There is an old adage that “truth is stranger than fiction” but some of the miraculous things attributed to the Spirits would not be told, could not be told, even by such a famous writer of wild fiction as Baron Munchausen, but under the protecting mantle of Spiritualism these vivid tales are believed by millions. The conglomerated things you are asked to accept in good faith are almost inconceivable. If you do not then you are not a real Spiritualist. There must not be the shadow of a doubt in your mind as to the truth of the extravagant feats claimed to be performed by the Spirits through their earthly messengers the mediums.
Among the spirits who have come back and written stories, according to the Spiritualists, are no less personages than Shakespeare, Bacon, Charles Dickens who completed his “Mystery of Edwin Drood,” Jack London, Edgar Allan Poe, Mark Twain, and lately Oscar Wilde. Magazines have been published by the “Spirits”[119] and there are numbers of cases where entire books have been claimed to be their work. I ask the reader if he believes the following incidents which I have selected from various Spiritualistic publications in my library. If so he is entitled to join the cult.
The “Medium and Daybreak” of June 9, 1871, tells of an instance where “The Spirits ‘floated’ Mr. Herne to Mrs. Guppy’s in open day as was reported by us two weeks ago.... This has been speedily followed by other cases some of which are exceedingly well substantiated. On Saturday evening, as a circle consisting of about nine persons, sat within locked doors, with Messrs. Herne and Williams, at these mediums’ lodgings, 61 Lambs’ Conduit Street, after a considerable time an object was felt to come upon the table, and when a light was struck, their visitor was found to be Mrs. Guppy. She was not by any means dressed for an excursion, as she was without shoes, and had a memorandum book in one hand and a pen in the other.
“The last word inscribed in the book was ‘onions.’ The writing was not yet dry and there was ink on the pen. When Mrs. Guppy regained her consciousness she stated that she had been making some entries of expenses, became insensible and knew nothing until she found herself in the circle. A party of gentlemen accompanied Mrs. Guppy home; a deputation went in first and questioned Miss Neyland as to how or when Mrs. Guppy had been missed. She said that she had been sitting in the same room; Mrs. Guppy was making entries in her book, and Miss Neyland was reminding her of the items to put down. Miss Neyland was reading a newspaper in the intervals of conversation, and when she raised her head from her reading Mrs. Guppy could not be seen. It was intimated, through raps on the table, that the Spirits had taken her, and as Mrs. Guppy had every confidence in the beneficence of these agents, Mrs. Guppy’s abduction gave no concern. Both Mr. Herne and Mr. Williams were ‘floated’ the same evening. Mr. Williams found himself at the top of the stairs, the doors being shut all the while.
“At the seance at the Spiritual Institution, a young lady who was a sceptic was levitated. At Messrs. Herne and Williams’ seance, at the same place, a geranium in a pot was brought into the room from the staircase window above, while doors and windows were closed. Mrs. Burns had a knife taken out of her hand, which ‘Katie’ (the Spirit) said she would deposit at Lizzie’s, meaning Mrs. Guppy. A gentleman had two spirit photographs taken from his hand. A cushion was carried from the front room to the back room, where the seance was held, the door being shut. Mr. Williams’ coat was taken off while his hands were held. Mr. Herne was floated. Mr. Andrews, a gentleman who has not the use of his limbs, held a very interesting conversation with ‘Katie’ who promised to try and benefit him. The generous sympathy of these good spirits was very apparent from their eagerness to help the distressed. A letter from Northampton intimates that similar phenomena are being produced in that town. These feats are doing a mighty work in convincing hundreds of the power.
“At a seance given by Mrs. Guppy (‘Medium and Daybreak,’ November 18, 1870), the Spirits knowing it was tea time, first of all brought through the solid wall the dishes and placed them on the table, then transported cake and hot tea, and in the center of the table was placed violets, mignonette, geranium leaves and fern leaves, all wet with rain, which had been gathered by the Spirits.
“Herne, with whom Williams was associated, made it his business to have his Spirits bring in the slates from the hallway through the closed door. He had books ooze through the solid floors, from the library overhead, and drop on the seance table. Williams would be entranced in the cabinet and the Spirits would disrobe him much to his ‘entranced’ embarrassment.
On the testimony of Orville Pitcher, John King at a seance stood in the full glare of the daylight for twenty minutes. He then retired and was followed by no less a personage than Oliver Cromwell, who walked around, embraced his medium and all the sitters. He afterwards controlled the medium and gave utterance to thoughts of a most elevated nature.
“Mrs. Catherine Berry goes on record (‘Medium and Daybreak,’ July 9, 1876) that through the mediumship of Mrs. Guppy she had seen the Sultan of Zanzibar on the previous day. “He had a handsome copper-colored face and a large black beard, on his head he had a white turban such as worn by the Spirit of John King.”
“Dr. Monck, ex-preacher, disappeared one night from the bed in which he slept with another man in Bristol and to his surprise, when he awoke, found himself in Swindon.” (Spiritualism, by Joseph McCabe.)