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A SPECTRE VISIBLE—CURIOUS ILLUSIONS—GHOSTS.

We have already given numerous examples of the effects produced by impressions on the retina by mechanical appliances. We can now in a short chapter speak of the cause of many spectral illusions, commonly supposed to be “ghosts” or “spirits.” That there are many “well-authenticated ‘ghost stories’ ” no one can doubt who has read the literature of the day; and we ourselves do not in any way desire to throw any doubt upon the existence of certain so-called “ghosts.” That appearances of some kind or another are seen by people we know. We ourselves have seen such, but we cannot say we believe in the popular ghost.

In ancient times mirrors were much employed by the so-called magicians, and in our day many wonderful ghost effects have been shown at the (late) Polytechnic Institution. Some people are believers in table-turning and spiritualism, and mesmerists still attract large audiences, and appear to possess extraordinary power over some individuals. But apparitions have been seen by people eminently worthy of credit. The experience of the learned Doctor, which appeared some months ago in the Athenæum, is a case in point. This narrative is concise and clear. The spectre was there. How did it get there? Was the “appearance” objective or subjective? Let us give an extract from the Reverend Doctor’s narrative, and comment upon it afterwards. We may premise that Dr. Jessopp had gone over to Lord Orford’s (Mannington Hall), and at eleven o’clock was busy writing in the library, and was “the only person downstairs.” We will give this ghost story in the Doctor’s own words. After taking up a certain volume—time about 1 a.m.:—

“I had been engaged on it about half an hour, and was beginning to think my work was drawing to a close, when, as I was actually writing, I saw a large white hand within a foot of my elbow. Turning my head, there sat a figure of a somewhat large man with his back to the fire, bending slightly over the table, and apparently examining the pile of books that I had been at work upon.” … After describing the appearance of the nocturnal visitor, Dr. Jessopp proceeds:—

“There he sat, and I was fascinated; afraid not of his staying, but lest he should go. Stopping in my writing I lifted my left hand from the paper, stretched it out to the pile of books, and moved the top one—my arm passed in front of the figure, and it vanished.” … Shortly after the figure appeared again, and “I was penning a sentence to address to him, when I discovered I did not dare to speak. I was afraid of the sound of my own voice! There he sat, and there sat I. I turned my head and finished writing. Having finished my task, I shut the book, and threw it on the table; it made a slight noise as it fell;—the figure vanished.”

Now here we have a perfectly plain narrative, clear and full. A ghost appeared; he is described distinctly. How can we account for the apparition? In the first place, someone might have played a trick, but that idea was put aside by Dr. Wilks, who attempted to explain the appearances. He went fully into the question, and as it bears upon our explanation of the reality of Spectral Illusions, we may condense his evidence. It will of course be conceded that all the usual objects seen by people are material, and the image of what we look at is formed upon the retina in the manner already explained. But all images upon the retina are not immediately observed; the impression may, to a certain extent, remain. Words are often impressed upon the brain—words which we in our sober senses would never think of repeating—and yet when we are delirious we give vent to these expressions, of whose very nature and meaning we are perfectly unconscious. It is, according to our reference (Dr. Wilks), “quite possible for the perceptive part of the brain to be thrown into an active condition quite independent of the normal stimulus conducted to it from the retina.” If, under these circumstances, an object be viewed independently, and, as it were, unconsciously, it is merely, we believe, a parallel to the impression of words before noted. Sound and light are governed by the same laws. In fevers we fancy we see all kinds of things which have no existence. In dreams we hear noises; and many a time people dreaming have been awakened by the report of a gun, or the ringing of a bell which had no material origin—the nerves were excited, the “perceptive centre” of the brain was moved.

But if sight and hearing thus have their origin from the brain and not from without, there must have been some predisposing cause, some excitement to induce such a condition of things. “The impressions become abnormal and subjective—the normal condition being objective—the impression is received from without, and impressed upon the eye.

Now, let us consider the “ghost”! Lately there have been many instances brought forward of “spiritual” appearances, but we think nobody has ever seen a “material” ghost; yet on the other hand none of us have any knowledge of anything in the likeness of a ghost, or that has not a material basis which can bring forward an image on the retina! Therefore we are brought to the conclusion that apparitions are spectres emanating from within the brain, not from any outward manifestation, because it is within the experience of everybody that in bad health, or disordered digestive functions, images are produced in the brain and nerves of the eye.

These remarks have perhaps been made before in one form or other, but as much popular interest is always awakened by the supernatural, or what is supposed to be supernatural, we may go a little farther, and inquire how it was that the ghost seen by Dr. Jessopp disappeared when he raised his arm. Would any ghost be afraid of the Doctor extending his hand? The fact no doubt occurred as related. The explanation is that the narrator had been much impressed by a certain picture, which a correspondent soon identified as a portrait of “Parsons, the Jesuit Father.” The description given is that of the priest who was described by the Doctor in one of his books. The association of ideas in the library of a Norfolk house connected with the Walpoles, with whom Parsons had been a leader, gave rise, during a period of “forty winks” at midnight, to the spectre.

In the interesting letters written upon “Natural Magic” by Sir David Brewster, the subject of Spectral Illusions is treated at some length, and with undoubted authority. Sir David thought the subject worth discussing with reference to the illusions or spectres mentioned by Dr. Hibbert. Sir David Brewster gives his own experiences which occurred while he was staying at the house of a lady in the country.

The illusions appear to have affected her ear as well as the eye. We shall see in the next chapter how intimately sound and light are connected, and how the eyes and ears are equally impressed, though in a different way, by the vibration of particles. The lady referred to was about to go upstairs to dress for dinner one afternoon, when she heard her husband’s voice calling to her by name. She opened the door, and nobody was outside; and when she returned for a moment to the fire she heard the voice again calling, “Come to me; come, come away,” in a somewhat impatient tone. She immediately went in search of her husband, but he did not come in till half an hour afterwards, and of course said he had not called, and told her where he had been at the time—some distance away. This happened on the 26th December, 1830, but a more alarming occurrence took place four days after.

About the same time in the afternoon of the 30th December, the lady came into the drawing-room, and to her great astonishment she perceived her husband standing with his back to the fireplace. She had seen him go out walking a short time previously, and was naturally surprised to find he had returned so soon. He looked at her very thoughtfully, and made no answer. She sat down close beside him at the fire, and as he still gazed upon her she said, “Why don’t you say something!” The figure immediately moved away towards the window at the farther end of the room, still gazing at her, “and it passed so close that she was struck by the circumstance of hearing no step nor sound, nor feeling her dress brushed against, nor even any agitation of the air.” Although convinced this was not her husband, the lady never fancied there was anything supernatural in the appearance of the figure. Subsequently she was convinced that it was a spectral illusion, although she could not see through the figure which appeared as substantial as the reality.

Were it advisable, we could multiply instances. In the Edinburgh Journal of Science these, and many more instances of spectral illusions were narrated by the husband of the lady. She frequently beheld deceased relatives or absent friends, and described their dress and general appearance very minutely. On one occasion she perceived a coach full of skeletons drive up to the door, and noticed spectral dogs and cats (her own pets’ likenesses) in the room. There can be no doubt upon these points; the appearances were manifest and distinct. They were seen in the presence of other people, in solitude, and in the society of her husband. The lady was in delicate health, and very sensitive. The spectres appeared in daylight as well as in the dark, or by candle-light.

Let us now, guided by what we have already written, and by Sir David Brewster’s experience, endeavour to give a rational explanation of these illusions. “The mind’s eye is really the body’s eye, and the retina is the common tablet upon which both classes of impressions are painted, and by means of which they receive their visual existence according to the same optical laws.”

“In the healthy state of mind and body the relative intensity of the two classes of impressions on the retina are nicely adjusted—the bodily and mental are balanced. The latter are feeble and transient, and in ordinary temperaments are never capable of disturbing or effacing the direct images of visible objects. … The mind cannot perform two different functions at the same instant, and the direction of its attention to one of the two classes of impressions necessarily produces the extinction of the other; but so rapid is the exercise of mental power, that the alternate appearance and disappearance of the two contending impressions is no more recognized than the successive observations of external objects during the twinkling of the eyelids.”

We have before illustrated, by means of the pen and the ink-bottle, how one object is lost sight of when the other is attentively regarded, and a material picture or scene may be equally lost sight of, and a mental picture take its place in the eye, when we recall places or people we have seen or remembered.

We have all heard numerous anecdotes of what is termed “absent-mindedness.” Some people are quite absorbed in study, and can see or hear no one in the room when deeply occupied. We may be satisfied then that “pictures of the mind and spectral illusions are equally impressions upon the retina, and only differ in the degree of vividness with which they are seen.” If we press our eyes the phosphorescence becomes apparent, and we can make a picture of the sun or a lamp visible for a long time to our closed eyes if we stare at either object for a few seconds, and shut our lids. So by increasing the sensibility of the retina we can obtain the image, and alter its colour by pressure on the eye.

It is well known that poisons will affect sight, and belladonna applied to the eyes will so affect them as to render the sight nil, by enlargement of the “pupil.” If one is out of health there is practically a poisoning of the system, and when we have a “bilious headache” we see colours and stars because there is a pressure upon the blood-vessels of the eye. The effects of a disordered stomach, induced by drinking too much, are well known; objects are seen double, and most ghosts may be traced to a disordered state of health of mind or body, brought on by excitement or fatigue. We could relate a series of ghost stories—some in our own experience, for we have seen a ghost equally with our neighbours—but this is not the place for them. Although many apparently incontrovertible assertions are made, and many spectres have been produced to adorn a tale, we must put on record our own opinion, that every one could be traced to mental impression or bodily affection had we only the key to the life and circumstances of the ghost-seer. Many celebrated conjurers will convince us almost against our reason that our pocket-handkerchief is in the orange just cut up. They will bring live rabbits from our coat-pockets or vests, and pigeons from our opera-hats. These are equally illusions. We know what can be done with mirrors. We have seen ghosts at the Polytechnic, but we must put down all apparitions as the result of mental or bodily, even unconscious impressions upon the retina of the eye. There are numerous illusions, such as the Fata Morgana, the Spectre of the Brocken, etc., which are due to a peculiar state of the atmosphere, and to the unequal reflection and refraction of light. Those, and many other optical phenomena, will, with phenomena of heat and sound, be treated under Meteorology, when we will consider the rainbow and the aurora, with many other atmospheric effects.