Research source

At every seance there are more or less clandestine visitors, who shrink from letting their best friends know…

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 106
Rights: public_domain
Language: English
Record updated: 2026-08-24

Record summary

At every seance there are more or less clandestine visitors, who shrink from letting their best friends know anything about it

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

At every seance there are more or less clandestine visitors, who shrink from letting their best friends know anything about it. At one, I met an old acquaintance, who was surprised to find me there, and begged me not to give him away. He had obtained a seat under an assumed name, partially as a test, he said, but mainly on account of his position in society; he did not care to be known to visit such places. In the course of the seance, a beautiful female form came briskly out into the middle of the room, and, stretching her arms toward him, said, "Father!" As he did not respond, the controlling spirit, calling him by name, said, "that lady is for you!" He stepped forward, and, to his astonishment, found that it was his daughter. He said afterward that the recognition was perfect. This was his first seance, and, unless Materialization becomes popular, it may be his last. That he told his wife about it there seems to be no doubt, as she has been a frequent visitor ever since.

Historical context

Contextual commentary · mention only

This 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 only

A 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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