Gauld Mediumship

Mediumship and Survival
A C e n tu ry of Investigations
By the same author

T h e F ou nders of Psychical R esearch
H u m a n A ction a n d its Psychological Investigation (w ith J o h n Shotter)
Poltergeists (w ith A. D. Cornell)
In the same series
HAUNTINGS AND APPARITIONS by A n d re w M a c K e n z ie
BEYOND THE BODY: A n Investigation o f O u t-o f-th e-B o d y E xperiences
by D r S usan J. B lackm ore
THROUGH THE TIM E BARRIER: A S tu d y o f P reco gnition a n d M o d e rn
Physics by D a n a h Z o h a r
GLOSSARY OF TERMS USED IN PARAPSYCHOLOGY co m p iled by
M ichael A. T h a lb o u rn e
Mediumship and
Survival
A Century of Investigations
Alan Gauld
Series Editor: Brian Inglis
Published on behalf of the Society for Psychical Research
HEINEMANN : LONDON
W illiam H e in e m a n n L td.
10 U p p e r G rosvenor Street, L o n d o n W 1 X 9 P A
LONDON MELBOURNE TORON TO
JOHANNESBURG AUCKLAND
Alan Gauld 1982
First published 1982
SBN 434 28320 7
Printed in G reat Britain by

R edw ood B urn Ltd, T ro w b ridg e, W iltshire
To Sheila
W h o uncom plainingly put up with a
difficult sum m er
Contents
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
List of Illustrations
A cknow ledgem ents
Forew ord
Introduction
M edium ship: G eneral
T h e M ed iu m sh ip of M rs Piper
T h e M ed iu m sh ip of M rs L eonard
D ro p -in C om m u nicato rs
M anifestations of Purpose
M anifestations of o ther Personal C haracteristics
T h e C ontrols of M ediu m s
O v ersh ad o w in g a n d the S up er-E S P Hypothesis T heoretical C onsiderations
O v ersh ad o w in g a n d the S up er-E S P H y pothesis- T h e D a ta
Obsession a n d Possession
R ein carn atio n
M em o ry a n d the Brain
Out-of-the-B ody Experiences an d A pparitions
A pparitions of the D ead
A T h e o ry of A pparitions
C onclu ding R em arks
B ibliography
Index
viii
ix
xi
1
17
32
45
58
74
90
109
119
129
147
163
188
226
230
252
261
268
283
List of Illustrations
Between pages 146 and 147

A n ouija b o a rd sitting
M rs L. Piper
W illiam Ja m e s
O liver Lodge
R ich ard H odgson
M rs G. L eo n ard
M rs M . de G. V errall
M rs. H. Salter
M rs W illett
F. W . H. M yers
A u to m atic w riting
M rs E lean or Sidgwick
Sketch by F. L. T o m p so n
P ain tin g by R o b e rt S. Gifford
Acknowledgements
F o r their kindness in reading a draft of this work, an d for m an y helpful

com m ents a n d suggestions, I a m m u ch indebted to Ian Stevenson,
Brian Inglis, J o h n St Jo h n , Louise Bloomfield an d J o h n Beloff. For
valuable help in various related m atters I have to thank Bernard C arr,
T o n y Cornell, S am G rainger, E lean or O Keeffe, D. N. Clarke-Lowes,
Emily W illiam s Cook, a n d Bert H aylett.
A n u m b e r in parentheses in the text refers to the source listed opposite
that n u m b e r in the Bibliography (pp. 268-282).
Foreword
A rou nd the year 1873, Frederic M yers was to recall in his Human
Personality, a small group of C am b rid g e friends cam e to the conclusion
that neither religion nor m aterialism had provided satisfactory answers
to questions that were puzzling them:
O u r attitudes of m in d were in some ways different; but to myself, at least, it
seemed th at no ad equ ate attem pt h ad yet been m ad e even to determ ine
w hether an y th in g could be learnt as to the unseen world or no; for that if
anything were know able ab o ut such a world in such fashion th at Science
could adopt an d m aintain that knowledge, it must be discovered by no
analysis of tradition, an d by no m anipulation of metaphysics, but simply by
experim ent an d observation - simply by the application to phenom ena
within us an d arou n d us of precisely the same m ethods of deliberate,
dispassionate exact inquiry which have built up o ur actual knowledge of
the world which we can touch and see.
A long with his friends - chief am o n g them H e n ry Sidgwick an d

E d m u n d G u rn ey - M yers becam e one of the founder m em bers of the
Society for Psychical R esearch, w hen it was form ed in 1882 to p u t these
ideas into practice, a n d this series is being published to m a rk the
Societys centenary.
T h e phenom ena of the unseen w orld to which M yers referred were
originally for convenience put into five categories, each of which a
com m ittee was set u p to investigate: telepathy, hypnotism , sensitives,
apparitions a n d the various physical p h e n o m e n a com m only called
Spiritualistic. O v e r the years the em phasis has to some extent shilted in particular hypnotism , which at that tim e was dismissed as an occult
delusion, was just ab out to be accepted as a reality, so it ceased to be on
the psychic side of the fence. But broadly speaking, the phenom ena
u n d er investigation are the same, a n d the ways in which they have
been investigated have rem ained as M yers planned.
T h e term inology, however, was ch anged - an d ch anged rather
often, w hich m a d e for some confusion. M yers himself introduced
xii
M ediumship and Survival
tele p ath y , as th o u g h t re a d in g was am biguou s; it co uld refer to the
w ay in w hich Sherlock H olm es picked u p w h a t was in W a tso n s m in d
by w a tch in g his expression. S u p e r n o r m a l, how ever, w h ich M yers
thou ght preferable to s u p e rn a tu ra l to describe the class of p h e n o m e n a
w ith w hich the Society w ould be dealing, has since itself been replaced
by p a ra n o r m a l; a n d p a ra p sy ch o lo g y has been easing out psychical
research - th o u g h som e researchers prefer to restrict its use to
laboratory-type work, leaving psychical for research into spontaneous
ph en o m en a. Psi has also com e in as an all-purpo se term to describe
the forces involved, o r to identify th e m - for ex am ple, in distinguishing
a n orm al from a p a ra n o rm a l event.
If evidence were lacking for p a rascien ce - as it m ig h t now m ore
em bracing ly be described, because the em phasis o f research has been
shifting recently aw ay from psychology to p hy sics- it could be found in
the com position o f the Society, from its earliest beginnings. T h e re can
be few organizations w hich have a ttra c te d so distinguished a
m em bership. A m o n g physicists have been Sir W illiam Crookes, Sir
J o h n J o s e p h T h o m so n , Sir O liv er Lodge, Sir W illiam B arrett a n d two
L ord R ayleighs - the third a n d fourth barons. A m o n g the
philosophers: Sidgw ick himself, H e n ri Bergson, F e rd in a n d Schiller, L.
P. Jacks, H a n s Driesch, a n d C. D. Broad; a m o n g the psychologists:
W illiam Ja m e s, W illiam M cD o u g a ll, S ig m u n d F reu d , W alter
F rank lin Prince, C arl J u n g a n d G a rd n e r M u rp h y . A n d alo ng with
these have been m a n y em in en t figures in various fields: C harles
R ichet, a N obel prizew inner in physiology; the E arl o f Balfour, Prim e
M inister from 1902-6, a n d his b ro th e r G e ra ld , C h ie f Secretary for
Ireland in 1895-6; A n d rew L ang, poly m ath; G ilb ert M u rra y , Regius
Professor of G reek a t O x fo rd a n d drafter of the first C o v e n a n t of the
L eag ue of Nations; his successor at O x ford, E. R . D odds; M rs H enry
Sidgwick, Principal of N e w n h a m College, C a m b rid g e ; M a rie Curie;
the H o n M rs Alfred L yttleton, D elegate to the L eag u e o f N ations
Assembly; C am ille F la m m a rio n , the astronom er, a n d F. J . M.
S tratton , President of the R oyal A stronom ical Society; a n d Sir
Alister H a rd y , Professor of Zoology at O xford.
Such a list, as A rth u r K oestler poin ted out in The Roots o f Coincidence,
ought to be sufficient to d e m o n strate th a t E S P research is not a
play g ro u n d for superstitious cran k s. O n the co ntrary, the stan d a rd s of
research have in general been rigorous - far m ore rigorous, as
psychologists have on occasion h ad to ad m it, th a n those ol psychology.
1 he reason that the results have not been accep ted is basically that
Foreword
xiii
they have not been acceptable: extra-sensory perception and
psychokinesis have rem ained outside sciences dom ain, in spite of the
evidence. A n d alth ough the prejudice against parapsychology has
been breaking dow n, so that it is being a d m itted as a n academ ic
discipline in universities, it is still very far from securing a firm base in
the academ ic world.
Sceptics have sedulously p ro p a g ate d the notion that psychical
researchers believe in ESP, P K , apparitions, an d so on because they
long to believe, or need to believe. A n ybody who has studied the
Societys Journals an d Proceedings, or atte n d ed its meetings, will testify
that this is a ludicrous misconception. M a n y of the most assiduous and
skilled researchers have originally been p ro m p ted by rffibelief- by a
desire, say to expose a m e d iu m as a fraud. It has to be rem em bered,
too, that m any, probably the great m ajority, of the m em bers have been
an d still are desirous of showing that p a ra n o rm al manifestations are
natural, an d can be explained scientifically - though adm ittedly not in
the n arrow term s of m aterialist science, which in an y case the nuclear
physicists have show n to be fallacious.
No: insofar as a Society containing such a diverse collection of
individuals can be said to have a corporate identity, it could almost be
described as sceptical; certainly as rational, as this series will show.
Not, though, rational^/. U nluckily rationalists, in their determ ination
to purge society of its religious an d occultist accretions, often failed to
d raw a distinction betw een superstitions an d the observed phenom ena
w hich gave rise to th e m - w hich led them into such traps as refusing to
accept the existence of meteorites, because of the association with
Joves thunderbolts; an d to this day, they are prone to lapse into
support for dogm as as rigid, a n d as ill-founded, as an y of those of the
C hurches. If the series does noth ing else, it will show how ratio n a lly using that term in its proper sense - the writers have exam ined and
presented the evidence.
O f all the issues which have been of concern to psychical researchers,
Survival - co m m only spelt with a capital S to indicate that it m eans the
survival of the soul or spirit after d e ath - has been the hardest to come
to term s with. F rom the start, the S P R has included some m em bers
who are Christians, some w ho are m em bers of other religions, some
who believe in reincarnation, an d some w ho flatly reject the existence,
or even the possiblity of the existence, of a discam ate spirit life. As the
holders of these different views are ap t to hold them to be of
transcendental im po rtance - none m ore so than those w ho regard
xiv
themselves as rationalists - it has alw ays been difficult to survey the
evidence for (and against) Survival as agnostics w ould like to see it;
with the sam e d e ta c h m e n t as, say, the evidence for (an d against)
telepathy. M a n y m em b ers o f the Society, in fact, have felt inhibited
a b o u t considering it at all.
Y et for obvious reasons Survival ca n n o t be p ushed to one side. If
psychical research has an y light to shed on it, th en th a t light ought to
be shed, because w h e th e r or not there is spirit life in d e p e n d e n t of the
body is indeed of transcenden t im p o rta n ce , to all of us. T h e question
for m a n most m om entou s of all', as M yers p u t it, w a s w h e th e r or not
his personality involved an y elem ent w h ich ca n survive bodily d e a th ;
a n d he w ent on to state his belief th a t the an sw er should be sought
throug h the m eth o d of science, a m e th o d never yet a p p lie d to the allim po rtant problem of the existence, the powers, the destiny o f the
h u m a n soul'. N o b o d y is better qualified th a n A la n G a u ld to take a
dispassionate look at the evidence from the m etapsychical - the term
coined by C harles R ichet to describe the new science, as he believed it
to be - rath e r th an from the m etaphysical o r religious point of view. D r
G a u ld has for m a n y years been a m e m b e r of the C ouncil of the Society,
his account of its early years established him as a historian in his ow n
right. The Founders o f Psychical Research was a w e ll-d o cu m en ted and
objective but very read able accoun t of the Societys early years, and
the problem s its m em bers faced. In M ediumship and Survival, he has set
himself the sam e high standards.
Brian Inglis
1 Introduction
People have believed or disbelieved in h u m a n survival of bodily death

for various reasons, philosophical, theological, religious, em otional,
m oral, intuitive or factual. T his book deals w ith the factual reasons
with the em pirical evidence (or some of it) on which belief in survival,
an d also disbelief in the very possibility of survival, has been grounded.
Philosophical issues will be (briefly) raised only w h en they b ear upon
the interpretation of the evidence.
T h e gathering of evidence, or supposed evidence, for survival is no
new endeavour. M a n y anecdotes th a t m ight be thou ght to b ear upon
the question are strung together in lives of the early saints, in the
Dialogues of Pope G regory the G reat, in various late m ediaeval
collections of ghost stories, in post-R eform ation books of rem ark able
providences illustrative of G o d s mercies, in the works of early
nineteenth century G e rm a n mesmerists influenced by Schelling an d a
rom antic philosophy of nature. These m aterials were, however, only
rarely subjected to critical scrutiny, an d were generally presented not
as curious n a tu ra l p h e n o m e n a in need of a n explanation, but as
support for religious beliefs antecedently favoured by the writers.
It was not until the last q u a rte r of the nineteenth century that a
large-scale atte m p t was set afoot to collect an d critically assess
ostensible evidence for survival, an d to interpret that evidence in a
scientific spirit a n d w ith out an y prior co m m itm en t to religious or
survivalistic hypotheses. T his a tte m p t began with the foundation of
the British Society for Psychical R esearch (the S P R ) in 1882 an d of its
A m erican co u n terp a rt (the A S P R ) in 1884 (refounded 1907). Both
are still active, an d I have d ra w n heavily upo n their publications in the
p reparation of this volume. T hese societies, it should be noted, do not
hold corporate opinions, an d the views ad vanced by m em bers
(including myself) are entirely their own.
T h e S P R was not founded to pursue the problem of survival as such.
T h e aim expressed by its founders was to investigate th a t large group
2
of d e b a ta b le p h e n o m e n a designated by such term s as m esm eric,
psychical, a n d Spiritualistic, a n d to do so w ith o u t p reju d ice or
prepossession of an y kind, a n d in the sam e spirit of ex act an d
unim passioned inqu iry w h ich has en ab led science to solve so m a n y
problem s, once not less obscure n o r less hotly d e b a te d (148, pp. 3 an d
4). T h ese objectives sound - indeed are - a little vague, b u t in the
context of 1882 it was reasonably clear w h a t w ere the p h e n o m e n a
intended. First o f all there w ere ce rta in alleged findings th a t had
increasingly c a u g h t public a tte n tio n in the w ake of the m esm eric
m o v em e n t of the late eig h teen th a n d early n in e teen th centuries (see
32; 122c; 122d). T h e facts (or supposed facts) of m esm erism ( o r anim al
m a g n etism ) w ere at first sight them selves sufficiently surprising striking cures of cases given over by o rth o d o x m edicine, the ra p p o rt
betw een m esm eric o p e ra to r a n d his subjects, the in d u ctio n in good
subjects of a tran c e state in w h ich subjects m ig h t perceive the nature
o f their ow n ailm ents, predict their course a n d give prescriptions for
them . O u t of h a p p en in g s o f the last kind, fu rth er p eculiar p h e n o m e n a
developed. C e rta in subjects b e g an to m anifest the ability to see not
just diseased a n d m alfu n ctio n in g aspects o f their ow n internal
workings, b u t those of o th e r people, som etim es even of distant people.
A class of professional a n d semi-professional sensitives grew up, whose
m em bers, usually fem ale a n d usually u n d e r the influence of one
p a rtic u la r m esm eric op e ra to r, w o uld diagnose, predict a n d prescribe
for all comers. N o w if the cla irv o y a n t vision of these ladies could
reach inside people, o r reach distant people, o r predict the course of
diseases, w hy should it not reach inside o th e r kinds o f closed
containers, e.g. sealed boxes, or reach d istan t o r even future scenes an d
events? Before long, e n tra n c e d clairvoyantes w ere p u rp o rte d ly giving
dem o n stratio n s of just these abilities. Som e, indeed, believed th a t their
vision ex tended beyond this w orld altogether, a n d regaled ad m irin g
w onder-seekers w ith visions of heaven, angels, o th e r planets, guard ian
spirits, a n d the souls of deceased h u m a n beings.
O u t of the r a p p o rt betw een m esm eric o p e ra to r a n d m esm eric
subject (supposedly d u e to the transm ission o f the quasi-electrical
m agnetic fluid from the form er to the latter) arose o th e r alleged
p a ra n o r m a l ph e n o m e n a. Subjects could, it was believed, read the
thou ghts ol the op e ra to r, leel pinpricks inflicted u p o n him , taste
substances placed in his m ou th. A n o p e ra to r m ig h t be ab le to en trance
o r influence the subject by the sheer exercise of his will - it was
supposed that he exercised this control by d irec tin g the m a g n etic lluid
Introduction
3
into ap p ro p riate parts of his subjects nervous system. Indeed, tow ards
the m iddle years of the nineteenth century, some mesmeric subjects
pu rp o rted ly fell u n d er the control of d e p arted spirits an d other
exalted beings, a n d thus becam e m edium s for co m m unication
betw een this w orld a n d the next.
T h e second category of ph en o m en a falling w ithin the S P R s field
followed im m ediately from the first an d was closely related to it. W h at
m ay be called the spiritualistic w ing of the mesm eric m ovem ent, the
w ing th a t took seriously the tales of contact with angels an d departed
spirits (there was, incidentally, a materialist, even atheist, wing, which
allied itself with phrenology), had by the late 1840s becom e
m oderately well known, an d had, especially in A m erica, achieved
some degree of h a rm o n y with the Sw edenborgians, w ho were likewise
well known, a n d in some quarters influential. T h u s it cam e ab out that
w hen w h at looked at first like an u nrem arkab le poltergeist case, of a
kind co m m on en ough dow n the centuries, an d usually attrib u ted to
diabolic influence, took a peculiar (but not unprecedented) turn, a
new religious m ov em ent was born. D u rin g the early m onths of 1848,
the small w ooden cottage of M r J. D. Fox, a blacksm ith of Hydesville,
N ew Y ork State, was disturbed by a variety of odd events. T h e most
notable were sustained a n d im perious rap p in g sounds of unknow n
origin, which resounded night after night, fraying the fam ilys nerves
an d spoiling its sleep. E ventually, in despair, M rs Fox a n d her
daughters began to address questions an d co m m an ds to the invisible
agent, an d to their shock a n d astonishm ent received intelligent replies,
rapped out by m eans of a simple code. N eighbours were sum m oned.
T h e rappings assum ed the form of com m unications from deceased
persons, a n d showed a surprising knowledge of local affairs. An
enterprising local publisher, M r E. E. Lewis, broug ht out a pam phlet
containing the signed statem ents of tw enty-tw o witnesses (90). Sight
seers began to com e from miles a ro u n d to witness the wonders.
E ventually it becam e a p p a re n t that the p h e n o m e n a centred not
upo n the house, b u t a ro u n d the two youngest Fox children,
M a rg a re tta (aged fifteen) and K a te (aged eleven), described by Slater
Brown (19, p. 99) a s simple, corn-fed co untry girls. O th ers discovered
that they had sim ilar gifts. T h e p h e n o m e n a spread by a kind of
infection. Persons w ho visited Hydesville found on their return hom e
that the spirits w ould also rap for them. T h e Fox sisters went on the
road, exhibiting their m e d iu m sh ip in N ew Y ork and o ther large
cities, an d by the early 1850s Spiritualism had begun to spread quite
4
w idely th ro u g h the E astern U n ite d States. S piritualist associations a n d
S piritualist new spapers sp ran g up, a n d soon the p h e n o m e n a w ere
ex ported (with som ew hat lim ited success) to B ritain a n d the C o n tin e n t
of E urope. (O n the early history of S piritualism , see 19 a n d 122c.)
T h e relationship betw een m esm erism an d Sp iritu alism w as twofold.
T h e m esm eric m o v em e n t h a d accustom ed the public to the supposed
p h e n o m e n a of clairvoyance, a n d to the idea th a t ce rta in gifted
sensitives m igh t perceive, o r be influenced by, the in h a b ita n ts of the
next world. T h u s it h a d p re p a re d the g ro u n d for the a c c e p ta n c e of
Spiritualism . B ut the m esm eric m o v em e n t also h a d its o w n press a n d
its ow n supporters, its ow n operators a n d its ow n clairvoyantes. T hese
were very readily transferred to o r ab sorbed by the grow ing Spiritualist
m ovem ent. M esm eric clairvoyantes, o r the type o f person w h o w ould
previously have becom e such, now em erg ed as the first m e n tal
m e d iu m s - m ed iu m s whose co n tact w ith th e spirits was th ro u g h
interior vision or hearing, o r th ro u g h the spirits tak in g o v er an d
controlling their bodies or parts thereof, especially, o f course, the parts
required for speech a n d writing.
Physical m e d iu m sh ip - the sort in w h ich c o m m u n ic a tio n w ith the
d e p a rte d proceeds th ro u g h p a ra n o rm a l physical events in the
m e d iu m s vicinity - diversified d u rin g the re m a in d e r o f the nineteen th
century a great deal m ore th a n did m e n tal m edium ship. F ro m simple
raps, the spirits, or the m edium s, or both, g ra d u a te d t o tab le-tip p in g
with, a n d som etim es w ithout, co n tact of h a n d s w ith tab le (an
u p tu rn e d top-hat m a d e an acceptable substitute f o r a sm all table); to
m ov em ent ol o th e r household objects, including m usical instrum ents;
to actual playing on those m usical instrum ents; to the visible
m aterialization of hands with w hich to m ove objects a n d play
instrum ents (these m aterializations w ere held to be m a d e o f a fluidic
substance, later know n as ec to p lasm , descended from the old
m agnetic lluid of the mesmerists, a n d g e n erated by the peculiarly
constituted organism ol the m edium ); to the m a terializa tio n o f vocal
ap p a ra tu s throug h w hich the spirits could speak directly (the direct
voice ), often with the aid ol a speaking tru m p e t; a n d a t last to the
m aterialization of com plete ectoplasm ic replicas o f the bodies which
deceased persons h a d form erly inhabited . O f course m a n y o f these
p h e n o m e n a required darkness o r near-d arkness for their p rodu ction
(delicate ectoplasm ic structures were, it w as claim ed, liable to be
d a m ag e d by light, especially short-w aveleng th blue light), a fact which
led cynics to suggest th a t darkness was m erely a cover for fraud. T his
Introduction
5
suggestion received support, especially in an d after the 1870s, from a
series of unsav oury exposures.
O th e r p h e n o m e n a of physical m edium ship included: levitation of
the m edium , elongation of the m edium 's body, the production of
spirit lights, ap p o rts (small objects broug ht into the seance room by
the spirits), the precipitation of paintings onto blank cards or
canvases, a n d psychic p h o to g rap h y (the ap p earan ce of extras,
often veiled in clouds of ectoplasm , on studio photographs of p a y
ing sitters). Exposures of psychic photographers were num erous and
devastating.
T h e third category of p h e n o m e n a falling w ithin the provenance of
psychical research was less directly linked with the other two, though
still having some connections with them . It was that of traditional
ghost stories - apparitions, hauntings, an d linked perhaps thereto,
assorted cases of visions, crystal visions, a n d so forth.
It was thus, I think, in the historical setting of 1882, fairly clear w hat
p henom ena could be designated as the subject m a tter of psychical
research. T h e y included the p h e n o m e n a of m esm erism an d
hypnotism ; of p a ra n o rm a l healing; of clairvoyance, thoughttransference a n d precognition; of m en tal an d physical m edium ship;
an d of ap paritions a n d hauntings. T h e re is no doubt, of course, that
m any of the founders of the S P R hoped for a positive outcom e to their
inquiries; hoped, that is, that im partial investigation would prove that
some at least of the p h e n o m e n a u n d er scrutiny were genuine. T h e
1870s had been a d ecade in w hich scientific m aterialism of a rather
crude kind h a d m a d e unparalleled advances at the expense of all
varieties of religious belief. H uxley, T yndall, Clifford, Bastian, drew
upon the C on tin en tal m aterialism of B chner an d Haeckel, an d upon
D arw inian evolutionary theory, to produce a m aterialist synthesis
which shook the faith of the older generation an d drove m any ol the
younger into agnosticism. U n d e r these circum stances the work of the
SPR assum ed in the eyes of some a peculiar urgency an d im portance
(see 44b). Perhaps it would be possible to answ er m aterialism with
science a n d to show that not all the findings of science tended to the
support of m aterialism . H o w ev er one m ust not let the hopes ol certain
early psychical researchers obscure the fact that they were com m itted
to investigating the p h e n o m e n a w ithout prejudice or prepossession,
an d in a scientific spirit. O th e rs w ho joined the enterprise were
dedicated to dem olishing the evidence for survival an d for the
m iraculous in general. W h a t we have to consider here is the validity of

d a ta an d of arg u m en ts, not the religious a n d philosophical views ol
those w ho proferred them .
W ith o u t d o u b t the S P R an sw ered a c o n te m p o ra ry need. S o m e of
the ablest people of the period devoted a g reat deal o f tim e, en erg y an d
m oney to ru n n in g it, a n d to ca rry in g o u t the very extensive
investigations rep o rte d in its early publications. T h e y in c lu d ed H e n ry
Sidgw ick (1838-1900), professor of m o ral philosophy a t C a m b rid g e ,
an d first president of the S P R ; his wife E le a n o r (1845-1936), second
principal of N e w n h a m College, C a m b rid g e ; F. W . H . M yers
(1843-1901), a poet a n d classical scholar, a u th o r o f Human Personality
and its Survival o f Bodily Death (1903), a tw o -v olum e survey o f the first
tw enty years of the Societys work; E d m u n d G u rn e y (1847-1888), who
w rote Phantasms o f the Living (tw o volum es, 1886), a w ork on
ap paritions th a t is still frequently referred to; Sir O liv e r L odge
(1851-1940), a physicist a n d pion eer o f wireless telegraphy; a n d F ra n k
P o d m o re (1856-1910), the historian of S piritualism , w h o consistently
played the role o fadvocatus diaboli, ex am in in g a n d rejecting all evidence
w hich others h ad presented as ten d in g to prove h u m a n survival of
bodily death. M rs Sidgw ick was the niece of a P rim e M inister, the
sister of a P rim e M inister, a n d th e sister-in-law o f the wife o f the
A rch bishop of C an terb u ry . I m e n tio n this not because I think that
sharing the genes of prim e m inisters is a g u a ra n te e o f intelligence (M rs
Sidgw icks intelligence was in an y case m anifest), b u t to b rin g out the
point th a t psychical research was th o u g h t im p o rta n t by m e m b ers of
the intellectual, literary a n d even political establishm ents. A m o n g
the early m em bers a n d h o n o rary m e m b ers of the S P R w ere T ennyson,
R uskin, G ladstone, Lewis C a rro ll, A. J . Balfour, L o rd R ayleigh,
C ouch A dam s, W illiam Jam es, J. J. T h o m so n , S ir W illiam Crookes,
G. F. W atts an d Allred Russel W allace. T e n n y so n expressed w h a t m ay
have been his thou ghts a b o u t the enterprise in lines first published in
1889:
T h e G host in M an, the G host th at once was M a n ,
But cannot wholly free itself from M a n ,
Are calling to each o th er th ro a d aw n
S tran ger th an earth has ever seen; the veil
Is rending, a n d the Voices of the day
Are heard across the Voices of the dark.
It is probable th a t several of the early leaders o f th e S P R - a n d most

especially F. W . H . M yers - took a sim ilarly exalted view o f the
Introduction
'
achievem ents a n d potentialities of psychical research. I w o n d er w hat
they w ould m ake of the present state of the art. Investigations of
m edium ship, apparitions, an d other survival-related ph en o m en a have
been to a considerable extent displaced by laboratory experim ents on
telepathy, clairvoyance an d precognition. Problem s of statistics and
ex perim en tal design loom large in the literature. C om pu ters an d other
electronic gadgets are widely used in both the ru n n in g of experim ents
an d the assessment of the results.
T h e re have been innovations in terminology. T h e C o n tin en tal and
A m erican term parapsychology is beginning to replace psychical
research, to w hich it is largely equivalent. F ro m A m erica has com e the
term extrasensory p e rception (ESP) to cover any instance of the
ap p aren t acquisition of non-inferential knowledge of m atters of fact
w ithout the use of the know n sense organs. E SP is usually said to have
three varieties: telepathy, in w hich the knowledge is of events in
an o th er persons m ind, clairvoyance, in w hich the knowledge is of
physical objects or states of affairs; an d precognition (telepathic or
clairvoyant), w here the know ledge relates to happenings still in the
future. T h e w ord know ledge is, however, not entirely ap pro priate,
for there m ay be telepathic or clairvoyant interaction, in which a
persons m ental state or actions m ay be influenced by an external state
of affairs, thou gh he does not kno w or cognize it.
A n o th er A m erican term is psychokinesis (PK ), the direct influence
of m ental events on physical events external to the ag en ts body. T h e
term psi (G reek letter T ) is sometim es used to cover both E S P an d
PK .
I cannot, in the space available to me, und ertake a general review
an d assessment of the evidence for psi-phenom ena. T h a t a fairly good
case can be m ad e out for E SP will be taken for granted in m u ch of the
rest of this book. (For a survey of E S P research I reco m m en d Palm er,
118a.) Lest this be thou ght a sign of such credulity as to un d erm in e the
rem ainder of m y arg u m en t, I should perhaps point out, w hat will I
trust becam e clear later on, that if there were no evidence at all for ESP,
the case for survival could well be much stronger than it is.
Despite changes of em phasis the parapsychological enterprise today is
recognizably continuous with the u n d ertak in g set afoot by those
distinguished an d earnest V ictorians one h u n d re d years ago. T h ere
has in fact been in the last decade or so som ething of a revival of interest
am ong parapsychologists in the problem of survival. It is my task in
8
this book to review som e o f the factual evidence, old a n d new, w hich
has been th o u g h t to b e a r one w ay o r a n o th e r u p o n this p roblem . I
em phasize the som e, for it is bo th im possible a n d u n d esira b le to
a tte m p t to be com prehensive. T h e q u a n tity o f po ten tially relevant
m aterial is en o rm o u s (a select b ib lio g rap h y will be found in 44e), an d
those w ho have not taken a serious look at co m p lete sets o f the
Proceedings a n d Journal o f the S P R a n d the A S P R have p e rh a p s little
idea of its extent. S om e of this m a terial I ca n cu t o u t at once, because it
consists m ainly of evidence for frau d a n d self-deception. I o m it it with
regret, for m u c h e n te rta in m e n t is to be derived from stu d y in g the
m ethods of psychic p h o to g rap h ers a n d fra u d u le n t physical m edium s.
A n o th e r class of m a terial w hich I shall om it is m u c h h a rd e r to define
satisfactorily. It consists of evidence, m a y b e sound, m a y b e not, for
p h e n o m e n a w hich, if genuine, could w ith som e degree o f plausibility
be in terp reted in term s of the survival hypothesis if th a t were
anteced ently established, b u t w h ich do n o t by them selves even begin
to constitute evidence for th a t hypothesis. P h e n o m e n a such as the
p rodu ction of spirit lights at a seance, o r the elo ngatio n o f the
m e d iu m s body, or the levitation of the m e d iu m into the air, will
perhaps serve as exam ples. S uch p h e n o m e n a h ave often been
a ttrib u ted to the activities o f the spirits, a n d they m a y well be very
difficult to explain; b u t there is n o th in g a b o u t th e m , tak en just in
themselves, to suggest to us th a t they are m anifestations of a
personality, still less of the personality of a deceased h u m a n being.
L et us go one stage further. S uppose that at a seance or in a h a u n ted
house there ap pears a n d is p h o to g ra p h e d a perfect sim u lac ru m of a
certain deceased person, a n d th a t there is no sign o f trickery; o r let us
suppose that the recognizable voice of a ce rta in deceased person is
tape-recorded, a n d that the voice-print m atch es u p w ith th a t of his
voice w h en alive. W o u ld these astonishing p h e n o m e n a by themselves
constitute evidence that the person him self has survived the dissolution
of his body? T h e y w ould not. A sim u lac ru m o r shell, o r a hollow voice
m o u th in g e m p ty words, need have b e h in d th e m no personality, no
surviving sentient m ind. F u r th e r evidence w ould be req u ire d before
we could begin to take the survivalist ex p lan a tio n seriously. A n d it is
easy, u p to a point, to see w h at such evidence w o uld have to consist in.
W e would need evidence ol intelligence, ol personality characteristics,
ol goals, purposes a n d allections, a n d of a stream of m em o ry , th a t are
largely or recognizably co ntinuou s w ith those once possessed by a
certain form erly in c arn ate h u m a n being. T h a t is the sort o f evidence
Introduction
9
we are concerned with, an d a m aterialization, direct voice, or taperecorded spirit voice, would have to provide it in addition to m ere
physical sim ilarity before we could begin to take it seriously as
evidence for survival. F o r that reason ph en o m en a of these classes will
not often be m entioned in this book.
I shall instead, a n d by the sam e token, concentrate upon classes of
ph en o m en a - certain sorts of apparitions, an d some cases of m ental
m edium ship an d of ostensible reincarnation - which do sometimes
ap p ear to provide evidence for the survival of a personality. O f course
the notion of personal identity is a com plex an d elusive one, an d some
people would say that personal identity is logically as well as factually
linked to bodily continuity, so th a t it m akes no sense to talk of a person
surviving the dissolution of his body. I shall touch briefly on this issue
later on. A n o th er possibility to be borne in m ind - one w ith w hich not a
little of the evidence could be squared - is that there is survival, but
survival only of a dim inished a n d tru n cated som ething, capable ol
manifesting as a quasi-person in certain circum stances, but not
ordinarily to be thou ght of as a person at all. T h e late professor C. D.
Broad discussed this idea u n d er the nam e of the psychic factor or psico m p o n en t hypothesis (18a, pp. 536-551; 18c, pp. 419-430). I do not,
however, w ant to spend too m uch tim e discussing such issues in the
abstract before I have given some concrete exam ples of the evidence, or
supposed evidence, with which we have to deal.
M ost of the m aterial which I shall cite will, as I have said, com e from
the publications of the S P R an d the A SPR . Occasionally I shall draw
upon evidence of co m p arab le quality from other sources; an d where I
cite cases of m ore dubious authenticity, it will be m ainly to illustrate
possibilities. O f course the question im m ediately arises of w hat, in this
context, would constitute evidence of a p p ro p riate quality. Som e
writers of sceptical tendency are apt to deny not just that we have, but
that we ever could have, evidence strong enough to establish the
genuineness of such p a ra n o rm al p h e n o m e n a as telepathy or
precognition, let alone to establish h u m a n survival of bodily death.
T h e position of these extrem e disbelievers was discussed by E d m u n d
G u rn ey in an illum inating essay first published in 1887 (54). M a n y ol
them have implicitly based themselves on principles derived from a
celebrated essay on miracles by the eighteenth century Scottish
philosopher, D avid H u m e. H u m e s arg u m e n t (suitably em ended) is,
in essence, this. T h e cu m ulativ e evidence in favour of certain basic
10
laws of n a tu re is im m ensely strong, so strong, in fact, th a t no evidence
in favour of a n event c o n tra v en in g one of them , in favour, th a t is, of a
p a ra n o rm a l p h e n o m e n o n , could ever outw eig h it. H e n c e w h e n e v e r we
en co u n ter supposed evidence for a p a ra n o r m a l event, we are alw ays
justified in dismissing th a t evidence. T h e laws o f n a tu r e tak en by
upholders of this doctrin e as basic are co m m o n ly ones w h ich they
think fu n d a m en ta l to a ra th e r crudely m aterialistic view o f the
universe.
If practising scientists as a body h a d ever co m e to take this a rg u m e n t
seriously we w ould, I suppose, still believe ourselves to in h a b it a
universe whose leading features w ould be conceived precisely as they
were conceived at the m o m e n t of m ass conversion to H u m e s doctrines.
O f course scientists do not take it seriously, a n d w e no longer believe
th a t the ea rth is flat. T h e a rg u m e n t errs in the first place by e q u a tin g
p a ra n o r m a l events w ith events w h ich violate c u rre n tly a c cep te d laws
of nature. If, at a seance, a n object (or a person! ) su ddenly floats u p into
the air, this does not necessarily constitute a violation o f the law of
gravity. T h e first reaction o f a n observing scientist (or say his second
reaction, because his first reaction w o uld certainly be astonishm ent)
w ould be to look for the u n k n o w n force o r the u n k n o w n stru ctu re (a
force or a stru cture p e rh a p s in no conflict with the accep ted principles
of m echanics or physics) w hich h a d raised it up. But in an y case there
can be no law of n a tu re that is so solidly established as to be im m u n e
from revision. C o n sid er the following possibility. A law o f n a tu re
changes overnight. Follow ing H u m e s a rg u m e n t we refuse to accept
an y evidence w h atever that it has ch anged. W e say th a t c a n t be
right!, th a t c a n t be rig h t!, a n d so on. C o n seq u e n tly all our
predictions a n d calculations co n tin u e to be hopelessly w rong. W here
did we err? T h e an sw er is obvious. First of all w e assum ed th a t the
evidence in favour of the old law grew stro nger by a co n sta n t a m o u n t
with each successive verification; hence we could h a rd ly expect it to be
overth ro w n in an y period ol tim e shorter th a n th a t a lrea d y taken to
build up this massive ac cu m u latio n ol evidence. It is, how ever, clear
th a t w hat, as a m a tte r of psychological fact, each one o f us acts u p o n is
not some conspectus ol the ac c u m u la te d w isdom of the ages, b u t a kind
of ru n n in g average ol the m ore recent observations. N o r (thoug h I
cannot go into this further) is it irratio n al to act u p o n such a basis.
Secondly, we did not allow this evidence in favou r o f the new law to
accum ulate. W e dismissed each piece ol evidence separately on the
grounds that since it conflicted w ith a n established law it cannot really
Introduction
11
have been sound evidence. A n d this is wholly irrational. Evidence is good if
it fulfils certain criteria ap p ro p riate to evidence (e.g. the witness or
ex p erim en ter is of good repute, he m a d e recordings with instrum ents
generally agreed to be reliable, a n d so on). It does not becom e bad
evidence just because the p h e nom enon it is evidence for is regarded as
antecedently im probable.
It has, in fact, been peculiarly characteristic of those hostile to the
claims of parapsychology to ad opt the second of the above-m entioned
stratagems. T h e y say in effect (I am quo ting G u rn ey here), T h e fact is
so im prob able that extrem ely good evidence is needed to m ake us
believe it; an d this evidence is not good, for how can you trust people
who believe such absurdities? (54, p. 264). C o m m e n t would be
superfluous. It is not superfluous, however, to point out th a t though
extrem e sceptics have pushed their arg u m en ts to the verge of paranoia,
it is none the less vital w hen ex am inin g the alleged evidence for novel
an d deb atab le p h e n o m e n a to m a in tain a strict w atch for certain
recurrent sources of error. T hese sources of error can arise in all the
areas which I propose to discuss, so it will be as well to say som ething
now a b o u t each of them in turn. If they can be elim inated from the
evidence u n d e r review, we shall be able to present that evidence, at
least provisionally, as being of a quality which m erits serious attention.
T h ey m ay be taken u n d er two headings: hoaxing an d fraud; an d
m istaken testimony.
1. Hoaxing and Fraud
H o axing a n d fraud could vitiate the evidence we have to deal with in
one of two ways:
(a) the supposed witnesses of apparitions, an d other experients in
cases o f spontaneous E SP or P K , m ight have concocted their stories
for am usem ent, notoriety, or even for w h at they conceive to be the
good of hum anity;
(b) m edium s w ho stand to profit financially from successful sittings
m ight take steps to deceive their clients.
T h e first of these possibilities does not strike m e as a very serious one,
at least so far as the cases investigated by the S P R are concerned. It is
true th a t several hoaxes have com e to light after the publication of the
case reports. But in the great m ajority of cases the witnesses have been
persons of unblem ished reputation, with no a p p a re n t m otive for
deceit. T h e y have as a m a tte r of routine given signed statem ents to the
Societys representatives, they have subm itted to questioning, their
12
friends have given co rrobo rative testim ony, all relev an t su p p o rtin g
d ocum ents, e.g. d e a th certificates, have been o b ta in e d a n d p u t on file;
a n d so forth. I do not th in k th a t u n d e r these circu m stances it is
reasonable to postulate w holesale hoaxing as a general ex p la n a tio n of
the inflow o f case reports.
T h e m a tte r stands so m ew h at differently w ith reg a rd to possible
fraud by m edium s. M a n y physical m edium s, a n d som e m en tal
m edium s, have been c a u g h t in the m ost egregious trickery. Still, I shall
not in this book be dealin g with physical m e d iu m sh ip to an y extent,
an d the m e n tal m edium s w h o m I shall princip ally discuss - most
notably M rs P ip e r a n d M rs L e o n a rd - w ere never c a u g h t in fraud
despite some rigorous precautions. In the case o f M rs P ip e r these
precautions included opening her m ail a n d h a v in g h e r shado w ed by
detectives to ascertain w h e th e r o r not she em p lo y ed agents. M rs
L eo n a rd was also at one tim e sh ad o w ed by detectives. I do not think
th a t the fraud hypothesis will help us here.
2. M istaken Testimony
T h a t eyewitness testim ony, especially as to u n u su al o r bizarre
happenings, c a n n o t be relied upon, is a co m m o n p la c e of sceptical
assaults u p o n the credibility of evidence for the sorts of p h e n o m e n a we
are considering; a n d it is a co m m o n p lace w h ich ca n be substantiated
by an ap p eal to a large bod y of psychological findings. T h ese findings,
how ever, b ear som ew hat u nequally u p o n different p a rts of o u r subjectm atter. T estim o n y co ncernin g the p h e n o m e n a o f physical m e d iu m
ship, w hich are co m m o n ly ex hibited u n d e r conditions o f n e a r darkness
a n d of em otional stress, is notoriously unreliable. H o w ev er I shall
present very little of such testim ony. W h e n it com es to m ental
m ediu m sh ip the case is different. W e usually have com plete
c o n tem p o ra ry records of w h at such m e d iu m s say o r w rite, so th a t the
question of m istaken testim ony rarely arises. It is over stories of
ap paritions a n d related p h e n o m e n a th a t the p ro b le m im pinges most
directly u p o n the su b ject-m atter of this book.
Som e writers (see, e.g., 169a) a p p e a r to w a n t to dismiss alm ost all
testim ony co n cern in g ap p aritio n s on the follow ing grounds:
(a) In only a few cases did the percipients im m e d iate ly w rite do w n a
full accoun t of their experience. Stories told m o n th s o r even years after
the event are likely to be seriously in error, lor m e m o ry is notoriously
fallible, a n d tall stones ten d to grow w ith retelling. In one celebrated
case, the principal witness, Sir E d m u n d H o rn b y , cla im ed th a t he saw
Introduction
13
an ap p aritio n whilst he was in bed with his wife, w ho also confirm ed
the story. H o w ev er it was later established that at the date of the
supposed a p p aritio n Sir E d m u n d was not yet m arried.
(b) N u m ero u s experim ental investigations have cast d o u b t on the
reliability ol eyewitness testimony even w hen that testim ony has been
given im m ediately after the event.
I do not think th a t these objectives are very powerful. W ith regard
to (a) we do have the witnesses co n tem p o rary statem ents in a
modest n u m b e r of cases. F u rth e rm o re there is no reason to believe that
percipients ol ap paritions have a general tendency tow ards
retrospective exaggeration. Stevenson (153b) gives a n u m b e r of
instances in which witnesses have w ritten a second accoun t m an y years
alter the first w ithout introdu cingsubstan tialchangesorex aggerations.
T his finding receives support from experim ental studies. R ecent fresh
evidence concerning the H o rn b y case ra th e r suggests th a t Sir E d m u n d
H o rn b y a n d his wife had simply forgotten that they were not yet m arried
at the time w hen the ap p aritio n was seen (44a). (b) T hese investigations
show th a t eyewitnesses are liable to be m istaken over details im po rtant
for forensic purposes, e.g. w ho fired first, o r w hat colour jacket the
accused was wearing. T h e y do not show that witnesses are likely to be
mistaken upo n pointscrucial to the assessment ofap p aritio n stories, e.g.
w h ether the figure which stood before one was that of ones m aternal
grandfather.
Suppose, then, that we accept, provisionally and for the purposes of
argum ent, that we do possess some quantitiesofevidence, not so inferior
in quality as to be instantly dismissible, which seems primafacie to suggest
that certain form erly incarnate h u m a n beings have survived the
dissolution of their carn al bodies, an d continue to exhibit some at least of
the m em ories an d personal characteristics which they possessed in life.
H o w are we to interpret this evidence? Discussions of the pros an d cons of
the survival hypothesis will occupy m uch of the rest ol the book. T here
are, however, two recu rren t counter-hypotheses which m erit a
m ention at this point.
C hance C oin cid en ce
T h e first, a n d less im portant, is w hat m ay be called the chance

coincidence hypothesis. It is seen at its simplest in connection with
allegedly precognitive dream s. T h ere are in print quite a n u m b e r of
cases in w hich a d re a m e r has ap p aren tly d ream ed, with considerable
14
co rrespon dence of detail, of an event w hich, at th e tim e of the d rea m ,
h a d not yet h a p p en ed . Is this p ro o f of precognition? T h e following
co u n ter-ex p lan atio n m ig h t be offered. T h e r e are in the w orld, o r even in
th a t lim ited p a rt of the w orld w h ere the pub licatio ns of the S P R a n d the
A S P R circulate, m a n y millions of persons, ea ch of w h o m p ro b a b ly
d ream s several d ream s a night. A y e a rs total of d rea m s will a d d u p to
thou sands of millions. G iv en so m a n y d ream s, surely we w o u ld expect
th a t now a n d again, a n d simply by chance, one o r tw o of th e m will
correspond, to a m a rk e d extent, w ith some im m e d iate ly subsequent
event? T hese d ream s will be re m e m b e re d a n d talked ab o u t, while the
o th e rs- w h ic h w e m a y c a ll th e forgotten also ra n s- will sim ply pass into
oblivion. T h u s it com es a b o u t th a t the pub licatio ns o f ce rta in learned
societies are swelled w ith a grow ing n u m b e r o f acco u n ts of dream s
falsely th o u g h t to have been precognitive.
A very sim ilar a rg u m e n t ca n be a p p lied to ce rta in stories of
ap paritions. T wo sorts of a p p a ritio n case th a t figure p ro m in e n tly in the
lite ra tu re a re c a se so fa p p a ritio n s c o in c id in g w ith the d e a th of the person
seen, a n d cases of ap p aritio n s sim ultaneously seen by m o re th a n one
person. N o w suppose we m ake the assum ption th a t som e people have
hallucinations o f a certain type (i.e. see ap paritions) m ore frequently
th a n they let on. T h e y keep q u iet a b o u t it for fear o f being thou ght
u nb alan ced . T h e n we m igh t expect th a t now a n d ag ain one o f these
hallucinations w ould, just by ch ance, coincide w ith a d e a th , o r coincide
spatially a n d tem porally w ith som eone elses hallucination. T h e
percipients will be p re p a re d to talk a b o u t these hallucinations, because
they will not think such talk will e n d a n g e r their rep u ta tio n s for sanity.
H en ce stories of crisis ap p aritio n s a n d o f collectively perceived
ap paritions will get into circulation. T h e forgotten also ra n s will not be
he ard of again.
T his issue will recu r later. H e re I shall sim ply re m a rk th a t a n u m b e r of
surveys, old an d new, suggest quite strongly th a t w h a t m a y be called the
spontaneous hallucination rate' in the p o p u latio n at large is not nearly
high enough to sup p o rt the a rg u m e n t (see57;5 8; 83; 1 18b; 146; 169b).
A v a ria n t of the ch an ce coincidence hypothesis is often ap p lied to
explain aw ay the hits so often scored by m e n ta l m edium s. M a n y
m edium s, it is held, deal to a considerable ex tent in banalities. T h ey
deliver messages from the beyond w hich w o uld p ro b a b ly be
ap p ro p ria te for a high percentag e of likely sitters, especially sitters of the
sex, age a n d class g ro u p of the cu rren t client. N a tu ra lly the messages
a p p e a r evidential to the sitter; b u t they are not. T h e m e d iu m has
Introduction
15
succeeded by a m ixture of chance an d skill.
T h e pro b lem touched on here can be a very real one, an d attem pts
have been m a d e to devise statistical m ethods of assessment to
circu m ven t it. I do not, however, think that the problem is an im portant
one for o u r im m ediate purposes, for I do not believe that in the m ajority
of exam ples of a p p aren tly successful m ental m edium ship which I shall
actually cite an yone would seriously raise the chance coincidence
hypothesis.
Super-E SP
T h e second com m only proferred counter-hypothesis to the survivalistic

one is w h at H a r t (60b) has called t h e super-E S P hypothesis. It is that all
the p h e n o m e n a w hich we are tem pted to take as indicating the survival
of the m em ories a n d personalities of certain deceased persons can be
m ore simply a n d satisfactorily explained in term s of E SP by living
persons- by the m edium s w ho deliver the messages, thepercipientsw ho
see the apparitions, a n d so on. T his hypothesis, pushed to its limits, lands
us in the following dilem m a. Ifa p iec eo fp u ta tiv ee v id en c efo rsu rv iv al is
to be of use, it m ust be verifiable- we m ust be able to check by consulting
records or surviving friends that the inform ation given by the ostensible
co m m u n ic ato r was correct. But if the sources for checking it are extant,
they m ight in theory be telepathically or clairvoyantly accessible to the
m edium or percipient. Since we do not know the limits of E SP we can
never say for certain th a t E SP of the ex traordinary extent that would
often be necessary - su p er-E S P - is actually impossible. This is the
central d ilem m a in the interpretation of ostensible evidence for survival,
an d it will crop up again a n d again thro u g h o u t the rest of this book. I
have no convenient sword with which to cu t this G ordian knot. But a s a
guiding principle in a p p ro ach in g it I propose the following. O n e should,
w henever possible, avoid m aintainin g any hypothesis by engaging in
speculations which do not, so far as we can at the m om ent see, com m it
one to propositions which can be tested against the facts. It is, for
exam ple, quite unprofitable, because b a rren offurtherconsequences, to
m aintain the super-E SP hypothesis by postulating telepathy betw een
the unconscious m ind of the m edium an d the unconscious m ind of some
distant person, for this is a process unobservable in principle, an d n o th
ing further can be done to check up on it; a n d it is equally ba rren to
explain aw ay mistakes an d inconsistencies by a purpo rted mediumistic
c o m m u n ic a to r by suggesting that the erro r cam e not from the supposed
c o m m u n ic a to r but from lying a n d malicious im personating spirits.
16

Finally, I m ust em phasize th a t this book is o n ly a b r ie f in tr o d u c tio n to
some exceedingly difficult a n d co m plex problem s. L a rg e volum es could
be - indeed have been - w ritten u p o n topics or cases to w h ich I have been
able to devote only a ch ap ter, o r a p a ra g ra p h , o r a sentence. T h o u g h I
try to develop ce rta in lines of a rg u m e n t, a n d to reac h certain
conclusions - the book w o uld be very flat if I did not - I a m m ore
co ncerned to present the d a ta a n d the issues th a n to p ro m o te a
p a rtic u la r set of views. T h e conclusions th a t I in fact offer are fairly
modest. I profess no overw h elm in g ce rta in ty as to the tru e ex planations
of the p h e n o m e n a u n d e r review. I am , how ever, ce rta in o f tw o things.
T h e first is th a t we are here co nfron ted w ith a great ra n g e of unsolved
problem s a n d un e x p la in ed p h e n o m e n a , all of w hich are potentially of
g reat psychological an d philosophical interest. T h e second is th a t these
issues are not of m erely ac ad em ic concern. T h e y are im p o rta n t to
a n yone w ho thinks a n d feels a b o u t the h u m a n situation. I have heard
m a n y people of a bluff a n d fiddlesticks tu rn o f m in d talk so m ew h at as
follows. O f course we all perish utterly at o u r deaths. But one life, lived
to the full, should be en o u g h for a n y o n e . S u c h people have, I think,
co m m o n ly h ad co m fo rtable a n d prosperous lives. T h o s e - the m a jo rity w h o have been less fortunate, often th ro u g h no fault o fth e iro w n , m ight
express o th e r feelings.
2 Mediumship: General
W ith the ph e n o m e n a of m edium ship, which will occupy the next seven
chapters, we at once reach the very heart of the debate concerning the
alleged evidence for survival. I gave in the first ch a p te r a brief account
of m o d ern Spiritualist m edium ship an d its origins w ithin the anim al
m agnetic m ov em ent of the early nineteen th century. But these forms
of m edium ship - know n at least by hearsay to most m em bers of
co ntem p orary W estern society - are only local an d culturally shaped
versions of p h e n o m e n a which have, an d have had, their equivalents in
m any societies, past an d present. T his point will be forcefully broug ht
hom e to an yone w ho glances at some of the quite num erous field
studies of possession an d kindred p h e n o m e n a published by social
anthropologists (e.g. 7; 25; 38; 65; 124; 168). I a m talking here about
possession in a strong sense - the ostensible controlling of som eones
speech a n d behavio ur by a d iscam ate entity capable of intelligent
com m unication. In some societies all kinds of diseases a n d ailm ents are
attributed to possession by m alevolent spirits; but with possession in
this sense we are not concerned.
Possessed persons m ay be divided into two broad categories: those
who are the victims of possession, w ho are involuntarily taken over and
m anipulated by d iscam ate entities (usually hostile); an d those who
invite a n d indeed cultivate possession by better-disposed beings
through whose agency good works of one kind o r a n o th er m ay be
performed. A m o n g the latter class of persons are the sham ans,
witchdoctors, c u n n in g m en, seers an d spirit m edium s w ho fulfil similar
roles in so m a n y widely different an d widely separated societies. T h e
d iscam ate entities which possess persons of these two categories
include in m a n y cultures not just deceased h u m an beings (as in
W estern Spiritualism ), but all sorts of gods, godlings, dem ons, devils,
an d an im al spirits. T hese last, I think, are usually not the spirits of
individual deceased anim als, but are either the spirits of tiger-ingeneral, crocodile-in-general, an d so forth, or su p erh u m an entities
18
w hich assum e the form of anim als, as in the n u m e ro u s orien ta l tales of
fox spirits, m on key spirits, etc.
A nthropologists of a n earlier ge n eratio n w ere p ro n e to w rite of!
sham ans a n d w itchdoctors as im postors or hysterics o r som e a m a lg a m
of the two. Sir J a m e s F razer, for ex am ple, w rote in 1913 (42, p. 15):
. . . these persons m ore or less crazed in th eir wits, a n d particularly
hysterical o r epileptic patients, are for th at very reason th o u g h t to be
peculiarly favoured by the spirits, a n d are therefore consulted as oracles,
their wild a n d w hirling words passing for the revelations of a higher power,
w h eth er a god o r a ghost, w ho considerately screens his too d azzling light
u nd er a thick veil of d ark sayings a n d m ysterious ejaculations. I need h ardly
point out the very serious dangers w hich m en ace a n y society w here such
theories are com m only held a n d acted upon.
D espite F ra z e rs prognostications of doom , m a n y societies in which

sham ans a n d w itchdoctors play a lead in g role have survived very well,
a n d look like co n tin u in g to do so. T h is suggests th a t, w h atev e r
a p p earan ces there m ay be to the co n tra ry , such persons possess a far
grea ter degree of w orldly efficiency th a n V ic to ria n anthropologists
allowed. M o d e rn anthropologists recognize this, a n d ten d to regard
sh am an ism not as a form of m e n tal alienation, d a n g ero u s to the
sufferer a n d to his society, b u t as a p h e n o m e n o n w ith m a n y facets,
requiring, perhaps, e x p lan a tio n on a n u m b e r of different levels. O n e
level of ex p lan atio n m ay, indeed, in som e cases be the psychopathological. T h e classical Eskim o or S ib e ria n s h a m a n often undergoes d u rin g
his train in g o r initiation a period of em otional instability a n d m ental
disturbance; b u t from this he m ay em erge a stro nger a n d m ore
integrated person th a n he was before (37, pp. 23-32). H e has been
cu red th ro u g h suffering, or ra th e r has cu re d him self th ro u g h suffering.
F o r novice sham ans in o th e r parts of the w orld even this period of
suffering a n d d istu rb an ce m ay not be necessary. A fter co n d u c tin g ind e p th interviews w ith ten S h o n a ngangas, M ic h a e l G e lfa n d concluded
th a t all w ere physically a n d m entally n o r m a l (47, p. 133), whilst the
editors of a s ta n d a rd anthro polog ical w ork on spirit m e d iu m sh ip in
Africa, state (7, p. xxiv) th a t in Africa m e d iu m s are by no m eans crazed
in their wits. O n the c o n tra ry they are usually shrew d, intelligent, and
accepted m em bers of their c o m m u n itie s.
A lth ough being possessed by d is c a m a te entities, a n d th e converse
ph en o m en o n , nam ely q u ittin g the physical bod y to visit the spirit
w orld a n d talk a n d negotiate w ith its in h a b itan ts, are the most
spectacular of the s h a m a n s skills, they form only a p a rt of his
Mediumship: General
19
repertoire. T h e sh am a n (I a m using the w ord now in an extended sense
to include not just Eskim o a n d Siberian sham ans but all kinds of
w itchdoctors, m edium s, an d so forth) is in m a n y societies first an d
foremost a repository of cosmological an d theological doctrines. H e
knows his trib es co rn e r of the universe, the unseen powers which
occupy a n d rule it, an d the p ro p er m eans for ap p ro ach in g an d
p ropitiating them . T h is know ledge m ay be thou ght vital to the
m a n ag e m en t o f w eather, crops, a n d game. T h e sh am an can
co m m unicate w ith a n d obtain inform ation from the ancestral spirits of
his tribe. H e plays a leading p a rt in all sorts of religious cerem onies an d
rites de passage, w hich m ay have in tu rn not just inner symbolic
meanings, but recreational aspects, so that his d ram a tic an d artistic
skills m ay be of great im p o rtan ce to the co m m unity . Above all the
sham an is a healer. H e diagnoses, perhaps clairvoyantly, the nature
and causes of afflictions, drives out the evil spirit responsible, prescribes
herbs to cure the residual physical dam age. H e m ay be especially
successful with w hat we should regard as m en tal illnesses, a n d if these
take the form of ostensible possession, we m ay have the curious
spectacle of a possessed sh a m a n treatin g a possessed patient. His
clairvoyant capacities a n d his ability to d re a m dream s m ay be in
d e m an d for locating lost p roperty a n d detecting thieves. H e m ay thus
com e to be involved in the m a in ten a n ce of social order. A good sham an
obviously requires m a n y gifts o ther th a n just that of entering trance
and uttering wild a n d w hirling words while possessed. H e requires
knowledge, intelligence, d ram a tic flair, tact, social skills, a n d a
thorough u n d ersta n d in g of the individuals with w h om he has to deal.
T h e successful exercise of these gifts m ay brin g a sham an
co m m en surate rew ards in the shape of w ealth an d social status. T his
fact has led some writers (see especially 92) to lay em phasis upo n the
possibilities for ad v an c em en t w hich a career as a sh am an m ay open up
to persons from norm ally underprivileged sections of a society - for
instance w om en, hom osexuals, the very poor, a n d m em bers of
m inority groups. N o d o u b t there is an elem ent of tru th in this view, as
in m a n y o th e r views of this com plex phenom enon. O n e must, however,
bew are of supposing th a t sham ans from underprivileged backgrounds
have in all, or even most, cases ad o p ted this course of life from
conscious policy. B ehaviour like that of an en tra n ced or possessed
sham an, w hich from a certain point of view m ay ap p e a r irrational and
arb itrary , m a y conceal a deeper rationality a n d a strategy which is not
fully co m p re h e n d e d even by the agent himself.
20

A question of p a rtic u la r interest to parapsychologists is of course
th a t of w h e th e r sh am a n s (using the w o rd still in a n ex te n d e d sense)
m a y som etim es include a m o n g their o th e r gifts the p a r a n o r m a l ones
of E S P a n d P K . T h is is a difficult issue. It is only q u ite recently th a t a
few anthropologists have given serious co nsid eration to the possibility
th a t there m ay be elem ents of the p a ra n o rm a l in the perform an ces of
sham ans, b u t a d e q u a te investigations re m a in largely to be ca rried out
(see, for instance, 4 a n d 94; a n d for o lder m a terial 87a a n d 113).
M e a n w h ile we have a fair n u m b e r of travellers tales of varyin g
credibility, a n d a m u c h sm aller n u m b e r o f footnotes a n d incidental
observations by anthropologists. I wish th a t I h a d the space to review
this highly e n te rta in in g literature. M y personal im pression o f it is that
there is som e evidence th a t ce rta in sh am a n s occasionally exhibit E SP
a n d p e rh a p s also P K ; a n d th a t there is ra th e r m ore evidence that
certain sham ans (som etim es the sam e ones) m a y w ork w onders by
ad ro it co n ju rin g - not necessarily, it should be ad d e d , w ith any
crim inal intent, but sim ply as p a rt o f a d ra m a tic p erform an ce
designed, for instance, to m a n ip u la te a p atien t's m in d in directions
favourable to a cure.
T h e re are very few studies from an an th ro p o lo g ical perspective of
spirit m e d iu m sh ip in W estern society. T h is m ig h t seem surprising,
since the p h e n o m e n o n is relatively co m m o n . M ost accoun ts of
m e d iu m sh ip co m e eith er from d e d icate d believers, o r else from
parapsychologists chiefly interested in assessing the ostensible evidence
for ESP. It m ay be th a t anthropologists are afraid of being ta rre d with
these brushes. I think, how ever, th a t most people w h o have any
substantial a c q u a in ta n c e w ith W estern S p iritu alism will recognize
th a t m a n y of the above observations a b o u t sh am a n s a n d sham anism
ap ply equally to Spiritualist m e d iu m s in o u r ow n society. It is true, of
course, that the d is c a m a te entities w h ich are alleged to possess or
otherw ise co m m u n ic ate th ro u g h Spiritualist m e d iu m s usually (though
not always) claim to be just the spirits of deceased h u m a n s r a th e r th an
of the gods, dem ons, an im al spirits a n d o th e r beings which
ad ditionally m anifest th ro u g h sham ans. B ut the o u tw a rd forms of the
p h e n o m e n a present m a n y analogies w hich it w o u ld be superfluous to
pursue in detail. In fact there are few m edium istic p h e n o m e n a for
which the literatu re of sh am an ism c a n n o t provid e parallels, a n d few
sham anistic perform ances to w hich S piritualism provides no
c o u n terp a rt. I have not h e a rd ol a n y s h a m a n w h o has allegedly
pro d u ced full-form m aterializations clad in flowing w hite ectoplasm ic
Mediumship: General
21
drapery; nor, to my regret, do I know a co n tem p o ra ry Spiritualist
ch u rch in w hich the officiating m edium dances wildly w h en u n d er
spirit control. But these, an d a few others, are the exceptions which
prove the rule.
J u st as V ictorian anthropologists were ap t to think sham ans m erely
crazy, so some psychiatrists a n d clergym en have d ram atically or
unreflectingly asserted th a t m a n y m edium s are m entally disturbed and
probably certifiable. Such assertions are as m istaken in the latter case
as in the former. M ost m edium s exhibit in their o rdinary lives no
sym ptom s of hysteria, epilepsy or m ental disturbance. T h e re are, of
course, exceptions, but I should hesitate to say th a t these are m ore
num erous th an in the o rdinary run of the population. In fact several
m edium s are am o n g the most practical people I know. N o ne the less
some m edium s claim to have gone th ro u g h a period of suffering an d
em otional d isturban ce due to early psychic experiences w hich they did
not u nd erstand a n d which led them to fear they were going m ad. As
with sham ans, these initial problem s disapp eared after contact with
an d training by other an d m ore developed m edium s.
A gain it is quite clear that alth o u g h co m m u n ic atio n with the dead is
the principal function which a m edium performs, he or she (usually the
latter) m ay fulfil m a n y o ther functions too. Like sham ans, m edium s
are repositories of, or vehicles for, assorted theological an d
cosmological teachings, thou gh the im po rtance of this role is som ew hat
diluted in o u r society by the existence of a large body of readily
accessible Spiritualist literature. M ed iu m s w ho are the ministers of
Spiritualist churches m ay, like sham ans, officiate at such rites de passage
as w eddings an d funerals (arguably the most significant rite de passage of
all!). H ealing an d m edium ship go h a n d in h and alm ost as m u ch as do
sham anism an d the treatm en t of disease. Physical diseases are treated
in healing sessions by dedicated spiritual healers, m a n y of w hom
believe th a t spirits ch annel healing forces throug h their hands. M ost
m edium s are ap t to suggest hom ely (often herbal) rem edies for m ino r
ailments. M a n y in effect function as psychotherapists an d general
counsellors, a n d it w ould not surprise m e to learn that with a clientele
possessing ap p ro p riate b a ckgroun d beliefs they achieve a success rate
quite as high as th a t of qualified professionals. A reputable m edium ,
like a reputable sham an, is ap t to be shrewd, balanced an d wellm eaning, to have perhaps a touch of vanity an d a liking for the
dram atic, but to do overall m u ch m ore good th a n harm .
It has, as I pointed out, not infrequently been suggested that
22
sh am an ism offers a ro ad to status for talen ted persons w h o m igh t
otherw ise find them selves c o n d e m n e d to rem a in in u n d erp riv ileg e d or
even despised obscurity. S im ila r a rg u m e n ts m ig h t be p u t fo rw ard in
co nnection w ith Spiritualist m edium ship. F em ale m e d iu m s greatly
o u tn u m b e r m ale (w hich is not the case w ith sham ans, b u t sh am a n ism
is a career - alm ost the only c a r e e r - o p e n to w om en). In fact it m ust be
easier for a w o m an to becom e a m inister o r c h u rc h lea d er w ith in the
S piritualist m o v em e n t th a n w ith in alm ost a n y o th e r religious
o rganization. F u rth e rm o re these ladies often co m e from relatively
poor a n d u n e d u c a te d backgrounds. N o t a few m ale m e d iu m s are (like
certain sham ans) re p u te d ly hom osexual, w hich m ig h t be co nstrued as
fu rth er evidence for the thesis u n d e r discussion. It is not a thesis w h ich I
personally w ould a tte m p t to push very far, b u t w h a te v e r ca n be said in
its favour so far as sh am a n ism is co ncerned, c a n p ro b a b ly also be said
in co nnection w ith Spiritualist m edium ship.
I expressed above a fairly qualified belief th a t som e sh am a n s m a y in
the exercise o f th e ir craft at times exhibit E S P o r P K . M y belief that
certain m ed iu m s som etim es exhibit p a ra n o rm a l abilities is m u c h less
qualified - I was alm ost rash en o u g h to w rite th a t it is unq ualified - but
since m ost of the next five ch ap ters will be d evoted to the sort of
evidence on w hich m y belief is based, I shall not fu rth e r discuss the
m a tte r at this point.
I have tried, in this brief a n d in a d e q u a te ac co u n t o f the relevant
anthro polog ical m a terial to show th a t S piritualist m e d iu m sh ip , as we
know it in E u ro p e a n d A m erica, has such clear affinities w ith w h at I
have so m ew h at loosely chosen to call sh am a n ism th a t it ca n only be
reg ard ed as a cu lturally co nd itio n ed variety of the latter. It is, if you
like, the local v a ria n t of a general h u m a n potential. T h is conclusion
ca n n ow be shelved a n d tem p o rarily forgotten. It will be b ro u g h t out
again w hen I com e to a tte m p t a general assessm ent o f the n a tu re of
m edium ship. T o a m ore detailed ac co u n t of m edium istic p h e n o m e n a
we m ust now turn.
As I pointed out in the first ch ap ter, Spiritualists them selves co m m only
distinguish tw o categories o f m edium ship, physical m e d iu m sh ip an d
m e n tal m edium ship. In physical m e d iu m sh ip , the spirits of deceased
persons co m m u n ic a te th ro u g h ostensibly p a ra n o r m a l physical
h appen ings in the m e d iu m s n e ig h b o u rh o o d . T h e 'p o w e r for these
h appen ings (raps, object m ov em ents, m aterializations, etc.) is
supposedly o b ta in ed from the m e d iu m s ow n, peculiarly endow ed,
Mediumship: General
23
organism . In m en tal m edium ship, the spirits either impress pictures
an d sound-im ages upo n the m e d iu m s psychic perceptivity (clair
voy ant' m edium ship), or else use her h a n d or vocal a p p a ra tu s to
co m m u n ic ate by speech or writing.
Both kinds of m ed iu m sh ip have m a n y varieties, a n d are carried on
in m an y different settings. Som e m edium s function as ministers of
Spiritualist churches, an d regularly enliven ch u rch services with a
d em onstration of clairvoyant m edium ship; others see individual
clients by ap p o in tm en t; others lead small groups of enquirers in socalled 'h o m e circles; some do all of these things. T h e initial aim is
always the same. Sitters are to be convinced by the force of evidence
that the co m m u n ic atin g personalities are indeed the surviving spirits
of pa rtic u lar formerly incarnate h u m a n beings. T h erea fte r the
pronouncem ents of these spirits concerning the status an d prospects of
the post-m ortem individual, a n d upon religious m atters in general,
will be accorded the w eight due to genuine inside inform ation. It is this
em phasis upo n evidence a n d proof th a t underlies Spiritualism s
frequent claim to be a scientific religion.
P h y sica l M e d iu m sh ip
By far the greater p a rt of the ostensible evidence for survival comes

from the ph e n o m e n a of m ental m edium ship. T his is, as I pointed out in
the first ch apter, because it is the content of w h at is co m m unicated ,
rather th a n the means by w hich it is co m m unicated , that yields (if
an ything does yield) evidence for the survival of personality. If
p a ra n o rm al raps resound in the vicinity of a m edium , a n d h a m m e r out
intelligent sentences by m eans of a simple code (a phenom enon,
incidentally, w hich I have several times witnessed myself in good
light), this is no d o u b t very curious a n d interesting, but it does not perse
constitute evidence for h u m a n survival of bodily death. H o w ev er the
raps might convey an evidential message. In fact we have firsthand
accounts o f a n u m b e r of cases in w hich they have ap p aren tly done so.
Several of these concern D. D. H o m e (1833-1886), perhaps the most
rem arkable of all physical m edium s. T hus, in a seance held at
E din b u rg h in 1870, an d recorded by M r P . P. A le x a n d e r(l, pp. 35-6),
raps spelled out the n a m e P op hy S o p h y . It transpired that this was
the pet n a m e of a child whose m o th er a n d au n t were present. T h e au nt
burst into tears. T h e raps then spelled out, Y ou were not to blam e, an d
I am h a p p y . T h e a u n t h ad blam ed herself for supposed carelessness in
allowing the child to catch scarlet fever.
24

T h e only form of physical m e d iu m sh ip oi w h ich I shall subsequently
cite exam ples is the so-called direct voice. T h e S piritualist theory oi
the direct voice is th a t spirits co nstruct for them selves vocal organ s out
o f ec to p lasm supplied by the m e d iu m . W ith these vocal organ s they
are able to speak to the sitters, often d irec tin g th e ir rem ark s into a
speaking tru m p e t provid ed for the purpose. If the sitting is held in the
dark, the tru m p e t, usually m a rk e d w ith lum in ous pain t, m a y move
aro u n d the circle, so th a t the voices speak from different positions. T h e
possibilities for fraud here are limitless - one m e d iu m kno w n to me
used to conceal the reaching rods w ith w hich he m a n ip u la te d his
tru m p e ts in the hollow legs ol a small b a m b o o table - b u t som e curious
observations have none the less been m ade. F o r instance in the early
p a rt of this ce n tu ry a n A m erican direct voice m e d iu m , M rs E tta
W rie d t (1859-1942), of D etroit, greatly intrigued several leading
m em b ers of the S P R . Sir W illiam B arre tt (1845-1925), one ol the
founders of that Society gives (103, pp. 8 3-84 ) the follow ing accoun t oi
a sitting w ith M rs W riedt:
W h en after m y ex am ination of the room M rs W ried t an d Miss R am sden
entered, the door was locked, a n d one o f the electric lights over o u r head
was left on to illum inate the room . W e sat on chairs adjoining each other; I
sat next to M rs W ried t an d held h er h and. Miss R a m sd e n sat on m y left.
W e asked M rs W ried t to let us try in the light first, an d at her suggestion
Miss R. held the small end of a large a lu m in iu m tru m p et to h er ear; the
larger end I supported w ith m y left h and. M y body therefore cam e between
the tru m p et a n d the m edium . I h ad previously looked into the trum pet,
which was perfectly bare and smooth. Presently Miss R a m sd e n said she
heard a voice speaking to her, a n d en tered into conversation w ith the voice.
I only heard a faint w hispering sound, but no articu late words. T o avoid
the possibility o f M rs W ried t being the source of the whispering, I engaged
her in talk, a n d while she was speaking Miss R a m sd e n still h eard the faint
voice in the trum p et, but begged us to stop speaking, as it prevented her
hearing distinctly w h a t the voice said. Miss R a m sd e n assured me
afterw ards th at there could be no d o u b t w hatever th at the voice in the
trum p et was ind ep en dent of M rs W riedt, a n d I ca n testify th at I w atched
the m ed iu m a n d saw n othing suspicious in the m ovem en t of h er lips. She
did not m ove from her place, a n d no accom plice or concealed arra n g em e n t
could possibly have p roduced the voice.
Miss R a m d s e n adds a note co n cern in g the (evidential) message which

she received. She says further, W hile h old ing the tru m p e t I could feel
the vibratio n of the little voice inside.
Mediumship: General
25
M en ta l M e d iu m sh ip
Of m en tal m edium ship there are num erous kinds, an d I can m ention
only the m ore im portant. T h e most frequently seen, both in private
consultations, a n d on the public platform , is that of clairvoyant
m edium ship, w hich I m entioned above. T h e m e d iu m or sensitive may
be in a slightly dissociated state, but is usually not en tranced. She
claims to see o r h e a r deceased friends an d relatives of persons
present, an d to transm it messages from them. O ccasionally the seeing
an d hearin g seem to reach a n hallucinatory vividness, a n d the
experience resembles that of seeing an a p p aritio n (see C h a p te r
Fourteen). Som etim es the m e d iu m s guides (spirits w ho are alleged to
direct her activities from the o ther side) m ay present the inform ation
in the form of symbolic visions which she m ust learn to interpret.
S om ething of the flavour of such dem onstrations m ay be gleaned from
the following v erb atim transcript (64a, pp. 163-164):
Medium . . . See, a boy comes in your surroundings. H e looks to m e to be
about 17 or 18, a n d I think there will have been a good deal of sorrow over
the passing aw ay of this boy. A lady brings this boy, a n d she wants the
parents to know about him. W h eth e r he passed away in weakness or not, I
don t know. H e is a very beautiful boy; she is telling m e that it is H erbert
Ernest. T here is som ebody belonging to him called Seth. I cannot get along
with it. D o you know anybody called Seth an d M a ry that h ad a boy called
H erbert Ernest Hobson?
Answer. Y ou are right, friend.
Medium. T hey w ant you to know.
R ight in the corner there [pointing], I d o n t know w hat to m ake of this at
all. It is a youth. I should take him to be ab o ut 18. T h e re is a gentlem an
with this youth; a n d I have a very curious feeling. I ra th er think this youth
will have been killed from shock. N ow he comes an d shows me. H e is
w ithout jacket, an d his clothes are covered with colour. H e is holding out
his hands and there is a reddish dye on them. H e m ay have worked in a dye
works. I feel I would fall over. H e m ay have met with his d eath in a dye
works. It is M rs M illers boy, W illiam H enry Miller; lived in Valley Place,
and I think he would be killed in a dye works. N ot m ore th an four or five
years ago, as far as I can see in the surroundings. This gentlem an comes
with him. H e is H enry M itchell, and he used to belong to Y eadon. H e is
helping the boy forward.
[All correct, except that Henry M itchell is unrecognized. M r Holden, my informant,
knew William Henry Miller. Leg hurt at dye works, blood poisoning, died about
1911. Valley Dye Works.)
Answer. I know this man.
C lairvoyant m edium ship has been less extensively studied by psychical

researchers th an it perhaps deserves. I shall give w h at are in effect some
26
exam ples of it in C h a p te r Eleven. M o re a tte n tio n has b e en focused on
the kinds of m e n tal m e d iu m sh ip th a t m anifest th ro u g h w h a t F. W . H.
M yers christened m o to r a u to m a tis m s . M o to r a u to m a tis m s are
actions of a n intelligent, purposive a n d even sym bolic kind w h ich go
on outside the a u to m a tis a s conscious control. T h e y m a y include
speech a n d w riting, a n d th en c o m m u n ic a tio n c a n som etim es be
established w ith a quasi-personality ostensibly different from th a t of
the autom atist. In o u r society such quasi-personalties very readily take
on the guise of deceased persons, a n d then, of course, au to m atism
passes into ostensible m e n tal m edium ship.
A sim ple a n d w ell-know n form of such m e d iu m sh ip is th a t of w riting
with a n ouija o r p la n ch e tte board . Several persons sit ro u n d a table
with the fingers lightly resting on a n u p tu rn e d glass o r o th e r pointer, or
on a small, h e art-sh ap ed piece of w ood, into the ap ex o f w hich a
d o w n w a rd -p o in tin g pencil is inserted. T h e glass m a y th en m ove so as
to spell o u t w ords on letters of the a lp h a b e t encircling it (o u ija ), or
the b o a rd writes w ith its pencil on a n u n d erly in g piece of p a p e r
(p la n c h e tte ). In ne ith er case need the o u tc o m e be deliberately
b ro u g h t a b o u t by one of the operators. It is as th o u g h each sitter,
know ing th a t others are also involved, no longer feels te m p te d to
analyse the situation a n d ask, A m I d o in g this? U n d e r these
conditions o n e s h a n d m ay ru n by itself, u n d e r the control of systems
outside the m a in stream of consciousness. S om etim es the sitters simply
rest their ha n d s on top of a sm all table, w h ich th e n tips to spell out
words a n d sentences by m eans of a sim ple code. In V ic to rian times
u p tu rn e d top-hats often served instead of tables - yet a n o th e r use for
this versatile b u t now, alas, o u tm o d e d form o f headgear.
T o the p a rtic ip an ts in such seances, the m ere fact th a t the devices
m ove often seems surprising, indeed u n c a n n y , a n d should coherent
sentences be w ritten they m a y be ac co rd ed the respect d u e to the
deliverances ol a n oracle. I have m yself co m e across a n u m b e r of cases
in w hich an ouija b o a rd w rote copiously a n d fluently a n d pro d u ced
m aterial w hich was quite alien to the conscious m ind s of the persons
o p e ra tin g it. In each case, how ever, it a p p e a re d highly likely th a t the
m aterial was co m in g from some h id d e n level o f the m in d of a
p a rtic u lar sitter. I hus I was once a sitter in a circle w h ich received
p u n g en t co m m u n ic atio n s from G o e rin g a n d G o ebbels a n d other
deceased N azi leaders. I hey favoured us w ith such interesting pieces of
inform ation as that H itle r was alive a n d well a n d o p e ra tin g a petrol
p u m p in the tow n of Clifton, A rkansas, a n d th a t M a r tin B o rm a n n was
Mediumship: General
27
in G o th e n b u rg disguised as a priest by the n a m e of F a th e r O d o. T h ey
lav oured us also with various apologias for Nazism. A lter several
sessions it becam e a p p a re n t th a t this little b a n d of u n re p e n ta n t sinners
only co m m u n ic ated w hen the finger of one p a rtic u lar person was on
the glass. V ery reluctantly he a d m itted th a t m an y years before he had
gone throug h a phase of a d m ira tio n for certain features of H itlers
G erm an y , a n d h a d joined an extrem e right-w ing political
organization. N ow he repudiated, indeed ab h o rred , his form er
paltering w ith Nazisim. N o ne the less these views were clearly still alive
in him som ew here, a n d slipped out w hen his conscious censorship was
circum vented by the ouija board. I am absolutely certain that he was
not deliberately m a n ip u la tin g the glass - his em barrassm ent was too
great, a n d he refused to participate further.
I have also com e across a n u m b e r of instances of ouija an d
planchette writings in which correct inform ation was given w hich was
prima facie unk n o w n to any person present. Som e exam ples will be
given in a later chapter.
A rarer form of m o to r au to m atism is that of au to m atic w riting by a
single individual (see 63; 107). Such w riting m ay develop as a sym ptom
of m en tal disturbance, or it m ay be en courag ed by a psychologist or
psychotherapist as a m eans ol reaching m em ories or em otions which
have becom e dissociated from consciousness. V ery often, however, it
has been deliberately cultivated by norm al persons bent upon
psychical dev elo p m en t. T h e state of m ind of an au tom atist d u rin g the
production of au to m atic w riting m ay be a n y th in g from norm al
wakefulness, with full knowledge of w h at is being written, to profound
trance, with subsequent loss of m em ory for the events of the trance.
In most cases au to m atic w riting does not progress beyond the
production of crude an d repetitive squiggles. Som etimes, however, the
autom atist m ay com e in tim e to write m ore fluently an d to exhibit skill
or knowledge beyond her o rdinary capacities. A u tom atic w riting has
been know n to report events forgotten or unnoticed by the w aking self,
an d to exhibit w h at look like Hashes of ESP. T h e w riting m ay profess
beliefs an d opinions differing from those of the autom atist; m ay display
literary fluency greatly exceeding hers; m ay com pose long rom ances or
religio-cosmological treatises (concerning the merits of which opinions
differ considerably); a n d m ay claim to com e not from the autom atist
but from a deceased person or su p ern atu ral being w ho has gained
control over her neu ro m u scu lar ap paratus. C laim s to have a
d iscam ate origin are, of course, in most cases not to be taken seriously;
28
they sim ply rellect the d ra m a tiz in g tendencies, a n d the responsiveness
to suggestion a n d to c u ltu ra l influences, ch aracteristic of a u to m a tic
w riting in general.
S om e exam ples of au to m a tic w ritings w h ich have ostensibly been
the vehicles o f E S P will be given in later chapters.
T w o im p o rta n t ideas cro p u p ag ain a n d a g a in in discussions of
au to m a tic w riting a n d k in d re d m o to r au tom atism s.
(a) A u to m atic w riting, o r at an y rate a u to m a tic w ritin g w hich
exhibits literary a n d artistic abilities, the ca p acity to converse
rationally, etc., is clearly the p ro d u ct o f a n intelligence. T h e
intelligence, how ever, is not th a t of the a u to m a tis ts w a k in g m ind , for
the au to m atist does not consciously co ntro l w h a t is w ritten , a n d she
m ay be as surprised as an y o n e else w h en she reads it. W e m ust
therefore suppose th a t w h a te v e r p sych oneu ral system underlies,
u n d erp in s o r constitutes this intelligence m ust be of a n a tu re not
fu n d am en tally different from th a t of the system w h ich underlies the
conscious activities of the o rd in a ry w a k in g intelligence. W e are driven,
in short, to postulate the existence of w h a t m a y p e rh a p s best be called
dissociated or subliminal stream s of consciousness.
(b) A u to m atic w riting is som etim es the vehicle for ostensible ESP,
a n d it is so to an extent w hich m akes it plausible to allege th a t E S P is
m ore likely to m anifest itself th ro u g h a m o to r a u to m a tis m th an
th ro u g h the n o rm a l channels o f w aking activity.
T h e form er of these proposals is h a rd to reject, th o u g h one m igh t
p e rh a p s accept it only w ith som e qualifications. T h e latte r is very
difficult to assess. F. W . H . M yers suppo rts it sim ply by a d v an c in g
nu m ero u s a p p a re n t exam ples of E S P m anifested in a u to m a tic w riting
(110a, II, pp. 81-188). T h e pro b lem , how ever, is th a t even if his
exam ples are individually acceptable, this does not prove th a t the
m en tal state (w h a tev er it m a y be) w h ich acco m p an ies au to m atic
w riting is m ore favourable to the o ccurrence o f E S P th a n is an y o ther
m ental state. T h e necessary controlled ex perim en ts to discover
w h eth er or not this is so have still not been ca rried out. H o w ev er, if we
accept th a t M yers has m a d e a p relim in ary case, we m a y proceed to
some fu rth er considerations.
Parapsychologists w ho have collected a n d studied large n u m b e rs of
cases of spontaneous E S P - cases in w h ich the E S P has m anifested itself
in dream s, intuitions, hallucinations, visions, etc. - have often been
d riven to the conclusion th a t the inform atio n co n cern e d is generally
Mediumship: General
29
received (il that is the right word) a n d initially analysed, at a level
b e n eath the threshold of ordinary consciousness. F u rth e rm o re it has
trouble in forcing its way into the m ain stream of consciousness. It m ay
only be able to do so w hen the latter is relaxed or idle, o r in one of those
altered states (such as dream s) w hich seem to perm it a freer passage of
hitherto excluded m aterial into consciousness. F ro m this point ofview
m oto r autom atism s, a n d especially au to m atic writing, represent a
path by w hich dissociated or sublim inal m aterial, including information
acquired by E SP , can find direct expression w ithout having to crash
w hatever barrier it is that hinders its transition into consciousness.
M o to r autom atism s are thus outpourings of the same levels of the
personality which produce the dream s, visions, etc., by which
spontaneous E SP is com m only manifested. Indeed F. W . H . M yers
labelled the dream s, visions, etc., sensory automatisms. J u s t as the bodily
m ovem ents in m o to r autom atism s are m a d e w ith out the initiation,
an d generally w ithout the concurrence, of conscious thou ght an d will,
so do these dream s, visions, etc., arise w ithout it; an d M yers regarded
both m oto r a n d sensory au tom atism s as m eans by w hich sublim inal
streams of consciousness, often possessing en h an c ed d ram atic abilities
and powers of m em ory, an d in receipt of extrasensory inform ation, can
m ake their deliverances available to the o rdinary w orkaday mind.
It is impossible ad equately to assess these com plex, plausible, but
controversial notions here. I introduce them m ainly because they
constitute a pervasive backgroun d to m u ch parapsychological
thinking in this area.
T o retu rn now to m y exposition of the various kinds of m ental
m edium ship. T h e most a d v a n c e d form of m ental m edium ship is
w ithout d o u b t w h at is generally term ed tran c e m edium ship. H ere
the norm al personality is, as it were, com pletely dispossessed by the
intrudin g intelligence, w hich achieves a varying degree of control over
the m e d iu m s speech, writing, a n d entire n euro m uscular ap paratus.
T h e m edium herself retains little or no recollection of w h at has been
said or done in her ab sence, thou gh som etim es she m ay on aw akening
seem to rem e m b er scenes a n d persons from some other sphere of
existence.
T his kind of trance m edium ship (trance in the sense of
unconsciousness of surroundings m ay acco m p an y other forms of
m edium ship, including physical m edium ship) tends to develop not, as
it were, by the piecem eal ad v an ce of sensory au tom atism , so that now
30
one h a n d is u n d e r ex ternal control, now b o th hands, a n d so on.
U sually it evolves out o fth e c la irv o y a n t m e d iu m sh ip w h ich I to u c h ed
on earlier. T h e clairv oyan t m a y feel herself to be overshadow ed,
influenced, g rad u ally tak en o ver by a n o th e r personality, while her
ow n aw areness of h e r surro u n d in g s progressively dim inishes. W ith
repetition, the passage to full tran c e becom es q u ic k e r a n d easier.
Som etim es a sensitive discovers her gift w h en she is su ddenly a n d
com pletely e n tra n c e d d u rin g a casual visit to a seance.
U sually there will be only a few deceased persons w h o c a n ostensibly
control the m e d iu m s h a n d or vocal a p p a ra tu s directly. T h e y are
generally referred to as co ntro ls. C ontrols will often relay messages
from o th e r deceased persons, spoken of as c o m m u n ic a to rs , with
w h o m they p u rp o rt to be in touch. T h e term c o m m u n ic a to r is also
used generically, to cover b o th controls a n d co m m u n ic ato rs. U se of
these term s m ust not be held to im ply a belief th a t the controls' an d
c o m m u n ic a to rs are a n y th in g o th e r th a n aspects o fth e m e d iu m s ow n
personality; I shall therefore hold m yself excused from too frequent a
use of such phrases as ostensible c o m m u n ic a to r, alleged c o n tro l, etc.
T ra n c e m e d iu m sh ip will figure so m ew h at p ro m in e n tly in the
ch ap ters th a t follow; m ore p ro m in en tly th a n its a c tu a l frequency
w ould indicate. T h is is because the fullest m anifestations of the
personalities of ostensibly deceased persons have often been obtained
th ro u g h trance m edium s, a n d because psychical researchers have
show n a co rrespon ding interest in collecting detailed records o f this
kind of m edium ship. A m o n g p ro m in e n t tran c e m e d iu m s w ho have
been subjected to extensive a n d careful study are: M r s L . E. P iper, M rs
S m e a d (M rs W . L. C leaveland ), M rs C h e n o w e th (M rs M . M .
Soule), M rs R . T h o m p so n , M rs E. J . G a rr e tt a n d M r s G . O . L eo n ard .
Several of these ladies will be discussed in m o re d etail later on.
I talked just now of the m anifestation th ro u g h m e d iu m s o f the
personalities of deceased persons; a n d the questio n inevitably arises of
w h a t these m anifestations co uld possibly consist in. T h is p ro b le m was
in effect raised in the first c h ap ter, w h ere I poin ted out th a t some
philosophers w ould say th a t o n e s personal identity is logically linked
to the co ntinuity o f o n es physical organism , so th a t to talk of the
m anifestation of the personality o f a deceased h u m a n being is
nonsense. T his issue will be m en tio n ed ag ain later on. H e re I ca n only
point out th a t if, lor instance, one h a d to identify a person, whose body
one could not see, by conversing w ith him over a so m ew h at noisy
telephone line, one could not identify him unless his conversation
Mediumship: General
31
exhibited certain distinctive features - unless, for exam ple, he could
re m e m b e r certain things that he ought to be able to rem e m b er if he is
the person he p u rp o rts to be (ones individual m em ories m ust be far
m ore specific even th a n ones fingerprints); an d unless he exhibited
certain motives a n d purposes, skills an d personality characteristics
know n to be his; an d so forth. R a th e r similarly, evidence of just these
kinds is at least evidence without which one would have no grounds at all
for supposing th a t some h u m a n beings m ay in some sense survive the
dissolution of their bodies. A ccordingly I shall for the m om ent defer
philosophical worries, a n d shall in the next few ch apters present in
turn evidence from co m m unications th ro u g h m edium s for the
ostensible survival of m em ory, of purpose, of intellectual skills an d of
individual personality characteristics.
3 The Mediumship of Mrs Piper
M rs L e o n o ra E. P ip e r (1857-1950) is im p o rta n t in the history of

psychical research for at least th ree reasons. O f the m e n ta l m edium s
subjected to study by m e m b ers o f the S P R a n d the A S P R she w as the
first to provid e su bstantial evidence for the possession of some
p a ra n o rm a l faculty; the records of h e r case are still unsurpassed in
q u a n tity a n d detail - if the p ap ers on her p ub lish ed in the Proceedings of
the British a n d A m erican S P R s w ere collected to g e th er they w ould fill
a good few volum es; a n d she is one of the very few m e d iu m s whose
tran c e speech a n d w ritings have been subjected to a serious a n d
extensive pyschological analysis. T h e m ost co m prehensiv e general
ac co u n t of her m e d iu m sh ip is th a t co n tain e d in H o lt (67); see also Sage
(136) a n d P iper (121).
M rs P ip e r lived in Boston, M assachusetts, w h ere h e r h u s b a n d was
em ployed in a large store. H e r care er as a m e d iu m b eg an m ore or less
accidentally. In 1884 she co nsu lted a blind healin g m e d iu m n a m e d j .
R . Cocke. At her second visit to him she passed into a trance, a n d wrote
do w n a message for a n o th e r of the sitters, J u d g e Frost, of C a m b rid g e ,
M assachusetts. T h e message p u rp o rte d to com e from J u d g e Frosts
deceased son, a n d it im pressed h im m o re th a n an y o th e r w h ich he had
received d u rin g a n extensive investigation into Spiritualism .
M rs P iper then set u p a ho m e circle. H e r first spirit guid e is said to
have been a red indian girl n a m e d C h lo rin e . A m o n g o ther
co m m u n ic ato rs were Bach, M rs Siddons, L ongfellow a n d C o m m o d o re
V a n d erb ilt. These less th a n co nvincing dramatis personae retired from
the scene the following y ear w ith the arrival o f a new co ntro l who
rapidly becam e p red o m in an t. T h is was a soi-disant F re n c h do c to r w ho
gave the n a m e of D r P h in u it. In some ways P h in u it was q u ite as
im plausible as his predecessors. N o trace of him could be found in
F rench m edical records, a n d his know ledge o f the F ren c h language
was scanty indeed. In fact it seem ed likely th a t he was a n unconscious
plagiarism from Cocke, w h o possessed a n Irish guide n a m e d F in n ey .
The Mediumship o f M rs Piper

33
But w h atever his u ltim ate status, he was a c h a ra c te r, a n d m ore
im p o rta n t he was, as we shall see, a success.
U n d e r P h in u its regim e the general procedure at a sitting would be
this. M rs P iper would pass into a trance. T h e onset of the trance was in
these early days often acco m p an ied by unp leasant spasmodic
m ovem ents, grindin g of the teeth, etc. T h e re was never the least dou bt
that the trance-state was in some sense, g e n u in e - in it M rs P iper
could be cut, blistered, pricked a n d even have a bottle of strong
am m o n ia held u n d e r her nose w ithout being disturbed. After a few
minutes. M rs P iper would begin to speak with the voice of Phinuit,
which was gruff an d m ale an d m a d e use of Frenchism s, a n d also of
slang an d swearwords, in a m a n n e r quite unlike th a t of the w aking M rs
Piper. P hin uit w ould give sitters accounts of the ap pearan ces an d
activities of deceased (and som etim es also of living) friends an d
relations, a n d would transm it messages from them , often with
ap p ro p riate gestures.
M rs P iper was discovered for psychical research by W illiam Jam es,
of H a rv a rd U niversity, a rg u a b ly the greatest psychologist of that,
perhaps of any, time. J a m e s was sufficiently impressed by his sittings to
send some twenty-five other persons to her u n d e r pseudonym s. In the
spring of 1886 he w rote a n accoun t of the results in w hich he stated
(111, p. 653), I am persuaded of the m e d iu m s honesty, an d of the
genuineness of her trance; a n d alth o u g h at first disposed to think that
the hits she m a d e were eith er lucky coincidence, o r the result of
knowledge on her p a rt of w ho the sitter was, an d of his or her
family atfairs, I now believe her to be in possession of a pow er as yet
unexplained.'
L ucky coincidence was not, I think, an ex planation ever seriously
considered by an yone w ho had extensive firsthand ac q u ain tan ce with
M rs P ip e rs perform ances. It was true that on an off-day, Phinuit
would ram b le a n d flounder hopelessly, w ould fish for inform ation, an d
if given any, would blatantly serve it up again as thou gh it had been his
ow n discovery. But w h en he was on form he could, with hardly any
hesitation or fishing, relay copious co m m unications lrom the deceased
friends a n d relatives of sitters, co m m unications w hich would tu rn out
to be very accu rate even in tiny details, a n d far too accu rate for the
hypothesis of ch ance o r of guesswork from the ap p e a ra n c e of the sitters
to seem in the rem otest degree plausible.
As a result of J a m e s s report, a leading m e m b e r of the British SPR ,
R ic h a rd H odgson (1855-1905), cam e out to Boston in 1887 an d
34
assum ed ch arg e of the investigation (66a). H e was looked u p o n as an
ex pert in the u n m ask in g of fraud. H e a rra n g e d for th e careful
reco rd in g of all sittings, a n d took the m ost extensive p recau tio n s
against trickery. Sitters were in tro d u ced an o n y m o u sly o r pseudonymously, a n d were d ra w n from as w ide a range o f persons as possible.
Especial notice was tak en of first sittings. F o r som e weeks M rs P ip e r
was sh ad o w ed by detectives to ascertain w h e th e r she m a d e enquiries
into the affairs of possible sitters, o r em p lo y e d ag ents so to do. S he was
b ro u g h t to E n g la n d w h ere she knew no one a n d could have h a d no
established agents. D u rin g her stay there in the w in ter of 1889-90, all
her sittings were a rra n g e d a n d supervised by leading m e m b ers o f th e
S P R . Sitters were for the m ost p a rt in tro d u ced an o n y m o u sly , an d
co m prehensiv e records w ere kept (111). A n d still M rs P ip e r co n tin u e d
to get results.
D r P h in u it rem a in ed M rs P ip e rs chief control until the spring of
1892. T h e re a fte r he was g rad u ally superseded by a co ntro l who,
w h atev e r his u ltim a te n a tu re , was at least not fictitious. T h is was
G eorge Pellew (G P ), a y o u n g m a n of literary a n d philosophical
interests w h o h a d been killed in N e w Y o rk a few weeks previously. H e
was know n to H odgson, a n d live years previously h a d h ad , u n d e r a
p seud onym , one a n d only one sitting w ith M rs Piper. H e first
m anifested at a sitting to w hich H o d g so n b ro u g h t a close friend of his
(Pellew s). T h e n a n d thereafter th e G P c o m m u n ic a to r show ed a most
detailed a c q u a in ta n c e w ith the affairs of the living Pellew. O u t of 150
sitters w h o were in tro d u ced to him , G P recognized tw e n ty -n in e of the
thirty w ho h ad been kno w n to th e living Pellew (the th irtieth , w h o m he
recognized after an initial failure, was a person w h o h a d g ro w n u p in
the interval). H e conversed w ith each o f th e m in a n a p p ro p ria te
m a n n er, a n d show ed a n intim ate know ledge o f th e ir concerns, a n d of
his ow n supposed past relationships w ith them . O n ly rarely did G P slip
up badly, as he som etim es did w h en discussing, for instance, the
philosophical questions w hich h a d so m u c h interested Pellew in life.
D u rin g the period of G P 's ascendency, H o d g so n b e cam e convinced
(he h a d not previously been so) th a t M rs P ip e rs controls a n d
co m m u n icato rs were, at least in m a n y cases, w h a t they cla im ed to be,
nam ely the surviving spirits of form erly in c a rn a te h u m a n beings (66b).
G P , like P hin uit, w ould pass on messages from o th e r deceased
persons w ho w ished to c o m m u n ic ate; b u t now it a p p a re n tly b ecam e
easier for o th e r deceased persons to c o m m u n ic a te directly by
speaking or w riting th ro u g h M rs P ip e rs organism . W ritin g in trance

35
b ecam e m u c h com m oner, an d ultim ately p red o m in an t, and
som etim es two different spirits would co m m u n icate simultaneously,
one by the h a n d a n d one by the voice.
T h e later history of M rs P ip e rs m edium ship requires only a brief
account. G P rem ained the principal co m m u n ic ato r until early in 1897
(d u rin g this period H odgson had alm ost com plete charge of her
sittings, a n d very full records were kept). T h erea fte r for some years her
principal controls were a b a n d of spirits of the m ighty dead w ho
disguised their illustrious identities u n d er such ap p ro p riately solemn
sobriquets as T m p e r a to r , D o cto r, R e c to r, P ru d e n s, etc. E vidence
figured som ew hat less in the proceedings, an d elevated teachings
som ew hat more, th an they h ad previously done. In 1905 H odgson
died, an d , predictably, becam e him self one of M rs Piper's controls.
T h e p u rp o rte d co m m unications from him were discussed in an
interesting p a p e r by W illiam J a m e s (74). L a te r on M rs Piper played a
part in the fam ous cross-correspondences (which are discussed later).
H er trance m ediu m sh ip en ded in 1911, perhaps in consequence of the
harsh treatm en t which she received at the hands of two A m erican
psychologists, Professor G. Stanley H all, a n d D r A m y T a n n e r (156).
H ow ever she co ntinued to do au to m atic writing.
As I im plied a m o m en t ago, I a m prep a red wholly to dismiss chance
hitting as a n ex planation of M rs P ip e rs achievem ents. A lth ough on his
off days, P h in u its ram blings, fishings an d platitudes were such as to
provide invaluable a m m u n itio n for hostile critics, he was capable even
at his most b a n al of springing a surprise. T h u s at a sitting on 3 Ju n e
1889 (66a, p. 130), M r J . R ogers R ich gave P hin uit a d o g s collar. After
a while P h in u it said he saw the dog com ing, a n d then w ent on: H ere
he comes! O h , how he jum ps! T h e re he is now, ju m p in g upo n an d
a ro u n d you. So glad to see you! Rover! Rover! N o - G -rover, Grover!
T h a t s his n a m e !. T h e dog was once called R over, but his n am e was
ch anged to G rov er in 1884, in h on our of the election to the A m erican
Presidency of G ro v er Cleveland.
W ith P hin uit at his best, ch ance hitting is an impossible
explanation. A n o th er general ex planation which I am p rep ared to
dismiss is that of fraud. I have already indicated some of the
considerations w hich tell against it. T h e thou ght of fraud was never far
from M rs P ip e rs early investigators. T h e case against it was
powerfully sum m arized in 1889 by F ran k P od m ore (122b), a highly
sceptical writer. P od m ore points out th a t despite careful overseeing
36
a m o u n tin g a t tim es to invasion of privacy, M rs P ip e r h a d n e v er once
been detected in dishonesty o r found to have e m p lo y e d agents. S he
could not in an y case have afforded to em p lo y agents. F u rth e rm o re
arra n g e m e n ts h a d co m m o n ly been m a d e to preserve the a n o n y m ity of
sitters; these a rra n g e m e n ts were m a d e not ju st by H o d g so n , b u t at
various times by a n u m b e r o f o th e r responsible people. N o r w as the
inform atio n c o m m u n ic a te d th ro u g h M rs P ip e r generally o f the sort
w hich could have been o b ta in e d from public records, cem eteries, or
talkative servants. N a m e s a n d dates w ere very difficult to put
th ro u g h . D espite the fact th a t she h a d given sittings to h u n d re d s of
people, m a terial relatin g to different individuals was h a rd ly ever
m ixed up. In d e lineatio n of c h a ra c te r M rs P ip e r far o u trea ch e d
a n y th in g which could have been co n stru cted from a n a c c u m u la tio n of
such facts as m igh t h ave been u n e a rth e d by snoop ing o r by bribery.
Successful co m m u n ic ato rs w o uld often address sitters in exactly the
right tone, a n d m igh t u n m ista k ab ly refer to trivialities of a wholly
p rivate significance. T h e ch arg e o f credulity, said P o d m o re , rested
w ith those w ho, w ith out consid eration a n d w ith o u t en quiry, could
lightly a ttrib u te all the results to im posture.
S om e of these considerations also tell ag ainst a n o th e r n atu ralistic
e x p lan a tio n that is som etim es p ro p o u n d e d . It m a y be called the
g rap e v in e theory a n d goes like this. M rs P ip e r before long becam e
q u ite well kno w n in Boston, a n d built up a n etw o rk o f clients each of
w h o m was in tu rn likely to rec o m m e n d h e r to friends. By this means,
a n d w ith o u t an y question of deliberate trickery o r the em p lo y m e n t of
agents, she could have built u p a store of in fo rm atio n a b o u t nu m ero u s
interlinked Boston families, a n d could often have m a d e a good guess at
the identities even of sitters in tro d u ced an onym o usly . A d d to these
suppositions the possibility th a t she possessed a fly p ap er m e m o ry for
personal details, a n d we can begin to see a w ay of a c c o u n tin g for her
rem a rk ab le successes.
A t least one th in g m a y be said in favour of these ideas. T h e r e was not
a little evidence to suggest th a t w h en in tran c e M rs P ip e r possessed a
rem a rk ab ly good m e m o ry for w h a t h a d been said d u r in g previous
trances. A n d this fact could clearly have a b e arin g u p o n the
in terp retatio n of certain cases. F o r ex am p le in M a y a n d J u n e 1905,
shortly after H o dgson s death, M rs P ip e rs H o d g so n -co n tro l m a d e
some references to co rrespon dence betw een H o d g so n a n d a certain
Miss D ensm ore (H u l d a h ) of C hicago, a n d stated th a t H o d g so n had

37
proposed m arriag e to her. N o ne even oi H o dgsons closest Boston
iriends h a d an y inkling of this, but it tu rn ed out to be true.
U n fo rtu n ately it also transpired that H odgson had m entioned the
m a tte r to M rs P ip e rs controls ten years previously w hen he was hoping
that the lady would accept him (74, pp. 20-26). So this ap p aren tly
striking case m ust be dismissed as evidence for the paranorm al: or
alm ost dismissed, since it m ust be ad d ed that a living person (a N ew
York lady) to w h o m H odgson had confided his disap p o in tm en t certainly not at a Piper sittin g - was located th ro u g h inform ation given
by the H odgson-control.
In general, however, I think that this theory m ay be safely rejected.
T h e chief investigators of the P iper case were well aw are of the dangers
in question, an d m a d e every effort to avert them by anonym ously
bringing to her a substantial sprinkling of sitters from as far afield as
possible, a n d by taking her on several extended trips to E ngland. It was
a b u n d a n tly clear th a t w h atever p a rt the local grapevine m ay have
played in m arginally im proving M rs P ip e rs results, it was not her chief
source of inspiration.
O n the face of it the grapevine plus sticky m e m o ry theory should
have been on its strongest g roun d with the alleged post-m ortem
com m unications from R ic h a rd H odgson himself. F o r not m erely had
M rs P iper know n H odgson for eighteen years; she could also have
learned a good deal a b o u t those friends of his w ho were most likely to
atte m p t to m ake co ntact with him after his death. She would therefore
(it m ight be said) have been able to produ ce those H odgsonreminiscences w hich had a p a rtic u lar appropriateness for each sitter.
In his report on M rs P ip e rs H odgson-control, W illiam Ja m e s
considers an d rejects this hypothesis, saying of H odgson (74, p. 6):
Gifted with great powers of reserve by nature, he was professionally
schooled to secretiveness; an d a decidedly incom m un icative habit in
the w ay of personal gossip h ad becom e a second n a tu re with him, especially tow ards M rs Piper.' In fact one has only to consider a few of
the incidents described in J a m e s s report to see just how im plausible is
the grape-vine hypothesis as a general ex planation of M rs P ip e rs
successes. I shall give three examples:
1. The Pecuniary Messages
H o d g so n s salary as secretary of the A m erican b ran c h of the SPR ,
though small, was often irregularly paid. T h e result was that he was
38
som etim es left in circum stances of great financial em b a rra ssm e n t. O n
one occasion he was rescued by a wholly un e x p e cted re m itta n c e Irom a
friend. T o this rem itta n ce, says J a m e s (74, p. 26),
. . . he replied by a letter w hich . . cited the story of a starving couple w ho
were o verh eard by an atheist w ho was passing the house, to p ray alou d to
G od for food. T h e atheist clim bed the roof a n d d ro p p ed som e b rea d dow n
the chim ney, an d heard them th an k G od for the m iracle. H e then w ent to
the d oor a n d revealed himself as its a uthor. T h e old w o m a n replied to him:
Well, the L ord sent it, even if the devil b ro ug ht it.
At this friends sitting of 30 J a n u a ry , [H odgson] suddenly says:
D o you re m e m b e r a story I told you a n d how you laughed, ab o u t the
m a n an d w o m a n praying.
SITTER: O h , a n d the devil was in it. O f course I do.
HODGSON: Yes, the devil, they told h im it was the L o rd w ho sent it even if
the devil b ro ug ht it . . . A bout the food th at was given to th em . . . I w ant
you to know w ho is speaking.
T h e sitter feels q uite certain th at no one b u t him self knew of the
correspondence . . .
L a te r a n o th e r friend ag reed to m a k e u p a n y deficit in H o d g s o n s

salary, provid ed this action should re m a in an o n y m o u s, a n d H odgson
should ask no questions. O n the first sitting w h ich this friend h ad after
H o d g so n s d e ath , the spirit of H o d g so n im m e d iate ly referred to the
m a tte r a n d th a n k ed the sitter. T h e d o n o r is of o p in io n , says J a m e s
(74, p. 27), as I a m also, th a t H o d g so n m a y have suspected the source
of the aid while receiving it, a n d this his spirit m a y therefore
n a tu ra lly have th a n k e d the right person. T h a t M rs P ip e rs w aking
consciousness should have been a c q u a in te d w ith a n y p a rt of this
transaction is incredible.
2. The Fist-Shaking Episode
I quo te J a m e s s ow n ac co u n t of this episode (74, p. 109):
T h e following incident belongs to m y wifes a n d Miss P u t n a m s sitting of 12
J u n e 1906: - M rs J. said: D o you re m e m b e r w h a t h ap p e n e d in o u r library
one night w hen you were argu in g w ith M arg ie [M rs J . s sister]? - I had
hardly said re m em b er , she notes, in asking this question, w hen the
m e d iu m s arm was stretched out a n d the fist shaken th reaten in gly, then
these w ords came:
R. H Yes, I did this in her face. I c o u ld n t help it. S he was so impossible to
move. It was w ro ng of m e, but I co u ld n t help it.
[I myself well re m em b er this fist-shaking incident, a n d how we others
laughed over it after H odgson h ad taken his leave. W h a t h ad m ad e him so
angry was m y sister-in-laws defence of some slate-w riting she h ad seen in
California. - W. J.]

3. 'Buying B illy
A gain I quote J a m e s s ow n account (74, p. 112):
39
O n 30 J a n u a ry 1906, M rs M. had a sitting. M rs M said:

D o you rem em b er o ur last talk together, at N., an d how, in com ing home
we talked about the work?
(R. H.) Yes, yes.
M r . M. A nd I said if we had a hun dred thousand dollars Buying Billy! !
Mrs. M. Yes, Dick, that was it - buying Billy.
Buying only Billy?
Mrs. M. O h no - I w anted Schiller too. H ow well you remember!
Mrs. M ., before R. H .s d eath, h ad h ad dream s of extending the A m erican
B ranchs operations by getting an endow m ent, and possibly inducing Prof.
[W. R.] N ew bold (Billy) an d D r [F. C. S.] Schiller to co-operate in work.
She naturally regards this veridical recall, by the control, of a private
conversation she h ad h ad with H odgson as very evidential of his survival.
If one regards the various naturalistic explanations of M rs P ip e rs

perform ances as by a n d large in a d eq u ate (and personally I do so
regard them ), a n d is further prep a red instead to consider the
possibility that she m ay have possessed abilities of kinds not yet
generally recognized by science, then the most obvious hypothesis to
present itself is und o u b ted ly that of telepathy betw een the m edium
an d persons present at the sitting. C lairvoyance will hardly serve, for
most of the evidence (not all) transm itted was confirm ed by the
recollections of living persons ra th e r th an by docum ents, photographs,
etc., w hich m ight, by a great stretch of im agination, be supposed
decipherable by clairvoyance. All the cases so far quo ted in this
ch ap ter could in principle be explained by telepathy betw een m edium
an d sitters; a n d some incidents from the P iper records strongly suggest
it. For instance, H odgson had one day been reading with great interest
L o ck h arts Life o f Scott. N ext d ay a ludicrous Sir W a lte r Scott turned
up at a P iper sitting, an d gave a guided to u r of the solar system, stating
that there are m onkeys in th e su n (145b, pp. 437-448). M r J . T. C larke
was told by P h in u it th a t he was in financial trouble, which was correct.
P hin uit further asserted that things w ould im prove w ithin four an d a
half m onths, a n d that T h e re are parties that h a v en t dealt hon ourably
with you. H e w a rn ed C larke particularly against a m a n na m ed H.
N o ne of P h in u its further assertions was justified; b u t they accurately
reflected C lark es ow n beliefs at the tim e (111, pp. 568-571).
N ot just isolated incidents, but the overall p a ttern of whole series of
sittings seem ed som etim es to favour the hypothesis of telepathy
40
b etw een m e d iu m a n d sitters. F o r instance, Sir O liv e r L o d g e gave D r
P h in u it a chain, en tru sted to him by a g e n tle m a n a b ro a d , w h ich h ad
belonged to th a t g e n tle m a n s father. P h in u it p ro d u c e d a large n u m b e r
of facts a n d p u rp o rte d facts co n cern in g the father, w h ich L o d g e
tran sm itted to the son. T h e sons reply, a c c o rd in g to L o d g e (111, p.
461 ), was
. . . Im p o rta n t a n d distinct. It recognizes the correctness ol those things
w hich I knew, and it asserts the total incorrectness ol those things of w hich I
was ignorant. So far as this series o f facts goes, therefore, the hypothesis ofa
direct thought-translerential m eans ol o b tain in g inform ation is immensely
strengthened. I can indeed h ardly resist the conclusion that the series of
facts p u rp o rtin g to be related by the elder M r W ilson have no m ore
substantiality th an a d re a m o f my own; th at I was, so to speak, d rea m in g by
proxy, a n d im posing u po n myself th ro u g h the m o u th o f t h e m ed iu m , a
n u m b e r ol statem ents such as it is not difficult to im agine repo rted to one in
a dream .
T h e theory of telepathy betw een m e d iu m a n d sitters has thus in certain

cases a good deal of plausibility, w h ich is m o re th a n ca n be said for the
o th e r theories we have so far considered. But ju st how far ca n we push
this theory? I shall give now an ex tra ct from the first o f tw o sittings with
M rs P ip e r h a d by the R ev a n d M rs S. W . S u tto n , o f A th ol C enter,
M assachusetts (66b, pp. 485-486). T h e sitting was held on 8 D e c e m b e r
1893. It was booked by H odgson, a n d the sitters were introdu ced
u n d e r the pseu d o n y m o f S m ith . A practised n o te -ta k er acted as
recorder. It m ust be und ersto o d th a t th ro u g h o u t P h in u it speaks (and
som etim es gesticulates) on behalf o f the child co m m u n ic a to r; she does
not co n tro l herself. T h e an n o tatio n s in sq u are brackets are by M rs
S utton.
P hinu it said . . . A little child is com ing to you . . . H e reaches o ut his
hands as to a child, an d says coaxingly: C o m e here, dear. D o n t be alraid.
C om e, darling, here is y our m other. H e describes th e child a n d her lovely
curls. W h ere is P ap a? W a n t P ap a. [H e (i.e. P hinu it) takes from the table a
silver m edal ] I w an t th is - w ant to bite it. [She used to bite it.] [R eaches lor
a string of buttons.] Quick! I w an t to p ut them in m y m outh. [T h e buttons
also. T o bite the buttons was forbidden. H e exactly im itated h er arch
m anner.] . . . W h o is D odo? [H e r n am e lor her b ro th er, G eorge.] . . . I
w ant you to call Dodo. Tell D odo I am happy. C ry for m e no m ore. [Puts
hands to throat.] N o sore throat any more. [She h ad p ain a n d distress of the
throat an d tongue.] P ap a, speak to me. C a n you not see me? I a m not dead,
I am living. I am h ap py with G ra n d m a . [M y m o th er h ad been d ea d m an y
years.] P hinu it says: H ere are two m ore. O n e , two, three here, - one older
and one younger th an Kakie. [C orrect.] . . .
41
W as this little ones tongue very dry? She keeps showing me her tongue.
[H e r tongue was paralysed, and she sullcred m uch with it to the end.) H er
n am e is K atherine. [Correct.] She calls hersell Kakie. She passed out last.
[Correct.] W here is horsey? [I gave him a little horse.] Big horsey, not this
little one. [Probably refers to a toy cart-horse she used to like.] Papa, want
to go wide [ride] horsey. [She plead this all through her illness.] . . .
[I asked il she rem em bered an y th in g after she was brought downstairs.] I
was so hot, my head was so hot. [Correct] . . . Do not cry lor me - that
makes me sad. Eleanor. I want Eleanor. [H e r little sister. She called her
m uch d uring her last illness.] I w ant m y buttons. R ow , row, - my song, sing it now. I sing with you. [W e sing, and a soft child voice sings with us.]
Lightly row, lightly row,
O er the m erry waves we go,
Sm oothly glide, smoothly glide,
W ith the ebbing tide.
[Phinuit hushes us, and K akie finishes alone.]
Let the wind an d waters be
M ingled with o ur melody,
Sing an d lloat, sing an d float,
In o ur little boat.
. . . K akie sings: Bye, bye, ba bye, bye, bye, O baby bye. Sing that with
me, Papa. [P apa and K akie sing. These two were the songs she used to
sing.] W here is D inah? I w ant D inah. [D inah was an old black rag-doll, not
with us.] I w ant Bagie [H er n am e lor her sister M a rg are t ] I want Bagie to
bring me my D inah . . . Tell D odo w hen you see him that I love him. D ear
Dodo. H e used to m arch with me, he put m e way up. [Correct.]
R em ark ab le thou gh this excerpt is (not m ore rem arkable, however,

than the lull transcripts of the two sittings, w hich are, incidentally,
docum ents of social as well as psychical interest), no inform ation was
co m m unicated which lay outside the knowledge of the sitters. Does this
m ean, then, th a t we can com fortably a ttrib u te all M rs P ipers hits
here to telepathy with the sitters? Such a conclusion would be too
hasty. I know of no instance of und eniable telepathy betw een living
persons, or for that m a tte r of any o ther variety of ESP, in which the
llow of pa ra n o rm ally acquired inform ation has been so quick, so
copious, a n d so free from error. (I m ay say that these features are
understated by the brief extract which is all I have been able to quote.)
T h e n again there is the question of the point of view from which the
inform ation is presented. It ap pears th a t M rs Piper m ust have
obtained p a re n ts-eye inform ation ab out K akie from the sitters, an d
42
th en w ith a fair degree of d ra m a tic skill have co n stru cted on the basis ol
this inform atio n a K a k ie s-eye view of the sam e facts. F u rth e rm o re
(an d this is exceedingly odd), incidents at b o th sittings a p p a re n tly
show ed associations th a t seem ed to be in the m in d of the child, a n d
w hich did not aw a k e n the co rresp o n d in g associations in the m ind s of
the sitters. F o r instance w h en K a k ie asked f o r horsey, a n d was given a
little toy horse, she said big, horsey, not this little o n e . M rs S u tto n
surm ised th a t she referred to a n o th e r toy horse th a t she used to like. At
the second sitting K a k ie requested the horse again, b u t w h en given the
little horse, said (66b, p. 387) N o, th a t is-not the one. T h e big horse - so
big. [P h in u it shows how large.] E lean o r's horse. E le a n o r used to p u t it
in K a k ie s lap. S he loved th a t horsey. T h ese a d d itio n a l p articu lars
m a d e it clear to M rs S u tto n w h a t horse was m e a n t - one w h ich was
packed aw ay a n d forgotten in a n o th e r city. In a late r passage, not
given above, from the first sitting K a k ie asked for the little bo o k . H e r
m o th er supposed th a t she m e a n t a linen p ic tu re book. A t the second
sitting it b ecam e clear th a t w h at was in te n d ed was a little p ra y e r book
w hich h a d been read to K ak ie ju st before h e r d e ath , a n d th e n p u t in
her hands. If we are to say th a t M rs P ip e r co uld select from the sitters
m inds associations conflicting w ith the ones consciously present an d
utilize them in o rd er to create the im pression th a t the c o m m u n ic a to rs
thou ghts m oved a lo n g lines distinctively different from th e sitters, we
are b e ginning to a ttrib u te to h e r not ju st su p er-E S P b u t super-artistry
as well.
T h e theory of telepathy from the sitters is, of course, m anifestly ruled
out w h en correct inform atio n is given w h ich is not at the tim e kno w n to
an y sitter. Incidents of this kind are sprinkled th ro u g h o u t the P iper
records (an d th ro u g h o u t the records of various o th e r m e d iu m s too - see
44e, p. 587). I shall end this c h a p te r w ith s u m m a ry acco u n ts of two
such cases (the original records are too long to be q u o te d in full).
1. Sir Oliver Lodges Uncle Jerry
T h is case took place d u rin g M rs P ip e rs visit to E n g la n d in the w in ter
of 1889-90. Sir O liv er L o d g e s s u m m a ry o f it (111, pp. 4 58 -4 59) is as
follows:
It happens th at an uncle of m ine in L o n d o n [U ncle R ob ert], now q uite an
old m an, h ad a twin b ro th er w ho died som e tw enty o r m ore years ago. I
interested him generally in the subject, a n d w rote to ask if he w ou ld lend me
some relic ol his brother. By m o rn in g post on a certain d ay I received a
43
curious old gold watch, which his b rother h ad worn . . . I handed it to M rs

Piper w hen in a state of trance.
I was told almost im m ediately that it had belonged to one of my
uncles . . . A lter some dilliculty . . . D r Phinuit caught the nam e
J e rry . . . an d said . . . T his is my watch, and R ob ert is m y brother, and I
am here. U ncle Jerry, my w atch. . . . I pointed out to him that to make
U ncle R ob ert aw are of his presence it would be well to recall trivial details
of their boyhood . . .
U ncle J e r r y recalled episodes such as swim m ing the creek when they
were boys together, a n d running some risk of getting drowned; killin gacat
in S m ith's field; the possession o f a small rille, an d o f a long peculiar skin,
like a snake-skin, which he thought was now in the possession of U ncle
Robert.
All these facts have been m ore or less com pletely verified. But the
interesting thing is that his twin brother, from w hom I got the watch, and
with w hom I was thus in a sort of com m unication, could not rem em ber
them all.
H e recollected som ething ab o ut swim m ing the creek, though he himself
had merely looked on. H e h ad a distinct recollection of having h ad the
snake-skin, a n d of the box in which it was kept, though he does not know
where it is now. But he altogether denied killing the cat, and could not
recall S m ith s field.
His m em ory, however, is decidedly failing him, an d he was good enough
to write to an o th er brother, F rank, living in C ornw all, an old sea captain,
an d ask if he had any better rem em b rance of certain facts - of course not
giving any inexplicable reason for asking. T h e result of this enquiry was
trium phantly to vindicate the existence of S m ith s field . . . , an d the killing
of a cat by an o th er bro th er was also recollected; while of the sw im m ing of
the creek, n ear a mill-race, full details were given, F rank an d Je rry being
the heroes of that foolhardy episode.
It should be noted th a t U n cle F ra n k could not rem e m b er the snakeskin; so that if M rs P iper got all this inform ation by telepathy, she must
have ransacked the m em ory stores of two separate individuals an d
collated the results.
2. The Dog Rounder
T h e following is a su m m a ry (164a, p. 354) by Miss H elen V errall (M rs
W. H. Salter) of a case from a long p a p e r in w hich she describes and
analyses some rem ark ab le co m m unications from a recently deceased
young m an, Bennie J u n o t, to surviving m em bers of his family:
O n 11 F eb ru ary 1902, M r J u n o t [senior] sent a message through his son
Bennie to a form er co ach m an of his, H u g h Irving, w ho had been dead some
months, asking where the dog R o u n d e r was. H u g h Irving had left M r
J u n o t s service ab o ut two m onths before his death a nd taken the d og with
44
him. In the w aking stage [i.e., w hen M rs P ip er was b eginning to co m e to ]

on 2 A pril 1902, it is stated th at J o h n W elsh has R o u n d e r . M r J u n o t
succeeded alter some difficulty in tracing 'J o h n W elsh , b u t u nfortun ately
it proved impossible to discover w h e th er he h ad ever h ad the dog in his
possession. It is certain, however, th at he w as closely associated w ith the
co ach m an , w ho took the d og aw ay, a n d it was th ro u g h his a tte m p ts to find
J o h n W elsh th at M r J u n o t recovered the dog. M oreover, there seems good
reason for thinking that J o h n W elsh, even if he never h ad the dog himsell,
knew som ething of his w hereabouts, a n d could have helped M r J u n o t to
recover him. N eith er M r J u n o t n o r an y of his family h ad ever to their
know ledge h eard of J o h n W elsh (at an y rate u n d e r th at nam e), still less ol
his connection with H u g h Irving a n d possible co n nection w ith the dog.
Doubtless people could have been found to w h o m all these facts were
known, but they were not people with w ho m M rs P ip er h ad ever been
bro ug ht into contact. U ntil we know to w hat lim itations, il any, telepathy
betw een living m inds is subject, we ca n n o t d ete rm in e w h e th er it is a
sufficient ex p lan atio n of such p h e n o m e n a as this.
W e are, alas, today no n e a re r kno w ing the lim itations, if any, of

telepathy th a n we were in 1910, w h en M iss V e rrall w rote the above
passage. W h a t b e a rin g cases such as these, w h ich go so far beyond
telepathy from th e sitters, m ay have u p o n the survival hypothesis is a
question w hich m ust be taken u p after we have considered some
fu rth er kinds of case. Miss V e rrall goes on to rem ark:
. . . if we suppose, as the controls themselves declare, th at the source of the
inform ation is the m inds ol the dead, such incidents present no difficulty,
an d therefore, th ough they can no t be said to prove their hypothesis, they
would, if frequently repeated, re n d er it m ore probable.
T his is, I fear, a n oversim plification, but it is an oversim plification ol a

stan d p o in t th a t m a y p e rh a p s be defensible.
T o M rs P ip e r I shall re tu rn ag ain in various places. F o r the m o m en t
I should like to em phasize th a t the P ip e r cases w h ich I have presented
in this c h a p te r constitute only a tiny p ro p o rtio n o f the m ass of
evidential m aterials supplied by the records o f h e r m edium ship.
4 The Mediumship of Mrs Leonard
At the end ol the last c h ap ter I briefly described an d discussed several

examples ol m edium istic co m m unications in which the correct
inform ation given was ostensibly not know n by norm al m eans to any
person present at the sitting. Such cases, in sufficient nu m b er, an d with
sullicient assurances that no sitter had a buried m em ory of the relevant
details, would seriously u n d erm in e the theory that m ed iu m s hits,
w hen not fortunate flukes, are due to telepathy with the sitters. In this
ch ap ter I shall talk a b o u t a rem ark able m edium w ho m ade, one m ight
almost say, a speciality of p ro d u cin g ev id en ce ofthis kind. I refer to the
British m edium , M rs Gladys O sb o rn e L eo n a rd (1882-1968).
As a child M rs L eonard, like so m an y o ther m edium s, used to have
beautiful visions, of which her conventional parents disapproved (89).
M u ch later, w h en she was already m arried, she discovered her
m edium istic gifts as a result of ex perim en ting in table-tipping with
some friends. She passed into a trance, a n d was afterw ards told th a t her
m other, a n d a you ng girl n a m ed Feda, h ad spoken throug h her. Feda
becam e her chief control. She p u rp o rte d to be the spirit of an Indian
girl w h om an ancestor of M rs L eo n a rd h ad m arried in the early
nineteenth century. T hese statem ents were naturally unverifiable,
though there was a family tradition of such a girl (she h a d died in
childbirth at a n early age). F ed a spoke in a high-pitched voice, with
occasional gram m atica l errors an d m isunderstandings of wordmeanings, an d ha d som etim es a touch of the archness a n d childish ways
which, in a m ore extrem e form, have en d eared num erous childco m m unicators to m iddle-aged lady sitters. (I believe we are going to
have a T o p sy , such a sitter once exclaim ed at a hom e circle which I
used to attend, clasping her hands together in anticipation.) F eda
regarded M rs L eo n a rd with som ething betw een tolerance an d am used
contem pt, a n d w ould sometim es cause her em barrassm ent, for
exam ple by soliciting small presents, w hich she thereafter fiercely
insisted were her ow n a n d not M rs L e o n a rd s.
46

As the First W o rld W a r a p p ro a c h e d , F e d a b e g an to speak o f a
c o m in g catastro phe, a n d urg ed u p o n M rs L e o n a rd th a t it w o u ld be her
d u ty to help as m a n y people as possible by h e r m e d iu m sh ip . M rs
L e o n a rd shortly thereafter b e cam e a professional m e d iu m , a n d devoted
herself to help in g th e bereaved. A t the sam e tim e she w as quite
p re p a re d to sub m it herself to critical investigation by m e m b ers o f the
S P R , some o f w h o m (as w ith M rs Piper) h a d h e r sh ad o w ed by
detectives to ensure th a t she did not m a k e enquiries a b o u t sitters or
em ploy agents so to do. T h e first parapsychologist to study h e r in detail
was Sir O liv er Lodge, whose book Raymond (1916), describing
co m m u n ic atio n s from a son killed in the w ar, m a d e h e r fam ous. She
co n tin u e d to be regularly studied by S P R investigators from th en until
the early years after the S econd W o rld W ar. T h r o u g h o u t th a t tim e
F e d a rem a in ed as her p rincip al guide. M o st c o m m u n ic a tio n s were
given by speech, w ith F ed a ac tin g as interm ediary; som etim es o ther
deceased persons w ould co ntro l the vocal a p p a ra tu s ; a n d very
occasionally c o m m u n ic atio n s w ere m a d e by writing.
A most odd feature of M rs L e o n a r d s m e d iu m sh ip in later years was
this. A t times, w h en F e d a was in control, a n d was tran sm ittin g
messages from a n o th e r c o m m u n ic a to r p u rp o rte d ly in touch w ith her
on the o th e r side, she w ould be in te rru p te d by a w h isper co m ing
ap p a re n tly from the e m p ty a ir a foot o r tw o in front of the m edium .
T his direct voice (ostensibly th a t o f th e c o m m u n ic a to r whose rem arks
F ed a was relaying) w o uld correct a n d clarify the statem en ts which
F e d a was m a k in g th ro u g h M rs L eo n a rd . Tests m a d e w ith the acoustic
instrum en ts then available did not suffice to d e te rm in e w h e th e r or not
this voice was truly in d e p en d en t of M rs L e o n a rd 's vocal a p p a ra tu s
(11). In brief recordings to w h ich I have listened it never overlaps with
the voice of Feda.
In m a n y ways the m e d iu m sh ip of M rs L e o n a rd resem bled th a t of
M rs Piper, a n d I do not w a n t to go over sim ilar g ro u n d twice. I shall
therefore co n cen tra te u p o n those singular aspects o f it w hich, as I
m entioned a m o m e n t ago, seem irreconcilable w ith the hypothesis of
telepathy from the sitters. In d e e d they are not easy to reconcile with
an y th in g m u c h less th a n a form of the su p er-E S P hypothesis w hich
allows the m e d iu m potential extrasensory access to a n y identifying
detail w hatsoever relating to an y living o r recently d e a d person in the
whole of the W estern world. T h e aspects of M rs L e o n a r d s
m e d iu m sh ip co ncerned are, first, h e r re m a rk a b le successes (or F e d a s
The Mediumship o f M rs Leonard

47
rem ark ab le successes) with book tests, and, second, her quite
num erous a p p aren tly successful proxy sittings.
1 he origin oi the L eo n ard book tests is a little obscure, a n d it seems
q uite likely th a t they were first proposed by Feda. Ifso, they share with
the cross-correspondences (to be discussed later) the rem ark able
feature of being tests of survival ostensibly suggested by deceased
persons. T h e re are, however, analogies for them from earlier
literature. T h e principle of book tests is well sum m arized by Sir O liver
Lodge (50, p. xvi). A co m m unicator, usually passing the message
through Feda, has to specify
the n u m b er of a page in a book, itself indicated only by its n um b ered place
on a given shelf in a book-case whose position is described, in a house to
which the m edium need have no access, though a house presumably, or
usually, well-known to the ostensible com m unicator. T h e idea is that a
sentence shall subsequently be found on that page, by any one who follows
the instructions a n d identifies the book, which sentence shall sufficiently
convey an intended message, or shall show a similarity in thought to what
has otherwise been said, or shall be ap p ro priate to the actual circumstances
or past connection of co m m u nicator an d intended recipient.
Since the book chosen need not be one know n to the sitter, or indeed
know n in the requisite detail to an yone living, it is plain, as L odge says,
that no simple kind of m in d -rea d in g ca n be ap p ealed to or regard ed as
a rational ex p lan a tio n . I will take as a n exam ple a short but som ew hat
rem arkable case in w hich the co m m u n ic ato r is E d w a rd W y n d h a m
T e n n a n t (B im ), a you ng officer killed on the S om m e in 1916. T h e
sitting (50, p. 60) was held on 17 D ecem ber 191 7.
Feda. Bim now wants to send a message to his Father. This hook is
particularly fo r his Father.; underline that, he says. It is the ninth book on the
third shelf counting from left to right in the bookcase on the right of the
door in the d raw ing-room as you enter; take the title, an d look at page 37.
W e found the ninth book in the shelf indicated was: Trees [by J. Harvey
K elm an].
A nd on page 36, quite at the bottom a nd leading on to page 37, we read:
Sometimes you w ill see curious marks in the wood; these are caused by a tunnelling
beetle, very injurious to the trees . .
(Signatures of two testificators to the finding a n d verifying of this BookMessage).
G lenconner
D a v id T e n n a n t
48

B im s la th e r was intensely interested in Forestry; a n d his obsession
w ith the beetle was a fam ily joke. T h u s the message was p a rtic u la rly
a p p ro p ria te , a n d the bookshelf from w hich it h a d been culled was one
know n to the alleged co m m u n ic ato r.
D u rin g the period im m ediately before a n d after the en d ol the First
W o rld W a r m a n y successful book tests w ere c a rried o u t (145c, 157a).
In a len gthy p a p e r published in 1921 (145c), M rs E. M . Sidgw ick
analysed the results of 532 such tests. S he classified 92 (17%) as
successful, 100 (19%) as ap p ro x im ate ly successful, 96 as dub ious, 40 as
nearly co m plete failures a n d 204 as co m p lete failures. In a control
ex p erim en t (138a; cf. 10) 1800 s h a m book tests w ere subjected to a
sim ilar analysis. T h e r e w ere 34 successes (u n d e r 2%) a n d 51 p artial
successes (u n d e r 3%).
S om e of the individual successes in these tests w ere very rem ark able.
In one case (145c, pp. 253-260) a n a n o n y m o u s sitter (M rs T alb o t)
received th ro u g h F e d a a message from h e r late h u s b a n d advising her to
look for a relevant message on page twelve or thirteen of a book on her
bookcase at hom e. F e d a said the book was not prin ted , but h a d w riting
in it; was d a rk in colour; a n d co n tain e d a tab le o f In d o -E u ro p e a n ,
A ryan, Sem itic a n d A ra b ia n languages, whose relationships were
show n by a d ia g ra m of ra d ia tin g lines. M rs T a lb o t knew of no such
book, a n d ridiculed the message. H o w ev er w h en she eventually
looked, she found at the back o f a top shelf a sh ab b y black leather
notebook o f her h u s b a n d s. P asted into this book was a folded table of
all the languages m entioned; whilst on page 13 was a n ex tra ct from a
book entitled Post Mortem. In this case the message related to a book
u n k n o w n to m e d iu m a n d sitter (indeed, so far as could be told, to any
living person), b u t u n d o u b te d ly kno w n to the co m m u n ic ato r.
T h e tw o book tests w hich I have ju st described m igh t be th o u g h t to
constitute ra th e r striking evidence for survival. M in d -re a d in g does not
seem a likely ex planation, for it was highly unlikely th a t the requisite
inform ation was possessed in sufficient detail by a n y living person. O n
the o th e r h a n d the existence o f the books, a n d of the relev ant passages,
could have been, a n d in the second case certain ly was, kno w n to the
alleged co m m u n ic ato r. U n fo rtu n a te ly the results of m a n y o th e r book
tests serve only to confuse the issue; not because they w ere unsuccessful,
but because they w ere too successful. F o r the co m m u n ic a to rs proved
equally able to transm it inform atio n relatin g to the co ntents o f books
deliberately placed on shelves in houses u n k n o w n to them , books,
furtherm ore, h a v in g for th e m no special significance. O n the face of it

49
this w ould im ply that the co m m unicators got their knowledge oi the
contents ok these books by clairvoyance (the books, ol course, beingall
closed). F ed a certainly talks as though the co m m unicators were
indepen dent entities w ho hom ed in on the test bookshelves, scanned
the books for a p p ro p riate passages, an d then returned to relay the
results th ro u g h her. But if these com m unicators can exercise
clairvoyance of such rem ark able degree, why should not Feda? W hy
should not M rs L eo n a rd hersell? T h e inform ation given is no longer
such as the alleged co m m unicators are specially qualified to supply. In
some cases (145c, pp. 300-313), indeed, correct inform ation was
ap parently given ab out the contents of books in classical Greek; yet
neither M rs L eo n ard , nor the sitter, nor the alleged co m m u n icato r
knew classical Greek, while the person w ho lent the books (M rs Salter),
though she knew Greek, had not properly studied several of the
volumes. N either telepathy with the living, nor co m m unication with
the dead, nor yet clairvoyance, w ould seem to supply us with an
ad eq u ate ex planation here.
I think it would be fair to say this of the book tests:
(a) T h e fact that in certain cases m eaningful reference was m ade to
passages from books to w hich the co m m unicators had in life had
special access can n o t be taken as evidence that the surviving m em ory
stores of those co m m unicators were som ehow active in the m atter. For,
as we have just seen, co m m unicators were also able to refer
unm istakably to passages in books which it was highly unlikely they
had read w hen alive.
(b) Still, if we grant for the sake of arg u m en t that the books were in
some sense open to clairvoyant inspection by an agency other th a n that
of the co m m unicator, there rem ains the problem ol how, trom this
mass of potentially available m aterial, just those passages were so often
selected which were particularly a p p ro p riate as messages from the
co m m u n ic ato r to the particular living recipient. Who selected for Bims
father the passage a b o u t the beetle d a m ag in g trees? T o select a passage
as ap p ro p riate as this, the m e d iu m would have had e.g. to tap Bim s
fathers m ind, a n d then in the light ol' inform ation telepathically
gained from it, select that one of the very num erous book passages
clairvoyantly accessible to her w hich w ould be most likely to impress
Bims family as a message o f a kind he m ight plausibly address to his
father. T h is problem of selection will arise again; as will that of the
a p p a re n t synthesis of inform ation extrasensorially acquired from more
th an one source.
50

T h e term 'pro xy sitting is alm ost self-explanatory. A sitter takes a
sitting on b e h a lf o f a third p arty, a b o u t w h o m b o th he a n d the m e d iu m
know as little as possible. If 'evidential' c o m m u n ic a tio n s are then
received, th e ex p la n a tio n ca n h a rd ly be laid at the d o o r ol tele p ath y
w ith persons present. U sually the th ird p arty , o r ab sen t principal,
desires c o m m u n ic atio n s from a p a rtic u la r deceased person w h o has in
some w ay or a n o th e r to be co ntacted. T o achieve this the proxy sitter
m a y give the m e d iu m carefully circu m sc rib ed details (e.g. n am e,
identifying phrase) of the desired c o m m u n ic a to r, o r m a y b rin g some
relic of h im to serve as a 'token object; or he m a y privately ap p e a l to
him , o r co n cen tra te u p o n him , before the sitting; o r he m a y request his
o w n spirit guides to act as interm ediaries. T h e best-kno w n of all
proxy sittings are w ith o u t d o u b t the n u m ero u s sittings w ith M rs
L e o n a rd at w hich M iss N e a W a lk e r a n d the R ev C. D ra y to n T h o m a s
acted as proxies (157d; 157e; 1571; 167a, 167b; cf. 158). T h ese sittings
w ere usually, a lth o u g h not alw ays, th e o u tc o m e of letters from
bereaved, som etim es despairing, parents, spouses, etc.
M a n y proxy cases w ent on for several sittings, a n d it is h a rd to
convey the 'feel o f th e m ad e q u a te ly in a brief su m m a ry . F o r instance
one of D ra y to n T h o m a s s m ost re m a rk a b le cases, the 'B obbie
N ew lov e case (157e), ex tended over eleven sittings. B obbie was a boy
of ten w ho h a d died of d ip h th eria. H e p ro v e d a fluent c o m m u n ic a to r,
a n d throug h F ed a m a d e u n m ista k ab le references to such m a tters as a
dog -shaped salt-cellar he h a d ow ned, a 'Ja c k o f H e a r ts co stum e he
h a d once w orn, visits to a ch em ical lab o ra to ry w ith his gran d fa th er,
gym nastic a p p a ra tu s w hich he h a d set u p in his ro o m a n d exercises
carried out therew ith, a girl skater of w h o m he was fond, a n injury to
his nose, a n d the to p o g ra p h y of his h o m e to w n (in clu d in g placenam es). M ost curious of all, he rep eated ly insisted th a t som e weeks
before his d e a th his co nstitution h a d been u n d e rm in e d by co n ta c t w ith
poisonous 'pipes', a n d th a t this h a d low ered his resistance to the
diph theria. In co nnection w ith the pipes he talked o f cattle, a sort of
b arn, a n d ru n n in g w ater. T his m e an t n o th in g to his fam ily, b u t upo n
investigation some w a te r pipes ro u n d w h ich he h a d p lay ed w ith a
friend w ere discovered. T h e locality an sw ered the descriptio n given
a n d it is possible th a t B obbie h a d d r u n k b a d w a te r there.
In a n o th e r case, D ra y to n T h o m a s was asked by Professor E. R.
D odds, w ell-know n as a critic of the evidence for survival, to a tte m p t to
contact a certain Frederic W illiam M a c a u la y on b e h a lf o f the la tte rs
d a u g h te r, M rs Lewis. T h o m a s h a d five sittings w ith M rs L eo n a rd .

51
Distinctive references were m ad e to M a c a u la y s w ork as an hydraulic
engineer. T h e following passages ( 157f, pp. 265-269) refer to m ore
personal m atters. M rs Lewiss an notatio ns are in square brackets.
FEDA: T h e re is a J o h n an d H arry, both with him. A nd R ace . . . Rice . . .
Riss . . . it m ight be Reece but sounds like Riss, an d Francis. These are all
nam es of people who are connected with him or linked up with him in the
past, connected with h appy times. I get the feeling of an active and busy
hom e in which he was rath er happy.
[This is a very curious passage . . . Probably the happiest time of my
fathers life was in the four or five years before the war, when we, his five
children, were all at school, and the hom e was packed with o ur friends
during the holidays. J o h n , H arry and Francis could be three of
these . . . But the most interesting passage is It m ight be Reece b ut it
sounds like Riss . . . M y elder brother was at school at Shrew sbury and
there conceived a kind of hero-worship for one o f the T w eaks (sixth form
boys) whose n am e was Rees. H e w rote hom e about him several times and
always drew attention to the fact that the nam e was spelt Rees a n d not
Reece. In the holidays my sister an d I used to tease him by singing Not
Reece but Riss until my father stopped us . . .]
FEDA: I get a funny word now . . . could he be interested in . . . baths of
some kind? Ah, he says I have got the right word, baths. H e spells it,
B A TH S. His d au g h te r will understand, he says. It is not som ething quite
ordinary, but feels som ething special.
[This is, to me, the most interesting thing that has yet emerged. Baths
were always a m atte r of joke in o ur family - m y father being very em phatic
that w ater must not be wasted by o ur having too big baths or by leaving
taps dripping. It is difficult to explain how intim ate a detail this
seem s. . . T h e m ention of baths here also seems to me an indication of my
fathers quaint hum o ur, a characteristic which has hitherto been
missing . . . ]
FEDA: . . . Godfrey; will you ask the d au gh ter if she rem em bers someone
called Godfrey. T h a t n am e is a great link with old times.
[M y fathers most trusted clerk, one who specially helped in the
hydraulic research, was called W illiam Godfrey. H e was with my father for
years an d I rem em b er him from almost m y earliest childhood . ]
FEDA: W h at is that? . . . Peggy . . . Peggy . . . Puggy . . . he is giving m e a
little n am e like Puggy o r Peggy. Sounds like a special nam e, a little special
nickname, an d I think it is som ething his d au gh ter would know . . .
[M y father sometimes called m e pug-nose or P uggy.]11'
A ltogether, 124 items o f inform ation were given, of which 51 were

classified as right, 12 as good, 32 as fair, 2 as poor, 22 as doubtful, an d 5
as wrong. Dodds, the instigator of this experim ent, remarks; It
ap pears to m e th a t the hypotheses of fraud, rational influence from
disclosed facts, telepathy from the actual sitter, an d coincidence
ca n n o t eith er singly or in co m bination accoun t for the results o b ta in ed .
52

O i' the m ore impressive proxy cases, m ost are, like the B obbie
N ew love a n d M a c a u la y cases, too long to be d o n e ju stice to in a briei
su m m ary . T h e next case (157g) has som e very u n u su al (th o u g h not
u n p re ced en ted ) features, the essentials oi'w hich c a n be set forth fairly
briefly. W e m a y call it the A itk e n case, after the fam ily involved.
A t a L e o n a rd sitting on 28 O c to b e r 1938, D ra y to n T h o m a s s reg u lar
co m m u n ic ato rs (his father a n d his sister) e n q u ire d il he h a d recently
received from a m idd le-aged m a n a letter a b o u t his son. H e h a d not yet
received such a letter, a n d the co m m u n ic a to rs p ro ce ed e d to give some
fu rth er p articu lars o f its contents. T h e letter w o uld co n cern an
acciden t to do w ith a m o to r car. In this ac cid en t the y o u n g m a n was
killed outrigh t, or nearly so. T h e r e was a c o n n ec tio n w ith M o r to n or
a like-sounding nam e. T h e fath e r once lived n e a r w h ere D ra y to n
T h o m a s lived. Finally a n o th e r n am e, so u n d in g like C h a r , was given.
T h e an tic ip a te d letter duly arrived. It was d a te d eleven days after
the sitting, a n d was from M r L ionel G. A itken, a m e m b e r o f th e SPR .
M r A itken told D ra y to n T h o m a s th a t he first th o u g h t o f w ritin g after
h e arin g him speak at a Q u e e n s H all m e e tin g on 9 O c to b e r, i.e. three
weeks before the sitting a n d n e a re r five before he actually wrote. A
sentence of the letter reads, N o t very long ag o I lost m y son, a splendid
y ou ng m an, full of th e jo y of life a n d success. A fter reference to c e rta in
L o n d o n m edium s, it continues, I th in k on the w hole th a t we have been
m ost fo rtu n ate in the ev idential n a tu re of the messages received.
Finally T h o m a s s advice was asked a b o u t o th e r m edium s, b u t there
was no w o rd to suggest th a t he m ig h t possibly o b ta in a message for him
th ro u g h M rs L eo n ard .
D ra y to n T h o m a s en tered into co rresp o n d en c e w ith M r Aitken.
F ro m this co rrespon dence ce rta in facts em erged co n cern in g the
statem ents m a d e a t the sitting ol'28 O c to b er. In this q u o ta tio n ( 157g,
pp. 103-104) D ra y to n T h o m a s places these facts for co m p ariso n beside
the items given at the sitting.
1. I am lo expect a teller from a father about his son . . . O n m y enquiring
w hen M r Aitken h ad first th o ug ht ol w riting he replied, I d o n 't think I had
thought of m entioning m y case to you a n d asking lor advice until I actually
w rote the letter. I m erely intended to th an k you lor y ou r address. It appears
that you had news of som ething I was going to w rite before I w rote it or had
consciously th o ug ht of it.
2. The Jather is middle aged. T his is correct.
3. An accident case. T his is also correct.
4. Connected with a motorcar. M r A itken writes, N ot a m o to rc a r accident
exactly.'
53
5. The young man was killed outright orrery nearly so. H e was killed outright.
6. Morton or a like-sounding name; thisfather once lived neat where you lived. In
correspondence about this statem ent I learnt that M r Aitken had resided at
the village of N orton an d that his son was born there an d had been familiar
with all the neighbourhood. N orton is but one and a half miles from
Baldock w here I lived with my parents in 1876-8. Is it too m uch to suppose
that Feda s M o rto n was m isheard by her for N orton?
7. Another name like Char - is given. T his was unsatisfactory, just possibly
an attem pt for Charles, the C hristian nam e o f M r A itkens friend killed at
Gallipoli.
D ray ton T h o m a s was entirely convinced that som ething m ore than
chance was at work here. Several of the items, however, are either
co m m onp lace or wrong. T h e case rests largely on:
(a) the coincidence in tim e betw een the prediction of a letter that a
m a n w ould write a b o u t his son, an d the fulfilment of that prediction,
an d
(b) the fairly clear indication of a pa rtic u lar locality.
T h e form er is som ew hat h a rd to assess in the absence of detailed
knowledge ab o u t the sort of letters D ray ton T h o m a s habitually
received; (b) is, however, not easy to discount.
T h o m a s uses the a p p a re n t precognition displayed by his
com m unicators to knock the super-E SP hypothesis. H e says (p. 104):
Those who incline to the universal telepathy hypothesis will suggest that
the messages originated with M r Aitken. But this would imply that the
m edium tapped the Aitken m em ory before either she or I were aw are of his
existence and, m ore incredibly still, that she divined a purpose of which he
rem ained entirely unaw are until he was in the act of writing to thank me for
rem arks he heard m e m ake in public.
D ray ton T h o m a s s criticism of the universal telepathy hypothesis is

no dou bt entirely justified. O n e suspects, however, that he wishes to
pass from the shortcom ings of that hypothesis directly to the validity of
the survivalist position. T h e principle seems to be - a n d it is,
unfortunately, a principle enthusiastically applied in this field by
partisans of all persuasions - that if your chief com petitors are
bankrupt, your ow n business m ust be on a sound footing. M a n y
hopeful theorists have tried to persuade themselves of the latter by
proving the form er to their ow n satisfaction. But of course the present
problem - that of the a p p a re n t precognition of M r A itkens letter - is
not solved simply by attrib u tin g the precognition to d iscam ate spirits.
Such a m ove would be entirely regressive.
54
T h e most re m a rk a b le aspect o f this case, how ever, still rem a in s to be
told. A t four later L e o n a rd sittings, for w hich D ra y to n T h o m a s was
sitter, a n d at w h ich M r A itk en was not present, a good deal ol m a terial
ostensibly relatin g to M r A itk en s son was received. M r A itken
reg a rd ed m u c h o f this m a tte r as highly evidential. T h e r e w ere how ever
som e passages w hich he could m ake little ol, b u t w h ich his o th e r son
recognized at once as a message co n cern in g a c o m m o n friend ol his an d
his brother's, a friend of w h o m M r A itk en h a d never heard. It
tran sp ired th a t the living son h a d (in th o u g h t) d eliberately asked his
d e ad b ro th e r to try to send a message co n cern in g this friend throug h
some m edium .
I give now M r A itk en s ow n c o rro b o ra tio n s ol F e d a 's statem ents
(157g, pp. 122-123):
In M r D ra y to n T h o m a s s sitting ol 20 J a n u a r y 1939, F ed a says: T h e re was
som ebody else he was very interested in, th at p erh ap s you d o n t know . . . a
n am e th at starts with the letter B, a n d I think there is an R in it . . . its not a
long n am e - very m u ch linked w ith him . . . it m ight be a M r B R IC K . . . I
feel this is som ething you could use lor building, an d is a n am e m uch
connected with this boy a n d his interests.
In M r D ra y to n T h o m a s s sitting ol 3 F eb ru ary 1939, F ed a says: A nam e
starting with BR - ra th e r an im p o rta n t n am e with him . . . Som ebody he
was linked up with shortly before his passing . . . there is a link between this
BR . . . an d the boys passing. I also w an t to know il there is an y th in g to do
w ith him like a little ship . . . o r a little m odel of a ship - som ething he had
on ea rth an d was very fond of. H e is showing m e som ething like a toy s h ip a lancy ship, not a plain one - laborate, ra th er laborate - w ith a good deal
of detail show n in it - it seemed to be connected with his earth life - but
some tim e before he passed over, ra th e r early in his earth life, but I think it
is som ething th at his people have still got . . .
A n am e beginning with BR - like the n am e F ed a says might be M r
B R IC K ' - had been m en tion ed by o th er m edium s, but we h ad been unable
to place it, n or was the relerence to a model ship' understood; but my son,
on seeing the L eo n a rd script, recognised its m eaning.
H e an d his deceased b ro th er h ad been friends at an R A F S tation with a
young officer called B R ID G E N - w ho m we h ad not h eard of - a n d w ho had
been killed ab o ut a year after m y son.
T his young m an, before joining the R A F , h ad w orked for a lirm which
m ad e scale models o f ships for shipping com panies, a n d he h ad shown my son
a p ho to grap h of one of these m odels w hich he h ad m a d e him self an d which
he said his people still had at hom e. M y son h ad felt sure th at this m atte r of
the model ship w ould be given as a sign il they w ere u nable to get the nam e
through correctly.
T hese co rrobo rations were a c c o m p a n ie d by the follow ing letter from

M r A itk en s surviving son:
55
The Editor,
Journal o f the Society fo r Psychical Research.
D ear Sir,
I have read my lath ers account o fth e L eo n a rd -A itk e n proxy sittings,
and I testily to its correctness.
I was the only living m em b er o fth e family w ho knew ol Bridgen , an d I
had never had any com m unication with M r D rayton T h o m as or M rs
Leonard.
M y thought-m essage was not directed to M r D rayton T h o m as or to
M rs L eonard - b ut to my d e a d bro th er - an d to me, the reply was
unmistakable.
Yours sincerely,
L IO N E L A IT K E N ,
Flying-Officer, R A F
14 .November 1939
I shall not at this point a tte m p t to w ork out the full implications
which successful proxy sittings m ay have for the problem of survival.
But the following points are w orth bearing in m ind for future
discussion:
1. It seems rath e r unlikely th a t all or even most o fth e inform ation
transm itted at these sittings could have com e in a large part from
clairvoyance by the m edium . M a n y of the details given could be
verified only by consulting the m em ories of friends an d relatives ofthe
deceased persons; there were, so far as we know, no pictures, no
records, w ritten or printed, an d no other physical state of affairs which,
clairvoyantly perceived, m ight have yielded such pieces of inform ation
as that Bobbie N ewlove h a d an affection for a girl skater a little older
than him, th a t F. W . M aca u lay had an obsession ab o u t baths, an d that
he used unfeelingly to call his d a u g h te r pug-nose, an d so on. A nd
even if there had been such clairvoyantly accessible sources of
inform ation, the sources for each case w ould alm ost certainly have
been scattered, so that the m e d iu m w ould have had to locate them ,
read them an d synthesize them into a coherent an d plausible story.
T elep athy with some living person possessed of all the relevant scraps
of inform ation sounds a far m ore hopeful proposition.
2. H o w ev er it ap pears that in at an y rate two o f th e proxy cases
cited in this ch a p te r there was no one living person w ho possessed all
the inform ation. T his is most obvious in the A itken case just described,
in which F ed a produ ced some distinctive pieces of inform ation not
know n to M rs L eonard, to D ray to n T h om as, or to M r Aitken, but only
to the latte rs still living son. In the Bobbie Newlove case some o fth e
56
relevant inform atio n (ab o u t the pipes a n d th e ir location) w as not
know n to an y m e m b e r of the c o m m u n ic a to rs family. W e are forced to
a ttrib u te its p ro d u ctio n eith er to telepathy b etw een M rs L e o n a r d a n d
one of B obbies friends (the one w h o played w ith h im a ro u n d the
pipes), o r to clairv oyan t scan n in g of the n e ig h b o u rh o o d plus skilful
guessing a b o u t B obbies likely habits, o r to a clairv o y an t m o n ito rin g
prior to Bobbie's death of his pastim es a n d activities, a n d a subsequent
storing u p of a record o f th e m in the m e d iu m s unconscious m in d . (1 his
last possibility, im plying as it does c o n tin u a l m o n ito rin g ol the lives of
a n indefinitely large n u m b e r of p o te n tial c o m m u n ic a to rs w h o are as
yet still living, seems to me m ore fantastic th a n a n y version of the
survival hypothesis.) F o r bo th o f these cases, therefore, we w ould on
the E S P (or super-E S P ) hypothesis have to postulate th a t M rs L eo n a rd
located (telepathically o r clairvoyantly) tw o sep ara te sources ol
inform ation, ta p p e d them , a n d collated a n d synthesized the results.
In the rem a in in g case cited, the M a c a u la y case, D ra y to n T h o m a s
listed three correct items given by F e d a w h ich w ere not know n to M rs
Lewis, the p resu m ed p rincip al source of telepathically obtained
inform ation. H o w ev er D o dds found these item s too v ag u e a n d general
to be convincing; a n d I agree w ith D o d d ss estim ate o f them .
3.
A n obvious u n d erly in g p ro b le m w h ich successful proxy sittings
present for the E S P hypothesis is of course th a t of how the m edium
m anages to locate (telepathically o r clairvoyantly) sources of
inform atio n a p p ro p ria te to the case in h a n d . T h ese sources are, in a
n u m b e r of different senses, rem ote from the sitting a n d the sitter, to
w h o m the very existence of som e o f th e m is likely to be unk now n . W e
m ight propose th a t the m e d iu m learns from the sitters m in d the
identity o f his p rincip al (i.e. o f the person for w h o m he is acting as
proxy), a n d th a t this som ehow enables h e r to ho m e in on the m ind of
the principal; from the m in d o f the princip al fu rth er clues to other
sources of inform atio n m ay be ob tain ed ; a n d soon. O n e has only to ask
oneself in detail w h at w ould be involved here to see th a t the proposed
process is grotesquely im plausible. P ro p e r nam es, addresses, dates, and
so forth - details w hich identify a person uniquely - are notoriously
am o n g the most dilficult of all items for sensitives to obtain; a n d yet
such uniquely identifying details (or their equivalents) w o uld have to
be o b ta in ed in a proxy case before the m e d iu m could p in p o in t the right
source of inform ation to tap; a n d in som e cases they W'ould have to be
o b ta in ed from several sources as the m e d iu m s m in d so to speak m oved
along the chain of clues.

57
It m ust be ad ded, of course, that the survivalist theory too m ust cope
with the problem of how F ed a m a n ag e d to locate Bobby Newlove, F.
W. M acaulay , etc., on the o ther side in order to extract evidential
messages from them . D id she do it by ESP? C ertainly she often speaks
as thou gh her aw areness of co m m unicators were o f a fluctuating and
uncertain kind. H ow ever, if there is an o th er w orld' to w hich our
spirits pass at death, it is perhaps reasonable to suppose that it contains
some form of established com m unication netw ork or heavenly post
office directory.
4.
Finally it should be noted that in some proxy cases the
principals have felt the messages received contained not just correct
inform ation, but hints of the personal characteristics (hum our,
interests, turns of phrase, an d so forth) of the ostensible
com m unicators. If they are correct in this, we have additionally to
attrib u te to the m edium the pow er to glean the relevant facts an d then,
instead of presenting them in statem ent form (he h ad a dry sense of
h u m o u r), so to speak to enact them in d ram atic form by reproducing
the c o m m u n ic a to rs characteristic dry h u m o u r (or w hatever it m ay
be). C ertainly, the m ore num erous the unusual gifts we have to
attrib u te to m edium s in o rder to support the super-E SP hypothesis, the
m ore cu m bersom e that hypothesis becomes.
5 D rop-In Com m unicators
In successful proxy sittings, such as those described in the last ch apter,

there is still, it is often, how ever im plausibly, arg u e d , som e kind ol link
betw een the m e d iu m a n d som e ab sen t person or persons possessing the
relevant inform ation. If necessary an u p h o ld e r ol the super-E SP
hypothesis will propose a series o f such links, e n d in g up, naturally, with
som eone w ho knows w h atev e r it was th a t the m e d iu m ca m e out with.
In the class o f cases w hich I shall now discuss even those tenuous and
exceedingly ill-defined links are absent. T h e class co ncerned is that
labelled by Professor Ian S tevenson (153d) 'd ro p -in ' com m unicators.
'D ro p -in ' co m m u n ic ato rs are, as the n a m e implies, co m m u n icato rs
w ho arrive unin vited, a n d are ostensibly u n k n o w n to m e d iu m and
sitters. W e have on record a n u m b e r of cases in w hich 'drop-in'
c o m m u n ic ato rs have m a d e statem ents a b o u t them selves a n d their
careers w h ich it has subsequently proved possible to verify. S u c h cases
are o f obvious theoretical interest a n d , before pro ceed in g to some
actual exam ples, I shall briefly explore their poten tial theoretical
im plications. T hese im plications are, in general, hostile to the superE SP hypothesis, a n d favou rable to som e form of survival theory. T h e
difficulties for the su p er-E S P hypothesis m a y be spelled out u n d e r two
headings, viz. selection o f c o m m u n ic a to r a n d locating of materials.
T h e first of these sets of problem s becom es a p p a r e n t if one asks why,
in an y verified dro p -in case, the m e d iu m 's supposed E S P should have
lit upo n facts a b o u t that p a rtic u la r deceased person. T h e facts about
the great m ajority of 'd ro p -in ' c o m m u n ic a to rs are not in an y way
especially eye-catching. T h e y w o uld not, for instance, be en shrined in
unusually striking o b itu a ry notices o r letters of co ndolence such as
m igh t be supposed to a ttra c t the m e d iu m s clairv oyan ce m ore than
w ould o th e r such notices o r letters. N or, so far as one ca n tell, would
they stand out with such p ro m in en ce in the m ind s o f grief-stricken
relatives as particu larly to arrest her telepathic attention. N o r have
m e d iu m a n d sitters an y special m otive for desiring in fo rm atio n ab out
D rop-in Communicators
59
th a t p a rtic u lar deceased person. Som e very broad constraints do seem
to be imposed on the selection o f drop-in' com m unicators, in that most
of them (that is most of the ones whose statem ents ab o u t themselves
have been verified) com e from the m e d iu m s ow n co untry a n d speak
her ow n language. But these constraints aside, we seem reduced, on the
super-E SP hypothesis, to supposing that selection of co m m u n ic ato r
depends upo n the ra n d o m operation of wholly unk now n factors.
T h e second set of difficulties w hich verified d ro p -in cases m ay raise
for the super-E SP hypothesis, th a t to do with the location of materials,
is m uch m ore com plex a n d difficult. In most d ro p -in cases there is, no
doubt, some single possible source, such as a printed record, o r the
organized m em ory system of a living person, from which the m edium
could throug h her supposed extrasensory powers have obtained the
whole ol her inform ation. But w hat if (and some cases m ay at least
a p p ro x im ate to this type) the requisite inform ation could have been
assembled only throug h the tap p in g of a n u m b e r of discrete sources,
e. g. the m em ory systems of several dilferent living persons or a variety
of different printed records? H o w is the m edium , having selected the
deceased person she will present to her sitters, to discrim inate from
am ongst all the innu m erable items of inform ation telepathically an d
clairvoyantly available to her, those an d only those which are relevant
to that person? I do not think that it is possible to give an accoun t of this
m a tter that is even rem otely plausible.
C onsider first the case w here the different items are locked in the
m emories of a n u m b e r of different people. T h e most obvious
hypothesis is probably that the various relevant memory-sets in
different peoples' m inds are all llagged or m arked out by similar quasiperceptible features, for instance recognisably sim ilar images of the
deceased co m m unicator. But even if we set aside for the m om ent the
logical difficulties involved in the suggestion that one person can
inspect a n o th er persons images by a kind of quasi-perception, the
im age-theory rem ains grossly implausible. It w ould force one to
predict that m edium s should be prone to confuse with each other
persons w ho simply h a p p en ed in life to look alike, an d even perhaps
confuse real people with fictional characters. It would force one further
to m a in tain that each persons m em ory-im ages are, w hen not in use,
stored aw ay in some internal filing cabinet accessible to the m e d iu m s
telepathic rum m agings. T his is a rem ark ably im plausible idea. Yet if
one replaces it with the notion that m em ories are stored up in the form
of subtle stru ctural or functional changes in the brain, one must
60
a ttrib u te to the m e d iu m the ability to read the n e u ra l code in w hich
the m em ories are represented, a skill w h ich no neurophysiologist is
cu rren tly an y w h e re n e a r a tta in in g (or, as I shall later argue, ev er could
attain). Finally, it is in an y case q u ite clear th a t it is not a n y quasiperceptible features ok a n im age w h ich m a k e th a t im age a n im age oj
some p a rtic u la r person, b u t the reference o r inten tio n ality w ith which
the im ager invests it. A n im age o f a ro u n d a n d jolly lace - the sam e face
- ca n serve as a n im age o f o n e s late U n cle N a t, as a n im age ol J o h n
Bull, as a n im age of M r Pickwick, as an im age of a b r a n d oi breakfast
cereal, as a n im age of J u p ite r, the b rin g e r ol jollity, as a n im age oi
jollity in general, a n d so forth. Psychological processes outside the
im age d e term in e w h at the im age is a n im age of.
It m ig h t seem as th o u g h the case w h ere the different items of
inform ation exist in the form of w ritten o r o th e r records presents less
difficulty th a n the case ju st discussed. F o r o b itu a ry notices, letters of
condolence, a n d so forth, c o m m o n ly c a rry distinctive headings or
addresses w hich, clairvoyantly perceived, w o uld at once indicate that
the sam e person was involved. P e rh a p s this does simplify the problem ;
but it is far from m a k in g it simple. C onsider the case w h ere a n u m b e r of
ne w sp ap e r notices have to be clairv oyan tly collated. L et us assume
th a t (as is c o m m o n ly the case) the new spapers co n cern ed are old ones,
a n d not c u rre n t issues lying on breakfast tables th ro u g h o u t the
country. T h e n it has to be supposed th a t the m e d iu m , in the course of
h e r incessant clairv oyan t b u t presu m a b ly unconscious browsings
a m o n g the files o f old new spapers, picks out from the enorm ous
n u m b e r o f o b itu a ry notices thus accessible to her those a n d only those
relating to a certain person, a n d th en juxtaposes a n d synthesizes them.
In other w ords she m ust discrim inate these obitu aries from all
obituaries of persons of the sam e o r sim ilar n a m e, from all obituaries of
persons w ho h ad sim ilar careers, from all obitu aries of persons w ho had
the sam e dates, a n d so on a n d so forth. A n y o n e w h o has h a d (as I have
had) occasion to study n e w sp ap e r o b itu a ry notices extensively will
realize th a t this is a n exceedingly tall order, a n d a few exam ples of
obvious contusion betw een n e w sp ap e r obitu aries w o uld greatly
strengthen the clairvoyant e x p la n a tio n - especially in view o f th e fact
th a t so far as I a m aw are we do not have, lrom outside the m edium istic
situation, a single properly a u th e n tic a te d e x a m p le o f a clairvoyant
m a n a g in g to read a concealed passage of prose in a n y th in g like the
necessary detail.
It is thus possible to co nstruct an idealized d ro p -in case which
61
pushes the super-E SP hypothesis to the verge of unintelligibility;
indeed beyond that verge. Such a case w ould have the following
features:
(a) T h e d ro p -in c o m m u n ic a to r in question w ould have a strong
an d com prehensible reason for wishing to co m m unicate; a reason
clearly stronger th an any which the m e d iu m m ight have for wishing to
contact him.
(b) T h e inform ation w hich he com m unicates w ould be such that
the m edium could not have obtained it all by extrasensory contact
with a single living person, o b itu ary notice, etc.
(c) W e can be tolerably certain th a t the m e d iu m could not have
obtained the inform ation by ordinary m eans (this is a point to w hich I
shall shortly return).
It is hardly necessary to spell out how great are the ad vantages of the
survivalist theory in respect of cases w here the super-E SP hypothesis
would have to suppose that the m e d iu m h a d used her extraordinary
powers of E SP to locate several disparate sources of inform ation about
the c o m m u n ic ato r a n d had th en put together the inform ation thus
gleaned. It also has obvious ad vantages w h en it comes to explaining
why the m e d iu m selects one unknow n deceased person ra th e r than
a n o th er unk now n deceased person as the subject for her extrasensory
researches. T h e deceased person selects himself. As Stevenson rem arks
(153d, p. 63), Som e d ro p -in co m m unicators have explained their
presence very well an d their m otivation to co m m u n icate is an
im po rtant p a rt of the whole case which has to be explained as well as
the provenance of an y inform ation co m m unicated . D ro p -in
com m unicators m ay represent themselves as wishing to assuage the
grief of living friends, as b roug ht along by persons in the next world
who have previously c o m m u n ic ated throug h the sam e m edium , as lost
in a kind of lim bo where the m e d iu m is their only m eans of contact
with others, as linked throug h co m m o n interest to persons present, as
altruistically trying to help, as simply d ro p p in g in for a chat. It is
difficult indeed to decide how seriously co m m unicators' ow n
explanations of their presences ought to be taken; but sometim es at
least the professed explanations are in ch a ra c te r.
So m u ch for the theoretical im plications of drop-in' co m m unicators
an d for the ideal (and hence im aginary) case. W e m ust now get to grips
with some actual cases an d see to w hat extent (if at all) they m easure up
to the ideal.
62

Cases o f verified d ro p -in co m m u n ic a to rs are fairly scarce in the
re p u ta b le literatu re of psychical research (for ex am ples see 48; 64b,
pp. 97-10 2; 1 10a, II, pp. 471-477; 153d; 153e; 162a; 174). H o w far this
reflects an overall scarcity it is h a rd to say. D r o p -in c o m m u n ic a to rs
seem to be m u c h m ore ch aracterisic of the ho m e circle, the o uija an d
pla n ch e tte boards, a n d the au to m atist e x p e rim e n tin g o u t o f curiosity
a n d interest, th a n they are of the professional m e d iu m . T h e r e could be
various reasons for this, one of th e m being, of course, th a t th e re are
often pressures on m e d iu m s w h o regularly give sittings to individual
clients to exclude co m m u n ic ato rs o th e r th a n those w ith w h o m the
sitter wishes to speak. Since a high p ro p o rtio n ol the investigations of
m e d iu m sh ip published by the S P R a n d the A S P R have concerned
m ed iu m s of this latter sort, cases o f d ro p -in co m m u n ic a to rs have not
often figured (for some cases of this kind w ith M rs P iper see
66a, pp. 37-42). Also, of course, the verification of d ro p -in
cases requires a good deal of time, a n d also, very often, a w o rk
ing know ledge of the c o u n try s public records system together with
access to a large library. D ro p -in co m m u n ic a to rs of the utm ost
veridicality could m a rc h into a n d o u t of the av erage hom e circle
w ith o u t its o c cu rrin g to a n y o n e th a t it w o uld be feasible to check
u p on them . A n d w h ere such checks have been und ertaken,
they have often fallen far short of the req u ire d s ta n d a rd of
thoroughness.
I shall illustrate this last point with an ex am p le taken from Sir
L aw ren ce J o n e s s Presidential A ddress to the S P R (76). In the year
1900 Sir L aw ren ce h a d for som e tim e at his house in the S ou th of
F ra n c e a ho m e circle ce n trin g a ro u n d the w ell-know n a m a te u r
m e d iu m , Miss K a te W ingfield (she is referred to as M iss A.' in F. W.
H. M y erss Human Personality). C o m m u n ic a tio n s were received both by
raps a n d by au to m a tic writing. O n 8 S e p te m b e r 1900 a certain Sarah
W illett, of 7 S yd ney Street, L o n d o n , w rote th ro u g h M iss W ingfield
th a t she h a d been shot a n d killed by one J a c k P arr, o f G r e e n Street, a
polisher. O n 30 S ep tem b e r, Miss W ingfield h a d a vision of this girl, and
on the ev ening of 2 O c to b e r saw an o m in ous figure w ith a black thing
like a sack tied over his head a n d should ers. R a p s sp e lle d o u t J o h n P a rr
h a n g ed to d a y . Miss W illett, whose dallyings w ith a n o th e r m a n had
precipitated the m u rd e r, expressed te rro r at the revenge w hich J a c k
P a r r m ight exact u p o n his p re m a tu re transition to the o th e r side.
Shortly afterw ards J o h n P a rr b eg an to c o m m u n ic a te regularly, at first
b re a th in g vengeance against the d ou bly persecuted S arah . L a te r on,
63
how ever, he calm ed do w n a n d dictated a recipe for furniture polish
which proved highly serviceable.
J o h n P a r r s execution on 2 O c to b e r was not m entioned in British
new spapers until the following day. H o w ev er its d a te could probably
have been predicted by any know ledgeable person w ho had read
accounts of the m u rd e r an d inquest (Morning Post 29 A ugust an d 1
S eptem ber) an d of J o h n P a r r s trial (The Tim es, 14 Septem ber). T h e
details given in the co m m u n icatio n s corresponded closely to the
new spaper reports. Sir L aw ren ce Jones, by all accounts a m a n of the
greatest ch arm , was hap p y to accept the assurance o fth e m edium , and
of her m o th er (w ho was also staying with him), that they h a d not read
these new spaper accounts, an d norm ally did not look at The Times and
The M orning Post. But a cynic w ould certainly say th a t Miss W ingfield
had fraudulently got u p the new spaper accounts a n d regurgitated
them in her au to m atic writing. A less serious supposition would be that
of cryptom nesia; the supposition, th a t is, that she looked at the reports,
forgot them , b u t retained a latent or hidd en m em ory of them which
subsequently found expression in her au to m atic writing. O n e or other
of these hypotheses would certainly have been suggested if, for
instance, the new spaper accounts h ad proved to co ntain errors which
were reprodu ced in the com m unications. Sir L aw ren ce did not even
a tte m p t to discover w h eth er the recipe for furniture polish h a d been
lifted from Aunt h a tes Home Treasury or some sim ilar com pilation. N o r
on the o ther h a n d did he en quire w h ether the two addresses given
(Sidney Street a n d G reen Street), which do not a p p e a r in the Times
report of the trial w hich he quotes, were correct. If they h ad proved
correct, the case for p a ra n o rm ality w ould have been correspondingly
strengthened.
T o rule out the fraud a n d cryptom nesia explanations one would
need, not ch aritably to accept the m e d iu m s say-so th a t she h a d never
com e across the relevant inform ation, but to give reasons for supposing
that she could not have com e across it. A nd this involves proving a
negative, a notoriously difficult undertaking. T h e negative cannot, I
think, be proved in the case just discussed; certainly it was not proved.
But there are o ther cases in which it m ay be not proved exactly, for
p ro o f is a w ord som ew hat strong for any non -m athem atical
dem onstration, but at an y rate powerfully supported. I shall now
proceed to outline a n d co m m en t upon three such cases.
T h e first of these cases was received throug h a w ell-known Icelandic
64
trance m e d iu m , H afstein n Bjornsson. H afstein n was not a professional
m e d iu m in the sense o f ea rn in g his living th ro u g h his m e d iu m sh ip , but
he did accept fees from sitters. H e h ad a reg u la r co n tro l n a m e d F in n a ,
w h o w o uld relay messages from o th e r co m m u n ic ato rs; b u t som etim es
the latter w o uld them selves control. T h e original co m m u n ic atio n s
w ere o b ta in e d in 1941, a n d were investigated shortly afterw a rd s (88).
T h e case was fu rth e r studied in 1971-2 by H ara ld sso n a n d Stevenson,
w ho published their rep o rt in 1975 (59b).
O n 25 J a n u a r y 1941, H ja lm a r G u djonsson, a visitor from eastern
Iceland, h a d a sitting w ith H afstein Bjornsson in R eykjavik, w h ich is in
the ex trem e south-west. (It is p e rh a p s w o rth n o tin g th a t at th a t time
co m m u n ic atio n s betw een R eykjavik a n d eastern Icelan d were poor
a n d m ainly by boat.) T h e sitting was held at the ho m e o f G u d ru n
J o n sd o ttir, an experienced sitter, w h o was also present, alo ng with
a n o th e r lady, H a n s in a H a n sd o ttir. H ja lm a r G u djonsson was anxious
to co n tact various persons he h a d know n, b u t to his a n n o y a n c e an
in tru d in g co m m u n ic a to r, w ho gave the n a m e G u d n i M agnusson,
m on opolized the sitting. G u d n i, w h o was not kno w n to m e d iu m or
sitters, stated th a t he h a d ties w ith Eskiljordur, in H ja lm a r s p a rt of the
w orld, a n d addressed him self to H ja lm a r for th a t reason. H e said that
he h ad died following internal injuries received w hile a tte m p tin g to
rep a ir his truck; a n d he gave various o th e r details a b o u t him self which
we will co m e to. M ost u n fo rtu n ately no c o n te m p o ra ry notes were
m a d e of w h a t was said.
T w o days later, H ja lm a r s hostess at the sitting, G u d r u n jo n s d o ttir,
told a friend, A s m u n d u r Gestsson, a b o u t this intrusive co m m u n icato r.
A s m u n d u r h a d a cousin, G u d r u n G u d m u n d sd o ttir, w h o was the wife
o f a physician practising in E skiljordur, the place w ith w hich G u dni
M ag n u sso n h ad claim ed to be linked. H e according ly w rote to this
cousin, asking il she knew ol an y o n e c o rresp o n d in g to the supposed
c o m m u n ic ato r. H is letter, d a te d 26 F e b ru a ry 1941, survives - it was
u n e a rth e d by E rlu n d u r H a ra ld sso n - a n d is the earliest d o c u m e n t
w hich gives details o f the co m m u n icatio n s. It an ted ate s, a n d in fact led
to, verification of the c o m m u n ic a to rs statem ents.
A s m u n d u r G estssons cousin replied on 14 M a r c h 1941 confirm ing
th a t a G u d n i M ag n u sso n an sw ering the description given h a d lived in
E skiljordur a n d h ad died in circu m stances resem blin g those given.
T his letter, w hich is quite detailed, will be referred to below as the
G u d m u n d s d o ttir letter.
At this point A s m u n d u r Gestsson realized th a t he h a d a n interesting
65
case on his hands an d got H ja lm a r G udjonsson a n d G u d ru n J o n s d o ttir
to write out indepen dently their recollections o f the sitting an d sign
them . H ja lm a r s accoun t is d a ted 30 M a rc h 1941, an d G u d r u n s,
which is fairly full, 6 J u n e 1941. T h e third sitter, H an sin a H ansdottir,
signed G u d r u n s statem ent. T h e re do not seem to be an y serious
discrepancies betw een these statem ents, or betw een them a n d our
earliest docum ent, A sm u n d u r Gestssons letter of 26 F eb ru a ry 1941. I
think that, despite the absence of co n tem p o ra ry notes, we m ay safely
accept the statem ents as accurately reflecting w h at passed at the
sitting, especially since they are confirm ed by the A sm u n d u r Gestsson
letter w ritten before the verifications were received.
In his investigations of 1971 -2 , E rlu n d u r H araldsson found further
sources of verification for some of the statem ents made. H e interviewed
H ja lm a r G udjonsson, a n d G u d n i M ag n u sso n s b ro th e r a n d sister,
O tto M agn usson a n d R osa M agn usd ottir; he obtained a copy of
G u d n is d e ath certificate (such certificates are not o btainab le by the
general public in Iceland); he found an obitu ary notice of G u d n i in the
issue of Alorgunbladid for 7 N o v em b er 1940; a n d he interviewed the
au th o r of this obitu ary notice. P u ttin g together all the inform ation
thus obtained we can, following H araldsson a n d Stevenson, tabulate
the c o m m u n ic a to rs statem ents an d the verifications as follows:
Communicators Statement
1. His n am e was G ud n i or
G u d n i M agnusson.
2. H e was betw een 20 an d 30
years old w hen he died.
3. H e was of average height.
4. H e h ad blond hair.
5. His h air was thin on top.
6. H e had died ab o ut lour or
five m onths before the
seance.
7. H e h ad been a truck driver.
8. H e had a connection with
H erad (a district).
9. His parents were living.
10. H e was crossing a m o un tain
pass w hen his truck broke
down.
Verification from
G u d m u n d sd o ttir letter
G u d n is death certificate;
obituary
O tto M agnusson
O b itu ary notice; O tto
M agnusson
O tto M agnusson
D eath certificate; obituary
G u d m u n d sd o ttir letter; O tto
M agnusson
Unverified; b ut there were
reasons lor thinking G udni
m ight have known H erad
G u d m u n d sd o ttir letter; Rosa
M agn usd ottir
G u d m u n d sd o ttir letter; O tto
M agnusson
66

11. H e was alone in his truck
prior to his death.
12. H e h ad been repairing his
truck and h ad craw led
u n d er it.
13. H e h ad torn o r ru p tu red
som ething inside himself.
14. H e h ad not died im m e d i

ately, b ut m an ag ed to get
home.
15. H e h ad been b ro u g h t by
boat betw een fjords to m ed i
cal care.
16. H e h ad died on the way.
17. H e was b ro ug ht to a doctor
18. H e h ad Eskiljordur on his

m in d .
19. T h e re was a connection also
w ith R ey d arljo rd ur.
20. H e h ad know n some rela
tives ol H ja lm ar Gudjonsson.
G u d m u n s d o ttir letter
V erification not satisfactory
D ea th certificate; G u d m u n d sd o ttir letter; O tto M a g n u sson. (H e d ied of peritonitis
alm ost certainly d u e to the
stated cause)
G u d m u n d s d o ttir letter; O tto
M agnusson
M agnusson
M agnusson
G u d m u n d sd o ttir letter. (H e was
w ith two doctors w hen he
died, but was on his way to
hospital)
M agnusson. (H e was on his
way h om e to Eskiljordur)
G u d m u n d sd o ttir letter. (H e was
driving from R ey d a rljo rd u r to
Eskiljordur)
Incorrect so far as H ja lm ar
G udjonsson could ascertain
W e now com e to the question o f w h e th e r this m a terial could have

been kno w n to t he m e d iu m or sitters th ro u g h o rd in a ry channels. In their
article on the case H arald sso n a n d Stevenson give m u c h atte n tio n to this
issue. T h e y su m m a riz e their conclusions a b o u t it as follows (59b, pp.
260-261):
T h e c o m m u n icato r cam e from a p art o f lc e la n d w hich the m ed iu m had
never even visited. The sitters, even including the one person present
(H jalm a r Gudjonsson) w ho was from eastern Iceland, h ad no connection
w hatever with G u d n i o r his family. T h e n ew sp ap er o b itu ary could not have
furnished the m ed iu m with all the correctly c o m m u n icated details, nor
could the w riter o fth e obituary, w ho then lived in eastern Iceland, w hich the
m ed iu m had never visited. T h e c o m m u n ic a to r h ad an uncle in Reykjavik,
but as far as we can learn, he h ad no connection w ith the m ed iu m . T hu s
despite extensive enquiries we have not been able to find an y ch ann el for
67
norm al com m unication to the m edium of the correct inform ation he had
a b o ut G ud n i M agnusson an d expressed at the seance u nd er consideration.
H araldsson an d Stevenson are here considering, a n d rejecting,

prim arily the cryptom nesia hypothesis, that is, that Hafsteinn
Bjornsson m ight have som ew here com e across the relevant inform ation,
and have retained a latent m em ory of it w hich ca m e to the fore only in his
trance state. T h e y do not take seriously the hypothesis of outrigh t fraud
by H afsteinn, a n d there do indeed seem to be quite strong reasons for
dismissing it. H afstein ns rep u tatio n throug hout some forty years of
m edium ship was generally good; he had no know n connection with
Eskiljordur, yet to have obtained all the inform ation a b o u t G u d n i he
would have needed not just a n agent in E skiljordur (a rem ote and
sparsely pop ulated place), but a n agent w ho knew G u d n i personally;
an d it was certainly not H afsteinn w ho pushed or prom o ted the
investigation of the G u d n i c o m m u n ic ato r - it was in fact a person
(A sm und ur Gestsson) w ho was not even present at the sitting. I agree,
therefore, with the cautious assessment of H araldsson an d Stevenson:
W e conclude . . . that despite its obvious weaknesses [the absence of
seance notes], the case justifies a n interpretation that includes some
p a ra n o rm al process.
But w h at kind of p a ra n o rm a l process? W e can rule out clairvoyance
at once, because the only relevant record of events which m ight be
supposed to have been clairvoyantly accessible (the obitu ary notice)
contained by no m eans all oft he items given, a n d would in an y case have
had to be cognized precognitive!)'. (O n e cannot, I think, take seriously the
idea that by some sort ol unconsciousclairvoyance Hafsteinn m onitored
the events at the tim e w hen they occurred, an d stored up a record of
them for future regurgitation; how m an y o ther such sets of events must
he have been sim ultaneously m onitoring?) T h e hypothesis of telepathy
from the living is m ore plausible, provided, at least, that one is prepared
to believe (despite lack ol substantial evidence) that telepathy of such a
range an d extent can occur; there must at the tim e of the sitting have
been several persons alive w ho possessed all the requisite information.
T h u s the case of G u d n i M agn usson is not one which strains the superE SP hypothesis in the way that I indicated w h en construe ting m y ideal'
drop in case earlier in the chapter. It does not require one to suppose that
the m e d iu m extrasensorially located an d then collated relevant
inform ation from several dillerent sources. G u d n i does, however, offer
an intelligible m otive for c o m m u n ic atin g - the desire to talk tosom eone
68
from his ow n p a rt of the w orld - w h ereas n e ith er m e d iu m n o r sitters had,
so far as ca n be ascertained, a n y reason at all for picking o u t th a t
p a rtic u la r deceased person as a targ e t for super-E S P .
I shall next give a case from a series w h ich I investigated m yself (44c).
T h e y o ccu rred in the context of a ouija b o a rd circle o p e ra te d by a small
g ro u p of people in C a m b rid g e d u rin g a n d after the S ec o n d W o rld W ar.
A lto gether m ore th a n tw o h u n d re d deceased persons (an d one living
one) co m m u n ic a te d th ro u g h this circle. M o st w ere friends a n d relations
o f the sitters. T h e r e were, how ever, eleven instances ofverified d ro p -in
c o m m u n icato rs, plus a ra th e r larger n u m b e r of unverified ones. M o st of
the verified cases w ere first verified by me, from th irtee n to tw enty-eight
years after the original co m m unications. T h is constitutes, I think, a
strong a rg u m e n t against the likelihood of d e lib erate fraud. N o one,
how ever devious, w o uld be likely to cast so m u c h b re a d u p o n the waters,
w ith out ev entually d ro p p in g s o m e hints w h ich m ig h t facilitate a return.
T h e sitters, it should be noticed, m a d e no a tte m p ts to p ro m o te the cases,
o r to o b ta in publicity, a n d h a d them selves not m u c h idea of how one
m igh t set a b o u t checking them . I shall briefly su m m a riz e one of the m ore
interesting cases.
A t a n u m b e r of sittings betw een 1950 a n d 1952 a c o m m u n ic a to r
calling h im s e lfH a r r y S to c k b rid g e (not the real nam e) spelled out the
following items of inform atio n a b o u t himself:
S econd Loot atta ch ed N o rth u m b e rla n d Fusiliers. D ied Fourteen J u ly
sixteen.
T yneside Scottish.
T all, dark, thin. Special features large bro w n eyes.
I h u n g o ut in Leicester . . . Leicester hold[s] a record.
[Asked w hat were his likes an d dislikes] Problem s any. Pepys reading. W ater
colouring.
[Asked il he knew a Powis S tre et a b o u t w hich tw o sitters h ad dream ed] I
know it well. M y association took my m em o ry there.
[Asked if his m o th er was w ith him ] Yes.
T h e sitters m a d e one - unsuccessful - a tte m p t to check u p on these

statem ents. T h e m a tte r then rested until 1965, w h en I began to
investigate the Stockbridge case. In a n H M S O p u b licatio n entitled
Officers died in the Great W ar o f 1 9 1 4 -1 9 I found it stated th a t a Second
L ieu te n an t H. S tockbridge of the N o rth u m b e rla n d Fusiliers was killed
on 19 (not 14) J u ly 1 9 1 6 .1 then sent for S to c k b rid g es d e a th certificate.
T his gives his d a te of d e ath as 14 J u ly 1916 (as in the scripts) a n d not 19
69
J u ly (as in the official list). T o resolve the issue, I wrote to the A rm y
R ecords C entre, an d received official confirm ation th a t the death was
14 Ju ly .
Stockbridges d e ath certificate shows that he was born in Leicester in
1896. T his inform ation is also contained in Jo sep h K e a tin g s Tyneside
Irish Brigade (L ondon, 1896), the only m ilitary history I have found
which m entions Stockbridge (it does not, however, give the date of his
death). This book states that Stockbridge was in one ol the T yneside
Irish battalions ol the N o rth u m b e rla n d Fusiliers. H o w ev er a record
card in the W a r Office L ibrary, kindly consulted lor me by a friend,
states that before his d e ath he h ad been transferred to a T yneside
Scottish battalion.
T h a t Stockbridge was tall, d a rk a n d thin, an d h ad large brow n eyes,
was confirm ed by his surviving brothers, a n d also by a p h o to g rap h of
him preserved in the archives of his old school. W h e th e r he read Pepys or
enjoyed w ater-colouring no-one could say. W e m ay presum e th a t he
enjoyed problem s a n y , since school records show that he w on form
prizes in m athem atics a n d physics. H e later enrolled for a university
science course. His m o th er h ad died before the period of the
com m unications.
T h e sitters thou ght that Leicester hold a reco rd m ean t that
Stockbridges n a m e m ight be on a W a r M em o rial in Leicester. T hey
asked a friend who was passing throug h Leicester to investigate, but she
found nothing. His n a m e is in fact on a W a r M em o rial in his old school in
Leicester.
T h ere was a Powis S treet n ear the house in w hich Stockbridge was
born, alth ough the family left the district w ithin a few years.
So m uch, then, for the verifications of w hat the Stockbridge
co m m u n ic ato r said ab o u t himself. W e have now to ask w h ether all these
correct statem ents could have originated from a latent m em ory in the
m ind of one o fth e operators of the ouija board. D u rin g all the relevant
sittings the ouija board was worked by a m arried couple, w hom I shall
call M r an d M rs L.G . (it was quite clear that M rs G. was the m edium ).
O th e r persons were present, but did not operate the board. N eith er M r
nor M rs L.G . had any contacts in Leicester or had ever visited it, an d I
could trace no likely line of contact betw een either of them an d any
m em b er o f th e Stockbridge family. M r L.G . served in the First W orld
W ar, b u t not in Stockbridges regim ent. F u rth e rm o re he did not join up
until after Stockbridge had been killed (I have seen his pay book).
C ould the relevant inlorm ation have been hoard ed up
70
subconsciously (c ry p to m n e sia ), following a glance at som e o b itu a ry
notice of Stockbridge? I was u n a b le to trace a c o n te m p o ra ry d e a th
notice of Stockbridge in a n y n a tio n al n ew sp ap er, n o r d id In
M e m o ria m notices a p p e a r in later years. T w o L eicester new spapers
p rin te d a n o b itu ary notice o f him on 19 J u ly 1916. T h is o b itu a ry notice
(w hich it is highly unlikely th a t a n y of the sitters w ould h ave seen) gives
the correct d a te o f death, b u t the w ro n g ran k (L ie u te n a n t instead of
S econd L ieu te n an t), a n d m akes no reference to the T y n esid e Scottish'
b attalion. It give non e of the details a b o u t S to c k b rid g e s a p p e a ra n c e
a n d interests (there is no ph o to g rap h ), a n d of course says n o th in g a b o u t
Powis Street. K e a tin g s Tyneside Irish Brigade co ntains several ol the
items of inform atio n w h ich the S to c k b rid g e c o m m u n ic a to r produ ced. It
is, how ever, a very out-of-the-w ay book, a n d it gives no d e a th date,
m akes no reference to T yn esid e S cottish', a n d co ntains no ph o to g rap h
o r description o f S tockbridge. S to c k b rid g es a p p e a ra n c e , a n d his
T yn esid e Scottish connections are, in fact, not m en tio n ed , s o f a r a s lc a n
discover, in a n y publicly av ailable source. It does not seem to m e th a t the
hypothesis of cry p to m n esia ca n possibly suffice to ex plain aw a y the
correct statem ents m a d e by the S tockbridge co m m u n ic ato r.
If, as I have argued, we ca n rule out the frau d a n d the crypto m nesia
ex p lan a tio n s in this case, we seem left to w eigh u p the respective m erits of
some form of survival hypothesis a n d of som e version o f the super-E SP
hypothesis. T h e Stockbridge case does a p p e a r to stretch the super-E S P
hypothesis in som e o f the w ays w hich I indicated earlier in the c h ap ter
w h en discussing an ideal d ro p -in case. S to ck b rid g e ad vances as his
reason for co m in g th a t he is to help one of the o th e r sitters (a n o th e r exservicem an). T h is m ay not be a n especially pow erful reason, b u t it at
an y rate gives him a stro nger reason for c o m m u n ic a tin g th a n an y of the
sitters h a d for singling out facts a b o u t him as targets for super-E SP. Ifwe
suppose th a t the m e d iu m o b ta in e d inform atio n a b o u t him by
clairv oyan t ap p re h en sio n of existing records, we m ust face the fact that
she m ust have located, a n d synthesized the co ntents of, at least four
separate sources, including the archives o f his old school a n d the W a r
Oflice L ib rary . C o u ld there at the tim e of the c o m m u n ic atio n s have
been a living person or persons whose m inds, telepathically ta p p e d by
the m edium , m igh t have provid ed all th e re q u isite items? It isextrem ely
difficult to say. H is p arents w ere by th a t tim e dead. It was nearly tw enty
years later th a t I m a d e co n tact with two living brothers, a n d th ro u g h
them with a third b ro th e r a n d a sister. T h e y h ad only the vaguest
recollections of the b ro th e r w ho h a d died over fifty years before, a n d it
71
was quite a p p a re n t that as a result of following u p the seance d a ta I knew
m ore details ab o u t his life th a n they did. M y ow n guess is that the
situation w ould not have been substantially different at the time of the
sittings. But in this slippery Held a guess is not good enough.
It seems therefore that even the very curious Stockbridge case does not
fully m easure up to the ideal d ro p -in case for which I suggested criteria
earlier in the chapter. H a d it been investigated in 1952 it m ight have
done so. T h e re is in the literature, however, at least one carefully
investigated case in which a d ro p -in c o m m u n ic ato r m ad e a series of
correct statem ents, the totality of w hich could not have been obtained
either clairvoyantly from a single docum ent, obituary, etc., or
telephathically, from th e m in d o fasin g leliv in g p erso n . I refer to the case
o lR u n o lfu rR u n o lfsso n (R u n k i), for w hich the m e d iu m was once again
Hafsteinn Bjornsson. a n d the investigators were once again H araldsson
an d Stevenson (59a). T h e case is a com plex a n d singular one, but it is
unfortunately too long to be fully presented here. In outline the story is
this. D u rin g the years 1937-8, H afsteinn w a sa c tin g a sm e d iu m fo rw h a t
seems to have been a hom e circle in Reykjavik. In this period a highly
eccentric co m m u n ic ato r began to manifest throug h the en tranced
m edium . H e showed a yearning for snuff, collee an d alcohol, refused to
give his nam e, an d kept reiterating that h e w aslook inglorhisleg. Asked
where his leg was, he replied in the sea. In short he m ust have ap p eared
at this tim e to be one of those com ic-relief characters w ho so frequently
brighten up the otherwise sober proceedings at hom e circles.
I n j a n u a r y 1939 the circle was joined by L u d v ik G u d m u n d sso n , the
ow ner of a lish factory in the village of Sandgerdi, about 36 miles from
Reykjavik. T h e unk now n co m m u n ic ato r showed great interest in this
new sitter, an d eventually stated that his missing leg was in the latters
house at Sandgerdi. A lter a good deal of further pressure from the sitters,
he m ad e the following statem ent (59a, p. 39):
M y n am e is R un o llu r Runollsson, and I w as52 years old w hen I died I lived
with my wile at K olga or K lappakot, near Sandgerdi. I was on a journey
Irom Kellavik [about six miles from S andgerdi] in the latter part of the day
and I was drunk. I stopped at the house of Sveinbjorn T ho rd arso n in
Sandgerdi and accepted some refreshments there. W h en I went to go, the
w eather was so bad that they did not wish m e to leave unless accom panied by
someone else. I becam e angry and said I would not go at all il l could not go
alone. M y house was only about 15 m inutes walk away. So I left by myself,
but I was wet and tired. I walked over th ek am b u in [pebbles] an d reached the
72

rock know n as F lan k asta d a k lettu r w hich has alm ost d isa p p e are d now.
T h e re I sat dow n, took m y bottle, a n d d ra n k some m ore. T h e n I fell asleep.
T h e tide c am e in a n d c arried m e away. T his h ap p e n e d in O cto b er, 1 8 7 9 .1
was not found until J a n u a ry , 1880. I was carried in by the tide, b u t then dogs
an d ravens cam e an d tore m e to pieces. T h e re m n a n ts [ol m y body] were
found an d b uried in U tskalar g rav ey ard [abo u t four miles Irom S an d gerd i].
But then the thigh bone was missing. It was carried o ut ag ain to sea, b u t was
later washed up again at Sandgerdi. T h e re it was passed aro u n d an d n o w it is
in L udvik's house.
O n a n o th e r occasion the c o m m u n ic a to r stated th a t h e h a d been a

very tall m an. T o cu t a long story short, R u n k is e x tra o rd in a ry tale was
subsequently verified in co nsid erable detail, a lth o u g h it did not a p p e a r
th a t he h ad in fact stopped at the house of S v e in b jo rn T h o rd arso n .
L u d v ik G u d m u n d ss o n knew no th in g a b o u t an y thigh bone in his house,
b u t after enquiries a m o n g o lder local in h a b itan ts, he found that
som etim e in the 1920s such a bone, believed to have been w ashed u p by
the sea, h a d been placed in a n interior wall. It was recovered, a n d tu rn ed
out to be the fem ur of a very tall m an. N o one knew whose bone it was,
a n d there was no record w h ich indicated w h e th e r o r not the thigh bone
was missing from R u n k is rem ains. O n e w onders, indeed, w hy, even if
the deceased R u n k i w ere the source o fth e co m m u n ic atio n s, a n d even if
the thigh bon e were actu ally his, he should have h a d an y special
know ledge of the m atter.
T h e re m a in in g statem ents w ere nearly all verifiable from entries
distrib u ted betw een two m a n u sc rip t sources, the C h u rc h books of
U tsk a la r (in the N a tio n a l A rchives at R eykjavik), a n d the R ev Sigidur
S evertsens Annals oj Sudurnes, w h ich at the tim e o f t h e sitting rested
u n p u b lish ed a n d little kno w n in the N a tio n a l L ib ra ry a t Reykjavik.
T h a t R u n k i h a d been tall was co nfirm ed by his grand so n, who,
how ever, h a d not know n him , a n d was not a w a re o f t h e bone a n d of
o th e r relevant facts. H e could therefore not have been, eith er throug h
telepathy or th ro u g h n o rm a l channels, a source for all the inform ation
co m m u n ic ated . It is possible th a t t h e R e v J o n T h o r a r e n s e n , w h o in 1953
edited Annals oj Sudurnes for publication, was even in 1939 a w are o fth e
m ajo rd e ta ils o f thestory, but he did not know a b o u t the bone. N o r d id he
m eet H afsteinn before 1940.
H araldsson an d Stevenson consider in great detail the possibility that
H afsteinn could have o b ta in ed by n o rm a l m eans inform atio n from
these a n d o th e r less im p o rta n t sources - it seem sex trem ely unlikely that
he w ould have he ard of the Annals oj Sudurnes - a n d sum u p the
possibilities as follows (59a, p. 57):
Drop-in Communicators
73
. for the m edium to have acquired all the correctly com m unicated
inform ation, it does not seem feasible to attribu te all of this inform ation to
any single person or any single w ritten source. A nd this would be true, we
believe, w hether the m edium acquired the information norm ally or by
extrasensory perception. W e think, therefore, that some process of
integration of details derived from dillerent persons or other sources must be
supposed in the interpretation o f the case. It m ay be simplest to explain this
integration as due to R unki's survival after his physical death with the
retention of m any mem ories an d theirsubsequent com m unication through
the m edium ship of Hafsteinn. O n the o th er hand, sensitives have been
known to achieve rem arkable feats ol'derivingand integrating information
w ithout the participation of any p urpo rted d iscam ate personality.
T h e last rem ark brings us to the crux of the m atter. If sensitives

operating in a non-m edium istic context can perform feats of location
an d integration of detailed inform ation from discrete sources which,
duplicated in the medium istic sphere, w ould perm it th e co n stru ctio n o f
such co m m unicators as R unki, H a rry Stockbridge, M r A itk ens son,
or L odges U ncle Jerry , then the super-E S P hypothesis, fantastic though
this is, will be rendered m ore plausible. T o this issue I shall return in later
chapters. W ith regard to the survivalist hypothesis, the following
observation m ay be m ade. Ifco m m u n icatio n betw een the livingand the
dead is possible, a n d ca n be carried on throug h the agency of mediums,
we should expect to m eet with d ro p -in com m unicators, for there must
be m an y recently deceased persons w ho earnestly desire to send
messages of com fort, reassurance a n d advice to their bereaved relations.
H a d there been no records at all of verified d ro p -in com m unicators, the
survivalist position would necessarily have been seriously w eakened. As
it is, the onus is still on the survivalist eith er to explain aw ay, or else to
present reasons for denying, the supposed fact that such cases are
relatively rare. I briefly discussed this m a tter earlier in the chapter.
6 M anifestations of Purpose
T h e evidence for survival discussed in the previous th ree ch ap ters has

been for the most p a rt w h a t m ig h t be called evidence for the survival of
m em ories. D eceased persons, ostensibly c o m m u n ic a tin g th ro u g h
m edium s, have p ro d u ced a b o u t their supposed ea rth ly lives facts, not
easily accessible to others, w h ich they themselves, if they are indeed the
persons they p u rp o rt to be, m igh t be expected to rem e m b er. It is quite
reasonable to co n cen trate on this sort of evidence; for, as I p o in ted out in
C h a p te r Five above, n o th in g - not even fin g e rp rin ts - differentiatesone
person from a n o th e r w ith g rea ter ce rta in ty th a n his ow n indiv idual set
of m em ories. Still, the m ere survival of m em ories, h o w ev e rd etaile d and
characteristic they were, w ould not constitute survival o f a person. O n e
m ight im agine, for instance, th a t the m agical arts o f C agliostro, w ho
sum m o n ed back from b eyond the grave so m a n y o f the sages of the
E nlig h ten m en t, h ad crea ted a life-like s im u la c ru m of D r Johnson.
Supj. 'se that this sim u lac ru m sat in a coffee-house chair, ex hibited the
sort of range of inform ation th a t J o h n s o n h a d possessed, a n d readily
gave correct answ ers to questions a b o u t J o h n s o n s life; the whole
tallying exactly w ith d a ta co n tain e d in Boswells Life, M rs T h r a le s
Anecdotes, a n d as yet u np ublished m a n u scrip t sources. N o n e the less this
Jo h n so n -sim u la cru m did n o th in g b u t sit a n d inllict a ceaseless flow of
factual rem iniscence u p o n its hearers. It ex hibited none of J o h n s o n s
individual a n d p eculiar goals, purposes, intellectual skills, an d
personality characteristics; non e indeed ol anybody's purposes an d
personality characteristics, etc. It did not, for ex am ple, en g ag e in
intellectual a rg u m e n t u p o n every occasion; strive energetically for
victory in debate; squash an y S co tsm an present; censure laxity of
expression; suppo rt T o ry a n d A n glican principles; o r in a n y w ay try to
do a n y th in g except prose endlessly a b o u t its ow n past history. U n d e r
these circum stances we should have to say ol C agliostro's crea tio n that
w h atever it was it was not D r Jo h n so n , o r at least was J o h n s o n suffering
from some ad v an c ed an d highly selective form of m e n ta l decay, w hich
Manifestations of Purpose
lb
h ad destroyed m an y of those capacities which m a d e him most truly a
h u m a n being. T o switch to a m ore m o d ern m e ta p h o r - a m em ory bank
is not a person.
It is correspondingly im p o rta n t in investigating the problem of
survival to look not just at the evidence for the survival of m em ory, but
also at such evidence as we have for the survival of these o ther individual
characteristics. In this c h ap ter I shall consider som eo fth eevid ence that
certain deceased persons have after their deaths co ntinued to atte m p t to
pursue goals a n d purposes that were characteristic of them in life, or
have begun to pursue goals that m ight be thou ght a natural
developm ent of these. (Any totally new goals that they m ight develop
would ol course help one to regard them as persons, but w ould not
constitute evidence for survival. ) In the next c h a p te r I shall take u p some
of the evidence for the survival of personality characteristics,
intellectual skills, an d so forth. It is to be observed, however, that none of
these kinds of evidence can be sharply separated from one another.
T o carry m uch w eight as evidence for survival, a case of ostensible
post-m ortem m anifestation ol purpose would of course have to com e in
the context of related evidence for surviving m em ory. T h a t said,
however, it can readily be seen that such a case m ight p u t strain upo n the
super-E SP hypothesis in two respects:
1.
Dilferent people pursue their purposes - even the same p u rp o se in very dilferent ways. B utcher C u m b e rla n d , for instance, m ight have
h ad a very dilferent idea of how to squash a S cotsm an from that
en tertained b y jo h n s o n . A m e d iu m w ho wished to w ork the pursuit ofa
certain characteristic purpose into her personation of a particular
deceased person (I am not talking here of conscious deception), would
have to select not just an ap p ro p riate purpose, but an ap p ro p riate way of
carrying it out. T his would involve her (assuming, olcourse, for the sake
o farg u m en t that she has no o rdinary access to the relevant inform ation)
in discovering by E S P a goal or purpose which the diseased person in
question m ight plausibly be regard ed as pursuing; an d it would further
involve her in ru m m a g in g a ro u n d telepathically in the m em ories ol
those persons w ho knew him well, or clairvoyantly in the files ol
new spapers w hich printed obitu ary notices of him, inordertoinyrrfrom
the m aterial thus gathered in w hat way he would most likely have
atte m p ted to im plem ent his purpose. T h e inference w ould then have to
be worked up into d ram a tic lorm for presentation at the sitting. It is, I
think one m ay unhesitatingly say. a pretty tall order.
76

2.
T h e purpose in question m a y very possibly be one w h ich the
m e d iu m herself has no cause to suppo rt; conceivably, indeed, it co uld be
one quite opposed to her ow n conscious desires a n d interests. In the
latter case the p ro b le m ol m otive becom es a n u rg en t one. W h y on e a rth
should the m e d iu m (play-acting the role ol a ce rta in deceased person)
e n d e a v o u r to pro m o te events w h ich (w h en he r n o rm a l sell) she does not
wish to hap p en ? O n e could, o f course, reply th a t unconsciously, or
partly consciously a n d p a rtly unconsciously, the m e d iu m has so great a
desire to achieve fam e in her chosen profession th a t no o ther
co nsid eration can stan d in its way. T h is is one of those convenient
proposals w hich it is in principle not possible to refute, a n d w hich I
suggested in C h a p te r O n e , we should w h en ev er possible decline to
en tertain.
Cases in w h ich a deceased person has, th ro u g h a m e d iu m , ap p a re n tly

m anifested a clear-cut a n d ch aracteristic purpo se a r e som ew hat
u n c o m m o n (see 131). T h e re are a few quite d ra m a tic ones, in w hich, for
instance, suicide o r starvation have ostensibly been averted by discam ate
intervention th ro u g h a m e d iu m ; but these ten d not to be a m o n g the
best-evidenced cases. T h e following, exceedingly odd, case, was
rep o rte d in detail by a R ussian co rresp o n d in g m e m b e r of the S P R ,
A le x an d er Aksakov, a n Im perial C ouncillor to the C zar.
In J a n u a r y 1885, M rs A. von W iesler (A ksakovs sister-in-law), an d
her d a u g h te r Sophie, began to e x p erim en t w ith a p la n ch e tte board.
T h e b o a rd was soon m on opolized by a n exceptionally forceful
c o m m u n ic a to r, w h o claim ed to be S c h u r a (A lexandrine) the
deceased d a u g h te r of so m ew h at distant ac q u ain tan ce s. S ch u ra, who
h ad ad o p te d revolu tionary political views, h a d c o m m itte d suicide at
the age of seventeen, following the d e a th while escaping from prison of
a like-m inded m ale cousin. S c h u ra d e m a n d e d , in no hesitant tone, that
a n o th e r cousin, Nikolaus, should be b ro u g h t to a sitting. A c co rd in g to
S ch u ra, N ikolaus was in d a n g e r of c o m p ro m isin g him self politically.
Sophie hesitated for reasons of social propriety. S c h u r a s d e m an d s
b ecam e m ore a n d m ore v e h em e n t at successive sittings, until on 26
F e b ru a ry 1885 she w rote, It is too late . . . expect his arre s t. T h e von
Wieslers then co n tacted N ik olauss parents, w h o were, how ever, quite
satisfied in respect of his conduct.
T w o years later N ikolaus was arrested a n d exiled because of political
assemblies which he had a tte n d e d in J a n u a r y an d F e b ru a ry 1885. T h e
Manifestations o f Purpose
77
notes w hich M rs von W iesler h a d m ad e were read again an d ag ain by
the families bo th o f'S c h u ra a n d of Nikolaus. S c h u ra s identity in all
these m anifestations was recognized as incontestably dem onstrated, in
the first place by the m ain fact in relation to Nikolaus, by other
intim ate particulars, a n d also by the totality of features which
ch aracterized her personality (110a, II, p. 181).
T his case exhibits to some degree both of the characteristics which I
noted above as constituting especial difficulties for the super-E SP
hypothesis: S ch u ra' pursued her characteristic purpose in the direct
an d forceful w ay w hich had clearly been typical of her in life; an d this
purpose was quite definitely not that o fth e operators of the planchette
board, to w h om the thou ght of co ntactin g N ikolauss family caused
considerable em barrassm ent.
A m ong the purposes frequently professed an d pursued by m edium istic
com m unicators is that of proving their ow n survival an d thus bringing
consolation to their bereaved relatives. T his purpose is one which a
considerable percentage of deceased persons m ight, if they indeed
survive, be thou ght likely to entertain. T h a t a particular
co m m u n icato r exhibits it will therefore hardly constitute part o f th e
ostensible evidence for survival. T h e re have been, however, some
people who, w hen alive, exhibited an intense, even a passionate,
interest in the problem of survival itself, a n d the m ethods by which it
m ay be investigated. W e m ight expect that if such persons in some
form survive the dissolution of their bodies, they will m ake some
special, ingenious, a n d above all planned, a tte m p t to prove that fact to
those still on earth. A n d this brings m e straightaw ay to a discussion of
w hat is und o u b ted ly the most extensive, the most com plex, an d the
most puzzling of all ostensible atte m p ts by deceased persons to
manifest purpose, an d in so doing to fulfil their overriding purpose of
proving their survival. I refer to the celebrated'cross-correspondences'.
C ro s s -c o rr e s p o n d e n c e s
A cross-correspondence occurs w hen w hat is w ritten or spoken by or

throug h one m e d iu m or au tom atist corresponds to an extent that
cannot be norm ally explained with w hat is w ritten or spoken by or
throug h an other, a n d independent, m e d iu m o r autom atist. The cross
correspondences are the extensive a n d com plexly interlinked series of
cross-correspondences which a p p eared betw een 1901 and 1932 in the
au to m atic writings (and sometim es speech) o f a group of autom atists
78
associated w ith the British S P R . T h e a u to m atists w ere all ladies, a n d
the p rincip al ones w ere M rs M . de G. V e rrall, wile of Professor A. W .
V errall, a w ell-know n classical scholar, a n d h e r d a u g h te r H e le n (later
M rs W . H. Salter, the only m e m b e r ol the g ro u p w h o m I mysell m et);
M rs W illett (M rs W inifred C o o m b e -T e n n a n t, o f w h o m m o re will be
said in the next ch apter); M rs H o lla n d (M rs F lem ing, the sister of
R u d y a rd K ipling), a n d M rs P iper, the only professional m e d iu m
a m o n g them .
T h e co m m u n ic ato rs ostensibly responsible for the cross-correspon
dences w ere at first three early leaders o f the S P R , F. W . H . M yers
(died 1901), H e n ry Sidgw ick (died 1900) a n d E d m u n d G u rn e y (died
1888), all three of w h o m h ad of course been deeply c o n cern e d w ith the
problem of survival. O t h e r deceased persons late r a p p e a re d as
m em bers. T h e cross-correspondences w ere not instigated o r asked for
by the co m m u n ic a to rs still living colleagues; they sim ply b e g an to
a p p e a r in the scripts, a n d were, indeed, not noticed for som e tim e. T h e
idea thus cam e ostensibly from the o th e r side. T h e scripts an d
u tterances were princip ally studied a n d collated on this side by five
leading m e m b ers of the S P R , M iss Alice J o h n s o n , J . G. P id d in g to n ,
a n d G. W . B alfour (later the second E arl Balfour), a n d to a lesser but
still n o te w o rth y extent by Sir O liv er L o d g e a n d M rs E. M . Sidgwick.
T h e ir task proved a n ex tra o rd in arily difficult one. T h is was partly
because of the sheer q u a n tity o f m a terial they h a d to scrutinize - there
w ere several quite busy au to m atists over a n d ab ove the ones I have
alread y n a m ed . P artly also it was because of the c o n ten t o f the
writings. T h o se of M rs V e rrall a n d h e r d a u g h te r, bo th of w h o m were
accom plished classical scholars, co n tain e d m a n y G reek a n d L atin
phrases, a n d o th e r literary allusions. All the w ritings te n d e d to be
fragm entary, allusive, a n d disjointed, a n d to o p e ra te at a symbolic
ra th e r th a n a straightforw ard level. T h is m a y have been because
au tom atism s originate from an unconscious o r dissociated level o f the
m in d (the sublim inal self, p rim a ry process th o u g h t) w h ich tends to
function in sym bolic terms. But it was also, as we shall see in a m o m en t,
p a rt ol the plan ol the supposed co m m u n ic ato rs th a t messages should
be transm itted in an obscure a n d disguised fashion, so th a t their true
significance should not be at first a p p re ciate d . B oth the
co m m u n ic ato rs a n d those w h o a tte m p te d to d e c ip h e r the
co m m u n icatio n s were exceptionally w ell-read a n d literate persons.
T h e whole enterprise rem inds m e som etim es of th a t old rad io favourite
1 ransatlantic Q u iz , in w hich devious a n d obscure questions are put
79
to particularly well-inform ed people, w ho h ad often to w ork their way
tow ards the right answers. In the present case, the gulf betw een the
team s seems vastly h a rd e r to overcom e th an the A tlantic O cean .
T h e cross-correspondence m aterials are exceedingly voluminous,
an d publication of them m arks out a kind of epoch in the history of the
SPR . In his valuable short introduction to the subject, H . F. Saltm arsh
(140) lists fifty-two papers a b o u t them (m any of them book length)
from the Proceedings o f the SP R . Even so a substantial q u a n tity of
m aterial rem ains unpublished. O bviously I shall not, in the brief space
which I have at m y disposal, be able to do an y th in g like justice eith er to
the strengths or to the weaknesses of the cross-correspondences
considered as evidence for survival.
S altm arsh distinguishes betw een sim ple, co m plex an d ideal'
cross-correspondences. Sim ple cross-correspondences are those where
in the scripts of two or m ore [independent] autom atists there occurs the
same w ord or phrase, or else two phrases so sim ilar as to be clearly
interconnected. A n obvious ex planation of simple cross-correspon
dence w ould be that one au tom atist gains extrasensory know ledge of
w hat the o ther is writing, a n d writes som ething sim ilar herself.
C om plex cross-correspondences are cases where the topic o r topics are
not directly m entioned, but referred to in a n indirect a n d allusive
w ay. A n ideal com plex cross-correspondence would be one in which
two indepen dent autom atists each wrote ap p aren tly unconnected
meaningless messages. Now, if a third au tom atist were [independently]
to produce a script which, while m eaningless taken by itself, acts as a
clue to the o ther two, so that the whole set would be brought together
into one whole, a n d then show a single purpose a n d m eaning, we
should have good evidence that they all originated from a single
source.' If these conditions were fulfilled one m ight pro p o u n d the
following argum ent. Call the first two autom atists A an d B, an d the
third one, w ho gives the key that unlocks the whole, C. B will not be
able to discover w h at he should write by pa ra n o rm ally cognizing A s
script, an d A s m ind; nor will C be able to discover the 'key' by
paranorm ally cognizing the scripts or m inds of A an d B; for in this
ideal case (to which perhaps no actual case has done m ore than
ap pro xim ate) there is noth ing in A s script or Bs script, or in the minds
of A or B, to indicate w h at m ust be w ritten to com plete the cross
correspondence.
T h ere is in m y view no dou bt that the scripts of the S P R autom atists
do co n tain num erous cross-correspondences, for the occurrence of
80
w hich no o rd in a ry ex p lan a tio n will suffice. C o n sp iracy to deceive by
the princip al autom atists seems ex tra o rd in arily unlikely. T h e y w ere
all persons of excellent rep u ta tio n , a n d no indications o f fra u d ever
ca m e to light; besides, a t im p o rta n t periods one (M rs H o lla n d ) was in
India, a n o th e r (M rs Piper) was in the U n ite d States, w hile the rest
were in G re a t B ritain. C han c e-co in cid en ce is a n o th e r ex p la n a tio n
w hich can, I think, be very quickly ruled out. It is tru e th a t the scripts
are full of cryptic literary a n d o th e r allusions, so lull th a t one m igh t
expect occasional coincidences o f th e m e a n d reference. But
P id d in g to n , w h o co u n ted such references on a large scale, found that
allusions p e rtin e n t to a given cross-correspondence did not w ax an d
w ane h a p h a z a rd ly , but arose d u rin g the a p p ro p ria te period, a n d then
largely died out ag ain (m o d e rn techniqu es o f c o m p u te r analysis would
have im m ensely helped him in this a rd u o u s task). F u r th e rm o r e various
a tte m p ts to generate artificial cross-correspondences by collating
pseudo-scripts w ritten by outsiders w ere largely unsuccessful (134b;
164b).
O n e can readily im agine in th e ab stract th a t som e o f at a n y rate the
sim pler cross-correspondences m ig h t have arisen because tw o o r m ore
of the au tom atists h a d sim ultaneously been exposed to the sam e
external source of stim ulation, e.g. the sam e issue o f a daily new spaper.
T h is seems particu larly likely in the case of M rs V e rra ll a n d her
d a u g h te r H elen, w ho at this tim e lived together, th o u g h they pro d u ced
their scripts indepen dently. If bo th these ladies h a d on a given m o rn in g
noticed a qu o tatio n from A ristotles Politics in The Tim ess leadingarticle,
or h a d com e across a copy of L e m p ri re s Classical D ic tio n ary lying
open at a certain entry, their m inds, a n d subsequently their au to m a tic
writings, would, so this theory goes, have been set racin g off along
sim ilar tracks. O n e has, how ever, only to re a d a few pages of the cross
correspondence records to see th a t this sort of ex p la n a tio n will not get
one very far. In any case, of course, th e really interesting
correspondences are not those betw een the scripts of M rs V e rra ll and
her d a u g h te r, b u t (say) betw een the scripts o f M rs V e rrall a n d those of
the very distant a n d very different M rs H o lla n d o r M rs Piper. T o
explain such correspondences as these we shall be forced tow ards some
very o d d hypotheses indeed.
I shall now give a m u ch a b rid g e d outline ol a not excessively
com plex 'co m p lex cross-correspondence. It is the case c o m m o n ly
called the 'H o p e , S ta r a n d B ro w ning case (120b, pp. 59-77 ; 75d, pp.
28-49). S om e idea ol just how co m plex these cases ca n be will be given
81
if I point out th a t the 'H o p e , S tar a n d B row ning case is in effect a cross
correspondence w ithin a cross-correspondence. It forms p a rt of the
case know n as the L atin M essage case.
T h e H ope, S ta r an d B row ning case was triggered off on 16 Ja n u a ry ,
1907, w h en J . G. P id d in g to n suggested to M yers, w ho was
c o m m u n ic atin g throug h M rs Piper, th a t he should indicate w h en a
cross-correspondence was being atte m p ted by, for instance, draw ing
on the script a circle w ith a triangle inside.
T his notion was ap p aren tly taken up by the M yers w ho influenced
M rs V e rrails au to m atic writing. H e wrote on 23 J a n u a r y 1907: an
an ag ram w ould be better. T ell him that - rats, star, tars a n d so o n . . .
(M yers was in life greatly ad dicted to anagram s).
M rs V e rralls M yers toyed further with the an a g ra m idea in her
script of 28 J a n u a r y 1907. H e w rote A ster (G reek for S ta r) an d
T eras (G reek for W o n d e r). H e then a p p aren tly proceeded to free
associate on the them es of w o n d er an d star, pro d u cin g a ju m b le of
quotations from the poetry of R o b ert Browning, together with some
related G reek phrases, as follows:
T h e w orlds w onder
A nd all a w onder and a wild desire T h e very wings of her
A W IN G E D D E S IR E
hupopteros eros [Greek lor winged love]
T h e n there is Blake
an d m ocked my loss of liberty
But it is all the same - the winged desire
eros polheinos [Greek for passion]
T h e earth for the sky - A bt V ogler for earth
too h ard that found itself or lost itself - in the sky.
T h a t is w hat I w ant
O n the earth the broken sounds threads
In the sky the perfect arc
T h e C m ajor of this life
But your recollection is at fault
T h ere followed draw ings of a triangle inside a circle an d ol a triangle

within a semi-circle, a clear response to the proposal Pidd ington had
m ade to M rs P ip e rs co m m unicator.
O n 3 F eb ru a ry 1907, a supposed M yers influence upo n H elen
V erralls script drew a m on ogram , a star an d a crescent, an d wrote, A
m onogram , the crescent m oon, rem em b er that, an d the star. This
shows a know ledge of w h at M rs V e rra lls M yers c o m m u n ic ato r had
82
w ritten, a n d perhaps, in the reference to a m o n o g ra m , hints at a
know ledge o f P id d in g to n s original proposal to the P ip e r-M y e rs .
O n 11 F e b ru a ry 1907 M rs P ip e rs M y ers c o m m u n ic a to r show ed
u n d o u b te d know ledge of w h a t M rs V e rra lls M y ers h a d recently
w ritten. H e wrote: D id she [M rs V errall] receive the w o rd evangelical
[later co rrected to E velyn H o p e, the title o f a p o e m by B row ning]? I
referred also to B row ning again. I referred to H o p e an d
B r o w n in g . . . I also said star . . . look out for H o p e, S ta r an d
B ro w ning .
N ext the M yers influence on H e len V e rr a lls script picked u p the
B ro w ning them e. O n 17 F e b ru a ry 1907 he d rew a star, a n d th e n wrote:
T h a t was the sign she will u n d e rsta n d w h en she sees it . . . N o arts
avail . . . a n d a star ab ove it all rats ev eryw here in H a m e lin tow n
[reference to B ro w n in g s po em on the Pied P ip e r o f H a m e lin ].
Lastly ca m e three scripts from M rs P ip e rs M y ers co m m u n ic ato r,
the second of w h ich supplied the supposed key to the whole.
O n 6 M a r c h 1907, the P ip e r-M y e rs told P id d in g to n th a t he had
given M rs V e rrall a circle a n d a triangle, b u t d o u b te d th a t the latter
h a d a p p e a re d . (In fact it had.)
O n 13 M a r c h 1907 the P ip e r- M y e rs cla im ed th a t he h ad d ra w n a
circle a n d a triangle for M rs V errall, a n d th e n said, But it suggested a
po em to m y m ind , hence B H S (i.e. B row ning, H o p e, Star). M yers
here offers a n o u trig h t ex p la n a tio n of the obscu re references th a t had
a p p e a re d in the scripts of the o th e r tw o autom atists. H e says, in effect,
th a t P id d in g to n s original proposal a b o u t d ra w in g a triangle w ithin a
circle suggested certain a n a g ra m s (rats, star, etc.) to his m in d , an d
these in tu rn suggested certain passages of B row ning. H e developed all
these them es (triangle, circle, rats, star. B row ning, etc.) in the scripts of
the o th e r two autom atists, a n d th en re tu rn e d to M rs P ip e r to give an
ex p lan a tio n of w h at he h ad done.
O n 8 A pril 1907 the P ip e r-M y e rs said he h a d d r a w n a circle, an d
a d d e d th a t he h ad d ra w n a star a n d also a crescent m oon.
It is at first sight te m p tin g to conclude th a t the cross-corres
pondences betw een these three sets of writings were brought
a b o u t by a purposive intelligence ex ternal to the conscious m ind s of the
autom atists concerned. W h e th e r this intelligence b e longed to the
deceased F. W . H. M yers is an issue th a t one co uld p ro p e rly assess only
in the light of the num erous o th e r c o m m u n ic a tio n s allegedly received
from him at that tim e th ro u g h these a n d o th e r au tom atists. It is,
how ever, not difficult to think u p possible alte rn ativ e explanations.
83
O n e m ight suppose, for instance, that the various autom atists were by
now aw are oi each o th e rs identities, a n d o f th e principle underlying
the atte m p ts at cross-correspondence. O n e m ight suppose further that
M rs V errall, the central figure in the H o pe, S ta r a n d B row ning case,
m a in tain e d an unconscious, extrasensory scrutiny of the scripts an d
related m ental processes of the o ther autom atists. By this m eans she
learned of P id d in g to n s suggestion to the P ip e r-M y e rs that he should
indicate a cross-correspondence by draw in g a triangle w ithin a circle.
She took up the idea in her ow n scripts, introduced the alternative
proposal of an ag ram s (being an old friend of M yers, she knew his
fondness for an agram s), a n d in her subsequent scripts unconsciously
gave free rein to her ow n associations relating to rats, stars, etc. T h e
result was a series of B row ning quotations interspersed w ith Greek
phrases. T h e other autom atists exercised their E SP upon M rs V e rralls
scripts, saw the draw ings a n d references to star, picked up the not
very obscure B row ning quotations, a n d began to elaborate these
them es in their ow n writings. After the ball had been throw n to a n d lro
for a few weeks, M rs Piper b roug ht the gam e to an artistic conclusion
by m aking her M yers c o m m u n ic ato r state that the B row ning
quotations a n d other m aterial represented his ow n associations to
P id d in g to n s original proposal.
M rs P iper was, however, a lady of som ew hat limited education, an d
perhaps did not possess the requisite literary knowledge. O n e m ight
therefore instead propose th a t M rs V errall (or ra th e r her unconscious
m ind or sublim inal self) played a m ore active role, a n d som ehow
injected her ow n associations a n d M yers-fantasies into the depths of
the other au tom atists minds. T h en c e they found their way out in the
scripts.
T his is very m u c h the position taken by F ran k P od m ore in his able
early critique of the cross-correspondences (122e, pp. 225-276).
P od m ore could see no evidence w h atever to justify the assum ption,
even provisionally, of a directing intelligence o ther th a n those o f th e
autom atists co ncerned. H e has tw o sorts of reasons for saying this. T h e
first (which some people w ould probably dispute) is that although
M yers was the pu rp o rte d instigator of these cross-correspondences, the
P ip er-M y ers, w ho played a leading role in several of the cases, was
never able unequivocally to state the principle of the cross
correspondences.
P o d m o re s second line of a rg u m e n t is as follows. T h ere is a t least
one case, the Sevens case (75b, pp. 222-258), in w hich it seems likely
84
th a t M rs V e rrall (or ra th e r som e p a rt of M rs V e rr a lls m in d ) was
b e h in d a co m plex a n d absolutely ch aracteristic cross-correspon
dence. B etw een A p ril a n d J u ly 1908 the scripts of several au tom atists,
including M rs V errall, co n tain e d n u m e ro u s allusions to the n u m b e r
seven. C e rta in of these allusions were, ad ditionally, cle ar references to
passages from D an te. It tu rn e d o u t th a t P id d in g to n (w ho, as we have
seen, was m u c h involved in the study of the cross-correspondences) had
deposited w ith the S P R a sealed package, th e co ntents of w h ich he
ho p ed to c o m m u n ic a te after his death. T h e p ack ag e c o n ta in e d a
statem e n t referring to his life-long obsession with the n u m b e r seven.
T h e statem en t did not m e n tio n D an te. M rs V errall, how ever, had
lately been re a d in g D a n te. P o d m o re puts his case as follows: M r
P id d in g to n h a d for years been repeat ingSwen for all th e w orld - th a t is,
all the w orld w ithin the range of his telepathic intluence - to hear. His
is a voice crying in the wilderness, how ever, u ntil it h a p p e n s th a t M rs
V e rrall reads the D ivine C o m e d y , a n d the idea o f Seven, already
laten t in her m ind , is reinforced by a series of D a n te images. M rs
V e rrall th en . . . swells the stre am of telepathic influence, a n d the
effects, in the five rem a in in g autom atists, rise to the surface of the
d r e a m consciousness.
T h e re are fu rth er considerations w h ich m igh t be th o u g h t to point to
M rs V e rrall as the p ro b a b le source o f these cross-correspondences.
H in ts a n d foreshadow ings of the cross-correspondences a p p e a re d first
o f all in h e r scripts; m a n y of the indiv idual cases b e g an there; she
possessed m u c h of the necessary classical a n d literary know ledge. N o
o th e r m e m b e r o f the g ro u p o f au to m atists w o u ld have filled the bill.
N o n e the less P o d m o re s theory, a c c o rd in g to w h ich M rs V e rra lls
unconscious m in d was, u n k n o w n to h e r conscious m ind , a telepathic
b ro ad castin g station of form idab le pow er, sendin g out, furtherm ore,
signals o f whose im p o rt she was frequently u n a w a re , faces w h a t ap p e a r
to be intolerable difficulties.
A n initial a n d obvious difficulty is that, as I have alre a d y pointed
out, we have not m u c h clear evidence for the sort o f active telepathic
sendin g or intrusion into o th e r peoples m ind s w h ich P o d m o re
postulates. T h is is a n im p o rta n t issue w h ich I shall m e n tio n again
w hen talking a b o u t co m m u n ic atio n s from the living. P o d m o re seeks to
bolster the notion by invoking the Sevens case (see above), b u t his
accoun t of this case is so m ew h at over-sim plified. H e fails to point out
that the V e rra ll-M y e rs claim ed to have r e a d P id d in g to n s message at
the tim e w h en it was w ritten, a n d to have sp read its th em e a r o u n d the
85
various autom atists. Pidd ington himself asserted that he was
quite unsuccessful as a sender of telepathic messages; certainly he
did not succeed in sending one w h en he served as a n agent
for some experim ents in the generation of pseudo-correspondences
(139b).
A second difficulty for P o d m o re s proposal is this. M rs V errall was
centrally involved in several cross-correspondences in w hich the
ostensible co m m u n ic ato r conveyed literary inform ation ap parently
possessed neither by M rs V errall nor by an y o ther au tom atist involved.
An exam ple which merits a brief discussion is the autos ouranos akumon
incident (120b, pp. 107-172). At a sitting w ith M rs P iper on 29
J a n u a ry 1907, M rs V errall, w ho h a d given m u ch previous thou ght to
this test, spelled out to the P ip e r-M y e rs (in P idd ington's presence) the
Greek words autos ouranos akumon a n d suggested to him that he m ight
either translate them , or tell her of w hat they m a d e him think. (M yers,
of course, was a considerable classical scholar, whilst M rs Piper knew
no Greek.) These w ords m ay be translated as the very heaven
waveless. T h e y com e from a passage by the neoplatonist philosopher
Plotinus, an d form part of a description of the conditions necessary for
the a tta in m en t of ecstasy or connection with the divine. T his passage
states that the soul must be free from deception an d every kind of
beguilem ent, an d be in a state of peace, also that the ea rth m ust be
calm, the sea calm , a n d the air, a n d the very heaven waveless. It
should be noted that M yers had used the words autos ouranos akumon
(untranslated) as a m otto for his poem on Tennyson, an d th a t he gives
them in translation (w ithout the original G reek) in his Human
Personality (1 10a, p. 291).
D u rin g the next six weeks M rs V e rralls ow n au to m atic scripts were
filled with references to T enny so n, a n d especially to passages which
concern calm seas, calm air, a n d serene an d calm spaces. T h e poem
which cropped u p most frequently was In Memoriam, an d there were
also some insistent allusions to Crossing the Bar. T h e constant references
to In Memoriam led M rs V errall to suspect a special link betw een that
peom an d the Enneads of Plotinus (the general similarities of thought
had of course been co m m en ted on before). After some investigations
M rs V errall un e arth ed certain parallel phrases on which she wrote a
pa p er in the Modern Language Review for Ju ly , 1907 (165).
It seems quite likely that F. W . H. M yers (the co m m unicator) had
known of these parallels. H e was him self well read in Plotinus; in his
essay on T en n y so n as P ro p h e t he m entions the influence of Plotinus
86
on T enny so n; a n d he tells us elsew here th a t he learn ed this in
conversation w ith T enny so n, w h o m he knew well.
N o w we com e to M rs P ip e rs side of the cross-correspondence. O n 6
M a rc h , 1907, the P ip e r-M y e rs wrote: 'A cloudless sky be y o n d the
h o rizo n . In the w a k in g stage ol h e r tran c e M r s P ip e r s a id m o a n in g a t
the b a r w h en I p u t out to sea (A q u o ta tio n from Crossing the Bar). She
also m e n tio n e d A r th u r H a lla m (whose early d e a th inspired T e n n y so n
to w rite In Memoriam).
O n 29 A pril 1907, M rs V e rrall h a d a sitting w ith M rs Piper. T h e
w ords A zure a blue sea w ere spelled out. M rs V e rrall took th e m to
relate to the idea of halcyon days (i.e. days w h en th e sea is especially
calm ), w hich h a d been allu d ed to in h e r ow n scripts. A t the en d o f the
sitting ca m e some incoheren t references to S w ed en b o rg , St P au l and
D ante.
T h e next day, the P ip e r- M y e rs claim ed to have an sw ered the
question a b o u t autos ouranos akumon, a d d in g th a t it re m in d e d him of
Socrates a n d of H o m e r s Iliad. N e ith e r of these references nor the
p rec ed in g ones m a d e sense at the time.
O n 1 M a y 1907, M rs V e rrall's scripts co n tain e d the w ords Eagle
soaring over the tom b of P la to , a w ell-know n description of Plotinus
which isquoted in M yers Human Personality (1 10a, p .2 6 1 ).T h isle d h e rto
delve fu rth er into M y e rs book. S he found th a t the E pilogue to this
book, in w h ich occurs a passage co n cern in g th e vision of P lotin us, is
prefixed by a G reek q u o ta tio n from P la to s Crito m e n tio n in g Socrates
a n d q u o tin g a line from the Iliad. It thus a p p ears th a t in life M yers
could well have associated Plotinus w ith Socrates a n d the Iliad. O n
page 261 of V o lu m e II is a list of persons who, like Plotinus, und erw en t
m o m en ts of m ystical ecstasy o r unio n w ith the divine. T h is list includes
Plotinus, T en n y so n , S w eden borg, D a n te a n d St Paul. T h e
P ip e r- M y e rs references on 29 A pril 1907 ca n thus be seen to have
reflected M yers' ow n associations.
Finally, on 6 M a y 1907, w h en M rs Sidgw ick was sitting with M rs
Piper, the P ip e r-M y e rs wrote, W ill you say to M rs V e rrall - P lotin us.
M rs Sidgw ick said, W h a t is th a t? T h e P ip e r- M y e rs replied, 'M y
answer to autos ouranos okumen [sic].
It was quite clear th a t J . G. P id d in g to n , the prin cip al sitter w ith M rs
P iper did not know en o u g h of M rs V e rra lls scripts, a n d of Plotinus and
his relation to T enny so n, to have been the source o f M rs P ip e r s hits.
N o r was M rs P ip e r sufficiently well ed u c a te d to have c a u g h t the drift of
the allusions in M rs V errall s scripts even h a d she been ab le to read
87
these scripts in detail by m eans ol ESP. T h e im po rtant question is, did
M rs V errall herself possess the requisite knowledge to have engineered
the whole thing, alw ays supposing that we grant to her unconscious
m ind the som ew hat sinister ability to direct the course of M rs Piper's
autom atism s? I think we m ay safely assume that she was not
consciously aw are of the detailed links betw een Plotinus a n d In
Memoriam until the script intelligence (purported ly M yers) led her to
them. But could she have know n of them unconsciously? It is h ard to
know w h at to m ake of this proposal. W h a t is being suggested is not
cryptom nesia (the re-em ergence of a latent m em ory), a possibility for
which we have some evidence. M rs V e rralls article on the Plotinus-In
Memoriam links was considered sufficiently original for publication,
an d so presum ably could not have been based on a latent m em ory of a
previous similar article. P resum ably also M rs V errall could not have
noticed the links herself before, a n d subsequently forgotten about
them; for she w ould surely have w ritten her article w hen she first
thought of them . T h e proposal m ust therefore be that having
separately read T en n y so n s In Memoriam an d Plotinuss Enneads, and
retained fairly detailed, but perhaps largely latent, m em ories of both,
she unconsciously grasped the connection betw een them . This
unconscious insight then began to work its way into the light through
her ow n au tom atic writing, a n d also throug h th a t of M rs Piper, over
which she exercised a co ntinual but unconscious influence.
M rs V errall claim ed, too, th a t she did not discover the relevance of
the Socrates, H o m er, D ante, Sw edenborg, an d St Paul allusions given
by the P ip e r-M y e rs until her ow n M yers-com m u nicator provided the
clue 'E agle soaring over the to m b of P lato , which m a d e her tu rn again
to M yers Human Personality. N o w we can hardly deny here that M rs
Verrall, w ho had certainly read this book, m ight have retained a latent
m em ory of the relevant allusions. T h e problem , however, is that the
allusions were given not throug h her ow n au to m atic writing, but by
the Piper-M yers. O n the theory we are considering M rs V e rralls
unconscious m ind m ust have reasoned as follows: I rem e m b er now
that M yers book contains a series of nam es close to th a t phrase about
Plotinus. If I produ ce these nam es as if from M yers, it will look as
though these are M yers associations, not mine, which will be very
striking. But h a n g on - I see a snag! I knew M yers quite well, an d
everyone is aw are th a t I have read his book. T herefore if I produce
these nam es myself it will not m ake m u ch impression. Suppose,
however, I were to infiltrate them into M rs P ip e rs scripts. T h e n it will
88
look as thou gh they really are M y e rs associations. G ood! I will do it!
I simply do not kno w w h at to say a b o u t these to rtu o u s a n d quite
unveriliable hypotheses, w hich seem, it should be noted, to lollow
inevitably from P o d m o re s proposal th a t M rs V e rrall b ro u g h t ab o u t
the cross-correspondences th ro u g h h e r unconscious ab ility to direct and
infiltrate the w ritings of the o th e r au to m atists u n d e r a false nam e. I
know of no in d e p e n d e n t evidence to suggest th a t such h a p p en in g s are
possible, a n d it is h a rd to see w h a t ev idence there co uld be, since the
p ostulated events go on unconsciously a n d u no bserved by an yone. T h e
only reason for a d o p tin g P o d m o r e s hypothesis seems to be the
a n teced en t im plausibility o f its m a in altern ativ e, the survival theory,
w hich, im plausibility ap a rt, c a n on the face o f it give a m u c h sim pler
accoun t o f the case we have ju st been considering. But the
im plausibility of one theory is never by itself a satisfactory reason for
a d o p tin g som e o th e r theory; the o th e r theory m a y be q uite as
im plausible.
T h e r e are still fu rth er reasons for a b a n d o n in g P o d m o re s proposal.
By no m eans all of the cross-correspondences began in M rs V e rralls
scripts; in some she was not involved at all; one p a rtic u larly famous
ex am p le - the P a lm S u n d a y case (6) - b e g an in her scripts, but
co n tin u e d for m a n y years after h e r d e a th in the scripts of other
autom atists; som e cases w ere w holly initiated after h e r death. It is
indeed som etim es stated th a t the cross-correspondences at an y rate
declined after M rs V e rra lls death. I think it is m ore nearly true to say
th a t the scripts h ad beg u n to ch an g e c h a ra c te r before her de ath , with
cross-correspondences play in g a less p ro m in e n t part. It seems clear
th a t the cross-correspondences ca n o t be w holly o r even largely laid at
M rs V e rra lls door. A t early as 1911, Alice J o h n s o n was ab le to write
(75c, p. 291):
. . . we have now reached a point where, on the supposition th at the whole
of the cross-correspondences are w orked exclusively by the autom atists, we
should have to assum e th at several of them , besides M rs V errall, are
cap ab le of the task. O r else we should have to assum e a sort of telepathic
com m ittee m eeting of the sublim inal selves ol the autom atists, at which
they schem e together a n d settle on their different parts.
T h e idea of a telepathic co m m ittee m e etin g of sublim in al selves is one

th a t we shall m eet ag ain in C h a p te r Fifteen. It is essentially w h a t has
been proposed to ac co u n t for the fact th a t the different aspects of a
collectively perceived a p p a ritio n seen by the various percipients seem
to be in correct perspective.
89
W e have no indepen dent evidence that telepathy of such detail an d
com plexity ever takes place. O n e m ight add, too, that we have no
evidence for unconsciously hatched, telepathically co-ordinated, plots
or conspiracies. It is, indeed, h a rd to see w h at such evidence m ight
consist in.
Alice J o h n so n herself did not believe in the telepathic com m ittee
m eetings of sublim inal selves. Like the o ther principal investigators of
the cross-correspondences she ultim ately ca m e to believe that M yers
and the o ther deceased S P R leaders were behind them . I too find it
h ard to believe in telepathic co m m ittee meetings, nor can I deny that
an intelligence, or rath e r intelligences, seem to have inspired the cross
correspondences. But was the intelligence of F. W . H. M yers am o n g
them? T his is a n altogether larger question. T o answ er it one would
need to take into account the style a n d intellectual an d personal
characteristics of the M yers-scripts, an d any correct inform ation given
about M yers w hich could not have been know n to the autom atist in
question. T h ere was very little of the latter sort of evidence (several of
the m ore im p o rta n t autom atists knew the living M yers well), b u t the
investigators seem in the end to have found the form er satisfactory.
T h u s J . G. P idd ington w rote (120b, pp. 242-243):
O n the p roblem of the real identity ol this directing m ind - w hether it was a
spirit or group ol co-operating spirits, or the subconsciousness ol one ol the
automatists, or the consciousness or unconsciousness ol some other living
person - the only opinion which I hold with confidence is this: that il it was
not the m ind of Frederic M yers it was one which deliberately and
artistically im itated his m ental characteristics.
I can at this point offer no useful co m m en t on P id d in g to n s views; but

in the next c h ap ter I shall take u p the question of how far
m anifestations of ostensibly surviving personal characteristics and
ostensibly surviving intellectual skills m ay constitute evidence for
survival.
7 M anifestations of O th er Personal
Characteristics
It is not u n c o m m o n for persons w h o have h a d successlul sittings with

m en tal m ed iu m s to say afterw ards som eth in g like this: 'H e re is a
transcript of the tap e reco rd in g (or ste n o g ra p h e rs notes), w ith my
com m ents. T h e re w ere a good m a n y excellent hits. But simply
read in g the record can give you no idea of just how co nvincing the
c o m m u n ic a to r really was. So m u c h o fth e im pression he m a d e was due
not to w h at he said, but to the w ay he said it, to his tu rn of phrase, tone
of voice, characteristic h u m o u r, to his m an n erism s a n d gestures. T h ey
were so com pletely rig h t!
Lest I b e th o u g h t to exaggerate, I shall qu o te the co m m en ts o fa very
ex perienced sitter, U n a L a d y T ro u b rid g e (161, pp. 362-363), on
co m m u n ic ato rs w ho co n tro lled M rs L e o n a rd (i.e. displaced F ed a as
the personality speaking th ro u g h M rs L e o n a rd 's vocal ap paratus):
. . . on the o th er hand, a totally dilferent faculty is d em o nstrated [in
personal control], sometimes to a startling degree, th at ol the reproduction
with varying success of intonations, vocal m annerism s a n d general
characteristics pertainin g to deceased persons w h o m the m ed iu m had
never known. It is difficult to convey an accu rate impression of these
personal controls to any on e w ho has never witnessed the production,
through the agency of a really line m ed iu m , of p h e n o m en a of this
description. A ny assertion re gard in g these im personations is naturally
open to the suspicion th at the im agination an d expectation o fa witness may
play a very considerable p art in the impression received . . . nevertheless,
in my ow n experience these objections have been co u ntered to a great
extent by the fact th at the p u rp o rte d personal control w ith w hich I a m most
fam iliar . . . has in the m ajority of cases been witnessed both by m yselfand
by Miss Radclyffe-Hall.
In the published P ip e r a n d L e o n a rd records (I single out these

m edium s because o f their S P R affiliations) one finds various controls
w ho achieved re m a rk a b le verisim ilitude in m annerism s, turns of
speech, etc. O n e m ight instance, in the case of M rs P iper, G P and
Manifestations o f other Personal Characteristics

91
B ennie J u n o t, and, in that of M rs L eonard, A V B ' (a deceased lady to
w h om L a d y T ro u b rid g e is especially referring in the passage just
quoted), J o h n a n d E tta T h o m a s an d Ernest W h ite (on w h om see
167b). In none of these instances had the m edium s any such knowledge
ol the co m m unicators in life as w ould accoun t for the accuracy of the
dram atizations. But as L ady T ro u b rid g e indicates it is exceedingly
diilicult to pin dow n these characteristic touches in term s that would
carry conviction to outsiders. I shall confine myself for the m om ent to
m aking one prelim inary an d obvious point ab o u t such cases, nam ely
that in ad dition to crediting the m e d iu m concerned with w hatever
powers of E SP she m ay have required to collect factual inform ation
ab out the characteristic m annerism s, turns of phrase, tone of voice,
etc., of the deceased person concerned, we have now to credit her with
the ability to incorporate this assembly of facts into a convincing
d ram a tic representation of the so-called co m m unicator. A n d this is to
credit her w ith a further kind of unusual gift.
S om ew hat m ore am en ab le to indepen dent assessment are claims that a
given c o m m u n ic a to r can still exhibit a p a rtic u lar an d som ew hat
distinctive com petence or skill w hich he possessed in life. Suppose, for
exam ple, that a certain deceased person (call him Professor S harp ) was
in his life particularly ad ept at the gam e of bridge. H e now purpo rts to
control a m e d iu m w ho knows noth ing at all ab out the game. T h e
m edium proceeds to play several hands of bridge com petently, even
well. This must surely co unt as evidence of S h a rp s survival. For not
everyone can play bridge, an d only a lew can play it really well. T h e
fact that the m e d iu m s S h a rp control can play it well, whilst she
cannot play it at all, w ould seem on the face of it
(a) to show that the S h a r p influence can n o t be the norm al
personality of the m edium , an d
(b) to n a rro w dow n the influences it could be to a range including
the deceased Sharp.
O th e r facets of the S h a rp control m ight serve to n arrow this range
dow n still further, perhaps even just to S h a rp himself. If, on the other
hand, the S h a rp influence h ad been quite ignorant of bridge, or a
hopeless duffer at it, this would have given us strong grounds for
thinking th a t the co n tro l could not possibly have been the late
Professor Sharp.
L et us assum e next that evidence that the m e d iu m knows noth ing of
bridge is absolutely cast-iron. T h e n we can ask, w h at ex planation is
92
possible of her sudden access ol skill a t bridge o th e r th a n the proposal
th a t she is controlled or overshadow ed by the deceased S h a rp o r one ol
his deceased fellow players? W e could suggest instead th a t the m e d iu m
learns the rules o f bridge clairvoyantly by co gnizin g the p rin ted rulebook, or telepathically by read in g the m ind s of those w h o regularly
play bridge. She m ig h t even look clairv oyan tly at a tex t-bo ok on the
subject, o r telepathically glean a h a n d y list of dos a n d d o n ts from the
m in d of an accom p lished player. But w o uld all this extrasensory study
en able her to play a c o m p e te n t h a n d as soon as she was co ntro lled' by
the soi-disant Professor S harp ? Surely not; for there is m u c h m ore to
learn ing to play bridge c o m p ete n tly th a n m erely g etting the rules oil
by h e art a n d m u g g in g u p a list o f hints for the helpless. T h e
fu n d a m e n ta l requisite is hours a n d hours o f intelligent a n d attentive
practice against good opponents. A n d no b o d y is going to suggest that
th a t ca n be o b ta in ed by ESP.
It seems to me, therefore, th a t even if we allow th a t the rules of
bridge m ig h t be a d e q u a te ly learn ed by E S P (an d I do not know a
particle of evidence th a t E S P of such a degree ever occurs), the superE S P theory w o uld still fall far short of giving an y plausible accoun t of
the S h a rp -c o n tro l's ability to take a h a n d at bridge.
T h e ex am p le is of course an hyp othetical one, but the point has
w id er applicability. It does not seem likely th a t skills a n d com petences,
intellectual, a n d for th a t m a tte r physical, could be a c q u ire d by ESP. If
a m edium istic c o m m u n ic a to r u n m ista k ab ly exhibits a n u nu su al skill
o r co m p ete n ce w hich he possessed in life, a n d w hich the m e d iu m is
know n not to possess, this fact m a y in some circu m stances be very
difficult for the su p er-E S P theory to digest. It is tim e to inquire
w h e th e r an y ac tu al case will ca rry us as far as o u r hypothetical
exam ple.
I shall not a tte m p t to deal w ith cases of the a p p a r e n t post-m ortem
m anifestation of such skills as pia n o -p lay in g o r p ainting, because it is in
m ost cases so difficult to decide w h e th e r or not the m e d iu m could have
herself reached the level of co m p ete n ce displayed. In a few cases (see,
e.g., 41, p p 431-438; 110a, II, pp. 231-234; 120a, pp. 235 -2 43), the
h an d -w ritin g of a p a rtic u la r deceased person has been closely
im itated: the problem , how ever, is in most cases to ascertain with
certain ty w h e th e r the m e d iu m could not at som e tim e o r a n o th e r have
seen the h a n d w ritin g ol the indiv idual concerned.
93
L ite ra ry P u zzles
I shall begin, therefore, by considering certain cases w hich do not,

perhaps, exactly qualify as exam ples of the a p p a re n t post-m ortem
exercise of an intellectual skill, but which w ith out d o u b t constitute
exam ples of the ostensible post-m ortem display of a high level of a
rather unusual intellectual atta in m en t (an atta in m en t w hich had been
characteristic o f th e alleged c o m m u n ic ato r in life). I refer to the cases closely interlinked with the cross-correspondences - generally known
as the literary puzzles. In these cases atte m p ts were ostensibly m ad e
by co m m unicators w ho were in life particularly w ell-read in classical
literature to manifest their knowledge throug h m edium s largely
ignorant of classical languages a n d literature. I shall briefly outline two
such cases - the L e th e case an d the E a r of D ionysius case - an d shall
consider how far each of th e m m ay be broug ht into line with the superE SP hypothesis.
In the L e th e case (120c, pp. 86-144), the principal m e d iu m was
M rs P ip e r an d the sitter was M r G. B. D orr, a V ice-President o f th e
A SPR. D o rr was in touch throug h M rs P iper with a co m m u n ic ato r
who claim ed to be F. W . H . M yers. M yers had in life been a profound
classical scholar. D o rr h ad d ro p p ed L atin an d G reek at eighteen, had
scarcely looked at any since, w h ile translations from the classics I have
hardly read at all.' M rs P iper knew virtually noth ing of classical
literature. In o rd er to test the m em ory of the M yers com m unicator,
D o rr began to obtain an d put to him various questions on classical
subjects. O n 23 M a rc h 1908 he posed the question: W h a t does the
word L E T H E suggest to you? H e clearly expected a reply m aking
reference to forgetfulness an d the w aters of oblivion. Instead he got the
following:
MYERS [i.e. M rs P ipers com m unicator]: Do you refer to one of my
poems, Lethe? [This is not an inappropriate answer, since L ethe is relerred

to in one of M yers verse translations of Virgil.]
T h e M yers co m m u n icato r, egged on by questions a n d rem arks from

Dorr, then w rote some disjointed words, in c lu d in g W in d s, G reece,
an d O ly m p u s, a n d w ent on:
. . . It is all clear. D o you rem em b er Cave?
GBD:
I think you are confused about this. It was a water, not a wind,
and it was in Hades, w here the Styx was an d the Elysian fields. Do
you recall it now?
94

MYERS : Lethe. Shore - of course I do. L ethe H ad es beautiful river -
Lethe. U n d e rg ro u n d .
S ho rtly afterw ards D o rr closed the sitting. As M rs P ip e r ca m e out of

tran c e (the w aking-stage) she spoke the follow ing words:
P avia [later conjecturally e m e n d e d by P id ding to n t o papavera, the L atin for
poppies].
L ethe - delighted - sad - lovely - m ate P ut them all together . . .
E ntw ined love - beautiful shores . . .
W a rm - sunlit - love.
L im e leal - h eart - sword - arrow
I shot an arro w through the air
A nd it fell I know not w here
M rs P ip e r then described a vision of som eone w ith a bow a n d arrow .

O n 24 M a r c h 1908. the M yers c o m m u n ic a to r w rote as follows (the
deceased R ic h a rd H o d g so n is, ap p aren tly , ac tin g as in term ed iary , an d
som etim es refers to M yers as he a n d h im ):
I w rote in reply to y o u r last inquiry C av e - L ethe
I asked him [i.e. M yers] w h eth er the w ord L ethe recalled a n y
thing to him.
MYERS : H e replied C ave - Banks - Shore . . . H e d rew the form - a picture
of Iris with an arrow .
GBD:
But he spoke of words.
MYERS : Yes, clouds - arro w - Iris - C ave - M o r M O R L atin for sleep
Morpheus - Cave. Sticks in my m in d c a n t you help me?
GBD:
G ood. I und erstan d w hat you are after now. But c a n t you m ake it
clearer w hat there was peculiar ab o u t the waters of Lethe?
MYERS : Yes, I suppose you think I am alfected in the sam e way but I am not.
GBD:
A fter this some of the above w ords w ere rep e ated in conversation with
D orr, a n d the w ords C lo u d s a n d F low er B anks w ere introdu ced. As
the m e d iu m cam e out of tran c e she ag ain m u r m u re d the w o rd p a v ia
[papavera?), a n d w ent on:
M r M yers is w riting on the wall . . . C [a pause] Y X . I w alked in the garden
ol the gods - en tran ced I stood along its banks - like one en tran ce d I saw her
at last . . . Elysian shores.
O n 30 M a rc h 1908, after an erroneous tran slatio n of C Y X as c h a rio t,

95
the P ip e r-M y e rs spelled out C Y N X . T h e n , alter some confused
passages, he continued:
W e walk together, o ur loves entwined, along the shores. In beauty beyond
com parison with Lethe. Sorry it is all so fragm entary but suppose it cannot
all get through.
O n 7 A pril 1908 the letters S C Y X a n d C S Y X were written, a n d in the

w aking stage M rs P iper gave, M r M yers says, N o poppies ever grew
on Elysian shores . (This seems to be an oblique way of denying that
there is forgetfulness in the after-life.)
T h e records of these sittings, w hich I have considerably abridged,
were carefully ex am ined lirst by M rs V errall, an d then by G. W.
Balfour, both of w h o m were accom plished classical scholars. T o
neither did they m ake sense. T h e y w ere then sent to J. G. Piddington,
who eventually located a passage (previously unk now n to him ) in the
eleventh book of O v id s Metamorphoses w hich seems to provide the key
to M yers L e th e associations. It tells the story ofC eyx a n d Alcyone, of
which I give the following sum m ary, a d a p te d from P o d m o re (122e).
T h e correspondence w ith the scripts are indicated by capital letters:
C E Y X , K in g o fT rac h in , was drow ned at sea, and J u n o sent IR IS, goddess
of the rainbow , to Som nus (SL EE P), to bid him carry the news in a d ream
to Alcyone, C eyxs b e L O V E D Q ueen , d au g h te r of Aeolus, ruler of the
W IN D S . Iris points her B O W upon the sky, and glides dow n to the C A V E
of Sleep, which was surrounded an d hidden by dark C L O U D S . F rom the
foot of the rock flows the river of L E T H E , an d on its B A N K S are P O P P IE S
and innum erable F L O W E R S , from whose juice N ight distils Sleep.
Som nus sends his son M O R P H E U S to im personate in a d ream the dead
Ceyx. G oing dow n to the S H O R E , Alcyone finds C eyxs body, and in
despair throws herself into the sea. T h e gods take pity on her SADness, and
transform her into a halcyon. L ate r her L O V E D Ceyx is restored to her as
her M A T E in the form of a kingfisher. H er nest floats on the sea; a nd every
w inter her father Aeolus confines the W IN D S for seven days to secure a
calm surface for her brood.
T h e correspondences, I think it is fair to say, are absolutely

unm istakable. N ow M yers h ad certainly read O v id in detail (1 10b, p.
10), w hereas none of the S P R investigators had studied the
Metamorphoses, nor, of course, had M rs Piper. (I should add, perhaps,
that r e a d in g O v id in the original is not so light an u n d ertak in g that one
is likely to forget it!) O n the face of it, therefore, the M yersco m m u n ic a to rs associations to L e th e accord with the supposition
96
th a t they ca m e from M y e rs ow n m ind; they do not lit the hypothesis oi
telepathy from an y of his living colleagues. But of course the story oi
C eyx a n d A lcyone has often been told in the E nglish language.
P e rh a p s M rs Piper, o r else G. B. D o rr, h a d read a n E nglish version ol
it. D espite considerable search, P id d in g to n could only locate two
p o p u la r works w hich gave the story in th e requisite detail, viz
B ulfinchs Age o f Fable, a n d G a y le y s The Classic M yths in English
Literature, w hich is based on Bulfinch. M rs P iper, oi w hose honesty
there was never an y serious question, said th a t she h a d never read any
such books, a n d this was b orne out by close questio n in g of herseli an d
her daughters, a n d by ex am in a tio n o f her bookshelves. D o rr h a d as a
boy read a t least som e parts o f Buliinch. N o recollection o f the story,
how ever, stirred in his m in d w h en he saw the scripts or read
P id d in g to n s in te rp re tatio n of them . H is ow n association to L e th e
was the obvious one, w aters of forgetfulness.
T h e re seem in fact to be reasons for d e n y in g th a t the script
intelligence reflected B ulfinchs version of the story. Scripts
im m ediately follow ing the L e th e ones m a k e a p p a r e n t references to
o th e r passages of O v id w hich are not p a ra p h ra s e d by Buliinch; a n d the
scripts introdu ce at a certain point the w o rd O ly m p u s w h ich is in the
text of O v id M yers w ould p ro b a b ly have h ad , b u t is not in Buliinch
(120d).
It ap pears, therefore, highly unlikely th a t M rs P ip e r could have
o b ta in ed her inform ation a b o u t the story o f C ey x a n d A lcyone
telepathically from an y o n e in the circle of those w h o w ere investigating
her. N or, incidentally, could she have re a d it u p in a library after the
first sitting - too m u c h u n d en ia b ly relev ant in fo rm atio n was given
straight aw ay.
C ould M rs P ip e r have o b ta in e d know ledge o f O v id s version o fth e
story by E SP, by, for instance, clairv oyan tly re a d in g a translation of
O v id, or telepathically ta p p in g the m in d of a classical scholar? E ven if
one w ere p re p a re d to ad m it th a t such a degree o f E S P is possible (for
w hich there is very little evidence), there still rem ains the p ro b le m of
how this m aterial was located. F o r w h at h a d to be located was not
O v id, o r the story of C eyx an d A lcyone, b u t associations w h ich M yers
m ight plausibly be expected to give to the n a m e L e th e . D id M rs P iper
first track do w n the passage in O v id by clairv oyan tly (and
instantaneously) read in g a b o u t L eth e in som e reference work?
P id d in g to n could not find one w hich m e n tio n e d O v id u n d e r the
h e ad in g Lethe. O r did she with lightn ing speed pick out from the m inds

97
telepathically accessible to her one well furnished w ith classical
know ledge (a H a rv a rd professor no doubt), an d flicking straightw ay
th ro u g h his subconscious, m uch as she m ight have done throug h a
reference work, u n e a rth the w ord L e th e an d a string of obscure
associations to it? T hese suggestions are totally preposterous; an d later
on we shall have to try to put a finger on just w hy they are
preposterous.
T h e next literary puzzle w hich I shall outline is one of two obtained
throug h the m ediu m sh ip of M rs W illett (M rs C o o m b e-T e n n an t).
T h e other W illett puzzle is know n as the Statius case (5a). M rs W illett
was not a professional m edium , but a British Society lady active in
national politics a n d in the L eague of Nations. She began au tom atic
w riting in 1908, but in 1909 it was suggested to her, ostensibly by the
deceased M yers an d G u rn e y (she was related to M yers by m arriage),
that she should instead try to ap p re h e n d ideas a n d images w hich they
would insinuate into her m ind, a n d should then record them by
writing or speaking. T h e principal investigator of the Statius an d E ar
of Dionysius cases was G. W . Balfour, a n d the co m m unicators were
two recently deceased classical scholars, A. W . V errall (the husb an d of
M rs M . de G. V errall) an d S. H. Butcher. T h e y had been close friends.
B utcher was not know n in life to M rs W illett, an d V errall only slightly.
T h e E a r of Dionysius case (5b) is long a n d com plicated, a n d once
again I can only give a bare outline. In a n u m b e r ol W illett scripts, the
m ajority d a tin g from 1914, w ith G. W . Balfour as sitter, the following
topics are m entioned or alluded to:
T h e E a r of Dionysius. [A cave from w hich Dionysius the Elder,
T y ra n t of Syracuse 405-367 BC, was wont to listen to possibly seditious
conversations am o n g prisoners. It opened from certain stone quarries
in Sicily. A W illett script of 1910 had referred to it, an d M rs V errall
had in consequence asked her h u sb a n d ab o u t it.]
T h e stone quarries of Syracuse, in Sicily.
E nna, in Sicily.
T h e heel of Italy.
Ulysses a n d Polyphem us. [Polyphem us, the one-eyed giant,
im prisoned Ulysses in his cave.]
Acis a n d G alatea. [Acis, a shepherd, loved the n y m p h G alatea, an d
was m u rd e re d by the jealous Polyphem us.]
Jealousy.
98
M usic.
A Z ither.
A ristotles Poetics.
Satire.
T hese references did not a d d u p to a n y th in g so far as B alfour an d
M rs V e rrall w ere concerned. T h e key was p ro v id ed by the B utcherc o m m u n ic a to r in a script o f 2 A u gust 1915, M rs V e rra ll b e in g the
sitter, in w h ich th e follow ing was w ritten:
T h e A ural instruction was I think u nderstood A ural a p p e rta in in g to the E ar
a n d now he asks H A S the Satire satire been identified . . .
T h e m a n clun g to the fleece of a R a m & so passed o ut surely th at is plain
[i.e. Ulysses escaping from P o ly p h em u s cave]
well conjoin th at with C ythera & the E a r-m a n . . .
T h e re is a satire
w rite C yclo pean M asonry, w hy do you say m asonry I said C yclopean
Philox H e laboured in the stone quarries a n d d rew u po n the earlier w riter
for his Satire Jealously
T h e story is quite clear to m e & I think it should be identified
a musical in stru m en t com es in som ething like a m an d o lin e th ru m m in g . . .
H e w rote in these stone quarries belonging to the ty rant
T his script links together the previous cryptic references. Philoxenus of

C y th e ra (436-380 BC) was a n obscure G ree k poet w h o lived u n d e r the
protection of D ionysius the elder, ty ra n t of Syracuse. Philoxenus fell
into disfavour w ith Dionysius, a n d was im prisoned in the stone
q uarries of Syracuse, because he seduced the ty r a n ts mistress,
G alateia. A fter his release (or, ac co rd in g to som e accounts, while still
in prison) Philoxenus w rote a satirical po em en titled eith er Cyclops or
Galateia. In this he represents him self as Ulysses, a n d Dionysius, w ho
was blind in one eye, as Poly phem us. It was p o e try of a kind
usually recited to the a c c o m p a n im e n t of a zither. P hilo xenu ss
Cyclops is m e n tio n e d in A ristotles Poetics (II, 4), w h ich B u tch er had
translated.
N e ith er M rs W illett n o r the investigators h a d ev er h e a rd of
Philoxenus, of whose works only a few fragm ents rem a in . T h e classical
know ledge displayed in co n stru ctin g this puzzle w as far b eyond that
possessed by M rs W illett, w h o h a d no a c q u a in ta in c e w ith classical
languages an d little if an y w ith classical literatu re in translation.
Articles on Philoxenus in various s ta n d a rd classical reference books
c u rren t at that tim e did not c o n tain all the details given in the scripts.
M a n y (b u t not all) of these details are, how ever, to be found in a

99
m od erately obscure A m erican book (H. W. Sm yth'sG reek M elic Poets),
a presentation copy ol which Professor V errall, the ostensible
c o m m u n ic ato r, h a d used in the prep a ratio n of some lectures.
N o w there is no d o u b t that if M rs W illett was consciously an d
deliberately dishonest, we can readily accoun t for the m aterial
ostensibly c o m m u n ic ated in this case. Any reasonably intelligent
person could have put together a puzzle like this after a m oderate
period of h a rd research in a large library, or after a piece of luck in a
second-hand bookshop (such as fin d in g S m y th s book an d follow ing up
the leads co ntained therein). N o test phrase to which the
c o m m u n ic ato r h a d to respond was presented to M rs W illett at the
outset; she was free to introduce w hatever subject-m atter cam e
readiest to hand. T h e re is, how ever, no evidence of M rs W illetts
dishonesty in this or any o ther case, so that the hypothesis has no
groun d in established fact, but is instead an assum ption based only
upon the supposed an teced ent im plausibility o fth e alternatives. This,
as I have pointed out before, is never a satisfactory reason lor ad o p tin g
a theory.
If we reject the theory of deliberate deception by M rs W illett, we
seem forced tow ards some form of E SP theory; for cryptom nesia (latent
m em ory) co ncernin g obscure points of classical scholarship hardly
seems a likely possibility in a person of M rs W illetts know n reading
habits. W e m ight try supposing that M rs W illett, scanning
clairvoyantly a ro u n d for likely m aterial, h ap p en ed upon the relevant
page of S m y th s Greek M elic Poets, or that in her telepathic
investigations o fth e contents of suitable minds, she chanced upo n that
of a classical scholar w ho h a d read an d assim ilated this work. She
extracted the juice from her chosen source, a n d (at a purely
unconscious level) concocted the literary puzzle. W e have reached
this point so often before that it grows wearisome. T h e re is no
indepen dent evidence for such su p er-E S P . C lairvoyance, indeed, we
can rule out im m ediately, because S m y th s book, thou gh in derivative
accounts of this case often represented as co ntainin g all the relevant
facts on a single page, does not in reality do so. T h e inform ation which
it gives on page 461 w ould need to be supplem ented by a n informed
classical scholar before the E a r of Dionysius puzzle could be
constructed from it. T h e re rem ains the possibility th a t the inform ation
was ex tracted telepathically from the m ind of a classical scholar. But
the co m m u n ic atin g intelligences did not just present a package of facts;
despite the a p p a re n t difficulties of co m m unication, they deployed
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their facts intelligently in the m a n n e r o f persons w h o w ere m asters of
their subject - the ex tra ct given ab ove from the sitting o f 2 A u g u st 1915
will p e rh a p s convey som eth ing of w h a t I m ean. W e co m e b a ck to the
fu n d a m e n ta l point th a t 1 raised earlier - to ac q u ire a set of facts ab o u t,
from o r related to a certain topic o r a re a is not by itself to b eco m e a
m aster o f th a t topic o r an ad e p t in th a t area. M a ste ry is achieved by use
an d intelligent practice, not by sw allow ing a n d re g u rg ita tin g facts.
Shortly after G. W . B alfours p a p e r on the E a r o f D ionysius case was
published cam e a brief b u t incisive critical note by a classical scholar,
Miss F. M elian Staw ell (150). M iss Staw ell p o in ted out th a t M rs
W illett, thou gh not a classical scholar, no d o u b t h a d some relevant
know ledge latent in her m ind. S he p ro b a b ly knew the story o f Ulysses
a n d P olyphem us, a n d m ay have h e a rd th a t S. H . B u tch er h a d w ritten
on A ristotles Poetics. P erh a p s this latent kno w led ge could have been
first stim ulated a n d th en a u g m e n te d by the ex tern al influence of (this
will not co m e as a surprise!) M rs V e rra lls subsconscious m ind.
P ro b a b ly M rs V e rrall h a d at som e tim e or a n o th e r co m e across all the
necessary inform ation. T h e r e are q u ite a few scattered references to
Philoxenus in classical literature, a n d studen ts co m m o n ly follow such
things u p w h en they com e across them . M iss Staw ell herself h a d ru n
into m u c h o f the relevant m aterial. N o n e the less it did not spring to her
m in d w h en she h e a rd B alfours paper. It is reasonable to assum e that
M rs V errall h a d similarly co m e across it a n d forgotten it. A n d surely
she could have h a d a look (subsequently forgotten) a t h e r h u s b a n d s
presentation copy of S m y th s Greek M elic Poets? A n d the 'S evens case
(m en tio n ed in the previous ch ap ter) shows th a t M rs V e rra lls
subconscious was c a p ab le of influencing the p ro d u ctio n s of o ther
autom atists.
Miss Staw ell a d d e d th a t S m y th s book h a d n ow been a d o p te d as a
s ta n d a rd textbook at C a m b rid g e . H ers is a persuasive case, an d
B alfours reply to it (5c) does not seem to m e to be effective. Still, we
m ust bew are of constantly tre a tin g the supposed prodigious pow ers of
M rs V e rra lls sublim inal self as a universal solvent for disposing o f cases
w hich m ight otherw ise e n d a n g e r the su p er-E S P hypothesis. T h e r e is
little clear evidence th a t she (or an y o n e else) possessed the pow ers for
the im agined use of w hich she has so often b een in crim in ated . L et us
spell out w h at these putative pow ers m ust have been: M rs V e rrall m ust
have been:
(a)
A n im m ense repository of inform atio n w h ich she co uld not
consciously call to m ind.

101
(b) A successful au tom atist in her ow n right.
(c) C a p a b le of telepathically but unconsciously controlling in
some detail the writings of other autom atists, in c lu d in g M rs W illett; of
being, in effect, an unconscious living co m m u n ic a to r operating by
m eans of active telepathy.
(d) C a p a b le of deciding at an unconscious level w h at m aterial she
m ight ap p ro p riately incorporate in her ow n scripts, an d w hat m aterial
would (like classical knowledge) be m ore convincing if palm ed oil on
other autom atists.
(e) C a p a b le of acting as a living co m m u n ic ato r u n d e r false names,
her real identity an d indeed her presence rem aining u nk now n to the
autom atists she inlluenced.
(1) (In some cases) capable of telepathically or clairvoyantly
a p p re h en d in g (again unconsciously) w hat was said to the distant
autom atist an d of unconsciously inducing in that autom atist a relevant
reply quickly enough to co nduct a conversation with that au to m atists
sitter.
In a later ch ap ter I shall say a little on the im p o rta n t topic ol living
com m unicators; but I do not know of any case of ostensible
co m m unication from the living which would justify us by analogy in
attrib u tin g all these ex tra o rd in ary powers to M rs V errall.
X e n o g lo s s y
Interest in the ap p a re n t post-m ortem exhibition of characteristic skills

has in recent years focused especially on cases of ostensible xenoglossy;
on cases, th a t is, in which persons (usually m edium s, or the subjects of
reincarnation cases) have spoken a real language (not an im aginary
one, as in glossalalia), of which they have ordinarily no knowledge
(see especially 1531). (C o m p arab le cases in w hich the language is
w ritten are called x e n o g rap h y , b u t I shall neglect this distinction.)
Such cases are obviously of crucial im po rtance to the present
discussion. Im agine, for instance, th a t a m edium istic co m m unicator,
who has, for preference, given some factual proofs of identity,
purports to speak throug h a m e d iu m in his ow n native language. H e
does so fluently, m a in tain in g long a n d g ram m atical conversations
with detailed u n d ersta n d in g on both sides. Yet the language is one
which the m e d iu m quite certainly does not know. C o u ld we plausibly
argue th a t the m e d iu m acquired her transient linguistic skill by ESP?
Several decades of fairly intensive lab oratory investigations of E SP
have not en abled us to fix an y clear limits to its possible scope. If there
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are distances too great for E S P to transcend, o r targ e ts too co m plex
for it to grasp, we have not discovered w h at they are. T h e r e seem s no
reason to suppose th a t linguistic facts w o uld not be as m u c h w ith in its
reach as an y o th e r kind o f fact. O r at an y rate we should be ill-advised
to deny the possibility if the altern ativ e is so difficult a n hypothesis as
survival. T h e re are in fact some ex p erim en tal findings (128a), together
with a few anecdotes, w hich suggest th a t subjects m a y grasp th ro u g h
E S P the m e an in g of indiv idual w ords in a lan g u ag e u n k n o w n to them .
A n d if w o rd -m eanin gs ca n be thus learned, w hy not g ra m m a tic a l
rules?
W e are now, of course, b ack ag ain w ith the poin t w h ich I raised
w h en discussing the im a g in ary ex am p le o f the m edium istic
c o m m u n ic a to r whose brid g e-p lay in g skills h a d not deserted him at
d eath. T h e ability to play bridge well is not sim ply a m a tte r of learn ing
(w h eth er norm ally o r by ESP) the rules (considered as a set o f facts)
together with the precepts given in some m a n u a l. It c a n only be
ac q u ired by practising intelligently until things fall into place. A n d it is
the sam e with learn ing a language. I m igh t study (say) a textbook of
G e rm a n , a n d learn in n u m e ra b le w o rd -m ean in g s (such as th a t Fehler is
the G e rm a n for m istake, a n d PJote the G e rm a n lor p a w ), together
with all sorts of tricky g ra m m a tic a l rules a b o u t the form ation of passive
tenses, the w o rd -o rd e r in su b o rd in a te clauses, a n d so on a n d so on.
P erh a p s I could even learn these things by E S P d irected u p o n the
textbook or u p o n the m in d of a teach er of G e rm a n (there is no evidence
w hatsoever th a t E S P of this degree occurs, but th a t is not the present
point). But know ledge of facts to do w ith w o rd -m ean in g s an d
gram m atica l rules (know ledge that), while it m ig h t help m e to becom e a
fluent G erm an -sp eak er, w ould not im m ediately transform m e into
one, w ould not by itself give m e the skill (know ledge how) o f speaking
G e rm an . E very schoolchild w h o has h a d to lea rn the g r a m m a r and
vocabu lary of a foreign lan guag e by rote is well a w are of this g ap - a
gap that ca n only be crossed by intelligent practice, preferab ly with
accom plished speakers ol the lan g u ag e in question. T h e g a p would
exist w h e th e r o r not o n es factual know ledge o f the elem ents of the
language w ere acq u ired ordinarily o r by E SP. T h u s cases o f fluent
xenoglossy - were such to occur - m ig h t in the right circum stances
constitute strong evidence against the su p er-E S P hypothesis. F o r we
have (so far as I a m aw are) no clear evidence, e.g. from spontaneous
cases, to suggest that co m plex skills m a y be sud d en ly a c q u ire d by a
process ol extrasensory indu ction lrom persons a lrea d y possessing

103
them , a n d then as suddenly vanish again. 1 have not heard, lor
exam ple, ol an y English traveller in darkest W ales w ho has
unexpectedly lound himself able to speak a n d und erstand W elsh, an d
has then lost the ability on recrossing into England.
W h a t evidence, then, do we actually have lor xenoglossy in a
m edium istic or related context? T h e answer, I think, is not a great
deal, or rath e r not a great deal that has been satisfactorily recorded
an d analysed. W h a t evidence there is m ay be conveniently taken
und er four headings, of which the first three m ay be treated very
brielly.
1. In some cases a m edium istic co m m unicator, thou gh un ab le to
speak a foreign language know n to him in life, has show n some
u nd erstanding of words or phrases spoken in th a t language. T h u s M rs
P ipers supposed French control, D r Phinuit, was occasionally able to
u nd erstand bits of spoken French, even thou gh himself able to speak
only occasional clichs. A n o th er control of M rs P ip e rs was able to
translate the first few words of the L o r d s P ray e r in G reek (112, pp.
45-48), but the similarity of the first words {pater hemon) to the first
words of the better know n L atin PaterNoster m ay have provided the
clue.
2. In a n u m b e r of cases a co m m u n ic ato r has correctly used single
words or very short phrases o fa language unk now n to the m edium . For
instance, some Italian an d H a w aiia n words were on occasion spoken
through M rs P iper (66b. pp. 4 1 6 -4 18,480-482 ), an d D u tch words (36)
through M rs Rosalie T h o m p so n (b. 1868), a British m edium studied
by M yers an d Piddington.
3. W e have a few exam ples of w h at Ducasse (34b) calls recitative
xenoglossy in a m edium istic or similar context. In recitative
xenoglossy the subject repeats, as it were by rote, fragm ents ol a
strange language which he does not necessarily understand. In most
such cases cryptom nesia (latent m em ory) is difficult to rule out (see,
e.g., 130). T h e re are in the literature one or two curious cases of adult
or elderly persons in a state of illness or delirium repeating phrases,
sentences or passages from languages they had know n or heard as
children, but had subsequently forgotten (e.g. 43). I shall describe a
case of recitative xenoglossy in C h a p te r Twelve.
W here cases of categories 1 to 3 are not due to cryptom nesia, it does
not seem impossible (though it m ay be implausible) to fram e an
explanation of them in term s of ESP. U n d e rsta n d in g of phrases in
104
foreign languages m ig h t be gained by telepathically or clairv oyan tly
grasping the intention of the speaker. Isolated words, phrases or
sentences m ight be telepathically o r clairv oyan tly cognized, w ith or
w ith out their m eanings, or, il active a g e n t tele p ath y is possible, m igh t
be injected into the sensitives m in d by the en d eav o u rs of a n o th e r
person. It is w ith cases of the re m a in in g category th a t the sort of
dilliculties for the su p er-E S P hypothesis w h ich I described above
becom e acute.
4.
Lastly we have cases of w h at D ucasse (34b) calls responsive
xenoglossy, cases in w hich the subject converses intelligently in the
foreign language. Q u ite a few accounts o f such cases are to be found in
the literatu re o f S piritualism , but the s ta n d a rd s o f reco rd in g an d
investigation are rarely such as to c a rry weight. A n a p p a re n tly
rem a rk ab le case is th a t of the au to m a tist R o s e m a ry , stu d ied by W ood
a n d H u lm e (70; 173a; 173b) R o s e m a ry s guide N o n a cla im ed th a t she
h a d been a B abylonian princess w ho h ad m a rrie d the P h a ra o h
A m e n h o te p III (c. 1410-1375 BC). In ad d itio n to giving som e highly
circu m stantial accounts of her life in E gypt, a n d of h e r relatio n
ship with V o la , a previous in c arn atio n of R o sem ary , N o n a
co m m u n ic ated over a period of years a very large n u m b e r of
a p p aren tly correct phrases a n d short sentences in the an cien t E g yptian
language. R o sem ary he ard these phrases c la ira u d ie n tly a n d then
spoke them out loud. T h e y were taken d o w n pho netically by D r
W ood, w ho su b m itte d them lor study to a scholar interested in the
ancient E g y p tia n language, A. J . H u lm e. W o o d later studied this
language himself. T h e late Professor C. J . Ducasse, w h o su b m itte d the
case to a close analysis, concludes (34a, p. 256): T h e xenoglossy . . .
does provide strong evidence th a t the ca p acity once possessed by some
person to converse extensively, purposefully, intelligently, an d
intelligibly in the E g y p tia n lan guag e ol three th o u sa n d years ago, or
an y w ay in a lan guag e closely related to it, have survived by m an y
centuries the d e a th of th a t persons b o d y . I think, how ever, that
D ucasses positive verdict is p re m a tu re , a n d th a t one should suspend
ju d g e m e n t co n cern in g this case until such tim e (if ever) as it has been
indepen dently ex am in ed by a n acknow ledged a u th o rity on the
an cient E g y p tia n language. F o r it is far from clear h ow acceptable
were H u lm e s qualifications.
M a n y ol the alleged cases of responsive xenoglossy have involved
direct voice m edium s, a n d have taken place in the darkness w h ich the

105
spirits seem to lind essential lor m a n ip u la tin g the speaking trum pets
a n d lor c o n stru c tin g voice boxes out of ectoplasm . In a volum e (103)
concernin g the A m erican direct voice m edium , M rs E tta W riedt (I
quo ted in C h a p te r Five above Sir W illiam B arre tts accoun t of an
experience with her) we are told that there were occasions on which the
deceased friends an d relations of N orw egian-, Spanish-, C roatian-,
D utch-, Italian-, G e rm an -, French-, H industani-, W elsh-, Serbian-,
an d G aelic-speaking sitters conversed with them on ap p ro p riate topics
in their ow n languages. M a n y of these sitters supplied signed a n d dated
statements.
U n fo rtu nately we do not have g ram o p h o n e or stenographic
recordings of these voices, a n d it is extrem ely dillcult to know w hat to
say ab out them . A sim ilar diversity of languages was allegedly heard at
the seances of a n o th e r A m erican direct voice m edium , George
V aliantine (15a; 156b, 68). A W elsh sitter, M r C a r a d o c Evans, spoke
at a sitting on 27 F eb ru ary 1924 to the soi-disant spirit of his father.
Asked in W elsh for the location of the house in which he died, M r
Evans father replied (15a, pp. 210-211): U c h ben y rav o n . M a e steps
- law er iawn - rh w n g y ty a r rheol. Pa b a th yr ydych yn gofyn? Y chwi
yn m ynd i weled a ty bob tro yr rydych yn y d re , w hich means, we are
told, Above the river. T h e re are steps - m any steps - betw een the
house an d the road. W h y do you ask? Y ou go to see the house every
time you are in the tow n. A t a V alian tin e sitting in N ew York, an
expert in oriental languages. D r N. W h y m a n t, conversed in a n archaic
Chinese with an alleged K ung-fu-tzu upo n points of textual
scholarship. W h y m a n t prints (170) w h at a p p e a r to be co ntem p orary
notes in English of this voices C hinese pronouncem ents.
U n fo rtu nately o u r assessment of these exciting claims is bou nd to be
affected by the fact th a t V a lian tin e was several times detected in fraud
of the grossest kind (15c; 138c). A recording of his C hinese voice had
the a p p ro p riate intonation, but could not be understood by Chinese
speakers, including D r W h y m a n t. V aliantine had u n d oubtedly the
gift of catching the intonation a n d rh y th m of various foreign
languages, an d it was also his habit to repeat the last phrase spoken to
him by his interlocutor. T h e probability seems to be that expectant
sitters heard m u c h m ore in his foreign lan g u ag e utterances th an was
actually there. Few people realize, perhaps, how prone is the h u m a n
ear to h ear articu late words in all sorts of m u rm u rin g s a n d stray sounds
with the right kind of periodicity; at least as prone as is the eye to see
faces in inkblots. T his point is clearly broug ht out in D avid Elliss (39)
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recent investigations ol the R a u d iv e voices (the voices, allegedly ol
deceased persons, picked u p by tap e recorders u n d e r ce rta in
conditions). In one R a u d iv e voice case th a t I observed personally the
sitters w ere in te rp re tin g as co m p reh en sib le w h ispered w ords sounds
m a d e by their ow n lingers unconsciously ru b b in g th e case ol a small
tap e reco rd er (the m ic ro p h o n e was integral w ith the case).
T h e most detailed studies so far ol instances of responsive xenoglossy
are those by Professor Ian S tevenson o f the cases ol J e n s e n ,
G re tc h e n , a n d S h a r a d a . All three o f these cases have w h a t is
ap p a re n tly a reincarnation ist ra th e r th a n a m edium istic setting, b u t in
none has the c o m m u n ic a tin g personality been identified w ith some
person know n once to have lived. By far the most re m a rk a b le is th a t ol
S h a ra d a , w hich I discuss in C h a p te r E leven below. O f the o th e r two
the case of Je n se n (1531) is the m o re interesting. J e n s e n is the n a m e of
the Swedish speaking personality th a t em erg ed spontaneou sly in
1955-6 d u rin g hypnotic age regression ex perim en ts w ith T . E., the 37year-old E nglish-speaking wife o f a P h ila d elp h ia doctor. T h e hypnotist
was the lad y s h u sb a n d , K . E. T h e lan g u ag e spoken b y je n s e n , a n d the
details he gave of his life, w ere consistent w ith a previous existence in
seventeenth cen tu ry Sw eden. T h r e e Sw edish speakers w h o conversed
with Jen sen , a n d four w ho have subsequently listened to the tape
recordings, ag reed th a t he conversed sensibly, g ra m m a tic a lly a n d with
good p ro n u n ciatio n in Sw edish, th o u g h his rem ark s w ere usually
short. A n analysis of four tap e-re co rd ed sessions show ed that, if
d ou btful words, a n d words w h ich sound alike in S w edish a n d in
English were excluded, J e n s e n in tro d u ced into one co nversation at
least sixty Sw edish w ords not previously used in his presence by his
interviewers.
Stevenson considers in great detail the possibility th a t M rs T . E.
m ight have ac q u ired a know ledge o f Sw edish by n o rm a l m eans. His
conclusions are entirely negative. S om e years after the Jen sen
experim ents, how ever, T . E. developed a m o re co n v en tio n al kind of
m edium ship, with a control a n d various co m m u n icato rs. D u rin g this
period, evidence ca m e to h a n d th a t on tw o occasions she h a d got u p
in ad v an c e the m a terial for som e scientific m essages w h ich were
delivered at her sittings. Stevenson ad vances reasons for suppo sing that
she did so in a dissociated state for w hich she was afterw ard s am nesic.
I here was n o th in g to suggest th a t she h ad ev er e n tered such states
prior to the Je n se n experim ents.
M r Ian W ilson has lately a rg u e d (172, p. 113) th a t this case m a y be

107
entirely rejected. H e quotes part ol Stevensons rem arks on the
scientific message imbroglio just m entioned, a n d goes on: T h e
identities of the doctor an d his wile have becom e know n to me, and
sullice it to say that the case does not m erit the serious consideration
which Stevenson advances lor it. O f course it will not sullice to say
this. I ca n n o t im agine why an y reasonable person should attach m ore
weight to M r W ilsons one dismissive sentence th a n to the tw enty pages
which Stevenson devotes to the question of w h eth er or not T . E. could
have learned her Swedish by norm al means.
A curious point to do with responsive xenoglossy is the following. If I
am right in proposing th a t skills, linguistic or other, cannot be
acquired by ESP, then they obviously cannot be acquired by telepathy
with deceased persons (if such a th in g be conceivable). H ence we
should not expect a m ental m e d iu m whose gilts are essentially those of
telepathy with the living or with the d ead to exhibit a lluent responsive
xenoglossy (as distinct perhaps from the ability to u nd erstand or
hesitatingly u tte r the odd phrase or w ord of a foreign language
unknow n to her). T his m ight be thought by some to accord with the
fact that most a p p a re n t cases of responsive xenoglossy com e either
from direct voice m edium s or from persons ostensibly reincarnated.
I began this c h a p te r by m entioning cases in which m edium istic
com m unicators have so exactly reprodu ced the m annerism s, gestures,
intonations, h u m our, etc., characteristic of them in life, that friends
an d relations were overw helm ingly impressed. I w ent on to describe
exam ples ol the a p p a re n t post-m ortem m anifestation of characteristic
skills an d accom plishm ents. A n d in previous chapters I described at
some length evidence for the survival of m em ories a n d characteristic
purposes. But (and this is a point almost impossible to put over in so
brief a space) in certain ra th e r striking cases - the G P case, say, or the
AVB case, or the M yers co m m u n ic ato r of the cross-correspondences these various elem ents were, according to those best qualified to judge,
blended together in a characteristic a n d recognizable way. S om ething
that is alm ost a whole personality h ad been built up.
N ow the ability to construct, or dram atize, or im itate a whole
personality out of these elem ents is itself a skill which cannot be
reduced to m ere know ledge of facts concernin g the various elements.
L et m e illustrate w h at I m ean. At one period of my life I spent a good
deal of tim e studying the correspondence, diaries, papers, etc., of
H e n ry Sidgw ick a n d F. W . H. M yers. I learned a great m an y facts
108
a b o u t their private lives, their friends, their habits a n d their dom estic
arran g em en ts; far m ore facts th a n it is rem otely plausible to suppose
that the greatest sensitive could have o b ta in e d by E SP. But no a m o u n t
of such factual know ledge (know ledge that) w o uld per se h ave en ab led
m e to im itate th e m (a skill, know ledge how) in a w ay th a t th e ir close
friends w ould have found a n y th in g o th e r th a n a b su rd o r pathetic. M y
p e rfo rm an ce w ould have been infinitely less im pressive th a n those of
M rs P ip e r o r M rs L e o n a rd at their best - indeed at th e ir worst! It
m ight be poin ted out th a t I a m not exactly the sort oi person w h o gives
im personations at parties to the a c c o m p a n im e n t of loud ap plause. I
a m not talented in th a t direction. But could even a skilled
impressionist, of w h o m we have seen so m a n y on stage a n d television,
have don e m u c h better? S uch a person w o u ld p re su m a b ly have
generalized skills related to his profession, a n d w o uld no d o u b t a tte m p t
something if pressed. But im personating, say, M r E d w a rd H e a th , is none
the less a different skill from im p e rso n atin g S ir H a ro ld W ilson. S om e
im personators m ig h t be able to d o one b u t not the other. A n d the
skills o f doin g a H e a th -im p e rso n a tio n a n d of d o in g a W ilsonim personation have to be ac q u ired separately by listening to tap e a n d
video recordings, practising, reco rd in g the p ractice attem pts,
practising again, a n d so on. T h e y d o n t arise directly from know ing
facts about H e a th s a n d W ilsons lives, m annerism s, voices, habits of
thought, turns ol phrase, etc. E ven il we g ra n t (w hich is a rash th in g to
do) th a t such m ed iu m s as M rs P ip e r a n d M rs L e o n a rd m a y have h ad
enorm ously ex tended pow ers of E SP, there still rem ains a n im m ense
pro b lem over how they translated the factual kno w led ge they were
thus able to o b ta in into convincing im person ations of deceased people
well know n to their sitters.
8 The Controls of Mediums
In the preceding live chapters, I have placed myself, as it were, on the

side ol the angels. I have been principally co ncerned to set forth
exam ples of the ostensible evidence for survival from the ph e n o m e n a of
m edium ship. M y conclusions have been, on the whole, favourable to
this evidence, in that I could lind no ready form ula for explaining all of
it away. T h e tim e has now com e to ch ange sides an d u nd ertake the role
of devils advocate. In this ch apter, a n d in C h ap te rs T e n a n d T h irteen
below, I shall introduce an d evaluate various considerations which
m ay be thought either to u n d erm in e large chunks of the evidence for
survival, or else m ore directly to prove th a t survival is impossible.
(Perhaps 'devils advocate' is the w rong phrase, since the devil might
be supposed to have his ow n reasons for favouring survival.)
A n initial problem w ith this enterprise is th a t of finding a starting
point. M a n y ol those w ho have inveighed most strongly against
survivalistic views an d the alleged evidence for survival display a
readiness to accept in a d eq u ate evidence quite as m arked as that which
they so freely (and often so rightly) a ttrib u te to their opponents (for an
exam ple see 44b, pp. 361-363). (It can, I think, be no freak fact that
one of the worst pro-parapsychology books of recent years, an d one of
the worst anti-parapsychology books, are both w ritten by the same
individual.) T h e most succinct, an d the best informed, statem ent of the
case against survival is still the late Professor E. R. D o dds classic paper
W h y I do not believe in survival , published in the Proceedings oj the
SP R ab o u t fifty years ago (33). I shall base m y ow n statem ent of that
case prim arily upo n D odds paper, w ithout, however, giving detailed
references to it. T h e present a n d succeeding chapters will a tte m p t a
critique a n d assessment of the ostensible evidence for survival provided
by the p h e n o m e n a of m ental m edium ship.
As a classical scholar an d historian of N eoplatonism , D odds was very
impressed by certain historical considerations. If the d e p arted can
110
indeed c o m m u n ic a te w ith th e living th ro u g h th e ag ency o f m e n ta l
m edium s, w hy did they show so little sign of d o in g so p rio r to the start
of the m o d e rn Spiritualist m o v em e n t in 1848? T h e r e w as no lack oi the
necessary m a ch in e ry o r the necessary interest on the p a rt ol the living,
for
. . . the evidence collected in O esterreich s book on Possession shows th at
the m edium istic trance is a fairly constant p h e n o m en o n in all ages a n d
am o n g all peoples; a n d curiosity a b o u t the state of the dead has lelt its m ark
alike on the literature ol G reek an d R o m e , ol the M id d le Ages, a n d ol the
Renaissance. But there is som ething m ore singular still. T h e two g roups ol
pre-nineteenth century m ed iu m s ab o ut w ho m we have m ost inform ation,
the katochoi of the late G ra e c o -R o m a n period a n d the witches of the
sixteenth an d seventeenth centuries [or ra th e r the victims' of the witches],
while perform ing a n u m b e r o f the feats perform ed by m o d e rn m edium s,
perversely a ttrib u te d them in the one case to the agency of n o n -h u m a n
gods or dem ons, in the o th er to the agency of the devil. O n c e again, why?
(33, pp. 152-153)
It seems to m e th a t D o dds is here e x ag g e ra tin g som ew hat. H is rem arks

hold true m ainly ol W estern E urope, w h ere un ty p ical constraints have
operated, a n d even in W este rn E u ro p e there have been no tab le
exceptions (for a sixteenth ce n tu ry ex a m p le see 45, pp. 23-27 ). T h e r e is
every reason to suppose th a t in m a n y n o n -E u ro p e a n cultures
m edium istic co m m u n ic atio n w ith the d e a d has been practised lor
centuries in the lorm s touched u p o n in C h a p te r T w o above. It seems to
be, a n d to have been, a very w id espread practice indeed. It is true, of
course, that little in the w ay o f evidence for survival' has co m e d o w n to
us from these cultures, b u t th a t co uld well be because, for totally
different reasons, ne ith er the m em b ers o f the cu lture, n o r visiting
travellers, anthropologists, etc., have felt called u p o n to reco rd it.
Still, even if D odds's point is not proved, there is a relate d point
w hich carries some weight. If m ost people survive the transition of
d e a th with their m em ories, purposes, affections a n d intellectual skills
m ore or less intact, we m ig h t expect them , o r a t least a substantial
n u m b e r of them , to try as h a rd as they ca n to c o m m u n ic a te w ith loved
ones left beh in d should c o m m u n ic a tio n be possible. W h y are d ro p in
c o m m u n ic ato rs not all the tim e insinuating messages for friends an d
relations th ro u g h w h atev e r m e d iu m s m ay be available? D ro p in
co m m u n icato rs are a p p a re n tly ra th e r rare, a n d I do not kn o w o f a
single instance in w hich a d ro p in c o m m u n ic a to r has tried to p u t the
sam e message th ro u g h two different m edium s. Y et surely we m igh t
The Controls o f Mediums

111
expect th a t some ol them would try. In lct cases in which an y kind of
co m m u n ic a to r has convincingly m anifested throug h m ore th an one
m e d iu m w ith out the presence o fth e same sitter are fairly uncom m o n,
thou gh we have some examples. T h e M yers an d G u rn ey
co m m unicators of the cross-correspondences did so, but they were of
course w ell-known personalities; so did M rs P ip e rs G P control (I have
not, however, seen any useful co m parativ e analysis of the
com m unications). In short: visit a good m edium , an d there is a
reasonable ch ance th a t you will hear from the deceased person you
desire to contact. T h a t deceased person is, however, ra th e r unlikely to
send you a message out of the blue. O th e r things being equal, this
m ight be held to suggest that w h atever m ay be involved in
m edium istic co m m unication, it is factors in this world that are crucial
rather th an factors in the next.
A reply to this arg u m en t m ight, for instance, explore o ther possible
reasons for the seeming scarcity of drop-in co m m unicators (com pare
C h a p te r Five above), or contrast m edium istic co m m unicators with
apparitions of the dead. A pparitions of the dead very often com e as
unw anted intruders upon the peace of m ind of perfect strangers, yet
refuse to a p p e a r for those w ho deliberately seek them out - especially if
they h a p p en to be parapsychologists.
. . . w hen the glum Researchers come
T h e brutes of bogeys - go.
An issue of m ore substantial im portance, a n d one which has excited a

great deal of arg u m en t, is that o f th e status of the controls ol trance
medium s. L ead in g trance m edium s, such as M rs Piper, M rs L eonard,
M rs Soule an d M rs G arrett, have provided w hat m ust surely be the
most impressive of all the m edium istic evidence for survival. T ra n c e
m edium s tend to have one or a lew regular controls (that is spirits who
ostensibly take over' the m e d iu m s body for extended periods, and
co m m unicate throug h it) am ongst w h om will be the m e d iu m s ow n
guide (spirits who, like M rs P ip e rs P hin uit or M rs L e o n a rd s Feda,
look after the m e d iu m s interests, an d act as interviewers or masters of
cerem onies on the other side). It has often been suggested that the
controls of trance m edium s are simply secondary personalities, to be
co m p ared w ith the different phases of the various well-know n cases of
hysterical m ultiple personality (for an illum inating history of this idea
see 81). T h is tactic m ight well be objected to as explaining one
112
p h e n o m e n o n of dou btful status in term s o f an o th er; b u t one
im plication is fairly clear. Psychiatrists these days ten d to a rg u e th a t
earlier investigators greatly ex aggerated, a n d som etim es by th e ir ow n
probings greatly increased, the differences b etw een the various
personalities w hich m anifest in such cases. A t root th e re is only one
personality, u n d erg o in g sudden a n d ra th e r sh a rp ch anges (no d o u b t of
pathological origin). If this is the correct w ay of looking at th e controls
of trance m edium s, these controls - even th o u g h they m a y exhibit
flashes of p a ra n o rm a l know ledge - are not entities in d e p e n d e n t ol the
m edium .
It is possible to pile u p a rg u m e n ts on b o th sides of this question. T h u s
in favour of the m ultip le personality theory we m a y say:
1. It is possible to co nstruct a whole series o f in te rm e d ia te cases
w hich so to speak bridge the g ap betw een, say, M rs P ip e rs a n d M rs
L e o n a rd s most realistic controls a n d instances of u n d o u b te d m ultiple
personality. (See for instance 110a, I, pp. 3 4 -7 0 , 298 -3 68.)
2. T h e r e are obvious sim ilarities b etw een the so m ew h at childish
guides of certain m e d iu m s (M rs L e o n a rd 's F e d a for e x am p le - see 161,
pp. 348-359) a n d the ra th e r m ischievous a n d capricious secondary
personalities w hich have em erged in som e cases of hysterical m ultiple
personality.
3. In at least one case (Doris Fischer - see 71b; 125a; 125b; 125f)
the subject o f a classic case of m ultip le personality afterw ards
developed into a versatile m e d iu m . (H o w ev e r it m ust be a d d e d that
this h a p p e n e d after she h a d been relieved of hysterical sym ptom s, a n d
h ad becom e for the tim e being a p p a re n tly a n o rm a l person.)
Against the m ultiple personality theory we ca n ad v a n c e the following
considerations.
1. T h e n u m b e r of distinct personalities w hich m a y co n tro l a trance
m e d iu m d u rin g the course of her care er greatly exceeds a n y th in g for
w hich the an nals of m ultiple personality provid e a parallel; n o r d o I
know of a co m plete parallel for the sim ultan eous a n d a p p a re n tly quite
full m anifestation of two personalities (one th ro u g h the h a n d a n d one
th ro u g h the voice), w hich o ccu rred q u ite co m m o n ly d u r in g one period
of M rs P ip e rs m edium ship.
2. T h e re does not seem to have been a n y th in g d istu rb ed a b o u t the
no rm a l personalities of M rs Piper, M rs L e o n a rd , a n d o th e r leading
trance m edium s. (In C h a p te r Five I m a d e a sim ilar point a b o u t the

113
sham ans an d w itchdoctors who fulfil analogous roles in other
societies.)
3.
T h e com ings an d goings of most m edium istic controls, unlike
those ol secondary personalities, are strictly circum scribed.
1 cannot see m u ch hope of reaching a decision on the basis of these
general observations. A ttem pts have been m ade, with M rs G a rre tt and
M rs L eonard, to throw light on the issue by adm inistering various
psychological tests to the m edium in her norm al state, an d w hen
controlled by her guide. C ertain differences em erged, but the w ork has
been criticized, an d it is unclear how the results should be interpreted
(22a; 22b; 22c; 23; 159a). T o get any further we m ust look at in-depth
psychological studies of individual trance m edium s. U n fo rtu nately
these are not num erous. By far the most im p o rta n t is M rs E. M.
Sidgwicks very lengthy investigation of the phenom enology of M rs
P ipers m edium ship (145b; cf. 145a).
M rs Sidgwick discusses in considerable detail w hat the P iper
controls an d co m m unicators say a b o u t themselves, their situations,
and the process of co m m unication. M u c h of this is in line with the
general traditions of W estern Spiritualism . T h ey one an d all represent
themselves as au tonom o us beings quite separate from the m edium .
T hey have bodies o f a substance m ore subtle th a n that of o u r earthly
ones, so that they ca n ch ange shape an d size an d transport themselves
great distances very rapidly. T h e y say th a t to them the m edium
appears as, or surro unded by, a ball of light, to which they are
attracted. T h ey have to en ter the light in order to com m unicate. T h e
light seems to be regard ed as a sort of energy or pow er w hich makes
com m unication possible. Som etim es it seems to be thou ght of in terms
of the notion of a luminiferous eth er which was utilized in the physics of
the day, at other times we get such absurd suggestions as th a t the light
is m ade o f air, light a n d h y d ro g en or of v a ciu m {sic).
W hen a spirit enters the light he is able, by m eans that are not m ade
altogether clear, to operate the m e d iu m s organism m ore or less
effectively, an d to becom e aw are of the sitter an d the m e d iu m s
surroundings th ro u g h her sense organs, especially her ears (her eyes
being usually shut). Som etim es, however, controls speak as if they
could directly see the seance room , or for that m a tter other an d m ore
distant ea rth scenes; a n d they regularly speak as if they could both see
an d hear an d so transm it messages from o ther deceased persons in the
hereafter.
114
A n obvious question th a t arises a t this point is th a t of w h a t h a p p e n s
to M rs P iper, or to the spirit of M rs Piper, w h en her b o d y is being
o p e ra te d by deceased persons. T h e story told by her controls is th a t as a
spirit moves into h e r organism , she herself m oves out o f it, a n d into the
spirit world. S he is frequently said to re m a in co n n ec ted to he r b o d y by
a slender cord, p e rh a p s m a d e of the m ysterious light referred to
above. If this cord w ere broken, she w o uld not b e ab le to r e tu rn to her
body a n d it w ould die. T h e co rd is som etim es assigned o th e r functions.
C ontrols are occasionally represented as sliding d o w n it in o rd e r to
en ter the m e d iu m s organism , a n d it is also m ore th a n once said to
function as a sort o f telp hone line by w h ich non -co n tro llin g
co m m u n ic ato rs ca n speak to controls o c cu p y in g the body.
M rs P ip e r herself, on aw a k e n in g from h e r trance, w o uld som etim es
for a short while retain an a p p a r e n t m e m o ry of w h a t h a d befallen her
in the spirit w orld, a n d even seem to have som e lingering aw areness of
th a t w orld. In this w a k in g stage she w o uld som etim es rep e at (correct)
nam es given to h e r while in' the spirit w orld, a n d on a n u m b e r of
occasions she was able to pick out from p h o to g ra p h s deceased persons
w h o m she h ad ostensibly m et there.
M rs P ip e rs controls thus a p p a re n tly reg a rd them selves as entities
com pletely separate from the m e d iu m , a n d in su p p o rt o f their
co ntentio n they present a detailed p ic tu re of th e ir ow n activities whilst
co ntro lling a n d co m m u n ic atin g . C a n w e accept th e ir ow n estim ate of
themselves? M rs Sidgw ick argues th a t we ca n not. T h e r e are m an y
points w hich weigh against it.
T o begin w ith, there are a n u m b e r o f controls w h o are quite
certainly fictitious. P h in u it is one. C h lo rin e is an o th er. A m o n g others
are, for instance, a J u liu s C a e z a r (sic) a n d a S ir W a lte r Scott so totally
unlike the originals th a t one ca n h a rd ly even reg a rd th e m as
im personations. T h e Im p e r a to r b a n d o f controls also belo n g in this
group. T h e y claim ed identity w ith the controls o f the sam e
pseudonym s w ho h a d m anifested th ro u g h the fam ous British m edium ,
W. S tain to n M oses (see 160). T h e y w ere ne v er ab le to establish this
identity, b u t h a z a rd e d all kinds ol incorrect a n d co n tra d ic to ry guesses
at their ow n real nam es. E ven the m ost life-like a n d realistic controls,
such as G P , show signs of being im person ations (not d e lib erate ones).
T h e y break do w n at just the point w h ere M rs P ip er's ow n stock of
know ledge runs out, viz. w h en they are req u ire d to talk co herently of
science, philosophy a n d literatu re (w hich the living G P co uld readily
have done).

115
M rs Piper's controls sometimes excuse their shortcom ings on the
grounds that co m ing into the m e d iu m s 'light' has a confusing effect
upo n them , or th a t they cannot m an ip u late her organism in ways to
which it is not accustom ed. T hese excuses are, however, not adequate.
T h e confusion w hich obliterates the controls grasp of science and
philosophy does not prevent them from spouting ream s of pom pous
nonsense upo n religious a n d philosophical topics a n d presenting it as
proloundest truth, sometim es in the teeth of the sitters queries; so that
we have to attrib u te to them not just confusion but dow nright talespinning, which was certainly not a habit of the p u rpo rted
com m unicators in life, nor yet of the norm al M rs Piper.
Sim ilar tale-spinning tendencies are manifested in the w ay in which
controls cover u p their mistakes. C ontrols will, generally speaking, not
adm it their blunders. T h e y will rationalize, explain aw ay, concoct any
excuse, how ever tenuous a n d childish. All o ther considerations seem
subordinated to an overw helm ing urge to keep the d ra m a flowing
w ithout pause or hiccup.
T h a t the trance d ra m a of co m m u n ic atio n with the d e p arted really is
only a piece of play-acting by the m edium (not a deliberate piece of
play-acting - call it ra th e r the en actm en t of a dream ) is strongly
suggested by the following further consideration. Som e controls, like
GP, or Bennie Ju n o t, are very life-like, an d in fact convinced m any
people of their authenticity. O thers, however, like Julius C aezar, Sir
W alter Scott, an d the G eorge Eliot w ho claim ed she h ad m et A d am
Bede in the next world, are so implausible, an d so stilted an d stylized in
their diction an d sentiments, th a t no one could possibly regard th e m as
an ything o ther th a n fictions. Yet the most plausible co m m unicators
will in the firmest tones g u a ra n tee the au thenticity of the least
plausible ones, so th a t the au thenticity of the form er is inextricably and
disadvantageously tied u p with the au thenticity of the latter, a n d it
becomes ab u n d a n tly clear that the m ain ten an ce of the d ra m a is allim portant a n d th a t every one of the controls, from G P dow n to Julius
C aezar, is p a rt a n d parcel of the playw right's creative fantasy.
If further proof were w anted that the controls a n d com m unicators
are simply aspects of M rs P iper herself, it can perhaps be found in
features of the diction a n d w o rd ing of the com m unications. It m ay be
found for instance in the w axing a n d w aning of the use by the
Im p e ra to r B and a n d others of archaic forms of speech. A lthough
m em bers of the B and claim ed to be (behind their pseudonym s) H o m e r
an d Ulysses, M rs P iper (a N ew E nglan d Protestant) w ould naturally
116
have expected religious leaders to use O ld T e s ta m e n t form s o f speech,
a n d the m istakes m a d e in the h a n d lin g o f the arc h a ic diction w o uld
have been in ac co rd an ce w ith h e r so m ew h at lim ited ed u catio n .
A gain, there was evidence th a t the various ostensibly separate
controls possessed a co m m o n stock of associations, w h ich co uld h a rd ly
have been the case if they h a d really been separate personalities. T h u s
Im p e ra to r once called L o d g e C a p t a in , w h ich w as P h in u its
n ic k n am e for him ; yet P h in u it never o v e rla p p e d w ith the Im p e r a to r
regime. Several c o m m u n ic a to rs show ed a so m ew h at m a rk e d interest
in clothes a n d hats, w hich w o uld not h ave b een characteristic o f them
in life, b u t was ch aracteristic of M rs Piper. F o r m y p a rt I d o not see how
it is possible to dissent from M rs S idg w icks conclusion th a t the P ip e r
controls were one a n d all aspects o f M rs P ip e r's ow n personality.
M rs P ip e r was w ith o u t d o u b t one o f t h e m ost re m a rk a b le a n d the
most successful m e n tal m e d iu m s of all time, a n d it seems highly likely
th a t if M rs S idgw icks conclusions a b o u t the status o f the Pipercontrols are correct, they will also hold true of the controls of o ther
trance m edium s. U n fo rtu n a te ly we do not have an y investigation of
the status of M rs L e o n a r d s controls c o m p a ra b le in scope a n d detail to
M rs Sidgw icks massive study of the P ip e r controls. A n u m b e r of
papers on the modus operandi o f tran c e c o m m u n ic a tio n th ro u g h M rs
L eo n a rd , together w ith relev ant observations from o th e r papers, are
su m m a riz ed a n d critically discussed in a va lu ab le c h a p te r of C. D.
B ro ad s Lectures on Psychical Research (1962). M rs L e o n a r d s controls
seem to have been fewer in n u m b e r th a n M rs P ip e rs (F e d a stuck to her
post th ro u g h o u t M rs L e o n a r d s career), a n d I have the im pression that
they w ere ra th e r less p ro n e to en gage in fishing, co vering u p mistakes,
giving each o th e r spurious testim onials, a n d the o th e r sorts of activities
which, carried out by the P ip e r controls, en co u ra g e d M rs Sidgw ick to
regard them as stage ch aracters in a d r a m a created by the m edium .
T h e L e o n a rd controls also give a so m ew h at m o re co h eren t ac co u n t of
the process of co m m u n ic atio n , th o u g h I ca n by no m eans reconcile
w ith each other, o r fully m ak e sense of, their various statem en ts as to
how they operate the m e d iu m 's organism . N o n e the less there are
certain hints th a t in the L eo n a rd m edium ship, as in th a t of M rs Piper,
a d ra m a tic construct is being built a ro u n d events w hich, w h atev e r
their real nature, are not as they are m a d e to a p p ear. F o r instance,
F e d a often talks as thou gh she ca n directly see a n d h e a r the
co m m u n ic ato rs from w h o m she relays messages. But there is m u c h to
show that these claim s ca n n o t be tak en at face value. T h u s M rs W . H.

117
S alter says (138b, pp. 309, 312) o f a series ol statem ents m a d e by Feda
concerning a co m m u n ic ato r subsequently said to be her m o th er (M rs
V errall), M a n y of these statem ents . . . are true; they contain,
however, an a d m ix tu re of such errors as could hardly have arisen had
F e d a s know ledge been derived from any clearly a p p re h en d ed image
or series of im ages. A nd again, T h e general inference which I should
d raw . . . is th a t a certain am o u n t of veridical inform ation a b o u t my
m oth er was woven by F ed a into an im aginary picture of an elderly
widow, based on preconceived ideas of the ap p earan ce such a picture
m ight be expected to present.
O f course if we leave the top en d of the scale an d descend to the
bottom we find trance m edium s in w h om the elem ent of veridical
inform ation is largely missing, a n d im agination reigns suprem e. Such
a m edium was the Genevese H lne S m ith (C atherine Elise M uller),
of w h om the Swiss psychologist, T h e o d o re Flournoy w rote a
rem arkable study. From India to the Planet M ars. F lou rn oys conclusion
is that all H ln es controls are constructs of a som ew hat childish
d ream stra tu m of her personality, a n d are, indeed, not separated from
her ow n consciousness by an im penetrable barrier, b u t that osmotic
changes are effected from the one to the o th e r. It would, I think, be
possible to produ ce a g ra d u a te d series of cases, from those in which
there is no elem ent of veridicality (say the sham ans or w itchdoctors
who are controlled by anim als or godlings), throug h cases, like that of
H lne Sm ith, in w hich there is a small ad m ix tu re of veridicality, up to
cases like those of M rs P iper an d M rs L eo n a rd in which there is a good
deal of veridicality, an d argue that there is no discontinuity m arkin g a
changeover from m edium s w ho in trance exercise their own dram atic
gifts, eked out perhaps by ESP, to those w ho are possessed by alien
an d intrusive spirits w hich operate their bodies directly. T h e
psychological processes are in all cases at root the same.
It would seem, therefore, that we have to ab a n d o n the idea that the
controls of trance m edium s are the spirits of deceased persons
tem porarily controlling a lining body. Are we then forced to adopt
some form of the super-E SP hypothesis, to suppose that M rs P iper and
M rs L eo n a rd were able to inject into their d ram a tic representations of
various deceased persons correct a n d ap p ro p riate inform ation
obtained telepathically from the m inds of living persons or
clairvoyantly from existing records? M rs Sidgwick did not think so.
She eventually ca m e to believe that behind M rs P ip e rs d ram atic
rendering of co m m unication from the dead, overshadow ing it and
118
som ehow d irec tin g its course, there m igh t som etim es lie those sam e
deceased persons w h o figure as ch aracte rs in th e d ra m a . T h e m e d iu m
writes m a n y of the speeches, a n d ensures co n tin u ity in th e plot; but
some of the lines (p erh ap s the most im p o rta n t ones) are filled in by
outside authors. L et us call this theory the theory o f'o v e rsh a d o w in g '.
It seems to be a version o f it tow ards w h ich W illiam J a m e s m oves at the
en d of his report on M rs P ip e rs H o d g so n -co n tro l (74, p. 117):
E xtran eo u s 'wills to c o m m u n ic a te m ay co n trib u te to the results as well as a
will to p ersonate, a n d the two kinds of will m ay be distinct in entity,
th ough cap ab le o f helping each o th er out. T h e will to co m m u nicate, in our
present instance, would be, on the prima facie view of it, the will of
H od g so n s surviving spirit, a n d a n atu ra l w ay ol representing the process
would be to suppose the spirit to have found th at by pressing, so to speak,
against 'th e light, it can m ake frag m en tary gleam s an d Hashes ol w hat it
wishes to say m ix with the rubbish ol the trance-talk on this side. T h e wills
m ight thus strike up a sort of p artnership a n d reinforce each other. It might
even be th at the will to perso nate would be c o m paratively inert unless it
w ere aroused to activity by the o th er will.
9 Overshadowing and the

Super-ESP Hypothesis Theoretical Considerations
If we hold, as I certainly do, th a t fraud a n d chance-coincidence will

not suffice to explain aw ay the successes of such m edium s as M rs Piper
an d M rs L eonard, an d if we agree that M rs Sidgwick is correct in
regarding the personalities' w hich co m m u n icate throug h m edium s as
being facets of the m e d iu m herself, we a p p e a r to have left on o u r hands
not a theory o f possession or direct control by deceased persons, to
which is opposed some kind of super-E SP hypothesis, but two forms of
E SP theory, nam ely the super-E SP theory, aforem entioned, a n d the
theory of overshadow ing w hich I have just touched upon.
O v ersh ad o w in g , if it takes place, w ould a p p e a r by definition to
involve telepathic interaction betw een the deceased person an d the
m edium . In so far as m edium s w ho are o vershadow ed m ay instead or
in ad dition have a clairv oyan t or c la ira u d ien t aw areness of deceased
persons, we m ay need to enlarge the theory of overshadow ing to
accom m odate it.
Since E SP is thus a keystone both of the survivalist an d of the antisurvivalist positions, I shall begin by raising the question of how ESP is
itself to be conceived. For it m ay be that the super-E SP theory a n d the
theory of overshadow ing do not harm o nize equally well with the
conception of E S P tow ards w hich we are forced. M y rem arks will
necessarily be brief to the verge of total inadequacy, but it is im po rtant
that I raise certain issues even thou gh I can hardly pretend to resolve
them . (For further discussion of these an d related issues see 17 an d
128b.)
In a recent Presidential address to the Parapsychological
Association, P alm er (1 18c) distinguishes two p a ra d ig m s (models or
patterns of thought) w hich parapsychologists have applied to psi
p h e n o m e n a (ESP an d P K ). T h e first of these is w h at he calls the
transmission paradigm. T his p aradigm , w hich has until recently been the
received one, assumes th a t psi involves the transmission of inform ation
across some kind of ch annel lrom a source to a receiver, at least one of
120
w hich is a m in d (or, ac co rd in g to a lew diehards, a b ra in ). P a lm e r s
second p a ra d ig m , the correspondence paradigm, is, he thinks, h a rd e r to
define. In fact, it m ig h t be fair to say th a t it is sim ply a n e g atio n o fth e
transm ission p a ra d ig m . A b o u t the best I ca n do to define it positively is
to say th a t it postulates som e princip le w h ich causes events in n a tu re to
coincide to a g rea ter th a n ch a n c e degree, given ce rta in p rec o n d itio n s.
T h e T r a n s m is s io n P a r a d ig m
I shall begin by looking at the transm ission p a ra d ig m . T h is p a ra d ig m

clearly en coun ters its greatest difficulty w h en one a tte m p ts to ex tend it
to cover the p h e n o m e n a o f clairv oyan ce (preco gnition is too vast an
issue for m e to raise at this point). In term s o f the transmission
p a ra d ig m clairv oyan ce m ust involve the receipt, th ro u g h som e sort of
surro gate sense-perception, o fa distinctive e m a n a tio n (kind unknow n)
from the object th a t is clairv oyan tly perceived.
It seems to m e th a t the im plications of this theory have only to be set
forth for it to be decisively rejected. W e should have to suppose that an
object m a y em it a kind o f e m a n a tio n th a t passes ro u n d or th ro u g h all
obstacles; th a t is em itted by all the sorts of objects th a t have been
targets in successful clairv oyan ce experim ents; th a t supplies
inform atio n a b o u t co lour a n d shape, regardless of w h e th e r the target
objects are edge-on or in a light-tight box; th a t is not confused or
obliterated by, b u t ca n be distinguished from, the e m an atio n s em itted
by all su rro u n d in g objects; th a t yields indifferently the inform ation
norm ally provid ed by sight, hearing, etc.; a n d th a t gives rise to no
ch aracteristic sensory experience of its ow n, b u t is accurately
translated into the term s of an y o th e r sense-m odality. It is impossible
not to agree with the late Professor C. D. B road w h en he says in a
classic p a p e r (186, pp. 27-67 ) on this th e m e th a t such theories involve a
very heavy draft on the b a n k of possibility.
O n e m igh t at first think that telepathy, so often conceived as m ental
rad io , w ould accord m ore h a p p ily w ith the transm ission p aradigm
th a n does clairvoyance. But this is not the case. C o n sid er the following
points.
1 If we reg a rd the transm ission as m e d ia te d by an y form of
physical energy transfer, we confront the p ro b le m th a t the energy
co ncerned ap p ears ab le to pass th ro u g h all m a terial barriers. But then
it should pass th ro u g h the b rain too, a n d not be sto p p p ed as, for
exam ple, radio waves are stopped by aerials.
2. If (again think ing in physical term s) we suppose th a t the end
Overshadowing and the Super-ESP Hypothesis

121
result of the supposed process of energy transfer is to produce in the
receivers b rain a p a ttern of b rain cell activity sim ilar to that which
obtains in the senders brain, we ru n upo n the following difficulty.
T h ere does not seem, as we shall see in C h a p te r T h irteen , m uch reason
for supposing that the sam e spatio-tem poral pa ttern of brain cell
activity will necessarily give rise to the sam e experience in two dilferent
people, or even in the sam e person on two different occasions.
3. L et us waive the preceding objection, a n d assum e that,
following upo n some process of transmission from sender to receiver,
the latter becomes aw are of w hat the form er is experiencing. For
exam ple, a friend of m ine had one night a distressing d rea m of his
father (69). H e felt that his father was ab o u t to die, an d he himself
und erw en t the pain of his fathers heart attack. H is father was not
know n to have a w eak heart; yet the d rea m tu rn ed out to be veridical
(it was actually precognitive by ab out tw enty-four hours, a point
which I shall here neglect). N ow one can just ab out im agine that by
some unk n o w n process of transmission an d induction he m ight have
been broug ht to feel a heart-p ain resem bling his fathers. But how did
he know that the pain reflected his fathers pain ra th e r th a n that of any
other of the num erous persons w ho would at that tim e have been
undergoing heart attacks? H e h ad no previous experience of the
quality of his fathers heart-pains. T o his father, of course, the heartpains had a m eaning. T h e y m ean t I am dyin g. T h e son, however, did
not pick u p the m e an in g the pains had for this father. H e did not think
I am dyin g. H e thou ght M y father is dyin g, w hich was not w h at his
father was thinking. So how did the son know how to interpret the
pain? H e knew because in a strange w ay he identified with his father,
almost becam e him. But w h at signals could be transm itted that could
induce this state of m ind in him, a n d how, indeed, could he recognize
such a state, given that he had (and could have had) no prior
experience of w hat being his father was like? In short the meaning ol the
heart-pains is som ething th a t could not be transm itted.
4. M ost cases of ostensible spontaneous telepathy are, however,
not of this kind; they are not instances of the receiver und ergoing an
experience m irro rin g the experience of the sender. T ak e the following
exam ple o f a reciprocal d r e a m , quo ted by M rs Sidgwick (145d, pp.
415-417). A m o th er holding her sick baby sleeps, an d dream s that her
son of thirteen, aw ay at b o a rd in g school an d ill with measles, w anted to
put his head on her shoulder, b u t could not because of the baby. O n the
same night her son dream s that he wants to put his head on her
122
should er b u t finds the b a b y in the way. N o w the m in im u m hypothesis
here, w ithin the transm ission p a ra d ig m , is th a t one o f the tw o d re a m e rs
picked up the o th e rs d re a m , a n d him self o r herself d re a m t
accordingly. But consider w h a t this hypothesis involves, say from the
b o y s point of view. H is m o th er, in a d d itio n to d re a m in g , m ust have
been tra n sm ittin g her d re a m to him. But he did not d re a m her dream ;
he did not d re a m of being his m o th er, h old ing a ba b y , a n d h a v in g a boy
cu ddle u p to her. N o r, for exactly the sorts of reasons given u n d e r 3.
above, is it clear how he could h ave a tta c h e d any m e a n in g to copies of
his m o th e rs sensations h a d he u n d erg o n e them . P erh ap s, then, some
p a rt o f his m o th e rs b rain was w a tc h in g h e r ow n d r e a m an d
b ro ad castin g a coded ac co u n t of it w h ich the eq u iv ale n t in words
would be, I, N N , of such a n d such a n address, a n d m o th e r of F N , am
d re a m in g th a t . . .' T h e boy, picking u p this message, a n d de co d in g it,
could initiate a reciprocally co rresp o n d in g drea m . But this idea too is
nonsense. A ny such telepathic code w o uld have to be the functional
eq u iv ale n t of a language, p e rh a p s of a universal language, w o uld have
to be as flexible as a language, a n d like a lan guag e w o uld have to grow
co ntinually as the co n cep tu al e q u ip m e n t of its user enlarges. F o r there
does not seem to be an y lim itation on the sorts of telepathic messages
that ca n be sent a n d received, o th e r th a n the lim itations im posed by
the co ncep tual e q u ip m e n t of sender a n d receiver. N o n e the less this
code w ould have to be u n ta u g h t an d , w ith most people, very rarely
used.
I hope that these few rem ark s will at an y rate serve to suggest th a t any
defender of the transm ission p a ra d ig m is tak in g on a n uphill task.
T h e re is, how ever, a v a ria n t of the transm ission p a ra d ig m that
requires brief notice. It m ay p e rh a p s be called the scann ing
p a ra d ig m . Its central idea is th a t the p ercip ien t o r receiver is not a
passive recipient of E SP, b u t actively a n d c o n tin u a lly scans those parts
of the en v iro n m en t accessible to him by E SP. S om e such idea as this
seems essential in connection w ith clairv oyan ce to ac co u n t for the fact
that clairvoyance seem ingly yields not useless in fo rm atio n a b o u t a
h a p h a z a rd selection o f physical states o f affairs, b u t prim arily
inform ation relevant to the concerns oi the percipient. D r Louisa
R h in e (129) thinks th a t a sim ilar idea is forced u p o n us in connection
with telepathy, because in ce rta in cases ol a p p a r e n t spontaneou s
telepathy, nam ely call cases (cases, th a t is, in w hich the telepathic
message takes the form of a h e a rd call) the supposed sen d e r did not

123
in fact call or even think of the receiver. T elep ath y in her view is
thought-reading ra th e r th an thou ght -transference. (It m ay, however, be
that D r R h in e, whose collection of cases consists mostly of letters just
from the percipient, underestim ates the possibility of an effect from the
agent; cf. Gibson, 49, a n d Stevenson, 153c, pp. 25-26.)
T h e notion of scanning is all very well if it is held to involve some
active process of selection am o n g co m petin g inputs, w here the inputs
are conceived in term s of the transmission paradigm . S uch a notion is
legitimate, but of course m istaken since the transmission p a ra d ig m is
mistaken. But there is a half-hidden tendency for the idea of scanning
to pass into som ething quite different from this. S ca n n in g seems
sometimes implicitly to be regard ed as (in the case of telepathy) a
direct a n d im m ediate cognizing of other peoples m ental states, or (in
the case of clairvoyance) a sort of reaching out o f th e m ind to grasp (or
p re h e n d ) a distant physical state of affairs. It is very h a rd indeed to
m ake sense of either of these conceptions. T a k e first this kind of view of
clairvoyance. In term s of it the clairvoyant m ind seems ra th e r like an
am oeba. It can ex trud e itself round obstacles an d seize upon targets
beyond them. It can preh e n d the faces of objects w hich are edge on to
it, presum ably by flowing across them . It can filter into sealed boxes or
closed houses. U nlike an am oeba, it can operate on any scale; it can
prehend playing cards, printed words, even (on some accounts) the
state of electronic circuitry or nerve cells in the brain; it can equally
readily grasp a portrait, furniture, the front ofa house, the view from a
hill. It operates usually upo n the surfaces of objects, but could no doubt
operate equally well upon their insides. It can be functionally
equivalent to an y sense m odality. It can, in short, do an y th in g that is
required of it. H en ce the idea of prehension is of no ex planatory value
whatsoever.
T h e notion o f telepathic scann ing, a direct a n d selective cognizing
of other peoples m inds, is in no better case. F o r it makes no sense at all
to talk of a direct aw areness of o ther peoples experiences. T h e only
awareness one can have is of o n e s ow n experiences - this is a logical
rather th a n a factual point. O n e cannot, so to speak, break out o fth e
circle of o n es ow n aw areness into som eone elses; any experience that
one has is o n es ow n experience an d not a n o th er persons. A n d in any
case it is obvious, from w hat was said above, that in most instances of
spontaneous telepathy the experience of the percipient does not
directly reflect that of the agent.
A n o th er reason w hy the scann ing concept of telepathy has
124
surreptitiously gained g ro u n d is of course th a t it seems to be an
essential ingredient in the su p er-E S P hypothesis. F o r th a t hypothesis
h a d to suppose th a t m e d iu m s ca n have access to the m em o ries of
distant persons even w h en those m em ories are not ac tiv ated , i.e. are
presu m a b ly not g e n eratin g telepathic signals. Since the idea th a t even
an activated m e m o ry could be directly scan n ed by tele p ath y m akes no
sense, the idea th a t u n a c tiv a te d a n d m erely stored m em ories m a y be so
scanned m ust be eq ually unintelligible. Indeed, the propo sal th a t o u r
m e m o ry stores c o n tain vast n u m b ers o f m e m o ry -im ag e s th ro u g h
w hich m ed iu m s can telepathically ru m m a g e a p p ears so biz arre that
m ost theorists have instead supposed m e d iu m s to have clairvoyant
access to m em ories stored in the form of ne u ra l ch arges in the brain.
T his suggestion seems to m e no m ore helpful th a n the previous one. I
have already proposed th a t b o th transm ission a n d prehensive theories
of clairvoyance are q u ite u n te n ab le, a n d they will be no less un te n ab le
w h en the target of the clairv oyan ce is the state o f som eone's brain.
F u rth e rm o re I shall arg u e in C h a p te r T h ir te e n th a t the n o tio n o f a
m e m o ry store, co n tain in g coded representations of o u r past
experiences, is quite incoheren t in w h atev e r form it is cast, a n d cannot
possibly explain o u r ability to rem e m b er. If this a rg u m e n t is correct,
the thesis th a t m ed iu m s ca n scan distant m e m o ry stores necessarily
collapses, w h e th e r the scann ing is reg a rd ed as telepathic o r as
clairvoyant, an d with it collapses all hope of co h eren tly form ulatin g
the super-E S P hypothesis in the term s of this offshoot of the
transm ission p aradigm .
T h e C o r r e s p o n d e n c e P a r a d ig m
W e com e now to the co rrespon dence p a ra d ig m o f ESP. T h is p a ra d ig m

dispenses w ith ideas of transm ission a n d proposes th a t in certain
circum stances certain sorts of events in n a tu re co m e into
correspondence w ith each other. T h e ten d en c y for such co rrespon
dences to occur is, presum ably, an u ltim a te fact a b o u t the w ay things
are. 1 he principal theories ol this category are the c o n io rm a n c e
m odel of S tan fo rd (16; 35; 149a; 149b) a n d the sy n ch ro n icity theory
J u n g a n d K o estler (77, 82; I am not sure how the so-called
observational theories - see 101 - should be classified). H o w e v e r I do
not think it w ould be profitable at this stage to stick to one specific
version, so I shall m erely offer some general rem ark s a b o u t the
co rrespon dence p a ra d ig m . I shall fu rth erm o re confine m yself to
discussing this p a ra d ig m in relation to telepathy. T e le p a th y is, for our
'Overshadowing and the Super-ESP Hypothesis

125
im m ediate purposes, m ore im p o rta n t th a n clairvoyance; an d I find it
extrem ely h a rd to think how clairvoyance m ight be intelligibly
h a n d led w ithin the correspondence paradigm .
So far as telepathy is concerned, a 'correspondence' a p p ro ach m ight
go som ething like this. U n d e r certain preconditions the m ental
processes, an d also the actions, of two persons m ay w ithout any
explanation of an ordinary kind from time to tim e com e into
correspondence in such a way th a t if, for instance, one of them develops
a pain in the knee, the other will likewise feel such a pain; if one feels
depressed, the o ther feels depressed also; if one has a certain tune
ru n n in g throug h his head, the o ther will whistle it; an d so on. T h e tim e
relations betw een the two sets of events m ight not be exact, b u t the gap
would not be very great. O n e m ight suppose that the occurrence of
such correspondences is simply a feature of the workings of
extraordinarily com plex systems (such as brains) an d is susceptible of
no further ex planation (other perhaps th an that the ap parently
separate systems, in some way that we cannot com prehend, are parts of
a larger an d overriding system or systems). T h e preconditions
m entioned above m ay include such factors as, for exam ple, the minds
of one or both being in a relatively relaxed state (i.e. open to intrusive
ran d o m thoughts a n d stray ideas); the two persons concerned already
having m an y associations an d habits of thought in com m on; an d the
presence of em otional bonds a n d m otivational factors.
I am far from sure that I can m ake sense oi these ideas. But if we are
going to en tertain them at all, I think we are b o u n d to extend them a
little, a n d suppose th a t the correspondences co ncerned will not be just
ones of sensory content or of em otional state (which are in fact not very
com m on), but correspondences on w h at m ay be called a propositional
or conceptual level. T his seems to be required to account for the not
u n c o m m o n instances of a p p a re n t d rea m telepathy in which there is
similarity of them e rath e r th a n of details d re a m content (163); an d also
for cases (such as the boys d re a m of w anting to lay his head on his
m o th ers shoulder cited above) in which two people have reciprocal or
co m p lem en tary dream s. E.g. if J a c k dream s of kissing Jill, J ills
reciprocal d rea m will not be th a t she is J a c k a n d is kissing a
sim ulacrum of herself. It will be th a t she is in propria persona a n d is being
kissed by Jack . O n e would have to say here, I think, that Ja c k 's m ind
and J ills correspond (some would say overlap) in point of an
underlying idea or conception, which could be expressed as J ack kissing-Jill (or in m ore com plex cases, perhaps, as J ack-kissing-Jill-
126
on-the-h ill-and-to-hell-w ith-th e-buck et-of-w ater), a n d th a t the d r e a m
consciousness of each elab o rates this th em e in indiv idually a p p ro p ria te
ways. E la b o ra tio n of the them e could, how ever, only be in term s ol the
know ledge a n d co n cep tu al e q u ip m e n t w h ich the d re a m e rs alre a d y
possess.
M u c h m ore m igh t be said b o th for a n d against these notions.
H ow ever, for im m e d iate purposes the im p o rta n t questio n is how could
the su p er-E S P hypothesis fare w ith in the bo u n d s of the
co rrespon dence p a ra d ig m as thus conceived? O n e could not, I think,
exactly rule the hypothesis out - all kinds o f o d d co rrespon dences might
co m e into being betw een the th o u g h ts of an y tw o persons w hatsoever,
even persons well sep ara ted in space a n d time. N o n e the less it seems to
m e unlikely th a t w ith in the co rresp o n d en c e p a ra d ig m the super-E S P
theory w ould ever get off the g ro u n d . F o r the co rrespon dence
p a ra d ig m is not a cognitive p a ra d ig m ; there is no question o f one
person scanning, or b e co m in g directly a w are of, events in a n o th er
persons m in d o r brain; a n d it is the idea th a t a m e d iu m m igh t as it
w ere look at, riffle th ro u g h , a n d m ak e a selection from, a n o th e r
persons m em ories th a t m ore th a n a n y th in g else has led people to take
the proposals o f th e su p er-E S P theory seriously. F o r if you can riffle
th o u g h one p erso n s m em ory-store, w h y not th ro u g h a n o th e r s an d
a n o th e r s, until you co m e to the inform atio n you w ant? T h e
correspondences o f t h e co rrespon dence p a ra d ig m , how ever, are, an d
c a n only be, betw een actual m e n tal events (even if these are ultim ately
brain-processes); the co rrespon dences m ig h t ju st conceivably involve
events in dissociated or subconscious stream s of consciousness, but they
could not be betw een events in one perso n s m in d a n d inert m em ories
stored aw ay in a n o th e r person's m em ory-store. F o r in the absence of
scann ing there could be no p rincip le by w h ich one out of the
in n u m e ra b le coded m em ories in A .s m em ory-sto re is selected to bring
a b o u t a co rresp o n d in g effect on c u rre n t events in B.s m ind. T h e only
possible form of selection w o uld consist in A .'s ac tiv atin g the m em ory.
But w hy should not the event in B.s m in d conform itself to w h atever
m em ory in A .s m em ory-sto re represents the inform atio n w h ich B.
needs. B. s need then constitutes the principle o f selection. T o suggest
this is to en dow B.s m in d w ith a p ow er of selective discrim ination
a m o n g A .s m em ories w hich is sim ply scan n in g in disguise. O n e could
co ntinue d e b a tin g these issues m ore or less indefinitely, but I do not see
the super-E S P hypothesis beco m in g an y m ore plausible w ith in the
fram ew ork of the co rrespon dence p a ra d ig m .

127
T o recapitulate: I distinguished two kinds of theory ab o u t how
m ental m edium s, a n d especially trance m edium s, achieved their
successes. Both involved attrib u tin g E SP to them. O n e theory - the
super-E SP theory - suggested that they obtain all their inform ation by
telepathically tap p in g the m em ory-stores of living persons,
clairvoyantly scanning archives, etc. A ccording to the other theory
discam ate persons m ay sometim es influence the course a n d content of
m edium istic co m m u n icatio n s by a process, presum ably telepathic in
n ature, which 1 term ed overshadow in g. I then outlined two
approaches to the question of how E SP is to be conceived. Following
Palm er, I called these the transm ission p a ra d ig m an d the
correspondence paradigm . I arg u ed th a t the transmission p aradigm
is incoherent, an d that furtherm ore no sense ca n be m a d e of the superE SP hypothesis w ithin either paradigm . It rem ains for m e to ask
w h ether the theory of overshadow ing stands in better case.
O v e rsh a d ow in g
It seems to me that this theory could be given some sort of m ore or less
intelligible expression w ithin eith er the transmission p a ra d ig m or the
correspondence paradigm . Its most straightforw ard expression would
be in term s of the transmission paradigm . W e should have to suppose a
largely passive receiver (the m edium ) whose stream of thou ght an d
action is sufficiently labile to be directed a n d influenced by the
endeavours of an active (and generally discam ate) sender. T h e
relationship betw een events in the senders m ind an d events in the
receivers m ind m ight (in favourable cases) be a fairly straightforw ard
one, so that w hen the sender thou ght of certain w ords or of a certain
person or scene, sim ilar words, or a similar picture, cam e into the
receivers m ind. It m ight, how ever, be less easy to give w ithin the
transmission p a ra d ig m a n accoun t of how the d iscam ate person
becomes aw are of, a n d thus is able to respond to, w hat is said a n d done
in the m e d iu m s vicinity.
U n fo rtu nately the transmission p a ra d ig m is, or so I have argued,
u ntenab le upon o ther grounds, an d the correspondence p aradigm
does not generate quite such a simple accoun t of the proposed process
o f overshadow ing. In general terms, of course, we m ight suppose that
a m e d iu m s stream of thou ght an d action is so flexible an d so quick to
co rrespon d with a n o th e r person's, that a wily a n d know ledgeable
d iscam ate influence can exploit this fact to d riv e it. But m any
problem s arise to which no very obvious solutions present themselves.
128
E arlier in the c h a p te r I suggested th a t in cases of, for instance,
reciprocal d re a m s we m ust postulate co rresp o n d en c e in respect of
some general idea, w h ich each p a rtic ip a n t ela b o rates in his o r h e r ow n
way. O v e rsh a d o w in g , how ever, w ould on the w hole req u ire m u ch
m ore specific correspondences. W h a t d e term in es in a given case the
level o f generality o r specificity of the co rrespon dences? W h a t
determ ines, also, w hich m in d o v ershadow s the other? M u st we
invoke m otiv ation, co n cen tra tio n , a tte n tio n , need, purpose, person
ality factors, role-playing, etc? N o clear answ ers are cu rren tly
available.
T hese obscurities are, how ever, less difficulties for the o v e rsh a d o w
ing hypothesis as such, th a n sym pto m s of the u n d ev e lo p ed state of the
co rrespon dence p a ra d ig m , a p a ra d ig m w hich has only q u ite recently
co m e to the fore. I do not think th a t they re n d e r the general notion of
overshadow in g unintelligible. T h e m a in p ro b le m w h ich confronts the
theory o f oversh ad o w in g is not w h e th e r it is intelligible, w hich it is, at
least u p to a point, b u t w h e th e r it coheres w ith the em p irical facts
co n cern in g E SP. F o r ce n tral to the whole theory is the idea th a t the
sender, o r the d o m in a n t p a rtn e r in the c o rresp o n d en c e relationship,
by some kind of special c o n cen tra tio n o r e n d e a v o u r c a n directly
influence the course of the receivers o r m e d iu m s th o u g h ts an d
actions. S om e writers. D r L ouisa R h in e for ex am ple, ten d to deny that
in cases of a p p a r e n t spontaneou s tele p ath y c o n cen tra tio n or activity
by the supposed sender has a n y effect; in a substantial n u m b e r of cases
the supposed sender rem ains u n a w a re th a t he has sent. A few
experim ents, how ever, do suggest th a t co n c e n tra tio n o r strong willing
by a n ag ent m a y have a positive effect (see 1 18a, pp. 96- 102). T h e issue
is one th a t requires fu rth er investigation, on the results of w hich the
tenability of the theory o f ov e rsh a d o w in g will d ep en d . T h e
ex perim en ts co ncerned m igh t well in effect be ones on m edium istic
c o m m u n ic a tio n by the living, a topic w h ich I shall m e n tio n again
shortly. (By an alogy w ith cases of tran c e m e d iu m s h ip one m ight
suppose that such c o m m u n ic a tio n w ould be facilitated if the subject
were to im agine him self to be the sen d er a n d w ere to speak in that
role.)
10 Overshadowing and the

Super-ESP Hypothesis the D ata
M y feeling, then - a n d I deliberately speak o f feeling ra th e r th an of

j u d g e m e n t because of the obscurities a n d uncertainties which
confront one w hichever direction one moves in - is that the theory of
overshadow ing can be expressed w ithin either of the two leading
models of or paradigm s for ESP, whilst the super-E SP hypothesis
makes sense w ithin neither. But one w ould be ill-advised to let a
decision betw een the super-E SP hypothesis a n d the theory of
overshadow ing h a n g largely u p o n the ab stract issue of their agreem ent
or otherwise with some speculative fram ew ork of thought. H o w far do
they fit the facts? T h a t is the decisive question - or ra th e r w ould be if
we could m ake the theories definite en ough for the question to be
answerable!
T h e super-E SP hypothesis is a peculiarly elusive theory, a n d I am
conscious that I have h itherto invoked it a n d attacked it w ith out an y
atte m p t to set it forth systematically. T h e trouble is that it is not so
m uch a theory as a n attitu d e of m ind - an attitu d e w hich simply refuses
to ad m it th a t there is or ever could be any evidence for survival which
cannot be explained aw ay in term s of the psi faculties, especially the
ESP, of living percipients an d m edium s. T h e postulated reach of E SP
is progressively extended to cover any new evidence, indeed any
possible evidence, that m ay com e in. A justification of this elastic way
of thou ght is usually given by ap p eal to some principle of simplicity or
parsim ony. W e know th a t E SP takes place, the a rg u m e n t goes, b u t we
have no in d e p en d en t evidence for the spirits of the dead; hence it is
m ore parsim onious to cast o u r explanations only in term s of the
former. By so doin g we avoid postulating a wholly new class of entities.
C onsiderations of parsim ony, however, have to be w eighed against
considerations of factual adequacy. A theory th a t will not do the jo b
can n o t possibly be parsim onious, for it will soon get snared in a
hopeless tangle of supplem entary assum ptions. T h e central plank of
the super-E SP hypothesis m ust be that E SP of the required degree
130
(required th a t is to ex plain aw a y the m ost striking m e d iu m istic d a ta)
takes place; a n d w h e th e r we co nsid er the literatu re o f e x p e rim e n ta l or
of spontaneou s E S P we co m e across little to suggest th a t it can. T h e
e x p erim en tal m a terial is indeed very difficult to relate to th e question
at hand. In w h at is, I think, by far the best recent survey of it, J o h n
P a lm e r (118a) concludes there is no evidence th a t E S P is lim ited by
e ith er sep aratio n in space, sep ara tio n in tim e o r the physical
characteristics o f the target. But the targets used in m o d e r n E SP
e x p erim en ts (Z e n er cards, the o u tp u ts o f b in a ry r a n d o m n u m b e r
generators, etc.) are totally unlike, a n d , so far as one c a n tell, usually
m u c h sim pler th an , the targ e ts (m e m o ry traces in distant brains,
p rin ted o b itu a ry notices, etc.) u p o n w h ich m e d iu m s m ust score regular
hits if the su p er-E S P hypothesis is correct. F u rth e rm o re , even the
m ost successful subjects in la b o ra to ry E S P ex p erim en ts d o not achieve
h it rates w h ich suggest th a t one could c o m m u n ic a te messages to
them . A n o u ts ta n d in g scorer m ig h t co rrectly guess 350 cards in 1000 in
tests w h ere one w o uld ex pect 250 hits an y w ay , just by c h a n c e . It
seems to m e th a t if one co m p ares the m ost successful m e n tal m edium s,
on the one h a n d , w ith the m ost successful la b o ra to ry subjects, or
percipients in spo n tan eo u s cases, on the other, the form er greatly
ou tstrip the latter in at least the follow ing respects, of all of which I
have given ex am ples in the p rec ed in g chapters.
1. T h e rap id a n d occasionally alm ost non -stop flow of p a ra n o rm al
know ledge som etim es ex h ib ited - in the best instances a flow of
know ledge c o m p a ra b le to th a t w h ich m ig h t o c cu r in a n ordinary
conversation.
2. T h e detailed know ledge a n d the kno w led ge of detail show n by
the ostensible c o m m u n ic ato rs, again, of course in the m ost favourable
instances.
3. T h e retailing of inform atio n w hich, if o b ta in e d telepathically
from living persons (as, ac co rd in g to the su p er-E S P hypothesis, it must
have been) could only have co m e from d istan t persons whose very
existence was u n k n o w n to the m e d iu m , a n d w h o h a d alm ost certainly
not been consciously th in k in g a b o u t the facts co n cern e d at a n y recent
or relevant time.
4. T h e retailin g o f inform atio n w hich, if o b ta in e d by E S P not
involving deceased persons, m ust have been assem bled a n d put
together from several different sources, often in c lu d in g ones which
w ould also fall u n d e r 3 above. T h e p ro b le m o f how the m e d iu m m ight
be supposed, on the su p er-E S P hypothesis, to locate such sources is (as I
Overshadowing and the Super-ESP Hypothesis - The Data

131
pointed out in C h ap ters F o u r an d Five) a very considerable one.
5. T h e exhibition of intellectual skills a n d attain m en ts not hitherto
characteristic of' the m edium , but formerly characteristic of a person
now dead, skills a n d characteristics which, on the super-E SP
hypothesis, m ust have been tem porarily ca u g h t from living persons by
some sort of telepathic contagion.
6. T h e realistic delineation, sometim es involving im personation,
of the personality characteristics, way of thought, turns of phrase, tone
of voice, gestures, etc. of a deceased person; the ability to put on a
personation of a given individual being a kind of skill w hich could not
(I argued in C h a p te r Seven) be caught telepathically from living
persons.
7. C o-ordinatio n of the E S P of several sensitives, so that while the
productions of each are individually pointless, taken together they
constitute a m eaningful p a tte rn (cf. C h a p te r Six).
A dd to these considerations the fact th a t the m edium s who, w hen
purpo rtedly co ntactin g or transm itting messages from the dead,
exhibit such u np aralleled ESP, are com m only not by an y m eans star
subjects in E S P tests, a n d we w ould a p p e a r to have a form idable case
against the super-E SP hypothesis as applied to the best m edium istic
m aterial. N o th in g that we have so far learned ab o u t ESP licences us to
claim that E SP ca n do the jo b which the super-E SP hypothesis
requires of it.
T h e E viden ce fo r Super-ESP
So can we decisively reject the super-E SP hypotheses? Alas, noth ing in

parapsychology is ever clear-cut o r straightforw ard. I have om itted to
m ention two f u rth e r factors which have a bearin g on the issue. T h e first
of these is the perform ances of certain sensitives w ho m ight loosely be
described as fortune-tellers. T h e investigations most frequently cited
are those of a French physician, E. Osty, D irector from 1926 to 1938 of
the Institut M etap sy ch iq u e of Paris (116). O sty s sensitives, it is
alleged, exhibited extrasensory powers a m o u n tin g to w h at could
justifiably be called su p er-E S P , an d did so w ithout an y suggestion
that the inform ation originated from spirits. H ence, it is argued by
D odds an d others, we have und eniable evidence th a t certain persons
indeed possess super-E SP. F u rth e rm o re these persons cannot as a class
be sharply distinguished from the class of m ental medium s.
C lairv o y a n t m edium s often talk very m u ch like fortune-tellers, m ake
predictions a b o u t their sitters futures, diagnose their ailm ents, etc. In
132
fact the guides of tran c e m e d iu m s often act in very m u c h the sam e w ay,
w ith respect to sitters a n d also w ith respect to o th e r supposed inm ates
of the next w orld. It follows th a t the difference b etw een fortune-tellers
a n d m e n tal m e d iu m s is not th a t the latte r ta p a source o f in fo rm atio n
th a t the form er d o not, viz. deceased persons, b u t th a t the latte r
d ra m a tiz e the deliverances of th e ir su p er-E S P as messages from the
d e p arted . (Sim ilar a rg u m e n ts have been ad v a n c e d , e.g. by A n d re w
L a n g (87b), in co nnection w ith the ac h iev e m en ts of scryers o r crystal
gazers, b u t I shall neglect these since the cases a p p e a r to be m u c h the
same.)
W h a t, then, were the perform an ces o f O s ty s sensitives like? H e
seems to have found m a n y such persons - F ra n c e has a long trad itio n of
th e m - a n d his cu stom was eith er to a rra n g e sittings for persons know n
to him , a n d take notes himself, o r else to h a n d the sensitive a n object
w hich has been w o rn o r ca rried by the person a b o u t w h o m
inform ation was desired (M rs P iper, like m a n y m ed iu m s, som etim es
m a d e use of such token objects o r psychom etric objects). T h e objects
seem ed in som e w ay to link the sensitive to the ab sen t person b u t their
use was not essential - it was usually sufficient if O sty m erely th o u g h t of
the target person o r h a n d e d the m e d iu m a p h o to g ra p h . I quote
v e rb a tim a sensitives delineatio n of a ce rta in M m e F., a b o u t w h om
O sty knew next to noth ing, b u t of w h o m he was th in k in g (the
omissions, represented by dots, are O s ty s own):
T his is a w om an with a u b u r n hair, good-looking, decidedly good-looking.
I think h er frank an d sincere, b u t she knows how to be otherw ise on occasion.
She is gay, am iable, sym pathetic, ra th e r depressed som etim es, a n d then
ex u b e ra n t . . . she is liable to these ups an d downs, as if there were two
natures in her.
She had a strong will . . . alth ou g h nervous, she c a n control herself. She
is conscious of the N orth.
She is fond of music, gaiety, b ut ol w ork too. H e r past has been cloudy,
there are things in it th at are not clear . . . I think she was illegitimate, there
was some secret a b o u t h er b irth . . . some p ersonage is concerned . . . could
he have been her father? H e r father seems to have been a well-known
personage, an im p o rtan t person.
T h e re is a w idow . . . her m o th er was a w idow w hen h er d a u g h te r was
born. She was attend ed by a very few persons. It was a difficult birth; there
was a doctor an d a priest. H er m o th er h ad two o th er children. She was a
light w om an, had lovers . . . not w orth m u ch . . . is still coquettish and
does not trouble herself to see her d aughter.
T h e poor child lived aw ay from h er m other. W h a t changes a n d travels. I
see h er with a wicked w om an. She m ust have gone a b ro a d w hen quite
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young . . . T here is a w om an near her who has been in prison. Oh! Thefts
an d im prisonm ent - w hat surroundings? She has been beaten an d roughly
treated. N o worse people could be found th an those am o n g whom she grew
up; they were capable of anything, would have m ade her a lost w om an.
H ap p ily the child had an honest nature. She has wept m uch. M any
changes from one town to another.
H er m o th er cam e back to her. T hey wrote to each other and met about
her m arriage. T h e m o th er will m ake a little revelation before she dies. T he
young w om an is m arried now an d very happy. H er husband is good and
clever . . . he seems to be a chief over others . . . he wears a uniform and is
m uch at sea - has travelled m uch and will travel more. (116, pp.
92-93)
T o cut a long story short, a large p a rt of the inform ation given was
confirm ed by two of M m e F .s close friends. But alm ost none of it was
known to the sitter, Osty. W e therefore have here a case in which a
sensitive gives detailed, copious a n d correct inform ation ab o u t a
distant living person w ithout an yone possessing that inform ation being
actually present. In one o r two of O s ty s cases, furtherm ore, correct
inform ation was given which was probably neither all know n to any
one distant person, n o r co ntained in any w ritten record, docum ent,
etc., which m ight be supposed accessible to clairvoyance. Extrasensory
knowledge as extensive as that displayed by fairly good m edium s is
here being displayed in a non-m edium istic context. T h e super-E SP
hypothesis, which looked in a poor way only a few paragraph's back,
now begins to take on a healthier tinge - or at least it would do if O sty s
work were above criticism.
U n fo rtu nately O s ty s standard s of evidence a n d presentation (the
two are hardly separable) leave a great deal to be desired. It is clear, for
exam ple, that the cases he actually gives are only a very limited
selection from a n indefinitely larger mass of material, m u ch of which
represented the errors a n d confabulations of his sensitives. Even his
individual case reports are edited an d heavily abridged, a n d we have
no m eans of know ing w h at was left out. His verifications of his
sensitives statem ents are frequently by no m eans ad eq u a te - in the
case I quoted, for instance, which is not untypical, the verification was
at second-hand. T h e lady to w h om the statem ents purportedly
referred was not herself consulted. I think it is alm ost certain that were
the whole of O s ty s m aterials laid before us, the cases he quotes would
a p p e a r less ra th e r th an m ore impressive. I could well u nd erstand the
position of som eone w ho arg u ed that we should reject O sty s findings
altogether.
134
N o n e the less I c a n n o t m yself so com prehensiv ely reject them . It
w ould take an im m ense m ass of erroneous m a terial to o u tw eig h O s ty s
m ore re m a rk a b le cases, a n d a g reat deal of m isreco rd in g a n d
m isverification to u n d e rm in e them . T h e y receive som e su p p o rt from
c o m p a ra b le findings by others (e.g. P ag enstech er, 117; Prince, 125c,
125e). A n d they have some curious a n d fascinating features. C onsider,
for ex am ple, the case I have just quo ted. C a n one possibly a ttr ib u te the
hits to telepathy? T h e sensitive gave (as often h a p p e n e d ) a sort of
conspectus or prcis of the subjects life. O n e ca n h a rd ly suppose th a t
the subject herself was revolving such a prcis in h e r m in d a n d thus
b ro ad castin g it to the world. N o r c a n one plausibly suppose th a t the
sensitive quickly scann ed the m em ory-sto re of her d istan t subject a n d
was im m ediately ab le to ex tra ct therefrom the series o f general facts
required - especially w h en one ad d s th a t in m a n y cases this sort of
conspectus was a p p a re n tly co n tin u e d into the future. C lairv o y a n ce is
not a possible e x p lan a tio n - it is not stated th a t the m a in facts of the
subjects life were an y w h e re reco rd ed in physical form. It seems to me
th a t w h at we have here does not (in m ost instances) suggest a telepathic
cognizing of the subjects m em ory-store; it suggests ra th e r the direct
acquisition (w hatever that m a y m ean ) of propositional know ledge
a b o u t the subject. If I u n d e rsta n d O s ty s so m ew h at vague rem arks
aright, this is the sort of conclusion tow ards w h ich he too is driven. H e
points out that the visions a n d im ages w h ich pass before the m ind s of
his sensitives c a n n o t be reg ard ed as perceptions of d istan t persons,
scenes, etc. T h e y are often sym bolic in form; a n d the sam e piece of
inform ation c a n present itself to the sam e sensitive in n u m ero u s
different guises. It is as th o u g h w h a t the sensitive grasps is on a
co ncep tual level, a level of propositional o r factual know ledge, w hich
she then translates into the lan g u ag e of sensory im a g ery (cf. 162b; also
44d a n d 44e, pp. 617-618). I a m not sure th a t this sort of know ledgeacquisition fits into the co nven tional categories of E S P a t all. T h e
know ledge is, one m a y note, know ledge p rim arily a b o u t people an d
thus differs m a rk e d ly from the kno w led ge w h ich it is ho p ed th a t e.g.
subjects in card-guessing ex perim en ts will display.
T o re tu rn to m y m a in them e: If (and it is a sizable if) we ac cep t an
ap preciab le p ercentag e of O s ty s findings, there c a n be little d o u b t
th a t the super-E S P hypothesis m ust, so far as m edium istic m a terial is
concerned, a p p e a r a good deal m ore plausible. T h e g a p b etw een w h at
m ed iu m s can do a n d w h at E S P (I call it E S P for lack o f a b e tte r nam e)

135
can achieve h a d been ap preciab ly narrow ed. H o w far it has been
narrow ed I shall enquire shortly.
I m ust em phasize at this point that I do not think O s ty s findings
m ake the super-E SP hypothesis m ore plausible so far as eith er the cases
of ap paritions discussed in later chapters of this book, or the
reincarnation cases which will be discussed in C h a p te r T w elve below,
are concerned. F o r O s ty s sensitives were, if we accept his accounts,
clearly persons with very unusual abilities; w hereas there is m u ch to
suggest that both the percipients of veridical apparitions, a n d the
rein c arn ated personalities in the m ore striking reincarnation cases,
are not on the whole especially endow ed with such gifts.
I said a few pages ago that I had left out two factors from my
prelim inary assessment of the super-E SP hypothesis. T h e first of these
was the perform ance of sensitives like those studied by Osty. I now
come to the second, which is the evidence, such as it is, that m edium s
actually do incorporate in their representations of deceased persons
inform ation obtained by E SP directed upo n persons or events in this
world. I cited earlier some instances in which M rs Piper had
ap parently done this; an d there were sim ilar happenings with M rs
Leonard. For instance one evening M rs Salter heard in conversation a
story a b o u t a m a n who wore several pairs of trousers simultaneously.
T h e next day her father, the late Professor A. W. V errall,
co m m unicated throug h M rs L eo n ard a n d erroneously stated that he
had once w orn two pairs of trousers (138b, p. 320). (Some allow ance
m ust how ever be m ad e in the assessment of such exam ples for chance;
on how m an y occasions did sitters hear prior to sittings odd stories
which were not retailed at the next sitting?) T h e late D r S. G. Soal
claim ed to have telepathically foisted a fictitious co m m u n ic ato r of his
ow n invention upon M rs B lanche C ooper, a well-known L ondo n
m edium . Soal would invent facts ab o u t this control, J o h n Ferguson,
prior to a sitting; a n d these facts would often then be unam biguously
co m m unicated to him (147, pp. 523-548).
W e have thus:
(a) a p p a re n t evidence th a t persons in m a n y ways indistinguish
able from m edium s ca n exercise powers of E SP so m arked that they
m ight well be called super-E SP w ithout there being the slightest
suggestion that the inform ation concerned is purveyed by spirits; an d
(b) evidence that m edium s m ay incorporate in their representa
tions of deceased persons inform ation acquired by telepathy with the
136
iving or by clairv oyan ce of the physical world.
P u t (a) a n d (b) together, a n d you co m e u p w ith the possibility th a t
m e d iu m s m a y utilize su p er-E S P in their p o rtray a ls of c o m m u n ic a tio n
from the dead. A n d indeed th e re is at least one case in w h ich this
a p p a re n tly h a p p en ed .
T h e case co ncerned, the G o rd o n D av is case, is a g a in one reco rd ed
by Soal d u rin g his sittings w ith M rs B lanche C o o p e r (147, pp.
560-593). In outline it goes as follows. O n 4 J a n u a r y 1922 a
c o m m u n ic a to r calling h im selfG o rd o n D a v is b e g an to speak in a clear
a n d strong voice (M rs C o o p e r was a d irect voice m e d iu m ). G o rd o n
Davis was a n old school a c q u a in ta n c e w h o m Soal believed h a d been
killed in the First W o rld W ar. T h e c o m m u n ic a to r did not state th a t he
h a d been killed, b u t said, M y p o o r wife is m y only w o rry now - an d
kiddie. H e referred correctly a n d u n m ista k ab ly to m a tters relatin g to
their past a c q u a in ta n c e , a n d used forms of w ords ch aracteristic o fth e
real G o rd o n Davis. A t tw o later sittings, N a d a , a re g u la r co n tro l of M rs
C o o p e rs, described in considerable detail ce rta in ex tern al features of
G o rd o n D aviss house, a n d m a d e some quite specific references to the
furniture, pictures a n d o rn a m e n ts inside it. In 1925 Soal learn ed that
G o rd o n Davis was still alive, a n d w ent to see him . H e found th a t m u c h
of w h at N a d a said a b o u t the house a n d its co ntents was correct; yet
Davis, a n d his wife a n d kiddie', h a d not m ov ed in until a year after the
relevant sittings. D aviss d iary show ed th a t a t the tim es of these sittings
he h ad been interview ing clients (he was a house agent).
W e seem to have here an instance of the co n stru c tio n o f a
m edium istic c o m m u n ic a to r by m eans of te le p a th y w ith the sitter plus
precognitive telepathy or clairv oyan ce relatin g to a d istan t living person.
S u p e r-E S P seems a n a p p ro p ria te term to describe w h a t was going on;
a n d if it could occur in this case, w hy not in others, indeed in all the
others th a t have been presented as evidence for survival? F o r the O sty
cases, a n d others like them , show th a t m a n y persons besides M rs
C o o p e r can exercise super-E SP.
D o the considerations just a d v a n c e d suffice to m ak e the super-E S P
hypothesis once ag ain seem plausible, a n d to re n d e r the theory of
overshadow ing, w ith its survivalistic im plications, unnecessary? I
think that they do not alto g eth e r do so, for the follow ing reasons:
1. Som e w eight m ust be allow ed to the criticisms of O sty w hich I
detailed above.
2. T h e perform ances of even O s ty s best sensitives d o not, I think,

137
quite m easure up to the achievem ents of the most rem ark able
m edium s in point of rapidity of inform ation flow, a n d the level of detail
conveyed. T h e P ip e r-S u tto n sittings, with their mass of identifying
detail, including nam es, will convey som ething of w h at I m ean (see
C h a p te r T hree). O r again: M rs P ip e rs H odgson-control rem ind ed a
sitter of the very words the living H odgson had once used in telling him a
story.
3. Sim ilar considerations apply with regard to the detailed
delineation of personal characteristics, voice, gestures, m annerism s,
turns of phrase, etc., a n d the presentation of a tout ensemble of these, in
which some trance m edium s have, as I pointed out in C h a p te r Seven,
achieved an astonishing verisimilitude, a verisim ilitude the atta in m en t
of which, I argued, is itself a skill of a kind not to be acquired by the
mere gathering ol inform ation (w hether by E S P or m ore ordinary
means) a b o u t the person concerned.
4. M ore generally, O s ty s sensitives give no sign of the p a ra n o rm al
acquisition of skills a n d atta in m en ts (see C h a p te r Seven above, an d
C hapters Eleven an d T w elve below); ra th e r the sensitives have so to
speak their ow n specialist capacities (m edical clairvoyance, depiction
of intellectual states, etc.) w hich determ ine the type of m aterial they
can most successfully obtain.
5. N or, in general, do O s ty s sensitives so co-ordinate their
individual deliverances concerning a pa rtic u lar individual or topic
that separately those deliverances are meaningless, but together they add
up. H ow ever to say this is not to say that they could not have done so;
for, clearly, their activities were carried on in a context w ithin which
such cross-correspondences were not called for.
6. T h e G o rd o n Davis case does not quite suffice to und erm ine
some of the m ore striking m edium istic cases. For in the latter the
m edium must, according to the super-E SP hypothesis, have assembled
the requisite inform ation by telepathically tap p in g several different
sources, none of w hom was the alleged co m m unicator. In the G o rd on
Davis case the principal source m ust have been Davis (the
co m m unicator) himself.
7. It is h a rd to avoid some degree of suspicion that Soal m ay have
im prov ed the G o rd o n Davis case. T h e re is now no d o u b t at all that he
m a n ip u la ted the results of his larnous card-guessing experim ents (99).
T h e G o rd o n Davis case has rem ained lor over fifty years w ithout a real
parallel, a n d certain features of it raise doubts - e.g. S oals claim that
he was able to record to m e d iu m s statem ents in detail in the d ark using
138
only his left h a n d , a n d the fact th a t his b ro th e r signed a sta te m e n t th a t
he h a d read the co m m u n ic atio n s, w h ich took place in F e b ru a r y 1922,
in the C h ristm as va catio n of 1921.
O n balance, then, it seems to m e th a t the s u p e r-E S P hypothesis c a n n o t
be justifiably ex ten d e d to cover all the d a ta w h ich w ere set forth in
C h a p te rs T h r e e to Seven above. In so far as the th e o ry of
o v ershadow in g seems a t present to be the m ost viable a lte rn a tiv e to the
su p er-E S P hypothesis, the fo rm er m a y p e rh a p s d r a w strength, o r at
least com fort, from the la tte rs shortcom ings. H o w ev er, as I have
several tim es em phasized, a th e o ry c a n n o t be a d e q u a te ly established
ju st by u n d e rm in in g its only a p p a r e n t rival. Its ow n pros a n d cons
m ust, so far as possible, be in d e p e n d e n tly scrutinized.
T h e C ase f o r O v e r s h a d o w in g
It will be best to tackle the pros a n d cons of the theory of

oversh ad o w in g in tw o parts. T h e r e is firstly the questio n of its
survivalistic im plications. If the theory is correct, som ew here b e h in d
the tran c e a n d o th e r utteran ces o f ce rta in m e d iu m s there som etim es lie
the a c tu al deceased persons w h o p u rp o rt to be co m m u n ic a tin g . W h a t
evidence ca n we find telling against this idea, a n d w h a t for it? Secondly
there is the question of the n a tu re o f o v e rsh a d o w in g , w hich, on the
face of it, m ust be a form of telepathic interaction. D o we have any
evidence th a t this sort of telepathic in teractio n c a n occur? I tu rn first to
the th e o ry s survivalistic im plications.
W ith one sta n d a rd objection to the survivalistic in te rp re tatio n of the
p h e n o m e n a o f m e n tal m e d iu m sh ip the theory o f overshadow in g can
easily cope. I refer to the c o m p la in t so often m a d e th a t the late so a n d so
(a m a n of incisive m in d a n d distinguished prose style) could not
possibly be responsible for the ream s of v a p id ru b b ish he has allegedly
w ritten (or spoken) th ro u g h the ag ency of such a n d such a m e d iu m or
au tom atist. T h e obvious an sw er is th a t the ru b b ish com es from the
m e d iu m ; the flashes of know ledge a n d intelligence (if any) from the
co m m u n ic ato r. In general we w ould expect on the theory of
overshadow in g that the co ntents of a u to m a tic w ritings, trance
utterances, etc., w ould be lim ited to m a tte r w ith in the m e d iu m s ow n
grasp. F o r ac co rd in g to the theory of o v ershadow in g, it is her
intelligence, not th a t of the supposed ov e rsh a d o w in g en tity, that
co m m u n ic ates directly w ith the sitters. O n e w o tdd expect th a t ideas
outside the scope ol' her ow n co n cep tu al e q u ip m e n t could be got
'Overshadowing and the Super-ESP Hypothesis - The Data

139
th ro u g h , if at all, only in a ro u n d ab o u t a n d circuitous way. O f this
there are one or two a p p a re n t exam ples (see 5d; 18c, pp. 308-314).
T h e o th e r stan d a rd objections to the survivalistic interpretation are
ol a m ore general kind, an d will be discussed in C h a p te r T hirteen
below.
VVhat, then, can be said in favour of the theory of overshadow ing in
so far as that theory is one which implies survival? W h a t positive
indications ca n we glimpse that the overshadow ing is carried out by
deceased persons hidden, as it were, from o u r view, b u t m anifesting
themselves throug h their influence upon a m e d iu m s d re a m life an d
dram atizing tendencies?
O n e must tread carefully here. T h e im m ediate tem p tatio n is to
answ er this question by citing sam ple cases in which m edium istic
com m unicators have retailed copious a n d correct inform ation ab out
their lives on earth, inform ation which the m edium could not possibly
have acquired by o rdinary means. D o not such cases strongly suggest
that the deceased persons themselves are som ew here in the
background, directing a n d influencing the com m unications? T h e
trouble with this line of arg u m en t is, of course, as follows. T h e
proposed process of overshadow ing, thou gh its nature rem ains
obscure, m ust be or involve or qualify as a form of telepathic
interaction. H ence to the extent that overshadow ing is alleged to occur
we are invoking a form of ESP. A n d w h en the co m m unicators are
fluent an d successful we are invoking fluent a n d successful ESP. But as
soon as we do this, the theory of overshadow ing is in d a n g e r of losing
any advantages it m ay have over the super-E SP hypothesis. For if we
are going to postulate fluent an d successful ESP, w hy not let it be ESP
involving only living persons (the ones w ho possess the inform ation
which confirms the m edium 's statements)?
T hus it is not so m u ch to the q u a n tity a n d detail of the m aterial
retailed by m edium istic co m m unicators that we m ight look for
indications of an overshadow ing d iscam ate agent, as to the w ay in
which th a t m aterial is p a ttern ed a n d deployed. T h e question of the
patterning a n d deploym ent of m aterial in effect figured prom inently
am o n g the issues with which, I suggested, the super-E SP hypothesis
cannot ad eq u a tely cope. It is over just these issues that the theory of
overshadow ing comes into its own. T h e super-E SP hypothesis has
difficulty over cases in which it must assum e th a t the m edium
integrated into her personation of one co m m u n ic ato r inform ation
obtained by E S P directed upon a n u m b e r of dillerent living or
140
c o n te m p o ra ry sources (w hich m ust fu rth e rm o re be located); the
theory of overshadow ing, of course, sim ply says th a t since the
o vershadow in g ag ent a lrea d y possesses all the inform atio n, the need
for integration does not arise. T h e su p er-E S P hypothesis ru n s into
trouble w h en co m m u n ic ato rs exhibit intellectual capacities a n d skills
w hich the m e d iu m does not possess, for ac q u irin g such capacities an d
skills does not consist sim ply in lea rn in g lists of facts o f the kind to
w hich E S P m igh t be supposed to give one access: the th e o ry of
overshadow in g says th a t the deceased ag e n t is using his still surviving
skill or capacity in d irec tin g the m e d iu m s activities (if, how ever, the
skill is one, like a linguistic skill, involving a bodily elem ent, the
pro b lem is m ore com plex). T h e su p er-E S P hypothesis h a d problem s
w ith cases in w hich a m e d iu m s perso n atio n of a ce rta in deceased
person has been p a rtic u larly lifelike a n d convincing, for there is an
im m ense g a p betw een a c c u m u la tin g factu al k no w led ge a b o u t a
certain deceased person a n d develop ing the skill of giving a realistic
im p e rso n atio n of him ; the theory of ov e rsh a d o w in g holds th a t the
deceased person in question is him self b e h in d the m e d iu m s
im p e rso n a tio n . T h e su p er-E S P hypothesis has g reat difficulty in
a c c o u n tin g for cases of the cross-correspo nden ce kind, in which
different a n d separately m eaningless p a rts o f one m eaningful
c o m m u n ic a tio n a p p e a r in the p ro d u ctio n s of different m edium s or
sensitives; the theory of ove rsh a d o w in g ca n propose th a t the same
intelligent ag ency o vershadow ed th e m all.
I have a lrea d y discussed these issues in some detail in earlier parts of
this book, a n d there is no point in ela b o ra tin g th e m fu rth er now. T h e
overall upsho t is this. In ce rta in cases over w hich the super-E SP
hypothesis loses im petus a n d begins to flound er we c a n detect hints of
the o p eratio n of w h a t we m a y p e rh a p s call o v e rsh a d o w in g agencies
im posing characteristic, recognizable a n d a p p ro p ria te p a ttern s upon
the fantasies a n d personations d re a m e d u p by the m e d iu m a n d fed by
her pow ers of ESP. T h e p a ttern s are over, above, a n d b eyond an ything
w hich ca n be plausibly a c co u n ted for by the m e d iu m s ow n ESP, even
if we suppose her to possess unu su al d ra m a tic gifts. It therefore looks as
th o u g h we have here w h a t c a n reasonably be reg a rd ed as positive
evidence in favour of the theory o f overshadow ing.
T h e re are tw o further groups of cases, not easy to define, w hich I
have not so far m entioned, th a t seem to m e to provid e fu rth e r evidence
of the sam e kind. T h e first is th a t o f cases in w h ich m edium istic
co m m u n ic ato rs have given their sitters not exactly facts u n k n o w n to

141
persons present or outside the knowledge of an yone at all, but w hat
m a y be called insights into episodes in their ow n earthly lives, insights
w hich once received can be seen to be valid, b u t w hich h a d not
previously been thou ght of, still less w ritten dow n, by an yone at all,
a n d w hich the m e d iu m could therefore not have obtained by ESP.
C onsider the following rem arks by W alter F rank lin Prince
(1863-1934), by far the ablest an d most judicious A m erican psychical
researcher of his day, upo n some sittings which he a n d his ad opted
daughter, Theodosia, had with M rs C h e n o w e th after the d e a th of his
wife.
. . . It was the peculiar selective ch aracter of the details p urpo rting to come
from my wife an d relating to her last weeks on earth which most impressed
m e w hen I realized it . . . in the alleged com m unications there is no hint of
the features ol the case which to us stood out so prom inently, a n d in fact she
never knew w hat her m alady really was, she never realized that there was
an open wound, an d she expected, up to her last five minutes, to get better
and return to her home. O n the contrary, w hat we do llnd is a m ultitude of
true little details, her back being rubbed, her head ru bbed in a p articular
way, the trouble w ith her foot a n d knee, continuing sensations ol hunger,
the sensitiveness ol her h ead w hen her hair was washed or com bed, feeling
that she would be all right again, trouble with h er back towards the last, yet
not being perm itted to lie on her side, the chicken broth which Theodosia
brought her. the trouble her store teeth were to her, a sensation of fulness
in the chest and ol b ad pain in the abdom en, pain stopping all at once (from
the opiate), com forting visions ol h er relatives, sense ol rebellion associated
with death, etc. It cam e to m e as I scanned this list th at it was these details
and others like them that had loomed large in my wifes sick m ind . . . I,
Theodosia, or both ol us, knew all the above details, but some were w an and
fading images in o u r minds, luridly overshadow ed by the m emories I have
m entioned an d others. (2, pp. 202-3)
T h e insight in this case is into w h at m ight be described as the late M rs

P rinces whole point of view d u rin g the last few weeks of her life. T h e
facts were know n to Prince a n d his dau g h ter, an d probably to them
alone, b u t the point o f view was not fully ap p reciated by them . Yet it was
the point o f view that was c o m m u n ic ated to them . It was as though the
m e d iu m s selection a n d presentation ol' the facts (facts perhaps
accessible to her ESP) was shaped an d directed by an external
overshadow ing presence. Prince goes on:
N othing th at we know or think we know of telepathy would lead us to
suppose that it acts otherwise th an alter the analogy ol a m echanical force,
gives ground to suppose th at it dram atizes, intelligently adopts the
142
view point of a third person, a n d selects to suit the characteristics ol th at

person. It ap p ears as though there were the stam p of M rs P rin c e s m in d
upon the details alleged in the text to be co n nected w ith her.
T h e second g ro u p of cases is even m ore difficult to define th a n the first,

yet it co ntains cases th a t ca n be indiv idually a n d collectively quite
impressive. C ases is, how ever, p e rh a p s th e w ro n g w ord. W h a t I have
in m in d are the so m ew h at n u m ero u s small incidents o c c u rrin g in the
course o f successful sittings, in w hich c o m m u n ic a tio n seems to
en c o u n te r a blockage w hich the c o m m u n ic a tin g intelligence tries by
various stratagem s to circu m ven t. H e re is a n e x am p le from an
interesting p a p e r by W . F. P rince (a p a p e r in w h ich he is w eighing up
considerations for a n d against the su p er-E S P hypothesis).
T h eo d o sia P rin c e s m oth er, co ntro lling M rs C h e n o w e th , was
trying to rem in d her d a u g h te r of a visit to a n e ig h b o u rs to see a calf
(colloquially a Bossy). W h a t ca m e next was (roughly) as follows: W e
w ent to a n e ig h b o u rs to see a pet B unny - pause - pet B unny BB B unny
- pause - No, it was a pet B unny BB B unny B - long pause - (m ed iu m
moans) M ilk - a small cow Bossy. As P rin ce rem arks:
W h o c a n d ou bt th at som eone or som ething in tend ed Bossy . . . from the
first? Else why did the co m m u n icato r stop at B unny every tim e a n d begin
again, express dissatisfaction, pause as th ough p o n d e rin g w h a t was the
m a tte r o r how to rem edy it, experience em otion which extorted m oans
from the m edium , an d finally say small c o w as th ough to avoid the word
beginning with B? II two m inds were engaged in the process, the second
receiving from the first, we can see how this second, call it the co n tro l or
the m e d iu m s subsconscious, w ould, w hen the pet B was reached,
conceive the picture ol a rabb it a n d cling to the preference for some time
despite the efforts of the first m in d to dislodge it. (125d, pp. 108-109.)
T o explain such incidents in term s o fth e su p er-E S P theory we would, I

think, have to postulate th a t the m e d iu m was at som e level all the time
a w are o f w h at she wished to co m m u n ic a te , a n d chose to p u t it
throug h in this oblique fashion in o rd e r to heighten the impression
that a n external intelligence was indeed present a n d active in the
business. But this is to attrib u te to the m e d iu m not ju st su p er-E S P but
fantastic skill a n d subtlety as a n im p e rso n ato r a n d d ra m a tist, a n extra
assum ption w hich should clearly be av oided if possible. T h e r e is no
do u b t, as Prince in effect rem arks, th a t a n in te rp re tatio n in term s o fth e
overshadow ing hypothesis is far m ore stra ig h tfo rw a rd a n d natural.

143
I tu rn now to the overshadow ing aspect of the theory of
overshadow ing. T h e proposed process of overshadow ing, w hatever
its precise nature, falls u n d er the general heading of telepathy; an d it is
a kind ol telepathy in which the active endeavours of the overshadow ing
person m ust play a decisive role in determ ining the m ental processes of
the overshadow ed person. W ith o u t d o u b t considerable difficulties
confront these notions.
T h e most obvious one is that, as 1 pointed out before, we have only a
little ex perim en tal evidence to support the idea that active sending
by a telepathic ag ent makes receipt of the message an y m ore likely. O f
course not m an y relevant experim ents have been done; but it m ust also
be rem em bered that D r Louisa R h in e s studies of spontaneous cases
have (as I said before) led her to a sim ilar (thoug h disputed)
conclusion.
C o m m u n ica tio n s fr o m the L ivin g
O f relevance in this connection are the various supposed cases of

m edium istic co m m u n ic atio n from the living. T his is a topic which
seems to m e to be potentially of great interest a n d im portance, an d one
that has been co m m only neglected by English an d A m erican
parapsychologists. A n u m b e r of ostensible cases of such co m m u n ic a
tions are scattered throug h the literature, b u t only a few atte m p ts have
been m a d e to collect them together a n d analyse th e m (e.g. 14; 27). For
exam ple. Sir L aw ren ce Jo n es tells us (76, p. 34) that his youngest
daughter, aged nine, alive but asleep, several times p u rp o rte d to
co m m unicate from a distance throug h the au to m atic w riting of Miss
K ate W ingfield. O n the first occasion she was asked, W h a t ab o u t the
sailor frock? Those present knew that there was a plan to buy her one
but noth ing of the outcom e. T h e answ er cam e, W e w ent to a shop.
M u m m ie just said, Y ou get those things out. T h a t is her tallness.
A nd they got them ; noth ing else to be done, no cutting. T h e y just sent
them hom e. T h a t s w h at I like. T his turned out to be correct.
T h e trouble with this case, as with a good m an y others, is that if
there was a deliberate atte m p t by the a g e n t to send or overshadow ,
we know n oth ing of it - she was asleep at the time. F u rth e rm o re a
clairvoyant ex planation can hardly be ruled out.
T h e nearest we ca n get a m o n g cases o f co m m unications from the
living to a case of overshadow ing is perhaps one reported in the Journal
o f the SP R in 1923 by a D u tch m e m b e r of the Society, D rJ . V. S uring ar
(155). In this case a D u tch boy of fifteen, w hodesired to a tte n d a hom e
144
circle in a n e ig h b o u rin g house, b u t was not allow ed to, a p p a r e n tly
spelled th ro u g h the ouija b o a rd o p e ra te d in the circle su b stan tia l pa rts
of a short poem in E nglish w h ich he h ad passed the tim e in reading.
W hile the po em was actually c o m m u n ic a te d , he w as dozing. T h e
c o m m u n ic a tio n thus did not, so far as one ca n tell, represent a
conscious ov e rsh a d o w in g ; but the b o y s th o u g h ts h a d b een very
m u c h oriented u p o n the sitters a n d the seance.
In a substantial p ropo rtio n, th o u g h by no m e an s all, o f the cases, the
p u rp o rte d c o m m u n ic a to r has been asleep, in a state of dissociation, in
a com a, or dyin g (see, for instance, 157b, pp. 130-131 ). (In at least one
very curious case the ostensible c o m m u n ic a to r was a n elderly lady in
a n a d v a n c e d state of senile d e m e n tia , w hich w o uld usually involve
extensive d eg en eratio n of b rain cells. T h e c o m m u n ic a tio n s , thou gh
disjointed, w ere ratio n al [142].) Som e, like B ozzano, have seen in this
fact an indication that some p a rt o f the c o m m u n ic a to r s personality
projects as in astral travelling, a n d influences the m e d iu m directly.
Be th a t as it m ay, the sad fact is th a t n on e of these living
co m m u n ic ato rs was afterw ards able to give a n a c c o u n t of their
en deav ours a n d experiences; so we have little in fo rm atio n b earing
u p o n the question of w h e th e r or not they could have been deliberately
a tte m p tin g to o vershadow the m edium s. A n d, as I said before, there
rem ains the altern ative possibility th a t the m e d iu m got her
inform ation by h e r ow n active E SP, th a t is by th o u g h t-re a d in g or by
clairvoyance.
All in all there is at the m o m e n t little ev idence in favou r of
overshadow ing o r ag ent-activ e telepathy: this m a y well, how ever, be
due to the small a m o u n t of w ork d on e a n d the difficulty of designing
conclusive experim ents. It seems to m e th a t studies of a tte m p te d
c o m m u n ic atio n by the living w ould be well w o rth u n d ertak in g , an d
would co m bine well with the recent grow ing interest in out-of-thebody experiences. Positive results w ould lend plausibility to the theory
of overshadow ing; negative results w ould w eaken it; while certain
kinds of results m ight alto g eth e r u n d e rm in e the survivalist
in te rp re tatio n of m edium istic p h e n o m e n a - for e x am p le if a m e d iu m
proved able to build up a fictitious c o m m u n ic a to r from lrag m e n ts each
one ol w hich was in the m ind ol a dilferent living person. S u c h results
w ould also reflect back upo n the question raised in C h a p te rs Six an d
Seven, ol M rs V errall s possible role in b rin g in g a b o u t ce rta in ol the
cross-correspondences a n d literary puzzles.
'Overshadowing and the Super-ESP Hypothesis - The Data

145
A second difficulty which confronts the notion of overshadow ing
(where overshadow ing is regarded as a form of telepathic interaction)
is this. In the most impressive cases of trance m edium ship veridical
co m m unications from the supposedly overshadow ing com m unicators
can com e with considerable fluency an d can convey quite detailed
veridical inform ation. T h e fluency an d detail have few if any
parallels in the literature of spontaneous an d experim ental ESP. T h e
telepathy co ncerned does not (I argued above) have all the
characteristics of su p er-E S P but it is still pretty powerful stuff. It
seems inevitable, therefore, that we shall have to a d d to the theory of
overshadow ing a postulate to the effect that after o n es death ones
capacities for telepathically sending o r overshadow ing, a n d also for
receiving by E SP w hat m ay be called the r e tu rn messages, are greatly
enhanced. T h e most rem ark able cases of trance m edium ship illustrate
w hat m ay h a p p en w hen a telepathic agent, with his powers thus
em ancip ated, works upon a gifted psychic - one, say, at least as
rem arkable as the best of O sty s sensitives - w ho adds to these essential
gifts the psychological quirk, w h atever it m ay be (a tendency to
dissociation, perhaps, or a liability to sink into unstructu red reverie),
which makes her in ad dition highly responsive to suggestions conveyed
by or implicit in the telepathic influences playing upon her. T h e
proposal that d e ath can unleash a latent pow er to overshadow m ay
ap p e a r wholly fantastic. But it seems to m e that an y survivalistic
interpretation of the ph en o m en a of trance m edium ship is b o u n d to
involve itself in suppositions ab o u t the liberating effect which death
m ay have upo n the d e ced e n ts powers of ESP. For:
(a) persons w ho have in life shown no special gifts of telepathy
(either as sender o r receiver) seem to have m ade after death excellent
m edium istic controls a n d com m unicators.
(b) Should there be an y form of survival of bodily death, we can
say for sure that we shall no longer possess our present sense organs.
If o u r post-m ortem state is not one of total isolation, locked in the
prison of o u r ow n dream s an d memories, if we can sometimes
co m m unicate with friends an d relatives on earth, or with other
deceased persons, that co m m unication will by definition com e u n d er
the h eading of ESP.
In sum: In C h a p te r Eight I posed the question of w h ether or not the
controls of trance m edium s can indeed sometimes be the deceased
persons with w hom they claim identity, possessing a n d operating the
m e d iu m s nervous m achinery m uch as she does herself. T h e evidence, I
146
co nclud ed, suggests th a t they c a n n o t be re g a rd e d in this light. I hey
are most p ro b a b ly ju st phases o r aspects of the m e d iu m s ow n
personality. H o w ev er it is possible th a t these phases of the m e d iu m s
m en tal life, in a d d itio n to favou rin g the exercise of 'o rd in a ry ' ESP,
m a y som etim es be directed o r o v e rsh a d o w e d by the deceased persons
w h o m they so to speak represent. T h e re are features of not a few cases
up o n w hich it w ould be very easy to p u t such a n in terp retatio n .
C ertain ly the super-E S P theory, the theory th a t m e d iu m s in all
instances sim ply p u t on the show by m eans of their d ra m a tic gifts an d
pow ers of E SP, ap p e a rs for reasons w hich I detailed m ost im plausible.
O n the o th e r h a n d I could not find m u c h evidence for the kind of
active-agent tele p ath y th a t m ig h t be involved in the supposed process
of overshadow ing, so th a t overall I feel a good deal m o re co nvinced of
the shortcom ings o f the su p er-E S P hypothesis th a n I do of the
tenability of the theory of overshadow ing.
If fu rth er investigations fail to yield evidence for such active-agent
telepathy we m ig h t p e rh a p s instead explore the possibility th a t a
deceased person m a y som etim es gain som e degree o f direct control
over the m e d iu m s n e u ro m u sc u la r a p p a ra tu s; a control, how ever, that
never fully displaces th a t of the m e d iu m , w h o co n tin u ally influences
the conjoint ou tp u t. A theory of this kind was occasionally pu t forw ard
by M rs L e o n a r d s controls (18c, pp. 261-286; 157c; 157i). H o w e v e r!
do not a t the m o m e n t find it plausible; for w hy should the m e d iu m s
influence so often intervene a n d override the co n tro ls ju st w h en the
latte r is going to exhibit literary a n d philosophical inform ation greatly
exceeding the m e d iu m s? A n d w hy should it intervene to force the
control to a p p e a r to give a blessing an d a certificate of genuineness to
perfectly preposterous co ntro ls w h o c a n be n o th in g o th e r than
fictions d re a m e d up by the m ed iu m ? I shall not a tte m p t to supply
answ ers to these questions, b u t they b rin g us co nven iently to the topic
of the next c h ap ter, viz. ostensible exam ples of obsessions an d
possession.
An ouija board sitting. T he pointer spells out words letter by letter

without conscious intervention by the sitters. (Courtesy of A .D . Cornell).
M rs Leonora Piper
(1857-1950) was the first
mental m edium to
provide substantial
evidence for paranorm al
faculties.
W illiam J a m e s
(1842-1910), the great
A m erican psychologist,
was the first person to
investigate M rs P ip e rs
m edium ship.
Oliver Lodge
(1851-1940) was one of
M rs P ip e rs sitters; he
handed her a watch
belonging to a dead
uncle and received some
ap propriate
com m unications.
Richard H ogdson
(1855-1905) went to
Boston from England to
investigate M rs P ip ers
m edium ship, and after
his death becam e one of
her controls.
M rs Gladys O sborne
Leonard (1882-1968)
conveyed information
which could not have
been known to her
sitters, through book
tests and proxy sittings.
M rs M . de G . V errall
and below h er d au gh ter
H elen, later M rs Salter,
were both autom atists in
the cross-correspondence
writings. M rs Salter also
analysed som e of M rs
P ip ers and M rs
L e o n a rd s
com m unications.
(C ourtesy of the M ary
Evans Picture Library
and the S .P R .)
M rs W illett (M rs
C oom be-T ennant)
supposedly received
dictation from D r
Verrall and from M yers
after their deaths.
(Courtesy of J o h n H.
C utten)
F .W .H . M yers
(1843-1901) was a
founder of the Society
for Psychical Research,
proposed a theory of
apparitions, and was
ostensibly one of the
deceased peopleresponsible for the crosscorrespondnces.
4^ C
U ^
v it
/^
vL
iL^ U /r^Y
Y
\ f )(i i,i<-iA t
v ~ ' A-
s*
H/i
l/U
a / ,/, Z'
{
i] [ y
*/
A utom atic writing by M rs Willett, supposedly from M yers.
M rs Eleanor Sidgwick (1845-1936) analysed the material from

the cross-correspondences, and was herself President of the
Society for Psychical Research in 1908-9.
Sketch by Frederic L. T h o m p so n , left with Professor Hyslop

and d raw n while he felt he was overshado w ed by the
personality of the artist R ob ert Swain Gifford
(see C h a p te r 11 ).
Painting by Gifford (1840-1905) which shows a landscape

with gnarled, windblow n trees.
11
Obsession a n d Possession
I arg u e d in C h a p te r E ight th a t th e claim s so frequently m ad e by the

controls of m edium s to o p era te th e m e d iu m s n eu ro m u sc u la r
a p p a ra tu s directly, m u ch as o rd in arily she does herself, c a n n o t (at least
in th e g reat m ajo rity of cases) be taken a t face value. M ed iu m s as it
w ere play at bein g possessed. I do not m ean th a t they are not in earnest,
o r th a t they are conscious deceivers. I m ean sim ply th a t the w hole
d ra m a o f co m m u n ic atio n an d control, though it m ay som etim es serve
as a vehicle for p a ra n o rm a lly ac q u ired inform ation, is a fiction spun
from w ho know s w h at strange th rea d s w ithin the deeps of the h id d en
self. Is there ever a reality co rresp o n d in g to th a t w hich the m edium istic
tran c e m erely sim ulates, a possession th a t is not ju st play-acting?
In recent years possession, w h eth e r considered as a v ariety o f m en tal
illness o r as a m ode of diabolic m ischief-m aking, has u n d erg o n e a
cu rio u s revival - one th a t, could they know ab o u t it, w ould have
sad d en ed a n d astonished fo rw ard -th in k in g V ic to ria n agnostics. W e
even have, once ag ain , clergym en w ho are virtu ally specialists in
exorcism . T h e form of possession w hich they have p rin cip ally to
c o m b at, or ra th e r p erh ap s the form w hich m ost often m akes headlines,
is the diabolic, b u t cases of ostensible possession by deceased h u m a n
beings also cro p up. V ery fo rtu n a te ly it is only the la tte r w hich we
need, for present purposes, to consider.
Closely related to cases of ostensible possession, a n d in p ractice not
easy to se p arate from them , are cases o f ostensible obsession. In cases of
possession the supposed in tru d in g en tity displaces or p a rtly displaces
the victim from his body, a n d o b tain s direct con tro l o f it - the sam e sort
o f co n tro l, p resum ably, as the victim him self had. (It will be
u n d ersto o d here th a t I am talking ab o u t the e x tern als of the
p h en o m en a , not specu latin g as to th eir u n d erly in g cause.) In cases of
obsession, th e victim rem ains in im m ed iate control of his body, b u t the
supposed in tru d in g en tity influences his m ind. It establishes a sort of
p arasitic relatio n sh ip w ith his m in d , w hereby it ca n to an ex ten t see
148
w h a t he sees, feel w h a t he feels, enjoy w h a t he enjoys, etc., a n d c a n also

c h a n g e th e course o f his th o u g h ts a n d ac tio n s to co n fo rm w ith its ow n
desires. T h e process is co m m o n ly , b u t very v ag u ely , looked u p o n as
on e o f rec ip ro c al te lep a th y . T h e v ictim m ay h av e a feeling o f b ein g
o v ersh a d o w e d ' by a n o th e r p erso n ality , a n d som e w riters h av e seen in
obsession a possible e x p la n a tio n for v ario u s form s of m e n ta l
d istu rb a n c e , in c lu d in g pho b ias, m o rb id crav in g s, sexual perversions,
su d d e n ch a n g es of c h a ra c te r, p a ra n o id delusions, aggressive o u tb u rsts
a n d h allu cin atio n s.
Cases b o th of o stensible possession a n d o f osten sib le obsession crop
u p from tim e to tim e in th e a n n a ls o f b o th S p iritu a lism a n d psychical
research. P a rtic u la rly p o p u la r w ith S p iritu a lists h av e b ee n th e series of
cases re p o rte d in d e ta il by D r C a rl W ick la n d of C h ic a g o in his wellk n ow n book Thirty Tears among the Dead (1924). W ic k la n d b elieved th a t
m a n y cases of m e n ta l illness w ere d u e to obsession by e a rth -b o u n d
spirits o f deceased persons. H is m e th o d of ta c k lin g these cases was to
in d u c e the obsessing spirits, if necessary by elec tric shocks, to leave the
v ic tim s body, to e n te r th e b o d y o f a m e d iu m (to w it M rs W ick lan d ),
a n d th e n ce finally dislodge th e m by persu asio n , o b ju rg a tio n a n d the
h elp o f sp irit guides. D r W ic k la n d possessed a n assertive p erso n ality , a
c o m m a n d in g voice, a n d a n electric shock m a c h in e o f terrifying
d im ensions. H is tre a tm e n t seem s often to h av e b een h ighly effective.
U n fo rtu n a te ly he show ed insufficient in te rest in th e m u n d a n e business
o f ch e ck in g o u t th e c o m m u n ic a to rs sta te m e n ts a b o u t them selves. In
th e g re a t m a jo rity o f cases he seem s sim ply to h av e assu m ed th a t
b ecause th e tre a tm e n t w orked, its ra tio n a le w as fu n d a m e n ta lly co rrect
- the p sy c h o th e ra p ists classic e rro r. H is cop io u s reco rd s p ro v id e little
solid evid en ce to su p p o rt his theories.
N o n e the less one h ere a n d th e re com es across cases o f ostensible
obsession th a t a re o f som e p ara p sy ch o lo g ica l in terest. F o r instance,
som e cu rio u s exam ples w ere re p o rte d to the F irst In te rn a tio n a l
C ongress o f P sychical R e sea rch , held a t C o p e n h a g e n in 1921, by D r E.
M a g n in o f G en e v a (96j. M a g n in gives, a m o n g o th ers, th e case of
M a d a m e M ., a g e d 52, w h o suffered from a te n d e n c y to u n d erg o
spasm odic a n d v iolent falls. H e r m a la d y h a d resisted th e efforts o f four
doctors. It c h a n c e d th a t one a fte rn o o n , in M a g n in s w a itin g room , this
lady e n c o u n te re d a c la irv o y a n t m e d iu m w h o m she h a d n ev e r m et
before. T h e c la irv o y a n t a fte rw a rd s told M a g n in th a t she h a d seen n ea r
M a d a m e M . an a u th o rita r ia n , b r u ta l a n d w icked m an . M a g n in
b ro u g h t the ladies to g e th er, a n d th e m e d iu m , in tra n c e , w as co n tro lled
Obsession and Possession

149
by th e p u rp o rte d spirit of the m a n she h ad ju s t seen. H e claim ed to be
M a d a m e M .s father, called h er L ouise, spoke o f a q u arrel
im m ed iately p rio r to his d e a th (a q u a rre l b ro u g h t a b o u t by his refusal
to p u t on a n overcoat before going out). T h e fa th e r m en tio n ed
M a u ric e (his son-in-law ), a n d R e n (his grandson). F in ally he was
b ro u g h t to a p en iten t fram e o f m in d , a n d agreed to leave his d au g h ter.
T h e nam es an d facts given, th o u g h unknow n to M a g n in , w ere correct.
W h en th e m ed iu m aw oke she gave a n a c c u ra te descrip tio n of the old
g en tlem an a n d of the overcoat w hich h ad p re c ip ita te d the q u a rre l
(an d hence the old m a n s d ea th ), an d she gave the d a te of his d e a th as
17 D ecem b er 1913. T h e ac tu a l d a te was 19 D ecem b er 1913. M a d a m e
M .s sym ptom s d isap p eared .
T h e T h o m p s o n -G ifF o r d C a se
T h e m ost volum inously d o cu m en te d , a n d p ro b ab ly th e most
e x tra o rd in a ry , of all the obsession cases w hich have been subjected to
serious investigation is th a t generally know n as the T h o m p so n - G ifford
case. T h e p rin cip al investigator, Professor J . H . H yslop (1854-1920),
form erly professor of logic an d ethics a t C o lu m b ia U niversity, was
secretary an d executive head o f the A S P R , w hich he h a d in effect relo u n d ed in 1907. A d ed ica ted believer in survival, he was none th e less
a stickler for th e rec o rd in g an d p u b lic atio n o f all possible details of
seances, case investigations, etc., an d his rep o rt on th e T h o m p so n GitTord case occupies 469 pages of the Proceedings o f the A S P R for the
year 1909 (71a; cf. 71c, pp. 203-230). As a result o f his investigations,
he b ecam e convinced th a t c e rta in sym ptom s of a p p a re n t m en tal
d istu rb a n ce m ay som etim es be d u e to the influence o f obsessing spirits.
H e su bsequently cam e u p o n fu rth e r cases w hich he th o u g h t su p p o rted
this view, an d investigated th em by the m ethods he h ad tried o ut in the
T h o m p so n -G iffo rd case. T hese m ethods involved co nsu ltin g several
different m edium s, som etim es w ith a n d som etim es w ith o u t the
presence of the obsessed person. E ach of the m ed iu m s w ould
clairv o y antly see th e obsessing entities, be them selves co n tro lled by
them , etc. If the statem en ts m a d e by o r th ro u g h the various m edium s
ag reed w ith each o th er, a n d w ith the p a tie n ts sym ptom s, H yslop
w ould diagnose a tru e obsession, a n d m ight instigate a cure on this
assum ption.
A fter H y slo p s d e a th , his p rocedures w ere taken u p by a colleague,
D r T itu s Bull, a neurologist p rac tisin g in N ew Y ork (86a; 86b). It seems
th a t Bull ev en tu ally took th e fu rth e r step of dispensing a lto g e th e r w ith
150
a n y d ire c t c o n ta c t b etw een p a tie n t a n d m e d iu m (134). H e w o u ld a c t in

effect as a pro x y sitter on b e h a lf o f th e obsessed person. N o w if u n d e r
these conditions:
(a) obsessing en titie s c o m m u n ic a te d a n d gav e c o rre c t in fo rm a tio n
a b o u t them selves.
(b) u n k n o w n to th e p a tie n t these en titie s w ere ta lk ed o r cajoled
in to q u ittin g ; a n d
(c) th e p a tie n t th e re u p o n reco v ered ,
we w ould have a case p re se n tin g severe a n d obvio u s difficulties for the
s u p e r-E S P hypothesis.
I d o not know w h e th e r a n y o f B ulls cases m e t these c rite ria . T h e
records w hich h av e b een p u b lish ed re la te m a in ly to th e e a rlie r period.
H e seem s to h av e h a d , like W ic k la n d , a good success rate.
U n fo rtu n a te ly , a n d also like W ick la n d , he te n d e d to a c c e p t th e m ere
fact of cu re as su p p o rtin g his theo ry . H e d id n o t go o u t o f his w ay to
verify th e c o m m u n ic a to rs sta te m e n ts a b o u t them selves.
T o re tu rn to th e T h o m p so n -G iffo rd case: T h e obsessed person
h ere was F re d e ric L. T h o m p so n , ag e d 36 a t the b eg in n in g o f th e events
co n c ern ed . T h o m p so n was a g o ld sm ith by profession, a n d had
occasionally e x h ib ite d som e slight ta le n t for sketch in g . D u rin g the
su m m er a n d a u tu m n o f 1905 he w as fre q u e n tly seized w ith im pulses to
sketch a n d p a in t in oils. W h ile p a in tin g he often felt, a n d re m a rk e d to
his wife (she con firm ed it), th a t he w as a n a rtist n a m e d R o b e rt S w ain
G ifford (1840-1905), w h o m he h ad m e t briefly a few tim es, b u t of
w hose w ork he knew v irtu a lly n o th in g .
In J a n u a r y 1906 he w en t to a n e x h ib itio n of G iffo rd s w ork, an d
th e re le arn ed for th e first tim e th a t G ifford h a d d ie d a y e a r previously.
W hile looking at one o f th e p ic tu res he h e a rd a voice say, Y o u see w hat
I h av e done. C a n you n o t take u p a n d finish m y w o rk ? A fter this
episode, th e u rge to p a in t b ec am e stro n g er, a n d he b e g a n to have
fre q u en t visual a n d a u d ito ry h allu cin atio n s. H e p a in te d som e of these
visions, a n d sold tw o o r th re e o f th e re su lta n t p ic tu re s (th eir
resem blance to G ifford's w ork w as c o m m e n te d u p o n ). T h e visions
w ere especially of lan d scap es w ith w in d b lo w n trees; a n d o n e p a rtic u la r
scene - of g n arle d oaks on a p ro m o n to ry by ra g in g seas - c o n tin u a lly
h a u n te d him . H e d id several sketches ol it, a n d a p a in tin g , w h ich he
called T h e B attle o f th e E le m e n ts.
I he p ain tin g s w ere d o n e in states o f m in d w h ich ra n g e d from slight
dissociation to m ore o r less co m p lete a u to m a tism . T h o m p so n h ad
alw ays b een d re a m y a n d p ro n e to reverie. N ow he b e c am e in c ap a b le
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ol a tte n d in g pro p erly to his w ork, a n d his finan cial position

d e terio rate d . H e b egan to fear he was b ecom ing insane, an d on 16
J a n u a r y 1907 called on H yslop, to w hom a m u tu a l a c q u a in ta n c e had
reco m m en d ed he go.
H yslop was a t first inclined to th in k him m entally d istu rb e d , b u t
decided th a t it m ight be interesting to check o u t the G ifford co n n ectio n
by tak in g him to a m edium . A ccordingly he took him on 1 8 Ja n u a ry to
visit a non-professional clairv o y an t m ed iu m , M rs R a th b u n . M rs
R a th b u n spoke of a m an b eh in d him w ho was fond of p ain tin g , an d
described this m an in term s not in c o m p atib le w ith G ifford. T h o m p so n
told h er th a t he w as try in g to find a c e rta in scene o f oak trees by the sea.
She described a g ro u p of oak trees w ith fallen branches, a n d said it was
a place n e a r the sea, to w hich one h ad to go by boat.
T h o m p so n was en c o u rag ed by this sittin g to believe th a t he was not
insane an d ca rrie d on sketching an d p a in tin g his visions. M ean w h ile
H yslop took him to various o th e r m edium s (alw ays incognito). T h e
m ost in teresting sittin g in this period was one w ith th e tran c e m ed iu m
M rs C h e n o w e th (M rs Soule) on 16 M a rc h 1907. Full stenographic
records w ere m a d e o f w h a t h er control said (she also w rote
occasionally). M u c h cam e th ro u g h a t this sitting to identify Gifford.
H is ch a racteristic clothes an d m annerism s, his fondness for rugs, his
love o f hills a n d the o cean a n d of red an d b row n leaves, the oil skins he
w ore w hen b o a tin g an d p ain tin g , his liking for m isty scenes, a n d the
unfinished canvases in his studio, w ere all un m istak ab ly referred to.
M a n y of the statem en ts m ad e w ere confirm ed by M rs G ifford. G ilford
was rep resen ted as saying, I will help you, because I w an t som eone
w ho ca n ca tc h the in sp iratio n of these things as I did, to c a rry on my
w ork.'
T h o m p so n soon afterw ard s decided th a t he w ould set fo rth to try to
locate the a c tu a l scenes of his visions, keeping a day by day d ia ry of his
endeavours. O n 2 J u ly 1907, before d e p a rtin g , he gave H yslop a
n u m b e r of th e sketches w hich he h ad done u n d e r the G ifford
influence in the su m m er an d a u tu m n o f 1905. H e w ent first to
N o n q u itt, M assachusetts, w here G ifford h ad h ad his su m m er hom e,
ex p ectin g to locate th e scenes in th a t neig h b o u rh o o d . H e learn ed here
(M rs G ifford allow ed him to see h e r late h u sb a n d s studio) th a t m ore
likely settings w ere various of th e E liz ab e th Islands, olf B u zzard s Bay,
M assachusetts, an d especially N au sh o n Island, on w hich G ifford h ad
been b orn. H e th e re u p o n set off for these islands. T h e result of his to u r
m ay be su m m arized as follows:
152
1. T h o m p so n discovered set u p on a n easel in G ifford s stu d io a

p a in tin g th a t co rresp o n d e d in close a n d u n m is ta k a b le d e ta il w ith a
sketch o f his ow n, m a d e from a vision, a sketch w h ich w as a m o n g those
he h ad left b e h in d w ith H yslop. H yslop p rin ts p h o to g ra p h s ol b o th in
his p a p e r, to g e th er w ith a le tte r from M rs T h o m p so n w h ich m akes it
c le a r th a t T h o m p so n co u ld not h av e seen th e p a in tin g o n a n y previous
occasion. L a te r on T h o m p so n fo u n d th e o rig in a l scene on N ash a w en a
Islan d , a n d p a in te d it himself.
Also in G iffo rd s stu d io w ere tw o o th e r p ic tu re s w h ich H yslop
d escribes as id e n tic a l w ith sketches p reviously m a d e by T h o m p so n ,
sketches, how ever, w hich w ere n o t a m o n g those d ep o sited with
H yslop. T h e p h o to g ra p h s o f the G ifford p ic tu res re p ro d u c e d as
H y slo p s figure X I X a re so sm all a n d so p o o r th a t on e c a n n o t p roperly
assess th e sim ilarity for oneself.
2. T h o m p so n fo u n d a c tu a l scenes c o rre sp o n d in g to several o f the
sketches he h a d left w ith H yslop. H e p h o to g ra p h e d these scenes. T h e
p h o to g ra p h s (as re p ro d u c e d by H yslop) a re n o t o f good q u ality , and
som e o u tlin es h av e b een inked in. In one in stan ce - th a t o f a g ro u p of
trees n e a r N o n q u itt - th e rese m b la n ce b etw een th e co n fo rm atio n of
th e trees in th e sketch a n d in th e p h o to g ra p h is ex ceed in g ly close. In
o th e r cases, how ever, th e rese m b la n ce is m u c h less close, a n d I should
h esita te to p u t relian ce o n it; th o u g h it m ust be said th a t from all
ac co u n ts sim ilarities o f c o lo u rin g b etw e en sketch a n d scene, w hich
c a n n o t o f course be assessed from a b lack a n d w h ite p h o to g ra p h , may
h ave been im pressive.
3. T h o m p so n also lo cated , o r believed th a t h e h a d lo cated , oth er
scenes from his visions. H e felt th a t he w as led o r g u id e d to th em . W hile
e x a m in in g a n d sketch in g such a scene, a g ro u p of trees on N aushon
Islan d , he h e a rd a voice tell h im to look on th e o th e r side o f th e trees.
H e d id so, a n d found G iffo rd s initials c a rv e d th e re , w ith th e y ear 1902.
H yslop la te r ex a m in e d th e c a rv in g (it w as n ot recen t) and
p h o to g ra p h e d it.
4. O n the sam e island T h o m p so n lo c ate d a n d p a in te d th e g ro u p of
g n a rle d oaks on a p ro m o n to ry by th e seas, th e g ro u p his e a rlie r pictures
o f w hich w as te rm e d T h e B attle o f th e E le m e n ts. A n e a rly sketch of
this h a d been left w ith H yslop. T h e p a in tin g from th e vision a n d the
p a in tin g from the rea lity resem ble ea ch o th e r closely. T h o m p s o n w ent
b ack to th e island w ith H y slo p a n d , a fte r m u c h difficulty, relo c ate d the
spot. H yslop took som e p h o to g ra p h s w h ich clea rly show relevant
d etails o f the tw isted a n d fallen b ran c h es. U n fo rtu n a te ly h e w as not

153
ab le to take p h o to g rap h s show ing the w hole o f th a t side of the
p ro m o n to ry w hich is represen ted in the paintings, b u t h a d instead to
take close-up shots of the oaks from a n o th e r angle. T h u s th e u n d o u b te d
co rresp o ndences betw een the a c tu a l scene an d the visionary sketches
have to be w orked o u t ra th e r th a n being in stan tly obvious to th e eye.
It m ust be p o in ted o u t a t this ju n c tu re th a t as a lad T h o m p so n had
lived for a couple o f years in N ew Bedford, w hich is w ith in striking
d istan ce of the E liz ab e th Islands. H e m a in ta in e d (an d th ere w as never
an y serious reason to q uestion his v eracity on this or an y o th e r asp ect of
the case) th a t he h ad never visited the islands; a n d the tr u th o f this
assertion was attested by his m o th er, his sister a n d his wife.
H yslop decided th a t in th e light o f these new, an d exceedingly
curious developm ents, he a n d T h o m p so n (the la tte r incognito as
usual) should have some fu rth e r sittings, an d in A pril 1908 he once
ag ain b eg an to do the rounds of the m edium s. U n fo rtu n a te ly they
o b ta in ed n o th in g o f interest p rio r to the m iddle of M ay, a t w hich point
garb led versions of the stories leaked into the press, an d could have
been picked up an d acted upon by the m edium s concern ed . Still, a lot
o f m a terial cam e th ro u g h ' w hich could h ard ly have been the result of
clan d estine enquiries. A t sittings in J u n e M rs C h e n o w e th s controls
gave q u ite a n u m b e r o f sm all b u t co rrect details ab o u t Gifford.
M en tio n was m ad e o f (for instance) his h a b it o f holding so m eth in g like
a c ig a re tte (a little stick) in his m o u th w hile pain tin g ; o f the fact th a t
he h a d illu strated poetry; of his tw o studios, tow n a n d co u n try
(identifying details of th e la tte r w ere given); o f his old-fashioned
fu rn itu re a n d ru sh -b o tto m e d chairs; of a b u re a u w ith o u tw ard sp read in g legs; o f his h a b it o f keeping large q u an titie s o f his old brushes
to p ain t rocks a n d ro u g h things; of a scene w hich he h ad p a in te d n ear
his hom e; of a w hite lighthouse there w ith a steady (i.e. n o t revolving)
light; a n d of th e fact th a t he h ad lost a child a n d tried to p u t its face into
pictures.
A t the sittin g o f 5 J u n e 1908, G ifford him self p u rp o rte d to control
M rs C h e n o w eth , a n d asked if T h o m p so n rem em b ered a n incident
w hen he h ad stood on a bridge, an d looking dow n into the w ate r saw
th ere p ictures like reflections, w hich h ad inspired him w ith a g reat
desire to p ain t. T h o m p so n h ad in fact h ad such an experien ce w hile
sta n d in g on a b ridge on N au sh o n Island. G ifford ag a in ostensibly
co n tro lled, a n d show ed a know ledge o f T h o m p so n s hallu cin atio n s, at
a sittin g on 9 D ecem b er 1908 w ith a n o th e r tra n c e m ed iu m , M rs
S m e a d . T h e p u rp o rte d G ifford w rote o cean yes yes yes, d rew w hat
154
looked like a pile o f rocks su rm o u n te d by a cross, a n d th e n w ro te m y

n a m e is on it, m y n a m e is on it. O v e r a m o n th b elo re th e sittin g ,
T h o m p so n h a d com e across such a cross beside th e sea - it fo rm e d p a rt
o f th e w reckage o f a ship - a n d h a d seen on it G ilfo rd s in itials, R . S. G.
W h e n he a p p ro a c h e d th e w reck, th e initials faded . H e w as, how ever,
so im pressed, th a t he p a in te d th e scene, a n d d escrib ed th e in c id e n t in a
le tte r to his wife, w hich was in H y slo p s h a n d s before th e sittin g o f 9
D ecem b er. N o n e o f th e m edium s, in c id e n ta lly , e v e r gave G iffo rd s full
n am e, b u t M rs S m ead p ro d u c e d his initials, first as R . G . S. a n d th en as
R . S. G.
It does n o t seem to m e th a t e ith e r th e th e o ry of fra u d o r th e th eo ry of
c h a n c e coin cid en ce c a n usefully be a p p lie d to th e T h o m p so n -G iffo rd
case, w h e th e r we th in k ju s t o f T h o m p s o n s visions, o r o f th e w hole
co m p lex o f o th e r p h e n o m e n a (th e p ain tin g s, th e m ed iu m istic sittings,
etc.) associated w ith them . T w o sorts o f ac c o u n ts o f T h o m p s o n s
visions m ig h t be given from th e p o in t o f view o f th e su p er-E S P
hypothesis. T h e first w ould re q u ire us to suppose th a t, for some
a p p re c ia b le tim e p rio r to G iffo rd s d e a th , T h o m p so n h ad b een in close
a n d fre q u e n t (b u t unconscious) ex tra sen so ry c o n ta c t w ith h im (it will
be recalled th a t th e tw o h ad m et), a n d h a d stored u p for su b seq u en t use
th e m anifold im ages th u s o b ta in e d . N ow th e re is so m e th in g to suggest
th a t in c e rta in cases o f sp o n ta n eo u s E S P th e re m ay h av e b een a delay
of a few h o u rs b etw een th e receip t o f a n ex tra sen so ry im pression a n d its
em erg en c e in to consciousness. B ut I know o f no case w h ich involves
a n y th in g like th e le n g th of d elay a n d th e n u m b e r o f im pressions w hich
on e finds in th e T h o m p so n -G iffo rd case. I th in k th erefo re th a t one
should reject this version o f th e su p e r-E S P hypothesis.
T h e second possible version o f th e su p e r-E S P h y p o th esis w ould be
the m o re o rth o d o x one w h ich w ould p o stu la te th a t T h o m p so n
a c q u ire d c la irv o y a n t know ledge o f th e canv ases still in G iffords
stu dio, le arn ed te le p a th ic a lly (p e rh a p s from M rs G ifford) o f G iffords
fav o u rite h u n tin g gro u n d s, cla irv o y a n tly in v e stig a ted th em , an d
selected from th em , as th e them es of re c u rre n t visions, th e sort o f spots
w hich m ight a p p e a l to a p a in te r. T h e only th in g I c a n say in fav o u r of
this fan ta stic hypothesis (for w h ich th e a n n a ls o f E S P p ro v id e no
p ara llel) is th a t it m ay be less fan ta stic th a n its ch ie f c o m p e tito r, the
survival theory. T h is does n o t seem to m e a sufficient reason for
ac c e p tin g it.
As soon as we pass on to co n sid er o th e r aspects o f th e case, b o th forms
of th e su p e r-E S P hypothesis ru n u p o n lu r th e r difficulties. T h e re is
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firstly th e p ro b lem o f'th e style an d te ch n iq u e of th e paintings. T h is is

p e rh a p s th e least serious of the problem s. T h e resem blan ce of subjectm a tte r b etw een T h o m p so n s pain tin g s a n d G iffords was obvious to
anyone. As to w h e th e r o r n ot there w as an u n d erly in g sim ilarity of style
a n d tech n iq u e, ex p e rt opinions differed, a n d it is p erh ap s safer to say
th a t few experts could believe th a t th e T h o m p so n p ain tin g s w ere the
w ork of a m an w ho h ad only been p a in tin g a short tim e a n d h a d h ad
v irtu ally no form al train in g . Y et there could be little d o u b t th a t this
was so. It was clear, how ever, th a t T h o m p so n h ad alw ays h ad a talen t
for sketching, a n d we ca n h a rd ly define th e lim its o f th e possible in
respect of a sudden artistic flow ering.
A m ore serious p ro b lem is th a t of m otive. T h o m p so n s finances
suffered severely because of his o v erpow ering urge to sketch a n d p ain t,
an d he was a m a rrie d m an. N o such o v erpow ering urge h ad previously
crossed the threshold o f his consciousness. W e could say th a t it had
lain sim m ering in his unconscious for years p rio r to the d e a th of
G iflord, a n d th a t the d e a th (of w hich T h o m p so n rem a in ed u n aw are
for a year) h ad been picked u p an d unconsciously utilized as an excuse
for le ttin g it out. But these proposals a b o u t h ap p en in g s in the
unconscious m ind a re as u nverifiable as stories a b o u t the o th e r side of
now here, a n d seem to m e ju s t th e sort of b a rre n speculations w ith
w hich, I arg u e d in C h a p te r O n e , we should try to avoid b ecom ing
en tan g led.
F u rth e r vistas o f com plexity unfold if we take into acco u n t the
statem ents m ad e by th e various m edium s. A lth o u g h several of the
sittings w ere tedious a n d unsuccessful, it ce rtain ly seems to m e th a t at
others co rrect info rm atio n a b o u t G ifford cam e th ro u g h , in fo rm atio n
not in frequently u n k n o w n to e ith e r of the sitters. K now led g e w as also
show n o f the co n ten ts o f T h o m p so n s visions. T h e m ed iu m s m ust, it
seems, have te lep a th ic ally picked th e th o u g h t of G ifford from
T h o m p so n s m ind, a n d th e n have te lep ath ically a n d clairv o y an tly
located o th e r sources o f in fo rm atio n a b o u t him.
T h e re is no d o u b t th a t the sup er-E S P hypothesis, a p p lied to this case
(as to others) is messy in a w ay not to be eq u a te d w ith m ere com plexity.
If the survivalist theory w ere te n ab le it w ould im m ensely sim plify
things. T h e tro u b le w ith the survivalist theo ry is not exactly messiness,
b u t r a th e r conflict w ith o th e r areas o f o u r know ledge, a n d an
u n d erly in g vagueness upon c e rta in cru cial issues.
S uppose th a t, p u rely for the sake of a rg u m e n t, we w ere to accep t a
156
su rvivalist in te rp re ta tio n o f th e T h o m p so n -G iffo rd case. T he o b v io u s

q u estio n w ould th e n arise, w h a t sort o f re la tio n sh ip m ig h t be su p p o sed
to exist b etw een th e obsessing e n tity (th e d eceased G illo rd ), a n d his
w illing victim , T h o m p so n ? T h o m p s o n s m e n ta l sta te w h ile u n d e r th e
G ifford influence v arie d from d rea m in ess a n d m ild d isso ciatio n (to
w hich he was in an y case liable) to a fairly c o m p lete a u to m a tis m w ith
(p ro b a b ly ) a good deal of am n esia, n o t h o w ev e r q u ite a m o u n tin g to a
tran c e. I h av e seen n o t a few m e d iu m s in w h a t I sh o u ld guess w ere
states from th e sam e ran g e. It m ig h t be p ro p o sed , for th e sorts of
reasons m e n tio n e d in previous ch a p te rs, th a t e x tra sen so ry influences
m ost rea d ily w ell u p into consciousness o r in to a c tio n w h en th e subject
is in a d re a m lik e a n d dissociated sta te o f m in d , a n d it m ig h t also be
pro p o sed (th o u g h this is a c o n sid erab ly d isp u te d p o in t) th a t in some
p eo p le such a sta te m ay be a c c o m p a n ie d by a h eig h ten ed
responsiveness to suggestion. C o m b in e these n o tio n s w ith th a t of
rec ip ro c al te le p a th y b etw e en th e m e d iu m a n d th e d is c a m a te e n t ity o ne m ig h t suppose th a t th e m e d iu m sim ply picks u p w h a te v e r the
d is c a m a te e n tity clearly im agines, o r one m ig h t assign
the
la tte r a m ore ac tiv e role o f som ehow in je ctin g m a te ria l in to the
fo rm e rs d re a m - a n d we a rriv e a g a in a t a view o f th e process of
c o m m u n ic a tio n very like th e th e o ry o f o v ersh a d o w in g w hich I
o u tlin e d in e a rlie r ch a p te rs. A n d it is very easy to see how th is th eo ry
m ig h t be a p p lie d in th e T h o m p so n -G iffo rd case - p ro v id ed alw ays
(an d it is a b ig proviso) th a t we ca n a rriv e a t a co n c e p t o f telep ath y
w hich will
fill th e bill. T h e o nly difference b etw een the
T h o m p so n -G iffo rd case a n d m a n y cases o f m e n ta l m e d iu m sh ip w ould
be first th a t T h o m p so n w as in flu en ced on ly by one d is c a m a te en tity,
a n d second th a t th e influence m an ifested itself b o th in sensory
h a llu c in a tio n a n d
in m o to r au to m a tism . If we look u p o n
the
T h o m p so n -G iffo rd case in these term s, th e re is no q u estio n of its being
a n ex a m p le o f tru e possession - o f th e d ire c t c o n tro l of a liv in g p erso n s
n e u ro m u sc u la r a p p a r a tu s by a d is c a m a te person.
P o s s e s s io n
A re th e re a n y cases a t all w hich even suggest a tr u e possession? A case
w hich is often cited as b ein g a t a n y ra te a c o n te n d e r is th a t o f L u ra n c y
V e n n u m , th e W atsek a W o n d e r. T h is case is d escrib ed in a v ery rare
p a m p h le t by E. W . S tevens (152), the d o c to r w ho w as in c h a rg e of this
y o u n g lady. T h e p a m p h le t was a b rid g e d a n d e x c e rp te d by F. W . H.
M yers, w ho also a d d e d details o b ta in e d by R ic h a rd H o d g so n from
157
interview s w ith som e o f the p rin cip al p a rtic ip a n ts (110a, I, pp.

3 6 0 -3 7 0). I shall d ra w upon the a b rid g m e n t in m y ac co u n t of the case.
L u ra n c y V e n n u m was b o rn on 16 A pril 1864, a t a place a b o u t seven
miles from W atseka, Illinois. H e r fam ily m oved to W atsek a on 1 A pril
1871. T h e y took a house a b o u t tw o h u n d re d yards from th a t of a M r A.
B. R o lf a n d his fam ily. T h e tw o fam ilies developed only a form al a n d
d istan t a c q u a in ta n c e . A b o u t the a u tu m n of 1871, th e V e n n u m fam ily
m oved aw ay from the vicinity of the Roffs, a n d nev er a g a in lived
n ea rer to th em th a n th e ex trem e opposite lim its of the city .
In J u ly 1877, L u ra n c y beg an to have fits o r trances. It was generally
th o u g h t th a t she h ad becom e insane. M r Rolf, whose deceased
d a u g h te r M a ry Rolf, h ad h ad periods of insanity, p ersu a d ed M r
V en n u m to let him b rin g D r E. W. Stevens to see her. D r S tevens an d
M r R off visited L u ra n c y on 31 J a n u a r y 1878.
It ap p e ars th a t various deceased persons now p u rp o rte d to co n tro l
L u ra n cy a n d to speak th ro u g h her. A fter being h y p n o tized by D r
Stevens, she sta te d th a t one M a ry R o lf w ished to com e. M r R o ff said,
Yes, let h er com e, w ell be glad to have h er co m e. N ext m o rn in g the
girl b eg an to claim to be M a ry Roff, w ho h ad died, ag ed eighteen, in
J u ly 1865, w hen L u ra n c y was ju s t over a y ear old.
A b o u t a w e e k la te r , M r s A . B. R off, a n d h e r d a u g h t e r , M r s M in e r v a A lte r,
M a r y s sister, h e a r i n g o f th e r e m a r k a b le c h a n g e , w e n t to see th e g irl. As
th e y c a m e in sig h t . . . M a r y [i.e . L u r a n c y c o n tr o lle d b y M a r y R o ll]
lo o k in g o u t o f th e w in d o w , e x c la im e d e x u ltin g ly , T h e r e c o m e s m y m a a n d
sis te r N e rv ie ! - th e n a m e b y w h ic h M a r y u se d to c a ll M r s A lte r in g irlh o o d .
As th e y c a m e in to th e h o u se sh e c a u g h t th e m a r o u n d t h e i r n eck s, w e p t a n d
c r ie d fo r jo y , a n d se e m e d so h a p p y to m e e t th e m . F ro m th is tim e o n she
se e m e d m o re h o m e s ic k th a n b e fo re . A t tim e s sh e se e m e d a lm o s t f ra n tic to
go h o m e .
O n th e 1 1 th d a y o f F e b r u a r y , 1878, th e y s e n t th e g irl to M r R o l f s, w h e re
sh e m e t h e r p a a n d m a , a n d e a c h m e m b e r o f th e fa m ily , w ith th e m o st
g r a tify in g e x p re ss io n s o f lo v e a n d a ffe c tio n . . . O n b e in g a s k e d h o w lo n g
sh e w o u ld sta y , sh e sa id , T h e a n g e ls w ill let m e s ta y till so m e tim e in M a y ;
a n d sh e m a d e it h e r h o m e th e r e till M a y 21 st, th r e e m o n th s a n d te n d a y s , a
h a p p y , c o n t e n t e d d a u g h t e r a n d s is te r in a b o r r o w e d b o d y .
T h e g irl n o w in h e r n e w h o m e se e m e d p e r fe c tly h a p p y a n d c o n te n t,
k n o w in g e v e ry p e rs o n a n d e v e r y th in g t h a t M a r y k n e w w h e n in h e r o r ig in a l
b o d y , . . . r e c o g n iz in g a n d c a llin g by n a m e th o se w h o w e re frie n d s a n d
n e ig h b o u r s o f th e fa m ily fro m 1852 to 1865 . . . c a llin g a t t e n ti o n to scores,
yes, h u n d r e d s o f in c id e n ts t h a t tr a n s p ir e d d u r i n g h e r n a t u r a l life. D u r in g
all th e p e r io d o f h e r s o jo u r n a t M r R o f f s sh e h a d n o k n o w le d g e of, a n d d id
n o t re c o g n iz e , a n y o f M r V e n n u m s fa m ily .
O n e e v e n in g , in th e l a tt e r p a r t o f M a r c h , M r R o lf w as s ittin g in th e ro o m
158
w a i t i n g fo r te a , a n d r e a d i n g th e p a p e r , M a r y b e in g o u t in th e y a r d . H e
a s k e d M r s R o l f if sh e c o u ld fin d a c e r t a i n v e lv e t h e a d - d r e s s t h a t M a r y u se d
to w e a r th e la s t y e a r b e fo re s h e d ie d . I f so to la y it o n th e s t a n d a n d say
n o t h i n g a b o u t it, to see if M a r y w o u ld r e c o g n iz e it. M r s R o f f r e a d i ly lo u n d
a n d la id it o n th e s ta n d . T h e g irl so o n c a m e in , a n d im m e d i a te l y e x c la im e d
as sh e a p p r o a c h e d th e s ta n d , O h , t h e r e is m y h e a d - d r e s s I w o r e w h e n m y
h a i r w a s s h o r t ! S h e th e n a s k e d , M a , w h e r e is m y b o x o l le tte r s ? H a v e y o u
g o t th e m y e t? M r s R o l f r e p lie d , Y es, M a r y , I h a v e s o m e o f t h e m . S h e a t
o n c e g o t th e b o x w ith m a n y le tte r s in it. A s M a r y b e g a n to e x a m in e th e m
sh e s a id , O h , m a , h e r e is a c o l la r I t a tte d ! M a , w h y d id y o u n o t sh o w to m e
m y le tte r s a n d th in g s b e f o re ? T h e c o l la r h a d b e e n p r e s e r v e d a m o n g th e
r e lic s o f th e l a m e n te d c h ild a s o n e o f th e b e a u ti f u l th in g s h e r f in g e rs h a d
w r o u g h t b e f o re L u r a n c y w a s b o r n ; a n d so M a r y c o n t i n u a l ly r e c o g n iz e d
e v e r y little t h i n g a n d r e m e m b e r e d e v e r y little in c id e n t o f h e r g ir lh o o d .
. . . M r R o f f a s k e d M a r y if s h e r e m e m b e r e d m o v in g t o T e x a s f i n 1 857] o r
a n y t h i n g a b o u t it. Y es, p a , a n d I r e m e m b e r c r o s s in g R e d R i v e r a n d o f
se e in g a g r e a t m a n y I n d ia n s , a n d I r e m e m b e r M r s R e e d e r s g irls , w h o w e re
in o u r c o m p a n y . A n d t h u s sh e f ro m tim e to tim e m a d e first m e n tio n o f
th in g s t h a t t r a n s p ir e d th i r t e e n to tw e n ty - fiv e y e a r s a g o . . .
A fter a few b rie f re a p p e a ra n c e s , th e L u ra n c y p erso n a lity re tu rn e d

co m p letely on 21 M a y 1878, a n d re m a in e d in c o n tro l th e re a fte r, a p a rt
from b rie f in te rv e n tio n s from M a ry w h en L u ra n c y visited th e Roffs.
L u ra n c y s h e a lth re m a in e d good, a n d th e re w as no re tu r n o f th e fits.
T h e sim plest e x p la n a tio n o f this very c u rio u s case is clearly th a t of
im p e rso n atio n , d e lib e ra te o r hysterical. L u ra n c y , it m ig h t be
suggested, th o u g h not living close to th e Rolfs, m ig h t h av e picked up
gossip a b o u t them . A fter she w en t to live w ith th e m she w o u ld have
h a d all sorts o f o p p o rtu n itie s o f p ick in g u p triv ia l b its o f in fo rm atio n .
W e have no v e rb a tim rep o rts o f h e r c o n v e rsatio n s w ith th e Roffs,
rep o rts in w hich th e hints, le a d in g questions, etc., w hich p ro b ab ly
h elp ed her, co u ld be d e te c te d , a n d from w hich th e n u m e ro u s m istakes
w hich she p ro b a b ly m a d e co u ld be d isin te rre d in stead o f left b u ried
a n d forgotten. All this is very tru e , a n d p erfectly a rg u a b le ; yet I do not
find it a lto g e th e r convincing. W h e n H o d g so n visited W a tse k a in A pril
1890, he o b ta in e d from the w itnesses (in this case M a r y s sister
M in e rv a ) such d etails as the follow ing.
L u r a n c y , a s M a r y R o lf, s ta y e d a t M r s A l t e r s h o m e f o r so m e tim e , a n d
a lm o s t e v e r y h o u r o f th e d a y so m e tr if lin g in c id e n t o f M a r y R o l f s life w as
r e c a lle d b y L u r a n c y . O n e m o r n in g sh e s a id , R i g h t o v e r t h e r e b y th e
c u r r a n t b u s h e s is w h e r e c o u s in A llie g r e a s e d th e c h i c k e n s e y e . A llie w a s a
c o u s in o f M a r y R o ff, a n d liv e d in P e o r ia , 111. S h e v is ite d th e R o lfs in th e
159
life tim e o f M a r y , w ith w h o m sh e p la y e d . T h is in c id e n t h a p p e n e d se v e ra l

y e a r s b e fo re th e d e a t h o f M a r y R off. M r s A lte r r e m e m b e r e d it v e ry w ell,
a n d r e c a lle d t h e ir b r in g in g th e c h ic k e n in to th e h o u se fo r t r e a tm e n t.
T h a t does not sound the sort o f fact likely to have been elicited by a
lead in g question, o r picked u p in casual gossip, a n d it w ould take q u ite
a lot o f fo rg o tten m istakes to co u n te rb a la n c e it.
If the case was not one of im p erso n atio n , how m igh t we reg a rd it
(speaking still, a n d sim ply for the sake o f a rg u m e n t, from a survivalistic
view point)? W as it an ex am p le of u n u su ally sustained o v ersh ad o w in g ,
basically like o th e r cases of m e d iu m sh ip o r obsession, o r was it a tru e
case o f possession? It is q u ite unlike m ost cases of m ed iu m sh ip in the
length o f tim e for w hich the a p p a re n t co n tro l lasted, in the
com pleteness of the co n tro l over all aspects of m e n tal a n d physical
functioning, a n d in the sustained m an ifestatio n of w h at was
a p p a re n tly a w hole a n d recognized personality. Y et th ere are
in d ications - initial trances, a n d ostensible con tro l by o th e r deceased
persons - th a t L u ra n c y was basically of th e m ed ium istic type. P erh ap s
she h ad also tendencies tow ards secondary p erso n ality (if th a t is indeed
a different thing). Som e co m b in atio n of these tw o ideas m ig h t suffice to
ex p lain th e case w ith o u t resort to th e fu rth e r hypothesis of possession.
O f course if one tu rn s to the su per-E S P hypothesis the usual obvious
difficulties arise - th e ex ten t of the E SP involved a n d th e ra p id ity w ith
w hich it m ust be supposed to o p era te, to g e th er w ith th e len g th of tim e
for w hich it w ould have h ad to have been alm ost co n tin u o u sly
sustained, a n d the m otive for the c h a rad e. But before one rejects this
hypothesis as a lto g e th e r o u tru n n in g a n y th in g th a t we know a b o u t ESP
one m ust recollect the obvious point th a t I have in effect m ad e several
tim es before, nam ely th a t the ov ersh ad o w in g hypothesis itself
p ostulates a form o f te lep a th y - th a t betw een o versh ad o w er a n d
o vershadow ed - w hich w ould a p p e a r to have some o f these d e b a ta b le
ch aracteristics.
Som e people m ig h t be te m p te d to say th a t the case o f L u ra n cy
V en n u m was all a long tim e ago; a n d p erh ap s it d id n t h ap p e n , an d
m ay b e it w ould be as well if th a t w ere so. T h e re is how ever a very m uch
m ore recent, a n d even m ore rem a rk a b le , case w hich p resents ce rtain
an alo g o us features, a n d w hich has been studied by persons w ho fully
a p p re c ia te the sta n d a rd s of evidence w hich m ust be ap p lied in
in v estig atin g such cases. I refer to th e c a s e o fU tta ra H u d d a r, rep o rted
by S tevenson a n d P asrich a in th e Journal o f the A S P R for J u ly 1980
160
(154b ; cf. 154a). U tta r a is a n u n m a rrie d lad y , b o rn in 1941, a n d liv in g

in N a g p u r, M a h a r a s h tra , In d ia . S he is a p a rt-tim e le c tu re r in the
P o s tg ra d u a te D e p a rtm e n t o f P u b lic A d m in is tra tio n a t N a g p u r
U n iv ersity . E arly in 1974, U t t a r a s n o rm a l p e rso n a lity w as q u ite
su d d e n ly rep la ce d by a m a rk e d ly different one, w h o ca lled h erself
S h a ra d a . S h a ra d a re m a in e d in c o n tro l for several w eeks, a n d has
re a p p e a re d since a t least th irty tim es, for p erio d s ra n g in g from on e day
to seven weeks.
S h a ra d a a p p e a re d ig n o ra n t n o t ju s t o f U t t a r a s fam ily an d
su rro u n d in g s, b u t o f all fea tu re s o f m o d e rn lile p o st-d a tin g the
In d u stria l R e v o lu tio n . S he dressed, a c te d a n d spoke like a m a rrie d
B engali w o m an , a n d sp e n t m u c h of h e r tim e in religious exercises. She
claim ed to be the d a u g h te r o f a c e rta in B ra ja n a th C h a tto p a d h a y a ,
gave m a n y n am es a n d o th e r d etails o f h e r relativ es, a n d show ed a
k n ow ledge o f v ario u s ob scu re villages a n d tem p les in B engal. U tta ra
states, a n d h e r relativ es co n firm , th a t she has n ev e r visited Bengal.
M o st o f th e places m e n tio n e d by S h a ra d a a re in w h a t is now W est
B engal, som e 500 m iles from N a g p u r. A tow n ca lled B a n sb eria (n o rth
o f C a lc u tta ) figured p ro m in e n tly in S h a r a d a s statem en ts. It
tra n sp ire d th a t a fam ily n a m e d C h a tto p a d h a y a still lives th ere. T h e
h e a d o f this fam ily possesses a gen ealo g y for the p erio d 1 8 1 0-30 w h en it
seems from o th e r clues th a t S h a r a d a lived. T h is g en ealo g y lists five of
th e m en n a m e d by S h a ra d a , in rela tio n sh ip s to h e r c o rre sp o n d in g to
those w hich, as a d a u g h te r o f B ra ja n a th C h a tto p a d h a y a , she w ould
hav e h a d to them . U n fo rtu n a te ly it lists on ly m en, so it c a n n o t directly
co n firm , o r d isconfirm S h a r a d a s existence. T h e re le v a n t p a r t o f the
g en ealogy w as p u b lish ed in 1907 in a B engali m a g a z in e c irc u la tin g in
the a re a o f B ansberia.
S h a ra d a claim s to h av e fa in te d a fte r b ein g b itte n by a snake a t the
ag e o f 22, a n d to have k now n n o th in g since th e n u n til she aw o k e to
h e r p resen t in te rm itte n t existence.
T h e o ddest asp ect o f th e case rem a in s to be m e n tio n e d . S h a ra d a at
first show ed no know ledge o f M a ra th i, w h ich is U t t a r a s n ative
lan g u ag e (she has since le a rn e d a few phrases), b u t spoke fluent
B engali, a la n g u ag e w ith w hich U tta r a d enies all a c q u a in ta n c e . T h e re
is ab so lu tely no q u estio n o f S h a r a d a s c o m p e te n c e in B engali. Six
d ifferent w ell-e d u ca ted n ativ e speakers o f B engali w h o h av e conversed
w ith her, som etim es for long periods, testify on this p o in t. P a sric h a has
m a d e a ta p e -re c o rd in g o f S h a ra d a , a n d th e a u th o rs also possess
a n o th e r ta p e -re c o rd in g w ith p a rtia l tra n sc rip t.
161
I have a lre a d y co m m en ted on the im p o rta n ce o f cases o f responsive

xenoglossy an d on the difficulties w hich they present for th e su p er-E S P
hypothesis. It is ac co rd in g ly o f the first im p o rta n ce to in q u ire how far
U tta r a s claim to have no previous a c q u a in ta n c e w ith Bengali ca n be
su b stan tia te d . W hile still a t school she h ad h ad a few lessons in read in g
the scripts o f languages o th e r th a n M a ra th i, a n d these in clu d ed
Bengali. But she w as ta u g h t to p ro n o u n ce the letters of th e scripts w ith
M a ra th i sounds r a th e r th a n Bengali ones. H e r fa th e r h ad a few friends
from the B engali co m m u n ity in N a g p u r, b u t none o f th em ev er spoke
Bengali w ith him because he h ad no know ledge o f it himself. U tta r a s
p are n ts an d tw o o f h e r sisters d en ied th a t she h a d ev er h ad an y
o p p o rtu n ity to learn B engali. A b ro th e r w ho h ad lived in O rissa, an d
h ad picked u p som e B engali, stated th a t he h ad nev er used it in h er
presence.
S tevenson a n d P asrich a spent m u ch tim e in q u irin g a b o u t an d
in terv iew ing B engali-speaking persons w ho m ight have co m m u n ic ate d
a know ledge of B engali to U tta ra . T h e y w ere not successful.
By w ay o f conclusion I ca n do no b e tte r th a n qu o te Stevenson an d
P a sric h a s ow n conclusions:
T h e m a r k e d a l t e r a t i o n s o f p e r s o n a lity in th is c ase h a v e so m e r e s e m b la n c e
to m e d iu m is tic tr a n c e s , b u t th e d iffe re n c e s a r e g r e a t e r t h a n th e sim ila ritie s.
M e d iu m is tic tr a n c e s a r e a lm o s t a lw a y s in d u c e d v o lu n ta r ily , w h e re a s
[ U t t a r a s] p e r s o n a lity c h a n g e s o c c u r e d q u ite in v o lu n ta r ily . M e d iu m is tic
tr a n c e s u s u a lly la s t a n h o u r o r tw o a t th e m o st; S h a r a d a r e m a in e d in
c o n t r o l fo r d a y s , s o m e tim e s fo r w eeks.
T h e c a s e a ls o h a s so m e r e s e m b la n c e to case s o f s e c o n d a r y p e r s o n a lity ,
b u t th e u s u a l s e c o n d a r y p e r s o n a lity c la im s to b e m o r e o r less c o n te m p o r a r y
a n d c o llo c a l w ith th e p r i m a r y p e r s o n a lity , w h e r e a s S h a r a d a d e s c rib e d a life
in a n o t h e r p a r t o f h e r c o u n tr y a n d a b o u t 150 y e a r s e a r lie r. F u r th e r m o r e ,
th e u s u a l s e c o n d a r y p e r s o n a lity h a s n o p a r a n o r m a l p o w e rs, a lth o u g h th e r e
h a v e b e e n r a r e e x c e p tio n s . S h a r a d a s a b ility to sp e a k flu e n t B e n g a li
c o n s titu te s , in o u r o p in io n , a p a r a n o r m a ll y a c q u ir e d skill.
T h e c a s e a ls o re s e m b le s in so m e re s p e c ts case s s u g g e stiv e o f
r e i n c a r n a t io n , b u t in s u c h ca se s th e s u b je c t u s u a lly b e g in s to s p e a k a b o u t
th e p r e v io u s life h e o r sh e c la im s to r e m e m b e r b e tw e e n th e a g e s o f 2 a n d 5.
M o r e o v e r , s u c h a c h i ld s o r d i n a r y p e r s o n a lity is r a r e ly s u p p re s s e d
c o m p le te ly (a s w a s [ U t t a r a s]) d u r i n g th e n a r r a t i o n o f his o r h e r c la im e d
m e m o rie s. (1 5 4 a , p. 1592)
T o this I ca n only a d d th e follow ing. If it is indeed tru e (as proposed in

C h a p te r Seven) th a t the linguistic skills req u ired for fluent responsive
xenoglossy c a n n o t be tra n sm itte d by te lep a th y , this case (th a t is, of
162
course, if we a c ce p t th e p a ra n o rm a l aspects o f it) w o u ld a p p e a r to leave

us w ith a choice only b etw e en tr u e possession a n d re in c a rn a tio n ; for
b o th the su p e r-E S P th e o ry a n d the th e o ry o f o v ersh a d o w in g (w hich
also involves te lep a th y ) w ould be ru le d out.
12
R e in c a rn a tio n
T h e re ca n be no issue th a t m ore effectively separates optim ists from

pessimists th a n th a t of re in c a rn a tio n . W ill the w orld o f th e fu tu re be
such th a t a ra tio n a l m an could possibly desire to be reb o rn in to it? I
m ust confess to b ein g a pessimist. W hilst I ca n e n d u re w ith fo rtitu d e
a n d even curiosity the th o u g h t th a t I m ay have been in c a rn a te d m any
tim es in the past, the prospect of fu tu re in c arn atio n s d istu rb s me
profoundly. I am inclined to ap p ly to re in c a rn a tio n in p a rtic u la r a
rem ark m ad e by the late P rofessorC . D. B road (18d, p. 57) co n cern in g
survival in general; H a v in g h ad the luck . . . to d ra w an eel from a
sack full of ad d ers, I do not wish to risk p u ttin g m y h a n d into th e sack
a g a in . Eels, it seems to m e, ra re en o u g h now, a re likely in the fu tu re to
be an en d a n g ered species.
M y pessim ism is o f no im p o rta n ce to th e present discussion, except
in so far as m y readers need to be w arn ed against it. It seems, indeed,
n ot to be w idely shared. In recen t decades a g row th of interest in
o rien tal th o u g h t has b ro u g h t a g re a te r aw areness o f rein c arn atio n ist
philosophies. O p in io n surveys suggest th a t in E u ro p e a n d A m erica
belief in re in c a rn a tio n is increasing. A G a llu p Poll pu b lish ed in The
Daily Telegraph for 20 A pril 1981 found th a t the p ercen tag e o f Britons
expressing a belief in re in c a rn a tio n h ad risen from eigh teen to tw entyeight p e r cent since 1969 (cf. 24, p. 10).
W h a t concerns us a t the m om ent, how ever, is not the e x ten t of belief
in rein c arn atio n , b u t w h e th e r th a t b elief ca n be su p p o rted by a p p e a l to
em p irical facts. F o r re in c a rn a tio n is a form of survival, a n d evidence
for re in c a rn a tio n is th erefore evidence for survival. In his Human
Personality and its Survival o f Bodily Death, a massive survey of the
m aterials collected by the S P R in its first tw enty years, F. W . H . M yers
w ro te (1 1 0 a , II, pp. 134-135),*. . . for re in c a rn a tio n there is a t present
no valid evidence; a n d it m ust be m y d u ty to show how its assertion in
an y given instance . . . constitutes in itself a stro n g arg u m e n t in favour
of self-suggestion . . . M yers goes on to co m m en t on the
164
rein c a rn a tio n ist form o f S p iritu a lism w hich, fro m th e m id -n in e te e n th

c e n tu ry on w ard s, sp rea d in F ra n c e a n d B razil m a in ly th ro u g h th e
influence o f A llan K a r d e c (on K a rd e c , see 104). K a rd e c , says M yers
(110a, II, p. 135), took u p re in c a rn a tio n ist tenets, en fo rce d th e m (as
th e re is reason to believe) by stro n g suggestion u p o n th e m in d s of
v ario u s a u to m a tic w riters, a n d set th e m fo rth in d o g m a tic w orks w h ich
h av e h ad m u c h influence, especially a m o n g L a tin n atio n s, from th e ir
clarity , sym m etry , a n d in trin sic reaso n ab len ess. Y et th e d a ta th u s
co llected w ere abso lu tely insufficient . . .
M y e rs assessm ent o f th e evid en ce for re in c a rn a tio n as it stood in his
tim e seems to m e largely co rrec t. N o r w as th e re a n y d r a m a tic u p tu r n
in th a t evid en ce d u rin g the first h a lf o f th e tw e n tie th c e n tu ry (th o u g h
see 29; 114; 137). A n g lo -A m erica n S p iritu a lism re m a in e d g en e rally
op posed to th e idea, a n d it received little a tte n tio n fro m th e S P R an d
th e A S P R p rio r to th e p u b lic a tio n o fP ro fe sso rC . J . D u ca sses^4 Critical
Examination o f the B elief in a Life after Death (1961 ), a n d o f P rofessor Ian
S tev en so n s case investigations, w h ich I shall discuss sh o rtly . (F o r some
re in c a rn a tio n ist c o m m u n ic a tio n s th ro u g h M rs L e o n a rd , h o w ev er, see
157h .) T o d a y the p ic tu re is very d ifferent. W e h av e a good d ea l of
a p p a re n t evid en ce for re in c a rn a tio n , som e o f w h ich reach es a s ta n d a rd
th a t req u ires its inclusion in a n y g en e ral su rv ey o f th e ev id en ce for
survival.
T h e ostensible evidence for r e in c a rn a tio n m a y b e d iv id e d in to tw o
b ro a d categories. W e have, firstly, sta te m e n ts m a d e b y sensitives o f a
ce rta in sort co n c ern in g th e supposed past in c a rn a tio n s o f th e ir clients the life re a d in g s o f E d g a r C a y ce a re th e m ost fam o u s exam ples.
S econdly, we have q u ite n u m e ro u s cases o f persons c la im in g to have
m em ories, m ore o r less d e ta ile d , o f th e ir e a rlie r in c a rn a tio n s. I shall not
discuss evidence o f th e fo rm e r ca te g o ry a t all, n o t b ecau se I th in k th a t
th e sensitives co n c ern ed n ev e r give in d ic a tio n s o f possessing
p a ra n o rm a l faculties, b u t because se a rc h in g for a n d e v a lu a tin g these
in d icatio n s w ould re q u ire m u ch effort a n d yield sm all rew ard .
E vidence o f the la tte r ca te g o ry - th e c laim ed m em o ries o f p rev io u s
lives - m ay for o u r purposes be fu rth e r su b d iv id e d in to th re e classes,
nam ely: evidence from h y p n o tic regression in to p ast lives; ostensible
recollections by (u n h y p n o tiz e d ) a d u lts o f th e ir su p p o sed previous
in c arn atio n s; a n d c h ild re n s ostensible m em o ries o f p rev io u s
in carn atio n s.
Reincarnation
165
H y p n o t ic R e g r e s s io n
T h e best-know n ol these classes is w ith o u t d o u b t th a t o f hyp n o tic
regressions into past lives. I d o not know w ho first th o u g h t of try in g
such ex perim ents. T h ey are a fairly obvious develo p m en t o f some of
the d e m o n stratio n s - m aking hypn o tized subjects act the p a rt of
N ap o leo n , ac t like a child of five, etc., - w hich h ad becom e p a rt of the
staple rep e rto ire o f itin e ra n t m a g n etizers an d 'electro b io lo g ists by
the m id dle ol th e n in e tee n th ce n tu ry . T h is trick can be perform ed w ith
most m o d erately good h y p n o tic subjects. S p iritu alists o f th e school of
K ard ec w ere ce rtain ly a tte m p tin g hypnotic regression in to past lives
before the y ear 1890, a n d in 1911 th e p rac tice received som e im petus
from th e p u b lic atio n o f Col. A. de R o c h as Les vies successives. Col. de
R ochas projected his subjects forw ard into futu re in carn atio n s, as well
as b ack w ards into past ones, b u t I have not h eard o f an y o n e w ho, on
looking into Les vies successives, has found the story o f his p resen t life
w ritten there. P erh ap s this is because the book is very scarce.
T h e m o d ern vogue - alm ost craze - for h y pnotic regression dates
lrom th e p u b lic atio n in 1956 of M . B ernsteins The Search fo r Bridey
Murphy. Since then, a n d especially d u rin g the last few years, we have
been assailed by n u m e ro u s books, n ew sp ap er articles a n d T V an d
radio p ro g ram m es on the subject. M a n y o f these have co n tain ed
reports ol new cases. A school of fringe h y p n o th e ra p y is g row ing up
w hich ap p ro a ch es b eh a v io u ral d istu rb a n ce s in this life by seeking out
th eir causes in a previous one. P ra ctitio n ers of this w ay of th in k in g
seem often to take a c u re as sufficient v alid atio n of th e ir p a tie n ts
story, an d , indirectly, o f th e ir ow n th e o re tic al fram ew ork. W e have
here the p sy c h o th erap ists classic e rro r in yet a n o th e r guise.
It will a lre a d y be a p p a re n t th a t I have strong reservations a b o u t the
hypnotic regression m a terial. O n e m ust, how ever, a t the very least
a d m it th a t the subjects of these ex p erim en ts som etim es tell a good story;
a m uch b e tte r story th a n one w ould o rd in arily th in k th e m c a p ab le of
inventing. T h e h y p n o tic in d u c tio n p ro ce d u re seems to release in them
pow ers of creativ e im a g in a tio n th a t they d id not know they possessed.
P erh ap s this helps to ex p lain th e a p p a re n t successes o f the
rein c arn atio n ist h y p n o th e ra p ies w hich I m e n tio n ed a m o m en t ago.
But it also lays c e rta in snares for the investigator. T h e stories are
som etim es so d ra m a tic , a n d so full o f h u m a n interest, th a t one c a n t
help w ishing th em to be true. A nd th e n one m ay be m isled into
ac ce p tin g as co n firm atio n s o f th e m evidence th a t w ould not w ith stan d
a really critica l scrutiny. F o r instance one case th a t has becom e w idely
166
k n o w n (72) relates to th e supposed m assacre in 1190 of a Je w ish fam ily

w h ich h a d ta k en refuge in the c ry p t o fa c h u rc h id e n tified as S t M a r y s,
C astle g ate, Y ork. T h is c h u rc h w as n o t a t the tim e o f th e h y p n o tic
regression know n to possess a c ry p t. S u b se q u e n tly on e w as u n e a rth e d ,
a n d th e story w as su d d e n ly m a d e to seem m o re likely. T h e e n tire
regression was now a c re d ib le a c c o u n t o f w h a t m ig h t h av e h a p p e n e d in
Y o rk in 1190 (p. 53). T h e only ev id en ce p rese n ted th a t th e c r y p t really
exists is, how ever, a se c o n d h a n d s ta te m e n t to th e effect th a t an
u n k n o w n w o rk m an disco v ered w h a t m ig h t h av e b ee n a c ry p t below
the ch an cel. It w as im m ed ia te ly b locked u p a g a in before it co u ld be
p ro p erly ex am in ed .
C r y p to m n e s ia
Still, the cre a tio n o f a pow erful story c o n c e rn in g a previous
in c a rn a tio n , w h e th e r fictional o r o therw ise, re q u ire s som e q u a n tity of
a c c u ra te , o r a t an y ra te co n v in cin g , h isto ric al in fo rm atio n . In some
cases a good m a n y q u ite re c o n d ite h isto rical facts h av e been
in c o rp o ra te d in to th e story told by a n h y p n o tic a lly regressed subject.
W h e re d o these facts com e from ? T h e m o st p o p u la r nonre in c a rn a tio n ist e x p la n a tio n has involved c ry p to m n e sia (laten t
m em ory). (O n c ry p to m n esia in g en e ral see 153j, p p . 3 4 5 -3 4 9 ; an d
153k.) B uried in o u r m in d , this th e o ry proposes, a re all sorts of
m em ories n o t o rd in a rily accessible to th e w a k in g consciousness.
A m ong th e m will be m em ories w hich th e su b ject does n o t recollect
h av in g a c q u ire d from a n o th e r source a n d is lia b le to co n sid er his own.
T h e m em ories co n c ern ed m ay be m em o ries o f school h isto ry books, of
h isto rical films a n d plays a n d T V p ro g ra m m e s, o f h isto ric al novels an d
serials in w o m en s m agazines, o f h isto rical notes in local n ew spapers,
a n d so on a n d so on. T h is co u ld a m o u n t to q u ite a lot o f in fo rm atio n .
N o w ad ay s th e m akers o f h isto rical film s take p ain s to get the
b ac k g ro u n d s rig h t, a n d h isto rical novelists co m m o n ly a p p e n d
b ib lio g ra p h ies to th e ir books. All these b u rie d m em o ries m ay u n d e r
c e rta in circ u m sta n ce s find th e ir w ay out. T h e y m a y b re a k into
o rd in a ry w ak in g consciousness w ith no aw aren ess o f th e ir source
(v arious instances o f a p p a r e n t lite ra ry p la g ia rism h av e alm ost
c e rta in ly o rig in a te d in this w ay); they m ay em erg e th ro u g h a u to m a tic
w riting, o r in d rea m s o r d ru g -state s; a n d th ey m a y b e re trie v e d an d
em b ellished u n d e r hypnosis.
S uch is th e th e o ry , a n d to som e it seem s so o bv io u sly c o rre c t th a t,
given th a t c ry p to m n esia occurs, th e re is no n eed to w o rry f u rth e r ab o u t
Reincarnation
1h 7
the e x p la n a tio n ol cases of hypnotic regression in w hich verified

historical details have been o b tain ed . But this a ttitu d e is a t best oversim ple, a n d it is over-sim ple on tw o counts.
T h e first is th a t w hile there u n d o u b te d ly is some ev idence for
cry p to m n esia, th a t evidence is sm all in rela tio n to the w eight of o th e r
m a teria l it is b ein g used to supp o rt. M a n y m o d ern w orkers in the field
of h y p n o tism w ould sim ply deny th a t hypnosis facilitates recall;
p ro p erly designed experim en ts reveal no such effect. T h is is, how ever,
not a d en ial th a t cry p to m n esia m ay occasionally be exhib ited , b ut only
a d en ial th a t hypnosis is p a rtic u la rly conducive to th e em erg en ce of
m em ories whose n o rm al source the subject has forgotten. As it
hap p en s, th e m ost freq u en tly cited ex am p le o f u n d o u b te d
cry p to m nesia, the B lanche P oynings case (30), d id take p lace u n d e r
hypnosis. B lanche P oyn in g s was the n am e given by a spirit co n tac ted
u n d er hypnosis by a young lady referred to a s M iss C . B lanche gave a
great m an y exceedingly reco n d ite historical an d genealogical details
ab o u t h er life in the tim e of R ic h a rd II a n d H en ry IV . S u b seq u en tly it
was discovered, th ro u g h a p la n c h e tte b o ard w hich Miss C. o p era ted in
the w aking state, th a t alm ost all these details cam e from a novel w hich
had been read to h er as a child, nam ely E m ily S. H o lts Countess Maud.
T h e co n ten ts of th e novel, in w hich B lanche P oynings is only a m in o r
ch a racter, h ad , how ever, been substan tially , an d one m ig h t ad d
creatively, re a rra n g e d . O n e ca n readily see how, in different
circum stances, this m a teria l could have em erged as a rein c arn atio n ist
fantasy. A F innish psychologist, R. K a m p m a n (79: 80), has o b ta in ed
some c o m p a ra b le results from a series of experim en ts w ith
schoolchildren w hom he hypn o tically regressed into past lives. By the
sim ple te ch n iq u e o f ta k in g th e ch ild ren u n d e r hypnosis to th e occasion
on w hich they o b ta in e d th e inform ation on w hich th e ir
rein c arn atio n ist fantasies w ere based, he was able to trac e several
fantasies back to th e ir sources in p rin te d m a terial. But this tech n iq u e,
alas, is by no m eans universally successful - o th e r hypno tists w ho have
tried the sam e stratag e m have been m et by denials th a t th ere is an y
such o rd in a ry source.
T h e second reason w hy one m ust hesitate before ac ce p tin g the
sim ple cry p to m n esia theory is th a t the rein c arn atio n ist th eo ry itself
involves cry p to m n esia; only, ofcourse, th e b u ried m em o ries retriev ed
are m em ories of a previous in c a rn a tio n ra th e r th a n o f this one.
W h a te v e r cond itio n s favour the one sort of cry p to m n esia will
p resu m ab ly also fav o u r the o ther. H en ce we c a n n o t arg u e th a t because
168
th e su b ject is in a sta te (hypnosis) believed (by som e) to fav o u r

cry p to m n esia , c ry p to m n e sia for books rea d , film s seen, e tc., in this life,
m u st be the e x p la n a tio n o f th e c o rre c t h isto rical d etails w h ich he gives.
U nless w e are to rule o u t the re in c a rn a tio n ist th e o ry (a n d th e o th e r
kinds o f evidence w hich ostensibly s u p p o rt it) u p o n p u re ly a prion
g ro u n d s, we m u st find s u p p o rt for th e c ry p to m n e sia th eo ry
(cry p to m n esia, th a t is, d ire c te d u p o n events o f this life) from featu res of
th e a c tu a l regression cases it is in te n d e d to ex p lain . T h is co n c lu sio n is
rein forced by th e fact, ju s t p o in te d o u t, th a t th e ev id en ce for
c ry p to m n esia is not so stro n g as to lead us to re g a rd it as a v ery fre q u e n t
o ccu rren ce.
T h e strongest su p p o rt for the c ry p to m n e sia th e o ry w o u ld be
p ro v id ed by a d e m o n stra tio n th a t in a given case:
(a) all the in fo rm atio n co nveyed w as to be foun d in a single source
(a book, a n article, a film , etc.);
(b) the subject w ould have h a d access to th a t source; a n d
(c) he h a d a c tu a lly stu d ied th a t source.
O f these factors (a) a n d (b) m a y n o t be too difficu lt to estab lish th e re a re v arious easily accessible indices o f h isto rical novels - a n d any
case w hich falls foul of these tw o c rite ria m u st clea rly b e set asid e as
ev idence for re in c a rn a tio n on th e g ro u n d s th a t a possible basis for
cry p to m n esia w as d e m o n stra b ly th ere. E sta b lish in g (c) w o u ld be
ta n ta m o u n t to estab lish in g th e c ry p to m n e sia h ypo th esis for th e case in
qu estio n , a n d this has n o t often been ac h iev ed . In som e in stan ces the
subject has been b ro u g h t, by hypnosis (as in th e K a m p m a n cases
m e n tio n e d above) o r som e o th e r stra ta g e m (in th e B lan ch e Poynings
case a p la n c h e tte b o a rd ), to reco llect the source o f in fo rm a tio n himself.
A n o th e r possibility - one for obvious reasons ra re ly a c tu a liz e d - is th a t
the source o f in fo rm atio n should c o n ta in a n e rro r w h ich th e subject
repeats. A r a th e r nice e x a m p le of th is has rec en tly b ee n u n e a rth e d by
M r Ia n W ilson in a case for w hich J o e K e e to n , a le a d in g British
ex p o n e n t o f regression, w as th e h y p n o tist (105, p p. 7 -9 ; 172, pp.
196-207). O n e o f K e e to n s subjects, a y o u n g w o m an , g av e u n d e r
hypnosis copious a n d co nsistent d etails o f a tria l a t w h ich she, as J o a n
W a te rh o u se , h a d been accused o f w itc h craft. T h e tria l took p lace at
C h elm sford in 1566. K e e to n s subject, how ever, d a te d it as 1556 - th e
d a te m istakenly p u t u p o n a V ic to ria n re p rin t of th e v ery ra r e o rig in al
p a m p h le t d escrib in g the trial. T h e e rro r has b een co p ied by some
(th o u g h n o t all) su b se q u en t w riters.
D irec t su p p o rt o f these kinds for th e c ry p to m n e sia h y p o th esis is
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relativ ely unco m m o n , a n d it is h ard ly freq u en t enoug h to justify o u r

e x te n d in g the theory w ith o u t m ore ad o to cover all the regression cases
in w hich verified in form ation has been prod u ced . T h e re is, how ever, a
su b stan tia l block o f cases w hich, th o u g h we have no ev idence of
cry p to m n esia in con n ectio n w ith them , ca n n o t be accep ted as
p ro v id in g a d e q u a te evidence o f rein c arn atio n . T h e y m ust go on th a t
large h e a p of 'n o t p rovens, w here, perhaps, the m a jo rity of cases
belong. I have tw o sorts of case especially in m in d here. T h e first is th a t
o f cases - not so fre q u en t as one m ight a n tec ed e n tly suppose - in w hich
a subject claim s to have been som e fam ous historical figure, e.g. N ell
G w ynn, M a rie A n to in e tte o r B onnie P rince C h arlie. W h en the
supposed previous in c a rn a tio n is, like these, a person co n cern in g
w hom a g reat deal has been published, it will, save in th e m ost
im p ro b ab le circum stances, be alm ost im possible to establish w ith even
m o d erate plausibility th a t th e subject could not som ew here, at some
tim e, have ru n across a book, m ag azin e article, film, T V d o cu m en ta ry ,
rad io p ro g ra m m e , o r Readers Digest ru n d o w n c o n ta in in g th e relev an t
inform ation. T h u s it will likewise be alm ost im possible to reject the
cry p to m nesia theory w ith an y ce rtain ty .
V ery sim ilar co nsiderations ap p ly to the second kind o f case, th a t of
cases w hich are th o u g h t to be verified (or alm ost!) by the m u ltip licity
of co rrect b ac k g ro u n d details given, despite the fact th a t the
ce n tral persons in th e d ra m a s (the supposed previous in c a rn a
tions of the subjects) c a n n o t be proved to have existed. In fo rm a
tion a b o u t in terestin g places a t interesting periods of th e ir history
gets very w idely d issem inated by novels, plays, m useum s, T V ,
local new spapers, etc., a n d it is extrem ely difficult to be sure th a t the
subject of a regression ex p e rim en t has never com e across it. A
significantly high p ro p o rtio n of th e published cases (in clu d in g the
ce le b ra ted Bridey M u rp h y case) fall into this category.
T ak e, for exam ple, a n o th e r o f J o e K e e to n s cases (105, pp. 42-74),
the fascinating story told u n d e r hypnosis by A nn D ow ling, a fortyseven-year-old w orking class housewife from H u y to n (Liverpool), of
h er previous in c a rn a tio n in the period a ro u n d 1830-1850 as S arah
W illiam s, a hom eless w aif from E v erto n (L iverpool). S a ra h W illiam s
show ed som e know ledge o f the g eography o f n in e tee n th ce n tu ry
L iverpool; she referred u n m istak a b ly to J e n n y L in d s visit to L iverpool
in 1850; she correctly n am ed a ch em ists shop in Byrom S treet; she
referred to P rin c e A lb e rts staying w ith a J u d g e in L iv erp o o l in 1846;
asked for th e n am e o f V icto ria a n d A lb e rts ship, she rep lied The Fairy,
170
w h ich w as th e n a m e not o f th e royal y a c h t b u t o f th e te n d e r in w h ic h th e

ro y al co u p le m a d e th e ir inspections; she m e n tio n e d a d e m o n s tra tio n ol
electric lig h tin g given a t L iv e rp o o l in 1852; a n d she referre d to K itty
W ilkinson, a social refo rm er o f th e tim e, w ho a d v o c a te d se ttin g u p
w ash-houses for th e poor. A ll these verified h isto rical d etails w ere g iven
in th e c o n te x t o f a very lively re n d e rin g o fa d istin ctiv e p erso n a lity a n d of
th e h a rd sh ip s o f p o v erty in a n in e te e n th c e n tu ry city. Y et ol S a ra h
h erself no tra c e was fo u n d , d esp ite th e fact th a t h e r d e a th , a t least,
sh o uld by th e 1850s h av e b ee n a m a tte r o f p u b lic rec o rd . A d e a th
ce rtificate o r ob scu re n e w sp a p e r p a r a g ra p h re c o rd in g th e m a n n e r of
h e r m u rd e r w ould a t once have m a d e th e c ry p to m n e sia h y p o th esis
several o rd ers o f m a g n itu d e less likely. As it is, m a n y o f th e facts
c o rrec tly given co n c ern events w hich w o u ld h av e fo u n d th e ir w ay in to
local history books a n d articles, even in to novels o r T V p ro g ra m m e s,
w hich a local resid en t, such as M rs D ow ling, co u ld co n c e iv a b ly have
com e across. T o trac k do w n all th e p o te n tia l sources a n d co m p are
th em w ith th e sta te m e n ts m a d e by S a ra h W illiam s w o u ld be an
im p ra c tic a b le task, p e rh a p s a n im possible one. T h e case m ust be
releg ated to the n o t p ro v e n c a te g o ry - n o t p ro v en b o th from th e po in t
o f view o f re in c a rn a tio n a n d from th a t o f c ry p to m n e sia . As for the
d ra m a tic force of th e S a ra h W illiam s p erso n a lity - som e o f th e m ost
co n v in cin g a n d d ra m a tic a lly effective p erso n a lities to em erg e in
regression ex p e rim en ts h av e been w ith o u t d o u b t to ta lly fictitious. T h is
at least is a fact o f g re a t psychological in terest, a n d o ne w h ich deserves
fu rth e r study.
W h en all necessary sacrifices h av e b een m a d e to th e c ry p to m n esia
th eo ry , how ever, th e re re m a in one o r tw o cases w h ich it c a n n o t so
read ily sw allow up. T h ese cases have, for th e m ost p a rt, som e o r all of
th e follow ing ch aracteristics:
(a) T h e existence o f th e supposed p rev io u s p erso n a lity has been
confirm ed.
(b) T h e p erso n a lity w as a n obscu re one, n o t likely to have
ach iev ed m e n tio n in novels, films, etc.,
(c) T h e story is su p p o rte d by verified b a c k g ro u n d d etails o f the
kind we have ju s t b een considering.
(d) T h e re does n o t a p p e a r to be a n y single sou rce from w h ich all
the rele v an t in fo rm atio n co u ld h av e com e.
A case th a t a t first sight lills som e ol these re q u ire m e n ts is d escrib ed
in Jess S te a m s The Second Life o f Susan Ganier. J o a n n e M a c lv e r, a girl
living in O rillia , O n ta rio , w as h y p n o tic a lly regressed by h e r fa th e r into
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a n u m b e r of supposed previous lives. O n e o f these was as S usan G an ier,

allegedly b o rn a b o u t 1835 in St V in cen t T ow nship, O n ta rio , ab o u t
nin ety m iles lrom the spot w here the M a clv e rs lived. In 1849 (said
Susan) she m a rrie d T h o m a s M errow , a farm er, a n d lived w ith him in
the tow n of M assie, O n ta rio . T h o m a s was killed in an a ccid en t in 1863,
b u t S u san lived on u n til 1903.
S u san G a n ie r was b o rn before reg istratio n of b irth s was in tro d u ced ,
an d no record of h e r d e a th could be discovered. N one the less, she
co rrectly gave various reco n d ite geograp h ical facts a b o u t the district
w here she lived, an d some obscure b u t co rrec t details of the life o f th a t
tim e. She n am ed various persons in M assie whose existence was
confirm ed from p u b lic records. A nd an elderly g en tlem an , M r A rth u r
Eagles, rem em b ered S usan M erro w , h er fam ily, a n d som e o f her
neighbours, a n d knew a b o u t the d e a th of h e r h u sban d .
T h e tro u b le w ith this case is th a t The Second Life o f Susan Ganier is
w ritten like a novel, an d it is by no m eans clea r w h at o p p o rtu n ities the
subject m ig h t have h ad to learn relevant facts by n o rm al m eans. O f
such cases one ca n only say th a t if there w ere m ore of th em , a n d if they
were b e tte r recorded an d investigated th a n they g en erally are, they
w ould force us to reject th e cry p to m n esia hypothesis as totally
in a d eq u a te. W h e th e r they w ould force us to ac cep t a rein c arn atio n
theory instead, ra th e r th a n , say, som e version of the su p er-E S P
hypothesis, is a n o th e r question. M y ow n guess w ould be th a t fu rth e r
cases fulfilling these criteria will p ro b ab ly com e to light; b u t they will
be so sm all a solid residue from so g reat a flood o f e n te rta in in g b ut
inconclusive eyew ash, th a t one w ould be ill-advised to w aste o n e s
lifetim e in a tte m p tin g to induce them .
N o n -h y p n o tic R e c o lle c t io n s
W e com e next to m y second class of alleged evidence for re in c a rn a tio n
from claim ed m em ories of past lives, nam ely ostensible recollections by
(u n h y p n o tized ) a d u lts o f th e ir supposed previous incarn atio n s. T his
class includes a g rea t asso rtm en t of v arie d spontan eo u s experiences,
ran g in g from sim ple p a ra m n e sia s - feelings th a t one has been here
b efore - to (in very ra re instances) th e em ergence o f com plex sets of
m em ories re la tin g to a supposed past existence a t a definite period
a n d place. It is only cases a t the la tte r end of th e scale th a t w ould
co n cern us here. B ut I do not propose to linger long o ver them . M r E.
W. R y a lls ostensible m em ories o f his life in seven teen th cen tu ry
S om erset, set forth in a m a n n e r rem iniscent of a novel (135), h av e the
172
cu rio u s c h a ra c te ristic , o n th e fre q u en c y o f w hich I h av e a lre a d y

c o m m e n te d , th a t m a n y o f the b a c k g ro u n d d etails a re c o rre c t w h ile all
th e c e n tra l c h a ra c te rs a p p e a r to be fictitious. O n D r A rth u r
G u ir d h a m s recollections o f his in c a rn a tio n as a C a th a r in th irte e n th
c e n tu ry F ra n c e , to g e th e r w ith th e c o rre la te d past-life reco llectio n s of
v ario u s o f his (an o n y m o u s) p a tie n ts a n d friends, no w all re in c a rn a te d
as a g ro u p (53a; 53b), I c a n offer n o useful co m m en ts. N o o n e b u t an
in d e p e n d e n t specialist in the histo ry o f th a t p e rio d co u ld p ro p e rly
e v a lu a te the m ass of rec o n d ite d etails th u s ostensibly re trie v e d - they
in c lu d e verified n am es a n d fam ily rela tio n sh ip s, d etails o f C a th a r
dress, practices, sym bols, etc., a n d events in C a th a r h isto ry - b u t such
a n e v a lu a tio n w ould only be p ro fita b le if it w ere b ased u p o n D r
G u ir d h a m s o rig in a l reco rd s ra th e r th a n u p o n th e sto ry as he tells it in
his books. In his books he seem s m ore c o n c e rn e d to sh a re his
co n v ictions w ith persons a n te c e d e n tly sy m p a th e tic to th e m , th a n to
d e n t by signed sta te m en ts a n d carefu l d o c u m e n ta tio n th e d isb elief of
th e less ro m a n tic a lly inclined.
R e in c a r n a t e d C h ild r e n
M y th ird , a n d final, class o f claim ed m em ories o f p ast lives, is th a t of
th e ostensible past-life recollections o f very y o u n g c h ild re n . O cc asio n al
ex am ples of such stories found th e ir w ay in to p rin t in th e W est d u rin g
the first h a lf o f th e p rese n t ce n tu ry . B ut far th e m ost im pressive casein v estigations in this a re a , in d e ed in a n y a re a o f re in c a rn a tio n
research, a re those c o n d u c te d since 1960 by P rofessor I a n S tev en so n of
th e U n iv ersity o f V irg in ia . In o rd e r to c a rry o u t his in v estig atio n s on
th e spot, S tevenson has en g ag ed in fre q u e n t a n d exten siv e travels. T h e
u p sh o t has been a series o f fo u r su b sta n tia l v olum es (th e series is still in
progress), c o n ta in in g in all rep o rts on fifty-tw o cases (153g; 153h; 153i;
153j), a n d v arious sh o rter ac c o u n ts o f in d iv id u a l cases. S tev en so n has
fifteen o r tw en ty tim es as m a n y cases on file.
T h e g rea test stren g th o f S tev e n so n s w ork, it seem s to be, is th a t he
has a very just a p p re c ia tio n o f the can o n s o f ev id en ce a g a in st w hich
such cases m ust be tried , a n a p p re c ia tio n w h ich he keeps a t all tim es
before his ow n m in d , a n d before th e m in d s o f his read ers. T h is is n o t to
say th a t all, o r even m a n y , o f his cases fully satisfy these can o n s, n o r
does he claim th a t they do. T h e p o in t is r a th e r th a t h e p u ts before his
read ers, as fully a n d as fairly as he c a n , th e m a te ria ls w h ich th ey
re q u ire to form th e ir ow n ju d g e m e n ts. Fie has h im self d e lib e ra te ly
su p p lied m ost of th e a m m u n itio n w hich his critics h av e used a g a in st
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him . A nd he has pressed for in d e p en d e n t replications o f his research.
S tev en so n s m ethods of case-investigation, like th e layout of his case
rep o rts (to w hich they are o f course closely tied), w ere d eveloped at an
early stage of his research, an d n a tu ra lly reflect the m a tte rs upon
w hich it is vital to have in form ation w hen assessing a case of this kind.
T h e facts o r alleged facts w hich ostensibly link a ce rtain yo u n g child
(call h im the p resent p erso n a lity ) to a definitely identifiab le deceased
person (call him the previous p erso n a lity ) m ay be of th ree sorts.
T h e re a re sta te m en ts m ad e by the present p ersonality co n cern in g his
m em ories of his life as the past personality; there a re behaviours, skills,
a ttitu d e s, abilities, a n d so forth, show n by the present personality,
w hich acco rd w ith those o f th e previous personality; a n d th ere are
recognitions by the present perso n ality o f the previous p erso n a lity s
relations, friends, belongings, house, etc. - w hen the ch ild s p are n ts
find th a t the previous p ersonality really existed, they alm ost alw ays
give w ay to curiosity a n d the ch ild s dem an d s, a n d a rra n g e for him to
visit the previous p erso n a lity s fam ily. O bviously th e first th in g we
need to know is ju s t w h at sta te m en ts the child m ade, w h at relevant
b eh av iours he ex h ib ited , an d a t w h at age he beg an to m ake or exhibit
them . It is especially im p o rta n t to know w h at relevant things th e child
said an d d id before he first m et the previous p erso n a lity s fam ily. A fter
the first m eeting th e re m ay be c o n ta m in a tio n of the present
p erso n ality s m em ories, especially if, as not u n com m o n ly h ap p en s, he
becom es a reg u la r visitor in th e previous p erso n ality s hom e. In only a
few cases (Stevenson - 153h, p. 1 4 4 n - lists a dozen) has a n investigator
or in d e p en d e n t person been able to m ake a list o f th e present
p erso n ality s sta te m en ts before the first m eeting has tak en place.
F ailin g such a list, th e in v e stig a to rs best tactic is obviously to interview
in d etail first, o f course, th e child himself, a n d th e n as m a n y persons as
possible w ho saw him before the first m eeting, h ea rd statem en ts from
him , observed his b eh av io u r, etc. T h e se p arate in terv iew in g of a
m u ltip licity of w itnesses m ay help to offset or resolve erro rs of
testim ony, retrospective exaggerations, a n d tendencies to th in k th a t
the child m ad e before th e first m eetin g sta te m en ts w hich in fact he only
p ro d u ce d afte r it.
A n o th e r cru c ial issue is th a t of how the first m eetin g betw een the
present p erso n ality an d th e previous p erso n ality s fam ily was
co n d u cted . W ere th e recognitions tru ly spontaneous? W h a t cues could
have been given by persons present? W h a t m istakes m ay have been
overlooked in th e excitem en t o f the m om ent? A nd so on. O n ce ag ain
174
we h ave only a lew cases in w h ich a n o u tsid e in v e stig a to r, a le rt to these

possibilities, has b een p rese n t as re c o rd e r o n th e d a y itself. O n c e a g a in ,
th erefo re, we have g en e rally to rely on d e ta ile d in terv iew s w ith
eyew itnesses, a n d cross-checking o f th e ir sta te m en ts.
T h e n ext q u estio n to arise is clea rly th a t o f ho w fa r th e c h ild s
sta te m en ts a n d b e h a v io u r ag re e w ith w h a t is k n o w n o f th e p rev io u s
p e rso n a lity s life, d e a th a n d c h a ra c te ristic s. T o a s c e rta in th is it is
obviously necessary to in te rv iew m e m b ers (as m a n y as possible) o f th e
prev ious p e rso n a lity s fam ily, to visit th e ir ho m e a n d its su rro u n d in g s,
to consult p u b lic reco rd s a n d n e w sp a p e r files, a n d so on. T h ese
p ro ce d u re s m ay h elp to th ro w lig h t o n th e r e m a in in g c ru c ia l issue,
n am ely w h e th e r th e ch ild co u ld h av e le a rn e d re le v a n t facts a b o u t th e
prev ious p erso n a lity by n o rm a l m eans. W ith c h ild re n as y o u n g as
these, cry p to m n esic reco llectio n of, say, a n e w sp a p e r o b itu a ry n otice
seems o u tsta n d in g ly unlikely. T h e possibility th a t th e ch ild m ay have
picked u p in fo rm atio n th ro u g h listening to a d u lt gossip n eed s h o w ev er
to be th o ro u g h ly ex p lo red . In som e cases th e ch ild is a n te c e d e n tly
believed by th e p a re n ts to be th e re in c a rn a tio n o f a n o th e r m e m b e r of
the fam ily, a n d th e n o f course th e d a n g e r is v ery real. B ut in m a n y cases
the p a re n ts den y h a v in g k now n a n y th in g a b o u t th e previous
p erso n a lity p rio r to th e c h ild s revelations. T h e ir d en ials have,
how ever, to be checked in the light o f th e g e o g ra p h ic a l situ a tio n s o f the
tw o hom es, a n d o f a n y o rd in a ry lines o f c o m m u n ic a tio n th a t c a n be
d iscovered b etw een them . T h e in v e stig a to rs task is h ere v ery m u ch
like th a t o f a detective. A n d in d e ed he needs, o f co u rse, to be
co n tin u a lly w atch fu l for signs o f fra u d , a n d o f fin an c ial e x p lo ita tio n of
th e case.
G iven this b ac k g ro u n d o f co m p lex a n d in te rre la te d p ro b lem s, one
c a n rea d ily see w hy S tevenson lays o u t his case re p o rts as h e does. H e
usually begins w ith a sh o rt su m m a ry o f th e case, in d ic a tin g h o w he first
h e a rd o f it, w h en he first visited th e fam ilies c o n c e rn e d , w ho
p a rtic ip a te d in th e in v estig atio n w ith him , a n d so on; h e lists th e peo p le
he interview ed, w ith o r w ith o u t the need for a n in te rp re te r; he sets o ut
rele v an t g eo g ra p h ica l factors, a n d considers possible n o rm a l lines of
c o m m u n ic atio n ; he presents his in fo rm atio n a b o u t th e life a n d d e a th of
the previous p erso n ality ; he ta b u la te s th e re le v a n t sta te m e n ts an d
recognitions; states w h e th e r th ey a re c o rre c t o r n o t, a n d if th ey are
co rrec t, gives his a u th o rity for say in g so; he discusses a n y o th e r rele v an t
m a tte rs; considers th e b e h a v io u ra l aspects o f th e case (th e b e h a v io u r
p a tte rn s, skills a n d a ttitu d e s w hich th e p resen t p e rso n a lity a p p e a rs to
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sh are w ith the previous one); com m ents on th e p a ra n o rm a l aspects of

the case; a n d lastly m entions la te r developm ents, follow -up visits, etc.,
- it is his g en e ral a n d p ru d e n t p ractice to w atch a case o ver a p erio d of
years to see w h at m ay com e to light.
I tu rn now to c e rta in general, o r statistical, features of S tev en so n s
collection ol cases. It will be co nvenient to m en tio n these briefly u n d er
two h eadings, n am ely features rec u rrin g in cases from all cu ltu res
studied, a n d cu ltu re -b o u n d re c u rre n t features of th e cases.
Features recurring in cases from all cultures studied
1. M ost ol th e subjects are betw een tw o a n d four years old w hen
they sta rt speaking ab o u t th e ir previous lives; i.e. they sta rt as soon as
they can speak.
2. T hese m em ories com e, for the m ost p a rt, in the w ak in g state.
3. U sually som eth in g like nin ety p er cent o f th e su b jects
statem ents a b o u t his previous life are correct.
4. In m ost cases subjects stop talk in g ab o u t th e ir previous lives
betw een the ages o f five a n d eight; m em ories of th em usually do not
survive into ad u lth o o d , th o u g h th e re are exceptions.
5. In a high p erc en ta g e of cases, the previous p erso n ality m et a
violent, a n d often an early d ea th .
6. E vents co n n ected w ith, o r ju st p receding, th e d e a th o f the
previous perso n ality ten d to be p ro m in e n t am o n g th e su b je cts
m em ories.
7. T h e present p ersonality is likely to be b o rn w ith in a few
kilom etres o f the previous p erso n a lity s hom e, an d to speak th e sam e
language. T h e re are m a n y exceptions to the form er p a rt o f this rule of
th u m b , b u t th e exceptions grow few er as th e distance gets g reater. It
has, o f course, to be b o rn e in m ind th a t verification of th e previous
p erso n ality s a c tu a l existence m ight becom e m ore difficult w ith
increased se p aratio n of the fam ilies concerned.
Culture-bound recurrent features o f the cases
1. R e p o rte d cases are m ost com m on in regions w here
re in c a rn a tio n is w idely believed in; e.g. in In d ia a n d Sri L a n k a an d in
S o u th east A sia, o r am o n g th e D ruses a n d Alevis of W estern Asia, an d
T lin g its o f A laska. T h is co u ld obviously be ex p lain ed in a v ariety of
ways.
2. T h o u g h in all cu ltu res th ere is a high incidence o f violent d eath s
am o n g th e previous personalities (h ig h er th a n the norm of th e co u n try
176
c o n c ern ed ), th e p ro p o rtio n varies from 38% in Sri L a n k a to o v e r 78%

a m o n g th e D ru se cases o f S y ria a n d L e b a n o n .
3. P revious lives as a m e m b e r of the opp o site sex a re m u c h m o re
fre q u e n tly claim ed in som e c u ltu re s th a n in others. T h e y a re u n h e a rd
o f a m o n g the T lin g its, D ruses a n d A levis, o c c u r in 13% o f T h a i cases,
28% o f B urm ese cases, a n d in as m u c h as 50% o f cases a m o n g th e
K u tc h in o f n o rth w e ste rn C a n a d a . S u ch cases o c c u r m ost fre q u e n tly in
cu ltu re s w hich believe th e m possible, m ost ra re ly in c u ltu re s w h ere
such c h a n g e is th o u g h t im possible.
4. In stan ces o f re in c a rn a tio n w ith in th e sam e fam ily a re v ery
c o m m o n in B u rm a a n d a m o n g th e T lin g its a n d th e E skim os, a n d rare
in o th e r cu ltu res.
5. T h e a p p a r e n t in te rv al b etw e en th e d e a th o f th e previous
p erso n a lity a n d the b irth o f th e p resen t o n e varies a good d e a l from
c u ltu re to c u ltu re , th e v a ria tio n s a g a in b ein g lin k ed to c u ltu ra lly
d e te rm in e d beliefs on th e subject. T h e m e d ia n in te rv a l a m o n g the
H a id a o f A laska a n d B ritish C o lu m b ia is four m o n th s; a m o n g the
D ruses six m o nths; a m o n g th e A levis 9 m o n th s; in S ri L a n k a a n d in
In d ia 18 m o nths; a n d a m o n g th e T lin g its 48 m o n th s. T h e re a p p e a rs to
be once a g a in a (n o t v ery ex act) link w ith c u ltu ra lly d e te rm in e d beliefs
o n th e subject.
In one o r tw o cases th e prev io u s p e rso n a lity has n o t d ie d u n til after
th e b irth o f th e p resen t p erso n ality . T h e m ost re m a rk a b le such case is
a n In d ia n one, t h a t o f a boy n a m e d ja s b ir (1 5 3 g , pp . 3 4 -5 2 ). A t th e age
o f th re e a n d a half, J a s b ir b e c am e so ill w ith sm allp o x th a t he was
th o u g h t to have died. H o w ev er he g ra d u a lly rev iv ed a n d th e re a fte r
claim ed to be S o b h a R a m , a rec en tly d eceased y o u n g m a n from a
village a b o u t tw en ty m iles aw ay. T h e case h as som e alTinities w ith th a t
o f L u ra n c y V e n n u m , d escrib ed in th e p revious c h a p te r, b u t u n lik e the
L u ra n c y V e n n u m p erso n ality , th e J a s b ir p e rso n a lity n e v e r re tu rn e d .
6. 'A n n o u n c in g d re a m s, d re a m s in w h ich a n e x p e c ta n t m o th e r
receives in fo rm atio n as to th e id e n tity o f th e u n b o rn ch ild she is
ca rry in g , a re know n in m ost cu ltu res, b u t a re co m m o n est a m o n g the
B urm ese, the nativ es o f n o rth w e ste rn N o rth A m eric a, a n d th e A levis of
south c e n tra l T u rk e y .
7. Also know n in m ost c u ltu re s so far stu d ied a re b irth m a rk s
c o rresp o n d in g e ith e r to those b o rn e by th e p rev io u s p erso n a lity , o r else
to the w ounds from w hich he m et his d e a th . T h e co rre sp o n d e n c e s are
in som e instances ex trem ely close, a n d h av e b ee n verified b y m ed ical
records o r au to p sy rep o rts c o n c e rn in g th e p rev io u s p erso n a lity . S u ch
Reincarnation
177
cases a re specially co m m on am o n g the Eskimos, the T lingits, the

Burm ese, a n d th e Alevis.
H a v in g briefly described S tevenson's m ethods o f case-investigation
an d ca se-rep o rtin g , a n d to u ch ed on som e relev an t g en eral features of
the cases in his collection, I shall now com e dow n to a m ore co ncrete
level by giving an o u tlin e of a sam ple case, F o r this purp o se I have
selected the case o fS w a rn la ta (153g, pp. 67-91 ). T h is case is u n u su al in
th a t th e subject claim ed to re m e m b e r tw o previous incarn atio n s. I will
deal first w ith the ea rlier a n d m ore im p o rta n t one. S w a rn la ta was
born on 2 M a rc h 1948, th e d a u g h te r o f M . L. M ishra, an assistant in
the office o f a d istrict inspector ol schools, a n d lived d u rin g the period
w ith w hich we are co n cern ed in v arious tow ns in M a d h y a P rad esh ,
India. F rom ab o u t th e age o f th ree a n d a h a lf she ex h ib ited ostensible
m em ories o f a previous life as Biya, d a u g h te r of a fam ily called P ath a k ,
in K a tn i, M a d h y a P rad esh , a n d (it la te r tran sp ired ) wife o f Sri
C h in tam in i P an d ey of M a ih a r, a tow n n o rth of K atn i. It is to be noted
th a t the M ish ra fam ily nev er lived closer to K a tn i th a n a b o u t a
h u n d red miles.
S w a rn lata confided fragm ents of h e r a p p a re n t m em ories m ostly to
her b ro th ers a n d sisters, b u t also to som e ex ten t to h e r p aren ts. She still
retain ed h er m em ories in 1958 w hen she m et S rim ati A g n ih o tri, a lady
from K a tn i w hom she claim ed to recognize from h er previous life
there. T h is p ro m p te d M . L. M ish ra, S w a rn la ta s fath er, to w rite dow n
some of her statem ents, w hich he did in S ep te m b er 1958.
In M a rc h 1959 H. N. B anerjee, an In d ia n parapsychologist, spent
two days w ith the M ish ra fam ily investigating the case. H e n oted dow n
nine statem en ts m a d e by S w a rn la ta a b o u t the P a th a k residence. H e
visited K a tn i, a n d g uided by S w a rn la ta s statem en ts was ab le to find
the house of the co rrect P a th a k fam ily. H e was th e first to establish the
close correspondences betw een S w a rn la ta s ostensible m em ories ol a
past life, a n d th e life of Biya, th e P a th a k s d au g h te r, w ho h ad died in
1939.
In the su m m er of 1959 m em bers of the P a th a k fam ily a n d o fB iy a's
h u sb a n d s fam ily travelled to S w a rn la ta s house. T h ey took
co n sid erable p rec au tio n s to avoid giving S w a rn la ta cues, a n d they
m ad e various a tte m p ts to m islead her. N one the less she was successful
in reco gnizing th em a n d was n ot m isled. S ho rtly afterw ard s S w a rn lata
was tak en to K a tn i a n d M a ih a r, w here Biya h ad lived. She recognized
ad d itio n a l people a n d places, a n d c o m m en ted on v arious changes th a t
178
h ad ta k en place since th e d e a th ol Biya. H e r la th e r, M . L. M ish ra ,

m a d e w ritte n notes on som e o f th e reco g n itio n s soon a lte r th ey
o cc u rre d . S w a rn la ta seems th e re a fte r to h av e b een a c c e p te d as B iya by
th e P a th a k s a n d P an d ey s, a n d b u ilt u p affec tio n a te re la tio n sh ip s w ith
th e 'b ro th e rs a n d c h ild re n o f h e r p revious life.
S tevenson spent four d ays in v e stig a tin g th e case in th e su m m e r ol
1961. H e in terv iew ed fifteen persons from th e th re e fam ilies
co n c ern ed , in c lu d in g S w a rn la ta herself. In te rp re te rs w ere in m ost
instances n o t necessary. H e also h a d p u t a t his d isposal d o c u m e n ts a n d
notes a b o u t th e case p re p a re d by H . N . B an erjee (see ab o v e) a n d notes
m a d e by Professor P. P a l d u rin g his stu d y o f th e case in 1963. A fter he
left he k ep t u p a co rre sp o n d e n c e w ith S w a rn la ta a n d h e r fa th e r, a n d
m et S w a rn la ta a g a in in N o v e m b e r 1971, by w h ich tim e she had
o b ta in e d a BSc a n d a n M S c w ith d istin c tio n in b o ta n y . S h e sta te d th a t
she h a d not lost h e r m em ories of h e r prev io u s life. T h is m ay h av e been
because th e M ish ra fam ily w as c o m p letely to le ra n t o f th em .
I shall now p resent a su m m a ry list, heav ily a b rid g e d from
S tev e n so n s ta b u la tio n , o f th e v ario u s sta te m e n ts a n d reco g n itio n s
m a d e by S w a rn la ta . T h e first eig h tee n a re sta te m e n ts m a d e by
S w a rn la ta before she m et an y m e m b ers o f h e r p rev io u s fam ily. M o st of
th e m w ere w ritte n do w n by h e r fath e r. It w as item s 6 ,1 3 a n d 14 w hich
e n a b le d H . N. B anerjee to find th e P a th a k s house w ith o u t h elp w hen
he w en t to K a tn i in M a rc h 1959.
Informant
Item
Confirmed by
S h e b e lo n g e d to a
f a m ily n a m e d
P a t h a k in K a t n i
M . L . M is h r a ,
R a je n d ra P ra s a d P a th a k .
S w a r n l a t a s f a t h e r b r o t h e r o f B iya
S h e h a d tw o so n s,
K ris h n a D a tta a n d
S h iv a D a t t a
M . L . M is h r a
M u r li P a n d e y , so n ol B iy a.
(B iy a h a d tw o so n s; th e o t h e r
w as n a m e d N a re sh . T h e
n a m e s g iv e n a r e h o w e v e r
n a m e s o f o t h e r p e r s o n s in th e
f a m ily .)
3. H e r n a m e h a d b e e n
K a m le s h
M . L . M is h r a
I n c o r r e c t . ( T h is re fe rs to th e
o t h e r o s te n s ib le p a s t life
r e c a lle d b y S w a r n l a t a .)
4. H e r n a m e h a d b e e n
B iy a
K r is h n a C h a n d r a , R a j e n d r a P r a s a d P a t h a k
S w a r n la t a s b r o t h e r
5. T h e h e a d o f th e
f a m ily w a s H i r a L a i
P a th a k
M . L. M is h ra
I n c o r r e c t. (A p o r t m a n t e a u
n a m e , c o n ta in in g c o rre c t
e le m e n ts .)
Reincarnation
14. T h e P a t h a k
M . L . M is h r a
h o u se w a s w h ite ; it
h a d f o u r stu c c o e d
ro o m s, b u t o t h e r p a r ts
w e re less w e ll f u r n
ish e d ; th e d o o r s w e re
b la c k ; th e d o o r s w e re
fitte d w ith iro n b a rs;
th e f ro n t flo o r o f th e
h o u se w a s o f sto n e
slab s; th e f a m ily h a d a
m o t o r c a r ; th e r e w a s a
g irls sc h o o l b e h in d
th e h o u se ; a r a ilw a y
lin e c o u ld b e se en
fro m th e h o u se ; so
c o u ld lim e fu rn a c e s .
15. H e r fa m ily liv e d in
M . L . M is h r a
Z h u r k u t i a D is tr ic t
179
R a je n d r a P r a s a d P a th a k . I.
S te v e n s o n (p e rs o n a l o b s e rv a
tio n ). A ll ite m s c o r re c t.
M . L . M is h r a ; M u r l i P a n d e y ,
S w a r n l a t a s so n . (N a m e
s h o u ld b e Z h a r r a t i k u r i a .)
R a je n d r a P r a s a d P a th a k .
I n c o r r e c t. (S h e h a d h a d
t h r o a t tr o u b le , b u t d ie d o f
h e a r t d ise a se .)
M u r li P a n d e y ; ( n a m e s h o u ld
b e S. E . B a ra t.)
16. S h e h a d h a d p a in s
M . L . M is h r a
in h e r t h r o a t a n d
h a d d ie d o f t h r o a t
d ise ase
17. S h e h a d b e e n tr e a te d M . L . M is h ra
by D r S. C . B h a b r a t
ofJ a b a lp u r
18. S h e h a d o n c e g o n e
M . L . M is h ra ;
M . L . M is h ra ; K r is h n a
to a w e d d in g a t
K r is h n a
C h a n d r a . ( S r im a ti A g n ih o tr i
T il o r a v illa g e w ith
C h a n d ra
w as th e la d y fro m K a t n i w h o
first c o n f irm e d
S r im a ti A g n ih o tr i
so m e o f S w a r n l a t a s p a s ta n d th e y h a d
life m e m o rie s.
d iffic u lty in f in d in g a
S e e a b o v e .)
la tr in e
T h e n e x t ite m s, ite m s 1 9 -2 3 , o c c u r r e d v h en th e P a th a k a n d P a n d e y
fa m ilie s first v isite d th e M is h r a s in th e s u m m e r o f l 9 5 9 (see a b o v e ).
19. R e c o g n itio n o f H a r i M . L . M is h ra ;
( H a r i P r a s a d P a t h a k a r r iv e d
H a ri P ra sa d
u n a n n o u n c e d a n d g a v e no
P ra sa d , b ro th e r o f
n a m e . S w a r n la ta a t first
P a th a k
B iya
c a lle d h im H i r a L a i P a th a k ,
b u t r e c o g n iz e d h im a s h e r
(i.e ., B iy a s) y o u n g e r b r o th e r ,
a n d c a lle d h im B a b u , th e
n a m e b y w h ic h B iya k n e w
h im .)
( T h e tw o a n o n y m o u s v isito rs
20 a n d 2 1 . R e c o g n itio n M . L . M is h ra ;
a lo n g w ith n in e o t h e r m e n ,
M u rli P a n d e y
o f C h in ta m in i
so m e k n o w n to h e r , so m e
P and ey, h u sb and of
180
unknown. She was asked to

name them all. She told
Chintam ini Pandey she knew
him in K atni and M aihar,
and looked bashful as H indu
wives do in the presence of
their husbands. She identified
Murli despite his maintaining
for almost 24 hours that he was
not Murli but somebodyelse.)
(Murli was trying to pass off a
22 . Non-recognition of (Murli Pandey
friend he had brought with
stranger unknown to
him as his brother Naresh.)
Biya.
M urli Pandey. (This was told
23. Chintam ini Pandey M urli Pandey
to M urli Pandey by
took 1200 rupees
Chintam ini Pandey. No one
from a box in which
except he and Biya had
she (Biya) had kept
known about it.)
money.
Items 24-49 (most of which I omit) took place on S w arnlatas visits to the
Pathak and Pandey families (see above). The items I have omitted relate to
recognitions of relatives and servants known to Biya, or to recognition of
places, rooms, and features of houses altered since Biyas death. Swarnlata
was often able to specify the relationship, and to give other appropriate
details.
29. Recognition of
Brij Kishore
(Presented to Swarnlata as a
family cowherd
Pathak, fourth
specially difficult test. Brij
brother of Biya;
Kishore Pathak also tried to
Krishna C handra persuade Swarnlata that the
cowherd had died.)
32. Inquiring about
Rajendra
Rajendra Prasad Pathak.
neem tree formerly Prasad
(This tree had been blown
in compound of
Pathak
down some months before
Pathak house.
S w arnlatas visit.)
33. Inquiring about a
Rajendra
Rajendra Prasad Pathak.
parapet at back of
Prasad Pathak
(This had been removed since
Pathak house.
Biyas death.)
34. Non-acceptance of Rajendra Prasad Rajendra Prasad Pathak;
suggestion that Biya Pathak;
M. L. Mishra. (Brij Kishore
had lost her teeth,
M. L. Mishra
Pathak tried to deceive
and statement that
Swarnlata by saying that
she had gold nails
Biya had lost her teeth.
in her front teeth.
Sw arnlata denied this and
insisted she had gold fillings
in her front teeth.
The Pathak brothers could
not rem em ber this and
consulted their wives, who
verified Swamlatasstatement.)
Biya, and of Murli
Pandey, her son
Reincarnation
181
In a d d itio n to S w a rn la ta s co rrec t recognitions a n d statem en ts, certain

aspects ol h er b e h a v io u r req u ire m ention. W ith the M ish ra fam ily she
b eh av ed like a (som ew hat serious) child; b u t w hen w ith the P ath ak s
she b eh av ed like a n old er sister o f h e r b ro th e rs, w ho w ere in fact forty
years a n d m ore o lder th a n she was. T h e y com pletely accep ted her, an d
the em o tio n al b o n d betw een th em b ecam e very strong, th o u g h it did
not interfere w ith h e r affection for h er n a tu ra l fam ily. W h e n alone w ith
the c h ild re n of h er previous life (m en m u ch o ld e r th a n her) she
relaxed com pletely an d tre a te d them as a m o th e r w ould. N e ith e r
R a je n d ra P ra sad P a th a k (B ivas second b ro th er) n o r M u rli P an d ey
(her son) h a d believed in re in c a rn a tio n before they m et S w a rn la ta /
Biya.
T h e g ap of n early ten years betw een B iyas d e a th , a n d S w a rn la ta s
b irth , is a n u nusually long one by th e sta n d a rd s of such cases.
S w a rn lata h ad in fact som e fra g m en tary ostensible m em ories o f an
in terv en in g life at S ylhet in B angladesh (th en Assam). She gave h er
n am e as K am lesh , a n d ex h ib ited som e know ledge ol the g eo g rap h y of
the district. A p ro p e r investigation was not possible. S w a rn lata
retain ed some m em ories of conjoined songs a n d dances she had
supposedly learn ed d u rin g h e r S ylhet in c arn atio n . T h e w ords o f the
songs w ere in B engali (S w arn la ta spoke only H indi). Professor P. P al, a
native of Bengal, tran sc rib ed th e songs, an d tran slate d th em into
English. T w o o u t o f three w ere clearly d erived from poem s of
R a b in d ra n a th T ag o re. T h e a c co m p an y in g dances w ere o f an
a p p ro p ria te style.
W e have here an ex am p le of ostensible recitative xenoglossy (see
C h a p te r Seven above). T h e q uestion w hich n a tu ra lly arises is w h eth e r
S w a rn lata could have learn ed th e songs by o rd in a ry m eans before the
age of five w hen she first beg an to perform them . Stevenson considers
in g reat d etail the possibility th a t she m ight have seen th em in a film (a
film in a lan g u ag e not h er ow n), h ea rd them on radio , o r otherw ise
w itnessed a p erfo rm an ce of them . H e thinks it m ost im p ro b ab le th at
she could have learn ed them norm ally; b u t I do not have space to go
into the details o f his arg u m en ts.
1 have now , a t least in a p relim in ary w ay, laid out the pieces of this
puzzle, an d we m ust now ask into w h at p attern s the pieces can be
arran g e d ; ask, in o th e r w ords, w h at e x p lan a tio n can be given of the
a p p a re n tly p a ra n o rm a l factors in the case. In tackling this q uestion I
shall try, so far as possible, to pass occasionally beyond th e case of
S w a rn lata an d offer som e g eneral com m ents on S teven so n s findings.
182
But th e b u lk o f his w ork is so la rg e th a t a n y re m a rk s o f m in e a re b o u n d

to be m ost in a d e q u a te .
T h e obvious sta rtin g p o in t is w ith those a p p ro a c h e s w h ich a tte m p t
to n o rm alize th e p a ra n o rm a l, to d e m o n s tra te th a t, d esp ite all
a p p e a ra n c e s to th e c o n tra ry , th e re is n o th in g in these cases w hich
c a n n o t be ex p la in e d aw a y in c o m m o n p la c e term s. T h e sticks w ith
w hich u p h o ld e rs o f this a p p ro a c h a re w ont to b e a t th e ir o p p o n e n ts are,
in a sce n d in g o rd e r o f p o w er to b ru ise, e rro rs o f m e m o ry c o m b in e d w ith
retro sp ectiv e e x a g g e ra tio n , genetic m e m o ry , fra u d a n d cry p to m n esia.
T h e first tw o o f these c a n be im m e d ia te ly dism issed, b o th for
S tev en so n 's p u b lish ed cases in g en e ral, a n d for th e case o f S w a rn la ta in
p a rtic u la r. N o d o u b t the te stim o n y c o n ta in s a sp rin k lin g o f erro rs as to
w h a t th e subjects d id o r did not say p rio r to th e ir first m eetin g s w ith the
fam ilies of th e p rev io u s perso n alities, a n d no d o u b t th e re w o u ld be a
te m p ta tio n to e n ric h th e su b je c ts supp o sed sta te m e n ts w ith facts
g lean ed a fte r the first m eeting. B ut I d o n o t th in k th a t an y o n e w ho
seriously studies S tev e n so n s case rep o rts w ill co n c lu d e th a t this ca n be
a n y th in g m o re th a n a very m in o r fa c to r in p ro m o tin g th e correct
sta te m e n ts a n d reco g n itio n s w hich these subjects a re said to have
m ade. C e rta in ly it c a n n o t be an im p o rta n t fac to r in th e case of
S w a rn la ta , in w hich a su b sta n tia l n u m b e r o f sta te m e n ts w ere w ritten
d o w n a n d passed on to an o u tsid e r before the first m e e tin g o f th e two
fam ilies.
M r Ia n W ilson (172, pp. 5 6 -5 7 ) seem s to th in k th a t th e re m ay b e a n
u n d e rly in g w eakness in som e o f th e evid en ce co llected by Stevenson
b ecause tw o persons w ho assisted him in a n u m b e r o f case
in v estigations in In d ia a n d in S ri L a n k a w ere a rd e n t believers in
re in c a rn a tio n . I should im ag in e th a t o th ers o f S tev e n so n 's h elp ers m ay
h ave fallen in to this ca te g o ry , a n d th a t S tev en so n him self is not
u n in te re ste d in re in c a rn a tio n ist philosophies. H o w ev er th e criticism
strikes m e as q u ite illegitim ate. N e ith e r a p e rso n s p ra c tic a l w ork, nor
his arg u m e n ts, c a n be u n d e rm in e d by p o in tin g to th e hopes, how ever
strong, th a t m ay as a m a tte r o f psychological fact, h av e in sp ire d them .
P ra c tic a l w ork ca n only be d em o lish ed by p o in tin g to llaw s in design,
m e th o d , a p p a ra tu s , te c h n iq u e , etc.; a rg u m e n ts c a n only be
d em o lish ed by p o in tin g to fau lty assu m p tio n s o r fau lty logic. A ny
c o n tra ry claim m ust u ltim a te ly be self-defeating.
F o r genetic m em o ry th e re is, so far as I am a w a re , v irtu a lly no
a c c e p ta b le evidence; a n d in th e vast m a jo rity ol S tev e n so n 's cases, the
p resent p erso n a lity was c e rta in ly not, biologically sp eak in g , d irectly
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183
d escen d ed from th e previous one.

The possibilities o f fraud are a g reat deal h a rd e r to assess. O n e has
for the m ost p a rt to ev a lu a te these possibilities for each in d iv id u al case.
In th e case of S w a rn la ta fraud seems exceptionally unlikely. T h e re was
no ev idence th a t e ith e r S w a rn la ta o r h er fath e r benefited financially.
H e r fath e r received a c e rta in a m o u n t of publicity from th e affair,
w hich to some m ay a p p e a r a sufficient m otive for fraud. But even so the
p ro b lem rem ains of how he could w ith o u t a ttra c tin g a tte n tio n have
o b ta in ed so m u ch d etailed a n d highly personal info rm atio n a b o u t the
p riv ate lives of the P ath ak s, an d have successfully coach ed S w a rn lata
in it. N o th in g th a t Stevenson could find out a b o u t him from persons
w ho knew him gave an y g rounds for suspicion th a t he h ad p e rp e tra te d
a hoax, an d it will be rem e m b ere d th a t Stevenson rem ain ed in touch
w ith b o th fath e r a n d d a u g h te r for m an y years.
T h e re seem, fu rth e rm o re , to be some g eneral reasons w hy fraud
ca n n o t be reg ard ed as a likely e x p lan a tio n of th e ap p a re n tly
p a ra n o rm a l elem ents in cases o f this kind. O n e is th a t cases in very
different p arts o f the w orld ex h ib it closely sim ilar features (listed
above), features for th e m ost p a rt lacking in those few cases in w hich
fraud has a c tu a lly been detected.
C ry p to m n esia is an ex p lan a tio n w hich has likewise to be assessed
case by case. In the case o f S w a rn la ta it seems to m e alm ost
inconceivable th a t cry p to m n esia should be the answ er. T h e M ish ra
an d P a th a k fam ilies den ied any previous a c q u a in ta n c e w ith each o th e r
an d h ad nev er lived n e a re r each o th e r th a n a b o u t a h u n d re d miles.
T h e ch ief possibility for a n o rm al line o f co m m u n ic atio n was th a t
S w a rn la ta s m o th e r cam e from an a re a w here the P a th a k fam ily had
business interests. H e r ow n m a id en n am e was in fact P ath a k , th o u g h
she was en tirely u n re la te d to the P ath a k s of w hom Biya h ad been the
d au g h ter. O n e of B iyas b ro th ers h ad some a c q u a in ta n c e w ith a cousin
of S w a rn la ta s m o th er. T h e M ishras h ad also passed th ro u g h K a tn i
from tim e to tim e. H ow ever even if S w a rn la ta o r h e r p are n ts h ad h eard
som ething a b o u t the P ath a k s of K a tn i, a n d th en forgotten it (and there
is n o th in g to suggest this) it w ould ce rtain ly not have included the
in tim ate details o f w hich S w a rn la ta show ed know ledge, n o r co uld it
have a c co u n ted for h er extrem ely successful recognitions o f m any
relatives a n d servants of h e r supposed previous life.
In others of S tevensons cases (not a n overw helm ing n u m b er) the
likelihood o f cry p to m n esia seems g re a te r - the tw o fam ilies co n cern ed
lived n e a r each o th e r or the p are n ts o f the present personality
184
u n d o u b te d ly knew so m e th in g a b o u t the life a n d d e a th o f th e p rev io u s

p erso n ality . B ut S tevenson very rea so n ab ly p o in ts out:
(a) th a t m a n y o f his subjects w ere o nly th re e o r ev en y o u n g e r w hen
th ey e x h ib ite d th e ir first a p p a r e n t m em ories o f a p rev io u s existence;
(b) unlike th e subjects in m a n y o f th e classic cases o f d e m o n stra te d
cry p to m n esia , they w ere n o t h y p n o tiz ed b u t in a n o rd in a ry w ak in g
state; a n d
(c) th a t so far no n e of his cases has yield ed c le a r ev id en ce for
c ry p to m n esia - th e re has been n o th in g w h ich u n m is ta k a b ly lin k ed the
su b je cts sta te m en ts to som e source o f in fo rm a tio n to w h ich he
u n d o u b te d ly h a d access.
It seems to m e ex tre m ely unlikely th a t e ith e r fra u d o r c ry p to m n esia
have been m ore th a n m a rg in a l factors in p ro d u c in g th e co rrect
sta te m en ts a n d recog n itio n s so fre q u e n tly fo u n d in th e pages of
S tev en so n s case reports. A tte m p ts to n o rm alize th e p a ra n o rm a l in this
a re a have not pro v ed convincing. W e m u st th e re fo re m ove on to
co n sid er those ex p la n a tio n s w hich invoke p a ra n o rm a l factors o r
processes. T h e factors o r processes m ost c o m m o n ly invoked h av e been
E S P , obsession by th e sp irit of som e d eceased p erso n , a n d a c tu a l
rein c arn atio n .
T h e E S P th eo ry proposes, o f course, th a t th e r e in c a r n a te d subject
o b ta in s all his in fo rm atio n a b o u t th e p rev io u s p e rso n a lity by E S P , in
m ost cases alm o st in ev itab ly te le p a th y w ith th e living. W h y d a ta
c o n c ern in g th a t p a rtic u la r deceased person (a n d u su ally no o th er)
should be selected as ta rg e t m a te ria l rem a in s u n clea r.
T h e te lep a th y th eo ry suffers from several obvio u s sh o rtco m in g s: In
the g rea t m a jo rity ol cases th e ostensibly re in c a rn a te d p erso n show s no
signs ol h av in g a n y special E S P abilities (S w a rn la ta , h o w ev er, was
once th e p e rc ip ie n t in a not very im pressive case o f a p p a re n t
sp o n ta n eo u s E SP); som e ol th e re in c a rn a te d p erso n a lities have
ex h ib ite d skills c h a ra c te ristic ol th e p revious p erso n a lity , a n d I have
a lre a d y arg u e d th a t skills c a n n o t be a c q u ire d by E SP ; in som e cases the
te lep a th ic ally a c q u ire d in fo rm atio n w ould h av e to h av e co m e from
m ore th a n one source; a n d in a lew cases th e in fo rm a tio n co n cern ed
seems not just to have been a c q u ire d , b u t to h av e b een organized in a
p a tte rn a p p ro p ria te to th e m in d o f the p revious p erso n ality .
The last tw o points m ake it a p p a r e n t th a t we a re o n ce ag ain
co n fro n ted w ith w h at ca n only be te rm ed a version of th e su p e r-E S P
hypothesis. It is w o rth q u o tin g S tev e n so n s exp o sitio n s o f these two
p oints in co n n e ctio n w ith th e case o f S w a rn la ta (153g, pp. 347-348):
Reincarnation
185
T h e P a t h a k b r o th e r s k n e w th e fa c ts a b o u t th e c h a n g e s in th e P a t h a k h o u se
in K a t n i a n d n e a r ly a ll th e o th e r la c ts a p p a r e n t l y r e m e m b e r e d by
S w a r n l a t a a b o u t e v e n ts a t K a t n i , a lth o u g h th e y d id n o t r e m e m b e r th e g o ld
fillin g s in th e te e th o f t h e ir sister, B iya. B u t it is e x tr e m e ly u n lik e ly t h a t th e y
k n e w a n y t h i n g a b o u t th e la tr in e e p is o d e w h ic h S w a r n la t a to ld S r im a ti
A g n ih o tr i a n d it is e q u a lly u n lik e ly t h a t th e y k n e w a n y th in g a b o u t th e
m o n e y t a k e n fro m B iy a b y h e r h u s b a n d . H e h a d to ld n o o n e a b o u t th is for
o b v io u s re a so n s. N o w it is p o ssib le t h a t S w a r n l a ta d e r iv e d d iffe re n t ite m s o f
in f o rm a tio n fro m d if fe r e n t p e rs o n s e a c h a c ti n g a s th e a g e n t fo r o n e o r a few
ite m s a n d n o o th e r s . . . B u t w h a t th e n b e c o m e s n o te w o r th y is th e pattern o f
th e in f o rm a tio n S w a r n l a ta th u s d e r iv e d . N o th in g n o t k n o w n to B iya o r th a t
h a p p e n e d a f t e r B iy a s d e a th w a s s ta te d b y S w a r n l a ta d u r i n g th ese
d e c la r a tio n s . W e m u s t a c c o u n t s o m e h o w n o t o n ly fo r th e tr a n s f e r o f
in f o rm a tio n to S w a r n l a t a , b u t fo r th e o r g a n iz a tio n o f th e in f o rm a tio n in
h e r m in d in a p a t t e r n q u i te s im ila r to t h a t o f th e m in d ol B iya. E x tr a s e n s o r y
p e r c e p tio n m a y a c c o u n t fo r th e p a s s a g e o f th e in f o r m a tio n , b u t I d o n o t
th in k t h a t it a lo n e c a n e x p la in th e se le c tio n a n d a r r a n g e m e n t o f th e
in f o r m a tio n in a p a t t e r n c h a r a c te r is tic ol B iya. F o r if S w a r n la t a g a in e d h e r
in f o rm a tio n b y e x tr a s e n s o r y p e r c e p tio n , w h y d id sh e n o t g iv e th e n a m e s o f
p e rso n s u n k n o w n to B iy a w h e n sh e m e t th e m fo r th e first tim e?
E x tr a s e n s o r y p e r c e p tio n o f th e m a g n itu d e h e r e p r o p o s e d s h o u ld n o t
d is c r im in a te b e tw e e n ta r g e ts u n le s s g u id e d b y so m e o r g a n iz in g p r in c ip le
g iv in g a sp e c ia l p a t t e r n to th e p e rs o n s o r o b je c ts re c o g n iz e d . I t seem s to m e
th a t h e r e w e m u s t s u p p o s e t h a t B iy a s p e r s o n a lity s o m e h o w c o n f e r re d th e
p a t t e r n o f its m in d o n th e c o n te n ts o f S w a r n l a t a s m in d .
I am q u ite a t one w ith Stevenson over his d o u b ts co n cern in g the ESP

(or super-E S P ) theory, b u t since I have alre ad y d w elt m u ch u p o n the
arid ity ol th a t theory, I shall pass on to discuss the possible survivalistic
in te rp re tatio n s ol S tevensons cases. T h e first ol these in te rp re tatio n s,
the th eory of obsession, has been the favourite resort of S p iritu alists
hostile to the idea of rein c arn atio n . T h e ir view is th a t the e a rth -b o u n d
spirit of som e d isrep u tab le deceased person becom es in some w ay
a tta c h e d to a person still in the flesh. T h ro u g h a process of reciprocal
te lep a th y (the supposed process w hich in previous ch a p te rs I called
o v ersh adow ing) this psychic p ara site m ay influence the th o u g h ts an d
b eh a v io u r of his victim (usually for the worse).
It is very difficult to know w h at to say of this theory. W e ca n n o t list
the ch aracteristics of a n u m b e r of a u th e n tic a te d obsession cases, an d
th en see how far th e ch aracteristics of o u r re in c a rn a tio n cases m a tc h up
to them . M a n y parapsychologists w ould strongly den y th a t th e re are
any a u th e n tic a te d cases of obsession. P erh ap s the best we c a n do here is
to arg u e as follows, / / th e re are indeed g enuine cases o f obsession, the
T h o m p so n -G iffo rd case, w hich I described in the last c h a p te r, has as
186
good a claim to be one ol th e m as has an y o th e r case. L e t us th e re lo re

c o m p a re th e experien ces of the obsessed o r o v ersh a d o w e d G illo rd w ith
those o f a ty p ical ch ild subject in one of S tev e n so n s re in c a rn a tio n
cases. If th e tw o a re very d ifferent, th e n th e obsession th e o ry w ill have
failed to get oil th e g ro u n d , a n d we m ay p ro p e rly leave it th e re un til
such tim e as fu rth e r discoveries succeed in re -e n e rg iz in g it.
It is im m e d ia te ly obvious th a t T h o m p s o n 's ex p erien ces differed
from those o f a ty p ical re in c a rn a tio n sub ject in a t least th e follow ing
respects;
(a) H e h a d a fre q u en t sense o f a n e x te rn a l presence
o v e rsh a d o w in g him .
(b) H is p ain tin g s (ex h ib itio n o f a c h a ra c te ristic skill ch a ra c te ristic
o f G ilford) w ere often d o n e in a sta te o f d issociation , w ith som e degree
o f su b se q u en t am nesia.
(c) Scenes for his p ain tin g s w ere p rese n ted to h im , as if from an
ex te rn a l source, in visions.
(d) T h e o v ersh a d o w in g p resence seem ed to c o m m u n ic a te w ith
h im as if from th e o u tsid e th ro u g h a u d ito ry h allu cin atio n s.
(e) T h e scenes w hich ca m e to him d id n o t com e as scenes from his
ow n past.
(f) M e d iu m s in to w hose p resen ce T h o m p so n w as b ro u g h t picked
u p the presence o f th e obsessing G illo rd e n tity (so far as I know'
co m p a ra b le e x p e rim e n ts have not b een trie d w ith S tev en so n s
subjects).
(g) T h o m p so n did not identify w ith G ilford in th e sense ol co m in g
to re g a rd G ilfo rd 's fam ily a n d possessions as his ow n, etc.
M o re g en erally one m ig h t re m a rk th a t th e c h ild re n in S tev en so n s
re in c a rn a tio n cases d o not, on th e w hole, p rese n t th e signs of
e la b o ra tin g a n d m a in ta in in g a subconscious ro m a n c e w h ich led M rs
S idgw ick to w ard s the th eo ry o f o v e rsh a d o w in g in re g a rd to the
co n trols a n d co m m u n ic a to rs o f M rs P ip er.
T h e re seem th erefo re to be g ro u n d s for say in g th a t in a t least one
case th e experiences o f a supposedly obsessed p erso n w ere very
diffrent from those o f th e subjects o f S tev e n so n s cases o f ostensible
re in c a rn a tio n . T h is a p p e a rs to m e a sufficient reaso n fo rc o n sig n in g the
obsession th eo ry not to oblivion, b u t in d efin itely to th e shelf. F o r since
obsession is a sta te in w hich m in d a n d b e h a v io u r a re ostensibly
in llu en ced from the o utside, the fu n d a m e n ta l ev id en c e for it co u ld only
be psychological evidence.
It is b e g in n in g to look very m u c h as th o u g h , h a v in g b e g u n by
Reincarnation
187
expressing m y very co nsiderable distaste for the idea of re in c a rn a tio n , I

have now , by elim in a tin g all the obvious altern ativ es, arg u e d m yself
in to a position w here I am b o u n d to accept it, o r at an y rate to begin a
serious a tte m p t to m ake sense o f it. C a n one indeed m ake sense of this
or an y o th e r form o f the survival theory? If, after m y d e a th , some
recen tly b o rn yo u n g person starts to ex h ib it m em ories co rresp o n d in g
to m y m em ories, skills co rresp o n d in g to m y skills, a n d so on, w ould it
therefore follow th a t I am com e again? T hese are the sorts of questions
we shall have to discuss in th e co n clu d in g chapters.
P en d in g the results of this discussion, I m ust a d m it th a t I do not find
it easy to dissent from the very m o d e ra te opinion w hich Stevenson
expresses at the end o f his m ost recent study (153j, pp. 369-370):
P e rs o n s w h o f a v o u r th e c e r ta in tie s o f r e lig io u s tr a d itio n s o v e r th e
u n c e r ta in tie s o f e m p ir ic a l in v e s tig a tio n s m a y p r e fe r to r e m a in w ith th e
f o rm e r u n til w e h a v e im p ro v e d th e la tte r . B u t o t h e r p e rs o n s m a y w e lc o m e a
g ro w in g b o d y ol e v id e n c e t h a t p e r m its a r a tio n a l b elief in r e in c a r n a tio n ,
e v e n t h o u g h th is e v id e n c e falls f a r s h o r t o f b e in g d e c isiv e . A n d fo r th e
f u tu re , th e r e is th e p o ss ib ility t h a t f u r t h e r a n d im p ro v e d in v e s tig a tio n s o f
th is ty p e m a y d e v e lo p s tr o n g e r e v id e n c e o f a q u a lity t h a t w ill p e r m it a
f irm e r c o n c lu s io n to th e m o st im p o r ta n t ol a ll th e q u e s tio n s t h a t m a n c a n
ask a b o u t him self: W h e t h e r h u m a n p e r s o n a lity su rv iv e s d e a th .
13
M e m o ry a n d the B rain
M y conclusions have so far b een on b a la n c e fa v o u ra b le to som e form of

survival hypothesis. C e rta in m e d iu m istic c o m m u n ic a tio n s a n d c e rta in
ostensibly re in c a rn a te d p erso n alities d isp lay so m a n y c o rrec t an d
d e ta ile d a p p a re n t m em ories of a fo rm e r existence o n e a rth th a t E S P by
m e d iu m o r re in c a rn a te d su b je ct scarcely seem s a possible e x p la n a tio n ,
unless, indeed, we are p re p a re d to p o stu la te E S P o f a n e x te n t an d
co m p lex ity for w h ich w e h av e no in d e p e n d e n t su p p o rt. E v en if we
w ere p re p a re d to p o stu late such su p e r-E S P ' w e w o u ld still be u n ab le
to a c c o u n t for o th e r aspects o f th e evid en ce for su rv iv al, for the
m an ifesta tio n o f skills, p erso n a lity traits, purposes, a w hole p o in t of
view , c h a ra c te ristic o f th e fo rm erly living person. T h e su p er-E S P
h y pothesis suffers from a large c re d ib ility gap.
T o m a n y th e c re d ib ility g a p o f th e su p e r-E S P hypothesis, a n d the
d isp u tes b etw een th e su p p o rte rs o f th a t theo ry , a n d those of the
survivalist th e o ry , m ust seem m a tte rs o f no co n seq u e n ce w hatsoever,
like a rg u m e n ts b etw e en rival schools o f astrolog ers. T h e findings of
m o d e rn biological science stro n g ly suggest (it w ou ld be claim ed ) th at
such m e n ta l p h e n o m e n a as re m e m b e rin g , th in k in g , fo rm in g plans,
using la n g u ag e , a n d all expressions o f h u m a n p e rso n a lity , d ep en d
u p o n , a n d at the b o tto m sim ply are , aspects o f th e fu n ctio n in g of the
b ra in . T h e re c a n therefore be no q u estio n o f h u m a n perso n ality
su rviving th e dissolution o f th e b ra in , a n d no ra tio n a l a n d scientifically
e d u c a te d person sh o u ld w aste tim e in stu d y in g th e su p p o sed ev id en ce
for survival. T h e evidence for E S P m ay be m a rg in a lly m o re w o rth y of
cred en ce, b u t the m a rg in is so sm all as to m ak e little difference.
W e com e here u p o n issues o f im m ense difficu lty a n d com plexity.
W h a t is in q u estio n is th e n a tu re o f th e re la tio n sh ip b etw e en m in d an d
b ra in , a n d the w idely held, alm ost o rth o d o x , c o n te m p o ra ry view th a t
the m in d is b ra in in action. N ow these issues a re too vast a n d too
o b scure to be a d e q u a te ly tack led here, p e rh a p s a n y w h e re , yet they
c a n n o t be a lto g e th e r d o d g ed for, as I h av e ju s t re m a rk e d , a pow erful
Memory and the Brain
189
c u rre n t o f opinion holds th a t only one sort of answ er is possible, a n d it is

a n an sw er w hich puts th e ostensible evidence for survival w ith w hich
this book is co n cern ed w holly o u t of court.
F aced w ith the d a u n tin g necessity to say som ething, how ever
in a d e q u a te , u p o n this cru cial topic, I have decid ed to a d o p t the
follow ing tactic. I shall discuss p rin cip ally the q uestio n of w h eth e r
m em ory is en tirely a function of the b rain . F or, to p u t it som ew hat
over-sim ply, if m em ories are to be eq u a te d w ith aspects o f the stru ctu re
a n d o p e ra tio n ol th e b ra in , o n e s p ow er to rem e m b er could n ot survive
the d estru c tio n an d dispersal of o n e s b rain . A nd since evidence for the
survival o f m em ory is a c e n tra l - indeed th e c e n tra l - p a rt of the
evidence lo r su rv iv al, all evidence for surviving m em ory w ould have
to be dism issed o r rad ically rein terp re ted . F u rth e rm o re , it is likely th a t
w h at holds tru e o f m em ory will also hold true of the o th e r facets of
h u m a n personality w ith w hich we are p rin cip ally co n cern ed , so th a t
by in v estigating th e issues w ith respect to m em ory, we m ay be ab le to
reach conclusions o f g eneral ap p licab ility .
T h e N a tu r e o f M e m o r y
A v en erab le view o f the n a tu re o f m em ory, a view going back to
classical tim es, is this. S tim u li falling on o u r sense org an s p ro d u ce
d istu rb an ces in o u r brains, w hich cause us to p erceiv e those stim uli.
T h e d istu rb a n ce s in o u r b rain s leave b eh in d traces, m in u te changes
in the stru c tu re o f th e b rain . As a result of these changes, b ra in activ ity
becom es m ore likely to follow those sam e p ath s ag ain , m ak in g us liable
to relive the orig in al p erc ep tu a l experiences in a w atered dow n form
(m em ory im ages), even in th e absence o f the stim uli w hich originally
p ro d u ced them . S uch a revival of the original experien ce is especially
likely to be triggered off by stim uli w hose ow n traces are in term ingled,
o r associated, w ith those of th e first stim ulus.
T o d a y this v e n e rab le theory is fo rm u lated in th e term s of m o d ern
neuroscience an d m o d e rn cognitive psychology. W e know th a t the
b ra in co n tain s th o u san d s o f m illions of specialized nerve cells
(neurons), each send in g out filam ents w hich m ake connections
(synapses) w ith m an y o th e r cells. By m eans of these filam ents trav ellin g
regions o f electrochem ical d istu rb a n ce (nerve im pulses) are
tra n sm itte d from one nerve cell to an o th er. In an active b ra in
im m ensely com plex p a tte rn s of nerve im pulses are co n tin u ally shifting
an d ch a n g in g a n d re-establishing them selves.
S om e nerve im pulses a n d p attern s ol nerve im pulses seem to
190
o rig in a te sp o n ta n eo u sly w ith in th e b ra in itself. B ut o th e rs a re set g o in g

w hen e x te rn a l stim u li strike th e sense o rgans. V olleys o f n erv e im pulses
ru sh do w n the sensory nerves w hich pass from th e sense o rg an
co n c ern ed to th e c e n tra l' n erv o u s system a n d th e b ra in . S u ch p a tte rn s
o f in c o m in g nerve im pulses a re u sually said to represent o r encode the
e x te rn a l stim ulus (o bject o r even t) w hich gave rise to th em .
A gainst this b ac k g ro u n d , a n a c c o u n t o f m e m o ry is co m m o n ly
d ev elo p ed alo n g th e follow ing lines. T h e in c o m in g n erv e im pulses th a t
e n c o d e th e e x te rn a l event m ust them selves som ehow c h a n g e the
p ro p ertie s o f fu rth e r n eu ro n s in such a w ay th a t th e c h a n g es co u ld also
be said to re p re se n t o r e n c o d e th e e x te rn a l stim u lu s, b u t in a
d ifferen t fashion. T h ese c h a n g es - w hich c o n s titu te th e process of
memory storage - a re u sually th o u g h t to involve such a lte ra tio n s in the
co n n e ctio n s b etw een nerve cells as will fac ilita te th e rev iv al o r p a rtia l
revival o f th e sto re d p a tte r n o f nerve im pulses. T h e su p p o sed process
by w hich the stored p a tte r n is revived as n ee d ed , a n d p erh ap s
re c irc u la te d , is know n as retrieval. It is re trie v a l th a t gives rise to the
ex p e rien c e o f rem e m b erin g .
T h e C o d in g - S t o r a g e -R e tr ie v a l M o d e l
W e m ay call this view o f m em o ry , w hich is en d o rse d by the
co n v e n tio n a l w isdom of c u rre n t psychology a n d b ra in science, the
coding-storage-relrieval m odel. C u rio u sly en o u g h (this is p e rh a p s a
significant p o in t) this m odel w as w idely a c c e p te d for years, indeed
decades, before th e re w as a n y serious evid en ce in its favour. In fact it
w as a c c e p te d despite w h a t som e re g a rd e d as w eig h ty ev id en ce ag ain st
it. T h e evid en ce ag a in st it w as as follows. If m em ories a re sto red in the
b ra in , it is n a tu ra l to ask w h e re a b o u ts in the b ra in th e store m a y b e . It
h a d been know n for a long tim e th a t g en e ral d e te rio ra tio n o f th e b ra in
- especially d e te rio ra tio n invo lv in g a tro p h y o f n erv e cells in the
c e re b ra l cortex (th e lay er o f grey m a tte r on th e o u tsid e o f th e b rain ) leads to a g en e ral loss o f in te lle c tu a l faculties, in c lu d in g m em o ry . But
n u m e ro u s a tte m p ts to show , by e x p e rim e n ts w ith an im als, th a t
p a rtic u la r m em ories w ere stored in p a r tic u la r p a rts o f th e co rte x were
largely unsuccessful. E stab lish ed m em ories co u ld survive th e rem oval
o f co n sid erab le am o u n ts o f co rtic a l tissue; a n d w h en deficits were
p ro d u c e d they w ere m o re obviously re la te d to th e a m o u n t o f tissue
rem o ved th a n to its location. I h ere w as little to suggest th e ex istence of
a m em ory-store, o r indeed ol a n y th in g rese m b lin g m e m o ry -tra c e s as
usually conceived - a lact w hich g rea tly e n c o u ra g e d c e rta in believers
191
in survival. T h e co d in g -sto rag e-retriev al m odel ol m em o ry was still

largely an article of faith.
H ow ever, in the last couple of decades o r so, various findings have
com e to h a n d w hich, th o u g h they do not am o u n t to the discovery ol a
m em ory store o r o f clearly localized m em ory traces, are at an y rate
co n so n an t w ith the co d in g -sto rag e-retriev al m odel of m em ory. For
instance:
1. E lectrical stim u latio n ol th e b ra in (especially o f th e tem p o ral
lobes, th e p a rts ju st in from , a n d in front of, th e ears) by m eans o f a
sm all electrode som etim es produces the a p p a re n t reliv in g o f a past
experience w ith an h a llu c in a to ry vividness. Som e w orkers believe th a t
the electrodes m ay ac tiv a te a re trie v a l m echan ism (b u t this
in te rp re ta tio n of th e findings is disputed).
2. E xtensive d a m a g e to th e front p a rt o f the tem p o ral lobes has
been found, if it occurs on bo th sides o f the b ra in , to pro d u ce a frightful
m em o ry deficit. T h e victim is u n ab le to re ta in for m ore th a n a m in u te
o r tw o a m em ory o f an y new event occu rrin g , new person m et, new'
place visited, etc., afte r the d a te of his injury. H e will not even be able
to keep track of the plot o f a film, play, etc! T h is has been in te rp re ted
variously as d u e to a n in ab ility to store new m a terial, to a selective
in ab ility to retrieve m a teria l, o r to an inability to encod e new m aterial.
3. T h e b ra in m ay, for o u r purposes, be reg a rd e d as consisting of
tw o m a jo r portions, the b ra in stem , w hich is at it w ere an u p w ard an d
forw ard extension a n d en la rg e m e n t of the spinal cord, an d the large
tw in hem ispheres, w hich overlie th e b ra in stem an d conceal it. T h e
h em ispheres are co n n ected by a large b u n d le of nerve fibres, called the
co rp u s callosum , an d if this is severed (p ro d u c in g a so-called split
b ra in ) th e tw o hem ispheres ca n to som e ex ten t act in d ep en d en tly . In
ex p erim en ts w ith an im als it has been show n th a t each hem isp h ere can
be ta u g h t different things, a n d ca n learn to respond differently to the
sam e stim ulus. It is as th o u g h different m em ory traces have been
diffusely laid dow n an d se p arate ly stored in left a n d rig h t hem ispheres.
A nalogous findings have been o b ta in ed w ith h u m a n p atien ts whose
b rain s have been sp lit for th e relief of epilepsy.
4. It has often been claim ed th a t the injection of c e rta in substances
into the b ra in - for instance ones w hich assist o r in h ib it the
m a n u fa c tu re of p ro tein in b ra in cells - m ay have a beneficial or
in ju rio us effect on the ab ility to learn a n d reta in new m a terial. Som e
w orkers th in k th a t we m ust be ta p p in g th e m olecu lar basis of m em ory
192
storage; b u t the p r o p e r in te r p re ta tio n of such findings has b e e n m u c h

disputed.
O n the face of it we seem to h ave h ere evid ence for a co d in g-stora geretrieval m odel of m e m o ry , in w hich the coding, storage a n d retrieval
are all activities of the brain. If this a p p r o a c h to m e m o r y is correct, it is
clea r th a t o n e s m em ories could not survive the dissolution ol o n e s
brain.
It is ironical th a t the d ec ad e s w hich h av e seen the first seem ingly solid
pieces of physiological evidence in fav our of the coding-storageretrieval m odel of m e m o r y hav e also witnessed the b e g in nings of a
strong a n d p erh a p s u n e x p e c te d a t ta c k u p o n the p resupp ositio ns of that
model. T h is a tta c k has co m e m a in ly from w h a t m a y seem a n unlikely
q u a r te r, n a m e ly c e r ta in philosophers interested in the philosophy of
m in d (17; 20; 62a; 62b; 98a; 98b). T h e issues a r e ex tre m ely c o m plex
a n d difficult, a n d I c a n here give only the barest ou tlin e of them ; but
they are of such obvious im p o r ta n c e to the c e n tr a l p ro b lem s of this
book th a t it is impossible to pass th e m by. R e a d e rs w h o prefer not to
e m b a r k at all on w h a t a re to th e m u n c h a r te d seas will find a n interim
s u m m a r y on pages 20 2 -3 a n d a co n c lu d in g s u m m a r y on pages 213-4.
Before we ta ckle these tricky issues, it is necessary to touc h u p o n two
c o m m o n ly m a d e distinctions w hich will be rele v an t to the discussion.
T h e y are as follows:
1. T h e distinction betw e en w h a t I shall call p e r so n a l m e m o ry
a n d w h a t I shall call f a c tu a l m e m o ry . By p e r so n a l m e m o r y I m ean
o n e s ab ility to recollect events, actions, persons, places, etc., w hich
one observed oneself. By f a c tu a l m e m o r y I m e a n the ab ility to call to
m in d items of factual o r prop ositio nal know ledge, such as th e fact that
p la tin u m dissolves in m o lten lead, or the fact th a t K i n g J o h n died of a
surfeit ol peaches a n d beer. It should be n o te d th a t factual m e m o ry
does not necessarily involve personal m e m o ry ; one c a n recall a fact
w ithou t recalling the occasion on w hich one le arn ed it. O n the o th e r
h a n d personal m em ories a re always also to some ex ten t factual
memories. T h u s if one r e m e m b e rs the d o m e of St P e te r s one eo ipso
r em e m b ers th a t St P e te r s is a C a t h e d r a l w ith a dom e.
2. T h e distinction betw e en p h e n o m e n a w hich possess o r exhibit
in te n tio n a lity a n d those w h ich do not. I n te n t io n a li ty in this
technical sense has n o th in g special to d o w ith inten tion. It is the
p r o p e r ty w hich m a n y m e n ta l states or events h ave o f b eing a b o u t or
193
directed u p o n ex ternal objects or states of affairs. T h u s a hope is

always a h ope fo r som e thing or that som ething will com e to pass, a belief
is always a belief that so a n d so is the case, a m e m o ry is always a
recollection oj s o m e thing or a recollection that such a n d such is or was
the case. A full specification of an y such m e n tal state requires a
specification of the state of affairs w hich is the object of that m e ntal
state; but these intentional objects' need not of course exist, or have
existed, in the ex ternal world - I ca n believe a rd e n tly in things th at do
not exist, seem to r e m e m b e r som ething th a t never h ap p e n e d , or hope
lor a n event w hich will never transpire. T h e r e is a large, a n d highly
technical, literature a b o u t in tentionality, b u t for present purposes we
need simply note th a t m e m o ry (at least the kinds of m e m o ry we are
here concerned with) is essentially a n in te n tio n a l p h enom enon.
W e c a n now consider some of the m o re obvious objections to the
coding-storage-retrieval m odel of m em ory. I shall take these u n d e r two
headings:
1. O bjections to the idea th a t o n e s po w er to r e m e m b e r is d u e to
o n es h av in g in o n e s b ra in coded represen tations or coded symbols of
external events.
2. P roblem s th a t arise over the retrieval or ta p p in g of these stored
representations.
1. O b je c tio n s to th e Id e a o f In n e r R e p r e s e n ta t io n s
T h e central p ro b lem co nfron ting accounts of m e m o ry w hich postulate
stored rep resentatio ns of external events is th a t of clarifying w hat, in
this context, could be m e a n t by r e p rese n tatio n . In the o r d in a r y sense
of the te rm re p re se n ta tio n (as w h en a m a p m ig h t be said to be a
representation of a stretch of terrain, o r a g ro u p in g of pipe cleaners a n d
ping-pong balls of a com plex molecule), one th ing ca n be a
representation of a n o t h e r only if someone creates or a dopts it for that
purpose, or decides, believes, claims, etc., th a t it is or shall be so.
Creating, deciding, a d opting, believing, etc., a r e a l l 'i n t e n t i o n a l states
of m ind o r in te n tio n a l m e n tal events (i.e. they are a b o u t o r directed
u p o n conceived or im a g ine d states of affairs external to themselves). It
is clear th a t the existence of such representations requires, a n d c a n n o t
be used to explain, m e m o ry a n d o th e r in te n tio n a l ph en o m en a .
T hose w ho explain m e m o ry (fac tu al a n d p erso nal) in te rm s of
inner rep resentation s, a n d assume th a t such representations are
em b o d ied in the brain , a p p e a r to be developing their ow n special or
194
technical co n c ep t of r ep rese n tatio n . T h e essential features o f this

co n c e p t a re th a t in c o m in g stim uli (in p u ts ) p r o d u c e c h a n g e s in the
b r a in (one could use th e old w o rd trac es for these). T h e traces in some
(un k n o w n ) m a n n e r lawfully c o rre sp o n d to o r p ara llel o r re p r e s e n t
some aspects o f the in p u ts w h ich gave rise to them .
O n e has, I think, only to spell o u t w h a t is in volved in o r im plied by
this co n c e p t of re p re se n ta tio n to see t h a t it c a n n o t possibly h elp us to
u n d e r s ta n d the p h e n o m e n a o f m e m o ry . T h e c o n c e p t has c o m m o n ly
b ee n develo ped in one o f tw o g en e ral ways.
T h e sim p ler of these tw o ways has been in the past w idely a d h e r e d
to, a n d provides a n a c c o u n t of b o th f a c tu a l a n d p e r s o n a l m e m o ry . It
proposes in essence th a t w hen a n episode of r e m e m b e r in g takes place a
m e m o ry trace (or stored rep rese n tatio n ) is r e tr ie v e d o r reactivated.
T h e effect of this retrieval is r a t h e r as th o u g h th e in p u t w hich
originally gave rise to the trace h a d b ee n a g a in received, a n d h a d been
processed th ro u g h the system to the p o in t a t w hich its n a t u r e a n d
c h a r a c t e r w ere d ec ip h e re d . T h e original p e r c e p tu a l exp e rien c e is, as it
were, p a rtly reinstated in the form of a n im age; o r it m a y be th a t a
series of in p u ts hav e been assim ilated to a single trace or
rep resentation, in w hich case retrieval will give rise to a gen e ral or
com posite im age, m o re suited for c a r ry in g f a c tu a l t h a n perso n a l
memories. T h e supposed in n e r r ep rese n tatio n s a re usually th o u g h t of
as eith er visual o r v e r b a l. T h e y are, in short, such th a t w hen
retrie ved, th ey yield a visual im age of some person, event, or state of
affairs, o r a n a u d ito r y im age of ce rta in a p p r o p r i a t e spoken words.
T h is version of th e r e p rese n tatio n al th e o ry has of late found m a n y
critics even a m o n g st psychologists. In the first place, it h a r d ly seems
possible, except in the lim iting case of c e r ta in highly p erso nal
memories, to suppose th a t o n e s m e m o ry -k n o w le d g e of a n y given
factual or personal m a t t e r consists in o r is based u p o n the ability or
tend ency to evoke o r e n te r ta in a p a r ti c u la r im age, o r some im age or
im ages from a d e lim itab le set, such as in n e r visual o r verbal
representation s m ight be supposed to g ene rate . T a k e as a n exa m p le
m y m e m o ry of the fact th a t K in g J o h n died o f a surfeit of peaches an d
beer. I find th a t I c a n call the lacts a b o u t K in g J o h n s d e a t h to m ind
th ro u g h such im ages as those ol a c e rta in pag e of a c e r ta in ele m e n ta ry
history textbook; of an e n try in the Dictionary o f National Biography; of
the voice of a form er history te a c h e r (with w h o m in fact I n e v e r studied
the relevant period); ol a cro w n e d figure rolling on grass; o f a picnic
h a m p e r c o n ta in in g peaches a n d bottled beer; o f loud intestinal
195
rum blings; of a ca rto o n in Humours o f History, of the figures 1216

superim posed on a dish of tinned peaches; a n d so on. Several of these
images are ludicrously inap p ro p ria te, b u t they all a p p e a r to w ork,
a n d an y one of th e m m ight com e to m ind or be deliberately sum m oned
u p in some circumstances. It is obvious th a t m y knowledge that K in g
J o h n died ol a surfeit of peaches a n d beer does not derive from an
ability to ac tivate o r retrieve a p a r tic u la r inner representation, or a
rep resentation o r representations from a limited set. I ca n create
whatever visual or verbal images seem at the tim e to constitute
a p p ro p ria te expressions of the u n derly in g mem ory-know ledge. T h e
underlying m e m ory-kno w led ge transcends an y such lim ited set of
visual or verbal images as the retrieval of inner representations
m irro rin g episodes in past history lessons, etc., m ight be supposed to
give rise to.
T h e r e seem also to be possible episodes of re m e m b e r in g in which
retrieved representations need not figure at all. If, for instance, I
decline a meal of peaches a n d beer w ith a jo k in g reference to K in g
Jo h n , it does not follow that I first h ad one of the images listed above, or
indeed any im age at all. M y ac tio n is itself as m u c h a n expression of the
m em ory know ledge as a n y visual or verbal image.
Even if we set these difficulties aside, m a n y others still rem ain. T h e
partial reinstatem ent or reliving of a past experience (such as ex
hypothesi would result from the retrieval of a n inner representation)
could not by itsell constitute a n act of rem em bering. A n image
representing some past scene that I h ad witnessed m ight occur to me at
reg ular intervals w ith o u t my ever realizing th a t I h ad gone through
this experience before. A nd similarly I m ight frequently llnd myself
e n tertain in g in m y m in d 's eye a n im age of a crow ned ligure clutching
its stom ach beside a table b ea rin g tinned peaches a n d bottled beer
w ithout m y once linking it to the d e a th of K i n g j o h n . T h e occurrences
ol the images m ight indeed be d u e to modifications in my brain caused
by past inputs; b u t their o ccurrence would not constitute remembering.
A fully-lledged act of r e m e m b e rin g would have, in addition, to involve
w hat ca n p erh a p s best be called an a lfirm a tio n that the intentional
objects of the images (the events or states of affairs, external to
themselves, th a t they are o f , a b o u t or point to ) really took place,
existed, were or are the case, etc. But this elem ent o f allir m a tio n , of
saying to oneself, this is how it was (or is), is clearly th a t aspect of the
whole episode in w hich m em ory-know ledge is effectively deployed.
A n d q uite obviously no ac co u n t of the m em ory-know ledge displayed
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in a ffirm atio n c a n be given in term s ju s t o f revived or retrie v ed

r ep rese n tatio n s; for, as I hav e ju s t p o in te d out, a re p re s e n ta tio n does
n o t yield m e m o ry -k n o w le d g e u n til a n affirm ation has b e e n m a d e . T h e
the o ry of visual a n d v e rb a l r ep rese n tatio n s misses the essence o f w h a t is
involved in rem e m b e rin g .
A closely related p o in t is this. I f I call to m in d a visual im age of a
cro w n ed figure, g lum ly c l u tc h in g its sto m ac h , a n d p e r h a p s b e a r in g the
le gend J o h n : 1216, o r if I have a v erb a l im a g e of the w ords, K in g
J o h n d ie d of a surfeit of peaches a n d b e e r , I c o u ld still m a k e n o th in g of
these images, could affirm n o th in g a b o u t th e m , if I d id no t a lre a d y
know th a t K in g J o h n die d in 1216, a n d th a t these im ages referred to
t h a t knowledge. In d ee d , unless I w ere a lre a d y furnished w ith a great
deal o f b a c k g r o u n d in fo rm atio n in the light of w h ich the visual a n d
v erba l im ages co n c e rn e d m a d e sense, I c ould no t in te r p re t th e m at
all. I w ould need to know, for instance, w h a t a king is, t h a t th e re was a
king called J o h n , w h a t peaches a n d b e e r are, w h a t e a tin g is, th a t
o v e re a tin g o r b a d food m a y lead to sto m a c h disorders, etc. All these
essential items of b a c k g r o u n d inform ation , w ith o u t w h ich the images
co n c ern ed could not be p ro p erly in te r p re te d o r u n d erstoo d,
themselves involve o r constitu te m e m o ry -k n o w le d g e; so th a t we
c a n n o t avoid p o stu latin g th a t into this one a c t of o v ert r e m e m b e r in g
there covertly enters a kind of m e m o ry -k n o w le d g e t h a t does not req u ire
to be e m b o d ie d o r p resented in the form of retrie v ed visual o r verbal
images, a n d c a n n o t w ith o u t regress be th o u g h t to r e q u ir e such
e m b o d im e n t.
I said a few p a r a g r a p h s ag o th a t the a t t e m p t to give a n a c c o u n t of
m e m o ry in te rm s of in n e r re prese ntations has ta k e n one of tw o general
forms. T h e first was the form w hich we h a v e ju s t discussed a n d rejected,
n a m e ly the form w hich supposes in n e r re p re se n ta tio n s to be
p r e d o m in a n tly e ith e r visual or verbal. O b je c tio n s such as those I have
ju st outlined, to g e th er w ith th e fact th a t people find it easier to recall
the gist o r m e a n in g of, say, a film o r a prose passage, t h a n they d o the
visual details o r the ex act words, h av e led m a n y cognitive psychologists
to develop the idea of w h a t a re called a b s t r a c t o r p r e p o s itio n a l
representation s (useful general ac co u n ts will be found in, for instance,
3, c h a p te r 4; 78; 84).
P r o p o s it io n a l R e p r e s e n t a t io n s
A b strac t or propositional re prese ntations a re so called because they
a re held to e m b o d y ab stra ct, p ro positio nal k now ledge (k now ledge that
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so a n d so is or was the case) ra th e r th a n the quasi-percep tu al

inform ation derived from the sense-organs em b o d ied in visual an d
verbal representations. T h e y are supposed to e m b o d y not just
individual m em ories or pieces of m em ory-know ledge, but the whole
structure ol o u r propositional know ledge in p a r tic u la r areas, including
b oth c o n c ep tu al know ledge (whales a re m a m m a ls ) a n d factual
knowledge (whales swim in arctic seas). T h e y must thus be regarded
as themselves stru cture d, th o u g h the n a tu re of their neural
em b o d im e n t, like m u c h else a b o u t them , rem ains unclear. It is
supposed th a t the un d erly in g propositional structure ca n generate a
great variety of different surface expressions, e.g. different sentences,
different actions, dillerent images, a n d that conversely it m ediates o u r
u n d ersta n d in g of m a n y different statem ents th a t fall, so to speak,
within a given a re a of knowledge. T h e g eneration of the surface
expressions from the un d erly in g representations is said to be lawful. It
is factual m e m o ry th a t propositional representations are prim arily
designed to explain; b u t some authorities (with w h o m I tend to agree)
think th a t even personal memories are really factual or
propositional (i.e. are recollections that such a n d such a n event of a
certain kind h a p p e n e d to one, etc.) (See, e.g., 126).
Cognitive psychologists a n d psycholinguists c om m o nly characterize
propositional representations, or interconnected networks of such
representations, in a so m ew hat technical m a n n e r by m eans of
symbolisms derived from m a th em atics an d formal logic. S o m ething of
the leel ol these ch aracteriza tio n s m ay perhaps be gained in the
following way. Im ag in e so m ethin g like a n encyclopaedic dictio nary in
which the entries are heavily cross-indexed. T h u s the entries for
w h ale, sw im , m a m m a l , a r c tic , a n d sea will be cross-indexed in
such a way as to indicate th a t (by definition) whales are m a m m a ls, an d
that (as a m a tte r of fact) whales swim in arctic seas. Similarly the
entries for b lu b b e r , w h ale, fat, skin, etc., will be cross-indexed in
such a way as to indicate th a t b lu b b e r is a n insulating layer of fat found
ben e ath the skin of whales; a n d so on a n d so forth more or less
indefinitely. N ext im agine th a t all these cross-indexings, instead of
being w ritte n into the various dictionary entries, are set out on one
large sheet of paper, with key terms, or concepts, like w h a le ,
m a m m a l, b lu b b e r , sw im , etc., shown by small circles, a n d their
m eaning-relationships a n d factual relationships indicated by
co nnecting lines of different colours or of dillerent kinds a n d degrees of
brokenness. T h is gives one a vague a n d som ew hat misleading, b u t still,
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I hope, lor present purposes sufficient, idea of th e sort o f w ays in w hich

propo sition al rep rese n tatio n s h av e c o m m o n ly b e e n c h a r a c te r iz e d .
S o m ew h ere in the b r a in , it is im plicitly a s su m ed , th e re m u st be
a n a to m i c a l o r physiological systems (p rop o sitio n a l re prese ntation s)
whose structure s a n d o p e ra tio n s a re in some sense m a p p e d by the
d ia g ra m s o r sym bol systems whose feel I have bee n tr y in g to convey.
If a n in c o m in g s ta te m e n t or p roposition so to speak h a r m o n iz e s or
chim es in w ith some p a r t o r aspect of this u n d e rly in g , physiologically
e m b o d ie d , netw ork, it will be u n d e rsto o d a n d ac ce p te d . Conversely,
the netw o rk will, so to speak, g e n e r a te o r p e r m i t the g e n e r a tio n of only
such propositions as are e m b o d ie d in the cross-linkages of th e network.
P resent versions of this a p p r o a c h d ea l p rin c ip a lly w ith sta te m en ts, a n d
h ow they a re p r o d u c e d a n d u n d e rsto o d , b u t th e ir p r o p o n e n ts clearly
h ope to ex ten d th e m to cover the g e n e r a tio n o f th o u g h ts, ju d g e m e n ts ,
images, etc., in short to all the p h e n o m e n a of f a c tu a l m e m o ry .
I th in k th a t some of the w riters w h o hav e a d o p t e d this sort of
a p p r o a c h to the p ro b le m s of m e m o r y (an d o f cog n itio n in general) m a y
look u p o n th e ir d elinea tions of the s tr u c t u r e of propo sition al
represe ntation s' not as speculations a b o u t supposed in n e r m e c h a n
isms, b u t as a m e a n s o f (an a p p r o p r ia t e n o ta tio n for) so to speak
m a p p i n g th e s tr u c t u r e of o u r p ropositional k n ow ledge (especially o u r
m e m o r y know ledge), o f e x h ib itin g the ways in w h ich o u r co n c ep t of
b l u b b e r is linked to o u r co ncepts of m a m m a l , se a , fat, a n d so on
a n d so on. W ith this enterprise, th o u g h I d o u b t its po in t a n d long-term
prospects, I have no q u arrel. O th e r s , how ever, seem to regard
themselves as w o rk in g out the g r o u n d p l a n of the in n e r m e cha nism
th r o u g h w hich we u n d e r s ta n d w h a t is said to us a n d w h a t goes on
a r o u n d us, a n d by m e a n s o f w hich we know, re m e m b e r , fo rm ulate
propositions, etc. B roadly spe ak in g this en terp rise c ou ld take one of
tw o forms, bo th ol w hich a p p e a r to m e to be q u ite unintelligible.
(a) It m ig h t be supposed t h a t p rop osition al rep resentations, once
b u ilt up, a r e sim ply stored a w a y a n d so to speak co nsulted w hen
needed. T h is idea is q u ite obviously regressive, for it implies a fu rth e r
system w hich does the con su ltin g a n d u n d e r s ta n d s the o utc om e
th e re o f a n d this second system w o uld itsell nee d to possess concepts,
intelligence a n d m e m o ry . (Despite the obvious regress, some
neuropsychologists are p ro n e to talk as if they th o u g h t th a t certain
b r a in lesions, w hich interfere w ith the v ic tim s g rasp of se m an tic a n d
c o n c e p tu a l relationships, w ere d a m a g i n g a store of this kind.)
(b) A position th a t seems to be c o m m o n ly , il im plicitly, held, is
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th a t propositional representations are themselves the brain

m e cha nism s of the u n d e rsta n d in g a n d p ro d u ctio n of propositional
speech a n d th o u g h t (including th oughts a n d utterances w hich would
be said to manifest o r express factual a n d p erh a p s also personal
mem ory). T h e d ia g ra m s a n d symbol systems by m eans of which
propositional representations have been ch a racterize d a re then
regarded as being in effect blueprints of these u n d erlying mechanisms,
albeit b lue prints of a very schem atic a n d general kind.
It is possible, a n d , as I rem a rk e d a m o m e n t ago, q uite legitim ate to
regard d ia g ra m s of propositional representations as ways of
s um m arizing w hat m a y p erh a p s be called the intellectual
com petence' of a p a r tic u la r h u m a n being, or of h u m a n beings in
p a rtic u la r societies. S uch d ia g ra m s m a p the o rg an iz atio n o f a persons
knowledge, his grasp of the interrelationships of the concepts
e m bodied in the o rd in a ry speech of his society, a n d so on. T o regard
such m a p p in g s of som eones intellectual com p ete n ce not as partial
specifications of w hat a supposed u n derly in g m echanism w ould have
to accomplish, but as specifications of the m echanism itself, is, on the face
ol it, a gross confusion. It is like taking a schematic d raw in g o fa finished
car for a blueprint of the production line which assembled that car.
Some people m ay, I think, have been misled into supposing
otherwise, for the following reasons. W h e n the finished p r o d u c t
which has been m a p p e d or delineated is co m petence in c a rry in g out
some rule-governed activity, like playing checkers or tic-tac-toe, or
constructing g r am m atic ally correct sentences, it is relatively easy to
translate the m a p into a c o m p u te r p ro g ra m m e . T h e c o m p u te r can
fu rth e rm ore be m a d e to ru n th ro u g h moves formally paralleling the
actions of a h u m a n being w ho is c o m p e te n t in the rule-governed
activity concerned. T h e same holds true w hen the com p ete n ce being
delineated is of the kind m a p p e d by the d ia g ra m s la voured by believers
in propositional representations. It is te m p tin g to suppose th a t w hen
we have p r o g ra m m e d a c o m p u te r to play gam es, em it g r am m atic al
sentences, spell out the relationships betw een c om m only accepted
propositions in a ce rtain area, a n d so on, we have in effect created
m achines w hich work on the sam e sort of principles as we m ay
supposed to be em b o d ied in the brains of h u m a n beings w ho possess
these com petences. T hese co m p u ters must therefore in effect contain
m echanical em b o d im e n ts o f propositional representations. Surely we
m a y assume th a t the h u m a n brain is likely to c o n tain som ething
analogous?
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T h e m istake here consists in fo rge tting t h a t w h a t has been

p r o g r a m m e d into the c o m p u t e r is still, so to speak, only a m a p or
d ia g r a m of the c o m p e te n c e co n c e rn e d , a n d n o t the c o m p e te n c e itself.
T h e c o m p u te r goes th r o u g h c e r ta in c h a n g e s in a c c o r d a n c e w ith its
m a p a n d prints c e r ta in signs; these signs c a n be interpreted by a n
intelligent c o m p u te r user as m oves in a g a m e o f tic-tac-toe o r checkers,
or as sentences following the rules of English g r a m m a r , o r w h atev er.
But all the c o m p u te r is d o in g here is as it w ere p u t t i n g u p b it by bit for
its users benefit a very d e tailed d i a g r a m o f the sort of c o m p e te n c e
w hich a person w h o c ould really a n d tru ly play this g a m e , u n d e r s ta n d
the connections b e tw e en these propositions, etc., w o u ld display. It
develops m a n y of the details as it goes a lo n g (c o m p u te s th e m ) from
principles a lre a d y b u ilt into it. N o n e th e less it c a n no m o re be said
itself to possess the c o m p e te n c e c o n c e rn e d t h a n a c o m p u t e r w hich
c a n flash u p r o a d m a p s w ith distances, c o m p u te the shortest ro u te from
L a n d s E n d to J o h n o G roats, etc., c ould be said to kn o w the w a y
from one place to an o th e r. F o r c o m p e te n c e in gam es, a n d in
c o m p a r a b le rule-g overned activities, does n o t consist in b lindly going
t h r o u g h m otions into w h ich intelligent (a n d c o m p e t e n t ) persons can
r e a d the moves of the gam es c o n c ern ed . It consists in m a k in g the
p r o p e r moves (or w h a t one conceives to be the p r o p e r moves) from the
understanding th a t this is a gam e, th a t it has rules, th a t such a n d such are
the permitted moves in this situation, a n d th a t of the p e r m i tte d moves
some are, in the c u r r e n t state of play, b e t te r o r m o r e logical th a n
others.
I con c lu d e th a t th e adv o c ates o f p ropo sitional r e p r e s e n ta tio n s have
so far given us only (partial) maps o r diagrams of the intellectual
co m p e te n c e displayed by persons possessing p ro p o sitiona l or factual
knowledge. T h e y have not yet b e g u n to a p p r o a c h the qu estio n of w h at
the u n d e rly in g mechanism of this c o m p e te n c e m ig h t be like. T h a t it is
possible to a p p r o a c h the question a t all re m a in s a t the m o m e n t a pious
hope. C e rta in ly it will not be possible to a p p r o a c h it by invoking inner
rep rese n tatio n s of the s tr u c t u r e of the in tellectual co m petence
concerned.
2. P r o b le m s to d o w it h R e t r i e v a l
If a stored rep resen tation, p ropo sitional or otherw ise, is to give rise to
a n episode of rem e m b e rin g , it must, in term s of the coding-storageretrieval m odel of m e m o ry , be r e tr ie v e d , a n d as it w ere rea ctiva te d
a n d partly rec irc ula ted th r o u g h the system. N o w if such a
r e prese ntation is to be retrieved from storage, it m u s t first be located,
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a n d this in tu r n requires th a t it be labelled, tagged or coded in some

w ay (as is the case w ith c o m p u te r m em ories). O therw ise the
m e ch a n ism would not be able to retrieve on d e m a n d the right
rep resentation from the store. A nd the retrieval m e cha n ism must
possess or k n o w the various labels or tags. But (since the labels ca n n o t
be innate) this m eans th a t the m echanism must itself have a memory.
A n d its m e m o ry ca nn ot, w ithout regress, be explained on the codingstorage-retrieval model. H ence this model ca n never give us an
a d e q u a te ac co u n t of m emory.
It m ight be replied th a t co n ten t-ad d re ssab le storage systems can
circum vent this difficulty. T hese are systems in w hich representations
are retrieved because some elem ent in the in put (external stimulus)
contains the label or address of the a p p r o p r ia te representation. T h e
short answ er is th a t the external circum stances in w hich a n intelligent
person m ight find it a p p r o p r ia te to retrieve a given fact are indefinitely
num erous, a n d are liable to a n indefinitely large increase in n u m b e r as
time progresses. N o content-add ressab le system could m a tc h the range
of possibilities here.
These problem s arise w hate ver kind of stored representations are in
question. Special to propositional representations, however, are a
further set of problem s of the following kind. Propositional
representations are supposed in n e r or d e e p structures which generate
a variety of different possible surface expressions. T h e r e must,
according to the theory, be rules d e te rm in in g w hich one of the possible
surface expressions is g enerated on an y p a rtic u la r occasion. But w hat
can these rules be? T a k e as a n ex am ple m y m e m o ry of the interesting
fact th a t p la tin u m (m elting point 1770C) will dissolve in m olten lead
at a m u c h lower te m p eratu re . So far as I ca n tell this m e m ory does not,
in m y case, lead to the generation of any special or preferre d im age or
images; however, I m ight in some circum stances su m m o n u p various
more or less a p p r o p r ia te images, e.g. of someone stirring a greyish,
b u b b lin g liquid, or the p rinte d words m elting point 1770C, or of a
voice saying, It will not melt, but it will dissolve. In w h at actions will
my m em ory-know ledge ol this fact find expression? P ro b a b ly none; or
p erhaps it m ay m ake m e nod m y h ead sagely w hen I com e to read R.
Austin F r e e m a n s Dr Thorndyke Intervenes, a detective story in w hich the
solubility of p la tin u m in lead plays a part. But in w h a t actions might
this knowledge find expression? Well, I m ight pass a rem a rk d u r in g a
coffee-break conversation, or write so m ethin g in a n exam in a tio n
paper, or m ake a co m m e n t to my wife while looking at her w edding
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ring; I m ig h t w rite notes to w ard s a treatise on the oddities o f n a t u r a l

philosophy; I m ig h t in some rem o tely conc eivable circ u m sta n c e s
e n g in e e r a crafty escape from a p la tin u m - b u ilt U F O . A n d so o n a n d so
on indefinitely.
W h a t, then, could be the tr a n s f o r m a tio n a l rules t h a t relate the
u n d e rly in g pro positional re p re s e n ta tio n w h ic h e m b o d ie s the
in fo rm atio n a b o u t the solubility of p la tin u m in lead to the various
possible surface expressions w h ich it m a y g en erate? T h e tr o u b le is that
it is q u ite impossible to set limits on the n u m b e r of possible surface
expressions w hich the p ro positional re p re s e n ta tio n o f a fact such as we
are con sidering m ig h t have. O n e c a n c re a te r e le v a n t im ages on
d e m a n d , in as m u c h variety as the occasion requires. O n e will, w ithin
the limits of o n e s capacities, u tte r w h a te v e r w ords o r c a r r y out
w hate ver actions a n intelligent person w ho knows the fact in question
should u tte r o r c a r ry out in the p re v a ilin g c irc u m sta n ce s ( w h a te v e r they
m a y be). A nd that, I think, is the point. T h e r e is, a n d c a n be, no finite set
of rules relating propositional representations to their surface expres
sions. In to the the o ry there m ust instead o f rules surreptitiously be i n tr o
d u ce d a n intelligence (a creative intelligence I m igh t ad d ) whose function
is to u n d e rsta n d a n d in te rp re t the propositional representations a n d to
direct thoughts, utteran ces a n d actions in the light of them . A nd this
intelligence, I need h a rd ly say, is going to require its o w n intentionality,
a n d its ow n m e m o ry with its ow n retrieval system a n d its ow n intelligence
to o pera te th a t retrieval system, a n d so on for ever.
In sum: a widely a d o p te d a p p r o a c h to the e x p la n a tio n of m em o ry p h e n o m e n a consists in supp osing th a t th ere are laid d o w n in o u r brains
co ded traces o r rep re se n ta tio n s of past events o r circum stances. An
act of r e m e m b e r in g occurs w h e n one o f these coded re prese ntation s is
r etrie v ed a n d so to speak p u t into circ u la tio n once m ore. I called this
m odel of m e m o ry the co d in g -sto ra g e -re trie v a l m odel. It is of
im p o rta n c e in the presen t c o n tex t because if o u r m e m o ries consist of
traces laid dow n in o u r brains, th e n clearly o u r m e m o ries c a n n o t
survive the dissolution of o u r b rains, a n d a large p a r t of the e v id en c e
for survival - th a t involving evidence for the survival of m e m o ries - has
to be a b a n d o n e d or radically re in te rp re te d . I a r g u e d , how ever, that
the coding-storag e-retrieval m odel o f m e m o ry , in a n y of th e forms so
far developed (and, I should like to a d d , in a n y form th a t could be
developed), is q u ite incoherent.
A ce n tral p a r t ol m y objections was in essence this. A c c o rd in g to this
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m odel of m e m o ry (which is also a model of th o u g h t in general) we

ad just o u r present th o u g h t a n d b eh a v io u r to the lessons of the past by
retrieving a n d reprocessing or exa m in in g stored representations of past
events (we m ay also use these resources to represent present events an d
situations to ourselves). But the stored inner representations on which
we ca n thus supposedly d r a w to assist us in o u r dealings w ith the outer
world would themselves constitute a kind o f w o rld of their own. W e
would have to learn o u r way ro u n d this world, a n d learn to interpret
an d m a n ip u la te its contents, just as we have to learn o u r way r o u n d the
outer world. T o m ake use of these inner representations we would, in
short, need alre ady to have developed m em ory-know ledge; hence we
c a n n o t explain m e m o ry in terms of the retrieval of inner
representations.
I c a n n o t of course deny th a t past experience m a y leave b eh in d in the
brain traces or representations which, w h en reactivated (yielding,
perhaps, a m e m o ry -im a g e ) m a y cause or p r o m p t us to rem em ber.
Such representations w ould, of course, simply have the status o aidesmmoire, a n d I need h a rd ly say th at a n aide-mmoire presupposes, a n d
does not itsell constitute, a w orking m em ory. I a m b o u n d to say,
however, th at the idea th a t in n e r representations ca n have even this
limited role is far from plausible. F or a n aide-mmoire is norm ally
something that I m ight keep in m y pocket to consult as needed. D o I
then have a second aide-mmoire in m y hea d which I likewise consult as
needed? I a m never conscious of consulting it. O n w hat occasions d o I
desist from m y o rd in a ry m o d e of recollection (w hatever th a t m a y be)
an d unknow ingly tu r n to the inner aide-mmoire? Is it w hen I hesitate for
a m o m e n t a n d then rem em ber? W h a t sort of code o r language is the
inner aide-mmoire w ritten in? D o I as the years go by develop dillerent
codes for dillerent purposes, correspo nding to the dillerent sorts of
symbolisms ( m ath em a tic al, technical, graphic, linguistic) in which
knowledge in dillerent areas is custom arily set dow n? O r is there one
universal inner language or code? If so is it innate (built in to the
brain) or acq uired? T hese questions, a n d m a n y others equally vain,
arise from the q u ag m ires of the representational theory the m om ent
one begins to take the aide-mmoire proposal seriously, like a n endless
series of will o the wisps inviting pursuit.
I m p lic a t io n s fo r S u r v iv a l
I must em phasize that I have so far said n othin g directly to challenge
the supposition th a t m e m ory is entirely d e p e n d e n t u p o n brain
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function, a supposition for w h ich th ere is a g re a t d ea l of em p iric a l

supp ort. All I hav e d o n e is cha lle n g e a w idely received th e o ry (or
r a th e r theoretical fram ew ork) c o n c e r n in g th e re la tio n sh ip betw e en
m e m o ry a n d the b rain . T h e objections to this theo ry , th e th e o ry of
in n e r re prese ntations (or co d in g -sto ra g e-re triev a l m odel), do,
how ever, b e a r indirectly u p o n the p ro b le m o f survival in tw o ways.
T h e first of th e m is as follows. T h e s u p e r- E S P hypothesis, the chief
alte rn a tiv e to the survival hypothesis, seems in e sca p ab ly c o m m itt e d to
a re p r e s e n ta tio n a l view of m e m o ry . F o r a c c o r d in g to th e su p e r-E S P
hypothesis, successful m e d iu m s m ust o b ta in m u c h of th e ir inform ation
a b o u t deceased persons by so to speak riffling th r o u g h the m e m o ry stores of the living a n d r e a d in g th e ir contents. But if th e re are no
representations th ere a re no m e m o ry-store s a n d n o th in g in those
stores w hich m e d iu m s c a n te lep a th ic ally exa m ine . T h e su p e r-E S P
hypothesis seems b o u n d to collapse a l o n g w ith the coding-storageretrieval the ory o f m e m o ry . It collapses, f u rth e r m o re , w h e th e r we
suppose the sto rag e to take place in the h u m a n b ra in , o r (as some
have th o u g h t) outside it - in, for exa m ple , a localized e t h e r of im ages,
a cosmic m e m o ry pool, the Akashic rec o rd s of the theosophists, or the
m in d of G od. T h e objections to co d in g -sto ra g e-re triev a l theories of
m e m o ry w ould in all cases be similar.
T h e second w ay in w hich the collapse of the coding-storage-retrieval
m od el of m e m o ry w ould indirectly affect the prospects of the survival
th eory is this. II m em ories are sim ply traces o r r ep rese n tatio n s in the
b rain , they c a n n o t possibly survive the d e s tru c tio n of the b rain . Personal
survival of d e a th is therefore ab solu tely ruled o u t (if, th a t is, we set
aside the idea o f a bodily resurrection, w h ich w o u ld a m o u n t to the
u n d o in g o r reversal of d e a th , r a t h e r th a n survival of it, a n d is clearly
not a c a n d id a te - e x p la n a tio n for the sorts of p h e n o m e n a we are
considering). If, on the o th e r h a n d , the ab ility to r e m e m b e r , w h ate v er
it m a y consist in, is not based u p o n b r a in - tr a c e s o r inner
representations, we are, so to speak, licensed to s pe cula te a lo n g other,
less fashionable lines, some of w hich may, while others q u ite certainly
will not m ake the survival the o ry once ag a in a conceiv ab le o p tio n for
e x p lain in g ce rtain m e dium istic (a n d other) p h e n o m e n a . In the
r e m a in d e r ol this c h a p te r I shall briefly explore the qu estio n of w hat
the leading features ol such a n a lte rn a tiv e a p p r o a c h to the p ro b lem s of
m e m o ry m ight be like.
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O t h e r V ie w s o f M e m o r y
A ny such altern ativ e a p p r o a c h must, I think, to b egin w ith em phasize
a point th a t is not so m u c h denied as u n d erp la y ed by m a n y propon ents
of rep rese ntational theories, the point, nam ely, that h u m a n m e m o ry at an y rate the sort w ith w hich we are here concerned, - a n d w hich the
rep rese ntatio nal theories are in tended to explain - is essentially a n d
before every th in g else a m anifestation of h u m a n concep tu al abilities.
V ery roughly one m ight say th a t concept-possession involves the
capacity to g ro u p objects together in th o u g h t a n d to think of
individual g ro u p -m e m b e rs as m e m b ers of the group. In its simplest
lorm this ca p ac ity m a y sim ply involve g ro u p in g together a
miscellaneous collection of objects th a t one h ap p e n s to find in a
p a rtic u la r location - as w hen one says to oneself, I m ust tidy all that
stuff a w a y ! M o re co m m o n ly one groups things together not in virtue
of their spatial location b u t because they all possess a certain
characteristic or set of characteristics. O n e groups, say, all oranges
together in th o u g h t because they have similar weights, colours,
textures, are edible, moist, sweet-tasting, etc.; a n d w hen one
encounters a n in dividual specim en possessing these characteristics one
says of it, Ah, yes. O n e of those'.' O n e m ay divide the class of oranges
into fu rth er subgroups - Sevilles, Jaffas, m a n d arin s, clementines, etc.,
- on the basis of m ore specific characteristics, or assimilate it to a larger
g ro uping - fru it - by restricting oneself to a small n u m b e r of more
general characteristics.
N ow if one ca n say ol a n in dividual object w hich one encounters (an
orange), Ah, yes! O n e of thoseV (oranges as a class), one is obviously in
a sense tran sc en d in g the here a n d now; one is in th ou ght assim ilating
the present specim en, on ac co u n t of ce rtain characteristics which it
possesses, to a g ro u p of oth e r objects not c u rren tly before one. O n e can
go fu rth e r a n d think a b o u t either the g ro u p of objects, or some
individual object considered as a m e m b e r of the group, in the total
absence of either g ro u p or specim en. O n e can indeed thus conceive
them not just in th eir absence, b u t even if they d o not exist at all, an d
never have existed (as when, for instance, one makes out for oneself in
thoug ht a class of d im inu tive h u m a n -s h a p e d creatures possessing
butterfly-like wings a n d m agical powers).
It is at once a p p a r e n t th a t only a being w ho exhibits these
c o n c e p tu a l capacities, the n a tu re of which I have just, very crudely,
tried to indicate, could truly possess memories, w h eth e r perso nal or
fa c tu a l. If I a m to be said to r e m e m b e r that K i n g j o h n died o f a surfeit
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of peaches a n d beer, I m u st possess such concepts as those o f king,

peaches, beer, illness, etc. I m u st be ab le to assign, in th o u g h t, c e r ta in
objects (those w hich caused the kin g s d e a th ) to a class ol things
(peaches) m a rk e d out in term s of c e r ta in cha racteristics (size, taste,
colour, grow ing on trees, etc.). Il l c ou ld n o t th in k of these objects as
b e long ing to t h a t class, I could no t th in k of th e m as peaches, a n d
acco rd in g ly I could not recall the fact t h a t K i n g J o h n die d o f a surfeit
of peaches a n d beer. E v en if those very w ords c a m e into m y m in d , I
should not a d e q u a t e ly u n d e r s ta n d th e ir m e a n in g , a n d they w ould
therefore no t con stitute a tru e recollection of the fact c onc erned.
It is obvious th a t a sim ilar po in t c ould be m a d e in c o n n e c tio n with
all the o th e r term s in the p roposition (king, d e a th , b e e r - the p r o p e r
n a m e J o h n w o uld re q u ire special tr e a tm e n t) , a n d it is also obvious
th a t the sam e p ro b lem s arise in c o n n e c tio n w ith p e r s o n a l m em ories. I
re m e m b e r, for instance, the occasion o n w hich - a h ero for the first,
a n d so far the only, tim e in m y life - I defied the fast bo w ler in a
house m a tch . I could not in a n y real sense hav e this recollection a t all
unless I possessed such concepts as bat, ball, delivery, g am e, etc., etc.
O n e s c a p ac ity to r e m e m b e r is p a r t a n d p a rc e l of (an d is indeed
inse p arab ly linked with) o n e s overall c o n c e p tu a l capacities.
W e n o w rea ch o u r ce n tra l question, n a m e ly th a t of ho w m e m o ry ca p a c ity a n d c o n c e p tu a l c a p a c ity in general, m ig h t be linked to brain
function. It has b een fash ionable a m o n g physiologists an d
physiological psychologists to a p p r o a c h m e m o r y in w h a t m a y be
called a b o tto m u p ' m a n n e r . T h e y have sought, in o th e r w ords, to
ac co u n t for m e m o ry p h e n o m e n a by p o stu la tin g th a t e x p e rien c e causes
changes w ithin o r betw e en fu n ctional elem e n ts (nerve cells, protein
molecules, etc.) in the brain. Since the overall p a t t e r n of relationship
betw een these elem ents (the s tr u c t u r e ) is held to d e t e r m in e all levels
of b e h a v io u r a n d m e n ta l functionin g, the c h a n g e s will p ro d u c e
co rresp o n d in g alteratio n s in these things, c h a n g e s w h ic h constitute
m e m o ry of facts or past events. I th in k th a t th e re a re reasons (w hich I
c a n n o t spell ou t here) for su pposing th a t a n y th e o ry w h ich a tte m p ts
thus to derive the p h e n o m e n a of m e m o r y entirely from the interactions
of the elem ents of a system is b o u n d to be a the ory of the
rep resentational or co d ing-storage-retrieval sort. F o r if w ith in such a
system (of w hich a digital c o m p u te r a p p r o p r ia t e ly p r o g r a m m e d would
serve as a c e n tra l ex am ple) past fu n ctio n in g ( i n p u t- o u tp u t relations) is
systematically to influence fu tu re in p u t- o u tp u t relations, this c a n only
be because of changes in the relations b e tw e en the e lem e n ts of the
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system, changes w hich systematically reflect its past in p u t-o u tp u ttn p u t history. Such changes would alm ost certainly qualify by
definition as in n e r representations of past objects or events. If,
therefore, the d o u b ts w hich I have expressed a b o u t representational
theories of m e m o ry are justified, not ju st representational theories, but
all theories sta rtin g from supposed elements a n d the supposed laws ol
their interactions must go by the board. W e must instead try out w hat
m ay be called top d o w n theories, theories acco rd in g to w hich the
elements of a system sometimes act in conform ity w ith laws w hich
characterize the functioning of the overall system, a n d c a n n o t be
derived lrom the laws w hich govern the interactions of elements with
their fellows. O n e m ight call the laws or principles of the w orking of
such a system s u p e rv e n ien t laws or principles, because they
supervene upon, a n d so to speak override or overrule, the laws of the
b e ha viour of the elements. (A corollary of this w ould, I think, be that
there must be a c e rtain random ness or in d e term in a cy in the b eh a v io u r
of the elements.)
In the case we are considering, the supervenient laws or principles
are those of the c o n c e p tu a l (or sim ply m e n ta l) level of functioning,
which include of course the laws of m em ory; the laws u p o n which
they supervene a re the co m m o n p la c e a n d co m m o n ly accepted
chemical a n d physiological laws which govern the b eh a v io u r of brain
cells. W e should have to suppose, I think, that when, d u rin g the
developm ent of the individual, or the evolution of the species, the
overall spatio-tem poral p attern s of b ra in activity reach a n d pass a
certain level of com plexity, the superv enient laws a p p e a r, a n d begin,
so to speak, p artially to direct those p attern s of activity, the result
being, a m o n g o th e r things, ch aracteristic changes in the o rganism 's
behaviour. T h e b eh a v io u ral changes will, however, not be constant
from one individual organism of the species to the next, for different
individuals w ith diffrent histories develop different conceptual
capacities a n d different sets of memories, a n d the supervenient laws'
or principles of functioning will differ correspondingly from one
individual to the next. T h u s, from a sta nd point, so to speak, at the level
of brain cells a n d their su m m ed in dividual activities a n d relationships,
m em ory (along with o th e r manifestations of concep tu al capacities)
will involve superven ient principles of functioning, principles differing
som ew hat in detail from one individual to the next, a n d not derivable
from a n y a m o u n t of inform ation co ncern ing structural changes within
a n d betw een b r a in cells.
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T h e s u p e rv e n ien t principles w hich, a c c o r d in g to the hy pothesis we

are considering, e m e rg e a n d d ev e lo p w h e n th e overall sp a tio - te m p o ra l
p a t te r n o f b r a in activity reaches a c e r ta in k ind a n d d eg re e ol
com plexity, m ig h t be supposed either:
1. to inhere in the stuff o f th e universe in w ays w hich
c o n t e m p o r a r y physical science has as yet scarcely b e g u n to glim pse,
a n d to be released w h e n p a tte r n s of the right kind a n d c o m p le x ity are
gen e rate d ; or
2. to be c re a te d , b r o u g h t in to being, by c o m p le x p a tte r n s o f b r a in
activity; or
3. to result from the in te ra c tio n b etw e en some influence outside
the b rain , a n d b r a in activity o f a sufficiently c o m p le x kin d (one m ight
say th a t w h en a n active b r a in is blo w n u p o n by the cosmic w ind, or
swims in the h o lo m o v e m e n t or the sea of h id d e n variables, s tra n g e a n d
unforeseen p h e n o m e n a co m e into being); or
4. to co m e from outside the b r a in a n d be permitted expression w h en a
b r a in exhibits a c e rta in kind of highly co m p le x a c tiv ity -p a tte rn .
1 d o not th in k th a t, for present purposes, it grea tly m a tte rs w hich o f the
ab ove positions we a d o p t, for, w ith o u t specifically a d h e r i n g to a n y one
of the m , we c a n m a k e some plausible f u rth e r suggestions as to h ow the
su p e rv e n ien t level of fu nction m ig h t be supposed to be re la te d to the
p a tte r n s of activity o f b r a in cells. T h ese suggestions a r e six in n u m be r:
1.
It seems fairly clea r th a t, w ith in c e r ta in m o d e st limits, there is
no intrinsic o r necessary link b e tw e en specific instances o f su p e rve nient
functio n in g ( p a r tic u la r thoughts, p a r ti c u la r m em ories, etc.) a n d the
firing of p a r tic u la r sets of brain-cells. O n c e the critical level of
com plexity o f b ra in -a c tiv ity has b e e n passed, the th in k in g of a
p a r tic u la r th o u g h t is likely to be c o m p a tib le w ith the firing of a n y one
of a very large n u m b e r of possible subsets of b r a in cells; a n d vice versa.
T h e r e a re various kinds of reason for saying this. O n e kind o f reason is
em pirical: there are m a n y exa m ple s in w h ich the p o w e r o f co n c e p tu a l
th ough t has been gravely im p a ir e d following c o n s id e ra b le loss of b ra in
tissue, a n d has subseq uently to a g r e a te r o r lesser ex te n t b e e n re
established. 4 here have also bee n m a n y cases of ea rly loss of b ra in
tissue (sometimes as m u c h as a w hole c e re b ra l h em isp h e re ) or of
congen ital a b n o rm a litie s le ad in g to a sim ilar result, in w hich
c o n c ep tu al functio n in g has d eve lope d to lie w ith in n o r m a l limits. In
b oth these sorts of case it seems inevitable th a t we shou ld h a v e to say
th a t this, that, or th e o th e r th o u g h t (supervenient level of functioning)
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now occurs in connection with, o r is m ed iated by, the activity of a set of

b ra in cells o th e r th a n the set with whose actitivity it was once
associated, o r would have been associated h ad earlier circum stances
been different.
A n o th e r kind of reason is logical. A ccording to the hypothesis we are
considering (the hypothesis, indeed, to w hich we have b een driven by
the brea k d o w n of the coding-storage-retrieval model of m em ory) the
supervenient level of functioning reflects b ack upon, a n d directs, the
neural events w hich a c c o m p a n y it. T h e supervenient level of
functioning could not have this kind of a u to n o m y , a n d could not thus
act as a factor o r principle o rd e rin g n eura l events, if each ac tu a l or
possible supervenient (m ental, conceptual) event or state were
uniquely related to the activatio n of one a n d only one set of b ra in cells.
F or if the supervenient level of function is to be th o u g h t of as bringing
a b o u t changes in the p a tte r n of neural events ra th e r th a n as merely
ac co m p an y in g such changes, it must, so to speak, ch a n g e first, an d
bring the neural events into line afterwards.
I do not, ol course, wish to go to the opposite extrem e a n d suggest
that the firing of a n y sulficiently com plex subset of b r a in cells is
com patible w ith the a p p e a r a n c e of an y kind of supervenient
functioning whatsoever. T h e p a r tic u la r kind of higher functioning
that appears or emerges will be constrained thoug h not d e term in e d in
detail by aspects or features of the overall com plex spatio-tem poral
pattern of b ra in activity, a n d it is not impossible th a t such constraints
will becom e stricter as the organism grows older. T h u s d rea m s occur
when the b ra in exhibits certain pattern s of electrical activity (perhaps
linked to regenerative processes in brain cells); the brain activity may
constrain m e ntal activity into a certain m o d e (dream ing) without
determ in in g the c ontent of the d r e a m in any detail. O t h e r (perhaps
partly overlapping) pattern s of brain activity m ay be particularly
conducive to (say) rational, or verbal, or musical, or depressive, or
action-oriented modes of thought. T h e w ay in w hich m e n tal states
follow one a n o t h e r (their sequence) m a y be d e term in e d th ro u g h the
h igher level of function co nstraining the low er, or vice versa; or
some a d m ix tu re of both.
2.
It seems likely that m ore com plex p attern s of brain activity will
perm it the a p p e a r a n c e of m ore com plex kinds of supervenient
functioning (it would, however, be no light task to give a n a d e q u a te
definition of com plexity here). T his is, I think, basically a m a tte r of
observed fact (though one m ight find reasons for reg a rd in g it as
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a n te c e d e n tly likely). As a h u m a n b e in g grows to w a r d s m e n ta l

m a tu r ity , so the in te rco n n ec tio n s b e tw e en his b r a i n cells grow
im m e a su ra b ly m o re c o m p lic ate d . T h is in tu r n m a k es for a n im m ense
increase in the possible com p lex ity a n d v a rie ty o f sp a tio - te m p o ra l
p a tte r n s of nervous activity. T h e m u ltip lic a tio n of links b e tw e e n braincells is generally r e g a rd e d as d u e to, o r r a t h e r as c o n s titu tin g , learning.
I should, h ow ever, be inclined to suppose th a t m u c h of this
m u ltip lic atio n represen ts the basis for a g en e ral increase in the n u m b e r
a n d c o m plexity of possible p a tte r n s of nerve cell activity, a n d hence of
possible m odes of s u p e rv e n ien t (m en tal) functio n in g , a n d n o t the basis
for th e c a n a liz a tio n of m e n ta l ac tivity into d e t e r m in a te channels.
3.
If, as I suggested a m o m e n t ago, th e re m a y be, or m a y develop,
some, th o u g h not a strict, association b e tw e e n c e r ta in g en e ral features
of the overall p a t t e r n of b r a in activity, a n d the e m e rg e n c e of certain
m odes o f s u p e rv e n ien t fu n c tio n in g ( d re a m in g , r a tio n a l thought,
m usical th o u g h t, etc.), th e following f u r th e r issue arises. W h a t h appens
w h en circ u m sta n ce s r e q u ir e the sim u lta n e o u s p r o d u c ti o n o f m o re than
one of these su p e rv e n ie n t m odes of functioning, for instance the
m usical a n d the verbal? S uppose th a t the p a r ti c u la r m o d e of
s u p e rv e n ien t fu nction to em erge is re la te d (as seems inescapable) to the
p a t te r n o f activity, o f all o r much o f the b rain . N o w the whole brain
c a n n o t sim ulta neously exhib it tw o different p a tte r n s of activity. But
p e r h a p s in so large a n d intric ate a b r a in as th a t possessed by hum ans
two different co m p le x p a tte r n s o f ac tivity m ig h t d evelo p in two
different parts, say th e left a n d right hem ispheres, th u s p e r m ittin g the
sim u lta n eo u s e m e rg en c e of v e rb a l a n d m usical functioning. C o u ld one
th e n sing th e N a tio n a l A n th e m as d istinct from h a v in g to choose
betw e en h u m m i n g the tu n e a n d reciting the w ords? N ot necessarily;
b u t p ro b a b ly one could do so p ro v id e d th a t the p a t te r n s o f activity in
the two b r a in regions involved stood in w h a te v e r (presently unknow n)
s p a tio -te m p o ra l relationships to ea ch o th e r a n d to p a t te r n s of activity
in the rest of the b r a in a re necessary to m a k e th e m s u b - p a tte r n s within
a n overall p a t te r n of a kind u p o n w hich this new a n d h ig h e r kind of
fu n ctio n in g m ig h t supervene.
O f course this e x a m p le is im m ensely oversim plified; b u t th e re is, as is
well know n, a good deal o f evidence for the lo c a liz a tio n of specific
psychological functions in specific p arts o f the b ra in . D a m a g e to the
p arts of the b r a in co n c e rn e d leads to im p a ir m e n t of the psychological
function. D isconn ectio n ol two such p arts (i.e. d e s tru c tio n of the
nervous p a th w a y s c o n n e c tin g th e m ) will im p a ir p e r f o rm a n c e in any
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task th a t required the integration ol both the psychological functions

concerned. (C o n ven tional th in k in g on this last m a tte r supposes that
coded 're p re sen tatio n s ca n no longer be shunted a r o u n d as required.)
The a p p r o a c h we are exploring would lead us to take a som ew hat
different view ol the effects of b rain d a m a g e on psychological
lunctioning. II (to re tu r n to m y over-simplified exam ple) th a t region of
the brain in w hich the 'm u sic p a tte r n h ad becom e established were
destroyed, the 'm usical' function would no longer supervene, at least
until that p a tte r n h ad re-established itself elsewhere, or the function
become linked to a som ew hat different p attern. If the v e r b a l region
becam e 'disconnected' from the m usical region, the two pattern s
might be thro w n out of g ea r in such a way th a t the supervenient
function would be re n d e re d at least tem p o rarily incoherent, an d
attem pts to sing the N a tio n a l A n th e m would be dism al failures.
T h e suggestions I have so far explored c o nc ern ing the possible
relationship betw een the postulated su p e rv e n ien t level ol functioning
and patterns of brain activity have mostly concerned conceptual
functioning in general. M y final suggestions have m ore specifically to
do with m em ory.
4.
I am not, of course, suggesting th a t once the h ig h e r level of
functioning has supervened, m e m o ry (as a n aspect of this h ighe r level
of functioning) is ind e p en d e n t of, or unaffected by, activities a n d
changes at cellular level. W e m ight m ake some plausible guesses at the
relations between the two levels of functioning. F o r instance, suppose
that w hen I first grasped th a t interesting point ab o u t the solubility of
p la tin u m in m olten lead, m y b rain was exhibiting such a n d such a
spatio-tem poral p a tte r n o f activity - a p a tte r n from a lim ited but still
extensive range of possible patterns, an y one of w hich might have
perm itted or u n d e r p in n e d m y m o m e n t of u n dersta n ding. T h e re a fte r
two tendencies com e into play:
(a) W h e n I next th ink abo u t, r em e m b er, exercise my
u n d ersta n d in g of, p la tin u m a n d lead (a higher level or supervenient
activity), that p a tte r n of brain activity will be more likely to com e into
being th a n others from the same range (this m ig ht underlie the fact
that a n actio n w hich, w h en first executed, is carefully th o u g h t out,
m a y w ith repetition becom e au to m atic).
(b) T h e recurrence of th a t p a tte r n of b rain activity will tend to
bring m e once aga in to think a b o u t p la tin u m a n d its solubility in lead
(the co m b in a tio n of this tend ency with the preceding one might
facilitate reinstate m e nt of m y knowledge of the solubility of p la tin u m
212
in lead as soon as m y th o u g h t b e g a n to t u r n in the right d irectio n).

T h ese two ch a n g es m a y well involve ch a n g es a t synapses (the
ju n c tio n s b e tw e en nerve cells), giving some possible p a tte r n s
a d v a n ta g e s over others.
5. I think we shall also have to suppose some kind of law of inertia
with r eg a rd to the fo rm a tio n of m em ories. N o t every n e w piece of
in form ation th a t com es o n e s w a y results in a c h a n g e in o n e s
co n c e p tu a l e q u ip m e n t, in the s u p e rv e n ien t principles of tu n c tio n in g of
which I hav e spoken. In d e e d one w ould not wish to have it otherwise,
for the d isa d v an tag es of h a v in g a perfect m e m o r y w ou ld be
considerable. T h e r e m ust be a te n d e n c y for the su p e rv e n ie n t
principles to r e m a in as they were, or to subside a g a in into their
previous state, unless th e re is some positive fea tu re of the situation
w hich p erm its o r p rom ote s change. O n e m ust r e m e m b e r th a t the
relatio nsh ip b e tw e en low er a n d h ig h e r levels o f f u n c t i o n i n g i s a twow ay one. L o w e r level events co n s tra in h ig h e r level events as well as vice
versa. If lower level con d itio n s (the p a t t e r n o f electrochem ical
ha p p e n in g s in the b r a in cells) a re not right, c h a n g e s in the
supervenient principles will not com e a b o u t, o r the system will quickly
subside ag a in into the status quo. T h e effect of a n epileptic fit, a n electric
shock to th e b r a in o r a blow to th e h e a d m a y well be to p re c ip ita te just
such a r e tu r n to th e status quo, le ad in g to c o m p lete a m n e sia (loss of
m em ory) for events im m ed ia te ly p re c e d in g the t r a u m a tic hap p e n in g .
P e rh a p s a less d e v a sta tin g influence of the sam e kind - say a con tin u ed
diffuse b o m b a r d m e n t of the hem ispheres by nerve impulses
orig in a tin g from the b r a in stem - is alw ays a t w ork a n d needs to be
in hibited or m o d u la te d in some u n k n o w n fashion before any
p e r m a n e n t ch a n g e in the s u p e rv e n ie n t principles c a n get u n d e r way.
R e m o v a l ol the m o d u la tin g influence w o u ld lead to a grave
im p a ir m e n t in the ability to learn new m a te ria l, a n effect w h ich is of
course p ro d u c e d by ce rta in b r a in lesions.
6. M e m o ry will of course also be im p a ir e d (alo n g w ith all oth e r
m anifestations ol co n c e p tu a l capacities) by a n y fac to r w h ich interferes
with the co m p lex p a tte r n s of b r a in activity u p o n w hich the h ig h e r
level of functioning supervenes. F o r instance th e senile a n d pre-senile
dem entias, w hich involve a gene ral d e te r io r a tio n of all intellectual
faculties, are m a rk e d by a n extensive d e g e n e r a tio n o f co rtical nervecells, a d e g e n e ra tio n w hich w ould w ith o u t d o u b t d isr u p t a n d
ultim ately abolish the in tric ate sp a tio -te m p o ra l p a tte r n s o f brain
activity necessary for the em ergence of the h ig h e r level of functioning.
213
Sum m ary
T his b rief excursus on m em ory a n d the brain is, of course, to be taken
with a g rain of salt. Its purpose is illustrative ra th e r th a n expository. I
a rg u e d in the first p a r t of the c h a p te r that the coding-storage-retrieval
model of m em ory, w ith its assum ption th a t memories are traces or
representations in the brain, a n d its consequent incom patibility with
survivalist theories of the sorts of p h e n o m e n a we have been discussing
in this book, is q u ite incoherent an d must be a b a n d o n e d . W h a t I have
been trying to illustrate in later parts of the c h a p te r is th a t it is by no
m eans difficult to d r e a m u p other, a n d quite different, accounts of how
m em ory m a y be related to b ra in function, accounts w hich can
a c c o m m o d a te basic facts a b o u t localization of function in the brain,
the effect of b ra in d a m a g e on m em ory, a n d so forth, with at an y rate no
greater im plausibility th a n a tte n d s the (far from convincing)
explanations of the same facts given by pro ponents of the codingstorage-retrieval model.
M y own ac count is, as I said, intended to be merely illustrative. But
it does have a t least one feature w hich (it seems to me) an y longer an d
more serious ac co u n t would have to have. It places the p h e n o m e n a of
m em ory a m o n g a class of psychological p h e n o m e n a which c a n n o t be
explained in terms of, b u t ra th e r supervene upon, the com plex
patterns of electrochem ical activity manifested by the brain - at least
as these are conceived by c o n te m p o ra ry science. F ro m the standpoin t
of the activities of o n e s brain-cells, o n e s memories represent
supervenient principles of ord erin g w hich in p a rt direct a n d constrain
those activities. A n d since m y personal a n d m a n y of m y factual
memories are different from yo u r memories, it could be said that in a
sense each brain has its own set of supervenient principles of ordering.
N ow if memories are not w ritten in to the b rain, b u t involve an
em ergen t or supervenient level of function which constitutes, relative
to the activities of nerve cells in the brain, a principle or principles of
o rdering not deriv able w ithin the framew ork ol conventional
neurophysiology, then possibilities rem ain open which b e a r u p o n the
tenabilitv of the survival hypothesis. T h e principles of o rdering which
supervene u pon the lower level' functioning of each persons brain
have ex hypothest some degree of a u to n o m y from the neural events
which they co n s tra in ; a n d certainly memories lost after shock or
actual d a m a g e to the brain m a y sometimes reinstate themselves in
ways th a t suggest th a t they a re now sustained or u n d e rp in n e d by the
activity of n eura l elements o th e r th a n those w hich originally sustained
214
them . C o u ld this a u t o n o m y e x te n d so far as r e in s ta te m e n t in some

o th e r setting alto g ether? I hav e tried to show th a t this possibility
c a n n o t a t the m o m e n t be effectively ru led out on n e u ro psyc hologic al
or neurophysiological grounds. O n e m ig h t well d e m a n d very strong
evidence indeed before c o n c e d in g th a t the possibility m a y in fact be
realized. Vet I think it m ig h t fairly be said th a t som e of the evidence
p resented in this book - a n d it is only a small p a r t o f th e to ta l evidence is at least exceedingly curious.
14
O ut-of-the-B ody
Experiences
a n d A pparitions
I suggested in the previous c h a p te r th a t m em ory, a n d p h e n o m en a

involving concept-possession, must be regarded as manifestations o f a
level of function w hich supervenes upon, a n d c a n n o t be explained in
term s of, electrochem ical events w ithin a n d between b rain cells, at any
rate as these events are c urrently understood. I suggested fu rth e r that
from the s ta n d p o in t of the activities of the cells in a given in d iv iduals
brain, his p a r tic u la r memories, m em ory-know ledge, a n d conceptual
abilities in general, must constitute supervenient principles of
functioning special to him. His surviving the d e a th of his brain would
involve, am o ngst o th e r things, the contin u ed o p eration of these
principles in some o th e r setting th a n th a t of the b ra in w ith w hich they
were originally associated. A n d evidence for survival, such as we have
been discussing in this book, could reasonably be said to constitute
evidence for such contin u ed o pera tio n - for the supervenient level of
functioning a p p r o a c h to m e m o ry does not rule out this possibility in
the way th a t the inner rep rese n tatio n a p p r o a c h does.
N ow if we are to take the survival theory seriously, two further
questions im m ediately suggest themselves. T h e first is this. W o u ld the
survival of the supervenient principles of functioning once associated
with a p a r tic u la r persons b ra in involve or a m o u n t to or require the
survival of th a t person as a conscious individual? T his is an
ex tra o rd in arily difficult problem , to which I have no rea dy answer. In
the case of m edium istic co m m u n ic ato rs one m ight try to develop an
a rg u m e n t along the following lines. If we en c o u n te r an d com m u n ic ate
with a skilled a n d purposive intelligence w hich exhibits a n a p p a r e n tly
coherent strea m of memories, th e n we must accept that we are dealing
w ith a conscious individual. F o r we have no o th e r criteria, a n d no
oth e r possible criteria, for the presence of such an individual. T h e
presence, e.g., of a m oving a n d b r e a th in g body would not be a
sufficient criterion (some would, however, wish to arg u e - mistakenly
in m y view - th a t it is a necessary one). T h e issue, therefore, th a t we
216
hav e to decide w h en co n fro n ted w ith the a p p a r e n t l y su rv iving

m emories, purposes, etc., of some person no w deceased is n o t w h e th e r
they in d ic ate the presence of a conscious in d iv id u al, b u t w h e t h e r o r not
the conscious in d ividual whose presence th e y in d ic ate is som e living
a n d e m b o d ie d h u m a n being, e.g. a m e d iu m in a state ol dissociation
exercising h e r pow ers of su p e r-E S P . I f we a re p r e p a r e d to ru le o u t the
su p e r-E S P hypothesis, is there a n y r e m a in in g hyp othesis o th e r th a n
th a t of survival th a t even begins to m a k e sense?
T h e only a ltern ativ es I ca n th in k of are of the most n eb u lo u s kind.
T h e most fre q u en tly canvassed has b een the psychic fa c to r theory
developed, th o u g h no t necessarily en d o rse d , by the late Professor C. D.
Broad (18a, pp. 536-551 ; 18c, pp. 41 9 -4 3 0 ). A c c o rd in g to this theory,
w h en a person dies s o m e th in g survives, b u t it is a s o m e th in g m u c h less
th a n a w hole person. In a n d of itself it is not sentient o r purposive, b u t it
is n one the less a vehicle for m e m o r y traces a n d p e r h a p s for o th e r kinds
of dispositions. It is c a p a b le u n d e r c e r ta in circ u m sta n c e s of e ntering
into such a rela tio nship w ith the nervous system of a living person as
will e n a b le th a t person ( m e d iu m , p erc ipient) to d ev e lo p a transient
a n d p e r h a p s dissociated s tre a m of consciousness w h ich will exhibit
some of the m em ories, purposes, etc., once c h a ra c te ristic of the
deceased person concerned . B road seems to th in k o f psychic factors as
being spatially localized entities, b u t no d o u b t it w ould be possible to
d ev elop versions o f the the o ry w h ich m a d e psychic factors som ething
like hologram s, i.e. not localised in themselves, b u t c a p a b l e of localized
manifestations.
T h e psychic factor theory w ould, I think, r u n into considerable
difficulties if the criticisms of trac e theories of m e m o ry , w hich I
p resented in the last c h a p te r, a r e co rrect. F o r the insentient psychic
facto r w ou ld have to be the b e a r e r not of a store of inert m e m o ry
traces, w hich a m e d iu m m ig h t in some w ay r e a d , b u t r a th e r of a
whole co m p lex a n d in te rre la te d set o f c o n c e p tu a l capacities, capacities
w hich (I have arg u e d ) c a n n o t possibly be b ased u p o n in n e r traces or
representations in a n y substance w hatsoever, b u t instead constitute
principles in a c c o r d a n c e w ith w hich th e w hole system behaves.
H o w e v e r I c a n n o t form a sufficiently c le a r idea o f w h a t a psychic
fac to r m ig h t consist in to criticize the n o tio n further.
Cases of ostensible r e in c a r n a tio n raise s o m e w h a t sim ilar issues,
th o u g h in one w ay at least the issues are sim pler. W h e r e a s in cases of
m e n ta l m e d iu m sh ip two questions are at stake, nam ely:
(a) w h e th e r or not there is a t w ork in the c o m m u n ic a ti o n s a stream
Oul-of-the-Body Experiences and Apparitions

217
ol consciousness o th e r th a n that (or those) of the m e d iu m w ho now
confronts us, a n d
(b)
w hether it is continuous with that of a formerly incarnated person,
in rein c arn atio n cases we have only to ask w h eth e r the consciousness of
the in c arn ate d person w ho now confronts us is (in the same sense)
continuous with that formerly associated with an o th e r body at an earlier
period of time.
Some people w ould argue th a t (as a m a tte r of logic ra th e r th a n of
fact) we ca n only reidentify som ething as the same th in g we previously
en c o u n te re d if it ca n be shown or agreed to have h ad a continous
spatio-tem poral history in the interim. H ence in rein c arn atio n cases
we cannot identify the present personality with the previous one however
a c cu rate are the fo rm e rs a p p a r e n t memories of events in the life of the
latter. (Analogous a rg u m e n ts are held to show th a t d ise m b odie d
survival is a meaningless notion; we could not lay do w n criteria by
m eans of w hich to decide w h eth e r or not a disem bodied entity h a d a
c ontinuous spatio-tem poral history, or, indeed, a spatio-tem poral
history distinct Irom th a t of oth e r such entities; hence a disem bodied
entity could not be reidentified as the erstwhile o c c u p an t o f a formerly
living body.) I do not agree with these arg um en ts, b u t the relevant
literature is considerable (see e.g. 31; 40; 46; 91; 119), a n d I ca nnot
delve into it here.
T h e psychic factor th eory could also be tried out on cases of
a p p a r e n t rein carnation. It would involve saying th a t some p a r t or
element or aspect of the previous personality survives, an d , com ing
somehow to influence the nervous system of the present personality,
causes the present personality to have experiences as of rem e m b erin g
events w hich in fact belonged to the life of the previous personality.
H ow ever the same obscurities beset the psychic factor theory here as
beset it in connection w ith m edium istic controls a n d com m unicators.
In ad d itio n various fu rth e r ad hoc assumptions would have to be built
into it to account, for instance, for the fact th a t the present personality
is p rep a re d to affirm th a t the past life experiences he recalls were his
experiences, a n d for the fact th a t (in con trast to medium s) the subjects
of rein c arn atio n cases are only influenced by one psychic factor, or at
a n y rate by no m ore th a n one psychic factor from a given period in the
past.
T h e r e is, besides, a ce rtain scarcely rational arbitrariness abo u t
a tte m p ts to app ly the psychic factor hypothesis to at an y rate the b etter
rein c arn atio n cases. F or it is being proposed that so m ethin g (a
218
Mediums/up and Survival
formerly in c a r n a te d e n tity o f a p e c u lia r kind) w as once conscious a n d

possessed c e rta in c o n c e p tu a l capacities, m em o ries, etc., a n d that
so m e th in g (a presently in c a r n a te d entity) is conscious a n d possesses
very sim ilar c o n c e p tu a l capacities, m em ories, etc., ( a n d f u rth e r m o re
claim s c o n tin u ity of consciousness w ith the form erly in c a r n a te d
entity), a n d yet th a t there is in fact n o c o n tin u ity of consciousness
betw e en the two, the a p p a r e n t c o n tin u ity b ein g effected by the aimless
in te rv en tio n of a n insentient psychic factor whose n a t u r e is unkn ow n.
T h e second o f the tw o f u rth e r questions w h ich suggest themselves if
we take the survival hypothesis seriously is e q u a lly difficult. It is as
follows. I have spoken of each p erso n s m em ories, a n d his c o n c ep tu al
capacities in general, as sets of principles of fu n ctio n in g which
supervene u p o n a n d co nstrain, a n d are not red u c ib le to, the p a tte r n s of
electrochem ical activities exh ib ite d by assem blages of cells in his brain.
If h u m a n personality does, in a n y m e an in g fu l sense, survive d e a th , it is
these principles of fu n ctio n in g (different sets for different people)
w hich m ust survive a n d manifest ag ain. B u t principles of fu n ctio n in g
c a n n o t just exist in a void. T h e y m ust be principles of somethings
functioning. A n d if they c a n survive the d e s tru c tio n of the b r a in with
w hich they w ere originally associated, th e n they c a n n o t hav e been
prim a rily, b u t only derivatively, principles of the o p e r a tio n of that
brain, a n d must instead have been the principles o f o p e ra tio n of
so m e th in g th a t so to speak worked through th a t b rain . W h a t could this
s om e thing be? A m in d o r soul as conceived in the tr a d itio n of W estern
theological a n d philosophical th o u g h t? O n e of B r o a d s psychic
factors? A p o rtion of the D ivine m in d o r W'orld-soul? S om e kind of
physical e m a n a tio n o r field of whose in n e r n a t u r e we hav e at the
m o m e n t no inkling? A n aspect of the h o lo m o v e m e n t? W h e r e did this
so m e th in g com e from? W a s it c r e a te d by the activities of th e brain
w hen these pass a c e rta in level of com plexity? D id it result from the
interaction ol b ra in ac tiv ity w ith some intluence e x te rn a l to the brain?
D id it exist in its o w n right a n d m erely m anifest th r o u g h the brain
when the activities ol the la tte r re a c h e d a level o f com p lex ity that
p e rm itte d it to d o so? T o all these questions, a n d m a n y others, I must
confess myself stu m p e d for answers. M a n y , indeed, w ou ld find the
questions themselves ridiculous o r unintelligible. P e r h a p s they are. I
ca n only reply th a t so far as I c a n tell it is because of facts an d
a r g u m e n ts r a th e r th a n o f p re-existing bias th a t I find m yself led to ask
them .
I have discussed these two interesting questions in the a b s tra c t, but
Out-of-the-Body Experiences and Apparitions
219
there are of course p h e n o m e n a w hich m a n y w ould assume b ea r

im m ed iately u p o n the answers to them. Som e w ould say that the
c o n t r o l s 'o f m e d iu m s have m a n y times told us all that we can or need
to know u p o n these matters. All such controls (so far as I know) claim
th a t they, a n d o th e r deceased persons, are fully conscious individuals
just as they were before dea th ; indeed m ore so. A nd m a n y controls
have favoured us w ith a great deal of p u r p o rte d inform ation, often of a
scientific or pseudo-scientific c h a racter, a b o u t w h a t it is th a t is
supposed to survive the d e a th of the body. A suggestion com m only
m a d e is that we have a second body (sometimes m ore th a n one) of a
subtle a n d tenuous kind, m a d e, it is sometimes said, of m a tte r a t a higher
rate o f vib ratio n ' th a n the m a tte r of o u r present bodies. T his second
body (or soul) is the true housing or vehicle of that indw elling spark of
the divine (the spirit) w hich constitutes o u r a n i m a tin g intelligence
both here a n d hereafter.
N ow if a m edium istic control first gives us convincing evidence of
identity, a n d then proceeds to favour us with copious teachings ab o u t
the next w orld a n d its inhabitants, we m ight well feel th a t w hat he had
to say, co n ta in in g as it does inside inform ation, must be well w orth
listening to. T h e snag, alas, lies in the considerations which I adva nce d
in C h a p te r Eight above. T h e r e is every reason to suppose that,
w hatever the u ltim ate source of the eviden tial statem ents m a d e by
the controls of tran c e m edium s, those controls themselves are
d ram a tiz atio n s by some level of the m e d iu m s ow n mind. H en c e it is
entirely possible that any teachings the controls m a y deliver or
pu rp o rte d ly scientific statem ents they m ay make, e m a n a te from the
m ed iu m in this world r a th e r th a n from the control in the next. O n e
would not, of course, wish to reject these statem ents out of h a n d
because of this possibility; one would merely wish to test them in the
same way as one would test an y o th e r p u rp o rte d statem ents of scientific
fact - by observation a n d experim ent. U n fo rtu n a tely I have not as yet
heard of an y such statem ent which has been sufficiently explicit an d
sufficiently in tu n e w ith the tendencies of m o d e rn science to r en d e r it
testable.
T h e r e are how ever certain p h e n o m e n a - co m m o n enough, and
a d e q u ately recorded - w hich seem on the face ol it to shed some direct
light up on the two questions we have been discussing. T h e p h e n o m e n a
concerned are those of ou t-o l-th e-b o d y experiences (OBEs) a n d of
apparitions. Cases falling u n d e r b o th these headings have from time to
time been collected a n d published on a considerable scale by m em bers
220
of the S P R a n d the A S P R . A c o m p re h e n siv e review of this large

literatu re does no t fall w ithin the scope of the p rese nt volum e. R e a d e rs
w h o wish to e m b a r k u p o n a m o r e extensive study ol it m a y co nsu lt two
books in the present series, Hauntings and Apparitions by A n d re w
M a c K e n z ie , a n d Beyond the Body by S u san Blackm ore, o r some of the
q u ite n u m e ro u s o th e r works on the sam e subjects (e.g. 8; 51; 52; 115;
162c). I shall say ju s t e n o u g h a b o u t these cases to ind ic ate th e ir possible
b e a r in g u p o n the questions w ith w hich we a re here c o n c e rn e d , a n d
u p o n the p ro b le m of survival in general.
OBEs
O u t-o f-th e -b o d y experiences (OBEs) a re those curious, a n d usually
brief, experiences in w hich a person seems to him self to leave his body
a n d to observe the w o rld from a po in t of view o th e r th a n th a t w hich he
w o uld hav e w ere he still in' his body. In some cases the experients
claim th a t they sa w a n d h e a r d things (objects w h ich w ere really
there, events a n d conversations w h ich really took place) w hich they
co uld not hav e seen or h e a r d from the a c tu a l positions of th e ir bodies.
O B E s a r e surprisingly c o m m o n ; different surveys have yielded
so m e w h a t differing results, b u t all in all I th in k th a t one w o uld not be
too far w ro n g if one said t h a t som e w h ere b e tw e en one p erson in ten and
one person in tw e n ty is likely to have h a d such a n ex p e rien c e at least
once (for a survey o f the surveys see 13, pp. 82-93).
O B E s a r e most fre q u e n t d u r i n g sleep, d u r in g unconsciousness
following ana esth esia or a b a n g on the hea d, a n d d u r i n g stress. But
they c a n o c c u r d u r i n g alm ost a n y kind of activity. G re e n (53, pp.
63-64) cites a co up le of cases in w hich motor-cyclists, rid in g at speed,
suddenly found themselves floating a b o v e th e ir m a c h in e s looking
d o w n on th e ir o w n bodies still d riv in g along. A ccidents d id not ensue. I
hav e b een in form ed, by a n a u th o rity on a v ia tio n m edicine, th a t pilots
of high-flying a e ro p lan e s ( p e rh a p s affected by ab sen c e of vibration,
a n d u niform ity ol sensory stim u la tio n ) h av e sim ilarly found themselves
a p p a r e n tly outside th e ir airc ra ft strugg ling to get in. O n e m ig h t well
struggle frantically u n d e r such circum stances.
N ot all O B E s o c c u r spontaneously. S om e people have, by various
techniques, cu ltiv a te d the faculty of in d u c in g th e m m o re o r less as
desired, a n d a n u m b e r hav e w ritte n d e tailed a c c o u n ts o f their
experiences. T hese a c c o u n ts d o not alw ay s in all respects s q u a re with
accou nts given by persons w h o have u n d e r g o n e s p o n ta n e o u s OBEs.
F o r instance the g rea t m ajo rity of v o lu n ta r y astral trav e lle rs state
221
th a t they find themselves still em bodied, b u t in a body whose shape,

ex ternal characteristics, a n d spatial location are easily altered at will,
a n d a n ap p re c ia b le n u m b e r refer to a n e la stic silv e rc o rd jo in in g their
new bo dy to their old one. A m u c h smaller percentage of those w ho
und erg o sp ontaneous O B E s m en tio n being em bodied, a n d some
specifically state th a t they found themselves disembodied. T h e silver
c o r d is q uite rarely m entioned . It is h a r d to avoid suspecting th a t
m a n y features of self-induced O B E s are d e term in e d by the subjects
rea din g a n d his an te c e d e n t expectations.
OBEs, especially spontaneo us ones, are often very vivid, a n d
resemble everyday, w aking experiences r a th e r th a n d ream s, a n d they
may m ake a considerable impression on those w ho u n d erg o them.
Such persons m ay find it h a r d to believe th a t they did not in fact leave
their bodies, a n d m ay d r a w the conclusion th a t we possess a s eparable
soul, p erh a p s linked to a second body, w hich will survive in a state of
full consciousness, perhaps even of e n h a n c e d consciousness, after
death. D ea th would be, as it were, a n O B E in w hich one did not succeed
in getting b ack into o n e s body.
Such conclusions present themselves even m ore forcefully to the
minds of those w ho have u ndergone the variety of O B E know n as a
n e a r d e a th ex perien ce o r N D E . It is not u n c o m m o n for persons who
have been to the brink of d e a th a n d re tu rn e d - following, say, a heart
stoppage or serious injuries from a n accident - to report a n experience
(com m only of a great vividness a n d impressiveness) as of leaving their
bodies, a n d travelling (often in a duplicate body) to the b o rd e r o f a new
an d w onderful realm . A t the b o r d e r they are stopped by a presence,
or by a deceased lriend or relation, a n d sent back again, because, so
they a re inform ed, their tim e is not yet. T h e y aw ake to find themselves
back in their bodies.
N D Es, even m ore th a n OBEs, have lately c a u g h t the public
im agination, especially in the U n ite d States (see e.g. 13, pp. 142-152;
102a; 102b; 132), a n d recent surveys of patients w ho have h a d close
encounters w ith d e a th , suggest th a t N D E s are m u c h c o m m o n e r than
h a d previously been though t. U n d e rg o in g a n N D E m ay ch a n g e a
p a tie n ts whole religious a n d philosophical outlook. H e has, it seems to
him, le arned by experience w h a t it is like to die.
A school of th o u g h t has grow n u p w ithin parapsychology, an d
a ro u n d its fringes, w hich takes such ideas very seriously indeed. We
m a y refer to this school of th o u g h t as the anim istic school, a n im is m
being the view th a t every h u m a n mind, w h eth e r in its before d e a th or
222
after d e a th state, is essentially a n d in se p a ra b ly b o u n d u p w ith some

kind of ex te n d e d ^Mart-physical vehicle, w hich is not n o rm a lly
perc eptible to the senses of h u m a n beings in th e ir p rese nt life (18c, p.
339). A n a r g u m e n t w hich one c o m m o n ly hears lro m m e m b e r s o f the
anim istic school is this. O B E s a n d N D E s are, so far as we c a n tell,
universal. T h e y have b een r e p o r te d from m a n y different p a r ts of the
w orld a n d m a n y different historical eras. T h e experiences ol the
persons co n c e rn e d th erefore must reflect g e n u in e features of the h u m a n
constitution; for we c a n n o t possibly suppose th a t they derive from a
c o m m o n strea m of religious tr a d itio n o r fo lk -b e lie f- the societies from
w hich they have b e e n re p o rte d a re too w idely se p a r a te d in space an d
tim e for th a t to be a possibility.
T h e most pow erful shot in the a n i m is ts locker rem a ins, however,
still to be m e n tio n e d . T h e r e are some cases - by n o m e a n s a negligible
n u m b e r - in w h ich a person w h o is u n d e r g o in g a n O B E , a n d finds
himself at o r 'p ro je cts him self to a p a r ti c u la r spot d is ta n t from his
physical body, has bee n seen a t th a t very spot by some person present
there. S uch cases are gen erally k n o w n as re c ip ro c a l cases, a n d I
proceed next to give a n exam p le. T h e following is a n e x tra c t (26, p. 29)
from a sta te m e n t sent to the A S P R in M a y 1957 by Miss M a r t h a
J o h n s o n , a w o m a n of 26 from Plains, Illinois. S he describes a d r e a m
w h ich she h a d early in the m o r n in g of 27 J a n u a r y 1957. She d r e a m e d
th a t she h a d travelled, by w alk in g o r floating, to the h o m e of her
m o th e r in n o r th e r n M in n e s o ta , 926 miles aw ay.
A f t e r a little w h i l e 1 s e e m e d t o b e a l o n e g o i n g t h r o u g h a g r e a t b l a c k n e s s .
T h e n all a t o n c e w a y d o w n b e l o w m e , as t h o u g h I w e r e a t a g r e a t h e i g h t , I
c o u l d see a s m a ll b r i g h t o asis o f l i g h t i n t h e v a s t se a o f d a r k n e s s . I s t a r t e d o n
a n i n c l i n e t o w a r d s it as I k n e w it w a s t h e t e a c h e r a g e (a s m a l l h o u s e b y t h e
sc h o o l ) w h e r e m y m o t h e r lives . . . A f t e r I e n t e r e d , I l e a n e d u p a g a i n s t t h e
dish c u p b o a r d w ith folded a r m s , a pose I o fte n a ssu m e. I lo o k ed at m y
M o t h e r w h o w as b e n d i n g o v e r s o m e th in g w h ite a n d d o i n g s o m e th in g w ith
h e r h a n d s . S h e d i d n o t a p p e a r t o see m e a t first, b u t s h e f i n a l ly l o o k e d u p . 1
h a d a s o r t ol p l e a s e d f e e l i n g a n d t h e n a f t e r s t a n d i n g a s e c o n d m o r e , I t u r n e d
a n d w a l k e d a b o u t f o u r steps.
She aw oke from h e r d r e a m at 2.10 A. M. (1.10 A. M. M in n e s o ta time).

T h e m o th e r gives h er ac c o u n t ol h e r ow n experiences in tw o letters to
h er d a u g h te r , d a t e d 29 J a n u a r y 1957 a n d 7 F e b r u a r y 1957, from
w hich I ex tra ct the following:
I b e l i e v e it w a s S a t u r d a y n i g h t , 1.10, 2 6 J a n u a r y , o r m a y b e t h e 2 7 t h . It
223
w o u l d h a v e b e e n 10 a f t e r tw o , y o u r tim e . I w a s p r e s s i n g a b l o u s e h e r e in t h e
k itc h e n . . . I looked u p a n d there you w ere by th e c u p b o a r d ju s t sta n d in g
s m i l i n g a t m e . I s t a r t e d t o s p e a k a n d y o u w e r e g o n e. I f o rg o t lo r a m i n u t e
w h e r e I was . I t h i n k t h e d o g s s a w y o u too. T h e y g o t so e x c i t e d a n d w a n t e d
o u t - j u s t like t h e y t h o u g h t y o u w e r e b y t h e d o o r - snille d a n d w e r e so
tic k le d .
Y o u r h a i r w a s c o m b e d n i c e - j u s t b a c k in a p o n y tail w i t h t h e p r e t t y roll in
f ro n t. Y o u r b l o u s e w a s n e a t a n d l i g h t - s e e m e d a l m o s t w h i t e . [ M i s s j o h n s o n
c o n f i r m e d in c o r r e s p o n d e n c e t h a t sh e h a d 't r a v e l l e d ' go t u p in th is w a y . ]
In this case, the 'tra v eller' perceived correct details of the scene which
she visited, so her experience can hard ly have b een just an
hallucination; a n d the body in which she believed herself to be
corresponded in h air style a n d clo thing w ith details of the form which
her m o th e r saw sta n d in g by the cu p b o a rd . Surely we c a n n o t avoid
supposing th a t som ething (a du p lic ate body?) w ent forth from Miss
Jo h n so n w hich acted as a vehicle for h e r consciousness, or was perhaps
in p art a p ro d u c t of it, a n d at the en d ofits voyage was actually seen by
her m o th e r a n d would also have been seen by an y oth e r person with
the right kind of sensitivity w ho h a p p e n e d to be on the spot. A nd is it
not equally obvious th a t h a d Miss J o h n s o n s ord in ary physical body
been destroyed d u r in g h e r 'ab se n ce from it she would have been left,
so to speak, strande d , b u t still conscious, still a whole person, a n d still
the occu p an t of some kind of subtle or rarefied body?
T h u s the animist, starting from his study of O B E s a n d N D E s, comes
up with answers to the tw o questions which I posed at the b eginning of
this chapter. H e claim s to have direct evidence th a t after death:
(a) we rem a in the conscious individuals that we always have
been; an d
(b) th a t the 'v ehicle of o u r surviving m em ories a n d o th e r
psychological dispositions is a surrogate body w hose properties (other
perhaps th a n th a t of being m alleable by thou ght) are, he w ould adm it,
largely unknow n.
In a d d itio n to taking O B E s a n d N D E s as themselves evidence for
survival, the anim ist m ight well feel able to offer the following
a rg u m e n t for r eg a rd in g a fu rth e r class of p h e n o m e n a as evidence for
survival. T h e r e is in the literature on ap p a ritio n s (the topic which I
shall next com e to) a substantial sprinkling of cases of ap p a ritio n s of
deceased persons, some of w hich have been seen by witnesses w ho did
no t know the deceased in life. A n extensive statistical investigation by
the late Professor H ornell H a r t (60a) strongly suggests th a t a p pa ritio ns
of the d e a d a n d the p h an tasm s of living 'projectors' in reciprocal cases
224
are, as classes, indistingu ishable from e a c h o th e r in w h a t m a y be called

their e x tern al ch a racteristics - such as w h e th e r the figure was solid,
dressed in o r d in a r y clothes, seen by m ore th a n one person, w h e th e r it
spoke, ad ju ste d itself to its physical su rro u n d in g s, etc. N o w we know
th a t in reciprocal cases the p h a n t a s m of the p ro je c to r is in some sense a
centre of or a vehicle for consciousness, n a m e ly the consciousness o f the
projector. Since a p p a r itio n s of the d e a d a n d of living projectors
manifestly b elong to the sam e class of objects or events, we m a y
p roperly infer th a t since the a p p a r itio n s of living projectors are
vehicles for the consciousness of the person in question, this m ust be
true of a p p a r itio n s o f the d e a d also. H e n c e the consciousness of
deceased persons survives a n d m a y e ith e r have, o r m a k e use of, a kind
of body.
A p p a r itio n s
I wish now to a p p r o a c h the sam e g r o u n d a g a in from a som e w h at
different sta rtin g point, a s ta rtin g point, to wit, in the p h e n o m e n a of
a p p a ritio n s, some aspects of w hich I have ju st briefly m e n tioned .
Stories of a p p a r itio n s (ghosts) hav e b een r e p o r te d from all societies of
w hich we have a d e q u a t e records. M o d e r n surveys suggest th a t in
w estern society p e r h a p s one person in ten will (while sane, sober a n d
aw ake) have seen a h u m a n figure o r h e a r d a h u m a n voice to w hich no
person present co rresponded. (Som etim es the figure th a t is seen is also
he a rd to speak; only r a t h e r rarely is it a d d itio n a lly p erceived by the
sense of touch.) T h e most c o m m o n ly pro fe rred e x p la n a tio n of
a p p a r itio n s has, historically, b een some version o r a n o t h e r of the
anim istic hypothesis w hich I hav e ju s t discussed. T h is the o ry is,
how ever, rejected by the g rea t m ajo rity of m o d e r n parapsychologists,
most of w h o m re g a rd a p p a r itio n s as h allucinations, as figm ents of the
m in d h a v in g no e x tern al reality. T h e i r p rin cip al reasons (162c, pp.
5 3-60) for h o lding this view a re as follows. A lth o u g h a p p a ritio n s, with
a few exceptions, tend to look a n d b eh a v e m u c h like o r d in a r y people,
they have a h a b it of su dd e n ly v an ish in g into thin air, leaving not a
trace behind; they m a y perform feats w hich physical objects c ould not
perform , such as passing t h ro u g h doors a n d walls; they a r e a p t to move
instantaneously lro m one place to a n o th e r . S o m etim es they are
a c c o m p a n ie d by p h a n t a s m a l a n d clearly sym bolical a p p u r te n a n c e s ,
such as hearses or colfins. If they a r e seen to o p e n a d o o r o r m ove an
object, the object will afte rw a rd s be found not to h av e m o v e d a n d the
d o o r to be still locked a n d bolted. D o o r-o p en in g s a n d object-
225
m ov e m en ts were p a r t not so m u c h of an h allu cinatio n as of a whole

hallu cin ato ry scene.
T h e h allu cin atio n th eory of ap p a ritio n s has clearly a good deal in its
favour. But it also confronts ce rtain difficulties. T h e most obvious of
these arise over the fact th a t in a not inconsiderable n u m b e r of
a p p a r itio n cases the hallucinations co nc erned m a y be described as
'veridical'. By this is m e a n t th a t they correspond in ways for w hich we
c a n offer no o r d in a r y ex planation, eith er w ith some event extern al to
themselves o r w ith the experiences of a n o t h e r percipient or
percipients. T h e principal classes of veridical hallucinations are these.
1. Crisis Apparitions. T hese constitute by far the largest class of
veridical hallucinations. T h e percipient sees (or hears the voice o f - but
for simplicity I shall for the most p a r t confine myself to visual cases) a
person know n to him, w ho th e n suddenly vanishes in a n inexplicable
m a nn er. Sub sequen tly it turns out that the person w ho was seen died,
or u n d e rw e n t some o th e r u n p le a sa n t crisis, at or a b o u t the tim e of the
ap parition. (By convention, a crisis a p p a r itio n must occur within
twelve hours either w ay of the crisis involved.)
2. Collectively Perceived Apparitions. T w o or m ore persons
sim ultaneously see the same p h a n ta sm a l figure in the same place
(hallucinations of all the o th e r classes m ay in a d dition be collectively
perceived).
3. Apparitions o f Deceased Persons ( Post-Mortem Apparitions). (By
convention, a n a p p a r itio n is classified as p ost-m ortem only if the
person it represents has been d e a d for at least twelve hours.) Such
hallucinations m a y be classed as veridical if either:
(a) the p ercipient did not know th a t the person he saw h ad died;
(b) the a p p a ritio n , th o u g h not know n to the percipient, was
subsequently identified by h im (e.g. from a p h o to g rap h ) as th a t of a
deceased person form erly con ne cted with the spot in question;
(c) the figure conveyed some inform ation once know n to the
deceased person concerned, b u t previously u n k no w n to the percipient;
or
(d) the figure manifested some purpose characteristic of or
a p p r o p r ia te to the deceased person, b u t u n k n o w n to, a n d not
characteristic of, the percipient.
4. Haunting Apparitions. T h e same figure is seen in the same locality
on a series of different occasions by the sam e (or b e tte r still) different
percipients. S uch a p p a ritio n s are usually assum ed to be those of
deceased persons, b u t evidence of identity is often lacking.
226
5.
Apparitions o f Living Persons. S uch a p p a r itio n s m a y be te rm e d
v eridical if, for instance, the figure seen is th a t of a living person w ho
form erly f re q u e n te d th a t spot, o r th a t o f a living person w h o is a b o u t to
a rrive there (for p reference unex pectedly).
O f each of these classes we have w e ll-a u th e n tic a te d instances;
instances, a t least, w hich seem to m e to be w e ll-a u th e n tic a te d . I shall
la ter on give exa m ple s from some, b u t no t all, of these classes. R e a d e rs
m a y ca re to follow u p the references given ab ove, a n d stu d y some o f the
testim ony for themselves. N o w if we a c c e p t th a t cases of these five
categories d o occur, how is the h a llu c in a tio n the o ry to a c c o m m o d a te
them ? T h e an s w e r is fairly obvious. T h e h a llu c in a tio n th e o ry m ust be
s u p p le m e n te d by the in tro d u c tio n of the fac to r of E SP. T h e p ercipient
build s into his h allu cin atio n , a n d as it w ere fleshes it ou t with,
in form ation o b ta in e d by ESP. T h a t is w here th e v e rid ic a lity comes
from. T h e form of E S P th a t has to be involved is, in all categories oth e r
th a n the first, usually th a t of telepathy. In some cases (a p p a ritio n s of
the dea d, h a u n t in g a p p a ritio n s) we c ould invoke e ith e r te le p a th y with
the living o r te le p a th y w ith the d e p a r te d . F o r the m o m e n t I shall stick
to the version th a t postulates only te le p a th y w ith the living.
W h e n the h a llu c in a tio n th e o ry is s u p p le m e n te d by in tro d u c in g
E SP, we com e u p w ith a variety of possible e x p la n a tio n s of the various
categories of veridical hallucin atio n . In crisis a p p a ritio n s, the
p e rc ipient learns by E S P of the d e a th o r im p e n d in g d e a th of the person
involved. T h e in fo rm atio n is received by some unconscious or
su blim inal level of the personality, a n d has some difficulty in finding its
w ay into o r d in a r y consciousness. It m a n a g e s to crash th e b a r r ie r in the
form of a sensory a u t o m a t i s m (see C h a p t e r T w o above). In
collectively perceived a p p a ritio n s, one p e r c ip ie n t becom es te le p a th i
cally a w a re of the oth e r's h a llu c in a tio n , a n d constructs a
co rresp o n d in g h a llu c in a tio n himself; or p e r h a p s b o th telepathically
c o n tac t a n outside source. In cases ol h a u n t i n g a p p a r itio n s a n d of
a p p a r itio n s ol the d e a d , the present witness m akes telep a th ic contact
w ith some living person w ho re m e m b e r s the d eceased p erson w ho died
a t th a t spot, or p e r h a p s he clairv o y an tly scrutinizes a p h o to g r a p h
a lb u m in w hich th a t p erso n s p ic tu re is to be found; a n d so on. It c a n all
(il one does not analyse it too carefully) be m a d e to sound most
plausible.
W h e n p ro p o n e n ts of the h a llu c in a tio n th e o ry of a p p a r itio n s have, to
th e ir ow n satisfaction, chased m e m b e r s of the anim istic school off this
Oul-of-the-Body Experiences and Apparitions
227
territory, they are apt to pursue them back into their own ground. In
o th e r words they try to develop an hallucination theory of OBEs,
N D E s a n d reciprocal cases. T h e y tend to arg u e along the following
lines. It m a y be true that O B E s a n d N D E s are of world-w ide
d istribution, a n d th a t we c a n n o t a ttr ib u te the universal propensity to
u n d erg o such experiences to the shap ing inlluence of a c om m on
cultural tradition. But it does not follow from this that these
experiences therefore rellect some basic lct a b o u t the h u m a n
constitution (e.g. th a t we are a c o m p o u n d of body, soul a n d spirit).
R a th e r do they rellect the fact that, in fund am entals, peoples minds
work the same w ay even in very different cultures. T h e soul-theory of
the h u m a n constitution is a very obvious one, given certain striking,
bu t not u n co m m o n , sorts of events (dreams, hallucinations, ESP, loss
of loved ones). T h a t the soul-theory em erges a n d shapes peoples
experiences in all q u arte rs of the globe is a fact no m ore surprising th a n
the fact that ce rtain rec u rren t themes cro p u p in folktales from widely
separated cultures. A nd the experiences (like the mythological themes)
tend to em erge in ce rtain situations (dreams, drug-states,
hallucination) a n d in response to ce rtain external stresses (worry,
anaesthesia, shortage of oxygen in the b ra in following a heart attack),
usually stresses w hich the experient ca n do n othin g to relieve. O BEs
an d N D E s a n d ce rtain sorts of related hallucinations are, acco rd in g to
this view, gen e rate d as a m eans of coping w ith otherwise u n e n d u ra b le
psychological pressures.
Indeed if one exam ines nu m e ro u s reports of O B E s a n d N D E s one
can see quite plainly that the u n derlying themes are heavily influenced
by cu ltu ral factors, w hich would hard ly be the case if the experiences
were insights into the n a tu re of the soul a n d of the world to come. T h e
self-induced O B E s o f astral travellers in o u r society differ, as I have
already pointed out, in im p o rta n t respects from the spontaneous ones.
T h e self-induced O B E s of sha m ans a n d witch-doctors are wildly
different from those of o u r ow n ta m e astral travellers (see 37, passim).
Those und erg o in g N D E s in o u r society tend to lind themselves m oving
tow ards a peaceful a n d h a rm on io us realm of indescribable beauty;
mediaeval N D E s c o n tain horrific visions of hell, as well as visions o f a
heaven which no t everyone would enjoy (21, II, pp. 197-202,
225-233); a n eig hteenth ce n tu ry Q u a k e r finds him self a p p ro a c h in g a
realm resounding w ith songs of praise un to the L ord G od a n d the
L a m b (166); a n d so on a n d so on.
228
W h a t of those cases in w hich a person w h o has b een o u t of the b o d y

has a p p a r e n tly b r o u g h t bac k info rm atio n w h ich he c o uld not hav e
o b ta in e d h a d he been a t the location of his physical body? Since we
hav e a lre a d y a r g u e d th a t facts a c q u ir e d by E S P c a n be in c o rp o r a t e d in
various kinds o f hallu cinatio ns, th e p rop osal th a t such insights m a y
also be in c o rp o r a te d in yet a n o t h e r b iz a r re k in d o f h a llu c in a tio n
should cre ate no a d d itio n a l difficulty. As for rec ip ro c al cases: things
are, of course, a little m o re c o m p lic a te d here; still, we c a n w ith o u t too
m u c h difficulty develop a n a c c o u n t a lo n g th e following lines. T h e
projectionist ac quires by E S P in fo rm atio n a b o u t objects a n d events
at some d istan t spot, a n d c on struc ts th e re fro m a n h a llu c in a tio n
rep rese n tin g th a t scene as observed from a c e r ta in p o in t of view. T h e
p e r c ip ie n t at th a t scene te lepa thic ally learns th a t th e projectionist is
h a v in g a n h a llu c in a tio n as of b ein g a t th a t spot. H e em b o d ie s this
inform ation in a n h a llu c in a to ry re p re se n ta tio n of him.
T h u s we have disposed of rec iproc al cases too. A n d inde ed the
a n im is ts theo ry th a t in such cases the projectionist goes forth c lad in a
second a n d subtle body is obvious nonsense. C o n s id e r the following
reciprocal case, collected by Nils Ja c o b so n , a Swedish psychiatrist
m u c h interested in unusual experiences. T h e tw o persons concerned
h a d agreed to experim ent. I ex tra ct from their statem ents (73, p. 112):
JA K O B : . . . T h e d a y a f t e r o u r d e c i s i o n I d r o v e m y d a u g h t e r t o h e r j o b , t h e
t i m e w a s 6 P M. I w a s s u d d e n l y r e m i n d e d o f t h i s a g r e e m e n t w i t h E v a . T h e n
I t r a n s p o r t e d m y s e l f a s t r a l l y t o h e r h o m e a n d f o u n d h e r s i t t i n g o n t h e sofa,
r e a d in g so m e th in g . I m a d e h e r no tice m y p re se n c e by c a llin g h e r n a m e a n d
sh o w in g h e r t h a t I w as d riv in g m y car. S h e looked u p a n d saw me. A fter
t h a t I lelt h e r a n d w a s b a c k in t h e c a r w h i c h I h a d b e e n d r i v i n g a l l t h e w h i l e
w ith o u t a n y special a w a r e n e s s o f th e d r iv in g . . .
EVA: I w a s s i t t i n g a l o n e i n t h e r o o m in a n e a s y c h a i r . . . S u d d e n l y I sa w
J a k o b s i t t i n g in I r o n t o f m e in t h e c a r , s a w a b o u t h a l f t h e c a r a s if I w e r e in it
w i t h h i m . H e s a t a t t h e w h e e l : I o n l y s a w t h e u p p e r p a r t o f his b o d y . I also
s a w t h e c l o c k in t h e c a r , I t h i n k it w a s a c o u p l e o f m i n u t e s b e f o r e six. T h e
c a r w as n o t h e a d e d to w a r d s o u r h o u se b u t in a n o t h e r d ir e c tio n . . .
E ven if (which I d o u b t) one c ould tin k e r w ith the an im istic theory in

such a w ay as to give a plausible a c c o u n t o f h ow d u p l i c a t e bodies form
their o u te r p arts into the se m b la n ce of clothes, one c ou ld h a r d ly extend
the supposition to cover th e ir tr a n sf o r m in g them selves into the
se m bla n ce of h alf a car, com p lete w ith clock sh ow ing the correct time.
At this poin t a su p p o r te r of the h a llu c in a tio n th e o ry w o u ld no d o u b t
feel th a t he h a d swept the su p p o rters of the a nim istic th e o ry com pletely
Oul-oj-the-Body Experiences and Apparitions
229
off the field of play, even oil their favourite co rner of it - the one
devoted to OBEs, N D E s a n d reciprocal cases. A nd for m y p a r t I find it
h a r d to dissent. At least - I ca n at the m o m e n t find a m o n g the
p h e n o m e n a of O B E s a n d N D E s no strong grounds for disagreem ent
w ith the hallu cin atio n theory, th o u g h I would not be altog ether
surprised if some ground s for disagreem ent were eventually to be
un ea rth ed . F or instance some q uite intensive studies have recently
been carried out in the U n ite d States (most notably by Osis, M orris
an d Roll - see 13, pp. 220-224) of persons claim in g to be able to travel
out of the body at will. A tte m p ts have been m a d e to ascertain:
(a) w h eth e r such persons ca n hom e in o n a n d correctly identify
target objects placed in special screened localities;
(b) w hether, w h en they do so hom e in, they ca n in an y way
influence detectors - h u m a n , a n im a l or in strum e nta l - placed aro u n d
those targets; a n d
(c) w h eth e r success in (a) correlates significantly w ith success in (b).
T h e results to d ate have been equivocal a n d som ew hat frustrating. I
think it w ould be fair to say th a t while occasional a p p a r e n t successes
have been rep o rted u n d e r all three headings, successes have not been
consistent or striking eno ugh for us to be able either to accept or to
reject th e m w ith confidence. Unless future experim ents produce
unm istakably positive results we must, I think, c ontinue to refuse
credence to the animistic hypothesis.
Sum m ary
I began this c h a p te r by discussing two questions:
(a) w ould survival of a p ersons memories, a n d o th e r c onceptual
capacities, involve o r a m o u n t to the survival of th a t person as a
conscious individual; an d
(b) w h a t could be the n a tu re of th a t w hich survives, the presum ed
vehicle of the surviving memories, etc?
After briefly discussing these questions, I tu r n e d to the answers to them
given by a school of th o u g h t whose m e m b ers I called anim ists, a n d
w ho have interested themselves especially in OBEs, N D E s an d
reciprocal cases. T hese answers I have b een u n able to accept. So we are
back again to the b e ginnin g of the chap ter. H as the whole excursus
then been a waste of time? I hope not; for in the first place the
p h e n o m e n a I have briefly a n d in a d eq u a tely touched u p o n (OBEs,
N DEs, reciprocal cases, apparition s) are ones frequently introduced
into discussion of the p ro blem of survival, so th a t it is desirable that
230
M edwm ship and Survival
they should hav e bee n a t least m e n tio n e d ; a n d in the second place I

propose to use w h a t I hav e said in this c h a p t e r as a j u m p i n g - o f f g r o u n d
for a fu rth e r exposition o f the h a llu c in a tio n th e o ry o f a p p a r itio n s a n d
its possible b e a r in g u p o n the p ro b le m of survival.
15
A pp aritio n s of the D ead
In the previous c h a p te r I explained w hy it is th a t most

parapsychologists reg a rd a p p a ritio n s as h avin g no objective reality, as
being hallucinations con structed by the m in d of the beholder. So
com pelling are the reasons for this view th a t w h en presented w ith cases
in which the figure has for instance conveyed to the percipient
inform ation w hich he did not previously know, parapsychologists,
reluctant to a d m it that some being external to the percipient m ight
have been objectively there, have te nded to suggest t h a t the percipient
obtained the inform ation by his ow n ESP, and, for obscure
psychological reasons, dressed it u p before his ow n m in d in the form of
an hallucination. I a d o p te d the s ta n d p o in t of the hallucin ation theory
in order to cast d o u b t u p o n its m ain rival, the animistic theory. W ith
deplorable perverseness. I a m now going to raise d oub ts a b o u t the
hallucination theory.
T h e d oub ts I shall raise concern principally the applications of the
theory to certain sorts of p ost-m ortem apparitions. (It m a y or m ay not
be the case th a t analogous d oub ts could be raised concerning its
application to o th e r sort of cases.) T h e post-m ortem ap p a ritio ns in
question belong to kinds w hich have often been th o u g h t to constitute
evidence for survival - the a p p a r itio n has been of some recognized or
subsequently identified deceased person, has in one way or an o th e r
conveyed inform ation w hich the deceased person m ight be expected to
have possessed, b u t of w hich the percipient was u n aw a re , has
manifested purposes characteristic of the deceased person, b u t not
necessarily of the living percipient, a n d so on. So, while not letting the
questions raised in the last c h a p te r d r o p a ltog ether out of sight, I shall
in exploring the h allucin ation th eory be presenting some fu rth e r kinds
of ostensible evidence for survival.
T h e h allucin atio n theory of ap p a ritio n s has, as I pointed out in the
previous ch a p te r, to be su p p le m e n ted w ith proposals to the effect that
in a substantial n u m b e r of cases the occurrence of the hallucination, or
232
its contents, or b oth, a re sup plied by the p e r c ip ie n ts o w n ESP.

W i th o u t this assu m p tio n the th e o ry ca n give n o a c c o u n t ol th e v ariou s
kinds ol veridical h a llu c in a tio n s w hich I listed in th e previous
c h a p te r; unless, indeed, it w ere sim ply to find g ro u n d s lor d e n y i n g th a t
they ever occur, a stance w hich, for the reasons I sketched in C h a p t e r
O n e , seems to m e indefensible. T h e u p shot, as I h o p e sho rtly to
illustrate, is th a t the h a llu c in a tio n the o ry is forced to postu late the
o cc u rre n ce of E S P of e x t r a o r d i n a r y com p lexity. I n lact the
h allu cin atio n th e o ry becom es ju s t one of the m a n y guises o f o u r old
friend (or enem y) the s u p e r- E S P hypothesis. I shall, in w h a t follows use
the te rm s h a llu c in a tio n th e o ry a n d s u p e r- E S P h y p o th e sis m o re or
less inte rchange ably.
W h a t one m a y call the s tr o n g form of the s u p e r- E S P hypothesis the form against w hich I have d irec ted a good m a n y a r g u m e n ts in
ea rlier p arts of this book - invokes e ith e r clairv o y an c e o r te lepa th y
w ith living persons. T h is w ou ld involve o n e s saying, in the c u rre n t
context, th a t the percipients of v eridical a p p a r itio n s get all their
in lo rm a tio n e ith e r th r o u g h clairvo yanc e o r th r o u g h te le p a th y with
living persons. It is also possible to fram e w h a t one m a y call a w ea k
form of the su p e r-E S P hypothesis, a form w hich a d m its the possibility
of te lep a th y w ith th e d e p a rte d . T h e th e o ry o f o v e r s h a d o w in g w hich I
discussed in C h a p te rs N in e a n d T e n was in effect a the o ry of this kind.
A p plie d to veridical hallucination s, the w eak form of the su p e r-E S P
hypothesis w ould allow us to say th a t th e in fo rm atio n w hich
percipients e m b o d y in th eir hallu cin atio n s m a y som etim es come
th ro u g h te lep a thy w ith the dead.
I shall argue, w ith special reference to th ree classes of a p p a ritio n ,
th a t bo th th e stro n g a n d the w eak forms of th e s u p e r- E S P hypothesis
are alike u n te n ab le . T h e three classes of a p p a r itio n c o n c e rn e d are as
follows:
1. C e rta in cases of seemingly purposive p o st- m o r te m apparitions.
2. Collectively perceived a p p a r itio n s (with special reference to a
post-m o rte m exam ple).
3. H a u n t i n g a p p a r itio n s (again w ith special reference to a post
m o r te m example).
1. P o s t - M o r t e m A p p a r itio n s E x h ib it in g P u r p o s e
T h e first class of case w hich I shall discuss consists of po st-m o rte m
a p p a ritio n s w hich convey in lo rm a tio n previously u n k n o w n to the
percipient, a n d convey it, p e r h a p s in a c h a racteristic m a n n e r , in
Apparitions o f the Dead
233
pursuit of a goal p resum ably favoured by the deceased, b u t not

consciously e n te rta in e d by the percipient. Such cases on the face of it
are b o u n d to strain the stro n g form of the super-E S P -cum h allucination hypothesis, for they suggest r a th e r forcefully that the
contents of the experience were som ehow imposed on the percipient
by a n outside agency. Let us try out the strong form of the super-E S P
hypothesis u p o n the following series of ab rid g e d case-reports.
a. A youn g m a n owns a tow bo at w hich he runs to help su p p o rt his
lamily. T h e engine keeps brea k in g down. O n e night the yo u n g m a n is
lying aw ake w orrying a b o u t it. His lately deceased father comes
th ro u g h the closed b edroom door. T h e y have a conversation ab o u t the
engine, a n d the fath e r correctly advises him how to set it right (129, pp
155-156).
O n e m ight sim ply suppose here th a t deep d o w n the yo u n g m a n
already knew the answer; for obscure psychological reasons it found its
way into consciousness in the form of an hallucination.
(b) A m a n (who h a d h ad o th e r visions) sees a n exalted or angelic
spirit (identity unk now n) w ho tells h im th a t his sister is in need, an d
th a t he is to send her a ce rtain sum of money. H e complies, a n d
afterw ards finds th a t at th a t tim e she h a d been in great difficulties, a n d
had been p ray in g for help (100).
H ere one m ight propose th a t the percipient le arned by E S P of his
sisters distress, w hich he w ould n a tu ra lly wish to relieve. His
psychological quirks were such th a t the ESP, instead of taking a direct
route (an intuition, a call in his sisters voice), was dressed u p in the
form of a visit from a spiritual being.
(c) M r J. P. Chaffin, whose father h ad died nearly four years
previously, d rea m s on a n u m b e r of occasions th a t his fath er ap p e a rs at
his bedside. O n the last occasion his fath er is w earing his old black
overcoat, a n d shows h im the pocket, saying, Y ou will find my will in
my overcoat pocket. (T h e percipient was not clear w h eth e r this
experience was a d r e a m or a w aking a p p a ritio n - there are in fact a
n u m b e r of cases in w hich the form er has passed into the latter.) M r
Chaffin searches the pocket of this coat, a n d finds therein a roll of p a p e r
which reveals the location of a h ithe rto unsuspected second will ( 139a).
W ith this case the E SP hypothesis m ust move tow ards the superESP hypothesis. W e have to say th a t M r J . P. Chaffin learned by ESP
not ju st w here a clue to the will was, b u t th a t there was a will at all.
T his involves his r e a d in g w h a t was w ritten on the rolled u p p a p e r in
the overcoat pocket, a task req u irin g E SP of a degree hard ly paralleled
234
in an y e x p e rim e n ta l investigation. F o r obscure psychological reasons,

his unconscious m in d dressed u p the in fo rm atio n as th o u g h it were
c o m in g from his late lather.
(d) A naval officer, L ie u te n a n t 14., a n d his wife a re assigned new
q u a r te rs in a house w hich they share w ith a n o t h e r family, the Gs. O n
four occasions he clearly sees, lor u p to lilteen m inu tes, the figure ol a
m a n (previously u n k n o w n to him ), w h ich seems as th o u g h a b o u t to
speak, b u t vanishes into th in a ir w h e n a p p r o a c h e d . O n one occasion
the figure blocks light from electric light bulbs; on a n o t h e r , tw o dogs
are a la r m e d p rio r to its a p p e a r a n c e . It transpires th a t the ghost closely
resembles M rs G . s late lather, w h o h a d n ev e r been to the house.
L ie u te n a n t 14. picks out his p h o to g r a p h from a m o n g a b o u t tw enty
others (56).
T h e E S P hypothesis has now to bec om e the s u p e r- E S P hypothesis.
O n e m ight suppose th a t M rs G . s th o u g h ts w ere d w elling m u c h upon
h er late father. L ie u te n a n t H . te lepa thic ally r e a d those tho ughts, an d
ex tern alized the in lo rm a tio n in the form of a n h a llu c in a to r y figure of
the old g en tlem an . But th ere a re n u m e ro u s problem s. C a n we m ake
sense of the idea th a t one m ig h t te lepath ically r e a d o r perceive
events in som eone elses m ind, w h e n it m akes no sense to talk of rea d in g
or perceiving th e m by an y form ol sense p erception ? F u r th e r m o r e the
E SP th a t is here b eing p ostu late d is of a very r e m a rk a b le degree, a n d
was exercised by a person w h o h a d h a d no o th e r such experience to
w eak en his scepticism. W h a t, next, o f the b e h a v io u r of the dogs? T h ey
becom e excited im m ed ia te ly before L ie u te n a n t H . first saw the figure,
a n d could not therefore have picked u p his asto n ish m e n t. C a n we
really suppose th a t they too b o th h a p p e n e d to re a d M r s G . s m in d at
th a t m o m e n t? Lastly, there is the questio n of motive. In most, thou gh
not all, cases of s p o n ta n eo u s E SP , the ex p e rien t m ig h t be supposed to
desire to have the in form atio n th a t is co nve yed to him ; a n d sometimes
the p resum ed te lepathic agent m ight be supposed to wish to convey it.
In this case, how ever, L ie u te n a n t H. h a d no m o tiv e to wish for
inform ation a b o u t M rs G . s father, n o r h a d M r s G. a n y m otive for
w ishing him to receive it.
(e) M rs P., a lady w ho has once before h a d a n h a llu c in a tio n - a
non-veridical one how ever - is lying in bed w a itin g to feed h e r baby. A
la m p is burning. S u d d e n ly she sees a tall m a n , dressed in nav a l officer's
uniform, com e to the en d ol the bed. She rouses h e r h u s b a n d , w ho also
sees th e figure. It speaks reproachfully to h e r h u s b a n d . H e th e n leaps
out of bed. T h e figure moves aw ay, transiently blocking the light from
235
the la m p, a n d vanishes into the wall. M r P. tells her the a p p a ritio n was
th a t ol his lather, w ho h ad been d e a d fourteen years. L a t e r s h e learned
that h e r h u sb a n d was prev e n ted by this vision from taking financial
advice w hich w ould have proved ruinous (110a, II, pp. 326-329).
O n the su p e r-E S P hypothesis we would have to tackle this case as
follows. M r P. was or h a d been brooding or d re a m in g a b o u t his longd ea d father, w on d erin g w hat he would have th o u g h t a b o u t his great
financial difficulties, etc. T h e r e is no evidence of this, but we m ight
suppose th a t he was b ro od ing unconsciously. M rs P. read her
h u s b a n d s m ind, a n d constructed therefrom a n hallucin atio n of his
father sta nding in a certain spot. W h e n she roused M r P., he
telepathically picked u p her vision a n d externalized a corresponding
one himself. T h e purpose a p p a r e n tly manifested by the p h a n to m - to
reprove M r P. - was really M r P .s own. In his h ea rt of hearts he
w anted to stop himself from the course of action he was a b o u t to
e m b a rk on, b u t his psychological quirks were such th a t he could best do
so by m a n u fa c tu rin g the m onitory hallucination of his deceased father.
T h a t M r a n d M rs P. should on this one occasion alone have exhibited
reciprocal E SP of so e x tra o rd in a ry a n extent m ay be explained on the
grounds th a t w orry facilitates E S P - or u p o n an y o th e r gro unds one
can d r e a m up.
It cannot, I think, be denied that the sup er-E S P theory's ac co unt of
these cases, especially (c), (d) a n d (e), is ad hoc a n d convoluted to the last
degree. In fact a flat-earth er in full cry could hardly support his
hypothesis w ith m ore tortuous arg u m e n ta tio n , or w ith proposals less
open to direct test. It is, of course, correspondingly difficult to prove the
super-ESP th eory wrong. W e d o n t know the limits (if any) of ESP, or
of the d r a m a tic inventiveness of the unconscious mind. But still, isnt it
obviously sim pler to suppose th a t in each of these cases there was at
work some fu rth e r agency, to be identified with a still surviving portion
of a formerly in c arn ate h u m a n being, w hich somehow shaped the
experience of the percipient or percipients in ac co rd anc e with its own
persisting knowledge a n d persisting purposes? T h a t way we c a n avoid
such bizarre notions as that persons h ithe rto not know n to be
psychically gifted can suddenly develop powers of E SP c o m p a ra b le to,
if not exceeding, the most re m a rk a b le that have ever been
experim entally d em on strate d ; th a t two people w ithout any conscious
thought of d oing an y such th in g can at a n unconscious level
te lepathically link u p with each o th e r a n d h a m m e r out the details of an
236
h a llu c in a to ry figure w hich b o th shall see; th a t a n im a ls m a y to some

ex tent share in this process; th a t the in fo rm a tio n thus a c q u ir e d will be
dressed u p by processes u n k n o w n a n d p re s u m a b ly u n co nscious a n d
p resented to the conscious m in d q uite indirectly in th e form ol
d r a m a tic b u t really irre le v an t inte rv en tio n s by d eceased persons; a n d
th a t the purposes p r o m o te d by the h a l lu c in a to r y episodes, ev e n w hen
ostensibly m o re a p p r o p r ia t e to the supposed d eceased person, are
really those of the living p erc ip ie n t o r o f some o th e r living person
whose m in d te lep a thic ally influences his. All these proposals, a n d
m a n y others th a t seem likely to em e rg e from the s u p e r- E S P theory,
a p p e a r in the present state o f o u r kno w ledge to be q u ite u n te sta ble
against a n y a c tu a l or conceiv ab le findings; a n d we o u g h t th erefore in
a c c o rd a n c e w ith the p r a g m a tic prin cip le laid d o w n in C h a p t e r O n e
th a t one should, w h e n one can, avoid a likely d e a d end, refrain if
possible from a d o p t in g them .
T h e p ro b lem , of course, is w h e th e r o r not a n y form o f survival th eory
really is going to prove itself m o re s tra ig h tfo rw a rd a n d m o re o p e n to
em p irical test th a n the su p e r-E S P hypothesis. W hilst a survivalist
the ory m ig h t be th o u g h t to simplify questions of m otive, a n d of the
to rtuous p a th s tak en by alleged E SP, it does not free us from the
necessity of p o stu latin g E SP , som etim es q u ite co m p lex ESP. F o r how,
o th e r th a n th r o u g h a process th a t w o uld fall u n d e r the catch-all
h e a d in g of E S P , could a d is c a m a te en tity c o m m u n ic a te w ith living
persons (sometim es w ith tw o o r m o re of th e m at once)? W e have here,
of course, w h a t I called the w e a k form of th e s u p e r- E S P h y p o th e s is the one th a t p erm its te le p a th y w ith d eceased persons. S u ppose we
a t te m p t to a p p ly this version o f th e theory to case (e) above. T h e n we
should have to suppose s o m e th in g like the following w e b o f telepathic
relationships. M r P .s father, the late M r P. senior, learns th ro u g h
te lepathic c o n ta c t w ith his son th a t the la tte r is in d a n g e r o f acce p tin g
u n so u n d financial advice. H e wishes to a v e r t th e im p e n d in g
ca ta stro p h e a n d p e r h a p s tries in some w ay to influence his son.
H o w ev er he m a n ag e s at first only to influence his sons wife, w h o never
knew him. H e te lepa thic ally conveys to h e r no t a w a r n in g a b o u t her
h u s b a n d s financial rashness, b u t in fo rm a tio n as to his own
a p p e a r a n c e , in form ation w h ich she externalizes into a n h allu cin atio n
of him. F rig h te n e d , she aw a kens h e r h u s b a n d , M r P. junior. H e too
picks u p the telep a th ic influence from M r P. senior, a n d likewise
externalizes it in the s h ape of a n hallucin atio n . E ith e r b ecause M r a n d
M rs P. are in telep a th ic r a p p o r t w ith e a c h o th e r, o r b ecau se M r P.
237
senior is a te lep a th ic sen d er ol g reat skill a n d pow er, th e two

h allu cin atio n s (his a n d hers) are m ad e to coincide w ith each o th e r in
lo cation, dress, speech, m ovem ents a n d d isap p earan ce; they do n o t (so
far as we ca n tell) get out of sy n ch ro n y w ith each other.
It w ould, ol course, be possible, from the po in t of view o f the w eak
su p er-E S P theory, to analyse the supposed netw ork of te lep ath ic
relations in this case in various o th e r ways. But I do not th in k an y of
them w ould be a p p re c ia b ly sim pler th a n the one I hav e ad o p ted . A nd
the one I have a d o p te d involves p o stu latin g te lep a th y o f a d etail an d
com plexity for w hich no e x p e rim en tal investigatio n provides the
rem otest p arallel. T h e w eak form o f the sup er-E S P hypothesis is here
scarcely sim pler th a n the strong.
2. C o lle c t iv e ly P e r c e iv e d A p p a r itio n s
C ollective p ercipience is not too unco m m o n , a n d m ay take place w ith
ap p a ritio n s of all classes - crisis, po st-m o rtem , visual, au d ito ry , etc. I
have alre ad y cited one case o f a collectively perceived p o st-m o rtem
ap p a ritio n . H ere are e x tra cts from the w itnesses sta te m en ts in a n o th e r
(8, pp. 139-141). T w o girls are staying one nig h t in a L incolnshire
farm house ab o u t tw enty years p rio r to th e tim e o f w ritin g (1891):
W e r e t i r e d to rest a b o u t t h e u s u a l f a r m h o u s e h o u r s . W e s le p t in a n o ldf a s h i o n e d l o u r - p o s t b e d s t e a d , a t a b o u t l o u r feet f r o m t h e w all. I n t h e c e n t r e
o f t h e w a l l , a t t h e side o f t h e b e d , w a s a c u p b o a r d .
W e h a d b e e n in b e d a b o u t h a l f a h o u r w h e n I l o o k e d t o w a r d s t h e d o o r o f
t h e c u p b o a r d . I s a w a little , r u d d y - f a c e d old l a d y , w i t h a frilled w h i t e c a p
o n h e r h e a d , a w h ite h a n d k e r c h ie f folded r o u n d h e r neck, a n d a w hite
a p r o n , as if sh e w a s s i t t i n g w i t h h e r h a n d s f o l d e d in h e r lap. I t s e e m e d
a l m o s t as if it w e r e a p a i n t i n g o n t h e d o o r ; it l o o k e d e x a c t l y as if it w e r e
living. I g a v e a s u d d e n s t a r t , a n d sa id to M i s s Q u i l t y , ' D i d y o u see
a n y t h i n g ? a n d h e r a n s w e r w a s t h e sa m e , ' D i d y o u see a n y t h i n g ? I r e l a t e d
t o h e r w h a t I h a d se e n , a n d M i s s Q u i l t y h a d se en e x a c t l y t h e s a m e as myself;
o u r rest w a s d i s t u r b e d for t h e n i g h t . O n r e l a t i n g o u r sto r y , t h e n e x t
m o r n i n g , it p r o v e d t h e e x a c t likeness o f t h e f a r m e r s m o t h e r , w h o h a d lived
t h e r e b e f o r e h i m , a n d d i e d in t h a t b e d r o o m .
S. M O O R E
T h e o th e r w itness, M iss E llen Q u ilty , gives fuller d etails o f th e room

an d of the su rro u n d in g circum stances. H e r ac co u n t o f w h at she saw is
as follows:
S t a n d i n g b a c k in t h e w a l l I h a d se en a little o l d w o m a n , w i t h a w h i t e m u s l i n
h a n d k e r c h ie f n e a tly a r r a n g e d on h e r shoulders; a w h ite b o r d e re d c a p
f i tt i n g close t o a sw e e t, c a l m fa ce, h e r a r m s f o ld e d , a n d a n a p r o n o f t h e s a m e
m a t e r i a l as t h e kerch ief.
238
It is very te m p tin g to say ol this case, a n d o th e rs like it, th a t it tw o o r

m o re persons (an d cases w ith m o re th a n tw o p e rc ip ie n ts a re by no
m eans u n k n o w n ) sim u lta n eo u sly see th e sam e th in g in th e sam e place,
th en we have evid en ce th a t th a t th in g is objectiv ely th e re . In fact
ev id en c e m ay be th e w ro n g w ord. P e rh a p s it w o u ld b e m ore
a p p ro p ria te to say th a t p a r t o f w h a t w e mean by c a llin g a th in g o r event
o b jectiv e is th a t m o re th a n one person c a n observ e it. W e m u st also
m ean th a t different p e rc ip ie n ts views o f th e o b je ct a re m u tu a lly
in te rre la te d in such a w ay th a t th e rules o f p ersp e ctiv e a re n o t vio lated .
A n d this co n d itio n also seem s to hold in m ost in stan ces o f collective
a p p a ritio n s. T h e re a re ex am p les in w hich a figure has b ee n seen fullface by a person c o n fro n tin g it, in rig h t profile by a p erso n to its rig h t
side a n d in left profile by a person to its left side (12). T h e re a re ev en a
few cases o f a ghost b ein g a p p a re n tly reflected in a m irro r (e.g. 8, cases
56 a n d 60). I d o n o t know o f an y case in w hich a p h a n ta s m p erceiv ed
by several persons in a slightly sc a tte re d g ro u p has sim u ltan eo u sly
a p p e a re d full face to ea ch o f them .
H ow , then, co u ld we set a b o u t u n d e rm in in g th e p ro p o sitio n th a t
w h en a n a p p a ritio n is collectively p erceived th e re really m u st be
so m e th in g objectively p resen t a t th e spot in questio n ? F irst o f all one
m ig h t soften u p this thesis by p o in tin g out th a t ev en if som e sort of
e n tity is objectively p resen t, it is a very o d d sort o f e n tity , on e th a t
co u ld be called o b je ctiv e only in an a tte n u a te d o r P ick w ic k ian sense.
If six people a re in a p osition to perceive it, th re e m ay d o so a n d th ree
not. It leaves no physical traces. O n e m ig h t next p o in t o u t th a t
collectively p erceived a p p a ritio n s as a class d o not differ in e x tern al
c h a racteristics from o th e r sorts o f a p p a ritio n s, m a n y o f w h ich m ust, for
the reasons a lre a d y given, be looked u p o n as p u rely h a llu c in a to ry .
So far, so good. T h e c ru n c h for th e n o n -o b jec tiv e (o r p u re
h allu cin atio n ) a p p ro a c h to crisis a p p a ritio n s com es w h en it has to give
a n a c co u n t ol th e fact th a t the h a llu c in a tio n s suffered sim u ltan eo u sly
by th e vario u s p erc ip ien ts ol a collective a p p a ritio n a re so re m a rk a b ly
alike. S om e w riters (52, pp. 4 1 -4 8 ) have trie d to lessen th e im p a c t by
suggesting th a t th e w itnesses sta te m en ts often lack e n o u g h d etails for
us p ro p erly to ju d g e the e x te n t o f th e sim ila rity , a n d th a t, w h en d etails
a re given, these m ay n o t in fact agree. P e rh a p s th e h a llu c in a tio n s o f the
d ifferent p erc ip ien ts h av e m erely a c o m m o n th e m e, e la b o ra te d by
each person in his ow n w ay.
I c a n n o t say th a t I h n d this a rg u m e n t co n v in cin g . T h e dilleren ces
b etw een th e sta te m en ts o f th e se p a ra te w itnesses o f a collective
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a p p a ritio n seem to m e generally not to exceed w hat one m ig h t expect

h ad a real object o r event been involved, an d th e sim ilarities are
som etim es n u m e ro u s a n d d etailed . (E xam ples o f b oth ag reem en t in
d etail, an d occasional d isagreem ent, m ay be seen in the sam ple
sta te m en ts w hich I q u o te d a m o m en t ago). H a rt a n d H a rt, in an
extensive review of relev an t m a teria l, reach th e sam e conclusion. T h ey
cite eleven o f th e cases in th e ir sam ple a n d co nclude (61, p. 245): H ere
th en are eleven cases, in each o f w hich tw o o r m ore percip ien ts (in so
far as th e ir acco u n ts relate the facts) saw the sam e ligure in th e sam e
[spatial] location, w ea rin g the sam e clothes, w ith th e sam e facial
expressions an d d o in g the sam e things. A lth o u g h these are p erh a p s the
m ost striking cases, m u c h th e sam e th in g m ig h t be said o f th e o th e r
collective p ercep tio n s o f a p p a ritio n s.
If this w ay o f av o id in g th e p ro b lem be rejected, those w ho d en y the
objective reality o f collectively perceived a p p a ritio n s - a n d in
p a rtic u la r of collectively perceived post-m o rtem ap p a ritio n s, w hich
are those o f especial concern to us a t th e m o m en t - seem stuck w ith one
or o th e r of tw o possible theories, viz. th e theory of su p er-E S P involving
only the living (the stro n g form ), a n d th e theory of su p er-E S P
in clu d ing te lep a th y from th e d ea d (the w eak form ).
T h e first of these theories m ay be briefly ex p o u n d ed , w ith special
reference to veridical post-m ortem a p p a ritio n s, as follows. O n e ol the
tw o (or m ore) percipients picks u p by m eans of E S P th e in fo rm atio n
th a t is to be ex tern alize d in th e form o f th e h allu cin atio n . L et us say
(using the specim en case given above) th a t she te lep ath ically o b tain s
from the fa rm e rs m in d a p ic tu re o f his late m o th e r, o r th a t she
clairv o yantly perceives a p h o to g ra p h o f her, shut w ith in th e massive
covers o f the fam ily alb u m . T h e n the second p ercip ien t picks u p all this
in fo rm ation te lep a th ic ally from the first percip ien t; o r else she too,
m arvellous to relate, h ap p e n s to scan by E S P the m in d of th e farm er of
the p h o to g ra p h of the fa rm e rs m o th e r a t ju s t the m o m en t w hen the
first p ercip ien t d id th e sam e thing. F inally th e (unconscious) m inds of
the tw o p ercipients have som ehow to m ake co n tac t w ith each o th e r to
ensure th a t w hen, as a result o f all this E SP, they each co n stru ct an
h allu cin atio n , th e tw o h allu cin atio n s a re reciprocally ad ju sted to
allow for differences o f perspective, etc., w hilst the m ain d etails of b o th
are kept constant.
T o say th a t this is a tall o rd e r is a g reat u n d ersta te m en t. I do not
th in k th a t th ere are a n y exam ples o f ex p e rim en tal E SP of an y th in g like
this d etail a n d com plexity, an d precious few such exam ples of
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sp o n ta n eo u s E S P o th e r th a n a p p a ritio n s. It is possible th a t som e

instances o f ostensible sp o n ta n e o u s E S P in d rea m s till th e bill. B ut ev en
so, th e follow ing difficulty rem ains. In a sam p le o f cases stu d ie d by
H a r t (60a, p. 204), th e re w ere 46 in w hich th e re w as a seco n d p erso n in
a p osition to have seen th e a p p a ritio n if th e a p p a ritio n w ere like a real
object. In 26 o f these 46 cases th e second perso n d id see it. T h ese ligures
a re su p p o rte d by th e findings o f th e w ell-k n o w n C en su s of
H a llu c in a tio n s (it polled 17,000 persons) c o n d u c te d in th e ea rly d ay s of
th e S P R (146). T h e census o b ta in e d 283 cases o f visu al h a llu c in a tio n s in
w hich th e p e rc ip ie n t h ad a w ak in g co m p a n io n , a n d 90 cases of
a u d ito ry h a llu c in a tio n s (voices); 95 o f th e fo rm e r h a llu c in a tio n s a n d 34
o f th e la tte r w ere sh ared . T h e census c o m m itte e issued c e rta in
w arn in g s a b o u t th e possibility th a t real objects a n d rea l so u n d s m ig h t
hav e been th o u g h t h a llu c in a to ry - th e p e rc e n ta g e o f co llectiv ity was
h ig h e r in o u td o o r cases - b u t ev en so w e m u st reco g n ize th a t if a person
has a n h a llu c in a tio n of th e kinds w e a re c o n sid e rin g (i.e. ones n ot d ue
to insanity, drugs, fever, hypnosis, etc.), th e re is a n a p p re c ia b le
p ro b a b ility th a t an y c o m p a n io n he has will sh a re it. T h is rem a in s tru e
w h e th e r o r n o t th e h a llu c in a tio n is otherw ise v e rid ic a l (i.e. is a crisis
case, etc.). It follows th a t if w e re g a rd th e sh a rin g o f a n h a llu c in a tio n as
d u e to E S P exercised by b o th p erc ip ien ts, w e a re in effect p ro p o sin g
th a t E S P ab ilities o f an e x tra o rd in a rily h ig h o rd e r a re v ery w idely
d istrib u te d a m o n g th e p o p u la tio n at large, a n d co u ld p re su m a b ly be
ta p p e d ex p e rim e n ta lly if only th e rig h t circ u m sta n ce s co u ld be hit
u p o n . O l this, alas, th e re is, so far as I know , no ev id en ce a t all. N o r is
th e re m u c h evidence th a t w h en sp o n ta n e o u s E S P tak es form s o th e r
th a n th e h a llu c in a to ry (the in tu itio n s, realistic d re a m s a n d u n realistic
d rea m s o f L ouisa R h in e s classification), th e re is a n y g re a t likelihood
th a t it will be shared. T h e re a re som e co n v in cin g cases o f sh a re d or
recip ro cal d ream s, b u t they only c o n stitu te a m in u te fra c tio n o f the
to ta l d rea m s d re a m e d . If one o f tw o peo p le sh a rin g a b ed sees an
a p p a ritio n , it is q u ite likely th a t th e o th e r person, if aw a k e, w ill see it
also. It is im m ensely unlikely th a t th ey will sh a re a d re a m , ev en th o u g h
it be precognitive.
T h is m ust surely co u n t as evid en ce a g a in st th e th e o ry o f su p e r-E S P
involving only th e living. F u rth e rm o re it is fa r from c le a r w h a t, at least
in th e p resent state ol p ara p sy ch o lo g y , co u ld c o u n t as ev id en c e for it.
T h e unconscious m in d s o f the p erc ip ien ts a re su p p o sed to get to g e th e r
to a rra n g e th e details, p erspective, etc., o f th e ir re c ip ro c a lly rela ted
h allu cin atio n s. T h is is a process u n o b se rv a b le in p rin cip le. In the
241
ex am p le I q u o te d , we h ad to suppose th a t one or a n o th e r or b o th of the

girls clairv o y an tly observed a p ictu re ol th e fa rm e rs m o th er, or
te lep a th ic ally found one in the fa rm e rs m ind. T h e re was no a c tu a l
evidence th a t such a pictu re existed, or th a t the farm er h ad been
especially th in k in g ab o u t his late m other. P erh ap s the girls d u g the
im age o u t ol th e fa rm e rs unconscious m ind (or o u t of th e m em orystores in his brain ). N o fu rth e r evidence w hich m ight th ro w a light on
such proposals seems at th e m o m en t w ithin the realm s of possibility.
S urely (follow ing the avoid d ea d ends prin cip le w hich I prop o sed in
C h a p te r O ne) we m ust dism iss th e theo ry o f su per-E S P involving only
the living as one w ith w hich, in the prsent state o f our know ledge, we
can get no further.
Suppose, th en , we ad m it d isc a m a te agency into o u r th eo rizin g , an d
instead try o u t th a t a p p ro a c h to collectively perceived a p p a ritio n s
w hich I called the theory of su per-E S P in clu d in g te lep a th y from the
d e a d . T his theory w ould en a b le us to say th a t the girls got the
inform ation ab o u t the farm er's late m o th e r th ro u g h te lep a th ic co n tact
w ith the lady herself, a n d not th ro u g h som e m ore circu ito u s ch annel.
But does this supposition really help? It lands o u r theory w ith ex tra
d ead w eight in the form o f th e idea o f a d isc a m a te h u m a n being, a
notion th a t is a t best far from easy to elucidate. A nd we are still left not
ju st w ith te lep a th y o f a degree th a t m ight well be called su p e r-E S P
betw een the tw o girls, a n d betw een the girls a n d the deceased lady, b ut
w ith a p ro b lem over how the girls could have gleaned from th e old
lad y s m ind th e sort o f d etailed im age o f h er th a t they ac tu a lly saw. If
the old lady h ad been b ro o d in g a b o u t h e r form er hom e, h e r m in d
w ould presu m ab ly have been filled w ith m em ories of w alking aro u n d
the room s, looking o u t of the w indow s, etc., not w ith th ird -p erso n
pictures of w h at she herself w ould have looked like w alking or sittin g o r
sta n d in g there. S uppose, as in a n u m b e r of cases, th a t th e collectively
perceived a p p a ritio n h ad been th a t of an an im al, such as a c a t (8, cases
97 to 101). C ould we seriously suppose th a t the v arious witnesses b u ilt
up th e ir sim ilar h allu cin atio n s o f it by ex tern alizin g the in fo rm atio n
gleaned from te lep a th ic co n tac t w ith its surviving spirit, as the la tte r
relived in recollection the pleasures of p row ling a ro u n d the house or
g ard en concerned? T h is theo ry has all th e difficulties o f the previous
one, plus some e x tra p roblem s of its own.
T h e E SP w hich p ro p o n en ts o f th e h allu cin atio n theory a re forced to
invoke in o rd e r to a c co u n t for cases o f collective p ercip ien ce is so
com plex, so devious, so d etailed , an d so u n su b sta n tia te d by an y
242
in d e p e n d e n t em p iric a l evidence, th a t one m ig h t w ell be te m p te d to

rev e rt to th e su p p o sitio n th a t som e e n tity ol a k in d n o t as yet
u n d ersto o d is objectively p resen t a t th e spot w h ere th e a p p a r itio n is
seen. But no a m o u n t o f ev id en ce for th e ob jectiv e p rese n ce o f such an
e n tity co u ld possibly resu scitate th e c ru d e a n im istic th e o ry w hich I
discussed in th e previous c h a p te r.
H a u n t in g A p p a r itio n s
Y et a n o th e r class o f v erid ical a p p a ritio n story w h ich m ig h t b e th o u g h t
to p ro v id e ev id en ce for o b je c tiv ity is th a t o f h a u n tin g ap p a ritio n s;
cases, th a t is, in w hich th e sam e, o r a p p a re n tly th e sam e, fig u re is seen,
o r th e sam e voice, etc., h e a rd , in th e sam e locality on a series of
occasions by th e sam e, o r differen t (an d p re fe ra b ly in d e p en d e n t)
percip ien ts. T h e arch iv es o f th e S P R c o n ta in a n u m b e r of such cases in
w hich th e sta te m en ts o f th e v ario u s w itnesses hav e b een o b ta in e d . I
shall now su m m arize a n d q u o te from th e sta te m e n ts in on e sam ple
case (122a, pp. 2 7 0 -2 7 6 ). It is not, e v id e n tia lly sp eak in g , on e of the
very strongest, b u t it has th e a d v a n ta g e o f b ein g rela tiv e ly sh o rt. It also
has the a d v a n ta g e th a t a lth o u g h th e fo u r p e rc ip ie n ts saw th e sam e, o r a
v ery sim ilar, figure, no n e h a d previously h e a rd o f th e ex p erien ces of
th e others. T h e w itnesses c o n c e rn e d w ere D r H ., th e p r o p rie to r of the
h a u n te d house, his d a u g h te rs M iss G .H . a n d M iss A .H ., a n d a cousin,
M iss J . A. A. T h e first th re e ac c o u n ts d a te from the la tte r p a r t o f 1883.
3.
1. S o m e t i m e b e t w e e n 1863 a n d 1865, D r H . ( w e h a v e t h i s f r o m h is w ife 's

s t a t e m e n t , a p p a r e n t l y c o n f i r m e d b y h i m ) w a s g o i n g u p s t a i r s a b o u t 9.00
P.M . H e w a s r a t h e r s t a r t l e d t o see o n t h e l a n d i n g (a fe w st e p s h i g h e r ) a little
c h i l d , w h o r a n b e f o r e h i m i n t o m y [ M r s H . ' s ] r o o m . M y l i t t l e b o y B., a b o u t
t w o o r t h r e e y e a r s ol a g e , w a s a t t h a t t i m e s l e e p i n g in a s m a l l c h i l d ' s b e d a t
m y b e d s i d e . D r H . f o l lo w e d a n d s p o k e , c a l l i n g t h e b o y b y n a m e , b u t he
gave no answ er. T h e gas w as b u r n i n g on th e la n d in g o u tsid e m y ro o m , b u t
t h e r e w a s n o li g h t i n s i d e . . . H e l i g h t e d a c a n d l e , s e a r c h e d m y r o o m , a n d
a ls o s a w t h e b o y w a s u n m i s t a k a b l y a s l e e p . H e e x p e c t e d t o f i n d o n e o f t h e
o t h e r c h i l d r e n , as t h e f i g u r e a p p e a r e d t o b e t a l l e r t h a n t h a t o f t h e b o y . '
2.
E a r l y o n e m o r n i n g in J a n u a r y 1877, M i s s G . H . p a s s e d t h e d o o r o f th e
r o o m in w h i c h t h e y o u n g e s t s is te r sle p t. T h e d o o r w a s o p e n . T a k i n g h o l d of
t h e h a n d l e , I w a s a b o u t t o s h u t it ( t h e d o o r o p e n e d i n w a r d s ) , w h e n I w a s
s t a r t l e d b y t h e f i g u r e ol a c h i l d , s t a n d i n g in a c o r n e r f o r m e d b y a w a r d r o b e
w h i c h w a s p l a c e d a g a i n s t t h e w a l l a b o u t a f o o t a n d a h a l f f r o m th e
d o o r w a y . T h i n k i n g it w a s m y sis ter, I e x c l a i m e d , O h , M . , y o u s h o u l d n ' t
s t a r t l e m e so! a n d s h u t t h e d o o r ; b u t in t h e s a m e i n s t a n t , b e f o r e I h a d t i m e
to q u i t m y h o l d o f t h e h a n d l e , I o p e n e d it a g a i n , f e e l i n g s u r e t h a t it c o u l d
n o t b e m y sister; a n d , s u r e e n o u g h , sh e w a s in l a c t a s l e e p in b e d so f a r f r o m
243
t h e d o o r t h a t it w o u l d n o t h a v e b e e n p o ssib le l o r h e r t o h a v e cr o ss e d f ro m
t h e d o o r t o h e r b e d s i d e in t h e s h o r t s p a c e ol t i m e w h e n I w a s c l o s in g t h e
d o o r . I n t h e c o r n e r w h e r e t h e c h i l d h a d b e e n t h e r e w a s n o t h i n g , a n d I lelt
t h a t I m u s t h a v e seen a g h o s t , for I w a s s u d d e n l y se ized w i t h a f e e lin g o f
h o rro r w h ich c o u ld not hav e been caused by a n y th in g im ag in ary . T h e
c h i l d h a d a d a r k c o m p l e x i o n , h a i r a n d eves, a n d a t h i n o v a l lace; it w a s n o t
w h i t e , as w h e n se e n b y M is s A., b u t it g a v e m e a m o u r n f u l lo ok as if lu ll o f
t r o u b l e . H a d it b e e n a l i v i n g c h i l d , I s h o u l d h a v e i m a g i n e d it to b e o n e w h o
e n j o y e d n o n e o f t h e t h o u g h t l e s s n e s s a n d car e le s sn e s s o f c h i l d h o o d , b u t
w h o s e y o u n g life, o n t h e c o n t r a r y , w a s filled w i t h p r e m a t u r e ca r e s . Its a g e
m i g h t b e a b o u t n i n e o r 10; its d r e ss I c o u l d n o t d i s t i n g u i s h , as I o n l y s e e m e d
to see its h e a d a n d lace; t h e e x p r e s s i o n s t r u c k m e m o st; so v i v i d l y d i d I see it
t h a t if I w e r e a b l e to d r a w I c o u l d , I be lie v e , give a n a c c u r a t e r e p r e s e n t a t i o n
o f it, e v e n n o w a l t e r a b o u t live y e a r s .
3.
M is s A . H . ( l a t e r M r s A .) , M i s s G . H . s e l d e s t sister, h a d a s i m i l a r
e x p e r i e n c e o n l y a few m i n u t e s l a t e r . L o o k i n g i n t o M i s s G . H . s e m p t y r o o m
she s a w a little l i g u r e in w h i t e s t a n d i n g n e a r a t a b l e '. It m a d e h e r so
n e r v o u s t h a t sh e r a n f r o m t h e r o o m .
4.
M is s J . A . A . s s t a t e m e n t c o n c e r n e d a n e x p e r i e n c e in J u l y 1879. It first
a p p e a r e d in N otes and Queries for 2 0 M a r c h 1880. S h e w a s w o k e n o n e n i g h t
a b o u t d a y b re a k by h er b e d ro o m d o o r b e in g o p e n e d a n d sh u t a n d then
o p e n e d a g a i n . A l m o s t a t t h e s a m e t i m e t h a t t h e d o o r o p e n e d lo r t h e s e c o n d
t i m e , I w a s a little s t a r t l e d b y t h e r u s t l i n g of s o m e c u r t a i n s b e l o n g i n g to a
h a n g i n g w a r d r o b e , w h i c h s t o o d b y t h e sid e o f t h e b e d ; t h e r u s t l i n g
c o n t i n u e d , a n d I w a s se iz e d w i t h a m o s t u n c o m f o r t a b l e f eelin g, n o t e x a c t l y
o f frig h t, b u t a s t r a n g e u n e a r t h l y s e n s a t i o n that I w as not alone. I h a d h a d t h a t
feelin g for s o m e m i n u t e s , w h e n I sa w a t t h e foot o f th e b e d a c h i l d a b o u t
s e v e n o r n i n e y e a r s old . T h e c h i l d s e e m e d as if it w e r e o n t h e b e d , a n d c a m e
g l i d i n g t o w a r d s m e as I lay. It w a s th e f i g u r e o f a little girl in h e r n i g h t - d r e s s
- a little girl w i t h d a r k h a i r a n d a v e r y w h i t e face. I t r i e d to s p e a k to h e r , b u t
c o u l d n o t . S h e c a m e slow ly u p t o t h e t o p o f t h e b e d , a n d t h e n I s a w h e r face
cle a r ly . S h e s e e m e d in g r e a t t r o u b l e ; h e r h a n d s w e r e c l a s p e d a n d h e r ey es
w e r e t u r n e d u p w i t h a lo o k o f e n t r e a t y , a n a l m o s t a g o n i z e d look. T h e n ,
slow ly u n c l a s p i n g h e r h a n d s , sh e t o u c h e d m e o n th e s h o u l d e r . T h e h a n d felt
icy c o l d , a n d w h i l e I s t r o v e to s p e a k sh e w a s g o n e . I felt m o r e f r i g h t e n e d
a f t e r t h e c h i l d w a s g o n e t h a n b efo re , a n d b e g a n to b e v e r y a n x i o u s fo r t h e
tim e w h e n the se rv a n t could m a k e h e r a p p e a r a n c e .
5. I n t h e e a r l y p a r t o f 1885 D r H . r e p o r t e d h e a r i n g a n u m b e r o f se ries o f
k n o c k s in t h e h o u se , for w h i c h h e c o u l d offer n o n o r m a l e x p l a n a t i o n s . It
d o e s n o t a p p e a r t h a t a n y o n e els e h e a r d t h e m .
M r s H . b e l i e v e d t h e a p p a r i t i o n t o b e t h a t o f a little girl, J . M . , w h o h a d
d i e d in t h e h o u s e in 1854. S h e r e m e m b e r e d h e r as h a v i n g fine d a r k eyes,
b l a c k h a i r , o v a l face, a n d a p a l e o liv e c o m p l e x i o n . T h i s c h i l d h a d d i e d in
t h e r o o m in w h i c h M i s s A . H . s a w t h e fig u re. A t t h e t i m e o f h e r d e a t h this
r o o m w a s in t h e n e x t - d o o r h o u s e . T h e h o u s e s w e r e s u b s e q u e n t l y j o i n e d
t o g e t h e r , a n d t h e o t h e r t h r e e a p p e a r a n c e s w e r e n o t in t h e p a r t o f t h e h o u s e
in w h i c h t h e c h i l d h a d lived.
244
It is u n u su a l to find a case in w hich th e re a re even these r a th e r lim ite d

g ro u n d s for iden tify in g th e a p p a ritio n w ith a p a r tic u la r d eceased
person (for a so m ew h at c o m p a ra b le case see 85). T h e re a re in th e
lite ra tu re , how ever, a n u m b e r o f cases in w hich th e a p p a r itio n has
been seen m ore fre q u en tly , a n d in w hich th e w itnesses te stim o n y is
fu ller a n d m o re recent. T h e obvious in te rp re ta tio n o f su ch cases
(obvious, a t an y ra te , to persons u n c o n ta m in a te d by th e sophistries of
parapsychologists) is c e rta in ly th e an im istic one, th e su ggestion th a t in
th e house in q u estio n th e re is a c tu a lly to be fo u n d , a t least from tim e to
tim e, a persisting a n d p e c u lia r q u asi-p h y sica l e n tity , to be id e n tified o r
lin k ed w ith som e now d eceased h u m a n b e in g w h o fo rm e rly dw elt
there. B ut th e o b jections to be offered to th e an im istic th e o ry in this
c o n tex t are in essence th e sam e as, a n d ju s t as in su p e ra b le as, th e ones I
hav e ru n th ro u g h in o th e r contexts, a n d I sh all n o t p u rsu e th em
fu rth er.
F ra n k P o d m o re, w ho first p u b lish ed th e case I h av e ju s t o u tlin ed ,
w as stro n g ly averse to a n y fo rm o f th e surv iv alist a n d su b tle body
theories, a n d instead d ev elo p ed v ario u s form s o f th e su p e r-E S P
hypothesis. H e ap p lies it to this case as follows (122a, p. 276).
It is n o t d i f fi c u l t t o t r a c e t h e p r o b a b l e g e n e s i s o f t h e first a p p e a r a n c e . A
h a r d w o r k i n g c o u n t r y d o c t o r , w h o h a s o n v a r i o u s o c c a s i o n s in h is life
ex p e rie n c e d h a llu c in a tio n s, visual a n d a u d ito r y , c o m in g h o m e late one
e v e n i n g , a f t e r a l o n g d a y s w o r k , sees a f i g u r e b e a r i n g a v a g u e r e s e m b l a n c e
to o n e o f h is c h i l d r e n - a p u r e l y s u b j e c t i v e h a l l u c i n a t i o n . T h e l a t e r
a p p e a r a n c e s , if in f a c t t h e r e w a s n o c o m m u n i c a t i o n o f D r H . s e x p e r i e n c e ,
a r e m o r e d i f fi c u l t o f e x p l a n a t i o n . T h e t w o e a r l i e r m a y h a v e b e e n t h e re s u l t
ol h e r e d i t a r y p r e d i s p o s i t i o n to h a l l u c i n a t i o n . B u t it s e e m s a t l eas t p o ss ib le
t h a t all t h r e e w e r e d u e t o t h o u g h t - t r a n s l r e n c e , w i t h D r H . , o r p e r h a p s M r s
H . , o n w h o m t h e first a p p e a r a n c e s e e m s t o h a v e m a d e s o m e i m p r e s s i o n , as
t h e a g e n t . I n t h is w a y a l s o t h e g e n e r a l r e s e m b l a n c e w h i c h a p p e a r s t o h a v e
e x i s te d b e t w e e n t h e v a r i o u s a p p e a r a n c e s m a y b e m o s t r e a d i l y a c c o u n t e d
for. T h i s e x p l a n a t i o n m a y s e e m f a r - f e t c h e d a n d i m p r o b a b l e : t h e cr itic
should be re m in d e d th a t w e h a v e m u c h e v id e n ce for th e o p e ra tio n of
t e l e p a t h y b e t w e n l i v i n g m i n d s , b u t w e h a v e v e r y li t t le fo r t h e e x i s t e n c e o r
t h e a g e n c y o f d i s e m b o d i e d sp irits.
T h is sort o f hypothesis w ould becom e even m o re in v o lv ed if it w ere

a p p lie d to cases in w hich, as som etim es h a p p e n s, a h a u n tin g
a p p a ritio n co n tin u es to m anifest in a p a r tic u la r house th ro u g h several
ch an g es of o cc u p an cy ; or, indeed, m anifests n o t in a house a t all, b ut
in, say, a p a rtic u la r stretch o f ro a d (95, pp. 114-123). O n e w o u ld have
to suppose th a t som eone, not p resen t a t th e spot, is c o n tin u a lly
245
b ro o d in g over a n d in w ard ly revolving events w hich once h ap p e n ed

there; som ehow persons now occupying or passing th ro u g h th a t place
becom e te lep a th ic ally linked to this d istan t person, a n d e x tern alize the
in fo rm atio n thus gain ed in the form of h allu cin ato ry figures. T h e
figure seen is usually not th a t of the d istan t te lep a th ic ag en t; b u t,
d ep e n d in g u p o n th e d irectio n w hich his broodings take, m ay rep resen t
a person o r persons, o r even (as P odm ore postulates) a frig h ten in g
h allu cin atio n from his past. T h is accounts for th e occasional cases in
w hich v arious different figures are seen. W h a t one says of cases in
w hich th e a p p a ritio n w ears clothes from a past era is not m a d e clear.
P o d m o res descrip tio n of his hypothesis as far-fetched an d
im p ro b a b le seems entirely justified. It is also cu m b erso m e a n d u tterly
ad hoc. In no case th a t I know o f is there an y a c tu a l evidence to relate
the rec u rren t m an ifestatio n of a post-m ortem a p p a ritio n in a
p a rtic u la r spot to th e d istan t broodings of some living person form erly
associated w ith th a t spot. T h e te lep a th ic links betw een th e d istan t
ag en t a n d the v arious percipients m ust be supposed to be established
sim ply by the fact th a t the v arious percipients a re in a locality once
w ell-know n to the agent. Y et if links o f such stren g th really ca n be
established in this w ay, w hy do not, for exam ple, th e successive long
term o ccu p an ts o f a p a rtic u la r prison cell enjoy lives reg u larly
en rich ed by te lep a th ic co n tac t w ith previous inm ates now free?
F u rth e rm o re in some cases h a u n tin g ap p a ritio n s have been
collectively perceived, so th a t we have to ad d to the above difficulties,
those difficulties, a lre ad y discussed, raised for th e su p er-E S P
hypothesis by exam ples o f collective percipiency. F in ally th e re is the
question o f m otive. In very m any, th o u g h by no m eans all, cases of
sp o n tan eous E SP, th e ex p e rien t has som e reason for bein g co n cern ed
w ith th e w elfare of the person to w hom his experience relates. In the
g reat m ajo rity o f exam ples o f h a u n tin g ap p a ritio n s, th e ghost, if
identifiable w ith any plausibility, has been th a t of a person w ith w hom
the p ercipients h a d no kind o f special connection.
T h e various difficulties w hich co nfront th e sup er-E S P hypothesis as
ap p lied to h a u n tin g a p p a ritio n s are, it seems to m e, in no wise
dim inished if we su b stitu te for th e te lep ath ic agency o f som e u nknow n
living person, th a t o f a deceased person w ho once flourished a t the
place in question. P erh ap s, indeed, this proposal w ould help us over
cases in w hich the ghost w ears th e clothes o f a past age. But to c o u n te r
b alan ce this, we are ag a in con fro n ted w ith the problem of w h at sort of
in fo rm ation te lep a th ic c o n ta c t w ith th e m in d o f a b ro o d in g or
246
d re a m in g deceased perso n m ig h t be su p p o sed to yield. P rim a rily , one

w o uld suppose, th e in fo rm atio n w o u ld co n c ern w h a t it llt like to w alk
th ro u g h a c e rta in house, e x a m in e th e fu rn itu re , etc., etc. O n ly
se co n d a rily w ould it h av e to d o w ith w h a t th e te le p a th ic a g e n t looked
like as he o r she m oved from ro o m to room . If, in d e ed , th e su p p o sed
te le p a th ic ag e n t w ere a d eceased c a t (an d cats a re c e rta in ly placeloving an im als), I h av e no idea w h a t sort o f in fo rm a tio n o ne m ig h t
glean. I suspect a lot o f it w ould have to do w ith th e sm ell o f food in the
k itchen.
I find it h a rd - ind eed im possible - to resist th e co n clu sio n th a t no
ac c o u n t o f h a u n tin g a p p a ritio n s c a n be given in te rm s o f te le p a th ic or
c la irv o y a n t links b etw e en th e vario u s persons successively associated
w ith th e h a u n te d spot, n o t even if one ex ten d s th e ra n g e o f perm issible
links to in clu d e persons now deceased. S o m e th in g in, o r a b o u t, o r to do
w ith the place itself plays a c ru c ia l role in g e n e ra tin g th e p h en o m en a .
T h is conclusion p e rh a p s receives s u p p o rt from th e follow ing
a d d itio n a l circu m stan ces (in to w hich I do n o t h av e th e sp ace to e n te r
fully). A house w hich is tro u b le d by a h a u n tin g a p p a ritio n is not
u nlikely to be tro u b le d also by o th e r kinds o f d istu rb a n c e s. T hese
in clu d e th e a p p e a ra n c e o f lu m in o u s p atch es, balls of lig h t, etc.; the
tu rn in g o f d o o rh a n d le s a n d o p e n in g o f doors; tu g g in g a t bedclothes;
loud bangs on doors o r sequences o f in e x p lic ab le raps; m o v e m en t or
d isp lac em e n t o f sm all objects; a n d ab o v e all im itativ e noises - sounds
as o f th e d ra g g in g of fu rn itu re , th e d ro p p in g o f w eights, th e b re a k in g of
crockery, th e o p e n in g o f d raw ers, etc., also footsteps, voices, groans,
etc., all w ith o u t an y d e te rm in a b le cause. In som e cases - g en erally
c a lle d h a u n tin g s (45, C h a p te rs 10-12, 1 5 )- p h e n o m e n a of these kinds
m ay take place w ith o u t an y re c u rre n t a p p a ritio n , o r w ith only
occasional ta n ta liz in g glim pses o f shadow s, m isty figures, etc. It is
w o rth n o tin g th a t, u nlike a p p a ritio n s a n d p e rso n -c e n tre d poltergeists,
h a u n tin g s te n d to be p rim a rily n o c tu rn a l. T e n n y so n c a p tu re d the
essence o f h a u n tin g s in som e m e m o ra b le lines:
A fo o t s t e p , a l o w t h r o b b i n g in t h e w alls ,
A n o i s e o f fa l l i n g w e i g h t s t h a t n e v e r fell,
W e i r d w h i s p e r s , bells t h a t r a n g w i t h o u t a h a n d ,
D o o r - h a n d l e s t u r n d w h e n n o n e w a s a t t h e d o o r ,
A n d b o l t e d d o o r s t h a t o p e n ' d o f t h e m s e lv e s :
A n d o n e b e t w i x t t h e d a r k a n d l i g h t h a d se en
H e r, b e n d i n g b y t h e c r a d l e o f h e r b a b e .
T h e issue w hich such cases raise for o u r im m e d ia te p u rp o ses is this.
247
Cases ol h a u n tin g s shade w ith o u t p ercep tib le break into cases ol

h a u n tin g ap p a ritio n s. W e clearly have here not tw o classes ol case but
only one. But th e p h en o m en a o f h au n tin g s include som e th a t are
ostensibly objective a n d physical. It is as th o u g h 'h a u n te d ' houses, in
a d d itio n to bein g visited by elusive p h an to m s, are the p lay g ro u n d s of
unseen b u t physically localized agencies of lim ited in telligence an d
m ischievous proclivities. H ow does this fact, if fact it be, b e a r u p o n the
th eo ry th a t a p p a ritio n s a re p u rely h allu cin ato ry , th a t w hen one is seen
n o th in g is 'objectively th e re ?
T h e answ er o f m an y parapsychologists has been to d en y th a t the
ostensibly physical p h en o m en a of h au n tin g s are really physical a t all.
If they are not susceptible of o rd in a ry ex p lan atio n s, th e n they m ust be
h allu cin ato ry , ju st as th e figures seen are h allu cin ato ry . T h is proposal
greatly increases th e pressure inside th a t over-stretched b alloon, the
su p er-E S P theory. F o r we have now to say not ju st th a t the a p p a ritio n s
are h allu cin atio n s g e n e ra te d by com plex processes of E S P involving
past an d present o ccu p an ts of the house, b u t th a t th e footsteps, noises,
d o o r openings, raps, etc., all o f w hich, one m ight ad d , m ay be
collectively perceived, have a sim ilar origin. I have arg u e d a t length
elsew here against this position (45, C h a p te r 10), an d will not
rec ap itu late m y a rg u m e n ts here. I shall sim ply point o ut th a t cases of
h au n tin g s, w hich shade a t one en d into cases o f p u re h au n tin g
ap p a ritio n s, shade a t the o th e r into cases so m a rk ed by physical
phenom ena th a t they have often been classified as poltergeists, despite the
fact th a t they have not cen tred aro u n d an y obvious poltergeist a g e n t.
N ow if th ere is indeed a tendency for the places fre q u en te d by a
h a u n tin g a p p a ritio n to be also the scenes of p ec u lia r physical
h ap p en in g s o f th e kinds in d ic ated , this m ust surely stren g th en th e view
th a t h a u n tin g ap p a ritio n s e ith e r are, or are in som e w ay p ro d u ced by,
localized an d objective entities or factors. F o r n eith er h a u n tin g
a p p a ritio n s n o r d istu rb e d houses are so com m on th a t we ca n reg ard
the relatively fre q u en t associations o r overlaps betw een the tw o sorts of
p h en o m en a as due to chance. W h a te v e r produces th e one set of
p h en o m en a m ust also be in stru m e n ta l in p ro d u cin g th e o th er. A nd in
h au n tin g s the a p p a re n tly physical effects show every sign of being
objective a n d localized, a n d o f h av in g a localized source.
L et m e now sum m arize the g eneral conclusion to be d ra w n from the
p rec ed in g discussion of th e th ree classes o f case w hich I singled out for
special scru tin y in this c h a p te r.
248
T h e h a llu c in a tio n th e o ry , w h en c o m b in e d w ith w h a t I ca lle d th e

stro n g form o f th e su p e r-E S P h ypothesis - th e on e w h ich does not
a d m it te le p a th y w ith th e d e a d - seem s to m e q u ite u n te n a b le . It is
forced not ju s t to p o stu la te E S P o f an e x te n t a n d co m p lex ity for w hich
th e re is no o th e r w a rra n t, b u t also to m ak e u tte rly ad hoc assu m p tio n s
a b o u t psychological processes a n d p ec u lia ritie s in b o th p e rc ip ie n ts a n d
p resu m e d ag en ts (se n d ers).
T h e b rea k d o w n o f th e stro n g form o f th e su p e r-E S P h ypothesis
w ould seem on th e face o f it to o p e n th e d o o r to th e su rv iv al hypothesis.
F o r in c e rta in cases (in c lu d in g som e m o re re m a rk a b le th a n those in
w hich, for reasons of space, I h av e h a d to con fin e m y illu stratio n s)
in fo rm atio n u n k n o w n to th e p e rc ip ie n t, b u t k n o w n to th e deceased
person has b een co nveyed, a n d purp o ses m o re a p p ro p ria te to the
d eceased person th a n to an y o n e living h av e b een m an ifested . I f we are
n o t ab le to ex p lain these facts in te rm s o f th e stro n g form o f th e superE S P hypothesis, we m u st surely tu r n to som e form o f su rv iv al theory.
T h e obvious sn ag here is this. If th e in fo rm a tio n a n d th e p urposes
co n c ern ed are c o m m u n ic a te d from th e d e a d to th e living, o r o b ta in e d
from th e deceased person by th e living one, th e process of
co m m u n ic a tio n m ust be one w h ich we ca n only call E S P . W e have
tu rn e d , in fact, to w h a t I ca lle d th e w ea k form o f th e su p er-E S P
hypothesis. B ut e a rlie r in th e c h a p te r I e x p lo re d th is version of the
th eo ry in several different contexts, a n d ea c h tim e re a c h e d the
conclusion th a t it is scarcely, if a t all, m o re te n a b le th a n th e s tr o n g
form .
O n e fu rth e r th eo ry I will u n h e sita tin g ly reject. It is w h a t m ay be
called th e retro co g n itiv e o r p la y b a c k th e o ry o f h a u n tin g ap p a ritio n s
an d o f p o st-m o rte m a p p a ritio n s in g en eral. T h e id ea is th a t the
p ercip ien ts ol such a p p a ritio n s a re sim ply w itn essin g a p la y b a c k o f a
p ast scene o r scenes. P e rh a p s th a t scene is som eh o w im p rin te d or
rec o rd ed on th e physical locality in w hich it h a p p e n e d ; p e rh a p s th ere
is a re c u rrin g kink o r loop in sp ace-tim e a t th a t p o in t. B ut e ith e r w ay
the upsh o t is m u c h th e sam e. T h e p erc ip ien ts tu n e -in , o r slip o u t of
p resen t tim e for a m o m e n t, a n d w itness a past ev e n t, scene, o r sequ en ce
o f hap p en in g s.
N ow th ere are c e rta in cases w hich, if ac c e p te d , m ig h t be in te rp re te d
in this w ay - I refer to such p h e n o m e n a as a p p a r e n t visions o f past
b attles, etc. B ut I d o n t th in k p o st-m o rte m a p p a ritio n s c a n , in g en eral,
be so in te rp re te d . F o r a lth o u g h som e such a p p a ritio n s a c t in a
so m ew hat zom bie-like a n d a u to m a tic m a n n e r, r a th e r as th o u g h they
249
w ere in a tran c e, they are none th e less not alw ays w holly rep etitiv e in
th e ir b eh a v io u r, a n d som etim es seem responsive to persons in th e ir
vicinity, on ra re occasions even speaking. So I will set th e p lay b ack
th eo ry aside.
M u st we th e n once m ore try out the anim istic theo ry th a t we e a rlier
on rejected? T h e re are ce rtain ly some features of these cases th a t seem
q u ite strongly to suggest th e presence o f som e sort o f localized entity:
the fact th a t w hen an a p p a ritio n (post-m ortem o r otherw ise) is
collectively perceived, ea ch p erc ip ien t will see it in the a p p ro p ria te
perspective; th e fact th a t if one person in a p a rtic u la r spot sees an
ap p a ritio n (po st-m o rtem o r otherw ise) an y o th e r person present stands
a far g re a te r ch a n ce of seeing it also th a n he does of te lep ath ically
p a rtic ip a tin g in a n o th e r p erso n s experience u n d e r an y o th e r
circu m stances w hatsoever; the fact th a t h a u n tin g a p p a ritio n s are, as a
class, not distin ct from h a u n tin g s, in w hich p h en o m en a o f an
objective kind d o seem to occur. But the difficulties w hich co n fro n t the
anim istic hypothesis rem a in as in tra c ta b le as ever. W e seem to have
reach ed a com plete impasse.
16
A T h e o ry of A p p a ritio n s
I have now discussed th e c h ie f categ o ries o f v e rid ic a l p o st-m o rte m

a p p a ritio n s, a n d I h av e co n sid ered ea c h ol th e m in re la tio n to th e two
m a jo r sorts of th eo ry o f such a p p a ritio n s, n am ely th e h a llu c in a tio n
plus su p e r-E S P hypothesis a n d th e an im istic th e o ry . T h e su p e r-E S P
th eo ry has usually b een given a n an ti-su rv iv alistic tu rn , b u t m an y ,
p e rh a p s m ost, form s o f su rvival th e o ry h av e also h a d to p o stu la te w h at
is in eilect su p er-E S P . In e ith e r case we a re in w h a t seem s to m e a to tal
d e a d end. T h e an im istic th e o ry has, so far as I know , alw ay s been
linked to th e survivalist position. T a k e n a t lace v alu e, it is n o t ju st a
d e a d e n d b u t a ro a d to a rea lm o f fantasy; a n d if th a t so u n d s like a
co n tra d ic tio n , it nicely rellects th e th e o ry . All in all th is is a b alllin g
an d d isp iritin g sta te of affairs. Y et I, for one, c a n find no excuse for
dism issing th e p h e n o m e n a , n o r a n y w ay o f lu llin g m yself in to th e belief
th a t they do not occur.
In this u n h a p p y situ a tio n it a p p e a rs w o rth briefly c o n sid erin g one
f u rth e r theo ry , a th e o ry w hich m ay w ell seem to som e ev en m ore
fan tastic th a n those I h av e ju s t rejected. It is th e th e o ry d ev e lo p e d by F.
W . H . M yers (55, II, pp. 2 7 7 -3 1 6 ; 110a, C h a p te rs 6 a n d 7), w h o fo u n d
him self, even so early as 1886, in very m u c h the d ile m m a th a t I have
ju s t m a p p e d out.
T h e sta rtin g p o in t o f his a tte m p t to resolve th e d ile m m a is rec ip ro cal
cases like those discussed in C h a p te r F o u rte e n . H e p roposes th a t w hen
a v o lu n ta ry o r in v o lu n ta ry p ro je c to r views a d ista n t scene as if from a
p o in t w ith in o r c o n fro n tin g th a t scene, a n d o b ta in s co rrect
in fo rm atio n a b o u t it, th e re m ay be a n a c tu a l m o d ific atio n o f sp ace at
th e spot w here he conceives him self to be. T h is p o rtio n o f sp ace m ay be
m odified n o t m a te ria lly n o r o p tic ally , b u t in such a m a n n e r th a t
persons p erc ep tiv e in a c e rta in fashion w o u ld d isc ern in th a t p a rt of
space an im age ap p ro x im a te ly co rre sp o n d in g to th e c o n c e p tio n o f his
ow n aspect la te n t in th e p ro je c to rs m in d (110a, I, p. 268). M y e rs is
m ost insistent th a t he is not p o stu la tin g th e g o in g fo rth o f a n e th e ric
A Theory o f Apparitions
251
body o r 'm e ta o rg a n ism ; he clearly held, how ever, an d la ter

u n eq u iv o cally stated , th a t th e re is in such cases a real tran sferen ce of
so m eth in g from th e agent, involving an a lte ra tio n of som e kind in a
p a rtic u la r p a r t o f space'. T h is so m e th in g w ould not itself be th a t
w hich is d irectly perceived w hen the p ro jec to rs p h a n ta sm is seen;
ra th e r it w ould be, as it w ere, th e seed w hich by som e u n k n o w n m eans
causes n o n -o p tical p ercep tio n s of the p h a n ta sm to b u rg eo n in
a p p ro p ria te perspective a ro u n d it as if they e m a n a te d from a ra d ia n t
p o in t. If th e a g e n ts la te n t con cep tio n o f him self at th a t m o m en t
in clu d ed such accessories as a hat, a horse, o r h a lf a m o to r car, these too
could em erge as features o f th e p h an tasm . Cases in w hich a voice is
h ea rd ca n be tre a te d analogously.
T hose o th e r kinds of v erid ical ap p a ritio n s o f th e living in w hich the
p ro jecto r brings back no recollection of his supposed excursus (for
instance a rriv a l cases, in w hich th e figure arrives on th e scene ju st
before its original) M yers treats m ore or less as im perfect ex am p les of
the foregoing. H e supposes th a t th e re is some kind o f excursus, b u t th a t
the p ro jecto r fails to re m e m b e r it, because th e excursus is o f a
dissociated o r d re a m stra tu m of th e p ersonality (acco rd in g to M yers
such dissociated o r su b lim in a l m e n tal activity is going on in us all the
tim e). In som e cases th e p h a n ta sm o f a p a rtic u la r living person has
been rep e ate d ly seen. M yers describes such persons as h av in g a
psy ch o rrhagic d iathesis, literally a ca p ac ity to let th e soul b reak loose.
It is h ard ly surp risin g th a t this te rm has n o t c a u g h t on, b u t th e fact is
fairly well su p p o rted (I once myself knew q u ite w ell a person - a
m e m b er of the S PR ! - w hose d o u b le h ad form erly been often seen an d
h eard).
M yers does not ap p ly his theory extensively to crisis ap p a ritio n s,
m any o f w hich, he seem s to think, m ay be o rd in a ry h allu cin atio n s,
b u t he proposes th a t it c a n be o f help in those crisis (an d o th er) cases in
w hich either:
(a) th e re is collective percipience; or
(b) th e figure is seen by a b y sta n d e r an d not by th e in te n d e d or
a p p ro p ria te person.
W ith reg a rd to cases of the form er kind M yers says (1 10a, I, p. 263):
W h en tw o or th ree persons see w h at seems to be th e sam e p h a n ta sm in
the sam e place a n d a t the sam e tim e, does th a t m ean th a t th a t special
p a rt of space is som ehow m odified? O r does it m ean th a t a m en tal
im pression, conveyed by th e d ista n t ag en t . . . to one o f th e p ercip ien ts
is reflected te lep a th ic ally from th a t p e rc ip ie n ts m in d to th e m inds of
252
th e o th e r . . . percipients? . . . I observe as te llin g a g a in st th a t o th e r

view , o f psychical c o n ta g io n - th a t in c e rta in co llectiv e cases we
d iscern no p ro b a b le link b etw e en a n y o f th e p e rc ip ie n t m in d s a n d the
d ista n t a g e n t. W ith re g a rd to cases o f th e la tte r so rt M y e rs says (1 10a,
I, p. 266): I f in such a case a b y sta n d e r p erceives th e in v a d in g figure, I
m u st th in k th a t he perceives it m erely as a b y s ta n d e r - n o t as a person
te le p a th ic a lly influenced by the in te n d e d p e rc ip ie n t, w h o does n ot in
fact p erceive a n y th in g w h a tso e v e r.
It will by now be obvious how M y ers c a n a p p ly his th e o ry to p o st
m o rte m ap p a ritio n s. A p o st-m o rte m a p p a r itio n in w h ich the
p h a n ta sm a p p e a rs in te llig en t a n d purp o sefu l, conveys in fo rm atio n ,
etc., is d ifferent in only one im p o rta n t resp ect from th e conscious
p ro jec tio n o f a pu rp o sefu l liv in g a g e n t (as in e x p e rim e n ta l cases) th a t respect is, o f course, th a t th e a g e n t, h a v in g d ied , is now
p e rm a n e n tly d e ta c h e d from his body. As for h a u n tin g a p p a ritio n s, I
a m in c lin e d , says M y ers (1 10a, II, p. 75), to lay stress on th e p arallel
b etw een these n a rra tiv e s o f h a u n tin g a n d those p h a n ta sm s o f th e living
w hich I have a lre a d y classed aspsychorrhagic. In e a c h case, as it seems to
m e, th e re is an in v o lu n ta ry d e ta c h m e n t o f som e e le m e n t o f th e spirit,
p ro b a b ly w ith no know ledge th e re o f a t th e m a in c e n tre of
consciousness. T hose h a u n ts by th e liv in g , as th ey m a y be called w h ere, for instan ce, a m a n is seen p h a n ta sm a lly sta n d in g by his own
fireplace - seem to m e to be re p e a te d , p e rh a p s m o re rea d ily , a fte r the
sp irit is freed from th e flesh.' H a u n tin g a p p a ritio n s m ay be d u e to the
d rea m s o f th e d e p a rte d .
M yers says o f his th e o ry , n o t w ith o u t ju stice , th a t it sutlers from the
co m plexity a n d a p p a re n t a b s u rd ity in e v ita b le in d e a lin g w ith
p h e n o m e n a w h ich g rea tly tra n sc e n d k now n law s (1 10a, I, p. 264). H e
also says ol it th a t it does in its w ay co llig ate a good m a n y cases o f odd
a n d v a ry in g types. T h is claim , too, is h a r d to d en y . B ut before
a tte m p tin g to assess th e th eo ry I shall p ropose c e rta in revisions o f it
(w h e th e r m a jo r o r m in o r will d e p e n d o n o n e s p o in t o f view ). T h ey
h ave the effect o f w h ittlin g dow n its basic assu m p tio n s. T h u s th e theory
I shall ac tu a lly assess will not be M y e rs th e o ry , b u t a n o th e r an d
re la te d hypothesis. T h e revisions w hich I propose a re as follows:
1.
L et us take as a basic a ssu m p tio n , o r r a th e r p e rh a p s as a basic
lact, th a t som e people, u n d e r c e rta in o b sc u re circ u m sta n ce s, can
p ro d u c e an effect a t a sp a tia l lo c atio n m ore o r less d is ta n t fro m th e ir
bodies, such th a t persons a p p ro p ria te ly p o sitio n ed , a n d en d o w e d w ith
253
a c e rta in form o f p ec u lia r sensitivity, will see a t th a t lo catio n a

p h a n ta sm c o rresp o n d in g in a p p e a ra n c e , position a n d o rie n ta tio n to
som e co n c ep tio n la te n t in th e a g e n ts m ind. T h a t co n cep tio n m ay be,
b u t need not necessarily be, th e a g e n ts co n cep tio n o f himself. A fter all, if
an a g e n t c a n g en e rate a p h a n ta sm o f him self seated on a horse, o r
d riv in g a car, w hy should he not, u n d e r som e circum stances, g en erate
a p h a n ta sm ju st of th e horse, o rju s t of the car, o r indeed of som e person
o th e r th a n himself? T h u s a collectively perceived crisis a p p a ritio n
might be g en e rate d by th e d y in g person w ho is its original; b u t it might,
on the o th e r h a n d , be g en e rate d by a living person (p ro b a b ly one o f the
percipients) in response to extrasensorially a c q u ire d in fo rm atio n
ab o u t his d ea th . W e could even, p erh ap s, devise alo n g th e la tte r lines
some e x p la n a tio n of the occasional stories o f a n im a l ap p a ritio n s, o r of
b iz arre or g rotesque n o n -h u m a n or su p e r-h u m a n ap p a ritio n s, w hich
most p arapsychologists w ould not d a re to com prom ise th e ir scientific
resp ectability by investigating.
It w ould, o f course, sim ilarly be possible to try to ex p lain aw a y all
cases of veridical a p p a ritio n s of th e d ea d in this w ay, i.e. as g en e rate d
by a con cep tio n la ten t in the m in d of some still living person w ho is
m erely b ro o d in g a b o u t th e deceased person concern ed . T h u s the
theory could ex p lain such ap p a ritio n s in either survivalist or nonsurvivalist term s. Its gen eral te n d en c y is, how ever, as M yers holds,
survivalistic, for the follow ing reasons. In cases o f v erid ical post
m o rtem ap p a ritio n s, th e g e n e ra to r of the p h a n ta sm c a n n o t (or usually
can n o t) on M y ers th eo ry be am o n g th e p ercipients o f it. F o r to the
extent th a t the a p p a ritio n is v e rid ic a l - to the extent, in o th e r words,
th a t it contains details a n d conveys info rm atio n u n k n o w n to the
witnesses, represents a person w ith w hom they w ere n ot a c q u a in te d ,
ostensibly pursues a goal w hich they do not consciously e n te rta in , etc.
- it cannot (assum ing, th a t is, th a t we refuse to cre d it th em w ith pow ers
of su p er-E S P such as we have ju st rejected) rep resen t a co n cep tio n in
the m ind o f an y of th e percipients. If an y o n e o th e r th a n th e deceased
original o f th e p h a n ta sm generates th a t p h a n ta sm it m ust be some
person not present a t th e tim e a n d place o f its a p p e a ra n c e . B ut this
view does n o t seem easy to defend:
(a)
O ften no plausible c a n d id a te for the role clearly em erges.
T h e re is no person w ho is know n to be still b ro o d in g over, dw elling
u p o n , o r grieving over th e deceased, w ith p ec u lia r intensity, o r w ho
has some pow erful m otive for a tte m p tin g to g en e rate a p h a n ta sm of
some person o th e r th a n himself.
254
(b)
C ases in w h ich a perso n has a p p a r e n tly g e n e ra te d a p h a n ta sm ,
visible to others, ol som e one o th e r th a n him self, a re fairly ra re , a n d I
d o n ot know a single one in w hich th e su p p o sed g e n e ra to r h as n ot been
him self a m o n g th e percip ien ts.
2.
If we allo w th e possibility th a t som eone m ig h t g e n e ra te a
p h a n ta sm of a peson o th e r th a n him self, we m ust also a b a n d o n the
idea, at first sight so n a tu ra l, th a t som e asp ec t o f th e p erso n a lity
necessarily m akes a n excursion to th e spot a t w h ich th e a p p a ritio n is
seen a n d th e re plays a ca u sa l role in its genesis. If th e fig u re n eed n ot
be th a t of the person w ho p ro d u ce s it, this idea loses its in tu itiv e
p lau sib ility , a n d m o reo v e r it d id n o t in th e first p la ce a c c o rd v ery well
w ith cases in w hich th e p resu m e d p ro je c to r re ta in e d no m e m o ry o f his
excursion. I should be in c lin e d to re g a rd th e g e n e ra tio n o f the
p h a n ta sm as usually th e p ro d u c t, o r m o re p ro b a b ly th e u n so u g h t b y
p ro d u c t, o f psychological processes in a d is ta n t a g e n t. A m o n g these
psychological processes is c e rta in ly th e sta te o f w h a t used to be called
tra v e llin g c la irv o y a n c e , o r seem ing to see a d ista n t scene as if from a
p o in t w ith in th a t scene. O f course it might be th e case th a t d u rin g
successful tra v e llin g clairv o y an ce, som e conscious e n tity o f u n k n o w n
kind does som etim es leave th e p ro je c to rs o rg an ism , a n d th a t it is
ro u n d this spatially localized e n tity th a t the p h a n ta s m is seen. B ut even
w ere this so, I should still be inclin ed to suggest th a t th e p h a n ta s m is
g e n e ra te d a t th e p ro jec ted e n tity s ow n lo c atio n becau se the
p ro je c to rs la te n t c o n c ep tio n o f h im self is o f a c lo th ed a n d em b o d ied
person a t th e spot w here he now is. T o see the p h a n ta s m is not to see the
p ro jected en tity , n o r is th e p h a n ta sm in a n y sense th e vehicle of
consciousness.
It is possible (I d o not p u t it m o re strongly) th a t th e d istin ctio n ju st
p ro p o u n d e d b etw een th e local m o d ific atio n o f space (the
p h an tasm o g en etic focus) w hich causes c e rta in p erso n s to see an
a p p a ritio n , a n d th e te m p o ra rily o r p e rm a n e n tly d isem b o d ied
p ro je c to r w ho p ro d u ce s th e local m o d ific atio n o f space, b u t som etim es
is a n d som etim es is not him self a t th e site o f th a t m o d ific atio n , m ig h t be
uselully a p p lie d to som e o f th e m o re b iz a rre cases o f h a u n tin g . O n e
m ig h t suppose th a t w h en in a c e rta in house th e o ccasio n al a p p e a ra n c e
ol a p h a n ta sm is p a rt o f a co m p lex o f o d d a n d p ro b a b ly n o c tu rn a l
h ap p e n in g s, som e ol w hich a re alm o st c e rta in ly p h y sical, th e re is
present, o r occasionally p resen t, on the site a localized e n tity , p e rh a p s
id en tical in som e w ay w ith a n elem en t in the p e rso n a lity o f som e
form erly living h u m a n being, w hich both induces a p h a n ta s m o g e n e tic
255
m o d ification o f a p o rtio n of space, p erh ap s of th a t p o rtio n su rro u n d in g

itself, and, by a c c re tin g energy to itself a n d deploying it in some w ay not
yet u n d ersto o d , is ab le to cause the p a ra n o rm a l physical effects. T h e
p h a n ta sm , th e figure seen, w ould o f course not be itself d irectly
in stru m e n ta l in p ro d u c in g th e physical p h en o m en a , not even if it w ere
seen a p p a re n tly effecting them . If it w ere p h o to g rap h e d , n o th in g
w ould a p p e a r on th e film , o r a t an y ra te (since one w ould n ot wish to
rule o ut the physical d etec tio n o f a p u ta tiv e energy source) n o th in g
m u ch resem bling w h at th e percip ien ts rep o rted . All this is th e w ildest
speculation; b u t it is a t an y ra te consistent w ith th e ran g e o f alleged
p h en o m en a w hich we have to explain.
3.
A lth o u g h M yers em phasizes th a t ap p a ritio n s a re n ot m a teria l
objects, n o r yet quasi-physical m eta-objects like etheric bodies, he
none the less u n d o u b te d ly believed th a t th e local m odifications of
sp ace w hich co n stitu te or u n d erlie his p o stu late d p h an tasm o g en etic
centres' are m odifications in a realm of bein g (the m e te th e ria l) o th e r
th a n the physical w orld w ith w hich o rd in a ry sense p ercep tio n
ac q u ain ts us. O th e r distinguished w riters in th e field (for instance H.
H . P rice, 123) have developed sim ilar ideas. N one th e less I th in k we
shall, a t least in the foreseeable state of o u r know ledge, be well advised
to steer clea r o f such notions. T h e y raise a t the m o m en t no issues th a t
can be scientifically inv estigated, a n d will lead only to d ea d ends o f the
kind w hich, I proposed in th e first c h a p te r, we should try to avoid. F o r
present purposes it is en o u g h if we ac cep t as a fact, o r p o stu late for the
sake of a rg u m e n t, th a t c e rta in persons in c e rta in circu m stan ces are
able so to m odify a c e rta in region of space th a t o th e r persons, visiting
th a t region, m ay see th ere a figure co rresp o n d in g to som e laten t
co n cep tion in th e a g e n ts m ind.
But, it m ight be asked, are th e percip ien ts system atically
h allu cin ate d , o r is th e re really som e p ecu liar, b u t publicly accessible,
object w hich they all perceive? Isn t th e ten d en cy of the th eo ry , w ith its
talk of local m odifications o f space, to suggest th a t th e re is in d eed some
p ec u lia r kind of object (call it a th o u g h t-fo rm ) w here an a p p a ritio n ,
at an y ra te a collectively perceived a p p a ritio n , is seen? C a n we prove
or disprove this suggestion, an d w ith it therefore the theory?
I th in k - alth o u g h I have not space to e la b o ra te the p o in t h ere - th a t
this a rg u m e n t m isconceives th e logic of the situation. It is q u ite likely
th a t we know as m u c h a b o u t the characteristics o f a p p a ritio n s as we
ev er shall. W e know th a t in som e w ays they resem ble physical objects,
an d in o th e r w ays they do not. T h ey g enerally look a n d sound an d
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b eh av e m u c h like o rd in a ry physical objects, a n d m ay b e seen in

a p p ro p ria te persp ectiv e by several persons sim u lta n eo u sly ; on th e
o th e r h a n d th ey d o n o t last very long, th ey d o n o t affect p h y sical
o bjects a ro u n d th e m , a n d th e y m ay n o t be p erc eiv e d by ev e ry o n e in a
position to p erceive them . U n d e r these c o n d itio n s, th e q u estio n
w h e th e r they are h a llu c in a tio n s o r re a l objects is surely no lo n g er a
factu al one; it is a m a tte r ol w h ich w ay ol sp eak in g , w h ich linguistic
co n v e n tio n , it is sim p ler to a d o p t, a n d w h ich co h eres best w ith o u r
fashions o f discourse u p o n re la te d m a tte rs. T h e issue is p h ilo so p h ical
ra th e r th a n factu al. S h all we ta lk o f a n a g e n ts c a p a c ity to c re a te a sort
o f r a d ia n t p o in t a ro u n d w h ich persons a re lia b le to suffer
sy stem atically re la te d h allu cin atio n s? O r shall we ta lk o f a n a g e n ts
c a p a c ity to c re a te a kind o f o b ject th a t does n o t affect physical
in stru m e n ts a n d is p e rc e p tib le only to people w ith a c e rta in k ind of
n o n -o p tic al sensitivity? T h e fo rm e r w ay o f ta lk in g leaves the
system atic related n ess o f th e h a llu c in a tio n s w ith o u t a ra tio n a l basis;
th e la tte r leaves th e p resence o r absence, o r th e p e rc e p tib ility , o f the
o b ject, m ore th a n a little a rb itra ry . M y guess (an d p re su m a b ly M y ers
too) w o u ld be th a t on th e w hole th e sh o rtco m in g s o f th e second w ay of
ta lk in g w ould be easier to live w ith th a n those o f th e first. B ut p erh ap s
we ca n sim ply d o d g e m a k in g a choice.
4.
W h ich e v er w ay o f ta lk in g we a d o p t, we a re c o n fro n te d w ith the
follow ing fu rth e r p ro b lem . T h e process o f n o n -o p tic a l p e rc e p tio n by
w hich M yers thinks we becom e a w a re o f a p p a ritio n s w o u ld seem , a t
least w hen the a p p a ritio n is v erid ical, to fall u n d e r th e g e n e ra l h ea d in g
o f E S P - it involves th e a c q u isitio n o f in fo rm a tio n w ith o u t th e use of
th e know n sense-organs. B ut it does n o t fall re a d ily u n d e r th e h ea d in g
o f te le p a th y n o r yet u n d e r th a t o f c la irv o y a n c e . T h e local
m o d ifications o f sp a ce w h ich b rin g a b o u t a p p a ritio n s m a y be caused by
co n ceptions la te n t in th e m i n d 'o f the ag en t; b u t by n o stre tc h are they
those co nceptions o r literally p a rt o f th e a g e n ts m in d . A p p a ritio n s are
only the effects of th e a g e n ts m e n ta l activities, ju s t as a re , say, his
p ain tin g s o r his poem s. H en c e th e p e rc e p tio n o f th e m c a n n o t be
classed as te lep a th ic , for it does not a m o u n t to d ire c t a n d nonin le ren tia l know ledge ol w h a t is in th e a g e n ts m in d . Since
clairv o y an ce is defin ed as ex tra-sen so ry k n o w ledge o {physical ev en ts or
states of affairs, w e c a n n o t say th a t th e n o n -o p tic a l p e rc e p tio n
co n c ern ed is a form ol clairv o y an ce. W e seem to h av e h ere a form ol
E S P th a t ca n be lab elled n e ith e r as te le p a th y n o r as c lairv o y an c e. At
least this prop o sal consorts w ell w ith th e fact (m e n tio n e d in the
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previous c h a p te r) th a t a p p a ritio n s are not in fre q u en tly sh ared by those

in a position to share them , w hereas E SP m anifesting in o th e r form s is
rarely sh ared. W e need a new w ord for this fu rth e r form o f E SP; b u t I
will n ot tax m y ingenuity, n o r a d d to p ara p sy ch o lo g y s extensive
v erb al lu m b e r, by try in g to invent one.
T h a t com pletes m y a c co u n t of M y erss theory o f a p p a ritio n s (in a
slightly d o cto re d version), an d it is now tim e to a tte m p t an assessment.
Its stro n g p o in t is clearly th a t it ca n ac co u n t for the v erid icality of
veridical cases w ith o u t resort to th e com plexities o f su p er-E S P , an d
can ex p lain th e a p p a re n t objectivity o f the p h an tasm s seen in cases of
collective percip ien ce a n d h a u n tin g ghosts w ith o u t p itc h in g us in to the
ab su rd ities o f the anim istic theory. It confronts, how ever, n u m ero u s
difficulties. L et us begin w ith a m in o r one. It is often suggested th a t
m ost people have a relatively im perfect idea of how they look to o th e rs,
especially from b eh in d , o r in profile. T h a t bein g so, how c a n we
possibly propose th a t an a g e n ts la ten t co n c e p tio n o f h im self can so
m odify a c e rta in region o f space th a t suitably gifted persons see a
realistic p h a n ta sm of him there? T h is arg u m e n t has, I th in k , some
w eight, b u t not a g re a t deal. Is the average p erso n s idea o f how he
looks likely to differ so m u c h from how he a c tu a lly looks th a t a
p ercip ien t w ould be likely to notice th e difference? P erh ap s peoples
ideas o f how they look are not so m u ch co n d itio n ed by th e ir im ages in
th e ir m irro rs as one m ig h t suppose. S c h atzm a n (141) has recently
co n d u cted some b rie f b u t im m ensely in trig u in g experim en ts w ith a
subject, R u th , w ho possesses in a rem a rk a b le degree the ab ility to
create for herself to tally realistic h allu cin atio n s (ones w hich from all
accounts, th o u g h u nlike the h allu cin atio n s o f epileptics, alcoholics,
d ru g -tak ers, the insane, etc., closely resem ble th e figures seen in classic
a p p a ritio n cases). So re a l are h er h allu cin atio n s th a t w h en she
sum m oned one u p to interpose betw een h er eyes a n d a source of
flickering light, h er b r a in s n o rm al electrical response to th e light
ceased. R u th ca n w ith eq u a l facility cre ate h allu cin atio n s of herself or
o f o th e r people, a n d th e h allu cin atio n s a re not ju st visual, b u t
au d ito ry , tactile a n d olfactory (the figures talk, a n d she ca n feel an d
smell them ). W h en R u th creates an h allu cin atio n o f herself the
h allu cin atio n is a p p a re n tly q u ite realistic a n d is not a m irro r image.
T h e m ost im p o rta n t criticism is so obvious th a t it m ay be stated
briefly. T h e theory gives cred it to n u m ero u s unknow ns, a n d a shortfall
in a n y o n e o f th e m w ould b a n k ru p t it. It postulates p h a n ta sm o g e n e tic
m odifications, n a tu re unk n o w n , of p a rtic u la r sp atial localities; an
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u n k n o w n process w h ereb y c e rta in p ersons c a n cau se such

m o difications; a n u n k n o w n form o f sensitivity by m e an s of w h ich
c e rta in persons c a n p erceive th e p h a n ta sm s th u s g e n e ra te d ; d is c a m a te
in telligences o f w hich w e know n o th in g ex c ep t th a t th e y w ere fo rm e rly
in c a rn a te d as p a rtic u la r h u m a n beings; a n d (p re su m a b ly ) som e to tally
u n k n o w n facu lty o f E S P by m ean s o f w hich these d isc a m a te
in telligences o b ta in th e ir in fo rm a tio n a b o u t th is w o rld a n d th e next.
N o sensible th eo rist w o u ld e n tru st his in te lle c tu a l c a p ita l to such
u n know ns, for u n k n o w n s are n o t cre d it-w o rth y .
T h e tro u b le is, it seems to m e, th a t w e h av e little ch o ice b u t to allow
M y ers theo ry , u n k n o w n s a n d all, ju s t a little cre d it. T h e th e o ry , as he
rem arks, ties to g e th e r a good m a n y p h e n o m e n a o f o d d a n d v ary in g
ty p es, a n d even it his a c c o u n t o f th e m is h ig h ly im p lau sib le, it does not,
a n d this is th e im p o rta n t p o in t, a p p e a r q u ite such a d e a d en d as a re the
su p e r-E S P a n d th e an im istic theories. T h e re d o seem to be, ev en in the
p resen t state o f o u r know ledge, c e rta in f u rth e r e m p iric a l in q u iries to
w h ich it m ig h t lead. W e m ig h t, for ex a m p le , in v estig ate the
p h a n ta sm o g e n e tic c a p ac ities o f such gifted su b jects as 'R u th '.
S c h a tz m a n e x p e rim e n te d w ith R u th to see w h e th e r h e r h allu cin atio n s
co u ld be sh a re d by others. T h e y w ere not. H o w e v e r on tw o occasions,
w h en no e x p e rim e n t w as in progress, o th e r p ersons a p p a re n tly
ob served p h a n ta sm s w hich she h a d c re a te d (a sim ila r in c id en t is
describ ed by D av id -N ee l, 28). O n e person a c tu a lly h eld a co n v ersatio n
w ith th e figure, w hich he believed to be th a t o f a rea l p erso n , viz. R u th
herself. O n ce a do g b ec am e g re a tly d istu rb e d w h en R u th g e n e ra te d a
p h a n ta sm in its vicinity - a p h e n o m e n o n for w h ich th e lite ra tu re of
a p p a ritio n s holds n u m e ro u s p arallels. T h e find in g s so fa r yield no
certain ties, b u t raise m a n y in trig u in g possibilities.
A t th e b e g in n in g ol C h a p te r F o u rte e n I posed tw o q u estio n s w hich
arose from th e fact th a t we seem ed forced by th e facts a n d the
co n sid eratio n s a d v a n c e d e a rlie r in th e book to ta k e th e su rv iv al theory
seriously. T h e tw o q uestions were:
1. W ould the survival of a p erso n s m em ories, a n d his co n c e p tu a l
ca p ac ities in g en eral, involve o r a m o u n t to his su rv iv al as a conscious
in div id u al?
2. II such m em ories a n d ca p ac ities survive, w h a t co u ld u n d e rp in
th e ir survival, be, so to speak, th e ir vehicle?
It w as, p artly , in p u rsu it o f answ ers to these q u estio n s th a t I
259
e m b a rk e d on the discussion o fO B E s a n d o f ap p a ritio n s. A t th e en d of

this discussion I h av e found myself, despite its n u m ero u s obscurities,
ta k in g seriously M yers's p h a n tasm o g en etic c e n tre th eo ry of
ap p a ritio n s. D oes this theory, it tru e, o r r a th e r if in some (p ro b ab ly
m inor) degree an a p p ro x im a tio n to the tru th , have any b e a rin g upon
the ab o ve tw o questions?
V\ ith reg a rd to the first q uestion, one w ould, I suppose, n a tu ra lly
assum e th a t if the evidence suggests th a t c e rta in sorts o f p h an tasm s
(veridical p o st-m o rtem ones) are g en e rate d by survivin g p o rtio n s of
form erly living h u m a n beings, w h ate v er survives a n d g en erates th em
m ust possess very m u c h the sam e m em ories a n d co n c ep tu al ab ilities as
are possessed by the living persons w ho som etim es sim ilarly seem to
g en erate p h atasm s o f them selves. F o rr* hypothesi the p h an tasm s are in
some sense ex tern alizatio n s of co nceptions la te n t in the m inds o f the
projectors. O n e could, at an y rate , w ith o u t d o u b t p u t u p a defence of
this view. But th ere are m an y difficulties. T h e re seem, as M yers
rem arks, to be cases of projectio n by living projectors in w hich the
p ro jecto r has no aw areness o f w h a t he is ab o u t, in w hich the p ro jectio n
is, as it were, a u to m a tic an d a function o f some unconscious level o f the
personality. C ould som ething survive w hich was not conscious, was
less th a n a personality, a m ere vestige o r trace, w hich co uld n one the
less still give rise to a u to m a tic projections? A reply to this difficulty
m ight m ake a distin ctio n b etw een those p h atasm s w hich seem , as it
were, intelligent an d responsive to living persons, an d those w hich are
m ere zom bies o r a u to m a ta . T h e form er could only be g en e rate d by
conscious a n d intelligent projectors. But d e b a te on these topics could
go on m ore or less indefinitely, for we know at the m o m en t abso lu tely
n o th in g of th e process by w hich p h an tasm o g en etic ce n tres are
created by living projectors, of th e relationships betw een this process
and the physical w orld, an d th e d ep e n d en c e or otherw ise of the process
upon p a rtic u la r kinds of b ra in functioning. W e are even m ore in the
d ark w hen we begin to specu late as to w h at m ay be involved in the
creatio n o f such cen tres by deceased projectors.
As for the second question, th a t co n c ern in g the supposed v eh icle of
surviving m em ories a n d capacities, M y ers theory carries, so far as I
can see, no specific im plications, b u t ad o p tin g it m ight w ell set one off
on some such tra in of th o u g h t as this. If, as seems to be the case, some
people can, even d u rin g th e ir lifetim es, som etim es create
p h an tasm o g en etic centres at co nsiderable distances from th e ir own
bodies a n d nervous systems, ca n them selves perceive p h an tasm s
260
e m a n a tin g from such ce n tres w h en the la tte r a re c re a te d by them selv es

o r by o th e r people, c a n exercise o th e r form s ol E S P d ire c te d u p o n
d is ta n t events o r persons, c a n p e rh a p s even influ en ce p h y sical events
a ro u n d th e m o th e r th a n by o rd in a ry b o d ily ac tio n s, th e n the
rela tio n sh ip b etw een p erc eiv in g a n d in d e ed c re a tiv e m in d , a n d the
p h ysical w orld, m u st be u tte rly d ifferen t from , a n d far m ore
co m p lic ate d th a n , a n y th in g w hich w e now envisage. I w ould
em p h asize th e w ord c re a tiv e , for it w o u ld a p p e a r th a t w e m ay in a
sense be ab le in o u r insignificant w ays to m e d d le w ith th e u niverse, or
ra th e r w ith o u r local co rn e rs o f it, by m ean s as yet to ta lly b ey o n d o u r
co m preh en sio n . (It m ay be th a t a c o n tro ls a b ility to o v ersh a d o w a
m e d iu m is a n o th e r facet o f this p o w er to m e d d le.) H o w m u c h fu rth e r
beyond o u r p resen t c o m p re h en sio n , th e n , m u st be th e rela tio n sh ip
betw een a n y p o rtio n o f th e p erso n a lity w h ich survives d e a th a n d the
k now n a n d u n k n o w n physical w orld.
T hese professions o f p rese n t a n d p ro b a b le fu tu re ig n o ra n c e in the
face of im m ensely difficult p ro b lem s will please no one. M a n y religious
believers o f one kind a n d a n o th e r a lre a d y h av e, a n d m a y c e n tre th e ir
lives a n d th o u g h t a ro u n d , sim ple o r seem ing-sim p le answ ers to these
problem s. S u ch persons a re a p t to th in k those w h o rem ain
u n co n v in ced by th e ir sim ple answ ers, o r w ho d o n o t find th e m sim ple,
m erely o b stin ate a n d perverse. O n th e o th e r h a n d those espritsfo rts w ho
m ake alm ost a religion o u t o f science, o r r a th e r o u t o f th e scientific
know ledge w e c u rre n tly possess, a n d w ho p rid e them selves on th e ir
e d u c a te d scepticism , w ill be even less h a p p y w ith m y professions of
ig norance; for w hile it is p ro p e r a n d even la u d a b le for a scientist
som etim es to a d m it ig n o ran c e o r te m p o ra ry b afflem en t, th e ig n o ran ce
I am professing is o f th e w ro n g kind. I a m professing th e sort of
ig n o ran ce w hich im plicitly d isp a ra g es th e p rese n t sta te o f o u r scentific
know ledge, a n d does so on the basis o f w h a t m a n y w o u ld assu m e to be a
few m a rg in a l p h en o m en a . A nd in d eed it c e rta in ly seem s to m e th a t at
the m o m en t w e know a b o u t as m u c h of these m a tte rs as th e G reek s did
o f electricity w hen they discovered th a t it you r u b pieces o f a m b e r on
y o ur sleeve they will pick u p straw s.
17
C o n c lu d in g R e m a rk s
W ith reg ard to the evidence for survival, I have now said, p ro b ab ly
several tim es over, nearly ev e ry th in g th a t I have to say. I can n o t
dismiss this evidence en bloc as b ad evidence, as entirely th e p ro d u ct of
fraud, m isrecording, m alo b serv atio n , wishful think in g , o r plain
ch an ce coincidence. I can find no o th e r decisive reasons for rejectin g it.
1 have sep arately arg u e d in connection w ith the p h en o m en a of
m ed iu m ship, w ith a p p a ritio n s, an d w ith c e rta in cases of ostensible
rein c arn atio n , th a t th e su p er-E S P hypothesis will not suffice to ex p lain
the q u a n tity of co rrect a n d a p p ro p ria te info rm atio n som etim es
furnished. I have fu rth e r p o in ted o u t th a t some cases present features
suggestive not ju st o f surviving m em ories (the sphere in w hich the
altern ativ e su p er-E S P e x p lan a tio n m ight seem to be a t its strongest)
b u t of m ore positive p ersonality ch a racteristics - distinctive purposes,
skills, capacities, habits, tu rn s o f phrase, struggles to co m m u n icate,
wishes, po in t o f view. R ead ers m ust assess these aspects of the puzzle for
them selves. F o r m yself I ca n only say th a t it seems to m e th a t th ere is in
each o f th e m ain areas I have considered a sprinkling o f cases w hich
ra th e r forcefully suggest som e form o f survival. At least - the
supposition th a t a recognizable frag m en t o f the p erso n ality o f a
deceased person m ay m anifest ag a in afte r his d e a th w ith o u t there
b eing some u n d erly in g causal facto r com m on to the original
m anifestations a n d the later, a b e rra n t ones, seems im possibly m agical.
A nd it is h a rd to see in w h at term s we could conceive this u n d erly in g
causal factor except those o f an individual consciousness o f some
degree o f coherence an d com plexity. T h e hypothesis of a n insentient
psychic fac to r seems, as I p o in ted out at th e b eg in n in g of C h a p te r
F o u rte en , to present nu m ero u s difficulties. But in this a re a , an d in
im p o rta n t related areas, w h at we know stands in p ro p o rtio n to w h at we
do not know as a bucketful does to the ocean. C e rta in ty is n ot to be had,
n o r even a stro n g conviction th a t th e are a of o n es u n c e rta in ty has been
n arro w e d to a m a n ag e ab le com pass.
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E ven if one accep ts th a t in th e p rese n t sta te o f o u r k n o w led g e som e

sort o f survival th e o ry gives th e rea d iest a c c o u n t o f th e ob serv ed
p h e n o m e n a , m a n y issues re m a in u n d e c id e d . In th e v ast m a jo rity even
o f fav o u rab le cases th e su rv iv in g p erso n a lity w h ich claim s c o n tin u ity
w ith a form erly living, o r previously in c a rn a te d , p erso n a lity , is only
ab le to d e m o n stra te such a p p a r e n t c o n tin u ity on a v ery lim ited
n u m b e r o f fronts, a n d m ay , in d e ed , m a rk e d ly fail to d e m o n s tra te it on
o th ers. T h is does n o t, o f course, m e a n th a t b e h in d th e observed
m an ifestatio n s th e re does n o t lie th e fullest possible c o n tin u ity ; b ut
eq u a lly it m eans th a t the hypothesis o f c o m p le te c o n tin u ity is
u n p ro v e n , a n d all sorts o f possibilities re m a in open . Is th e re p a rtia l or
c o m p lete survival? S e n tie n t survival, o r (far w orse th a n m ere
ex tin ctio n ) su rvival w ith ju s t a lingering, d im consciousness? Is th ere
lo n g -te rm su rvival o r survival d u rin g a b rie f p erio d o f progressive
d isin teg ratio n ? Is th e re e n jo y a b le survival, o r su rv iv al such as one
w ould w ish to avoid? S u rv iv a l w ith a p h y sical su b stra te , or
d isem b o d ied survival? S u rv iv al as in d iv id u a l, o r su rv iv al w ith o n es
in d iv id u ality for the m ost p a r t dissolved in so m e th in g larger? Is
survival the rule, o r is it ju st a freak? T o these a n d m a n y o th e r questions
I ca n a t the m o m e n t see no very c le a r answ ers.
M a n y people, in d eed , d o n o t re q u ire , o r p e rh a p s w ish for, clear
answ ers. T h e y will take th e m ere rejectio n of th e su p e r-E S P hypothesis
as ju stify in g the view th a t G o d s in H is h ea v en a n d a lls rig h t w ith the
w orld.
O h , e as y c r e e d
T h a t o u r b e l o v e d o n e s a r e n o t lost i n d e e d
B u t , s o m e w h e r e f a r a n d f a i n t e r , live s e c u r e ,
W h ile yet th ey p lead
W i t h v o ic e s h e a r d in v is io n s live a n d p u r e ,
W ith to uch u p o n the h a n d , th a t th e y e n d u re ,
O n ly w ithdraw n!
F o r m y p a r t I th in k th a t an y f u rth e r decisive progress w ill h av e to w ait

u p on th e results ol a g reat d ea l o f fu rth e r d i i cult a n d tim e-co n su m in g
w ork on a n u m b e r o f different fronts. By the tim e th is w ork has been
even p a rtly c a rrie d out, m ost ol us will be d ea d , a n d w ill th u s know the
answ ers an y w ay , o r not know th e m as th e case m ay be. A n d th e results
ol the w ork m ay be to p o in t aw a y from th e surv iv alist th e o ry once
ag ain. As to this, one c a n a t best express a te n ta tiv e view as to th e likely
fu tu re tre n d o f th e evidence. I h av e given m y ow n view . O th e rs will
e stim a te the situ atio n differently.
Concluding Remarks
263
To those hot lor c e rta in ty - w h eth e r it be c e rta in ty ol survival o r of

e x tin ctio n - this an sw er m ay seem dusty enough. H ow ev er it will not
seem d u sty to everyone. F or, as I have tried to show , it is possible from a
p ro p erly inform ed co n sid eratio n of th e evidence to b u ild u p a ratio n al
case for b elief in som e form o f survival, an d also a ra tio n a l case against
it. A n d a ra tio n a l case, o f eith er tendency, b u ilt on evidence, how ever
difficult to in te rp re t, is to be p referred to an y am o u n t o fb lin d b elief or
blin d disbelief. F u rth e rm o re , to persons such as myself, w ith an
overdeveloped b u m p o f curiosity an d a liking for m ysteries, w h at m ay
be called a C hinese box universe - a universe m a d e u p, so to speak, of a
puzzle c o n ta in in g a n o th e r puzzle d eep w ithin it, a n d so on indefinitely
- has m u ch ap p eal. A nd m ay b e at th e h e a rt of all tru th an d ju stice lie
hid d en , a n d b ro u g h t to light, will prevail. O r m ay b e not. But in e ith e r
case th e puzzles a re there, an d th e ir fascination is irresistible.
W h at, then, of the future? H ow m ight these puzzles be fu rth e r
studied? I do not th in k th a t th e re are an y short cuts to a solution, o r to a
dism issal o f th e problem . T h e idea o f a decisive 'test o f su rv iv al h as
co m m en d ed itself to m any, an d som e p u b lic-sp irited in d iv id u als have
left b eh ind them sealed packages, th e co n ten ts of w hich th ey h o p ed to
co m m u n icate after d eath . In only a few instances has an y deg ree of
success been rep o rted (e.g. 110a, II, pp. 182- 185; 139c); a n d even h ad
successes been m ore freq u en t they m ight have been a ttrib u te d to
clairvoyance by th e m edium .
R ecently, m ore sophisticated forms o f test have been suggested.
T houless (159b) has proposed th a t persons w ho wish to leave a
test b eh in d th em should e n c ip h e r an d deposit w ith a re p u ta b le
o rg an izatio n som e prose passage o f a p p ro p ria te co n ten t. All they
w ould need to co m m u n ic ate w ould be the keyw ord. A co n tro l ag ain st
the possibility th a t m edium s could crack th e code by su p er-E S P w ould
be o b ta in ed by h av in g th em a tte m p t to o b ta in the keyw ord w hile the
subject is still alive. If they fail to o b ta in it we m ust assum e th a t it is
beyond th e reach of ESP. P erh ap s such a p roject will w ork - a
supposed R ic h a rd H odgson co m m u n ic ate d th ro u g h M rs P ip er a
passw ord w hich tu rn e d out to be the n am e o f h e r ow n d a u g h te r
en c ip h ered in a co m plex m a n n e r alm ost ce rtain ly know n to H odgson
in life (109, pp. 2 0 4 n -2 0 5 n ). Stevenson (153a) has in itia te d a sim ilar
project using co m b in atio n locks instead of ciphers. A positive result in
such a test w ould obviously be o f g reat interest an d im p o rta n ce ; b u t to
co n stitu te stro n g evidence for survival it w ould, I think, still need to be
co m b in ed w ith evidence for the survival of purposes, perso n ality
264
c h a racteristics, o th e r sorts o f m em ories, etc.

S u ch tests o f su rv iv a l a p a r t, it seem s to m e th a t w o rk on the
q u estio n o f su rvival will h av e to p ro ceed , piece by piece, o n tw o b ro ad
fronts. T h e first w o u ld involve th e slow a n d p a tie n t siltin g an d
a c c u m u la tio n o f ostensible ev id en c e for su rv iv a l su ch as I have
p rese n ted a n d discussed in this book. T h e seco n d (m u ch h a r d e r to
define) w ould involve th e sort o f in q u irie s, fa c tu a l a n d co n c ep tu al,
w hich m ig h t result in o u r b ein g ab le to b u ild u p a g e n e ra l fram ew ork
o f th o u g h t w ith in w hich su rv iv al a n d th e v ario u s ca te g o rie s o f evidence
for su rvival will co h e re a n d m a d e sense, a n d w ill c o h e re also w ith the
findings o f o th e r b ra n c h e s o f science. (O n th e o th e r h a n d we m ight
decisively fail to ach iev e such a fram ew o rk o f th o u g h t, a n d th a t too
w ould be a m a tte r of g re a t significance.) W e h av e (as I h av e tried to
show ) a lre a d y a c q u ire d a good d ea l o f m a te ria l on th e fo rm e r front; but
we have a c q u ire d very little o n th e la tte r. I f th e ev id en c e for survival
w ere a g re a t d ea l m ore copious a n d m o re sta rtlin g th a n it a c tu a lly is
(and it is fairly copious a n d som etim es q u ite sta rtlin g ) we could
p e rh a p s get by w ith little a c c u m u la tio n o f m a te ria l on th e la tte r front. I
ca n c e rta in ly imagine a sta te o f affairs in w hich, as a m a tte r o f fact, no
one, o r no one ex cep t philo so p h ers w hen a c tu a lly p h ilosophizing,
w ould express d o u b ts a b o u t survival. S u p p o se, for ex a m p le , th at
persons o u t o f th e b o d y w ere re g u la rly a b le to a c t as living
co m m u n ic ato rs, con v ey ed fluent a n d a p p r o p r ia te in fo rm atio n , etc.,
a n d could give on th e ir r e tu r n full ac c o u n ts o f w h a t h a d tran sp ire d ,
a n d after th e ir ow n d e a th s c o n tin u e d to c o m m u n ic a te in m u c h the
sam e w ay rig h t u p to th e m o m e n t o f th e ir re in c a rn a tio n as one of
S tev en so n s ch ild subjects. But such a sta te o f affairs does n o t obtain.
H en ce, it seem s to m e, it has becom e as im p o rta n t to a tte m p t to
progress on th e second fro n t as on th e first. W e a lre a d y h av e q u ite a lot
o f ostensible evid en ce for survival; w e do not h av e a co n c ep tu al
fram ew o rk into w hich we c a n satisfactorily fit it.
I shall a c co rd in g ly not p u rsu e the q u estio n o f w h a t f u rth e r ostensible
evid en ce for su rv iv a l we m ig h t o b ta in , b u t shall in stead move
im m ed ia te ly to th e second o f th e tw o b ro a d fro n ts on w h ich (I arg u ed )
w ork on the p ro b lem o f su rvival needs to pro ceed . W h a t steps m ig h t be
taken to e n larg e o u r rele v an t b a c k g ro u n d k n o w led g e in such a w ay
th a t the evid en ce for su rv iv al com es to m ake sense in a n overall
co n tex t w hich includes th e findings o f o th e r sciences as w ell as those of
p arapsychology? I sho u ld ex p ect progress on th is fro n t, if progress
th ere is, to be slow a n d p ain lu l, a g ra d u a l fittin g to g e th e r o f lab o rio u sly
Concluding Remarks
265
a c q u ire d pieces, r a th e r th a n a sudden insight into th e ir tru e relations.

A n d one ca n set no lim it befo reh an d u p o n the n u m b e r o f pieces w hich
m ig h t in th e end prove relevant. In previous ch a p te rs I have suggested
v arious kinds o f p arapsy ch o lo g ical w ork w hich, it seems to me, m ight
hav e relevance to this en d eav o u r. F o r exam ple:
1. E x p erim e n ts d irec ted tow ards o b ta in in g m edium istic co m
m u n icatio n s from living persons. L iving co m m u n ic ato rs m ig h t tu rn o ut
to face m u ch the sam e difficulties a n d to get into m u ch th e sam e
m uddles, as d isc a m a te ones; a n d th en we m ight p erh ap s o b ta in some
clues as to the m echanism o f co m m u n ic atio n , an d th e te n ab ility of
w h at I called the theory o f oversh ad o w in g , a n d so forth. T h e w ork
m ig h t o r m ight not cohere o r com bine w ith w ork on O BEs. E q u ally ,
the upshot m ig h t be to suggest th a t the G o rd o n D avis an d J o h n
Ferguson cases w ere not freaks o r frauds, a n d hence to stren g th en the
b ack g ro u n d to th e sup er-E S P hypothesis.
2. Likewise c a p ab le o f su p p o rtin g th e su p er-E S P hypothesis w ould
be ex p erim en ts w ith sensitives (if such could be found) resem bling
those studied by O sty (see C h a p te r T e n above). I do not th in k th a t the
status o f th e sup er-E S P hypothesis ca n be a d e q u a te ly estab lish ed until
such ex perim ents have been c a rrie d o u t utilizing m o d ern m eth o d s of
e x p e rim en tal design a n d statistical assessm ent, features conspicuously
ab sen t from O sty s p io n eerin g work.
3. F ull a n d extensive studies of the abilities of such gifted subjects
as R u th (see previous c h a p te r) to g en e rate h allu cin atio n s in
them selves a n d som etim es, a p p a re n tly in o th e r people, m ig h t, as I
p o in ted out, th ro w light on the te n ab ility o r otherw ise of th e th eo ry of
v eridicial ap p a ritio n s w hich I discussed in C h a p te r Sixteen.
4. T h e m ost u rg en tly need ed investigation in th e a re a ol
sp o n taneous cases is, it seems to m e, a d etailed investigation by
co m p eten t a n d p ro p erly eq u ip p ed persons into th e physical aspects of
a really m ark ed h a u n tin g . F o r in such cases we have, very often,
localized physical d istu rb a n ce s th a t a r e prima facie not susceptible o f an
o rd in ary e x p lan a tio n ; a n d we have also (at least som etim es)
a p p aritio n s; a n d the p ro b lem o f the relatio n betw een these tw o is
abso lu tely c e n tra l to all questions co n c ern in g the n a tu re a n d genesis of
ap p a ritio n s, an d ram ifies into o th e r questions. F u rth e rm o re , in some
h au n tin g s, th e re are ce rtain signs of an intelligence (whose origins an d
n a tu re rem a in to be elu cid ated ). O n e m ight try b rin g in g different
m ed iu m s a n d sensitives to th e spot in d e p en d e n tly o f each o th e r to see if
th ere w as a n y a g re em e n t in th e ir diagnoses, an d thus o b ta in b o th
266
m e n ta l a n d p h y sic al av en u es o f a p p ro a c h to th e sam e case (cf. 97;

106; 143). F ro m a n u m b e r o f such in v estigations, o n e m ig h t (w ith an
im m ense a n d unlikely a m o u n t of luck) beg in to g lim p se a n o verall
p a tte r n w ith in w hich several different kinds o f o sten sib le survival
ev idence m ig h t fall in to place.
H ow ever, as I re m a rk e d a m o m e n t ago, re le v a n t discoveries are
likely to com e - I th in k w ill h av e to com e - from o utside
p arap sy ch o lo g y a lto g e th e r. F ro m w h a t I said in C h a p te r T h irte e n , it
sh o uld be c lea r th a t th e physiology o f m e m o ry processes w ill c o n stitu te
a n a re a o f c e n tra l co n cern . W id e r aspects o f biology m ay co m e to have
relev an ce (144). T h e re a re also m a n y signs - w h ich I c a n n o t d e ta il here
- th a t progress in th e fro n tie r regions o f physics a n d m a th e m a tic a l
physics m ay o p en u p new ideas for p ara p sy ch o lo g y . R ecen tly
p u b lish ed w ork on th e m e ta l-b e n d in g p h e n o m e n o n co n stitu tes an
e m p ira i focus for these sp e cu la tiv e ideas, b u t the ra m ific a tio n o f these
ideas co u ld ex ten d m u c h m o re w idely th a n th a t.
T h e p ro b le m th a t co n fro n ts survival rese arch is n o t sh o rtag e of
th ings to do, b u t sh o rtag e o f funds, w ith w hich necessarily goes
sh o rtag e o f personnel. W h e n th e S P R w as first fo u n d ed , it h ad a
n u m b e r of very ab le m e m b ers w ith p riv a te m e an s a n d a m p le leisure. It
was these persons w ho w ere p rim a rily responsib le for th e im m ense
a m o u n t of w ork a n d th e significant progress th a t m a rk e d th e first three
or four d ecades o f the S o ciety s existence. T h e situ a tio n to d ay has
rad ic ally c h a n g ed . T h e re a re few er w ea lth y a n d leisu red persons, and
som e o f th e investigations th a t a re now d esira b le w o u ld req u ire
so p h isticated a n d expensive scientific e q u ip m e n t. G o v e rn m e n ts an d
g ra n t-g iv in g agencies have n o t en o u g h funds for ta c k lin g p ro b lem s in
this w orld, a n d w ill c e rta in ly n o t subsidize th e stu d y o f problem s
re la tin g to the next. It is only if a sufficient n u m b e r o f interested
in d iv id u als b a n d to g e th e r a n d c o n trib u te th e ir m o n ey a n d th e ir tim e
th a t we m ay hope for a n y c o n c e rte d r a th e r th a n p ie ce -m e al progress to
be m ade. T h e re co n tin u es to be a vital role for th e S P R , th e A S P R , an d
k in d red societies. T h e recent w ork o f S tevenson a n d O sis, as w ell as the
o rig in al la b o u rs of th e S P R s founders, h av e show n ho w m u c h ca n be
acco m p lish ed even by a sm all n u m b e r o f d e d ic a te d persons w ith
m o d e ra te funds a n d facilities a t th e ir disposal.
S u b sta n tia l p a rts of this book have b een ta k e n u p w ith a n a tte m p t to
reconcile th e a p p a re n tly irre co n c ila b le; to reconcile, in o th e r w ords,
the d a ta ol m o d e rn psychology a n d m o d e rn n eu ro scien ce, w ith ce rtain
Concluding Remarks
267
o d d em p irica l facts th a t a p p a re n tly suggest th a t h u m a n perso n ality

m ay a t least som etim es survive bodily d ea th . I do not for a m om ent
p re te n d th a t I have satisfactorily h arm o n ized these bodies of d ata.
E ach tim e I tie up, w ith fu m b lin g fingers, a couple of loose ends, a th ird
one slips lree again. M ost o f the p rotagonists will co n tin u e to reject the
opposite c a m p s d a ta w ith o u t an y a d e q u a te scrutiny a n d pu rely on
faith - faith, th a t is, th a t because th e ir ow n findings an d
in te rp re tatio n s a re u nshakable, o r at least sh akable only in inessentials,
the o th e r fellow s findings a n d in te rp re ta tio n s c a n n o t m erit serious
study. It is not ju st, say, neuroscientists w ho have this a ttitu d e to the
ostensible evidence for survival. Som e parapsychologists (from the
ex p erim en tal cam p) ten d to take this view of the d a ta g ath ered by
o th e r parapsychologists (those interested in the topics o f this book).
Some S p iritualists w ould accord a like negligent dism issal to the
findings of neuroscience. I do not like this rejection o f d a ta on faith - it
is at best a not very honest w ay of p ro tec tin g oneself from th e la b o u r of
having to ad ju st o n e s opinions. A far bigger act of faith - one to w hich
I m ust confess I ca n n o t at all tim es rise - is to accept b o th sets of d a ta ,
a n d to assum e th a t since th e universe is n ot in th e last resort d isorderly,
some w ay of reconciling th em will in the en d be found.
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Mediumship and Survival

By the same author

Series Editor: Brian Inglis

Published on behalf of the Society for Psychical Research

Printed in G reat Britain by

Between pages 146 and 147

F o r their kindness in reading a draft of this work, an d for m an y helpful

A long with his friends - chief am o n g them H e n ry Sidgwick an d

People have believed or disbelieved in h u m a n survival of bodily death

M ediumship and Survival

It is probable th a t several of the early leaders o f th e S P R - a n d most

T h e first, a n d less im portant, is w hat m ay be called the chance

T h e second com m only proferred counter-hypothesis to the survivalistic

M ediumship and Survival

D espite F ra z e rs prognostications of doom , m a n y societies in which

M ediumship and Survival

By far the greater p a rt of the ostensible evidence for survival comes

M ediumship and Survival

Miss R a m d s e n adds a note co n cern in g the (evidential) message which

C lairvoyant m edium ship has been less extensively studied by psychical

3 The Mediumship of Mrs Piper

M rs L e o n o ra E. P ip e r (1857-1950) is im p o rta n t in the history of

The Mediumship o f M rs Piper

The Mediumship o f M rs Piper

The Mediumship o f M rs Piper

L a te r a n o th e r friend ag reed to m a k e u p a n y deficit in H o d g s o n s

The Mediumship o f M rs Piper

O n 30 J a n u a ry 1906, M rs M. had a sitting. M rs M said:

If one regards the various naturalistic explanations of M rs P ip e rs

T h e theory of telepathy betw een m e d iu m a n d sitters has thus in certain

The Mediumship o f M rs Piper

R em ark ab le thou gh this excerpt is (not m ore rem arkable, however,

The Mediumship o f M rs Piper

curious old gold watch, which his b rother h ad worn . . . I handed it to M rs

M ediumship and Survival

him. In the w aking stage [i.e., w hen M rs P ip er was b eginning to co m e to ]

W e are, alas, today no n e a re r kno w ing the lim itations, if any, of

T his is, I fear, a n oversim plification, but it is an oversim plification ol a

4 The Mediumship of Mrs Leonard

At the end ol the last c h ap ter I briefly described an d discussed several

M ediumship and Survival

The Mediumship o f M rs Leonard

M ediumship and Survival

The Mediumship o f M rs Leonard

M ediumship and Survival

The Mediumship o f M rs Leonard

A ltogether, 124 items o f inform ation were given, of which 51 were

M ediumship and Survival

The Mediumship o f M rs Leonard

D ray ton T h o m a s s criticism of the universal telepathy hypothesis is

T hese co rrobo rations were a c c o m p a n ie d by the follow ing letter from

The Mediumship o f M rs Leonard

The Mediumship o f M rs Leonard

5 D rop-In Com m unicators

In successful proxy sittings, such as those described in the last ch apter,

M ediumship and Survival

M ediumship and Survival

14. H e h ad not died im m e d i

18. H e h ad Eskiljordur on his

W e now com e to the question o f w h e th e r this m a terial could have

H araldsson an d Stevenson are here considering, a n d rejecting,

T h e sitters m a d e one - unsuccessful - a tte m p t to check u p on these

M ediumship and Survival

O n a n o th e r occasion the c o m m u n ic a to r stated th a t h e h a d been a