Spookiest Years, Part 7: The Years 1860-1861

In previous posts in this intermittently appearing "Spookiest Years" series on this blog (here, here, here, here, here and here), I had looked at some very spooky events reported between 1848 and 1855. Let me pick up the thread and discuss some spooky events reported in 1860 and 1861.

Between 1860 and 1861 slavery in the US was near its end that would occur in 1865, and among those helping to bring its downfall were the newspapers reporting paranormal phenomena. The January 21, 1860 edition of The Spiritual Telegraph strongly denounced slavery on page 458. 

In an 1861 book we hear these remarkable claims: 

 "I spent the evening at Judge Edmund's house, and was introduced to his daughter, Miss Laura Edmonds, his soul companion. Both are cheerful, very genial, and interesting persons. Miss Edmond's health is very delicate, and for that reason the exercise of her remarkable mediumship is not now encouraged. Her gifts are various : she is a writing medium ; and the spirits speak through her in the trance state; she sees spirits in her normal condition ; and she can sometimes at will project her spirit : appearing in form and delivering messages to friends in sympathy with her, even though living at a distance — in proof of which she cited two or three instances. The power of the spirit to leave the natural body and to present itself in visible form and identity to another, though rare, is not an attribute of Miss Edmonds' mediumship only; as I am acquainted with a lady resident in London who has the same power, and who has exercised it several times, This lady told me that on one occasion having a young friend staying on a visit with her, a gentleman who called to see them, in the course of conversation ridiculed the belief in apparitions, and said that he would give anything to see a ghost. He laughed at her assertion that her spirit could appear to him that very night if he pleased, and dared her to try it, which she agreed to do. In the course of the night, she told her friend that she had been to Mr. ----'s bedside, and that finding him asleep, she awoke him by a box on his ear; and then, after repeating to him a verse from a poem of Keat's, came away. The gentleman called on the ladies early on the following morning, corroborated her statement, and acknowledged himself perforce a convert at all events to that phase of spiritual manifestations."

On another page the author becomes one of very many who claimed the most astonishing auditory manifestations around Catherine Fox (the same as Kate Fox). Describing a method by which a person calls out the alphabet and waits for raps, writing down the letters followed by raps, he states this:

"The rappings in her presence are very loud and precise. When I  called on her one morning, the room resounded on all sides as if a host were giving me a joyous welcome. I asked if the spirits who were present would give us their names, and the names of Harry, Isabel, and Sylvester were spelt out, no names having been mentioned by me in Miss Fox's presence, and of course I and my family relations were wholly unknown to her. These were followed by other names of friends, spelt out in full, and one, a relative of my wife's said, 'Let me speak.' A message followed, of a specially significant and touching character, which I am precluded from giving, as it relates to private family affairs; but I may mention that the tenor of the message is an actual apology offered for an assumed injustice done to me during her life-time, now 20 years ago."

Many distinguished witnesses gave similar reports testifying to the most inexplicable auditory phenomena occurring from a great variety of different directions and objects when Kate Fox (Catherine Fox) was nearby. For example, in 1874 in a scientific paper the world-class scientist William Crookes stated this:

"These sounds are noticed with almost every medium, each having a special peculiarity; they are more varied with Mr. Home, but for power and certainty I have met with no one who at all approached Miss Kate Fox. For several months I enjoyed almost unlimited opportunity of testing the various phenomena occurring in the presence of this lady, and I especially examined the phenomena of these sounds. With mediums, generally, it is necessary to sit for a formal séance before anything is heard; but, in the case of Miss Fox it seems only necessary for her to place her hand on any substance for loud thuds to be heard in it, like a triple pulsation, sometimes loud enough to be heard several rooms off. In this manner I have heard them in a living tree—on a sheet of glass—on a stretched iron wire—on a stretched membrane—a tambourine—on the roof of a cab—and on the floor of a theatre. Moreover, actual contact is not always necessary; I have had these sounds proceeding from the floor, walls, &c., when the medium’s hands and feet were held—when she was standing on a chair—when she was suspended in a swing from the ceiling—when she was enclosed in a wire cage—and when she had fallen fainting on a sofa. I have heard them on a glass harmonicon—I have felt them on my own shoulder and under my own hands. I have heard them on a sheet of paper, held between the fingers by a piece of thread passed through one corner. With a full knowledge of the numerous theories which have been started, chiefly in America, to explain these sounds, I have tested them in every way that I could devise, until there has been no escape from the conviction that they were true objective occurrences not produced by trickery or mechanical means."

See the quote here and the next several pages for identical testimony by a former US congressman, who testified to hearing such inexplicable noises in a huge variety of places, coming from many different directions and different objects,  particularly whenever Kate Fox was around.    On the page here, that congressman says that Kate Fox was "one of the most simple-minded" persons he had ever met, and that she was "as incapable of framing, or carrying on, any deliberate scheme of imposition as a ten year-old child is of administering a government." See the last few paragraphs of my post here for an 1855 account by Susanna Moodie of similar wonders occurring  when she visited Kate Fox, including Kate identifying very specific names, dates and facts known to Moodie but unknown to Kate (an account similar to the one quoted above about Kate Fox). The evidence for paranormal effects around Kate Fox is overwhelming, and comes from numerous corroborating witnesses (some very  distinguished) who give very similar reports in different years of seeing and hearing effects around Kate Fox that no magician of her time could have produced.  

An 1861 speech by Thomas Pallister Barkas to a large audience made these startling claims about things that happened in the previous dozen years:

"In an incredibly short space of time, the manifestations increased in number and variety ; and in addition to those which consisted merely of responses to questions produced by tables rising and rapping on the floor, to indicate letters pointed out on the alphabet, or expressed viva voce there occurred knockings on the tables, chairs, floors, and walls of the rooms... the knockings being heard in places quite beyond the reach of any one present. The rising of tables entirely from the floor, and the dancing of the same in the air, the hands of the operators being on the tops of the tables ; ringing of bells ; dotting of handkerchiefs ; pulling of clothes ; pinching of the bodies of those in the rooms ; tables, chairs...moving without contact, and quite beyond the influence of mediums and spectators; writing automatically by mediums; independent spirit writings, — no visible person or thing touching either pencil or paper ; music played on guitars, concertinas, pianos, &c. — no one touching the keys or strings of the instruments ; appearances of spirit hands, such hands occasionally shaking those of the persons forming the circles; spirit drawing, by automatic action, through mediums ; trance, and impressional speaking ; ponderous bodies, such, for example, as tables and chairs, floating in the air, — and not only without any visible person or agent aiding their flight, but when full grown men sat down upon them, for the purpose of preventing their movements, — on several occasions tables, chairs, and men have floated about the rooms : spelling out the names of long series of persons living in this world, and those who have departed to the spirit world ; forwarding of communications to very distant places, and almost immediately returning with messages that weeks after have been verified ; — these, and myriads of other occurrences, have taken place without any mechanical contrivance or collusion, and under every variety of circumstances, — the great majority of the mediums being private and unprofessional. These extraordinary phenomena continue of frequent occurrence in all the States of America."

In the January 21, 1860 edition of Banner of Light, we hear an account by J. W. Hitchcock M.D. of apparition sightings in Terre Haute, Indiana. We read this account of a Mr. H. seeing apparitions in his house:

"He saw three men standing near the middle of the floor. It was a bright moonlight night, and sufficient light was admitted into the room by three large windows on the south and west sides. The men were engaged in earnest conversation, and he heard their voice, but could not distinguish what was said. Supposing, very naturally, that they were there for no good purpose, and, of course, fully prepared for offense or defense, Mr. H. felt that his situation was anything but agreeable; however, before he had resolved what to say or do, the three figures faded away, and he neither saw nor heard them again."

The same account tells us this:

"Mr. B. had his attention called to unaccountable noises in the back part of the house, and going thither to look to the matter, he saw a man come out of the cellar-way, and stood facing him within a few feet. Before he had recovered from his surprise, the apparition melted away."

On page 3 of the March 17, 1860 edition of Banner of Light, we have this remarkable account of sleepwalking (somnambulism):

"An extraordinary instance of somnambulism occurred in Stamford, shortly after midnight, on Monday last. About one o’clock, Sergeant Harrison, while on duty at the lock-up, observed a person, clothed in white, walking toward St. Paul street. Supposing it to be some one who had assumed a disguise for the purpose of playing a joke, he walked up to the individual, whom he found to be the wife of Mr, J. Oliver, cabinet-maker, having nothing on but her night-dress. She was walking about with her eyes wide open, apparently awake, but in reality in a state of perfect somnambulism. She was taken to her home, which was close at hand, and her husband aroused, by whom she was placed in bed. It appears that she got up, walked down stairs, unlocked the front door, and went into the street, without either disturbing her husband or arousing herself; nor was she conscious of what had taken place when she awoke in the morning. But the most remarkable feature in this case is, that, although she had been unable to walk without crutches or assistance for the last year or two, she was, when discovered, walking as well as any other person, and without either the support of the wall or a crutch."

On page 6 of the March 24, 1860 edition of Banner of Light, we have a story called "A Dead Woman Brought to Life," told by D. M. Lapham of Springfield, Illinois. He tells us this:

"Mrs. D.R. Judkins (medium) has the written certificates of persons who were present on the occasion, testifying to the truth of the following:  A woman came to this city, last spring. Her name was Elizabeth Cordell. Soon after arriving here she was taken very sick. One night, about nine o'clock, the girl who had been attending her went to the house of Mrs. D. R. Judkins, and told her the woman was dead, and asked her if she would go and help lay out the corpse. Mrs. J. said she would willingly do so. Arriving at the house, she found several persons congregated in the room. They said she had been dead about one half hour. As soon as Mrs. J. stepped into the room, she felt the power of the spirit with her, and was immediately controlled to make three passes from the head to the feet of the inanimate form before her, then took the hands in her own for a short time, when they became lifelike and limber. The medium's hands were then raised above her head, and brought together with a quick, sharp slap, accompanying the act with the words, 'Come out;' when, strange and miraculous as it may seem, the eyes were thrown open, She began to breathe and talk, and from that time gradually recovered her usual health. There were some half dozen persons present, who had examined the condition of the body, and pronounced it dead. The names of three witnesses of this manifestation are: Wm Trow, A. T. Wilkins, Julia A. Trow. These persons all live in this city."

The Lady Elgin was a steamship which was "rammed in a gale by the schooner Augusta in the early hours of September 8, 1860."  The ship sunk in Lake Michigan with the loss of about 300 people, according to the article here. On page 4 of the September 29, 1860 edition of Banner of Light, we read a quotation from the Columbus State Journal speaking of some paranormal events related to this disaster. We get this quotation:

"In Milwaukee, on the morning of the disaster, and about the very hour of its occurrence, the Chief of Police was awakened from sleep by the sense of a terrible calamity, so that he rose and visited all the police stations of the city, to see that nothing should happen which his care could avert, and at daylight returned to bis room with the same vague yet fearful presentiment depressing him. When he arose again at nine, the news of the wreck had thrilled the whole city. During the night, a lady whose husband was lost on the Elgin, was warned of his death in a dream. The wife of Capt. Barry dreamed that she saw the Elgin wrecked and her husband sink, as actually befell. A lady, who had no friends on the ill-fated vessel, awoke in the night with the feeling that, as she expressed it, 'something dreadful was happening,’ and was so wrought upon by terror that she could not sleep again, and rose and waited till the news of the catastrophe interpreted her forebodings. A mother who was lost gave her child in charge of a friend before going upon the excursion, with the injunction to place it with the Sisters of Mercy if she should not return. This request was, made playfully, as if the mother attached no particular importance to it; at the same time she would not leave until she had exacted a solemn promise to that effect."

The Lady Elgin, which sunk with about 300 dead

On page 6 of the October 13, 1860 edition of the Banner of Light, we read this:

"The Schenectady News vouches for the truth of the following:— 'A very remarkable case of presentiment, bordering on the supernatural, has just been told us by a gentleman nearly related to the persons concerned. Mr. W----- .... about three weeks ago, was awakened from his sleep by au unusual noise, which he thought proceeded from the adjoining room. More surprised than alarmed, he lighted a candle and went into the apartment, which was used as a spare bedroom. As he opened the door his light went out with the current of air, and he was in total darkness. Presently, however, ns ho turned to grope his way back, the room grew light as a cellar on a rainy afternoon, through a ground glass overhead, and Mr. W----- dimly saw his oldest son on the bed, clad in the habiliments of death, and the coffin beside him, resting on two chairs across the foot end. In a moment the illusion vanished, and Mr. W---- returned to his own room and struck another match, and again entered the spare bed-room, but everything seemed natural as usual.  Little was thought of the optical illusion, but last week the eldest son of Mr. W------was taken ill, and he died last Friday. He was a bright boy of some ten summers."

Page 5 of the December 29, 1860 edition of Banner of Light is a report by William Henry Burr dated December 17, 1860, and describing what Burr witnessed on December 13, 1860. Burr says that he saw in the presence of a medium named Mrs. French a seemingly paranormal production of drawings, made with incredible speed. We have this description of the drawings made, and the speed in which they were made:

"No. 1. Bird and bird’s nest—half a dozen flowers, leaves and stems. Time, eight seconds.

No, 2.—Rose on moss—three buds—seven leaves, Time, six seconds.

No. 3. Flowers—serpent coiled about one of the stems. Time, ten seconds.

No. 4. Two birds on branches— two flowers and thirteen leaves. Time, eight seconds.

No. 5. Basket of flowers, various kinds, light and dark. Time, eight seconds.

No. 6. Lake scene -- a row boat with men in it— Three sailing vessels— Mountains and Sky—Dimensions , seven inches by eleven —a perfect rectangle. Time, ten seconds.

No. 7. Storm at sea — a vessel wrecked and nearly submerged—Dimensions, ten inches by thirteen. Time seven seconds."

In the May 18, 1861 edition of Banner of Light, page 4, we have a May 3, 1861 account signed by eleven witnesses who claim to have seen this (among quite a few other wonders) on May 1, 1861:

"A large bright spot, an inch and a half in diameter, was now made upon the back of the violin by rubbing it with phosphorus. The light was put out, and very soon the violin rose six or seven feet above the floor and floated rapidly around in the air,  making a largo sweep at times, of seven or eight feet. In its movements it could easily be followed by the eye, as the phosphorescent spot made upon it ; was distinctly visible; it was also easily followed by the ear, as its strings were thrumbed upon during its flight. As the violin floated around, the medium repeatedly exclaimed, in a loud voice: ' I am  here, I am here,' giving us the assurance that he was still in his chair and not following the violin in its movements. The light was called for, and the medium was found tied, as already described, and his feet within the pencil lines."

Robert Dale Owen was once a US congressman. In an 1872 book he describes events of July 10, 1861:

"On the tenth of July, 1861, I joined a few friends in an excursion from the city of New York, by steamboat, to the Highlands of Neversink ; Mr. and Mrs. Underhill being of the party. It occurred to me, while sitting on deck by Mrs. Underhill, to ask if we could have the raps there. Instantly they were distinctly heard first, from the deck; then I heard them, and quite plainly felt them on the wooden stool on which I sat. In the afternoon our party went out in a sailing-boat, fifteen or twenty feet long. There, again at my suggestion, we had them, sounding from under the floor of the boat. It had a centre-board, or sliding keel, and we had raps from within the long, narrow box that inclosed it. At any part of this box where we called for the raps, we obtained them.... I proposed to try if we could have raps from the ground : and immediately I plainly heard them from beneath the ground on which we trod : it was a dull sound, as if blows struck on the earth. Then I asked Mrs. Underhill to touch one of the trees with the tips of her fingers, and, applying my ear to the tree, I heard the raps from beneath the bark. Other persons of our party verified this, as I had done." 

The next few pages tells a similar account. On pages 350 to 352 Owen describes a mysterious light floating around in the presence of himself and others.  On page 362 Owen gives this account of a seance that produced the levitation of a table weighing 120 pounds:

"Our session was on the evening of October 12, 1860, lasting from half-past nine till eleven. It was held in the same room and at the same table mentioned above, and by gas-light. Present Mr. and Mrs. Ubnderhill, Kate Fox, Mr. Harrison Gray Dyar, of New York, and myself. We had very loud rappings, from various parts of the room and on the chairs. Then, while our hands were on the table, it began to move, sometimes with a rotary motion, sometimes rising up on one side, until finally it rose from the ground all but one leg.....After a time we asked whether, if we removed our fingers from the table-top, while it was in the air, it could still remain suspended ; and the reply (by rapping) being in the affirmative, after aiding it to rise as before, we withdrew our fingers entirely, raising them above it. The table then remained, nearly level, suspended without any human support whatever, during the space of five or six seconds ; and then gradually settled down, without jar or sudden dropping, to the floor.

Then, anxious to advance a step farther, we asked if the table could not be raised from the floor without any aid or contact whatever. The reply being in the affirmative, we stood up and placed all our hands over it, at the distance of three or four inches from the table-top : when it rose of itself, following our hands as we gradually raised them, till it hung in the air about the same distance from the ground as before. There it remained six or seven seconds, preserving its horizontal, and almost as steady as when it rested on the ground : then it slowly descended, still preserving the horizontal, until the feet reached the carpet. As before, there was no jar or sudden dropping. The same experiment was repeated, next evening in the presence of Robert Chambers, after we had completed our tests with the steelyard; and with exactly the same result."