Research source

[L] I had originally written "impossible," but a critic of my "Riddle of Personality," in which this point was…

Date of account: Published 1908
Source: Historic Ghosts and Ghost Hunters
Reference: Historic Ghosts and Ghost Hunters · selected passage 80
Rights: public_domain
Language: English
Record updated: 2026-08-24

Record summary

[L] I had originally written "impossible," but a critic of my "Riddle of Personality," in which this point was taken up, has convinced me that "absurd" is the better word

Published source text

Read the available text below. Archive transcriptions may contain OCR errors; later context is labelled separately. A recorded claim is not a finding that it happened.

Source passage

Source text · mention only

[L] I had originally written "impossible," but a critic of my "Riddle of Personality," in which this point was taken up, has convinced me that "absurd" is the better word. The critic in question writes: "what evidence has the author that an apparition of the living is not a spirit? Why may not the spirit of the living person have left his body and appeared to his friend? Such is the view of many people, and it coincides with certain phenomena in dreams." But, to raise only one objection: If the apparition appear at a moment when the person seen is actively engaged elsewhere--it may be in writing a book, or preaching a sermon--what is it that is seen, and what is it that is writing or preaching? Is the "spirit" present in both places at the same time--in the shadowy apparition, and in the living, breathing, busily-occupied human entity?

Historical context

Contextual commentary · mention only

This comes from historical psychical research. Methods, witness handling and standards of evidence differ from present-day research and should be assessed from the cited passage and edition.

Modern context

Contextual commentary · mention only

The passage can support a history of claims and recurring descriptions. It does not establish a paranormal mechanism, and competing psychological, social and physical explanations remain relevant.

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