The New York herald., 1922-03-16
Continued from First Page.

--------------------
have been adequately examined. have an
unpromising history. Some sound well
on paper, but nearly all depend on the
testimony of layInen in this field. On
the other hand many such cases. which
caused local wonder. have been exploded
by psychical researchers and others. 1t
Is curious that generally they seem to
revolve around some young person. more
frequently q girl. In the famous potter
geist antics in the house Of John Wes-
ley's father it was a sister Of John who
seemed to be the center. In the Elwyn
March case. reported by the A. S. P. r..
1t was q boy. In the great Amherst
mystery il was girl.
I'm some poltergeistic incid cnts OF the
Salem witchcraft. where the girl Anne
Putnam, who is the chief accuser. there
is question whether Anne was not her
self the witch" who caused the mis-
chief. We simply note that there is
girl in the latest case and pass on.
The Clark potergeist case, reported by
the A. s. p. r., on the other hand
seemingly did not center in a girl, but
in a young man. The Windsor case in
vestigated by the same body, was con-
nected casually with number of per-
sons, both boys and men.
other Mysteries.
This is the third Nova Scotia pol
tergeist case which the A. S. p. r. has
dealt with. The first, the great Am
herst mystery, astonlshed the whole
country. and attracted attention over
IN England many years ago. Our pres
ent knowledge of II depends mostly upon
a book by Walter Hubbel. an actor.
who was in the house during a. portion
of the period of activity. Objects flew
about. but no one ever saw them start.
Chairs fell over. but not when squarely
in view. Objects we're apparently thrown
at Hubbell to his great alarm but
seemed to take pains to not quite hit him.
Pins were found sticking in the girls
flesh, but such acts arc often self
inflicted by persons afflicted with that
strange mental malady, hysteria.
AT least. only two years ago, the
many biographical facts which Hubbell
naively set down about Esther Cox were
analyzed in the light of abnormal psy-
chology and left no room for doubt that
hers was a case of dual personality. |
had the advantage of my first hand
study of the now classical Doris Case of
Multiple Personality and my book study
of the other recorded cases of the Kind
and found an abundance of statements
in the book which. taken together. made
a demonstration which ! think no psy-
chologist would dispute.
ut was Esther's hands which per-
formed the acts with uncanny crafti-
ness in a state for which she was not
responsible and which she could not re
member At length she was caught
burning 4 barn and sent to Jail. because
there was no one to convince the jury
that she was not responsible
la
Cured about 1907. An estimable gen
tlcman reported to the a. S. p. r. that
coins rained from the air upon him,
furniture tumbled over at his approach,
barrels hopped UP. turned upon their
sides and chased him. lie testified that
these facts could not possibly have been
caused by human hands but when the
society sent Mr.. Darlington to the spot
he caught human beings in the act and
got confessions from some of them Even
then the worthy victim was uncon-
vnced.
some New York Ghosts.
First. as to sounds. SC. 1t is strange
how little study has been made of rap
ping sounds not traceable to physical
considering how many have been
the observed cases. know one house
hold in New York where they began
who was a privileged visitor; and soon
after when another in close relation
died another quality of rapping began.
For two years these two distinguish
able sorts Of raps have gone on, seeming
to display intelligence, and for two years
a record has been made.
I'm my own house | studied and re-
corded raps which we're not referrable to
creaking of furniture or boards. expan-
sion or contraction of wood. rats or
winds or any other physical cause. They
began suddenly one night. alarming a
Of the household. For hours
sat and moved about, studying the phe-
II had lived in twenty-six houses and
lad never heard anything like IL. The
rnps sounded in "a desk they sounded
on table by my bed where lay alone,
they sounded on my dressing table in the
They never were heard Sat
urday nights so long as had Sunday
lecture series. AS soon as that stopped
they occurred on Saturday nights also.
They were heard by two or three persons
when together.
About three weeks after they began
Ia my house they began In my office.
out almost always when none but my |
self was there. 7 have heard raps in
Ia bic, have asked them to go to the
other end and they went. tapping on
the way, and then click was heard on
the glass Of the bookcase. two feet
farther in straight line, apparently.
Not only raps, but bangs were heard
in my house. and sounds as of coal