SPIRITUALISTIC SEANCE.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19905, 27 September 1926, Page 14

SPIRITUALISTIC SEANCE.

DR TILLTARD AND THE MEDIUM. REMARKABLE MANIFESTATIONS. AN UNCONVENTIONAL SPIRIT. (From Oue Own Correspondent.) LONDON, July 30. While Dr 11. J. Tillyard was iu the United States he attended a seance given by Dr and Mi'S Crandon (“Margery”), thus furthering nis decision to occupy some of his spare time during his tour in studying psychical research before returning to New Zealand. The result of some of his investigations were given a few days ago to the members of the National Laboratory of Psychical Research, of which Dr Tillyard is an honorary vicepresident. “It is difficult for you easy-going English,” said the lecturer, “to realise the gigantic upheaval into which Boston has been plunged by the ‘Margery’ manifestations.” The most wild, as well as the most virulent and violent, assertions were made in Boston about Mrs Crandon. The atti tude of the intellectual clement in the city was almost unbelievably materialistic and hostile. For instance, one man of great mental attainments had seriously warned him that the medium was a woman of a dangerous type, and that to set foot in her house •would be fraught with peril. T is kind of attitude was, to say the least, not scientific, and by "scientific” he m .nt the attitude of open-minded, detached, and impersonal inquiry, with which any phenomena must he approached. He was also warned that the phenomena were obtained by means of trickery, because Dr Crandon .vas known to carry in his pocket a magnet, which would obviously be useful in one phase of the phenomena where a set of scales was shown to defy the ordinary aws of gravity; the theory was advanced that the magnet would be used to draw one of e scales up or down, assuming, of course, that it was made of a metal which was subject to magnetic attraction. This magnet theory, however, scarcely explained the alleged voice of "Walter.” ENTIRELY UNPREJUDICED MIND. Putting aside all theories, warnings, and denunciations which he had encountered prior to his visit to the Crandon home, he went there with an entirely open and unprejudiced mind. He and his wife were welcomed graciously by Dr and Mrs Crandon, who proved to bo charming and hospitable folk, seemingly normal in every way, and whose conversation was entertaining and lofty. Dr Tillyard described the glass cabinet in which the medium sut, a costly structure* which he' had examined minutely. It had two small openings, each about 4in by 24in through which the hands of the medium (who could be seen inside quite clearly), were held by the other members of the circle. A gramophone—one of those which automatically plays the same record repeatedly, gave continuous and subdued music of a faint lullaby nature. "No critic.” he said, "could take exception to this cabinet.” "HULLO BUGOLOGISTI” Every facility was given him and Mrs (Tillyard to conduct the seance as they wished. Dr ' Tillyard passed round among the audience a specimen of some > thick piano wire (covered with rubber-tubing to nrevent cutting the flesh), yvith which he had securely bound the medium —so tightly that it was only removed with difficulty after the seance, and showed no signs of any attempt at tampering. After about 10 minutes he percioved that "Margery” appeared to bo in a trance or deep sleep. Suddenly a voice—a man’s voice—said, “Hullo! Here I am,” coming apparently from the floor. There was not the slightest movement on the part of tho_ medium, neither of the lips, nor any twitching of the body. Dr Crandon then spoke, introducing Dr Tillyard as an “eminent entomologist,” wjiereupon the voice (which seemed at different times to come from various parts of the room), said: "Oh, here’s an insect man. Hulls, bugologist!’’ Thenceforward, the voice which was referred to as “Walter Voice, always _ addressed him as "bugologist.” Ventriloquism, said the doctor, was entirely out of the question. ECTOPLASM HANDLED. Various phenomena, apart from Direct Voice, took place. The “bell-box” was rung, repeatedly, and under various conditions; ectoplasm—or teleplasm as ho prefers to cal! it—was handled by the lecturer, who said he satisfied himself completely that it was not part of the entrails of a pig (as some ingenious sceptic had propounded) and was like no kind of animal tissue he had ever come across. The substance struck him as pos«?sing life, and the power to return pressure bv active resistance: he also obtained the wax castofa thumb and which he handed round for the inspection of the audience. Koveriments with a set of chemist’s scr' gave some remarkable results. and lu *•- allowed to take the scales apart, fiudiiu: o evidence of trickery, and testing that to a part of the s'-ales was susicwptiblo to magnetic attraction from a horse-shoe magnet which he carried. Dr Crandon. upon being questioned freely admitted that he carried a magnet in his pocket (as had been suggested), and stated that he used this to bring the minimum and maximum thermometer, which was used durin" test seances, back to normal. This explanation, said the lecturer, was quite a valid one. SOME LURID LANGUAGE. Some of “Walter’s” language was at times lurid and 'requcntly funny. “Oh! blast these beastly wires!” he said on one occasion. At another time, after ejaculating, “Oh. hell!” he admitted that there was no hell--“except one that I am making for Professor X” (naming a particularly mischievous “researcher” who wantonly interfered with a seance, causing some injury to “Margery”). At the conclusion of the lecture, which was illustrated by some interesting lantern sides showing photographs concerning the Crandon phenomena, various questions were answered by the lecturer, who said he was satisfied as a scientist that “Walter” was a distinct personality, but whether the explanation was that “Walter” was some kind of extension of “Margery’s” personality or whether the Spiritualist hypothesis was the correct one, he declined at presen* to adjudicate upon. He laid great stress on the importance of accumulating masses of proved scientific # facts concerning psychic phenomena, in preference to approaching it from the religious standpoint. He felt sure science was going to reveal that in what we know as Spiritualism there are things vastjy_ more wonderful than the average Spiritualist ever imagines. He was not a Spiritualist hmself, and thought he could do more good to the movement remaining outside and directing his efforts along the lines of pure science.