THE HAND OF GLORY; THE BLOODY HAND OF
ULSTER; THE SEVENTH SON; BIRTHMARKS;
NATURE'S DEVIL SIGNALS; PRE-EXISTENCE; THE
FUTURE; PROJECTION; TELEPATHY, ETC.
_The Hand of Glory_
Belief in the power of the Hand of Glory still, I believe, exists in
certain parts of European and Asiatic Russia. Once it was prevalent
everywhere. The Hand of Glory was a hand cut off from the body of a
robber and murderer who had expiated his crimes on the gallows. To endow
it with the properties of a talisman, the blood was first of all
extracted; it was then given a thorough soaking in saltpetre and pepper,
and hung out in the sun. When perfectly dry, it was used as a
candlestick for a candle made of white wax, sesame seed, and fat from
the corpse of the criminal. Prepared thus, the Hand of Glory was deemed
to have the power of aiding and protecting the robbers in their
nefarious work by sending to sleep their intended victims. Hence no
robber ever visited a house without having such a talisman with him.
_The Bloody Hand of Ulster_
The Red Right Hand of Ulster is the badge of the O'Neills, and according
to tradition it originated thus:--On the approach of an ancient
expedition to Ulster, the leader declared that whoever first touched the
shore should possess the land in the immediate vicinity. An ancestor of
the O'Neills, anxious to obtain the reward, at once cut off his right
hand and threw it on the coast, which henceforth became his territory.
Since then the O'Neills have always claimed the Red Right Hand of Ulster
as their badge, and it figured only the other day on the banner which,
for the first time since the days of Shane the Proud, was flown from the
battlements of their ancient stronghold, Ardglass Castle, now in the
possession of Mr F. J. Bigger.
A very similar story to that of the O'Neill is told of an O'Donnell,
who, with a similar motive, namely, to acquire territory, on arriving
within sight of Spain, cut off his hand and hurled it on the shore, and,
like the O'Neills, the O'Donnells from that time have adopted the hand
as their badge.
_The Seventh Son_
It was formerly believed that a seventh son could cure diseases, and
that a seventh son of a seventh son, with no female born in between,
could cure the king's evil. Indeed, seven was universally regarded as a
psychic number, and according to astrologers the greatest events in a
person's life, and his nearest approach to death without actually
incurring it, would be every seven years. The grand climacterics are
sixty-three and eighty-four, and the most critical periods of a
person's life occur when they are sixty-three and eighty-four years of
age.
_Birthmarks_
Some families have a heritage of peculiar markings on the skin. The only
birthmark of this description which I am acquainted with is "The
Historic Baldearg," or red spot that has periodically appeared on the
skins of members of the O'Donnell clan. Its origin is dubious, but I
imagine it must go back pretty nearly to the time of the great Niall. In
the days when Ireland was in a chronic state of rebellion, it was said
that it would never shake off the yoke of its cruel English oppressors
till its forces united under the leadership of an O'Donnell with the
Baldearg. An O'Donnell with the Baldearg turned up in 1690, in the
person of Hugh Baldearg O'Donnell, son of John O'Donnell, an officer in
the Spanish Army, and descendant of the Calvagh O'Donnell of Tyrconnell,
who had been created Earl of Wexford by Queen Elizabeth. But the Irish,
as has ever been the case, would not unite, and despite the aid given
him by Talbot (who had succeeded the O'Donnells in the Earldom of
Tyrconnell), he met with but little success, and returning to Spain,
died there with the rank of Major-General in 1704.
References to the Baldearg may be seen in various of the Memoirs of the
O'Donnells in the libraries of the British Museum, Madrid, Dublin, and
elsewhere.
_Nature's Devil Signals_
I have already alluded to the fingers typical of murderers; I will now
refer in brief to a form of Nature's other danger signals. The feet of
murderers are, as a rule, very short and broad, the toes flat and
square-tipped. As a rule, too, they either have very receding chins, as
in the case of Mapleton Lefroy, or very massive, prominent chins, as in
the case of Gotfried.
In many instances the ears of murderers are set very far back and low
down on their heads, and the outer rims are very much crumpled; also
they have very high and prominent cheek-bones, whilst one side of the
face is different from the other. The backs of many murderers' heads are
nearly perpendicular, or, if anything, rather inclined to recede than
otherwise--they seldom project--whilst the forehead is unusually
prominent.
It is a noteworthy fact that a large percentage of modern murderers have
had rather prominent light, steely blue eyes--rarely grey or brown.
Their voices--and there is another key to the character--are either
hollow and metallic, or suggestive of the sounds made by certain
animals.
Many of these characteristics are to be found in criminal lunatics.
_Pre-existence and the Future_
To talk of a former life as if it were an established fact is, of
course, an absurdity; to dogmatise at all on such a question, with
regard to which one man's opinion is just as speculative as another's,
is, perhaps, equally ridiculous. Granted, then, the equal value of the
varying opinions of sane men on this subject, it is clear that no one
can be considered an authority; my opinion, no less than other people's,
is, as I have said, merely speculation. That I had a former life is, I
think, extremely likely, and that I misconducted myself in that former
life, more than likely, since it is only by supposing a previous
existence in which I misbehaved, that I can see the shadow of a
justification for all the apparently unmerited misfortunes I have
suffered in my present existence.
I do not, however, see any specific reason why my former existence
should have been here; on the contrary, I think it far more probable
that I was once in some other sphere--perhaps one of the planets--where
my misdeeds led to my banishment and my subsequent appearance in this
world. With regard to a future life, eternal punishment, and its
converse, everlasting bliss, I fear I never had any orthodox views, or,
if I had, my orthodoxy exploded as soon as my common sense began to
grow.
Hell, the hell hurled at my head from the pulpit, only excited my
indignation--it was so unjust--nor did the God of the Old Testament fill
me with aught save indignation and disgust. Lost in a quagmire of doubts
and perplexities, I inquired of my preceptors as to the authorship of
the book that held up for adoration a being so stern, relentless, and
unjust as God; and in answer to my inquiries was told that I was very
wicked to talk in such a way about the Bible; that it was God's own
book--divinely inspired--in fact, written by God Himself. Then I
inquired if the original manuscript in God's handwriting was still in
existence; and was told I was very wicked and must hold my tongue. Yet I
had no idea of being in any way irreverent or blasphemous; I was merely
perplexed, and longed to have my difficulties settled. Failing this,
they grew, and I began to question whether the terms "merciful" and
"almighty" were terms that could be applied with any degree of
consistency to the scriptural one and only Creator. Would that God, if
He were almighty, have permitted the existence of such an enemy (or
indeed an enemy at all) as the Devil? And if He were merciful, would He,
for the one disobedient act of one human being, have condemned to the
most ghastly and diabolical sufferings, millions of human beings, and
not only human beings, but animals? Ah! that's where the rub comes in,
for though there may be some sense, if not justice, in causing men and
women, who have sinned--to suffer, there is surely neither reason nor
justice in making animals, who have not sinned--to suffer.
And yet, for man's one act of disobedience, both man and beast have
suffered thousands of years of untold agonies. Could anyone save the
blindest and most fanatical of biblical bigots call the ordainer of such
a punishment merciful? How often have I asked myself who created the
laws and principles of Nature! They are certainly more suggestive of a
fiendish than a benevolent author. It is ridiculous to say man owes
disease to his own acts--such an argument--if argument at all--would
not deceive an infant. Are the insects, the trees, the fish responsible
for the diseases with which they are inflicted? No, Nature, or rather
the creator of Nature, is alone responsible. But, granted we have lived
before, there may be grounds for the suffering both of man and beast.
The story of the Fall may be but a contortion of something that has
happened to man in a former existence, in another sphere, possibly, in
another planet; and its description based on nothing more substantial
than memory, vague and fleeting as a dream. Anyhow, I am inclined to
think that incarnation here might be traced to something of
more--infinitely more--importance than an apple; possibly, to some cause
of which we have not, at the present, even the remotest conception.
People, who do not believe in the former existence, attempt to justify
the ills of man here, by assuming that a state of perfect happiness
cannot be attained by man, except he has suffered a certain amount of
pain; so that, in order to attain to perfect happiness, man must of
necessity experience suffering--a theory founded on the much
misunderstood axiom, that nothing can exist save by contrast. But
supposing, for the sake of argument, that this axiom, according to its
everyday interpretation, is an axiom, _i.e._ a true saying, then God,
the Creator of all things, must have created evil--evil that good may
exist, and good that evil may exist. This deduction, however, is
obviously at variance with the theory that God is all goodness, since if
nothing can exist save by contrast, goodness must of necessity
presuppose badness, and we are thus led to the conclusion that God is
at the same time both good and bad, a conclusion which is undoubtedly a
_reductio ad absurdum_.
Seeing, then, that a God all good cannot have created evil, surely we
should be more rational, if less scriptural, were we to suppose a
plurality of gods. In any case I cannot see how pain, if God is indeed
all mighty and all good, can be the inevitable corollary of pleasure.
Nor can I see the necessity for man to suffer here, in order to enjoy
absolute happiness in the hereafter. No, I think if there is any
justification for the suffering of mankind on this earth, it is to be
found, not in the theory of "contrast," but in a former existence, and
in an existence in some other sphere or plane. Vague recollections of
such an existence arise and perplex many of us; but they are so elusive,
the moment we attempt to grapple with them, they fade away.
The frequent and vivid dreams I have, of visiting a region that is
peopled with beings that have nothing at all in common with mankind, and
who welcome me as effusively as if I had been long acquainted with them,
makes me wonder if I have actually dwelt amongst them in a previous
life.
I cannot get rid of the idea that in everything I see (in these
dreams)--in the appearance, mannerisms, and expressions of my queer
companions, in the scenery, in the atmosphere--I do but recall the
actual experience of long ago--the actual experience of a previous
existence. Nor is this identical dreamland confined to me; and the fact
that others whom I have met, have dreamed of a land, corresponding in
every detail to my dreamland, proves, to my mind, the possibility that
both they and I have lived a former life, and in that former life
inhabited the same sphere.
_Projection_
I have, as I have previously stated in my work, _The Haunted Houses of
London_, succeeded, on one occasion, in separating at will, my
immaterial from my material body. I was walking alone along a very
quiet, country lane, at 4 P.M., and concentrating with all my mind, on
being at home. I kept repeating to myself, "I WILL be there." Suddenly a
vivid picture of the exterior of the house rose before me, and, the next
instant, I found myself, in the most natural manner possible, walking
down some steps and across the side garden leading to the conservatory.
I entered the house, and found all my possessions--books, papers, shoes,
etc.--just as I had left them some hours previously. With the intention
of showing myself to my wife, in order that she might be a witness to my
appearance, I hastened to the room, where I thought it most likely I
should find her, and was about to turn the handle of the door, when, for
the fraction of a second, I saw nothing. Immediately afterwards there
came a blank, and I was once again on the lonely moorland road, toiling
along, fishing rod in hand, a couple of miles, at least, away from home.
When I did arrive home, my wife met me in the hall, eager to tell me
that at four o'clock both she and the girls had distinctly heard me come
down the steps and through the conservatory into the house. "You
actually came," my wife continued, "to the door of the room in which I
was sitting. I called out to you to come in, but, receiving no reply, I
got up and opened the door, and found, to my utter amazement, no one
there. I searched for you everywhere, and should much like to know why
you have behaved in this very extraordinary manner."
Much excited in my turn, I hastened to explain to her that I had been
practising projection, and had actually succeeded in separating my
material from my immaterial body, for a brief space of time, just about
four o'clock. The footsteps she had heard were indeed my own
footsteps--and upon this point she was even more positive than I--the
footsteps of my immaterial self.
I have made my presence felt, though I have never "appeared," on several
other occasions. In my sleep, I believe, I am often separated from my
physical body, as my dreams are so intensely real and vivid. They are so
real that I am frequently able to remember, almost _verbatim_, long
conversations I have had in them, and I awake repeating broken-off
sentences. Often, after I have taken active exercise, such as running,
or done manual labour, such as digging or lifting heavy weights in the
land of my dreams, my muscles have ached all the following day.
With regard to the projections of other people, I have often seen
phantasms of the living, and an account of one appearing to me, when in
the company of three other persons, all of whom saw it, may be read in
the Psychical Research Society's Magazine for October 1899. I have
referred to it as well as to other of my similar experiences in
_Ghostly Phenomena_ and _Haunted Houses of London_.
_Doubles_, _i.e._ people who are more or less the exact counterpart of
other people, may easily be taken for projections by those who have but
little acquaintance with the occult. I, myself, have seen many doubles,
but though they be as like as the proverbial two peas, I can tell at a
glance whether they be the material or immaterial likeness of those they
so exactly resemble. I think there is no doubt that, in a good many
instances, doubles have been mistaken for projections, and, of course,
_vice versâ_.
_Telepathy and Suggestion_
Though telepathy between two very wakeful minds is an established fact,
I do not think it is generally known that it can also take place between
two minds when asleep, or between one person awake and another asleep,
and yet I have proved this to be the case. My wife and I continually
dream of the same thing at the same time, and if I lie down in the
afternoon and fall asleep alone, she often thinks of precisely what I am
dreaming about. Though telepathy and suggestion may possibly account for
hauntings when the phenomenon is only experienced individually, I cannot
see how it can do so when the manifestations are witnessed by numbers,
_i.e._ collectively. I am quite sure that neither telepathy nor
suggestion are in any degree responsible for the phenomena I have
experienced, and that the latter hail only from one quarter--the
objective and genuine occult world.
_The Psychic Faculty and Second Sight_
Whereas some people seem fated to experience occult phenomena and others
not, there is this inconsistency: the person with the supposed psychic
faculty does not always witness the phenomena when they appear. By way
of illustration: I have been present on one occasion in a haunted room
when all present have seen the ghost with the exception of myself;
whilst on other occasions, either I have been the only one who has seen
it, or some or all of us have seen it. It would thus seem that the
psychic faculty does not ensure one's seeing a ghost, whenever a ghost
is to be seen.
I think, as a matter of fact, that apparitions can, whilst manifesting
themselves to some, remain invisible to others, and that they themselves
determine to whom they will appear. Some types of phantasms apparently
prefer manifesting themselves to the spiritual or psychic-minded person,
whilst other types do not discriminate, but appear to the spiritual and
carnal-minded alike. There is just as much variety in the tastes and
habits of phantasms as in the tastes and habits of human beings, and in
the behaviour of both phantasm and human being, I regret to say, there
is an equal and predominant amount of inconsistency.
_Intuition_
I do not think it can be doubted that psychic people have the faculty of
intuition far more highly developed than is the case with the more
material-minded.
"Second sight" is but another name for the psychic faculty, and it is
generally acknowledged to be far more common among the Celts than the
Anglo-Saxons. That this is so need not be wondered at, since the Irish
and the Highlanders of Scotland (originally the same race) are far more
spiritual-minded than the English (in whom commerciality and worldliness
are innate), and consequently have, on the whole, a far greater
attraction for spirits who would naturally prefer to reveal themselves
to those in whom they would be the more likely to find something in
common.
There is still a belief in certain parts of the Hebrides that second
sight was once obtained there through a practice called "The Taigheirm."
This rite, which is said to have been last performed about the middle of
the seventeenth century, consisted in roasting on a spit, before a slow
fire, a number of black cats. As soon as one was dead another took its
place, and the sacrifice was continued until the screeches of the
tortured animals summoned from the occult world an enormous black cat,
that promised to bestow as a perpetual heritage on the sacrificer and
his family, the faculty of second sight, if he would desist from any
further slaughter.
The sacrificer joyfully closed with the bargain, and the ceremony
concluded with much feasting and merriment, in which, however, it is
highly improbable that the phantasms of the poor roasted "toms" took
part.
_Clairvoyance_
Clairvoyance is a branch of occultism in which I have had little
experience, and can, therefore, only refer to in brief. When I was the
Principal of a Preparatory School, I once had on my staff a Frenchman of
the name of Deslys. On recommencing school after the Christmas vacation,
M. Deslys surprised me very much by suddenly observing: "Mr O'Donnell,
did you not stay during the holidays at No. ... The Crescent, Bath?"
"Yes," I replied; "but how on earth do you know?" I had only been there
two days, and had certainly never mentioned my visit either to him or to
anyone acquainted with him.
"Well!" he said, "I'll tell you how I came to know. Hearing from my
friends that Mme. Leprès, a well-known clairvoyante, had just come to
Paris, I went to see her. It is just a week ago to-day. After she had
described, with wonderful accuracy, several houses and scenes with which
I was familiar, and given me several pieces of information about my
friends, which I subsequently found to be correct, I asked her to tell
me where you were and what you were doing. For some moments she was
silent, and then she said very slowly: 'He is staying with a friend at
No. ... The Crescent, Bath. I can see him (it was then three o'clock in
the afternoon) sitting by the bedside of his friend, who has his head
tied up in bandages. Mr O'Donnell is telling him a very droll story
about Lady B----, to whom he has been lately introduced.' She then
stopped, made a futile effort to go on, and after a protracted pause
exclaimed: 'I can see no more--something has happened.' That was all I
found out about you."
"And enough, too, M. Deslys," I responded, "for what she told you was
absolutely true. A week ago to-day I was staying at No. ... The
Crescent, Bath, and at three o'clock in the afternoon I was sitting at
the bedside of my friend, who had injured his head in a fall, and had it
tied up in bandages; and amongst other bits of gossip, I narrated to him
a very amusing anecdote concerning Lady B----, whom I have only just
met, for the first time, in London."
Now M. Deslys could not possibly have known, excepting through psychical
agency, where I had been staying a week before that time, or what I had
been doing at three o'clock on that identical afternoon.
_Automatic Writing_
I have frequently experimented in automatic writing. Who that is
interested in the occult has not! But I cannot say I have ever had any
astonishing results. However, though my own experiences are not worth
recording, I have heard of many extraordinary results obtained by
others--results from automatic messages that one can not help believing
could only be due to superphysical agency.
_Table-turning_
I do not think there is anything superphysical in merely turning the
table, or making it move across the room, or causing it to fall over on
to the ground, and to get up again. I am of the opinion that all this is
due to animal magnetism, and to the unconscious efforts of the audience,
who are ever anxious for the ghost to come and something startling to
happen. The ladies, in particular, I would point out, press a little
hard with their dainty but determined hands, or with their self-willed
knees resort to a few sly pushes. When this does not happen, I think it
is quite possible that an elemental or some other equally undesirable
type of phantasm does actually attend the séance, and, emphasising its
arrival by sundry noises, is responsible for many, if not all the
phenomena. On the other hand, I certainly think that ninety per cent. of
the rappings and the manifestations of musical enthusiasts is due to
trickery on the part of the medium, or, if there be no professional
medium present, to an over-zealous sitter.
But since ghosts can and do show themselves spontaneously in haunted
houses, why the necessity of musical instruments, professional medium,
and sitting round a table with fingers linked? Surely, when one comes to
think of it, the _modus operandi_ of the séance, besides being extremely
undignified, is somewhat superfluous. Tin trumpets, twopenny
tambourines, and concertinas are all very well in their way, but, try
how I will, I cannot associate them with ghosts. What phantasm of any
standing at all would be attracted by such baubles? Surely only the
phantasms of the very silliest of servant girls, of incurable idiots,
and of advanced imbeciles. But even they, I think, might be "above it,"
in which case the musical instruments, tin trumpets, tambourines, and
concertinas, disdained by the immaterial, must be manipulated by the
material! And this rule with regard to table-turning, the manipulation
of musical instruments, etc., equally applies to materialisation. I have
no doubt that genuine phantasms of the earth-bound or elementals do
occasionally show themselves, but I am quite sure in nine cases out of
ten the manifestations are manifestations of living flesh and blood.
_Charms and Checks against Ghosts_
"When I feel the approach of the superphysical, I always cross myself,"
an old lady once remarked to me; and this is what many people do;
indeed, the sign of the cross is the most common mode of warding off
evil. Whether it is really efficacious is doubtful. I, for my part, make
use of the sign, involuntarily rather than otherwise, because the custom
is innate in me, and is, perhaps, with various other customs, the
heritage of all my race from ages past; but I cannot say it always or
even often answers, for ghosts frequently manifest themselves to me in
spite of it. Then there is the magic circle which is described
differently by divers writers. According to Mr Dyer, in his _Ghost
World_, pp. 167-168, the circle was prepared thus: "A piece of ground
was usually chosen, nine feet square, at the full extent of which
parallel lines were drawn, one within the other, having sundry crosses
and triangles described between them, close to which was formed the
first or outer circle; then about half a foot within the same, a second
circle was described, and within that another square corresponding to
the first, the centre of which was the spot where the master and
associate were to be placed. The vacancies formed by the various lines
and angles of the figure were filled up by the holy names of God, having
crosses and triangles described between them.... The reason assigned for
the use of the circles was, that so much ground being blessed and
consecrated by such holy words and ceremonies as they made use of in
forming it, had a secret force to expel all evil spirits from the bounds
thereof, and, being sprinkled with pure sanctified water, the ground was
purified from all uncleanliness; besides, the holy names of God being
written over every part of it, its forces became so powerful that no
evil spirits had ability to break through it, or to get at the magician
and his companion, by reason of the antipathy in nature they bore to
these sacred names. And the reason given for the triangles was, that if
the spirits were not easily brought to speak the truth, they might by
the exorcist be conjured to enter the same, where, by virtue of the
names of the essence and divinity of God, they could speak nothing but
what was true and right."
Again according to Mr Dyer, when a spot was haunted by the spirit of a
murderer or suicide who lay buried there, a magic circle was made just
over the grave, and he who was daring enough to venture there, at
midnight, preferably when the elements were at their worst, would
conjure the ghost to appear and give its reason for haunting the spot.
In answer to the summons there was generally a long, unnatural silence,
which was succeeded by a tremendous crash, when the phantasm would
appear, and, in ghastly, hollow tones answer all the questions put to
it. Never once would it encroach on the circle, and on its interrogator
promising to carry out its wishes, it would suddenly vanish and never
again walk abroad. If the hauntings were in a house, the investigator
entered the haunted room at midnight with a candle, and compass, and a
crucifix or Bible. After carefully shutting the door, and describing a
circle on the floor, in which he drew a cross, he placed within it a
chair, and table, and on the latter, put the crucifix, a Bible, and a
lighted candle. He then sat down on the chair and awaited the advent of
the apparition, which either entered noiselessly or with a terrific
crash. On the promise that its wishes would be fulfilled, the ghost
withdrew, and there were no more disturbances. Sometimes the
investigator, if he were a priest, would sprinkle the phantasm with holy
water and sometimes make passes over it with the crucifix, but the
results were always the same; it responded to all the questions that
were put to it and never troubled the house again.
How different from what happens in reality! Though I have seen and
interrogated many ghosts, I have never had a reply, or anything in the
shape of a reply, nor perceived any alteration in their expression that
would in any way lead me to suppose they had understood me; and as to
exorcism--well, I know of innumerable cases where it has been tried,
and tried by the most pious of clergy--clergy of all denominations--and
singularly failed. It is true I have never experimented with a magic
circle, but, somehow, I have not much faith in it.
In China the method of expelling ghosts from haunted houses has been
described as follows:--An altar containing tapers and incense sticks is
erected in the spot where the manifestations are most frequent. A Taoist
priest is then summoned, and enters the house dressed in a red robe,
with blue stockings and a black cap. He has with him a sword, made of
the wood of the peach or date tree, the hilt and guard of which are
covered with red cloth. Written in ink on the blade of the sword is a
charm against ghosts. Advancing to the altar, the priest deposits his
sword on it. He then prepares a mystic scroll, which he burns,
collecting and emptying the ashes into a cup of spring water. Next, he
takes the sword in his right hand and the cup in his left, and, after
taking seven paces to the left and eight to the right, he says: "Gods of
heaven and earth, invest me with the heavy seal, in order that I may
eject from this dwelling-house all kinds of evil spirits. Should any
disobey me, give me power to deliver them for safe custody to rulers of
such demons." Then, addressing the ghost in a loud voice, he says: "As
quick as lightning depart from this house." This done, he takes a bunch
of willow, dips it in the cup, and sprinkles it in the east, west,
north, and south corners of the house, and, laying it down, picks up his
sword and cup, and, going to the east corner of the building, calls
out: "I have the authority, Tai-Shaong-Loo-Kivan." He then fills his
mouth with water from the cup, and spits it out on the wall, exclaiming:
"Kill the green evil spirits which come from unlucky stars, or let them
be driven away." This ceremony he repeats at the south, west, and north
corners respectively, substituting, in turn, red, white, and yellow in
the place of green. The attendants then beat gongs, drums, and tom-toms,
and the exorcist cries out: "Evil spirits from the east, I send back to
the east; evil spirits from the south, I send back to the south," and so
on. Finally, he goes to the door of the house, and, after making some
mystical signs in the air, manoeuvres with his sword, congratulates the
owner of the establishment on the expulsion of the ghosts, and demands
his fee.
In China the sword is generally deemed to have psychic properties, and
is often to be seen suspended over a bed to scare away ghosts. Sometimes
a horse's tail--a horse being also considered extremely psychic--or a
rag dipped in the blood from a criminal's head, are used for the same
purpose. But no matter how many, or how varied, the precautions we take,
ghosts will come, and nothing will drive them away. The only protection
I have ever found to be of any practical value in preventing them from
materialising is a powerful light. As a rule they cannot stand _that_,
and whenever I have turned a pocket flashlight on them, they have at
once dematerialised; often, however, materialising again immediately the
light has been turned off.
The cock was, at one time, (and still is in some parts of the world)
regarded as a psychic bird; it being thought that phantasms invariably
took their departure as soon as it began to crow. This, however, is a
fallacy. As ghosts appear at all hours of the day and night, in season
and out of season, I fear it is only too obvious that their
manifestations cannot be restricted within the limits of any particular
time, and that their coming and going, far from being subject to the
crowing of a cock, however vociferous, depend entirely on themselves.