Subject of spectral illusions—Recent and interesting case of Mrs. A.—Her first illusion affecting the ear—Spectral apparition of her husband—Spectral apparition of a cat—Apparition of a near and living relation in grave-clothes, seen in a looking-glass—Other illusions, affecting the ear—Spectre of a deceased friend sitting in an easy-chair—Spectre of a coach-and-four filled with skeletons—Accuracy and value of the preceding cases—State of health under which they arose—Spectral apparitions are pictures on the retina—The ideas of memory and imagination are also pictures on the retina—General views of the subject—Approximate explanation of spectral apparitions.
The preceding account of the different sources of illusion to which the eye is subject is not only useful as indicating the probable cause of any individual deception, but it has a special importance in preparing the mind for understanding those more vivid and permanent spectral illusions to which some individuals have been either occasionally or habitually subject.
In these lesser phenomena, we find the retina so powerfully influenced by external impressions, as to retain the view of visible objects long after they are withdrawn: we observe it to be so excited by local pressures of which we sometimes know neither the nature nor the origin, as to see in total darkness moving and shapeless masses of coloured light; and we find, as in the case of Sir Isaac Newton, and others, that the imagination has the power of reviving the impressions of highly luminous objects, months and even years after they were first made. From such phenomena, the mind feels it to be no violent transition to pass to those spectral illusions which, in particular states of health, have haunted the most intelligent individuals, not only in the broad light of day, but in the very heart of the social circle.
This curious subject has been so ably and fully treated in your Letters on Demonology, that it would be presumptuous in me to resume any part of it on which you have even touched; but as it forms a necessary branch of a Treatise on Natural Magic, and as one of the most remarkable cases on record has come within my own knowledge, I shall make no apology for giving a full account of the different spectral appearances which it embraces, and of adding the results of a series of observations and experiments on which I have been long occupied, with the view of throwing some light on this remarkable class of phenomena.
A few years ago, I had occasion to spend some days under the same roof with the lady to whose case I have above referred. At that time she had seen no spectral illusions, and was acquainted with the subject only from the interesting volume of Dr. Hibbert. In conversing with her about the cause of these apparitions, I mentioned, that if she should ever see such a thing, she might distinguish a genuine ghost, existing externally, and seen as an external object, from one created by the mind, by merely pressing one eye or straining them both, so as to see objects double; for in this case the external object or supposed apparition would invariably be doubled, while the impression on the retina created by the mind would remain single. This observation recurred to her mind when she unfortunately became subject to the same illusions; but she was too well acquainted with their nature to require any such evidence of their mental origin; and the state of agitation which generally accompanies them seems to have prevented her from making the experiment as a matter of curiosity.
1. The first illusion to which Mrs. A. was subject was one which affected only the ear. On the 26th of December, 1830, about half-past four in the afternoon, she was standing near the fire in the hall, and on the point of going up stairs to dress, when she heard, as she supposed, her husband’s voice calling her by name, “—— Come here! come to me!” She imagined that he was calling at the door to have it opened, but upon going there and opening the door she was surprised to find no person there. Upon returning to the fire, she again heard the same voice calling out very distinctly and loudly, “—— Come, come here!” She then opened two doors of the same room, and upon seeing no person she returned to the fire-place. After a few moments she heard the same voice still calling, “—— ---- Come to me, come! come away!” in a loud, plaintive, and somewhat impatient tone. She answered as loudly, “Where are you? I don’t know where you are;” still imagining that he was somewhere in search of her: but receiving no answer, she shortly went up stairs. On Mr. A.’s return to the house, about half an hour afterwards, she inquired why he called to her so often, and where he was; and she was, of course, greatly surprised to learn that he had not been near the house at the time. A similar illusion, which excited no particular notice at the time, occurred to Mrs. A. when residing at Florence about ten years before, and when she was in perfect health. When she was undressing after a ball, she heard a voice call her repeatedly by name, and she was at that time unable to account for it.
2. The next illusion which occurred to Mrs. A. was of a more alarming character. On the 30th of December, about four o’clock in the afternoon, Mrs. A. came down stairs into the drawing-room, which she had quitted only a few minutes before, and on entering the room she saw her husband, as she supposed, standing with his back to the fire. As he had gone out to take a walk about half an hour before, she was surprised to see him there, and asked him why he had returned so soon. The figure looked fixedly at her with a serious and thoughtful expression of countenance, but did not speak. Supposing that his mind was absorbed in thought, she sat down in an arm-chair near the fire, and within two feet at most of the figure, which she still saw standing before her. As its eyes, however, still continued to be fixed upon her, she said, after the lapse of a few minutes, “Why don’t you speak,——?” The figure immediately moved off towards the window at the further end of the room, with its eyes still gazing on her, and it passed so very close to her in doing so, that she was struck by the circumstance of hearing no step nor sound, nor feeling her clothes brushed against, nor even any agitation in the air. Although she was now convinced that the figure was not her husband, yet she never for a moment supposed that it was anything supernatural, and was soon convinced that it was a spectral illusion. As soon as this conviction had established itself in her mind, she recollected the experiment which I had suggested, of trying to double the object: but before she was able distinctly to do this, the figure had retreated to the window, where it disappeared. Mrs. A. immediately followed it, shook the curtains and examined the window, the impression having been so distinct and forcible that she was unwilling to believe that it was not a reality. Finding, however, that the figure had no natural means of escape, she was convinced that she had seen a spectral apparition like those recorded in Dr. Hibbert’s work, and she consequently felt no alarm or agitation. The appearance was seen in bright daylight, and lasted four or five minutes. When the figure stood close to her it concealed the real objects behind it, and the apparition was fully as vivid as the reality.
3. On these two occasions Mrs. A. was alone, but when the next phantasm appeared her husband was present. This took place on the 4th of January, 1830. About ten o’clock at night, when Mr. and Mrs. A. were sitting in the drawing-room, Mr. A. took up the poker to stir the fire, and when he was in the act of doing this, Mrs. A. exclaimed, “Why there’s the cat in the room!” “Where?” asked Mr. A. “There, close to you,” she replied. “Where?” he repeated. “Why on the rug, to be sure, between yourself and the coal-scuttle.” Mr. A., who had still the poker in his hand, pushed it in the direction mentioned: “Take care,” cried Mrs. A., “take care, you are hitting her with the poker.” Mr. A. again asked her to point out exactly where she saw the cat. She replied, ”Why sitting up there close to your feet on the rug. She is looking at me. It is Kitty—come here, Kitty!”—There were two cats in the house, one of which went by this name, and they were rarely if ever in the drawing-room. At this time Mrs. A. had no idea that the sight of the cat was an illusion. When she was asked to touch it, she got up for the purpose, and seemed as if she were pursuing something which moved away. She followed a few steps, and then said, “It has gone under the chair.” Mr. A. assured her it was an illusion, but she would not believe it. He then lifted up the chair, and Mrs. A. saw nothing more of it. The room was then searched all over, and nothing found in it. There was a dog lying on the hearth, who would have betrayed great uneasiness if a cat had been in the room, but he lay perfectly quiet. In order to be quite certain, Mr. A. rang the bell, and sent for the two cats, both of which were found in the housekeeper’s room.
4. About a month after this occurrence, Mrs. A., who had taken a somewhat fatiguing drive during the day, was preparing to go to bed about eleven o’clock at night, and, sitting before the dressing-glass, was occupied in arranging her hair. She was in a listless and drowsy state of mind, but fully awake. When her fingers were in active motion among the papillotes, she was suddenly startled by seeing in the mirror the figure of a near relation, who was then in Scotland and in perfect health. The apparition appeared over her left shoulder, and its eyes met hers in the glass. It was enveloped in grave-clothes, closely pinned, as is usual with corpses, round the head, and under the chin, and though the eyes were open, the features were solemn and rigid. The dress was evidently a shroud, as Mrs. A. remarked even the punctured pattern usually worked in a peculiar manner round the edges of that garment. Mrs. A. described herself as at the time sensible of a feeling like what we conceive of fascination, compelling her for a time to gaze on this melancholy apparition, which was as distinct and vivid as any reflected reality could be, the light of the candles upon the dressing-table appearing to shine fully upon its face. After a few minutes, she turned round to look for the reality of the form over her shoulder; but it was not visible, and it had also disappeared from the glass when she looked again in that direction.
5. In the beginning of March, when Mr. A. had been about a fortnight from home, Mrs. A. frequently heard him moving near her. Nearly every night, as she lay awake, she distinctly heard sounds like his breathing hard on the pillow by her side, and other sounds such as he might make while turning in bed.