A short account of its rise and progress, with some exposures of so-called spirit media.
Excerpt from the preface:
In writing this I have no intention of hurting the feelings of the many amiable persons possessing this peculiar faith; but I shall not hesitate to ridicule the - to ordinary minds - absurd doctrines inculcated by their leaders, or to lay bare the miserable deceptions of the mediumistic craft.
I am convinced that many adherents of this so-called religion are "impressed" with the truth of the doctrines on very unsatisfactory grounds, that they are frequently in ignorance of its origin, and almost always of the goal to which it is tending. In this belief I have drawn facts from many sources (in all cases giving my authorities), to form a short account of the rise and progress of this "New Gospel;" of the wide divergence of opinion amongst "the faithful" as to what may or may not be accepted; of the credulity of its most distinguished followers; of the lives of its best-known leaders; and the exposures of many of its accredited agents, in which latter branch I may perhaps be allowed to speak with some authority, having succeeded in dethroning several of the genus "medium."
- PREFACE
- CHAPTER I. THE OLD, OLD LOVE. Spiritualism - Light Séances in the Dark Ages - Old-fashioned Spirits - The Cock Lane Ghost - The Shaker Craze - New Ghosts for Old Ones - Science and the "Pantheon" - Spiritualism v. the Bible.
- CHAPTER II. THE SHAKERS' LESSON. The Poughkeepsie Seer - Birth, Parentage, and Education - A "pleasing mystical circumstance" - "Stumping the Provinces" - The Principles of Nature - Trance Poetry - Visits to the Spheres - Predictions - The "New Gospel" started.
- CHAPTER III. THE ROCHESTER KNOCKINGS. The Corner Stone of the "Pantheon" - Amencan Rapper-ees - Lively Bed-"ticking" - "Old Splitfoot" - "Murder will out" - Grave doubts - Profitable Spirits - Rapid resumé of Rapping Theories - A queer Fish - Mediumistic Babies.
- CHAPTER IV. THE MYSTIC SENSITIVE. An infant Daniel - "Furniture removed at the shortest notice" - "Daniel" visits England - A fig for the Scientists - "Daniel" takes his walks abroad - Bed-chamber Manifestations - Marriage - "How to make Home happy" - The shining light snuffed out at Rome - Pen-and-ink Sketches of "Daniel" - Elongation - "Airy Daniel" - "Sludge the Medium."
- CHAPTER V. "DANIEL" IN THE LYON'S DEN. The Trials of a "disinterested" Medium - A Home Ruler (of the Spirits) receives a cheque - A dead Lyon's Ghost - "Danny" and his "darling Mother" - "Home, sweet Home" - "Them high folks" - "Pickles is good!" - "Daniel" come to Judgment - The Ortonian Theory - A Song of the Day.
- CHAPTER VI. THE JUGGLING GEMINI! Buffalo Boys - Dancing Crockery - "George Brown" - "Making tracks" - An unfortunate Investigator - A "dare-devil" - Crossing the "Herring Pond" - The Gemini in London - "Punch" and the "Boys" - Discoveries and Exposures - "Fresh fields and pastures new."
- CHAPTER VII. OUR SPIRIT GUIDES. Music Hall Ditties - Lindley Murray - A Fighting Spirit - A Dutch Ghost - Rifle v. Spirit (Mask) - "Mailed in the Iron Box" - Music of the Angels - "Home Quiet, Peace, and Blessed Love!" - A Harris-ing Picture.
- CHAPTER VIII. THE MEDIUMISTIC CRAFT. What is a Medium? - Artemus Ward's idea of "Sperrit Rappers" - Dangers of Investigation - The "Spirits' Home" - Trance Media - Lying Oracles - Writing Media - Dot your "i's" - Spirit Painting - A Conference in Bloomsbury - Spiritual Quacks.
- CHAPTER IX. THE INVASION OF THE MEDIA. Early Professors - The "great wave" of Spiritualism - The "almighty Dollar" - Place aux Dames - Aerial Transition - Illusionists v. the Rival "Doctors" - Two of a trade never agree - A Mediumistic Monck - The Black Art in the Isle of Wight - A Travelling Representative - "The Poor Player" - "Washee-washee" - Sad about Mr. Cooper! - Lake Pleasant - "Grotesque rencontres" - The People's Garden - A Spirit Navvy - Spiritualism like an Inkstand! - A Testimonial of "Brass!" - "Airy Daniel" and Dark Séances, "Admirable for a flirtation" - Mr. Williams "at home."
- CHAPTER X. A FEW EXPOSURES. Gentle Showers - "Lost Lenore" - Sugar-candy - Spirits Moulting! - Miss S.'s chignon - A Poet "King" - An "Indescribable" Being described - "Sweet William, the Carpenter" - The Mysteries of a Dark Séance - A little Blonde's taper Digits - A "Seeing" Medium - "Sweet William" finds a Rival Carpenter - "The RING of all the best Mediums!" - Bastian and Taylor - My Grandmother! - A lucid Description - A Holland's Gin (Trap) - Investigating "Blackguards" - "Foregone Conclusions and Ignorance" - Spirit Photos - Ghosts ad lib. "Come like Shadows" - Double Exposures - A Trial for the Photographers - Butter-cloth Egerton - "Jack Tod," the Liverpool Spirit - Virtue and "Vice" go hand in hand - Serious Thoughts.
- CHAPTER XI. POOR "JOHN KING!" A Materialization Theory - "John's" Earth-Life - A Bold Buccaneer - "A Pal of his"! - "The Boss"! - A "Jolly" Spirits' Song - "Baths and Bottled Stout" - Hair-brushing by Machinery - The Usual Failing! - Houndsditch Spirits - "A Professional Impostor" - "Coloured Auras" - A Flighty Medium - The Last of "John King" - Spirit Conjurors.
- CHAPTER XII. "SWEET KATEY KING!" Little Florrie - "Dialectical" Whiskers - The Professor - "Lights down" - Enter "Katey King" - Photographing a Spirit - A "Scientist" far gone - "Sittingfor Faces" - A little faux pas - Katey in America - Her "Earth-life" History - The little Widow - Mrs. Holmesis "cick" - "Sweet Katey King" - The Philadelphia collapse.
- CHAPTER XIII. ODDS AND ENDS. The Fourth Estate - Ghostly forms - Stone-throwing Spirits - "No Spiritual Organ pays" - Tweedledum and Tweedledee! - The Progress of Fanaticism - The Spiritual Army - Horace Greeley on the Constitution - The Lost Bird - Wonderful Shadows! - A poor Judge! - A Villa in the Spheres - The "Screechy Chair" - Poor Owen! - "Iota" - Scientific Investigation - Serjeant Cox on Materialization - A Prop to the "Pantheon" - Early Crookean views - Blind Faith v. Precaution - An F.R.S.'s Investigations - The "Dialecticals" - "To Proprietors of Haunted Houses."
- CHAPTER XIV. "THE PANTHEON OF PROGRESS."
1st edition 1876, 182 pages; PDF 115 pages.
word count: 52693 which is equivalent to 210 standard pages of text
