The Coulomb affair and the shrine controversy at Adyar

Record summary

Emma and Alexis Coulomb, formerly associated with the Theosophical Society, published allegations that Helena Blavatsky’s phenomena had been staged through concealed doors and practical mechanisms at the Adyar headquarters. The controversy followed a rupture within the Society and became one of the most important nineteenth-century challenges to Theosophical miracle claims. It offers a useful comparison between alleged occult production, insider testimony, institutional defensiveness, and hostile exposure. The surviving accounts differ in motive, access, and evidentiary weight, so reconstruction requires consulting contemporary documents rather than later summaries alone.