Hours with the Ghosts or, Nineteenth Century Witchcraft

ENPORT

e United States, with their father as showman or spiritual lecturer. When the Civil War broke out, the Brothers, accompanied by Dr. J. B. Ferguson, formerly an Independent minister of Nashville, Tenn., in the capacity of lecturer, and a Mr. Palmer as general agent and manager, went to England to exhibit their mediumistic powers, following the example of D. D. Home. With the company also was a Buffalo boy named Fay, of German-American parentage, who had formerly acted as ticket-taker for the mediums. He discovered the

don conjurer of Egyptian Hall, wrote of them: "About the Davenport Brothers' performances, I have to say that they were and still remain the most inexplicable ever presented to the

putation had preceded them to France and the boulevardiers talked of nothing but the wonderful American mediums and their mysterious cabinet. Before exhibiting in Paris the Davenports visited the Chateau de Gennevilli

he mental health of the public, and, one writer said, "Particularly to those weaker intellects which are always ready enough to accept as gospel the tricks and artifices of the adepts of sham

from the stage by three trestles, was used. It was a simple wooden structure with three doors. In the centre door was a lozenge-shaped window cov

ENPORT BROTHERS

ten minutes to pinion the Brothers; but a single minute was required for their release. Once more the mediums went into the cabinet, this time with the ropes lying in a coil at their feet. Two minutes elapsed. Hey, presto! the doors were opened, and the Davenports were pronounced by the committee to be securely lashed to their seats. Seals were affixed to the knots in the ropes, and the doors closed as before. Pandemonium reigned. Bells were rung, horns blown, tambourines thumped, violins played, and guitars vigorously twanged. Heavy rappings also were heard on the ceiling, sides and floor of the cabinet, then after a brief but absolute silen

of the business, but he is a gentleman, not a brute, and if one of the Brothers sees the ropes getting into a dangerous tangle, he gives a slight groan, as if he were being injured, and the instantaneous impulse of the other man is to loosen the cord a trifle. A fraction of an inch is an invaluable gain in the after-business of loosening the ropes. Sometimes the stiffening of a muscle, the raising of a shoulder, the crooking of a knee, gives all the play required by the Brothers in ridding themselves of their bonds. Their muscles and joints are wonderfully

oncealed about their persons ropes in which these trick knots were already adjusted, and with which they very speedily secured themselves, having first secreted the genuine ropes. Then the doors were opened. Seals were affixe

CK-TIE IN C

e pinioned hands of the Davenports. On being release

of snuff for flour, and when the mediums were examined, the snuff had disappeared and flour taken its place. As will be understood, in the above test the Davenports emptied the f

versity. The students having a scientific trend of mind, provided themselves before attending the performance with pyrotechnic balls containing phosphorus, so made as to ignite suddenly with a bright light. During the dark séance when the Davenports were supposed to be bound hand and foot within the closet and w

ld in their pockets. William died in October, 1877, at the Oxford Hotel, Sydney, Australia, having publicly denounced Spiri

ers (anti-spiritists) have, with the aid of mechanism, brought the business to a high degree of perfection, notably Mr. J. Nevil

haped aperture in the door of the cabinet), at a critical moment let me into the secret. I was able in a few months to reproduce every item of the Davenports' cabinet and dark séance. So close was the r

tricate himself from bondage a la Houdin, no matter how slippery and serpentine he be, would find it exceedingly difficult. It seems almost incredible, but trickery was used in the light séance, as well as the dark. Maskelyne, as quoted above, claimed to have penetrated the mystery,

mances in Northern towns, and finally landed at the Capital of the Nation, in the spring of 1895, and advertised several séances at Willard's Hall. A very small audience greeted them on their first appearance. Among the committee volunt

ugh slack cord to disengage his right hand when necessary. To slip the right hand back into place is an easy matter. After both hands are presumably tied, the medium steps into the cabinet; the ends of the rope are pushed through two holes in the chair or wooden seat, by the committee and made fast to the medium's legs. Bells ring, horns blow, and the performer's hand is thrust through the window of the cabinet. Finally a gentleman is requested to enter the cabinet with the medium. The doors are locked and a perfe

tion to the knots in the cord, etc. The trick tie, however, is so delusive, that it is impossible to penetrate the secret in the short time allowed the committee for investigation, and there is no special reason for permitting a genuine tie-up. Once in a great while, the Davenports w

of the original Davenport combination, by a curious coincidence was giving his fine conjuring exhibition in the city at the same time. His

E EV

Brothers in their balmy days. In the center of the Fay cabinet (a plain, curtained affair) is a post firmly screwed to the stage. The medium permits a committee of two from the audience to tie her to this post, and seal the bandages about her wrists with court plaster. She then tak

and, after this is accomplished, the dangling pieces of the bandages are clipped off. It is true, the medium is firmly bound by this process, and it would be physically impossible for her to release herself, without disturbing the sewing and the seals, but it is not intended for her to release herself at all; the method pursued being altogether different from the old species of rope-tying. All being secure, the committee are requeste

ich holds it to the stanchion is a half inch. The left hand of the medium gives six additional inches, and the bandage on her wrist slips readily along her slender arm nearly half way to the elbow-"all of which," says John W. Truesdell,[3] who was the first to expose Miss Fay's spirit pretensions, "gives the spirits a clear leeway of not less than 20 inches from the stanchion. The moment the curtain is closed, the medium, u

note, so as to prevent its being performed on in the regular manner. Her method of operating, though simple, is decidedly ingenious. She places a small

Then how is it done? Mr. Asprey Vere, an investigator of spirit phenomena, tells the secret in the following words: ("Modern Magic"). "In the box there is placed a balance lever which when the glass is in the slightest degree tilted, arrests the fly-fan, and thus prevents the machinery from mo

ted of painted wood or papier mache, which raps out answers to questions, after it has been iso

the medium, it is lifted up and brought in contact with the wooden hand. The hand is so constructed that the palm lies on the glass sheet and the wrist, with a fancy lace cuff about it, is elevated an inch above the glass, the whole apparatus being so pivoted that a pre

LES

short pause. "We do!" comes the response of the sitters. Slade then rises; all stand up, and the table is seen suspended in the air, about a foot from the floor of the stage. In a little while an uncontrollable desire seems to take possession of the table to rush about the stage. Frequently the medium requests several persons to get on the table, but that has no effect whatever. The same levitation takes place. The secret of this surprising mediumistic test is very simple. In the first place, the man who sits at the foot of the table is a confederate. Both

messages and speaks to the spectators. Other materializations take place. The curtain is drawn. At this juncture the medium is heard calling: "Quick, quick, release me!" The assistant unfastens the bow-knot, the ends of the rope are quickly drawn into the cabinet, and the medium comes forward, looking somewhat exhausted, with the rope still tied about his neck. The question resolves itself into two factors-either the medium gets loose the neck-tie and impersonates the spirits or the materializations are genuine. "Gets loose! But that is impossible," exclaim the committee, "we watched the cord in the closest way." The secret of this surprising feat lies in a clever substitution. T

tly tied and untampered with. Much of the effect depends on the rapidity with which the medium conceals the original c

tricks of bogus mediums, but he says nothing about the secrets of his own pet illus

ls with which he deluges the highways a

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ned spiritualistic mediums as Alex. Hume, Mrs. Hoffmann, Prof. Ta

N, OPEN

as to whether these so-called wonders are enacted through

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erefore of the many strange things that will be shown during the evening. This is done so that every person

hat travel through the country, like a set of roaming vampires, seeking whom they may devour. It i

RNING THESE

at under some strained and indefinable possibilities the spirit of the mortal man may communicate with the spirit of the departed man is something that the great heart of humanity is prone to believe, as it has faith

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f philosophy, with the proviso that the University should appoint a commission to investigate "all systems of morals, religion or philosophy which assume to represent the truth, and particularly of modern Spiritualism." The following gentlemen were accordingly appointed, and began their investigations: Dr. William Pepper, Dr. Joseph Leidy, Dr. Georg

are thus described in th

Mr. Furness at 8 p. m., to examine the phenomena occurring in t

r worn and anxious expression; he is strongly built, about 5 feet 8 inches high, and with rather short, quite broad,

room, and a space was curtained off by the me

RE KEELER'S C

ler; F is a small table, placed within the curtain, and upon which was a tambourine, a guitar, two bells, a hammer, a metallic ring; the stars show the positions of the spectators, who

: There was a plain black curtain, which was stretched across the corner, falli

RE KEELER'S C

C1, etc., and could be made to cover the shoulders of one sitting with his back against the curtain. A black curtain was also pinned again

t of the curtain, as indicated in the diagram, and, saying he needed to form a battery, asked Miss Agnes Irwin to sit in chair D, and Mr. Yost in chair C, the medium himself sitting in chair E. A black curtain was then fastened by Mrs. Keeler over Mr. Keeler, Miss Irwin and Mr. Yos

and wrist of Miss Irwin, the sleeve being pulled up for the purpose, and Miss Irwin grasped with he

singing the medium turned to speak to Mr. Yost, and his body, which had before faced rather away from the two other persons of the 'battery' (which position would have brought his right arm out in front of the stretched curtain), was now turned the

's body was distinctly inclined toward Mr. Yost at this time. Mrs. Gillespie said she felt taps, b

n over the curtain; bells were rung; the guitar was thrummed a little. At this time the medium's face was toward Mrs. Gillespie, and his right side toward the curtai

to show where his feet were; the guitar was thrummed a little. Had the medium's right arm been free the thrumming could have been done quite easily with one hand. Afterward the guitar was elevated above t

rm of the medium, had it been free. Two clothes-pins were then passed over the curtain, and they were used in drumming to piano music. They could easily be used in drumming by one hand alone, the fingers being thrust

into the cabinet and notes were soon thrown out. The notes could have been written upon the small table within the enclosure by the right hand of the medium, had it been free. Mrs. Keeler then passe

was rapid, and the hand, when not writing, was kept in constant, tremulous motion. The hand was put forth, in this case not over the top curtain, but came from under the flap, and could easily have been the medium's right hand w

y the Spiritualists present to be a fairly successful séance. When the curtains were removed the

they been produced by the medium's right arm. Nothing happened to the left of the medium, nor very far over to the right. The sphere of activity

nt of it were side by side, and it would not have been difficult for the medium to reach across and touch Mr. Yost. When Mrs. Keeler passed objects over the curtain, she invariably passed them to th

ite hidden by the front one at the end, near the medium, and this end both Mr. Sellers and Dr. Pepper saw rise at the beginning of the séance. The

hes only. The pressure was sufficient to destroy the sensibility of the forearm, and it is doubtful whether Mrs. Gillespie, with her arm in such a condition could distinguish between the grasp of one hand, with a divid

t was with an undergrip, and she felt his right arm under her left. But when the medium asked her if she felt both his hands upon her arm, and she said, yes, she could fe

tain. It was suggested by Dr. Pepper that this might have been required by the medium as a precaution agains

f his so-called spirit messages is a simple affair, the very long and elaborate ones being written before the séance begins and the short ones

rn therefrom by the nicks in them. In a little while, the room was filled with people, and the séance began; the gas being lowered to a dim religious light. When the time came for the writing, Mr. Keeler requested that some of the tablets of paper on the mantel be passed into the cabinet. This was done. Various persons present received 'spirit' communications, the slips of paper being thrown over the curtain of the cabinet by a 'materialized' hand. Some gentleman picked up the papers and read them, for the benefit of the s

tions before the séance and had them concealed upon his person, throwing them out of the cabinet at the proper moment. He used the nicke

wire rings were soldered on the back of the clasp. This apparatus he had concealed under his vest. Before the curtain of the cabinet was drawn, Dr. Caughey grasped the arm of the lady on his right in the following manner: The thumb of his left hand under her wrist, the fingers extended above it; the thumb of his right hand resting on the thumb of the left, the fingers lightly resting on the fingers of the left hand. As soon as the curtain was fastened he extended the fourth and index fingers of the left hand to the fullest extent and pressed hard upon the lady's arm, relaxing at the same time the pressure of his second and third fingers. This movement exactly simulates the grasp of two hands, and enab

to please lower the light. Produce the trick clasps, distend them by means of your thumbs and fingers, and after the gas is lowered, grasp the sitter in the manner described. Remove your fingers and thumbs lightly from the clasps and perform various mediumistic

IA PA

transcending ordinary experience. In the year 1892 another commission was formed in Milan to test Eusapia's powers as a medium, and from this period her fame dates, as the most remarkable psychic of modern times. The report drawn up by this commission was signed by Giovanni Schiaparelli, director of the Astronomical Observatory, Milan; Carl du Prel, doctor of philosophy, Munich; Angelo Brofferio, professor of physics in the Royal School of Agriculture, Portici; G. B. Ermacora, doctor of physics; Giorgio Finzi, doctor of physics. At some of the sittings were present Charles Richet and the famous Cesare Lombroso. The

EUSAPIA

PIA BEFORE TH

hough they believed they had the hands and feet of the psychic so clos

s appeared on slightly luminous backgrounds, the chair of the medium and the medium herself were lifted to the table,

ced them. Professor Richet did not sign the report, but induced Signora Eusapia to go to an island he owned in the Mediterranean, where other exact

d. Instead of having a cold, inert piece of matter to investigate by exact processes and microscopic in

ngland, where I joined the investigating committee. In the party were Professor Lodge, of Liverpool; Professor F. M. C. Meyer

was lifted it rose up directly at the other end. It was always so arranged that she was in the dark, even if the rest of the table was in the light; in the so-called light séances it was not l

her hands I found a

tution. Given a free hand and a free foot, and nearly all the phenomena can be explained.

s during the manifestation, she worked her hands toward each other until they rested one upon the other, with A's hand at the bottom of the pile, B's at the

as I believe, which were attached to different objects and moved them. The dim outlines of fa

one of the investigators found the Signora slapping her face with one hand, producing just the

were going to be tricked, and yet they did not discover when I made the exchange

he is continuing them in France with a number of new illusions. Many who have had sittings with her declare that she is able to m

. TA

large speaking trumpet of tin about three feet long had been placed upright in the center of the table, and near it was a pad of paper, and pencils. We waited patiently for some little time, the monotony being relieved by operatic airs from the music box, and the singing of hymns by the sitters. There were convulsive twitchings of the hands and feet of the medium, who complained of tingling sensations in those members. The first "phenomena" produced were balls of light dancing like will-o'-the-wisps over the table, and the materialization of a luminous spirit hand. Taps upon the table signalled the arrival of Mr. Tabor's spirit control, "Jim," a little newsboy, of San Francisco, who was run over s

ngers of his left hand, and connects the index fingers with the little finger of the sitter's left hand, thereby completing the chain, or "battery," as it is technically called. Were the medium to use his thumb in making the connection the secret would be revealed, but the index finger of his left hand sufficiently simulates a little finger, and in the

seen that no one of the sitters can have the use of his or her hands without one or the other of their neighbors knowing it. As each hand was held by a separate person, you cannot understand how he [the medium] could get the use of either of them except the one on his right was a confederate. Such was not the case, and still he did have the use of one hand, the right one. But how? He took his place before the light was turned down, and those holding him say he did not let go for an instant during the séance. He did though, after the light was turned out for the purpose of getting his handkerchief to blow his nose. After blowing his nose he requested the sitter to again take his wrist, which is done, but this time it is the wrist

sitters in the circle. Mr. X- asked "Jim" if everything was all right in the circle, every hand promptly joined, and the magnetic conditions perfect. "Jim" responded with three affirmative taps on the table top. I congratulate myself on having deceived "Jim," a spirit operating in the fourth dimension of space, and supposedly cogniza