Spirit Communication: An investigation into the extraordinary world of mediums, psychics and the afterlife

347 Pages·2011·1.5 MB·English

by  Roy Stemman

SPIRIT
COMMUNICATION
A comprehensive guide to the
extraordinary world of mediums,
psychics and the afterlife
ROY STEMMAN
piatkus
2
PIATKUS
First published in Great Britain in 2005 by Piatkus Books
Ltd
This paperback edition published in 2010 by Piatkus
Reprinted 2011 (twice)
Copyright © 2005 by Roy Stemman
The moral right of the author has been asserted.
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means,
without
the prior permission in writing of the publisher, nor be
otherwise circulated
in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is
published
and without a similar condition including this condition
being
imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
A CIP catalogue record for this book
is available from the British Library.
ISBN 978-0-7499-4111-6
Text design by Briony Chappell
Edited by Krystyna Mayer
Typeset by Phoenix Photosetting, Chatham, Kent
Printed in the UK by CPI Mackays, Chatham ME5 8TD
Piatkus
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www.piatkus.co.uk

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Contents

Acknowledgements iv
Foreword v
My Introduction to
1. 1
Spiritualism
When Spirits Take
2. 16
Over
Automatism —
3. 33
Spirits in Control?
Searching for
4. 53
Psychic Clues
Conversations with
5. 70
the Dead
Producing Visible
6. 86
Spirits
7. Recording Spirits 103
Spiritualism and
8. 121
Healing
9. Trance Healing 137
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10. Psychic Surgeons 148
Believers and
11. 165
Sceptics
Spiritualism as a
12. 180
Religion
Spirit Guides and
13. 200
Beyond
Ghosts, Poltergeists
14. 214
and Exorcisms
15. Reincarnation 229
Television
16. 243
Mediums
17. The Best Evidence 257
Bibliography 269
Useful Websites 271
Index 273
iii
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Acknowledgements
The author would like to thank The Spiritual Truth
Foundation who made a significant contribution to the
publication of Spirit Communication.
The Foundation was established for the promotion
and advance​ment of the religion and religious
philosophy of Spiritualism. It finances the publication
of books whose contents deserve a wider audience than
that represented by the Spiritualist movement. It
supports the publication of the series of books on the
spirit teachings of Silver Birch and reprinting of out-of-
print classics on spiritual knowledge and phenomena.
The charity also alleviates poverty among Spiritualists.
For more information about The Spiritual Truth
Foundation, or make a bequest, please contact The
Spiritual Truth Foundation, .5 Broom Hall, Oxshott,
Surrey, KT22 OJZ.
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Foreword
Spirit communication has been an integral part of most
cultures from their earliest days, with the special gifts of
oracles, shamans, witches, seers, mystics, prophets or
psychics helping to guide and direct individuals and
groups. Just over a century and a half ago, however, it
seemed that the veil that separates this world from the
next was lifted a little more, to allow greater contact
between the two. Gifted individuals declared that a new
age was dawning; loud raps and blockings responded to
questions with a simple yes/no code, indicating contact
with an unseen intelligence; and the reli​gion of
Spiritualism was born in the United States, quickly
spread​ing around the world.
Spiritualism’s humble birthplace was the tiny hamlet
of Hydesville, just outside New York City, and its first,
relatively modest manifestation consisted of strange
blockings in the home of the Fox family, which began
on 31 March 1848. Disturbed by these inexplicable
sounds, John Fox, his wife and his two daughters
Margaret and Kate soon discovered that they could
communicate with the spirit responsible, who used a
code to rap out his answers. He claimed to be a peddler
who was murdered in the house and, indeed, human
remains were later discovered buried in the cellar.
Hundreds of people witnessed the phenomenon: the
raps were often so loud that many individuals gathered
outside were able to hear them. Several committees
were formed to investigate the phe​nomenon, and their
tests included asking questions mentally to which the
spirit gave replies. The raps followed the Fox sisters
when they visited other places, and the talent seems to
have spread quickly to others. Before long, Margaret,
Kate and their older sis​ter Leah were giving private
sittings.
Within three years, there were an estimated one
hundred mediums offering their services in New York
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and between 50 and 60 private circles had been
established in Philadelphia. The first experimental
organisation, the New York Circle, was also formed to
test the powers of mediums claiming to be able to
communicate with the spirit world.
Spiritualism had arrived but its birth was not without
complica​tions. By April 1855, the North American
Review reported there were nearly two million
Spiritualists in the United States. More powerful
mediums than the Fox sisters had appeared and
incredible stories circulated about heavy objects
levitating, spirit voices speaking and even full-form
materialisations of the dead appearing and speaking to
their loved ones.
With Spiritualism’s rapid growth and startling
phenomena, which challenged both orthodox religion
and science, it was inevitable that it attracted many
detractors wishing it a short life. Their wish was almost
granted, with the confession of fraud - later retracted -
by the Fox sisters in 1880. By then, however, there were
enough serious-minded and influential people willing to
tes​tify to the truth of Spiritualism for it to survive the
embarrassing behaviour of the movement’s founders.
It took no time at all for Spiritualism to cross the
Atlantic. It arrived in the form of Mrs. W.R. Hayden,
the first visiting medium, whose arrival in Britain in
1852 was greeted with deri​sion by the press. Despite
this, she convinced a number of intellec​tuals, among
them veteran socialist Robert Owen, that the spirit
world could communicate with them.
It wasn’t long before Britain was experiencing an
epidemic of table-turning and producing its own
mediums, of whom Scottish- born Daniel Dunglas
Home, who had moved to the United States at the age of
nine in 1842, was one of the most spectacular; pro​-
ducing a wide range of manifestations in good light.
The first investigator to be satisfied that he had
mediumistic powers was a Professor George Bush, a
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distinguished theologian and Oriental scholar. Home
returned to England in 1855 and was soon travel​ling
throughout Europe, demonstrating his powers to heads
of state, famous intellectuals and royalty, including
Napoleon III, the King of Bavaria, the King of Naples
and the Queen of Holland.
It is hardly surprising, then, that when Prince Albert
died in 1861, Queen Victoria, like millions of others,
turned to Spiritualism for comfort and reassurance that
her beloved husband lived on and would be waiting for
a reunion with her in the spirit world. She had sittings
with several mediums and many Spiritualists believe
that John Brown, her ghillie, was also a power​ful
medium through whom Albert regularly communicated
with the Queen.
Despite attacks from narrow-minded religious zealots
and closed-minded sceptics, Spiritualism still thrives
globally, in differ​ent forms. It does so because, despite
ridicule and criticism, it con​tinues to provide evidence
of spirit communication that many people regard as
indisputable. Moreover the appearance and devel​-
opment of new mediums, who are continuing its
tradition of pro​viding a psychic bridge between this
world and the next, are ensuring that its future is
assured.
Spirit communication and Spiritualism are huge
subjects and it would be impossible for a single volume
to do justice to the past 150 years of its history.
Fortunately, I do not need to do this, since there are
already two excellent books that tell part of the story
and to which this book should be seen as a companion
volume.
The first of these books is The History of Spiritualism
by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Born in Edinburgh in 1859,
Sir Arthur was a physician whose passion for writing
led to the creation of the world-famous fictional
detective Sherlock Holmes. The cautious author spent
20 years studying and researching Spiritualism before
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