The Project Gutenberg eBook of Apparitions and Thought-Transferrence: En Examination of the Evidence for Telepathy, by Frank Podmore.

[71] Of the Proceedings of the S.P.R., published by Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner, & Co., three or four parts are published yearly. The Journal, which appears monthly, contains a record of recent cases of interest, unaccompanied, for the most part, by any critical commentary, and is privately printed for circulation amongst members and associates of the Society. Any reader, however, desirous of studying the subject may procure any number of the Journal referred to in this book on application at the Rooms of the S.P.R., 19 Buckingham St., Adelphi, W.C. Of the foreign periodicals referred to in the text, perhaps the most important is the Annales des Sciences Psychiques, edited by Dr. Dariex, and published by Germer Baillière et Cie., Paris. Cases of interest are also to be found in Sphinx, a German periodical, to be obtained through Kegan Paul & Co.; in the Revue Spirite (Paris: 24 Rue des Petits-Champs); and elsewhere.

[72] Professor C. Lloyd Morgan in Mind, 1887, p. 282.

[73] See the case recorded by Miss X. (Proc. S.P.R., vol. v. pp. 507, 508). In this instance Miss X. saw in the crystal a notice of a friend's death in the form of an extract from the obituary column of the Times, in which journal she had almost certainly seen the news, without perceiving it, the day before. There is a dream recorded in Phantasms of the Living, vol. ii. pp. 687, 688, which may probably be explained as the emergence in dream of intelligence unconsciously received a few hours before.

[74] I have before me as I write one case of the kind which will serve as a sample. A told us the story, and induced B to write to us about it. B informed us that he heard it from his brother C, a F.R.S., who had received it from D, to whom it was told by E; who had it from the lips of F, "who was a visitor at the house where the occurrence took place." We wrote to D, who referred us to two sources of information, G and H. G wrote in reply to our letter that he heard the story from a stranger at a dinner-party "about three years ago," and promised further inquiries. H referred us to J and K. Our letter to K was answered by his cousin L, who wrote that she had heard it from M, "who got it from some one who was present," and further inquiries were again promised. It is needless to add that in cases of this kind the story, like a will-o'-the-wisp, ever recedes as we advance, until it ends with the nameless stranger at some dinner long since gone "away in the Ewigkeit."

[75] There is, as Mr. Gurney has pointed out, a converse error to be guarded against—viz., the gradual effacement of the lines of an impression, so that an actual waking hallucination has in some instances come to be regarded, after a long interval, as only a dream.

[76] A good illustration of this kind of embellishment, in a case recorded at second-hand, will be found in the footnote on a case in Chapter XII.

[77] So in a case given in the Annales des Sciences Psychiques, vol. ii. pp. 5-10, we have an extract from the log-book of the Jacques-Gabriel, which records that the captain, mate, and another man when at sea heard, on the 17th July 1852, the sound of a woman's voice crying. In a marginal note on the log-book the captain adds that on reaching port they learnt of the death of the mate's wife, "on the same day and at the same hour." But the official register shows that the death took place on the 16th June 1852.

[78] That such a pseudo-memory on the part of a person not professing to be the actual percipient is possible after a long interval appears to be shown by the account just cited of the "ghost" seen by the nurse in a foreign hotel. But we have no evidence that a memory hallucination of this kind could be, as demanded by the theory, of instantaneous or very rapid growth; or that any verbal suggestion could intercalate a false picture into a series of still recent and unimpaired memories.

[79] Second-hand narratives have, however, a value of their own, as shown later; for by taking note of the features which occur commonly in such cases, but are absent from the best attested first-hand narratives, we obtain a valuable standard of comparison by which to check aberrations of memory.

[80] An apparent exception to this statement will be found in Nos. 45 and 46, Chapter VII., and elsewhere, where the account is furnished not by the actual percipient, but by a person to whom the percipient related his experience before he knew of its correspondence with fact. The evidence in such cases, it should be pointed out, is as good as first-hand; indeed, where, as in Nos. 45 and 46, the actual percipient was illiterate and the narrator educated, it may be regarded as better than first-hand.

[81] This part of the work has been undertaken in this country by Professor and Mrs. Sidgwick, Mr. E. Gurney, Mr. F. W. H. Myers, myself, and others; in America, chiefly by Professor Royce and Dr. Hodgson.

[82] In the Times of the 6th January 1893 there appeared a letter from a well-known writer, narrating how in 1851 he had received a description of the sea-serpent from a lady who had watched its movements for some half-hour in a small bay on the coast of Sutherlandshire. So far the story is on a par with any of our own second-hand ghost stories. But the writer goes on to say that the serpent had rubbed off some of its scales on the rocks; that a few of these scales, of the size and shape of scallop-shells, were for some years in his own possession, but that when he searched amongst his curios, in order to show these scales to Professor Owen, they were not to be found. The humble investigators of the S.P.R. have occasionally found themselves in the same position as the illustrious anatomist.

[83] See, for example, the case quoted in Chapter X., No. 63.

[84] Phantasms of the Living, vol. i. pp. 164-166.

[85] Proceedings American S.P.R., pp. 350, 351.

[86] Two other examples are referred to in Phantasms, vol. i. p. 189, but in neither case is the evidence obtainable at first-hand.

[87] Except, of course, in cases of rudimentary hallucinations, such as after-images and bright spots in the eyes and singing in the ears, which are caused by the physical condition of the external organ.

[88] See case No. 51, later; and compare Mr. Galton's observations in his lecture at the Royal Institution on "The Just Perceptible Difference" (reported in the Times, January 30th, 1893). Mr. Galton found that the ideal auditory impressions called up by reading the printed substance of a lecture enabled him to hear the lecturer's voice at a greater distance than when he had not the printed text before him; the ideal appears to have supplemented the real impression, as, in the case given in the text, the real reinforced the ideal.

[89] Phantasms, vol. i. pp. 303-310. The statement in the text must not be regarded as having more weight than its author himself would have assigned to it. Mr. Gurney certainly regarded his estimate as little more than a guess—a guess indeed made by one who had carefully studied and weighed the facts, so far as they could be known, but because of our inevitable ignorance a guess still, rather than an estimate on the approximate accuracy of which it would be safe to rely. The calculation depends on several assumptions, one or two of which, at least, are highly controvertible; for instance, the accuracy of the 5187 persons who asserted that they had not within a given period of twelve years had an exceptionally vivid and distressing dream relating to the death of a friend; and the accuracy of the twenty-four persons who described themselves as having had within the same period a similar dream actually occurring within twelve hours of the death of the person represented. Probably the estimate given requires modification by large allowances being made in both directions for defects of memory. But even when thus discounted the coincidences will, it is thought, by any one who carefully studies the subject be found to be more numerous than can plausibly be attributed to chance.

[90] A man writing on Wednesday would almost certainly say "last night" if he meant to indicate the preceding night, whereas, having just before written of "Friday last," it was natural to describe the Tuesday in the previous week as simply "Tuesday."

[91] These letters are omitted for want of space. They are given in full in the Journal of the S.P.R. for April 1888, pp. 255, 256.

[92] Proc. S.P.R., vol. v. pp. 453-455.

[93] See Animal Magnetism, by Binet and Féré, in the International Science Series, and the references there given.

[94] In many cases the post-hypnotic performance of an enjoined action, or the experience of a post-hypnotic hallucination, is associated with the partial recurrence of the hypnotic trance, or of some condition closely allied to it. Mr. Edmund Gurney has carefully investigated the question (Proc. S.P.R., iv. pp. 268-323. See also Delbœuf's article there quoted, "De la pretendue Veille Somnambulique," Rev. Phil., Feb. 1887), and has shown that, with some subjects, during the performance of the enjoined action a further command can be given, or a further hallucination imposed, and that the whole incident will have passed from memory a few seconds later. In the case of some persons hypnotised by Dr. Bramwell, and bidden to see after waking an imaginary scene in a crystal, I have myself observed that they retained no recollection a few minutes later of the scene which they had been describing; and in at least one case the subject at the time of the hallucination was apparently insensible to pain. On the other hand, as Mr. Gurney has pointed out (loc. cit., p. 270), "there are some cases in which no reason whatever appears for regarding the state in which the action is performed as other than normal," and the same remark apparently holds good of post-hypnotic hallucinations. And there are many persons who can see hallucinatory pictures in a crystal, a glass of water, etc., when in full health and in a perfectly normal condition. See Mr. Myers' article already referred to (S.P.R., vol. viii.).

[95] De la Suggestion, p. 29.

[96] La Somnambulisme provoqué, p. 233.

[97] Rev. de l'Hypnotisme, November 1886, p. 148.

[98] Professor Sully, to quote a recent instance, in his work on Illusions in the International Scientific Series (ed. 1887), devotes less than a page and a half to the discussion of the sensory hallucinations of normal life, and sums up the subject by saying that "when not brought on by exhaustion or artificial means, the hallucinations of the sane have their origin in a preternatural power of imagination" (p. 117).

[99] The question, which was worded as follows:—Have you ever, when believing yourself to be completely awake, had a vivid impression of seeing, or being touched by a living being or inanimate object, or of hearing a voice, which impression, so far as you could discover, was not due to any external physical cause?—was printed at the top of a schedule containing twenty-five spaces for the names and other particulars of those answering. Collectors were instructed not to select those of whom the question was asked; and to record alike negative and affirmative answers. In the case of an affirmative answer being received, further particulars were sought. For a full discussion of the various sources of error incident to an inquiry of this nature, and the precautions taken to avoid them, and for details of the results obtained, the reader is referred to the Report of the Committee, presented in a condensed form to the Congress of Experimental Psychology which met in London in 1892, and to be published in full in the Proc. S.P.R., vol. x., part 26 (forthcoming).

[100] There was ill-health alone in about 5 per cent., anxiety alone in about 11 per cent., and both ill-health and anxiety in about 1.7 per cent. of first-hand cases.

[101] Hallucinations occurring in the ambiguous state between waking and sleeping are called by some writers hypnagogic. For the purposes of our investigation, coincident hallucinations occurring at times when it is doubtful whether the percipient is fully awake, e.g., when he is in bed, are termed "borderland." Their evidential value is, of course, somewhat less than that of hallucinations occurring when the percipient is unquestionably awake. (See cases 57, 59, 65, 66, etc.)

[102] Including apparitions of persons not dead more than twelve hours, and not known by the percipient to be dead.

[103] As opposed to "dream-illusions," which depend on various organic sensations, or on the stimulation of the external organs of sense. The distinction is made by Professor Sully, loc. cit., p. 139.

[104] These figures do not include second-hand cases. There are besides 29 undated cases, most of which probably belong to the remote period. See column 1 of table on p. 218 (visual cases).

[105] The calculation is based upon an analysis of the whole number of visual cases reported during the most recent month, which would indicate an annual rate of about 140. The figures for the most recent quarter indicate an annual rate of about 120.

[106] A hallucination which coincides with a death is defined, for the purposes of this inquiry, as a hallucination which occurs within twelve hours of the death.

[107] There is another possible explanation—viz., that some of the recent death-coincidences have been withheld from us, on account of the painful associations connected with them. That some cases—and recent would be more affected than remote examples—have been withheld on this account seems certain; but the explanation given in the text must, it is thought, be held primarily responsible for the discrepancy in the figures.

[108] Cases, that is, in which the collector is known or suspected to have asked the question of the narrator, because he knew that he was to receive an affirmative answer.

[109] The gross total of visual phantasms recorded at first-hand as representing a living human being, or part of a human being (e.g., a hand or a face), is 381. This total includes cases given in columns 1, 4, and 5 of the table on p. 218. From this total we have deducted 31 cases where the percipient has had other experiences but has not enumerated them, and 28 cases which are estimated to have occurred before the age of ten, leaving the total given in the text, 322.

Of the gross total of 381, 80 are alleged to have coincided with the death of the person represented. Deducting in like manner 7 cases where the percipient has had other unspecified experiences, and 8 where the experience is believed to have occurred before the age of ten, we reach the total of 65 given above.

As, however, more care was no doubt taken to procure first-hand evidence in the case of apparitions coinciding with a death than in other cases, it would perhaps lead to more accurate results if in the larger total were included the second-hand non-coincidental cases, 38 in number. The reader can, if he prefer, work out the result for himself on this basis. But it will, of course, be understood that it is not practicable to sum up in a few pages the results of a long investigation; and those readers who are interested in the nature and distribution of casual hallucinations, and their relations to telepathic apparitions, are referred to the forthcoming Report, from which the figures in the text are quoted.

[110] These details are taken from notes made by the writer immediately after the interview.

[111] Der Magnetismus und die allgemeine Weltsprache. A brief account of the five trials, quoted from the Archiv für den thierischen Magnetismus, vol. vi. pp. 136-139, will be found in Phantasms of the Living, vol. i. pp. 101, 102. In the other cases the impression was produced in a dream. The distance varied from 1/8 of a mile to 9 miles in the case quoted in the text.

[112] In Wesermann's book, as also in the account given in the Archiv, the account is headed "Fifth experiment at a distance of nine miles."

[113] Wesermann unfortunately does not record his own state at the time of the experiments.

[114] See Nos. 37, 38, 39, Chapter V.

[115] Mr. Tudor wrote to Dr. Hodgson in answer to a letter received from him.

[116] Annales des Sciences Psychiques, July-August 1893, pp. 196, 197.

[117] See, for instance, Phantasms of the Living, cases 28, 79, etc.

[118] These letters will be found in full in the account of the case published in Proc. S.P.R., vol. x., part xxvi.

[119] M. Aksakof explains that the name of the month (October) was omitted, through a mistake on the part of the telegraph clerk.

[120] Phantasms of the Living, vol. i. pp. 434-445; vol. ii. p. 134, etc.; and Proc. S.P.R., etc.

[121] Thus we have a case, regarded by the narrator as hallucinatory, in which three persons saw a figure ascending the staircase of a country rectory. The occurrence took place shortly after the return of the family from church, and the figure was supposed to be that of the rector, until it was ascertained that he was at the time in another part of the house. As, however, it was dark and the head of the figure could not be seen, the identification could hardly have been complete, and as no search was made in the upper part of the house, it seems possible that the figure was that of some person who had gained entrance to the house during the absence of the family at church.

[122] See the article on Spirit Photographs by Mrs. Henry Sidgwick, Proc. S.P.R., vol. vii. pp. 268-289.

[123] This account was originally written in answer to a series of questions on a "census" form. A few connecting words have been inserted in order to make it read consecutively.

[124] With this may be compared an incident recorded by William Bell Scott (Autobiographical Notes, vol. ii. pp. 117, 118). The account is perhaps worth quoting, though the length of time which has elapsed, and the fact that it rests upon a single memory, leave to the narrative little value other than that derived from its literary associations. It should be added, however, that Mr. Scott's claim to a rational scepticism in these matters appears to be borne out by other passages in the book.

"I have so repeatedly expressed my unbelief in all the vulgar or popular forms of supernaturalism (says Mr. Scott), that I feel a little hesitation in recording a circumstance resembling that class of things which began the very evening after his [i.e., Rossetti's] departure. I could now get a little peace to revise my Dürer Journal, and my German friend Mr. Reid, who had given me an hour, stayed to dinner. Rossetti's habit, when composing or even correcting for the press, was to retire after dinner to the room above, the drawing-room of the old house, to read aloud to himself, when by himself. This he did in a voice so loud that we in the dining-room beneath could almost hear his words. Well, as we were sitting after dinner, when he must have been approaching London in the train, what could it be we heard? The usual voice reading to itself in the usual place over our heads! I looked at A. B.; she was listening intently till she could bear it no longer, and left the room. Our learned priest found me, I fancy, to be rather distrait, so he rose, saying it was about his time, and besides, he continued, 'I hear Miss Boyd has some friend in the drawing-room, so I won't go up. Give her my good-bye and respects.' I joined her at once, but of course we heard nothing in the room itself. Such is the circumstance as it took place. Mr. Reid, who knew nothing of the habit of D. G. R., hearing the voice as well as we did, although it sounded to him like talking rather than reading, was a sure evidence we were not deceiving ourselves. Next night it was the same, and so it went on till I left. When we tried to approach it was not audible, or when the doors of the drawing-room and its small ante-room communicating with the staircase were left open, we could make nothing of it. It gradually tapered off when Miss Boyd was left by herself; by-and-by the whole establishment was bolted and barred for the winter. Next season it had entirely ceased."

[125] Proc. American S.P.R., pp. 405-408. The reader may be interested in comparing the ragged and possibly commonplace account given in the text with the following spirited version of the same incident quoted from the Arena, March 1892. The writer of the account states that "the story, as I tell it, was given me by the wife." But he does not, it will be observed, quote it as in Mrs. W. O. S.'s words. After describing how the doctor was awakened by a strong light in the room and saw the figure of a woman, whom he at first mistook for his wife, the writer in the Arena proceeds as follows:—

"By this time he was broad awake, and sat upright in bed staring at the figure. He noticed that it was a woman in a white garment; and looking sharply, he recognised it, as he thought, as one of his patients who was very ill. Then he realised that this could not be so, and that if any one was in the room, it must be an intruder who had no right to be there. With the vague thought of a possible burglar thus disguised, he sprang out of bed and grasped his revolver, which he was accustomed to have near at hand. This brought him face to face with the figure, not three feet away. He now saw every detail of dress, complexion, and feature, and for the first time recognised the fact that it was not a being of flesh and blood. Then it was that, in quite an excited manner, he called his wife, hoping that she would get there to see it also. But the moment he called her name, the figure disappeared, leaving, however, the intense yellow light behind, and which they both observed for five minutes by the watch before it faded out.

"The next day it was found that one of his patients, closely resembling the figure he had seen, had died a few minutes before he saw his vision,—had died calling for him.

"It will be seen that this story, like the first one in this article, is perfectly authentic in every particular. There is no question as to the facts."

That, no doubt, is how the thing ought to have happened. A revolver and a watch are essential to a properly upholstered ghost-story. There ought to have been the dramatic confrontation of the living man with his spectral visitant; there ought to have been the instant recognition and as instant disappearance. Above all, there ought to have been the exquisite adjustment in the times of vision and death.

[126] M. Octave Houdaille.

[127] Annales des Sciences Psychiques, vol. i. pp. 98, 99.

[128] She was, however, unable to find it.

[129] It should be explained that this account was written on a "census" form, in the limited space provided for answers to our printed questions.

[130] See, for instance, Nos. 47, 75, 87, etc.

[131] Those desiring to study further the evidence on this subject are referred to the paper on "Phantasms of the Dead," Proc. S.P.R., vol. iii., by Mrs. Henry Sidgwick, and the papers on "Recognised Apparitions occurring after Death," and on "Phantasms of the Dead," by Messrs. Gurney, Myers, and the present writer respectively, in Proc. v. and vi., and the "Record of a Haunted House," in Proc. viii. Many cases of the kind are also printed in the monthly journal of the Society; and there are one or two striking cases in the Annales des Sciences Psychiques.

[132] For instance, Gregory and others record that the clairvoyant subjects of a certain Major Buckley were able to read the mottoes enclosed in nuts (the equivalent of the modern Christmas crackers) purchased at random from a confectioner's shop, and still unopened. The recent evidence of the kind is quite inconsiderable, and is perhaps hardly sufficient to allow of the existence of a faculty of independent clairvoyance being treated as an open question. Experiments with Mrs. Piper in this direction have yielded negative results, and Professor Richet's trials with Madame B. (Proc. S.P.R., vol. v. pp. 77 and 149) are neither sufficiently numerous nor sufficiently striking to justify any conclusions being drawn from them. Some curious results have, however, been obtained by M. J. Ch. Roux (Annales des Sciences Psychiques, vol. iii. pp. 198 et seq.), and somewhat similar results have been obtained in this country by two Associates of the S.P.R. But it is possible that all these instances may be susceptible of another explanation. See, however, Mr. Myers' article on "Sensory Automatism," Proc. S.P.R., vol. viii. pp. 436 et seq.

[133] The definition of clairvoyance given in the text differs somewhat from that adopted by Mrs. Sidgwick (Proc. S.P.R., vol. vii. p. 30)—viz., "A faculty of acquiring supernormally, but not by reading the minds of persons present, a knowledge of facts such as we normally acquire by the use of our senses." Whether such a faculty exists or not, it is certain that the phenomena which suggest it occur under the same conditions and inextricably mingled with others which can, with some plausibility, be explained as due to thought-transference from the conscious or unconscious memory of persons actually present. And as the two sets of phenomena are found together in fact, it seemed best as a matter of practical convenience that they should not be separated in discussion. Moreover, the suggested application of the word finds ample justification in popular usage.

[134] It should be added that during the progress of similar investigations in the United States of America, Dr. Hodgson employed private detectives to shadow Mr. and Mrs. Piper for some weeks, and that nothing was discovered to intimate that any steps were taken by either, whether by personal inquiry or by correspondence, to ascertain facts relating to the history of actual or possible sitters. Mr. Piper did not accompany his wife to this country.

[135] Independently of the fact that "Dr. Phinuit" is as obviously untrustworthy as Mrs. Piper in her natural state is apparently the reverse, the inquiries which have been made have entirely failed to corroborate the accounts, in themselves not always concordant, which "Dr. Phinuit" has given of his birth, his education, and other circumstances in his "earth-life." His knowledge of his native language is confined to a few simple phrases and a slight accent, frequently found useful in disguising a bad shot at a proper name; and the careful investigations conducted by Dr. Hodgson into Mrs. Piper's antecedents as a "medium" have made it almost certain that "Dr. Phinuit" is an invention, borrowed from the person through whose agency Mrs. Piper first became entranced, and who purported himself to be controlled by a French doctor named Albert Finnett (pronounced Finné). It should be added that "Dr. Phinuit" possesses apparently no knowledge of the medical names of drugs, nor any more intimate acquaintance with their properties than could be gathered from a manual of domestic medicine. (Vol. viii. pp. 47, 50, 51, etc.)

[136] At the present time (May 1894) "Dr. Phinuit" has, I understand, almost entirely ceased to "control" Mrs. Piper; his place being taken by the soi-disant spirit of a young American, recently deceased, who has given remarkable proofs of his identity.

[137] I am glad to be able to append the following testimonial to Phinuit's good qualities. An investigator who has had unusual facilities for observing both Dr. Phinuit and Mrs. Piper, after reading the account given in the text, writes to me: "I suppose the account of Phinuit is true as far as it goes, but all the same.... I suppose because he is more sympathetic, I am rather fond of Phinuit."

[138] At the evening sitting a servant unfortunately introduced the sitters by their real names, but the circumstance will hardly, I think, be held materially to affect the evidence.

[139] It is impossible by means of a few short extracts to give a fair idea either of the strength of the evidence for telepathy afforded by the phenomena observed with Mrs. Piper, or of the variety and complexity of the problems there presented. Readers who are interested in the subject are referred to the record of the observations made by the S.P.R., occupying nearly 400 closely-printed octavo pages. (Proc., vol. vi. pp. 436-660; vol. viii. pp. 1-167.) Further observations have been made during the year 1893 in the United States by Dr. Hodgson and others, the records of which have not yet been published.

[140] Chief Justice Way is the gentleman who acts as Deputy for his Excellency when absent from the colony.—A. W. D.

[141] It is hardly necessary to say that such an interpretation in no way reflects upon the good faith of the hypnotics. Hints derived from conversation overheard unconsciously might be quite sufficient.

[142] The statement sent to Mrs. Roberts was substantially a copy of the last nine lines only of the preceding account. No reference was made to the visit to the kitchen.

[143] Dr. F., who is still living, is disinclined to have his name published, as he does not wish to be troubled with correspondence on the subject.

[144] On a previous occasion she had described a skull in a surgery as a head, but "not a live head, and with no brains in it."

[145] Several instances of Mr. Keulemans' telepathic experiences are given in Phantasms of the Living (cases 21, 38, 56, 184).

[146] It should perhaps be said that there is nothing in the experience of the many persons who have so far tried crystal gazing, at the instance of the S.P.R., to indicate risk of injury to health. It is no doubt not advisable for an invalid, or for any one suffering from headache, or undue fatigue, to try the experiment. Indeed, the experience of Mrs. Verrall and others is that success under such conditions is unattainable. But with ordinary care to avoid straining the eyes, no evil effect, it is thought, need be apprehended; and there is probably no form of experiment which at the cost of so little trouble may be expected to yield results of so great interest and value. There is of course no magic in the crystal; a glass paper-weight, a mirror, or a glass of water will serve the purpose equally well. Records of experiments will be welcomed by Mr. F. W. H. Myers, from whose suggestive article many of the illustrations quoted in the text are taken. (See Proc., vol. viii., p. 436, etc.)