TO THE READER.
This volume is intended as an antidote to a species of errors that have been rife in every age of the Christian church. Notwithstanding the disclosures the Most High made of himself to his ancient people, they were yet prone to turn aside from the worship of the true God, to follow the lying spirits of the prophets of Baal, and other deceivers, from the days of Moses till the destruction of Jerusalem. So, likewise, under the Christian dispensation, there has been a succession of Antichrists, until their name is legion, whose teachings have clouded the understandings and blinded the moral perceptions of men, subverting the faith of many whose mountains stood strong, and who had been counted the chosen people of God.
The present is viewed as an age of isms. Men have run mad, and are chasing phantoms. They are roaming round to find some fulcrum to overturn the church and the Bible; they are imagining they are receiving utterances from heaven, when nothing is uttered but the vain fantasies of their own minds and hearts. It is the grossest fanaticism—fanaticism in its most frightful form, leading its unhappy victims, not unfrequently, to flagrant crimes, and to the most horrid of all—that of self-destruction.
These pages are submitted to the public with the counsel of the wisest and best of all ages, that, amid the wily arts of the adversary, we should cling to the word of God, the Bible of our fathers, as the only safe and infallible guide of faith and practice.
NOTE.
We would here give credit to the principal works from which valuable and important matter has been selected for these pages: Whitman's Popular Superstitions; Upham's Lectures upon Witchcraft; Christian Freeman and Family Visitor; Abercrombie on the Intellectual Powers; Influence of the Imagination upon the Nervous System, by Rev. Grant Powers; Life of Adam Clarke; Hayward's Book of all Religions; Miller on the Second Coming of Christ; Borrow's Gypsies of Spain; Stone on False Prophets and Christs; Dickens's Household Words; Capron and Barron on the Spirit Knockings; Dick on the Improvement of Society; Revelations of A. J. Davis; The Great Harmonia; Rogers on Human and Mundane Agents; Miss Crowe's Night Side of Nature; Spiritual Telegraph, &c.
As the work embraces a mass of facts of an absorbing and intensely interesting character, we trust that it will commend itself to an enlightened and judicious public.
THE AUTHOR.
CONTENTS.
| PART FIRST. | |
| INTRODUCTION. | |
| THE OBJECT OF THIS WORK. | |
| PAGE | |
| Nursery tales of giants, dwarfs, ghosts, fairies, and witches. — Their effect upon juvenile minds. — A belief in ghosts stillprevalent. — The excitability of the public mind. — Ghostreported as having been seen in Waltham, Massachusetts. | [17] |
| CHAPTER I. | |
| ORIGIN OF POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS. | |
| Ignorance of correct reasoning. — Conclusions from particularfacts. — Water boiled by heat. — Signs. — Breaking a mirror. — General conclusions from a few facts. — A victim to superstition inNew Hampshire. — How signs may be multiplied. — The design ofthe Creator in endowing us with reason. | [19] |
| CHAPTER II. | |
| INDUCTIVE PHILOSOPHY NOT UNDERSTOOD. | |
| Ignorance of it the cause of many superstitions. — Lights seen inmarshy grounds, &c. — Supposed to be supernatural. — Causes ofthese lights, and phenomena connected with them. — Shrinking andswelling of pork in boiling. — Cause. — Supposed influence of themoon in making soap, grafting trees, cutting timber, &c. — Lunarinfluence in matters of wedlock. — Love not to be fed onmoonshine. | [22] |
| CHAPTER III. | |
| IGNORANCE OF THE CAUSES OF DREAMS. | |
| Fruitful source of superstitions. — Opinions of ancient divines. — Dreams related in the Scriptures. — Their object. — Principlesof mental philosophy applied to modern dreams. — Examples ofsingular dreams. — Dreams occasioned by sickness. — Fulfilmentof certain dreams. — Causes of the same. — Remarkable case ofa German student. — Case of a member of Congress. — Amusingcase concerning a passage of Scripture. — Necessity of a pureconscience, and a careful attention to our stomachs. | [24] |
| CHAPTER IV. | |
| EFFECTS OF THE IMAGINATION ON THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. | |
| Ignorance of it has given rise to many superstitions. — Experiments of Mesmer and Deslon in Paris. — Singulardevelopments. — Trials at Dr. Franklin's house. — Childrenuninfluenced by mesmeric operations. — Magnetizing a treein Dr. Franklin's garden. — Experiments upon two females. — Effect produced. — Experiment upon a female by Dr. Sigault. — Practice among the Chinese. — Girl frightened to death by aGypsy. — Practice among the New Zealanders. — Killing others byincantation. — Intercourse with departed spirits. — An account ofPerkins's metallic tractors. — Their supposed influence in variousdiseases. — Suspicions concerning them. — Experiments with woodentractors. — Result of these experiments. — Statements of a modernmesmerizer. | [29] |
| CHAPTER V. | |
| IGNORANCE OF MENTAL PHILOSOPHY. | |
| This ignorance a cause of many superstitions. — Case of a personwho slept in a bed room supposed to be haunted. — Skeleton seen bymoonlight. — Apparition seen by Dr. Gregory. — Case related by Dr.Conolly. — Ship's crew frightened by an apparition. — Young ladysupposed to have been murdered by pirates. — Cases of impressionsconnected with bodily disease. — Phantasms in febrile diseases. — Afarmer frightened to death by a light in the road. — A figure likeDeath striking a lady in her side with a dart. — Illusion of sightand hearing. — Case of a lady who saw her absent husband standingby her side. — Countenance of a friend seen in a mirror. — Tunesheard. — Inverted objects. — Visions of the world of spirits. — Caseof Baron Swedenborg. — Case of a lady in Boston, who saw herdeceased grandmother. — The phantom ship seen in New Haven. — Thescience of optics. — Of nauscopy. — Cases of mirage. | [38] |
| CHAPTER VI. | |
| IGNORANCE OF TRUE RELIGION. | |
| God the Supreme Ruler of the Universe. — The natural worldgoverned by regular laws. — Sign of the howling of a dog underthe window. — Lucky and unlucky days. — Sir Matthew Hale'sopinion. — Early laws of Connecticut. — Superstition ofsailors. — Timidity of Voltaire. — Peace and happiness on alldays. — How procured. | [50] |
| CHAPTER VII. | |
| BELIEF IN WITCHCRAFT. | |
| A witch as regarded by our fathers. — Compact or agreement withthe devil. — Carried through the air on brooms and spits. — Anointing their bodies with a magical ointment. — How toprepare the same. — Singular ceremonies at the meetings ofwitches. — How they afflicted others. — The bewitched pins shownto Grace Greenwood. — Mode of examining and trying witches. — Witchcatcher in England. — How he was arrested and condemned. — Singularrecord on a church book in Scotland. — Notice of the Salemwitchcraft. — How such superstitions are to be done away. — Witchesand wizards of modern times. | [53] |
| CHAPTER VIII. | |
| NECROMANCY AND FORTUNE TELLING. | |
| Moll Pitcher, the queen of the race. — Her place of abode. — Company that visited her. — Member of a church sent toconsult her. — Casting out evil spirits in Syria. — Account ofLady Hester Stanhope. — The astrologer of Hopkinton, Massachusetts. — Chief characteristic of fortune seekers. — Effects producedupon them. | [58] |
| CHAPTER IX. | |
| FAIRIES, OR WANDERING SPIRITS, AND GYPSIES. | |
| Description of fairies, habits, localities, &c. — Subterraneanspirits in Wales, called Knockers. — The Brownies inScotland. — A farmer in Ireland who was tormented by fairies. — Method taken to appease their anger. — Spenser's poem ofthe Fairy Queen. — Gypsies and their employments. — Casting theevil eye. — Safeguard against it. — Charm of the Bible andkey. — Superstition called the elf-shot. — Practice ofpoisoning animals, and the cure. — Superstitions concerning theloadstone. — Translation of St. Luke into the Gypsy tongue. — Singular notions of the Gypsies concerning it. — Condemnedby the royal edict at Madrid. — The Gypsy choirs at Moscow. — Anecdote of Madame Catalini. | [61] |
| CHAPTER X. | |
| OMENS, CHARMS, AND DIVINATION. | |
| Books published upon these things. — Their injurious tendency. — A sample of their contents. — Practice of boxers. — Whistlingin a storm at sea. — Setting hens on an odd number ofeggs. — Salutes of an odd number of guns. — Omen concerningthe number thirteen. — Methods of ascertaining who will bea future husband. — Crossing of knives. — Click of insects. — Adventof comets. | [76] |
| CHAPTER XI. | |
| MODERN MIRACLES. | |
| They partake of superstition. — Instructions of the Saviorconcerning them. — Object of Scripture miracles. — Modern miraclesnot satisfactory. — Judge Howe's opinion concerning Christianity. — Times of miracles ceased. | [79] |
| CHAPTER XII. | |
| FALSE PROPHETS AND CHRISTS. | |
| History of the prophet Matthias. — His career in Albany and NewYork. — His deceptions upon conspicuous individuals. — His arrestfor alleged crimes. — Account of John of Leyden. — Sketch ofCochrane, and his impositions. | [81] |
| CHAPTER XIII. | |
| MORMON SUPERSTITION. | |
| Account of the golden plates found by Joseph Smith. — Theirtranslation and publication in a volume. — Peculiar style of thewritings. — Attempt at imitation. — Mormon preachers speaking withnew tongues. — Increase of the doctrine, and why. — Mormon citiesnot to be identified. — Strong indications of fabrication. — Fluency and earnestness of their preachers. — Traits of theCochranites. — Effects produced upon their hearers. — An accountof the real origin of the Mormon Bible, and its author. — Of Joseph Smith, Jr., the Mormon prophet. — His earlycharacteristics. — Exposure of the indecent ceremonies at Nauvoo;as established by Smith and others. | [96] |
| CHAPTER XIV. | |
| MILLER DELUSION. | |
| Prophecies of Mr. Miller. — His computation of time. — Managementto suit his own particular views. — Keeping the world standingthirty years on a simple if. — Various blunders andmistakes. — Confession of his errors. — False informationrespecting signs. — Disappearance of stars. — Of the AuroraBorealis. — Shooting stars. — Sun and moon turning to blood. — Darkness of the sun. — Its cause. — Remarkable appearancesin various ages of the world. — Opinion concerning Halley'scomet. — Ignorance of the constitution of comets. — The cometof 1770. — Tests of signs that shall indicate the end oftime. — Scientific men stationed in various parts of theearth. — No such changes as have been spoken of by the secondadvent preachers, observed by them. | [102] |
| CHAPTER XV. | |
| INTERCOURSE WITH DEPARTED SPIRITS. | |
| Spirits, ghosts, and spectres seen in all ages. — Account ofthe magic crystals, or divining glasses. — Seeing spirits inEgypt. — Lady Blessington's crystal in England. — Spirit of LordNelson described. — The Latin language commonly used by spirits. — An account of spirits that live in the Sun. — Spiritsconversing with human beings. — Mode of communication by lettersof fire, or large printed capitals. — Interview with thespirit of Pharaoh. — His present dwelling in the planetJupiter. — Information gleaned in conversation withhim. — Swedenborg's account of Sir John Franklin. — Describes hissituation, blocked up by ice. — Spirits do not understandabout latitude and longitude. — Description of thespirit of Socrates, his dress, &c. — Account of the emperorAlexander in the spirit world. — Dickens's account of fashionabledupes in England. — The sciences of astrology and magic. — Practices of high titled ladies in London. — Account of famousconjurers, or fortune tellers. — Account of the "rappers," or"knocking spirits." — Children frightened by their noises. — Snapping of fingers, and clapping of hands, imitated by thespirits. — Mrs. Fox asks questions of a spirit. — Answers givenby a succession of raps. — Account of a ghost that appearedin Waltham, Massachusetts. — Conversation with the ghost by agentleman. — Said he had been murdered, and told by whom. — Tonesof the ghost, (unearthly,) its mode of walking, &c. — Greatexcitement on account of the ghost. — Mode of communication withthe rapping spirits. — Tables and chairs moved, soundsheard, &c. — Band of music, beating of the bass drum, androar of artillery. — Guitar played by unseen hands. — Ladies' hairtaken down and braided by spirits. — People touched by unseenhands. — How spirits produce the sounds of music. — How theymake the rapping noises. — Account of an interview with thespirit of Dr. Franklin. — Sounds heard like trying the batteriesin the telegraph office. — Occupation of Franklin in the spiritworld. — Getting up a line of communication between the twoworlds. — Dr. Franklin predicts great changes in the nineteenthcentury. — Connection of magnetism with the spiritualrappings. — Clairvoyant interpreters between men andspirits. — Spiritual postmasters, letter paper, andenvelopes. — Letters received from the spiritual worlds. — TheSpirit Journal, in Auburn, New York. — Its pages edited,controlled, and superintended by spirits. — Theprophets and apostles its conductors, acting underthe Lord Supreme. — Blunders and errors of the rappingspirits. — Ignorant spirits. — Mischief produced bythem. — Swedenborg's account of their stupidity. — How todistinguish the sounds made by an ignorant or an intelligentspirit. — Wonderful precocity of infant spirits. — Progression ofspirits, both upwards and downwards. — The spirit of Dr. Channingdeteriorated in the other world. — Theological teachings ofthe rapping spirits. — Prophecy of Swedenborg concerning the year1852. — Noises of the rappers indicative of the approach ofhis prediction. — Are to be considered as omens of a newadvent. — Compared with the Miller prophecy of 1843. — Miracles,both of the rappers and the Millerites. — A sick man and his bedtaken up by spirits. — The body of a Mr. Gordon taken up byspiritual hands. — Miracles wrought in favor ofMillerism. — Miracles wrought in favor ofwitchcraft. — Millerites taken up by spiritualhands. — Strange noises made by spirits among theAdventists. — Houses shaken, mirrors shattered to pieces,furniture broken. — Four women carried through the air on apole. — Testimony under oath respecting it. — Account of abewitched ventriloquist. — Witches in 1850. — What theeditor of a Boston journal says of them. — Witches, ghosts,spooks, and hobgoblins, in all ages of the world. — Account of ahaunted house in Boston. — Every window illuminated atmidnight. — A young man frightened by the scene. — Singular notionof the Greenlanders respecting the cause of thunder, and of theAurora Borealis. — Notion of the ancients concerning thefoundation of the earth. — Of the mathematicianKepler. — Performance of Signor Blitz. — Effects produced byventriloquism. — Singular vibrations of the guitar. — Spiritrappings considered as a new science. — Noises heard by the Wesleyfamily, in 1716. — Noises heard by Martin Luther. — Empty barrelsand hogsheads tumbling down stairs. — Information of past,present, and future events. — The fortune tellers in comparisonwith the spirit rappers. — Spirits unwilling or unable to spelltheir own names. — Spiritual communications on thedecline. — Contrast between the doings of ancient and modernspirits. — Swedenborg's information concerning the spirit ofMelancthon. — A clairvoyant interview with Tom Paine. — Account ofan interview with Mr. Sunderland. — Dialogue with a younglady. — Interview with a clairvoyant medium in Lowell. — Factsrespecting mesmeric operations. — People deceived by "sympatheticspirits." — Judson J. Hutchinson made insane. — Exposure of thedeception practised upon him. — Davis's account of BenjaminFranklin. — Dr. Phelps concerning the "spirit rappers." — Singulardevelopments at his house. — How tables, chairs, &c., are moved byspirits. — Exhibitions of "chin music" in London. — Singulartransactions in England, as related by Dr. Thomas Dick. — Tricksperformed by Joe Collins of Oxford. — Spirits seen by the votariesof St. Vitus, and the Shakers of later times. | [118] |
| CHAPTER XVI. | |
| EVIL EFFECTS OF POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS. | |
| Great waste of time. — Ceremonies among the ancients. — Practicesin Catholic countries. — Injurious practices in Protestantlands. — Dreams, visions, signs, tricks, omens, &c. — Great wasteof human life. — Account of the trial by ordeal. — Murder ofinnocent persons. — Belief in dreams and forewarnings. — Modernmiracles, appearances of the dead, &c. — Unfavorable influence ofa belief in dreams. — The death watch, new moon, &c. — Predictionsof Nanny Scott. — Of the good Mrs. Taylor. — Marriages on a stormyday. — Practice of wedded couples. — Moles on the wrong side of thebody. — Opening books, tricks, fortune telling. — Practice of alady in a clergyman's family. — Disadvantageous matrimonialalliances. — Anticipation of dreadful calamities. — Practice ofRev. John Wesley. — Temperaments of Melancthon and Luther. — Luck,chance, fatality, &c. — Saul and the witch of Endor. — Conjurersand impostors. — Injury done to the cause of medicine. — King'stouch in scrofula. — The ninth son of a ninthson. — The seventh son of a seventh son. — Cure bythe cold hands of a malefactor. — Plaster on a pitchfork;polishing rusty nails. — A female heart made into pills forconsumption. — Heart taken out of a female in Maine, and inWaltham, Massachusetts, and made into pills. — Influence of theimagination. — Account of a Mr. Austin, in Vermont. — His singularmode of healing the sick. — Account of the celebratedrain-water doctor. — Sketch of an astrologicalphysician in New York. — Of Valentine Greataks and FranciscoBagnone. — Momentary relief obtained, and why. — Injury done to thecause of religion. — Account of the Pharisees, compared to vipersand toads, and their numerous progeny. — How we may know aPharisee. — A young man catechized by our Savior. — St. Paul once aPharisee. — Proof. — Customs among the Catholics. — Practices ofmany Protestants. — Mistaken views upon religion. — Viewsconcerning Satan. — Satan versus Cotton Mather. — ProfessorStuart's views concerning the devil. — Periodical revivalsof religion; the cause. — How to have a constant revival. | [165] |
| CHAPTER XVII. | |
| BANISHMENT OF POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS. | |
| How shall it be effected? — The proper use of our reasoningfaculties. — The exercise of our understandings. — Perseveringself-discipline. — Conduct towards believers in ghosts, signs,&c. — Misconduct in families; trying tricks, &c. — How we shouldemploy our time. — Belief in an all-wise Providence, as Governorand Controller of all events. — Importance of a correct educationof youth. — Nursery tales and marvellous stories. — Their banefulinfluence. — Correct examples before children. — Superstitioustales to be avoided. — Attention to the means ofeducation. — Immense value and importance of knowledge. — No lackof means to educate the young. — Money foolishly wasted in variousways. — Perseverance in laudable exertions. — The blessing ofHeaven to crown our labors. | [185] |
| PART SECOND. | |
| MIRACLE IN SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS. | |
| Miracle performed by spirits in Springfield, Massachusetts. — Caseof biological deception. — Case of a "writing medium." — Effectsproduced by pathetism. — Incident related by MissMartineau. — Travelling to other countries, and to otherspheres. — Singular feat by a boy of Dr. Phelps. — Wonderful caseof a lady in New Jersey. — Advice of Hon. HoraceGreely. — Testimony of Rev. Dr. Phelps. | [191] |
| PERSONS TRAINED BY A LECTURER ON MAGNETISM. | [199] |
| SCENE AT EAST BOSTON. | |
| "Circle" at the house of Mr. Hoyt, at East Boston. — Effects ofvital electricity. — Imitating handwritings, writing poetry,music, &c. | [200] |
| EXTRACT FROM THE PURITAN RECORDER. | |
| Facts related by a gentleman of Maine. — Renunciation of a spiritrapper. — Murder committed at the instigation of"spirits." — Conflicting testimony concerning JohnThompson. — Experiments of Mr. Kellogg, the tablelifter. — Discovery by Dr. Taylor, the writingmedium. — Renunciation of Mr. Cooley, of Springfield,Massachusetts. — Attempt to murder a family in Barre,Massachusetts. — Sacrifice of the innocent in heathencountries. — Great danger in civilized communities. — Reportsconcerning the burning of the Lunatic Asylum in Maine. — Testimonyof Professor Stowe. — Reply of Bingham to ProfessorPond. — Singular confessions of the reviewer. — Intelligence saidto be communicated by "spirits." — Vital electricity of embodiedand disembodied spirits. | [203] |
| EXTRACT FROM THE HOME JOURNAL. | |
| Star singers, concerts, parties, and lectures in the otherspheres. — Studies of French, Italian, geology, chemistry,drawing, &c. — Semi-clergymen, outsiders, or come-outers. | [215] |
| FORETELLING FUTURE EVENTS. | |
| Prediction concerning the ship Staffordshire. — General Pierce'selection foretold by Professor Anderson's glass bell. — Falsepredictions of the "spirits." — Error committed by ProfessorLester. — Suggestion of a lady to a sick friend. — Sentiments ofAlexander Pope. | [218] |
| VISIONS, MIRACLES, AND WONDERS. | |
| Sights, sounds, signs, miracles, maps, drawings,hieroglyphics. — Talking cow in Maine. — Her prophecy. — Propositionfor another "New Church." — Predictions concerningall other churches. — Opinions three hundred years ago. — Fate ofGalileo. | [220] |
| CLAIRVOYANT PHYSICIANS. | |
| Prescriptions from the dead. — Power of theimagination. — Wonderful efficacy of brown bread pills. — Singularcure of palsy, by Sir Humphrey Davy. | [221] |
| STYLE OF "SUPERNAL" COMPOSITIONS. | |
| Fishbough's new work. — Fancy-captivating publications. — Refinedatheism. — Transcendental nonsense. — False communications relatingto patriots, statesmen, orators, and divines. — Mountebank scenesof "psychology." — Testimony of A. J. Davis, upon the tricks ofthe spirit demonstrators. — Concealments, misstatements, andexaggerations. | [223] |
| MYSTERIOUS PHENOMENA, WITH THEIR AGENTS OR CAUSES. | |
| Thumping noises in New Jersey. — Door opened as if struck by amallet. — Great excitement. — Glass broken, &c. — Knockings heard inNew Hackensack. — Pile of lumber shaken; tables, chairs, stand,and candlestick thrown about. — Bags of salt, tin ware, andcooking utensils thrown in a heap. — An English officer haunted bynoises in the night. — Heavy marble top tables poising themselveson two legs. — Brass door knockers bewitched. — Commotion amongcrockery, tin ware, &c. — Firing a gun at noises in thewalls. — Tearing up floor to get at the noises. — Suit brought fordamages. — Bed of a sick girl raised. — Trembling of the housewalls. — Singular pranks in a factory. — Jerking of the frames, andcylinder thrown at a distance. — Alarm and flight of theoperatives. — A chest with three men, and a man on a tub, taken upby an invisible power. — A chair broken between two men'shands. — An image seated on a stool, clad in white. — Visions ofbeings like spirits. — Knockings on the walls, and noises in theair. — A lady suspended by the tips of the fingers, as a magnetsuspends a piece of iron. — Electrical flashes from a lady'sbody. — Knockings made to be heard at a distance. — Quotation froma work by Rev. T. Hill, of Waltham. — Singular developments in NewYork. — Freaks of a knob of a door bell. — Fiery flashes, and fierysmacks, on kissing. — Blows in the mouth from a speakingtube. — Account of two girls that could move tables withouttouching them. — Effects of storms on raising tables. — Electricalcircles in Cincinnati. — Case of a lady in Strasburg. — Power ofgiving electrical shocks to persons at a distance. — Singulareffects of the northern lights on a lady. | [224] |
| EXPERIMENTS IN BIOLOGY. | |
| Chairs, tables, and persons moved. — Biological table-liftings inEast Boston. — "Mediums," as visible human operators. — Resolve ofthe "rappers" at Poughkeepsie. — The unseen agent that movestables, beds, &c. — Dancing plates, knives and forks, &c. | [264] |
| FACULTY OF IMITATION. | |
| Delivering speeches; imitating orators. — Case related by WalterScott. — Case of a man haunted by the devil. — Effects of wine andheavy eating. — Voice heard by Judge Edmonds. — Lady in Providencewho writes music by "spirits." — Diagram of the spheres, by a ladyin a magnetic state. | [268] |
| UNSEEN LETTERS AND SIGNATURES. | |
| Imitating unseen letters, signatures, and languages. — Suspicionsconcerning Professor Bush. — Singular feat attributed tospirits. — No difficulty in raising chairs or tables. — Spiritsshown by Egyptian boys. — Unbelief of practising"mediums." — School children forbidden to move tables, &c. | [273] |
| A DANCING LIGHT. | |
| Dancing light seen in Southboro', Massachusetts. — Ignisfatuus seen by Dr. Derham. — Corpusants seen bymariners. — Dampier's account of them. | [274] |
| SAILORS' OMENS. | |
| Sailors' omens and superstitions. — Devil's power in stirring upwinds. — Losing a cat overboard, a bucket, or a mop. | [276] |
| LOVE CHARMS. | |
| Othello winning Desdemona by conjuration. — Execution of a younglady for giving a love powder. — Her dying confession. — A charm oran allay for love. | [277] |
| EFFECTS OF A BELIEF IN A GHOST. | |
| Effects of a belief in the reality of ghosts. — Case at theUniversity at Cambridge. — A student frightened to death. | [279] |
| THE INVISIBLE LADY. | |
| The invisible lady in Boston. — The invisible girl inLondon. — Joice Heth, the India rubber woman. — Professor Grimes'sdiscovery among the "rappers." — Mrs. Culver respecting theRochester rappers. | [280] |
| SORCERERS IN THE EAST. | |
| Persons killed by the enemy's fires. — Singular custom in Java. | [281] |
| SINGULAR METAMORPHOSES. | |
| Men turned into tigers by eating a certain root, and turned backagain by eating another. — A tiger-man shot in the woods andrecognized, after having devoured some of his neighbors. — Accountof the wolf mania in Egypt and in Brittany. — A husband that livedand died a wolf. | [282] |
| PERNICIOUS ERRORS RELATING TO HEALTH. | |
| Astrology. — Vegetable oil of swallows, &c. — Cleanliness, diet,&c. — Ablution. — Ventilation. — Food. — Quality of meats. | [284] |