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NOTE BY E. J. DINGWALL: Mr. Feilding's attention
had been called to the activities of Mr. Christopher Chambers through the
eulogistic accounts of his activities which were appearing in the British
Spiritualist press in 1905. He was exposed performing the same kind of puerile
tricks as here described at least six times; and in 1919 when giving his
performance under the auspices of the Walthamstow Spiritualist Church in London
he promised not to offend again. The article by Mr. Theobald mentioned in the
account was entitled "Mediumship and Fraud" and appeared in Light on
December 30, 1905, pp. 614-615.
REPORTS APPEARED in Light in the early part of 1905 of a "materialising"
medium, Mr. Christopher Chambers, who had been giving sittings in Huddersfield
and other northern towns. Later in the year his performances became notorious
through press reports in several of the Newcastle papers; among these reports
was one of an exposure which took place on October 14th, 1905, as reported in
the Newcastle Daily Chronicle of October 17th. According to a statement
which we obtained from Mr. Arthur T. Neale of Newcastle, who played the
principal part in this exposure, Mr. Neale, whose suspicions had been aroused at
a previous séance, went to the sitting with two electric lamps, which could be
turned up at any moment, and when one of the forms came out he turned the light
suddenly on to it, and revealed Mr. Chambers dressed in a sheet, wearing a false
moustache and a paper turban in the character of an Oriental. He drew back the
curtain of the cabinet, and found on the chair the trousers, socks, and boots of
the medium. Mr. Easthope, who had arranged for the sitting, returned the money
to the sitters, and wrote to the Newcastle Daily Chronicle that Mr.
Chambers had been "caught red-handed at my meeting on Saturday, October 14, by
one of the sitters, the medium being found dressed up as a spirit form, much to
the horror and disgust of the sitters present."
After this, some of the spiritualists at Newcastle arranged for a series of test
sittings with Mr. Chambers, in the hope that some evidence might be given of
genuine phenomena. Their report, however, was that the proceedings were quite
inconclusive, since, the medium having been adequately fastened inside the
cabinet, no forms emerged from it. Mr. W. H. Robinson, who had arranged for
these sittings, confirmed in a letter to us the report of their unsatisfactory
nature, adding "I found him [Mr. Chambers] worthless as a medium and duly
informed the spiritual press, but no notice was taken."
At this period a photograph was circulated, representing Mr. Chambers with an
alleged "spirit form" in the background, this form representing his supposed
control, "Lottie." Not only does an examination of the photograph show obviously
suspicious features, but the photographer, Mr. James Wallace of Newcastle,
afterwards sent a letter to the Newcastle Daily Chronicle of November
30th, 1905, through his solicitors, confessing that he had prepared the plate by
getting a young lady to pose as a ghost, and had subsequently taken the
photograph of Mr. Chambers on the same plate. This has since been confirmed to
us in a letter from Mrs. Wallace, who states that the whole thing had been
intended by her husband merely as a joke at Mr. Chambers' expense.
Mr. Chambers, professing himself anxious after this to re-establish his
reputation, arranged through a gentleman in the north of England, who was known
to us and had previously given us a favourable report of him, to give a few
sittings to the Society for Psychical Research, on condition that nothing should
be paid to him, either for the sittings or for his expenses, unless, in the
judgment of the officials of the Society, conclusive evidence was afforded of
supernormal agency: also that should materialised forms appear, he would consent
to his own person being reasonably examined by the sitters, in order to verify
that he and the apparition were separate existences; provided that neither the
apparition nor the medium should be suddenly clutched while the phenomena were
going on.
On this agreement, which he signed before coming, Mr. Chambers travelled to
London, and four sittings were held in the Rooms of the Society for Psychical
Research on December 12th, 13th, 15th, and 16th, being arranged for by Mr.
Feilding, Mr. Baggally, Colonel Taylor and Miss Johnson, who were generally
present; the other sitters being invited by them, and being mostly members of
the Society, except that Mr. Chambers brought a friend with him, though
unauthorised to do so, on three occasions.
At the first sitting the medium went into a cabinet, and purported to become
entranced, when he spoke in a voice slightly different from his ordinary one,
but not suggesting any more alteration than could easily have been produced at
will. Two or three forms appeared, one a man with a short black beard (Mr.
Chambers himself wearing only a moustache), who stepped out of the Cabinet and
bowed several times, holding out his left arm at full length. Mr. Baggally, who
sat next to the cabinet, could see that only the front part of the form was
draped, while on its back was visible the back of the medium's waistcoat, he
having apparently taken off his coat. Later, a short form, supposed to be that
of a child, was seen in the opening just within the curtains; this appeared
merely as a vague white shape with no distinct arms or head. The light in the
room was provided by a single electric lamp closely shrouded in red paper, so as
to give extremely little light. There was no feature in the phenomena to suggest
anything but deliberate personation of "spirit forms" by the medium.
The second sitting on December 13th was practically a repetition of the first,
the "forms" being, if anything, rather less distinct, owing to the medium
insisting on still less light. Contrary to the stipulation in the agreement, no
opportunity was afforded for examining the medium during the appearance of the
"spirit forms".
At the third sitting, on December 15th, Mr. Chambers was accompanied by Mr. John
Lobb, a gentleman who is well known for his interest in spiritualistic
phenomena. On this occasion, at the medium's own suggestion, he was tied in a
wicker arm-chair with some objects disposed on the floor near him, and he stated
that these or perhaps himself in his chair might possibly be levitated over the
heads of the sitters. The tying was performed by Mr. Baggally and another
gentleman, both expert in such matters, and at Mr. Chambers's request the room
was made completely dark. Nothing at all happened except that during the sitting
Mr. Chambers, on whose back a small luminous patch had (without his knowledge)
been affixed, so that his whereabouts could be ascertained, was observed
gradually to work himself along into close proximity to the objects disposed
upon the floor. Possibly because when he got there he found that on account of
the security with which he was tied he could do nothing with them, he worked
himself partly back again.
The fourth sitting, on December 16th, was again one for "materialisations." The
electric lamp, shaded with red paper, was again used, and gave a slightly better
light than before. The sitters were arranged in the usual horse-shoe in front of
the cabinet, Mr. Feilding and Mr. Baggally being seated respectively at the ends
of the horse-shoe nearest the cabinet. After some conversation and a speech by
the supposed control, "Lottie," the medium went into the cabinet, and some time
later some vague white forms were seen, one appearing like a white figure
materialising from below, the drapery rising gradually from the floor between
the division in the curtains, till the form appeared fully draped. It having
been over and over again pointed out to the medium that, while the committee had
no intention of violating their agreement not to seize the "spirit form," the
mere appearance of such a form could not be regarded as evidential unless
opportunity was afforded of ascertaining that while the form was outside the
cabinet the medium himself was inside, Mr. Chambers, after the return of the
form into the cabinet, withdrew part of the curtain and revealed himself sitting
in the chair and moving about to prove that it was really himself, and a white
form to his right. He probably miscalculated the quantity of light, for it was
perfectly clear to those seated near the cabinet that the form was merely a
piece of white drapery held in his right hand and waved about in a very far from
realistic manner. Later, an attempt was made to simulate the gradual
materialisation upwards of a spirit form by slowly raising a piece of white
muslin gauze between the division of the curtains, which had now been drawn
together, the action being again perfectly obvious to those seated near the
cabinet.
Afterwards a completely draped form, the mouth of which was also covered with
drapery (Mr. Chambers wearing a moustache), came out of the cabinet into the
room. On being asked by the sitters to shake hands, it offered its left hand to
each of them, and would not allow the right hand to be seen or touched, Mr.
Chambers having lost three of the fingers of his right hand. On being asked
whether it was the deceased wife of one of the sitters, the form bowed assent.
As it advanced into the room Mr. Baggally and Mr. Feilding saw the black
trousers of the medium behind it, the drapery only covering the front part.
After this form had retired a man with a black beard was seen, but no further
opportunity for reasonable examination was permitted.
At the end of the sitting Mr. Feilding and Mr. Baggally informed the medium of
what they had seen, and that they had no doubt that drapery and a false beard
were concealed about him. He denied absolutely that this was so, or that he had
taken any part in producing the phenomena. They then asked him to allow himself
to be searched in the adjoining room, but he declined. Mr. Lobb admitted the
reasonableness of their request, and did his utmost to persuade the medium to
accede to it, stating that if it was from motives of modesty that Mr. Chambers
objected, he himself would consent to a similar operation in order to put him
entirely at his ease. Mr. Chambers, however, persisted in his refusal, and
presently took his leave. While he did not in terms confess to any fraud, he
promised that he would give no more sittings, but would in future seek his
living in a more honest kind of work. It is understood, however, that he has
since resumed his operations in the north of England, where doubtless an
enthusiastic band of earnest believers will, as usual, in the face of all
evidence, continue to support his séances.
(Signed)
W. W. Baggally
Alice Johnson
Everard Feilding (present at last three sittings)
Le M. Taylor (present at first two sittings)
John Lobb (present at last two sittings)
Note:
The
article above was taken from "Sittings with Eusapia Palladino and Other Studies"
(New York: University Books, 1963), but was originally published in the
Journal of the Society for Psychical Research, vol. 12, 1905.
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