The Problems of Psychical Research by Hereward Carrington (best books to read non fiction TXT) ๐
5. Psychical research, therefore, may continue to progress, in spite of the innate difficulties and the obstacles with which the subject is surrounded. It is our duty to see that it does! For it is certain that the subject will receive serious set-backs, from time to time, in the shape of unjust misrepresentations or bitter attacks from the outsiders, determined to "prove a case," even if the cause of truth be abandoned in order to do so. Take, e.g., the recent volume of Dr. Tanner and Dr. G. Stanley Hall (Studies in Spiritism). They received certain "lying communications," in spite of Professor William James' warning that "the personalities are very suggestible" and that "every one is liable t
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"'Dr. G. was the first sitter, and, for a reason known to myself, I used a monocular camera. I myself took the plate out of a packet just previously ripped up, under the surveillance of my two detectives. I placed the slide in my pocket and exposed it by magnesium ribbon which I held in my own hand, keeping one eye, as it were, on the sitter, and the other on the camera. There was no background. I myself took the plate from the dark slide, and, under the eyes of the two detectives, placed it in the developing dish. Between the camera and the sitter a female figure was developed, rather in a more pronounced form than that of the sitter.... I submit this picture.... I do not recognize her, or any of the other figures I obtained, as like any one I know....
"'Many experiments of like nature followed; on some plates were abnormal appearances, on others none. All this time Mr. D., the medium, during the exposure of the plates, was quite inactive....
"'The psychic figures behaved badly. Some were in focus, others not so. Some were lighted from the right, while the sitter was from the left; some were comely ... others not so. Some monopolized the major portion of the plate, quite obliterating the material sitters.... But here is the point: Not one of these figures which came out so strongly in the negative was visible in any form or shape to me during the time of exposure in the camera, and I vouch in the strongest manner for the fact that no one whatever had an opportunity of tampering with any plate anterior to its being placed in the dark slide or immediately preceding development. Pictorially they are vile, but how came they there?
"'Now, all this time I imagine you are wondering how the stereoscopic camera was behaving itself as such. It is due to the psychic entities to say that whatever was produced on one-half of the stereoscopic plates was produced on the otherโalike good or bad in definition. But, on a careful examination of one which was rather better than the other ... I deduce this fact, that the impressing of the spirit form was not simultaneous with that of the sitter.... This I consider an important discovery. I carefully examined one in the stereoscope and found that, while the two sitters were stereoscopic per se, the psychic figure was absolutely flat! I also found that the psychic figure was at least a millimetre higher up in one than in the other. Now, as both had been simultaneously exposed, it follows to demonstration that, although both were correctly placed, vertically in relation to that particular sitter, behind whom the figure appeared, and not so horizontally, this figure had not only not been impressed on the plate simultaneously with the two gentlemen forming the group, but had not been formed by the lens at all, and that, therefore, the psychic image might be produced without a camera. I think this is a fair deduction. But still the question obtrudes: How came these figures there? I again assert that the plates were not tampered with by either myself or any one present. Are they crystallizations of thought? Have lens and light really nothing to do with their formation? The whole subject was mysterious enough on the hypothesis of an invisible spiritโwhether a thought projection or an actual spirit, being really there in the vicinity of the sitterโbut it is now a thousand times more so....
"'In the foregoing I have confined myself as closely as possible to narrating how I conducted a photographic experiment open to every one to make, avoiding stating any hypothesis or belief of my own on the subject.'"
Let us now return to some later experiments in psychic photography. Two small photographs, one showing a face, the other a series of small starlike markings, were sent to me by a member of the Society for the Study of Psychic Photography, of England. Writing of these prints, my correspondent says:
"A week or so ago we distributed one hundred and ten strips of sensitive film, in light-tight packages, for friends of the members to 'wear.' This was done with the idea of ascertaining approximately what percentage of individuals possessed this gift. We agreed that the films should be carried about for a week, and where possible worn round the forehead at night. The experiment proved more successful than we had anticipated, since six out of the one hundred and ten films were more or less affected. The two best results are those shown on the prints enclosed herewith." (Not shown.)
These results are quite in keeping with some that have lately been obtained in California. In a recent communication which I have received from Mr. Vincent Jones, Vice-President of the California Psychical Research Society,โunder whose auspices the experiment was undertakenโhe says:โ
"Then we tried thought-photography. I bought some ordinary plates, which were opened in the dark-room of an X-ray laboratory. The plate was inclosed within an envelope of opaque black paper and this in another envelope. It was then suspended about twelve inches in front of the eyes of the sitting experimenter....
"This experimenter first wrote down on a slip of paper the thing he was going to concentrate on, folded it and handed it to a committee. Then he sat and concentrated for ten minutes. The plate was then developed, and contained the image, clear and strong and unmistakable, of a cross. This proved to be the subject handed to the committee." (See Fig. 3.)
In view of the remarkable character of this experimentโas well as its importance, and taking into account the apparently excellent conditions under which the test was made, I wrote to Mr. Jones, asking him to be kind enough to secure, if possible, the statements of any additional witnesses who might have been present on this occasion, and he sent me, in response to this request, the following affidavit, signed by five of the witnesses who were present at the time:
California Psychical Research Society,
San Francisco, Calif., Nov. 3, 1920.
Dr. Hereward Carrington.
504 West 111th St.
New York City.
Dear Dr. Carrington.
Enclosed is the print I promised you of the "Thought Photograph" taken by a Committee composed in part of members of the Council of the California Psychical Research Society, in May, 1919. The conditions were as follows: I purchased at Hirsch & Kaye, opticians and photo-supplies, a box of one dozen ordinary rapid Seed plates. I took the box unopened to the Committee meeting, which was held at the X-Ray Laboratory of Preston & Huppert in this city. Mr. Henry Huppert, Dr. Frank Collins, Dr. Cecil Nixon and myself went into the dark room, where Mr. Huppert opened the box of plates, took one at random from the centre of the package, enclosed it inside an opaque black envelope, and this again inside another yellow envelope and sealed it. This was taken outside and suspended about 12 inches in front of our subject, who was seated and had previously written down what he would concentrate upon, and handed the memo to Dr. Collins. The subject drew a rough outline of the object of his concentration, gazed fixedly upon it for about 5 minutes, then put it aside and for ten minutes concentrated upon the plate without touching the same. The plate was immediately taken into the dark room and developed, and the image of the cross developed at once, clear and strong. One of the Committee was in the room with the subject during the whole time, and there was no opportunity for any tampering with the plate. The object developed proved to be the one previously written down and handed to Dr. Collins.
Yours very truly,
Vincent Jones,
Frank T. Collins, D.O.,
J. C. Anthony, M.D.,
Cecil E. Nixon, D.O.S.,
Henry K. Huppert.
Supplementing this formal report, Mr. Vincent Jones sent me the following letter, in answer to my questions, which I also quote:โ
San Francisco, Calif., Nov. 10, 1920.
Dr. Hereward Carrington.
504 West 111th St.
New York City.
Dear Dr. Carrington.
Here is the signed statement I promised you, and the better print of the cross photo. The others who were present at the experiments are not where I can reach them at present, but the five whose signatures are appended to the accompanying statement are the best-known of the eight who were present,โmen whose testimony in a court of law would be accepted without question. Dr. Frank Collins is, or was, President of the Osteopaths' Association, a Spiritualist, student of Astrology and mystical subjects, and a member of the Council of the California Psychical Research Society. Dr. J. C. Anthony is a well and favorably known physician, who has practised here for many years, also a member of our Council. Dr. Cecil E. Nixon is a Dentist, best known as a Magician, and as the inventor of "Isis," a wonderful automaton which plays any tune you request of her on the zither. Mr. Henry Huppert is one of the partners in the Preston-Huppert X-Ray Laboratory, a man with scientific training and a student of the Occult.
Such a thing as substitution by the subject of another plate for the one we suspended before him was out of the question for two reasons. First, he was not left alone. Second, he did not know in advance just what was to be the nature of our experiment. When Mr. Huppert broke the seal on the box of plates, in the presence of the Committee of four, in the dark room, and selected one at random from the centre of the box, and enclosed it in the two envelopes, he not only sealed the envelopes but marked the envelopes, so that he would know if they had been tampered with. They could not have been opened without destroying these marks. Furthermore, in the room where the experiment was conducted, there was an ordinary electric light burning, and no substitution could have been made without affecting the plate. It could not have been possible that the subject, being previously unaware of the exact nature of the contemplated experiment, could have provided himself with plates of the same size and envelopes of two colours and of identically the same paper as those used in the X-Ray Laboratory. If anything happened to the plate it happened through the paper of the envelopes. But, as I have said, one of the committee was in the room during the whole experiment. The sole possibility of fraud was for the subject to have come prepared with a cross painted with radio-active paint, and to have held this against the envelopes whilst the Committee was off its guard. But the character of the subject is sufficient guarantee to all of us that such was not the case. I admit that to those who do not know him, this would furnish no guarantee, and that for this reason we should have taken even more stringent precautions. Had we known that such a result was to be obtained we probably would have done this, but we were just a company of friends who had gathered to try what we might accomplish, after having read of Colonel de Rochas' experiments along this line. We trusted one another, and so it is barely possible that for a moment some one who was
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