Читать книгу Materialized Apparitions: If Not Beings from Another Life, What Are They - Edward A. Brackett - Страница 5

Not being acquainted with any "materializing medium," so termed, I obtained from Mr. Luther Colby, of Boston, a letter of introduction to Mrs. H. B. Fay, of that city, stating that I was desirous of visiting her séances. I called upon the lady and presented the letter, but found that she was out of health, and, for the present, had discontinued her sittings. I, however, left my address, with the request that she would inform me when she resumed her séances.

More than a year passed without hearing from her, and, finding that she was giving sittings, I made free to call at the house and ask admittance, which was granted. As she did not recognize me, I felt confident that she had forgotten the circumstance of the letter, and, as I preferred to remain as far as possible incog., I made no allusion to it.

Curiosity led me to scan the audience. There were about thirty persons present, and, as far as I could judge, they were of more than ordinary intelligence. At the beginning of the séance, the light was lowered, but not so low that we could not discern clearly the features of those around us.

I do not propose now to deal with the experience of others, although I have from the beginning made that a part of my study, but shall confine myself to what came to me.

Near the close of the séance, the lady who sat next the cabinet said there was a form present who gave the name of "Maggie Brackett." She would not be certain about the first name, as the form was very weak and spoke in a whisper. Here was a chance to come in contact with one of these beings, supposed to belong to another life. Although I knew of no one, in or out of my family, by that name, I assumed that it was for me, and stepped up to the cabinet. As I did so, the curtain parted, and a very beautiful female, apparently about sixteen years old, stood before me. I looked at her very closely, but could trace no resemblance to the medium, nor to any one I had known. I said, "I do not remember you; did I ever see you before?" She shook her head, and tried to speak, but I could not make out what she intended to say.

Finding that I did not understand, she held out her hand, about three feet from the floor; but I did not know what that meant, and, seeing that she was greatly disappointed, shook hands with her, saying, "Never mind; we will find out about this some other time;" then bade her Good-bye, and she stepped behind the curtain.

As I turned to my seat, a hoarse voice inside the cabinet somewhat startled me by saying, "Your wife is here!" I answered, "Very well, I shall be glad to see her."

If I was disappointed in the first form, I was doubly so in this. It was a much smaller person than my deceased wife, and had a tired, careworn expression, while the features strongly resembled the medium. She greeted me warmly. Holding her at arms' length, in order to better study her form, I said, "You are not tall or stout enough for my wife." "Wait," she said; and, stepping behind the curtain, returned in a few moments, fuller, and near a head taller. The height and general build of the form were now very good, but the face was a medley. I saw, or fancied, some resemblance to my wife, but still more to the medium.

She appeared overjoyed at meeting me; so much so that I felt it would be heartless on my part to repel it. Laying her head upon my shoulder, she talked freely with me, saying things that it seemed impossible that any one but my wife could know. I knew what Mesmerism and clairvoyance meant. Was this another phase of them? Was it mind-reading? If so, it was a very clever performance. I could not realize that I had my wife before me, and yet here was a being who had penetrated the inmost secrets of my domestic life; had dragged from the past the well-worn pages of memory and read them anew.

She remained out much longer than most of the forms had done, when I noticed that she appeared to be growing weaker, and, in spite of her efforts to sustain herself, was sinking downward. Bidding her Good-night, I let go her hand. As I did so, she went down directly in front of me, within a foot of where I stood, her head and shoulders being the last part visible. On the carpet, where she disappeared, there was a glow of phosphorescent light, which gradually faded away.

For the first and only time during my investigations, I was unduly excited. It came so suddenly and unexpectedly upon me that I was confused. I brushed my hand across my forehead and eyes to make sure of my bearings, and slowly returned to my seat, fully conscious of the importance of what had passed before me. If real, – if the form had thus dematerialized, – then the reality of materialization followed as a matter of course.

While turning these thoughts over in my mind, the séance closed; and as I stepped out into the full light of the autumnal moon, everything seemed changed. The sound of feet on the brick pavement grated harshly on my ears; before me rose the tall spire of the stone church, throwing its ghostly shadow across the way; behind me was the séance-room, and a dreamy consciousness of the strange phenomena I had witnessed surged through my brain. Was it possible that I had stood face to face and been in communication with one from another life?

As I pondered over this, a reaction came, and before I reached my home the probability, or the possibility even, that I had been deceived, vexed and annoyed me, and aroused a determination to know whether or not there was truth in materialization. I was not over-pleased with what I had seen, and, but for this last incident, my investigations might have ended here. Materialization was either a great truth or a stupendous humbug. Thousands of intelligent persons believed in it, on what appeared to me uncertain evidence. Was it not a disgrace to science that this had been allowed to go on so long without any honest attempt to investigate it? If I could only get the inside track, how easy it would be to expose it! The whole thing lay in a nutshell: either the forms appearing were confederates, or personations by the medium; perhaps both. I would if possible adopt a system of investigation so thorough that nothing should escape me.

To go to séances as an ordinary visitor was, to me, to throw time away. If the manifestations were genuine, and my personal relations with the medium not objectionable, I saw no reason why I should not obtain privileges without which, to my skeptical mind, it would be useless to pursue the subject.

I therefore continued my visits, having this object constantly in view. Otherwise I remained perfectly passive, neither demanding nor asking anything.

Several times I was surprised by finding thoughts to which I had given no outward expression anticipated by what claimed to be "the control," that is, the spirit alleged to hold possession of the entranced medium. I had not asked, although greatly desirous, to be taken into the cabinet during the séance. While thinking this, "Auntie," Mrs. Fay's "control," said, "You shall come in."

The forms were coming quite freely to me, and one said, "You may go in with me." As I entered, the control greeted me in a friendly way, saying that she liked me; that I was a skeptic, but an honest one.

While talking with her, I had my left arm around the waist of the form that took me into the cabinet. With my right hand I reached out and satisfied myself that the medium was sitting in her chair, entranced. There could be no mistake; there were four of us in the cabinet, – the two forms that appeared to be materialized, the medium, and myself!

I know how two got in, but where did the other two come from?

Taking advantage of the expressions of kindness on the part of the control, I sought an early opportunity to express to the medium what I desired. To my surprise, she made no objections, saying that she was entranced, and did not know what the forms were, nor was she conscious of taking any part in what came before the audience; that she was simply the instrument, not the operator. I thanked her, saying I trusted that I should do nothing which would be distasteful to her or the control; that the first step would be a thorough investigation of the cabinet.

On my first visit to Mrs. Fay's, the cabinet consisted simply of a curtain drawn across the corner of the room. It was soon after changed to a light, portable structure, which could be easily moved to any part of the room.

I had this cabinet moved out, the floor, wall, and everything connected with it thoroughly examined. There was no chance for confederates to be used here. I have since assisted in moving it out for the satisfaction of others, and have seen it placed in the opposite corner of the room, where it remained for weeks without in the least affecting the manifestations. Whatever may be the cause of these phenomena, they are certainly not due to confederates.

I herewith submit a carefully drawn plan of the cabinet and its surroundings, made by a competent architect, who has never seen any of the manifestations, and consequently is not a believer in them.

There could be no doubt; it was impossible for any one to enter the cabinet except through the door of the séance-room, in the presence of the whole audience. To be perfectly sure on this point, I sought and obtained permission to sit next the cabinet, which place I occupied for more than forty sittings. I know that it is impossible to use a confederate in this cabinet without its being instantly detected.

Having settled this so thoroughly that it could not come up as an element of doubt in any future investigations I might make, the next step seemed to be a plain one.

Diagram of Mrs. Fay's Séance-Room.