The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1888-11-29
Mollie Fancher's Strange Story.

Mollie Fancher's Strange Story.
Mollie Fancheris dying in Brooklyn.
For more than twenty years Mollie
Fancher has been literally dying. For
twenty-five years baf1ed science has
stood by her bed and watched. Eigh-
teen months ago the wise men Of the
profession said that the end had come,
but instead Of the feeble pulse falling
beneath their fingers it rallied, and she
breathed on. Since that time she has
been in better health and spirits than
at any TINY since her strange illness
began. About month ago, however,
she began to fail again. Her heart,
which has been very weak for years,
has become more involved, and not
only does the end seem inevitable, but
all about her realize that it probably
come very soon and very suddenly.
She sees 10 one save her physicians
and nurse, and is exceedingly weak.
The story of Miss Fancher's life is a
marvellous one. Nineteen years ago,
while returning from school, she was
thrown from horse car, and her head
and spine injured, she suffering much
pain and frequent convulsions. At
times her nervous system became un-
comfortable, and at other times she was
apparently paralyzed. Other compli-
cations set in. Her sight left her, and
next her speech. Death-like frances
occurred at times, and at times she was
thought dead. Then suddenly, without
the slightest warning to those about
her, a faint flush crep, from heart to
cheek, and she seemed to be well.
She saw her friends and talked with
them, but, even as she spoke with them
Of her visions of an unknown world,
the strange seal was again laid upon
her soul, and she was but an naimate
piece of clay. This living death was as
it was horrible, but it is not in itself
unprecedented.
Stranger still, she has eaten nothing.
Two months after her accident she
revived and partook Of some food, but
since that time has taken absolutely
nothing. About three months after
her accident, she went into a rigid
trance, lasting about one day, afte-
which her muscles relaxed, but the
trance state continued three days lon
ger. Her throat even was affected,
and she could make no sound. Then
the body, with the exception of her left
hand and arm, became rigid. Her
head rested lightly on her left arm,
which was thrown upwards. For nine
years she remained in this position,
the left arm and hand being the only
part of her body which she could use.
At times she could not speak, but
during the greater part of the time she
talked as well as any one. Sight did
not return. however, and her eyes were
tightly closed. Trance followed trance
during these nine years, and were in
terspersed with seasons of what is
termed ecstasy"
Upon recovering from these frances
she would relate to the friends at her
bedside the most weird stories of the
visions she had seen. She talked of
"gates of pearl aud streets of gold;" OF
houses whose walls were apparently of
marble, but transparent as glass, and
of the many celestial beings about. She
said her friends, who were home in
Paradise, were with her, and she
seemed to find comfortin their society.
She became medium of communica-
tiotion between living and dead friends.
Powers of second sight we revealed,
and bore the most severe tests. She
ate no food, it was said, but OCCASION
ally asked for the juice of fruits and
something sweet. Her condition
changed frequently. At times the
sense of touch left her and then became
particularly acute; again she could
hear, taste and talk only to be sud
denly plunged into a state of entire
darkness, seeing, hearing and tasting
nothing. At times her body would
assume the cold damp of death, except
in the region Of the heart, whose beat
ing was hardly perceptible. The ur-
Der portion of the body from the waist
remained normal, but her limbs shIank
TO a bare skeleton covered with skin.
In 1875 this rigidity Of body left her'
hut with it went the memory Of the
nast nine years. Again the power OF
second sight began to develop Itself,
and was tested by her friends in every
possible way, and never failed to prove
itself apparently genuine clairvoyancy
Miss Fancher read sealed letters ""1
followed friends while they were away
from her, delighting to tell them when
they called upon her what they had
been doing at certain times and in Ger,
+oin nlaces since she saw them last. NJ
one time the page of a book WAS torn
ont cat in bits and placed in an "':veI'
one, some of the pieces being purposelS
left out. The sick girl did not hest
tate, but wrote on slate the content,
of the envelope, showing just what
words were missing. Since 1915 he'
life has been practically the same year
aftes year.