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#1 |
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Daniel Douglas Home (1833 – 1886) was a famous medium and I am sure most of you have probably heard of him.
Home was a bit different than most other mediums of his time, first he did not give séances to the public, he was cautious and only selected his sitters (who were usually rich folk). Home would usually invite sitters back to his house, so Home had all the conditions in his favour for his mediumship. Home would not perform his mediumship in front of skeptics (this is well known). So what I really want to talk about in this thread, is not Home's levitation myth (perhaps we can touch on that later on) but really this thread is to discuss the supposed "scientific" experiments into the mediumship of Home by the scientist William Crookes. As you may know William Crookes was a convinced spiritualist and he has been unreliable on his statements on mediumship regarding other mediums but lets talk about these experiments that he carried out with Home. The experiments Firstly the experiments were rather strange they consisted of two experiments. One of these utilised a board and balance spring apparatus which Crookes said Home managed to alter the weight of objects without contact on several occasions via a "psychic force". According to Crookes' report this experiment consisted of:
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Crookes published his reports in the Quarterly Journal of Science but they are known to contain serious errors. Problems with the experiments 1. The experiments took place in Crookes's self built laboratory at the back of his house (no description of this lab has survived) but the room was described by Crookes as "large". 2. Home was not personally searched before the experiments took place but was watched as he changed clothing according to Crookes' report but as Frank Podmore and others have suggested, Home could have easily placed fraudulent devices or materials in his pockets. 3. In the experiments Home refused for Crookes to sit near him - According to the reports Crookes was quite a bit of distance away from Home. Is this normal for a scientific experiment? 4. Contrary to what spiritualists have written the experiments with Home were not conducted in light conditions, report has it that only "dim light" occurred in part of the room. So most of the room was in darkness. 5. Crookes' report deliberately left out who was present in the room, it was only revealed later that six men were present during the Crookes-Home experiments and four women. As Ruth Brandon suggested Home could have easily had an accomplice. We know according to other séances that Home had a female accomplice. 6. According to reports of the experiment Home would draw attention to something on the other side of the room, or make conversation for diversionary signals with those who were in the room and Crookes was occupied most of the time with writing notes. 7. Crookes admitted that Home and himself had "tested" similar devices to the ones used in the experiments beforehand on other occasions. Home could have easily known how to cheat on the experimental apparatus before the experiments had even taken place. 8. Crookes was convinced that Home had proven the existence of a "psychic force" but as others have suggested the experiments had poor scientific controls and the movement observed on a piece of the apparatus could easily be explained by the vibrations of the trains (the lab was built under a train track at the back of Crookes house) but other things have been suggested such as home using a piece of resin on his finger etc. 9. Home largely directed the proceedings of the experiments, even giving those in the room instructions, of course this was not mentioned in Crookes' report but this is what happened. 10. The experiments were never repeated. Questions to people on this forum 1. How do you believe the accordion trick was done, and what is your explanation for the board and balance experiment? Of course the board and balance experiment can easily be dismissed by natural causes and not fraud, some already listed, but others are convinced Home manipulated the apparatus perhaps with a piece of resin on his fingertip. 2. So far I have not been able to locate the names of the four females who were present during the Crookes-Home experiments. Why Did Crookes not mention any of the names of those who were present in his reports? Home is supposed to be the "great" of spiritualism, and the supposed medium who was never caught in fraud. If you visit any parapsychology or spiritualist forum you will see people claiming the Crookes experiments were sound and that Home scientifically had proven a "psychic force". Well as you can see above, the experiments were far from scientific ![]() Please comment if you are interested in this subject. Sources Peter Lamont. (2005). The First Psychic: The Extraordinary Mystery of a Notorious Victorian Wizard. Ruth Brandon. (1983). The Spiritualists: The Passion for the Occult in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries. Frank Podmore (1910). The Newer Spiritualism. Milbourne Christopher. (1970). ESP, Seers & Psychics. Ronald Pearsall. (1972) Table-rappers: The Victorians and the Occult. Nicola Bown, Carolyn Burdett and Pamela Thurschwell. (2009). The Victorian Supernatural (Cambridge Studies in Nineteenth-Century Literature and Culture). William Hodson Brock. (2008). William Crookes (1832-1919) and the Commercialization of Science. Also note that James Randi wrote a foreword to Gordon Stein. (1993). The Sorcerer of Kings: The Case of Daniel Dunglas Home and William Crookes - I have not read this book yet. |
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#2 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Aug 2001
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As I get time (which may not be a while), I will dig up my electronic copy of the JSPR on Home and will read your analysis in more detail. In the meantime, allow me to point out a detail that is a bit of a peeve for me: it is Daniel DUNGLAS Home. Not Douglas.
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#3 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Sep 2003
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My only experience with such things is reading accounts of Houdini, Randi, Gardner, etc.... And without bothering to posit a specific technique, it's easy to see that the conditions very strongly favored fakery.
The presence of other people who may or may not have been confederates, the poor lighting, the lack of controls, the venue itself... No modern researcher would tolerate such conditions. |
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#4 |
fading orb
Join Date: Mar 2006
Posts: 2,224
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Yes, it is DUNGLAS Home, but it was not on his birth certificate, according to Houdini in "A Magician Among the Spirits." Home added it because it was a name from Scottish royalty and he wanted to be associated with that old family.
The accordian trick, iirc, was really a couple of simple songs with few notes, most notably "Home Sweet Home" (cute ![]() As for the rest, I don't remember, and my books are all packed away. But the above was what I recalled from Houdini's book. I also recall that rich peoples' rings were snatched from their fingers during seances and if caught, he would jokingly say that the "lovely spirits" were playing with the guests. He and his supporters made a huge deal out of his never charging people, but he always accepted generous "donations" even when quite sizable. I also recall that a rich lady adopted him, and later disowned him. I don't remember where I read that, tho. As to the "never caught in fraud" I've read, I believe from Houdini, too, that people said he had been "caught cheating" but never formally convicted of actual fraud. Well, "caught cheating" is the same, really, just not taken to Court, right? Nice thread! I'm sorry that for the moment my contribution is small. |
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#5 |
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The thing is the Crookes report is unreliable so it is hard to know what to believe. As stated in my first post, Crookes in his report never revealed who was present in the room, it was only revealed after some of the names of the sitters present and four of the ladies remain unidentified from what I have read so far. The whole thing is rather strange. The hand under the table of Home was not observed, anything could have been going on and the conditions were dark. I can't post pictures (yet) but there was quite a large hole in the cage under the table. The harmonica was never found among his possessions. William Lindsay Gresham told Randi he had seem them, but this was never verified. Eric John Dingwall who catalogued Home's belongings did not find any harmonicas. It is possible that Home used a small music box under the table or in his trousers, there was another fraud medium from the same time as Home known as Francis Ward Monck who was caught utilising a small music box in his trousers to pretend spirits were playing music in his séances. Before the accordion feat in the Crookes experiments, Home had already been performing this feat for 15 years, so he knew what he was doing, he had plenty of experience. |
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#6 |
fading orb
Join Date: Mar 2006
Posts: 2,224
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Yes, Crooke's did well controlled tests, as I recall reading somewhere. (I wish I could remember where), but there is speculation that Crooke's was biased toward spiritualism being real, and sometimes his controls were looser for some of his subjects.
As for the harmonicas being found or not found, I don't know what to conclude. They could have been stolen. Hells, even evidence for famous murder cases have cops stealing evidence for souvenirs. Black Dahlia missing evidence, anyone? ![]() If someone had a great deal of experience, he could hide them in his mouth or under his moustache no matter how closely observed. Perhaps. ![]() Of course the elaborate cages and other frippery used in the tests for Home and his kind to show their "power" are so extraordinary and elaborate that I'm sure no researcher today would tolerate such conditions, as Bikewer said. And such "flap-doodle" stunts ... oh, my! Lol! Spirits will stoop to no lengths to maintain any dignity, it seems. ![]() You bring up great points, DoomMetal. I now want to dig further. My recollections are vague, but you are right about Crooke's report being unreliable. I recall that, too. Do you know, off the top of your head, the name of the investigator who went to a house to see proof of the haunting of a little girl? He and his aids put talcum powder all over the floor and by every entrance and exit, and in the pitch dark (of course) he felt the form of a small naked girl who was supposedly a spirit? I don't want to derail, and may start a new thread, but for the life of me I cannot recall who he was. Harry somebody. I think. Regardless, I think they detected no fraud. I don't doubt that it was, but it went undetected at the time. Okay - end derail! |
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"Hercules, what is a secret?" "Why, a secret is something you tell practically everybody confidentially." Wheeler and Woolsey in "Diplomaniacs." |
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#7 |
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Crookes' published his reports in the Quarterly Journal of Science (QJS). He was careful not to use the word "spirit" in his report because he didn't want his report to sound un-scientific.
Note that Crookes via his experiments with Home actually opposed the spirit hypothesis and claimed the phenomena was the result of a "psychic force" i.e. psychokinesis. This is in opposition to the spiritualist community and was actually in opposition to Home himself! It was only claimed many years later in a book Crookes published that Home in the experiments was "communicating" with spirits in the experiments and talking to them etc but of course Crookes left this out of his original report in this QJS because he didn't want to bring in spirits as he wanted to keep it "scientific". The experiments took part in Crookes home built lab in the back of his house, hardly the best of places for a scientific experiment.
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Yes Price did put starch powder all over the floor, outside of the room and even in the chimney place. He moved all objects such as pictures and clocks outside of the room. He locked the door, and put tape on the windows. There were six people present, but for some reason three of them were not searched. After a few minutes into the seance a little girl did appear, of course the room was in pitch darkness so anything could have been going on. Price wrote he felt the child, heard her breathing and could feel respiratory movements from her chest. Price even measured the pulse of the child. When the lights were turned on, the child was not there and Price checked every part of the room for the child and found nothing and all the powder over the floor and in the chimney was undisturbed without any footprints and none of the tape on the windows had been removed. Price claimed he was the only one with a key, so nobody could have gotten in or out of the room during the séance. The whole thing was a trick. I do know how it was done as after it had happened one of those who was in the séance confessed to having set the thing up and having used a child during the séance - this had not been widely reported. I could create a thread on this if you like ![]() |
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#8 |
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Here is a sketch of Home in the accordion experiment. As you can see it looks like he could have easily gotten his arm in and out of the cage during the experiment:
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#9 |
fading orb
Join Date: Mar 2006
Posts: 2,224
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Ah! I've never seen that sketch. That cage is ridiculous. Of course it looks like he could get his arm out.
I wonder why someone didn't just firmly hold his hands or something like that. A cage is a lot of trouble. ![]() I've really got to take time and find some material about the Crooke's test. Thank you for Harry PRICE! Yes! That's the one. And as much as I tried to discover an aftermath, I never came across any report that it was a confessed hoax. I'll look into that book. I'm currently preparing my house to put on the market again, so my time and money for books is limited, but surely there is a place I find on the web about this now that you've reminded me of his name. I just may want a thread if there is more material on Price and other investigations that are ... interesting. ![]() |
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"Hercules, what is a secret?" "Why, a secret is something you tell practically everybody confidentially." Wheeler and Woolsey in "Diplomaniacs." |
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#10 |
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According to the Crookes' report both of Home's feet were held down but his hand on the top of the table was not. There was only one small lamp in the room and it was not on the table, and under the table was pitch dark. Yes very easy to use tricks. I am surprised how modern day parapsychologists still take the experiment seriously.
Another thing, after the experiments a rumour was spread in spiritualist publications that Home was not holding the accordion at all and it was levitating inside the cage for as long as 10 minutes ![]() Regarding Harry Price he is disliked by the spiritualists because he debunked many fraud mediums but also disliked by some of the modern sceptics. I like the man and think he was an honest psychic investigator. Of course he was not a professional magician or scientist so he was probably duped by a few things, but he was one of the first investigators to utilise scientific controls and methods to rule out trickery in the experiments he conducted like pouring powder over the floor or tying up the medium etc. Price debunked the mediums Helen Duncan and Rudi Schneider. His work has been very useful and modern sceptics do actually quote his work now and again on exposing fraudulent mediums but unfortunately tend to ignore his other work. |
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#11 |
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![]() This took a long time to find, it is a sketch of the board and balance spring experiment. |
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#12 |
fading orb
Join Date: Mar 2006
Posts: 2,224
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I really appreciate the time you took. That is fascinating! Do you know what book may have this? All mine are packed away, and I know that the only ones I have are by Home himself (yeah, so reliable! And I hadn't had time to read it yet) and the one by Houdini.
As I recall, Houdini also cited a claim that a group of people "witnessed" (I quoted that word because I don't think anyone actually claimed that they saw the entire event) Home float out of one window on a second story of a dwelling, glided alongside the structure, and then floated back inside via a window in another room. I am going to try and refresh myself on the board and balance spring experiment. Again, if spirits were/are real they are very tolerant of such intricately silly tests. As for Price, from his account of "Rosalie" that I do recall, I like the man, too. He obviously did not have cover all possible bases as he was fooled, but I think he did his best. He also has probably kept some names alive, successfully debunked or not, that may have been forgotten had he not pursued their claims. I remember also reading about Eusapia Paladino (sp?) and how she was caught cheating numerous times, but the popular excuse for that was that because she was so desperate to not displease or disappoint her sitters she HAD to cheat sometimes. But, of course, all the other times she was not she was obviously NOT cheating. ![]() I recall some cases in general, but not the mechanics by which they were tested. I really appreciate the time you have taken to help me further my own knowledge. I do recall Houdini's rubber-banding his leg to swell it so he could feel the slightest movement of a leg and even the muscles of the leg of the medium; was it Ms. Paladino? and also exposing the tricks of how "mediums" could use one of their hands in the dark serve as seeming like two. There was also a case where someone took a famous photograph in the middle of a session of a famous man's wife (whose name escapes me for the moment) while she was in a cabinet playing a trumpet that was expected to be attributed to spirits. Oh, was it ... darn it! I just had her name but as I was typing I forgot it. ![]() I mainly recall Home as being a sneaky, oily little man who somehow charmed and cheated his way into many "donations" and into one old lady's heart until something occurred which made her cast him out of her home. I have to give him credit for fooling testers, tho, and having his skills perfected to the point where actually proving he was a fraud was made difficult. |
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"Hercules, what is a secret?" "Why, a secret is something you tell practically everybody confidentially." Wheeler and Woolsey in "Diplomaniacs." |
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#13 |
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The spiritualists and psi believers have no interest in the truth, so they don't bother to read books on the subject other than the lies promoted in spiritualist publications. Spiritualists are a case of True-believer syndrome http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/True-believer_syndrome so no amount of evidence is going to convince them the contrary to their belief. The Crookes-Home experiments are an embarrassment to parapsychology, even Crookes admitted they were not repeated. If it is not repeatable it is not science, so it amazes me how the modern parapsychologists still promote his old experiments as evidence for a "psychic force". ![]() As previously stated Crookes lied and left things out of his original report. He did not reveal who was present during the experiments, it was only revealed years later who was involved. This is dishonest and not professional especially for a scientific report. As for the levitation myth it is exactly that a myth, it never happened. I can touch on that later. Yes the levitation myth has been promoted in 100s if not 1000s of parapsychology and spiritualist publications as factual. The spiritualist crowd are not interested in the truth about what really happened instead they cling to pure fantasy ![]() |
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#14 |
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As for Palladino she was caught cheating by over 30 different scientists in every country she was investigated in, there is no reason to take her seriously. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eusapia_Palladino Even Oliver Lodge a confirmed spiritualist accepted Palladino was a fraud, as did most other spiritualists such as Richard Hodgson. The only supporters of Palladino were Cesare Lombroso - But according to his daughter in his later years he could hardly see anything as his sight deteriorated, oh and Lombroso was in a sexual relationship with Palladino. And the other supporter was Hereward Carrington. Carrington was an amateur conjurer and accepted in his own words that 98% of mediumship was fraud ![]() ![]() ![]() The levitation trick has been exposed, Palladino was just using her feet and she objected for anyone to be under the table but Joseph Rinn the magician snuck into one of her séances dressed in black and observed her trick from under the table. As for why any modern parapsychologist would give any attention to Palladino, it is because Hereward Carrington was an amateur conjurer and was rather sceptical of mediumship (he accepted 98% of it was fraud) but when it came to Palladino he admitted she had some genuine "supernormal" ability. Its already been exposed, in the Carrington experiments with Palladino nobody was observing her feet, there were a lack of scientific controls in place, the experiment took place in a dark hotel room! Yes it still amazes me how anyone can take this seriously in the 21st century. It has been suggested by some researchers that Carrington was personally in a relationship with Palladino and that he acted as a secret accomplice with her, well that is complete nonsense in my opinion. Carrington was not a professional magician, he was duped by Palladino in this case that is all... especially as the controls were so poor in the experiments. Carrington I actually respect he wrote some good books on conjurer tricks, he was not an expert like Houdini or Joseph Rinn but he knew his stuff. Btw if you search for any of the supposed Palladino "levitation" table photographs you will notice that Palladino always had a long dress, it was pitch dark, nobody was under the table observing or holding her feet down and that in not one photo are all chair legs visible or in the air. As I said it is amazing how anyone can take this seriously in the 21st century but some parapsychologists still do! During the levitation experiments Palladino would free her feet from her shoes, that is all she did. And modern parapsychologists claim she proved levitation or psychokinesis... lol. It is hard to take some modern parapsychologists seriously ![]() |
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#15 |
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Here is an interesting article by Houdini from 1925 on fake mediums.
http://www.libertymagazine.com/icons_houdini.htm |
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#16 |
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The most well known trumpet mediums were Jack Webber, Etta Wriedt and George Valiantine all were exposed as frauds. Out of the three Wriedt was most interesting, she mixed chemicals inside the trumpet to make "explosion" sounds and movement of the trumpet which she attributed to spirits. She used metallic potassium and in other cases Lycopodium. A clever trick ![]() I would be interested in knowing if you remember the name of the medium you are thinking about. The book Behind the Scenes With the Mediums (1907) by the magician David Abbott exposes many of the tricks of early mediums especially the cabinet tricks, you can find it free online if you are interested. |
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#17 |
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Some interesting stuff on trumpet mediums:
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You can find the book Psychic Mafia by M. Lamar Keene which exposed many of the tricks of fraud mediums free online: http://www.drspeg.com/courses/00-paranormal/tpm.pdf
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The spiritualists were so insecure and angry that their tricks had been exposed they tried to kill Keene. ![]() |
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#18 |
fading orb
Join Date: Mar 2006
Posts: 2,224
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Thank you for all the links! I will get to them asap. I'm still preparing my house for sale, but I came back here because I had to tell you how much I appreciate your help and info here.
![]() Anyway, I think I (again) had my mediums mixed up. But the name I was trying to think of who was exposed on camera blowing a trumpet or some such thing (tho I can't find the pic right now), if indeed it was her, was Margery. I'm sure you know who she is. I can only recall right now that she was beautiful, often exposed her body during some seances, and her husband aided her in trickery and deceit. Wasn't it about that time that Home and the rest all of a sudden sprang up out of nowhere? I mean, first there were the Fox Sisters, and then all of a sudden "mediums" were everywhere! Even an awful lady named Mrs. Guppy who wanted to disfigure a lovely rival. I think her name was Florence? Anyway, I'll try to get my hands on those books. I do recall borrowing one from my local library many years ago and it covered all the early mediums. It detailed all of the cheesecloth regurgitators, the magazine cut-out apparitions, the story of the pirate "King" and his daughter "Katie." How could ANYONE ever have been fooled by such hokum? And now I'm off to check out your links. Thank you so much! ![]() |
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#19 |
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Hi again Minarvia, thanks for your interest in my thread. As you can see from the lack of response, not many other users are interested in such stuff like this! And probably have no idea what is being discussed lol.
The book that you were thinking of from your library was probably The Spiritualists written by Ruth Brandon in the early 1980s or the book The Table Rappers by Ronald Pearsall from 1972. Both are the "common" books on spiritualism and both debunk practically every Victorian medium and document their tricks. I have not seen many any other books on spiritualism in libraries.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mina_Crandon Crandon did on occasion use a cabinet, but I can't seem to find any reference for the trumpet. Crandon was discredited when she was caught in fraud many times most notably her "spirit" hand was a piece of animal liver. Houndi and many other researchers exposed her tricks. She was also caught out in fraud when it was revealed the "spirit" fingerprints left on wax in her séances actually belonged to her living dentist. She was quite a clever fraud but not as clever as some of the others in my opinion. And many psychical researchers were in a sexual relationship with Crandon even though she was married. She would pose naked in her séances to Eric Dingwall. She had an affair with Hereward Carrington. Malcolm bird was stage managing some of the séances with Crandon in an attempt to sleep with her. Crandon's husband displayed nude photographs of Mina in her own séances! It was also suggested even Houdini was in a sexual relationship with Mina Crandon but I do not think this is true. Having said that there are still to this very day naked photographs of Mina Crandon which sell for a lot of money amongst Houdini collectors, weird stuff ![]() |
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#20 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Aug 2001
Posts: 14,702
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Actually, DoomMetal, I am very interested in the thread. I had intended to participate because I thought myself fairly well informed on the matter, but two things happened: I ended up with less available time than anticipated, and it turns out I could contribute little if anything to what has been said.
So I'm enjoying the reading and will look up the links as I get time. Cheers |
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#21 |
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Hi Garrette no worries at all, I understand people are busy. I just finished college so I have a lot of free time on my hands, probably too much free time! I am researching Home's levitation myth and hopefully I will be able to cover that soon in this thread. So for any readers interested, stay tuned.
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#22 |
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I have discovered with about 30% of the mediums from that period that no skeptical coverage exists of their claims. They were never investigated by psychical researchers or scientists, so it is hard to verify or do an analyse on their claims and look at the conditions and controls etc that were in place in their séance. All we have is far fetched claims from the spiritualists, not proof and as most spiritualistic mediums have been caught in fraud it is hard to take their words at face value. And yes if you read the spiritualist literature, you will see all kinds of wild supernatural claims without any critical coverage. I have read everything from mediums claiming that they "materialized" stones, gems, rings and even animals out of thin air. There was even a medium who claimed to produce an ectoplasm materialization of a giraffe! ![]() Franck Kluski is a typical example. The spiritualists claim he scientifically produced materialization spirits of animals but only a handful on convinced spiritualists investigated him. There were no scientific controls in place, anything could have been going on. If you google search Kluski you will notice a handful of photographs showing him in séance with a bird and some other weird looking people covered in cloth. Kluski is not mentioned in a single skeptical book on mediumship or spiritualism. We do happen to know that Gustav Geley the spiritualist who investigated Kluski was caught in fraud with another medium Eva C. It is very likely that Kluski just snuck a bird into his séance room and could have had a secret accomplice. The medium Charles Bailey (1870-1947) was caught in the act of that very trick sneaking birds into the séance room. Unless I see proof of fraud like I have documented in my other posts I don't go about claiming all mediums are frauds. There is enough evidence that Home was a fraud, contrary to what spiritualists have accused me of I don't just say all mediums are frauds, I look at the evidence as objective as I can, unlike them ![]() The sad truth is that most mediums who have been investigated by scientists or other psychical researchers (including the SPR) have been discovered to be a fraud. So when you add it all up it is unlikely that spirits in mediumship exist. I say unlikely, not impossible. I have no agenda at all and if spirits were proven in mediumship I would be more than happy. I am sure most people would want to receive evidence for survival... but unfortunately after years of study into mediumship and spiritualism and after spending much money on hundreds of books, articles and papers and even attending a few séances myself I have not seen anything but cheap fraud i.e. cheese-cloth, conjurer tricks, guesses or cold reading. Overall there is no conclusive evidence for mediumship, most skeptics would tell you that without even researching the subject and they are correct but I wanted to read into it deeply and see for myself. ![]() One of the best books debunking countless mediums is the book by the magician Joseph Rinn Sixty Years of Psychical Research published in 1950. The book is out of print, but I may put it online one day. If you have some spare time you can also read Is Spiritualism Based on Fraud? by the skeptic Joseph McCabe, it was published in 1920. McCabe debated the spiritualist Arthur Conan Doyle on frauds in mediumship and documented his evidence in the book, he won the debate. He debunked practically every popular medium in spiritualism of that era including Home, Leonora Piper and Eusapia Palladino. No spiritualist had ever been able to respond to the book. I did send the book to a spiritualist once and he told me he isn't reading it because the author Joseph McCabe was an atheist... ![]() The book is free online http://www.archive.org/stream/isspir...ge/n3/mode/2up As for Mrs Guppy (real name Agnes Guppy-Volckman) she is another example of spiritualist hearsay. The spiritualists claim she teleported 3 miles outside of her house during a séance. ![]() |
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#23 |
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Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 2,126
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#24 |
fading orb
Join Date: Mar 2006
Posts: 2,224
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This is indeed fascinating! And yes, DoomMetal, the book I read when it was new (wow, it was THAT long ago!) was "The Spiritualists."
I remember all sorts of silly things that were claimed that people believed. If Home was in this book (I can't recall at the moment) I don't remember if his levitation trick was mentioned or not, nor his musical "concertinas." ![]() I do recall one parlour trick that involved the usual darkness, and then a woman would gently push cloth out from under a table until it began to be noticeable, and then she would carefully stand up while blending it with her clothing to simulate a spiritual manifestation. One gentleman skeptic recalled that he felt bad for a lady one time when she stumbled on her cloth, or something like that, and he had to hold himself back from helping her up! And hardly anybody save Houdini, McCabe, Price, and a few other critical people, gave thought to why spirits would require elaborate set-ups, cabinets, slates they could write on under tables, stools that they could make dance (according to a man named Kardec), and so many other undignified tricks. Yes, there were so many "mediums" that I doubt we know who they all were. And how many more attempted to get in on the money-making fad and failed? Likely hundreds more. It's obviously many people were fooled, but I like to think that many sitters realised that what they were seeing was entertaining spooky fun. At least I hope so. Wow, this topic IS fun! I add my thanks to Apology's that you are taking so much time to help the rest of us become more informed, DoomMetal. ![]() |
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"Hercules, what is a secret?" "Why, a secret is something you tell practically everybody confidentially." Wheeler and Woolsey in "Diplomaniacs." |
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#25 |
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Join Date: Apr 2013
Posts: 167
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Minarvia unfortunately (if that the right word!
![]() It will be very long to go into this now but in brief. The skeptical psychical researchers Trevor H. Hall and Eric Dingwall went all around the area that the séance in the house described by Price was supposed to have been at. They could not find the house and Price in his notes described the house very specifically i.e. very precise details. Price did not give an exact address and both Dingwall and Hall received no clarification or contact from any of the séance sitters involved when they researched into it. Hall claimed Price made the entire thing up. They say Price made it up to make some money or seek attention. ![]() The entire thing is a mystery to this very day. I don't think it was made up. I'm a tad busy at the moment but I will create an entire thread on it when I get the time. You might be interested in this publication. It was published in a journal by the Society for Psychical research Medhurst, R.G. HARRY PRICE AND ‘ROSALIE’, Journal 43, 1965-66, pp. 201-9 Defends the independent psychical researcher against allegations that he invented the account of a materialisation séance described in one of his books. During the séance he claimed to have witnessed the materialisation of a six-year-old girl, a regular visitor to séances attended by her mother. See also pp. 327-9, 382-3. As I said in one of my first posts I am convinced the Rosalie séance took place and it was a trick, the reason I say this is because a witness came forward and wrote a letter and admitted how it was done. This is very rare stuff that not many people know about. I am currently looking into it deeper and will inform you what I have dug up. As for Home's accordion songs it could well have been a small music box hidden in his trousers, it could easily be played without his hands. Another medium at the time period of Home known as Francis Monck was caught utilizing the very trick. He hid a small music-box in his trousers and activated it by moving his leg. Remember the accordion of Home only played two limited songs. Ruth Brandon in her book suggested that Home may have had a secret accomplice playing the songs in the room. Contrary to what spiritualists have written the room was not brightly lit, there was only limited lighting in the room and much of the room was dark. Why did Home only reveal those who were present in the room only years later? Why were the names omitted from his reports? Lots of questions. |
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#26 |
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Join Date: Apr 2013
Posts: 167
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This is the truth about Home's "levitation".
Joseph McCabe wrote this (I have highlighted in bold the main points): "[According to the spiritualists] Daniel Dunglas Home was, in the year 1869, wafted by spirit hands from one window to another, seventy feet above the ground, at a house in Victoria Street, But here I must ask him to pause. This is one of the classical manifestations, one of the foundations of Spiritualism. Sir A. C. Doyle says that the evidence here is excellent. Sir William Barrett maintains that the story is indisputably true. Sir William Crookes says that " to reject the recorded evidence on this subject is to reject all human testimony whatever." It is a Spiritualist dogma. I have shown in the debate with Sir A. C. Doyle that this dogma is based on evidence that will not stand five minutes' examination. Not one of these leading Spiritualists can possibly have examined the evidence. No witness even claims to have seen Home wafted from window to window. Lord Adare is the only survivor of the three supposed witnesses, and, when he saw some Press report of my destructive criticism in the Debate, he sent to the Weekly Dispatch a letter that he had written at the time. He seemed to think that this letter afforded new evidence. The interested reader will be amused to find that this letter is precisely the evidence I had quoted in the Debate, for it was published forty years ago. No one professes to have seen Home carried from window to window. Home told the three men who were present that he was going to be wafted, and he thus set up a state of very nervous expectation. Sir W. Barrett, who tells us that " nothing was said beforehand of what they might expect to see," says precisely the opposite of the truth. Both Lord Crawford and Lord Adare say that they were warned. Then Lord Crawford says that he saw the shadow on the wall of Home entering the room horizontally ; and as the moon, by whose light he professes to have seen the shadow, was at the most only three days old, his testimony is absolutely worthless. Lord Adare claims only that he saw Home, in the dark, "standing upright outside our window." In the dark—it was an almost moonless December night—one could not, as a matter of fact, say very positively whether Home was outside or inside ; but, in any case, he acknowledges that there was a nineteen-inch window-sill outside the window, and Home could stand on that. So there is not only not a shred of evidence that Home went from one window to another, but the whole story suggests trickery. Home told them what to expect, and he pretended, in the dark, that he was a "spirit" whispering this to them. He noisily opened the window in the next room. He came into their room, from the window-sill, laughing and saying (in spite of the historic solemnity of the occasion !) that it would be funny if a policeman had seen him in the air. When Lord Adare went into the next room, and politely doubted if Home could have gone out by so small an aperture, Home told him to stand some distance back, and then swung himself out in a jaunty fashion, as a gymnast would. In fine, it is well to remember that this was the same D. D. Home who had defrauded a widow of £33,000, and had been, in the previous year (1868), branded in a London court as a fraud and an adventurer." Source: Is Spiritualism Based On Fraud? The Evidence Given by Sir A. C. Doyle and Others Drastically Examined by Joseph McCabe (1920). Online: http://archive.org/stream/isspiritua...ge/n3/mode/2up So contrary to what you might read from the spiritualists the levitation didn't happen in front of anyone! Home was in one room and his friends were in another. Home cried out to his friends that spirits were "levitating" him and carrying him out the window. He then "appeared" at the next window and entered the room. All he did was open the window, step onto the ledge, and then step onto the ledge of the next window. The ledge (window sill) was 19 inches! That is all there is to it! But spiritualists continue to peddle the lie that he was levitated out of the window 75 feet above the ground and into the middle of the street... Now if we do further research we discover this: Two days before the supposed "levitation" Home had opened the same window, and stepped on the ledge outside of it and remained standing there where Lord Linsay observed him in the street below. Thus Home already had a sketch of his levitation trick and had tested that the ledge was safe to stand on. Source: The Evidence for the Supernatural: A Critical Study Made With "Uncommon Sense by Dr. Ivor Lloyd Tuckett (1911). Online: http://www.archive.org/stream/eviden...ge/n5/mode/2up It amazes me how some people still believe his levitation was real. Then again the spiritualists don't do proper research and are not interested in the truth about their fraudulent mediums ![]() |
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#27 |
Graduate Poster
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Toronto
Posts: 1,010
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I remember hearing about the in and out Window trick of D.D. Home. I even remember hearing about how all the true believers "forget" about the 19 inch ledge! I didn't know about someone seeing D.D. Home practicing this deception two days before!
I wonder do you have any interesting information to share about Home's more usual levitation tricks. Such as him allegedly floating to the ceilings of darken rooms? This sort of stuff was sworn to by so many who often failed to say that the room was very dark at the time, and that they only "knew" he was floating because he left a mark on the ceiling or his voice sounded "faint". |
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#28 |
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Join Date: Apr 2013
Posts: 167
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On pages 95-96 he writes:
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Crookes was a sloppy researcher (he left things out of his report) and was duped by these tricks but he was not that much of a dishonest scientist from what I have read. I wouldn't rule out a secret accomplice but the swapping of an entire accordion is a bit far fetched but I understand the room was quite dark so anything really could have been going on. As already stated Home had already been performing his accordion feat for over 15 years before the Crookes experiments, so he was well experienced and had performed the trick many times before the experiments, he knew what he was doing. |
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#29 |
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Join Date: Apr 2013
Posts: 167
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Here is something else Ronald Pearsall writes that is interesting:
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#30 |
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Join Date: Apr 2013
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It appears there are more problems for Home's 'famous' levitation. Ronald Pearsall writes:
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According to some sources the levitation took place at Victoria Street, whilst others say at 5, Buckingham Gate. !! ![]() Here are just some of the contradictory sources which mention Home's levitation, some claim different locations, different dates and different details such as on a different floor etc! Colwyn Edward Vulliamy in his book The Polderoy Papers writes:
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Harry Price writes in his book Fifty Years of Psychical Research:
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Walter Semkiw writes in his book Return of the Revolutionaries:
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Lewis Spence writes in his book Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology:
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Jean Porche, Deborah Vaughan wrote in their book Psychics and Mediums in Canada
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Arthur Conan Doyle writes in his book The History of Spiritualism:
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Daniel Cohen in his book Masters of the Occult writes:
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![]() Roy Stemman writes in his book One Hundred Years of Spiritualism:
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Slater Brown in his book The Heyday of Spiritualism writes:
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Raymond Buckland in his book Doors to other Worlds writes:
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Edwin A. Dawes in his book The Great Illusionists writes:
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Julian Franklyn in his book Death by enchantment: an examination of ancient and modern witchcraft writes:
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#31 |
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Join Date: Apr 2013
Posts: 167
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Here's some further information on the "witnesses" of Home's famous levitation trick. According to Ronald Pearsall:
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It is interesting to note that each of their witness reports of the Home levitation contradict each other. It has been suggested by some researchers that Home could have been blackmailing Adare. |
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#32 |
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Join Date: Apr 2013
Posts: 167
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I have just been reading the book Spiritism and Common Sense (1922) by the magician Carlos María de Heredia.
Heredia claims to have replicated the Home accordion trick. He believed the answer was using signals and utilizing secret accomplice with a hidden accordion.
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Source: Page 68 in Spiritism and Common Sense, which can be found online here http://www.archive.org/stream/spirit...ge/68/mode/2up Heredia's book also contains a goldmine of information into how mediumistic tricks were performed such as making fake ectoplasm hands or performing fraudulent levitations. It is a shame spiritualists don't read books like this if they did they wouldn't believe in the silliness they have been duped into. |
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#33 |
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Join Date: Apr 2013
Posts: 167
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Some comments about the credulous William Crookes:
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#34 |
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Join Date: Apr 2013
Posts: 167
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As I have already stated on this thread, I believe Home's accordion trick was performed by playing a hidden music box, in his trousers, most likely attached to his leg.
The magician Henry Ridgely Evans also suggested this in one of his books which exposed the tricks of mediums:
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http://archive.org/stream/hourswithg...e/112/mode/2up The fraud medium Francis Ward Monck was caught utilising the music box to pretend to his audience "spirits" were playing music. The music box is more likely in my opinion rather than some of the other things suggested by other researchers. Music boxes are small and easy to hide. As discussed Home was not personally searched before or after the Crookes experiments. |
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#35 |
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Join Date: Apr 2013
Posts: 167
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On this thread I am going to try and be referencing every skeptical book that contains information about the tricks of Home. So far I believe I am the only person to have attempted to do this.
So far I referenced some very useful material from Joseph McCabe, Dr. Ivor Lloyd Tuckett, Edward Clodd, Ruth Brandon, Henry Ridgely Evans, Carlos María de Heredia and Ronald Pearsall etc. I have just found some more books which may expose the tricks of Daniel Dunglas Home: John Mulholland - Beware Familiar Spirits. Milbourne Christopher - Mediums, Mystics & The Occult. Julien Proskauer - Spook Crooks. Simon A. Blackmore - Spiritism, Facts and Frauds. Georgess McHargue - Facts, frauds, and Phantasms: A Survey of the Spiritualist Movement. Chung Ling Soo - Spirit Slate Writing & Kindred Phenomenon. I have ordered a few of them. I have already mentioned Psychic Mafia by LaMar Keene but he did not mention Home. So if anyone is interested in this thread. Stay tuned. Lot's more stuff to come. ![]() |
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#36 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Aug 2001
Posts: 14,702
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If you want every book, then you will also need Proskauer's The Dead Do Not Talk.. He really mentions Home only in passing while discussing other frauds or common themes, but he does mention him several times. Proskauer makes it clear that he considers Podmore's book to be perhaps the finest medium debunking book ever. I am inclined to agree.
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#37 |
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Join Date: Apr 2013
Posts: 167
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I have heard of Proskauer and his debunkings of various medium tricks but his books are quite rare and expensive to get hold of, nobody has reprinted them and they are not online. It is a shame books like this get forgotten about. But thanks for this I probably will get hold of it. I am determined to read every book critical of Home!
![]() What Podmore book is it? Modern Spiritualism published in 1902? Whenever I open a skeptical book on mediumship I have noticed that Podmore is nearly always mentioned. I will get round to citing Podmore. He believed if I can remember correctly that Home used a piece of black thread to cheat on the board and balance experiment. He also suggested a music box for the accordion trick. |
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#38 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Aug 2001
Posts: 14,702
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Yep, the Podmore book is Modern Spiritualism.
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#39 |
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Join Date: Apr 2013
Posts: 167
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I have just downloaded and been reading the book Spirit Slate Writing & Kindred Phenomenon (1898) by the magician Chung Ling Soo.
This is an excellent book which exposes the tricks of the spiritualist billet and slate writing of the Victorian period. We don't hear about spiritualist slate writing anymore, but back in the day it was popular it seems. There were a number of ways of pulling off slate tricks. The book is filled with excellent diagrams. Unfortunately the book does not mention Home, but an interesting thing is this:
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So the fraud medium Henry Slade also played the accordion with one hand under the table like Home did. Not many researchers seem to have picked up on this. The book also documents some magic tricks. In one of the chapters he reveals the trick of how to balance an egg on a card on a wand! ![]() |
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#40 |
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Join Date: Apr 2013
Posts: 167
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I have just been reading the book Spiritualism and the New Psychology: An Explanation of Spiritualist Phenomena and Beliefs in Terms of Modern Knowledge (1920) by the psychologist Millais Culpin.
It only has one page on Daniel Dunglas Home, most of the book is about explaining mediumship and related phenomena by psychology i.e. by suggestion or dissociation etc. There is not much on physical mediums. Here is what Dr. Culpin writes regarding Crookes and Home:
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Very interesting points, firstly the two mediums who were convicted of fraud that Crookes believed were genuine was one of the Fox sisters and Florence Cook. So Crookes' credulous reputation was already well known. Secondly regarding the accordion experiment with Home, there was no need for the table! Why was there a table in the first place? If Home was going to get in contact with spirits and get them to play an accordion, why not in full bright light in the middle of the room? ![]() But as Dr. Culpin wrote as there was a table why not perform the experiment on the top of the table where it is visible? All this nonsense about hiding under a table is not science and makes it easy for fraud and is very suspicious. This has always been the case with mediumship. Always silly tricks in dark rooms. The story hasn't changed for mediumship in over 100 years and we are in 2013 now. I find it hard to believe spiritualists still believe in this nonsense, but they do! |
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