Read Ebook: Do the Dead Return? A True Story of Startling Seances in San Francisco by Anonymous

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rowley, Judge Robert Ferral, Dr. R. E. Bunker, and Attorney Charles L. Patton were the principal investigators, though Captain Wright and many others saw all that was done. At this seance the observations were conducted under the test conditions arranged by Chief Crowley, Dr. Bunker, and Attorney Patton.

The reader should satisfy himself concerning the mental and moral qualifications of all the witnesses named by glancing at the biographical sketches elsewhere in this volume.

He now lives in Boston.--Editor.

"I can converse with the spirits of your deceased friends," said the medium, "and I am giving my life to this work. I gave up a great tea business to teach my fellow men that life does not end at the grave. My home is constantly filled with bands of angels from the celestial depths, but I am able to call a few spirits around any box, table, or desk. I want you to satisfy yourself that all that is done here is absolutely honest."

At his own request, Dr. Schlesinger was not introduced to any of the persons present. He soon called their names, however, and said they were given to him by the spirits in the raps that all could hear on the desk.

The Doctor's favorite method of communicating startling information was to have the sitters write, before they came into his presence, fifteen or twenty names of living and dead friends. Each name being on a separate piece of paper, the visitors were requested to fold each slip tightly, so as to preclude any possibility of its being read by the medium. This done, the slips, all of equal size, were put into a hat and thoroughly shuffled. The Doctor would then say: "Pick out any slip yourself, and I will read it without looking and before you yourself know what the name is." There would then be raps, and in a few seconds the Doctor would give the name correctly. These names were written and folded in a room apart from the Doctor.

"Granting that there is such a thing as mind-reading," said Chief Crowley, "I do not think mind-reading would account for what was done for me, because he read things that were not in my mind, telling me my mother's maiden name and where she died."

Dr. Schlesinger calls his gift clairaudient mediumship, and says his right ear is deaf to all terrestrial sounds, but quickened, as with a sixth sense, for communications from the other world. He says he can both see and hear spirits, and that bands of them encircle him, and at times, in the presence of some peculiarly "fit" visitors, manifest themselves with great clearness and power. To prove that the sounds he hears are celestial voices, he does many things which baffle those who witness the strange phenomena which abound in his presence wherever he goes.

It was with much difficulty that those who participated in these seances and whose accounts of what they saw are subjoined, were induced to give the medium a hearing. Chief Crowley was particularly opposed to giving serious attention to what he denounced as "trickery and sleight of hand," and afterwards called "marvelous and beyond power of explanation." Finally he wrote down a number of names on separate slips, as explained in the foregoing, and among those names appeared that of his mother--her maiden name. The medium at once told the Chief which pellet contained his mother's name, then read it, and in a few moments told where she died and where she was buried.

A few minutes later the aged Doctor said: "The spirit of Detective Hutton, who died a violent death, hovers near you."

The medium then spoke of matters that were known to nobody but Chief Crowley and the dead detective. This greatly puzzled the Chief, who was later deeply affected over purported messages from a son and others who had been dear to him in life.

Speaking of the purported message from his dead mother the Chief said: "I cannot explain this, which is marvelous, for I do not believe a human being in San Francisco knew that my mother's maiden name was Elizabeth McCarthy, that she died in New Jersey and was buried in New York."

Chief Crowley then wrote down a list of years, among them the year of his mother's death. Dr. Schlesinger pointed to the year 1833 as that of her death.

"Correct!" replied Chief Crowley; whereupon the medium said, "and the name of your father, Patrick J. Crowley, is also here, and he comes with your son Lewis, who has not been dead long."

The Chief thought it the most wonderful performance he had ever seen. "He does marvelous and inexplicable things," said the Chief, "and I'll admit I cannot tell how it is done. While I cannot believe he converses with spirits, I am puzzled. I want to see him again and look into the matter further."

The experiments with Mayor L. R. Ellert, who sprang from his chair and positively declined to be thrown into a trance condition when the doctor requested him thus to visit the spirit world, were fully as startling as those with Chief Crowley.

Mayor Ellert took a chair in front of his official table, which had thus been dedicated to spiritual uses, and asked if any spirits desired to communicate with him, whereupon the medium grasped his Honor's hands and the line of communication with the spirits was declared fully established. Quite distinct raps were then heard on the table, and Dr. Schlesinger looked at the Mayor and said: "You are a medium yourself, sir! My, what a power!"

The Mayor was urged "to sit alone often and be patient," and was told that he could develop much power by such a course.

Mayor Ellert then wrote down ten of fifteen names of living and dead friends, on separate slips of paper. He refused to use the paper handed him by Dr. Schlesinger, but cut up an official letter head which lay on his own desk. As he began to write the names, the medium stepped away and engaged in conversation with District Attorney Barnes and Mr. Bonnet at the other side of the room, so that he could not see what Mayor Ellert wrote. The Mayor carefully folded the slips, put them in a hat, and shuffled them. He then brought one forth from the hatful.

"That's a dead one," said Dr. Schlesinger. "Open it and see whether I am correct; but don't let me see it."

The Mayor obeyed the request, and answered, "Yes, this is a dead person's name!"

"Don't let me see it," said the mysterious visitor, "and I'll tell you what it is," whereupon he at once correctly pronounced the name of the Mayor's sister, which was not Ellert.

The Mayor then announced that he was unable to explain the phenomena. He watched the medium's movements and convinced himself that there had been no juggling in the shuffle, and said that his visitor out-Hermanned Hermann. He would leave the solution of the phenomena to others learned in the arts of divination.

The outcome of the seances and the story of what occurred may best be told by those who were present, and the subjoined versions are given:--

ATTORNEY PATTON'S STORY.

"I desire to preface what I have to say by remarking that while I have never been nor am I now a spiritualist, nor have I ever before been present at the performance of a medium, yet what I saw of Dr. Schlesinger's so-called manifestations from the spirit world is entirely inexplicable to me upon any scientific hypothesis with which I am familiar; yet at the same time I must admit that I cannot explain the phenomena exhibited upon any theory of legerdemain or sleight of hand within my knowledge. Therefore, I merely state that I have seen, or seemingly seen, and heard the following remarkable things, during the sitting or seance with Dr. Schlesinger, leaving it to others more competent than I to determine whether they are the manifestations of some psychic force at present unadmitted by scientists or the legerdemain of a sleight-of-hand performer.

"CHAS. L. PATTON."

BARNES WAS PUZZLED.

District Attorney Barnes gives the following account of the seance:--

"I was completely surprised at the performance in the Mayor's office. It was the first seance I had ever attended, and I must confess that I had not the slightest respect for such manifestations other than a natural admiration for the quickness of the operator. I had always supposed that batteries, wires, a tolerable acquaintance with the sitter, all aided by darkness, were the causes of the effects produced by the medium. In this case, however, the seance took place in broad daylight, and no attempt was made, so far as I could see, to use any mechanical means. The medium sat two or three feet from the Mayor's desk, and only touched the desk occasionally with his hand, yet from that desk came the spirit rappings that were clearly audible to all of us in the room. I watched the others write lists of names containing each the name of some dead person, and saw the quickness with which Dr. Schlesinger picked out the persons who had passed away, and gave messages from them. When it came my turn I wrote a number of names on small slips of paper, folded them and held them in my hand. Among these names was that of a classmate of mine at Harvard, who died long ago at Philadelphia, who had never been in California, and whose name I have not mentioned for years. Hardly had I sat down when Dr. Schlesinger called his full name and gave me a message from him, recalling an occurrence, so far as I am aware, known only to the dead man and myself. To say that I was amazed but feebly expresses it; and when I asked the Doctor whence he got his information, he replied, 'It is borne to me on angels' wings.'

"Whether it was or not, it was a most remarkable thing, and deeply impressed upon me that 'There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in our philosophy.'

"WILLIAM S. BARNES."

Seven years after the foregoing was written, Mr. Barnes expressed himself as still deeply puzzled. "I cannot think of any experience in life so marvelous," he said, "so beyond my power to explain."

JUDGE FERRAL'S TESTIMONY.

Ex-Judge Robert Ferral's narrative largely corroborates what the others said. He presents the case in his own way.

"Having taken a deep interest from early boyhood in exhibitions of a marvelous nature, such as magic, legerdemain, mesmerism, hypnotism, mind-reading, and spiritualism, it was with pleasure that I accepted the kind invitation to visit Dr. Schlesinger and personally witness his experiments and manifestations.

"I found the Doctor an aged, venerable man, in a large room, surrounded by a company of ladies and gentlemen, bright, cheerful, and intelligent, all apparently bent upon the rational enjoyment of this life, and happy in the belief of companionable intercourse with the realm of spirits.

"Retiring to more quiet quarters, consisting of an ordinary bedroom and parlor, the business began without waste of words or loss of time. Having written the names of half a dozen persons, living and dead, each name on a separate slip, carefully folded and looking precisely alike, which were tossed into a hat and well shaken up, the doctor proceeded to name the contents of each paper as it was drawn out. Occasionally he made a mistake, but in nearly every instance succeeded at the first or second trial. He first separated the living from the dead, without opening the slips, and sometimes not even touching them; then proceeded to give the names. Afterward, upon writing place and cause of death, age, occupation, etc., upon other slips, the same result followed. Some of the names submitted by me were peculiar, and I believe known to no one else in this city, yet they were announced--read off, as it were--with but little hesitation and generally exactly as written. The same thing occurred as to the diseases and places of death.

"During this manifestation of his power Dr. Schlesinger simply formed a circle or chain of hands, connecting with himself, frequently tapped the table, and appealed to an unseen 'guide' for his information. Raps were said to have been heard also, but of this I cannot bear testimony.

"ROBERT FERRAL." September 5, 1893.

DR. BUNKER'S NARRATIVE.

The following is Dr. R. E. Bunker's account, written at his old office, No. 802 Kearny Street, just after the seances and while he was still in charge of the City Receiving Hospital:--

"I saw Dr. Schlesinger in company with the other gentlemen named, and I saw wonderful things which I am wholly unable to explain. The phenomena, manifestations, or things that occur in the medium's presence are not only interesting, but marvelous. I went possessed of something like eight or ten slips of paper, on each of which I had previously written a name of some person I had known--some living, some dead. Not a soul ever saw the slips, for I was alone when I wrote the names. Furthermore, they were so folded that no one could possibly have read a single name. Dr. Schlesinger at once picked out the names of living and dead persons, while the slips were held between my fingers and when I did not know what person's name was on the particular slip that I held. He pronounced every name correctly while I held the pellet, or as it lay untouched on his table.

"To say that what he did was by the aid of wires or batteries would be to impart to wires and batteries more intelligence than the greatest philosophers have ever possessed. This is no explanation; nor has any one ever been able to explain to me how these things were done. I do not believe it was mind-reading , for I did not know the name on the slip under question--not until I afterwards unfolded it and corroborated the Doctor's readings. You understand that the entire bunch had been thoroughly shuffled in a hat before any slip was picked up.

"To come to specific instances, let me give a few cases as they occurred. On one slip I had written my mother's maiden name, which was not known to anybody in San Francisco. It was placed among eight or ten other names of women--some married, some unmarried, some wholly fictitious. All slips were folded alike and placed in a hat under the table, which I held in my hands. Dr. Schlesinger asked me to pick out the pellets, one at a time and hold them between my finger and thumb. He would say, 'That is not the name, throw it aside;' and so on, until he hesitated at one pellet and said, 'That is your mother's maiden name; it is Emily J. Laumann.'

"The answer was correct, and in a similar manner he read other names and told me all about the persons. I had written the name of Dick Foster on one slip. Foster had died of consumption at the old Bella Union Theater, on June 21st. The medium did not read his name, but wrote a message backwards--that is, from left to right--very rapidly, and when I held it up to the light with the written surface from me, I could read the following:--

"This was a puzzling thing, and I should like for some one to explain how it was done, if there was not communication with some invisible intelligence. In regard to Foster's name it should be said that the medium had not seen nor heard it, and that his hand flew over the paper very fast while he wrote the backward message. So far as I could see, Dr. Schlesinger was quite deaf and near-sighted. He was an old man of heavy weight and clumsy fingers. His manner was that of a devout believer in the genuineness of his theory. If any one can explain to me how these things were done, he will interest me far more than Dr. Schlesinger did, and it should be said that my attention to what he did was held without interruption from the start. There were several other like tests wherein he read for me other names by a process equally startling, making one feel that he had marvelous powers.

"R. E. BUNKER, M. D."

WHAT MR. BONNET SAW.

"After witnessing the efforts of Dr. Schlesinger as a medium, one cannot but be impressed by his marvelous powers of divination. They are impossible of explanation on any hypothesis calculated to reduce his work to the vulgar plane of legerdemain. Yet the manifestations, as he is pleased to call his marvelous, puzzling and apparently supernatural revelations concerning matters with which he could not become familiar under ordinary circumstances, are after all, unsatisfactory to the person engaged in testing his power. I must give him credit, however, for having startled me by one message. I had written on small slips of paper, which were then carefully folded--all this an hour or more before the meeting. One of the names was Joseph Touhill, an Oakland burglar, who had been killed by a policeman who caught him robbing a saloon. I had known Touhill, and had been quite friendly with him in late years, but had never suspected that he was of the Jekyll and Hyde species. The medium did not at once direct me to the piece of paper on which Touhill's name was written, but afterwards he suddenly said: 'The spirit of the man with whom you wish to communicate is here now.'

"I signified my willingness to hear from the spirit, whereupon the Doctor said, 'Old boy, I'm not quite as dead as you think.' Then he mentioned the name of Joseph Touhill. Now, this circumstance deeply impressed me, because the language was so characteristic of the dead burglar, it having been customary with him to address me as 'Old boy.' Mind-reading will have to be rejected as an explanation, because the Doctor subsequently read a name that was on a pellet that I had not opened, and knew nothing about until I subsequently read it. I picked up the pellet from the desk where I had put it with a number of others, and handed it to Mayor Ellert, who, without examining it, deposited it in his vest-pocket. Then came rappings on the table, and the medium said: 'Behind you stands the spirit of the man whose name is on that paper. He was an eminent person, and he died far away from here. He is waving a flag over your head, and on it is written the name of Victor Hugo.'

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