St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1884-10-19
ORIGIN OF sPIRITUALIsM.

The Excitement That FoFIOrced its 1ppedr-
aHco az ~ Little TotcR iH Near York
Spirtualism in America was born in 1S47,
in Hydesvile, Wayne county, Y. Y, where
one night there was rapping at the door of
Michael Weekman, and a second rapping at
the door, and third rapping at the door,
AMI every time the door was opened there
was no one there. Proof possible that they
were invisible knuckles that raped at the
door. In that same house there was a man
who felt a cold hand pass over his forehead,
and there was no arm attached to the hand.
Proof positive it was spiritualistic influence.
After awhile, Mr.. Fox, with his family,
moved into that house, and they had bang
ings at the door every night One night Mr..
Fox cried out, care you spirit" Two raps,
answer in the affirmative. 'Are you an in
jured SIP rit!'' Tw o raps answer in the an
swer in the affirm alive. Then they knew
right away that it was the spirit of peddler
who had been murdered in that house years
before, and who had been robbed of $500.
Whether the spirit of the peddler came back
to collect his 500 or his bones | do not know
But from that time on there was a constant
excitement around the premises, and the ex-
element spread all over the land, and Judge
Edmunds had his head turned by the excite
ment, and he says that he saw bell start
from the top of shelf in the closet and heard
it ring over the heads of the people who were
in the closet, then swing to the back parlOr
and ring over the heads of the people in the
back parlor, then swing to the front paror
and ring over the heads of the people in the
front parlor, and then drop on the floor. A
young man was said to have been lifted from
the earth and carried through the air by an
invisible power, and giyingan account of ii
he says that he went so rapidly he could not
count the posts of the fence; and he
held in his hand a saw-buck and a
square, and he says while he went they
ratified together and made most delightful
music. All these are matters of history.
People said: ''Well, now we have a new
RELIGION But in all ages we have NEGRO
mancers those who consulted the spirits Of
the departed-charmers who threw people
into u mesmeric state, sorcerers who, by eat
ing poisonous herbs, can see everything, hear
everything, and tell everything; astrologers
who fOnnd out a new dispensatiOn of the
stars, experts in palmistry who can tell by
the lines in the palm of your hand your ORR
gin, your history and your destiny. From
there came up an air, an atmosphere, that
intoxicated the sheep and the goats that came
near by. and under its influence the shep-
herds were lifted into exaltation, so that they
could foretell future events and consult with
familiar spirits. Long before the time of
Christ the Brahmius had all the table rock
ing and the table-quaking. You want to
know what God thinks of all these things.
He SAYS in one place. II will b. a swift
witness against the sorceress." He says in
another place: "Thou shalt not suffer q
witch TO live;' and lest you should make toe
wide a margin between spiritualism and
witchcrafi, He groups them together and
| says: There shall not be found among
YOU consulter with familiar spirits. nor
wizard nor 4 necromancer, for all that dc
! these things are an abomiuation unto the
! Lord;'' and then the still more remarkable
passage which says: ''The soul that turnett
! .-fter such as have familiar spirits end afte
| wizards, to 90 a whoring after them, viii
! even set My face against that soul, and viii
! cut him Off from among his people," and
! score Of passages shows that God neve
| speaks of these evils in any other way than
with hvid thunders of indignation. Afte
all that be spiritualist if you dare. DR.
Talunage in Frank Leslie's S,otdeg hGgGzine