A SUFFERER FROM SPIRITUALISM

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 96, 17 January 1921, Page 6

A SUFFERER FROM SPIRITUALISM

Sir,-The-lectures delivered by Sir Conan Doyle in Wellington recently on the subject of Spiritualism or have apparently caused considerable controversy- judging from the number of lottos which have appeared in the recent issues of your paper. Some yeais ago I made a study of this subject and investigated it fairly considerably, and that without the assistance of any professional mediums or clairvoyants. 1 found it not at all difficult to get into communication with the spirits of souls of people who at one time had lived on this earth, but I also found that these belonged to people who had led oil! lives, and as a consequence of my investigations and my failure to realise how bad these spirits were I became completely obsessed by them, was committed to a mental hospital, suffered tortures indescribable, mid but for my good fortune would have taken my own life, as I on moio than one occasion under the influence, of these devils attempted to commit suicide. Before J. realised the.r the spirits communicating with, me were evil I told my widowed sister of what I had discovered, and urged her to do as I had done. She did this, and suffered the same as myself. I have met persons who had .relatives in mental hospitals from the same cause, and I know of one lady taro of whose relations (males) died in the Mental Hospital at Avondale. While in the mental hospitals (for I. have been in no fewer than three) I have seen numbers of the patients suffering front spirit obsession, many of whom had never studied Spiritualism at all. and I have heard them both in the day time ami at night, apparently’ talking io themselves but really conversing with unseen spirits, and I have judged that these same spirits were responsible for their presence there. I consider it my duty to warn others not to have anything to do with Spiritualism in any form, ns they may suffer in the sama manner as my sister, myself, and others have done. It is admitted, Sir, by Slf

Oliver Lodge that there are hundreds of Spiritualists - in the mental hospitals of America; even Sir Conan Doyle himself waijied his hearers that investigations were attended with a certain amount of risk. A dignitary of tho Church of England here told my sister that when he was in London he knew of many persons, principally females, whom the evil or earth-bound spirits had driven mad. And what do you learn after all? You learn only that the spirit or soul survives the body, and that is taught by aif religions, savage or civilised. In order to ascertain this —a fact which is or should be known to everybody—an investigator runs the risk of suffering as I or others have done. You will not get into communication with the spirits of good people—of that lam sure—and you will not be able to place any reliance upon any messages or contra unications that you may get, for I 'have received lots, and when I have been Able to test them I have invariably ' foirt’d that they were false. My earnest advicv to all who may be contemplating doing as I did is not on any account to have anything to do with the subject. Sir Conan Doyle is no medium—he does not claim to be—nor yet does Sir OlivetLodge, whom I regard as the,high priest of Spiritualism in England. Both are dependent upon other mediums, professional or otherwise, and they cannot know as much about the subject as I myself whom am both clairvoyant and clairaudient. I could write lots. Mr. Editor, about my experiences, but I cannot take up any more of your valuable paper, but if any persons who read this would like to communicate with me you are at liberty to give them my address, which I enclose. —I am, etc., ONE WHO HAS SUFFERED. January 4, 1921.