The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-03-20
QUEER PHANToMS OF AIR.
GHOSTS AND SIMILAR HALLUCINA-
TIONS Oh THE LEARNED.

Philosophers and Poets Have often
Been Subject to Such Visions.
Luther, Scott and Byron Saw and
Heard Odd Things at Times-Ef-
fects of DisOrdered Minds some
times Produced by Drugs.
From the Chicago Chronicle.
Washington, March 4-"Ghosts are the
common property of mankind and only
persons of scientific training are able to ex-
ercise them"
The speaker was Maj. ]. w. Powell, di-
rector of the bureau of ethnology, who has
given a great deal of attention to this
branch of research. He added:
There is hardly anybody who has not
seen or heard ghosts on one or more oc-
casions in his life. Some thousands of such
instances have been assembled by the
Society for Psychical Research and efforts
have been made to prove that this was a
method adopted by disembodied spirits for
communicating ideas to living persons. It
has been attempted to show that in many
cases the communications were truthful
and yielding valuable information. But
science knows now that all such ghosts are
merely the offspring of hallucinations. An
hallucination, once recognized as some
thing actually objective becomes a ghost.
Thus we can see how a ghost may speak,
may be seen or may even be smelt, mas
much as the ear, the eye and occasionally
the nose are affected by Authorizations.
Having boiled down the subject, which
the discussion of Authorizations becomes
exceedingly interesting. We find that hal
lucinations of vision are the most common
kind and hence it is not surprising that
ghosts are seen much more often than
they are heard. Persons the famous schol-
ar used TO have as his constant compan-
ion little old woman in red cloak. She
accompanied him on his daily walks
abroad and was usually with him in his
study, sitting on chair. Realizing that
the apparition was a mere creation of his
own brain. he was accustomed to amuse
himself with it sometimes, poking his stick
through it.
"a certain German gentleman of dis
tinction, when taking his usual afternoon
stroll, used 10 see regularly on reaching
a certain spot the leading horsemen of a
squadron of cavalry crossing the street at
a little distance in front of him. One day
it occurred to him to wonder why the
rest of the troop did not follow, and he
soon discovered that the cavalrymen were
phantom.
THE case has been recorded of a sick
person to whom there appeared occasion
ally the speoter of hideous old woman.
the apparition always preceding an attack
of his malady The old woman advanced
and struck him on the head with her
cane, whereupon he fell to the ground In
In another case the devil
in a shadowy form. Hallucina-
tions are often pathological-that is to /
say, associated with conditions Of disease.
Dying people sometimes behold pleasant
landscapes and the faces of angels. The |
commonest visual deceptions are black |
rats, cats, snakes, spiders. shining stars |
and fiery spheres. Either they pass dag |
onally across the field of vision or else as |
Is more usual, they come from behind |
hasten past and disappear in the dark |
ness.
Philosophers and artists are speciallv
liable to hallucinations. Religious ecstacv |
Is apt 10 inspire them. The vision OF Joan |
Of Arc Is an example. Emanuel sweden
DS'5 "@1 pA'f-'S5~N " pcHoiu thS Deity /
himself He was carried by the holv /
spirit through space to the gates Of hell |
and then borne in golden chariot up TO |
heaven, where he saw choirs of saints ana |
angels singing round the throne. and re-
,eived a message from God delivered 20 |
him by an angel, Savonarola saw tha /
heavens open and q sword appear. on 1
which was the inscription, "Gladius Dom
nj super Terrain. Byron was baunted
md Sir Walter Scott saw specters
Ghosts are sometimes heard witbort
icing SEEM Luther, while on the staIrs
4 building in Rome, heard distinctly
he words The Just shall live by faith.
occasionally a person who is subject 10