whatweird.com

Hey I just ran across this article about Daniel Dunglas Home on experiencefestival.com. The page on Psychic Mediums is great. There’s even an article on Psychic Surgery! I’m a believer, but I don’t know about the surgery.

Daniel Dunglas Home (Born in Scotland, 1833 - 1886) Physical Medium

Born on March 20, 1833, in Edinburgh, Scotland, Daniel Dunglas Home was perhaps one of the most amazing physical mediums of the nineteenth century. Daniel and his family moved to America in 1842. After losing his mother in 1850, he went to stay with his aunt.

It was while still in his teens that the strange phenomena started. Furniture moved and noises were heard in the house. His aunt called in ministers to rid him of the “curse,” but they instead informed him he was gifted by God to do this work. He then turned his hand to giving séances. Most were held in broad daylight so as not to feed any skeptics. At these meetings knocking noises were heard, and the table would vibrate, tilt or rise from the floor. This was followed by any number of unexplainable phenomena such as furniture or people levitating, or musical instruments materializing and playing by themselves. Hands would appear and begin writing on pieces of paper.

In 1852, Home first began to levitate himself, and this is something he was to become renowned for. In 1855 he returned to England. His reputation preceded him, and Home once again began to demonstrate his extraordinary gifts. Many accused of him fraud because of the many unbelievable events that occurred at his séances, but he was never found guilty. Reports of tables lifting so high that he was able to walk under them and other such accounts were also documented.

Home was also tested by noted scientist Sir William Crookes, who after conducting a series laboratory condition tests concluded that his gifts were genuine. Home eventually retired from séance work in 1873, as his health was failing. He died of tuberculosis in June of 1886.

Skeptics might argue that any of Home’s gifts were simply the work of a superb illusionist. It should be noted, however, that he was never found guilty of any fraudulent act. Indeed, even Harry Houdini, who had explained away many fraudulent mediums’ claims, could not replicate any of Home’s more amazing feats.

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 25th, 2007 at 5:24 pm and is filed under Random. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.