Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-07-06
TESTING IMMORTALITY
Experiments of American Psy-
chic Society With Apparatus.
SOUL PROVEN BY SCIENCE
qhost-Seeing, Telepathy, Mediums and
Clairvoyance to Be scrutinized.
A MESSAGE FROM THE DEAD
Possible Effect Upon Community
Should Complete Scientific Proof
of Immortality Be Secured.
A MESSAGE FROM THE DEAD
Copyright. 1907. by John Eltreth watkIns.)


for the purpose of proving or disproving
the Immortality OF the soul we yester-
day described to me by Prof James II.
IIyslOp. late of the faculty of Columbia
University. and now secretary and active
head of the new American Society for
Pyschical Research.
His individual opinion that Immortality
has already been scientifically demonstrated
was expressed to me by the psychologist in
the COURSE of the interview, which took
place IN this city at tie headquarters of
the new Institute Of Scientific Research
of which americas first independent So
ciety for PsychIcal Research is a section
Within the few months of its active exist
ence this new society has acquired mem
bership Of G2O equal to that of which the
lately disbaaded American branch of the
English society boosted after eighteen
years. Among the honorary fellows OF the
American society are Lord Rayleigh, Baron
won Schrenck-NOtzing, Sir Oliver Lodge,
Sir William Crookes ex-Premier Balfour,
Dr. Wi-I-4m Osfer, Drs. Janet and Richet or
Paris. and Prof. Max Dessoir of Berlin.
Tho society viii spread no pro- uganda
whatever. put will search the country over
for alleged cases of haunting or ghost see
ing teiepathy, clairvOyance, mediums, etc.
The names of persons reporting such cas- $
will be kept secret whenever II Is 50 De
sired. and the collected data Will be studlei
by trained scientists and subjected TO rlgld
scrutiny.
Monthly reports describing the more in
tercsting cases will be circulated excu-
s,+.e.y among members who need have no
other qualification than interest in all such
viii you kindly tell me about your dis
tinCtly new experiments-thoss not YET an
nounced to the public?' J first asked Prof.
HyslOp.
New Experiments Described.
among those not yet exploited are some
tests which I am now making with the
aid of several non-professiOnal mediums
psychics in private life. For the time being
my experiments with Mrs. Leonore Piper,
the Boston psychic, have been concluded.
and she is now in England fulfilling an
engagernent with the London Society for
Psychic Research. In my three new series
Of experiments 1 am reproducing phenom-
ena identical with those OF the Piper case
and representing the same alleged comnu-
nicators. l am at work particularly on WAT
we call cases of cross reference that ID,
incidents and statements obtained through
several mediums who do not know the
facts obtained. Thus, for example, IL
obtain a message through the medium
ship OF A and then receive similar Informal
ton through 3 and c, neither of whom
knows that l have had a sitting with one
OF the others. 1 am entitled to conjecture
the same source for all three MESSAGES
In this manner / am endeavoring to es-
tablish the personal identities OF the alleged
sources of the messages. My present ex-
periments are such tests for the personal
identities of deceased persons, including
DIR. PodgsOn, Stanton Moses, Mr.. +. W. II.
Myers and George Pelham, all well known
to psychic researchers.
"One interesting discovery which have
recently made Is that In alleged messages
from the same deceased person received
through three different writing mediums
unknown to each other the word have is
Invariably written In the same peculiar
manner-with the letter e separated from
the remainder of the word and commenced
with a stroke These mediums. indi-
viduaIy do not know that this Is charac-
tsristiC Of the messages received through
the others.
L have applied the pseudonyms 'Smead.'
Smith and Quentin to the three mediums
employed for my experiments. This l
have done for their own convenience. Mrs.
Piper was greatly annoyed by the publicity
caused by our announcement or her name.
Have you devised any new apparatus or
modus operandi for these experimental
Yes. the methods are somewhat different
from those used In the Piper experiments.
Mrs Piper goes into trance while seated
in a chair. her head resting on pillows piled
on a stand before her. She turns her face
10 the left that she cannot see the writ
ing executed with her right hand. which,
holding a pencil. rests upon pad on
another table, to her right. She talks on
various subjects until suddenly dropping
over on the pillows. as described. Now for
my more recent experiments. l have in
vented this headreSt. which Is much more
convenient than the pillows on the table.
AS you see. II Is nickeled stand which
may be Clamped to a table, thus, and ad-
Justed that this Concave plate here sup
ports the forehead Of the subject. as no
bends forward at any comfortable angle.
a folded towel rests between the subjects
forehead and the nickcied plate, which lat
ter also serves as shield, hiding the right
hand engaged in the writing. A more nor
NAL position OF the body Is also effected.
Masked in Presence of Medium.
~ wore black mask covering my face
Sror my hall, hAa I'd han
! began to visit Mrs. Piper. 1 remained
masked In this way for year. and thus
hid my identity from her until after the
principal results OF those experiments had
been obtained. But in these new expert
ments l not the sitter Strangers are
Introduced to the mediums. but not until
the latter have gone into the trance state
and their eyes have been hidden In the
headrest, described. | simply sit In the
room and observe the experiment. There
Is also present, invariably, stenographer,
who makes notes. absolutely verbatim. or
everything which occurs. The sitters are
generally selected from class that have
shown some psychic tendencies. They are
always taken out OF the room before the
mediums come out OF the trance state.
Their personalities are never known to the
medium
AS protection against possible fraud
on the mediums part do you apply any
tests to thcm2'
I apply 10 the medium physiological tests
amnesia or loss of memory. In the gem
nine trance state both sensation and MEM
DRY are absent The test for anaesthesia
10 made by thrusting needles under the fin
ger nails or by rubbing the pupils OF the
eyes. and II the subject does not vince the
true trance state Is indicated. The test
FOR memory is a examination made
while the medium Is In the normal state,
and 20 devised that any memory OF what
has gone in the room during q trance
would be almost certain to reveal itself, IL
present
DR.. Hodgson Fulflls Promise.
The papers have said that before Dr.
Hodgsons death you had mutual ar
arrangement that whoever died first should
appear to the other"
I'VE had no formal agreement whatso-
ever. We did have a tacit understanding
that whichever died would try to communi-
cate with the other
HAS he communicated with you since
his death? Has he kept his agreement
Yes: since his death I have received.