The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1899-07-14
TALKED TO GHOSTS
Reporters do Some interviewing
in the Dark.
Uncanny Experience With the s'Black
Art" Wherein Spirits Appear at a
Seance.
Seance.

A couple of reporters accepted an in
vitation to join the charmed circle Sun
day and talk across the boundary
that separates people in this world from
those on the other shore. 1t was wha
people who converse Familiarity with de-
parted spirits call a trumpet seance.
The reporters had never interviewed
anybody but living people before, and
they embraced the opportunity to have
chat with people who have been laid
at rest for some time. They also wanted
to see little of the 'black art that
none may mention except in whispers. :"
The meeting was held in darkened
apartment on the second floor at the
corner of Front and Jackson streets.
About a dozen constituted the circle,
I and Prof Narcotic and his daughter,
Miss Stella, of Minneapolis, were the
mediums who assisted in opening the
conversation between the living and
the dead. All formed a perfect circle
and then changing of seats was neces-
sary in order to get the magnetism of the
group evenly balanced, as the Professor
explained. The new ones in each case
sat between those who had had some
experience in talking with ghosts, prob
ably in order to keep the novices from
collapsing with fright. The circle, by
the way, was composed mostly of ladies,
whose names are we'll known in local
society. The circuit was then closed by
joining hands, the right over the left in
each case. In the center of the circle
were two long tin trumpets and two or
three musical instruments. Everybody
was told to keep both feet on the floor,
as the spirits did not like to talk to peo-
pie who had their feet crossed. Then
the light was extinguished and the room
was in utter darkness, regular inky
blackness that could not be pierced.
The Lords prayer was repeated and
two or three spirit songs were sung by
began to float around mysteriously, hit
ting people on the knees or head. 1t
was most irrational proceeding on the
part of the trumpet, but the thing was
still more uncanny when it stopped in
front of one of the party and voice
came out of the tube and called her by
nd fhof q
spirit of her departed mother. After
the lady had had brief conversation
| with her mother, the trumpet ap-
preached another lady and voice an
nounced that it was her son, who was
accidentally killed while hunting last
fall The voice warned her not to do
what she was contemplating doing.
The trumpet thus went from one to
another, not excepting the reporters,
and spirits conversed or seemed to try
to do so with all the parties present
The grandfather of one of the ladies
came several times and talked to her in
German.
Prof Narcotic presently went into a
trance and saw the form of little girl
who was drowned in a creek in the
north part of the city few weeks ago.
The spirit of the girl announced that
she wished to speak with her mother
and wished her to be present at the next
seance.
One of the members of the party went
into trance and talked in the Indian
language, and Miss Narcotic also had
an Indian trance The Professor had a
conversation with Yellow Jacket and
Black Foot, two famous Indian guides
that bring the spirits to the seances. The
medium saw visions behind the reporters
and informed one of the scribes that he
would have a slight accident within a
month that would keep him indoors for
a few days. He said that the other
would make a good medium himself.
After about an hour and twenty min
utes devoted to the occult business, the
spirits hied themselves away and the
seance was over, and everybody left the
room wiping perspiration from his face.
One young lady said that she had seen
lights floating around the room, but the
others had not seen this.
One of the spiritualisrs present in.
formed the reporter on the side that
everybody has guide who is with him
at certain hours of the day. At certain
hours anyone can commune with good
spirits, while bad spirits will play jokes
on him at other hours He said that
! the people generally have no idea what
| is going on in the air around them. This
gentleman took up spiritualism last
spring and has gotten SO far along that
he can do little spirit writing, His
wife can do the writing readily.
Another pupil of spiritualism has got
ten so far along that he is now almost a
medium himself.
We do not attempt to account for the
wonderful spirit manifestations last
night and perhaps would not get it
right if we did try. Those who are in