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The History of Spiritualism (Complete) by Arthur Conan Doyle
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Arthur Conan Doyle
15.8k books24.4k followersSir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle was a Scottish writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for A Study in Scarlet, the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Holmes and Dr. Watson. The Sherlock Holmes stories are milestones in the field of crime fiction.
Doyle was a prolific writer. In addition to the Holmes stories, his works include fantasy and science fiction stories about Professor Challenger, and humorous stories about the Napoleonic soldier Brigadier Gerard, as well as plays, romances, poetry, non-fiction, and historical novels. One of Doyle's early short stories, "J. Habakuk Jephson's Statement" (1884), helped to popularise the mystery of the brigantine Mary Celeste, found drifting at sea with no crew member aboard.
Doyle was a prolific writer. In addition to the Holmes stories, his works include fantasy and science fiction stories about Professor Challenger, and humorous stories about the Napoleonic soldier Brigadier Gerard, as well as plays, romances, poetry, non-fiction, and historical novels. One of Doyle's early short stories, "J. Habakuk Jephson's Statement" (1884), helped to popularise the mystery of the brigantine Mary Celeste, found drifting at sea with no crew member aboard.
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August 16, 2024
THE CREATOR OF SHERLOCK HOLMES WRITES A HISTORY OF THE SPIRITUALIST MOVEMENT
Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (1859-1930) was a Scottish physician and writer, who is most noted for his stories about Sherlock Holmes; after the deaths of his wife, son, brother, two brothers-in-law, and two nephews, he turned to Christian Spiritualism; he also was a member of The Ghost Club. He also wrote books such as 'The New Revelation: The Coming of a New Spiritual Paradigm' and 'The Edge of the Unknown.'
He wrote in the Preface to this 1926 book, "This work... covers in a way the whole history of the Spiritualistic movement... a fuller history of the Spiritualistic than had hitherto seen the light---a history which would have the advantage of being written from inside... It is indeed curious that this movement, which many of us regard as the most important in the history of the world since the Christ episode, has never had a historian from those who were within it, and who had large personal experience of its development." (Pg. vii)
Of the Fox sisters, he notes, "their jaded energies were renewed by the offer of wine at a time when one at least of them was hardly more than a child. It is said that there was some family predisposition to alcoholism... Against their moral character there has never been a breath of suspicion, but they had taken a road which leads to degeneration of mind and character..." (Pg. 89) He deplores in mediums "the temptation to gain temporary relief from alcohol, in the temptation to fraud when the power wanes... The remedy is to segregate mediums, to give them salaries instead of paying them by results... and thus to remove the influences which overwhelmed the Fox sisters as they have done other of the strongest mediums in the past." (Pg. 117)
He asserts, "Houdini has himself stuffed so many errors of fact into his book 'A Magician Among the Spirits'), and has shown such extraordinary bias on the whole question, that his statement carries no weight." (Pg. 228) He rejects the "extreme sceptic, whom nothing will convince and who would label the Angel Gabriel at the last day as an optical delusion." (Pg. 259) Still, he admits medium Eusapia Palladino's "superficial habit of playing conscious or unconscious tricks upon the sitters... In her visit to America, which was late in life when her powers were at a low ebb, she was detected in these obvious tricks and offended her sitters to such an extent that they discarded her." (V2, pg. 27-28)
He notes that "At the present moment the society [for Psychical Research] possesses an excellent séance room, but the difficulty is to persuade any medium to enter it. This is as it should be, for both the medium and the cause he represents are in danger when misrepresentation and injurious charges are made as lightly as in the past. Psychical research should show some respect for the feelings and opinions of Spiritualists, for it is very certain that without the latter the former would not have existed." (V2, pg. 63)
He concludes, "Spiritualism is a system of thought and knowledge which can be reconciled with any religion. The basic facts are the continuity of personality and the power of communication after death... Therefore Spiritualism makes a universal appeal." (Pg. 247)
Doyle was a very influential voice within the Spiritualist movement, and his books---and particularly this one---will be "must reading" for students of this movement.
Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (1859-1930) was a Scottish physician and writer, who is most noted for his stories about Sherlock Holmes; after the deaths of his wife, son, brother, two brothers-in-law, and two nephews, he turned to Christian Spiritualism; he also was a member of The Ghost Club. He also wrote books such as 'The New Revelation: The Coming of a New Spiritual Paradigm' and 'The Edge of the Unknown.'
He wrote in the Preface to this 1926 book, "This work... covers in a way the whole history of the Spiritualistic movement... a fuller history of the Spiritualistic than had hitherto seen the light---a history which would have the advantage of being written from inside... It is indeed curious that this movement, which many of us regard as the most important in the history of the world since the Christ episode, has never had a historian from those who were within it, and who had large personal experience of its development." (Pg. vii)
Of the Fox sisters, he notes, "their jaded energies were renewed by the offer of wine at a time when one at least of them was hardly more than a child. It is said that there was some family predisposition to alcoholism... Against their moral character there has never been a breath of suspicion, but they had taken a road which leads to degeneration of mind and character..." (Pg. 89) He deplores in mediums "the temptation to gain temporary relief from alcohol, in the temptation to fraud when the power wanes... The remedy is to segregate mediums, to give them salaries instead of paying them by results... and thus to remove the influences which overwhelmed the Fox sisters as they have done other of the strongest mediums in the past." (Pg. 117)
He asserts, "Houdini has himself stuffed so many errors of fact into his book 'A Magician Among the Spirits'), and has shown such extraordinary bias on the whole question, that his statement carries no weight." (Pg. 228) He rejects the "extreme sceptic, whom nothing will convince and who would label the Angel Gabriel at the last day as an optical delusion." (Pg. 259) Still, he admits medium Eusapia Palladino's "superficial habit of playing conscious or unconscious tricks upon the sitters... In her visit to America, which was late in life when her powers were at a low ebb, she was detected in these obvious tricks and offended her sitters to such an extent that they discarded her." (V2, pg. 27-28)
He notes that "At the present moment the society [for Psychical Research] possesses an excellent séance room, but the difficulty is to persuade any medium to enter it. This is as it should be, for both the medium and the cause he represents are in danger when misrepresentation and injurious charges are made as lightly as in the past. Psychical research should show some respect for the feelings and opinions of Spiritualists, for it is very certain that without the latter the former would not have existed." (V2, pg. 63)
He concludes, "Spiritualism is a system of thought and knowledge which can be reconciled with any religion. The basic facts are the continuity of personality and the power of communication after death... Therefore Spiritualism makes a universal appeal." (Pg. 247)
Doyle was a very influential voice within the Spiritualist movement, and his books---and particularly this one---will be "must reading" for students of this movement.
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