Seance
A sitting held for the purpose of communicating with the dead, an essential requirement being that at least one member of the company be possessed of mediumistic powers. (See Medium.) Antiquity furnishes many examples of what may be called séances "-e.g., Saul's consultation with the Witch of Endor-but the term is generally used only in connection with modern spiritualism. When, in 1848, the Fox family at Hydesville called in their neighbours to listen to the mysterious sounds which have since become famous as the "Rochester Rappings," the gathering was too informal to be called a séance, though all the necessary elements were present; but within the next two or three years the contagion spread throughout a large part of the eastern states, many "circles" (q.v.) were formed, and the phenomena which was in the first instance apparently spontaneous was now deliberately induced. In the early stages of the movement these séances were conducted by private mediums, who took no fee for their performances, but later professional mediums arose whose séances were open to the public on the payment of a fee. Both public and private séances continued, and still continue, to be an indispensable feature of spiritualism. 66
Besides the presence of a medium there are other conditions which must be observed if the séance is to be productive of phenomena. The chief of these is, perhaps, the darkness or semi-darkness of the séance-room, though this is by no means an invariable condition. The reason given by spiritualists is that light interferes with the manifestations of the spirits, though a less charitable construction is sometimes put upon the insistent demand for darkness. Sometimes the actual séance is preceded by playing or singing, a proceeding which one of Home's sitters states always gave us a good séance." That this playing and singing was not without its purpose we may readily infer, for a state of expectancy and increased receptivity might easily be induced thereby, and it may be recalled, en passant, that D'Eslon and other disciples of Mesmer enjoined their patients to sing, or had some instrument played while the patients were seated around the baquet, or magnetic tub. To return to the séance; the sitters take their places around a table and join hands, thus forming a "chain." The Baron de Guldenstubbé, in giving directions for the forming of a circle and the conducting of a séance, says: "In order to form a chain, the twelve persons each place their right hand on the table and their left hand on that of their neighbour, thus making a circle round the table. Observe that the medium or mediums, if there be more than one, are entirely isolated from those who form the chain." Dr. Lapponi, in his Hypnotism and Spiritism, says: "He (the medium) then invites some of his assistants to place their hands on the table in the following manner. The two thumbs of each person are to be touching each other, and each little finger is to be in communication with the little fingers of the persons on either side. He himself completes the chain with his two hands. The hands of all together rest on the edge of the table." Sometimes, again, as in the séances for table-turning and talking, the chain is formed simply by all the operators placing their finger-tips on the table. When the spirits have announced their presence by raps, tilting of the table, and so on, the chain may or may not be broken, but so long as it remains unbroken the sitters are entirely at the mercy of the spirits. The phenomena which are thereafter witnessed are so diverse and varied that scarcely any account of a séance precisely matches another in detail, yet undoubtedly they all belong to certain well-defined classes. In the sphere of "physical" phenomena we have the movements of furniture, beginning with the table round which the members of the circle are seated, and affecting, perhaps, all the furniture in the room. These antics of inanimate objects in the séance-room are often practically identical with the spontaneous outbreaks of the poltergeist. Then there are Seance the levitations (q.v.) both of the human body and of furniture and inanimate things. We are told of heavy wardrobes being raised to the ceiling without visible agency, and of several mediums floating upwards in like manner. Elongation (q.v.) is another phenomenon of the séanceroom, an increase or apparent increase, of from a few inches to a foot taking place in the medium's height. Locked doors and cupboards are opened without keys, and without any trace of violence. Apports (q.v.) of small objectsflowers, fruit, jewels, anything, in fact-are brought from a distance through closed doors and barred windows, or abstracted in mysterious fashion from sealed boxes.
Inanimate things show in their actions an almost human intelligence. Heavy objects become light enough to be raised by the touch of a finger, light articles become so weighty that the combined force of all present will not suffice to lift them. The medium can hold live coals in his hand, or in his handkerchief, without either being burned. Instruments are played upon when no visible hand is near them, or music is produced from the empty air without any instruments at all. Luminous hands and faces float in the air, sometimes recognised by the sitters as belonging to deceased friends and relatives, and touchings and caresses are felt. A breeze suddenly springs up in the séance-roomthough the doors and windows are still closed-and curtains and the clothes of the sitters are inflated. If the séance is an especially successful one, complete spirit forms may be materialised. If the latter manifestation is to be asked for, a small cabinet is usually provided, into which the medium retires. Soon afterwards the filmy spirit form or forms are seen to issue from the cabinet, and in them the sitters frequently behold lost friends or relatives. The spirit forms will move about the room, allow themselves to be touched, and will, on occasion, even converse with their friends in the flesh, and give away locks of their hair and fragments of their clothing. Again, the materialisation may take place in the open, a small luminous cloud being first perceived, which gradually developes into a complete human figure; or, as has been known to happen, the spirit may seem to issue from the medium's side, and remain united to him by a gossamer filament. In most cases the head and chin are shrouded in white draperies, only a portion of the face being visible. (See Materialisation.) The automatic or "psychical" phenomena are of a different nature. Certain manifestations, such as tabletiltings (q.v.), rapping (q.v.), and slate-writing (q.v.), where the communication does not apparently come through the medium's organism, partake of the character of both "physical" and "psychical" phenomena. Purely "psychical" manifestations are the automatic writing and speaking of the medium. Sometimes the latter falls spontaneously into a trance, and delivers spirit messages while in that state, or the medium may remain to all appearances in a normal condition. Not only writings and utterances, but drawings and musical compositions may be produced automatically, and though automatism of this sort is by no means confined to the séance-room it still plays a large part therein, and is espeically in favour with the more serious-minded spiritualists, to whom communications from the spirit-world are of greater importance than the tricks of household furniture.
A representative account of one of the séances of D. D. Home (q.v.), is given by H. D. Jencken in Human Nature, February, 1867, as follows: "
Mr. Home had passed into the trance still so often witnessed, rising from his seat, he laid hold of an armchair, which he held at arms' length, and was then lifted about three feet clear of the ground; travelling thus suspended in space, he placed the chair next Lord Adare, and made a circuit round those in the room, being lowered and raised as he passed each of us. One of those present measured the elevation, and passed his leg and arm under Mr. Home's feet. The elevation lasted from four to five minutes. On resuming his seat, Mr. Home addressed Captain Wynne, communicating news to him of which the departed alone could have been cognisant. 6 a "The spirit form that had been seen reclining on the sofa, now stepped up to Mr. Home and mesmerised him; a hand was then seen luminously visible over his head, about 18 inches in a vertical line from his head. The trance state of Mr. Home now assumed a different character; gently rising he spoke a few words to those present, and then opening the door proceeded into the corridor; voice then said :-' He will go out of this window and come in at that window.' The only one who heard the voice was the Master of Lindsay, and a cold shudder seized upon him as he contemplated the possibility of this occurring, a feat which the great height of the third floor windows in Ashley Place rendered more than ordinarily perilous. The others present, however, having closely questioned him as to what he had heard, he at first replied, 'I dare not tell you,' when, to the amazement of all, a voice said, 'You must tell; tell directly.' The Master then said, Yes; yes, terrible to say, he will go out at that window and come in at this; do not be frightened, be quiet.' Mr. Home now re-entered the room, and opening the drawing-room window, was pushed out demi-horizontally into space, and carried from one window of the drawing-room to the farthermost window of the adjoining room. This feat being performed at a height of about sixty feet from the ground, naturally caused a shudder in all present. The body of Mr. Home, when it appeared at the window of the adjoining room, was shunted into the room feet foremostthe window being only 18 inches open. As soon as he had recovered his footing he laughed and said, 'I wonder what a policeman would have said had he seen me go round and round like a teetotum!' The scene was, however, too terrible too strange, to elicit a smile; cold beads of perspiration stood on every brow, while a feeling pervaded all as if some great danger had passed; the nerves of those present had been kept in a state of tension that refused to respond to a joke. A change now passed over Mr. Home, one often observable during the trance states, indicative, no doubt, of some other power operating on his system. Lord Adare had in the meantime stepped up to the open window in the adjoining room to close it-the cold air, as it came pouring in, chilling the room; when, to his surprise, he only found the window 18 to 24 inches open! This puzzled him, for how could Mr. Home have passed outside through a window only 18 to 24 inches open. Mr. Home, however / soon set his doubts at rest; stepping up to Lord Adare he said, 'No, no, I did not close the window; I passed thus into the air outside.' An invisible power then supported Mr. Home all but horizontally in space, and thrust his body into space through the open window, head-foremost, bringing him back again feet foremost into the room, shunted not unlike a shutter into a basement below. The circle round the table having re-formed, a cold current of air passed over those present, like the rushing of winds. This repeated itself several times. The cold blast of air, or electric fluid, or call it what you may, was accompanied by a loud whistle like a gust of wind on the mountain top, or through the leaves of the forest in late autumn; the sound was deep, sonorous, and powerful in the extreme, and a shudder kept passing over those present, who all heard and felt it. This rushing sound lasted quite ten minutes, in broken intervals of one or two minutes. All present were much surprised; and the interest became intensified by the unknown tongues in which Mr. Home now conversed. Passing from one language to another in rapid succesto Second Sight sion, he spoke for ten minutes in unknown languages. "A spirit form now became distinctly visible; it stood next to the Master of Lindsay, clad, as seen on former occasions, in a long robe with a girdle, the feet scarcely touching the ground, the outline of the face only clear, and the tones of the voice, though sufficiently distinct to be understood, whispered rather than spoken. Other voices were now heard, and large globes of phosphorescent lights passed slowly through the room."
The following extract is taken from an account of a séance held by Professor Lombroso with the famous Italian medium, Eusapia Paladino. "After a rather long wait the table began to move, slowly at first, -a matter explained by the scepticism, not to say the positively hostile spirit, of those who were this night in a séance circle for the first time. Then little by little, the movements increased in intensity. M. Lombroso proved the levitation of the table, and estimated at twelve or fifteen pounds the resistance to the pressure which he had to make with his hands in order to overcome that levitation. 66
This phenomenon of a heavy body sustained in the air, off its centre of gravity and resisting a pressure of twelve or fifteen pounds, very much surprised and astonished the learned gentleman, who attributed it to the action of an unknown magnetic force. "At my request, taps and scratchings were heard in the table. This was a new cause for astonishment, and led the gentlemen to themselves call for the putting out of the candles in order to ascertain whether the intensity of the noises would be increased, as had been stated. All remained seated and in contact. "In a dim light which did not hinder the most careful surveillance, violent blows were first heard at the middle point of the table. Then a bell placed upon a round table, at a distance of a yard to the left of the medium (in such a way that she was placed behind and to the right of M. Lombroso), rose into the air, and went tinkling over the heads of the company, describing a circle around our table where it finally came to rest."
At this séance members of the company also felt themselve pinched and their clothes plucked, and experienced the touchings of invisible hands on their faces and fingers. The accuracy of the account-written by M. Ciolfi-was testified to by Professor Lombroso himself.
M. J.