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Hold Hands and Close Your Eyes . . . |
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Remember when we talked about the ''Rochester Rappers" in Chapter 2? They were actually the Fox sisters, three young women who first brought public attention to the phenomenon of table rappingthe announcement of a spirit's arrival during a séancein 1848. The enthusiasm for otherworldly evidence carried over to levitation of tables and other objects and led to the growth of the immensely popular Spiritualist movement in the later decades of the century. |
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Among the most famous mediums of the period was D.D. Home, whose reputation for his remarkable abilities and pristine integrity earned him a place in the history books. Reports of his demonstrations during séances include levitating his own body, having an invisible spirit play the accordion, and even having spirit hands appear in the air and pour water into a glasswithout spilling a drop. |
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Another famous medium during this time was Nettie Colburn, the trance channel whose spirit guides advised President Lincoln. Between 1861 and 1863, Mrs. Lincoln called her to the White House to use her skills to present information and advice to President Lincoln on a wide variety of subjects, which he was known to have followed on many occasions. Her guides counseled Lincoln not to put off enacting the Emancipation Proclamation. She also advised him on ways to raise morale in the Yankee troops, which worked. |
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Lenore Piper, born in 1859 in New Hampshire, was a medium in Boston for most of her life. Known to be a consistently effective full-trance medium, she was investigated by the Harvard-educated philosopher and psychologist William James. He was later quoted on his experience with Mrs. Piper: "Science, so far as science denies such exceptional occurrences, lies prostrate in the dust for me." |
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Mrs. Piper channeled a physician named Dr. Phinuit, who apparently knew all about William James. During the hour-long session, the spirit relayed through Mrs. Piper the details of a recent letter James received from one of his New York aunts, the where-abouts of a missing waist coat, and a rug. Even the hardline scholar James was forced to admit, "Insignificant as these things sound when read, the accumulation of a large number of them has an irresistible effect." |
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Mrs. Piper eventually began working as the house medium for the Society for Psychical Research, where a private detective (hired by the Society) made certain that she received no nonpsychic information about the people she read for. No evidence was ever found to indicate that her exceptional information came from any source other than her spirit guides. |
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Of course, certain old-time mediums were probably faced with the temptation to make their sittings as exciting and dramatic as possible. In a sense, they were performers. Interestingly, certain mediums who were considered to be truly psychic, such as Eusapia Palladino, were also occasionally caught in the act of embellishing their demonstrations. Doubtlessly, this cast doubt on all the good work theyand their more highly principledcounterparts had accomplished. |
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