The Opelousas journal. [volume] (Opelousas, La.) 1868-1878, 1875-01-08
now KATIE DID IT..
Further Details of the Great Spiritual
tic Fraud at PhitRd eIpFfa.

$500 N@Nf9 We ~ SGA&@ Ma AlEH I'LL
blood, has been a9certained beyond
doubt, but who she was, how she We
secreted in the honses, afterwards il
trodrced into the cabinet, and SO as
sisted as to le6se it without being de
tected, has as yet been more less
mystery. Katie King" OF rather th
young woman who p~ersopated her is
widow with a child, apd a mother de
pending upon her @r support. Mr.
and Mrs. Nelson Holmes became &C
quainted with her at a boarding-house
where they lived for some weeks subse
quent. to their advent in Philadelphia
Abort the time the HoImeses tool
possession Of No. so North Ninth street
"Katie King" for reasons hereinafter
to DO stated we will not publish hel
name) became unable to pay her board.
and was finally reduced to such an ex,
tremity that she was absolutely penni
less and almost without clothing. Find.
ing that this was the case, her host sold
what few effects she had left, and turned
the woman out into the street. In this
condition she was promised assistance
by Mr.. and Mrs. Holmes provided she
would enact the part of q materialized
spirit in theircabinet seances. Although
the proposition was revolving, she was
forced to accept it, or see her child and
mother suffer from hunger. The cabi-
net, which had been placed in one
corner Of the second-story front room,
with n side against a door which
opened into q bed-chamber, was easily
arranged so as to admit of ingress from
the bedroom. The boards were all
fastened with screws, and battins we're
placed outside and inside about two
feet from the floor.
1t was an easy matter to take ont one
of the boards, and put in it's place a
duplicate SO divided at the battins that
the point Of iuncture could n be seen.
The upper part Of this boafd was firmly
secured, the lower portion was loosely
fastened with two screws, while the
other screw heads were dummies"
When it was thought q strict exanina-
ton Of the cabinet would be made the
divided board could be taken out, and
the original put back in it's place. When
the Katie King.seances first began, the
gentleman who afterwards became SO
prominently connected with them, DR..
Child, Of this city, was permitted to ex-
anime every nook and L In the
house. As he was for a time very skep-
tical on the question of naturalization
the Investigations were very thoroughly
conducted. The visitors would then be
congregated in the front room with the
cabinet, and the door would be locked.
. Katie King" would soon after enter
the house from the street, make her
way to tile bedroom, assume her white
dress, and with a small screw-driver
tllelower portion Of the divided
These preparations could not be heard
account Of the singing and music
box noise, which was continually kept
up. To enter the cabinet was then an
task for Katie, and with a stool she
could reach the rather high aperture.
This disappearing and -reappearing part
the phenomenon was accomplished
BY gradually lowering a black cloth over
and at The same time crouchinc
back into the corner. The semi-dark- J
OF the room, combined with the
complete blackness of the inside of the I
made this seeming impossible
very simple. The deviation man Y
Hesitation, or the suspension Of her s
'ody IN the all, was done by means Of /
he stool, covered with a black-uloth. 1
Is il was impossible TO distinguish any q
dior but white within the cabinet. tie I
tool was, Of course. invisible, and By !
upon II very deliberately, and 7
raduaIy raising herself, the young y
was enabled to present the appear. Y
nee of being lifted from and suspended {
oove the floor. h
At the close Of the geance there was &
WAYS 2 delay of about ten minutes be- d
yeen the time Of the last appearance G
I the alleged spirit and the knocks,
hich aigni6ed that no d were COM q
Il. During this time Katie" would a
in through the hole ID the cabinet. b
rev Oh the loosened board, and make il
escape. Had the cabinet been ia. s,
apart at such o time the trick would n
been discovered. &c was taken to il
leces after q similar seance, bnt BY d
me means tho Holmeses suspected b
iat this would be done, and we're pre II
sred for il. a party of ten gathered b
the room on this occasion, and Mrs. Il
complained that she was feeling III
unWeH that her mediumistic power d
q veiy weak, consequently it would A
! necessary to hold q dark seance firsk. "a
his was consented TO; the lights were b,
.tinguiahed. not only III the room, but as
the han, and the dark aeance began. dl
Az the divided board Ind been taken hs
the cabinet, II vas impossible tor st
atie to enter ia the usual manner. and ps
. consequently anne il through the in
This she could do under cover
the darkness, and as all hands were Il,
asped, she safely cxossed tha rno,n IL
ring IRE ringing Of bslla and the Ii
angling of guitars. and other a~coan,. n