Spiritualism — Encyclopaedia of Psychic Science Article
Divine Dispensations of Spiritualism Article #1
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| A recent fifth authentic seance room photo of materialized 'paranormal people' (as documented in articles at this blog) was added to this logo images montage for the websites Paranormal People . Net and Paranormal Encyclopedia. Net. The added photo (second from right) of 'Aunt Agg' is from Life After Death — Living Proof (2004; expanded 2008) by Tom Harrison. (1, 2) |
Blogger's note: 'Divine Dispensations' must be comprehended for readers to expand their understanding of how Love is the purpose guiding the evolution of human consciousness during earthly incarnations. As quoted in a recent blog article, the development of an insightful perspective regarding Divine Dispensations is related to what one transcendental communicator expressed this way: "The God-Power or Force is our universal connection. It is the source of love, wisdom and pure spirit energy . . . our support, our source of strength in the face of disaster and trauma." This Force is involved with what sometimes is referred to as 'paranormal' or 'miraculous' phenomena and also to innate human creativity. Comprehending the nature reflected through the diverse manifestations of these phenomena makes possible human beings expressing love in return to the 'Source of All Life' that has made all Blessings possible for each one of us.
This Spiritualism treatise by Nandor Fodor from the Encyclopaedia of Psychic Science (1934) offers some facts about an epoch of Divine Dispensations preceding the current one encompassing 'channeling' and extraterrestrial visitations and other consciousness expanding aspects of earthly existence that are among the subjects at this blog. Selected links to previous blog articles have been introduced to this treatise that is here quoted in the entirety with some additional notes from myself contributed within brackets. Some images of the 'paranormal people' associated with Spiritualism have also been added. Among the noteworthy authors who've documented aspects of Spiritualism yet left unmentioned in the treatise as Gambier Bolton, Dr. Gustave Geley (1868-1924), Florence Marryat (1837-1899), William Usborne Moore (1849-1918) and Willy Reichel.
As a prefatory note, readers should be informed that Arthur Conan Doyle’s report about the Fox sisters in his two volume The History of Spiritualism (1926) includes the transcript of Maggie Fox explaining about a financial transaction being the basis of her repudiation of the authenticity of the rappings long-documented to occur in her presence. She was quoted in an article in the New York Press on November 20, 1889.
"What cause led up to your exposure of the spirit rappings?"
"At that time I was in great need of money, and persons—who for the present I prefer not to name—took advantage of the situation; hence the trouble. The excitement, too, helped to upset my mental equilibrium."
"What was the object of the persons who induced you to make the confession that you and all other mediums traded on the credulity of people?"
"They had several objects in view. Their first and paramount idea was to crush Spiritualism, to make money for themselves, and to get up a great excitement, as that was an element in which they flourish."
"Was there any truth in the charges you made against Spiritualism?"
"Those charges were false in every particular. I have no hesitation in saying that."
*
SPIRITUALISM, according to the definition adopted by the National Spiritualist Association of America, "is the Science, Philosophy and Religion of continuous life, based upon the demonstrated fact of communication, by means of mediumship, with those who live in the Spirit World. Spiritualism is a science because it investigates, analyses and classifies facts and manifestations, demonstrated from the spirit side of life. Spiritualism is a philosophy because it studies the laws of nature both on the seen and unseen sides of life and bases its conclusions upon present observed facts. It accepts statements of observed facts of past ages and conclusions drawn therefrom, when sustained by reason and by results of observed facts of the present day. Spiritualism is a religion because it strives to understand and to comply with the Physical, Mental and Spiritual Laws of Nature which are the laws of God."
There are two basic facts in spiritualism: the continuity of personality and the powers of communication after death. It teaches that death works no miracle, that it is a new birth into a spiritual body, the counterpart of the physical which is gifted with new powers. Neither punishment, nor rewards are meted out. Individuality, character, memory undergo no change. The main principle of the new life is the progression of the fittest. The rapidity of progress is in proportion to the mental and moral faculties acquired in earth life. Every spirit is left to discover the truth for himself. Evil passions, sinful life, may chain a spirit to the earth, but the road of endless progress opens up even for these as soon as they discover the light. Higher and higher spheres correspond to the state of progress. The gradation is apparently endless. Communion with the higher intelligences is open but of God they know no more than we do.
Spiritualism and Religion.
"Spiritualism" writes Conan Doyle, "is a religion for those who find themselves outside all religions; while on the contrary it greatly strengthens the faith of those who already possess religious beliefs."
The important aspect of the relationship of spiritualism to other religious creeds is that it founds the belief in survival upon proven and provable facts instead of ancient traditions and thereby reconciles religion with science. It offers a progressive and evolutionary religion. It does not look "backward to fading tradition, but onward to dawning experience." And there is hope that the intercourse consciously begun may lead through long effort into a direct communion with the higher world. It restores primitive Christianity and teaches that the angels are with us now as in olden days, it returns a definite answer to the age-old question: "If a man die shall he live again?" and does away with the terror of death. Inscriptions in the Catacombs show that the early Christians spoke of the dead as though they were still living. Saint Augustine in his De cura pro Mortuis says: "The spirits of the dead can be sent to the living and can unveil to them the future which they themselves have learned from other spirits or from angels, or by divine revelation."
Spiritualism does not admit unchangeable bliss or eternal damnation. There is no hell with brimstone and flames of fire in the orthodox sense, no devils, no last judgment, no vicarious atonement. Christ was a Great Teacher who descended to set an example. "It is our task to do for Christianity what Jesus did for Judaism" said a message received by Stainton Moses from his teachers in the Beyond. There is no resurrection of the physical body. The hieracites, a sect which flourished in the fourth century, were described as heretics because they maintained that it was the soul alone which arose again and the resurrection was entirely spiritual. In that sense and in that sense alone, spiritualism is a heresy. Yet it was not too bold of Myers to declare in Human Personality: "I predict that, in consequence of the new evidence, all reasonable men, a century hence, will believe the Resurrection of Christ, whereas, in default of the new evidence, no reasonable men, a century hence would have believed it." "We have shown that amid much deception and self-deception, fraud and illusion, veritable manifestations do reach us from beyond the grave. The central claim of Christianity is thus confirmed, as never before. If our own friends, men like ourselves, can sometimes return to tell us of love and hope, a mightier Spirit may well have used the eternal laws with a more commanding power."
There are two basic facts in spiritualism: the continuity of personality and the powers of communication after death. It teaches that death works no miracle, that it is a new birth into a spiritual body, the counterpart of the physical which is gifted with new powers. Neither punishment, nor rewards are meted out. Individuality, character, memory undergo no change. The main principle of the new life is the progression of the fittest. The rapidity of progress is in proportion to the mental and moral faculties acquired in earth life. Every spirit is left to discover the truth for himself. Evil passions, sinful life, may chain a spirit to the earth, but the road of endless progress opens up even for these as soon as they discover the light. Higher and higher spheres correspond to the state of progress. The gradation is apparently endless. Communion with the higher intelligences is open but of God they know no more than we do.
Spiritualism and Religion.
"Spiritualism" writes Conan Doyle, "is a religion for those who find themselves outside all religions; while on the contrary it greatly strengthens the faith of those who already possess religious beliefs."
The important aspect of the relationship of spiritualism to other religious creeds is that it founds the belief in survival upon proven and provable facts instead of ancient traditions and thereby reconciles religion with science. It offers a progressive and evolutionary religion. It does not look "backward to fading tradition, but onward to dawning experience." And there is hope that the intercourse consciously begun may lead through long effort into a direct communion with the higher world. It restores primitive Christianity and teaches that the angels are with us now as in olden days, it returns a definite answer to the age-old question: "If a man die shall he live again?" and does away with the terror of death. Inscriptions in the Catacombs show that the early Christians spoke of the dead as though they were still living. Saint Augustine in his De cura pro Mortuis says: "The spirits of the dead can be sent to the living and can unveil to them the future which they themselves have learned from other spirits or from angels, or by divine revelation."
Spiritualism does not admit unchangeable bliss or eternal damnation. There is no hell with brimstone and flames of fire in the orthodox sense, no devils, no last judgment, no vicarious atonement. Christ was a Great Teacher who descended to set an example. "It is our task to do for Christianity what Jesus did for Judaism" said a message received by Stainton Moses from his teachers in the Beyond. There is no resurrection of the physical body. The hieracites, a sect which flourished in the fourth century, were described as heretics because they maintained that it was the soul alone which arose again and the resurrection was entirely spiritual. In that sense and in that sense alone, spiritualism is a heresy. Yet it was not too bold of Myers to declare in Human Personality: "I predict that, in consequence of the new evidence, all reasonable men, a century hence, will believe the Resurrection of Christ, whereas, in default of the new evidence, no reasonable men, a century hence would have believed it." "We have shown that amid much deception and self-deception, fraud and illusion, veritable manifestations do reach us from beyond the grave. The central claim of Christianity is thus confirmed, as never before. If our own friends, men like ourselves, can sometimes return to tell us of love and hope, a mightier Spirit may well have used the eternal laws with a more commanding power."
Spiritualism admits all the truths of morality and religion in all other sects. Its own moral and religious teachings are very sane and rational. The good which they achieved both in personal respect and for the progress of humanity is immeasurable. President Lincoln freed the American slaves largely under spiritualist influence.
In November, 1872, the Religio-Philosophical Journal of Chicago published the following statement of Elder Evans, the Shaker: "At a public dinner, given by the Emperor of Russia, he confessed with the simplicity of a child what was confirmed by the Empress and other members of their suite, that he was influenced by spirits through the American medium Home, to emancipate the twenty million of serfs; and that the spirits helped and sustained him in the accomplishment of his arduous undertaking." To the inquiry of Dr. Crowell, Elder Evans confirmed the truth of the statement and said he received it from the mouth of a physician who was a guest at the public dinner referred to.
Gerald Massey said in a beautiful tribute: "Spiritualism will make religion infinitely more real, and translate it from the domain of belief to that of life. It has been to me, in common with many others, such a lifting of the mental horizon and a letting in of the heavens—such a transformation of faith into facts—that I can only compare life without it to sailing on board ship with hatches battened down, and being kept prisoner, cribbed, cabined, and confined, living by the light of a candle—dark to the glory overhead, and blind to a thousand possibilities of being—and then suddenly on some starry night allowed to go on deck for the first time to see the stupendous mechanism of the starry heavens all aglow with the glory of God, to feel that vast vision glittering in the eyes, bewilderingly beautiful, and drink in a new life with every breath of its wondrous liberty, which makes you dilate almost large enough in soul to fill the immensity which you see around you."
The Phenomena of Spiritualism.
The phenomena of spiritualism fall into two main groups: physical and mental. Both groups contain a great variety of manifestations. The following phenomena belong to the physical order:
In November, 1872, the Religio-Philosophical Journal of Chicago published the following statement of Elder Evans, the Shaker: "At a public dinner, given by the Emperor of Russia, he confessed with the simplicity of a child what was confirmed by the Empress and other members of their suite, that he was influenced by spirits through the American medium Home, to emancipate the twenty million of serfs; and that the spirits helped and sustained him in the accomplishment of his arduous undertaking." To the inquiry of Dr. Crowell, Elder Evans confirmed the truth of the statement and said he received it from the mouth of a physician who was a guest at the public dinner referred to.
Gerald Massey said in a beautiful tribute: "Spiritualism will make religion infinitely more real, and translate it from the domain of belief to that of life. It has been to me, in common with many others, such a lifting of the mental horizon and a letting in of the heavens—such a transformation of faith into facts—that I can only compare life without it to sailing on board ship with hatches battened down, and being kept prisoner, cribbed, cabined, and confined, living by the light of a candle—dark to the glory overhead, and blind to a thousand possibilities of being—and then suddenly on some starry night allowed to go on deck for the first time to see the stupendous mechanism of the starry heavens all aglow with the glory of God, to feel that vast vision glittering in the eyes, bewilderingly beautiful, and drink in a new life with every breath of its wondrous liberty, which makes you dilate almost large enough in soul to fill the immensity which you see around you."
The Phenomena of Spiritualism.
The phenomena of spiritualism fall into two main groups: physical and mental. Both groups contain a great variety of manifestations. The following phenomena belong to the physical order:
Acoustic phenomena (Percussive sounds as raps and blows; noises, voices, music on instruments or without).
Apports, disappearance of objects, passing of matter through matter, transportation of the human body.
Automatism in various forms: agitation of the body or limbs, automatic writing, drawing, painting, slate writing; direct writing, drawing and painting.
Biological phenomena, such as influencing the growth of plants by vital bodily emanations or by other unknown means.
Chemical phenomena: psychic lights, perfumes, catalytic action, production of water, psychic photographs.
Electric phenomena: discharge of electroscopes, phenomena suggesting human radio-activity.
Fire Immunity.
Levitation of the human body.
Magnetic phenomena.
Materialisation and dematerialisation.
Materialisation and dematerialisation.
Movement of objects without contact, vibratory effects, increase and decrease in weight, spelling out messages by typtology, and other complicated operations, as untying of bonds, etc.
Plastics: imprints of fingers, hands, faces, legs, and psychic rods, moulds of faces, hands and legs.
Psychic touches.
Psycho-physiological phenomena, change of stature: elongation, shrinking or puffing out of the human body; stigmatisation, effects of personation, transfiguration, obsession and trance in general; loss of weight, nervous drain, ectoplasm, aura and emanations.
Thermo-dynamic effects: variations of temperature, increase of heat in apported objects or in case of penetration of matter through matter, currents of air, winds.
Psycho-physiological phenomena, change of stature: elongation, shrinking or puffing out of the human body; stigmatisation, effects of personation, transfiguration, obsession and trance in general; loss of weight, nervous drain, ectoplasm, aura and emanations.
Thermo-dynamic effects: variations of temperature, increase of heat in apported objects or in case of penetration of matter through matter, currents of air, winds.
Many of the mental phenomena have a physical background, yet the intellectual operation on the part of the medium gives a definite line of distinction. Clairvoyance, in all its variegated forms, clairaudience, crystal gazing, divination in general, involving prediction with its rudimentary forms as premonition, monition, monition of approach, dowsing as regards the interpretation of the movement of the rod, healing, possession, personation, obsession in their intellectual aspects, psychometry, trance speaking, other forms of spirit communications, telepathy and xenoglossis, or the gift of tongues constitute the full range of mental phenomena.
Unknown mental processes of the medium may furnish the key to most of the mystery. [addendum from blogger: see "Information Sources Providing Data about 'The God Force'"] But there are phenomena in which the interplay of an extraneous factor demands consideration. This extraneous factor was variously speculated to be the will of someone living, a disembodied human consciousness, or something of non-human origin.
Professor Maximilian Perty, of the University of Berne, in his book published in 1861, assumed the existence of planetary spirits with whom the spirit of the entranced medium can enter into communion. Edward von Hartmann similarly conjectured that the mind of the seer is in connection with the Absolute and through the Absolute with other individual minds. Catholic theologians solved the question in a simple way. They were almost dogmatic that the phenomena were inspired by the devil.
Professor Maximilian Perty, of the University of Berne, in his book published in 1861, assumed the existence of planetary spirits with whom the spirit of the entranced medium can enter into communion. Edward von Hartmann similarly conjectured that the mind of the seer is in connection with the Absolute and through the Absolute with other individual minds. Catholic theologians solved the question in a simple way. They were almost dogmatic that the phenomena were inspired by the devil.
Charles Bray, the author of The Philosophy of Necessity theorised that our bodies are continually giving off thought rays just as they give off heat rays. These thought emanations are not lost, "many facts now point to an atmosphere or reservoir of thought, the result of cerebration into which the thought and feeling generated by the brain are continually passing." He supposed that mediums may be in communication with this thought reservoir. [addendum from blogger: these are all attempts to make sense of aspects of 'The God Force']
Among modern speculations we find "the psychic factor" of Prof. Broad which he conceives as a kind of mind detritus, able to create a personality, but no more personal than matter, and Maxwell's collective consciousness which is the correlative of Morselli's psycho-dynamic theory. Last, but with the greatest practical appeal comes the spirit theory, the present day working hypothesis of many well-known researchers, meaning that a human spirit which has survived the change of death is instrumental in causing the manifestations.
Among modern speculations we find "the psychic factor" of Prof. Broad which he conceives as a kind of mind detritus, able to create a personality, but no more personal than matter, and Maxwell's collective consciousness which is the correlative of Morselli's psycho-dynamic theory. Last, but with the greatest practical appeal comes the spirit theory, the present day working hypothesis of many well-known researchers, meaning that a human spirit which has survived the change of death is instrumental in causing the manifestations.
Outline of the History of Spiritualism.
* * *
Spiritualism in the United States.
Spiritualism was heralded by animal magnetism. In the second quarter of the XIX century most of the spiritualistic phenomena were known to some investigators in France. But the movement which is known as modern spiritualism started in America. Here, too, manifestations occurred at an early date. At Mount Lebanon in 1837 communications were received for seven years in which spirits predicted the spreading of the phenomena all over the world, that there will not be a hamlet or palace which they will not visit. Andrew Jackson Davis prophesied similarly in 1847. The world soon learned of the phenomena at Hydesville, New York. In March, 1848, the Fox sisters were disturbed by continual rappings. It was soon discovered that they were signals. The signals declared that a murdered man was buried in the cellar and gave the name. The information was found true. The Fox family moved to Rochester. Committee after committee was appointed and forced to confess that the cause of the sounds and the mystery of answers to mental questions was undiscoverable. Those who sat with the Fox sisters soon found that they themselves had similar powers. So the movement spread. The first experimental organisation, The New York Circle, was formed in 1851. By its initiative the New York Conference was established in the same year and the preaching of a new science and faith began to make converts among the notabilities of the day. Governor N. P. Tallmadge, of Wisconsin, William Lloyd Garrison, the abolitionist, Professors Britten, David Wells, Bryant and Bliss of the University of Pennsylvania, Chief Justice Williams, Judge Edmonds, Professor Hare, Professor Mapes, General Bullard, Horace Greely, Fennimore Cooper and William Cullan Bryant were the distinguished early converts. According to an estimate in the Spirit World there were in 1851 a hundred mediums in New York and 50-60 private circles in Philadelphia. The North American Review wrote in April, 1855, that the New England Spiritualist Association, which computes the number of spiritualists in America as nearly two million, does not overstate the facts.
Spiritualism was heralded by animal magnetism. In the second quarter of the XIX century most of the spiritualistic phenomena were known to some investigators in France. But the movement which is known as modern spiritualism started in America. Here, too, manifestations occurred at an early date. At Mount Lebanon in 1837 communications were received for seven years in which spirits predicted the spreading of the phenomena all over the world, that there will not be a hamlet or palace which they will not visit. Andrew Jackson Davis prophesied similarly in 1847. The world soon learned of the phenomena at Hydesville, New York. In March, 1848, the Fox sisters were disturbed by continual rappings. It was soon discovered that they were signals. The signals declared that a murdered man was buried in the cellar and gave the name. The information was found true. The Fox family moved to Rochester. Committee after committee was appointed and forced to confess that the cause of the sounds and the mystery of answers to mental questions was undiscoverable. Those who sat with the Fox sisters soon found that they themselves had similar powers. So the movement spread. The first experimental organisation, The New York Circle, was formed in 1851. By its initiative the New York Conference was established in the same year and the preaching of a new science and faith began to make converts among the notabilities of the day. Governor N. P. Tallmadge, of Wisconsin, William Lloyd Garrison, the abolitionist, Professors Britten, David Wells, Bryant and Bliss of the University of Pennsylvania, Chief Justice Williams, Judge Edmonds, Professor Hare, Professor Mapes, General Bullard, Horace Greely, Fennimore Cooper and William Cullan Bryant were the distinguished early converts. According to an estimate in the Spirit World there were in 1851 a hundred mediums in New York and 50-60 private circles in Philadelphia. The North American Review wrote in April, 1855, that the New England Spiritualist Association, which computes the number of spiritualists in America as nearly two million, does not overstate the facts.
The wildest aberrations in the early history of American spiritualism were the New Motor movement of John Murray Spear, and the Mountain Cove Settlement of Rev. Scott and Thomas Lake Harris. As time progressed spiritualists had a serious struggle against many other movements which claimed justification for free love and community of property from spirit communications of pseudo-mediums.
Conjointly with the spread of the movement spiritualist periodicals sprung up. The Univercoelum of 1847 and the Spirit Messenger of Springfield, which succeeded it in 1849, were mouthpieces of Andrew Jackson Davis' harmonial philosophy. A similar paper was published by the Rev. James L. Scott, the later founder of the Mountain Cove Community in joint editorship with Thomas Lake Harris in Auburn. It was called Disclosures from the Interior and Superior Care for Mortals. Another paper, The Spiritual and Moral Instructor, was edited in the same town by T. S. Hiatt. These organs, to which we may add the Heat and Light of Boston, represented a special school of philosophy. The first spiritualistic periodical was issued in July, 1850, by Leroy Sunderland. The title, The Spiritual Philosopher, was changed a year later to Spirit World. In 1852 the Shekinah was started by S. B. Brittan and Charles Partridge on its short career. After eighteen months of existence it was absorbed by Dr. Buchanan's Journal of Man. The first periodical which could boast of permanence was the Spiritual Telegraph, born out of a resolution of the New York Conference in 1852. It ran until 1860, when in its turn it was absorbed by Andrew Jackson Davis' The Herald of Progress. In 1854 the Society for the Diffusion of Spiritual Knowledge, the first well-organised body, started the Christian Spiritualist (1854-57) and the year 1857 witnessed the appearance of The Banner of Light in Boston, which is still running. Of other early periodicals The Spiritual Clarion, of Auburn, The New Era, of Boston, The Light from the Spirit World, of St. Louis, the Age of Progress and The Sunbeam, of Buffalo; of later ones the Religio-Philosophical Journal of Chicago, the Western Star and The Spiritual Scientist, of Boston, The American Spiritualist, the New England Spiritualist, The Spiritual Age and The Lyceum Banner should be mentioned.
one of the books by Andrew Jackson Davis
Spiritualism ran on democratic lines in America. In its early years it led to the foundation of theo-socialistic communities, similar to the Mountain Cove settlement but with no such extravagant pretensions. Mediums were discovered in every class. The tillers of the soil were represented by the Koon Family in the wilds of Ohio, their loghouse was the scene of ghostly pandemonium. Mrs. Andrews, who initiated full-form materialisations and the Eddy Brothers, were later representatives of the same class. The Davenport Brothers travelled far and wide and advertised spiritualism by inexplicable noisy demonstrations. Henry Gordon introduced the levitation of the human body, D. D. Home improved upon the demonstration and produced phantom hands which dissolved in the grasp of the sitters. Dr. Buchanan discovered psychometry which Prof. Denton corroborated in thrilling experiments. Mumler accidentally became the first spirit photographer, Mrs. Hardy produced the first paraffin moulds, Mrs. Emma Hardinge, Nettie Colburn (Mrs. Maynard), and Cora Scott (Mrs. Tappan-Richmond) represented inspirational speaking, Mrs. Hollis and Mrs. Conant trance mediumship in a well developed state, Henry Slade slate-writing and Charles Foster the art of pellet reading and skin writing.
William Mumler's first photograph was a self-portrait: ". . . this picture was taken by myself when there was no visible person present but myself." (from Mumler's 1875 autobiography)
Mrs. J. H. Conant (Frances Ann Crowell 1831-1875)
The Fox sisters, who gave the first impetus to modern spiritualism, had been eclipsed in power and variety of demonstrations by these mediums. They were the first who had to bear the brunt of the countertide which was soon to come in. In the first university examination Professors Austin Flint, Charles A. Dee and C. B. Coventry, of the Buffalo University, brought on February 17, 1851, the following [denialist] verdict on their phenomena: "It is sufficient to state that the muscles inserted into the upper and inner side of the large bone of the leg (the tibia) near the knee joint, are brought into action so as to move the upper surface of the bone just named, laterally upon the lower surface of the thigh bone (the femur), giving rise, in fact, to a partial lateral dislocation. This is effected by an act of the will, without any obvious movements of the limb, occasioning a loud noise and a return of the bone to its place is attended by a second sound."
The revelation of Mrs. Norman Culver of an alleged confession of the Fox sisters had aggravated their position. But no disclosures and professorial verdicts could stem the advance of spiritualism.
In 1857 the editor of The Boston Courier offered 500 dollars for the production of genuine phenomena, provided a committee of Harvard University should be the umpires. On behalf of the spiritualists Dr. Gardner accepted the challenge. The committee consisted of Professors Pierce, Agassiz and Horsford, of Harvard University, and Dr. N. B. Gould of the Albany Observatory, of the editor of the Boston Courier and a few friends of Dr. Gardner. The mediums were Mrs. Brown (Leah Fox), Kate Fox, Mr. J. V. Mansfield, Mrs. Kendrick, George Redman and the Davenport Brothers. Two days were devoted to the manifestations. They were imperfect and unsatisfactory and the committee returned a negative verdict, promising also a later report of additional investigations which, however, never came forth. Following the failure of the Cambridge investigation Dr. Gardner extended invitations to the Press to attend seances with the same mediums. Several papers published impressive accounts.
As the years passed by important records of observations and long experiments were published by E. A. Brackett, Epes Sargent, Dr. Wolfe, Allan Putnam and Dr. Eugene Crowell. The early history of E. W. Capron was continued by Miss Emma Hardinge, who narrated twenty years of progress. Many organisations and spiritualistic churches worked for the advancement of the cause. In 1873 the first camp meeting was initiated at Lake Pleasant, Mass. It was quickly followed by others. The years between 1880 and 1890 witnessed four outstanding events: the report of the Seybert Commission, the self-exposure of Margaret and Kate Fox in 1888, the foundation of the A.S.P.R. for systematic and organised psychical research in 1885 with the participation of a group of distinguished scientists, and the discovery of Mrs. Piper's mediumship. The Seybert Commission was delegated by the University of Pennsylvania which received an endowment of 60,000 dollars from Henry Seybert on the understanding that it would investigate the phenomena of spiritualism. The money was kept, but the understanding only in a limited sense as, after a preliminary negative report in 1887, which was widely resented, the investigation was discontinued. The self-exposure of Margaret and Kate Fox did not realise the fond expectations of the anti-spiritualists as a death-blow, as their motives appeared to be sordid and the revelation was followed a year after by full retraction. The birth of the A.S.P.R. was of far-reaching importance. The discovery of Mrs. Piper's powers secured the prestige of Prof. William James for psychical research. Dr. Hodgson's keen intellect, his fifteen years of tireless investigation and Prof. Hyslop's erudition laid the scientific foundations for the ultimate discovery of an unknown world. In 1905 the A.S.P.R. was dissolved and reorganised as an independent body. Prof. Hyslop took charge and conducted its work until his death in 1920. Other keen and able investigators arose. Hereward Carrington established his claim to renown and the mantle of Prof. Hyslop was placed on the shoulders of Dr. W. F. Prince. The discovery of Margery's mediumship and the investigation of the Scientific American and of Harvard Committees created a wide stir. The Boston S.P.R. was founded in 1925 by Dr. W. F. Prince and Malcolm Bird stepped into his vacated place in New York. From November 29 to December 11, 1926, the Clark University, Worcester, Mass., which has a lecture endowment for psychical research, held an International Symposium on the subject. Dr. Carl Murchison presided and papers were presented by Sir Oliver Lodge, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Frederick Bligh Bond, L. R. G. Crandon, Mary Austin, Margaret Deland, William McDougal, Hans Driesch, Walter Franklin Prince, F. C. S. Schiller, John E. Coover, Gardner Murphy, Joseph Jastrow and Harry Houdini. Under the title: The Case for and Against Psychical Research they were later published in book form.
The revelation of Mrs. Norman Culver of an alleged confession of the Fox sisters had aggravated their position. But no disclosures and professorial verdicts could stem the advance of spiritualism.
In 1857 the editor of The Boston Courier offered 500 dollars for the production of genuine phenomena, provided a committee of Harvard University should be the umpires. On behalf of the spiritualists Dr. Gardner accepted the challenge. The committee consisted of Professors Pierce, Agassiz and Horsford, of Harvard University, and Dr. N. B. Gould of the Albany Observatory, of the editor of the Boston Courier and a few friends of Dr. Gardner. The mediums were Mrs. Brown (Leah Fox), Kate Fox, Mr. J. V. Mansfield, Mrs. Kendrick, George Redman and the Davenport Brothers. Two days were devoted to the manifestations. They were imperfect and unsatisfactory and the committee returned a negative verdict, promising also a later report of additional investigations which, however, never came forth. Following the failure of the Cambridge investigation Dr. Gardner extended invitations to the Press to attend seances with the same mediums. Several papers published impressive accounts.
As the years passed by important records of observations and long experiments were published by E. A. Brackett, Epes Sargent, Dr. Wolfe, Allan Putnam and Dr. Eugene Crowell. The early history of E. W. Capron was continued by Miss Emma Hardinge, who narrated twenty years of progress. Many organisations and spiritualistic churches worked for the advancement of the cause. In 1873 the first camp meeting was initiated at Lake Pleasant, Mass. It was quickly followed by others. The years between 1880 and 1890 witnessed four outstanding events: the report of the Seybert Commission, the self-exposure of Margaret and Kate Fox in 1888, the foundation of the A.S.P.R. for systematic and organised psychical research in 1885 with the participation of a group of distinguished scientists, and the discovery of Mrs. Piper's mediumship. The Seybert Commission was delegated by the University of Pennsylvania which received an endowment of 60,000 dollars from Henry Seybert on the understanding that it would investigate the phenomena of spiritualism. The money was kept, but the understanding only in a limited sense as, after a preliminary negative report in 1887, which was widely resented, the investigation was discontinued. The self-exposure of Margaret and Kate Fox did not realise the fond expectations of the anti-spiritualists as a death-blow, as their motives appeared to be sordid and the revelation was followed a year after by full retraction. The birth of the A.S.P.R. was of far-reaching importance. The discovery of Mrs. Piper's powers secured the prestige of Prof. William James for psychical research. Dr. Hodgson's keen intellect, his fifteen years of tireless investigation and Prof. Hyslop's erudition laid the scientific foundations for the ultimate discovery of an unknown world. In 1905 the A.S.P.R. was dissolved and reorganised as an independent body. Prof. Hyslop took charge and conducted its work until his death in 1920. Other keen and able investigators arose. Hereward Carrington established his claim to renown and the mantle of Prof. Hyslop was placed on the shoulders of Dr. W. F. Prince. The discovery of Margery's mediumship and the investigation of the Scientific American and of Harvard Committees created a wide stir. The Boston S.P.R. was founded in 1925 by Dr. W. F. Prince and Malcolm Bird stepped into his vacated place in New York. From November 29 to December 11, 1926, the Clark University, Worcester, Mass., which has a lecture endowment for psychical research, held an International Symposium on the subject. Dr. Carl Murchison presided and papers were presented by Sir Oliver Lodge, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Frederick Bligh Bond, L. R. G. Crandon, Mary Austin, Margaret Deland, William McDougal, Hans Driesch, Walter Franklin Prince, F. C. S. Schiller, John E. Coover, Gardner Murphy, Joseph Jastrow and Harry Houdini. Under the title: The Case for and Against Psychical Research they were later published in book form.
Photograph (detail) of a materialized hand and the entranced Mina 'Margery' Crandon during a seance.
There is a Hodgson fellowship at Harvard University, established with 10,000 dollars in 1913, but activities only began in 1917 when a special gift of Mrs. John Wallace Riddle demanded immediate application. Leonard Thompson Troland was the first Fellow in Psychical Research, Prof. Gardner Murphy the second.
The Leland Stanford University of California was given, in 1923, an endowment of 400,000 dollars for psychical research by a brother of the late Senator Stanford, a convinced spiritualist. This was in addition to T. W. Stanford's first endowment of 50,000 dollars in 1911 and other generous gifts. The Psychical Research Department thus established began its activities in 1912-13. It published in 1920 a ponderous volume: Experiments in Psychical Research, being The Leland Stanford Junior University's psychical research monograph No. 1, by John Edgar Coover, Fellow in Psychical Research and Assistant Professor of Psychology. Part of the book was written by Lillien J. Martin, Professor Emeritus of Psychology. Having given a summary of the past history of the subject the book outlines original investigations into thought transference and the subliminal mind. It does not accept telepathy proven. The extreme critical attitude of the author is best disclosed by this condemnation of the S.P.R.'s pioneer work into telepathy: "The Society on account of its fiascoes and persistent lack of psychological vision is immeasurably farther from its goal than it was in 1886 in its efforts to produce proof of thought transference."
The popular side of American psychical research is well represented by the New York Section of the A.S.P.R. The central spiritualistic organisation of America is The National Spiritualist Association, with headquarters in Washington. Of present day periodicals the Proceedings of the A.S.P.R., now intermittent, and the Bulletins of the Boston S.P.R. should be mentioned in the first place, then Psychic Research, which has taken the place of the Journal of the A.S.P.R., Immortality, The National Spiritualist, The Banner of Light, of Boston, and The Progressive Thinker, of Chicago.
Spiritualism in England.
The transition from mesmerism into spiritualism was effected in England under the impetus of visiting American mediums. The arrival of Mrs. Hayden, the first messenger in 1852, was in a way prepared by the publication in the previous year of Dr. Gregory's Animal Magnetism which contained records of supernormal occurrences, and by the accounts published from time to time in the Zoist of the mesmerists. Table turning soon became epidemical and the society invitations, it is said, were extended to five o'clock tea and table turning. Out of this social contagion an early controversy arose over Faraday's unconscious muscular action theory and over Dr. Carpenter's supplementary unconscious cerebration. Mrs. Hayden herself was treated with derision by the Press. Yet, besides acting as forerunner for D. D. Home, she registered important conquests: Robert Owen, the veteran socialist, Robert Chambers, the publisher, Professor de Morgan, the famous mathematician, Sir Charles Isham and Dr. Ashburner mostly owed their conversion to a belief in survival and communication with the dead to her limited powers. Mrs. Roberts, a second American visitor and the later arrival of P. B. Randolph and J. R. Squire left comparatively slight impressions. But this was due to the tremendous difference in power and the consequent effect on the public which the mediumship of D. D. Home elicited. Without him spiritualism in England would have made but little further headway. He was received in the highest society and he, in turn, received the visit of famous people of the day. Some of them (like Thackeray, Anthony Trollope, Robert Bell, Lord Lytton and Lord Brougham) were deeply impressed but kept quiet for fear of public ridicule. Some figured in Press sensations when they vented their anger for having become associated with spiritualism before the public (like Sir David Brewster and Robert Browning), others like William Howitt, J. Garth Wilkinson, Lord Adare, The Earl of Dunraven, The Master of Lindsay, Nassau Senior, Cromwell Varley and Alfred Russel Wallace braved the scorn of the public.
The Leland Stanford University of California was given, in 1923, an endowment of 400,000 dollars for psychical research by a brother of the late Senator Stanford, a convinced spiritualist. This was in addition to T. W. Stanford's first endowment of 50,000 dollars in 1911 and other generous gifts. The Psychical Research Department thus established began its activities in 1912-13. It published in 1920 a ponderous volume: Experiments in Psychical Research, being The Leland Stanford Junior University's psychical research monograph No. 1, by John Edgar Coover, Fellow in Psychical Research and Assistant Professor of Psychology. Part of the book was written by Lillien J. Martin, Professor Emeritus of Psychology. Having given a summary of the past history of the subject the book outlines original investigations into thought transference and the subliminal mind. It does not accept telepathy proven. The extreme critical attitude of the author is best disclosed by this condemnation of the S.P.R.'s pioneer work into telepathy: "The Society on account of its fiascoes and persistent lack of psychological vision is immeasurably farther from its goal than it was in 1886 in its efforts to produce proof of thought transference."
The popular side of American psychical research is well represented by the New York Section of the A.S.P.R. The central spiritualistic organisation of America is The National Spiritualist Association, with headquarters in Washington. Of present day periodicals the Proceedings of the A.S.P.R., now intermittent, and the Bulletins of the Boston S.P.R. should be mentioned in the first place, then Psychic Research, which has taken the place of the Journal of the A.S.P.R., Immortality, The National Spiritualist, The Banner of Light, of Boston, and The Progressive Thinker, of Chicago.
Spiritualism in England.
The transition from mesmerism into spiritualism was effected in England under the impetus of visiting American mediums. The arrival of Mrs. Hayden, the first messenger in 1852, was in a way prepared by the publication in the previous year of Dr. Gregory's Animal Magnetism which contained records of supernormal occurrences, and by the accounts published from time to time in the Zoist of the mesmerists. Table turning soon became epidemical and the society invitations, it is said, were extended to five o'clock tea and table turning. Out of this social contagion an early controversy arose over Faraday's unconscious muscular action theory and over Dr. Carpenter's supplementary unconscious cerebration. Mrs. Hayden herself was treated with derision by the Press. Yet, besides acting as forerunner for D. D. Home, she registered important conquests: Robert Owen, the veteran socialist, Robert Chambers, the publisher, Professor de Morgan, the famous mathematician, Sir Charles Isham and Dr. Ashburner mostly owed their conversion to a belief in survival and communication with the dead to her limited powers. Mrs. Roberts, a second American visitor and the later arrival of P. B. Randolph and J. R. Squire left comparatively slight impressions. But this was due to the tremendous difference in power and the consequent effect on the public which the mediumship of D. D. Home elicited. Without him spiritualism in England would have made but little further headway. He was received in the highest society and he, in turn, received the visit of famous people of the day. Some of them (like Thackeray, Anthony Trollope, Robert Bell, Lord Lytton and Lord Brougham) were deeply impressed but kept quiet for fear of public ridicule. Some figured in Press sensations when they vented their anger for having become associated with spiritualism before the public (like Sir David Brewster and Robert Browning), others like William Howitt, J. Garth Wilkinson, Lord Adare, The Earl of Dunraven, The Master of Lindsay, Nassau Senior, Cromwell Varley and Alfred Russel Wallace braved the scorn of the public.
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From America there came other mediums. Kate Fox married and settled in England as Mrs. Jencken. Thomas Lake Harris, Mrs. Emma Hardinge Britten and Mrs. Richmond were remembered for inspirational addresses, Charles H. Foster for rather dubious pellet reading and skin-writing phenomena, the Davenport Brothers for noisy telekinetic demonstrations, Lottie Fowler for trance communications and predictions and Henry Slade for slate-writing demonstrations which had a stormy epilogue. English mediums were rather slow to arise. Mrs. Marshall was, for a long time, the only professional medium. On October, 1867, Human Nature knows of only one more, W. Wallace. The number of private mediums, however, was considerable. Mrs. Everitt was the most powerful. Dr. Edward Childs was another. William Howitt, William Wilkinson and Mrs. Newton Crossland developed as automatists. Miss Nichols (later Mrs. Guppy), presented mysterious apport phenomena and the first materialisations in England. The partnership of Herne and Williams produced impressive phenomena, F. Hudson introduced spirit photography in London, Slater, Parkes and Reeves, Beattie and Boursnell followed in his footsteps, marvellous things were reported to occur in the seances of Florence Cook, Stainton Moses, William Eglinton, Monck, Miss Showers, Arthur Colman, Mme. d'Esperance, Miss Wood, Miss Fairlamb, Cecil Husk and David Duguid. There was plenty to investigate. Mrs. De Morgan, Lord Adare and Alfred Russel Wallace published the first important books. In
1869 the Dialectical Society delegated a committee to investigate and
after its favourable report which brought the testimonies of many
important people before the public, William Crookes stepped to the fore
and announced an investigation which, when his tremendous findings were
published in 1871, and later in 1874, simply stupefied the contemporary
savants. Serjeant Cox founded in 1875 the Psychological Society of
Great Britain, the British National Association of Spiritualists
appointed a research committee in 1878 and the year 1882 witnessed a
historic event, the foundation of the S.P.R.
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recent commentary about comparison photos of medium Florence King and her materialized 'guide spirit' 'Katie King' from Physics and Psychics (2020) by Richard Noakes; Crookes reported: "When
these two pictures are placed over each other, the two photographs of
myself coincide exactly as regards stature, &c., but Katie is half a
head taller than Miss Cook, and looks a big woman in comparison with
her. In the breadth of her face, in many of the pictures, she differs
essentially in size from her medium, and the photographs show several
other points of difference."
Just as English mediums were slow to arise, the organisation of spiritualism, as a movement, was delayed until comparatively late. The Charing Cross Spiritual Circle was the first experimental organisation. In July, 1857, it was superseded by the London Spiritualistic Union, called a year later London Spiritualist Union and in 1865 the Association of Progressive Spiritualists in Great Britain was formed. The Spiritual Athenaeum of 1866 was a temporary institution, established mainly to offer D. D. Home a paid position and the first really representative body was not born until 1873. It was the British National Association of Spiritualists, renamed in 1882 The Central Association of Spiritualists and again in 1884 The London Spiritualist Alliance. The tardiness in organisation was also manifested in the field of spiritualistic periodicals. The Spirit World, published by W. R. Hayden during his wife's visit in May 1853 had only one number. Robert Owen's The New Existence of Man Upon the Earth, published in 1854 was spiritual but not spiritualistic. In April 1855 the Yorkshire Spiritual Telegraph was established by D. W. Weatherhead in Keighley, the chief provincial centre of English spiritualism. In 1857 it was renamed to British Spiritual Telegraph and expired in 1858-59. Towards the end of 1860 The Spiritual Magazine was founded by William Wilkinson and became the leading organ. It ran until 1875. Thomas Shorter and Wilkinson were the editors for the greater part of its career and William Howitt the chief contributor. The Spiritual Times ran from 1864-66. In 1867 James Burns founded Human Nature, a monthly which ran until 1877 and in 1869 he brought out a weekly, The Medium, which absorbed the provincial Daybreak, founded in 1867, and was continued under the title The Medium and Daybreak until 1895. In 1869 W. H. Harrison's paper, The Spiritualist Newspaper stepped in the field and, under the later abbreviated title The Spiritualist held its own until 1881. The Christian Spiritualist began its monthly career in 1871. The Pioneer of Progress lived for ten months, appearing weekly from January 1874. In 1878 Spiritual Notes was founded and ran until 1881, the year in which Light appeared. The Proceedings of the S.P.R. and the Journal had its inception in 1882, The Two Worlds in 1888 at Manchester; 1892-93 saw the establishment and expiration of Emma Hardinge Britten's Unseen Universe; Borderland ran from 1893-97, J. J. Morse's The Spiritual Review from 1900-1902. The Spiritual Quarterly Magazine was started by The Two Worlds Publishing Co. in October, 1902; an English edition of the Annales des Sciences Psychiques was published between 1905-10 under the title Annals of Psychic Science and closed the list of older editorial ventures.
By the Church spiritualism was first considered in 1881. Canon Basil Wilberforce was its partisan before the Church Congress in that year. The reception was hostile and denunciatory. The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland was three times petitioned, by the Rev. W. A. Reid, to investigate psychic phenomena. On the first occasion a committee was appointed which reported that psychic phenomena did occur and expressed the opinion that investigation was lawful. The subsequent appeals, however, resulted in no fresh investigation.
The work of the S.P.R. cannot be over-estimated in importance. Its investigators were persevering and painstaking. They sifted and at the same time accumulated valuable evidence for the occurrence of supernormal phenomena and have made a slow, hesitative, but decided advance towards the demonstration of great realities. Professor Sidgwick, the first president, F. W. H. Myers, Hodgson, Gurney, William James, Hyslop, Sir Oliver Lodge, Sir William Barrett, Mrs. Sidgwick, Piddington, Andrew Lang, etc., were brilliant minds, the study of their investigations in Proceedings are masterpieces of erudition and Phantasms of the Living, Myers's Human Personality, Podmore's Modern Spiritualism, Barrett's On the Threshold of the Unseen and Sir Oliver Lodge's Survival of Man and Raymond, based largely on the result of these studies, are books of enduring merit. In the field of mental phenomena the record of the S.P.R. displays a series of splendid achievements. The psychic gifts of Mrs. Verrall, Mrs. Holland, Mrs. Forbes and Mrs. Thompson offered remarkable opportunities for cross correspondences between themselves and Mrs. Piper and as the ranks of the first great investigators were thinned by death, communications purported to come from their spirits in these scripts. As regards physical phenomena, the lustre of the S.P.R. is dim. Little investigation was undertaken and the failures which attended them may have been rightly put down to the hostile spirit in which they were conducted. The spiritualists were almost constantly at war with the S.P.R. William T. Stead spoke loudly against it and Conan Doyle, after long smouldering enmity, resigned his membership shortly before his death as a public protest. The establishment of many independent research bodies is probably attributable to this slowly growing and unfortunate distrust. In 1920 the British College of Psychic Science was founded, in 1925 The National Laboratory of Psychical Research. The Society for the Study of Supernormal Pictures which was established in 1919 did not carry on for long. The most representative spiritualistic body is the Marylebone Association of Spiritualists and the London Spiritualist Alliance. Important work is done by The W. T. Stead Borderland Library and there is a Spiritualist Community, Spiritualist Dramatic Society, a Spiritual Central Council which unites the different 'societies in London, a Friendship Centre, a Jewish Society for Psychical Research, a Victoria Research Society and several national organisations: The Survival League, The Link for Home Circles, The British Spiritualist Lyceum Union for educational movement, and the largest of all, The Spiritualist National Union which represents the Church organisation of English spiritualists.
Of recent years Mrs. Leonard and Mrs. Garrett have been widely experimented with as trance mediums, Mrs. Hester Dowden and Miss Cummins as highly intellectual automatists, William Hope and Mrs. Deane as spirit photographers.
By the Church spiritualism was first considered in 1881. Canon Basil Wilberforce was its partisan before the Church Congress in that year. The reception was hostile and denunciatory. The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland was three times petitioned, by the Rev. W. A. Reid, to investigate psychic phenomena. On the first occasion a committee was appointed which reported that psychic phenomena did occur and expressed the opinion that investigation was lawful. The subsequent appeals, however, resulted in no fresh investigation.
The work of the S.P.R. cannot be over-estimated in importance. Its investigators were persevering and painstaking. They sifted and at the same time accumulated valuable evidence for the occurrence of supernormal phenomena and have made a slow, hesitative, but decided advance towards the demonstration of great realities. Professor Sidgwick, the first president, F. W. H. Myers, Hodgson, Gurney, William James, Hyslop, Sir Oliver Lodge, Sir William Barrett, Mrs. Sidgwick, Piddington, Andrew Lang, etc., were brilliant minds, the study of their investigations in Proceedings are masterpieces of erudition and Phantasms of the Living, Myers's Human Personality, Podmore's Modern Spiritualism, Barrett's On the Threshold of the Unseen and Sir Oliver Lodge's Survival of Man and Raymond, based largely on the result of these studies, are books of enduring merit. In the field of mental phenomena the record of the S.P.R. displays a series of splendid achievements. The psychic gifts of Mrs. Verrall, Mrs. Holland, Mrs. Forbes and Mrs. Thompson offered remarkable opportunities for cross correspondences between themselves and Mrs. Piper and as the ranks of the first great investigators were thinned by death, communications purported to come from their spirits in these scripts. As regards physical phenomena, the lustre of the S.P.R. is dim. Little investigation was undertaken and the failures which attended them may have been rightly put down to the hostile spirit in which they were conducted. The spiritualists were almost constantly at war with the S.P.R. William T. Stead spoke loudly against it and Conan Doyle, after long smouldering enmity, resigned his membership shortly before his death as a public protest. The establishment of many independent research bodies is probably attributable to this slowly growing and unfortunate distrust. In 1920 the British College of Psychic Science was founded, in 1925 The National Laboratory of Psychical Research. The Society for the Study of Supernormal Pictures which was established in 1919 did not carry on for long. The most representative spiritualistic body is the Marylebone Association of Spiritualists and the London Spiritualist Alliance. Important work is done by The W. T. Stead Borderland Library and there is a Spiritualist Community, Spiritualist Dramatic Society, a Spiritual Central Council which unites the different 'societies in London, a Friendship Centre, a Jewish Society for Psychical Research, a Victoria Research Society and several national organisations: The Survival League, The Link for Home Circles, The British Spiritualist Lyceum Union for educational movement, and the largest of all, The Spiritualist National Union which represents the Church organisation of English spiritualists.
Of recent years Mrs. Leonard and Mrs. Garrett have been widely experimented with as trance mediums, Mrs. Hester Dowden and Miss Cummins as highly intellectual automatists, William Hope and Mrs. Deane as spirit photographers.
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examples of 'psychic photography' by Ada Emma Deane (left) and William Hope
Of contemporary periodicals the Proceedings and the Journal of the S.P.R. and the Bulletin of the National Laboratory of Psychical Research should be first mentioned. The British College of Psychic Science issues a quarterly, Psychic Science; Light and The Two Worlds of Manchester represent the oldest traditions of spiritualism. Other contemporary periodicals are: The Psychic News, The Greater World, The Children's Greater World, Beyond, the International Psychic Gazette, Survival Magazine, The National Spiritualist, The Spiritualist, The Christian Spiritualist, The Lyceum Banner and Vision.
Spiritualism in France.
As animal magnetism was launched on its long and vicissitudinous career in France, it was to be expected that the meeting ground of trance between mesmerism and spiritualism should reveal some of the later marvels of spiritualism at a comparatively early period.
From a correspondence published in 1836 between Deleuze and Billot from the year 1829 on it appears that phantom forms and the phenomena of apports were well-known in this early age, though Deleuze frankly admits that his experience was more limited. Almost the full range of the phenomena of spiritualism are to be met with in Baron Du Potet's Journal du Magnetisme, which records his investigations between 1836-1848. His magnetised subjects excelled in clairvoyance, trance speaking, healing, dermography, levitation, fire immunity, telekinesis, apports, xenoglossy, prophecy, crystal gazing, materialisations and descriptions of scenes in the spirit world. The seances were witnessed by Messrs. Bertrand, d'Hunin, Seguin and Morin. The best early seance records go down to the credit of Alphonse Cahagnet, the author of The Celestial Telegraph. He received many evidential communications, through his somnambule, Adèle Maginot, from departed spirits. Table turning was introduced into France by Baron Guldenstubbe and Comte d'Ourches in 1850 and became an epidemic as in England. People—if we are to believe Eugene Bonnemere's statement in the Siècle—ceased to ask for each other's health, but asked how the table was. "Thank you, mine turns beautifully, and how goes yours?" — this was the habitual question. Soon other phenomena followed. The famous direct scripts of Baron Guldenstubbe were obtained in 1856. In the same year Allan Kardec's Le Livre des Esprits was published and developments took a radically different shape from that in America and England. Allan Kardec founded a school of thought which was dominated by the idea of a series of compulsory reincarnations. This was spiritism; the opposing school to that which adopted the American and English ideas — spiritualism. The latter was represented in France by Pierart and La Revue Spiritualiste, founded in 1858, the former by the organ of Kardec, La Revue Spirite. Kardec won and Pierart, after years of bitter controversy, retired into the country. By 1864 there were ten periodicals published in France: three in Paris, the two already mentioned and l'Avenir, four in Bordeaux, which, in 1865, became merged into l'Union Spirite Bordelaise, La Médium Evangélique of Toulouse, l'Echo d'Outre Tombe, of Marseilles, and La Vérité, of Lyons. With the exception of La Revue Spiritualiste all represent the Kardec School.
Allan Kardec and his followers discouraged physical phenomena. The stimulus for experimental investigators was almost solely provided by the visit of' D. D. Home, the Davenport Brothers, Slade, Eglinton, Herne, Williams, Mme. d'Esperance, Miss Florence Cook, Miss Lottie Fowler and other mediums. Maxwell, Flammarion, Col. Rochas, Dr. Joire, Prof. Richet, Boirac, de Vesme, Geley and Osty represent psychical research, Gabriel Delanne and Léon Denis the old school of thought. Delanne founded the Revue scientifique et morale du spiritisme, the first attempt at organised psychical research was La Societé de Psychologie physiologique and La Revue des Sciences Psychiques, of which Dr. Puel was the director. In 1890 the Annales des Sciences Psychiques was founded by Prof. Richet and Dr. Dariex. In 1920 it was replaced by La Revue Métapsychique, the official organ of the Institut Métapsychique. In 1904 the Institut Général Psychologique was established in Paris under the presidency of d'Arsonval of the Academy. The real Maecenas of spiritism and psychical research arrived during the war in the person of Jean Meyer, a rich industrialist. He founded La Maison des Spirits for spiritistic propaganda and the Institut Métapsychique for psychical research. In 1918 the Institut was recognised as a public utility. Meyer endowed it with a portion of his fortune. The work which it carries on in experimentation and in demonstration of supernormal phenomena before invited scientists is of the utmost importance for the future of psychical research.
Spiritualism in France.
As animal magnetism was launched on its long and vicissitudinous career in France, it was to be expected that the meeting ground of trance between mesmerism and spiritualism should reveal some of the later marvels of spiritualism at a comparatively early period.
From a correspondence published in 1836 between Deleuze and Billot from the year 1829 on it appears that phantom forms and the phenomena of apports were well-known in this early age, though Deleuze frankly admits that his experience was more limited. Almost the full range of the phenomena of spiritualism are to be met with in Baron Du Potet's Journal du Magnetisme, which records his investigations between 1836-1848. His magnetised subjects excelled in clairvoyance, trance speaking, healing, dermography, levitation, fire immunity, telekinesis, apports, xenoglossy, prophecy, crystal gazing, materialisations and descriptions of scenes in the spirit world. The seances were witnessed by Messrs. Bertrand, d'Hunin, Seguin and Morin. The best early seance records go down to the credit of Alphonse Cahagnet, the author of The Celestial Telegraph. He received many evidential communications, through his somnambule, Adèle Maginot, from departed spirits. Table turning was introduced into France by Baron Guldenstubbe and Comte d'Ourches in 1850 and became an epidemic as in England. People—if we are to believe Eugene Bonnemere's statement in the Siècle—ceased to ask for each other's health, but asked how the table was. "Thank you, mine turns beautifully, and how goes yours?" — this was the habitual question. Soon other phenomena followed. The famous direct scripts of Baron Guldenstubbe were obtained in 1856. In the same year Allan Kardec's Le Livre des Esprits was published and developments took a radically different shape from that in America and England. Allan Kardec founded a school of thought which was dominated by the idea of a series of compulsory reincarnations. This was spiritism; the opposing school to that which adopted the American and English ideas — spiritualism. The latter was represented in France by Pierart and La Revue Spiritualiste, founded in 1858, the former by the organ of Kardec, La Revue Spirite. Kardec won and Pierart, after years of bitter controversy, retired into the country. By 1864 there were ten periodicals published in France: three in Paris, the two already mentioned and l'Avenir, four in Bordeaux, which, in 1865, became merged into l'Union Spirite Bordelaise, La Médium Evangélique of Toulouse, l'Echo d'Outre Tombe, of Marseilles, and La Vérité, of Lyons. With the exception of La Revue Spiritualiste all represent the Kardec School.
Allan Kardec and his followers discouraged physical phenomena. The stimulus for experimental investigators was almost solely provided by the visit of' D. D. Home, the Davenport Brothers, Slade, Eglinton, Herne, Williams, Mme. d'Esperance, Miss Florence Cook, Miss Lottie Fowler and other mediums. Maxwell, Flammarion, Col. Rochas, Dr. Joire, Prof. Richet, Boirac, de Vesme, Geley and Osty represent psychical research, Gabriel Delanne and Léon Denis the old school of thought. Delanne founded the Revue scientifique et morale du spiritisme, the first attempt at organised psychical research was La Societé de Psychologie physiologique and La Revue des Sciences Psychiques, of which Dr. Puel was the director. In 1890 the Annales des Sciences Psychiques was founded by Prof. Richet and Dr. Dariex. In 1920 it was replaced by La Revue Métapsychique, the official organ of the Institut Métapsychique. In 1904 the Institut Général Psychologique was established in Paris under the presidency of d'Arsonval of the Academy. The real Maecenas of spiritism and psychical research arrived during the war in the person of Jean Meyer, a rich industrialist. He founded La Maison des Spirits for spiritistic propaganda and the Institut Métapsychique for psychical research. In 1918 the Institut was recognised as a public utility. Meyer endowed it with a portion of his fortune. The work which it carries on in experimentation and in demonstration of supernormal phenomena before invited scientists is of the utmost importance for the future of psychical research.
Charles Richet wrote in Thirty Years of Psychical Research (1923) that Bien Boa appeared five or six times and "seemed to float in the air on the left of the curtain . . . The softness and semi-vaporous outline of the hands are curious; likewise the veil surrounding the phantom has indeterminate outlines . . . A whitish fluidic mass is noticeable in front of the curtain."
Spiritualism in Germany.
In Germany the development of spiritualism was very slow. Fichte believed in the facts of spiritualism, Fechner, the founder of psycho-physiology admitted personal immortality, Hartman, the author of The Philosophy of the Unconscious, desired to give the phenomena a definite place in philosophy, Du Prel, author of The Philosophy of Mysticism, delved into,the subconscious for explanation and founded the first spiritualistic monthly, The Sphynx. Most of the spiritualistic activity was ascribable to a foreigner, Alexander Aksakof, Imperial Councillor of Russia, who, owing to the Russian censorship, concentrated his work in Germany. In 1874 he commenced the publication of Psychische Studien, which is still running, but since 1925 under the title Zeitschrift für Parapsychologie. Interest was slowly growing and a great impetus was given to it by Henry Slade's visit in 1877. Prof. Zöllner's conversion was a sensation and the subject of strong language on the part of scientists. The visits of Eglinton, Mme. d'Esperance, Miss Fairlamb and others kept the interest alive. Spiritualistische Blaetter was started in 1883. Modern psychical research was best represented by Baron von Schrenck Notzing. His book on Eva C.'s materialisation phenomena in 1914 aroused heated scientific controversy. With the help of the mediumship of Willi Schneider he convinced a hundred well-known scientists of the reality of telekinetic phenomena and ectoplasm. The foremost modern metapsychical thinker is Prof. Hans Driesch, of Leipsic. Prof. Konstantin Oesterreich and Dr. Rudolph Tischner rank next to him.
There is a Society for Psychical Research and a Medical Society for Psychical Research in Germany besides the Deutsche Gesellschaft für wissenschaftliches Okkultismus and the Deutscher Spiritisten Verein. Periodicals: Zeitschrift für Parapsychologie, Zeitschrift für Metapsychische Forschung, Zeitschrift für Psychisch Forschung, Zeitschrift für Seelenleben, Psyche und die Ubersinnliche Welt.
Spiritualism in Italy.
In Italy the birth of the spiritualistic movement was due to French periodicals and developed completely on the lines of the Kardecian school. D. D. Home's visit in 1855 led to the formation of many societies and to the publication of the first journal on spiritualism: L' Amore del Vero. In 1863 La Società Spirituale di Palermo was formed, of which men like Paolo Morelle, Professor of Latin and Philosophy, were members. In the same year the first representative spiritualist organ: Annali dello Spiritismo was started in Turin by Signor Niceforo Filalete (Prof. Vincenzo Scarpa). The Magnetic Society of Florence which had very influential members, began its activity. Baron Seymour Kirkup sent many accounts of doings to the London Spiritual Magazine. By 1870 there were over a hundred societies in different parts of Italy. Both spiritist and spiritualists were represented. In 1873 Baron Guitern de Bozzi founded the Pneumatological Psychological Academy at Florence, where Mrs. Guppy's visit in 1868, extending to a period of almost three years, left a deep impression. Its existence was very short. Soon a period of lively psychic activity ensued. Signor Damiani discovered in 1872 Eusapia Paladino around whom famous scientists gathered for a great many years. Dr. G. B. Ermacora, founder and co-editor with Dr. Finzi of the Rivista di Studi Psichici, Schiaparelli, Lombroso, Bozzano, Morselli, Chiaia, Pictet, Foa, Porro, Brofferio, Bottazzi, Bianchi and many others established, with indefatigable work, the facts. A succession of powerful mediums as Politi, Carancini, Zuccarini, Lucia Sordi, Linda Gazzera helped them in their task.
At present there is a Società di Studi Psichici in Rome, a Society for Psychic Studies at Florence, Ernesto Bozzano, the doyen of modern psychical researchers, presides over the Italian Spiritualists Association; and a very well organised society: Circulo Arnaldo Vassallo, acts in Genoa. It is named after the late editor of the Secolo XIX, one of the pioneers of the movement in Italy, Prof. Tullio Castellani was one of its presidents.
The leading Italian spiritualist organ, the monthly Luce e Ombra, changed its title in January, 1932, to La Ricerca Psichica. There is a bi-monthly under the title Mondo Occulto. It is published in Naples.
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International organisations are represented by the periodical International Congress of Psychical Research, of which four have been held, and by the International Spiritualist Congress which also convened four times and is under the auspices of the International Spiritualist Federation which has its headquarters in Paris. An attempt was made by Prof. Santoliquido to provide permanent headquarters for international psychical congresses and research by founding the Centre International de Conferences et de Congres de Recherches Psychiques de Geneve. The provisional committee, which represented it, was dissolved after his death.
The earliest work on the history of spiritualism was E. W. Capron's Modern Spiritualism, Boston, 1855. Historical sketches were given in Henry Spicer's Sights and Sounds, London, 1853. William Howitt's The History of the Supernatural, London, 1863, traces the antecedents of spiritualism in past ages, Emma Hardinge's Modern American Spiritualism, New York, 1869, records twenty years' history. Her Nineteenth Century Miracles, Manchester, 1883, widened the scope to international scale. The foremost historian is Frank Podmore. His Modern Spiritualism, London, 1902, is a classical work, though the author's extreme scepticism is its disadvantage. Joseph McCabe's Spiritualism is a hostile book written in an effort to discredit the subject. Arthur Hill's Spiritualism, its History, Phenomena and Doctrine, London, 1918, is fragmentary. A. Campbell Holms' The Facts of Psychic Science and Philosophy,London, 1925, deals with the phenomenal and philosophical side alone, Conan Doyle's History of Spiritualism, London, 1926, is comprehensive but loose in concept and unpunctilious, Carrington's The Story of Psychic Science, 1931, is a lucid study of the whole range of spiritualism and psychical research.
The earliest work on the history of spiritualism was E. W. Capron's Modern Spiritualism, Boston, 1855. Historical sketches were given in Henry Spicer's Sights and Sounds, London, 1853. William Howitt's The History of the Supernatural, London, 1863, traces the antecedents of spiritualism in past ages, Emma Hardinge's Modern American Spiritualism, New York, 1869, records twenty years' history. Her Nineteenth Century Miracles, Manchester, 1883, widened the scope to international scale. The foremost historian is Frank Podmore. His Modern Spiritualism, London, 1902, is a classical work, though the author's extreme scepticism is its disadvantage. Joseph McCabe's Spiritualism is a hostile book written in an effort to discredit the subject. Arthur Hill's Spiritualism, its History, Phenomena and Doctrine, London, 1918, is fragmentary. A. Campbell Holms' The Facts of Psychic Science and Philosophy,London, 1925, deals with the phenomenal and philosophical side alone, Conan Doyle's History of Spiritualism, London, 1926, is comprehensive but loose in concept and unpunctilious, Carrington's The Story of Psychic Science, 1931, is a lucid study of the whole range of spiritualism and psychical research.
