Mysterious Psychic Forces: An Account of the Author's Investigations in Psychical Research, Together with Those of Other European SavantsFlammarion, Camille
Philosophy
Mysterious Psychic Forces: An Account of the Author's Investigations in Psychical Research, Together with Those of Other European Savants
Flammarion, Camille
Parapsychology -- Investigation; Spiritualism
The hands and fingers do not always appear to me to be solid and
life-like. Sometimes, indeed, they present more the appearance of a
nebulous cloud partly condensed into the form of a hand. This is not
equally visible to all present. For instance, a flower or other small
object is seen to move; one person present will see a luminous cloud
hovering over it, another will detect a nebulous-looking hand, whilst
others will see nothing at all but the moving flower. I have more than
once seen, first an object move, then a luminous cloud appear to form
about it, and, lastly, the cloud condense into shape and become a
perfectly-formed hand. At this stage the hand is visible to all
present. It is not always a mere form, but sometimes appears perfectly
life-like and graceful, the fingers moving, and the flesh apparently
as human as that of any in the room. At the wrist, or arm, it becomes
hazy, and fades off into a luminous cloud.
To the touch, the hand sometimes appears icy-cold and dead, at other
times, warm and life-like, grasping my own with the firm pressure of
an old friend.
I have retained one of these hands in my own, firmly resolved not to
let it escape. There was no struggle or effort made to get loose, but
it gradually seemed to resolve itself into vapor, and faded in that
manner from my grasp.
TENTH CLASS: _Direct Writing._--(The learned chemist cites some
remarkable examples obtained by him. We need not speak of them in this
book.)
ELEVENTH CLASS: _Phantom Forms and Faces._--These are the rarest of
the phenomena I have witnessed. The conditions requisite for their
appearance appear to be so delicate, and such trifles interfere with
their production, that only on very few occasions have I witnessed
them under satisfactory test conditions. I will mention two of these
cases.
In the dusk of the evening, during a _seance_ with Mr. Home at my
house, the curtains of a window about eight feet from Mr. Home were
seen to move. A dark, shadowy, semi-transparent form, like that of a
man, was then seen by all present standing near the window, waving the
curtain with his hand. As we looked, the form faded away, and the
curtains ceased to move.
The following is a still more striking instance. As in the former
case, Mr. Home was the medium. A phantom form came from a corner of
the room, took an accordion in its hand, and then glided about the
room playing the instrument. The form was visible to all present for
many minutes, Mr. Home also being seen at the same time. Coming rather
close to a lady who was sitting apart from the rest of the company,
she gave a slight cry, upon which it vanished.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account