Roy Stemman - Spirit Communication: An investigation into the extraordinary world of mediums, psychics and the afterlife

SPIRIT

COMMUNICATION

A comprehensive guide to the
extraordinary world of mediums,
psychics and the afterlife

ROY STEMMAN

piatkus

PIATKUS

First published in Great Britain in 2005 by Piatkus Books Ltd
This paperback edition published in 2010 by Piatkus
Reprinted 2011 (twice)

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is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978-0-7499-4111-6

Text design by Briony Chappell
Edited by Krystyna Mayer

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The author would like to thank The Spiritual Truth Foundation who made a significant contribution to the publication of Spirit Communication.

The Foundation was established for the promotion and advancement of the religion and religious philosophy of Spiritualism. It finances the publication of books whose contents deserve a wider audience than that represented by the Spiritualist movement. It supports the publication of the series of books on the spirit teachings of Silver Birch and reprinting of out-of-print classics on spiritual knowledge and phenomena. The charity also alleviates poverty among Spiritualists.

For more information about The Spiritual Truth Foundation, or make a bequest, please contact The Spiritual Truth Foundation, .5 Broom Hall, Oxshott, Surrey, KT22 OJZ.

Spirit communication has been an integral part of most cultures from their earliest days, with the special gifts of oracles, shamans, witches, seers, mystics, prophets or psychics helping to guide and direct individuals and groups. Just over a century and a half ago, however, it seemed that the veil that separates this world from the next was lifted a little more, to allow greater contact between the two. Gifted individuals declared that a new age was dawning; loud raps and blockings responded to questions with a simple yes/no code, indicating contact with an unseen intelligence; and the religion of Spiritualism was born in the United States, quickly spreading around the world.

Spiritualisms humble birthplace was the tiny hamlet of Hydesville, just outside New York City, and its first, relatively modest manifestation consisted of strange blockings in the home of the Fox family, which began on 31 March 1848. Disturbed by these inexplicable sounds, John Fox, his wife and his two daughters Margaret and Kate soon discovered that they could communicate with the spirit responsible, who used a code to rap out his answers. He claimed to be a peddler who was murdered in the house and, indeed, human remains were later discovered buried in the cellar.

Hundreds of people witnessed the phenomenon: the raps were often so loud that many individuals gathered outside were able to hear them. Several committees were formed to investigate the phenomenon, and their tests included asking questions mentally to which the spirit gave replies. The raps followed the Fox sisters when they visited other places, and the talent seems to have spread quickly to others. Before long, Margaret, Kate and their older sister Leah were giving private sittings.

Within three years, ther e were an estimated one hundred mediums offering their services in New York and between 50 and 60 private circles had been established in Philadelphia. The first experimental organisation, the New York Circle, was also formed to test the powers of mediums claiming to be able to communicate with the spirit world.

Spiritualism had arrived but its birth was not without complications. By April 1855, the North American Review reported there were nearly two million Spiritualists in the United States. More powerful mediums than the Fox sisters had appeared and incredible stories circulated about heavy objects levitating, spirit voices speaking and even full-form materialisations of the dead appearing and speaking to their loved ones.

With Spiritualisms rapid growth and startling phenomena, which challenged both orthodox religion and science, it was inevitable that it attracted many detractors wishing it a short life. Their wish was almost granted, with the confession of fraud - later retracted - by the Fox sisters in 1880. By then, however, there were enough serious-minded and influential people willing to testify to the truth of Spiritualism for it to survive the embarrassing behaviour of the movements founders.

It took no time at all for Spiritualism to cross the Atlantic. It arrived in the form of Mrs. W.R. Hayden, the first visiting medium, whose arrival in Britain in 1852 was greeted with derision by the press. Despite this, she convinced a number of intellectuals, among them veteran socialist Robert Owen, that the spirit world could communicate with them.

It wasnt long before Britain was experiencing an epidemic of table-turning and producing its own mediums, of whom Scottish- born Daniel Dunglas Home, who had moved to the United States at the age of nine in 1842, was one of the most spectacular; producing a wide range of manifestations in good light. The first investigator to be satisfied that he had mediumistic powers was a Professor George Bush, a distinguished theologian and Oriental scholar. Home returned to England in 1855 and was soon travelling throughout Europe, demonstrating his powers to heads of state, famous intellectuals and royalty, including Napoleon III, the King of Bavaria, the King of Naples and the Queen of Holland.

It is hardly surprising, then, that when Prince Albert died in 1861, Queen Victoria, like millions of others, turned to Spiritualism for comfort and reassurance that her beloved husband lived on and would be waiting for a reunion with her in the spirit world. She had sittings with several mediums and many Spiritualists believe that John Brown, her ghillie, was also a powerful medium through whom Albert regularly communicated with the Queen.