Year: 2021

The anti-Spiritualists scoffed at the bare idea of a spirit picture. Nothing, they asserted, was easier to fake than a photograph. This is undeniably true, but what they conveniently chose to overlook were the test conditions under which the picture was taken. The plates used at the séance were provided by a Fleet Street Photographic agency after having been secretly marked by one of its representatives for identification purposes. They were loaded into the camera by the same representative. Two representatives of the agency were present the whole time the…

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CHAPTER TWELVE,FURTHER COMMUNICATIONS It is now more than thirty-five years since the world was startled by the publication in a psychic newspaper of a series of automatic writings entitled “My Life After Death” by Edgar Wallace. Although I had no part in the origin of this script that came through a medium in Wales, I was concerned in establishing its authenticity. During the last years of his life Edgar Wallace was always in the news as a novelist, journalist and a playwright. He was also a “character,” rich in eccentricities…

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I carried on transmitting spirit messages until Sir Arthur got to his feet and came over to my side. Slowly and deliberately he gave me a test message for Lady Doyle. It was an intimate one concerning another member of the family and referred to an event which had occurred only that morning. It convinced Lady Doyle that it must have come from her husband, as only she and the other member of the family were aware that the small incident described had happened. While giving clairvoyance that evening a…

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George Craze, President of the Merylebone Association, who had often presided for Doyle at public meetings, said he was.“Take care of this medium,” Doyle urged him. “She is doing wonderful work. And you, Swaffer, watch our interests in the battle for truth that is now taking place. Great forces are opposing us, yet we must go forever forward.” He continued in this vein for some time. Before taking his leave he sent a message to his wife with “all my love and affection” and one to his son Denis, “tell…

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The trumpet then fell to the ground with the fading of power.After the meeting Mrs. Brooke and some friends, over coffee, discussed this striking spirit message. They all regretted that the girl’s mother or some friend or relation had not been present to witness the nurse’s spirit return. For several days Mrs. Brooke deliberated, unable to make up her mind whether she might not be meddling with things which did not concern her if she took some positive action. At last she decided that no harm could come from checking…

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Poor Barbanell! There he was in Blackburn, in Bessy’s home town, and he had not told her dramatic story. With many of the audience having known Bessy in life, it would have created a sensation! Maurice Barbanell has a keen sense of humour and I know that he would be the first to appreciate this story, told to me by one of the sitters in a voice séance. The greatest drawback to any good direct voice communication is tension. Once Red Cloud had brought a poor soul who was trying…

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I sent a copy of this spirit message to the old Blackburn address, but my letter came back with the envelope marked “Gone away.” I was disappointed that Mrs. Manning’s family could not have the mother’s message. Then, to my surprise, I received a letter from another address in Blackburn. It was written by a Mrs. J. Smith, who described herself as a daughter of Mrs. Manning. Someone had seen a printed reference I had made to her mother’s return and had sent Mrs. Smith a copy of it. “I…

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“Eight years later, my daughter Bessy passed on, one of the most lovable and sweetest girls who ever lived. Just before the end, she said, ‘If it is possible at all, I will come back.’ I knew she would keep that promise. She has come in the most unexpected manner. I had often heard of the Red Cloud circle. “It came as a big surprise to me to receive a telegram from Mr. Barbanell telling me that my daughter had come through, asking for her mother and telling them where…

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Later Mrs. Manning assured me that this was true. Often, in her grief, she would take her daughter’s photograph, kiss it and talk to it. Bessy, to show that she knew what was happening in her own home, said to her mother: “You were telling Father about his boots this morning, weren’t you, Ma?” “That is quite right,” replied Mrs. Manning.“You said they wanted mending, didn’t you, Ma?”“I understand what you mean Bessy,” was the answer. “My Ma, I called her Ma,” said Bessy. In repeating Bessy’s words to enable…

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I regard Bessy Manning’s return as flawless evidence for the after-life. No theories of telepathy or the subconscious mind can explain it away. No suggestion of collusion or any other kind of fraud can be entertained. Mrs. Manning had never met Estelle Roberts, or corresponded with her or any member of her family. Neither had she written to me or anyone who attended these voice séances. Yet her daughter’s full name and address had been given, accompanied by a complete message which was accurate in every detail. Later, when I…

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I had never heard of Bessy Manning. I did not know whether there was a Mrs. Manning, or whether there was a Canterbury Street in Blackburn, but my confidence, built on years of experience with Red Cloud, was such that I knew the spirit information was correct. On the following morning, without the slightest doubt in my mind, I sent this telegram to Mrs. Manning at 14, Canterbury Street in Blackburn: “Your daughter, Bessy, spoke to us at Red Cloud’s circle last night.” I received no reply, so I telegraphed…

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The trumpet slowly moved towards me and a voice, obviously belonging to a young girl, said: “I will, All right. I will . . . “From long experience I knew that the way to get the best results was to encourage the communicators to speak, not to ply them with questions which could have a rebuffing effect. “Come along,” I urged, “you are going to try to give me a message. Come and talk to me.” The voice replied: “I will if I am allowed to talk. A kind man…

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“Shingi had set his heart on achieving a certain speed at the trial run. My husband was timing him. One lap had been just finished and he was at the beginning of another when the boat overturned.“His statement was correct. He achieved his speed.” One of the difficulties in writing a book from the medium’s viewpoint is that when you have been in a deep trance you are dependant on the memories of those present for an accurate description of what transpired. Because of this the presence of the shorthand…

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