The Epworth Phenomena | Page 4

either the girl or
the owner of the house could have been the cause, or that any normal
explanation would suffice. Mr. Podmore admits that this case "is one of
the most difficult to harmonise with any explanation by ordinary
material causes. The concordant testimony of so many honest and fairly
intelligent persons certainly produced, as will have been seen from my
report, a strong impression on my mind at the time." Later on he made
an attempt to discount his own report, on the general ground of the
fallibility of human testimony, but most readers will probably agree
that the first-hand statements and the report Written at the time are
more weighty than the discounting effort of thirteen years later.
* Proceedings S.P.R., vol xii. pp. 46-58.
These alleged and well-attested Worksop events of 1893 are far more
extraordinary than anything in the Wesley case, and the evidence is far
stronger. They occurred recently; an S.P.R. expert was at once
available; eleven eye-witnesses were cross-examined .by him, and their
statements written out, within a few weeks of the occurrences. Yet this
expert could not explain them. If we are forced to belief in a
supernormal cause, or even to suspense of judgment, in this case, we
have no justification for rejecting the testimony in the much more
limited Wesley case.
But in addition to these Poltergeist accounts, of which more may be
found in the volume of Proceedings just cited, we have the numerous
cases of raps in experimental seances, from the tiny percussive or
crackling sounds heard by Sir William Crookes and Dr Joseph Maxwell,
to the thunderous knockings and other noises at the sittings with
Stainton Moses, and, still better, with Miss Goligher of Belfast. These
latter experiments, still continuing under the able direction of a doctor
of science who is also a practical engineer, seem to establish beyond

reasonable doubt a species of phenomena analogous to those of the
Wesley haunt.* If a heavy table with Sir William Barrett sitting on it
can be lifted up in the air by invisible means, there is no difficulty in
believing that the Worksop basins and other similarly light articles
really did behave in the same surprising way; or that old Mr. Wesley's
trencher did dance as stated, or that he really was three times pushed by
something that he could not see (as happened also to a clergyman
known to me), or that Emily Wesley experienced similar things with
doors and latches. So with the knockings, which Dr Crawford obtains
at will, under excellent conditions. The Wesley raps were no more
extraordinary, as described, than those at the Belfast circle; rather less
so, in fact.** As to the other noises, the crashing among the bottles,
which, however, were not broken, is rather specially interesting to me,
for a friend of mine has frequently heard the same sort of thing in his
own house; a sound as if all the crockery in the house were smashed all
at once, yet nothing is found broken. I am compelled to believe in my
friend's experience, and in its supernormality and probable
objectivity-actual atmospheric vibration-because others hear it also.
This friend has also "watched" footsteps descending the stairs in broad
daylight, the sounds changing when they reached the bottom, where
there was linoleum instead of carpet. There was no naughty little girl in
the house, but my friend seems to have a mediumistic wife. He himself
is a vigorous materialist, and will have none of the spirit hypothesis.
The things happen, he agrees, but he, doesn't know why, and he wishes
they wouldn't.
* The Reality of Psychic Phenomena, by W. J. Crawford, D.Sc. **
Also less extraordinary than the raps and movement of untouched
objects described in Sir William Barrett's book On the Threshold of the
Unseen.**
But this, admittedly, is unsatisfactory. We are naturally cause-seekers,
and must have some sort of provisional theory, though we must be
open-mindedly ready to modify it or to replace it with a better if new
facts require. My own idea is that some of these physical phenomena
may be caused by the action of subliminal will, though the method is
entirely beyond me. I have hopes that Dr Crawford may solve the,

scientific problem, for he has already made great strides towards a
solution in his theory of rod and cantilever composed of some kind of
modified matter. But in some cases I am compelled to go beyond the
subliminal will of the living people concerned. I am acquainted with
two ladies who were once kept awake nearly all night by violent and
inexplicable knockings, heard also by another lady whom they fetched;
and one of them was so upset that she developed brain fever. It was
afterwards found that the brother of the two in