The Rochester Knqokings: Ity Of

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ROCHESTER

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7

HYDESVILLE: THE

Story of the Rochester Knockings, WHICH PROCLAIMED

The Advent

of

Modern

Spiritualism,

BY

THOMAS OLMAN TODD, Past President of the British Spiritualists' Lyceum Union.

Published at

THE KEYSTONE

PRESS,

SUNDERLAND.

DEDICATED TO

A

DAISY.

creature not too bright or good

For human nature's daily food, For transient sorrows, simple

wiles,

Praise, blame, love, kisses, tears

and

smiles.

—Wordsworth.

—

6666 " Some

secret truths from learned pride concealed,

To maids alone and children are revealed What though no credit doubting wits may The

fair

and innocent

shall

still

:

give,

believe."

— Pope. 6666

"Rightly viewed, no meanest object

is

insignificant;

all

objects are as windows, through which the philosophic eye looks into infinitude itself."

Carlyle.

6666 " Rivers from bubbling springs

Have

rise at first,

and great from abject things."

— MlDDLETON. 6666

PREFACE.

The

events

interesting

narrated

which occurred at Hydesville,

Fox Family,

made

its

are those by

in

book

this

the house of the

in

which Modern Spiritualism

advent into this world as a new revelation

in spiritual matters.

History similar

is

without

not

phenomena,

reliable

its

but, just as

many

records

of

men

scientific

have experimented and stopped short of the gateway of the actual discovery of Nature's secrets,

who came those the

in

Hydesville

of

meaning

with

contact

whilst

phenomena being

hear."

Notably

in

many

similar

to

as

to

mystified

of the operating power,

of the actual discovery that "It

so,

stopped short

can see as well as

the case of the disturbances at

Mr. Mompesson's house at

Tedworth (1661— 1663) and

Mr. Wesley's parsonage at Epworth (1716--1717).

The is

early literature of the Spiritualist

replete

Movement

with most interesting records of phenomena

of bewildering variety, but during the past

years the

demand

for

literature

on

this

twenty

absorbing

PREFACE. subject has taken

phenomena

a

more philosophic

are admittedly

The

turn.

The philosophy

real.

is

the subject of debate, hence these early records are fast

going out of print and becoming

difficult

to

obtain.

Some few

years ago,

proved to be his

when

last visit

to

the writer paid

Emma

Mrs.

was deeply impressed with her

Britten, he

the early history of the Spiritualist

which she spent the greater part

Hardinge desire that

Movement,

for

of her industrious

and with which she had been

life,

what

so

intimately

connected, should not be allowed to pass into oblivion,

and that

at least the story of

HYDESVILLE

should

be published in a handy form and at a reasonable

For

price.

appeared

this

to

purpose she presented him with what

be

her

invaluable historical work ualism," and requested

The

remaining copy of her

only

him

"

Modern American

to undertake that duty.

incidents recorded in the

are based

chiefly

Britten

;

pages

following

on the information given

work mentioned above, and considerable of the actual

Spirit-

use

in is

the

made

words and sentences penned by Mrs.

these are given

without quotation marks.

Some

portions however have been re-written to adapt

them

to the requirements of the present book, whilst

a few other facts have been gathered from various

PREFACE. sources,

the

and Mr.

Robert Dale Owen's

chiefly

Boundary

of

Owen

Another World."

in

" Footfalls

on

Both Mrs. Britten

were personally acquainted with the

Fox family and many mentioned

ii

of the persons

connection

HYDESVILLE~a

fact

with

the

incidentally

phenomena

which gives superior weight

to their records.

T. O. T.

Sunderland, 1905.

at

12

Manchester,

December

5th, 1897.

Mr. T. O. Todd.

Dear

Sir,

Having been a sad year,

and

whether to

I

do not quite remember

have or not written to you on the subject

I

which

suffering,

still

invalid since June of this

I

desire to devote this poor scrawl.

me

have not done so hitherto—permit I

have been obliged from severe

my

platform work and

ested in

the

writings,

I

to say,— altho' to suspend

illness

am

I

If

as

much

inter-

earnest desire to help the progress of

Spiritualism as

I

have been

in

my

long years of past

devotion to that cause.

my

In consequence of

obliged to refuse invitation

to

my

sad illness

I

have been

kind American Friends' urgent

attend

their

Grand Celebration

at

Rochester, N.Y., next June.

I

am

most anxious

to

do something

cause, [enquirers] will necessarily special accounts of the

Movement and and "

their

first

want

for our noble

to

have some

opening of the Spiritual

the history of the poor

Fox Family

immediate connection with the famous

Rochester Knockings."

Fox Family and

all

All this

I,

who knew

the

the circumstances of the case

;

13

personally and intimately, have written and published

my

in full detail in

widely circulated work

American Spiritualism."— But

this

work

"

Modern

consists

of

560 pages, and tho' bought by thousands of American Spiritualists,

I

should not

copy except in

to turn to find a

Now pages the

and

is

life

what

I

the full

propose

and

and labours

is

with them.

trials

of A.

J.

friends,

;

Why

this

England where

in

my own In the

:

Davis,--the

bookcase.

first

entire history of the

bitter persecutions of

their early

know

movement

life,

sufferings,

the poor Foxes,

and

foes,

cannot you

.

.

all .

hundred

and

all

connected take those

hundred pages, condense them, and make a splendid

pamphlet of them

?

Sincerely yours,

EMMA HARDINGE

BRITTEN.

!

14

SPIRIT

RAPPINGS.

6666 (This

poem

will be found set to music in

the "Spiritual Songster.")

6666 Rap, rap, rap

Who Only

is

it

!

Rap, rap, rap

rapping to-night

!

Rap,

rap, rap

?

invisible friends,

Come from

whose

those chambers

light

Radiantly earth-ward descends,

Those whose dear forms you have covered from

sight,

And mark'd by a marble shaft solemn and white, Have come from the land where their life bloom'd anew, And lo by those raps they are talking to you. !

Rap, rap, rap

!

Rap, rap, rap

!

Rap,

rap, rap

!

Daintiest fingers of air

Wake

the most delicate sound

Rapping on

table or chair,

Lov'd ones of earth gather round

Making us know

Come back

that our lov'd ones have come,

to our hearts,

and

their dear earthly

home,

Forget they will never, thro' glory bath'd years,

How

lonely they

left

us in sadness and tears.

;!

;

!

;

»5

Rap,

rap, rap

Guests

Hear the

!

Rap, rap, rap

we would honour light rappings,

!

Rap, rap, rap

!

are here

and know

Visiting Angels are near,

Greeting their earth friends below

Oh, bid them welcome,

To

hearts

which are pure and illumin'd with

They wander Oh,

list

garments of white,

in

two wonderful

at will o'er

!

Rap,

lands,

and give them your hands.

to their counsels,

Rap, rap, rap

light

rap, rap

!

Rap,

rap, rap

!

Lov'd ones are rapping to-night

Heaven seems not

far

away

Death's sweeping river Soft

is

the sheen of

its

is

bright,

spray.

Magical changes those rappings have wrought,

Sweet hope

And death

to tne hopeless their patter has brought, is

Blest Spirits

bridg'd over with amaranth flow'rs:

come back from

their bright

homes to

—Emma

ours.

R. Tuttle.

/2^£Z-^>ci

HYDESVILLE. THE STORY OF THE ROCHESTER KNOCKINGS.

CHAPTER The social,

I.

birth-places of the greatest of the world's political,

and

religious

reformations

have

generally been of insignificant and lowly aspect, and

apparently under the most inauspicious circumstances for

producing any great

Babe

of the

King

of millions of

"

Wood Hut

lowly

"

Holy Ministers

effect

upon mankind.

manger becomes

human

hearts

and

the souls,

The

Spiritual

and the

becomes the gateway through which of Light,

from

their

world of Truth

and Beauty, send the evidence of man's immortality, through the instrumentality of a child, to the weary

worn pilgrims

of earth,

of a vanish'd hand, still,"

"WE

welcome with

who, praying

for the "

touch

and the sound of a voice that joyful hearts the Spirit

STILL LIVE."

is

message

HYDESVILLE.

18

The

scene of the manifestations dealt with in the

following pages, was a small

wooden homestead, one

of a cluster of houses like

itself,

in the little village

of Hydesville, near to the

town

of

New York

County,

an old

settler,

house

in

whose son was the proprietor

The

question).

accessible from a railroad,

by

tokens

those

Newark, Wayne

(being so called after Dr. Hyde,

generally leaves in

was

progress

of

track,

its

of the

place not being directly

unmarked

lonely and that

locomotive

the

hence

it

was

the last

spot where a scene of fraud and deception could find

The house

a possibility of a successful execution.

was a humble frame dwelling sisting

other,

two

of

fair-size

east of these

a

fronting south, con-

parlours opening into each

bedroom and a buttery or

pantry, opening into one of the sitting

a stairway

rooms

;

and

between the buttery and the bedroom

leading from the sitting room up to the half storey

above and from the buttery down to the

This humble

cellar.

dwelling had been selected as a

temporary residence during the erection of another house in the country, by Mr. John D. Fox, who, with his family, identified

soon afterwards became so prominently

with the phenomena which have since be-

come world famous. so small

Their

little

and simply furnished as

of opportunity for

dwelling, though

to leave

concealment or

no shadow

trick,

was

the

HYDESVILLE.

i$

residence of honest piety and rural simplicity.

who

ever

knew them bore

All

witness to the unimpeach-

able character of the good mother, while the integrity of the simple-minded farmers

brother to

the

beyond

who have

sisters

celebrated as the

"

who were since

and

father

become so

Rochester Knockers" stands proved

all question.

The

name being

the

"Voss"; but both he and Mrs.

originally

Fox were native

Fox were Germans,

Mr.

ancestors of

In Mrs. Fox's family, French

born.

by origin and Rutan by name,

several

individuals

had evinced the power

of second sight,~her maternal

grandmother (Margaret

Ackerman) who resided at

Long

Island,

events

;

had frequent perceptions

if

coming

were these presentiments that she

so vivid

phantom

frequently followed as

of

funerals to the grave

they were real.

had

Mrs. Fox's sister also, Mrs. Elizabeth Higgins,

similar power.

two

the to

one occasion, in the year

then residing in

?

"

that

We

shall not

her sister asked.

we

travelled

person with

came

make "

us.

this trip

Because

by

land,

In

my

to Mott's tavern

New

1823,

York, proposed

But one morning Elizabeth

go to Sodus by canal.

said, "

so

sisters,

On

I

by water."

dreamed

"

last

Why night

and there was a strange

dream,

too,

I

thought

we

on the Beech Woods, and that

HYDESVILLE.

20

they

could

admit

not

dying in the house. "

Very

the

know

I

indeed

when we

year, in

likely

"

!

because

us

come

will all

it

Mott

Mrs.

her sister replied,

lay-

true."

" for

last

passed there, Mr. Mott's wife lay dead

You

"

house."

will

married again and he will

He must have

see.

lose

second

his

wife."

Every particular came to pass as Mrs. Higgins had predicted.

whom

Johnson, a stranger,

Mrs.

the

at

time of the dream they had not seen, did go with them, they

made

fused admittance

by land and were

the journey into

tavern

Mott's

for

re-

very

the

cause assigned in the dream.

The family

of Mr.

children, but at the

and

Mrs.

Fox

consisted of six

time of the manifestations the

house was occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Fox and their

two youngest children and Kate, aged nine cant as they

movement

and antiquity, and

if

shall induce

their ancestors

insignifi-

the future of this

mankind label

to follow

the

in obscurity

the

records

"

truth,

example sacred,"

of

the

and masked by slander

perchance be engraved in monuments of bronze

and marble, and the incidents now deemed too for

won-

have become matter of history

not reverence for spiritual

and

names now sunk

may

shall

details,

appear, are due alike to the

When

family and posterity. derful

These

years.

may now

aged twelve,

only, Margaretta,

notice

become

reverenced

as

"

Holy

slight

Writ."

HYDESVILLE.

21

These changes of chance and time have happened before It

was

of

if

;

history repeats itself they will occur again.

reserved to this family to be the instruments

communicating

They were

affair.

to

the world this most singular

the ones

dent, found out that there

MANIFESTED EVEN at

first

who

first,

as

if

by

acci-

was an INTELLIGENCE

IN

THE RAPPING,

which

appeared nothing more than an annoying and

unaccountable noise.

In a publication of the early investigations con-

nected with this house, entitled

:

"A

Report of the

Mysterious Noises heard in the house of Mr. John D.

Fox, in Hydesville, Arcadia, ticated

by the

certificates

Wayne

County, authen-

and confirmed by the

statements of the citizens of that place and vicinity,"

we

that

some disturbances had

affected

the

house before the Fox family came to live there.

In

find

the year 1843-4, the farm

was occupied by a

Mr. and

months

of their

Mrs. Bell, who, during the last three

stay were joined by a

young girl—Lucretia Pulver,

who sometimes worked

for them,

and at other times

boarded with them and went to school, she being about

fifteen years old.

According to the statement of Lucretia, called forth

by subsequent

investigations, a pedlar called at

the house one afternoon

whom

Mrs. Bell

seemed to

HYDESVILLE.

22

recognise as an acquaintance. thirty years of age,

and

light trousers

He was

a

man

about

dressed in a black frock coat,

vest,

and carried with him a pack

of goods containing dress material

and other

draperies.

Shortly after the arrival of the pedlar, Mrs. Bell called the girl to say that she could not afford to

keep her any longer, and that as she was going to the next village the

her

same

afternoon, she might pack

and they would go together.

clothes

Before

going, Lucretia chose from the pedlar's pack a piece of

asking him to leave

delaine,

house

;

this

it

at

her father's

he promised to do the next day.

Bell

and Lucretia then

Mr.

Bell

left

remained behind,

Mrs.

the house, the pedlar and the

former

having decided to stay there for the day.

apparently

The pedlar

did not call at Lucretia's father's house next day in fulfilment of his promise to do so, nor, in fact,

was

he ever seen again, a circumstance which should be borne in mind when the sequel to this story

is

under

About three days afterwards, much to the

girl's

consideration.

surprise, Mrs. Bell sent for Lucretia to return

again.

She did

so,

to her

and from that time she began to

hear noises and knockings in her bedroom, the same

room which was afterwards occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Fox.

On

one occasion, when Mr. and Mrs. Bell

HYDESVILLE. were away from home at Lock

had

and Lucretia

Berlin,

remain in the house, she sent for her young

to

named Aurelia Losey

brother and a girl friend stay in the house with her. all

23

to

During the night they

heard noises which they declared sounded like

the footsteps of a the buttery, then

man passing from the bedroom to down the cellar stairs, traversing

the cellar for a short time and then suddenly stopping.

They were

all

very

fasten the doors

much

frightened and got up to

and windows, but were scarcely able

to sleep the remainder of the night.

About a week

after the visit of the pedlar to the

house, Lucretia having occasion to go cellar,

stumbled and

soil, this

fell

down

into the

into a hole filled with soft

somewhat frightened her and caused her

scream for assistance. rescue, Lucretia asked in the cellar that

replied that

"

it

Mrs.

Bell

what Mr.

was

all

Bell

"dug

coming

to

her

to

had been doing up."

Mrs.

Bell

the holes were only rat holes," and a

few nights afterwards Lucretia observed that Mr. Bell

was busy

for

some time

the "rat holes" with earth

in the cellar filling

up

which he carried there

himself.

During the remainder of the period

in

which the

house was occupied by the Bell family, the sounds continued to be heard, not only by Lucretia but by

HYDESVILLE.

24

Mrs.

Bell.

Lucretia's

mother, Mrs. Pulver, was a

frequent visitor at the house, and on one occasion in particular,

called

after

upon Mrs.

from want of

Bell, she

rest,

Bell declared she

she frequently

"

when

the foregoing events,

found the

latter quite

and on enquiring the

was

" sick

cause,

of her life,"

heard the footsteps of a

ing the house all night."

she ill

Mrs.

and that

man

travers-

HYDESVILLE.

CHAPTER A

few months

after

II.

and the house became

Weekman, who

tenanted by a Mr. and Mrs.

and

there about eighteen months,

Weekman's statement

Mr.

he heard was to the

was about

happened the

these events

Bells left the neighbourhood,

1847.

25

the year

in

left

lived

respecting the noises

one evening when he

effect that

to retire for the night, he heard a rapping

on the outside door, and, what was rather unusual bidding them

for him, instead of familiarly in,"

stepped to the door and opened

come

He had no

it.

who wished

doubt of finding some one

"

to

come

He

but to his surprise found no one there.

in,

stepped

out and looked around, supposing that some person

was imposing on him, he could went back

into the house.

discover no one, and

After a short time he

heard the rapping again, and stepped up and held

on to the

latch, so that

had taken that means

he might ascertain to

if

any one

The rapping

annoy him.

was

repeated, the door opened instantly, but no one

was

in sight.

Mr.

feel the jar of the

was

heard.

Weekman

states

door very plainly

that he could

when

the rapping

As he opened the door he sprang out

and went around the house, but no one was nor could he find trace of any intruder.

in sight,

HYDESVILLE.

26

They were

afterwards

frequently

One

strange and unaccountable noises.

Weekman of

disturbed

by

night Mrs.

heard what she deemed to be the footsteps

someone walking

Weekman and

in the cellar.

his wife

Another night Mr,

were disturbed by hearing a

scream from their child, a

about eight years of

girl

age,~this happened at midnight,— they went to her

and she told them that something over

her

face

and head

seemed

it

;

like a

badly had she been frightened that before she could be induced to

it

tell

hand passed

cold,

and so

was some time

her parents the

cause of her alarm, nor would she consent to sleep in the

same room

for several nights afterwards.

All this might have happened, and been only the idle fabric of a child's dream,

the

Weekman

family

might have imagined what they gave out as

and we should be inclined the case, that

if

such

only in

we had

to believe that such

house,

was

not the most conclusive evidence

manifestations were quite

this

fact,

but

in

various

similarly strange things have happened.

common, not others

where

HYDESVILLE.

CHAPTER "

Know

well

my

soul,

Whate'er thou

From

III.

God's hand controls

fearest."

Fox family entered

the time the

at Hydesville, about December,

cessantly disturbed

27

they were in-

1847,

by similar noises

the house

to those heard

by Lucretia Pulver and the Weekmans.

During the

next month however (January, 1848) the noises began to assume the character of slight knockings heard at

night in the bedroom

;

sometimes appearing to sound

At

from the cellar beneath.

Mrs.

first

to persuade herself this might be the

a shoemaker

in

hammering

knockings become more in

first

the

For not only did

sounds originated in the house.

were they heard

of

a house hard by, sitting up late at

But further observation showed that

work.

the

Fox sought

distinct,

and not only

one part of the house, then

in another, but the family

remarked that these

raps,

even when not very loud, often caused a motion, tremulous rather than a sudden

and chairs—sometimes

was laid

jar, of

of the floor

quite perceptible to the touch

on the

felt at

chairs,

;

the bedsteads

a motion which

when a hand was

which was sometimes sensibly

night in the slightly oscillating motion of the

HYDESVILLE.

28

bed,

and which was occasionally perceived as a

of vibration even

a time

also,

when standing on

the

noises

varied

After

the floor.

in

their

sort

character,

sounding occasionally like distinct footfalls in the different rooms.

month

In the distinct

February, the noises became so

of

and continuous that

night after night, and they were

out in

their

to sounds

becoming worn

all

cause

the

merely,~once something heavy, as lie

on the

feet of the children

;

gone before the mother could come to

Another time

(this

was

late in

a cold hand was on her face.

ances,

moved from

a dog,

was

it

their

March) Kate

felt

aid.

as

if

Occasionally too, the Finally

The

their places.

which had been limited

if

but

bedclothes were pulled during the night. chairs were

the

of

These disturbances were not confined

annoyances.

seemed to

discover

to

efforts

was broken

their rest

disturb-

to occasional knockings

throughout February and March, gradually increased

towards the close of the latter month, both in loudness

and frequency.

night after night,

lit

Mr.

Fox and

his wife got

a candle, and thoroughly searched

every nook and corner of the house

They

any

result.

raps

came on a

up

discovered

door, Mr.

;

nothing.

Fox would

but without

When

the

stand, ready to

open the door the instant the raps were repeated.

Though he opened

the door immediately there

was

HYDESVILLE. no one

to be seen.

any clue as ing

all

29

Nor did he or

Fox obtain

Mrs.

to the cause of the trouble, notwithstand-

the efforts they

made and

the precautions

they exercised.

The only circumstance which seemed

to suggest

the possibility of trickery or of mistake was, that

happened

these various unexplained occurrences never in daylight,

and thus notwithstanding the strangeness

of the thing,

when morning came they began

it

must have been the fancy

to think

Not being

of the night.

given to superstition, they clung, throughout several

weeks

of

annoyance, to the idea that some natural

explanation

would till

of

these

seemingly

at last appear, nor did they

mysterious

abandon

events

this

hope

the night of

MARCH

FRIDAY,

31st,

1848,

a date which was destined to be indelibly imprinted

on the minds break of a

of the

new

coming generations as the day-

era in the spiritual development of

humanity, a date which has since been regularly observed

as

marking

spiritual revelation of

the

advent

modern

times,

of

world.

greatest

and recognised

as the anniversary of the Spiritualist all parts of the

the

movement

in

HYDESVILLE.

30

CHAPTER

IV.

The day had been cold and

In the course of the afternoon, David,

on the ground.

a son of Mr. and Mrs. Fox, came to

from his farm about three miles then

first

He

one.

parents

visit his

Fox

Mrs.

distant.

recounted to him the particulars of the

annoyances they had endured

had been

snow

stormy, with

;

for until

now

they

disposed to communicate these to any

little

"Well

listened to her with a smiling face.

mother," he said, "I advise you not to say a word

about

it

to the neighbours.

When you

find

out

it

it

will

be one of the simplest things in the world."

And

in that belief

he returned to his

Wearied out by a succession

and the

own home.

of sleepless nights

of fruitless attempts to penetrate

Fox family

early to

rest,

on that Friday evening very

retired

hoping

a respite from the disturb-

for

ances that harrased them. disappointment.

The

the mystery,

But they were doomed to

parents had had the children's

beds removed into their

own bedroom, and

enjoined them not to talk of the noises even

strictly if

they

heard them.

But scarcely had the mother seen them

safely in bed,

and was

the children cried out

"

retiring to rest herself,

when

Here they are again."

The

HYDESVILLE.

31

mother chid them and lay down, but as though

in

rebuke of her apparent indifference, they were on this

and more pertinacious than

occasion louder

The

Rest was impossible.

ever.

children kept up a con-

tinuous chatter, sitting up in bed to listen to the Mr.

sounds. discover,

Fox

The night being windy it

might be the sashes

raps continued and

if

in

it

suggested

rattling,

him

vain

all in

;

that the

mockery.

invisible knocker,

alarmed at

she

until

in her

was more amused than

presence—merrily exclaimed

its

Mr. Split-foot, do as :

Kate—who

child,

had become familiar with the

innocence

guileless

the

but

itself to

were evidently answering the

At length the youngest

taneous

to

by the father shaking the windows,

noise occasioned as

doors,

the source of the annoyance.

possible,

if

windows and

the

tried

I

do."

The

effect

:

was

" Here,

instan-

the invisible rapper responded by imitating

number

She then made a

movements.

of her

given number of motions with her finger and thumb

without noise, and her astonishment

in the air, but

was re-doubled seen by

number

the

to find that

invisible

of knocks

rapper,

there sprang to

for

a corresponding

were immediately given to her

noiseless motions, whilst in childish jest

movements were

these

from her

and transport life

lips as

at her

the words

though but

new

discovery

which revealed the

HYDESVILLE.

32

sublimest Spiritual Truth of modern times

"

:

Only

look mother

CAN SEE AS WELL AS HEAR."

IT

Words which have Professors,

since

become a

and

sceptics

scoffers

text

have

which Doctors, to crush

tried

out of existence— and ignominously failed, but which

on the other hand have brought comfort,

permanent joy —nay,

millions

surely,— of

Words which declared a possible subtlety of

man

and

solace,

to the hearts of hundreds of thousands earth's

weary

pilgrims.

by every

truth since tested

and sophistry which the ingenuity

could suggest or devise, but which has stood

firmly through every ordeal.

Words which

declare

a truth that has already become the firm foundation of faith for

made up

an ever progressive Spiritual

Church,

and

of almost every nation of the earth,

embracing adherents from every rank of philosophic, scientific, religious

reveals

its

own

and

social

life,

which, moreover,

attributes to the child

and the

phil-

osopher alike, and provides the missing link between

a

finite

material

world

spiritual possibilities

and

a

world

of

by proving the continuity

infinite

of

life.

March 3

1

sh, 120-5.

HYDESVILLE.

CHAPTER Happily

this

had undertaken

telegraphers

spiritual

V.

momentous work which

the

for

33

humble dwelling, the

the

to initiate in

manifestations did not

first

appeal to the high and learned of the earth, but to the plain common-sense of an honest farmer's wife,

and suggested that whatever could

it

Mrs.

something

in

common with humanity and ;

Fox continued her

the viewless rapper she said

obeyed. "

Kate ?

How

"

"

is

my

Mrs.

I ?

was

"

the reply

repeated her question and

living

?

"

;

Six raps responded.

To

correct.

that knocks

a

spirit

knocks.

?

"

?

;

" "

"

;

then

child-

however

this

living.

She

How many have I How many dead ? "

and both these answers proved

the next question, " there

elicited

?

was again answered by

suddenly she cried

a single knock

the raps

How many

proved to be wrong for she had only six

seven raps

" ;

and correctly

distinctly

Fox then asked

Seven,

"

count ten

daughter Margaret

Both questions were

rapped out. ren have

old

thus

Addressing

investigations. "

and

must have

intelligently respond to relevant queries, in

hear,

see,

"

Are you a

was no response firm

and

;

but

distinctive

"

man

Are you

responsive

HYDESVILLE.

34

Emboldened by her

Mrs.

success,

Fox continued

her enquiries and ascertained by raps that the messages

were coming from what purported to be the

Spirit of

man who had been murdered for his money. To the question how old he was, there came thirtyone distinct raps. He also gave them to understand an injured

that he

was a married man, and had

five children

dead two

;

that his wife

years.

After

was

left

a wife and

dead, and had been

ascertaining so much, she

asked the question "Will the noise continue in

some neighbours

?

"

call

if I

The answer was by rapping

in the affirmative.

At

first

who came

they called in their nearest neighbours, thinking they would have a hearty laugh

at the family for being frightened—but

when

the

first

neighbour came in and found that the noise, whatever

it

might

be, could tell the

age of herself as well

as others, and give correct answers to questions on

matters of which the family of Mr. Fox was quite ignorant,

she

concluded that there was something

beside a subject of ridicule

and laughter

unseen but audible communications. bours insisted on calling others investigation were as

the

scene

These neigh-

who came, and

much confounded

The reader must endeavour

these

in

as at

after

first.

to picture to himself

which followed the introduction

of

the

;

HYDESVILLE.

35

neighbours to this weird and most novel court of

Imagine the place to be an humble cottage

inquiry. in

a remote and obscure hamlet

jurors,

an of

simple unsophisticated rustics

unknown

invisible,

the

;

;

judge and

and the witness

being, a denizen of a world

whose very existence mankind has been ignorant

by laws mysterious and inconceivable,

acting

modes

utterly

hension,

beyond

all

human

in

control or compre-

and breaking through what has been deemed

the dark and eternal seal of death, to reveal the

long-hidden mysteries of the grave, and drag to the

which not even the fabled

light secrets

grave could longer

silence of the

Those who have

hide away.

been accustomed to dream of death as the end of all

whom

its

shadowy

portals

alone

inclose,

are

prepared to appreciate the awful and startling reality of this strange scene, breaking apart, as

a

rope

of

sand,

all

it

like

did,

the preconceived opinions of

countless ages on the existence

and destiny

of the

living dead.

Those who have become familiar with the vealments of the

spirit circle will

re-

only smile at the

consternation evoked in this rustic party by the

now

familiar presence and manifestations of " the spirits,"

but to those stition, "

who

still

deeming of

all

stand in the night of superearth's countless millions as

dead," " lost," " gone," no one

knows whither

;

never

HYDESVILLE.

36

to return

;

no

to give

sign,

no echo, no dim vibration

from that vast gulf profound of unfathomed mystery—

what a

picture

mighty hosts of the vanished

face to face with the

dead, all clothed in

memory

their graves.

seen

people

and girded round with a

life,

and

panoply of power, vivid

which suddenly brings them

that

is

light,

of the secret

Our

who

about

teeming with them,-"

the

air,

the earth,

with in

thronged with an unus,

their piercing eyes

invisible to us, are scanning all our ways. is

;

wrongs deemed buried

cities are flit

and strength

The universe

THERE ARE NO DEAD,"-

and the sky above, are

filled

with

a viewless host of spirit—witnesses whose messages ever declare "Tnere

is

no death/'

HYDESVILLE.

CHAPTER Amongst

the

37

VI.

introduced

investigators

the

to

household was a Mr. William Deusler, of Arcadia,

an immediate neighbour

Fox family

of the

we

at this

time,

and from

many

interesting facts as to the evidence offered

his

testimony

the injured spirit in order that

its

gather a great

by

identity could be

clearly established.

Mr. Deusler had formerly lived with his father in this house,

and the message that the

received an injury, prompted or his father

On

him

to ask

had been the cause

either he

if

of such

had

spirit

an

injury.

way

receiving an assurance that they were in no

responsible,

the

was

investigation

continued,

results being here given in Mr. Deusler's

"

I

then asked

had formerly if so,

if

it

own words—

[naming a person who

Mr.

lived in the house]

to manifest

the

had injured

by rapping, and

it

it,

made

and

three

knocks louder than common, and at the same time the bedstead jarred I

then inquired

the knocking

if

was

it

more than

it

had done

was murdered

heard.

I

for

before.

money, and

then requested

it

to rap

HYDESVILLE.

38

when

mentioned the sum of money

I

was murdered.

then asked

I

when

two, three or four, and the rapping

heard

was

five

"

to

it

hundred

come

this,

I

in

I

over.

then asked

I

This

thirty times.

is

my

age,

my

any one about here knew then told

of us counted

age.

I

different

W.

it

is

same

at the

Hyde's age

;

my

After

it

age.

and

my

they

I

It

rapped

do not think

wife's age,

time.

I

it

;

and

and

W.

to rap the ages of

I

usual way, by rapping *The son

told ;

them

also the

it

then asked the

of children in the different families it

it

Hyde's

persons—naming them— in the room, and

neighbourhood, and

it

several

then asked

then Mrs. A.

then continued to ask

my

to rap

her exact age

did so correctly, as they all said.

number

and got the

age, except myself

to rap

it

rapped thirty times, which

to rap A.

then asked over

I

as before,

age—the number of years of

I

it

if

asked the same questions over and got the

same answers

family.

said they

and got Artemus W. Hyde

sent over

and Mrs. Hyde also came.

wife,

came

room

Mr. Redfield sent after David Jewel

same answers. and

hundred

to five

and the rapping was heard.

dollars,

same questions

the

came

then asked the question

I

He came

over.*

I

it

was one hundred,

All in the

heard.

distinctly.

After

nearly

was

it

if

which

for

correctly

number

in

the

in

the

of deaths

of the proprietor of the house at Hydesville.

HYDESVILLE. had taken place

that

39

in the different families,

and

it

told correctly

"I then asked

and

murdered,

in

regard

in

the day, learned that

was murdered on Tuesday

it

The rapping was heard

night, about twelve o'clock.

it

when

time was mentioned.

this particular

was asked

it

if

then asked

that

In the

carried

dered him I

asked

If

she

if

was

was no

there

any trunk, and

same way we ascertained

that

and that he had a pack

;

dead,

and

it

rapping.

it

rapped

it

had goods

in

when he murof goods besides.

wife was living, and

its

or

rapped once.

it

took them

the trunk, and that

tried

etc.,

Then how many, and

did.

it

it

if

When

was murdered on a Wednesday,

Thursday, or Friday night, I

was

days of the week and the different hours of

different

only

it

way, by asking the

usual

the

time

the

to

it

did not rap.

This was

rapped

over several times and the

result

was always

the same.

"I then tried to ascertain the

name by

calling over

alphabet.

I

the initial of

B

letters,

rapping.

I

different

commenced with its

the rapping

other

the

name

;

first

We

I

asked

of its

of

the

if it

was

if it

was

letters

A, and asked

and when

commenced.

letters

then tried

all

the

but could get no answer by the usual

then asked

if

we

could find out the whole

HYDESVILLE.

40

name by reading

over all the letters of the alphabet,

and there was no rapping. question,

then

I

reversed

the

and the rapping was heard

There were a good many more questions asked on

by myself and others which

that night

They were

remember.

same way. o'clock

Fox

I

do not now

readily answered in the

all

staid in the house until about twelve

and then came home.

Mr. Redfield and Mr.

staid in the house that night.

"Saturday night

They

there.

went

went over again about seven

I

The house was

o'clock.

I

I

said

it

when

I

when

I

got

had been rapping some time.

into the room.

questions

of people

full

went

It

was rapping

...

in.

in

answer to

.

"There were as many as three hundred people and around the house at

Hiram

Soverhill, Esq.,

questions while

I

was

this

time,

I

should think.

and Volney Brown asked there,

and

it

in

it

rapped in answer

to them.

"

went over again on Sunday between one and

I

two o'clock p.m.

went

and had them

others,

heads

I

;

and then

I

all

asked,

into the cellar with several

leave the house over our if

there

buried in the cellar, to manifest other noise or sign.

The moment

had been a man

it

by rapping or any

I

asked the question

HYDESVILLE. was a sound

there

foot long

the

41

like the falling of

a stick about a

and half an inch through, on the

bedroom over our heads.

rebound at

all

did not seem to

It

was but one sound.

there

;

floor in

then

I

asked Stephen Smith to go right up and examine the

room, and see

he could discover the cause of the

if

noise.

He came back and

nothing

;

of

the

questions,

and

it

went

was no one

that there

that part

said he could discover

house.

I

the room, or in

in

asked two more

then

and made a thorough

up-stairs

We

rapped in the usual way.

search,

all

but

could find nothing.

"I then got a knife and fork, and tried to see

make

I

could

I

could not.

is

only one

the

the

same noise by dropping them, but

This was

all

There

heard on Sunday.

I

or partition, or thickness between

floor,

bedroom and the

cellar

could be secreted to noise

if

was heard

;

make

no place where anything the

bedroom

in the

noise. I

could

When feel

a

this

slight

tremulous motion or jar

"

On Monday

night

I

asked the same questions

same answers. rapping. noise to

I

This

heard this noise again, and I

did before and got the

have heard any

is

the last time

I

can in no

way account

for this singular

which

me which

and others have heard.

I I

am

unable to solve

It is

a mystery

HYDESVILLE.

42 "

I

lived in the

same house about seven years ago,

and at that time never heard any noises of the kind in

and about the premises.

Johnston and others

moved

I

who have

there, that there

have understood from lived there before

were no such sounds heard

there while they occupied the house. in

I

never believed

haunted houses, or heard or saw anything but

what

I

could account for before. (Signed),

WILLIAM DEUSLER." "April

To

1848.

12,

the

same

effect is the

testimony of the follow-

ing persons, whose certificates were published in a

pamphlet by York, namely

E. E. Lewis, Esq., of :

Canandaigua,

New

John D. Fox, Walter Scotten, Eliza-

beth Jewel, Lorren Tenney, James Bridger, Chauncey P. Losey,

Benjamin

F. Clark, Elizabeth Fox, Vernelia

Culver, William D. Storer, Marvin P. Losey, S.

Fox, and Mary Redfield.

David

HYDESVILLE.

CHAPTER The news to

43

VII.

of the mysterious rappings continued

spread abroad,

and the house was

anxious seekers for the unknown and invisible

Up

with

filled

visitor.

had only been heard

to this time the noises

at

night, but

on Sunday morning, April 2nd, the sounds

were

heard in the daytime, and by any

first

could get into the house. at one

It

who

has been estimated that

time there were about

five

hundred people

gathered around the house, so great was the excite-

ment

commencement

at the

of these strange occur-

rences.

On

Monday

the

commenced digging was

built

stream

in the

cellar,

on low ground and

then

in

much swollen by

surprising that they were

of 1848,

when

the vicinity of a it

was not

by the

influx of

feet

the ground

others

but as the house

rains,

baffled

water at the distance of three

summer

Fox and

following, Mr.

down.

In the

was dry and

the

water lowered, the digging again commenced, when they found a plank, a vacant place or hole, some bits of crockery,

traces

of

which seemed

charcoal,

to

have been a washbowl,

quicklime,

some human

hair,

HYDESVILLE.

44

bones (declared on examination by a surgeon to be

human), including a portion of a

but no con-

skull,

nected skull was found.

[Interesting facts relating to the missing portions

human body were announced

of the

newspapers as recently as December,

in

the public

1904, for

which

see Appendix.]

Such were the cellar

results of the

examination of the

such the only corroborative evidences obtained

;

untimely death-

of the truth of the spirit's tale of

human remains

The

presence of

that

someone was buried

and charcoal

made

testify to

there,

proves

and the quicklime

the fact that attempts were

body of the victim.

to secretly dispose of the

The Fox family

in the cellar

did not immediately quit the

scene of this mysterious haunting, but remained

witness

still

more astounding phenomena.

was frequently moved about

ture

often

touched

;

by hard cold hands

opened and shut with violence

;

The

furni-

the girls

doors

;

their beds

on the ground

were were

were so

violently shaken that they were obliged to " " as

to

camp

their

bed-

clothes were dragged from them, and the very

floor

out

they termed

and house made after

night

they

it,

to rock as in

;

an earthquake.

Night

would be appalled by hearing a

HYDESVILLE. sound like a death struggle,

45

the

gurgling

a sudden thud as of something

throat,

of

the

falling,

the

dragging as of a helpless body across the room and

down

the cellar stairs, the digging of a grave, nailing

of boards,

and the

filling

up as of a new made grave.

These sounds have subsequently been produced by request,

many

and spontaneously

also,

in

the presence of

persons assembled in circles at Rochester.

was perceived

It

or

select

that " the spirits " seemed to

require the presence of the

girls of the

two younger

family for the production of the sounds,

and though these had been made without them, especially all

the

absent

them

of the 31st of March,

on the night

members

of the family save Mr.

from the house,

still

to close observation

invisible power,

it

was

became more powerful

as curiosity

when

Fox were prompted

and conversation with the

clear that the manifestations in the presence of Kate, the

youngest daughter, than with any one

else.

As the house was continually thronged with curious inquirers, and the time, comfort and peace of the family were

consumed with these harassing

dis-

turbances, besides the most absurd though injurious

suspicions being cast

upon them, they endeavoured

to baffle the haunters

by sending Kate

her

eldest

sister,

Mrs.

Fish, at

to reside with

Rochester

;

but no

HYDESVILLE.

46

sooner had she gone than the manifestations re-com-

menced with more of Margaretta.

force than ever,

in

the presence

In course of time Mrs. Fox, with both

her daughters, went to live in Rochester, but neither

change of place nor house, nor yet the separation of the family, afforded

them any

relief

from the disturb-

ances that evidently attached themselves to persons rather than places as formerly.

Although the Fox family had to banish the

with

all the

from

it,

for

months striven

power that tormented them, praying

fervour of true Methodism to be released

and enduring

fear,

continuance, the report of

loss

and anxiety

persistence

its

in its

began to

spread abroad, causing a rain of persecutions to

upon them from coldly

all

Old

quarters.

friends

fall

looked

on them, and strangers circulated the most

atrocious slanders at their expense.

who was

Mrs. Fish, the eldest sister,

music in Rochester, began to

a teacher of

lose her pupils,

and

whilst the blanching of the poor mother's hair in a single

week bore testimony

which supra-mundane

to

terrors

the mental tortures

and mundane

cruelties

had heaped upon them, the world was taunting them with imposture and with originating the very manifestations

which were destroying

of mind,

and good name.

their health, peace

They had

solicited the

HYDESVILLE.

47

advice of their much-respected friend, Isaac Post, a highly esteemed Quaker citizen of Rochester, and at his suggestion succeeded in

communicating by raps

with the invisible power, through the alphabet (an attempt had been previously made but without success). Telegraphic numbers were given to signify "

"

No,"

Doubtful,"

"

Yes " or

and sentences were spelled

etc.,

out by which they learned the astounding facts that "

not only

Charles Rosna

hosts of spirits,

"

the murdered pedlar, but

good and bad, high and low, could

under certain conditions not

understood,

possible for mortals yet to comprehend,

with earth

;

and im-

communicate

was produced

that such communication

through the forces of spiritual magnetism, in chemical affinity

that the varieties of

;

individuals afforded

denied

it

to

others

"

medium power that

;

in different

" to

some, and

magnetic relations

the

phenomena were very

subtle,

and singularly susceptible

to the

necessary to produce liable to disturbance

magnetism

influence of the mental emotions.

In

addition

to

communications purporting thus to explain the object

and something of the modus operandi munion, numerous also

of

those

friends of the family,

spirit

who

of the

joined

in

their

comand

investigations,

gladdened the hearts of their astonished relatives by direct

and unlooked-for

came

spelling

tokens of

out

identity

tests of their presence.

their

names,

correctly,

ages

They

and various

and proclaiming the

HYDESVILLE.

48

joyful tidings that they all "

still lived," " still

and with the tenderness of human

wisdom

of

a higher

sphere

of

over and guided the beloved ones

them as dead, with guardian angels.

all

the

affection

existence,

loved,"

and the watched

who had mourned

gracious

ministry

of

HYDESVILLE.

CHAPTER

49

VIII.

But redolent of joy and consolation as

ment,

communion has succeeded doubtful must not

it

harmonious

be

supposed

such

initiatory pro-

movement which now made

ceedings of the spiritual its

experi-

any

that

results characterised the

the

time when

intercourse with beloved friends, at this

orderly

is

advent in Rochester.

Within and without the dwellings of the medium, all

was

fear,

Fanatical

consternation,

religionists

of

doubt,

different

and

anxiety.

had forced

sects

themselves into the family gatherings, and the wildest scenes

of

cant,

rant,

and absurdity often ensued.

Opinions of the most astounding nature were hazarded concerning

the

object

determining that for the

it

of

was a

"

this

movement

millennium

"

;

some

and looking

speedy reign of a personal Messiah and the

equally speedy destruction of the wicked.

It

must not be supposed that the clergy were

idle spectators

of

sweeping over the

the city.

tumultuous wave

On

that

was

the contrary, several of

them called on Mrs. Fox with

offers

to " exorcise

HYDESVILLE.

50 the spirits," futile,

and when they found

and that though the

chorus to the

"

amens

"

their incantations, they

attempts

their

would rap

spirits

with which they concluded

were otherwise unmoved by

these reverend performances, they generally ended " in

proclaiming abroad that the family were

with the

or the

evil one,"

in

"

by

league

authors of a vile im-

posture."

Honourable exceptions, however, were found to this

cowardly and unchristian course, and amongst

these

was

the Rev. A. H. Jervis, a Methodist minister

of Rochester, in

whose family remarkable manifesta-

tions occurred of the

same character

as in that of the

Foxes, and whose appreciation of

beauty and

the

worth of the communications he received, several of his published

letters

bear witness

several other families of wealth in Rochester

influence,

both

also

began

phenomena

own

house-

while

the

news

in their

came from

extending as far as Cincinnati and

and Maine,

Hale, and

and the surrounding towns,

to experience similar

holds,

and

Lyman

Mr.

of.

Hammond, Deacon

Granger, Rev. Charles

Massachusetts,

St.

all

quarters,

Louis, West,

Pennsylvania, and

New

York, East, that the mysterious rappings and other phases of what

is

now

called "

rapidly spreading from State, in fulfilment of

town

medium power " were

to

town and State

an assurance made

to

in the very

— HYDESVILLE. first

of the

communications

" that these

to

to the

51

Fox

family, namely,

manifestations were not to be confined

BUT WOULD GO ALL OVER THE

them,

WORLD.'' The remarkable manner has been

admit

this

prophecy

most casual observer will readily

fulfilled the

for Spiritualism

;

which

in

— even

as a religious

power

has far outstripped any other form of religion in the

world in the rapidity of every

civilized

form of

Knockers,"

were

Sisters

the

"

growth, having reached

than half a century.

belief in less

The Fox

its

and permeated every other

nation

Fox

still

called the " Rochester

Girls,"

the

"

Rappers,"

and

other epithets, equally foolish and obnoxious to their interests girl,

and

Catherine Fox, the youngest

feelings.

had been removed to the house of Mr. W. E.

Capron, present

Auburn.

of

Mrs.

Fish,

when phenomena were

though generally

transpiring,

in its earliest phases conscious of being

Margaretta, the other

only one through to proceed,

when

sister,

whom in

November,

them by raps

made through that "

a medium.

in reality the

the manifestations appeared

had long been urging them gations to be

was then

was not

1848, the spirits,

who

to permit public investi-

her mediumship, informed

they could not always strive with

them," and since they were constantly disobedient to

HYDESVILLE.

5a

the

and obviously opposed

spirits' requests,

and

presence, they should leave them,

withdraw

bility

another

for

in

to their

all

proba-

or

generation,

seek

through other sources for the fulfilment of the high

and holy purposes

which

for

To

had been designed. were

this great bitterness "

They did not wish fatal gift

that the

might pass from them."

and persecution which

their

had brought them, and when warned that

spirits

delight

appeals the family

mediums," and abhorred

to be "

the notoriety, scandal,

the

these

They constantly prayed

inflexible.

cup of

outpouring

this spiritual

at

would leave them, they protested the

their

announcement, and expressed their

earnest desire that

it

might be

There were present at a tions of this character

fulfilled.

circle,

when communica-

were made, several

influential

who had become greatly interested manifestations and were warm friends of the

persons of the city, in the

They could

family.

threat here implied

however, realise that the

not,

would actually be

fulfilled

until

the spirits, by rappings, spelled out several messages of a particularly affectionate

The

and valedictory character.

scene became, says an eye-witness, solemn and

impressive.

The

spirits

announced that

in

twenty

minutes they would depart, and exactly as that time expired they spelled out, farewell

;

"

when

"

We

will

now

the raps entirely ceased.

bid you all

;

HYDESVILLE. The family of

them

by air,

expressed themselves " glad to get rid

vainly tried to obtain,

" the friends present

;

made, as

solicitations,

some

53

would seem,

it

demonstration

that

to

empty

beneficent

this

and

wonderful visitation had not indeed wholly ceased. All

was

useless.

A

mournful

silence

filled

the

apartment which had but a few minutes before been tenanted with angels, sounding out their messages of

undying

affection,

wise

tender counsel,

The

and prescient warning.

spirits

instruction,

indeed were gone

and as one by one the depressed party separated and passed out into the silent moonlit streets of Rochester, all

and each

them

of

as

felt

suddenly gone out, and

some great

if

was changed

life

light

had

to them.

There was a mighty blank in space and a shadow everywhere, but spirit light

came no more

to illumin-

ate the thick darkness.

A

fortnight passed away, during

investigators called constantly

enquire first

if

their spirit friends

few days a

after this, they

;

on the Fox family to

had

stoical negative

was

had

the

sustained.

sources

of

strange off.

wonderful presence no more

their steps, cheered their meals,

For the

their only reply

fully to recog-

The wise

superhuman consolation were cut loving,

returned.

began more and more

nise the loss they

were gone

which the former

counsellors

strength

The flitted

and

tender,

around

encouraged them in

HYDESVILLE.

54

human weakness, or guided them in their blindness. And these most wonderful and providential beings their own waywardness had driven from them. their

At

last, then,

showers of

they met their enquiring friends with

tears,

choking

bitterest self-reproach

Mr.

On

the twelfth

W.

E.

sobs,

and

day

of this great heart-dearth,

Capron, being in Rochester on business,

member

Fish,

with Mr. George

the usual sorrowful reply that

them," Mr. Capron said if

not for you."

and one

of the Society of Friends,

On

of their earliest spiritual investigators.

us

of the

regret.

called at the house of Mrs. Willets, a

and expressions

"

:

" the

if

had

spirits

left

Perhaps they will rap for

They then entered the

put the usual question

receiving

the spirits

hall

would rap

and for

them, in answer to which, and to the unspeakable delight of perfect

present,

all

they

were greeted with a

shower of the much-lamented sounds.

Once more manifestations

the spirits urged public.

them

make

to

the

Again they reiterated the

charge with solemn earnestness, and despite of the

mediums' continued aversion to the task imposed

upon them, the

ment

fear of a fresh

of the inestimable

prevented proposed.

their

boon

and

final

of spirit

continued resistance

to

bereave-

communion the

course

HYDESVILLE.

When the the

the persons

who were

55

called

upon

mediums and take somewhat prominent work urged

the

awkwardness

assigned them, the spirits only

much

will be so

that the severe

the fear of

its

of the

replied, "

the greater."

There

warning they had

just

to

aid

parts in

positions

Your triumph is

no doubt

received,

and

upon the whole party

repetition, acted

with more force than any argument that could have been used to induce their submission.

At the injunctions gation

carried out.

men were

Magistrates, editors,

the

judges,

citizens the jury.

was

attained.

and

finally

The aim

of wide-spread publicity

Thousands heard and wondered

believed

in

spiritual

The

at,

communion who

of the subject but for the

persecution and slander that "

and professional

and enlightened American

would never have dreamed

against the

communion between

and the earth they once inhabited

the world of spirits

was

of the spirits a public investi-

the possibility of

into

was

publicly directed

Rochester Knockers."

records

of

these persecutions

and slanders

abound with disgraceful and painful incidents which, whilst being discreditable to the persons responsible for their

propagation redound with

full credit to the

honour and integrity of the mediums selected by the Spirit

world to be the forerunners of a new dispensation.

HYDESVILLE.

56

And

thus the fiery cross, carried by the hands of

unseen messengers, sped from point to point

beacon

fires

lighted by invisible hands

;

the

gleamed on

every mountain top, and the low muffled sound of the spirit-raps that

peaceful

inhabitants

Hydesville,

first

of

became the

to the millions of the

broke the slumbers of the the

humble

tenement

at

clarion peal that sounded out

Western Hemisphere, the anthem

of the soul's immortality, chorused

bright ministering angels.

by hosts of God's

— HYDESVILLE.

57

THE MAIDENS OF THE DAWNING

LIGHT.

(Leah, Kate, Margaret.)

Oh,

rustic little martyrs for the truth

Whose

!

dimmed with

earthly eyes so oft were

While on your cheeks the blush and bloom

Was Long

yet unsoiled

by unborn struggling

tears,

of youth

years.

years of suffering, years of holy joys,

Years of defeats and years of victories

;

Years of sweet singing and of brawling noise,

—but

Despair

The memory Poor

ever angel messages.

of your mortal lives

little girls

!

Why was

Of balm you brought Of heavenly

tidings never half

"

was a lack enough

life,

The hungry world went crazy-mad defile,

hunt, mob,

!

rappings " came,

Telling the story of immortal

Accuse,

;

the world so rough ?

there ever

Yet when to you the gentle

comes back

to blame,

make venomed

strife.

58

HYDESVILLE.

Humble and poor

as Christ

It

seems so strange the

To whip

was

—kindly,

too,

grew

thistle, hatred,

your tender backs, with great ado,

Because you builded better than you knew.

But that

From

is

conflicts

From God's high By common Welcome,

You have disappeared

over.

and from

suffering,

and to-day

country, we, your friends, endeared

aims, feel that you look this way.

oh, heavenly sisters

Your youthful

See the light

!

fingers kindled

How

!

it

spreads,

Lighting up places where were sin and night,

Whitening souls and shaping princely heads.

Lo

!

far

it

spreads

!

Beyond the

rolling seas

Vast congregations celebrate the day

Your questionings unlocked death's

And

hailed the angels,

mysteries,

who had come your way.

— Emma

Rood

Tuttle.

APPENDIX.

A SEQUEL

to the "

59

ROCHESTER KNOCKINGS,'

after 56 years.

Copied from the "Banner of Light," (Boston, U.S.A.)

December

3rd, 1904.

"TRUTH CRUSHED TO EARTH WILL RISE AGAIN."

Regardless of what the " Banner " knows of this matter,

we

given

as

prefer to present the following statement

in

the Boston

Journal

of

opponents of the claims made by account

may

"

an almost

of

entire

Take note

human

23.

Spiritualists,

bear greater weight than

Spiritualist paper.

Nov.

if

To the

made by a

that the Journal says,

skeleton,"

and not the bones

a large dog or of any four-footed animal.

Rochester, N. Y., Nov. the

man

22,

1904.

—The

skeleton of

supposed to have caused the rappings

heard by the Fox

sisters in

first

1848 has been found in

the walls of the house occupied by the

sisters,

ancj

APPENDIX.

60

clears

them from the only shadow

doubt held

of

concerning their sincerity in the discovery of

spirit

communication.

The Fox

sisters

commu-

declared they learned to

nicate with the spirit of a man, and that he told

he

had been murdered and buried

in

the

them

cellar.

Repeated excavations failed to locate the body and thus give proof positive of their story.

The

was made by school

discovery

children playing

in the cellar of the building in Hydesville

the

"

Spook house," where the Fox

wonderful rappings. citizen of Clyde,

vestigation

sisters

known

as

heard the

William H. Hyde, a reputable

who owns

made an

the house,

and found an almost

entire

between the earth and crumbling

human

in-

skeleton

cellar walls, un-

doubtedly that of the wandering pedlar

whom

it

was

claimed was murdered in the east room of the house,

and whose body was hidden

Mr.

Hyde has

and the notice

in the cellar.

notified relatives of the

as

it is

sisters

of the discovery will be sent to the

National Order of Spiritualists, ber having

Fox

made pilgrimages

commonly

called.

many

of

whom remem-

to the

"

Spook house,"

The

finding of the bones

practically corroborates the sworn statement

Margaret Fox, April u,

1848.

The Fox

made by

sisters

claimed

APPENDIX. to

61

have been disturbed by rappings and

by a

finally

system of signals got into communication with the spirit.

According to Margaret Fox's statement the

was

that of a pedlar,

murdered cellar.

ings,

who

described

how

he had been

body being buried

in the house, his

spirit

in the

There were numerous witnesses to the rapp-

but although the cellar had been dug up

times no traces

the

of

body was found

many

until the

crumbling cellar walls revealed the skeleton.

The name

of the

revelation to the

the murderer a

Fox

murdered man, according to his sisters,

man named

was Charles Rosna, and Beck.

In 1847 the house

was occupied by Michael Weekman, a poor

He and

became troubled by

his family

laborer.

these mysteri-

ous rappings, which followed in succession at different intervals, especially during

became

so broken

by

vacated the house.

moved

in

the

fear

and

On

Dec.

and two months

night.

The family

loss of sleep that

they

n, the Fox family

later the rappings

resumed and the family became frightened.

were

Finally

Margaret and Cathie grew bold and asked questions

which were answered, revealing the murder.

"

APPENDIX.

62

FROM HYDESVILLE. The

"

December,

Sunflower,"

says

1904,

:

"

The

following bit of information was transmitted hither-

ward,

which,

if

confirmed,

create

will

additional

by no means con-

interest in Spiritualism, although,

firming the latter, as that does not rest exclusively

on the phenomena

at Hydesville

;

we

for since then

have had many additional phenomena, as the varied physical

drawing,

slate-writing

materialisation,

phases,

painting,

passing

levitation,

of

and

matter

through matter, trance-speaking, clairvoyance, psychometric reading, and numerous other modes of com-

municating with the says

and

:

William H. Hyde, who recently found the arm leg bones of a

homestead,

human being

made another

the bones were

first

inside cellar wall.

rates the

the

old

Fox

exposed by the caving in of the Mr.

statement as

rappings, a

at

search in the cellar where

Hyde

important bones except the

first

The correspondent

spirit world.

work

discovered

The

skull.

made

entitled,

all

the other

latter corrobo-

the history of the

in

'The Missing Link

in

Spiritualism.'

Note by Editor.—Attention

is

drawn

to the fact

that a portion of the skull (which the foregoing report declares to be missing)

was discovered during

ing operations at the time of the

"

the digg-

Knockings "—1848.

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