That Other World
Personal Experiences of Mystics and Their Mysticism

An investigation into fraudulent spiritualist practices by a leading mind-reader who eschewed any connection with the supernatural world.

Stuart C. Cumberland (Author)

9781108028516, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 2 June 2011

260 pages
21.6 x 14 x 1.5 cm, 0.34 kg

Although Stuart Cumberland (1857–1922) was renowned for his mind-reading skills, he was a staunch critic of related spiritualist practices. He claimed that many séances and other events that he had seen confirmed his suspicions that 'the chief basis of the movement was money-making'. So he decided to launch his own campaign to uncover the truth about the methods of spirit-mediums, and in this work, published in 1918, he explains many mediums' tricks, such as making tables move using special silk thread, not spiritual aid. He lectured about the subject in places ranging from Cambridge University to Lambeth Palace, and attributed his own success to his ability to read muscle movement, rather than any supernatural communication. Providing a fascinating picture of the changing spiritualist movement, this work illustrates the extent of the social and political influence of some spiritualists, but also how credibility about their practices was being challenged.

1. By way of introduction
2. Monarchs and mystics
3. Concerning 'spirit forms'
4. Physical phenomena
5. Clairvoyant claims and chicaneries
6. Spirit photography
7. Trance and transcript mediums
8. Subjective visions and false sensorial impressions
9. The possibilities and impossibilities of thought transference
10. The unseen hand in the unseen world?' 11. Mystic odds and ends
12. By way of conclusion.

Subject Areas: History of ideas [JFCX]