Inferences from Haunted Houses and Haunted Men | Page 2

prefaces the large edition of his Life and Letters. Charles Kingsley suffered from frequent fits of exhaustion; these are often the results of excessive hypnotism after the limit (at the fifth or sixth effort) of the hypnotist's power has been reached. His brother Henry, we learn from Mr. Kegan Paul's "Memoirs," was excessively hypnotisable. His character was weaker perhaps than Charles's, but the geniality of his writings bears testimony to his remarkable ability.
He was only rescued from a condition little better than a tramp's by a kind friend. Charles's life was perhaps shortened by hypnotism. One of Kingsley's neighbours at Eversley was the late Sir W. Cope. The elder son of this gentleman, when Secretary of Legation at Stockholm, came to a tragic end. He suddenly, when out walking with a friend, although his health had been apparently perfect, began to shout and wave his umbrella. He was put under the care of attendants, as he was considered to be temporarily insane. He jumped out of a window and was killed. Voices insulting or threatening him, and with such scoundrels speech would be of something dreadful, would provoke or frighten the unhappy man.
About two years later a distinguished priest, well known in London, also suddenly waved an umbrella and behaved as if he were angry. But he showed hardly any sign of insanity, and on applying to the proper court for release from supervision, was declared sane by a jury.
Strength of mind and religious feeling doubtless saved him from the fate of Mr. Cope. A brave man can resist such an attack under favourable circumstances.
It is well known to those who have read the Biography of Lawrence Oliphant, and that of Dr. Anna Kingsford by Professor Maitland, that Lawrence Oliphant, who became a Shaker (a member of a sect who employ hypnotism, as Mr. H. Vincent describes, to bind their neophytes to them),[5] wrote commonplace vulgar verse on religious subjects, although himself a highly cultivated literary man.
[Footnote 5: "Elements of Hypnotism," Appendix, note 3, p. 270.]
Hypnotism doubtless led to this; the verse thought out in some vulgar Shaker's mind was transferred to Oliphant. Not only was Oliphant induced to become a Shaker, but his wife became one also, and both sacrificed much money to the society and agreed to live in celibacy. Let us continue again from the known to the unknown. Mrs. Lawrence Oliphant's brother, the late Captain Lestrange, R.N., left his ship without leave, to avoid his wife. He had married an undesirable person, who has also been dead some years.
He was a most intelligent officer, and commanded the despatch vessel of the Admiral in command of the Mediterranean fleet. It is most probable that he was weakened by hypnotism, otherwise he would not have entered into this marriage, or allowed himself to be broken down by disgust at its consequences. An exceedingly manly, robust character, and devoted to his profession, he could not without being hypnotised have deserted his ship. The only reason he had for leaving it was that his wife threatened to come to the Mediterranean to Malta. There was a gang of criminal hypnotists on the Mediterranean coast then. Captain Lestrange fled to Copenhagen, a place connected with most of the attacks of criminal hypnotists, mentioned before and hereafter. He had visited it on duty two or three times, and been in contact with others who suffered. He died two or three years afterwards, probably of a broken heart. Here, for the second time, a connection between two victims is traceable.
In the former case, the two were simply neighbours; the probability that in each pair of cases one gang was concerned is very great. One gang, if not both, were connected with Copenhagen; indeed, they may have been the same gang.
If striking haunted house stories are rare, the reason is that, on obvious grounds, gangs of hypnotists are rare also.
The writer believes that Lord Howe's and his sister's courage prompted the attack on them by a gang of hypnotists 120 years ago.[6] Poltergeist disturbances are caused by a single person generally; it is not impossible that in rare cases there is a confederate.
[Footnote 6: A. Lang's "Ghost Stories."]
These victims of hypnotists were thus four--two very eminent literary men, distinguished also in other ways; a very rising naval officer; and a diplomatist, a member of the foremost of the services of the Crown.
Father B. was attacked in 1888-89 in London. In June 1892, Father H. visited the Haunted House at B----. He first brought the haunting to the notice of Lord Bute in August 1892, and in 1893 met a lady who had been governess at B---- about twelve years before, and who reported that the house was haunted then.
A noise like the continual explosion of petards, another like the falling of a large animal