The Case for Spirit PhotographyThe publicity given to the recent attacks on Psychic Photography has been out of all proportion to their scientific value as evidence. When Sir Arthur Conan Doyle returned to Great Britain, after his successful tour in America, the controversy was in full swing. With characteristic promptitude he immediately decided to meet these negative attacks by a positive counter-attack, and this volume is the outcome of that decision. We have used the term Spirit Photography on the title-page as being the popular name by which these phenomena are known. This does not imply that either Sir Arthur or I imagine that everything supernormal must be of spirit origin. There is, undoubtedly, a broad borderland where these photographic effects may be produced from forces contained within ourselves. This merges into those higher phenomena of which many cases are here described. Those desiring fuller information on this subject are referred to Photo graphing the Invisible, by James Coates. |
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appeared arch Archdeacon Colley ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE asked Berkeley box of plates Buxton CALIFORNIA LIBRARY camera carrier Colley's conjurers convinced Crawford Crewe Circle Cushman dark room dark slides Darlaston Deane developed Dingwall discarnate ectoplasmic enclosed evidence evidential experience exposure extra fact faked father Figure fraud Fred Barlow FREDERIC LEWIS friends genuine graphs handwriting Harry Price Henslow honest Hope Hope's husband investigation knew Maddocks Magic Circle marked plate medium mediumship Middlesbrough mind Miss Scatcherd mother negative never normal photograph obtained occasion packet of plates person plate exposed possible Price produced Prof psychic effect psychic face psychic photography psychic results Psychical Research psychograph recognised reproduced sealed packet secured Sheffield showed Signed sitter sitting Society for Psychical spirit photography spiritualists SUTTON-IN-ASHFIELD taken tampered test conditions took trick truth UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA unopened packet Vearncombe W. T. Stead Walker wife
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Page 81 - Whatever we think of war, I do not see how we can possibly get away from the fundamental historical fact that we are all descended from a long line of savage ancestors who fought well and liked to fight. Modern nations are sprung from groups which developed those social characteristics of cooperation and loyalty which made for successful attack and defense ; for this was as...
Page 24 - The* disc is evidently a brooch, and the pointing seemed to indicate that it was meant to be evidential. The face bore a strong resemblance to that of my elder sister, who died some thirty years ago.
Page 12 - Hope, who is a working-man, discovered, some seventeen years ago, quite by chance, that this remarkable power of producing extra faces, figures or objects upon photographic plates had been given to him.
Page 93 - Barlow, who then fixed his own wrappings and seals. Mr. Barlow brought back the packet of plates to me on the morning of May 2oth, 1920, and in my presence broke his own wrappings and seals.
Page 93 - On two out of the twelve plates in the package distinct negative images of faces developed — one face on one plate and three small faces on another. I can offer no explanation of this result apart from being perfectly satisfied that no trickery or deception was practised. (Signed) "FREDERIC LEWIS.
Page 23 - One can only suppose that it is in some way connected with the psychic process, and some have imagined a reticulated screen upon which the image is built up.
Page 74 - 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 I4th, 1914, and subsequent numbers).
Page 20 - ... it is possible in the presence of certain individuals, whom we call mediums, to produce effects which are super-normal and which would appear to indicate separate intelligences acting visibly quite independently of ourselves.
Page 22 - It may be remarked incidentally that my own strong desire was to obtain some sign from my son who had passed away the year before.
Page 87 - Dear Mr. Walker, I will try to keep you posted, WT Stead.