St. Paul daily globe., 1895-02-17
QUEEN OF TRANCE.
The Strange Life Of MoIIie
Fancher, the Brooklyn
Invalid.
IS A SUFFRAGE CONVERT.
She Keeps Up with the Fash
ions and With Poli-
ties.
READS ALL NEW BOOKS.
She Has Not Been Out of Bed
for More Than Thirty
Years.
READS ALL NEW BOOKS.
Special Correspondence of the Globe

Special Correspondence of the Globe
BROOKLYN, Feb. 13.-For thirty
years a woman has laid almost in one
position in an old-fashioned house in
Brooklyn.
A generation has come and gone
since she has had any sight of the
outside world. the rumblinss of which
she has heard day and night for al
most a lifetime.
Nine years OF the thirty were spent
in a trance While she was in that
trance she was practically dead.
Strange tales are told of queer visions
she had while in the strange condi-
ton. 1t is sufficient to say that if she
had wished to adopt spiritualism as a
profession. the mediumistic powers
which are unQuestionably hers would
have made her q great fortune, and
would have entrenched spiritualism
in a much drmer position in the public
belief than II occupies today.
The woman is MoIlie Fancher, the
most famous invalid in the world.
Twenty-Five years ago when she was
lying in that awful trance that made
her famous, she was written and
talked about the world over The peo-
pie Of Brooklyn spoke in whispers
about the weird girl. and told how,
when flowers We're brought in the
room where the sleeper lay they
would almost Immediately wirheT and
die. and that when q canary bird was
left in the room il was found dead
al the bottom OF the cage an hour
later. 1t was said that the trance
girl consumed all the pure air of an
apartment, leaving only the poison for
other Things and people.
Strange stories were told. also. Of the
visions of Miss Fancher. There is not
a particle of doubt about her medium
istiC powers. That she has the fac
ulty OF second sight there is not the
shadow of a doubt. None OF her
friends are spiritualists. Miss Fancher
abhors anything leaning toward spir-
itualism. and she has tried in every
way to lose the strange power which
has been vested in her. She is a
good, old-fashioned Baptist. and has
prayed night and day that the un-
cauny power be taken away from her.
She always knew what her friends
were going to say before they said it:
she could fOTCsee misfOrtunes that
would happen them in the death or
sickness of relatives. and in q count
less number of ways she would dis
cover things that it was intended she
should never know about.
A GENERATION SPENT IN. BED.
NoIie Fancher is forty-six years old.
and she was but sixteen when she met
with the accident that caused her trou-
bles. She has dropped so completely
out of sight in the past decade ana
half that the younger generation know
nothing about her. Her withdrawal
from the public gaze is largely due to
her own efforts. She detests notO-
riety. and particularly the visits of
curiosity seekers. 1t is at the So
licitation of her friends that her
street address in Brooklyn is not
published. She has always been be-
sieged by theatrical people who We're
anxious TO exhibit her and her strange
powers TO the public.
Years ago when she was so much
discussed in the newspapers and
uuong the medical fraternity. ?. T.
Barnum sent an agent to see her. with
this message:
you have the powers to make two
great fortuues-one Cor me and one for
you
Miss Fancher sent word ~ the agent
that she was not for sale" She also
narrowly escaped giving an order to
have him put out of the house. Her
indignaton was real Notwithstanding
she was thrusting aside d chance to
make so. 600 or 100000 q year.
Miss Fancher is now a plump wo-
man. Notwithstanding her long con-
fnement. Her original trouble was
brought about by horse car accident
AS she was getting out of d car her
dress caught IL = hook on the platform