Lincoln and Spirutalism

[Juan Marrero]

Very interesting thread.

In reading "Fortune's Fool" I was intrigued that a British medium named Colchester to whom Booth may have revealed some of his plans may, in turn, have given Lincoln a vague indication of them. Also, the author states that Booth was an admirer of Charlotte Corday, so indeed he may have explicitly seen Lincoln as a latter-day Marat.

A few years ago, Pulitzer prize winner and science writer, Deborah Blum, wrote a book titled "Ghost Hunters." It impartially details the efforts of an eminent group of 19th century scientists and intellectuals from the United States and Great Britain to determine whether there was anything to spirit mediumship beyond Barnum and Bailey-style "entertainment". The expensive and extensive enterprise was headed by William James, the father of modern psychology. The "chef d'ouevre" of their efforts was Leonora Piper, a young New Englander with the seeming ability to contact the dead.

Poor Mrs. Piper was practically kidnapped by the group so as to isolate her from information or persons who might taint her readings. After years of study, James famously declared that she was "the one white crow that proves that not all crows are black." Mrs. Piper lived to extreme old age and her "powers' seemed to diminish with her other faculties. She never claimed to speak to the dead (or that they spoke through her), but once suggested that perhaps she had some inexplicable telepathic gift. I highly recommend the Blum book.

I am an agnostic on all this but agree with James conclusion that, if there is anything to spiritual mediumship, we won't know for sure this time around. I hope that MTL received some comfort from her attempts to contact Willie, but given no indication that she later sought to contact Tad, perhaps she learned the futility of trying.