New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1881-02-16
THIRTEEN GHOSTS IN AN HOUR
"MATERIALIzINGp ON A LARGE SCALE.


"Tbere will be no seance tonight" said William
Eddy as he came to the door of the house in Eighth
ave- IN response to the ring of TRIBUNE reporter.
when will there be another y 81 don't know
we are going away in few days" Can't come
in and talk with you a moment ~ "Well, there's
nobody here but few friends. l think not"
&" Have you seen the accounts in the papers about
the attempt to expose You the other nightf
This question aroused Mr.. Eddy's curiosity. lie
had heard of the newspaper reports but had not seen
them, and he opened the door to learn more about
them, but shut relenlessly in the face Of black
bearded man who stood behind the reporter and
said he WAS going to California soon and wanted to
see the spirits before he left NewYork In the little
front parlor over the meat shop were assembled
the members of the household and few
family friends. HOratio Eddy was absent. The
party consisted of William EDDY his cousin Frank
who acts as business manager of the seances, Mr.
and Mrs d., the occupants of the fat, old Polish
doctor, Frenchman and his wife, young woman
said to be medium, and the reporter, whose namo
and avocation We're unknown to the company, and
hwho was received III friendly way as confirmed
Spiritualist.
1t was Sunday night, and William Eddy made M
bis mind tna there should bo no public seance bus
ouly quiet little affIr Tor the entertainment o!
the party of friends; so he refused tn answer
numerous rings at the bell. The reporter deter
mined to adapt himself to tine ways OF the company
make no attempt at disturbing the ghosts. keep his
eyes open aud closely observe the performances.
| look into the little hall bedroom from which the
spooks appear showed that the bed had been paced
squarely in front of the suspicious ball door, whch
| was besides locked and bOled. II seemed toler-
ably plain that the ghosts would not
| come through that door, which, by the
| way, led into the common hall used
| by the three families nhabitng the building. AS
| the one window of the room looked out on Eighth
| ave-. the apparitions could not reasonably be ex-
| pected 10 enter there.
The theory uppermOst in the mind of the observer
was that William Eddy disguised himself with
clothes hidden in the bed aud personated the differ
ent appartions. Some color was gwen to this idea
by the smudgy indistinct appearance OF the ghosts
seen az the previous sitting described III HE lRiB-
| UNE This theory did not stand tho tests Of the
evenings performance, however, as VIII be seen
| hereafter, and one was developed.
At quarter after William Eddy went into the
| hall bedroom and lowered the curtain hanging
across the open door, Cousin Frank struck up The
| Sweet Bye-and-Bye." brown paper shade was
put over the lamp. but it still light enough TO
distinguish faces across the room. No sooner was
| the tune sung through than the curtain was lifted
| aud out stepped an elderly woman in white with a
gray woolen shawl across her shoulders. " Good
| evening Mrs Eaton" SAID one member OF the com-
| pany after another.
| The spook SAID GOOD evening" in perfectly
| clear +. mnne voice and chated awhile Familiarity.
| By the side of the door hung II KEY and clothes
brush, which furnished convenient mark for the
reporter to measure the comparative height Of the
| apparitlons The woman was considerably shorter
| than the medium in the dark bedroom and not so
stout. Evidently it was not he " urn up tho
| light. Frank SAID Mrs. Eaton as she stepped be-
| hind the curtain. The paper shade was removed
and out came the ghost again, this time IN tho full
| light. Face and clO hing were plain enough now.
| The voice as she talked with different members Of
the circle had the nasal tone. and the language had
the grammatical faults of the cOllOqulal dialect OF
| New England country people.
| Ont of hat little hall bedroom came twelve other
| protested materiaiz-d spirits in quick succession
! men, women and children. The whole time occupied
| by the thirteen CX Hctly fifty minutes. OF an
average of little less tnan four minutes TO e1ch
| ghost There was very Old woman whom tho
| Polish doctor said was hrs grnndmotheI; ana WIN
| whom he spoke in Polish woman of about sixty
| whom the wife of the Frenchman said was her
| mother and WHO spoke German; Young woman
| recognized by the same person as her slSicr Ea'
| a negro woman, who tried 10 dance but did not sue
| ceed sweet little glrl OF about SIX Years
| m a white dress and hood jiugng Il string
! of yellow beads; anuilcr child OF aoout the same
| height a boy called Oscar, whom MIS-. II. sIid he-
longed to her; mddic-agcd woman called hfr.
| t.lhs, and number OF men. All were recognized Nv
| some member OF thc company except a lehIh'"A
| tall muscular black-whisKcrcd man, who came our
III The full light and pointed to the Young Womah III
the circle, whO however SAID she dil not know III.
No fewer than four OF th' ghosts asked To nave inc
shade removed from the lalLp.and came out u second
| time il the weIl-llgbtCd room.
| The most remarkable OF the masculine apparitonS
| was tail, portly man with large head, hushy
gray hair and long gray beard lie wore , PECK
trousers aud "a dark sack coat bur lie had not taken
| the trouble to put on either HIS cwdlS'-
coat or ms boots neglect 81, of ,, the
| the circumstance that the old gentleman evidently
felt at home. He was introduced as T.. V. Wilson,
a Sprtualist lecturer wel-kno"n throngnQni lhe
country. who died not long ago. Frank SAD he HAD
| been cOgnzed by fifteen hundred people at a
| Splrtualist canp-meethS last summer he lace
| WAS distinct and strongly individual, and prcu-
larlty OF the figure. besdcs Its pOrtlness and hlz,
was the shortnesS OF the arms ana sIngu ar aWk-
| wardueSs about the movements OF one shoulder.
| MIR Wilson demanded strong light. and rcappeaI-
ing, delivered a brief lecture III Il loud clear bass
voice. tic was sorry thre were so lew present, anu
| the performance few nights ago had come again.
1t IL we'll Tor them that they cannot expose lie
continued. for If they could. II tins Is an nun hn
| themselves are of no , more account thah
marks expressing his pleasure at meeting Ills IrehtS'
| the pOrtly gentleman Withdrew. go.
In all of the appariOns except two OF the children
tue heshtints looked natural but the eyes were ln-
| variabiy tmy and express Onless, resembling the
ewes Of a dead person. The drapery looked sub
stana emoogn tb TO to o1 n s,rit or S'ia e
scale. MIS- Eaton. n stout matronly person. who
looked # she would tip the beam at 100, weighed
| only 40 pounds.
| The last ghost was the same good natnred Mrs.
| Eaton who announced thai the performance was
| over. Scarcely had she withdrawn than Frank
! pulled up The curtain and out stepped tho med Iun,
| William Eddy, looking ~ ii he had been asleep.
| After a few minutes conversation, Eddy brought II
| brown cotton curtain from the back room, placed
round table IN the OF the parlOr, put n bell
| and tambourine the table. aud hung the curtain
across 80 as to partition of just enough space Tor
the table. He then sat down front OF the curtain
| and Gu led the FTenchman and the young woman
to SIT with him. Cousin Frank then but Omed long
| 11nH lin ska nn
| woman winch fell over Their knees md concealed
| their hands. Behind the curtain there was not
i'll.