Skeptic testimonies about Katie King och Florence Cook from Frank Podmore´s book "Modern Spiritualism: A history and a criticism"
(this is a very superficial description, which does not touch on the huge amount of evidence
available in favor of Florence Cook :)
(p. 97-104 from Frank Podmore´s book "Modern Spiritualism: A history and a criticism", 1902:)
"But it was a new medium. Miss Florence Cook — then a girl of sixteen —
who first exhibited materialisation in its full development in a good light.
Miss Cook attended several of the early sittings at the rooms
of Heme and Williams; and later she and Herne had some
successful materialisations at Mr. Cook's house at Hackney.
From this point Miss Cook, soon discarding Heme's assist-
ance, appears to have given regular stances on her own
account. At the outset Miss Cook (at the present time a
professional medium under the name of Mrs. Corner) took
no money for her stances; and, shortly after she had begun
to give regular sittings, a wealthy citizen of Manchester,
Mr. Charles Blackburn, came forward and undertook to pay
her an annual retaining fee, that she might be free to give her
services when required.
In this manner Miss Cook was placed in much the same
position as Mrs. Guppy and other non-professional mediums.
Though receiving a substantial payment for the exercise of
her gifts, she was in no way beholden to the individual sitters
who attended her circles. They were invited guests of herself
or her family, and for the most part accepted without question
the restraints imposed by that condition. The following
extracts from two articles which appeared in the Daily
Telegraph will show how her performances appeared to a con-
temporary writer.(2) After describing the medium, "a pretty
Jewish-like little girl," and the other persons present, all
members of the medium's family, or well-known Spiritualists,
the writer continues : —
"A sort of comer cupboard had been fitted up with two doors
opening in the usual manner from the centre, and an aperture
of some eighteen inches square in the fixed portion at the top. At
this I was told the faces would appear. A lamp on a table in the
other corner of the room was so arranged as to shed a bright light
on this opening, whilst it left the rest of the small apartment in sub-
dued, but still in full light. I examined the cupboard or cabinet
Miss Cook attended several of the early sittings at the rooms
of Heme and Williams; and later she and Herne had some
successful materialisations at Mr. Cook's house at Hackney.
From this point Miss Cook, soon discarding Heme's assist-
ance, appears to have given regular stances on her own
account. At the outset Miss Cook (at the present time a
professional medium under the name of Mrs. Corner) took
no money for her stances; and, shortly after she had begun
to give regular sittings, a wealthy citizen of Manchester,
Mr. Charles Blackburn, came forward and undertook to pay
her an annual retaining fee, that she might be free to give her
services when required.
In this manner Miss Cook was placed in much the same
position as Mrs. Guppy and other non-professional mediums.
Though receiving a substantial payment for the exercise of
her gifts, she was in no way beholden to the individual sitters
who attended her circles. They were invited guests of herself
or her family, and for the most part accepted without question
the restraints imposed by that condition. The following
extracts from two articles which appeared in the Daily
Telegraph will show how her performances appeared to a con-
temporary writer.(2) After describing the medium, "a pretty
Jewish-like little girl," and the other persons present, all
members of the medium's family, or well-known Spiritualists,
the writer continues : —
"A sort of comer cupboard had been fitted up with two doors
opening in the usual manner from the centre, and an aperture
of some eighteen inches square in the fixed portion at the top. At
this I was told the faces would appear. A lamp on a table in the
other corner of the room was so arranged as to shed a bright light
on this opening, whilst it left the rest of the small apartment in sub-
dued, but still in full light. I examined the cupboard or cabinet
___________________________________________________
2) Daily Telegraph, Oct. loth, 1872, article on "Spirit Faces," by "Our
Own Commissioner."
___________________________________________________
carefully, put a chair in, and saw little Miss Blank carefully shut up
inside, like a pot of jam or a pound of candles. A rope was put
in her lap, the object of which will appear anon, and we all sat
round like a party of grown-up children waiting for the magic-
lantern.
" We were told to sing, and so we did — at least the rest did, for
the songs were spiritualistic ones for the most part, which I did not
know. They were pretty, cheerful little hymns, such as ' Hand in
hand with Angels,' ' The Beautiful River,' and Longfellow's ' Foot-
steps of Angels.' By-and-by raps inside the cupboard door told us
to ' open sesame.' We did so ; and there was pretty Miss Blank
tied round the neck, arms, and legs to the chair, in a very un-
comfortable and apparently secure manner. We sealed the knots,
shut her up in the cupboard, and warbled again. After some delay
a face rose gently to the aperture rather far back, but presently
came well to the front. It was slightly pale, and the head was
swathed in white drapery. The eyes were fixed, and altogether it
looked ghostly. It remained for some time, disappeared and
reappeared ; and the lamp was turned full upon it, but the eyes
never lost their fixed stare, and showed no symptom of winking.
After several minutes it went altogether. The doors were opened,
and little Miss Blank was found still tied, with seals unbroken, and
to all appearance in a deep sleep. . . . After a good deal more
singing than I cared about, another appearance took place in
obedience to the command of the doctor, who had been in the
East, and asked to see a Parsee friend. After some delay, a head
appeared, surmounted by a turban, and with a decidedly Eastern
expression of countenance and dark complexion. It did not satisfy
the doctor, who declared that the face bore a resemblance to the
one demanded, but that the headgear was not en regie. This was
Tableau No. 2. . . . In Scene the Third the face was quite
different. The head was still surmounted by white drapery, but
a black band was over the forehead, like a nun's hood. The teeth
were projecting, and the expression of the face sad. They fancied
it was a spirit that was pained at not being recognised. When this
face disappeared, Kate came again for a little while, and allowed me
to go up to the cupboard and touch her face and hand, after first
putting to me the pertinent question, ' Do you squeeze ? ' On
assuring her I did not do anything so improper, the manipulations
were permitted. This was the finale, and the circle broke up forth-
with. The gentleman from Manchester was delighted, and all the
Spiritualists, of course, were loud in their commendations."
In the following year the same writer gives an account of
a later phase of the manifestations : —
" In a short time, however, Katie — as the familiar of Miss B. was
termed — thought she would be able to ' materialise ' herself so far as
to present the whole form, if we arranged the corner cupboard so
as to admit of her doing so. Accordingly we opened the door, and
from it suspended a rug or two opening in the centre, after the
fashion of a Bedouin Arab's tent, formed a semicircle, sat and sang
Longfellow's 'Footsteps of Angels.' Therein occurs the passage,
'Then the forms of the departed enter at the open door.' And, lo
and behold, though we had left Miss B. tied and sealed to her
chair, and clad in an ordinary black dress somewhat voluminous
as to the skirts, a tall female figure draped classically in white, with
bare arms and feet, did enter at the open door, or rather down the
centre from between the two rugs, and stood statuelike before us,
spoke a few words, and retired; after which we entered the Bedouin
tent and found pretty Miss B. with her dress as before, knots and
seals secure, and her boots on! This was Form No. 1, the first
I had ever seen. It looked as material as myself ; and on a subse-
quent occasion — for I have seen it several times — we took four very
good photographic portraits of it by magnesium light. The diffi-
culty I still felt, with the form as with the faces, was that it seemed
so thoroughly material and flesh and blood like." *
Whilst Miss Cook was still giving her seances a new private
medium came on the stage. Mrs, Showers, the widow of
General Showers, was living at Teignmouth, with one daughter,
Mary, who at the time when the manifestations began was
sixteen years old. The attention of the family was called
to the accounts of Spiritualism in London, and they began
to hold nightly seances for themselves in the spring of 1872.
The tables moved, messages were spelt out by the raps, and
Miss Mary Showers and the servant Ellen professed to see
spirits moving about the room, amongst them John King and
Peter. Direct writing, at first in spiegel-schrift, followed.
Then a young gentleman named H. appeared upon the scene.
He came in one evening to bid farewell before starting for
Australia. At his entrance the dining-room table started to
run across the room by itself. Mrs. Showers tells us that,
herself by this time accustomed to such marvels, she tried
to divert her guest's attention by suggesting that he should
dry his feet — it being a wet night — at the kitchen fire. Im-
mediately after his departure from the room on this errand
a crash was heard, and Mrs. Showers, hastening to the kitchen,
found Mr. H. standing on the kitchen floor in a pool of soup.
He assured her that the saucepan had jumped off the fire at
his entrance. Moreover, two large dish-covers, no unusual
2) Daily Telegraph, Oct. loth, 1872, article on "Spirit Faces," by "Our
Own Commissioner."
___________________________________________________
carefully, put a chair in, and saw little Miss Blank carefully shut up
inside, like a pot of jam or a pound of candles. A rope was put
in her lap, the object of which will appear anon, and we all sat
round like a party of grown-up children waiting for the magic-
lantern.
" We were told to sing, and so we did — at least the rest did, for
the songs were spiritualistic ones for the most part, which I did not
know. They were pretty, cheerful little hymns, such as ' Hand in
hand with Angels,' ' The Beautiful River,' and Longfellow's ' Foot-
steps of Angels.' By-and-by raps inside the cupboard door told us
to ' open sesame.' We did so ; and there was pretty Miss Blank
tied round the neck, arms, and legs to the chair, in a very un-
comfortable and apparently secure manner. We sealed the knots,
shut her up in the cupboard, and warbled again. After some delay
a face rose gently to the aperture rather far back, but presently
came well to the front. It was slightly pale, and the head was
swathed in white drapery. The eyes were fixed, and altogether it
looked ghostly. It remained for some time, disappeared and
reappeared ; and the lamp was turned full upon it, but the eyes
never lost their fixed stare, and showed no symptom of winking.
After several minutes it went altogether. The doors were opened,
and little Miss Blank was found still tied, with seals unbroken, and
to all appearance in a deep sleep. . . . After a good deal more
singing than I cared about, another appearance took place in
obedience to the command of the doctor, who had been in the
East, and asked to see a Parsee friend. After some delay, a head
appeared, surmounted by a turban, and with a decidedly Eastern
expression of countenance and dark complexion. It did not satisfy
the doctor, who declared that the face bore a resemblance to the
one demanded, but that the headgear was not en regie. This was
Tableau No. 2. . . . In Scene the Third the face was quite
different. The head was still surmounted by white drapery, but
a black band was over the forehead, like a nun's hood. The teeth
were projecting, and the expression of the face sad. They fancied
it was a spirit that was pained at not being recognised. When this
face disappeared, Kate came again for a little while, and allowed me
to go up to the cupboard and touch her face and hand, after first
putting to me the pertinent question, ' Do you squeeze ? ' On
assuring her I did not do anything so improper, the manipulations
were permitted. This was the finale, and the circle broke up forth-
with. The gentleman from Manchester was delighted, and all the
Spiritualists, of course, were loud in their commendations."
In the following year the same writer gives an account of
a later phase of the manifestations : —
" In a short time, however, Katie — as the familiar of Miss B. was
termed — thought she would be able to ' materialise ' herself so far as
to present the whole form, if we arranged the corner cupboard so
as to admit of her doing so. Accordingly we opened the door, and
from it suspended a rug or two opening in the centre, after the
fashion of a Bedouin Arab's tent, formed a semicircle, sat and sang
Longfellow's 'Footsteps of Angels.' Therein occurs the passage,
'Then the forms of the departed enter at the open door.' And, lo
and behold, though we had left Miss B. tied and sealed to her
chair, and clad in an ordinary black dress somewhat voluminous
as to the skirts, a tall female figure draped classically in white, with
bare arms and feet, did enter at the open door, or rather down the
centre from between the two rugs, and stood statuelike before us,
spoke a few words, and retired; after which we entered the Bedouin
tent and found pretty Miss B. with her dress as before, knots and
seals secure, and her boots on! This was Form No. 1, the first
I had ever seen. It looked as material as myself ; and on a subse-
quent occasion — for I have seen it several times — we took four very
good photographic portraits of it by magnesium light. The diffi-
culty I still felt, with the form as with the faces, was that it seemed
so thoroughly material and flesh and blood like." *
Whilst Miss Cook was still giving her seances a new private
medium came on the stage. Mrs, Showers, the widow of
General Showers, was living at Teignmouth, with one daughter,
Mary, who at the time when the manifestations began was
sixteen years old. The attention of the family was called
to the accounts of Spiritualism in London, and they began
to hold nightly seances for themselves in the spring of 1872.
The tables moved, messages were spelt out by the raps, and
Miss Mary Showers and the servant Ellen professed to see
spirits moving about the room, amongst them John King and
Peter. Direct writing, at first in spiegel-schrift, followed.
Then a young gentleman named H. appeared upon the scene.
He came in one evening to bid farewell before starting for
Australia. At his entrance the dining-room table started to
run across the room by itself. Mrs. Showers tells us that,
herself by this time accustomed to such marvels, she tried
to divert her guest's attention by suggesting that he should
dry his feet — it being a wet night — at the kitchen fire. Im-
mediately after his departure from the room on this errand
a crash was heard, and Mrs. Showers, hastening to the kitchen,
found Mr. H. standing on the kitchen floor in a pool of soup.
He assured her that the saucepan had jumped off the fire at
his entrance. Moreover, two large dish-covers, no unusual
___________________________________________________________
* Daily Telegraph, 12th Aug., 1873. Another account of Miss Cook's early
seances will be found in Mr. Dunphy's article, " Modern Mysteries," in
London Society, Feb., 1874.
____________________________________________________________
occurrence at that period, Mrs. Showers tells us, were seen
to be suspended from the bell wires. From this precarious
eminence they shortly descended with a crash on the china
below. Then other manifestations of the usual Poltergeist
order followed. Mr. H.'s chair was snatched away from him
as he attempted to sit down at table. Sofa cushions, egg-
cups, flower-pots, umbrellas, pots of jam, chairs, ottomans,
a roll of lard, and other things flew about the house. Scraps
of paper, inscribed with doggerel rhymes, fluttered down
from the ceiling. Mr. H. developed into a seeing medium,
and recognised John King, in luminous robe and turban, and
Peter, in a shooting coat, sitting on the sofa. Mr. H. shortly
afterwards left for Australia, but the spiritual forces continued
to develop. Peter now communicated with Mrs. Showers
through the "direct" voice, and finally promised to show
himself to her in material form, through the mediumship of
Ellen, the servant. Mrs. Showers was bidden to leave the
room whilst the materialisation was being prepared ;
"As I turned from the door," she writes, "the blended voices
of Peter and Ada swelled out into a harmony so mournful and
sublime, that the tears involuntarily started into my eyes. ' Oh, my
God ! ' I exclaimed, clasping my hands, ' is it possible that these
things are true, and that the majority of mankind are living in utter
ignorance of them?' Hardly knowing where I went, I walked up
and down the garden path in company with Lion, who carefully
measured his pace with my own, in evident consciousness of my
abstracted mood, until the now solemn and almost terrible voice
of Peter called to me from above : ' Come up, but turn away your
eyes at first from the aperture ; stand at the further end of the room
and only approach gradually, as I tell you.'
" I did as Peter directed, and soon perceived the living, animated
countenance of a young man, clad in a dark, flowing mantle, stand-
ing at the aperture a few feet from me. He had a long, dark
moustache, and his face was rounder and fuller, but the resemblance
to Ellen was nevertheless plainly discernible. My daughter, how-
ever, assured me that Ellen was at that moment lying back insensible
in her chair."
At the termination of the sitting Peter prescribed some
good wine and other delicacies for the medium's supper.*
Shortly after the publication of Mrs. Showers' account of
her daughter's mediumship at the end of 1873, the two ladies
* Daily Telegraph, 12th Aug., 1873. Another account of Miss Cook's early
seances will be found in Mr. Dunphy's article, " Modern Mysteries," in
London Society, Feb., 1874.
____________________________________________________________
occurrence at that period, Mrs. Showers tells us, were seen
to be suspended from the bell wires. From this precarious
eminence they shortly descended with a crash on the china
below. Then other manifestations of the usual Poltergeist
order followed. Mr. H.'s chair was snatched away from him
as he attempted to sit down at table. Sofa cushions, egg-
cups, flower-pots, umbrellas, pots of jam, chairs, ottomans,
a roll of lard, and other things flew about the house. Scraps
of paper, inscribed with doggerel rhymes, fluttered down
from the ceiling. Mr. H. developed into a seeing medium,
and recognised John King, in luminous robe and turban, and
Peter, in a shooting coat, sitting on the sofa. Mr. H. shortly
afterwards left for Australia, but the spiritual forces continued
to develop. Peter now communicated with Mrs. Showers
through the "direct" voice, and finally promised to show
himself to her in material form, through the mediumship of
Ellen, the servant. Mrs. Showers was bidden to leave the
room whilst the materialisation was being prepared ;
"As I turned from the door," she writes, "the blended voices
of Peter and Ada swelled out into a harmony so mournful and
sublime, that the tears involuntarily started into my eyes. ' Oh, my
God ! ' I exclaimed, clasping my hands, ' is it possible that these
things are true, and that the majority of mankind are living in utter
ignorance of them?' Hardly knowing where I went, I walked up
and down the garden path in company with Lion, who carefully
measured his pace with my own, in evident consciousness of my
abstracted mood, until the now solemn and almost terrible voice
of Peter called to me from above : ' Come up, but turn away your
eyes at first from the aperture ; stand at the further end of the room
and only approach gradually, as I tell you.'
" I did as Peter directed, and soon perceived the living, animated
countenance of a young man, clad in a dark, flowing mantle, stand-
ing at the aperture a few feet from me. He had a long, dark
moustache, and his face was rounder and fuller, but the resemblance
to Ellen was nevertheless plainly discernible. My daughter, how-
ever, assured me that Ellen was at that moment lying back insensible
in her chair."
At the termination of the sitting Peter prescribed some
good wine and other delicacies for the medium's supper.*
Shortly after the publication of Mrs. Showers' account of
her daughter's mediumship at the end of 1873, the two ladies
____________________________________________________________
* Spiritualist, 1874, p. 43. The two previous letters from Mrs. Showers, on
which the account in the text is based, will be found in the same paper, 1873,
p. 487, and 1874, p. 30.
_____________________________________________________________
came up to London to give stances to many representative
Spiritualists. At first, indeed, the manifestations went no
further than the presentation, in a mildly subdued light, at
an opening between the curtains of the cabinet, of a face
admitted by Spiritualists tliemselves to bear a strong resem-
blance to the face of the medium. The test commonly
employed at these early stances to guard against impersona-
tion by the medium had been devised apparently under direct
spirit instruction. By the side of the medium would be
placed, at the beginning of the stance, in the cabinet or
curtained recess, a sufficient quantity of rope or tape for
Peter's use. At a signal from within the curtain would be
drawn aside, and the medium discovered apparently entranced,
and straitly bound by that dexterous fiend. Some of the
company would then impress their seals upon the knots, and
the curtains would again be drawn.*
When by means of this and similar tests the honesty of
the medium was held to be sufficiently vindicated, all pre-
cautions were at some of the later seances dispensed with,
to permit of the " spirit " appearing in full form before the
spectators. The following account of one of the earliest of
these full-form manifestations is taken from a letter written
by Dr. Richardson to the Medium and Daybreak : — (1)
" At a private seance held at Mrs. Showers's residence, March 19th,
we were favoured with the appearance of the full form of the spirit
calling herself ' Florence Maple.' I requested ' Peter,' the spiritual
stage-manager, to allow me to employ what I had been impressed
would be a good test for the readers of these notes, viz. to make
a mark with chalk or charcoal on the face of the medium before
entrancement. This was declined on the alleged ground that the
mark might reappear on some part of the created spirit form, and
he could not say which part. This I knew to accord with reported
experiences, and was impossible to be denied. Being fully satisfied
of the reality of former manifestations, all present decided to
dispense with the tests of tying and sealing. After the usual lapse
of time, occupied, as we were told, by entrancement, ' Florence '
appeared holding aside the curtain. She was robed from head
to foot in white ; her head-dress was, as before, net or tulle ; her
bodice, sleeves, and skirt were of soft material, described by the
ladies as resembling merino, by 'Florence' as being cashmere.
She wore white pearl buttons in place, she said, of gold, which
she was unable to procure. We all noticed the extreme pallor of
her features, the open, staring, never-winking eyes. There was not
so great a resemblance to the medium as formerly. She asked to
* Spiritualist, 1874, p. 43. The two previous letters from Mrs. Showers, on
which the account in the text is based, will be found in the same paper, 1873,
p. 487, and 1874, p. 30.
_____________________________________________________________
came up to London to give stances to many representative
Spiritualists. At first, indeed, the manifestations went no
further than the presentation, in a mildly subdued light, at
an opening between the curtains of the cabinet, of a face
admitted by Spiritualists tliemselves to bear a strong resem-
blance to the face of the medium. The test commonly
employed at these early stances to guard against impersona-
tion by the medium had been devised apparently under direct
spirit instruction. By the side of the medium would be
placed, at the beginning of the stance, in the cabinet or
curtained recess, a sufficient quantity of rope or tape for
Peter's use. At a signal from within the curtain would be
drawn aside, and the medium discovered apparently entranced,
and straitly bound by that dexterous fiend. Some of the
company would then impress their seals upon the knots, and
the curtains would again be drawn.*
When by means of this and similar tests the honesty of
the medium was held to be sufficiently vindicated, all pre-
cautions were at some of the later seances dispensed with,
to permit of the " spirit " appearing in full form before the
spectators. The following account of one of the earliest of
these full-form manifestations is taken from a letter written
by Dr. Richardson to the Medium and Daybreak : — (1)
" At a private seance held at Mrs. Showers's residence, March 19th,
we were favoured with the appearance of the full form of the spirit
calling herself ' Florence Maple.' I requested ' Peter,' the spiritual
stage-manager, to allow me to employ what I had been impressed
would be a good test for the readers of these notes, viz. to make
a mark with chalk or charcoal on the face of the medium before
entrancement. This was declined on the alleged ground that the
mark might reappear on some part of the created spirit form, and
he could not say which part. This I knew to accord with reported
experiences, and was impossible to be denied. Being fully satisfied
of the reality of former manifestations, all present decided to
dispense with the tests of tying and sealing. After the usual lapse
of time, occupied, as we were told, by entrancement, ' Florence '
appeared holding aside the curtain. She was robed from head
to foot in white ; her head-dress was, as before, net or tulle ; her
bodice, sleeves, and skirt were of soft material, described by the
ladies as resembling merino, by 'Florence' as being cashmere.
She wore white pearl buttons in place, she said, of gold, which
she was unable to procure. We all noticed the extreme pallor of
her features, the open, staring, never-winking eyes. There was not
so great a resemblance to the medium as formerly. She asked to
_________________________________________________________
*See the accounts of these early stances given in the Spiritualist , 1874,
pp. II, 74, 108, etc.
*See the accounts of these early stances given in the Spiritualist , 1874,
pp. II, 74, 108, etc.
(1) April 3rd, 1874.
_________________________________________________________
examine our rings and jewellery, and expressed herself much gratified
at being allowed to handle them. Miss Florence Cook was present,
and was permitted to look into the curtained recess. She stated
that she saw at the same time ' Florence ' the spirit, the medium
lying back in her chair, and a third form dressed in a grey jacket
as a man. Her viewing the group was attended by no ill con-
sequences either to the spirits or the mortals, and demonstrates
that much of the fear on this ground is needless. The spirit
' Florence ' kissed the human Florence, and shook hands with all
of us. She appeared at times uneasy about the light, which was
a lamp on the mantelpiece, burning dimly, and objected to being
scrutinised too closely. The wonderful mediumship of Miss Showers
was displayed by the disregard of usual rules : we walked about the
room, and Mrs. Showers absolutely left the room and admitted the
servant while ' Florence ' was in full view. She evinced some little
nervousness on the entrance of the servant, exclaiming, ' I do not
know her.' I noted the height of ' Florence,' and found it to vary.
At one time she stood six to eight inches taller (by subsequent
measurement) than the medium, while at another she shrunk in
proportion while under observation. I asked if she had bones. She
replied, ' Yes ' ; and on retiring behind the curtain, we heard certain
noises resembling the cracking of joints. Of course, I should have
liked to have examined her anatomically, but was met with a cold
refusal even when I asked her to put out her tongue and to let me
feel her pulse. After a conversation extending over half an hour
she asked if we were gratified, and on being assured that we were,
she replied, ' Then we are repaid ; God bless you all.'
"W. LINDESAY Richardson, M.D.
''March 20th, 1874."
It will be seen that at these early form manifestations
practically no precautions were taken against trickery. There
was nothing, so far as can be discovered, to throw any
hindrance in the way of the medium if she chose to im-
personate the spirit by exhibiting a mask through the
opening of the curtain, or by dressing herself up and walking
about the room. Nor were there any collateral circumstances
to justify belief in the genuineness of the manifestations.
That an imposture so naive and so flagrant should have
escaped detection for so long in itself requires explanation.
That explanation is, no doubt, to be found in the peculiar
conditions of the exhibition. The two principal performers
were, as we have seen, young girls, little more than children
in years, and one of them at least possessed of considerable
personal attractions. The performances were given either in
a private house in presence of members of the medium's own
family, or in the house of some tried and trusted Spiritualist
The spectators, carefully selected for the purpose, were all
present in the quality of favoured guests, and chivalry and
good manners joined in imposing restraints upon the legitimate
satisfaction of scientific curiosity. These restraints were not,
indeed, always effectual. At a dark seance with Miss Cook
one William Hipp seized the hand of the " spirit " which was
sprinkling him with water, and, when a light was struck,
found himself firmly grasping the hand of the medium.
Miss Cook's explanation, that she had instinctively stretched
her hand across the table to recover a flower which had been
removed by the spirits from her dress, appears to have given
satisfaction to her friends.*
On December 9th, 1873, a stance was held at Mr. Cook's
house, amongst the persons present being the Earl and
Countess of Caithness and the lady's son, the Count (after-
wards Duke) de Medina Pomar. One of the invited guests
was Mr. W. Volckman, invited, as he subsequently explained,
after nine months' importunity, only when, in accordance with
a hint received from Mr. Cook, he had presented the youthful
medium with a present of jewellery.(1) Mr. Volckman, " having
for forty minutes carefully observed and scrutinised the form,
features, gestures, size, style, and peculiarities of utterance of
the so-called spirit," and having " perceived also an occasional
tiptoeing by the young lady as if to alter her stature," became
convinced that the " spirit " was no ghost, but Miss Florence
Cook herself. He therefore rushed forward and seized first
the hand and then the waist of the white-robed figure. Two
of the medium's friends at once jumped up and forcibly
extricated the form from Mr. Volckman's grasp ; the gas was
extinguished ; " Katie " retreated to the cabinet ; and " after
a delay of about five minutes . . . the cabinet was opened,
and Miss Cook found in black dress and boots with the tape
tightly round her waist as at the beginning of the stance, the
knot sealed as at first with the signet ring of the Earl of
Caithness." Subsequently the medium was searched, and no
white drapery was found on her.(2)
The editor of the Medium alone blamed the conduct of
those who had endeavoured to stifle investigation. But most
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examine our rings and jewellery, and expressed herself much gratified
at being allowed to handle them. Miss Florence Cook was present,
and was permitted to look into the curtained recess. She stated
that she saw at the same time ' Florence ' the spirit, the medium
lying back in her chair, and a third form dressed in a grey jacket
as a man. Her viewing the group was attended by no ill con-
sequences either to the spirits or the mortals, and demonstrates
that much of the fear on this ground is needless. The spirit
' Florence ' kissed the human Florence, and shook hands with all
of us. She appeared at times uneasy about the light, which was
a lamp on the mantelpiece, burning dimly, and objected to being
scrutinised too closely. The wonderful mediumship of Miss Showers
was displayed by the disregard of usual rules : we walked about the
room, and Mrs. Showers absolutely left the room and admitted the
servant while ' Florence ' was in full view. She evinced some little
nervousness on the entrance of the servant, exclaiming, ' I do not
know her.' I noted the height of ' Florence,' and found it to vary.
At one time she stood six to eight inches taller (by subsequent
measurement) than the medium, while at another she shrunk in
proportion while under observation. I asked if she had bones. She
replied, ' Yes ' ; and on retiring behind the curtain, we heard certain
noises resembling the cracking of joints. Of course, I should have
liked to have examined her anatomically, but was met with a cold
refusal even when I asked her to put out her tongue and to let me
feel her pulse. After a conversation extending over half an hour
she asked if we were gratified, and on being assured that we were,
she replied, ' Then we are repaid ; God bless you all.'
"W. LINDESAY Richardson, M.D.
''March 20th, 1874."
It will be seen that at these early form manifestations
practically no precautions were taken against trickery. There
was nothing, so far as can be discovered, to throw any
hindrance in the way of the medium if she chose to im-
personate the spirit by exhibiting a mask through the
opening of the curtain, or by dressing herself up and walking
about the room. Nor were there any collateral circumstances
to justify belief in the genuineness of the manifestations.
That an imposture so naive and so flagrant should have
escaped detection for so long in itself requires explanation.
That explanation is, no doubt, to be found in the peculiar
conditions of the exhibition. The two principal performers
were, as we have seen, young girls, little more than children
in years, and one of them at least possessed of considerable
personal attractions. The performances were given either in
a private house in presence of members of the medium's own
family, or in the house of some tried and trusted Spiritualist
The spectators, carefully selected for the purpose, were all
present in the quality of favoured guests, and chivalry and
good manners joined in imposing restraints upon the legitimate
satisfaction of scientific curiosity. These restraints were not,
indeed, always effectual. At a dark seance with Miss Cook
one William Hipp seized the hand of the " spirit " which was
sprinkling him with water, and, when a light was struck,
found himself firmly grasping the hand of the medium.
Miss Cook's explanation, that she had instinctively stretched
her hand across the table to recover a flower which had been
removed by the spirits from her dress, appears to have given
satisfaction to her friends.*
On December 9th, 1873, a stance was held at Mr. Cook's
house, amongst the persons present being the Earl and
Countess of Caithness and the lady's son, the Count (after-
wards Duke) de Medina Pomar. One of the invited guests
was Mr. W. Volckman, invited, as he subsequently explained,
after nine months' importunity, only when, in accordance with
a hint received from Mr. Cook, he had presented the youthful
medium with a present of jewellery.(1) Mr. Volckman, " having
for forty minutes carefully observed and scrutinised the form,
features, gestures, size, style, and peculiarities of utterance of
the so-called spirit," and having " perceived also an occasional
tiptoeing by the young lady as if to alter her stature," became
convinced that the " spirit " was no ghost, but Miss Florence
Cook herself. He therefore rushed forward and seized first
the hand and then the waist of the white-robed figure. Two
of the medium's friends at once jumped up and forcibly
extricated the form from Mr. Volckman's grasp ; the gas was
extinguished ; " Katie " retreated to the cabinet ; and " after
a delay of about five minutes . . . the cabinet was opened,
and Miss Cook found in black dress and boots with the tape
tightly round her waist as at the beginning of the stance, the
knot sealed as at first with the signet ring of the Earl of
Caithness." Subsequently the medium was searched, and no
white drapery was found on her.(2)
The editor of the Medium alone blamed the conduct of
those who had endeavoured to stifle investigation. But most
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*See letter in Echo, Jan. 3rd, 1874, and letter by Thomas Blyton in the
Spiritualist, Jan. i6th, 1874.
(1)Mr. Volckman's letter to the Medium and Daybreak, Jan. 23rd, 1874.
*See letter in Echo, Jan. 3rd, 1874, and letter by Thomas Blyton in the
Spiritualist, Jan. i6th, 1874.
(1)Mr. Volckman's letter to the Medium and Daybreak, Jan. 23rd, 1874.
(2)See the Spiritualist, Dec, 1873, and Medium, Jan., 1874. Another of
those present, Mr. Dunphy, in describing the struggle between the "spirit"
and Mr. Volckman, writes that "the figure appeared to lose its feet and legs and
to elude the grasp, making for that purpose a movement somewhat similar to that
of a seal in water" {London Society, Feb., 1874).
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Spiritualists reserved their indignation for Mr. Volckman, and
were no whit shaken in their belief in the genuineness of
Miss Cook's mediumship. Indirectly the Spiritualist position
was, indeed, considerably strengthened, as the incident was
the immediate occasion of the publication in the Spiritualist
journals of three letters from Sir William Crookes, giving an
account of his own experiences with the same medium.*"
those present, Mr. Dunphy, in describing the struggle between the "spirit"
and Mr. Volckman, writes that "the figure appeared to lose its feet and legs and
to elude the grasp, making for that purpose a movement somewhat similar to that
of a seal in water" {London Society, Feb., 1874).
________________________________________________________________
Spiritualists reserved their indignation for Mr. Volckman, and
were no whit shaken in their belief in the genuineness of
Miss Cook's mediumship. Indirectly the Spiritualist position
was, indeed, considerably strengthened, as the incident was
the immediate occasion of the publication in the Spiritualist
journals of three letters from Sir William Crookes, giving an
account of his own experiences with the same medium.*"
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* See below, chap. ix.
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