“Now these, and facts like these, instructed as I am in the Christian faith, and holding it without any doubt, prove to me that the Satanic invasion, demonic possession, and obsession, are no fables, but facts not to be denied, though each particular case must stand on its own merits, and be received or rejected according to the evidence. In general I am slow to believe this or that particular case is diabolic, and I require clear and irrefragable proof, strong and perfectly reliable testimony. “The criteria of demonic invasion or obsession, as laid down by the Christian church, for the guidance of exorcists, are seven: 1. Power of knowing the unexpressed thoughts of others. 2. Understanding of unknown languages. 3. Power of speaking unknown or foreign languages. 4. Knowledge of future events. 5. Knowledge of things passing in distant places. 6. Exhibition of superior physical strength. 7. Suspension of the body in the air during a considerable time. “Now I find all these in the recent spirit-manifestations, clearly and distinctly testified to by such occular witnesses as Dr. Dexter, Judge Edmands, and the Hon. N. P. Talmadge, not to mention any others. The Spiritualists or Spiritists do not deny, they assert that the manifestations they witness are strictly analogous to the class of facts which have been always regarded as Satanic. At first, the spirits communicated by rapping and moving furniture. But now, besides rapping mediums, there are writing mediums, seeing mediums, and speaking mediums. In these last three cases they admit the fact of spiritual invasion, and even call it possession. In the case of the speaking medium particularly, I find it contended that the spirit takes possession of the medium, generally a woman, maltreats her at times, throws her down, gives her convulsions, and forces her to do things which she is unwilling to do, and compels her organs to utter words to which she has the greatest repugnance. “Hear Judge Edmands. ‘I have frequently known mental questions answered, that is, questions merely framed in the mind of the interrogator, and not revealed by him or known to others. Preparatory to meeting a circle, I have sat down alone in my room, and carefully prepared a series of questions to be propounded, and I have been surprised to find my questions answered, and in the precise order in which I wrote them, without my even taking my memorandum out of my pocket, and when I knew not a person present even knew that I had prepared questions, much less what they were. My most secret thoughts, those which I never uttered to mortal man or woman, have been freely spoken to, as if I had uttered them. Purposes which I have privately entertained have been publicly revealed, and I have once and again been admonished that my every thought was known to, and could be disclosed by, the intelligence which was thus manifesting itself.