In previous posts in this intermittently appearing "Spookiest Years" series on this blog (here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here), I had looked at some very spooky events reported between 1848 and 1869. In this installment I will look at accounts of spooky events occurring during the year 1871.
In the February 1, 1871 edition of the short-lived Spiritual News, page 1, we have a report of a strange phenomenon at a seance occurring about a week earlier. We read that after "the door was locked" two large drawings were found on the table where the witnesses sat, with one of the witnesses (Helen Louisa Chevalier) saying the drawings came from her home three miles away. We then read this:
"A few seconds afterwards, something soft was felt falling like snow, for about half a minute, perpendicularly downwards upon tile heads and bodies of the sitters at all parts of the room, and somebody exclaimed, ' Why, its feathers!' By this time the room had been in darkness about three minutes, and then a light was struck. The scene then revealed was wintry in the extreme. Everybody and everything between the four walls of the room was covered with white feathers ; the heads, shoulders, and knees of those present were thickly covered ; the table in the centre looked like a large, circular cake of snow, and the tresses of the ladies, as well as the trimmings of their garments, were clustered with little white feathers. These feathers had fallen perpendicularly at all parts of the room ; they fell vertically between the sitters, down on to the floor between the chairs....It may be stated, that the room has an ordinary plain whitewashed ceiling, everywhere visible."
We are given the full names of about 17 witnesses claiming to have seen such a wonder, and the addresses of many of them are given.
In the June 15, 1871 edition of The Spiritualist, page 170, we have a report by numerous witnesses claiming to have seen a case of human teleportation. Here is the original account, signed by a series of witnesses, along with the witnesses who attested to have seen this marvel on June 3, 1871:
" On Saturday evening, June 3rd, at 61, Lamb’s Conduit-street, High Holborn, London, W.C., a séance was held in the rooms of Messrs. Herne and Williams, mediums. Before the séance began, the doors communicating with the passage outside were locked. The proceedings began, at the request of the mediums, with prayer. Then spirit lights, like small stars, were seen moving about, after which a conversation between the spirits John King and Katie King, was heard. John said, 'Katie, you can’t do it.’ Katie replied, ‘ I will, I tell you I will.’ John said, ‘ I tell you you can’t.’ She answered, 'I will.’ Mr. Harrison then said, ‘ Can you bring Mrs. Guppy ? ’ There was no reply, but a member of the circle urged that the attempt should not be made. Within three minutes after Katie had said, ‘ I will,’ a single heavy sound was heard for an instant on the centre of the table. Mr. Edwards put out his hand and said, ‘ There is a dress here.’ A light was instantly struck, and Mrs. Guppy was found standing motionless on the centre of the table, trembling all over ; she had a pen and an account-book in her hands. Her right hand, with the pen in it, was over her eyes. She was spoken to by those present, but did not seem to hear ; the light was then placed in another room, and the door was closed for an instant ; John King then said, ‘ She’ll be all right presently.’ After the lapse of about four minutes after her arrival, she moved for the first time, and began to cry. The time of her arrival was ten minutes past eight. Mrs. Edmiston, Mr. Edwards, and Mr. Harrison went at once to one of the doors, and found it still locked; the other door could not be opened during the séance, because the back of the chair of one of the sitters was against it. There was no cupboard, article of furniture, or anything else in the rooms, in which it was possible for anybody to conceal themselves, and, if there had been, we, the undersigned witnesses, are all certain that by no natural means could Mrs. Guppy have placed herself instantaneously on the centre of a table round which we were all sitting shoulder to shoulder."
"Mrs. Guppy said that the last thing she remembered before she found herself on the table, was that she was sitting at home at Highbury, talking to Miss Neyland, and entering some household accounts in her book. The ink in the pen was wet when she arrived in our midst ; the last word of the writing in the book was incomplete, and was wet and smeared. She complained that she was not dressed in visiting costume, and had no shoes on, as she had been sitting at the fire without them. As she stated this to Mr. Morris, and Mr. and Mrs. Edwards, a pair of slippers dropped on the floor from above, one of them grazing Mr. Morris’s head ; this was after the séance, and in the light. We all went into the dark room for a few minutes afterwards, and four flower-pots with flowers in them, which Mrs. Guppy declared to be from her home, were placed on the table at once. "
“After tea a second séance was held. Within a minute or two after the light was put out, there was a cry for a light, and Mr. Herne was seen by four persons falling from above, on to his chair. There were bundles of clothes belonging to Mr. Guppy, Mrs. Guppy, and Miss Neyland on the table, and Mr. Herne declared he had just seen Miss Neyland in Mrs. Guppy’s house ; that she had pushed the clothes into his arms, and told him to ' go to the devil.' The light was again put out, and when it was struck once more, Mr. Williams was missing. He was found in the next room, lying in an insensible state on some clothes belonging to Mr. Guppy. He said on awaking that he had been to Mr. Guppy’s house, and saw Miss Neyland, who was sitting at a table, and seemed to he praying."
N. Haqger, 46, Moorgate-street.
Caroline Edmiston, Beckenham.
C. E. Edwards, Kilburn-square, Kilburn.
Henry Morris, Mount Trafford, Eccles, near Manchester.
Elizabeth Guppy, 1, Morland Villas, Highbury Hill Park, N.
Ernest Edwards, Kilburn-square, Kilburn.
Henry Clifford Smith, 38, Ennis-road, Stroudgreen.
H. B. Husk, 26, Sandwich-street,
W.C. Charles E. Williams, 61, Lamb’s Conduitstreet, W.C.
E. Herne, Gl, Lamb’s Conduit-street, W.C.
W. H. Harrison, Wilmin Villa, Chaucer - road, S.E.”
We have here an astonishing report of a seance in a dark room with locked doors. The witnesses claim that a woman living quite a distance away was inexplicably deposited on the round table that they surrounded. There is no way to explain this report by imagining some kind of trickery by one or two people. The only halfway-credible hypothesis a skeptic might use to dismiss the report is to claim that the report is all a big lie, and that nothing of the sort happened. Here the skeptic is forced into becoming a conspiracy theorist, imagining some conspiracy by witnesses who falsely claimed to have seen something they never saw.
In 1875
an article in the
Quarterly Journal of Science would refer to the incident above, and
mention other cases of reported teleportation of humans:
"As Newton is held to have proved that gravitation and inertia in every mass are proportional, we might expect that whatever overbears the former would be equally capable of neutralising the latter; and, in fact, the elder records hardly speak of visible suspensions like those of Mr. Home, but mainly of sudden unseen transfers of the person to a distance ; like that alleged of Dr. Monck last year, from his own residence at Bristol to the garden of his friend, Mr. Young, at Swindon ; or the earlier but better attested one of Mrs. Guppy, from her house at Holloway to a circle of her friends assembled at No. 61, Lamb’s Conduit Street; or, a few months ago, that of Mr. Henderson, a well-known photographer of London, for a smaller distance, but attested by eighteen persons besides himself—the nine assembled with him at Mr. Guppy’s, and the whole Stokes family, at Highbury, where he was unexpectedly found."
The source here on page 212 lists May 21, 1871 as the beginning of the mysterious materialization phenomenon involving Katie King and Florence Cook and May 21, 1874 as the end of the phenomenon. That phenomenon is one of history's most interesting and well-documented reports of the paranormal. The earliest mention I can find of Florence Cook is the June 15, 1871 edition of The Spiritualist. We have a letter entitled "A New Medium" dated June 9, 1871. We hear of a fifteen-year-old medium referred to as Florrie, the daughter of a Mr. and Mrs. Cook. We hear only of spooky table movements and what sounds like some kind of levitation. The editor notes, "We have seen a very little of Miss Cook’s mediumship, and think that it will develop into something above the average." That hunch turned out to be correct, with people later reporting around Florence Cook some of the most inexplicable phenomena ever recorded. You will read about such phenomena in subsequent installments of this series. In the July 15, 1871 edition of The Spiritualist, there is a very astonishing account of levitation by the medium Daniel Dunglas Home, who many people claimed to see levitating. The account is by a Lord Lindsay. Here is some of what Lord Lindsay states:
"I was
sitting with Mr. Home and Lord Adare, and a cousin
of his. During the. sitting Mr. Home went into a
trance, and in that state was carried out of the window
in the room next to where we were, and was brought
in at our window. The distance between the windows
was about 7ft. 6in., and there was not the slightest
foothold between them, nor was there more than a 12-
inch projection to each window, which served as a
ledge to put flowers on.
We heard the window in the next room lifted up, and
almost immediately after we saw Home floating in the
air outside our window.
The moon was shining full into the room ; my back
was to the light, and I saw the shadow on the wall of
the window-sill, and Home’s feet about six inches
above it. He remained in this position for a few
seconds, then raised the window and glided into the
room, feet foremost, and sat down.
Lord Adare then went into the next room to look at
the window from which he had been carried. It was
raised about eighteen inches, and he expressed his
wonder how Mr. Home had been taken through so
narrow an aperture.
Home said (still in trance), 'I will show you;' and then, with his back to the window, he leaned back,
and was shot out of the aperture head first with the
body rigid, and then returned quite quietly.
The window is about seventy feet from the ground.
I very much doubt whether any skilful tight-rope
dancer would like to attempt a feat of this description,
where the only means of crossing would be by a perilous leap, or being borne across in such a manner as
I have described, placing the question of the light
aside."
The October 15, 1871 edition of The Spiritualist announces the results of the long investigation of the Dialectical Society of London, which began two years earlier an investigation of the spooky phenomena reported around this time. We read this quote from the report of the Society (which can be read here in the full published report):
""Since their appointment on the 16th of February,
1869, your Sub-committee have held forty meetings
for the purpose of experiment and test.
All of these meetings were held at the private
residences of members of the Committee, purposely
to preclude the possibility of pre-arranged mechanism
or contrivance.
The furniture of the room in which the experiments were conducted was on every occasion its accustomed furniture.
The tables were in all cases heavy dining tables,
requiring a strong effort to move them. The small-
est of them was 5ft. 9in. long by 4ft. wide, and the
largest, 9ft. 3in. long and 4 ft. wide, and of propor-
tionate weight.
The rooms, tables, and furniture generally were
repeatedly subjected to careful examination before,
during, and after the experiments, to ascertain that
no concealed machinery, instrument, or other con-
trivance existed by means of which the sounds
or movements hereinafter mentioned could be caused.
The experiments were conducted in the light of
gas, except on the few occasions specially noted in the
minutes. ...Every test that the combined intelligence of your
Committee could devise has been tried with patience
and perseverance. The experiments were conducted
under a great variety of conditions, and ingenuity
has been exerted in devising plans by which your
Committee might verify their observations and pre-
clude the possibility of imposture or of delusion....
The result of their long-continued and carefully-
conducted experiments, after trial by every detective
test they could devise, has been to establish con-
clusively :
First: That under certain bodily or mental
conditions of one or more of the persons present, a
force is exhibited sufficient to set in motion heavy
substances, without the employment of any muscular
force, without contact or material connection of any
kind between such substances and the body of any
person present.
Second: That this force can cause sounds to
proceed, distinctly audible to all present, from solid
substances not in contact with, nor having any
visible or material connection with, the body of any
person present, and which sounds are proved to pro-
ceed from such substances by the vibrations which
are distinctly felt when they are touched.
Third : That this force is frequently directed by
intelligence.
At thirty-four out of the forty meetings of your
Committee some of these phenomena occurred....
In all similar experiments the possibility of
mechanical or other contrivance was further nega- .
tived by the fact that the movements were in various
directions, now to one side, then to the other ; now
up the room, now down the room — motions that
would have required the co-operation of many
hands or feet ; and these, from the great size and
weight of the tables, could not have been so used
without the visible exercise of muscular force.
Every hand and foot was plainly to be seen and
could not have been moved without instant de-
tection.
Delusion was out of the question. The motions
were in various directions, and were witnessed simul-
taneously by all present. They were matters of
measurement, and not of opinion or of fancy.
And they occurred so often, under so many and
such various conditions, with such safeguards against
error or deception, and with such invariable results,
as to satisfy the members of your Sub-committee by
whom the experiments were tried, wholly sceptical as
most of them were when they entered upon the in-
vestigation, that there is a force capable of moving
heavy bodies without material contact and which force
is in some unknown manner dependent upon the pre-
sence of human beings."
The same October 15, 1871 edition of The Spiritualist announces these results of the long investigation of the Dialectical Society of London (which can also be read on this page of the full report):
"These reports, hereto subjoined, substantially corroborate each other, and would appear to establish the following propositions : —
1. — That sounds of a very varied character, apparently proceeding from articles of furniture, the floor and walls of the room — the vibrations accompanying which sounds are often distinctly perceptible to the touch — occur, without being produced by muscular action or mechanical contrivance.
2. — That movements of heavy bodies take place with- out mechanical contrivance of any kind or adequate exertion of muscular force by the persons present, and frequently without contact or connection with any person.
3. — That these sounds and movements often occur at the times and in the manner asked for by persons present, and, by means of a simple code of signals, answer questions and spell out coherent communications .
4. — That the answers and communications thus obtained are, for the most part, of a common- place character ; but facts are sometimes correctly given which are only known to one of the persons present.
5. — That the circumstances under which the phenomena occur are variable, the most prominent fact being, that the presence of certain persons seems necessary to their occurrence, and that of others generally adverse ; but this difference does not appear to depend upon any belief or disbelief concerning the phenomena.
6. — That, nevertheless, the occurrence of the phenomena is not insured by the presence or absence of such persons respectively."
The same October 15, 1971 edition of The Spiritualist announces these results of the long investigation of the Dialectical Society of London (the same quote can be found here in the full report):
"1. Thirteen witnesses state that they have seen heavy bodies — in some instances men — rise slowly in the air and remain there for sometime without visible or tangible support.
2. — Fourteen witnesses testify to having seen hands or figures, not appertaining to any human being, but life-like in appearance and mobility, which they have sometimes touched or even grasped, and which they are therefore convinced were not the result of imposture or illusion.
3. — Five witnesses state that they have been touched, by some invisible agency, on various parts of the body, and often where requested, when the hands of all present were visible.
4. — Thirteen witnesses declare that they have heard musical pieces well played upon instruments not manipulated by any ascertainable agency.
5. — Five witnesses state that they have seen red-hot coals applied to the hands or heads of several - persons without producing pain or scorching ; and three witnesses state that they have had the same experiment made upon themselves with the like immunity.
6 — Eight witnesses state that they have received precise information through rappings, writings, and in other ways, the accuracy of which was unknown at the time to themselves or to any persons present, and which, on subsequent inquiry, was found to be correct.
7. — One witness declares that he has received a precise and detailed statement which, nevertheless, proved to be entirely erroneous.
8. — Three witnesses state that they have been present when drawings, both in pencil and colours, were produced in so short a time, and under such conditions, as to render human agency impossible.
9. — Six witnesses declare that they have received information of future events, and that in some cases the hour and minute of their occurrence have been accurately foretold, days and even
weeks before."
"Mrs. Honywood, in answer to a request from the chair, stated that she had witnessed some remarkable phenomena at the residence of Dr. Gully, 'While sitting in a circle recently, the table rose, and the room vibrated to such a degree that an engineer who was present declared that nothing but the strongest machinery would have been sufficient to account for it. An accordion was played in the air, Mr. Home holding it by one strap, and not touching it in any other way. The room was fully lighted. Three or four persons, unknown to Mr. Home, mentally wished for particular tunes and they were played.' "
Here is another one of the testimonies given to the committee, by some distinguished person who apparently wanted to remain anonymous:
"The Hon. Mrs. --- gave evidence in the following words : —
' The most remarkable manifestations I have seen, were those of last Sunday evening at my house. We were seated in a partially darkened room. We first heard raps and then saw a human figure at the window. It entered and several other figures came trooping in after it. One of them waived its hands. The atmosphere became fearfully cold. A figure which I recognised as that of a deceased relative, came behind my chair, leaned over me, and brushed my hair lightly with its hand. It seemed about eight feet high. Then approaching the Master of Lindsay it passed right through him, causing him to shiver with cold. But the most extraordinary thing of all was the laughter. One of us said something and all the spirits laughed with joy. The sound was indescribably strange, and it appeared to us as if it came from the ground. This was the first time we heard spirit voices.' "
The witness then tells us this occurred in the presence of "Mr. Home," apparently Daniel Dunglas Home.
The Times of London is one of the world's oldest newspapers, having operated since the 18th century. In the December 26, 1872 edition of The Times (quoted on page 51 of the early 1873 source here), we had a perfect example of how mainstream sources engage in shameless lies when writing about the paranormal. The paper claimed this about the 400-page report of The Dialectical Society of London:
"The Report filled altogether some
400 pages, and the sum total of 18 months’ investigation amounted
to just this, that— 'Your Committee, taking into consideration the high character and great
intelligence of many of the witnesses to the more extraordinary facts, the extent
to which their testimony is supported by the reports of the sub-committees and
the absence of any proof of imposture or delusion as regards a large portion of
the phenomena; and, further, having regard to the exceptional character of the
phenomena, the large number of persons in every grade of society and over the
whole civilized world who are more or less influenced by a belief in their supernatural origin, and to the fact that no philosophical explanation of them has yet
been arrived at, deem it incumbent upon them to state their conviction that the
subject is worthy of more serious attention and careful investigation than it has
hitherto received.' "
The claim of The Times that the "the sum total of 18 months’ investigation amounted to just this," merely that the phenomena were "worthy of more serious attention" was a brazen deceit by The Times writer, as it is obvious from the quotes above that conclusions far beyond that were made all over the place in the report, with the 400-page report documenting countless testimonies of people witnessing dramatic paranormal events, and the writers of the report concluding that various types of dramatic paranormal events were observational facts. Such malfeasance by mainstream newspapers continued for 150 years, with major papers called The Times (such as the New York Times) continuing to have appalling records of distortion and misrepresentation and censorship when reporting on the paranormal (as I document here).
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