The case for spirit photography
Doyle, Arthur Conan, 1859-1930 | Barlow, Fred
1^0^ 5'S >0;3S 3 S o _ M * *°B O O O P Pfi3 3 2 W (T) o w 3 § £S 3- o s* P -« 5 Ss-IL vj 3 Si o 3? 3* a P 3 ’—‘TO r+ CLO <? 3* o 3 CL P | MRS. DEANE AND MR. VEARNCOMBE ment, or I might well be branded as credulous. My rea- sons are that I am convinced that this magnetising proc- ess is perfectly unnecessary and Mrs. Deane, within my knowledge, obtains her best results when there has been no possibility of knowing who her sitter will be. The very finest result which I know of in psychic photog- raphy was that obtained by Dr. Cushman with Mrs. Deane. Dr. Cushman, a distinguished scientific man of America, had suffered the loss of his daughter Agnes some months before. He went to the Psychic College without an appointment or an introduction. When he arrived he found Mrs. Deane in the act of leaving. He persuaded her to give a sitting, and then and there he obtained a photograph of his “dead” daughter which is, he declares, unlike any existing one, and is more vital and characteristic than any taken in life. When I was in the States I showed this picture on the screen as in Figure 14, and there was abundant testimony from those who knew Agnes that it was a life-like picture. I would refer this case to the anonymous writers of the Magic Circle, who has done all they could to worry this poor woman and to destroy her powers, and I would ask them how that little bag of tricks which exists only in their own imagination could have affected such a re- sult as that. It will be noted in the already quoted opin- ion of Dr. Cushman that since this scandal Mrs. Deane has been severely tested by him and others, and that they have been able under the Doctor’s own conditions to get psychic results. Another excellent case of Mrs. Deane’s power is that which forms the subject of Figure 30. The extra in the ectoplasmic cloud is Mr. Barlow, senior, the father of [63] THE CASE FOR SPIRIT PHOTOGRAPHY the Secretary of the S.S.S.P. Beside him is a picture of how he looked twelve years before his death. No one can deny that it is the same man with the years added on. Mrs. Deane never knew Mr. Barlow’s father in life. How, then, was this result obtained? These are the cases which the Magic Circle report avoids, while it talks much of any negative results which it can collect or imagine. I hope that this short account may do something towards helping a woman whom I be- lieve to be a true psychic, and who has suffered severely for the faith that is in her, having actually, I under- stand, endured the excommunication of her church be- cause she has used the powers which God has given her. I have a recollection that Joan of Arc endured the same fate for the reason “le plus il change , le plus il reste le meme” It only remains for me now, before giving place to others, to say a word about Mr. Vearncombe, the psychic photographer of Bridgwater. Mr. Vearncombe was a normal, professional photographer, but he found, as Mumler did, that inexplicable extras intruded upon and Spoilt both his plates and his business. He then began to study this new power, which he seemed to pos- sess, and to develop it for commercial use. Mrs. Hum- phreys, a member of the S.S.S.P. and a student of psychic affairs, lived in the same town and submitted him to certain tests which convinced her and others of his bona fides, though I cannot repeat too often that no blank cheque of honesty can ever be given to any man. My own experience of Mr. Vearncombe and my knowledge of his work are far less than in the cases of Mr. Hope and Mrs. Deane, so that I can only say that [64] MRS. DEANE AND MR. VEARNCOMBE I believe he produces genuine results, whereas in the other two cases I can say that I know they produce genu- ine results. I have had two experiments with Vearncombe, but did not impose any test conditions in either case. I simply sent a closed envelope containing a letter and asked him to photograph it in the hope that some extra might appear which I could associate with the sender of the letter. In both cases a large number, six or seven, well-marked faces developed round the letter, but none which bore any message to me. Others, how- ever, have been more fortunate in their experience and have assured me that they have received true pictures of the dead in that fashion. There is no ectoplasmic cloud or psychic arch, but the faces are as clear-cut as if they were stamped with a die. I am in some degree responsible for Vearncombe’s troubles, as I mentioned his name as being one who might repay investigation upon the occasion when I gave evidence before a committee *of these conjuring gentlemen. They seem to have made up a sealed packet to Mr. Vearncombe with instructions to get what he could. Upon its return they declared that the packet, which had furnished a psychic result, had been tampered with. No independent proof whatever was offered in support of this assertion, and Mr. Fred Barlow, who had obtained results from Mr. Vearncombe, where he was sure that the packets had not been tampered with, was sufficiently interested to hunt up the name of the sender and some details of the case from the Veam- combe end, rather than from that of the “exposers.” Fortunately Vearncombe had preserved the letters, and [65] THE CASE FOR SPIRIT PHOTOGRAPHY it was then found that the sender, when the packet and the psychic result had been returned, had at once written to Veamcombe to acknowledge receipt, adding the two statements : (1) That one of the faces strongly recalled “an old true friend who had not been heard of for many years,” and (2) That the packet had been returned intact. Thus the Magic Circle had clearly fallen into the pit that it had digged, and its agent is convicted either of being a senseless liar without any cause, or else of hav- ing completely endorsed the result which the Circle afterwards pretended was a failure. It was one of those numerous instances when it is not the medium but the investigators who should really be exposed. My experience is that this is the case far more frequently than the public can realise, and that it is amazing how men of honour can turn and twist the facts when they deal with this subject. A well-known “exposer” as- sured a friend of mine that he would think nothing of putting muslin in a medium’s pocket at a seance, if he was sure that he could thereby secure a conviction. I have seen a letter from Mr. Marriott, who is also busy in showing up “frauds,” in which, writing to Mr. Hope, he offered to teach him to make more artistic spirit-photographs, charging thirty guineas if the les- sons were in London and forty if at Crewe. I am quite prepared to anticipate Mr. Marriott’s explanation that this was a trap, but it is an example of the tortuous, deceptive methods against which our mediums have to contend. [66] MRS. DEANE AND MR. VEARNCOMBE I understand that Mr. Veamcombe is so disgusted with the whole episode that he declares he will demon- strate his powers no longer, save to private friends. We can but hope that he will not allow ignorant or dis- honest anonymous criticism to influence him to this extent. If all of us who endure annoyance, and even insult, were to desert the spiritualist cause in order to save our private feelings, we could hardly expect the truth to prevail. Let me conclude by saying that I speak from a far larger experience than the representatives of the S.P.R. or of the Magic Circle, and that, leaving out Mr. Vearn- combe, who needs no defence in the face of the admis- sion quoted above, I have no doubt whatever of the true psychic powers of Mrs. Deane and of Mr. Hope, though I cannot pronounce upon every single case at which I was not present and when I have had no opportunity of examining the complete evidence. I fear that the most permanent result of this episode will be that the spir- itualists will very reasonably refuse the present regime of the Research Society all access to their mediums, since experience has shown that they may, without a chance of self-defence, be attacked in consequence in a cheap, popular pamphlet before even the case has been examined by any impartial authority. POSTSCRIPT At the last moment before this booklet goes to press, I am able to insert the fact that Hope’s complete inno- cence has now been clearly established, and he stands before the world as a man who has been very cruelly maligned, and the victim of a plot which has been quite [67] THE CASE FOR SPIRIT PHOTOGRAPHY extraordinary in its ramifications. It was at last found possible to get the cover in which the original packet of plates was wrapped, and on it were found unmistak- able signs that it had been tampered with and opened. Thus the deductions made in the text from the evidence already to hand have been absolutely justified, and it is clear that the marked plates were abstracted before the packet reached the Psychic College and two ordinary plates substituted, upon one of which Hope produced an “extra.” The conclusion was reached by the acumen and patience of Mr. Hewat McKenzie, but his results were examined and endorsed unanimously by a strong committee, which included, besides myself, Mr. and Mrs. McKenzie, General Carter, Colonel Baddeley, Mr. Stanley de Brath, Mrs. Stobart, Miss V. R. Scatcherd, Mrs. de Crespigny, Mr. H. C. Scofield and Mr. F. Bligh Bond. It now only remains to find out who is the culprit who has played this cunning trick, and it is not difficult to say that the hand which returned the marked plate through the post is the same hand as that which took it out of the packet. A reward has already been offered for the identification of the person con- cerned. In the meantime it would be unfair to blame the agents of the S.P.R., who may, while trying to trick Hope, have been themselves tricked. Nothing, how- ever, can excuse them from the charge of culpable negli- gence in failing to examine the wrappers which so clearly tell the story, and which have been kept so long in their possession. As the matter stands, five persons stand as defendants : Mr. Harry Price, Mr. Moger, Mr. James Seymour, Miss Newton, Secretary of the S.P.R., and Mr. Dingwall, Research Officer of that body. If [68] MRS. DEANE AND MR. VEARNCOMBE there is someone else in the background who has tricked them, then it is for them to find out who it is. Their negligence has been such that it is difficult to say what atonement can meet it, and it throws a very lurid light upon some of the so-called “exposures” of the past. As one of the oldest members of the S.P.R., I feel that the honour of that body will not be cleared until they have appointed an impartial committee to consider these facts and to determine what steps should be taken. Arthur Conan Doyle. November 14th, 1922. [69] CHAPTER VII THE GENESIS AND HISTORY OF THE CREWE CIRCLE By F. R. Scatcherd Member of the Society for Psychical Research, Co- Editor of the Asiatic Review (Miss Felicia Scatcherd, who has been one of the true psychic researchers and pioneers of knowledge in this country, has con- tributed the following information which she gained during her close association with the Crewe Circle at and after the time of its formation.) Questioned about himself, Mr. Hope said that he was christened “Billy Hope,” and was bom at or near Man- chester. His first memory is of having scarlet fever when he was four years old. During the fever he used to see all sorts of faces peering at him through the door- way, and became so frightened that he screamed for his father to come and send them away. Now that he knows about clairvoyance, he thinks otherwise of those visions. He lost his mother when he was nine, and re- members little about her. It is a curious fact, as he observed : “I have washed for her picture hundreds of times, and sat for it many a while, and have never yet got it. These things beat me.” When asked did he grieve much for his mother’s death, he replied that he was brought up in a religious family, his father being a local preacher. Later on Mr. Hope, Senior, lost all his worldly possessions. “My father was wealthy according to my ideas,” [70] HISTORY OF THE CREWE CIRCLE said Mr. Hope. “He had two farms, but late in life lost his money.” Mr. Hope was well cared for by his mother as long as he had her, and afterwards by his step-mother. “She was a good woman: and I had an aunt of a religious frame of mind who also kept an eye on me.” “You must have been a very good little boy,” I said. “Oh dear, no! I was much the same as the other lads. I played plenty of truant, and once joined a party of seven and ran the schoolmaster round the room. We had agreed beforehand what we would do if he began a-thrashing of us. But don’t put that in, Miss Scatcherd !” Spirit photography first interested him when he was working at a bleach and dye-works near Pendleton. Being an amateur photographer, he and a comrade agreed to photograph each other one Saturday after- noon. Mr. Hope exposed a plate on his friend and developed it, when they saw a woman standing beside him. The brick wall showed through the figure, there being no background. The sitter, a Roman Catholic, was frightened, and asked how the woman had got on the plate, and did Mr. Hope know her. When Mr. Hope replied that he did not know the lady nor how she got there, the man said it was his sister who had been dead for many years. Neither knew anything of spiritualism, so they took it to the works on Monday and showed it to their fore- man, who happened also to be an amateur photographer, and was “lost in wonder” over it. But there was a fellow worker, a spiritualist, who said it was a spirit photo. The foreman arranged that the experiment [71] THE CASE EOR SPIRIT PHOTOGRAPHY should be repeated with the same camera the following Saturday, when not only the identical woman appeared again but with her, her little dead baby. “I thought this very strange,” said Mr. Hope; “it made me more interested in spirit photography, and I have been dabbling at it ever since. I felt sorry for my mate, he was so scared. When he saw the second result, I thought he would have pegged out” (died of fright). The Circle used to destroy all negatives. The mem- bers did not want anyone to know about their spirit photography, as many people did not want to do busi- ness with them, saying it was all the devil’s work. Till the advent of Archdeacon Colley on the scene not a single negative was kept. After a print was taken the negative was destroyed. Mr. and Mrs. Buxton met Mr. Hope some seventeen years ago at the Spiritualist Hall at Crewe, where Mr. Buxton was organist. After the service Mr. Hope asked Mr. Buxton if he could find one or two friends to form a circle to sit for spirit photography. This was done, and it was arranged to use the next Wednesday evening from eight to nine. One of the circle of six was a non-spiritualist, but was converted when a picture of his father and mother was obtained. A strange thing is that when all were anxiously desiring a picture, a message appeared on the first plate exposed. This message promised a picture next time, and stated that it would be for the master of the house. The promise was kept several sittings later, when the picture of Mr. Buxton’s mother and cf Mrs. Buxton’s sister came on the plate. Mr. Buxton was of [72] HISTORY OF THE CREWE CIRCLE the opinion that this was given to do away with the idea of thought photography. They were all thinking of a picture and never dreamed that such a thing as a written message would be given. They have been very persevering, having sat regularly ever since, each Wednesday from eight to nine, securing a picture on an average of one a month at the outset. There have been many storms before which have broken over the Crewe Circle, but the cause of them has usually been the limited knowledge of the strange possibilities ol psychic photography on the part of the sitters and of the public. One of the most notorious of these so-called “exposures” (which really were expos- ures of the critics’ ignorance) was in 1908, and arose out of Archdeacon Colley’s first sitting. He had heard that the Crewe Circle were simple-looking folk, and this attracted him, so he broke his journey at Crewe and called upon Mr. and Mrs. Hope, who had just lost their eldest daughter. The Archdeacon apologised for hav- ing come at such a time, but Mr. Hope sent him on to Mr. and Mrs. Buxton, where he was shown the photos and asked to see the negatives. He was shocked when he heard that they had all been destroyed, and from that time kept all negatives he was able to get hold of. The Archdeacon brought his own camera, loaded at Stockton with his own diamond-marked plates. He kept the plates in his own possession and focussed the camera, which he put up outside the house , although it was raining. Mr. Hope merely pressed the bulb and Archdeacon Colley developed the plates with his own developer. When he held the picture to the light he exclaimed: “My father and my sainted mother!” [73] THE CASE FOR SPIRIT PHOTOGRAPHY Mr. Hope was the first to notice the likeness between “Mrs. Colley” and a picture he had copied about two years ago, and cycled with it to Mr. Spencer, of Nant- wich. Mrs. Spencer declared it to be her grandmother, and cried out, “Oh, if this had only come with us how pleased we should have been !” Mr. Hope then wrote to Archdeacon Colley telling him it could not be his mother, as it had been recognised at Nantwich. The Archdeacon said it was madness to think a man did not know his own mother, and adver- tised in the Leamington paper, asking all who remem- bered his mother to meet him at the Rectory, when eighteen persons selected the photograph from several others and testified in writing that the picture was a portrait of the late Mrs. Colley, who had never been photographed. The Crewe friends heard no more about the matter until the controversy in Light (February 14th, 1914, and subsequent numbers). The extraordinary igno- rance, even of the spiritualistic public, on these matters, was revealed by the storm of indignation that burst upon the devoted heads of the Crewe Circle and their supporters. The testimony of such students and schol- ars as the late Mr. James W. Sharpe, M.A., of Bourne- mouth, an eminent mathematician and expert authority on all questions of psychical research, did little to allay the outburst. In vain it was pointed out that no fact was better vouched for than the reproduction by “spirit” photographers of well-known pictures and photographs, often true in every detail to the originals. The theory and fact of ideoplasticity were ridiculed just as they are ridiculed to-day by those who should keep themselves [74] HISTORY OF THE CREWE CIRCLE up-to-date in physical science, if they wish to judge justly the yet more complex problems of psychical science. The Society for Psychical Research was as unhelpful as the “man in the street,” so far as its leading author- ities were concerned. To return to the beginning of things : it was on July 1 6th, 1909, when, in response to a telegram from Arch- deacon Colley, I went to Leamington, where I first met the Rev. Prof. Henslow and two members of the Crewe Circle who were on a visit to the Archdeacon. A seance for spirit photography was held. It was disappointing in one sense. Prof. Henslow was told that he would find impressions on certain plates in a sealed packet on the table which was not to be opened for a fortnight. I prepared to say good-bye, when Mr. Hope said he would like to do something for the visitor from Lon- don. “The friends say that if the lady can remain the night they will give her a test.” I replied that the only test of interest to me was one that would convince my fellow-members of the Society for Psychical Research. The mediums insisted, but I refused to stay unless Prof. Henslow also remained and took charge of the proceedings. “Sir, do stay !” pleaded Mr. Hope. “There are five of us — you, the Archdeacon, Mrs. Buxton, Miss Scatch- erd and myself. You must buy five plates from your own photographer. Each plate must be put into a light- tight envelope and worn by the sitter, with the sensitised surface next to the person, until the seance. It will not take long to fetch the plates and bring them back to us. Thus we shall have an hour to wear them before the [75] THE CASE FOR SPIRIT PHOTOGRAPHY seance this evening. It is the only way to get them magnetised so as to have immediate results. You can each develop your own plate to-night and then Miss Scatcherd will know whether the friends have kept their word.” Prof. Henslow good-naturedly agreed and drove off with the Archdeacon to purchase the plates. I remained with Mrs. Buxton and Mr. Hope. Within an hour the Archdeacon returned with four plates put up as directed. Professor Henslow had gone home to dinner wearing his plate in a wood slide contrived by Arch- deacon Colley. Mrs. Buxton and I tucked ours inside our blouses and Mr. Hope placed his in that trouser- pocket which has aroused such evil suspicions in the minds of investigators. We remained together until Prof. Henslow joined us. It was full daylight We sat round the table when Mr. Hope asked : “What do you want, Miss Scatcherd? A face? A message? What shall it be?” “You forget my conditions; Prof. Henslow must decide. Let him choose,” I replied. Prof. Henslow said he did not care what came so long as the same thing appeared on all the plates. It was a remark worthy of the speaker, conveying, as it did, a most crucial test, in view of the fact that he had never let his plate out of his own keeping. The usual seance was held. Prof. Henslow developed his plate first. I developed mine under Archdeacon Colley’s supervision, then Mrs. Buxton and Mr. Hope developed theirs. The results are of interest. The Archdeacon did not wear a plate so as to leave “more power for the others.” [76] HISTORY OF THE CREWE CIRCLE Mr. Hope’s plate was blurred. The tablet on Prof. Henslow’s was identical in outline with Mrs. Buxton’s and mine, both of which were sharp and clear, but Mrs. Buxton’s was the best. Mrs. Buxton had been with me the whole time, and her six-months-old baby had never left her arms. The message addressed to Prof. Henslow was ap- propriate, but the writing was so microscopically fine that we could not read it that night. Mr. Hope was very disappointed. “Never mind,” he said, “when we get home we will ask the guides to give it us again !” He and Mrs. Buxton were leaving by the early morn- ing train. The Archdeacon had charge of the nega- tives and had promised to let us know as soon as he had deciphered the message. The mediums did not like their lodgings, so slept at my hotel. I saw them off in the morning, before any of us knew what the message was. A day or two later I received from the mediums a duplicate of the mes- sage not yet known to them or to myself. But this time the writing was large enough to be read by the naked eye. As Prof. Henslow had requested, the same thing had come on all the plates in differing degrees of distinctness. This was my first experience of a Crewe skotograph, and it was decisive. As I wrote in the Psychic Gazette from notes submitted to Archdeacon Colley at the time, and afterwards read by Prof. Henslow when published, no suspicions could fall either on the mediums, Arch- deacon Colley or myself, as not one of us had had the chance of tampering with Prof. Henslow’s plate, nor could Prof. Henslow and his photographer have pre- [77] THE CASE FOR SPIRIT PHOTOGRAPHY pared a series of plates for an occasion on which they had no reason to have reckoned. I wrote a minute account of these early experiments, according to the strictest psychical research methods, and left it with Mr. Wallis, the then editor of Light. He did not publish it, and when I returned to England it could not be found. This incident is briefly recorded by Prof. Henslow in Proofs of the Truths of Spiritual- ism, pp. 224-7. [78] Fig. 16. — Photomicrograph by Major R. E. E. Fig. 17. — Photomicrograph by Major R. E. E. Spencer of portion of Archdeacon Colley’s Spencer of portion of Archdeacon Colley’s sig- signature taken from letter written during his nature on psychograph appearing after his lifetime. ( See p. 84.) death. Compare with Figs. 2. and 16. Fig 18.— Photograph of Mr. Wm. Walker Fig. 19.— Mr. and Mrs. Harry Walker and two with message in the handwriting of Mr. friends with psychic likeness of Mr. Walker’s W. T. Stead. ( See p. 87.) father. Compare with Fig. 18. CHAPTER VIII EVIDENTIAL AND SCIENTIFIC ASPECTS OF PSYCHIC PHOTOGRAPHY By Fred Barlow Hon. Sec. S.S.S.P., Hon. Sec. Birmingham and Midland S.P.R. No phase of psychical research has been more adversely criticised in the past than psychic photography. This is undoubtedly due to the prevalence of many erroneous ideas on the whole subject. It is a popular fallacy that it is the easiest thing in the world to fake a “spirit” photograph. Those few pho- tographers who have tried to imitate a genuine psychic effect have usually made the discovery that it is by no means so easy a matter as it appears, even when no restriction is placed on the conditions under which the fake should be produced. When conditions are im- posed, similar to those usually obtaining with, say, the Crewe Circle, the difficulty of producing a fraudulent result is enormously increased. Under certain condi- tions, where suitable precautions are employed and where the sitter has a thorough knowledge of photog- raphy, plus an acquaintance with trick methods, even the possibility of deception without detection can, for all practical purposes, be ruled out of court. Under these special conditions, investigators of repute have on many occasions secured successful psychic results. Apart altogether from any question of test condi- tions, however, there are certain results which, in them - [79] THE CASE FOR SPIRIT PHOTOGRAPHY selves, afford definite proof of their genuine nature. I refer to those recognised psychic likenesses obtained by sitters who are quite unknown to the sensitives and who have secured results which could not possibly have been prepared in advance. One such case would be sufficient to establish the reality of psychic photography. It is no exaggeration to say that this has actually oc- curred on scores of occasions, and, in consequence, the evidence for the truth of psychic photography is overwhelming. It has been said that recognised psychic likenesses exists only in the imagination of the individuals claim- ing them as such. It is, alas, too true that some well- meaning individuals will see a likeness where none exists. It is, however, equally true that many bigoted sceptics will refuse to acknowledge a likeness that is obvious to the unprejudiced on comparing normal and supernormal photographs. There are two sides to the question of credulity, and I have known sceptics deny the reality of a likeness where the supernormal effect has been an exact (but draped) duplicate of a normal photograph ! We must remember that it may be difficult to recog- nise a likeness between a normal and supernormal photo- graph where the subject to us is unknown. Two photo- graphs of the same individual, taken at different pe- riods, will often vary considerably, but those acquainted with that individual can recognise the likeness of each photograph to the original without the slightest diffi- culty. So in a supernormal photograph : those claiming a likeness between the supernormal effect and some near relative, or friend, who has crossed the border, are in a [80] EVIDENTIAL AND SCIENTIFIC ASPECTS better position, from their knowledge of that person, to speak with authority on the question of recognition than those who never saw the original. This question of recognised likenesses is a point the critic tries to evade. The reader can judge of the value of this evi- dence from the few illustrations in this booklet which are typical of hundreds of similar results. The mental attitude of some intelligent people to psychic photography is distinctly curious. They have got the idea fixed into their heads that these photo- graphs must be one of two things — “fakes” or “spirits.” Naturally enough, in some of the cases that have been reported they find it difficult to believe that such a re- sult could have been produced entirely by a discarnate entity. Therefore they jump to the false conclusion that the result must of necessity have been faked. In a scientific investigation we should first of all concern ourselves with facts , without troubling over-much with theories. A very little first-hand investigation will satisfy any unprejudiced individual as to the reality of psychic photography. Having reached that stage such a person will be in a better position to theorise on the cause of the phenomena. After many years of close concentration on this subject I have arrived at the conclusion that psychic photography differs only in kind and not in degree from other phases of psychic phenomena. I do not see how we can possibly get away from the fact that many of these photographic effects are produced by discarnate intelligences. Whilst firmly believing this, I should never be so dogmatic as to claim that all supernormal pictures have been produced by discarnate spirits [81] THE CASE FOR SPIRIT PHOTOGRAPHY Spirit, whether discarnate or incarnate, to manifest to our material senses must make use of matter — there must be a medium. A medium, or sensitive, is just as essential for psychic photography as for, say, auto- matic writing. As investigators are aware, in auto- matic script it frequently happens that along with com- munications from the “other side” come writings de- rived from the subconsciousness of the automatist, and such, I am convinced, is often the case in psychic pho- tography. The subconscious is used to cover a multitude of theories. Certainly it is not an unfeasible explanation in some instances. Let me cite one case, which is typi- cal of many. One of the members of the S.S.S.P. — Mr. Hobbs, of Purley, a keen business man — travelled to Crewe with his wife. They and the Crewe Circle were perfect strangers to each other. Mrs. Hobbs at the time was wearing a locket containing a photograph of their son, who had been killed in the war. This was tucked away out of sight in her blouse. The usual seance was held and to their great delight the visitors secured a picture of their boy. Trickery was impossible. Even supposing Mr. Hope had seen the photograph in the locket there was no time to produce a fraudulent result and foist this upon the alert sitters. A careful examination of the print, however, reveals the fact that the psychic picture is an exact but re- versed duplicate of the photograph in the locket. Even the rim of the locket can be clearly seen. This sort of thing has occurred time and again. The image of the locket would be indelibly impressed on the memory of the mother, and it may well be that [82] EVIDENTIAL AND SCIENTIFIC ASPECTS in some peculiar way the sensitive proved a medium for the projection of that conscious or subconscious image on to the photographic plate. Such an argument is not to be lightly dismissed, and the fact that the image obtained on the plate may not have been in the conscious mind of the sitter at the time does not neces- sarily affect the issue. I candidly admit that some such explanation may account for many of these curious effects. Sometimes the psychic pictures are facsimile copies of magazine covers and pictures no fraudulent medium would ever think of producing, and, like the faces in our dreams, they may come from the subconscious. At the same time, attempts to produce definite conscious thought-pictures, with the co-operation of a photo- graphic medium, have almost always proved abortive in our experiments in this country. Some of the Con- tinental members of the S.S.S.P., however, have con- centrated on this line of research and have succeeded in obtaining thoughtgraphs which, more or less, re- semble the object on which the thoughts of the subject have been intensely concentrated. These experiments, and, in particular, recent photographic experiments in connection with subjects under hypnosis, are yielding encouraging results. We must be careful not to overdo the subconscious. It is no self-contained unit, but rather an instrument used in the production of these phenomena. In con- sequence, it frequently happens that along with com- munications from the “other side” comes matter de- rived from the subconsciousness of the sensitive and even from that of the sitter. An investigator obsessed [83] THE CASE FOR SPIRIT PHOTOGRAPHY with the idea of fraud will often effectively negative all phenomena by his unconscious action on the men- tality of the medium. In these investigations we must use that uncommon faculty of common sense. Com- mon sense tells us that we cannot accept the explana- tion that all psychic photographs are produced by the thoughts of incarnate beings. Whether it agrees with his pet theories or not, the serious student is bound to realise that, sooner or later, other minds are at work distinct from, and often superior in intelligence to, that of either medium or sitter. These intelligences claim to be the spirits of the so-called dead. They sub- stantiate their claims by giving practical proof that they are whom they purport to be. For example, what better proof of survival could be given by a deceased person than that of a message in his own handwriting, referring to events that happened after his death? Such messages are by no means an unfrequent occurrence. There can be no doubt about the genuineness of the handwriting. Major R. E. E. Spencer has gone to an immense amount of time and trouble in making photomicrographs of normal and supernormal writings for the purpose of comparison. Illustrations are given of two of these photomicro- graphs. Figure 16 shows a portion of the signature of Archdeacon Colley taken from a letter written by him before death, whilst Figure 17 shows a corresponding portion reproduced from a photographic message re- ceived after his death. This message referred to events subsequent to his decease. Occasionally, in these psychographs, as these written photographic messages are termed, the mentality of [84] EVIDENTIAL AND SCIENTIFIC ASPECTS the medium or sitters will get in the way, with very curious results. Throughout all these phenomena, however, there is every indication that other influences are at work. Whoever or whatever these intelligences behind the scenes may be, in no uncertain voice they claim to be discamate souls. Surely they are in a better position to form a correct opinion hereon than we material outsiders? How do the psychic images get on to the plate? Far too much time, in the past, has been lost in attempting to convince those who do not believe (and those who do not want to believe), of the genuine nature of psychic photography, and our ignorance of this phenomenon is appalling. The difficulties attending scientific re- search in this domain are considerable. So far, we can only definitely say that in many instances the psychic figures on the plate are not objective in the same sense as the sitters. The supernormal images have every appearance of having been projected on to the sensitive plate, independently of the lens and camera. In employing several cameras simultaneously, together with a stereo camera, I have only succeeded so far in securing a psychic image on one of the plates exposed. There are indications that in some cases the psychic effects are printed on to the plate through a psychic equivalent to our normal transparency — in fact, it has come to be known as a psychic transparency. Identical transparency markings are to be found on the plates of photographic sensitives from all parts of the world. These particular markings can clearly be seen over the negative obtained by Mr. Harry Price in his experiment [85] THE CASE FOR SPIRIT PHOTOGRAPHY with Mr. Hope. I am convinced that the effect obtained on this occasion was a genuine psychic result. The possibility of this is freely admitted by Mr. Price. The fact that in nine cases out of ten the psychic images are the same way up as the sitter suggests that the “something” that occurs actually takes place after the plate has been inserted in the dark slide. Such small points as these may eventually play an important part in the final solution of the modus operandi. Now let us return to the object of this book — the question of evidence. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle has dealt so thoroughly, earlier in these pages, with the recent attacks by the S.P.R. and the Magic Circle that I do not propose to refer to them again here at length. As illustrating the impartial attitude of the Society of which I have the honour to be Secretary, however, I would like to say that almost immediately on the publication of these critical reports the matter was dis- cussed by the members of this Society, and it was arranged to subject the whole of the evidence to a thorough investigation. In this connection the S.S.S.P., in conjunction with the B.C.P.S., sought the co-opera- tion of the Society for Psychical Research and the Occult Committee of the Magic Circle. A proposal was sent to the bodies mentioned ex- pressing the desire of the S.S.S.P. to subject the charges to thorough and impartial investigation, and suggesting that three members from each of these four bodies should form a committee of investigation. The members elected by the S.S.S.P. were Dr. Abraham Wallace, President, Col. C. E. Baddeley, C.M.G., O.G., and Major R. E. E. Spencer, three careful and ex- [86] EVIDENTIAL AND SCIENTIFIC ASPECTS perienced investigators. For reasons best known to themselves, both the S.P.R. and the Occult Committee of the Magic Circle refused to entertain this sugges- tion. The reader can draw whatever inference he likes from this uncompromising attitude. To my mind such a refusal is directly opposed to the objects for which the Society for Psychical Research was formed. A striking example of the persistence of personality is to be found in the case of the late Mr. Wm. Walker, of Buxton. Mr. Walker was the President of the Buxton Camera Club. Being a keen photographer, he took an intense interest in the work of the Crewe Circle and co-operated with them in numerous experiments. He was the first photographer to obtain psychic photo- graphic results in colours (by the Paget process) through the mediumship of his friends. Shortly before the late Mr. W. T. Stead left this country for his last voyage to America, Mr. Walker saw him in London. Mr. Stead was very interested in the results obtained at Crewe and strongly urged his friend to keep him posted as to future developments. A little while later Mr. Stead was drowned on the ill- fated Titanic. On May 6th, 1912, Mr. Walker, in ex- perimenting at Crewe, was surprised and pleased to receive on his plates a message from his friend, which read: “Dear Mr. Walker, “I will try to keep you posted. “W. T. Stead.” 1 Two plates had been exposed; both contained the same message, but in one case the writing was reversed [87] THE CASE FOR SPIRIT PHOTOGRAPHY and appeared as “mirror writing/' as it is called. This result is shown by Figure 18. The writing does not re- produce very clearly, but experts have declared that, beyond all doubt, it is identical with the handwriting of the late W. T. Stead. Mr. Wm. Walker followed Mr. Stead into the Great Beyond a few years later. Since his death his relatives and friends have received innumerable tokens of his activities on the “other side,” in connection with the subject in which he was so interested whilst in the body. The illustration shown by Figure 19 represents a normal photograph of Mr. H. Walker and his wife (son and daughter-in-law) and two friends, with a clearly- defined supernormal likeness of the late Mr. Wm. Walker. This was taken under satisfactory test con- ditions on February 19th, 1916. 