“I went to the house of a woman in New York. She was not a
professional. We had never seen each other before. We took seats
in the parlor for a talk, I not looking for any manifestation.
Raps began. I do not say whether they were really where they
seemed to be or not; I know right well that the judgment is
subject to illusion through the senses. But I was told a ‘spirit
friend’ was present; and soon the name, time, and place of death,
etc., were given me. It was the name of a friend I had once known
intimately. But twenty years had passed since the old intimacy;
she had lived in another State; I am certain that she and the
psychic had never known or even heard of each other. She had died
within a few months.”
Mr. Savage then gives examples where the power in question was exclusively
mental:—
“The first time I was ever in the presence of a particular
psychic, she went into a trance. She had never seen, and, so far
as I know, had never had any way of hearing of my father, who had
died some years previously. When I was a boy, he always called me
by a special name that was never used by any other member of the
family. In later years he hardly ever used it. But the entranced
psychic said: ‘An old gentleman is here,’ and she described
certain very marked peculiarities. Then she added: ‘He says he is
your father, and he calls you ——,’ using the old childhood name of
mine.”
Again, same page:—
“One case more, only, will I mention under this head. A most
intimate friend of my youth had recently died. She had lived in
another State, and the psychic did not know that such a person had
ever existed. We were sitting alone when this old friend announced
her presence. It was in this way: A letter of two pages was
automatically written, addressed to me. I thought to myself as I
read it,—I did not speak,—‘Were it possible, I should feel sure
she had written this.’ I then said, as though speaking to her,
‘Will you not give me your name?’ It was given, both maiden and
married name. I then began a conversation lasting over an hour,
which seemed as real as any I ever have with my friends. She told
me of her children, of her sisters. We talked over the events of
boyhood and girlhood. I asked her if she remembered a book we used
to read together, and she gave me the author’s name. I asked again
if she remembered the particular poem we were both specially fond
of, and she named it at once. In the letter that was written, and
in much of the conversation, there were apparent hints of
identity, little touches and peculiarities that would mean much to
an acquaintance, but nothing to a stranger. I could not but be
much impressed. Now in this case, I know that the psychic never
knew of this person’s existence, and of course not of our
acquaintance.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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