movement perceived or intuited, from notes taken by Fullerton himself in his role as secretary. Faced with the need to systemise the investigation, they decided to divide up the subject according to the most prevalent manifestations of the time. The first of these was referred to as ‘independent writing’, in which messages from spirits were transcribed on the concealed surface of a slate held by the medium. For these, they used two pieces of slate, hinged so they could be closed like a book. A piece of chalk was placed inside and the slates were sealed with a screw so that it was clear that any writing that appeared would have occurred without the physical intervention of the spiritualist.
The first two chapters give an account of two sessions held with a Mrs Patterson, a local star in the field of ‘independent writing’. In both cases the supposed medium held the sealed slates in her trembling hands for an hour and twenty minutes, under the table and out of sight of the investigators, but she proved incapable of anything but an almost illegible scrawl. Attributing this failure to the supposed negative energy generated by some of those present, she asked to be allowed to make the attempt alone, in her own home. After long deliberations, the commission gave her a pair of hinged slates sealed in such a way that any tampering would immediately become apparent. Patterson took the slates away and brought them back six months later, after considerable pressure on Fullerton’s part. She even had the nerve to ask for another pair of slates and the commission agreed. When she returned them after two months, with clear evidence that the seals had been tampered with and marks where a knife had been inserted into one corner, Fullerton noted that ‘The Spirits had not taken even the precaution to wipe the broad knife clean from rust or dirt.’ Víctor looked up and was disappointed that Fullerton was not there so he could congratulate him on his irony.
The second spiritualist summoned before the commission was Dr Henry Slade, the highest authority on independent writing, for whom they had to pay travel expenses and a two-week hotelstay, sufficient time to determine that his mediation with the spirits was more effective but just as fraudulent as that of Mrs Patterson. Suffice it to say that one of the investigators, exasperated by all this trickery, concealed a pocket mirror in his hand so that he could observe what was happening under the table. In the report, he described seeing ‘the reflection of fingers, which were clearly not Spiritual, opening the slates and writing the answer’.
As he reads, Víctor wavers between laughter and indignation. In spite of the good intentions of the commission, the report is a catalogue of cheap con-artists performing tricks worthy only of a sideshow puppeteer. Third-rate typists attempting to pass themselves off as pianists. By contrast the commission’s tenacity and consummate zeal in pursuing the investigation seem both admirable and irritating. The report is offensive to his passion for doing things properly. Víctor knows what the spiritualists of the time were capable of.
Fullerton himself, in a separate chapter dealing with the difficulties of his task, explains that they could not find a spiritualist who could justify the considerable success achieved by the movement. From time to time, they would put an ad in the Boston magazine
Banner of Light
, the leading spiritualist publication. These ads were answered by curious characters such as a Dr Rothermel, who claimed to be able to produce sounds from a series of musical instruments merely through psychic force. The instruments were housed in a small portable cabinet covered at the back by a black screen. Rothermel sat on one side, his hands tied to a chair, covered from head to foot with a black curtain. After a few seconds, there was the clear sound of scissors. ‘The Spirits are cutting me loose,’ the charlatan exclaimed,
The first two chapters give an account of two sessions held with a Mrs Patterson, a local star in the field of ‘independent writing’. In both cases the supposed medium held the sealed slates in her trembling hands for an hour and twenty minutes, under the table and out of sight of the investigators, but she proved incapable of anything but an almost illegible scrawl. Attributing this failure to the supposed negative energy generated by some of those present, she asked to be allowed to make the attempt alone, in her own home. After long deliberations, the commission gave her a pair of hinged slates sealed in such a way that any tampering would immediately become apparent. Patterson took the slates away and brought them back six months later, after considerable pressure on Fullerton’s part. She even had the nerve to ask for another pair of slates and the commission agreed. When she returned them after two months, with clear evidence that the seals had been tampered with and marks where a knife had been inserted into one corner, Fullerton noted that ‘The Spirits had not taken even the precaution to wipe the broad knife clean from rust or dirt.’ Víctor looked up and was disappointed that Fullerton was not there so he could congratulate him on his irony.
The second spiritualist summoned before the commission was Dr Henry Slade, the highest authority on independent writing, for whom they had to pay travel expenses and a two-week hotelstay, sufficient time to determine that his mediation with the spirits was more effective but just as fraudulent as that of Mrs Patterson. Suffice it to say that one of the investigators, exasperated by all this trickery, concealed a pocket mirror in his hand so that he could observe what was happening under the table. In the report, he described seeing ‘the reflection of fingers, which were clearly not Spiritual, opening the slates and writing the answer’.
As he reads, Víctor wavers between laughter and indignation. In spite of the good intentions of the commission, the report is a catalogue of cheap con-artists performing tricks worthy only of a sideshow puppeteer. Third-rate typists attempting to pass themselves off as pianists. By contrast the commission’s tenacity and consummate zeal in pursuing the investigation seem both admirable and irritating. The report is offensive to his passion for doing things properly. Víctor knows what the spiritualists of the time were capable of.
Fullerton himself, in a separate chapter dealing with the difficulties of his task, explains that they could not find a spiritualist who could justify the considerable success achieved by the movement. From time to time, they would put an ad in the Boston magazine
Banner of Light
, the leading spiritualist publication. These ads were answered by curious characters such as a Dr Rothermel, who claimed to be able to produce sounds from a series of musical instruments merely through psychic force. The instruments were housed in a small portable cabinet covered at the back by a black screen. Rothermel sat on one side, his hands tied to a chair, covered from head to foot with a black curtain. After a few seconds, there was the clear sound of scissors. ‘The Spirits are cutting me loose,’ the charlatan exclaimed,
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