The Spirit Land

by Samuel B. Emmons

"Of the sincerity of the majority of those present we have no doubt; but that there are rank impostors in this town, who are leading astray the credulous, we have as little doubt. The most that we saw on Saturday night was mesmerism, and the rest a very transparent attempt at deception. At any rate, if it was any thing else, we should attribute it to any thing but good spirits. Were we a devil, and should we wish to see how foolish we could make people appear, we should choose this way. O men and women, do have done with such outrageous nonsense."

Some have been most grossly deceived, and even made insane, by being made to believe that they were magnetized by spirits. This was the case with one of the celebrated Hutchinson singers—Judson J. Hutchinson. Mr. Sunderland, in the fourth number of the Spiritual Philosopher, observes as follows: "We shall hear of communications from 'prophets,' 'apostles,' 'kings,' and 'statesmen,' and of divers 'revelations,' said to be made by them. We shall hear of human beings said to be magnetized by spirits. But the good and the true will know and understand how easy it is for some to become 'magnetized' by their own ideas, and to take for 'revelations' the fancies of their own brains. The notion about mortals being magnetized by spirits is a mistake, an error; and it was this error which was the principal cause of all the real difficulty in the case of Judson J. Hutchinson. Mr. H. was made to believe that he was in company with his deceased brother, and that his own deceased children came and sat upon his knees, and put their arms about his neck. When he found himself sinking into an abnormal state, he was told to believe that it was the spirits, and that there was nothing human about it. This, of course, Mr. H. was ready to believe. He had heard of others being magnetized by spirits, and they were happy, very happy. And as this seemed to promise him approximation to the spirit world, for which he was earnestly longing, he readily gave himself entirely to that idea." The operator, Mr. Hazard, of Rochester, New York, suggested that Mr. Hutchinson should ask the spirits to move his (Mr. H.'s) hand to the top of his own head, that then he (Mr. H.) might know it was they. "But the operator should have known," says Mr. Sunderland, "that his suggesting it to the mind of Mr. Hutchinson, in the manner he did, or, if Mr. Hutchinson's own mind was directed to the movement of his own hand, that was sufficient to cause his hand to move, even if there had been no spirits in existence. And so, when Mr. H. went to Cleveland, the difficulty was increased by a repetition of the cause. He fell into the same state again, of course, when similar associations brought it up before his mind; and there he was again told by a clairvoyant lady, that she 'saw the spirits' (his brother Benjamin and Swedenborg) operating upon him. The effect was, to render him insane." His brother Jesse says, that "the shock was too great for Judson, on account of his bodily weakness, and that his feeble nature was too fine strung to bear up against the severe attacks, and it was with great difficulty he was brought back to Milford, New Hampshire." While in this state, Mr. Sunderland was sent for, and staid with him three days and three nights, to render him assistance. Mr. S. says, "He was unfortunate in being told that he was magnetized by spirits, and still more so, perhaps, in the treatment he met with from some uncongenial spirits in Syracuse and in Worcester." From this, as well as from some other unfortunate cases, persons are admonished to be careful to refrain from visiting such impostors.

Some have been told that St. Paul, St. Peter, St. Luke, and Timothy, were present, and answered questions put to them; but Mr. Davis and Mr. Sunderland declare it to be false. Mr. Davis says, "This point I have been led to investigate carefully; and at no one of the circles referred to do I discover, upon the most critical interior retrospection, a single communication from the veritable St. Paul, nor from any one of his glorious compeers."

So of Benjamin Franklin, who, it is said, has never condescended to converse but a very few times with earthly beings, though his name is often quoted in connection with clairvoyancy. The reason he is said to assign to Mr. Davis is, that he cannot "prevent the almost exact human imitations of his vibrations; and that they produce so much confusion and contradiction, that, he thinks it best to wait until some further improvement can be made in the mode of communication between the two worlds." Yet how many are told that they have been put in communication with Franklin!

Mr. Sunderland says, "We need the same conditions, or guaranties, for believing spirits, that we do for believing human testimony." Speaking of those clairvoyants who are supposed to be exalted into the spirit sphere, so as to see and converse with spirits, he says, "Whether they do, really, see the spirits, whom they think they do, must be determined by other things besides their own testimony. We are not obliged to take their own mere ipse dixit upon this, any more than upon any other subject." And as yet, as has been remarked by Dr. Phelps, there is no proof that what purports to be a revelation from spirits is the work of spirits at all. Mr. Sunderland, for all we can see, is liable to be in an error, as well as others; and all the evidence he gives us that he has had interviews and holds conversations with spirits is that of his own testimony alone. And so of Mr. Davis.

We have said that no dependence whatever can be placed upon the rapping spirits. Dr. Phelps, of Stratford, Connecticut, once heard a very loud rapping under the table while at his breakfast. "I asked if it was my sister. The answer was, 'Yes.' 'Well,' said I, 'if you are the spirit of my sister, you can tell me how many children you have in this world.' So the spirit commenced counting, and counted up to twenty-five, when I pronounced it a lying spirit. I asked it, 'Are you unhappy?' It answered, 'Yes.' 'Can I do you any good?' 'Yes.' 'How?' The spirit then called for the alphabet, and spelled out, 'Give me a glass of fresh gin.' 'What will you do with it,' said I. 'Put it to my mouth.' I asked, 'Where is your mouth?' No answer."

Letters, and lines written upon scraps of paper, have, it is said, been sent from the other world. The following was dropped from the ceiling of Mrs. Phelps's parlor when she and others were present.

"Sir,—Sir Sambo's compliments, and begs the ladies to accept as a token of his esteem." Other papers have been similarly written upon, and signed "Sam Slick," "The Devil," "Beelzebub," "Lorenzo Dow," &c.

On the 15th of March, 1850, a large turnip was thrown against Dr. Phelps's parlor window, having several characters carved out upon it, somewhat resembling the Chinese characters. A fac-simile of them may be found in Davis's explanation of Modern Mysteries, page 55.

Some may receive such things as emanations from the spirit world; but to us they seem too simple and puerile to be considered as having any thing to do with the higher spheres.