3 Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research, July 1891, February 1892.

Paid mediums are, in the end, unreliable. Even when no paid medium is present, the simple contagious excitement said to develop at séances original: "sesiones espiritistas" makes everything believed to happen there a story that must be taken with a grain of salt. 4 One of the examples provided by Mr. Myers was the result of séances, but it possessed characteristics of great importance to the argument. It can be found in the Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research, vol. xix. p. 139, July 1891. The participants are Mr. C., Mrs. C., and Mr. H. Mr. and Mrs. C. are described as good witnesses, known to Mr. Myers and Professor Barrett.

The health of Mr. H. has suffered so much that he cannot be examined; Mr. H. is the person who interests us here, for reasons that will be given later.

All three were "unbelievers" in these matters. On the second night, "lights floated through the room," which was illuminated, apparently, by a full moon. "F." (who is also "H.") felt cold hands touching him—these "hands" reappear in old pre-scientific accounts. The three "magicians" were holding hands tightly at that moment. Until then, Mr. H. had enjoyed excellent health, but after his chair was pulled from under him and he was "thrown to the ground," he entered "a trance." His watch and ring (on the finger of a hand held by Mrs. C.) were carried to a remote part of the room. H. leaves the circle and sits by the window. Another figure walks through the room. H. returns, is "thrown to the ground," his coat is removed, and his boots are discovered on a distant sofa. He asks for "something from home," enters a trance, and a photograph that he had kept locked away in his house is found on the table. His wife, who is in the city, "completely unaware that we have had séances, told us that, at that same hour, a terrible crash occurred in her bedroom. The photograph disappeared and reappeared last night, when H. was in a trance." He falls to the ground again. He has "alternating attacks of unconsciousness and delirium."

The house of Mr. and Mrs. C. (not the house where they were staying) is beset by "figures," noises, and bangs; "we were sprayed with water during the night," and drums and trumpets were heard, etc. Before a "manifestation," "we all felt a sudden chill, as if a wave of intensely cold air passed by or as if the temperature dropped rapidly." 5

4 As far as the author has personally witnessed séances, they have ended in nothing more than "laughter and more laughter."

5 At an Oxford college, some séances were held around 1875. The participants were all athletic undergraduate students. Cold air was always felt "before anything happened" and, when the students had left the faculty, the owner of the rooms, who was in his bedroom, felt disturbed by the uproar that continued in the living room. But I do not know if he had sported his oak! original: "lucido su roble" ("Sporting one's oak" is an idiomatic expression meaning that someone has closed the heavy outer door of a set of rooms to indicate they are not available or do not want to be disturbed. This expression is often used in British university settings.)

This is a repulsive story if Mr. H's health was ruined by his presence at these performances. However, the point is that he behaved in an epileptic manner while these events were unfolding. It is natural to assume that, in his "trances," he might have been capable, unconsciously, of feats that would be physically and morally impossible for him in his normal state. This explanation would not cover all the alleged events, but it would account for many of them.

Let us now take an old example: similar disturbances in Newbury original: "Newberry", New England, in 1679, similarly accompanied by the presence of an epileptic patient. 6 The house of William Morse was "strangely disturbed by a demon." The occupants were Morse, his wife, and his grandson, a boy whose age is not stated. The trouble began on December 3, with the sound of heavy objects falling on the roof. On December 8, large stones and bricks "were thrown at the west end of the house... the bed was lifted off the floor, the bed-staff was thrown out the window, and a cat was thrown at the wife."