Eusapia Palladino and her phenomena online

comfort, at the farther end of the room. The hands were
alwaj^s plainly visible and always situated so that it was clear
that the table was not lifted by them. The extreme rapidity
of the levitations made complete description almost impos-
sible and it was decided to confine the description of the con-
trol to the feet — the control of the hands being obvious to
all and description rendered unnecessary. Medium was
then told that enough levitations had been produced, but
was asked, before proceeding to further phenomena, to pro-
duce one more with her feet actually held under the table.
F. went under table.]

'F. I have got my hands on both feet.

'C. The table tilts away from her. My left hand on



"]



Eusapia Palladino 221

both her knees. Both hands being flat on the table in full
view of us. Her wrists not over the edge. Five raps of
table ask for less light.

"Light No. 2.

"F. I have now got my hands on the floor against the
table legs, and inside them. Her two feet are between my
hands. Five more tilts of the table ask for still less light.

"Light No. 3.

"10.23. Complete levitation of the table.

"Immediately before levitation took place, medium asked
F. if he had got her feet all right.

"F. I had my hands on the floor, between her legs and
the table legs. Her feet and the whole of her dress were in
between my hands.

"C. My left hand on her right knee, her right hand
being on the top of my left hand, and it did not leave it.

"B. My right hand on her left knee. Her left hand on
the top of my right hand. My foot was away from her foot,
but F. had control of her feet."



After this series of remarkable levitation phenomena, Mr.
Feilding came out from under the table. Movements of ob-
jects in the cabinet occurred one minute after, under condi-
tions of perfect control.

The next minute, the small stool, which had remained out-
side the cabinet, and which was about a yard distant from
Eusapia, now moved of its own accord and approached her.
On my side I was continually holding her right hand and
foot securely; and B., on his side, paid strict attention to the
hand and foot under his care. In spite of our utmost pre-
cautions, liowever, the small stool continued to move about
over the floor in response to movements of Eusapia's hands,
made above it. Eusapia then placed B.'s hands on the sur-
face of the stool, and rested her hand on his. The stool rose
into the air several times — only B.'s hands resting on it. Eusa-



222 Eusapla Palladino

pla removed her hand from the back of B.'s hand altogether,
and the stool again rose completely into the air about six
inches. During these movements and levitations of the small
stool we repeatedly ascertained that Eusapia's feet were well
held, and that they did not in any way approach the stool.
One of us rose, walked to the stool, placed his hands complete-
ly round it, along the carpet and between the stool and the
body of the medium. We thereby ascertained that there was
no thread, hair, or connection between the stool and the me-
dium's body. After we had done so, however, it continued
to move about in response to waves of Eusapia's hand, made
in the air, at a distance of some two feet above the stool.
Several touches were experienced by us shortly after this —
the first touches we had experienced at any of the seances
outside the cabinet curtains and in front of the medium. At
1 1.06 I thought I detected an attempted substitution of feet
and bent down to verify the fact. I forgot that the me-
dium's feet had been tied to ours with rope, and the moment
I became dissatisfied with the foot control, I proceeded to
ascertain the exact position of the feet. The medium be-
came extremely irritated, and woke up from a state of semi-
trance into which she had fallen. She said that, as her feet
were tied, she did not think that we need worry so particular-
ly where her feet were. As a matter of fact I have now no
doubt that I was excessively hypercritical, but my habitual
skepticism forced me, almost unconsciously, to investigate the
instant I found anything out of place. On this occasion, how-
ever, the effects proved disastrous, and served, I believe, to
partially ruin a seance that had started so propitiously. The
medium expostulated for three quarters of an hour, and it was
a long time before she again consented to resume and again
attempted to go off into the trance state.



Eusapia Palladino 223

As soon as the seance was resumed, the small stool again
began its movements and M., our stenographer, passed his
hands completely round the stool, before and after it had
moved, in response to movements of Eusapia's hands. In
his note he says:

"I got up and examined the little stool, feeling right round
it and saw that there was nothing connecting it to the me-
dium's dress. As I was about to resume my place, I saw the
little stool again moving and stooped down to watch it. It
moved in little jerks about a foot sideways. When it had
finished I again put my hands right round it and found no at-
tachment. While I was doing this the stool seemed to brush
up against my coat sleeve as though drawn by a magnet. I
was again about to sit down when the stool began moving for
a third time and I examined it again. There was absolutely
no possibility of there being any attachment."

Immediately following these convincing movements of the
stool, which appeared to us to be obtained under perfect
test conditions, we obtained a complete levitation of the table.
The conditions of this levitation were extremely good. An
outburst of phenomena seemed to occur just at this period,
which I quote from the detailed record:

"11.50 P.M. Complete levitation of the table.

"C. Both hands were on the top of the table. My left
hand resting on her right knee. Right foot on her left foot
firmly. I can see a clear space between her dress and the leg
of the table all the way down.

"B. My right hand on her left knee. My right foot
feeling her left foot. There is a space between her leg and
the table leg.

"11.58 P.M. F. Standing up at the other end of the
table, I saw her make gestures with her right hand at a dis-
tance of about three and a half feet from the small stool.



/



224



Eusapla Palladino



Her left hand being motionless in B.'s, on his corner of the
table, and the stool advanced in little jerks toward B.

"C. The curtain has pushed right out on this side about
three feet.

"B. I am feeling her left foot with my right foot.

"C. Control the same as before, the whole of the me-
dium's hand being visible. [Still light No. 2.]

"C. The curtain has again pushed out about two feet.
Her right hand on my left on the table. Right foot on my
left foot firmly.

"B. Control same as before, hand and foot.

"12.01 A.M. Partial levitation of the table. Another
partial levitation of the table, almost complete.

"12.02 A.M. The curtain blew out.

*'C. I am holding my hand out toward the curtain.

"12.03. Five violent tilts of the table ask for less light.

"12.04. The right curtain has again blown out. [Light
No. 3.]"

During the rest of the seance, under perfect conditions of
control, we all of us, and I especially, experienced a large
number of remarkable touches, and even grasps by a complete
hand, the position of the thumb and fingers of which we could
plainly define. Scattered throughout the sitting, also, were
numerous levitations, blowings out of the curtains of the cabi-
net and other remarkable manifestations. I quote from the
record :



"12.22. Loud noises in the cabinet.

"12.23. Medium asked C. if he had been touched.

"C. I was touched through the curtain as if by a hand.
Her right hand holding my left.

"B. Her left hand holding my right hand on her left
knee.

"F. Her head is visible to me. I saw the curtain come out
at the place where C. was touched.

"12.25 A.M. C. I was touched again as if by a hand




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Eusapia Palladino 225

through the curtain on the wrist of my right hand as I was
stroking the medium's forehead with it.

"C. I am touched again in the same place. Meanwhile
I have her right hand, of which I feel the thumb and four
fingers, on the table.

"B. I am holding her left hand on her left knee.
'12.26. Complete levitation of the table.
'F. Note that her face and eyes are visible to me over
at the opposite end of the table."

These were a remarkable series of touches, especially those
on the back of the hand with which I was stroking the me-
dium's forehead, since I could clearly see both her hands
on the table and my hand was only a few inches distant from
my face and quite visible. But still more remarkable phe-
nomena were to follow. I quote again from our record :

"12.38. Two raps.

"C I am grasped through the curtain by a complete
hand. At that time her right foot was pressing strongly
against mine. Fingers of her right hand pressing on my
left hand on the table, almost in the center of it.

"B. Her left hand holding my right hand on the table.
I could see both her hands at the time. Her left foot kick-
ing against my right foot.

"12.43. Medium squeezes on C.'s hand and movements
in the cabinet follow. [Thumps on tambourine.]

"B. I was holding her left hand with my right hand on
her knee.

"C. Mine, holding medium's, is on the table.

"B. She gives three squeezes of her left hand in my right
hand, and synchronizing with these three squeezes, we hear
three thumps on the tambourine.

"12,45. C. Corresponding to squeezes of the medium's
hand, the tambourine is thumped.

"B. My right hand was holding medium's left hand, and
my right foot was on her left foot. My right knee pressing
again her left knee.



226 Eusapia Palladino

"C. I am holding medium's right hand by the thumb
on the table. Her right foot on my left completely.

"12.47. F. I ask 'Carlo' to give me the tambourine.
[Medium said he would do so, and I moved round behind
C. F.]

"B. She held my right hand over the table in front of
her and made gestures whh it in the air and the tambourine
slid along the floor.

"C. I am touched again. The same thing has happened
again. I was touched three times with fingers on my left
hand. The tambourine then jumped up about ten or twelve
times inside the cabinet, apparently trying to get to the edge
of the curtain, and was then pushed outside the cabinet. I
am grasped very firmly by a hand through the curtain on my
left arm. I felt the medium's right hand on my left on the
table, at the same moment that the tambourine was kicking
about inside the cabinet.

"B. I am holding her hand on the table. I can see it
quite clearly.

"12.51. Medium wishes to touch C, which she does.

"C. I was grasped just above the left elbow by four
fingers and a thumb, which pressed very hard indeed. I am
touched on the left side by a hand. I was holding both the
medium's hands in both of mine, and she was squeezing
tightly. Her right foot pressed strongly on my left foot, in
contact with my right.

"B. I was holding the wrist of her left hand in my right
hand on the table in full view of us all and perfectly visi-
ble. My right knee against her left knee. My right foot
under her left foot.

"C. I am holding both medium's hands in both of my
hands, one being clearly visible and one on the table,
under the curtain. Absolute control of right foot and leg.

"i A.M. C. I am touched on the face by a hand
through the curtain as the m.edium kicks to and fro. I
am again touched on the face by a hand, medium having both
her legs round my left leg. Her right hand holding my left
on the table, in the middle, under the curtain.



Eusapla Palladino 227

"B. Her left hand holding my right hand on the table,
which I see clearly.

"F. Note that heads are visible to me. I am standing
up between C. and the curtain, holding my right hand on
C.'s shoulder.

"1.03. C. I was touched on the left shoulder strongly.
Medium had both her legs round mine, her right hand hold-
ing my left under the curtain, in the middle of the table.

"B. I am holding her left hand with my right hand on
the table.

"1.05. The tambourine jumps up apparently about twelve
times, as if trying to play a tune.

"B. She squeezes my iiand synchronously, in tune with it.

"F. I have put my hand between the tambourine and
the medium's knee. [I knelt down on the ground and felt
right round the tambourine, which was lying near the edge
of the curtain, behind and to the left of C.'s chair. There
was no attachment.

"C. I am touched on the left arm above the elbow. Con-
trol exactly the same as before.

"1.06. C. The tambourine jumps and jerks as though
it tried to get on to my lap. Control the same as before.

'B. My control absolutely the same as before.
'1.13. All stand up. F. asks 'John' if he can make an
impression on the clav. Three tilts of the table respond:
'Yes.'

"1.17. The medium is told that it is very late, and that
if she is unable to do anything else, she must go; but she re-
plies: 'The phenomena are not finished yet.'

"1.24. Something falls over behind the medium. C.
ascertains that it is the medium's chair. Medium says: 'Do
not take any notice of that, as I might have done it with my
foot.'

"1.30. Something moved in the cabinet. Medium says:
'Please note that I did not move at all, then.' "

[Owing to the lateness of the hour, the medium is several
times asked whether she would not finish. For sometime she
declines. She is asked whether she can get an impression on



"1
(1.



228 Eusapia Palladino

the clay; first of all she replied, "They said 'y^s,' " but after
long-continued efforts, she said she felt tired, and could do
no more.]

BELL INCIDENT

One most curious incident occurred on the afternoon of
December 15th — on the evening of which day we held our
ninth seance. A remarkable physical phenomenon (appar-
ently) occurred, in the presence of two members of the com-
mittee only — Eusapia not being present — and, so far as we
could discover, paying no particular heed to us at the mo-
ment. We had suspended a small bell inside the cabinet by
means of a piece of string, in the hope that "John" might
ring it during the seance. So far, he had failed to do so, but
on this memorable afternoon, the bell rang of its own ac-
cord, swinging violently to and fro on its suspending string —
without apparent cause, and while only Mr. Baggally and
myself were In the room! Indeed, I was in the next room
at the time, eating an orange, if I remember rightly, while
Mr. Baggally was standing at the table in the center of the
room, smoking his pipe and working glycerine and water into
the clay which we were to use that evening in our attempt
to obtain impressions of hands and faces. I subjoin, here-
with, the original notes taken at the time by us, dated and
signed.

i<rth December, IQ08.

y.45 by C.'s watch.

"At a certain moment, when Mr. Baggally was working
up our clay at the small table in the center of the room, C.
being in the next room, with the door open, the small bell,
hanging from the string in the cabinet, rang violently. It
struck against the wood of the doorway — a good two and
one half feet from the bell. The ringing continued for sev-



Eusapia Palladino 229

eral seconds, with violence, and then stopped. B. was at least
nine feet from the bell at the time of ringing and C. could
see he did not approach it. Nobody else was in the room
at the time. As soon as the bell ceased ringing, we called in
Mr. Ryan, from the next room, who opened the curtains
and saw (as did we all) that the bell was still swinging on
its suspending string. The cabinet was empty save for a
chair, standing inside it. We all three heard and saw this
remarkable bell phenomenon.

" Signed : W. W. Baggally,

" Hereward Carrixgton."

"I was adding my final note to my previous evidence when
I heard the bell in the next room ring. I attached no im-
portance to this (thinking that B. and C. were testing the
apparatus). Mr. Baggally just then rushed in, made me
come round and open the curtain. I then saw that the bell
was still swinging on its string. I noted the time (deduct-
ing H minute for time in transit) as twenty-eight minutes
to nine p.m. Mr. Baggally's hands were covered with clay,
which he was puddling.

"As to this bell incident, I can express no opinion, not
having been present. I came in amidst the general consterna-
tion. It is infinitely painful to me, as Hon. Secretary of that
most staid body, the S. P. R., to record the state of emotion in
which I found my colleagues.

"As to who was responsible for it, we shall never know.
If it was 'John,' he reveals a sense of humor on which he
deserves sincere congratulation; if a more fleshly jester, the
chambermaid and the boots must divide my homage. The
only way that I can imagine the bell ringing as it did (it was
still swinging as I came in) was by its having fallen from
a position of unstable suspense, from which it was dislodged
by some concussion. It may have occurred to the cham-
bermaid, or the boots, to balance it on a certain nail in the
hopes that it might tumble dramatically later on. Long



230 Eusapia Palladino

practice has failed to disclose any other method. The cham-
bermaid and the boots, delicately questioned, deny blankly.
The chambermaid, indeed, is terrified at our cabinet and
could barely be persuaded to play 'Eusapia' in some imitation
photographs of phenomena we took yesterday. The boots
is too stolid for such imaginative leaps. 'John' himself is
unquestionable. Taking it all round it is the most perplex-
ing, indeed, annoying, dilcmna of this most perplexing month.

" EVERARD FeILDING."
December 17, 1908.

BELL INCIDENT, December 15, igo8
By W. W. Baggally

I was standing alone at 8.45 P.M. on the evening of Decem-
ber 15 th, by the side of a table in the seance room preparing
some clay for the purpose of obtaining, if possible, impres-
sions of "John's" fingers, or hand, at the sitting which Eusa-
pia Palladino was to give us on that evening when suddenly
a bell in the cabinet gave a bang against some woodwork
and rang loudly. I was standing at the time two and three
quarter meters from the closed curtains of the cabinet. I
looked at Mr. Carrington, who was just within the open
doorway of his room and said to him: "Do you hear that?"
He exclaimed: "By Jove!" I then rushed into my room
where Mr. Ryan was seated writing some notes and I told
him what had occurred. He came with me into the seance
room, opened the curtains and we all saw the bell swinging
violently wMth the string that it was suspended by. I had
anticipated that this string had broken and that the bell had
fallen to the ground ; my surprise was great to see the bell
still hanging and swinging violently. I asked Mr. Carring-
ton to make a note of the occurrence at once and also Mr.
Ryan.

After the swinging of the bell had ceased it occurred to
me that possibly some one had hung or balanced it on the
horizontal cord to which the string (by which the bell hung)
was attached, and that if this were so a jerk might cause the
bell to fall and ring. I found by experiment that I could



Eusapia Palladino 231

not balance the bell on the cord but tliat I could balance it
on a nail in the cabinet, or hang it on the cord by a small
ornamental knob that was on the side of the handle. When
so balanced or hung the bell required a jerk to cause it to
fall. No one was near the cabinet to give this jerk. The
incident has no evidential value, but is very perplexing. It
is strange that it should have occurred during the course of
the seances.

ADDITION TO BELL INCIDENT

"This bell incident should perhaps be taken in conjunction
with one which occurred after, I think, the fifth seance,
hitherto not mentioned. I had gone to bed and to sleep. I
was presently awakened by C, who came in saying that from
his bed in the next room he heard rappings in mine through
the open door. They still continued and I rose and went
with C. to the cabinet whence they came. They were slow,
deliberate raps, apparently on the woodwork near the win-
dow. They went on for about a quarter of a minute while
we stood there. Unfortunately the light was then turned
up and the curtain withdrawn and they immediately stopped.

"Eusapia, when told of this, declared it must have been
her 'fluid' which sometimes stayed behind. Perhaps — or a
beetle. I do not know,

" E. Feilding."



SEANCE 10

We had determined to devote the tenth seance to obtain-
ing photographs of levitations, and perhaps other phenomena,
and after the brilliant results at the ninth seance, we had
great hopes of obtaining some interesting photos as the result
of this seance. We accordingly arranged with some pho-
tographers to come and take flashlight photographs of the
phenomena as they occurred. We stationed them in the
next room with their apparatus, flashlight, magnesium, etc.,



232



Eusapia Palladino



and partly closed the folding doors, leading between the two
rooms. Our plan was to notify them by means of a given
signal when phenomena were about to occur (Eusapia was
to warn us in advance) and we should then cry out at the
critical moment and obtain a flashlight of a levitation, or
whatever the phenomenon might be.

We had also invited to this seance Professor Galeotti,
who had attended our fourth seance, and Mr. Ryan, who
had been present at the eighth. Messrs. Feilding and Ryan
lay down on the floor, and each held one of the medium's
feet. Professor Galeotti and Mr. Baggally assumed control
of her hands, and I sat at the opposite end of the seance
table, getting a clear view of the general proceedings.



Position I
• © C



P06IT10NJ II
E-P



5



T?



It is rather amusing to relate that, after all our prepara-
tions, we obtained at this seance no results worth noting!
Several times Eusapia informed us that phenomena were
about to take place, and we opened the doors leading into
the next room and warned the photographers that they were
to be ready for the given signal. It never came! Once the
magnesium was exploded by mistalce and Eusapia nearly had



Eusapia Palladino 233

a fit of hysterics. Several times feeble levltations and tilts
took place, but they came without warning, and could not
be photographed. The curtains were blown out on several
occasions, and we obtained a number of remarkable raps on
the table; but, compared with the previous seances, this one
must be set down as a complete failure.

This failure cannot be due, as the sceptic might think,
to the fact that Eusapia feared the camera or felt that a
photograph might disclose some trick, because she has often
been photographed before by other investigators. When we
asked her if she had any objection to our taking flashlight
photographs of the phenomena, she replied that she had not,
and we are assured that she was sincere in her statement,
for she had often allowed photographs to be taken under
very similar conditions. No; we must assume that the
force was weak on this occasion, and, because of the lack of
it, the seance was a complete and dismal failure. It was a
great pity that this should have been so, since it effectually
prevented us from obtaining any photographs of the phe-
nomena in actual progress. But it could not be avoided.



SEANCE II

The eleventh seance I did not attend, having been com-
pelled to leave Naples and return to New York on certain
matters of a private nature which called me away. To this
seance, which took place on the evening of December 19,
igo8, Messrs. Feilding and Baggally, who had remained,
invited Mrs. and Miss Hutton, two English ladies, and
M. Zingaropoli, who had already obtained a number of
seances with Eusapia and written several short reports upon
her and her phenomena. Mrs. Hutton, who was said to



234



Eusapla Palladino



be "an exceptionally keen observer," assumed control of the
left side of the medium while Mr. Feilding controlled her
right hand and foot. The seance began at 10.05 P.M.



Position 1






MR^



B



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Three minutes later the tilts became violent, and the next
moment a complete levitation of the table occurred. Bulg-
Ings of the dress and swellings of the curtain occurred a
few moments later. Lights and raps on the sitters' chairs
followed.

At 11.02 B. climbed on to the seance table, at the medium's
request. Immediately he had done so, a complete arm came