommended\nhas been shown to be fraudulent in a sense which would be accepted by\nany real psychic student._[114] _This same applies I believe to mediums\nrecommended by Sir Oliver Lodge._\u201d[115]\n\nIn connection with his corroboration of Sir Oliver\u2019s opinion about\nmediums Sir Arthur is reported to have said:\n\n_\u201cSir Oliver is too damn scientific.\u201d_\n\nAnd the _New York World_ of June 3rd, 1922, quotes him as saying:\n\n\u201c_Most mediums take their responsibilities very seriously and view\ntheir work in a religious light. A temptation to which several great\nmediums have succumbed is that of drink. This comes about in a very\nnatural way, for overworking leaves them in a state of physical\nprostration and the stimulus of alcohol affords a welcome relief\nand may tend at last to become a custom and finally a curse.[116]\nAlcoholism always weakens the moral sense, so that these degenerate\nmediums yield themselves more readily to fraud. Tippling and moral\ndegeneration are by no means confined to psychics._\n\n\u201c_Far from being antagonistic to religion, this psychic movement is\ndestined to revivify religion. We come upon what is sane, what is\nmoderate, what is reasonable, what is consistent with gradual evolution\nand the benevolence of God. This new wave of inspiration has been sent\ninto the world by God._\u201d\n\nI will not, at this time, dissect and analyze the above statements,\npreferring to let the reader decide for himself after reading them over\ncarefully and digesting their literal meaning. It is sufficient to\ndirect attention to the various contradictory statements and variance\nin the subjects of law, morality, and religion, and their application\nto the subject of Spiritualism.\n\nSir Arthur is reported as saying that mediumship is like an ear for\nmusic and might exist in \u201csome vulgar person,\u201d but that the medium\nis only a carrier of messages comparable to the boy who delivers\ntelegrams. From the foregoing excerpts of Sir Arthur\u2019s own statements\nit will be seen that he depends solely on his _senses_ of _seeing_ and\n_hearing_ (the two weakest and most easily deceived) for his evidence.\nWhen once a medium has his confidence he believes implicitly what the\nmedium tells him, accepts their \u201chear-say evidence\u201d as gospel truth,\nnotwithstanding that he admits they are possibly of a vulgar, dishonest\nclass, often addicted to alcoholism to a degree of debauchery. It is\nextremely difficult to harmonize these statements.\n\nAs to the sense of sight coupled to the sense of hearing: while at\nWashington, D. C., Sir Arthur had a \u201csitting\u201d with the Zancigs and\nafter witnessing phenomena at their expert hands and minds, he gave\nthem a letter of which the following is a transcript:\n\n \u201cI have tested Professor and Mrs. Zancig to-day and am quite\n assured that their remarkable performance, as I saw it, was due\n to psychic causes (thought transference) and not to trickery.\n\n (Signed) \u201cArthur Conan Doyle.\u201d\n\n\nMr. Jules Zancig is a magician, a member of the Society of American\nMagicians of which I have been the President for the past seven years.\nI believe he is one of the greatest second-sight artists that magical\nhistory records. In my researches for the past quarter of a century\nI have failed to trace anyone his superior. His system seems to be\nsupreme. He never at any time claimed telepathy and as he has not,\nto my knowledge, obtained money by pretending telepathy or spirit\npresentations, it would not be fair to disclose his methods despite\nthe fact that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle put the stamp of genuineness on\nhis work. Undoubtedly it _appeared_ unfathomable to Sir Arthur and he\ntherefore concluded that it was psychic and that there could be no\nother solution.\n\nMal-observation is responsible for a lot of misunderstanding,\nconsequently misrepresentation, and as a result much investigation is\nrendered valueless. Such misrepresentation is not intended to deceive\nbut is an honest expression of a conviction based on supposed facts by\npersons unaware that they are victims of illusion. One of the most, if\nnot the most, flagrant instances of mal-observation I have ever known\nof is told of in a book by J. Hewat McKenzie, President of the British\nCollege of Psychic Science, entitled \u201cSpirit Intercourse.\u201d On page 107\nhe says:\n\n\u201cHoudini, called the \u2018Handcuff King,\u2019 who has so ably demonstrated his\npowers upon public-hall platforms is enabled by psychic power (though\nthis he does not advertise), to open lock, handcuff, or bolt that is\nsubmitted to him. He has been imprisoned within heavily barred cells,\ndoubly and trebly locked, and from them all he escaped with ease. This\nability to unbolt locked doors is undoubtedly due to his mediumistic\npowers, and not to any normal mechanical operation on the lock. The\nforce necessary to shoot a bolt within a lock is drawn from Houdini\nthe medium, but it must not be thought that this is the only means by\nwhich he can escape from his prison, for at times his body has been\ndematerialized and withdrawn, but this will be treated in another part\nof this chapter.\u201d\n\nAs I am the one most deeply concerned in this charge I am also the\nbest equipped to deny such erroneous statements. I do claim to free\nmyself from the restraint of fetters and confinement, but positively\nstate that I accomplish my purpose purely by physical, not psychical\nmeans. The force necessary to \u201cshoot a bolt within a lock,\u201d is drawn\nfrom Houdini the living human being and not a medium. My methods\nare perfectly natural, resting on natural laws of physics. I do not\n_dematerialize_ or _materialize_ anything; I simply control and\nmanipulate material things in a manner perfectly well understood by\nmyself, and thoroughly accountable for and equally understandable\n(if not duplicable) by any person to whom I may elect to divulge my\nsecrets. But I hope to carry these secrets to the grave as they are of\nno material benefit to mankind, and if they should be used by dishonest\npersons they might become a serious detriment.\n\nOn page 112 of his book Mr. McKenzie again refers to me saying:\n\n\u201cHoudini of world wide fame, previously mentioned, has for years\ndemonstrated dematerialization, and the passage of matter through\nmatter upon the public platform, while Mrs. Thompson of America, has\ndemonstrated materialization. Mrs. Zancig has, with her husband,\npublicly exhibited her psychic gift, called \u2018thought transference,\u2019\nwhich is purely soul projection, in all the leading world centres. Miss\nFay, and several well known Japanese mediums, for years demonstrated\nthe passage of matter through matter, and also materialization. These\nare only a few of the many who might be mentioned, who demonstrate\npsychic gifts before the public. Such public mediums do not, of\ncourse, advertise themselves as performing their wonders by occult\npowers, or through the help of spirits, and the public are therefore\nleft in ignorance of how they perform their marvelous tricks, as\nthey are called. The author has tested each of those mentioned, by a\npersonal experiment from the stage, and several also in private, and\ncan testify that they are mediums, performing most, if not all of\ntheir great wonders by spirit agency. They are naturally reluctant\nto acknowledge the fact, for the music-hall public would instantly\nresent any claims they might make that they performed their wonders by\nspirit power. Their audiences would regard such claims as \u2018bunkum,\u2019\nand probably subject them to insult, if not to ill treatment, for the\ngeneral public are entirely ignorant of such possibilities in the\nmanipulation of psychical matter as related in this book, which a\nmedium can develop with the co-operation of spirit entities. It can be\nleft to the reader\u2019s imagination to picture the face of a music-hall\nmanager if he were asked to allow upon the stage a demonstration of\nspirit powers. Horrors! The poor man would not be able to sleep for\nnights if he thought ghosts were working around his buildings or upon\nhis stage. Thus, knowing the attitude of men toward such things these\nwonders of wonders are produced upon the music-hall stage as clever\n\u2018mystery\u2019 tricks. The author does not wish his readers to suppose that\nthe mechanical sleight-of-hand tricks carried out by Maskelyne and\nDevant and similar operators, have anything to do with the mediumistic\ngift, for they are a mechanical copy of true magic. These tricks are\nperformed with tons of machinery, whereas the genuine medium can\nproduce his wonders, if necessary, naked and in an empty room.\n\n\u201cThe last occasion on which the author, under strict test conditions\nsaw Houdini demonstrate his powers of dematerialization, was before\nthousands, upon the public stage of the Grand Theatre, Islington,\nLondon. Here a small iron tank, filled with water, was deposited upon\nthe stage, and in it Houdini was placed, the water completely covering\nhis body. Over this was placed an iron lid with three hasps and\nstaples, and these were securely locked. The body was then completely\ndematerialized within this tank within one and a half minutes, while\nthe author stood immediately over it. Without disturbing any of the\nlocks, Houdini was transferred from the tank direct to the back of\nthe stage in a dematerialized state. He was there materialized, and\nreturned to the stage front, dripping with water, and attired in the\nblue jersey suit in which he entered the tank. From the time that he\nentered it to his appearance on the stage only one and a half minutes\nhad expired. While the author stood adjacent to the tank, during the\ndematerialization process, a great loss of physical energy was felt\nby him, such as is usually experienced by sitters in materializing\nseances, who have a good stock of vital energy, as in such phenomena,\na large amount of energy is required. Dematerialization is performed\nby methods similar in operation to those in which the psycho-plastic\nessence is drawn from the medium. The body of the medium may be reduced\nto half its ordinary weight in the materializing room, but in the case\nof dematerialization the essence continues to be drawn until the whole\nphysical body vanishes, and the substance composing it is held in\nsuspension within the atmosphere, much in the same way as moisture is\nheld by evaporation. While in this state, Houdini was transferred from\nthe stage to the retiring room behind, and there almost instantaneously\nmaterialized. The speed with which this dematerialization was performed\nis much more rapid than is possible in the materializing seance\nroom, where time is required for the essence to be crystallized into\npsycho-plastic matter. Not only was Houdini\u2019s body dematerialized, but\nit was carried through the locked iron tank, thus demonstrating the\npassage of matter through matter. This startling manifestation of one\nof nature\u2019s profoundest miracles was probably regarded by most of the\naudience as a very clever trick.\u201d\n\nWith the indulgence of the reader, I may be pardoned perhaps, if I\ninsist that it is just what I claim it to be--_simply a superior\ntrick_. The effect is original with me and was invented in the course\nof my professional career as a public entertainer, for the sole purpose\nof _entertaining_ audiences by mystifying them. My success seems to be\nattested by Mr. McKenzie in his acknowledgment that he was deceived\ninto the belief as to my mediumistic powers; that I dematerialized\nmy body and material substance, and materialized these things, so\nrestoring them to a normal condition.\n\nIn rebuttal of this misconception I can only say that it is a\ndemonstration of mal-observation; there was nothing supernatural in\nmy performance. If I really possessed such abnormal powers as Mr.\nMcKenzie credits me with, I should be only too ready to prove it for\nthe enlightenment of a waiting world. I disagree with Mr. McKenzie that\nsuch acknowledgment would displease the \u201cmusic-hall\u201d or theatrical\nmanagers; on the contrary I am sure they would gladly open their stages\nto the demonstration and regard it as good management and showmanship.\nAs to the performance of Mrs. Thompson of America, and Miss Fay their\nwork is no more psychic than mine. It is simply another phase of\nmagical deception, and I stand ready to reproduce such performances in\nan emergency.\n\nRegarding the personally conducted tests of my work, by Mr. McKenzie,\nhe did no more or less than all my committees are privileged to do\nwhile on the stage during my acts. Just as all Spiritualist believers\ndo, so Mr. McKenzie relied on what he _thought_ he saw, and therefore\nfailed to affirm or negative his misguided and misdirected vision by\nrational application of his conscious intelligence. Had he brought his\nreasoning faculties to bear, as all sincere, unbiased investigators\nshould, he would have discovered the utter inconsistency of his\ndeductions and never have gone on record as the author of such folly,\nwithout a particle of real evidence with which to substantiate his\nclaim.\n\nDr. Crawford, whose life was devoted to scientific pursuit and\nresearch, gave the last three years of his life to _investigating_\noccult or psychic phenomena, and failed utterly. His mind became\nimpaired and he ended his own life by suicide, acknowledging that\nhis brain was overtaxed with abstruse problems. He was so completely\nnonplussed and befuddled by the tricks of the Goligher family, that\nhe gave them publicity as being genuine mediums; and the unfortunate\nman died without discovering his own weakness and error. Had he\nretained his mental balance a year or two longer, he would have been\ndisillusioned by his co-worker in science, my friend Mr. E. E. Fournier\nd\u2019Albe, the result of whose investigation is to be found elsewhere in\nthis volume.\n\nThe unsuccessful investigations of those I have referred to are typical\nof all I have come in contact with or have learned of, and the barrier\nto their success has been their perfect willingness to be deceived.\nThey agree to and tolerate the most absurd propositions as to the\nconditions under which the so-called investigations are conducted;\njust as they are _fixed_ by the mediums themselves. They acquiesce in\nand assist the medium to produce results, and accept such results as\nconclusive evidence of the supernatural.\n\nWhat does it all mean?\n\nWhat importance can be attached to any one of these supposed phenomena\nas proof of the return of departed spirits?\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIII\n\nHOW MEDIUMS OBTAIN INFORMATION\n\n\nWe read in the newspapers of some payroll bandit who holds up the\npaymaster of a big concern and steals thousands of dollars, or of\nburglars entering homes and stores and breaking open safes and taking\nvaluable loot, but these cases which we read of are nothing in\ncomparison to some of the news which never reaches our ears, news of\nmediums who, because resourceful in obtaining information have made\nmillions of dollars; blood money made at the cost of torture to the\nsouls of their victims.\n\nSuppose a medium comes to your town. He advertises a private seance.\nLike the average person you are curious and wish to be told things\nabout yourself which you honestly believe no one in the world knows not\neven your most intimate friend. Perhaps you would like to learn some\nfacts about a business deal, or know what is to be the outcome of a\nlove affair, or it may be that you seek the comfort and solace that one\nis hungry for after the death of a near one. You go to this medium and\nare astounded by the things which are told you about yourself.\n\nI do not claim that I can explain all the methods used by mediums\nto obtain this knowledge. A reader might attend a seance where the\nmedium would use altogether different means to get the facts, but I am\nfamiliar with a great many of the methods of these human vultures. I\nthink though that it is an insult to that scavenger of scavengers to\ncompare such human beings to him but there is, to my mind, no other fit\ncomparison.\n\nThe stock-in-trade of these frauds is the amount of knowledge they can\nobtain. It is invaluable and they will stop at nothing to gain it. They\nwill tabulate the death notices in the newspapers; index the births\nand follow up the engagement and marriage notices; employ young men to\nattend social affairs and mix intimately with the guests, particularly\nthe women.\n\nIt is seldom that one of these mediums will see a person the day he\ncalls but will postpone the seance from a day or two to a week or more.\nAs the person leaves the building he is followed by one of the medium\u2019s\nconfederates who gathers enough information about him to make the\nmedium\u2019s powers convincing when the seance is held.\n\nIt is a common occurrence for mediums of this stamp to hunt through\nthe court records of property and mortgages. Cases have been known\nwhere they have employed men to read proof sheets in the press rooms of\nnewspapers to find material with which to \u201cforetell\u201d events at seances.\nThey frequently tap telephone wires. It is customary for these mediums\nto search letter boxes, steam open the letters, and make copies for\nfuture use. They have been known to buy the old letters sold to paper\nmills by big concerns, one useful letter, out of a ton of rubbish,\nbeing enough to pay them a great profit. It is also a common thing for\nmediums to \u201cplant\u201d assistants as waiters in restaurants for the purpose\nof overhearing conversation, especially in restaurants of the better\nclass, business clubs, and luncheon clubs, where men of note freely\ndiscuss their plans and secrets, and in the \u201cgilded lobster palaces\u201d of\nBroadway and many hotel cabarets in other towns there are men who check\nand tabulate the good spenders and who in one way or another, usually\nwhen the victims are under the influence of drink, get into their\nconfidence and secure information which is sold for money.\n\nMy attention was called to a case where it was said that a medium\n\u201cplanted\u201d clerks in a Metropolitan hotel who would open, read, and\nre-seal the letters of guests. The medium was also able to get girls at\nthe switchboard who intercepted messages and made a typewritten record\nof telephone conversations for him.\n\nIn many apartment houses the elevator boys, superintendents and\nservants are bribed to make a daily report of the inside happenings of\nthe house. Most of the mediums work in the dark and many of them have\nemployed expert pickpockets who cleverly take from the sitters\u2019 pockets\nletters, names, memorandums, etc., while they are being interviewed.\nThese are passed to the medium who tells the sitter more or less of\ntheir contents. Having served their purpose they are returned to the\npockets of the sitter who, none the wiser, goes out to help spread\nreports of the medium\u2019s wonderful ability. Mediums\u2019 campaigns are\nplanned a long time ahead. They make trips on steamers gathering,\ntabulating and indexing for future reference the information to be\noverheard in the intimate stories and morsels of scandals exchanged in\nthe smoking rooms, card rooms, and ladies\u2019 salons.\n\nA man in a confidential moment told some very intimate secrets of\nhis business to a chance traveling acquaintance while they sat in\nthe smoking compartment of a Pullman car. Unfortunately for him this\nacquaintance belonged to an unscrupulous gang of mediums who used the\ninformation to blackmail him. These gangs of clairvoyant blackmailers\nwill stop at nothing. They will move into the apartment house in which\ntheir victim lives and watch his habits. When sure of ample time they\nwill break into his rooms, not to steal valuables, but information\nwhich nets them far more than the small amount of diamonds and cash\nwhich they might snatch. If it is possible to steal the records of\ngreat political parties how much easier to steal the secret papers\nof a family. If you doubt that information leaks out look up some\nof the cases that have been brought to the attention of the courts;\ncases where papers from secret organizations were missing; where the\nmost intimate documents have been given publicity. Such information\nis far more difficult to obtain than the records of the dead. The Bar\nAssociation protects its reputation by weeding out lawyers who prey\non clients but it cannot so easily discover a dishonest employee in a\nlawyer\u2019s office who takes advantage of information which he knows to be\nsacred and secret.\n\nMediums are especially desirous of keeping in touch with disgruntled\nemployees. There is no limit to what they will do. They have been\nknown to arrange for the employment of accomplices as domestics and\nchauffeurs in families where they were particularly anxious to get\ninformation and have frequently had dictagraphs placed in homes by fake\nor disloyal servants and after a month or so of tabulating secrets and\ninformation were prepared for a seance at which the sitters could only\naccount for the amazing things told them by believing the medium had\noccult aid. The result was an unqualified confidence in the mediumistic\npowers which in the end cost the sitters an exorbitant sum.\n\nI heard of a medium who employed a quiet couple for the express\npurpose of attending funerals, mixing with the mourners, and gathering\ninformation which was eventually turned into gold, and what is known as\na \u201csure-fire\u201d method is to dress some little woman demurely and place\nher in the reception room where she greets the visitors, telling them\nher troubles and naturally receiving their confidences in return.\n\nI have even known of two cases in which these human wolves, apparently\nout of the kindness of their hearts, sent girls to a young ladies\u2019\nseminary where they were able to wheedle from their roommates secrets\nwhich caused the loss of several fortunes.\n\nOne of the biggest scoops and one that is talked of in hushed tones\neven among the fraud fraternity is that of an old-time circus grafter\nwho, having been cleaned out in Wall Street, was at his wits\u2019 ends to\nmake a living. One evening, tired and weary from a day\u2019s unsuccessful\nefforts to find honest employment, he overheard his two daughters\ndiscussing a bit of scandal they had listened to in the hairdressing\nparlor where they were employed and which compromised a prominent\nsociety woman\u2019s name. The old man pricked up his ears, recognized\nthe possibilities, and a very short time after invested what little\ncapital he had and all he could borrow in a beauty parlor and with the\ninformation it furnished him through the aid of his wife and daughters\nhe was able to set himself up as a medium, the venture yielding\nhandsomely the first year.\n\nA most novel method of obtaining information was devised by a man who\ndecided after listening to the conversation in a Turkish bath to open\none himself. Most of his attendants were accomplices and while the\npatrons were enjoying the bath their clothes were searched, letters\nopened and signatures traced. The end of the first year found him\nenjoying a country home in an aristocratic neighborhood.\n\nDuring one of my engagements in Berlin, Germany, I made the\nacquaintance of the foreman of a safe factory who told me that he made\na duplicate key[117] for every safe which passed through his hands and\nthat he sold these keys to mediums but with the express understanding\nthat there should be nothing stolen. The mediums assured him that all\nthey wanted was an opportunity to read the mail and private papers\nwhich the safes contained.\n\nI have known of a number of cases in which the medium used a drug\naddict to secure information giving the poor tortured creature his\nnecessary drug only in return for facts he wanted, knowing that when\nthe addict was suffering for the drug\u2019s stimulus he would stop at\nnothing to secure it.\n\nIn small towns \u201cBible sellers\u201d have sometimes been employed who were\nable to get exact dates, names, and birth places which were eventually\nused in some form. Men employed by mediums to gather information are\noften disguised as agents. One in particular I know of who goes from\nhouse to house trying to sell typewriters and washing machines on the\ninstallment plan. Even if he does not make a sale he can at least\nengage the lady of the house in conversation, drawing on her sympathy\nby telling of the trials and tribulations of a canvasser and a pitiful\ntale of how he was driven to such work and in return usually receiving\nthe particulars of some similar case among her friends or relatives.\nInformation which is carefully saved for use in the future.\n\nIt has been necessary for the United States Government to assign\nspecial men to break up a band of fake census enumerators, which, going\nfrom neighborhood to neighborhood, secures complete family histories\nwhich are later sold to mediums for large sums of money.\n\nOne of the most interesting cases I have heard of lately is that of a\nyoung man who was greatly in debt and sought the advice of a medium.\nThe medium offered to pay his debts if he in return would take a\nposition which the medium would secure for him in the Bureau of Records\nand in addition to his work furnish the medium with copies of certain\ndocuments. Fear of his debts becoming known to his parents forced him\nto accept the offer and the medium got the desired data but before an\nimproper use could be made of it the young man\u2019s conscience led him to\nmake a clean breast of the whole affair to the police and a gigantic\nfraud was \u201cnipped in the bud.\u201d\n\nThe most dastardly and unscrupulous methods that I ever heard of,\nmethods almost beyond belief, were those used by a medium who made\narrangements with a ring of \u201cwhite slavers\u201d by which he paid them\na certain specified sum for any information which the \u201cgirls\u201d in\ntheir \u201chouses\u201d were able to secure. In addition he also established\na number of places where, under the direction of a woman, the girls\ndrew out many secrets which would never have been told under any other\ncircumstances.\n\nOne thing which makes the work of these mediums easier is the fact that\nmany people tell things about themselves without realizing it. I have\nknown people to deny emphatically that they had made certain statements\nor mentioned certain things in a seance although I had personally heard\nthem say those very things not more than twenty minutes before. Under\nthe excitement of the moment their subconscious mind[118] speaks while\ntheir conscious mind forgets. This does not escape the medium who takes\nadvantage of everything which it is possible to.\n\nAn incident related to me by the late Harry Kellar shows in a striking\nway what can be done with information the possession of which is not\nsuspected nor its source accounted for by the victim. He had met in\nHong Kong a troupe of travelling players, known as the \u201cLoftus Troupe\u201d\nwhich was featuring Jefferson De Angelus. Among these players was\none, Jim Mass, who, during a discussion of Spiritualism scoffed at\nanyone\u2019s belief in it. Kellar told him to visit his hotel the following\nnight and he would be given a seance. Mass did and Kellar pretended\nto go into a deep trance rolling his eyes and imitating all the other\neffects. While in the trance he told Mass his history from the time he\nran away from Newark, N. J., relating his trials and tribulations and\nhis efforts to make a success on the stage up to the time when a young\nlady committed suicide in San Francisco because of his jealousy. Then\nKellar turned to him and said:\n\n\u201cWhat is your name?\u201d\n\n\u201cJim Mass,\u201d was the answer.\n\n\u201cThat is not your right name,\u201d Kellar retorted, \u201cyour right name is\nJames Cropsey!\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is a lie,\u201d said Mass.\n\n\u201cNo, it is not a lie, for I see before me your name. I see that your\nfather has just died of a broken heart because of your behaviour. I see\nyour mother writing you a letter to that effect, begging you to come\nhome and be her son again. I see the grave of your father and on the\ntombstone is inscribed, \u2018James Cropsey.\u2019\u201d\n\nKellar came out of the trance and Mass sprang up exclaiming:\n\n\u201cMy God, you have told me things that only the Almighty and I know!\u201d\n\nKellar claimed to Mass that he did not know anything which had\ntranspired in the trance. The following day a letter came from Mass\u2019\nmother telling him of the death of his father. This fully convinced\nhim that Kellar had strong mediumistic powers, and to such an extent\nthat when they met a few days later and Kellar told him that it was\nall a fake, Mass refused to believe it.\n\n[Illustration: KELLAR AND HOUDINI]\n\nKellar explained to me that while in Manila a few weeks previous he had\nmet an American traveller who, while they were discussing the different\ntheatrical companies in the Orient, had told him all the incidents he\nhad repeated to Mass in the supposed trance. This traveller had written\nhome to Mass\u2019 mother telling her of her son\u2019s whereabouts and therefore\nKellar felt fairly safe in saying that a letter would arrive in a few\ndays, but in spite of Kellar\u2019s confession Mass continued to believe\nfirmly that he was a genuine psychic.\n\nMediums have been known after gaining the sitter\u2019s confidence\nsufficiently, to advise, through a Spirit, the purchase of certain\nstocks, bonds, or \u201cswamp lands,\u201d and a certain group which I know has\nmade over a million dollars by this system. One of the keenest and most\nunscrupulous of this class, a man who at present is abroad waiting for\nthings to blow over, had a method which gained him a huge fortune. He\nwould acquire the confidence of a widow whose husband had not been dead\nlong and for months he would search into her private affairs without\nher knowledge. Then he would arrange for a meeting with her at which he\nwould mention casually that he was a Spiritualist and that she could\nfind solace and comfort in Spiritualism. At an impromptu seance he\nwould tell her so many things of a most intimate character that she\nwould be convinced. After a series of seances he would materialize\nand manifest what was supposedly the Spirit of her husband who would\ntell her to turn over certain property and deeds to this medium who\nwould take care of them in a business-like manner. Invariably the poor\ndeluded widow would surrender to his machinations and that would be\nthe last she would ever hear of medium or money.\n\nAt a time when it was a British society fad to delve into the affairs\nof the beyond a house of clairvoyance was opened in London\u2019s most\nexclusive section, the fashionable West End. It was exquisitely\nfurnished and the interior decorating was the show work of a well-known\nfirm. Though known as \u201cMadame ----\u201d the proprietor was in reality the\ndaughter of an English aristocrat. She had formed a partnership with\na man known to society as \u201cSir ----\u201d and thought of as being simply a\n\u201cman about town,\u201d but was in reality the head of a desperate band of\nthe underworld.\n\nA rich clientele soon became accustomed to a rule which required\nsittings to be arranged for at least a week in advance which gave\nMadame ---- plenty of time for her confederates to investigate the\nclient\u2019s affairs. After several sittings the Madame would tell her\nclient that she was exhausted but could reveal more if allowed to enter\nthe atmosphere of the home and come in personal contact with some of\nthe intimate belongings of the client. This hint invariably secured\nthe desired invitation. Once a guest in the client\u2019s home, she went\nfrom room to room selecting various things and finally suggesting,\nat the psychological moment, that she be shown all of the client\u2019s\njewelry. While this was being brought out Madame ---- supposedly went\ninto a trance but was in reality watching closely to see where the\njewelry was kept. Back in her own home again she at once got in touch\nwith Sir ---- giving him such detailed information about the client\u2019s\nhouse that it was easy for him to plan its successful robbery by his\nmen, while the victims never suspected how their secret hiding places\nhad been discovered. It only took the pair five years to acquire a\nfortune of three million dollars by these methods. Then Scotland Yard\nbecame suspicious of their actions and in a search for a more congenial\nclimate they came to America and began working their system in New York.\n\nSir ---- learned through underworld channels of a rich eccentric who\nwould have nothing to do with banks and safe deposit vaults but kept\nall his money and valuables in his home where he boasted so many\nburglar alarms and other protective devices as to practically dare\nthieves to rob him. After making sure that this man had very strong\nSpiritualistic tendencies Madame ---- wrote him a letter in which\nshe told him that she had been requested by the spirit of his dead\nbrother to get into communication with him. An interview followed and\nthen a seance at which the brother\u2019s spirit was claimed to have been\nmaterialized. The man was so convinced that he had received a message\nfrom his brother that the instructions to safeguard his money and\nvaluables by placing them in a certain bank were followed implicitly\neven to the extent of taking them to the president (?) of the bank at\nhis home instead of going to the bank with them. It is needless to say\nthat the \u201cbank president\u201d was none other than Sir ----. This exploit\nnetted them about four hundred thousand dollars. Not long after they\nappeared in Paris. Madame ---- proceeded to dupe a jeweler out of a\nquantity of valuable jewels and with Sir ---- succeeded in escaping to\nGermany where they tried to repeat the performance but were arrested.\n\nThe majority of the people who are fleeced do not blame the medium but\nreally believe that the Spirit of their departed one prescribed the\nloss and that the medium simply acted as an agent. It is only when\nthe mediums fall out; when there ceases to be \u201chonor among thieves\u201d\nthat the cases are brought to the attention of the police. Although I\nrealize that it would be difficult to enforce, there should be a law to\nprevent these frauds, for as the result of investigation I know that\nthis particular line has netted many millions of dollars from unwary,\ntrusting, and believing people. An end ought to be put to it.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIV\n\nWHAT YOU MUST BELIEVE TO BE A SPIRITUALIST\n\n\nThere is an old adage that \u201ctruth is stranger than fiction\u201d but some\nof the miraculous things attributed to the Spirits would not be told,\ncould not be told, even by such a famous writer of wild fiction as\nBaron Munchausen, but under the protecting mantle of Spiritualism these\nvivid tales are believed by millions. The conglomerated things you are\nasked to accept in good faith are almost inconceivable. If you do not\nthen you are not a real Spiritualist. There must not be the shadow of\na doubt in your mind as to the truth of the extravagant feats claimed\nto be performed by the Spirits through their earthly messengers the\nmediums.\n\nAmong the spirits who have come back and written stories, according\nto the Spiritualists, are no less personages than Shakespeare, Bacon,\nCharles Dickens who completed his \u201cMystery of Edwin Drood,\u201d Jack\nLondon, Edgar Allan Poe, Mark Twain, and lately Oscar Wilde. Magazines\nhave been published by the \u201cSpirits\u201d[119] and there are numbers of\ncases where entire books have been claimed to be their work. I ask the\nreader if he believes the following incidents which I have selected\nfrom various Spiritualistic publications in my library. If so he is\nentitled to join the cult.\n\nThe \u201cMedium and Daybreak\u201d of June 9, 1871, tells of an instance where\n\u201cThe Spirits \u2018floated\u2019 Mr. Herne to Mrs. Guppy\u2019s in open day as was\nreported by us two weeks ago.... This has been speedily followed by\nother cases some of which are exceedingly well substantiated. On\nSaturday evening, as a circle consisting of about nine persons, sat\nwithin locked doors, with Messrs. Herne and Williams, at these mediums\u2019\nlodgings, 61 Lambs\u2019 Conduit Street, after a considerable time an object\nwas felt to come upon the table, and when a light was struck, their\nvisitor was found to be Mrs. Guppy. She was not by any means dressed\nfor an excursion, as she was without shoes, and had a memorandum book\nin one hand and a pen in the other.\n\n\u201cThe last word inscribed in the book was \u2018onions.\u2019 The writing was\nnot yet dry and there was ink on the pen. When Mrs. Guppy regained\nher consciousness she stated that she had been making some entries of\nexpenses, became insensible and knew nothing until she found herself\nin the circle. A party of gentlemen accompanied Mrs. Guppy home; a\ndeputation went in first and questioned Miss Neyland as to how or when\nMrs. Guppy had been missed. She said that she had been sitting in the\nsame room; Mrs. Guppy was making entries in her book, and Miss Neyland\nwas reminding her of the items to put down. Miss Neyland was reading\na newspaper in the intervals of conversation, and when she raised her\nhead from her reading Mrs. Guppy could not be seen. It was intimated,\nthrough raps on the table, that the Spirits had taken her, and as Mrs.\nGuppy had every confidence in the beneficence of these agents, Mrs.\nGuppy\u2019s abduction gave no concern. Both Mr. Herne and Mr. Williams were\n\u2018floated\u2019 the same evening. Mr. Williams found himself at the top of\nthe stairs, the doors being shut all the while.\n\n\u201cAt the seance at the Spiritual Institution, a young lady who was a\nsceptic was levitated. At Messrs. Herne and Williams\u2019 seance, at the\nsame place, a geranium in a pot was brought into the room from the\nstaircase window above, while doors and windows were closed. Mrs. Burns\nhad a knife taken out of her hand, which \u2018Katie\u2019 (the Spirit) said she\nwould deposit at Lizzie\u2019s, meaning Mrs. Guppy. A gentleman had two\nspirit photographs taken from his hand. A cushion was carried from the\nfront room to the back room, where the seance was held, the door being\nshut. Mr. Williams\u2019 coat was taken off while his hands were held. Mr.\nHerne was floated. Mr. Andrews, a gentleman who has not the use of his\nlimbs, held a very interesting conversation with \u2018Katie\u2019 who promised\nto try and benefit him. The generous sympathy of these good spirits was\nvery apparent from their eagerness to help the distressed. A letter\nfrom Northampton intimates that similar phenomena are being produced in\nthat town. These feats are doing a mighty work in convincing hundreds\nof the power.\n\n\u201cAt a seance given by Mrs. Guppy (\u2018Medium and Daybreak,\u2019 November\n18, 1870), the Spirits knowing it was tea time, first of all brought\nthrough the solid wall the dishes and placed them on the table, then\ntransported cake and hot tea, and in the center of the table was placed\nviolets, mignonette, geranium leaves and fern leaves, all wet with\nrain, which had been gathered by the Spirits.\n\n\u201cHerne, with whom Williams was associated, made it his business to have\nhis Spirits bring in the slates from the hallway through the closed\ndoor. He had books ooze through the solid floors, from the library\noverhead, and drop on the seance table. Williams would be entranced in\nthe cabinet and the Spirits would disrobe him much to his \u2018entranced\u2019\nembarrassment.\n\nOn the testimony of Orville Pitcher, John King at a seance stood in\nthe full glare of the daylight for twenty minutes. He then retired\nand was followed by no less a personage than Oliver Cromwell, who\nwalked around, embraced his medium and all the sitters. He afterwards\ncontrolled the medium and gave utterance to thoughts of a most elevated\nnature.\n\n\u201cMrs. Catherine Berry goes on record (\u2018Medium and Daybreak,\u2019 July 9,\n1876) that through the mediumship of Mrs. Guppy she had seen the Sultan\nof Zanzibar on the previous day. \u201cHe had a handsome copper-colored face\nand a large black beard, on his head he had a white turban such as worn\nby the Spirit of John King.\u201d\n\n\u201cDr. Monck, ex-preacher, disappeared one night from the bed in which he\nslept with another man in Bristol and to his surprise, when he awoke,\nfound himself in Swindon.\u201d (_Spiritualism_, by Joseph McCabe.)\n\n\u201cMr. Harris, his wife and a friend, who happened to be a medium, were\njust about to sit down to a mid-day meal when the medium, a man named\nWilkinson, was suddenly \u2018controlled.\u2019 He fought hard against this\nunexpected behaviour of his Spirit control, but to no avail. In his\nunconscious state he jangled money in his pocket, then pointed to a\ncigarette box which was lying on a shelf in the opposite corner. In\nthat box, it seemed, was the sum of 17s, 6d. Mr. and Mrs. Harris were\nwondering what this all meant, when suddenly the box virtually flew\nfrom the shelf, passed through the closed door, and was gone. Mrs.\nHarris immediately left the room and tried to find trace of the box.\nSHE FOUND IT UPSTAIRS UNDERNEATH THE PILLOW ON THE BED. The money was\nintact.\u201d (_An Amazing Seance and an Exposure_, _by_ Sidney A. Mosley,\npage 21.)\n\nAt a seance held on February 15, 1919, at the home of Mr. Wallace\nPenylan at Cardiff, by Mr. Thomas, there were present Sir Arthur, Lady\nDoyle, and others, numbering about twenty in all. \u201cThomas, speaking\nfrom his chair (apparently still under control) then asked, \u2018Is Lady\nDoyle cold?\u2019 Then Lady Doyle said she felt \u2018a little bit shivery\u2019\nand Thomas said, \u2018Oh, you\u2019ll be warm soon,\u2019 and in a second or two\nsomething fell on her lap. At the close of the seance, this was found\nto be the Holland jacket which somehow had been removed from the\nmedium.\u201d (_An Amazing Seance_, page 51.)\n\nMost mediums to-day have perfected the art of levitating tables and\nchairs and other pieces of furniture, though I doubt if any of them\nhave ever reached the mark of perfection attained by Palladino with her\nyears of experience, inscrutable face and uncanny knowing when to seize\nopportunities to fool her investigators, but you are also asked to\nbelieve that Daniel Dunglas Home, floated out of one window, over the\nstreet, and rushed through another one into a different room.\n\nCol. Olcott asks in \u201cCommunication\u201d What is this performance compared\nwith the experience of Webster Eddy (a younger brother of the Eddy\nBrothers) when a grown man, in the presence of three reputable\nwitnesses, was carried out of a window and over the top of a house and\nlanded in a ditch a quarter of a mile distant?\n\n\u201cWilliam Eddy was carried bodily to a distant wood and was kept there\nthree days under control and was carried back again.\n\n\u201cHoratio Eddy was taken bodily three miles to a mountain top and was\nobliged to find his way home alone the next morning.\n\n\u201cIn Lyceum Hall, Buffalo, Horatio was levitated for twenty-six\nconsecutive evenings, while bound to a chair and he and the chair were\nhung on a chandelier hook in the ceiling. He was then lowered safely to\nhis former position.\n\n\u201cMary Eddy was raised to the ceiling in Hope Chapel, in New York City,\nand while there wrote her name. Her little boy, Warren, was floated\nmany evenings in dark circles and squealed lustily all the while to be\nlet down.\n\n\u201cSince 1347 authenticated reports prove that similar experiences\noccurred to Edward Irving, Margaret Rule, St. Philip of Neri, St.\nCatherine of Columbine, Loyola, Savonarola, Jennie Lord, Madame Hauffe\nand many others.\u201d\n\nCol. Olcott omitted mentioning myself. I stand ready to vouch for the\nfact that I personally floated in the air and _levitated_ many times\nand marvelled at the ease with which I did it, but I woke up later in\nthe night.\n\nHoratio Eddy in a personal letter to me under date of July 6, 1920,\nwrote:\n\n\u201cA book six inches thick would not hold my history. I cannot give\nany version of our floating in the air, but it is just as stated in\n\u2018Communication.\u2019 Webster Eddy is my youngest brother. My father did put\nlive coals on William\u2019s head and poured hot water down his back. We all\nused to get horsewhipped by him to prove the devil was in us.\u201d[120]\n\nIn another letter dated July 3, 1922, he writes that he and his sister\nhad been giving a joint exhibition with Ira Erastus Davenport, who had\nbeen ordered by the authorities in Syracuse to take out a juggler\u2019s\nlicense, but would not.\n\n\u201cThe result was while we were holding a private seance we were\nhandcuffed and taken to jail; on the way the handcuffs were taken off.\nWe did not ride to jail but were dragged along through the snow for\nmore than a mile. They did not put us in cells, as I told them if they\ndid I would have every prisoner\u2019s door open before daylight, so two\npolice sat up all night with us. In the morning a Mr. McDonald of 7\nBeach Street went our bail for fifteen thousand dollars.\n\n\u201cOur trial was to be held in Schenectady in March. We arrived there and\nhad to wait three weeks, then they put it over to Albany three months\nlater and our bail was renewed. We stayed in Albany until court was\nalmost through. The day our trial was to take place the judge stated we\nclaimed it to be a phase of religion and ruled it out of court.\u201d\n\nIf you are to be a Spiritualist you must believe that fifteen persons,\nseveral of them reporters, met in Mrs. Young\u2019s parlors in 27th Street,\nNew York City, and at the request of the Spirit several English walnuts\nwere placed near the piano, and that the piano rose and descended on\nthe walnuts without crushing them. Col. Olcott writes that seven of the\nheaviest persons in the room were asked to sit upon the instrument. The\ninvitation being accepted Mrs. Young played a march and the instrument\nand the persons surmounting it were lifted several feet.\n\n\u201cA portfolio containing Eliza White\u2019s Katie King note and John\u2019s\nduplicate was at this time in my coat pocket, where it had been\nconstantly since the preceding evening. John broke in upon our\nexpressions of surprise by rapping out \u2018Do you folks want me to commit\nforgery for you? I can bring you here the blank check of any National\nBank and sign upon it the name of any president, cashier or other\nofficial.\u2019 I thanked his Invisible Highness and declined the favor upon\nthe sufficient ground that the police did not believe in Spiritualism\nand I did not care to risk the chance of convincing them in case the\nforged papers should be found in my possession.\u201d (_People from the\nOther World_, Henry S. Olcott, page 458.)\n\n\u201cIn a house on Ferretstone Road, Hornsey, London, explosions like bombs\nwere heard, lumps of coal were propelled by some unknown agency in\nall directions. Brooms were thrown violently from a landing into the\nkitchen. Glass and china had been smashed and windows broken and to top\nit all off a boy sitting on a chair had been raised with the chair from\nthe ground.\u201d (The _London Evening News_, Feb. 15, 1921.)\n\nVincenzo Gullots, a Sicilian violinist at Batavia, Ill., well known\nby reason of his Chautauqua concerts, decided to take a bride chosen\nfor him after death \u201cby the companion of my most thrilling hours, my\ndeparted wife. She died in August and I was almost frantic with grief\nbut in the night I could sense her presence and I followed her guidance\nimplicitly. My new mate will comfort her.\u201d (The _New York World_, May\n17, 1922.)\n\nSir Arthur Conan Doyle in an interview at the Hotel Ambassador, New\nYork City, as reported by the _New York World_, April 11, 1922, stated\nthat \u201cin \u2018Summerland\u2019 marriage is on a higher and more spiritual plane\nthan here and is merely the mating of affinities, who are always\nhappy. No babies are born however. The spirits as they go about their\ndaily tasks, keep a watchful eye on earthly matters and are extremely\ninterested in the births here.\u201d\n\nHe stated that there is a plane called \u201cParadise\u201d where \u201cnormally\nrespectable\u201d persons go after death and this \u201cplane\u201d is only slightly\nremoved from this earthly sphere. Bad people when they die are\ntransported to a plane considerably lower than that tenanted by\nrespectable ones and they continue to sink lower and lower unless they\nrepent. After a considerable probationary period they are able to climb\ninto \u201cParadise.\u201d The average length of time they stay in \u201cParadise\u201d is\nabout forty years after which they float to higher and still higher\nplanes. All mediums have guardian angels to whom they are especially\nsubject, but they can communicate with other Spirits, the \u201cguardian\nangel\u201d acting as a sort of master-of-ceremonies upon such occasions.\n\nSir Arthur proclaimed that he once saw his dead mother\u2019s face in the\nectoplasm of a medium. This was a few months after her death and he\nadded, \u201cThere was not the slightest question about it. That was while I\nwas in Australia. The face seemed as solid as in life. My mother wrote\nme a letter through the medium signing a pet name,[121] which could not\nhave been known to the medium. There is no question about having been\nin communication with my son either.\u201d\n\nAn account in the _New York American_, April 5, 1923, says that Sir\nArthur Conan Doyle told the reporters that he had recently hurt the\nligaments in his right leg from the shin to the thigh, and that his son\nKingsley who had died in the War had massaged the limb with beneficial\nresults: \u201cI was sitting with Evan Powell, a very unusual and powerful\nmedium,\u201d he said, \u201cwhen my son Kingsley appeared, saying \u2018it will be\nalright, Daddy; I will get you fixed up alright,\u2019 and began massaging\nmy leg.\u201d\n\nIn an article in the _London Magazine_, August, 1920, Mr. C. W.\nLeadbeater, a prominent member of the Theosophical Society and an\nauthority on occult theories, speaking of the apport of Spirits says:\n\u201cliving astrally as they do, the Fourth Dimension is a commonplace fact\nof their nature, and this makes it quite simple for them to do many\nlittle tricks which to us appear wonderful, such as the removal of\narticles from a locked box or an apport of flowers into a closed room.\u201d\n\nSir Arthur Conan Doyle, in his book \u201cWanderings of a Spiritualist,\u201d\ndevotes seven pages to Charles Bailey, who was known as an \u201capport\nmedium.\u201d Sir Arthur defends Bailey, notwithstanding that he has been\nexposed many times.[122] Among the things Bailey claims to have\napported are birds, oriental plants, small animals, and a young shark\neighteen inches long which he pretended the Spirit guides had brought\nfrom India and passed through the walls into the seance room.\n\nMrs. Johnson of Newcastle-on-Tyne, England, told me personally that the\nSpirit of her deceased son was very mischievous at times and caused\nher a great deal of embarrassment. One of his favorite jokes when she\nwas on a journey was to open her travelling bag and allow all her\nbelongings to be strewn about. She also told me that the boy\u2019s Spirit\nwould light the fire for her to get breakfast.\n\nA widow in Brooklyn, N. Y., became a mother and claimed that the\nSpirit of her husband was the father of the child.\n\nThe celebrated Professor Hare, a professor of chemistry in the\nUniversity of Pennsylvania, graduate of Yale and Harvard, and\nassociated with the Smithsonian Institute of Washington, tells that\nwhen travelling with a boy and while in his room, after they had locked\nup the iron Balled Spiritscope, shaving case, etc., in his carpet bag,\nin some inscrutable manner all the contents were taken from the bag and\nfell about him in a shower.\n\nAnna Stuart, a medium of Terre Haute, could produce Spirits that would\nweigh from practically nothing to more than a hundred pounds, and\nSpiritualists are expected to believe that one human being can go into\na trance and bring forth three or four beings with his own Spirit form.\nW. T. Stead, one of the most brilliant Spiritualists, now dead, claimed\nto have seen the Spirit of an Egyptian who left the \u201cearthly life\u201d in\nthe time of Semir-Amide, three thousand years ago. \u201cFor several minutes\nthe Spirit was distinctly visible to us munching an apple, but I felt\nso exhausted by the loss of magnetism and nervous as well that I begged\nhim to leave us. I will never forget his soulful expression.\u201d\n\nFlorence Marryat, the daughter of Capt. Marryat, the famous writer of\nsea stories, has written a number of books on Spiritualism. She wrote\none of the best introductions in favor of Spiritualism that I ever\nread, nevertheless some of the things she claims to have witnessed\nand lived through are of such a nature that I will only give a brief\nmention of them without comment, letting the reader form his own\nopinion. They are taken from her book \u201cThere is no Death.\u201d\n\nShe tells of her brother-in-law coming into the room after rifle\npractice and while showing his rifle it was \u201caccidentally discharged,\nthe ball passing through the wall within two inches of my eldest\ndaughter\u2019s head.\u201d She claims that she foresaw the occurrence the night\nprevious.\n\nShe writes of having joined Mr. d-Oyley Carte\u2019s \u201cPatience\u201d company to\nplay the part of Lady Jane, and tells that the different members of the\ncompany on different occasions mentioned the fact that although she was\nstanding on the stage she appeared to be seated in the stalls. This\nalways occurred at the same time, just before the end of the second act.\n\nIn another place she says: \u201cWe unanimously asked for flowers. It being\nDecember and a hard frost, simultaneously we smelt the smell of fresh\nearth, and we were told to light the gas again, when the following\nextraordinary sight met our eyes. In the middle of the sitters, still\nholding hands, was piled up on the carpet an immense quantity of mold,\nwhich had been torn up apparently with the roots that accompanied it.\nThere were laurestenius, laurels and holly and several others, just as\nthey had been pulled out of the earth and thrown in the midst of us.\nMrs. Guppy looked anything but pleased at the sight of her carpet and\nbegged the Spirits to bring cleaner things next time. They then told\nus to extinguish the lights again and each sitter was to wish mentally\nfor something for himself. I wished for a yellow butterfly, knowing it\nwas December, and as I thought of it a little cardboard box was put in\nmy hand. Prince Albert whispered to me \u2018Have you got anything?\u2019 \u2018Yes,\u2019\nI said, \u2018but not what I asked for. I expect they have given me a piece\nof jewelry.\u2019 When the gas was relit I opened the box and there lay _two\nyellow butterflies_, dead of course, but none the less extraordinary\nfor that.\u201d\n\nWhile talking of a seance with Katie King she said: \u201cShe told me\nto take the scissors and cut off her hair. She had a profusion of\nringlets flowing to her waist that night. I obeyed religiously, hacking\nthe hair wherever I could whilst she kept on saying \u2018_Cut more! cut\nmore! not for yourself you know, because you cannot take it away._\u2019 So\nI cut off curl after curl and as fast as they fell to the ground, _the\nhair grew again on her head_. When I had finished, \u2018Katie\u2019 asked me to\nexamine her hair and see if I could detect any place where I had used\nthe scissors, and I did so without any effect. Neither was a severed\nhair to be found. It had vanished out of sight.\u201d\n\nIn another place she says: \u201cOnce a conductor spoke to me. \u2018I am not\naware of your name,\u2019 he said (and I thought \u2018No, my friend, and won\u2019t\nbe aware of it just yet either!\u2019) \u2018but a Spirit here wishes you would\ncome up to the cabinet.\u2019 I advanced, expecting to see some friend, and\nthere stood a Catholic priest, with his hand extended in blessing.\nI knelt down and he gave me the usual benediction, and then closed\nthe curtain. \u2018Did you know the Spirit?\u2019 the conductor asked me. I\nshook my head and he continued, \u2018He was Father Hayes, the well known\npriest in this city. I suppose you are a Catholic?\u2019 I told him \u2018Yes\u2019\nand went back to my seat. The conductor addressed me again \u2018I think\nFather Hayes must have come to pave the way for some of your friends,\u2019\nhe said. \u2018Here is a Spirit who says she has come for a lady by the\nname of Florence, who has just crossed the sea. Do you answer to that\ndescription?\u2019 I was about to say yes when the curtain parted again\nand my daughter \u2018Florence\u2019 ran across the room and fell into my arms.\n\u2018Mother,\u2019 she exclaimed, \u2018I said I would come with you and look after\nyou, didn\u2019t I?\u2019 I looked at her. She was exactly the same in appearance\nas when she came to me in England under the different mediumships of\nFlorence Cook, Arthur Coleman, Charles Williams and William Ellington.\u201d\n\nShe tells of a business man who attended a seance every night and\npresented a white flower to the Spirit of his wife who had died on\nher wedding day eleven years before.[123] The book is full of such\nincidents as these but I think enough have been repeated to show the\nreader what it is necessary to believe to be a good Spiritualist.[124]\n\nIn Judge Edmonds\u2019 book \u201cSpiritualism,\u201d we read that it was customary\nto receive on blank sheets of paper messages from the Spirits of\nwell-known men; that Benjamin Franklin came in accompanied by two other\nSpirits; that a pencil got up of its own accord and wrote five lines\nof ancient Hebrew; that books were levitated from a table numerous\ntimes, and a number of other incidents which drew upon the reader\u2019s\nimagination.\n\nDaniel Dunglas Home in testifying in July, 1869, as reported in\nthe _London Times_, told of an incident which had occurred several\nyears previous. \u201cWe were,\u201d he said, \u201cin a large room in the Salon de\nQuatorze. The Emperor and Empress were present,--I am now telling the\nstory as I heard the Emperor tell it,--a table was moved, then a hand\nwas seen to come. It was a very beautifully formed hand. There were\npencils on the table. It lifted, not the one next to it, but the one on\nthe far side. We heard the sound of writing, and saw it writing on fine\nnote paper. The hand passed before me and went to the Emperor, and he\nkissed the hand. It went to the Empress; she withdrew from its touch,\nand the hand followed her. The Emperor said, \u2018Do not be frightened,\u2019\nand she kissed it too. The hand seemed to be like a person thinking\nand as if it were saying, \u2018Why should I?\u2019 It came back to me. It had\nwritten the word \u2018Napoleon\u2019 and it remains written now. The writing\nwas the autograph of the Emperor Napoleon I, who had an exceedingly\nbeautiful hand.\u201d Mr. Home also said that the Emperor of Russia as well\nas the Emperor Napoleon, had seen hands and had taken hold of them,\n\u201cwhen they seemed to float away into thin air.\u201d\n\nSuch are the things Spiritualists are expected to believe and do\nbelieve. I could continue to recite incidents _ad infinitum_, _ad\nnauseam_, but I believe the reader can form his own judgment from the\nabove. It is the kind of material which drives people insane for when\nsome poor, sick, human being is just on the verge of recovery such\nnonsensical utterances often overthrow reason. Is it any wonder that\nthe population of our insane asylums is swelled with \u201cfollowers\u201d who\nhave attempted to believe these things?\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XV\n\nMAGICIANS AS DETECTORS OF FRAUD\n\n\nThe alacrity with which Spiritualists seize upon letters or other\nstatements of magicians that they believe the so-called spirit\nmanifestations which they have witnessed were not accomplished by\nmeans of legerdemain but were attributable to supernatural or occult\npowers has astonished me and while I intend to refute them I want to\ncall attention at the same time to the incompetence of the opinion of\nthe ordinary magician with a knowledge of two or three experiments\nin Spiritualism who stands up and claims that he can duplicate the\nexperiments of any medium who ever lived.\n\nMy personal opinion is that notwithstanding the fact that innumerable\nexposures have been successfully made, such fact is no proof that any\ninvestigator, legerdemain artist or otherwise, is fully capable of\nfathoming each and every effect produced.\n\nSome magicians with a knowledge of pseudo-Spiritualistic effects\nimagine that they have all they need to qualify them as investigators,\nand should anything transpire at a seance which they cannot explain\nthey are mystified into temporary belief and write letters or make\nstatements which they are quite likely to regret as the years roll\non.[125]\n\nA good card \u201cshark\u201d or \u201cbrace game\u201d[126] gambler can cheat and fleece\nthe slickest sleight-of-hand performer that ever lived, unless the\nperformer has made a specialty of gambling tricks. It seems strange,\nbut it is true, that card magicians are poor gamblers, and mediums,\nlike the gamblers, resort to deception and take advantage of the\nsitters at all angles.\n\nIt is manifestly impossible to detect and duplicate all the feats\nattributed to fraudulent mediums who do not scruple at outraging\npropriety and even decency to gain their ends. A slick medium will\neven resort to drawing on the sitters[127] for desired information by\nrecourse to what may be palmed off for a mere lark, and if the bait\nis swallowed by the sitter the circumstance is turned to good account\nfor the perpetration of deliberate fraud to his consternation and\nbewilderment.\n\nAgain many of the effects produced by mediums are impulsive, spasmodic,\ndone on the spur of the moment, inspired or promoted by the attending\ncircumstances, and could not be duplicated by themselves. Because the\ncircumstances of their origin and performance are so peculiar detection\nand duplication of Spiritualistic phenomena is sometimes a most complex\ntask. Not only are mediums alert to embrace every advantage offered\nby auto-suggestion but they also take advantage of every accidental\noccurrence. For instance, my greatest feat of mystery was performed in\n1922 at Seacliffe, L. I., on the Fourth of July, at the home of Mr.\nB. M. L. Ernest. The children were waiting to set off their display\nof fireworks when it started to rain. The heavens fairly tore loose.\nLittle Richard in his dismay turned to me and said:\n\n\u201cCan\u2019t you make the rain stop?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy certainly,\u201d I replied and raising my hands said appealingly, \u201cRain\nand Storm, I command you to stop.\u201d\n\nThis I repeated three times and, as if by miracle, within the next two\nminutes the rain stopped and the skies became clear. Toward the end\nof the display of fireworks the little fellow turned to me and with a\npeculiar gleam in his eyes said:\n\n\u201cWhy, Mr. Houdini, it would have stopped raining anyway.\u201d\n\nI knew I was risking my whole life\u2019s reputation with the youngster but\nI said:\n\n\u201cIs that so? I will show you.\u201d\n\nWalking out in front I raised my hands suppliantly toward the heavens\nand with all the command and force I had in me called:\n\n\u201cListen to my voice, great Commander of the rain, and once more let the\nwater flow to earth and allow the flowers and trees to bloom.\u201d\n\nA chill came over me for as if in response to my command or the prayer\nof my words another downpour started, but despite the pleading of the\nchildren I refused to make it stop again. I was not taking any more\nchances.\n\nI am also aware of the fact that there are effects produced by\nmagicians which they declare are accomplished by natural agencies,\nwhich other magicians are entirely unable to account for or\nsatisfactorily explain. A notable case was a card performance by\nDr. Samuel C. Hooker which included the levitation of a life-sized\nhead of an animal, possessed of life-like movement while in a state\nof suspension and still there were no visible means of support. A\nnumber of these seances were given to groups of magicians only. On one\noccasion a dozen or more of the most expert professional magicians\nwere in attendance, but no one could offer a satisfactory solution.\n\nMany magical mysteries as practised for entertainment are just as\nincomprehensible as so-called Spiritualistic Phenomena and it is not\nto be wondered at that even minds trained to analytical thinking are\ndeceived and misguided. Were I at a seance and not able to explain\nwhat transpired it would not necessarily be an acknowledgment that I\nbelieved it to be genuine Spiritualism. The fact that I have mystified\nmany does not signify that what I have done, though unexplainable to\nthem, was done by the help of the Spirits. Mr. Kellar frequently,\nparticularly during the last two years of his appearance on the stage,\nsaid to the audience:\n\n\u201cDo not be ashamed if I mystify you; I have seen Houdini and his work\nand I do not know how he does it.\u201d\n\nThe simple fact that a thing looks mysterious to one does not signify\nanything beyond the necessity of analytic investigation for a fuller\nunderstanding. But to return to possibilities; I believe that the\ngreat majority of so-called manifestations can be duplicated but I am\nnot prepared to include all, because, as before explained, some are\nspontaneous, and cannot be reproduced by the mediums themselves unless\nthe identical opportunity should present itself, which is as uncertain\nas lightning striking twice in the same place--possible but improbable.\n\nIt would be extremely difficult, if not out of the question, to\nreproduce much of the \u201cphenomena\u201d by description as given by those who\nhave witnessed it. The lapse of time and the fact that a story twice\ntold never loses, renders such reproduction extremely doubtful. Were\nI to be challenged to duplicate any particular phase as presented by\na medium, permission would have to be granted to allow me not less\nthan three demonstrations. At the first, not wishing to accept any\none\u2019s word as to what happened I should want to see the manifestation\nso that there would be no surprise attack on my mind afterwards. At\nthe second sitting I would be prepared to watch what I had seen at the\nfirst sitting and the third time I would try to completely analyze\nfor duplication. It might be that some peculiar formation or years\nof special practice enabled the medium to do a certain action and\nnaturally it would require at least three seances to become thoroughly\ncognizant of the _modus operandi_, or the manipulative process used.\nIf there were no fraud, then there could be no objection to the\ndemonstrations.\n\nLet us dissect a few of the magician\u2019s statements. First: Belachini,\nconjuror to the imperial German Court, is claimed by Spiritualists as\na great magician countenancing and acknowledging the genuineness of\nSpiritualism, but by no possible stretch of imagination could he be\nso classed despite the efforts of modern Spiritualists to prove that\nhe was, for the very nature of his tricks belie his statement. No\npresent day magician would permit him to be mentioned as an authority\non Spiritualism notwithstanding the fact that Spiritualists are trying\nto prove from his letters that he was, just as they have ever since the\nletters were written.\n\nI have received reports from Karl Wilmann, of Hamburg; A. Herman, of\nBerlin, and Rosner of Haisenhaid, to the effect that Belachini was\nsolely an apparatus or mechanical conjuror with an adroit and daring\naddress. In fact, his unbounded self-confidence won him the position\nfor which he is famous. He was performing for Kaiser Wilhelm I. who sat\namazed at his suave dexterity. The climax of the performance came when\nBelachini, bowing, proffered a pen to Wilhelm.\n\n\u201cTake this, your Majesty,\u201d he requested, \u201cand attempt to write with\nit. I warn you it is a magical pen and subject only to my control; I\ncan write anything with it or cause anything to be written; you cannot.\u201d\n\nWilhelm laughingly took the pen with a confident mien, hiding his real\nawe of Belachini. He applied it to the paper before him but in spite\nof his most careful efforts, the pen balked, spluttering and splashing\nink, while Belachini stood by smiling.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said the Kaiser, \u201ctell me what to write.\u201d\n\nBelachini reflectively caressed his chin, then replied with a dry smile:\n\n\u201cWrite this. I hereby appoint Belachini Court Conjuror.\u201d\n\nThe monarch chuckled at the wit and without difficulty wrote and signed\nthe order.\n\nA second, famous in his day, was \u201cHerr Alexander,\u201d a magician whose\nfull name was Alexander Heinberger. He gave seances at the White House\nfor President Polk who sent him to South America once on a man-of-war.\nThe President was willing to believe that Heinberger was guided and\naided by the Spirits but Heinberger would neither affirm nor deny\nthe suspected origin of his feats but like a good showman left his\nobservers to their own deductions as was the practice of the Davenport\nBrothers. He lived to be ninety years old, and was a most remarkable\nold man. I visited him at his home in Munster, Westphalia.\n\nSometimes a misunderstanding entangles a magician with Spiritualism.\nThe following instance comes to my mind. It is a popular belief among\nSpiritualists that certain letters and statements bearing the signature\nof Robert Houdin are acknowledgments of his belief in Spiritualism.\nOn the contrary they refer simply to certain acts of clairvoyance\npurported to have taken place at the instance of one Alexis Didier.\nThe first statement has been translated as an interview of considerable\nlength which is concluded as follows:\n\n \u201cAh, Monsieur (Alexis Didier, as addressed by Houdin), that\n may seem so to a man of no experience in these matters, to the\n ordinary person,--though even then such a mistake is hardly\n admissible,--but to the expert! Just consider, Monsieur, that\n all my cards are faked, marked, often of unequal sizes, or\n at least artistically arranged. Again I have my signals and\n telegraphs. But in this case a fresh pack was used which I\n had just taken out of its wrapper, and which the somnambulist\n cannot have studied. There is another point, where deception\n is impossible, namely, in the handling of the cards: in the\n one case, the entire artlessness of the performance, in the\n other, that tell-tale air of effort which nothing can entirely\n disguise. Add to this his total blindness, for need I insist on\n the impossibility--the absolute impossibility--of his having\n seen. _Besides, even supposing he could see, how can we account\n for the other phenomena?_ With regard to my own \u2018second-sight\u2019\n performances, without being able to divulge my secret to you\n now, bear in mind that I am careful to tell you every evening,\n that I only promise a _second_ sight! Consequently in my case a\n first sight is indispensable.\n\n \u201cThe following day Robert Houdin gave me (Alexis Didier) the\n following signed statement:\n\n \u201c\u2018While I am by no means inclined to accept the compliments\n which M---- is kind enough to pay me, and while I am\n particularly anxious that my signature should not be held\n to prejudice in any way my opinion, either for or against\n magnetism, still I cannot refrain from affirming that the\n incidents recorded above are ABSOLUTELY CORRECT, _and that the\n more I think about them the more impossible I find it to class\n them with those which form the subject of my profession and of\n my performances_.\n\n \u201c\u2018Robert Houdin.\n \u201c\u2018May 4th, 1847.\u2019\u201d\n\n\nIt will be seen at a glance that the signature in this case refers to\na mystification by card handling, clairvoyance, forecasting, etc. His\nsecond letter was written a fortnight later and is as follows:\n\n \u201cMonsieur, (Alexis Didier) as I informed you, I was anxious\n to have a second sitting. This sitting which was held at\n Marcillet\u2019s house yesterday proved even more extraordinary\n than the first, and has left me without a shadow of a doubt as\n to the clairvoyance of Alexis. I went to this seance, fully\n determined to keep a careful watch on the game of _\u00e9cart\u00e9_,\n which had astounded me so much before. This time I took much\n greater precautions than at the first seance, for distrusting\n myself I took a friend, whose natural imperturbability enabled\n him to form a cool judgment and helped me to steady mine. I\n append an account of what took place, and you will see that\n trickery could never have produced such results as those which\n I am about to recount.\n\n \u201cI undo a pack of cards, which I had brought with me in a\n marked wrapper to guard against another pack being substituted\n for it. I shuffle and it is my deal. I deal with every\n precaution known to a man well up in all the dodges of his\n profession. It is all of no use, Alexis stops me, and pointing\n to one of the cards that I had just placed in front of him on\n the table, says:\n\n \u201c\u2018I\u2019ve got the King.\u2019\n\n \u201c\u2018But you can\u2019t possibly know yet; the trump card has not been\n turned up.\u2019\n\n \u201c\u2018You will see,\u2019 he replies. \u2018Go on.\u2019\n\n \u201cAs a matter of fact I turn up the eight of Diamonds, and his\n was the King of Diamonds. The game was continued in an odd\n enough manner, for he told me the cards I had to play, though\n my cards were hidden under the table and held close together in\n my hands. To each lead of mine he played one of his own cards\n without turning it up, and it was always the right card to have\n played against mine. I left this seance then in the greatest\n possible state of amazement, and convinced of the utter\n impossibility of chance or conjuring having been responsible\n for such marvellous results.--Yours, etc.,\n\n (Signed) \u201cRobert Houdin,\n \u201c16th May, 1847.\u201d\n\n\nI here embrace the opportunity to make a correction of a statement in\n\u201cThe Unmasking of Robert Houdin\u201d (page 287). The record and source of\ninformation at that time was published in Berlin, Germany. It gave the\nimpression that the \u201cletters\u201d cited above referred to Spiritualistic\nphenomena, but now, having come into possession of a true translation\nof these documents complete, as published by the Society for Psychical\nResearch,[128] I am of the opinion that Houdin did treat the subject of\nSpiritualism with conservative prudence and impartiality, as recorded\nby Professor Hoffmann.\n\nBut I wish to say that in my estimation of Robert Houdin, despite\nhis wonderful reputation and record as mentioned in Larousse\u2019s\nEncyclopedia, I cannot agree with his statements, because he\nmisrepresented so much in his \u201cMemoirs of a Magician.\u201d In \u201cThe\nUnmasking of Robert Houdin\u201d I devoted a whole chapter to his ignorance\nof magic and by investigating I have found that he was not competent as\nan investigator of the claims of Spiritualists.\n\nIt came quite as a shocking surprise to me to find that the letters\nwhich were supposed to refer to Spiritualistic seances, and which\nhave been quoted so often as being such, refer only to his experience\nwith Alexis the clairvoyant. It must be apparent, even to the casual\nobserver, that they have no bearings whatsoever on Spiritualism, but\nrefer only to sittings with a clairvoyant in a game of sharp card\npractice. Knowing, as I do now, what it all meant, the fact that he\nwrote the letters does not surprise me in the least. I believe a lot of\nthings transpired in that room which he could not see, or know whether\nthere was confederacy, for clairvoyants as well as mediums often get\ninformation from the most unexpected sources. Clairvoyance, like\nSpiritualism, was not in the direct line of professional observation to\nRobert Houdin. What would he or any of his confreres, who were supposed\nto be adepts at that time, say if they could visit a seance of some of\nour present day clairvoyants who are appearing before the public and\nmaking use of radio, wireless, induction coils, etc.? What a wonderful\nbunch of letters they might write because of the simple fact that they\ncould not tell how the effects were produced. It is ridiculous for\nany magician to say that the work he witnesses is not accomplished by\nconjuring or legerdemain simply because he cannot solve the problem.\n\nAs to his qualifications for adjudging the work of a clairvoyant, we\nhave but to revert to his own narration of the origin and development\nof second-sight as used by himself. This account can be found in the\nEnglish edition of his Memoirs:\n\n\u201cMy two children were playing one day in the drawing-room at a game\nthey had invented for their own amusement; the younger had bandaged his\nelder brother\u2019s eyes and made him guess the objects that he touched,\nand when later he guessed right they changed places. This simple\ngame suggested to me the most complicated idea that ever crossed my\nmind. Pursued by the notion, I ran and shut myself in my workshop, and\nwas fortunately in that happy state when the mind follows easily the\ncombinations traced by fancy. I rested my head in my hands, and in my\nexcitement laid down the first principles of second sight.\u201d\n\nIt is hard to reconcile this statement with truth in view of the\nfact that memory training, as he describes it, was in vogue and\npractised long before[129] his time and is not the way second sight is\nlearned. It could not have been discovered or invented by him except\ncoincidentally by his utter lack of knowledge bearing on the methods of\nseership and clairvoyance as practised either in his time or antiquity.\nLet me explain clearly, and I hope once for all, the valuelessness of\nhis letters as far as they relate to Spiritualism and clairvoyance.\n\nIn the first place the blindfold test[130] as produced by Alexis Didier\nto mystify Houdin. Putting cotton on the eyes and covering it with a\nhandkerchief is now used by amateurs in the cheapest kind of what we\nterm \u201cmuscle reading.\u201d There is not the slightest difficulty in seeing\nbeneath such a bandage, sometimes over it, and the range of vision can\neasily be determined by a test. In Paris I saw a mysterious performer,\nnamed Benoval, who had his eyes glued together with adhesive paper, on\ntop of it cotton was placed, and over the cotton a handkerchief, but he\ndanced around bottles and burning candles without any difficulty.\n\nRegarding the information given clairvoyantly to Madame Robert Houdin\nduring another seance with Alexis; Houdin at that time was one of the\nbest known characters of Paris, a public person, and it was the easiest\nthing in the world for Alexis to gather information concerning him and\nhis family. Houdin may not have been acquainted with the subtlety of\nwhat we now term \u201cfishing,\u201d \u201cstalling,\u201d or \u201ckilling time,\u201d in order to\nget information or put something over. He might have been mystified but\nhis knowledge of Spiritualism and clairvoyance was nil according to his\nown statement.\n\nOne of the demonstrations presented by Alexis to mystify Houdin was\nthe reading from a book, by the seer, several pages in advance of a\npage designated by the person holding the book at the time. There\ndoes not seem to be any really authentic details reported regarding\nthe exact performance of this man, Alexis, consequently much must of\nnecessity be left to conjecture and a knowledge of the orthodox methods\nfor doing such things. Such information as there is available seems\nto have passed through several hands and in all probability was first\npresented to the public through a Spiritualistic publication. However,\nthe particular effect referred to is neither new nor strange but has\nalways been a feature in second sight acts and with clairvoyants. The\nreading of a book from memory is quite possible to persons of abnormal\nmind or special training in co-relative memorizing; a very clever\nsystem with surprising possibilities. There are many cases on record of\npersons who, having read a book once, could repeat every word and even\ntell where the punctuation was. The ability to recite entire chapters\nor parts of them is much more common, and is not difficult for trained\nminds such as are possessed by members of theatrical stock companies,\nwho are oftentimes obliged to commit to memory simultaneously three or\nfour plays, and this too while on the road. In order to be prepared to\nplay one part in the afternoon and an entirely different one the same\nnight, stock actors frequently have to do some marvellous memorization\nwork on short notice. It is not an exception but the rule. They get\nlong parts with from fifty to a hundred and fifty \u201csides,\u201d each side\ncontaining from one to ten speeches. The foster-mother\u2019s speech in\n\u201cCommon Clay\u201d is over three pages, and the Duchess\u2019 in the first\nact of Oscar Wilde\u2019s \u201cLady Wildmere\u2019s Fan\u201d is about four pages. The\nwell-known actress, Miss Beatrice Moreland, told me that she memorized\nthem both in an hour and was almost letter perfect. The actor\u2019s rule\nfor memorizing parts is to take ten pages first and when they have been\ncommitted to memory take ten more. If such feats can be done as the\nresult of training how easy it must be for an abnormal mind to memorize\na book.\n\nThere comes to my mind a phenomenal memory feat by a blind slave boy\ncalled \u201cBlind Tom.\u201d He would listen while a composer played an original\ncomposition. As soon as the composer finished Tom seated himself at the\npiano and reproduced the entire piece with all the composer\u2019s delicacy\nof shading and technique.\n\nThere is a case on record of a memory performance, I think in\nRousseau\u2019s time, where a poet read a piece of poetry, a long monody, to\nthe King. At its conclusion the King said:\n\n\u201cWhy, that is quite an old story, I have heard it before. As a matter\nof fact the man who related it to me is in my palace now; I will send\nfor him and have him recite it for you.\u201d\n\nHe spoke to a servant who left the room and returned in a few minutes\nwith the memory man who stood in the center of the room and recited the\nentire poem. It appears that the King, wishing to mystify the poet,\nhad the memory man hidden in a closet where he could hear the poem read.\n\nInaudi, a Frenchman, has given performances both in America and Europe\nin which he looks at a blackboard covered with figures written by a\ncommittee, then turns around and immediately tells correctly every\nfigure on the board and its position; adds, subtracts, and multiplies\nthem, with lightning-like rapidity, and all without looking at the\nboard a second time. He makes no claim to psychic or clairvoyant powers\nbut simply explains his wonderful performance as being the result of a\nphotographic memory.\n\nI might repeat such instances indefinitely but I think I have given\nenough to substantiate my claim of precedence for God\u2019s natural laws\nand their marvellous, even incomprehensible working, over any so-called\nsupernatural endowment of a class of people so thoroughly disqualified\nby all known laws of moral sociology, as many professional mediums are\nadmitted to be by their most ardent supporters.\n\nEven such an eminent mystifier as Robert Houdin can misjudge when it\ncomes to fathoming the so-called manifestations of the professional\nmedium. As I have explained in \u201cThe Unmasking of Robert Houdin,\u201d\npage 291, he makes two flagrant errors in attempting to explain the\nDavenport Brothers\u2019 trick. First he claims that \u201cby dint of special\npractice on the part of the mediums, the thumb is made to lie flat in\nthe hand, when the whole assumes a cylindrical form of scarcely greater\ndiameter than the _wrist_.\u201d Secondly, he declares that the Davenport\nBrothers possessed the power of seeing in the dark as the result of\npractice or training.\n\nReleasing myself from fastenings of all sorts, from ropes to\nstraightjackets, has been my profession for over thirty-five years,\ntherefore I am in a position to positively contradict Houdin\u2019s first\nstatement. I have met thousands of persons who claimed that the rope\ntrick as well as the handcuff trick was accomplished by folding the\nhand together or by making the wrist larger than the hand, but I have\nnever met the man or woman who could make the hand smaller than the\nwrist. I have even gone so far as to have iron bands made to press my\nhands together, hoping to make them smaller than my wrists eventually,\nbut it was no use. Even if the thumbs were cut away I believe it would\nbe impossible to slip a rope that is properly bound around the wrist.\nFurthermore I know that Houdin was wrong in regard to the Davenports\nbecause of what Ira Erastus Davenport himself told me.\n\nEqually preposterous is the gift of seeing in the dark with which\nHoudin endowed the Davenports. Professor Hoffmann defends Houdin by\nciting instances of prisoners who had been confined in a dungeon for\nan indefinite period and had learned to see in the dark. Ira Erastus\nDavenport laughed at the idea and Morelle, who was confined in a\ndungeon for a number of years, told me that all the years he had spent\nin darkness did not accustom his eyesight at all and that to have seen\nan article plainly he would have been forced to hold it close to his\neyes and even then would have had to stretch his imagination.\n\nBaggally, an investigator, a member of the Society for Psychical\nResearch, London, England, emphatically records that he believes the\nZancigs are _genuine telepathists_, and my friend, Sir Arthur Conan\nDoyle, though he says that Zancig has given proof numerous times that\nhe works with a code, nevertheless has stated in writing that he\nbelieved the Zancigs to be genuine. I want to go on record that the\nZancigs never impressed me as being anything but clever, silent and\nsignal codists. Zancig has admitted freely to members of the Society\nof American Magicians, of which he is a member, that they were not\ntelepathists but, as we term it, \u201csecond sight artists.\u201d They simply\nhave a wonderful code which the public cannot detect. It is interesting\nto know that after Mrs. Zancig\u2019s death, Zancig took a street-car\nconductor from Philadelphia and broke him in to do the act. This young\nman soon quit his teacher, married, and began presenting the act with\nhis wife. Then Zancig took young David Bamberg, an intelligent son\nof Theodore Bamberg, one of our well-known magicians. The boy proved\nexceptionally clever but on account of unexpected circumstances he left\nand went abroad. Zancig came to me for an assistant and I introduced\nhim to an actress. He said he would guarantee to teach her the code\ninside of a month, but they never came to an agreement on financial\nmatters. Zancig has now married again, this time a school teacher,\nand they are doing a very clever performance. In passing I would note\nthat in 1906 or 1907 I engaged Zancig to go with my show. I had ample\nopportunity to watch his system and codes. They are swift, sure, and\nsilent, and I must give him credit for being expertly adept in his\nchosen line of mystery, but I have his personal word, given before a\nwitness, that telepathy does not enter into it.\n\nCharles Morritt has a code for second sight which is very simple and\ncan be taught to anyone in thirty minutes. He has given me the secret.\nHe gave this code to a banker who performed it with his sister, and\nMorritt, although he had taught the signals, could not follow or detect\nthem once they began to work smoothly. Of course he knew what they were\ndoing but simply could not follow them.\n\nRegarding the possibility of using codes and cues before others without\nbeing detected I can say positively that it is not only possible but\nsimple and practical. I had a fox terrier by the name of \u201cBobby\u201d that\nI trained to pick up cards by a cue. On May 31, 1918, I performed with\nthis dog before the Society of American Magicians and I do not believe\nthat there was one in the audience who detected my silent cue. I spoke\nabout this to a number of expert professionals who thought, to all\nintents and purposes, that Bobby was listening to my speech, whereas\nI was silently cueing him all the time. I do not wish to expose the\nsilent cue as I know that the great dog trainers of the world use it\nand it would not be fair to them to make it public. I was able to give\nBobby his silent cue in any room or even a newspaper office and the\nspectators could watch me closely all the time because I never made a\nmove they could see or a sound they could hear.\n\nIt is common to train other animals in a similar way. During one of\nmy tours in Germany I saw a horse called \u201cKluge Hans\u201d that was able\nto spell, add, subtract, pick out cards, and with his feet make one\ntap for yes and two taps for no. Kluge Hans fooled the professors for\na long time but finally it came out that he got his cues from the\ntrainer\u2019s assistant. It is not generally known that, owing to the\nposition of his eyes, a horse can look backwards to a certain degree\nand the investigators did not notice the assistant who stood just back\nof the horse\u2019s head.\n\nAt one time William Eglinton, an English medium, was undoubtedly\nconsidered by Spiritualists the most powerful professional psychic not\nonly in England but throughout a greater part of Europe. In 1876 he\nheld the palm as a successor to Slade in slate writing tricks. He was a\nstrong card for the cause and was extolled and lauded to the skies by\nthe Spiritualistic press. He produced varied phenomena in addition to\nhis slate writing effects, such as the movement of articles, production\nof Spirit lights, and materialization. The Spiritualists have told\nthat \u201che was so skillful that several practised conjurors as well\nas many investigators\u201d were at a loss to detect or account for his\nmethods. That may have been so. Half a century ago conjurors were not\nup on Spiritualism as they are to-day, and besides, it must be conceded\nthat even conjurors are not immune to being deceived. Nevertheless\nthere were conjurors and lay investigators fully qualified to discover\nand expose his frauds.\n\nIn 1876, while in his prime as a medium, he was exposed in the\nmaterialization of an Arab. This Arab\u2019s flowing beard and draperies\nwere very familiar to English Spiritualists and as proof of the actual\nmaterialization sitters were permitted to cut fragments from the beard\nand robes. Archdeacon Colley, an interested member of a circle of\nsitters, suspecting fraud, secured some clippings and a few days later\nwhen opportunity offered \u201che _found_ in Eglinton\u2019s portmanteau a false\nbeard and a quantity of muslin to which the detached relics perfectly\ncorresponded.\u201d He was also exposed several other times but this did not\nprevent the Spiritualist paper, _Light_, from publishing in October,\n1886, a mass of testimony given by more than a hundred observers,\nincluding persons of high culture and social standing, to show that\nthe phenomena at his seances were not due to any deliberate action on\nthe part of the medium but to \u201cconclusively establish the existence of\nsome objective, intelligent force, capable of acting externally to the\nmedium and in contravention of the recognized laws of matter.\u201d\n\nThe publication of such statements inspired Professor H. Carvill\nLewis[131] to visit Eglinton for the purpose of investigation and\narrangements were made for him to have a first sitting in November\njust a month after the extravagant statement in _Light_. Aware of\nthe frailty of memory Professor Lewis made notes during the seance\nand wrote out his deductions and conclusions immediately after. He\ndiscovered at an early stage that close scrutiny did not produce an\natmosphere sufficiently wholesome for desired results. While his\nattention was concentrated on the medium the \u201c_objective intelligent\nforce_\u201d seemed totally inoperative, but whenever he turned his\nattention from the medium and apparently became absorbed in making\nnotes the \u201c_intelligent force_\u201d became active instanter. Under the\nobservation of Professor Lewis, Eglinton failed utterly at times and\nat others simply _declined_ to work when conditions were against him.\nProfessor Lewis quotes him as claiming that he had converted Kellar to\nSpiritualism but refutes such a claim in the following words:\n\n\u201cSo far is this from being the case that Mr. Kellar, whom I know\npersonally, is nightly offering in America twenty pounds to anyone\nwho will produce Spiritualistic phenomena that he cannot imitate by\nconjuring.\u201d\n\nThe facts are that Kellar had a sitting with Eglinton in Calcutta to\nsee if he could reproduce his effects by natural means. His mind was\nunbiased, and failing to detect Eglinton\u2019s method he remarked, \u201cIf\nmy senses are to be relied on the writing is in no way the result of\ntrickery or sleight-of-hand.\u201d But note the qualification in his remark:\n\u201cIf my senses are to be relied upon.\u201d Evidently he had his misgivings\nthen and he must have worked out the problem soon after for two\nyears later, as Professor Lewis told, he was producing the effect in\nAmerica, and not long after performed both the Slade and Eglinton slate\ntricks before the Seybert Commission in Philadelphia to its complete\namazement.\n\nIt was not strange that Kellar did not detect Eglinton\u2019s method\ninstantly nor is it strange that he acknowledged that he was baffled.\nNo magician is immune from being deceived and it is no way beneath a\nmagician\u2019s dignity or demeaning to professional reputation to openly\nadmit that he cannot always account for what he thinks he sees.\n\nErnst Basch, of the famous Basch family, who made the major apparatus\nfor the magicians of the world, told me that he made hundreds of\nwireless tables before wireless was so well known under the name of\n\u201cThe Bewitched Table.\u201d He was a great illusion inventor and builder\nwith a wonderful knowledge but in all his experience and contact with\nmediums he had never seen anything which would make him believe in\nSpiritualism. Neither has Francis J. Martinka, who traveled around the\nworld with Haselmeyer, the magician, and who has sold magical apparatus\nin New York City for over forty years. I have the following letter from\nhim in regard to Spirit-communication.\n\n \u201c146 East 54th Street,\n New York City,\n March 23rd, 1921.\n\n \u201cDear Mr. Houdini:\n\n \u201cIn answer to your question if I believe in Spiritualism,\n or the possibility of the return to this earth after death,\n how can I believe in such a thing as Spiritualism, when for\n more than two score years as the prominent magical dealer and\n manufacturer of mysterious effects I have supplied almost\n every known and thousands of unknown tricks or apparatus\n to the great majority of magicians, and indirectly to\n well-known mediums (one instance you may remember owing to the\n hullabaloo it raised at the time, when I sold luminous paint\n to Hereward Carrington, at the exact time when he was manager\n of the celebrated medium, E. Palladino, who had baffled the\n scientists of the world), also to all the managers of magician\n supply houses in existence.\n\n \u201cNo, I must say positively I do not believe in Spiritualism and\n it has always amused me to see how easy it is to deceive the\n human beings who seek solace for their grief or those who delve\n into the mysteries of which they know nothing.\n\n \u201cIn the forty years experience I have never seen anything that\n could convince me that such a thing as Spiritualism existed.\n\n \u201cAnd to show you that I wish my letter to be positively\n authentic, have two friends sign as witnesses.\n\n \u201cRegards.\n \u201cSincerely yours,\n (Signed) \u201cFrancis J. Martinka.\n\n \u201cWitnesses.\n\n (Signed) Jean A. Leroy,\n 133 3rd Ave.\n\n (Signed) Billy O\u2019Connor,\n Magicians\u2019 Club,\n London.\u201d\n\n\nAnother who finds nothing but \u201cgross fraud\u201d in Spiritualism after sixty\nyears of study is A. M. Wilson, M. D., of Kansas City, Mo., Editor and\nPublisher of _The Sphinx_. He wrote me as follows:\n\n 1007 Main St.,\n Kansas City, Mo.\n\n My dear Houdini:--\n\n For almost sixty-one years I have been witnessing and\n investigating Spiritualism and Spiritism as propagated by\n mediums through their so-called communications with the dead.\n Up to this time I have not met a medium, celebrated or\n obscure, that was not a gross fraud, nor seen a manifestation\n that was not trickery and that could not be duplicated by\n any expert magician and that without the conditions and\n restrictions demanded by the mediums or explained by perfectly\n natural mental or physical methods.\n\n Sure there are certain mental and psychic phenomena peculiar to\n a few persons who use their special gift to delude believers\n (as well as other credulous persons) with the belief that their\n work is supernatural, but even these phenomena can be analyzed\n and explained by any competent psychologist.\n\n The thing that first aroused my suspicion and disbelief and\n started me to thinking and investigating, was, why could not\n the dear departed communicate direct with their relatives and\n friends? why talk, or rap, or write or materialize through a\n medium, the majority of whom are ignorant men and women, though\n shrewd and cunning; and if through a medium why should the\n medium need a control, especially of an old Indian chief or\n prattling Indian maiden? Why a control at all?\n\n True there are a few well educated, intelligent and refined\n mediums in the business and which advantage makes them the more\n dangerous but none the less fraudulent than their more ignorant\n confreres.\n\n I repeat, that from my first seance in Aurora, Ind., February,\n 1863, until this date of 1923 I have never met a medium\n that was not a fraud or seen a manifestation of any kind or\n character that was not fraudulent. In other words was a more\n or less crude or skillful magical performance by a clever\n trickster or tricksteress.\n\n (Signed) A.\u00a0M. Wilson, M.\u00a0D.,\n Editor _The Sphinx_.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVI\n\nCONCLUSION\n\n\nIt has been my desire in this book to convey to the reader my views\nregarding Spiritualism which are the result of study and investigation,\nthe startling feature of which has been the utter inability of the\naverage human being to describe accurately anything he or she has\nwitnessed. Many sitters, devoid of the sense of acute observation,\nprefer to garnish and embellish their stories with the fruits of their\nfertile imaginations, adding a choice bit every time the incident is\nreported, and eventually, by a trick of the brain, really believing\nwhat they say. It is evident, therefore, that by clever misguidance and\napt misdirection of attention, a medium can accomplish seeming wonders.\nThe sitter becomes positively self-deluded and actually thinks he has\nseen weird phantoms or has heard the voice of a beloved one.\n\nTo my knowledge I have never been baffled in the least by what I have\nseen at seances. Everything I have seen has been merely a form of\nmystification. The secret of all such performances is to catch the mind\noff guard and the moment after it has been surprised to follow up with\nsomething else that carries the intelligence along with the performer,\neven against the spectator\u2019s will. When it is possible to do this\nwith a highly developed mind like Mr. Kellar\u2019s, one trained in magic\nmystery, and when scientific men of the intelligence of Sir Oliver\nLodge, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the late William Crookes and William T.\nStead, can be made to believe by such means how much easier it must be\nin the case of ordinary human beings.\n\nI cannot accept nor even comprehend the intelligence which justifies\nthe conclusion, so often put in print as the opinion of brainy men\nsupporting Spiritualism, that admits the possibility of a result being\naccomplished by natural means but nevertheless assert their sincere\nbelief that the identical performance by a professional medium is\nsolely of supernatural origin and guidance, nor can I understand the\nreasoning that, acknowledging the disreputable character of certain\npractitioners or mediums, deliberately defends the culprits in the\nperformance of what has been proven a crime. Is it true logic, logic\nthat would stand either in court or club room, to say that a medium\ncaught cheating ninety-nine times out of a hundred was honest the\nhundredth time because not caught? Would the reader trust a servant\nwho stole ninety-nine articles and then professed innocence when the\nhundredth article was missing?\n\nSir Conan Doyle asks in all innocence, \u201cIs it really scientific to\ndeny and at the same time refuse to investigate?\u201d My answer is most\nemphatically \u201cno.\u201d Nevertheless, they absolutely oppose all honest\nefforts at investigation, and justify the mediums in refusing to\nwork when the conditions are not just as they want them. When one is\ninvited to a dark seance for the purpose of investigation and finds the\nconditions so fixed as to bar him from enquiring too closely and compel\nhim to be content with merely looking on he stands a poor chance of\ngetting at the facts, and should he dare to disregard the \u201crules of the\ncircle\u201d and the seance results in a blank, the investigator is charged\nwith having brought an atmosphere of incredulity to bear which prevents\nmanifestation.\n\nI do not affirm that the claims of Spiritualism are disproved by\nsuch failures but I do say that if under such circumstances one\ndared to investigate properly and sanely, and to cross-examine,\nas he most certainly would do in any other form of investigation,\nscientific, or in the other walks of life, Spiritualism would not\nbe so generously accepted. In justification the psychic says that\ndarkness or excessively dim light is perfectly legitimate and that\ntangible investigation might result in _injury_ or even _death_ to\nthe medium. The folly of any such fear has been proven time and again\nby the unexpected play of a flash light. Even the ardent supporters\nwho lay emphasis on such an absurdity have, according to their own\nconfession, made, or had made, flashlight photographs and there has\nnever been a single case of harm or disaster reported. This necessity\nfor darkness seems but the grossest invention of the medium to divert,\neven to the point of intimidation, the attention of the sitters. Such a\nnecessity cannot be accorded a logical reason for existing under test\nconditions to demonstrate a scientific subject. It can be supported\nonly as a visionary, speculative superstition; an instrument to foster\nhallucinatory illusion and as an admirable subterfuge to cover fraud.\n\nSir Arthur says:\n\n\u201cIf you want to send a telegram you must go to a telegraph office. If\nyou want to telephone you must first pick up the receiver and give your\nmessage to either an operator or a waiting automaton.\u201d\n\nVery well, I have gone to the operator between the Beyond and this\nearthly sphere, I have gone to the telegraph office that receives\nthe message in code, to the so-called _medium_. What would be more\nwonderful to me than to be able to converse with my beloved mother?\nSurely there is no love in this world like a mother\u2019s love, no\ncloseness of spirit, no other heart throbs that beat alike; but I have\nnot heard from my blessed Mother, except through the dictates of the\ninmost recesses of my heart, the thoughts which fill my brain and the\nmemory of her teachings.\n\nWould not my private secretary, John William Sargent, come back to me\nand tell me the secrets of the beyond if it were possible? Did he not,\njust before he died, tell me that he would come to me if there was\nany way of doing it? More than being a private secretary, he was my\nfriend,--true, loyal, sacrificing,--knew me for thirty years. He has\nnot come back to me and he would if it were possible.\n\nI had compacts with a round dozen. Each one promised me faithfully\nto come back if it were possible. I have even gone so far as to\ncreate secret codes and hand-grips. Sargent had a certain word he was\nto repeat to me; William Berol, the eminent mental expert, gave me\nthe secret handshake a few hours before he died and did not regain\nconsciousness after silently telling me that he remembered our compact;\nAtlanta Hall, niece of President Pierce, a woman ninety years of age,\nwho had had seances with the greatest mediums that visited Boston,\ncalled for me just before her death, clasped my hand and gave me our\nagreed-upon grip which she was to give me through a medium. They have\nnever come back to me! Does that prove anything? I have attended a\nnumber of seances since their death, the mediums have called for them,\nand when their spirit forms were supposed to appear not one of them\ncould give me the proper signal. Would I have received it? I\u2019ll wager I\nwould have. There was love of some kind between each of these friends\nwho are gone and myself. It is needless to point out the love of a\nmother and son; the love of a real friend; the love of a woman of\nninety toward a man who held her dear; the love of a philosopher toward\na man who respected his life study,--they were all loves, each strong,\neach binding. If these persons, with all the love they bore in their\nheart for me and all the love I have in my heart for them, did not\nreturn, what about those who did not hold me close, who had no interest\nin me? Why should they come back and mine not?\n\nSir Arthur Conan Doyle has repeatedly told the Spiritualists that I\nwill eventually see the light and embrace Spiritualism. If the memory\nof a loved one, gone to the protection of the hands of the Great\nMystifier means Spiritualism, then truly I do believe in it. But\nif Spiritualism is to be founded on the tricks of exposed mediums,\nfeats of magic, resort to trickery, then I say unflinchingly I do not\nbelieve, and more, I will not believe. I have said many times that I am\nwilling to believe, want to believe, will believe, if the Spiritualists\ncan show any substantiated proof, but until they do I shall have to\nlive on, believing from all the evidence shown me and from what I have\nexperienced that Spiritualism has not been proven satisfactorily to the\nworld at large and that none of the evidence offered has been able to\nstand up under the fierce rays of investigation.\n\nIt is not for us to prove that the mediums are dishonest, it is for\nthem to prove that they _are_ honest. They have made a statement, the\nmost serious statement in recent times, for it affects the welfare,\nthe mental attitude and means a complete revolution of age-old beliefs\nand customs of the world. If there is anything to Spiritualism then\nthe world should know it. If there is nothing to it, if it is, as\nit appears, built on a flimsy framework of misdirection, then too\nthe universe must be told. There is too much at stake for a flighty\npassing, for unsubstantiated truths.\n\n\n\n\nAPPENDIX\n\n\nA\n\n_Statement of Margaret Fox_\n\n\u201cDo you know that there is something behind the shadowy mask of\nSpiritualism that the public can hardly guess at? I am stating now what\nI know, not because I actually participated in it, for I would never\nbe a party to such promiscuous nastiness, but because I had plenty of\nopportunity, as you may imagine, of verifying it. Under the name of\nthis dreadful, this horrible, hypocrisy--Spiritualism--everything that\nis improper, bad and immoral is practiced. They go even so far as to\nhave what they call \u2018Spiritual children.\u2019 They pretend to something\nlike the immaculate conception! Could anything be more blasphemous,\nmore disgusting, more thinly deceptive than that? In London I went in\ndisguise to a quiet seance at the house of a wealthy man, and I saw\na so-called materialization. The effect was produced with the aid of\nluminous paper, the luster of which was reflected upon the operator.\nThe figure thus displayed was that of a woman, virtually nude, being\nenveloped in transparent gauze, the face alone being concealed. This\nwas one of those seances to which the privileged non-believing friends\nof believing Spiritualists could have access. But there are other\nseances where none but the most tried and trusted are admitted, and\nwhere there are shameless goings on that vie with the secret Saturnalia\nof the Romans. I could not describe these things to you, because I\nwould not.\u201d\n\nFrom \u201cThe Death Blow to Spiritualism,\u201d by Ruben Briggs Davenport. Page\n50.\n\n\nB\n\n_Irving\u2019s Speech_\n\nSpeech of Henry Irving preceding his imitation of the Davenports\nFebruary 25, 1865, at the Manchester Athen\u00e6um, Manchester, England.\n\n\u201cLadies and gentlemen:--In introducing to your notice the remarkable\nphenomena which have attended the gentlemen, who are not brothers, who\nare about to appear before you, I do not deem it necessary to offer my\nobservations upon their extraordinary manifestations. I shall therefore\nat once commence a long rigmarole for the purpose of distracting your\nattention, and filling your intelligent heads with perplexity. I need\nnot tell this enlightened audience that the manifestations they are\nabout to witness are produced by occult power, the meaning of which\nI don\u2019t clearly understand; but, we simply bring before your notice\nfacts, and from these you must form your own conclusions. Concerning\nthe early life of these gentlemen, columns of the most uninteresting\ndescription could be written; I will mention one or two interesting\nfacts connected with these remarkable men, and for the truth of which I\npersonally vouch. In early life, one of them to the perfect unconcern\nof everybody else, was constantly and most unconsciously floating about\nhis peaceful dwelling in the arms of his amiable nurse, while, on other\noccasions, he was frequently tied with invisible hands to his mother\u2019s\napron strings. Peculiarities of a like nature were exhibited by his\ncompanion, whose acquaintance with various Spirits commenced many\nyears ago, and has increased to the present moment with pleasure to\nhimself and profit to others. These gentlemen have not been celebrated\nthroughout the vast continent of America, they have not astonished\nthe civilized world, but they have travelled in various parts of\nthis glorious land--the land of Bacon--and are about to appear in a\nphase in your glorious city of Manchester. Many really sensible and\nintelligent individuals seem to think that the requirement of darkness\nseems to infer trickery. So it does. But I will strive to convince you\nthat it does not. Is not a dark chamber essential to the process of\nphotography? And what would we reply to him who would say \u2018I believe\nphotography is a humbug, do it all in the light and we will believe\notherwise\u2019? It is true that we know why darkness is essential to the\nproduction of a sun picture; and if scientific men will subject these\nphenomena to analysis, they will find why darkness is essential to our\nmanifestations. But we don\u2019t want them to find out, we want them to\navoid a common-sense view of the mystery. We want them to be blinded by\nour puzzle, and to believe with implicit faith in the greatest humbug\nin the nineteenth century.\u201d\n\n\nC\n\n_Lord Adare\u2019s Story._\n\nThat is the way Spiritualistic chroniclers tell this story, but\nLord Dunraven, in a letter to the Editor of _The Weekly Dispatch_,\nLondon, Eng., March 21, 1920, gives quite a different version of the\noccurrence, and because of its intrinsic worth as refutation of the\nloud claim made by Spiritualists I am reproducing the entire article\nincluding head lines:\n\n\n\u201cMEDIUM\u2019S ENTRY BY WINDOW\n\n\u201cWHAT I SAW AT ASHLEY HOUSE\n\n\u201c_By Lord Dunraven._\n\n\u201cMy attention has been drawn to accounts of a debate on \u2018Spiritualism\u2019\non March 11 between Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Mr. Joseph McCabe, in\nwhich the latter is reported to have described the alleged wafting of\nMr. D. D. Home from window to window as one of the greatest pieces of\ntrickery to be found in the whole Spiritualistic movement.\n\n\u201cAssuming the substantial accuracy of the report, I, as the sole\nsurvivor of those present on the occasion, think it my duty, in justice\nto the dead, to mention the facts as recorded by me at the time.\n\n\u201cThey are extracted from a long letter descriptive of the evening to my\nfather, who was much interested in the subject. Whether my letter was\nsubmitted to the others present I cannot now say for certain. I have no\ndoubt that it was, for my custom was always to ask others present to\ntest the accuracy of any record that I kept.\n\n\u201cThe date was December 16, 1868. Those present were myself (then Lord\nAdare), the late Lord Crawford, (then Master of Lindsay), a cousin of\nmine, Mr. Wynne (Charlie) and Mr. D. D. Home.\n\n\n\u201cON THE THIRD FLOOR\n\n\u201cThe scene was Ashley House (in Ashley-place). Speaking from memory,\nit consisted of two rooms facing the front--that is, looking on\nAshley-place--a passage at the back running the length of the two\nrooms, a door in each room connecting it with the passage. The locality\nis thus described in the letter to my father:\n\n\u201c\u2018Outside each window is a small balcony or ledge, 19 in. deep,\nbounded by stone balustrade, 18 in. high. The balustrades of the two\nwindows are 7 ft. 4 in. apart, measuring from the nearest points. A\nstring-course, 4 in. wide, runs between the windows at the level of the\nbottom of the balustrade, and another, 3 in. wide, at the level of the\ntop. Between the window at which Home went out and that at which he\ncame in the wall recedes 6 in. The rooms are on the third floor.\u2019\n\n\u201cThe following account of the incident is extracted from the letter to\nmy father:\n\n\u201cHe (Home) then said to us, \u2018Do not be afraid, and on no account leave\nyour places;\u2019 and he went out into the passage.\n\n\n\u201cFROM ROOM TO ROOM\n\n\u201cLindsay suddenly said, \u2018Oh, good heavens! I know what he is going to\ndo; it is too fearful.\u2019 Adare: \u2018What is it?\u2019 Lindsay: \u2018I cannot tell\nyou; it is too horrible! Adah says that I must tell you; he is going\nout of the window in the other room, and coming in at this window.\u2019\n\n\u201cWe heard Home go into the next room, heard the window thrown up, and\npresently Home appeared standing upright outside our window. He opened\nthe window and walked in quite cooly. \u2018Ah,\u2019 he said, \u2018you were good\nthis time,\u2019 referring to our having sat still and not wished to prevent\nhim. He sat down and laughed.\n\n\u201cCharlie: \u2018What are you laughing at?\u2019 Home: \u2018We are thinking that if\na policeman had been passing and had looked up and seen a man turning\nround and round along the wall in the air he would have been much\nastonished. Adare, shut the window in the next room.\u2019\n\n\u201cI got up, shut the window, and in coming back remarked that the window\nwas not raised a foot, and that I could not think how he had managed to\nsqueeze through.\n\n\n\u201cOUT, HEAD FIRST\n\n\u201cHe arose and said \u2018Come and see.\u2019 I went with him; he told me to open\nthe window as it was before, I did so; he told me to stand a little\ndistance off; he then went through the open space, head first, quite\nrapidly, his body being nearly horizontal and apparently rigid. He came\nin again, feet foremost, and we returned to the other room.\n\n\u201cIt was so dark I could not see clearly how he was supported outside.\nHe did not appear to grasp, or rest upon, the balustrade, but rather to\nbe swung out and in.\u201d\n\n\u201cSuch are the facts as narrated at the time. I make no comment except\nthis. Rigorously speaking, it is incorrect to say, as I think has been\nsaid, that we _saw_ Mr. Home wafted from one window to the other.\n\n\u201cAs to whether he was or was not, I am concerned only to state the\nfacts as observed at the time, not to make deductions from them.\u201d\n\nIn view of this publication, it is quite natural to infer that Sir\nArthur Conan Doyle was cognizant of it at the time of its appearance,\nbecause of his controversy with Mr. Joseph McCabe, on that subject;\ntherefore, it is difficult to reconcile that thought with the fact of\nSir Arthur\u2019s unmitigated praise and endorsement of a man such as all\nadduced evidence has branded a charlatan.\n\n\nD\n\n_Luther R. Marsh and the Huylers_\n\nIn 1903, Luther R. Marsh again fell into the hands of charlatans as Mr.\nIsaac K. Funk tells in his book \u201cThe Widow\u2019s Mite and Other Psychic\nPhenomena.\u201d A court set aside the assignment of several insurance\npolicies which Marsh had made to a medium known as Mrs. Huyler. Mr.\nFunk tells the story as follows:\n\n\u201cOn the day Mr. Marsh transferred the policies he (Huyler) and his\nwife had gone to Mr. Marsh\u2019s room, where Mrs. Huyler claimed to hold\ncommunication with the Spirits and told Mr. Marsh there was a terrible\nuproar in Spiritland because he declined to transfer the policies. She\ntold him that his Spiritualistic wife, Adelaide Neilson, was tearing\nher hair and weeping, and heaping reproaches upon him. His wife, Mrs.\nMarsh, was acting in the same fashion, and his father-in-law, \u2018Sunset,\u2019\nAlvin Stewart, was exceedingly wroth.\n\n\u201cMr. Marsh was alarmed at this manifestation of Spiritualistic\ndispleasure, and agreed to transfer the policies. At the last moment he\nhesitated and claimed that because his will was made out he thought it\nbetter to postpone the matter a little while; but Mrs. Huyler insisted\nthat he go across the way to a lawyer\u2019s office, and he did so.\n\n\u201cWhile he was gone Mrs. Huyler admitted that the trance was a \u2018fake\u2019\nand said that she wanted to get all she could from the \u2018old fool\u2019\nbefore he died.\n\n\u201cMr. Marsh returned to the room presently and assured her that the\ntransfer had been made as she desired. As soon as this evidence had\nbeen given by Huyler, Justice Marean ended the proceedings.\n\n\u201c\u2018This man is a thief and a fraud,\u2019 he said turning to Huyler, \u2018and\nhe acted the part of a thief when he and his wife conspired to secure\nthose policies by the means he has just related.\u2019\u201d\n\n\nE\n\n_Police Record of Ann O\u2019Delia Diss Debar._\n\nEditha Loleta, Jackson, alias The Swami--5--3\u00bd--sallow.\n\nHair brown, turning gray. Blue eyes. Occupation, authoress.\n\nSentence:\n\n6 mos., New York. 19.6.88. Swindling. Ann O\u2019Delia Diss Debar.\n\n2 years, Geneva. 25.3.93. Larceny. Vera P. Ava.\n\nExpelled from New Orleans. 7.5.99. Swindling, Susp. Person. Edith\nJackson.\n\n30 days, New Orleans. 16.5.99. Susp. Person. Edith Jackson.\n\n7 years penal servitude, Central Criminal Court, London. 16.12.01.\nAiding and abetting the commission of rape. Editha Loleta Jackson.\n\n\nF\n\n_Judge Edmonds_\n\nJudge Edmonds was born in Hudson, N. Y., in 1799, received a college\neducation and studied law. In 1819 he entered the law office of\nPresident Van Buren. In 1828 he was appointed Recorder of Hudson and\nin 1831 was elected to the State Senate by an unprecedented majority.\nIn 1843 he was appointed Inspector of the State Prison at Sing Sing\nholding the position until 1845 when he resigned to become a Circuit\nJudge of the First Judicial District. Later he was elected Judge of the\nState Supreme Court and finally in 1851 became a member of the Court of\nAppeals. These various offices gave him experience in the widest range\nof judicial duties; he had a greatly developed mentality and was known\nas the shrewdest judge of his time.\n\nIn 1850 he lost his wife with whom he had lived for over thirty\nyears. He was very much affected by her death and his mind became\noccupied with inquiries concerning the nature and conditions of\ndeath, frequently spending the greater part of the night reading and\nreflecting on the subject. One midnight he seemed to hear the voice\nof his wife speaking a sentence to him. It was his doom. He started\nas though shot and from that time on devoted all his time, money and\nenergy to Spiritualism. His faith did not waver to the end. On his\ndeath bed he claimed to be surrounded by Spirit forms and declared\nthat by reason of entering their sphere in an advanced state of\nspiritual development he would be able to send back messages and\nproofs of Spiritualism at once. He died April 5th, 1874 (the very\ndate of my birth). I doubt if the history of Spiritualism can point\nout a man of greater brilliancy who ruined his life following up this\n\u201cwill-o-the-wisp\u201d to relieve his grief.\n\n\nG\n\n_Doyle and the \u201cDenver Express.\u201d_\n\nThis reminds me of a conversation which we had in Denver in May, 1923,\nwhen he admitted to me that he was frequently misquoted and made to say\nthings which he never even thought of.\n\nBy some prank of fate, Sir Arthur was booked to lecture in Denver at\nthe same time I was performing there.\n\nLady Doyle, Sir Arthur, Mrs. Houdini and myself went out motoring\nin the morning and when we returned to the hotel Sir Arthur excused\nhimself. About two hours later on my way to the Orpheum Theatre, Sir\nArthur came dashing through the lobby of the hotel excitedly looking\naround for someone. I walked up to him saying, \u201cAnything I can do for\nyou?\u201d He put his arm around me and said, \u201cHoudini, there is a challenge\nof $5,000 in this paper which I am purported to have issued. I want you\nto know that I would never dream of doing such a thing, to you above\neveryone else.\u201d\n\nI replied, \u201cSir Arthur, this is just another case, where you have been\nmisquoted. No doubt you are thinking that I am going to believe it, for\nI know that if conditions were reversed you would have believed it;\ntherefore, you see it is best to investigate before giving credence to\nanything as being a fact. I am not even upset about it--things happen\nthat way. Will you please remember this incident the next time you read\nan interview supposedly issued by me?\u201d Sir Arthur left for Salt Lake\nCity the next morning.\n\nI walked into the Editorial Department of the _Denver Express_, saw Mr.\nSydney B. Whipple, the Managing Editor, and told him that I had met Sir\nArthur the night before and that he was very indignant at the challenge\nwhich the paper reported he issued. I said, \u201cYou see, Mr. Whipple,\nSir Arthur, Lady Doyle, Mrs. Houdini and myself were out motoring all\nyesterday afternoon, and when Sir Arthur returned he saw the \u201cscare\nhead-line\u201d to the effect that he had challenged me for $5,000! Whipple\nasked, \u201cYou mean to say that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle denies having\nchallenged you?\u201d I replied, \u201cMost emphatically,--he said that it was\nnot true and he never made such a statement and added he had written to\nthe Editor to let him know what he thought of him for misrepresenting\nand misquoting what he said.\u201d Mr. Whipple asked me to wait a moment\nuntil he got to the bottom of the matter.\n\nWhipple called over Mr. Sam Jackson and said, \u201cRegarding this challenge\nof Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, did he or did he not challenge Houdini\nduring your interview?\u201d Jackson answered, \u201cWhy he positively did.\nYou do not think, Mr. Whipple, that I would come in with a story\nwhich is not true? Sir Arthur distinctly made his statement in terms\npositive, that he was willing to challenge Houdini for $5,000. Miss\nJeanette Thornton was there at the time interviewing Lady Doyle, and\nshe overheard the conversation. Will you please call her and have her\nconfirm my statement.\u201d\n\nMiss Thornton came over and upon being questioned, answered, \u201cMost\nassuredly I heard Sir Arthur\u2019s challenge yesterday. I thought it was\na very interesting incident so I paid particular attention. I am\nsurprised that Sir Arthur now denies having made it.\u201d\n\nWhipple turned to me saying, \u201cThere you are--any further proof you\nwant, is there anything we can do for you to contradict this? Do you\nwish us to make a statement?\u201d To which I replied, \u201cNo, just let it go,\nwe will let it pass.\u201d\n\nThe following letters which I received from Mr. Whipple are\nself-explanatory:\n\n\n\u201cTHE \u2018DENVER EXPRESS\u2019\n\n\u201cTHE TRUTH--QUICK.\n\n \u201cMay 11, 1923.\n\n \u201cDear Mr. Houdini:--\n\n \u201cI am enclosing a letter from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle\n complaining that the report of his challenge regarding\n mediumistic appearances was garbled in this paper.\n\n \u201cI must also say that our reporter, who talked with Doyle\n insists that his report of the conversation was absolutely\n correct, and that Doyle said what we printed.\n\n \u201cCordially yours,\n (Signed) \u201cSydney B. Whipple.\n\n\n\u201cTHE BROWN PALACE HOTEL\n\nDenver, Colo.\n\n \u201cMay 9, 1923.\n\n \u201cSir:--\n\n \u201cThe report in the _Denver Express_ that I offered to bring\n back the spirit of my mother for five thousand dollars, in\n order to confute Mr. Houdini, is a monstrous fabrication, and\n I cannot imagine how you dare to print such a thing, which is\n on the face of it so blasphemous and absurd.\n\n \u201cWhat actually occurred was that your reporter said that my\n friend Mr. Houdini had wagered $5,000 that he could do anything\n any medium could do, to which I answered \u201cTo do that he would\n have to show me my mother.\u201d This is surely very different.\n\n \u201cYours faithfully,\n (Signed) \u201cA. Conan Doyle.\u201d\n\n\nH\n\n_Exposure of Mrs. Stewart_\n\nIt is significant to note that on December 28, 1923, at St Louis,\nMo., I was fortunate in forming acquaintance with Judge Daniel G.\nTaylor, who presided over Division No. 2 of the Circuit Court, to\nwhich division Josie K. Folsom-Stewart, as President, Charles W.\nStewart, Secretary, and Phoebe S. Wolf, as Treasurer, made application\nfor incorporation of the \u201cSociety of Scientific and Religious\nTruthseekers,\u201d who claimed that they had associated themselves\nby articles of agreement in writing, as a \u201cSociety for religious\nand mutual improvement purposes.\u201d \u201cThe articles of agreement and\nassociation are signed by some forty persons.\u201d As was customary in such\ncases, Judge Taylor \u201cappointed J. Lionberger Davis, then a practicing\nattorney, now President of Security National Bank, as amicus curiae to\nexamine into the matter and report whether or not the charter should\nbe granted.\u201d The outcome of which was evidence of guilt of fraudulent\nmanifestations of mediumship. In the course of investigation, Miss\nMartha Grossman, a member of Mrs. Folsom\u2019s \u201cDevelopment Class,\u201d\ntestified that Mr. Stewart and Mrs. Folsom were conducting meetings\nwhich she had attended for six months, at which time she saw writing on\ncards which Mrs. Folsom said was done by Spirits.\n\nMiss Grossman testified that what Mrs. Folsom claimed to be spirit\nphotographs were mere transfers from prints in the _Post-Dispatch_,\nadvertising \u201cSyrup of Figs\u201d and \u201cLydia Pinkham\u2019s\u201d concoction.\nIt also developed that Miss Alice C. Preston confessed to having\nbeen a confederate and in that capacity \u201cassisted Mrs. Folsom in\nproducing, physically, and by natural means, the supposed supernatural\ndemonstrations.\u201d A reference to this testimony is contained in the\nmemorandum document on the evidence which is signed by the attorney for\nthe petitioners and which is in the court files.\n\nAs a conclusion, Judge Taylor denied the petition for incorporation,\nwhich in any event could have been granted for the purpose of holding\nreal estate only, and not for promulgating teachings of a cult.\n\nThe Judge acknowledged that he himself was convinced that Mrs. Folsom\nwas a fraud; and this is the same _Mrs. Stewart_, who appeared before\nthe Scientific American Committee of Investigation in 1923, wherein she\nwas detected in her card-trick.\n\nMrs. Folsom was forced to acknowledge to the court in 1905 that she was\nthe author of a small book under title of \u201cNon-Godism,\u201d a copy of which\ntogether with documentary evidence bearing on the court proceedings\nreferred to above are now in my possession.\n\n\n\n\nFOOTNOTES\n\n\n[1] \u201cOh, no, Houdini, I never was more serious in my life.\u201d\n\n[2] Sir John Franklin was a celebrated Arctic explorer. In 1845 he\nwas appointed to the command of an expedition sent out by the British\nAdmiralty in search of the northwest passage. The expedition sailed\nfrom Greenhithe, May 18, 1845, and was last spoken off the entrance of\nLancaster Sound, July 26, 1845. Thirty-nine relief expeditions, public\nand private, were sent out from England and America in search of the\nmissing explorer between 1847 and 1857. McClintock found traces of the\nmissing expedition in 1859, which confirmed previous rumors of its\ntotal destruction.\n\n[3] _New York World_, October 21, 1888.\n\n[4] See Appendix A.\n\n[5] Could this possibly have been \u201cin answer to prayer\u201d as now claimed?\n\n[6] Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in his book, \u201cOur American Adventures,\u201d\nstates:\n\n\u201cThe original house was removed by pious hands and reconstructed, as\nI understand it, at Lily Dale. It is not generally known that when it\nwas pulled down or it may have been before, the bones of the murdered\npeddler and his tin box were discovered buried in the cellar, as\nwas stated in the original rappings. The rappings were in 1848, the\ndiscovery in 1903. What have our opponents to say to this?\u201d\n\nAccording to Margaret Fox\u2019s confession, Doyle\u2019s statements are\nmisleading and contrary to the facts.\n\n[7] There were three investigations by competent investigators. One\nin Buffalo by medical doctors, one in Philadelphia by the Seybert\nCommission of the University of Pennsylvania, and one in Boston by a\ncommittee of professors from Harvard University. Any one of the three\nwould have resulted disastrously for the medium had the conditions\nand requirements demanded by the investigators been complied with. A\nsuspicion was well founded in the minds of the investigators as to the\nactual solution of the problem, but they were not permitted to proceed\nto a finish, the mediums hedging each time when a crucial test was\nproposed.\n\n[8] I have been warned while writing this book to be careful regarding\nmy statement of the confession of Margaret Fox. I am also fully aware\nof the fact that Dr. Funk writes in his book, \u201cThe Widow\u2019s Mite\u201d:\n\n\u201cMargaret Fox, not long before her death, confessed that she and her\nsister had duped the public. This unfortunate woman had sunk so low\nthat for five dollars she would have denied her own mother and sworn to\nanything. At that time her affidavit for or against anything should not\nbe given the slightest weight.\u201d\n\nMr. W. S. Davis, himself a practicing medium, who knew Margaret Fox\nKane personally, wrote me:\n\n\u201cOne would think that Margaret Fox got drunk, and in that condition,\nwas induced to confess that she was a fraud, but when she became sober\nshe renounced her confession. That is what we would think to hear some\nSpiritualists talk. _She was sober when the made her confession; she\nwas sober when she appeared in the theatre and gave her expos\u00e9. In fact\nshe was usually sober._ She drank considerably during the later years\nof her life, and often drank too much, _but usually she was sober_. One\nof her reasons for drinking was that her hypocrisy had become more and\nmore distasteful to her. Living a constant lie got on her nerves, and,\nwhen the later years came, she didn\u2019t have the same degree of vital\nforce that she had in her younger days to battle off the dictates of\nher conscience.\u201d\n\n[9] _New York World_, October 22, 1888.\n\n[10] From Ruben Briggs Davenport\u2019s \u201cThe Death Blow to Spiritualism.\u201d\n\n[11] _Ibid._\n\n[12] These statements are fully corroborated by letters on file in my\nlibrary and I consider it not only a privilege, but a duty as well to\ntruthfully present them here.\n\n[13] Ira, the surviving brother, was so touched by this little act that\nhe taught me the famous Davenport rope-tie, the secret of which had\nbeen so well kept that not even his sons knew it.\n\n[14] It was in Paris too that the other brother, William Henry Harrison\nDavenport, met the great Adah Isaacs Menken, called the \u201cBengal Tiger,\u201d\nand though not generally known she later became his wife. She was\nconsidered one of the \u201cTen Super-Women of the World.\u201d She was born\nwithin a few miles of New Orleans, La., in 1835. Upon the death of\nher father she embarked on her stage career and instantaneously won\nsuccess.... She made her first appearance in New York City at the\nNational Theatre in 1860. She was married a number of times. Her first\nmarriage was to John C. Heenan, the prize fighter, better known as\n\u201cBenicia Boy.\u201d She was the first woman to do the Mazeppa in tights,\nplaying the r\u00f4le both in America and Europe. While in London she became\nthe literary and professional star of the hour and her hotel was the\nmeeting place for such men as Charles Dickens, Swinburne, Alexander\nDumas, Charles Reade, Watts Phillips, John Oxenford, The Duke of\nHamilton and many others. She wrote a book of poems named \u201cInfelicity,\u201d\nwhich she dedicated to Charles Dickens. She had a penchant for being\nphotographed with many of her admirers and there is a rare photograph\nof her and Swinburne which he tried hard to suppress. Another famous\none is of Dumas and the fair lady.\n\n[15] They were married in London during March, 1866.\n\n[16] Long after Ira died his only daughter, Zellie, a well known\nactress, told me that while her father and I were so absorbed in\ndiscussing and experimenting with the rope trick she and her mother\ncautiously slipped behind the curtains and watched us through the\nbedroom window.\n\n[17] Ira told me that at first they used to work unbound in a corner\nof the room with a curtain to conceal their methods. At one of their\nseances they were asked if the Spirits would work if the Brothers\nallowed themselves to be tied. This led them to try out different rope\nmethods, gradually developing the one used all over the world which Ira\ntaught me, saying smilingly after he had done so: \u201cHoudini, we started\nit, you finish it.\u201d\n\n[18] I had the honor of being instrumental in launching and directing\nDean Kellar\u2019s farewell at the Hippodrome in New York City and he\nselected me to be his last assistant. As a part of the performance he\npresented with some table tipping what he called the \u201cDavenport Cabinet\nand Rope Mystery.\u201d After the performance he walked to the footlights\nand said:\n\n\u201cLadies and gentlemen, I am finished giving performances to-night. As I\nwill have no further use for the cabinet and table I publicly present\nthem to my dear friend Houdini.\u201d\n\nIn this cabinet, made in imitation of the one used by the Davenport\nBrothers, the benches are fitted into a groove making it possible for\nthem to be slipped out in case of an extra severe tie-up, giving enough\nfreedom to ring bells and do a number of other things without releasing\nthe hands in the usual way. This is something of an improvement in\nmystery cabinets.\n\n[19] They rubbed vaseline into their hands and wrists to facilitate\ntheir movements. The rope generally used was similar to the Silver Lake\nsash cord.\n\n[20] It was sometimes claimed that after their demonstrations were over\nthe Davenports turned the papers and remarked them. This Ira said was\na deliberate lie as they never left their places throughout the entire\nperformance.\n\n[21] At one of their seances a man tied the brothers so tightly that\nit was necessary for them to make a desperate struggle to effect a\nrelease. The next night the man tried a more difficult test, simply\nlaying the ropes all over their bodies, but the Davenports worked so\nslowly, deftly, and with such inexhaustible patience that they saved\ntheir reputation.\n\n[22] Nor did he hesitate to tell me that he sometimes used as many as\nten confederates at a seance for protection.\n\n[23] William Fay, in order to be prepared for an emergency, always\ncarried a piece of rope in his mandolin, and boasted to his partners:\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll not chaw the ropes like you fellows, I\u2019ll cut.\u201d\n\n[24] The original cabinet of the Davenports, made of bird\u2019s-eye maple,\nwas pawned for thirty pounds in Cuba many years ago and is still there.\n\n[25] In order to prove to the public that they did not make use of\ntheir hands test conditions were imposed by filling both the brothers\u2019\nhands with flour and then tying them behind their backs. Almost every\npublication that has written an expos\u00e9 of the Davenport Brothers claims\nwith glee that the trick was performed by putting flour into their\npockets from which they took a fresh handful after the manifestations\nwere finished and pretending that their hands were clenched all the\ntime. It is claimed that once a committeeman instead of placing flour\nin their hands filled them with snuff and after the manifestations\nhad been performed they had their hands fulls of flour. Ira told me\nthat this was a deliberate lie as they did not need to get rid of the\nflour in their hands as they could do all the tricks with their hands\nclenched using the free thumb.\n\n[26] The levitation act which has helped to swell the ranks of the\nSpiritualists and which mystified scientist and laymen alike, was one\nof the simplest deceptions ever practiced on the guileless masses by\ncunning mediums. A reformed medium in Bristol, England, told me that\nhe would endeavor to free himself from his restraints, and by deft\nmanipulations managed to pick up a person who sat in a chair nearby.\nAlthough the sitter had only been lifted a few inches from the floor\nhe believed in all good faith that his head had actually brushed the\nceiling, this impression being created by the medium gently passing his\nhand over the top of the sitter\u2019s head.\n\n[27] As to the delusion of sound. Sound waves are deflected just as\nlight waves are reflected by the intervention of a proper medium and\nunder certain conditions it is a difficult thing to locate their\nsource. Stuart Cumberland told me an interesting test to prove the\ninability of a blindfolded person to trace sound to its source. It is\nexceedingly simple; merely clicking two coins over the head of the\nblindfolded person.\n\n[28] This refers to our contemplated tour of the world. When I first\nbecame acquainted with Ira Davenport in 1909 I found that he was very\nanxious to re-enter the entertainment field and we set about planning\na tour of the world together. By combining his reputation and my\nknowledge and experience we would have been able to set the world agog.\nUnder no circumstances, however, would we have claimed our performance\nSpiritualistic, but just a mystery entertainment.\n\n[29] The start of the Liverpool riot can be laid indirectly to\nFerguson. He protested the way the boys had been secured and without\nwaiting for instructions or a word from the Brothers, whipped out a\nknife and cut the ropes. Ira told me that it was too bad that Ferguson\ndid that for they never could have secured them so they could not have\nproduced some manifestations.\n\n[30] Ira told me that during the disturbance in Liverpool, John Hughes,\nFenian head, offered him five hundred Irishmen to clean up any mob of\nEnglishmen.\n\n[31] Ira told me that he believed that their success so diminished\nthe popularity of the theatre where Irving was playing that the stars\nwere forced to resort to various schemes to counteract the dwindling\nreceipts at the box office.\n\nSee Appendix B for Irving\u2019s speech.\n\n[32] The reader should not confuse this man Jacobs with _Jacoby_, the\nGerman escape-artist, a rope specialist who invented a number of rope\ntricks that are still well worth presenting.\n\n[33] He wrote me a letter on July 5th, 1911, and was waiting to see me\nat the time of his death on the 8th. I was to leave New York on receipt\nof his letter but his daughter Zelie wired me of his passing away.\n\n[34] When Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was appearing in Australia in 1920 he\nmet Bendigo Rymer, the grandson of J. S. Rymer, who had entertained\nHome lavishly. Bendigo showed Sir Arthur a number of letters from his\ngrandfather which proved conclusively that Home had been guilty of\ntaking advantage of the man\u2019s friendship. Rymer had entertained Home in\nEngland and sent him to Rome with his son to study art. From Rome young\nRymer wrote his father that as soon as Home had been able to elbow his\nway into society he totally ignored him though as host he was paying\nHome\u2019s expenses. Finally Home ran away and lived with a titled English\nwoman, shunning Rymer altogether.\n\nSir Arthur in his book, \u201cThe Wanderings of a Spiritualist,\u201d says in\nreference to Home: \u201cFor weeks he lived at her villa, although the state\nof his health would suggest that it was rather as a patient than a\nlover.\u201d In his introduction to Madame Home\u2019s book Sir Arthur entirely\nforgives this rude action of Home and strongly defends his base\ningratitude.\n\n[35] Home, the Spiritualist, is giving readings in Boston. Has he given\nup his Spiritualism in disgust at finding that people who strained\nat his manifestations have swallowed the Davenports? We are glad to\nthink he has adopted an honest profession at last, and we hope before\nlong to see his rivals rising to sweeping a crossing or something as\nrespectable.--_London Fun_, 1864.\n\n[36] \u201cIncidents in My Life,\u201d London, 1863--\u201cLights and Shadows of\nSpiritualism,\u201d 1877.\n\n[37] It is quite unnecessary for me to repeat the many proofs of fraud\nperpetrated by Home, but if the reader is interested he will find many\nsuch cases reported by Mr. Frank Podmore in \u201cModern Spiritualism,\u201d\nLondon, 1902, and \u201cNewer Spiritualism,\u201d London, 1910. Mr. Podmore was a\nSpiritualist himself and a member of the Society of Psychical Research\nand would naturally make out as good a case for Home as he could\nhonestly.\n\n[38] See Appendix F.\n\n[39] She only lived about four years.\n\n[40] In his introduction to the 1921 edition of \u201cD. D. Home\u2019s Life and\nWork,\u201d by Madame Home, Doyle declares that he commends the book to the\nstudent, saying:\n\n\u201cVery especially the second series is commended to the student of Home,\nbecause in it will be found all the papers dealing with the Home-Lyon\nlawsuit showing conclusively how honorable was the action of Home.\u201d\n\nDoes he wish us to infer that it was Home who brought the suit against\nMrs. Lyon, rather than the opposite?\n\nDoes he wish it understood that he is _sincere_ in his commendation of\na charlatan?\n\nThroughout the introduction he defends Home and seems to deliberately\ntwist the history of the man.\n\n[41] It is interesting to note that Sir William Crookes, the eminent\nscientist, who must have known of the history and character of Home\nas unveiled at the Lyon trial, should have permitted himself to fall\nwithin the mesh of D. D. Home.\n\n[42] Taking for granted that the committee in the room was not able to\nsee or permitted to leave the table the method Home could have used\nwith the greatest ease was: first actually get out of the window, or\npretend to; then, go back and noiselessly crawl on all fours through\nthe door into the next room and shake the window; and lastly, boldly\nreturn to the first room, closing the door with a bang.\n\nThere is a possibility that a man of Home\u2019s audacity with levitation\nfeats might have resorted to swinging from one window to another, which\nmeans nothing to any acrobat with a wire properly placed in readiness.\n\nThe idea of Home losing his physical weight and floating out of the\nwindow head first is merely a suggestion of his, a ruse which is still\nbeing used by mediums.\n\n[43] See Appendix C for Lord Adare\u2019s story.\n\n[44] There are numerous versions of the cause of his death. Mme.\nBlavatsky, who made a special investigation of the deaths of prominent\nmediums, wrote: \u201cThis Calvin of Spiritualism suffered for years from a\nterrible spinal disease, brought on through his intercourse with the\n\u2018Spirits,\u2019 and died a perfect wreck.\u201d--\u201cKey to Theosophy,\u201d 1890.\n\n[45] Table lifting was a strong card with her.\n\n[46] \u201cShe was taken in a menial position into a family given to\nSpiritualistic practices. Being called one day to make up the circle\nat a seance, certain new and surprising manifestations took place, and\nshe was pronounced to be a medium. So it appears that the Spiritualists\nactually pushed her into the matter, and she immediately took advantage\nof the opportunity.\u201d--Proceedings, Society for Psychical Research,\nNovember, 1909, pp. 311, 312.\n\n[47] Robert Owen, Prof. Hare, Prof. Challis, Prof. Zollner, Prof.\nWeber, and Lombroso were all near the end of their lives when they\nembraced Spiritualism.--See \u201cSpiritualism,\u201d by Joseph McCabe, page 207.\n\n[48] Another adroit method of freeing one hand when the sitter thinks\nhe has evidence that the two hands of the medium are being kept busy,\nis for the medium to keep up a continuous clapping of the hands,\nworking the hands near the face or some other exposed part of the body\nand simply change the clapping of one hand against another to the\nclapping of one hand against the body. In the dark the effect is the\nsame and the sitter believes that both the medium\u2019s hands are busily\nengaged in clapping.\n\n[49] Not difficult to accomplish in the dark.\n\n[50] Mr. Baggally had a reputation as a conjuror and I think he has\ndone much in the way of exposing mediums. He is also a believer\nin telepathy and has recently published a book on that subject,\n\u201cTelepathy, Genuine and Fraudulent,\u201d Chicago, 1918.\n\n[51] The \u201chuman-clamp\u201d is one of the simplest and yet one of the most\neffective and mystifying means of table levitation. The medium and\nher subjects place the tips of their fingers on the top of the table\nlightly. The medium gently rocks the table back and forth until she\ngets it in a correct position to place her foot, or the hem of her\ndress, under one of the legs. When she perfects her position she\npresses down with the hand above the table leg that is resting on her\nfoot. From then on it is only a matter of raising the foot to whatever\nheight she wishes the table to rise. If she wants it levitated to a\ngreat height, she gives it an upward kick and then withdraws her foot,\nand the table rises and falls true to the laws of gravitation.\n\n[52] At one time during the series of tests in New York City, a man\nfrom Philadelphia, Mr. Edgar Scott, who was standing in the background,\ntook advantage of the darkness and crawled along the floor to the\ncabinet and attempted to grab Eusapia\u2019s foot while she was using it\nfor trick purposes but just as his hand touched her foot Eusapia had a\nspasm of screeching. Professors Jastrow and Miller were witnesses of\nthis fact.\n\n[53] Palladino wanted her own interpreter, also a personal friend,\nbut that obstacle was avoided. Neither was her business manager, Mr.\nHereward Carrington, present on this particular occasion.\n\n[54] The full details of this seance were published in the _Journal of\nthe American Society for Psychical Research_, Section \u201cB,\u201d August, 1910.\n\n[55] In an interview with Walter Littlefield, a noted journalist,\nPalladino revealed three methods by which she was able to employ\nsubstitution in regard to hands at the table, four in regard to foot\nsubstitution, half a dozen methods of table levitation, several ways\nof producing knocks, two ways in which she produced the illusion of\na current of air coming from her forehead. She told him that she was\nnot annoyed when caught practicing tricks, nor did she deny their use\nwhen caught. She said to him, _\u201cAll mediums indulge in tricks--all.\u201d_\nShe also told him that she was a good Catholic, went to Mass,\nmade her confession, and said she hated to hear people talk about\n\u201csuper-normal,\u201d or \u201csupernatural\u201d phenomena.\n\nThe famous \u201ccurrent of air from the forehead\u201d which Mr. Littlefield\nmentions was simply her breath blown with force and diverted by her\nunder lip.\n\n[56] I am informed on good authority that Eusapia threw her legs into\nthe laps of her male sitters! That she placed her head upon their\nshoulders, and did various other things calculated to confuse and\nmuddle men, all of which was explained on the theory of \u201chysteria.\u201d In\nher younger days Eusapia was a buxom woman and it is not strange that a\nlot of old scientists were badly flabbergasted by such conduct.\n\n[57] See Appendix D.\n\n[58] I have a full record of the proceedings in my reference file.\n\n[59] In order to prove that fraud and trickery were the tools which\nhad been used in fleecing the unwary, magicians were induced to appear\nin evidence, and on May 27, 1888, Alexander Hermann gave a public\nDemonstration at the Academy of Music in New York City for the purpose\nof duplicating the phenomena produced by Diss Debar and as an aid to\nthe New York Press Club Fund.\n\nThe audience included many prominent people and notables including\nCol. Cockerell; Edward S. Stokes, of the Hoffman House; Joseph Howard;\nDistrict Attorney Fellows; Ex-Judge Donohue; Lawyer Newcombe; Judge\nHilton; _Luther R. Marsh_; and \u201cDr.\u201d Lawrence, one of the attaches of\nthe Diss Debar Temple.\n\nProfessor Hermann read spirit messages, did table tipping, cabinet,\nlight seance, and produced spook pictures, finishing with a dark seance\nof _ghostly_ music and materializations.\n\n[60] _New York Times_, April 21, 1888.\n\n[61] _New York World_, June 18, 1888.\n\n[62] When the London press was full of sensational stories following\nthe arrest of Laura and Theodore Jackson, Carl Hertz, on picking up his\npaper one morning, was astonished to recognize the woman who had lured\nyoung girls into joining her immoral cult as Ann O\u2019Delia Diss Debar,\nwith whom he had measured swords at the Marsh trial. He got in touch\nwith Scotland Yard immediately and gave it all the information he had\nregarding Diss Debar\u2019s connection with fraud activities.\n\n[63] \u201cMiss Croisdale, who was one of the victims, testified that she\nhad been initiated into the \u2018Theocratic Unity,\u2019 the sect which the\nJacksons claimed to head, with a rope fastened about her; passes were\nmade over her, she said, with a lamp, water and a saw: Jackson told her\nthat he was Christ re-incarnated. Miss Croisdale then described the\noath in which she swore she would allow no one else to hypnotize her\nand she would keep all the secrets under the penalty of \u2018submitting\nmyself to a deadly and hostile current of will set in motion by the\nChief of the order, with which I would be slain or paralyzed without\nvisible weapons, as if blasted by lightning.\u2019 Mrs. Jackson (or Diss\nDebar) looked as if she wished to carry out the threat on the spot.\nMiss Croisdale further testified that Theodore had outraged her in\nhis wife\u2019s presence. Jackson declared he was physically incapable and\ndemanded a doctor\u2019s examination to prove his statement.\u201d--Dispatch from\nthe _London Times_ in the _New York Sun_, October 11, 1901.\n\n[64] _Chicago Daily Tribune_, August 14, 1906.\n\n[65] _New York Sun_, October 11, 1901.\n\n[66] If alive she is now (1924) seventy-five years old.\n\n[67] See Appendix E for Police Record.\n\n[68] If the reader cares to look the matter up I would refer him to\nPodmore\u2019s \u201cModern Spiritualism,\u201d Vol. II, pages 204 and 221; also\nto the story of Dr. Slade in the same volume; to the proceedings of\nthe American S. P. R., Vol. II, part I, pages 17, 36\u201359; to Abbot\u2019s,\n\u201cBehind the Scenes with Mediums,\u201d pages 114 to 192; to \u201cRevelations of\na Spirit Medium,\u201d page 121\u2013157; to \u201cBottom Facts,\u201d pages 143\u2013159; to\nthe Report of the Seybert Commission; \u201cSpirit Slate Writing,\u201d by Wm. E.\nRobinson, and newspaper exposures without number.\n\n[69] According to \u201cThe Medium and Daybreak,\u201d October 6, 1876, Slade\n\u201c_discovered_\u201d the phenomena of slate-writing while experimenting at\nthe private house of Mr. Gardiner Knapp, New Albany, Indiana, where\nSlade was visiting.\n\n[70] As he reached for the sponge, which had been placed purposely on\ncentre of table, he held slate just below range of vision and with\nthe reaching for sponge, twisted slate around, blank side on top and\npretended to wipe off the sentence he had \u201cread\u201d--when in fact he had\nwritten something entirely different.\n\n[71] In regard to involuntary and subconscious table rapping and\ntapping: Some people rap and tip table in all seances of table tipping\nand rapping. I have attended seances where I have caught some one\nobligingly cheating to relieve the monotony, and the imposition once\nstarted is forced to be kept up.\n\n[72] Coined by Andrew Jackson Davis, in 1845, and meaning the\nhereafter. Now used frequently by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.\n\n[73] See Appendix F.\n\n[74] In those days there were no dry plates and with the old \u201cwet\u201d\nplates it was quite possible to expose a plate, develop it, and then\nprepare it again and expose it the second time. When this was done both\npictures appeared in the print. Such a plate could be used under the\nstrictest test conditions without detection.\n\n[75] In speaking of Spirit photography, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle usually\nbrings up as proof positive, that his fairy photographs are genuine.\nAccording to the _London Star_, December 20, 1921, there were many\ninteresting developments regarding these:\n\n\u201cMessrs. Price and Sons, the well known firm of candle makers, inform\nus that the fairies in this photograph are an exact reproduction of a\nfamous poster they have used for years, to advertise their night lights.\n\n\u201c\u2018I admit on these fairies there are wings, whereas our fairies have no\nwings,\u2019 said a representative of the firm to a _Star_ reporter, \u2018but,\nwith this exception, the figures correspond line for line with our own\ndrawing.\u2019\u201d\n\n[76] I would like to say for the benefit of the reader that DeVega is\na skilled magical entertainer; has invented a number of legerdemain\nfeats; contributed a number of interesting articles to magical\npublications; is a skilled artist and a clever photographer. I was\nvery fortunate in being able to secure a man of his ability for the\ninvestigation.\n\n[77] On March 5, 1923, Harry F. Young, known as \u201cThe Human Fly,\u201d fell\nten stories from a window ledge of the Hotel Martinqiue, New York City.\nHe succumbed before he reached the hospital.\n\nFor the benefit of those who do not know, \u201cA Human Fly\u201d is an acrobat\nwho makes a specialty of scaling tall buildings, simply clinging to the\napertures or crevices of the outward architecture of such building for\nthe edification of an assembled throng, for which he receives a plate\ncollection, a salary or is engaged especially for publicity purposes.\nIt is not a very lucrative profession and its dangers are many.\n\n[78] On April 14, 1922, in New York City, Sir Arthur, according to his\nbook, \u201cOur American Adventure,\u201d attended a seance given by a young\nItalian by the name of Pecoraro. During the seance the name Palladino\nwas given and he was told that the famous medium was present. A voice\nfrom the cabinet, supposedly Palladino\u2019s, said, \u201cI, who used to\ncall back the Spirits, now come back as a Spirit myself,\u201d to which\nSir Arthur answered, \u201cPalladino, we send you our love and our best\nencouragement.\u201d However, the force was broken by \u201cthe absurd and vile\ndancing of the table,\u201d and there was no physical manifestation. This\nshows Sir Arthur\u2019s will to excuse even Palladino, who was on numerous\noccasions exposed as a fraudulent medium.\n\n[79] _ALL_ Spiritualists say that.\n\n[80] Dr. A. T. Schofield wrote in the _Daily Sketch_, February 9, 1920,\nthat thousands of persons were estimated by a famous mental specialist\nto have been driven to the asylum through Spiritualism. A truly pitiful\nrecord.\n\n[81] Letter from Sir Arthur to H. H. (dated April 2, 1920): \u201cI have had\nvery conclusive evidence since my two books were written. Six times I\nhave spoken face to face with my son, twice with my brother and once\nwith my nephew, all beyond doubt in their own voices and on private\nmatters, so for me there is not, nor has been for a long time, any\ndoubt. I _know_ it is true, but we can\u2019t communicate that certainty to\nothers. It will come--or not, according to how far we work for it. It\nis the old axiom, \u2018Seek and ye shall find.\u2019\u201d\n\n[82] Report of trial before Mr. Justice Darling--_Morning Post_, July\n16, 1920.\n\n[83] I have it on the positive word of Stuart Cumberland, who was at\none of the seances of the \u201cMasked Medium\u201d and he gave me definite\nspecifications and positive facts of the reading of the initials in\nthe ring submitted by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to the \u201cMasked Medium\u201d\nwhom he said possessed remarkable powers. Stuart Cumberland told me a\nnumber of ways this feat could be done. Among them, the black boxes\nwere exchanged surreptitiously in the dark, and then brought back. It\nis an easy thing to present a box for inspection and yet have false\ncompartments in it so that the contents will fall out. It was only\nafter the methods were told innumerable times to Sir Arthur that he\ncondemned it as a fraud.\n\n[84] According to the _New Orleans Times-Picayune_, March 9, 1923,\nClarence Thomson, self-styled missionary, President and member of the\nBoard of Directors of the International Psychical Association, was\nfined $25 and sentenced to serve 30 days in jail. He admitted he had\nbeen arrested in Chicago and Kansas City for conducting seances, but\nsaid he had been honorably discharged.\n\n[85] Other performers are doing this feat. I have performed it\nregularly for thirty years without any supernatural power whatever.\n\n[86] See Davenport chapter.\n\n[87] These articles were syndicated, _New York American_, Sept. 3rd,\n1922.\n\n[88] _Morning Post_, July 16, 1920.\n\n[89] See Appendix G.\n\n[90] This was not known to Lady Doyle. If it had been my Dear Mother\u2019s\nSpirit communicating a message, she, knowing her birthday was my most\nholy holiday, surely would have commented on it.\n\n[91] So far, all of the several seances of investigation held under\nthe auspices of the Scientific American, have failed in proving the\nexistence of supernatural power or force, such as might with logical\nconsistency be conceded as psychic.\n\nValentine, the Wilkesbarre medium, proved to be a failure. Rev. (?)\nJessie K. Stewart the same. Mrs. Elizabeth Allen Tomson of Chicago, a\ncomplete fiasco, not possessing sufficient courage to attempt a sitting\nother than under conditions and in a place prescribed by herself. And\nlastly the Italian lad, Nino Pecoraro, has accomplished nothing beyond\nthe possibility of human exertion, and failed utterly in so doing when\nsecurely fettered, as proved to be the case, when I personally did the\ntying. See also Appendix H.\n\nAnd from the results gotten thus far from the series of sittings with\nthis \u201cmedium\u201d it is safe to predict that the final analysis will place\nhim in the same category as all others to date.\n\n[92] According to Spiritualistic publications The Dialectical Society\nnever made a full report. The \u201cReports\u201d of sub-committees only were\npublished by Spiritualist papers used by writers in books but such\n_reports_ were based on \u201chear-say\u201d evidence taken from Spiritists.\nThey told their ghost stories to Committees and they were believed.\nThere never was a unanimous report or conclusion. The non-Spiritual\n(?) members of the Dialectical Society refused to have anything to\ndo with the investigation. The great majority of the Committee were\nfull-fledged Spiritualists, and the few whom they claimed to have\nconvinced were simply credulous.\n\n[93] Sir Arthur Conan Doyle seems to imagine that all the newspapers\nin the world are against him. After his Australian tour he accused the\nAustralian papers of refusing to publish the truth about his seances.\nWriting about American newspapers in his book, \u201cAn American Adventure,\u201d\nhe says: \u201cThe editors seem to place the intelligence of the public\nvery low, and to imagine that they cannot be attracted save by vulgar,\nscreaming headlines.\n\n\u201cThe American papers have a strange way also of endeavoring to compress\nthe whole meaning of some item into a few words of headline, which, as\noften as not, are slang.\u201d\n\nEven in Canada Sir Arthur claims to have badly used by the newspapers.\nIn \u201cOur American Adventure\u201d he writes: \u201cThere were some rather bitter\nattacks in the Toronto papers, including the one leader in the _Evening\nTelegram_, which was so narrow and illiberal that I do not think the\nmost provincial paper in Britain could have been guilty of it.\n\n\u201cIt was to the effect that British lecturers took money out of the\ntown, that they did not give the money\u2019s worth, and that they should be\ndiscouraged.\n\n\u201c\u2018Poking Them in the Eye\u2019 was the dignified title.\n\n\u201cIt did not seem to occur to the writer that a comic opera or a bedroom\ncomedy was equally taking the money out of the town, but that the main\npurpose served by lectures, whether one agreed with the subject or\nnot, was that they kept the public in first hand touch with the great\ncurrent questions of mankind. I am bound to say that no other Toronto\npaper sank to the depth of the _Evening Telegram_ but the general\natmosphere was the least pleasant that I had met with in my American\ntravels.\u201d\n\n[94] In an article in _Truth_, April, 1923, entitled \u201cThe New\nRevelation,\u201d by Rev. P. J. Cormican, S. J., he asks:\n\n\u201cDoes the knighted prophet of the New Revelation (Sir Arthur Conan\nDoyle) tell the whole truth about Spiritism? We think not. He says\nnothing about the evil consequences, physical, intellectual and moral,\nto those who dabble in Spiritism. He gives a one-sided account of the\nmatter. He says nothing about what Spiritism has done, and is still\ndoing, to fill our lunatic asylums all over the world. There are over\nthirty thousand lunatics in England alone who lost their mind through\nthis modern necromancy. Doyle does not even hint at the countless cases\nof insanity and suicide, of blasphemy and obscenity, of lying and\ndeception, of broken homes and violated troth, all caused by Spiritism.\nTo suppose that a God of truth and sanctity is giving a new message\nthrough such sources and with such consequences, is blasphemy pure and\nsimple. Furthermore, to assert that this New Revelation is to supersede\na worn-out creed is both gratuitous and absurd. Christianity will last\ntill the crack of doom, when titled prophets shall have ceased to cross\nthe Atlantic in quest of American shekels.\u201d\n\n[95] Mrs. Feilding is Mme. Tomchik, the Polish medium examined by\nProfessor Ochorowiz, and is the best known medium who \u201clevitates\u201d\nthings without physical contact.\n\n[96] At no time, to my knowledge, did the search include the orifices\nof her body.\n\n[97] In this trick I swallow (if one\u2019s eyes are to be trusted) anywhere\nfrom fifty to a hundred and fifty needles and from ten to thirty\nyards of thread; then after a few seconds I bring up the needles all\nthreaded. The length of thread is governed by the size of my audience.\nFor instance, at the Hippodrome, in New York, I used one hundred and\nten feet of thread and two hundred needles; at the Berlin Winter Garden\none hundred feet of thread and one hundred needles. In the regular\nlarge size theatres I use about eighty feet of thread and a hundred\nneedles but for ordinary purposes thirty-five feet of thread and\nseventy-five needles are sufficient.\n\nSo far this trick has never been properly explained but that does\nnot prove that I have abnormal powers. This needle mystery has been\nexamined by a great many physicians and surgeons and in Boston at\nKeith\u2019s Theatre it was presented at a special performance to over a\nthousand physicians and they were unable to explain it. However, there\nis nothing abnormal in it. It is nothing more than a clever and natural\nmystification.\n\n[98] That is, has a secret accomplice. One who does things to help\nalong \u201cunknown.\u201d One who is in the \u201cclick.\u201d\n\n[99] After my last seance with Mlle. Eva Mr. Feilding discovered by\naccident that I was writing a book on the subject. He begged me not\nto say a word or publish anything about the seances until after the\nSociety for Psychical Research had published a full report. Now that it\nhas done so there is nothing to keep me from writing my experiences.\n\n[100] The result of his investigations are published in three books:\n\u201cReality of Psychic Phenomena,\u201d \u201cPsychic Structures at Goligher\nCircle,\u201d and \u201cExperiments in Psychical Science.\u201d\n\n[101] It would be difficult to convince me that the many things\nphotographed and described by Baron Schrenck-Notzing could be presented\nunder rigid test conditions.\n\n[102] Dr. Troup, Professor of Psychology; Dr. Stormer, Professor of\nMathematics; Dr. Scheldrup, Professor of Physics; Dr. Monrad Krhn,\nProfessor of Neurology; Dr. (med.) Leegaard, and Mr. John Dammann, a\nprominent expert of conjuring tricks.\n\n[103] Guzek was exposed in Paris as I predicted, the exposure occurring\nsooner than expected.\n\n[104] One of the greatest women born in America.--H. H.\n\n[105] This Spirit Message is taken from Doyle\u2019s book, \u201cThe Case for\nSpirit Photography,\u201d English Edition.\n\n[106] This and letters of Tyndall and Lewes, from \u201cReport on\nSpiritualism,\u201d by J. Burns, pp. 229, 230, 265.\n\n[107] \u201cSpiritism, a Popular History,\u201d by Joseph McCabe.\n\n[108] \u201cMaster Workers,\u201d McCabe.\n\n[109] Florence Cook was repeatedly exposed.\n\n[110] The \u201cgalvanometer\u201d is an instrument used to control the medium.\nIt is an electric device provided with a dial and two handles, so\nconstructed that if the medium were to let go of either handle the\ncontact would be broken and the dial fail to register. The medium in\nfooling the sitter simply placed one of the handles on the bare flesh\nunder her knee and gripping it there with her leg kept the circuit\nintact and left one hand free to produce \u201cspirits.\u201d\n\n[111] An honest scientist does not dream that his confidence is being\nbetrayed and that the bland innocence, the \u201cstalling\u201d for breath, or\nthe almost fainting scenes are only camouflages to help mal-observation\nso that the medium can successfully ply her trade.\n\n[112] The italics are mine.\n\n[113] The reader will do well to read Tuke\u2019s \u201cInfluence of the Mind\nupon the Body\u201d (or similar work) and he will find an explanation of\nwhat grief will do to a sensitive mind.\n\n[114] Perhaps so, but would not be accepted as evidence before any\ncourt of equity.\n\n[115] He has personally repeated the same thing to me.\n\n[116] Drink is no excuse for crime.\n\n[117] The great majority of Continental safes are opened by keys and\nnot by combination locks as in America.\n\n[118] I firmly believe in the workings of the subconscious mind.\n\n[119] _The Spirit Messenger_ and the _Star of Truth_ were published\nin 1852 by R. P. Ambler of Springfield, Mass. They were \u201c_edited and\ncomposed by spirits_.\u201d The Spirit of the Sixth Circle took entire\ncharge of the _Spirit Messenger_, and not even the publisher was\npermitted to dictate in the least. There were elucidations by the\nSpirits on \u201cHope, Life, Truth, Initiation, Marriage Relations, Evils of\nSociety, and Destiny of the Race.\u201d _The Northwestern Orient_, published\nin 1852 by C. H. White, contained communications from John Adams, Edgar\nAllan Poe, John Wesley, John Whitefield, Thomas Paine, _et al._ It\nalso contained several poems by the Spirits. Copies are on file in my\nlibrary.\n\n[120] \u201cWhen William was in a trance his father tried to bring him out\nby slapping, pinching and other cruelty, and finally tried to pour\nboiling water down his back. This failing, he took a blazing ember from\nthe hearth and placed it on the young man\u2019s head, but William slept on,\nwith only the scars as reminders of his parent\u2019s deep concern for his\nwell being and safety.\u201d--\u201cEddy Brothers,\u201d by Henry S. Olcott.\n\n[121] I gave a pseudo seance for Sophie Irene Loeb and had two slates\nwhich were examined by the Circle and marked. I asked if the Spirits\nwould manifest and when the slates were opened there was a message\ncontaining a code word. Miss Loeb was astounded, for the message signed\nby Jack London contained a word which she claimed no one in the whole\nworld knew about. I did it by trickery but she declared that if she had\nnot known I was a magician she would have believed readily that I had\npsychic powers.\n\n[122] A man by the name of Rider, professionally known as \u201cKodarz,\u201d\nexposed Bailey in New Zealand in 1916.\n\n[123] Without any reservation she says she has investigated the\nmajority of mediums and given them a hundred per cent clean bill. She\nwrites that Eglinton actually materialized the spirit of Grimwaldi, the\ngreat clown. Eglinton was detected on four different occasions and so\nfar as I have been able to learn, almost every medium she mentions in\nher books has, at some time or other, been detected and exposed.\n\n[124] See Appendix F.\n\n[125] Maskelyne, Kellar, and Hoffmann were all three magicians who\nchanged their minds.\n\n[126] Any prepared gambling device or game, like electrically\ncontrolled steel dice; roulette; pointer and arrow revolving artifice;\nprepared cards, either marked, concave or convex cut, which gives the\ndealer the advantage at all times. Brace games include everything\nfrom a put and take to the changing of a black bag on the top of an\ninnocent looking chiffonier. The games, while appearing to be governed\nby the law of chance, are secretly controlled by the gambler, or his\nconfederate, in so subtle a manner that it is impossible for the poor\ndupe, who wagers on the result, to detect it.\n\n[127] Known as fishing.\n\n[128] _Society for Psychical Research Proceedings_, Vol. XIV, pp. 380,\n381.\n\n[129] \u201cSecond sight\u201d was presented by Pinetti, the celebrated Italian\nmagician, at the Haymarket Theatre, London, England, Dec. 1, 1784.\n\n[130] A girl named Shireen is holding a similar seance to-day and is\nable to hit a bulls-eye with a rifle.\n\n[131] A full detailed account of the clever work done by Professor\nLewis will be found in _Proceedings of the Society for Psychical\nResearch_, Vol IV, pp. 338\u2013352.\n\n\n\n\nINDEX\n\n\n Academy of Music, New York, 11.\n\n \u201cAckroyd, Jack,\u201d 124.\n\n Adams, John, 229.\n\n Adare, Lord, 47, 48, 273, 274.\n\n Albert, Prince, 240.\n\n Albus, Remigius, 94.\n\n \u201cAlexander, Herr,\u201d 249.\n\n Alexis, 253.\n\n _Amazing Seance and an Exposure_, 233.\n\n Ambler, R. P., 229.\n\n American Expeditionary Force, 182.\n\n American Magicians, Society of, 259, 260.\n\n _American_, New York, 148, 237.\n\n American Red Cross, 188.\n\n American Society for Psychical Research, 58.\n\n Andrews, 231.\n\n \u201cApport Medium,\u201d 238.\n\n _Arabian Nights, The_, 35.\n\n Ava, Vera, 78.\n\n\n Bacon, 229.\n\n Baggally, Worthy W., 52, 63.\n\n Baggley, 169.\n\n Bailey, Charles, 238.\n\n Baldwin, S. S., 107.\n\n Bamberg, David, 259.\n\n Bamberg, Theodore, 259.\n\n Barlow, Mr., 126.\n\n Barnum, Phineas Taylor, 118.\n\n Barrett, Oliver R., 145.\n\n Barton, Clara, 188.\n\n Basch, Ernst, 263.\n\n Beadnell, Capt. C. Marsh, 176.\n\n _Behind the Scenes with Mediums_, 79.\n\n Belachini, 33, 248, 249.\n\n \u201cBengal Tiger,\u201d 19.\n\n \u201cBenicia Boy,\u201d 19.\n\n Bennett, G. W., 200.\n\n Benoval, 254.\n\n Berol, William, 269.\n\n Berry, Catherine, 232.\n\n Bewitched Table, The, 263.\n\n \u201cBible Sellers,\u201d 222.\n\n _Bible, Truth a Companion to_, 188.\n\n Bird, J. Malcolm, 159, 160.\n\n Bishop, Washington Irving, 43.\n\n Bisson, Juliette, 166, 167, 168, 170, 171, 172, 173.\n\n Blavatsky, Mme., 49.\n\n \u201cBlind Tom,\u201d 256.\n\n Bloomfield, Marie, 181.\n\n Bonaparte, Napoleon, 12.\n _See also_ Napoleon.\n\n _Borderland_, 64.\n\n Boston Athletic Association, 187.\n\n _Bottom Facts_, 87.\n\n _Bottom Writing_, 79.\n\n Boucicault, Dion, 34, 35.\n\n Brady, William A., 60.\n\n Brewster, Sir David, 42.\n\n British College of Psychic Science, 127, 211.\n\n Browning, Elizabeth Barrett, 2.\n\n Browning, R. Barrett, 41, 42.\n\n Bryant, William Cullen, 42.\n\n Buguet, 120, 121.\n\n Burns, J., 198, 201.\n\n Burns, Mrs., 231.\n\n Burr, Mr., 181.\n\n Burton, Richard Francis, 35.\n\n Bury, Lord, 34.\n\n Bush, Edward, 124.\n\n Buxton, Mrs., 123, 124, 131, 132, 133.\n\n\n \u201cCabinet and rope mystery, Davenport,\u201d 21.\n\n Cagliostro, 66, 96.\n\n Carriere, Eva, 166.\n\n Carrington, Hereward, 52, 58, 60, 61, 62, 63, 159, 160, 263.\n\n Carte, d-Oyley, 240.\n\n Carter, Capt. R. K., 89, 90.\n\n _Case for Spirit Photography, The_, 197.\n\n Catholic Church, 5, 10.\n\n Challis, Professor, 51.\n\n _Chemical News_, 199.\n\n Chiaia, Professor, 51.\n\n Cicero, 72.\n\n Circle of Conjurors in London, 164.\n\n \u201cCircle, rules of,\u201d 267.\n\n Coleman, Arthur, 241.\n\n Clark, Earl L., 181.\n\n Clarke, Bishop, 42.\n\n Cleveland, President, 12.\n\n Cockrell, Senator, 4, 71.\n\n Colby, Luther, 76.\n\n Colley, Archdeacon, 261.\n\n Collins, James, 133, 134.\n\n Columbine, St. Catherine of, 234.\n\n \u201cCommon Clay,\u201d 256.\n\n _Communication_, 233, 234.\n\n Comstock, Ph.D., Daniel Fisk, 159.\n\n Conference to the Psychological Studies at Paris, 34.\n\n \u201cConfession,\u201d Margaret Kane\u2019s, 15.\n\n Conjurers, Circle of, 164.\n\n Cook, Florence, 184, 203, 204, 241.\n\n Cook, Professor Harry, 183, 205.\n\n Cormican, S.J., Rev. P. J., 164.\n\n Corner, Mrs., 204.\n\n Cornyn, John, 182.\n\n County Medical Society, 182.\n\n Crawford, Lord, 273.\n\n Crawford, Dr. W. J., 173, 174, 175, 215.\n\n Crewe, 123, 129.\n\n Crewe Circle, 197.\n\n Croisdale, Miss, 77.\n\n Cromwell, Oliver, 232.\n\n Crookes, Sir William, 46, 47, 183, 199, 200, 202, 203, 205, 266.\n\n Cropsey, James, 224.\n\n Cross, Judge, 76.\n\n Cumberland, Stuart, 26, 144, 147, 149.\n\n Curry, Dr., 189.\n\n\n _Daily Express_, London, 147.\n\n _Daily Sketch_, 143.\n\n _Daily Telegraph_, London, 178.\n\n _Daily Tribune_, Chicago, 78.\n\n d\u2019Albe, E. E. Fournier, 166, 174, 175, 216.\n\n Dammann, John, 177.\n\n \u201cDark seances,\u201d 25.\n\n Darling, Justice, 144.\n\n Davenport Brothers, The, 17\u201337, 148, 161, 249, 257.\n\n Davenport, Ira Erastus, 17\u201337, 148, 162, 235, 258.\n\n Davenport, Mrs., second, 18.\n\n Davenport, Ruben Briggs, 14, 271.\n\n Davenport, William Henry Harrison, 17\u201337.\n\n Davis, Andrew Jackson, 117.\n\n Davis, W. S., 11, 16, 54, 56, 57, 59, 60.\n\n De Angelus, Jefferson, 224.\n\n Dean, Hope, 141.\n\n Deland, Margaret, 206.\n\n Demis, Dr., 172.\n\n Dessenon, M., 121.\n\n Devant, 213.\n\n De Vega, 129.\n\n \u201cDexterity, physical,\u201d 20.\n\n Dialectical Society, 160, 200, 201, 202.\n\n Dickens, Charles, 19, 229.\n\n Didier, Alexis, 250, 251, 254, 255.\n\n Dimension, Fourth, 238.\n\n Dingwall, Eric, 63, 168, 169, 170, 171.\n\n Diss Debar, Ann O\u2019Delia, 39, 66, 69\u201378, 276.\n\n Diss Debar, General, 69, 71.\n\n Donkin, Sir Horatio, 80, 81, 82.\n\n Donohue, Ex-Judge, 71.\n\n Donovan, D. C., 32.\n\n Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan, 7, 40, 46, 48, 59, 83, 117, 124, 126, 133,\n 138\u2013165, 202, 205, 207, 209, 210, 233, 236, 237, 238, 258, 266,\n 267, 268, 270, 273, 275, 277\u2013280.\n\n Doyle, Charles A., 139.\n\n \u201cDoyle, Dicky,\u201d 139.\n\n Doyle, John, 139.\n\n Doyle, Kingsley, 237, 238.\n\n Doyle, Lady, 139, 147, 150, 152, 157, 158, 160, 161, 233, 278, 279.\n\n Dumas, Alexander, 19.\n\n Dunraven, Lord, 273.\n\n\n Ectoplasm, 166\u2013179.\n\n Eddy Brothers, 233, 234.\n\n Eddy, Horatio, 233, 234.\n\n Eddy, Mary, 234.\n\n Eddy, Warren, 234.\n\n Eddy, Webster, 233, 234.\n\n Eddy, William, 233.\n\n Edmonds, Judge John W., 42, 118, 242, 277.\n\n _Edwin Drood, Mystery of_, 229.\n\n Ellington, William, 241, 260\u2013263.\n\n Encyclopedia, Larousse\u2019s, 252.\n\n Ernest, B. M. L., 245.\n\n Eva, Mlle., 167, 170, 171, 172, 173, 174, 176, 178.\n\n _Evening Mail_, New York, 208.\n\n _Evening News_, London, 236.\n\n _Evening Telegram_, New York, 164.\n\n _Evening World_, New York, 181.\n\n _Evidences of Spiritualism_, 32.\n\n Evils of society, 229.\n\n Expeditionary Force, American, 182.\n\n _Experiments in Psychical Science_, 173.\n\n _Exposure, Amazing Seance and an_, 233.\n\n _Express_, Denver, 277, 278, 279.\n\n\n \u201cFair play, English,\u201d 29.\n\n _Fallacies of Spiritualism, The_, 188.\n\n Fay, Annie Eva, 204, 212, 215.\n\n Fay, William M., 18, 23, 27, 34.\n\n Fechner, 83.\n\n Feilding, Hon. Everard, 52, 53, 63, 166, 169, 170, 171, 173.\n\n Feilding, Mrs., 166.\n\n Fellows, District Attorney, 71.\n\n Ferguson, J. B., 26, 28, 31, 148.\n\n First Society of Spiritualists, 16.\n\n Fish, Mrs., 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9.\n _See also_ Underhill, Mrs.\n\n Fox, John D., 1.\n\n Fox, Kate, 1\u201316.\n\n Fox, Margaret, 1\u201316, 271.\n _See also_ Kane, Margaret Fox.\n\n \u201cFox Sisters, The,\u201d 1\u201316, 38, 39, 110, 141, 203.\n\n France, Emperor and Empress of, 43.\n _See also_ Napoleon.\n\n Franklin, Sir John, 4.\n\n Fraud, spiritualism a, 10;\n magicians as detectors of, 244.\n\n Fullerton, Geo. S., 83.\n\n _Fun_, London, 41.\n\n Funk, Dr., 11.\n\n Funk, Isaac K., 275.\n\n Furness, Horace Howard, 84, 195.\n\n\n Gardner, Dr., 117.\n\n Garfield, President, 187.\n\n General Assembly of Spiritualists, 156.\n\n Gilchrist, J. B., 131.\n\n Glenconner, Lady, 124, 144.\n\n Goligher Circle, 173, 174, 175, 176, 216.\n\n Goligher, Kathleen, 173, 175, 176, 178.\n\n Gow, David, 177.\n\n Greeley, Horace, 3.\n\n Grossman, George, 144.\n\n \u201cGuardian angel,\u201d 237.\n\n Guiteau, Charles J., 187.\n\n Gullots, Vincenzo, 236.\n\n Guppy, Mrs., 230, 232, 240.\n\n Guzek, Jean, 178.\n\n\n Hackney Spiritualistic Society, 125.\n\n Hall, Atlanta, 269.\n\n Hamilton, Duke of, 19, 35, 36.\n\n \u201cHandcuff King,\u201d 211.\n\n Handcuff trick, 258.\n\n Hare, Professor, 51, 239.\n\n Harris, Mrs., 232.\n\n Harrison, Will, 12, 120.\n\n Haselmeyer, 263.\n\n Hauffe, Madame, 234.\n\n Hayes, Father, 241.\n\n Hazard, Thomas R., 194.\n\n Heenan, John C., 19.\n\n Heinberger, Alexander, 249.\n\n Henderson, 149.\n\n Heredia, Father de, 114.\n\n Hermann, Alexander, 71, 248.\n\n Herne, 81, 230, 231.\n\n _Herald_, New York, 180.\n\n Hertz, Carl, 72, 73, 74, 75, 77.\n\n Heuze, Paul, 172, 178.\n\n Hicks, Leonard, 145.\n\n Hilton, Judge, 71.\n\n Hirons, Mabelle, 188.\n\n Hodgson, Dr. Richard, 52.\n\n Hoffmann, 244, 252, 258.\n\n Home, Daniel Dunglas, 38\u201349, 59, 67, 80, 202, 203, 242, 273, 274, 275.\n\n _Home\u2019s, D. D., Life and Work_, 46.\n\n Hooker, Dr. Samuel C., 246.\n\n Hope, William, 123, 124, 129, 130, 131, 132.\n\n Houdin, Madame Robert, 255, 278.\n\n Houdin, Robert, 33, 36, 249, 251\u2013255, 257, 258.\n\n \u201cHoudin, Unmasking of Robert,\u201d 252.\n\n Houdini, 20, 21, 74, 82, 94, 139, 140, 143, 146, 149, 150, 151, 155,\n 156, 158\u2013160, 167, 168, 174, 176, 211\u2013214, 246, 263, 279, 280.\n\n Howard, Joseph, 71.\n\n Howe, Mr., 76.\n\n Hubbell, Dr. J. B., 188.\n\n Hughes, John, 29.\n\n Hughes, Rupert, 58.\n\n \u201cHuman clamp,\u201d 57.\n\n Human nature, 122.\n\n Humbuggery, spiritualistic, 12.\n\n Humbugs of the world, 118.\n\n Hunt, 139.\n\n Huxley, Professor, 198, 199.\n\n Huyler, Mrs., 276.\n\n Huylers, The, 275.\n\n Hyslop, 133.\n\n\n Inaudi, 257.\n\n _Incidents of My Life_, 41.\n\n _Infelicity_, 19.\n\n _Influence of the Mind upon the Body_, 208.\n\n Information, how mediums obtain, 217.\n\n Initiation, 229.\n\n Intercourse, spirit, 211.\n\n International Psychical Association, 145.\n\n Investigations--Wise and Otherwise, 191\u2013216.\n\n Irving, Edward, 234.\n\n Irving, Sir Henry, 30, 271.\n\n\n Jackson, Laura, 77.\n\n Jacobs, E., 33, 34.\n\n Jacoby, 34.\n\n Jaeger, Oscar, 177.\n\n \u201cJar of Honey,\u201d 139.\n\n Jastrow, Professor, 58.\n\n Johnson, Mrs., 238.\n\n Johnson, Sam, 87.\n\n Jourman, Ma\u00eetre, 172.\n\n Judgment, Sanhedrim of, 164.\n\n\n Kane, Dr. Elisha Kent, 3, 9.\n\n Kane, Margaret Fox, 4, 5, 10, 11, 12, 16.\n\n Karcher, Juliet, 160.\n\n Keating, Frederick, 160.\n\n Kellar, Dean, 21, 28, 136.\n\n Kellar, Harry, 84, 85, 86, 87, 195, 223, 224, 225, 244, 247, 262,\n 263, 266.\n\n Kellogg, James L., 54, 55, 56, 57, 58.\n\n _Key to Theosophy_, 49.\n\n Kidder, 26.\n\n King, John, 232.\n\n King, Kate, 143, 184, 203, 235.\n\n \u201cKluge Hans,\u201d 260.\n\n Kluski, P. Frank, 178.\n\n Knapp, Gardiner, 79.\n\n Kodarz, 238.\n\n Krhn, Dr. Monrad, 177.\n\n Krotel, Asst. District Attorney, 142.\n\n\n \u201cLady Wildmere\u2019s Fan,\u201d 256.\n\n Landsfeldt, Countess, 68, 70.\n\n Lankester, Sir, 80, 81, 82.\n\n Laurillard, Edward, 144.\n\n Lawrence, \u201cDr.,\u201d 71.\n\n Leadbeater, C. W., 238.\n\n Leegaard, Dr., 177.\n\n Lehrmann, Granville, 160.\n\n Leroy, Jean A., 264.\n\n Lescurboura, 160.\n\n Levitation, table, 54\u201357, 71.\n _See also_ Table lifting.\n\n Lewes, George Henry, 198, 199.\n\n Lewis, Professor H. Carvill, 261, 262.\n\n Leymaire, M., 120.\n\n _Life_, 229.\n\n _Light_, 203, 204, 261, 262.\n\n _Lights and Shadows of Spiritualism_, 41.\n\n Lincoln, Abraham, 12.\n\n Littlefield, Walter, 63.\n\n Liverpool riot, 28.\n\n Livingston, 55.\n\n Lodge, Raymond, 206.\n\n Lodge, Sir Oliver, 51, 145, 147, 205, 206, 207, 208, 266.\n\n Loeb, Sophie Irene, 237.\n\n \u201cLoftus Troupe,\u201d 224.\n\n Lombroso, Professor, 51.\n\n London Dialectical Society, 198.\n\n London, Jack, 229, 237.\n\n _London Magazine_, 238.\n\n London Psychical College, 166.\n\n Lord, Jennie, 234.\n\n Louis I of Bavaria, 67.\n\n Loyola, 234.\n\n Lunn, Sir Henry, 144.\n\n Lyon, Daniel Home, 45.\n\n Lyon, Jane, 44, 45, 46.\n\n Lytton, Sir E. Bulwer, 42.\n\n\n Magicians\u2019 Club, 264.\n\n Magicians, Society of American, 210, 259.\n\n Manning, Husband, 145.\n\n Mare, Mlle., 172.\n\n Marsault, Ma\u00eetre, 172.\n\n Marsh, Luther R., 275.\n\n Martinka, Francis J., 263, 264.\n\n \u201cMasked Lady,\u201d 144, 149.\n\n Maskelyne, John Nevil, 80, 81, 204, 213, 244.\n\n Mass, Jim, 224, 225.\n\n _Master Workers_, 204.\n\n Marriage relations, 229.\n\n Marryat, Captain, 239.\n\n Marryat, Florence, 239.\n\n Marsh, Luther R., 70, 71, 72, 73, 75, 76.\n\n Martin, Alexander, 133, 134, 135.\n\n Martineau, Harriet, 2.\n\n McCabe, Joseph, 51, 203, 204, 232, 273, 275.\n\n _McClure\u2019s Magazine_, 61.\n\n McCormick, Cyrus, 145.\n\n McCormick, Muriel, 145.\n\n McDougall, Dr. William, 159.\n\n McKenzie, J. Hewat, 127, 166, 211, 212, 214, 215.\n\n M----, Mrs., 183.\n\n \u201cMedium and Daybreak,\u201d 79, 201, 202, 230, 231, 232.\n\n Medium in the mask, the, 144.\n\n Mediums, how they obtain information, 217\u2013228.\n\n _Memoirs of a Magician_, 252.\n\n Menken, Adah Isaacs, 19.\n\n Messant, Mrs., 69, 70.\n\n Miller, Professor Dickinson S., 54, 55, 58.\n\n Mitchell, C. R., 125.\n\n \u201c_Mite, The Widow\u2019s_,\u201d 11, 275.\n\n _Modern Spiritualism_, 41, 79, 120.\n\n Monck, Dr., 232.\n\n Montez, Lola, 67, 76.\n\n Moreland, Beatrice, 256.\n\n _Morning Post_, London, 144, 149.\n\n Morritt, Charles, 259.\n\n Moses, Rev. Stainton, 120, 122.\n\n Mosley, Sidney A., 144, 233.\n\n Mumler, Wm. H., 117, 118, 119, 120, 122, 136.\n\n Munchausen, Baron, 229.\n\n \u201cMurphy\u2019s button,\u201d 144.\n\n Myers, F. W. H., 64.\n\n Mystery, Torture Cell, 167.\n\n _Mystery of Edwin Drood_, 229.\n\n\n Napoleon I, 242, 243.\n\n National Spiritualists Association, 182.\n\n \u201cNeck, the tie around the,\u201d 22.\n\n Neilson, Adelaide, 276.\n\n Newcombe, Lawyer, 71.\n\n _Newcomes, The_, 139.\n\n _Newer Spiritualism_, 41.\n\n \u201cNew Revelation, The,\u201d 164, 207.\n\n Newton, Mr., 16.\n\n New York Press Club Fund, 71.\n\n New York State Assembly of Spiritualists, 180.\n\n Neyland, Miss, 230.\n\n Nichols, Thomas L., 26.\n\n Nicol, Catherine, 142.\n\n Nielson, Ejner, 177, 178.\n\n Northwestern Orient, 229.\n\n\n Occult Committee of the Magic Circle, 126.\n\n Ochorowiz, Professor, 166.\n\n O\u2019Connor, Billy, 264.\n\n Olcott, Col. Henry S., 234, 235, 236.\n\n Orion, Madame, 226.\n\n _Other World_, 236.\n\n _Our American Adventures_, 7, 141, 163, 164.\n\n \u201cOuija board,\u201d 189, 190.\n\n Owen, Robert, 42, 51, 160.\n\n Oxenford, John, 19.\n\n\n Paine, Thomas, 229.\n\n Palladino, Eusapia, 50\u201365, 141, 142, 192, 233, 264.\n\n Papal opposition, 51.\n\n \u201cParadise,\u201d 237.\n\n Parker, Commodore, 3.\n\n Patterson, S. E., 194.\n\n Patterson, Sarah, 182.\n\n Pecoraro, Nino, 159.\n\n Penylan, Wallace, 233.\n\n Philip of Neri, St., 234.\n\n Phillipi, Mons., 43.\n\n Phillips, Watts, 19.\n\n \u201cPhilosophy, preternatural,\u201d 31.\n\n Photographers of England, Crewe, 123, 136.\n\n Photographic memory, 257.\n\n _Photography, Case for Spirit_, 197.\n\n Photography, spirit, 117\u2013137.\n\n Pierce, President, 269.\n\n Pi\u00e9ron, Professor, 178.\n\n Pinetti, 254.\n\n Pitcher, Orville, 232.\n\n Podmore, Frank, 41, 79, 120, 121.\n\n Poe, Edgar Allan, 229.\n\n \u201cPoking Them in the Eye,\u201d 163.\n\n _Politikon_, 177.\n\n Polk, President, 249.\n\n Portal, Cochet M., 172.\n\n Portal, Mme., 172.\n\n _Popular Mechanics_, 145.\n\n _Post_, London, 25.\n\n Powell, Ellis, 155.\n\n Powell, Evan, 238.\n\n Powell, Frederick E., 88, 93, 155, 158.\n\n Powers, \u201coccult,\u201d 2.\n\n Powles, John, 185.\n\n \u201cPreternatural philosophy,\u201d 31.\n\n Price, Harry, 128.\n\n Prince, Ph.D., Walter Franklin, 159, 160.\n\n _Psychic Phenomena, Reality of_, 173.\n\n Psychic Science, British College of, 211.\n\n Psychical Association, International, 145.\n\n Psychical College, London, 116.\n\n Psychical Research, Society of, 41, 52, 53, 124, 163, 168, 173, 177,\n 196, 252, 258, 261.\n\n Psychical Science, Experiments in, 173.\n\n Psychological Studies, Conference to the, 34.\n\n _Punch_, 139.\n\n Pyne, Warner C., 54, 57.\n\n\n Race, destiny of the, 229.\n\n \u201cRappings,\u201d 2.\n\n Rasputin, 43.\n\n Reade, Charles, 19.\n\n Red Cross, American, 188.\n\n \u201cRevelation, The New,\u201d 164, 202.\n\n _Revelations of a Spirit Medium_, 79.\n\n _Revue Spirits_, 33, 120.\n\n Rhys, M., 36.\n\n Richet, Professor, 51.\n\n Richmond, Dr. C. M., 12.\n\n Rickards, Harry, 18.\n\n Rinn, Joseph F., 54, 57, 61, 145.\n\n Robin, Henri, 33.\n\n Robinson, William E., 79.\n\n Rope-tie, Davenport, 18, 20\u201324.\n\n Rope tricks, 17\u201337, 114, 258.\n\n Rosenthal, Baroness, 68, 70, 78.\n\n Rosner, 248.\n\n Rule, Margaret, 234.\n\n Russia, Czar of, 43, 99, 243.\n\n Rymer, Bendigo, 40.\n\n Rymer, J. S., 40.\n\n\n Salomen, Editha, 67, 68, 70.\n\n Sanhedrim of Judgment, 164.\n\n Sargent, John W., 54, 58, 65, 269.\n\n Savonarola, 234.\n\n Scheibner, 83.\n\n Scheldrup, Dr., 177.\n\n _Scientific American_, 158, 160.\n\n _Scientific American_ staff, 159.\n\n Schofield, Dr. A. T., 143.\n\n Scott, Edgar, 57.\n\n \u201cSecond Sight,\u201d 254, 259.\n\n \u201cSecond sight artists,\u201d 259.\n\n Sedgwick, Professor, 51.\n\n Seeing in the dark, 257, 258.\n\n Sellers, Coleman, 85.\n\n Seybert Commission, 9, 83\u201384, 86, 94, 193, 194, 195, 197, 262.\n\n Seybert, Henry, 193, 194.\n\n Seymour, Mr., 128.\n\n Shakespeare, 229.\n\n Shireen, 254.\n\n Siebert, Frau, 178.\n\n \u201cSir ----,\u201d 226.\n\n Sixth Circle, Spirit of, 229.\n\n Slade confession, 95, 99.\n\n Slade, Dr. Henry, 30, 79, 80, 101, 195, 196, 260, 262.\n\n Slate writing, 79, 84, 101, 260.\n\n Society, evils of, 229.\n\n Society for the Study of Supernormal Pictures, 126.\n\n Society of American Magicians, 54, 88, 210.\n\n Society of Spiritualists, 2.\n\n Sothern, Edward A., 30.\n\n _Sphinx, The_, 264, 265.\n\n \u201cSpirit, disembodied,\u201d 2, 6.\n\n \u201cSpirit extras,\u201d 122, 124, 126, 127, 128, 129, 132, 133.\n\n Spirit intercourse, 211.\n\n Spirit manifestations, 1.\n\n Spirit photography, 117\u2013137.\n\n _Spirit Messenger_, 229.\n\n Spirit states, 79.\n\n Spirit world, 2.\n\n Spiritual Athen\u00e6um, The, 44.\n\n Spiritual children, 271.\n\n Spiritual Institution, 231.\n\n _Spiritual Magazine_, 200.\n\n _Spiritualism_, 51, 203, 232, 242.\n\n Spiritualism, by-products of, 180.\n\n _Spiritualism, Fallacies of_, 188.\n\n _Spiritualism, Report on_, 198.\n\n _Spiritualism, Researches in_, 184.\n\n _Spiritualism, The Death Blow to_, 14, 271.\n\n Spiritualism, the founders of, 1\u201316.\n\n \u201cSpiritualistic Humbugs,\u201d 118.\n\n Spiritualist Society, 130.\n\n _Spiritualist, The_, 33.\n\n _Spiritualist, Wanderings of a_, 238.\n\n Spiritualist, what you must believe to be a, 229.\n\n Spiritualists, General Assembly of, 156, 180.\n\n Stamislaski, S. D., 178.\n\n Stamislawa, 178.\n\n Stange, Prof. Frederick, 177.\n\n _Star_, London, 124.\n\n _Star of Truth_, 229.\n\n Stead, 145, 146, 239, 267.\n\n Stewart, Alvin, 276.\n\n Stewart, Jessie K., 159.\n\n Stokes, Edward S., 71.\n\n Stormer, Dr., 177.\n\n St. Paul, 76.\n\n Stuart, Anna, 239.\n\n Subconscious mind, 223.\n\n _Sun_, New York, 77, 78, 156, 157.\n\n \u201cSunset,\u201d Alvin Stewart, 276.\n _See also_ Stewart, Alvin.\n\n Swinburne, 19.\n\n \u201cSwindle,\u201d Fox, 16.\n\n\n Table levitation, 50, 54, 57, 71.\n\n _Telegraph_, London, 172.\n\n Telepathists, 258.\n\n Telepathy, 259.\n\n _Telepathy, Genuine and Fraudulent_, 52.\n\n _That Other World_, 43.\n\n _Theocrat, The_, 187.\n\n \u201cTheocratic Unity,\u201d 77.\n\n Theosophical Society, 238.\n\n _There Is No Death_, 185, 239.\n\n Thomas Brothers, 147, 148.\n\n Thompson, Mrs., 178, 215.\n\n Thompsons, the, 144, 145, 146, 150.\n\n Thomson, Clarence, 145.\n\n Thornton, Jeanette, 279.\n\n Thurs, Bergen Vigelius, 181.\n\n Tiedemann, Dr. Heinrich, 95, 99.\n\n _Times_, London, 42, 77, 242.\n\n _Times_, New York, 60, 61, 73, 76, 160, 172, 182.\n\n _Times-Picayune_, New Orleans, 145.\n\n _Times_, Washington, D. C., 181.\n\n Tomchik, Mme., 166.\n\n Tomson, Elizabeth Allen, 159.\n\n Torture Cell Mystery, 167.\n\n _Transcendental Physics_, 80.\n\n _Tribune_, Oakland, 149.\n\n \u201cTricks, all mediums indulge in,\u201d 63.\n\n Trollope, T. A., 42.\n\n Troup, Dr., 177.\n\n Truesdell, John W., 87, 88.\n\n _Truth_, 125, 164, 229.\n\n _Truth a Companion to the Bible, The_, 188.\n\n Tuttle, Hudson, 95, 99.\n\n Twain, Mark, 229.\n\n Tyndall, Professor John, 198, 199, 200.\n\n\n Underhill, Mrs., 7, 8, 9.\n\n _Unmasking of Robert Houdin, The_, 252, 257.\n\n\n Valentine, 159, 160.\n\n Van Buren, President, 277.\n\n Vearncombe, Mr., 123, 126, 127.\n\n Verdier, M., 172.\n\n Varley, Cromwell, 200.\n\n Von Schrenk-Notzing, Baron, 174, 179.\n\n\n Walker, William, 160, 196, 197.\n\n Wallace, Mr., 199.\n\n _Wanderings of a Spiritualist, The_, 40.\n\n Weber, Professor, 51, 83.\n\n _Weekly Dispatch_, 273.\n\n Weiss, Remigius, 94, 99, 100.\n\n Wertheimer, Mr., 95, 98.\n\n Wesley, John, 229.\n\n Whipple, Sydney B., 278, 279.\n\n White, C. H., 229.\n\n White, Eliza, 235.\n\n Whitefield, John, 229.\n\n _Widow\u2019s Mite and Other Psychic Phenomena_, 11, 275.\n\n Wilde, Oscar, 229, 256.\n\n Wilhelm, I., Kaiser, 248, 249.\n\n Williams, 81, 230, 231, 232, 241.\n\n Wilmann, Karl, 248.\n\n Wilson, M.D., A. M., 265.\n\n Windsor, H. H., 145.\n\n _World_, New York, 5, 11, 12, 13, 77, 182, 236.\n\n \u201cWorld, Ten Super-women of the,\u201d 19.\n\n Worrell, Richard I., 160.\n\n Wynn, Rev. Walter, 125.\n\n Wynne, 273.\n\n\n Young, Harry F., 140.\n\n Young, Mrs., 235.\n\n\n Zancig, Jules, 210.\n\n Zancig, Mrs., 212.\n\n Zancigs, the, 258.\n\n Zollner, Professor, 51, 80, 82, 83, 196.\n\n\n\n\nTranscriber\u2019s Notes\n\n\nPunctuation, hyphenation, and spelling were made consistent when a\npredominant preference was found in the original book; otherwise they\nwere not changed.\n\nSimple typographical errors were corrected; unbalanced quotation\nmarks were remedied when the change was obvious, and otherwise left\nunbalanced.\n\nIllustrations in this eBook have been positioned between paragraphs\nand outside quotations. In versions of this eBook that support\nhyperlinks, the page references in the List of Illustrations lead to\nthe corresponding illustrations.\n\nThe index was not checked for proper alphabetization or correct page\nreferences. Discrepancies between spellings in the Index and on\nreferenced pages were resolved in favor of the latter.\n\nText refers to \u201cTomson\u201d and \u201cThomson\u201d, and has both in the Index.\n\nTranscriber removed redundant book title preceding page 1 and redundant\n\u201cIndex\u201d heading just before the Index.\n\nFootnotes, originally at the bottoms of pages, have been resequenced,\ncollected, and moved to precede the Index.\n\nThe book refers twice to Dr. Monrad Krhn, but the correct spelling\nis \u201cKrohn\u201d.\n\nPage 11: \u201cExpecting\u201d may be a misprint for \u201cExcepting\u201d.\n\nPage 27: \u201call South of Central America\u201d was printed that way, but in\nthe image of the actual letter that is shown in the book, it is\n\u201call South and Central America\u201d.\n\nFootnote 59, originally the third footnote on page 71: \u201cattaches\u201d was\nprinted that way, not as \u201cattach\u00e9s\u201d.","title":"A Magician Among the Spirits","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":93703}