Hours with the Ghosts or, Nineteenth Century Witchcraft

e, the Napoleon of necromancy, and the Past Grand Master of Mediums. His career reads like a romance.

unsubstanti

his The

meditati

, as in

antasmal

houghts

in a wor

nd of d

ilthy lucre," as Maskelyn remarks, "but never refusing a diamond worth ten times the amount he would have received in ca

as a natural son of Alexander, tenth Earl of Home. Strange phenomena occurred during the medium's childhood. At the age of nine he was adopted by his aunt, Mrs. McNeill Cook, who brought hi

burn hair. His manners, though forward, were agreeable, and he recited such poetry as Poe's "Raven" and "Ulalume" with powerful effect. He was altogether a weird sort of personage.

d so profound a sensation in the Old World. He wrote his reminiscences in two large volumes, but

ed the following effusion on the medium

haumaturgic the

n a worker of w

lf might descend

Daniel as Gra

ome, Da

ium li

it hands, he give

efying, he fl

ch henceforth his f

raise, not himse

ome, Da

ium li

ject of his celebrated satirical

Bulwer-Lytton. There is good authority for believing that Home was the mysterious Margrave of Bulwer's weird novel, "A Strange Story." Bulwer was an ardent believer in the supernatural and Home spent many days at Knebworth amid a select

oom. This in Spiritualistic parlance is termed "levitation". At Knebworth and other places, some of the most prominent people of th

n in his presence. The Earl declared that he had many times seen Home elongate and sh

ME AT THE

asion, while the Countess C- was seated at one of Erard's grand-action pianos, it rose and balanced itself in the air, during the whole time she was playing." An English lady, resident at Florence, in a supposed haunted house, procured the services of Home to exorcise the ghost. They

ate chapel attached to the house of the lady's brother-in-law, the Count Gregoire Koucheleff-Besborodko. It was a very notable affair, and Alexander Dumas came from Paris to attend the ceremony. Home's spirit power which had left him since his conversion to the Roman Catholic faith now returned in full force, it is said, and he saw standing near him at the wedding the spirit form of his mother. In 1862 his wife died at the Chateau Laroche, near Perigneux, France, and the medium repaired to Rome for th

ive of a suit of clothes hung upon an iron cross. His hair is long and yellow; his teeth are large, glittering and sharp; his eyes are a pale grey, with a redness about the eye-lids, which comes and goes in a ghastly manner, as he talks. When he shows his glittering sharp

ned the idea to become the secretary of the "Spiritual Atheneu

of medium she consulted him constantly about the welfare of her husband in the spirit world, and her business affairs. She gave him ￡33,000 for his services. Relatives and friends of Mrs. Lyons, however, sa

rmy from Sedan to Versailles, and was hand-in-glove with the King of Prussia. His second marriage took place in October, 1871, at Paris,

l, near Paris, France. For years he was out of health, and he ascribed his weakness to

not more than twenty persons being present, all of whom were in full evening dress. The idea was to emphasize t

bly those of Prof. Crookes, contained in the proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research. In the March

n his left hand, proceeded to explain that caloric had been extracted by a process known to them (the spirits), and that the heat could in part be returned. This he proved by alternately cooling and heating the coal; and to convince us of the fact, allowed us to handle the coal which had become cool, then suddenly re

is own home in January, 1870, Mr. Home took a red hot coal from the grate and put it in the hands of a lady and gentleman to whom it felt only warm. Subsequently he placed the same on a folded newspaper, the r

s I and King Maximilian of Bavaria, the Emperor of Russia, the King and Queen of Wurtemberg, the Duchess of Hamilton, the Crown Prince of Pr

white facings. "My fate?" asked Louis, trembling with awe. "Like mine-discrowned, and death in exile," replied the ghost; then it vanished. The Empress swooned and Napoleon III fell back in

iting of one of Home's séances at

ted hands. Failing in the former, he declared that the spirits were not strong enough f

r of luminous hands were thrown up. The audience was satisfied generally. One lady, however, was not, and whispered to

hen he left the room for the staircase. That bottle the host quietly slipped into his pocket. Upon

e other, lift a piano several feet in the air by simply placing a finger upon it, and had seen him mat

le giving séances in Paris in 1857 refused t

as a prestidigitateur conceals a coin, a pack of cards, an egg, or a small lemon. The medium or magician advances to the grate and pretends to take a genuine lump of coal from the fire but brings up instead, at the tips of his fingers, the piece of platinum. In a secret breast pocket of his coat he has a small reservoir of hydrogen, with a tube coming down the sleeve and terminat

y wearing gloves of amianthus or asbestos cloth. With the latter, worn in a badly lighted room, the medium, without much risk of discovery, can handle red hot coals or iron with impunity. The gloves may at the proper moment

paper "On Fallacies Respecting the Supernatural" (Contemporary Review, Jan., 1876) says: "A whole party of believers affirm that they saw Mr. Home float out of one window and in at another, while a single honest skeptic declares that Mr. Home was sitting in

ntion and the nervous tension of the average sitter in spirit-circles tend to produce a morbidly impressible condition of mind. Many mediums since Home's day have performed the act of levitation, but always in a dark room. Mr. Ang

mes apparent to the olfactory senses of many present. People jump quickly to conclusions in such matters and argue that where the feet of the medium are, his body must surely be-namely, floating in the air. The illusion is further enhanced by the performer's ve

about him a telescopic steel rod, something like those Chinese fishing rods at one time in vogue among modern disciples of Izaak Walton. This convenient rod when not in use folds up in a very small compass, but when it is shoved out to its full length, some three or four feet, with a bit of black chalk attached, the writing on the ceiling is easily produce

's "materialization." A small dummy hand, artistically executed in wax, with the fingers slightly bent, is fastened to a broad elastic band about three feet in length. This band is attached to a belt about the performer's waist and passes down his left trouser leg, allowing the hand to dangle within the trouser a few inches above

oe of his boot by means of the elastic sleeve, the apparatus being masked from the sitters by the table cloth until the time comes for the spirit materialization. The three men place their hands on the table and wait patiently for developments. Presently a rap is heard under the table-disjointed knee of the medium,-and then mirabile dictu! the table-cloth shakes and a delicate female hand emerges and shows itself above the edge of the table. A guitar being pla

vestigator, "to place your feet on mine. If I should move my feet ever so little, you would know it, would you not?" The sitter replies in the affirmative. The medium, as soon as he feels the pressure of the sitter's feet, wit

rite experiments. There are all sorts of ways of prod

leg. When not in use it is on the under side of the leg. On the table a musical box is placed and covered with a soup tureen, or the top of a chafing dish. When the spectators are seated, the medium works the concealed musical box around to the upper part of his leg near the knee cap, and

ul electric battery for producing certain illusions, mechanical contrivances attached to his legs for making spirit raps, and last but not least, as the

e spirits of the departed from tombstones like an Old Mortality, and bribing

order to prove or disprove by means of scientific apparatus the reality of phenomena connected with variations in the weight of bodies, with or without contact. He declared the tests to be entirely satisfactory, but ascribed the phenomena not to spiritual agency, but to a new force, "in some unknown manner connected with the human organization," which for convenience he called the "Psychic Force." He said in his "Researches in the Phenomena of Spiritualism:" "Of all the persons endowed with a powerful development of this Psychic Force, and who have been termed 'mediums' upon quite another theory

ROOKES' A

and 1 inch thick. A strip of mahogany was screwed on at one end, to form a foot, the length being equal to the width of the board. This end of t

myself sat, one on each side of it, watching for any effect which might be produced. Almost immediately the pointer of the balance was seen to descend. After a few seconds it rose ag

ery slow oscillation of the spring balance became more marked, and Dr. A. B., watching the index, said that he saw it descend to 6? lbs. The normal weight of the board as so suspended being 3 lbs., the additional downward pull

d. Dr. A. B., who was observing the index of the balance, said that the whole weight of my body (140 lbs.) so applied only sunk the index 1? lbs., or 2 lbs. when I jerked up and down. Mr. Home had been sitting in a

of experiments i

e suspended body whose weight was to be altered was essential to the exhibition of the force; but I found afte

detail. The reference letters are the same in each illustration. A B is a mahogany board, 36 inches long by 9? inches wide, and 1 inch thick. It is

ROOKES' A

CROOKES'

clock-work horizontally in front of the moving index, and it contains a sheet of plate-glass which has been smoked over a flame. The projecting steel point impresses a mark on this smoked surface. If the balance is at rest, and the clock set going, the result is a perfectly straight horizontal line. If the clock is stopped and weights are placed

an increase; registrations of such a diminution were frequently obtained. To avoid complication

CROOKES'

dge (see Fig. 11). This fulcrum rests on a firm and heavy wooden stand, G H. On the board, exactly over the fulcrum, is placed a large glass vessel filled with wa

s from the bottom of I, and 2 inches from its circumference. Shaking or striking the arm, M, or the vessel, N, produces no appreciable mechanical effect on the bo

irely cut off between the copper vessel and the board, A B, t

instance in each to describe in detail. Nothing, however, is mentioned which has not been repeated more t

where the experiments were conducted (my o

he said he felt a power, force, or influence, proceeding from his hand, I set the clock going, and almost immediately the end, B, of the board was seen to descend slowly and remain down for about 10 seconds; it then descended a little further, and afterwards rose to its normal height. It then descended a

OF S

NSION IN CROOKES' APPARATUS

vessel and iron stand, etc., were therefore removed, as an unnecessary complication, and Mr. Home's hands were placed on the stand of the apparatus at P (Fig. 9). A gentleman present put his hand on Mr. Home's hands, and his foot on both M

SAME AS

NSION IN CROOKES' APPARATUS

side of it. His hands and feet were firmly grasped by a by-stander, and anot

SAME AS

ENSION IN CROOKES' APPARAT

ow placed 3 feet from the apparatus, his hands and feet being tightly held. The clock was set going when he gave

SAME AS

ENSION IN CROOKES' APPARAT

n, a lady, Mr. Home being absent. As the lady is non-professional, I do not mention her name. She ha

COND CROOKE

rection H G by clockwork, K. The end, B, of the lever is weighted so that it shall quickly follow the movements of the centre of the disc, A. These movements are transmitted and recorded on the glass plate, E F, by means of the lever and needle point, C. Holes are cut in the side of the hoop to allow a free passage of air to the under side

ION OF APPARA

part. Presently percussive noises were heard on the parchment, resembling the dropping of grains of sand on its surface. At each percussion a fragment of graphite which I had placed on the membrane was seen to be projected upwards about 1-50th of an inch, and the end, C, of the lever moved

were not so near the membrane

OF S

IN CROOKES' APPARATUS (FIG. 15

es tracings taken from the pl

. Home's absence, I was anxious to see what action

o try, but without explain

was held by a friend. After remaining in this position for about half a minute, Mr. Home said he felt some influence passing. I then set the clock going, and we all saw

urves produced on the glass

19 and 20 a

man organization, by which force increased weight is capable of being imparted to solid bodies without physical contact. In the case of Mr. Home, the development of this force varies en

SAME AS

N IN CROOKES' APPARATUS (FIG. 1

. Home (not unfrequently as far as two or thre

SAME AS

N IN CROOKES' APPARATUS (FIG. 1

the corresponding expenditure of some other form of force, I for a long time searched in

ploying words which convey very different significations to many investigators; but after witnessing the painful state of nervous and bodily prostration in which some of these experiments have left Mr. Hom

stablish the important fact, that there is a force proceeding from the nerve-system cap

ium's defender

uctuations were not seldom the source of embarrassment to him. He would often arrive at a place in obedience to an engagement, and, as h

rmed-than he gave such amazing exhibitions in the early part of his history and was able to do so little toward the end. If it had been juggling he

ond's Ex

lass, gutta percha or sealing-wax, which has been previously well dried and rubbed, the former with a piece of silk, and the two latter with woolen cloth. Now, in dry weather, many persons within my knowledge, have only to walk with a shuffling gait over the carpet, and then approaching the lath hold out the finger instead of the glass, sealing wax or gutta perc

. HAMMOND'S

ble, the index of the balance at once descended, showing an increased weight of a little

y finger lightly on the end of the board immediately over the foot, and again the index descended and oscillated several times, just as in Mr. Home's experiments. The lowest point reached was six and a

ll of water immediately over the fulcrum, as in Mr. Crookes' experiment, and

r. Home, could show greater, or even different electrical power, as in Prof. Crookes' experiments. It is well known that all persons are not alike in their ability to

s experiments are to be thus explained than to attribute the result