Daniel Dunglas Home
Daniel Dunglas Home ( born March 20, 1833 in Currie near Edinburgh, Scotland, † June 21, 1886 ) was a Scottish magician and a spiritual medium, which is considered among fans as one of the most important psychokinesis media of the Victorian age.
He became famous by parading apparently paranormal feats such as levitation of people and objects, fire resistance and hallucinations. He astonished over 35 years friends, acquaintances and friends, which included the nobility and heads of state.
Early life
Daniel Dunglas Home was, as an illegitimate son of the tenth Earl of Home was born 1833 in Currie, near Edinburgh, from his own testimony. From his mother he wants to have inherited the " second face".
Home grew up with his aunt, Mary Cook, on a slightly neurotic and sickly child. He learned only six years to go, suffered from recurrent paralysis, nervousness and amnesia. At age nine, he moved with the family of his aunt to America. At age 13, he is said to have dreamed of a spirit, which he interpreted as a bad omen regarding the fate of a friend who died shortly afterwards. Four years later, he thought he perceive the spirit of his dead mother, and, when he perceived not localizable knocking, he interpreted this as otherworldly contact attempts deceased (see Poltergeist ). The superstitious family of aunt thought he was in league with the devil and put him in front of the door.
Home turned to spiritualism, which was very popular in America in these years and held regular séances gratuitous. He lived on the donations of its patrons. Home managed to put the audience through inexplicable levitation of objects and people, knocking noises for no apparent reason and by touching by invisible hands in surprise. He quickly gained fame and reputation and decided to return to England.
Careers in Europe
Home returned in 1855 as a talented magician and medium back to England. He is described as cultured, tall, slender man with blue eyes and auburn hair. In his shows, he led in daylight before his alleged paranormal activity and demonstrated telekinetic abilities.
Early guests of his séances included the scientist David Brewster, the authors Edward Bulwer -Lytton and Anthony Trollope, the socialist Robert Owen. Later he also held séances at the court of Napoleon III. from. Queen Sophie of the Netherlands wrote about the experience with home: "I saw him four times ... I felt a hand turned / down pressed my finger; I saw a heavy golden bell that wandered alone from one person to another; I saw my handkerchief, as it moved alone and with a knot returned to me ... although he himself is a pale, slightly sickly -looking, rather handsome young man, but without an appearance that fascinate one at first sight or discourage would. It is wonderful. I'm so glad I 've seen it. "
In Paris was Helena Blavatsky Homes assistant.
Prince Metternich tried in vain to expose his Levitationsexperimente and poltergeist phenomena as trick, including Home also encouraged other researchers. Home could be its operating and business secrets not elicit what the poet Robert Browning did not prevent him to a séance in 1864, in a poem about a fraudulent medium vain, entitled "Mr. To mock Sludge the Medium " indirectly what has fueled rumors, Browning Home 've been exposed as frauds.
1866 adopted the rich widow Mrs. Lyon home as her son and invested £ 60,000 in an obvious attempt to gain prestige in the higher society. When she realized that this step did not contribute to enhance their social position, she regretted her decision and obtained a court action repayment by Home. Despite the press, which is now ridiculed with joy over him, and the events that occurred, he lost not only important friend.
One of his best and closest friends got home in 1867 know, the later fourth Earl of Dunraven, the young Lord Viscount Adare. This was intrigued by Home and documented the séances in which he was present.
In December 1868 Home of Lord Adare, Charles Wynn and the Master of Lindsay was observed as he flew on the 3rd floor of Buckingham Gate No. 5 from a window and by a seven foot distant window back into the room came.
In 1871 he visited St. Petersburg, where he held seances before the Emperor Alexander II.
Homes Away, Children and death
In 1858 he married in St. Petersburg 17- year-old daughter of a noble Russian family, Alexandria, Countess of Kroll. She gave birth to a son, Gregoire, and a daughter, who still died in infancy. 1862, his wife died of tuberculosis. Unsuccessfully he tried to get to her death on the assets.
In 1871 he married Julie de Gloumeline, also a wealthy Russian lady he had met in Saint Petersburg. He converted to the Greek Orthodox faith, and spent her years of his life. His second wife was a relative of the leading Russian spiritualists Count Alexander Nikolayevich Aksakow ( 1832-1903 ).
At the age of 38 years he retired, suffering from tuberculosis, from the public and professional life back. On June 21, 1886 Home died as a result of advanced tuberculosis. He was buried next to his daughter in the cemetery of St. Germain -en- laye.
Charlatan or medium?
Published in 1891 a former employee Homes, who appeared as an alleged " medium " in his shows, his remorseful Revelations ( Revelations ). Among the secrets divulged was among other things a description of the method by which it managed to Home to carry hot coals in his hand and bathe his face in the fire.
Home, like many other media of his time in the implementation of direct voice séances, in which the offset into a trance medium speaking with the voice of a deceased person convicted of imposture. A court acquitted Home guilty of " ghost voices " self- generated and cheated a woman Lyon to 24,000 British pounds to have.
Arthur Conan Doyle reported that Home had the audience can hear ghostly voices in his "ghost shows," let's talk by itself spirits in a trance, I can see light and allow physical body levitate. Home accusing materialization media ( such as the Eddy Brothers), who claimed to be able to materialize solid spirit forms of fraud.
1877 Home described in two chapters of his book "Lights and Shadows of Spiritualism " in detail some tricks that fraudulent mediums anwandten.
Frank Podmore and Milbourne Christopher later led to many opportunities, such as home, the effects that are mentioned in reports on him by deception could have.
Contrary to the allegations, home led all seances at full light through, say other witnesses, he had worked in dark light ". The room was very dark ... Homes hands were barely visible as a faint white heap "
The light conditions during most famous Homes Levitation, those in which he floated back out the window and were often debated. Some witnesses described that it was dark even at these demonstrations. Lord Adare reported that Home " out now and then swung pure" in horizontal position. "He ( Home) came back inside ( through the window ), feet first, and we returned to the other room. It was so dark, so I could not see how he was supported (outside the building ). " Furthermore Podmore writes that home with a partner worked together, which always sat opposite him at the seances.
Between 1870 and 1873 Home was mainly observed by the physicist William Crookes, who usually performed the tests at light in our own laboratory. Crookes thinks himself to be able to vouch for levitation at least 50. All tests were carried out in good light and floated at each Levitation home at least five to seven feet (about 150-210 cm) above the floor. Podmore says: " We all saw him from the floor to a height of six inches ( about 15 cm) rise, where he stayed 10 seconds and fell back slowly. "
Furthermore Crookes checked this again and again suddenly and for no apparent reason occurring games eg an accordion, which was repeatedly sounded the tune of " Home, Sweet Home." He documented weight changes in objects and people and reported to him once a hand from the tabletop have been coming over flowers without that he had noticed a tricky technical apparatus.
William Crookes led to a total of three subjects experiments to verify their credibility: Florence Cook, Kate Fox and Daniel Dunglas Home. In his final report, he confirmed the authenticity of all three media. This result was considered by the scientific institutions as worthless. The quality of the studies is particularly affected by the fact that Cook and Fox later turned out to be impostors interior, which also confer on Home and Crookes.
Home against Magicians
Even professional animators rubbed at Home: John Henry Anderson, best known British magician of his time, had chosen as his mortal enemy home, but its effects could explain as little as Nevil Maskelyne John later. Four decades after death Homes Antispiritist Harry Houdini announced plans to replicate its effects, selbiges remained guilty. Trick Technological theories represents Gordon Stein, whose book " The Sorcerer of Kings " (1993) James Randi contributed a foreword. Most of the effects of home differed significantly from those of other necromancers and were not adapted from this. It remains entirely unclear where the originating from a humble home could have learned the art of deception, their quality had stock before the critical eyes of scientists, magicians and of Home provoked by his public declarations esoteric trick fraudsters.