The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1874-12-25
"KATIE KING"
Naturalization Frauds-A Gross I'm.
posture Exposed.

The secret of the so-called "materiall-
cations" of Katie King, in Philadelphia
through the membership of the Holmeses
has at last been exposed, and, as might
have been expected, it turns out to be Us
gross and transparent piece OF jugglery
as could be devised.
1t is not little extraordinary that Of
the numerous reporters who have visited
these mediums, that there is not one
who has told us that there is almost i'll
varIably dark seance before the light
one, and nobody seems TO have
suspected that it is under the cover Of
the darkness. and screened from observa-
ton by the tremendous noise which is
being made by the musical instruments,
that Katie King enters the room and
manages to make her way into the cab
met. The important question that oc-
ours, where does she come from? Some
keen observers, including among them
Dr.. Miller of the Bath Hotel, in West
Twenty-sixth street, who were in Phila-
delphia last week, having visited the
Holmeses and seen the manifestations,
were of the opinion that the girl entered
by the door ID, and then passing behind
Mrs. Holmes, who invariably sits in the
chair, had crept under the table and 50
got into the cabinet. OF course, when
once the girl was inside, it was easy to
begin the so-called ''materializations,
and the appearance OF the well known
wax-like faces could be accounted for by
supposing that the girl brought supply
Of these masks with her. The 'dema-
terialization, too, fivory crosses, fowerab
hair, chairs, &c, US mentioned by Mr..
Owen, could also be accounted for by
supposing that the girl carried them on
with her to her place of concealment
when the seances were over. This eI-
planaton seemed q very satisfactory one,
as it removed all mystery from the
case, while it fixed upon the Holmeses
all the odium of a gross impOsture.
However, a night or two after, one OF
the gentlemen Of the party, after care
full examination of the window, became
convinced that this was the hiding
place of the girl who personatcd Katie
King. Tho window recess is of about
the usual depth of twelve inches, but As
there are few girls who could be COM
pressed within such space as this the
depth is artfully enlarged by battons at
the sides, so that the boards, which are
fixed from the top to the bottom of the
window, form space eighteen
inches deep. The girl is COZ
ccaled in this space, the boards
being apparently nailed and screwed
with great tirmness. But when the dark
circle with its accompanying noise begins
it j. easy to remove one of the boards
withm the space, gain access to the
room, and moving round in front of the
circle, enter the cabinet in readiness for
the light circle seances. Following up
the discovery the gentleman opened a
lack knife and passed the blade down
between the boards, and apparently %
alarmed the girl concealed within that she
refused to appear in the light scanee
that evening, and another girl had to be
substituted for her. The visitors remark
ed the change, hut Mr.. Holmas stentls
denied that there had been any, and de-
clared that it was the genuine original
Katie King. DR.. Childs, however, sub
seouentlv informed DR.. Miller that he
too, had discovered the fraud; that this
was the method by which the imposturo
WAS carried out, and he declared that he
had renounccd all connection with the
HoImscs.-.Ne,o York Graphic.