The Norfolk Virginian. [volume] (Norfolk, Va.) 186?-189?, 1895-08-17
A DRAMA BY SPIRITS.
THE SHADE OF hartley CAMPBELL
WRITES A PLAY.

Be Put on tho Boards at Lily Dale, NY.
How Campbell Wrote tho Play Through
the Medium OF n Living Man.
In tho latter part of August II play will
be put upon the boards ut Lily Dale,
n. Y, TINT everybody will be curious
to see. 1t is spiritistic drama, and it
is no ordinary flesh and blood man or
woman's production. At lenst SO saws
its author-or. no, its scribe, |. Ransom
Sanford, western journalist and "a spir-
itist of note. He says that tho play.
which bears tho suggestive title of
"hlir%ula, WAS written by the shade
of Bartlcy Campbell. Not thut the long
dead and gone creator of Tho White
Slave, etc, actually rematcrialized III
Dir. SanIord's study and wrots the
manuscript of Miracula" with Dor
rowcd peu, ink and paper Oh, no! 1t
was not done in that way. The story of
its creation, as told by Mr.. Sanford is
we'll worth hearing or reading. Said no:
II shall have to go back ns far AS tho
year 1865 aud state that | was made
aware of tho possibility of spir, COM
munion through the instlumentality Of
ed planchotto. j was II student ut Fort
Edward. on tho Hudson, but had gone
10 my home in Michigan OH visit My
stopmothor WAS IL rigorous rolgionist,
and WAS surprised to find planchette
quietly reposing ON table in tho din
ing room. What's this?' l asked her.
oh, that's game that was given to
your sister, she replied intlifferently.
Now, l had heard of planchette and was
good deal amused by my stepmother's
ignorance j said to her, Let us sit
down and 500 how it works She CON
sontcd, and the result was astonishing.
Ny own inothor's name was spoiled ont
the very first thing, and then this mos
sage, Your sister Annie is i'll with ty-
phoid fever at Fort Edward. Neither
Of us ut that time dreamed of such IA
thing, and yet it aftorward proved to
be the case. Another test of spirit pres
ence was given that night through the
planchette. A name was spelled which
neither my another nor myself recog-
nized. We don't know you.' I said
'You were too young to remember me,
was the reply. AK your father about
me. Iwent i'll search Of my father, and
| after raclking his brains for awhile no
! recalled the memory Of tho man, with
whom he had once been connected in an
| important lind deal
81 had always been II rcbel against
future damnation, and from that night
l was Spiritist, and soon afterward
made thorough study of psychic sci
ence. Two years ago very unexpected
ly to myself developed into an auto
matte writer. / was sitting in seance
| room with Il few friends ono night,
| when my hand and arm began to shake
| IN way that attracted general atten-
ton. Some one suggested putting pen
| Gil in my hand. They did so, and upon
II piece of paper it automatically and
very deliberately wrote, AT last the ice
is broken. signed, Your Mother That
was all that was writton then, but after
| l went to my room again felt the Same
| peculiar sensation i'll my hand, and on
taking pencil i'll hand 1 mechanically
wrote several pages Of essays, which
! were all signed Spirit Of Ralph Waldo
| Emerson
| Now / como to the writing Of Mir
acula. / was at Hazlot Park, Mich.
last summer. and while there something
said to me. Write Spiritistic play
laughed at the idea and replied. 4
can t, Yes. you can, said the voice.
| 'Wc will help you. l was studying to
take part III an amateur comedy which
was shortly to bc produced. and Il few
days passed without hearing anything
moro Of the Spiritistic play But ono
night II occurred to mo that / would
dr1niatize u popular occult novel I'm
mediately my hand was controlled and
wrote We prefer to furnish both our
plot and dialogue. We have both woll
i'll mind aud will experience no Difficult
ty if you will yield implicitly to our in
huencc. signed, BARLEY Campbell ;
All right, l said, if BARLEY Campbell
wants to write play through my hand,
lot him go ahead. The next night my
arm and hand We're again controlled
and wrote out cast Of characters and
began the play Twas frequently inter
rupted and was often obliged to break
| off III the middle OF sentence, but at
every minute Of leisure the influence
would take up it's thread Of the dialogue
exactly where it had ended and 20 on.
mo, BARLEY Campbell--wrote the
play III from eight TO ton days and aft
or it had been finished several weeks he
named it 'Miracula. Buffalo Ex-
l