"... When I mentioned this, my mother rose trembling to her
feet, and nearly fainted away, and as soon as she sufficiently
recovered her self-possession, with tears streaming down her
face, she exclaimed that I had indeed seen my sister, as no
living mortal but herself was aware of the scratch, which she
had accidentally made while doing some little act of kindness
after my sister's death.... In proof, neither my father nor any
of our family had detected it, and positively were unaware of
the incident, yet _I saw the scratch as bright as if just
made_. So strangely impressed was my mother, that even after
she had retired to rest she got up and dressed, came to me, and
told me _she knew_ that I had seen my sister. A few weeks later
my mother died."
Now, is it not a little singular that, although both Dr Hodgson and Mr
Myers record this incident, the theory of telepathy between a living
agent and a living percipient does not occur to them? Is it not
conceivable that the mother, on whose mind the incident of the scratch
on the features of the corpse had admittedly preyed, should have
unwittingly communicated her secret to her son? In other words, the
mother projected a phantasm of her dead daughter to the mind of her son.
In the "Proceedings of the Society" there is a case which, according to
Mr Stead, "appears to suggest that the deceased are continuing to take
an interest in mundane affairs." The story is communicated by Miss
Dodson. On Sunday, 5th June 1887, close upon midnight, Miss Dodson was
roused by hearing her name called three times. She answered twice,
thinking it was her uncle. The third time she recognised the voice of
her mother, who had been dead sixteen years. "I said," continued Miss
Dodson, "'Mamma!'"
"She then came round a screen near my bedside with two children
in her arms and placed them in my arms and put the bedclothes
over them, and said: 'Lucy, promise me to take care of them,
for their mother is just dead.' I said: 'Yes, mamma.' She
repeated: '_Promise_ me to take care of them.' I replied: 'Yes,
I promise you,' and added, 'Oh, mamma, stay and speak to me, I
am so wretched.' She replied: 'Not yet, my child,' then she
seemed to go round the screen again and I remained, feeling the
children to be still in my arms and fell asleep. When I awoke
there was nothing. Tuesday morning, 7th June, I received the
news of my sister-in-law's death. She had given birth to a
child three weeks before, which I did not know till after her
death."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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