"When at Miss Helen Berry's seance, a few days later, I had the assurance made doubly sure that she was not a…
- Date of account
- Published 1885
- Source
- Materialized apparitions: if not beings from another life, what are they
- Reference
- Materialized apparitions: if not beings from another life, what are they · selected passage 80
- Rights
- public_domain
- Language
- English
- Record updated
- 2026-08-24
Record summary
"When at Miss Helen Berry's seance, a few days later, I had the assurance made doubly sure that she was not a being of earth, by seeing, about three feet from the cabinet, a small, white, cloud-like substance expand until it was four or five feet high, when suddenly from it the full, round, sylph-like form of Bertha st…
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"When at Miss Helen Berry's seance, a few days later, I had the assurance made doubly sure that she was not a being of earth, by seeing, about three feet from the cabinet, a small, white, cloud-like substance expand until it was four or five feet high, when suddenly from it the full, round, sylph-like form of Bertha stepped forward. Seeing her little cousin and namesake (Bertha Brackett, nine years old), she took both the child's hands in hers, drew her from her chair, and, after greeting her affectionately, led her playfully across the room to where we were sitting. There I studied every lineament of her face. Her hair had all the warmth and glossiness of that of a healthy girl of eighteen. She said to me, 'Don't you think I am very strong to-day?' and, putting both hands in mine, allowed me to caress and converse with her freely. 'Do you remember you materialized a rose for me last week?' I asked.
Historical context
Contextual commentary · mention onlyThis is a historical account assembled under the reporting and publishing conventions of its period. It may preserve testimony, hearsay, retelling and editorial interpretation together.
Modern context
Contextual commentary · mention onlyA modern comparison can identify recurring descriptions and possible explanations, but the account is not treated as independently verified evidence merely because it appeared in print.
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