munnings lived in hastings and worked as a boarding-house keeper. he was convicted of burglary for housebreaking at woking and was sentenced to nine months' imprisonment. munnings claimed to be a "direct voice" medium, but was exposed as a fraud when one of his séance sitters turned the lights on, revealing him to be holding a trumpet by means of a telescopic extension piece and using an angle piece to change the auditory effect of his voice.