The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1922-03-16
FLAMING SPOOK
|SG|RL PSYCHIC,
PHYSICIAN SAYS
Antigonish Ghost Identified A
Child UnaccountabIe for
Actions.

HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, March
16.-The ghost Of Antagonist has
been found. It Is none other than
Mary Ellen Macdonald, foster
daughter Of Mr.. and Mrs. Alexan-
der Macdonald.
DR.. Walter F. Prince, who hunts
ghosts with science, made these
declarations yesterday after . visit
to the haunted" Macdonald home
At Caledonia Mills.
Dr.. Prince, In q lengthy report.
blamed Mary Ellen for the mysteri-
GUS fires which were among the
chief Of the ghostly Manifestations.
He said that she was not morally
culpable," ~ she was in an altered
state Of consciousness and did not
realize what she was doing.
The braiding Of the cow tails and
the shifting of farm stock also prob
ably was the result Of Mary Ellen's
altered state Of consciousness"
There IL the possibility. support
ed by q body of evidence" the re-
port said, that this altered state
was brought about by a discarnate
intelligence. This IL q theoretical
possibility, whereas the external
facts seem certain"
The slaps that Harold Whidden,
Halifax Herald reporter. and p. C.
Carroll, detective. . claimed to- have
suffered from a ghostly hand after
the MacDonalds had been frighte ned
out of their home, however, were not
traced to Mary Ellen's hand.
Their experiences. said the re,,ort,
were probably Of a supernormal
character, which does not necessarily
imply that the supernormal cause
was spiritualistic.
In other words. DR.. Prince TN
piled, Whidden and Carroll might
have slapped each other-or might
merely have thought they we're
slapped. DIR. Princes summary OF
his report follows:
1.-The fires were undoubtedly set by
human hands. judging by the unn,is-
taxable signs left in the house. The
burns are never found on the VAN
paper higher than the reach u q
person five feet tall, which Ii the
height of the girl In the family. Over
the bed. which fills one end VI q
room, they are never higher thnn
such q person kneeling could reach,
and in muddy or snowy weather one
would not wish to stand on the Led.
"Other slightly higher places on
tho woodwork were always net on
fire by pieces Of cloth. which could
easily have been tossed. In a re-
cess over q door. where . fire &C.
CURED. were found the fragments
of q glove, undisturbed, and In. the
midst Of them match. where It
could not have been prior to the
fire. nor have been placed there
after it's extinRuishment.
THE fires avoided starting be-
fore witnesses. as there was no
occult reason for doing, and avoid.
ed all parts Of the dining room and
parior visible from the meeting
place In the kitchen.
1.-THE various witnesses were I'M
doubtedly honest in believing that
the acts could not have been thus
performed. but my acquaintance
with the errors of observation and
Of memory on the part OF intelli-
gent persons dealing with q large
number of details In a matter quite
new to them has often demonstrated
that such testimony may be vitality
In error.
But I am emphatically Of the
opinion that the girl was not mentally
culpable. She 10 mentally exceeding.
iy young for her years. and within
the past year she had singular
dream states from which It was
difficult to rouse her. 1t is very
probably that she was the victim Of
altered states OF consciousness. about
which psychology has learned so
much OF late. Such was denmon-
stratably tho condition of Esther
Cox, around whom similar phenom
ena in the great Amherst mystery
revolved.
"If the views OF the late DR.. Hy.
slop, who amassed considerable evil
dence In support Of them, are cor.
rect, this would be case where a
discarnate agency brought about the
alteration OF personality and per-
formed the acts through the girl.