Hours with the Ghosts or, Nineteenth Century Witchcraft

slate-writing. After an investigation extending over ten years, I am of the opinion that the majori

and either holds them in his hands, or lays them on the table. Soon the scratching of the pencil is heard, and when the cords are removed a

h whom I had several sittings. I was unable to penetrate the mystery of his performance, until the

DR. HENR

he medium Slad

him. Come to my rooms to-night, and I will explain the secret workings of

rying across the face of the moon like so many mediaeval witches mounted on the proverbial broomsticks en route for a mad sabbat in some lonely churchyard. The prestidigitateur's pension was a great, lumbering, gloomy old house, in an old quarter of Baltimore. The windows were tight

patiently for the appearance of the anti-Spiritualist, after having first examined everything in the room-table, cabinet, and musical instruments-but I discovered no evidence of trickery anywhere. I waited and waited, but no C-. "Can he ha

emarked with a meaning smile, as he sligh

lied. "How d

," was the answer. "Let us try first

eaf, the fingers of his right hand holding the slate, his thumb grasping the leaf. C- then requested me to hold the other end of the slate in a similar fashion, and took my right hand in his left. Heavy raps were heard on the table-top, and I felt the f

sped the conjur

and again pressed it against the table as before. In a little while he brought the slate up and the

re exchanged between them, and the conjurer returned to the table, excusing the interruption by remarking, "Some one to see me, that is all, but don't hurry, for I have another test to sho

irst test when the spirit message was written, because the magician had his fingers on the slate.

HOLDING OF

resounded on the table, and after a few minutes' silence, the m

e slate," sai

ng message to me, covering the entire side

f Dr. Slade's slate

eplied, "but ho

age backwards on its under side. It becomes necessary, however, to turn the slate over before exhibiting it to the sitter, so that the writing may appear to have been written on its upper surface-the side that has been pressed to the table. To accomplish this the medium pretends to go into a sort of neuroti

left to right, in the ordinary method, it would, of course, reverse the message when the slate is examined, and give a decided clue to the mys

pad drop into his lap. Now comes a crucial point in the imposture: the writing heard beneath the slate, supposed to be the work of a disembodied spirit. The medium under cover of his handkerchief removes from his pocket an instrument known as a "pencil-clamp." This clamp consists of a small block of wood with two sharp steel points protruding from the upper edge and a piece of slate pencil fixed in the lower. The medium presses the steel points into the under surface of the table with sufficient force to attach the block securely to the table, and then rubs a pencil, previously attached to his right knee by silk sutures, against the side of the pencil fastened to th

Sealed letters? Yes; it is an easy matter to steam a gummed envelope, open it, and seal it again. Another method is to wet the sealed envelope with a sponge dipped in

he table was the juggler's right foot. He wore slippers and had the toe part of one stocking cut away. By dropping the slipper from his foot he was enabled to pull the edge of my coat, lift and shove a chair away, and

writing paper. When the box was set to going by means of an electric current, it closely imitated the twanging of a guitar, just as a sheet of music when laid on the strings of a piano simulates a banjo. This spirit g

aggerated the reports of the medium's performances have been, and the reasons for such misstatements. No one who

point of the trick. The really important part of the test, then, is hidden from the audience, who imagine they have seen all when they have not. Says Dr. Max Dessoir: "It m

a number of persons, but did not inform them that the results were due to prestidigitation. No entrance fee was charged for the séances, but the sitters, who were fully impressed with the genuineness of the affair, were requested t

xamined the slate when as a fact he never has. Second, he confuses two similar ideas; he thinks he has carefully examined the slate, when in reality he has only done so hastily, or in ignorance of the point at issue. Third, the witness changes the order of events a little in consequence of a very na

gs were had with Dr. Slade, and the magician outdid the medium. The Seybert Commission found none of Slade's tests genuine, and

e days at the Bow Street Police Court. Mr. Maskelyne, the conjurer, was summoned as an expert witness and performed a number of the medium's tricks in the witness box. The court sentenced Slade to three months' hard labor, but he took an appeal from the magistrate's decision. The appeal was sustained on the ground of a technical flaw in the indictment, and the medium fled to the Continent before new summons could b

8, attracted wide attention, and did more to advertise

ndental Physics," being an inquiry into the "fourth dimension of space." Poor old Zoellner, he was half insane when the

friends, had a sitting with Slade, but without satisfactory results for the medium. "Slade," says Wilmann, "was unable to distract my attention from the crucial point of the trick, and threw down the slates on the table in disgust, remarking: 'I can not obtain any results to-day, the power th

oot. After Slade's departure from Hamburg, spirit mediums sprang up like toadstools in a single night. Wilmann in his crusade against these worthies had many interesting experiences. He gives in his work "Moderne Wunder" several exposes of mediumistic tricks, two of which, in the sealed slate line, are very ingenious. The medium takes a slate (one furnished by the sitter if preferred), wipes it on both sides with a wet sponge, and then wraps it up carefully in a piece of ordinary white wrapping paper, allowing the package to be sealed and corded ad libitum. Notwithstanding all the precautions used, a m

n the other is pasted a piece of newspaper. This pad is laid, written side down, on a sheet of newspaper. After the genuine slate has been washed, the medium proce

illates between Boston, New York, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, and has a very large and fashionable clientele. He gives even

to gain his confidence, I went as one witnessing a slate séance for the

ure except a table and two chairs placed near the window. Over the table was a faded cloth, hanging some eight or ten inches below the table. Upon it were several pad

sat down, whereupon he seated himself opposite me, rem

ot," was

hese two slates, wash them clean with this damp cloth, and dry them." With that he pa

the slates to one side,

iends, relatives, or others, who have passed into

not," I

re is a pad on the table. Please write but a single question on eac

lip of paper, folded it, and tossed it among those I had prepared, passing his hand over them and fingerin

uck. Be sure and address them to people who were old enough to write before they passed into spirit life." This surprised me, but I complied with his wishes. While writing I glanced furtively at him from time to time; his hands

SLATE W

some of the questions. Let us hold the slates." He grasped them with fingers and thumbs at one end, and I at the other in like manner, holding the slates about two inches above the table. We listened attentively, and soon was heard the scratching noise

pon the clean slate remaining on the table, and requested me to tie the two rapidly together with my handkerchief before the influence was lost. At a signal from him I unfastened the slates and found another set of answers. The same proceeding was gone through for the third set. The imitation of a pencil writing upon a slate was either made by the apparatus, described in the séance with C- in the first part of this chapter, or by some other contrivance; more than likely by simply scratching with his finger on the under surface of the slate. While my attention was absorbed in the act of writing my second set o

Slate.

STI

Mam

name of your

Harry R

SW

in the assurance that you are helping me, and that I am doing all I can to help you. Let us make the best of it all and help each other as best we can, then all will be well. My home in spirit

STI

L

ur death, and the circu

Harry R

SW

d, and not mourn me as dead! I will try to come again soon, when I

Slate.

STI

. D.

where did

Harry R

SW

do not think I have forgotten you, I constantly think of you and wish that you, too, might view these lovely scenes of glorious beauty. You must rest with the thought that when your life is ended upon the earth, I will be the first to meet you. Now be pa

SLATE W

Slate.

STI

B.

nversations we had together

) H. R.

SW

and hear you as you call upon me. I do not forget you. When I am stronger

.

ry much interested in the drama, and

STI

C.

die, and fro

) H. R.

SW

onely to you without me. I do not forget

J

stion was addressed died of consumption in a Roman Catholic Convent. She was only a society a

. K. Evans." Scrawled across the face of Slate No. 3, in red pencil, was a communication from George Christy, Mr. Keeler's spirit co

aracteristics as regards letter formation, etc. It does not require a professional expert in chirography to detect this fact. One and the same person wrote the me

the exception of the last two sentences, which were written by the medium, after he became acquainted with the tenor of the questions upon the folded slips. The very short communications are written in a careless hand, such as a man would dash off hastily. There

to be, adequate evidence of the genuineness of the communication

ontrol "Geo. Christy", who acted as a sort of amanuensis for the spirits.

tion, and requested the medium to move or rather myself removed the collection of slates against the mantel, placed so conveniently within his reach. I did not do this, because of his well known irascibility. He would probably have shown me the

SLATE W

ate-writing himself. All of these slate-tests, where pellets or slips of paper are used, are performed in a similar manner, as will be seen from the exposé published by the Society for Psychical Research. In vol. viii of

able and put it between the two slates. What she does, however, is to bring the pellet up from below the table, take another of the sitter's pellets on the table into her hand, and place the pellet which she has brought up from below the table between the slates, keeping in her hand the pellet just taken from the top of the table. The final step is to place a rubber band round both slates, in doing which she turns both slates over together. She professes to get the writing without the use of any chalk or pencil. Some of her slates are prepared beforehand with messages or drawings. More interesting, perhaps, because of its boldness, is her method of producing writing on the sitter's own slates. Under the pretence of 'magnetising' these she cleans them several times, rubs them w

ena, and skeptical like myself of the objective phases of the subject, has had many sitting

deavor to gratify it.' We had some conversations on the subject that lasted several minutes. Suddenly he picked up a slate pencil, and scrawled the name, J. S. Granger on the upper surface of one of my slates; the two slates had been previously tied together with my handkerchief and laid on the table in front of me. 'You recognize that name, do you not?' asked Keeler. 'Yes,' I replied, 'that is one of the names I wrote

rough the cloth that the watch was still beneath the handkerchief. In a short time I was directed to uncover the slates, and untie them, which I did. Upon the inner surface of one of the slates the following message was written: 'Dear Friend, Stephen is with me. I h

ive of mine was present in the room during this séance, and I showed her the communication on the slate. Afterwards we passed the slate to Keeler

d numbers on the sitter's timepiece, he succeeds in adroitly exchanging it again for the dummy, thanks to the black cloth. The writing on the slate in the above séance was evidently produced in the same way as that described in my sitting with Keeler, after he had ascert

lded the paper, and carefully sealed it in an envelope. He took ten slates with him, all of them marked with a private mark of his own. Mr. Keeler eyed the envelope dubiously, but passed no criticisms on the doctor's precautions to prevent trickery. The two men sat down at a table

n the medium possibly have deluded my senses by some hypnotic power, and adroitly o

ollowing sentence: "See some other medium; d-n it!-George Christy." Dr. Taylor is positive, as he has repeatedly told me, that this message was not inscribed on his own marked slate, but was written by the medium on one of his own. The exchange, of course, must have been effect

nd the physician had returned to him his own marked slate. When he got home that afternoon, and had time to carefully scrutinize his slates, he found t

(or a confederate) is enabled to read the names and questions, prepared by

retended mediumship. For an insight into the secrets of this phase of psychography, the reading public is indebted to a medium, the anonymous author of a remarkably interesting work, "Revelations of a Spirit Medium." Many skeptical investigators have been converted to Spiritualism by these tests. They invariab

ands a few seconds. Scores of persons will tell you that they have received writing under those conditions through

between the sills on which the floor is laid. Procure a fur floor mat with long hair. Cut a square out of the mat and tac

eet square; and over the table a heavy cover that reaches the floor on all sides. Put your assistant in the cellar with a coal-oil stove, a tea-kettle of hot water, differ

llar can not duplicate. If they are, you can touch his slates with your finger and say to him that you can not use his slates on account o

o furnish him paper to write his questions on and the screws, wax, paper and mucilage t

it. If he desires to keep hold of the slates a signal agreed upon between yourself and your assistant will cause the spirit in the cellar to open the trap door, which opens downwards, and to push through the

's slates and put them below the table, and under it, telling the sitter to put his hand under from his si

leg, and have got hold of the dummy. He then takes the sitter's slates below and closes t

y twitching and jerking and making clai

ive a snort and jump that jerks the end of the slates from the sitter's hand. He is now given the end of the slates held by your assistant, and you will allow the assistant to take the dum

re that he furnished the slates and did

ase the medium passes the slates below, and receives in return a dummy which he is continually thumping o

against a partition door and by fitting one of the small panels with hinges and bolts, would have a very convenient way of obta

steel, coat it with mucilage, and dip it into chalk or slate-pencil dust. This dust will adhere and harden into a consistent mass, after a little while, completely concealing the metal, and causing the whole to resemble a bit of chalk. Take this supposed pellet of chalk from your vest pocket and place it between the slates; hold the latter level beneath a table, and by moving the poles of a strong magnet against the surface of the under slate, you can cause the iron or steel to write a name or sentence, thanks to its coating of chalk dust. It is better to use slates with rather deep frames, in order that the chalked metal may write with facility. It requires considerable practice to write with ease in the manner described above. T