Many Said They Saw Nelly Butler's Apparition

 My "Spookiest Years" series of 18 posts (here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here,  here, here, here, here, here and here and here)  is a series documenting spooky events between 1848 and the early 20th century. I started with the year 1848 because that was the year of the famous rap noises reported by members of the Fox family in Hydesville, New York (USA), a phenomenon later reported in many other places such as Rochester, New York. When I started the series, I had not heard of events in Sullivan, Maine (USA) in the year 1800. But the spooky events reported in that town in that year were so dramatic that I should perhaps have started my "Spookiest Years" series in the year 1800. 

One of the witnesses was Paul Blaisdel, who reported (as discussed later in this post) seeing something like what is depicted below:

This case occurring in Sullivan, Maine was only very briefly mentioned in one of my previous posts on this topic. I have found a much more detailed reference, on page 4 of the October 1, 1857 edition of the British Spiritual Telegraph, which you can read here:

"One of the most interesting eases of modem spiritual manifestations  was by the spirit of Mrs. Nelly Butler in the town of Sullivan in this State [Maine]. What made it exceedingly interesting was the extensive manner in which she made herself manifest by the exhibition of her own form and voice. She first became manifest by raps and by conversation with her own natural voice in the year 1799 ; and by the exhibition of her own form in the year 1800. Originally the principal medium was Lydia Blaisdell, who afterwards became Mrs. Lydia Butler.  On the 18th of August, 1800, this spirit went in company with Mrs. Butler and forty-seven other persons about a half a mile. Rev. Abraham Cummings, who was uncle to the late Dr. Asa Cummings, wrote a history of the appearances of this spirit, and published it in 1826. He took and printed the testimony of thirty-one witnesses, who had seen or conversed with the spirit in the year 1800. Mr. Cummings in his narrative says: 'With all these witnesses 1 am intimately acquainted. I took these testimonies from their lips, for the most part, separately.'  After giving the testimony, Mr. Cummings says: 'The above witnesses are exhibited not for the want of more, (for more than a hundred have seen the spectre, or have heard her words,) but because repetition is tedious.' The testimony, part or all of it, was taken in the year 1800. One witness, Dorcas Johnson, speaking of the manifestation on the 18th of August, says . 'There I heard and saw the spectre. Her voice was distinct from any other, and her music the most delightful that I ever heard. When she walked with us, she moved without stepping. And when we arrived at the house, by direction of the spectre, given to my brother, James Springer, and by him to the company in our hearing, we opened to the right and left, so that the spectre and Mrs. Butler passed together between our ranks. Then she vanished from my new, and I saw her no more.'  The testimony of others is equally explicit, 

The principal medium soon died, I think in 1801. But the spirit continued to be seen afterwards. Mr. Cummings himself had the pleasure of seeing her form in July 1800. It appears that the character of each witness was good ; that the spirit was manifested on one occasion in the presence of twenty persons ; and on another occasion in the presence of forty-eight persons. Not all of these, however, saw her at those times. But most of those, who did not see her on one occasion, were permitted to have their vision opened and see her on other occasions. After waiting twenty-six years, Mr. Cummings felt it his duty to publish the history."

 In any case like this it is always best to try and track down the publication that first reported such things; and I was able to find that document. The original report of the events seems to have first published in 1826 by Abraham Cummings in his book "Immortality Proved by the Testimony of Sense: In Which Is Contemplated the Doctrine of Spectres, and the Existence of a Particular Spectre," which you can read here. In that document Cummings says he is publishing 26 years after the described events, which mainly occurred in 1800.  The document is dated 1859, but it says on its third page that it is a verbatim reprint of an earlier publication, apparently the document Cummings published in 1826. 

The first half of the document is rather confusing, as it quotes a series of letters from an anonymous writer describing the apparition sightings, who mostly does not do a very clear job of narrating what happened. But the writer of these anonymous letters does speak rather clearly when he says this about the sighting of the female apparition:

"The times, places and modes of her appearing were various. Sometimes she appeared to be alone, as the events which followed bore witness: for the testimony of events is sometime more valid than that of persons. Sometimes she appeared to two or three ; then to five or six; then to ten or twelve; again to twenty, and once to more than forty witnesses. She appeared in several apartments of Mr. Blaisdel’s house, and several times in the cellar. She also appeared at other houses, and several times in the open field, as already observed. There, white as the light, she moved like a cloud above the ground in personal form and magnitude, in the presence of more than forty people. She tarried with them till after day-light, and vanished: not because she was afraid of the sun: for she had then several times appeared when the sun was shining. Once in particular, when she appeared in the room where the family were, about eleven o’clock in the day, they all left the house; but convinced of the impropriety of their conduct they returned."

Cummings on page 41 begins quoting testimony he took from particular witnesses, mostly named witnesses. I will skip over several testimonies that describe something that might easily have been faked, and also testimonies by anonymous witnesses, and try to quote only the testimonies of named witnesses that describe something hard to explain by fakery. You can click on the links to go the corresponding part of the book containing that testimony.

In the account below Captain George Butler mentions his first wife, who then according to witnesses appears as an apparition seen by many. On page 73 this first wife is named as being Nelly Butler. In the text of the book we also have mentions of "Mrs. Butler" or Lydia, who seems to be Captain Butler's second wife. 

Below is some of the testimony recorded in the book.

Deposition of Capt. George Butler

"When I was called to talk with this voice, I asked, 'who are you!' It answered, ‘I was once your wife.’ The voice asked me, ‘Do you not remember what I told you when I was alive.' I answered, 'I do not really know what you mean.' The voice said, ' Do you not remember I told you 1 did not think I should live long with you. I told you that if you was to leave me I should never wish to change my condition; but that if I was to leave you, I could not blame you, if you did.' 

This passed between me and my first wife, while she was alive, and there was no living person within hearing, but she and myself, and I am sure that this was never revealed to any person, and no living person could have told it to me before the voice did. As Lydia (Mrs. Butler) and I stood side and side alone, she had her left arm round me and her right hand hold of the forward part of my waistcoat, her head leaning against my breast. There was something appeared to my view right before me, like a person in a winding sheet and her arms folded under the winding sheet, and on her arm there appeared to be a very small child. By this appearance I did not know possibly but I might. be deceived. I reached out my left hand to take hold of it. I saw my hand in the middle of it, but could feel nothing. The same evening it appeared and disappeared to me three times."

 -- GEORGE BUTLER

Testimony of Mr. Paul Simson

"August 9, 1800. I was at Mr. A. Blaisdel’s, with many more, and heard the sound of knocking. It was addressed, and a voice answered, but I could not understand it. Several persons spoke, but received no satisfactory answer. The people generally concluded that the whole affair was some deception. Therefore they went off and I among them. But my reflections on that singular knocking, induced me to say to two young men, 'If you will go back, I will, and find out something more, if possible ; for I am no more satisfied now, than I was before I went to that house.' We went back. Mr. Blaisdel asked us why we returned. I told him that we had all gone off with the opinion that the whole affair was a scheme contrived by his daughters, and nothing more, and I meant if possible, to find them out. ‘ You must think as you please,' said he, 'I am clear, and I believe my family is.’ I told him I wished to see all his family sitting in oné part of the room. They complied. Then I took a candle and stood in the midst of the room. After several minutes, something rapped near where two of us stood, and from thence removed to several parts of the house. 'What do you think of it,' said Mr. Blaisdel? 'It appears, said I, to be strange.' ‘We will go into the cellar,' said  Mr. Blaisdel, 'and, if you think any body is there, search the cellar through with a candle ;’ we did so. I came out last and was careful and watched, so that I was sure that no person went down. Also the outer door was fast. Then again we heard the sound of knocking. It was addressed, and conversation followed, in the midst of which Mr. Blaisdel said to me, 'If you think any living person talks, go forward and grasp that person.' I went forward a few steps, but was so convinced that no body was there, that I ’considered all further attempts as useless.

After much discourse, which I cannot remember, the Spirit told us that-we must go up and come down again in order, two and two, and she would appear to us. We did so, and I saw the apparition at first about two feet in height; but, as it drew nearer to me, it appeared as tall as a person. I saw this appearance passing close by me and from me five or six times. At last it diminished to about a foot in height and then vanished." -- PAUL SIMSON, Jun.

Testimony of Miss Sally Martin

"August 13, 1800, I was at Mr. Blaisdel’s house, with more than forty people, besides their own family, and heard knockings. We all wondered, when we heard a sound on one side or corner of the house; the next sound on the opposite side or corner, and a third sound equally distant from the second, and so on for a number of sounds, while the succession was as rapid as one sound could be clearly distinguished from another. We were sure that no person, nor even several persons, could make sounds so distant from each other in such quick succession, even were it possible for them to be in or near the places of these sounds, without discovery. By the desire of the Spirit and Mr. Blaisdel, we went into the cellar. Mr. Blaisdel told the people to stand back and give the Spirit room, and not crowd so near her, ' dont crowd her,'  said he, 'she cannot talk if you crowd her.'

When we were placed, Mr. Blaisdel ordered the candle to be blown out, and stood before the company next to the Spirit. When these things were done, the affair was become as dark to me, as the cellar was. I heard much conversation with several people by a voice which I never heard before. This voice at last told us to go up and go to a certain house and she would go with us. We did as the voice told us: and, as we went, I saw a personal form, as white as any thing could possibly appear, walking by Mrs. Butler’s side, with locked arms. When we came to the only outer door of the house, I saw this form at a distance from me, abroad, though near the house, I went in and heard a knocking immediately under the floor. In two or three minutes I heard the same voice that I had heard before, talking with Capt. Millar. 

By the desire of the voice, we stood before the house that she might appear to us. There I saw the personal form as plainly as ever I saw a living person: and I saw the same form vanish before me in a moment.  -- SALLY MARTIN. 

On the same page in a footnote the author (Alexander Cummings) tells us this about the apparition:

"Four nights before this, she appeared to fourteen persons in this very place, and six persons saw the hand pass through the apparition. Two nights before this, she appeared to about twenty people, forming an elipsis, within which she slowly passed round so near the circumference several times, that every one of them might have handled her with deliberation, and she had also expressed her desire to give satisfaction by this experiment."

Testimony of James Millar

"By the desire of certain persons, I went into the cellar with Capt. P B——. After some discourse of the voice with him, which I understood not, I heard sounds of knocking near me. I asked, what do you want of me. It answered, “I have come to let you know that I can speak in this cellar as well as in the other. Are you convinced?' I answered, 'I am.' 'Now,' said the voice, ‘the company must be solemn and stand in order before your door, I am going to appear. Now do you remember that I was once N. H.'  We went up and complied with her direction, and I saw a personal shape coming toward us, white as the light. By the Spectre’s order, as I was informed, Mrs. Butler went toward her. ‘Lydia,’ said the Spectre, ' you are scared. You must sing.' Then she sung an hymn. The Spirit came almost to us; then turned, and Mrs. Butler with her, and went several rods towards Capt. Simson’s and appeared to take her by the hand to urge her on further; and disappeared in our sight." -- JAMES MILLAR

Testimony of Sally Wentworth

On pages 51 to 53 we have testimony from Sally Wentworth, who reports hearing a voice from the cellar which she thought was from her deceased sister. But she later wonders whether the voice may have been some "evil spirit" imitating her sister.  On page 52 she mentions something that seems supportive of the hypothesis that the voice is from her deceased sister (although she mentions a far-fetched alternate explanation):

"Sometime after this, Mr. Butler brought to me from the Spectre, the private conversation which I know I had with my sister in her lifetime, at a certain hour, when we were alone together, and which he declares he never knew before; as a token that I was her sister. It is true I had never revealed it to any person, and I do not believe that my sister ever did; but could not some evil spirit hear that conversation, and afterwards personate my sister, and reveal it to Capt. Butler?"

Testimony of Mr. Jeremiah Bunker

"On August 9, 1800, I went to Mr. Blaisdel’s, where there were about twelve people.

After hearing the discourse of the Spectre, she appeared before us and disappeared several times. She come close by me and three or four others several times, so that each of us could have handled her. The personal shape, when it disappeared, first changed to a substance, without form, and then vanished in a moment where it was: and after a short space, the full personal form appeared again in a moment. These changes I observed several times. 1 thought then and ever since that the whole was a deception. For I cannot see how there could be such a clear personal shape, where no living person was. She was in the shape of a person as much as any person could be." -- JEREMIAH BUNKER

The remark by Bunker he thought it was a deception does nothing to discredit his testimony, because the reason he gives is not a good one, and his testimony of what he saw seems to suggest something very paranormal was going. 

Testimony of Abner Blaisdel

"May 29, 1800. The Spectre conversed with three of my family....August 6. I had for some time heard that my father was sick, but had since received no news from him. I ventured to ask how my father did; ‘He is in heaven,” said she, 'praising God with the angels.'  I afterwards found by other means, that my father died seven days before this. He lived two hundred miles from me....August 8. About thirty people came to my house. That night the Spectre had much solemn conversation with them on religious subjects. Mr. N. H  expressed his desire to handle her, and she gave him liberty. Some times the inimitable voice would sound ten or twelve feet from us, then close to our face, then again at a distance: and these changes were instantaneous....August 9, 1800. We placed ourselves in order, according to the direction of the Spectre; and a white appearance, at first very small, rose before me and grew to a personal stature and form. It stood directly before Capt. Butler, while he and his wife stood beside each other. I saw him put his hand on the apparition, and I saw his hand pass through it. Then it vanished. There were now about twelve persons here. On August 11, she discoursed with about twenty persons, of whom I was one....She appeared and disappeared before us several times, and talked while she appeared.....Then she directed him to go up and tell the people to stand in order before the door and she would appear before them in the field. They did so, and she appeared to them and disappeared, as some of them informed me. By her direction we walked back to my house in the same order, and then I saw her plainly about thirty feet from me, in the form and stature of a person; white as the light and moving after us like a cloud, without ambulatory motion." -- ABNER BLAISDEL

Testimony of James Springer

"August 13, 1800. After much conversation with the Spectre, she told us that she must talk and appear at the house of Capt. M. because he had reported that she could not be any where but at Mr. Blaisdel’s house. And L. must walk with me, said she, that you may all see that she is one person and I another.

We walked in order to that house, and I saw the Spirit as plainly as ever I saw any person. I saw the Spirit appear and disappear several time that night."  -- JAMES SPRINGER

Testimony of John Simson

"August 8, 1800. I heard the discourse of the Spectre in company with about thirty other persons. The sound of her voice was sometimes hoarse and faint, but for the most part it was clear and free from any impediment, and then it was inimitable, and the most delightful that ever I heard in my life....The voice and this experiment were about four feet from me, so that I am sure that no living person could be concealed from me." -- JOHN SIMSON

Testimony of Richard Downing

"After this, the voice talked with me. To know what answer would be made, I asked, to whom are you speaking? It answered, ' Richard Downing.' I asked again, was you  ever at my house? It answered,  'Yes, I was there once with my mother, Mrs. M. and others, when your wife was sick.'  I had not then told any person what the Spectre now told me, and which I and my family know to be true....Capt. M. with others, went down and talked with a voice, which I heard and understood not; but was informed by them that she told them she had come there to give evidence that she could be and talk at other houses, as well as that of Mr. Blaisdel; and that if the company would properly stand in the open field, she would pass before them, so that they might see her, The company did so. The Spirit then appeared and walked back and forth, two or three times, in view of the company and by the side of Mrs. Butler. This my eyes saw. The apparition, with Mrs. Butler, having advanced a few rods, disappeared. Mrs. Butler then came and told us that if we would return to Mr. Blaisdel’s house, she would walk behind us. The company complied. Having a desire so be as near the apparition as possible, I walked with Capt. P. S. behind the whole company. Mrs. Butler walked behind When we had walked about twenty rods Baier said, 'there it is now.'  Where, said I. There, said she, pointing to the left side of the company forward. I looked there and saw the dark appearance of a person, and kept my eye upon it till we passed by it, and till I saw it come in next after me, and by the side of Mrs. Butler. Thus it followed us. But now this object was become as white as the light. As we walked, I kept my eye upon this object almost without intermission, that I might see it disappear. It followed us by one direct motion, like a cloud. The motion was not ambulatory in the least degree. In this manner the apparition followed us about twenty rods, and then disappeared in my view. It opened into two parts and vanished."  -- RICHARD DOWNING.

Testimony of Samuel Simson

"August 5, 1800. In the evening after I had prayed, I looked toward the opposite side of the room, and saw a white personal form, having on a woman’s cap, and the same countenance and features which Mrs. N. Butler had when she was alive and in health, so that I knew her immediately. In the name of the Lord, said I, for what purpose are you here ?—But there was no answer. I spoke again—‘“‘ In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, who are you, and what do you want here?’ My wife greatly surprised, and seeing nothing, asked what was the matter. I told her I saw an apparition. No, she replied, you are deranged. It is the moon you see. At that moment the apparition disappeared." -- SAMUEL SIMSON

Testimony of Mrs. Abigail Abbot 

"August 0, 1800.  I was at Mr. Blaisdel’s house, with many more....The spectre knocked several times very loud, and we went into the cellar. After saying many things to us, she appeared in the shape of a person and moved before us, without stepping, passing and repassing several times. She gave so much light that we could see other persons and other things in the cellar, which we could not see before her appearance, nor afterwards. I saw her appear and disappear several times. At last the apparition came to Capt. G. Butler, and then he appeared to be immersed in her radiance so that he appeared white and shining like the apparition. And I did particularly see his hand in the midst of the apparent body of the apparition. He cried in surprise, “* Lord Jesus Christ.”....

August 13-14, I was there again, and heard much conversation of the ghost, with several other persons in the cellar, concerning several events known only to her and them in her life time. To all their questions she gave satisfactory answers.

Once while she was speaking, I saw a bright shining appearance in that part of the space from whence the voice proceeded,

Her conversation and exhortation continued four hours.... " --ABIGAIL ABBOT.

Testimony of Captain Paul Blaisdel

"I have seen and discoursed with the apparition several times. In the latter part of January, 1800, I saw her in the field; first at a considerable distance from me: then she came to me, and I particularly observed that she never touched the ground. Her raiment appeared as white as possible. The next evening she reproved me in the hearing of several persons, because I had not spoken to her, and because I had spoken against her. She told me she had come on God’s errand, and that if I opposed her, I opposed him who sent her. The Spirit asked me if I lived in such a manner as I would wish to die.

I have from time to time heard the voice speak in open space, where I am sure no living person existed, as others can testify who were with me. And upon August 9-10, I was present and saw the Spectre when she appeared, and I plainly saw Capt. Butler’s hand pass through the apparition.

August 11, 1 saw her again, and heard her pious discourse, with nearly twenty other persons. To those who were present, I said, ‘She has her child now in her arms.' ' Yes, I have,' she answered, ' yes I have.'  She came so near to me and others, that either of us could have handled her without changing our places.

August 13. Being informed that the ghost had promised to come this night, I left my father’s house, and went to Capt. M’s that I might not see nor hear her. Just before daylight, she came to this house with more than forty people, and reproved me again for speaking against her in the presence of six or seven persons. This is the second time, said the voice, that you have been warned.—Beware of the third time. She asked me several times to handle her, to see whether she had material substance or not. I confessed to her that I believed her to be the spirit of N. H. Then I went back with the company to my father’s house. Before she vanished she came and stood within three feet from me. The personal shape was all light, the particles of which had constant motion. But I was afraid to put my hand upon her."

Testimony of David Hooper

"January 2, 1800. By the request of the spectre, sent by two messengers, I went to Mr. Blaisdel’s house, and by conversing with her, obtained such clear and irresistable tokens of her being the spirit of my own daughter, as gave me no less satisfaction than admiration and delight.

She gave a reason satisfactory to me why she put me to the trouble of coming there instead of her coming to my house. By her request I went in a few days after to Mr. Butler’s family and expressed my conviction to them.

August 8, I was there again, with my wife and many others. I again asked the ghost who she was. The voice answered, “I was once N. B., your dear child.' ... -- DAVID HOOPER

Testimony of Mrs. Joanna Hooper

"Her next words were spoken to me in particular. ‘Do you not remember what I said on my death bed?' I answered, yes, I do remember that you then said you desired peace while you lived. Yes, I did, said she, yes I did.— Sometime before this the spectre had sent this token to me, which, though not certain, had yet been attended with such circumstances, as rendered the use of it for deception utterly improbable.

August 13, we went again. The spirit then asked if we wanted to see her, and we both said no. Did I ask you in your last sickness, said I, whether you was willing your child should live? The voice answered, ' yes, yes, and I told you I should be a vile creature to desire the life of the child.' .... I asked this question for further satisfaction, knowing that this very question and answer had passed between us....Then we two looked round and saw a white shining appearance by the side of Mrs. Butler, and about as tall as she." -- JOANNA HOOPER

Testimony of Eunice Scammons

"August 11, 1800. I was at the house which the ghost had so often visited, and was one of seventeen people or more, who were present when she appeared and conversed with us....Being asked who she was, she said, 'I was once N. H. and when I died I was N. B.' and mentioned several circumstances which attended her death to confirm her declaration.

After much other conversation, she appeared in the midst of us and talked while she appeared. She came so near me that I could have laid my hand upon her. She had before solemnly entreated us to stand round separate and in such order that all might see her while she moved in the midst of us. Within our two ranks she slowly passed and repassed from end to end three times, and passed by me six times. There were several persons in the company dressed in white; but I could not see them at all, while the Spectre was as white as any thing could possibly be. She moved in such nearness to every one of us, that every one might have handled her. I saw her vanish instantly in the midst of us." -- EUNICE SCAMMONS

Testimony of Mrs. Mary Bragdon

"Sometime in January, 1800, I was at the house of Mr. Blaisdel, and heard such a voice as I never heard before among the living; and they told me it was that of the Spirit, talking with Mr. and Mrs. Butler.

August 7. At the same house we heard a knocking on the partition next to the chimney, where no person could be. Then several persons with me went into the cellar, and the Spirit told us she was once Nelly Butler. She told me that I must not be scared.

August 13. I was again at the house with forty-eight others, besides children. The Spirit, after her conversation with several persons, exhorted the youth: 'I was once young and vain as you, said the voice, and, if the Lord had taken me away in that condition, how miserable I should have been! Now is the time, while you are young, to seek the Lord. Delay not till it is too late.'  Then it was that I saw a white personal form shining in the space from whence the voice proceeded ; and I afterwards saw the same appearance in the field." -- MARY BRAGDON.

Testimony of Dorcas Johnson

"I was present at the house, and at the time dated, August 13, by other testimonies. There I heard and saw the Spectre. Her voice was distinct from any other, and her music the most delightful that I ever heard. When she walked with us, she moved without stepping. And when we arrived at the house, by direction of the Spectre given to my brother, James Springer, and by him to the company in our hearing, we opened to the right and left, so that the Spectre aud Mrs. Butler passed together between our two ranks. Then she vanished from my view and I saw her no more." -- DORCAS JOHNSON

Now let us consider the consistency of these narratives:

• None of the witnesses gave testimony conflicting with the claim that the apparition matched Nelly Butler, the deceased first wife of George Butler, that wife being the daughter of David Hooper. George Butler says the apparition was preceded by a voice identifying  itself as his first wife. James Millar says the apparition was preceded by a voice saying "I was once N. H." -- possibly a reference to a maiden name of Nelly Hooper. Samuel Simson said he saw " a white personal form, having on a woman’s cap, and the same countenance and features which Mrs. N. Butler had when she was alive and in health, so that I knew her immediately." Captain Paul Blaisdal said, " I confessed to her that I believed her to be the spirit of N. H," a possible reference to Nelly Hooper. David Hooper says he asked the ghost who it was, and got the answer, "I was once N. B., your dear child." Eunice Scammons asked the apparition who it was, and said the answer was, "I was once N. H. and when I died I was N. B," presumably standing for Nelly Hooper and Nelly Butler. Mary Bragdon says, "The Spirit told us she was once Nelly Butler." I can find no conflict here between these accounts. All of the statements relevant to the apparition's identity are consistent with the claim that the apparition was that of a woman born as Nelly Hooper (the daughter of David Hooper), who became Nelly Butler after marrying George Butler. 
• About six of the witnesses reported a mysterious knocking. The report of the mysterious knocking is consistent with innumerable reports of mysterious knockings occurring after 1848, typically occurring during seances. 
• Several of the witnesses reported that the apparition was seen at the house of a Mr. Blaisdel. This is reported by Paul Simson, Sally Martin, Jeremiah Bunker, Richard Downing, Abigail Abbot, David Hooper and Mary Bragdon. 
• The claim that the apparition suddenly disappeared is made by eight witnesses, including George Butler (who says it appeared and disappeared three times), James Millar, Jeremiah Bunker ("she appeared before us and disappeared several times"), James Springar (" I saw the Spirit appear and disappear several time that night"), Richard Downing ("The apparition, with Mrs. Butler, having advanced a few rods, disappeared"), Samuel Simson ("At that moment the apparition disappeared"), Eunice Scammons ("I saw her vanish instantly in the middle of us"), and Dorcas Johnson ("she vanished from my view").
• The apparition is consistently described as being white and shining. Sally Martin says she saw "a personal form, as white as any thing could possibly appear." James Millar says it was "as white as the light." Abner Blaisdel describes as a "white appearance." Mary Bragdon says she saw a "white personal form shining in the space from whence the voice proceeded." Richard Downing says it was "as white as the light." Abigail Abbot says that when Captain Butler saw it "he appeared to be immersed in her radiance so that he appeared white and shining like the apparition."
• Captain George Butler said, "I reached out my left hand to take hold of it. I saw my hand in the middle of it, but could feel nothing." On the page here Cummings says that "six people saw the hand pass through the apparition." Abigail Abbot said, "And I did particularly see his hand in the midst of the apparent body of the apparition." Abner Blaisdel says, " I saw him put his hand on the apparition, and I saw his hand pass through it. Then it vanished." On page 68 we have testimony by three other different witnesses swearing to the truth of the testimony given above. Dorcas Abbot says, "I plainly saw Capt. Butler’s hand go through the apparition."  Frederic Housoff says, "I was an eye and ear witness of all the facts declared in the last testimony, and can attest particularly that I plainly saw Capt. Butler put his hand on the apparition, and saw his hand pass through it, glowing with the light of it." Joseph Blaisdel says, "I was present when the important transaction took place on the night of August 9, 1800, and saw Mr. Butler’s hand pass through the body of the apparition, while he uttered the words, ‘ Lord Jesus.' ”

In the later account here, from 1893, a case having no relation to the one above, Julie Tyler describes something similar to what is described above. She describes seeing an apparition, and she says, "I pushed right through the figure, and fell against the wall." The account says two daughters (19 and 20) "agree closely in their several descriptions" of an apparition.

If the topic of this post interested you, check out my free 435-page book "Spookiest Years," now available on www.archive.org using the link here. The book discusses phenomena such as spiritual manifestations, seance phenomena, near-death experiences, out-of-body experiences, apparition sightings, deathbed visions and precognitive visions.  Using the native www.archive.org file viewer in single-page mode,  you can conveniently read the whole book by finger swiping. Scholars who are interested in following the links may prefer to download the book as a PDF file, which will allow opening links by right-clicking on a link. 

Yet More Apparitions Seen by Multiple Witnesses

Below is a news account of multiple witnesses claiming to have seen an apparition of the composer Massenet:

 Below is an account of an apparition seen by three witnesses:

You can read the full account here:

 https://digitalcollections.lib.umanitoba.ca/islandora/object/uofm%3A2962745?solr%5Bquery%

Below is another account of an apparition seen by multiple witnesses:

You can read the full account here: 

https://digitalcollections.lib.umanitoba.ca/islandora/object/uofm%3A2961481?solr%5Bquery%

Below is an account of the apparition of a wife's first husband, an apparition reportedly seen by both the wife and her new husband. 

You can read the account here:

https://digitalcollections.lib.umanitoba.ca/islandora/object/uofm%3A2961481?solr%5Bquery%

Below is an account of a scientist and his wife seeing an apparition.

"A distinguished scientist saw upon the stair a little man who couldn’t possibly have been there because he was a ghost. And the distinguished scientist didn’t believe in ghosts. Absolutely. Positively. Definitely. But no matter how he tried to rationalize it, there was the little man upon the stair. He was about five-feet-three, heavy set and he was odd, even for a ghost. His body seemed to be composed of luminous ribbons with a mass of them wrapped around his head like a shawl. Yet although he was incandescent, he did not light up even the darkest part of the staircase. 

The distinguished scientist noticed this much before he decided that since there were absolutely, positively and definitely no ghosts he had probably seen nothing at all. But the next night, there was the little luminous man again, plodding heavily up the stairs ahead of him. This happened several more times but the scientist still said nothing at all to his wife. Until one night going upstairs to bed first she saw the luminous man just ahead of her. She uttered an exclamation and the figure looked around. She noticed deep-set eyes and that, although the feet were not touching the steps, his knees were bending as though it required an effort for him to ascend. The next morning she mentioned the apparition to her husband and he confessed for the first time that he had been seeing it as well. They told only their closest friends but one of them informed an investigator of the Society for Psychical Research. It took about a year of persuasion before the scientist, worried about possible 'vulgar publicity,” agreed with his wife to sign an affidavit of their experience and then only the pseudonym of 'Dr. Johnson.'  The wife of the distinguished scientist (who also had a distinguished war record) said her husband had made every effort to find a normal explanation for the figure but finally had to admit he could find none."

You can read the account here:

https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=MT19591216.2.66&srpos=50&e=-------en--20--41--txt-txIN-ghost+of+his+wife-------

The headline in the article below talks of a "Goshen Ghost" seen by a hundred. In the text the claim is made that hundreds saw the ghost. 

You can read the account below:

https://books.google.com/books?id=_vYxAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA2&dq=they+saw+a+ghost&article_id=3182,2356293&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi125_a07yOAxXsD1kFHfQjLpIQ6AF6BAgLEAM#v=onepage&q=they%20saw%20a%20ghost&f=false

We read below of a Conley family that had a spooky encounter: "Family members said a boy ghost crawled across their legs and sat on a bed with them." 

You can read the account using this link. 

In the account which you can read here,  we have two named witnesses (Tom Cliffe and Barry Buckley) who claim to have seen over five days what the article calls an apparition. The account below from 1959 describes thousands in Warsaw, Poland flocking to a church where it was reported that a luminous apparition was seen atop the church.  The observation report stretches over a few days, with some claiming to have seen something compelling, but others unimpressed. 

We read here that six females reported seeing a golden-haired female figure floating above a meadow in communist Yugoslavia.  The report enraged communist officials, who began persecuting those associated with the report. We read that "at least five people had been jailed in connection with the apparition." Somewhat similar responses often occur these days in the US and Europe, where those reporting the paranormal may be subjected to various types of abuse such as gaslighting and psychiatric mudslinging.  

The news story here is entitled "Four Cadets See 'Ghost.' " We read, "Four cadets at the U.S. Military Academy, in reports independent of each other, say that they have an apparition in a room in one of the

cadet barracks." The account below tells of "50 to 100" seeing an apparition of the famous historical figure Joan of Arc. 

The accounts given above are only a few of many cases in which more than one witness reported seeing the same apparition. For many other cases different from the ones above, see my posts below:

When Multiple Witnesses See the Same Apparition

When Two or More See the Same Apparition

When an Apparition Is Seen by Multiple Observers: 17 Cases

When an Apparition Is Seen by Multiple Observers: 17 More Cases

More Apparitions Seen by Multiple Observers
Many an Apparition Is Seen by More Than One
Still More Apparitions Seen by Multiple Observers

When an Apparition Is Seen by Not Just One

More Apparitions Seen by Multiple Witnesses

Below is a diagram serving to remind you of the philosophical relevance of apparition sightings.  Apparition sightings are part of a body of interrelated evidence indicating that we are souls rather than mere outputs of brains.  The items in this diagram are discussed here. 

If the topic of this post interested you, check out my free 292-page book "Eeriest Events," now available on www.archive.org using the link here. The book discusses phenomena such as near-death experiences, out-of-body experiences, apparition sightings, deathbed visions and precognitive visions.  Using the native www.archive.org file viewer in single-page mode,  you can conveniently read the whole book by finger swiping. Scholars who are interested in following the links may prefer to download the book as a PDF file, which will allow opening links by right-clicking on a link. 

Rating the Reliability of Reports of Unexpected Paranormal Phenomena

 It is very common for humans to report seeing or hearing something that seems to be paranormal. But reports of such observations vary in quality. How can you can judge the quality of a report? Below is an informal system in which an observation report is assigned a number of stars that can vary between 0 and 6. A six-star observation report is one that has the most weight as evidence. 

Add 1 star if we have first-hand testimony or testimony exactly quoting what a witness saw

People can make mistakes when reporting what someone else saw. They may misinterpret or poorly remember what someone said.  It's much better to have a first-person account spoken or written by the person who claimed to have seen something.  One of the lowest quality reports of the paranormal we can imagine is someone saying something like, "Long ago my friend said that she saw something she thought was a ghost," without giving an exact quotation.  Similarly, a newspaper report saying "Mrs. Wilson says she saw a UFO" is offering a bit of evidence inferior to an exact quotation from Mrs. Wilson about what she saw. 

Add 1 star if we have a named and reliable witness 

You often read online and in books or magazines reports of unnamed single witnesses claiming to see amazing things. Such reports tend to have less value as evidence than reports coming from named witnesses.  The reason is partially that an unnamed witness may feel that he is free to lie without any consequences.  So, for example, if I read a stunning UFO story told by someone with an anonymous user name such as metssuperfan, it has relatively little weight as evidence. It also has lesser weight as evidence when a writer tells us that Mr. B. saw such and such a thing, without listing a full name. It also has little weight when a named witness with a record of lying reports seeing something. But it has much more weight if a named and reliable witness reports seeing something. 

Add 1 star if a written dated eyewitness report was made very soon after the observation occurred, with the report being quoted, or the account being such a report

The longer a gap has passed between an observation and someone's recollection of the observation, the greater the chance that the recollection may be inaccurate.  So your mother's story about a ghost she says she saw twenty years ago does not have nearly as much evidence weight as your mother's written account of what she saw on that night, written on the same night as the observation. Credibility is increased when we have someone's report of what that person saw  when an observation was fresh in his memory. 

Add 1 star if the observation report was published very soon after the observation occurred

Dated written reports are a good thing to have, but it is even better if such reports are published soon after the claimed observation. Such a thing helps to prove that the claim of an observation was made very soon after the claimed observation date. If someone has a written dated page saying that he saw the ghost of his mother, with the date being two days after his mother's death, that suggests (but does not prove) that such a claim of seeing a ghost occurred at the reported date. There is no proof because the person could have written the report at a much later time, and put an earlier date on the report. But if the report is published soon after the claimed observation, then we have proof that the observation claim did occur by a particular date. The publication of a report also lends credibility by putting the witness "on public record" of having seen a particular thing. 

Add 1 star if the observation report was made by multiple witnesses who agree with each other

It is rather obvious that the more witnesses we have of something occurring, the more credible is the observation report. 

Add 1 star if the observation report is backed up by physical evidence such as a photo or video

The fact that people are sentenced to prison very frequently based solely on eyewitness testimony shows that physical evidence is not a necessity for a credible observational report.  But when physical evidence such as a photo or video exists, it provides additional strength to the credibility of an observational report. 

Let's give some examples of using this system:

Example #1: Reddit user georgiaguy23 says he remembers his mother Ida long ago saying that she saw a UFO. Rating: 0 stars. 

Example #1: Joe Smithson says he remembers his mother Ida long ago saying that she saw a UFO. Rating: 1 star, but only if Ida is a trustworthy person.  If Ida is a shady character, the rating is 0 stars. 

Example #2: Joe Smithson quotes a letter written by his mother Ida on June 8, 2023, saying she saw a ghost about twenty years ago. 1978.  Rating: 2 stars, if Ida is a trustworthy person.  

Example #3: Joe Smithson quotes a letter written by his mother Ida on June 9, 1993, saying she saw a ghost on June 8, 1993.  Rating: 3 stars, if Ida is a trustworthy person.  The short gap of only one day between the report and the claimed observation event merits an additional star in the rating. 

Example #4: David Honderstram publishes a report on June 12, 2024 saying that he saw a ghost ten years ago. Rating: 3 stars, if David is a trustworthy witness. 

Example #5: David Honderstram publishes a report on June 12, 2024 saying that he saw a ghost the previous day (June 11, 2024). Rating: 4 stars, if David is a trustworthy witness.   

Example #6: David Honderstram publishes a report on June 12, 2024 saying that he saw a ghost the previous day (June 11, 2024), and quotes his brother as saying that he also saw the ghost. Rating: 5 stars, if David is a trustworthy witness.

Example #7: David Honderstram publishes a report on June 12, 2024 saying that he saw a ghost the previous day (June 11, 2024), and quotes his brother as saying that he also saw the ghost. David also has a photo showing what he says is the ghost he saw. Rating: 6 stars, if David is a trustworthy witness, and the photo holds up to scrutiny.

Some reports of the paranormal do not qualify as 5-star reports using the system above. An example is the very interesting tale of hypnotic clairvoyance told on page 248 of The Psychology of the Future by Emile Boirac. Boirac quotes a report of a subject who reportedly displayed the most astounding clairvoyance, describing what was going on as a man met with two others very far away. In the account the very specific details given are soon verified as correct. But there are some reasons why the account fails to qualify as five-star evidence using the system above. First, Boirac does not give us the full name of the person who gave the account, merely saying it was provided by Jean B.  Secondly, Boirac's book dates from 1918, but the account is of events that supposedly occurred in 1892, with the account not published before Boirac's 1918 book. So sadly the report only earns one of the five stars mentioned above. 

But very many reports of the paranormal qualify as 5-star reports following the system above. In the 1870's very many people holding seances were very good at publishing very detailed reports of the observations, with the reports very often published very soon after the observation event. Examples of such reports are quoted in my posts here and here. In those posts are actually some examples of reports of the paranormal which should be rated 5 or 6 stars using the rating system above. The observations claiming materializations of Katie King during the seances of Florence Cook were reported in  many different extremely detailed eyewitness accounts by very many reliable witnesses, typically giving their full names and often giving their addresses, over years of observation, with the reports very often being published soon after the day of observation, and with photographs being published as corroboration. The reports appeared in the Spiritualist newspaper during 1872 and 1874. Examples of such reports are quoted in my posts here, here and here.

Here is an example of a report that must be rated highly. Using the system above, we can rate is as 4 stars or 5 stars. The report appeared in the December 10, 1938 edition of the Psychic Observer publication here. We have three witnesses testifying on November 21, 1938 to phenomena they say occurred quite recently, on October 12, 1938.  The one-month gap might be a justification for granting only 4 stars rather than 5. 

See page 5 of the document here for more testimony in favor of such wonders. 

If you ever see something that you think may have been paranormal, you should make a dated record of your observation as soon as possible, noting as many details as you can. Even if you doubt you will ever publish your account, you should either:

(1) Write a detailed report on a piece of paper or electronic document, as soon as possible, and record the date and time.

(2) If the account was particularly noteworthy, such as an account of seeing an apparition or a UFO, you ideally should use your smartphone or camera to make a video of you describing what happened, and make sure to mention the date. 

Such a record will be very valuable in establishing the credibility of your observation, should anyone later challenge the credibility of the observation, or should you ever want to help establish the credibility of what you saw, or publish an account.  The advice above also applies to anyone witnessing a crime or witnessing something that might be the center of a lawsuit. 

Let us now look at a case of a report of the paranormal which should be rated as a 5-star report according to the system above. It is a report by seven named witnesses of seeing on Monday, March 23, 1901 an apparition of the deceased Julia Murray while near a coffin which contained Julia's dead body. The report was published in a newspaper on Friday, March 27, 1901. The image below shows part of the newspaper report:

You can read the full newspaper account here:

https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030193/1901-03-27/ed-1/seq-3/

We have seven named witnesses who all say they saw an apparition of the late Julia Murray on Monday, March 23, 1901. We even have the addresses of the witnesses. The accounts include these:

• Giving firsthand testimony, Mrs. Mary Corbalis states she a vision of Julia Murray came from behind a picture on the wall, becoming an apparition surrounded by "white, filmy clouds." She says the room lit up dramatically, and that Julia wore a wreath of roses.  
• Giving firsthand testimony and using an old word for ghost ("shade"), Rose Kearns tells of seeing the same thing, saying, "The shade of Julia Murray appeared there. I saw it." Rose says the apparition "appeared to have something on the head," saying that some said it was a wreath.  (The article has apparently used a section header misstating Kearns' first name as Kate.) 
• Giving firsthand testimony, Rose McGowan says, "I looked and saw Julia in white and a wreath of roses at her head, the most beautiful thing I ever saw." She says Julia bowed her head slowly, and put her hands together in prayer. 
• Giving firsthand testimony, and using the old word "shade" meaning a ghost or apparition, Mary Regan says, "I saw the shade of the young girl who was dead," saying "her features were plainly distinguishable."
• Giving firsthand testimony in a separate newspaper account dated one day later (March 28, 1901), Katie Kane states she saw a brilliant light on the wall, and saw Julia with a wreath of flowers around her head, and also clouds around her head. 

The same apparition sighting is described in the news report here and here. 

Let's look at another case of a report of an apparition, one that appears on page 80 of Volume II of the nineteenth century book "Bristol Past and Present." We read this:

"Of the rise of the church of Dr. Blomberg, who about this time held a prebendal stall in this cathedral, a curious story is related. When the English forces were in possession of Martinique, in the seven years’ war, his father, Major Blomberg, was detached from head-quarters to a distant part of the island, and while there died of a violent fever. The morning after his decease a Col. Stewart was surprised while in bed at head-quarters by the appearance of Major Blomberg in regimental dregs, who, in answer to an alarmed inquiry why he was not with his detachment at his post, assured his interrogator that he was no longer alive. ‘I died yesterday,’ said he, ‘at seven in the morning’; and then delivered an earnest request that his friend, on his return to England, would attend to the welfare of his young son, then in the island, by seeing him put into possession of an estate to which he was entitled, the deeds of which were secreted in the private drawer of an old chest, in a house that he named in Yorkshire. He then disappeared, leaving Col. Stewart in the greatest astonishment, but that gentleman directly called to Captain Mounsey, who slept in the same room, and inquired if he had seen Major Blomberg, to which that officer replied that he had not only seen him but had heard everything he had said, which he repeated to Colonel Stewart, and they both made notes of the event. Soon after advice arrived of the death of Major Blomberg upon the same morning and at the same hour as had been mentioned by Colonel Stewart to his brother officers, who had hitherto treated the matter with derision. In company with his guardian, Colonel Stewart, the boy, at the conclusion of the war, returned to England, and the story having reached the ear of Queen Charlotte, she appointed him one of her pages. The papers were found as indicated, and, after law suit against the undue possessor of the estate in question, young Blomberg was finally put in possession. He afterwards entered the church, became chaplain to the Prince of Wales, married and settled at Burrington, in Somersetshire, and was appointed a prebendary in Bristol Cathedral. The story is stated to be on the authority of Dr. Blomberg’s own handwriting."

Now at first, this sounds like a very convincing piece of evidence. We hear of an apparition sighting, one that is seen by two witnesses. The apparition's claim to be a person who just died is proven correct. You might think an account like this should be scored highly, but using the system here, it merits no more than about three stars.  The problem is that we have no first-hand testimony, and we don't know how long the gap is between the reported events and the date of the account given above.  The story supposedly comes from a respectable Colonel Stewart, but we have no first hand testimony from him or anyone else. Even if we make generous assumptions that the report of multiple witnesses is correct, and that the witnesses wrote down what they saw soon after seeing it, and that the physical evidence corroborating the apparition's words was actually found, the report above can be given a rating of no higher than about three stars.  The Colonel Stewart account cannot be given the five stars that the Julia Murray account merits. 

We have below an interesting account that might well be true, given all of the other evidence that has been gathered for telepathy and clairvoyance. But under the system discussed above, the account can only be given about two stars. We at least have a named witness, and a quote from the witness. But the testimony is vague, with no testimony of exactly what was seen or experienced. And there is no corroboration in the form of testimony from the traveling soul-mate. What exactly does the witness mean when claiming "my mental self has traveled with Captain Leslie"? We don't know. Accounts of the paranormal lacking details cannot be rated very highly. Conversely, in the Julia Murray account cited above, the level of detail is excellent. 

When Newspaper Accounts Said an Apparition, Levitation or Teleportation Was Seen by More Than One

 Let us look at some old newspaper accounts describing an apparition seen by multiple witnesses. The first dates from 1910. We hear of two seeing the ghost of a miner who died, with them reporting that the ghost vanished into a wall:

You can read the account here:

https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn88085947/1910-03-27/ed-1/seq-12/

The newspaper account below tells one of the most startling ghost accounts you will ever hear. We read of a justice of the peace (one often marrying couples) who reports encountering a pair of spirits who requested to be married, with the justice's wife seeing the same pair. 

You can read the full account by using the link below:

https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn99021999/1887-12-30/ed-1/seq-6/

The 1860 account below is one of very many accounts describing great paranormal wonders occurring in the presence of the medium Daniel Dunglas Home, who was investigated at length by the leading physicist Sir William Crookes, who asserted in print that several dramatic types of paranormal occurrences really did occur around Home (as discussed here).  We have an account of multiple witnesses seeing an apparition of a hand, one that reportedly picked up a pen and signed the name "Napoleon." The emperor mentioned was Napoleon III. 

The world-class physicist William Crookes stated in writing that he had seen levitations of the medium Daniel Dunglas Home. The newspaper account below summarizes part of a paper Crookes published with a title of "Human Levitation."

You can read the full article below, which cites many additional reports of human levitation:

https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=SCR18600714.2.3&srpos=355&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN--------

The article above is summarizing the paper "Human Levitation" by William Crookes, which can be read here:

https://archive.org/details/per_the-quarterly-journal-of-science_the-quarterly-journal-of-science_1875-01_5/page/31/mode/1up

On the page here of the 1875 paper, Crookes speaks of recent reports of levitations and teleportation:

"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."

On one page of the paper, Crookes this list of forty saints who were supposedly levitated:

The references are to volumes and pages of the Acta Sanctorum series of volumes, which can be found on www.archive.org.  Referring to the people in the list above, we read this in the article by Crookes:

"Many were levitated only in these unconscious states; others, as Joseph of Cupertino (the greatest aerobat in all history), both in the trance and ordinary state, and (like Mr. Home) most frequently in the latter; while a very few, as Theresa, seem to have been always conscious when in the air. Several were, in certain states, fire 

handlers, like Mr. Home. The Princess Margaret was so  from the age of ten. ..The great majority of them, though often seen suspended, were at heights from the ground described only as ‘a palm’ half a cubit, a cubit, and thence up to five or six cubits, of,  in a few cases, ells. But the Princess Agnes and the Abbess Coleta were, like Elijah, carried out of sight, or into the clouds ; and Peter of Alcantara and Joseph of Cupertino others were watched off the ground often exceeded an hour; and the Archbishop of Valencia (1555) was suspended in trance twelve hours, so that not only all the inmates of his palace, and clergy, but 'innumerable' lay citizens, went to see the marvel."

On another page, referring to accounts of teleportation by saints, Crookes states this:  "Of invisible transfers to a distance, the only subjects seem to have been Columba of Rieti, said to have been carried from her mother’s house in that town to the nunnery that afterwards received her, at Spoleto, twenty miles distant; and the river transits of Peter of Alcantara." 

Crookes refers in his article above to claims in his own time that Mrs. Elizabeth Guppy was teleported. The original source of such claims is the June 15, 1871 edition of The Spiritualist, a weekly newspaper. On 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.

Crookes also refers in his paper to a report of a teleportation of a Mr. Henderson.  The account first appeared in the December 5, 1873 edition of the publication Medium and Daybreak, which you can read using the link below:

http://iapsop.com/archive/materials/medium_and_daybreak/medium_and_daybreak_v4_n192_dec_5_1873.pdf

Below is an image from the front page of that publication.

We read this:

"To the Editor of the Daily Telegraph. Nov. 14th, 1873,—

The object of this communication in to place on record an event of most remarkable character which occurred on the 2nd inst., when a gentleman-making one of our party at a seance - was transferred, instantaneously as he alleges, from within a sitting-room duly locked and with windows closed and shutters bolted, to a distance of one mile and a half under the circumstances herein detailed and testified to by the writers of this letter...."

The preserved version of the next page of the edition (page 562) is rather hard to read in some spots, but we get the main details about the seance, when it was held, its location (Mr. Guppy's house) and who were the witnesses:

The persons at the dark seance expressed various wishes, and Mrs. Guppy expressed the wish that someone might be carried out of the room. The table was reported to have made dramatic movements. After several minutes, it was found that the Mr. Blank (a pseudonym for a person who did not wish to give his name) had mysteriously vanished from the ring of attendees holding the hands of each other in the dark seance room.  Reportedly a message was given that Mr. Blank had been carried away and would not be seen that evening. Apparently the physical arrangement of the room meant that no one could have left without an opening of a door which would have caused light to pour into the dark room, light that no one observed. 

The vanished Mr. Blank gave a report that he found himself in a disoriented state, far away from the seance he had been in at Mr. Guppy's house. He reported that he found himself at the presence of Mr. and Mrs. Stokes, giving their address of 29 Kingsdown Road, and that he was "wholly unconscious of how he had got into their premises." He stated that he had no memory of how he had got from the seance room at Mr. Guppy's house to the location of  29 Kingsdown Road, about two miles away. Hearing this strange account from Mr. Blank, some of the members of the seance at Mr. Guppy's house went and interviewed Mr. and Mrs. Stokes, getting an account that was consistent with Mr. Blank's account. 

The Mr. Blank of the account (a pseudonym of someone who did not wish to give his name) was apparently the Mr. Henderson referred to in the paper by Crookes. 

The account has on page 562 with nine named witnesses agreeing to the testimony supplied. On the next page we have these named witnesses agreeing to the supplied account:

As evidence of a teleportation, the account here is weaker than the account of the teleportation of Mrs. Guppy, largely because of the refusal of the supposedly teleported person to give his real name. Accounts which hinge on the testimony of anonymous witnesses must be ranked as second-class evidence rather than first-class evidence. But the account of teleportation of Mrs. Guppy (to the ire of materialists) has the hallmarks of first-class observational evidence.  

Press accounts of apparitions seen by more than one