It's the winter of 1942 and you have lost a son in the war. Devastated and desperate for a final farewell, you attend a seance where you sit facing open curtains strung across a corner of the room. A stout black-haired woman enters in a stately fashion and takes her seat there. The main lights are switched off, leaving only the glow of a red bulb. A gramophone plays lighthearted music, which, the organiser explains, helps "raise the vibrations".
As the curtains close, a man you can't see introduces himself as Albert, the medium's spirit guide. With him, he says, he has the spirit of a soldier killed in the war. When Albert says his name, you call to claim him, and the curtains part to reveal, dimly, a glimmering mass trailing from the medium's slumped body. The audience gasps - but to you, this is more than a paranormal spectacle. For as the shape increases in size and definition, you see your dead son. "Hello Mum", he says, holding out a spectral hand.
The medium here was Mrs Helen Duncan, a virtuoso 'materialiser' and producer of 'ectoplasm', who, in the 1930s and 40s travelled around Britain, usually with a female companion. Typically, her destinations were cities or small towns, often seaside resorts. Her health was poor, and she gave off an air of self-sacrifice for a higher cause. She performed in sitting rooms and attics, chapels and public halls, to people from all walks of life. Some were passionate believers or the desperate bereaved; others went for fun - "going to the spooks", they called it.
Opinion was divided. Did her psychic powers extend a bridge of love and enlightenment into the afterlife? Or was this mysterious woman just a heartless fraud who exploited vulnerable people?
MATERIALISING SPIRITS
Bu hikaye BBC History Revealed dergisinin Christmas 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye BBC History Revealed dergisinin Christmas 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
'Dickens's evocation of the fears, excitement and confusion of childhood is peerless'
DR LEE JACKSON ON WHY CHARLES DICKENS REMAINS RELEVANT TODAY
THE AUTHOR GOES ABROAD
Dickens expanded his horizons and boosted his fan-base by venturing overseas - but global fame came with a cost
REVIVING THE FESTIVE SPIRIT
A Christmas Carol wasn't just a bestseller - it changed the way that Britons chose to mark the festive season
GIVING THE POOR A VOICE
From Hard Times to Oliver Twist, Charles Dickens used his pen to help illuminate the lives of the less fortunate
A JOURNEY THROUGH DICKENS'S LONDON
The works of Charles Dickens are synonymous with visions of Victorian London. We talk to Dr Lee Jackson about the author's love of the capital, and the locations that most inspired him
EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS
Dr Lee Jackson chronicles Charles Dickens's journey from down-at-luck teenager to titan of Victorian literature
GIFTS, TREES & FEASTING
We take a journey through the photo archives to reveal how Christmas and its many traditions have been celebrated over the years - and around the world
WHAT GREAT PAINTINGS SAY
We explore the story behind an allegorical painting that celebrates the triumph of love over hate, peace over war
HELLISH NELL
Malcolm Gaskill delves into the life of Helen Duncan - the fraudulent Scottish medium whose ectoplasm-filled seances saw her ending up on the wrong side of the law
7 THINGS YOU (PROBABLY) DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT THE WHITE HOUSE
Presidential historian Dr Lindsay M Chervinsky reveals some of the most surprising facts about the world-famous US residence