SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE
SPIRITUALISM has claimed among its followers numbers of brilliant minds—scientists, philosophers, professionals and authors. Whether these great minds have been misdirected, whether they have followed the subject because they were convinced fully of its truth, or whether they have been successfully hoodwinked by some fraudulent medium, are matters of conjecture and opinion; nevertheless they have been the means of bringing into the ranks of Spiritualism numbers of those who allow themselves to be led by minds greater and more powerful than their own.
Such a one is Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. His name comes automatically to the mind of the average human being to-day at the mention of Spiritualism. No statistician could fathom the influence he has exerted through his lectures and his writings or number the endless chain he guides into a belief in communication with the Realm Beyond. His faith and belief and confidence in the movement have been one of the greatest assets of present-day believers and whatever one’s views on the subject, it is impossible not to respect the belief of this great author who has wholeheartedly and unflinchingly thrown his life and soul into the conversion of unbelievers. Sir Arthur believes. In his great mind there is no doubt.
He is a brilliant man, a deep thinker, well versed in every respect, and comes of a gifted family. His grandfather, John Doyle, was born in Dublin in 1797. He won popularity and fame in London with his caricatures of prominent people. Many of his original drawings are now preserved in the museum under the title “H. B. Caricatures.” He died in 1868. An uncle of Sir Arthur’s was the famous “Dicky Doyle,” the well-known cartoonist of Punch and designer of the familiar cover of that magazine. In his later years he became prominent as an illustrator, making drawings for The Newcomes in 1853, and becoming especially successful in illustrating such fairy stories as Hunt’s “Jar of Honey,” Ruskin’s “King of the Golden River,” and Montelbas’ “Fairy Tales of all Nations.” The fact that he leaned toward Spiritualism is not generally known. Sir Arthur’s father, Charles A. Doyle, was also an artist of great talent though not in a commercial way. His home life is beautiful and Lady Doyle has told me on numerous occasions that he never loses his temper and that his nature is at all times sunshiny and sweet. His children are one hundred per cent children in every way and it is beautiful to note the affection between the father, mother and the children. He is a great reader who absorbs what he reads but he believes what he sees in print only if it is favorable to Spiritualism.
The friendship of Sir Arthur and myself dates back to the time when I was playing the Brighton Hippodrome, Brighton, England. We had been corresponding and had discussed through the medium of the mail, questions regarding Spiritualism. He invited Mrs. Houdini and myself to the Doyle home in Crowborough, England, and in that way an acquaintanceship was begun which has continued ever since. Honest friendship is one of life’s most precious treasures and I pride myself in thinking that we have held that treasure sacred in every respect. During all these years we have exchanged clippings which we thought might be of mutual interest and on a number of occasions have had an opportunity to discuss them in person. Our degree of friendship may be judged best from the following letter of Sir Arthur’s.
“15 Buckingham Palace Mansion,
S. W. 1
“March 8, 1923.
“My dear Houdini:—
For goodness’ sake take care of those dangerous stunts of yours. You have done enough of them. I speak because I have just read of the death of the “Human Fly.”77 Is it worth it?
“Yours very sincerely,
(Signed) A. CONAN DOYLE.”
It would be difficult to determine just when Sir Arthur and I first discussed Spiritualism, but from that talk to the present we have never agreed upon it. Our viewpoints differ; we do not believe the same thing. I know that he treats Spiritualism as a religion. He believes that it is possible and that he can communicate with the dead. According to his marvellous analytical brain he has had proof positive of this. There is no doubt that Sir Arthur is sincere in his belief and it is this sincerity which has been one of the fundamentals of our friendship. I have respected everything he has said and I have always been unbiased, because at no time have I refused to follow the subject with an open mind. I cannot say the same for him for he has refused to discuss the matter in any other voice except that of Spiritualism and in all our talks quoted only those who favored it in every way, and if one does not follow him sheep-like during his investigations then he is blotted out forever so far as Sir Arthur is concerned. Unfortunately he uses the reasoning, so common among Spiritualists, that no matter how often mediums are caught cheating he believes the only reason for it is that they have overstepped their bounds and resorted to trickery in an effort to convince. I wonder if some day Sir Arthur will forget that he is a Spiritualist and argue a case of trickery with the sound logic of an outsider. I firmly believe that if he ever does he will see and acknowledge some of his errors. I am ready to believe in Sir Arthur’s teachings if he can convince me beyond the shadow of a doubt that his demonstrations are genuine.
There is no doubt in my mind, Sir Arthur believes implicitly in the mediums with whom he has convened and he knows positively, in his own mind, they are all genuine. Even if they are caught cheating he always has some sort of an alibi which excuses the medium and the deed. He insists that the Fox Sisters were genuine, even though both Margaret and Katie confessed to fraud and explained how and why they became mediums and the methods used by them to produce the raps.
“Like Cæsar’s wife—always above suspicion,” Hope and Mrs. Dean pass in his category as genuine mediums. He has often told me that Palladino78 and Home some day would be canonized for the great work they did in the interest of Spiritualism, even though they were both exposed time and time again. In all gravity he would say to me, “Look what they did to Joan of Arc.” To Sir Arthur it is a matter of most sacred moment. It is his religion, and he would invariably tell me what a cool observer he was and how hard it would be to fool him, or in any way deceive him.79 He told me that he did not believe any of “the nice old lady mediums” would do anything wrong and it was just as unlikely for some old gentleman, innocent as a child unborn, to resort to trickery. But there comes to my mind the notorious Mrs. Catherine Nicol and her two daughters who were continuously getting in and out of the law’s net, usually breaking the heads of a few detectives in the process. Among the “nice old lady” mediums might be mentioned a prominent medium of Boston who was accused of taking unlawfully from one of her believers over eight thousand dollars in cash.
Another case was that of a medium who received $1,000 from a man in Baltimore for the privilege of a few minutes’ chat with the Spirit of his dead wife. He later sued her for fraud. Later she was exposed while giving a seance in Paris, but after a few years she appeared in New York City.
At this time Asst. District Attorney Krotel asked that she be brought into court to answer to a charge of selling California mining stock to her followers through the advice of certain disembodied Spirits. The stock was found to be worthless.
There was also a woman, who was arrested and convicted for vagrancy in Seattle and numerous other cases, such as that of Katie King of Philadelphia in 1875; however, no matter how many cases I cited, it did not seem to make any impression on Sir Arthur.
I had known for some time that a number of people wanted to draw Doyle into a controversy. When I saw Sir Arthur I told him to be careful of his statements and explained a number of pitfalls he could avoid. Nevertheless, despite my warnings, he would say: “That’s all right, Houdini, don’t worry about me, I am well able to take care of myself. They cannot fool me.” To which I would reply he had no idea of the subtleness of some of the people who were trying to draw his fire.
When I called Sir Arthur’s attention to the number of people who have gone crazy on the subject because of persistent reading, continuous attendance at seances and trying automatic writing, his answer would be: “People have been going mad80 for years, and you will find on investigation that many go mad on other subjects besides Spiritualism.” On being reminded that most of these people hear voices and see visions, he denied that they were hallucinations, and insisted that he had spoken to different members of his family.81
I recall several flagrant instances in which Sir Arthur’s faith has, I think, misguided him. One particular time was when he attended a public seance by a lady known as “The Medium in the Mask.” Among those present at the time was Lady Glenconner, Sir Henry Lunn and Mr. Sidney A. Mosley, a special representative of a newspaper.
According to reports, the medium wore a veil like a “yashmak.” She appeared very nervous. A number of articles, including a ring that had belonged to Sir Arthur’s deceased son, were put in a box, and the medium correctly gave the initials on the ring, although Sir Arthur said that they could hardly be discerned, even in a good light, they were so worn off.82
Later in describing another article, the medium said the words, “Murphy” and “button” and it was afterwards explained that “Murphy’s button” was a surgical operation term. She said that the person described would die as a result of the operation. Unfortunately, for the medium, no one present knew of such a case and yet, Sir Arthur described this seance as very clever.83
The “Masked Lady” was sponsored by a theatrical agent and illusionist and all proceedings of the seances were brought to light in a suit against Mr. George Grossman and Mr. Edward Laurillard, theatrical producers, to recover damages for breach of agreement to place a West End theatre at his disposal.
Accounts of mediums by the name of “Thompson” have misled several people. There is a Thompson of New York and a Thomson of Chicago. Sir Arthur had a seance with the Thompsons of New York and according to all the news clippings I have had they claimed to have brought back his mother. In fact it was stated that he asked permission to kiss his mother’s hand.
The Thomsons got into trouble in Chicago and New Orleans also.84 As a matter of fact I was in Chicago when their trial took place. I had been present at two of their seances. The first was in New York at the Morosco Theatre and I had all I could do to keep J. F. Rinns from breaking up the performance. The second was in Chicago. It was a special seance given after my performance at the Palace Theatre. I was accompanied by H. H. Windsor, Publisher and Editor of Popular Mechanics; Oliver R. Barrett, a prominent member of the bar; Mr. Husband Manning, author; and Leonard Hicks, a well-known hotel proprietor. Among others present at the seance were Cyrus McCormick, Jr., Muriel McCormick, and Mrs. McCormick McClintock. We witnessed a number of unsatisfactory phenomena and afterwards adjourned to the home of Cyrus McCormick and discussed the seance, being unanimously of the opinion that it was a glaring fraud just as I had believed the one in New York to be.
At the Morosco Theatre, New York City, the Thomsons made the broad statement that they had been tested by Stead and Sir Oliver Lodge and at a special seance he had come out and publicly endorsed Mrs. Thomson as being genuine. The following letter not only disproves this but explains the feeling of an active Spiritualist toward the Thomsons.
“Normanton,
“Lake,
“Salisbury.
“7th January 1921.
“Dear Mr. Houdini:—
“It is a pleasure to hear from you, and I thank you for asking the question about the Thomsons. I have replied to one or two other queries of the same kind, but I would be grateful if you would make it known that any statement that I have vouched for their genuineness, is absolutely false.
“I only saw them once, at a time when they called themselves Tomson. It was at Mr. Stead’s house, at his urgent request. I considered the performance fraudulent, but the proof was not absolutely complete because the concluding search was not allowed, and the gathering dispersed in disorder, or at least with some heat.
“I felt sorry at this termination, and it is just possible that Thomson genuinely thought I was favourably impressed. That is the charitable view to take, but it is not the true view, and Mr. Stead was annoyed with me because of my skeptical attitude. (He has since admitted to me, from the other side, that he was wrong and I was right; bringing the subject up spontaneously. This latter statement, however, is not evidence.)
“What I should like the public to be assured of, is that I was not favourably impressed, and never vouched for them in any way.
“I am afraid I must assume that Thomson is aware of that, and therefore is not acting in good faith, because once in England the same sort of statement was made, either at Leicester or at Nottingham I think, and I wrote to a paper to contradict it.
“With all good wishes believe me,
“Faithfully yours,
(Signed) “OLIVER LODGE.”
Sir Arthur personally told me that he was convinced of the genuineness of the Welsh miners of Cardiff, or Thomas Brothers. Stuart Cumberland who was infinitely my superior in investigation (he had a start of 20 years) told me that there wasn’t a chance of the Thomas Brothers being genuine, and related how, owing to the great interest of Sir Arthur in them, the London Daily Express eventually induced them to hold a seance before a committee of investigators. Cumberland was to have been one of the committee, but the mediums refused to allow him to be “Among those present.” As they refused to proceed if Cumberland was admitted, it was thought advisable to eliminate him. Before leaving, Cumberland arranged the musical instruments that were used and instructed the investigating committee how to detect fraud. The feature of the seance was the passing along in the circle, of a button and a pair of suspenders, which were thrown on the knees of a news Editor present. I ask the common-sense reader what benefit this would be—to project a button clear across the room and to find a pair of suspenders on a sitter’s knee? If there is any object lesson in this, please let me know!
At the seance, Lady Doyle was asked whether she was cold, on answering in the affirmative a holland jacket which had been worn by the medium was dropped in her lap. The Thomas Brothers claimed this had been done by the Spirits. When the seance was over, the medium was found bound but minus his coat.
When I quizzed Sir Arthur about the manner in which the Thomas Brothers of Cardiff were bound during a seance which he attended, he told me that they were secured so tightly that it was impossible for them to move as they were absolutely helpless. I told him that did not make it genuine, for any number of mediums had been tied the same way and had managed to free themselves. He replied that I might be able to release myself by natural means, but that mediums do not have to, as they always receive Spiritual help. Maybe so, but I should like, sometime, to tie them myself and see whether the Spirits could release them under test conditions.85
I reminded Sir Arthur of the Davenport Brothers and called to his attention the fact that they were able to release themselves. Sir Arthur feels very strongly in the matter of the Davenport Brothers and although I have told him and proven to him that I was a pupil of Ira Erastus Davenport86 and that Ira personally told me that they did not claim to be Spiritualists and their performances were not given in the name of Spiritualism, Sir Arthur insists that they were Spiritualists and has strongly said that if they did their performances under any other name, then Ira was “not only a liar, but a blasphemer as he went around with Mr. Ferguson, a clergyman, and mixed it all up with religion.”
I want to go on record that to the best of my knowledge and belief I never stated that Sir Arthur endorsed the mediumship of the New York Thompsons. I did say there were full page articles87 where he was illustrated as accepting the genuineness of the materialization of his mother. I never claimed that Sir Arthur’s son or brother came through the Thomas mediums in Cardiff. I did state that Sir Arthur said they were genuine and that they, the mediums, were helpless to move because he had tied them and in his judgment if they were tied in my presence I would be convinced of their genuineness. I wish to call attention to the fact that in a letter written by the late Stuart Cumberland he agreed with me that there was not a vestige of truth in the mediumship of the Thomas Brothers, and regarding Sir Arthur’s endorsement of the “Masked Lady,” I did not say he endorsed her although I should judge from newspaper88 accounts he seemed very much impressed.
Sir Arthur has rarely given me an opportunity to deny or affirm any statement. In fact one of our sore points of discussion has been the matter of being quoted, or misquoted,89 in newspapers or periodicals and it seems that Sir Arthur always believes everything I have been quoted as having said. When I was in Oakland, California, I was interviewed by a Mr. Henderson of the Oakland Tribune. I gave him some material to work on, enough for one article from which, to my surprise, he wrote a series of eight articles enlarging and misquoting to an “nth” degree. Sir Arthur took exception to a number of statements which I was supposed to have made and he replied to them caustically through the press and then sent me the following letter in explanation.
“THE AMBASSADOR
“Los Angeles
“May 23, 1923.
“My dear Houdini:—
“I have had to handle you a little roughly in the Oakland Tribune because they send me a long screed under quotation marks, so it is surely accurate. It is so full of errors that I don’t know where to begin. I can’t imagine why you say such wild things which have no basis in fact at all. I put the Thompsons down as humbugs. I never heard of my son or brother through the Thomas brothers. They were never exposed. I never said that Masked Medium was genuine. I wish you would refer to me before publishing such injurious stuff which I have to utterly contradict. I would always tell you the exact facts as I have done with the Zancigs.
“Yours sincerely,
“A. Conan Doyle.”
“I hate sparring with a friend in public, but what can I do when you say things which are not correct, and which I have to contradict or else they go by default. It is the same with all this ridiculous stuff of Rinn’s. Unless I disprove it, people imagine it is true.
“A. C. D.”
At the written invitation of Sir Arthur and Lady Doyle Mrs. Houdini and I visited them while they were stopping at the Ambassador Hotel in Atlantic City. One day as Sir Arthur, Mrs. Houdini and I were sitting on the sand skylarking with the children Sir Arthur excused himself saying that he was going to have his usual afternoon nap. He left us but returned in a short time and said “Houdini, if agreeable, Lady Doyle will give you a special seance, as she has a feeling that she might have a message come through. At any rate, she is willing to try,” and turning to Mrs. Houdini he said, “we would like to be alone. You do not mind if we make the experiment without you.” Smilingly, my good little wife said, “Certainly not, go right ahead, Sir Arthur; I will leave Houdini in your charge and I know that he will be willing to go to the seance.” Doyle said, “You understand, Mrs. Houdini, that this will be a test to see whether we can make any Spirit come through for Houdini, and conditions may prove better if no other force is present.”
Before leaving with Sir Arthur, Mrs. Houdini cued me. We did a second sight or mental performance years ago and still use a system or code whereby we can speak to each other in the presence of others, even though to all outward appearances we are merely talking, pointing or doing the most innocent looking things, but which have different meanings to us.
In that manner Mrs. Houdini told me that on the night previous she had gone into detail with Lady Doyle about the great love I bear for my Mother. She related to her a number of instances, such as, my returning home from long trips, sometimes as far away as Australia, and spending months with my Mother and wearing only the clothes that she had given me, because I thought it would please her and give her some happiness. My wife also remarked about my habit of laying my head on my Mother’s breast, in order to hear her heart beat. Just little peculiarities that mean so much to a mother and son when they love one another as we did.
I walked with Sir Arthur to the Doyles’ suite. Sir Arthur drew down the shades so as to exclude the bright light. We three, Lady Doyle, Sir Arthur and I, sat around the table on which were a number of pencils and a writing pad, placing our hands on the surface of the table.
Sir Arthur started the seance with a devout prayer. I had made up my mind that I would be as religious as it was within my power to be and not at any time did I scoff at the ceremony. I excluded all earthly thoughts and gave my whole soul to the seance.
I was willing to believe, even wanted to believe. It was weird to me and with a beating heart I waited, hoping that I might feel once more the presence of my beloved Mother. If there ever was a son who idolized and worshipped his Mother, whose every thought was for her happiness and comfort, that son was myself. My Mother meant my life, her happiness was synonymous with my peace of mind. For that reason, if no other, I wanted to give my very deepest attention to what was going on. It meant to me an easing of all pain that I had in my heart. I especially wanted to speak to my Mother, because that day, June 17, 1922, was her birthday.90 I was determined to embrace Spiritualism if there was any evidence strong enough to down the doubts that have crowded my brain for the past thirty years.
Presently, Lady Doyle was “seized by a Spirit.” Her hands shook and beat the table, her voice trembled and she called to the Spirits to give her a message. Sir Arthur tried to quiet her, asked her to restrain herself, but her hand thumped on the table, her whole body shook and at last, making a cross at the head of the page, started writing. And as she finished each page, Sir Arthur tore the sheet off and handed it to me. I sat serene through it all, hoping and wishing that I might feel my mother’s presence. There wasn’t even a semblance of it. Everyone who has ever had a worshipping Mother and has lost earthly touch, knows the feeling which will come over him at the thought of sensing her presence.
The letter which follows, purported to have come from my Mother, I cannot, as much as I desire, accept as having been written or inspired by the soul or Spirit of my sweet Mother.
“Oh, my darling, thank God, thank God, at last I’m through—I’ve tried, oh, so often—now I am happy. Why, of course I want to talk to my boy—my own beloved boy—Friends, thank you, with all my heart for this.”—
“You have answered the cry of my heart—and of his—God bless him—a thousandfold for all his life for me—never had a Mother such a son—tell him not to grieve—soon he’ll get all the evidence he is so anxious for—Yes we know—tell him I want him to try and write in his own home. It will be far better.”
“I will work with him—he is so, so dear to me—I am preparing so sweet a home for him in which some day in God’s good time he will come to it, is one of my great joys preparing for our future.”
“I am so happy in this life—it is so full and joyous—my only shadow has been that my beloved one hasn’t known how often I have been with him all the while, all the while—here away from my heart’s darling—combining my work thus in this life of mine.”
“It is so different over here, so much larger and bigger and more beautiful—so lofty—all sweetness around one—nothing that hurts and we see our beloved ones on earth—that is such a joy and comfort to us—Tell him I love him more than ever—the years only increase it—and his goodness fills my soul with gladness and thankfulness. Oh, just this, it is me. I want him only to know that—that—I have bridged the gulf—that is what I wanted, oh, so much—Now I can rest in peace—how soon—”
“I always read my beloved son’s mind—his dear mind—there is so much I want to say to him—but—I am almost overwhelmed by this joy of talking to him once more—it is almost too much to get through—the joy of it—thank you, thank you, friend, with all my heart for what you have done for me this day—God bless you, too, Sir Arthur, for what you are doing for us—for us, over here—who so need to get in touch with our beloved ones on the earth plane—”
“If only the world knew this great truth—how different life would be for men and women—Go on let nothing stop you—great will be your reward hereafter—Good-by—I brought you, Sir Arthur, and my son together—I felt you were the only man who might help us to pierce this veil—and I was right—Bless him, bless him, bless him, I say, from the depths of my soul—he fills my heart and later we shall be together—Oh so happy—a happiness awaits him that he has never dreamed of—tell him I am with him—just tell him that I’ll soon make him know how close I am all the while—his eyes will soon be opened—Good-by again—God’s blessing on you all.”
In the case of my seance, Sir Arthur believed that due to the great excitement it was a direct connection.
The more so do I hesitate to believe and accept the above letter because, although my sainted mother had been in America for almost fifty years, she could not speak, read nor write English but Spiritualists claim that when a medium is possessed by a Spirit who does not speak the language, she automatically writes, speaks or sings in the language of the deceased; however, Sir Arthur has told me that a Spirit becomes more educated the longer it is departed and that my blessed Mother had been able to master the English language in Heaven.
After the purported letter from my Mother had been written and I had read it over very carefully, Sir Arthur advised me to follow out the advice, given by my Mother,—to try to write when I reached home.
I picked up a pencil in a haphazard manner and said, “Is there any particular way in which I must hold this pencil when I want to write, or does it write automatically?” I then wrote the name of “Powell” entirely of my own volition. Sir Arthur jumped up excitedly and read what I had just written. He saw the word “Powell” and said, “The Spirits have directed you in writing the name of my dear fighting partner in Spiritualism, Dr. Ellis Powell, who has just died in England. I am the person he is most likely to signal to, and here is his name coming through your hands. Truly Saul is among the Prophets.”
I must emphatically state that this name was written entirely of my own volition and in full consciousness. I had in my mind, my friend Frederick Eugene Powell, the American Magician, with whom at the time I was having a great deal of correspondence regarding a business proposition which has since been consummated. There is not the slightest doubt of it having been more than a deliberate mystification on my part, or let us say a kindlier word regarding my thoughts and call it “coincidence.”
A few days later Sir Arthur sent me the following letter in reference to my explanation of the writing of the name, “Powell.”
“The Ambassador,
New York,
June 20th, 1922.
“My dear Houdini:—
“... No, the Powell explanation, won’t do. Not only is he the one man who would wish to get me, but in the evening, Mrs. M., the lady medium, got, “there is a man here. He wants to say that he is sorry he had to speak so abruptly this afternoon.” The message was then broken by your Mother’s renewed message and so we got no name. But it confirms me in the belief that it was Powell. However, you will no doubt test your powers further.
(Signed) “A. Conan Doyle.”
I had written an article for the New York Sun, October 30, 1922, which gave my views in reference to Spiritualism and at the same time answered the challenge offered by the General Assembly of Spiritualists of New York State. This had been called to the attention of Sir Arthur, who wrote as follows:
“Windlesham,
Crowborough,
Sussex.
November 19, 1922.
“My dear Houdini:—
“They sent me the New York Sun with your article and no doubt wanted me to answer it, but I have no fancy for sparring with a friend in public, so I took no notice.
“But none the less, I felt rather sore about it. You have all the right in t