Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-09-21
Copyright, 1907. by John Elfreth watkins.)
Special Correspondence OF The Star.

Special Correspondence of The Star.
NEW YORK
Y UST back from an investigation of a
strange case af 'haunts'' in Nova
SCOTIA mission that required some
remarkable detective work on his
part, Hereward Darlington member
of the council of the American Institute
for Scientific Research chatted with me
the other day about some "spooks''-bogus
and genuine-which he has met in the
course of his strenuous career as a psy-
chic investigator. a branch of the institute
Is the new and independent Anne rican So
ciety for Psychfcal Research, Of which Mr.
Darlington IS a member, as he is, also Of
the famous London society In fact this in
dustrious young psychical researcher Is a
Britisher by birth. native of the Isle of
Jersey.
AS source of good copy he had been
recommended to me by DR.. James Hyslop
head Of the institute. Mr.. Carrington's
career has indeed been devoid of monotony
After coming to America at the age Of
seventeen and returning to complete his
education in England he developed a hobby
for leSerdeman and Conjuring. For some
time he gave exhibitions and attained high
rank as a professional prestidigitateur This
naturally turned his attention to psychical
research. for he sought, through his knowl-
of noted mediums. This debut was ten
years ago. and his scientific papers which
followed. attracted the late DIR. Richard
HOGgSOn, head of the old American branch
of the London Society OF Ghost Hunters.
He became DIR. HodSson's right hand man
on this work and on the latter's death, DR..
Hyslop recently fell heir to his genius, and
employed him as his chief scientific as
slstant. While DR.. Hyslop devotes his at
tention to the mental phenomena of spirit
ism. Mr.. Darlington as indefatigably in
vestigates the physical manifestations and,
as the former explained to me, is the
complement of the other in this interesting
research, which now has old earth by the
ears.
Not All Bogus.
Like nearly all scientific men who have
started out in cold skepticism to expose the
frauds of so-called spiritualis1n, Mr. Car
rington has come to regard a small per-
centage of investigated cases to be genuine
noted this in glancing over his new book,
1.-THE Physical Phenomena Of Spirtualism,"
which Is the fullest treatise the subject |
that has yet been made understandable to
the popular mind. In the table of contents |
two headings. THE Fraudulent and THE |
Genuine" This provoked my first question, |
which the author answered in these words:
at is because l now believe that such
phenomena do occasionally really occur that
| am anxious to expose the frauds. Only
by so doing can we hope to reach the gen.
uine phenomenal
How can one best equip himself to scent
out these fraudS?" | asked.
above all. by studying the psychology
of deception" he replied without mas
tering this science no psyChical researcher
can hope to be more than babe In the
hands of the clever cOnjurers who fraudu-
lently produce socalled spirtualistic tests.
The subject is too great to go into in an
hours conversation, but l might mention
one elementary rule: Whenever the me
dunn looks intently at one of his hands the
9th CHI no fob into mt v nv no
sitter AS n matter of fact. the sitter will
Invariably look at the point closely watched
by the medium. But the bogus medium de-
ponds chiefly upon giving suggestion of
what will happen. knowing that the imagi-
nation and inference of the sitters will dc
the rest. This is why one old wire mash
in the property of the medium will be
recognized by dozens of victims as fathers,
mothers, sisters brothers. cousins. sweet
hearts. wives. husbands and what not.
Materializations Possible.
DO you believe spirit materiaizations to
be possible?" was my next question.
ut is possible. or, ut least, conceivable
that genuine naturalization exists as a
fact in nature, though the available test-
mony is not beyond doubt cavil.'' the
investigator answered. 1T Is conceivable
that an ETHEREAL body described by many
able writer's on the subject. may. under
certain conditions about which we at pres
ent know nothing become visible; but the
lack of evidence renders all such specua-
tons premature. DR.. J. Maxwell of Bor
deaux, France, has recorded some most re-
markable luminous phenomena which seem
hard to account for by any process OF
trickery. Prof. Charles Richet OF Paris
has recently recorded an extraordinary
case of naturalization obtained under ap-
parent test conditions and Sir William
Crookes claims to have seen and felt mys-
FERROUS hands materialize and melt In his
own palms. These men are all trustworthy
and | do not wish to deprecate the char
acter or value of their evidence. One Of
the most remarkable cases that l know OF
was where spirit vas seen to materiailze
from a cloud issuing from the mediums
side. know of no case which seemed so
Impossible OF reproduction by fraud. Yet
a Mr.. Maskelyne last October at st.
Georges Hall, London, reproduced the
whole phenomenon by fraud alone
How Editor Stead Was Fooled.
The whole history of naturalization, so
far as professional mediums are concerned,
Is practically one unbroken line of frauds
William T. Stead some time ago announced
that in Mrs. Mellon. an English medium
he had found the only one person of un-
doubted undertaking faculty and I'M
doubted character in the United King
dom. Shortly afterward at seance held
in Melbourne. Australia, an investigator
suddenly seized the materialized spirit that
issued from the cabinet and found that he
held Mrs. Mellon. She was upon her knees
and when the light was suddenly turned up
she was found to have a white material
upon her head and shoulders and mask
of back material over her face. The inves-
tigator was assaulted by two or three men
present but he kept hold of the spirit and
thus the only medium of 'undoubted char
acter' was caught red handed"
Ten Yards Of Luminous Gauze in Vest
Pocket.
What are some of the cleverest material
izing tricks lately exposed?"
Some OF the greatest cleverness Of me-
diums Is applied in devising means of SNUG
Cling clothes into the cabinet. The self
playing guitar, gyrated over the cabinet
on the mediums most useful tool-the tele-
scopic rod. often contains not only the es-
sentIal music box. but a sliding panel OPEN
ing into a hollow compartment stuffed with
robes and other paraphernalia. These robes
are made of fine netting and ten yards
OF 1t can be put into the vest pocket. 1t
Is made luminous by being soaked in phos-
phorous paint. thinned with turpentine, and
Is then perfumed and dried. The full cos
tune ef an adult spirit folds into a space
l.