Victorian Magic
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"The Art of Magic" by Alexander Herrmann "The magician depends for the success of his art upon the credulity of the people. Whatever mystifies, excites curiosity; whatever in turn baffles this curiosity, works the marvelous."
Robert-Houdin and the Spiritualists "Houdin announced that the spirit was present and in the box, and by way of proof put the question point-blank to the box, which answered by raps. In this manner all sorts of answers were spelled out by the obliging spirit."
"High Caste Indian Magic" by Harry Kellar "Fifteen years spent in India and the far East have convinced me that the high caste fakirs, or magicians, of Northern India have probably discovered natural laws of which we in the West are ignorant."
The Davenport Brothers "The Davenport Brothers are believed to have a mission, but the mission which underlies the untying of ropes, and the blowing of trumpets, can hardly be worth the serious attention of intelligent human beings."
"Medicine Men" by Harry Kellar "There were no ghosts in the Indian country. There was one Great Spirit who ruled the world and was worshiped by all red men of all tribes. The medicine men were the priests or only mediums of communication with the Great Spirit."
"The Magician and the Czar" by Alexander Herrmann "I consider the trick of restoring the shattered mirror as my most famous one. This I had the honor of performing before the Czar of Russia upon an invitation to give an exhibition at his court."
The Rochester Rappers "Here might be evidence of a power equal to the loftiest pretension of magnetic clairvoyance, and certainly out of the course of everyday phenomena."
"Native American Magic" by Harry Kellar "To the Indian, medicine means mystery; it is the essential element of his religion and has a sacred and solemn significance which has for generations guarded its secrets from the curious and unworthy."
"The Magician and the Sultan" by Alexander Herrmann "Constantinople spoke of nothing but 'Herrmann, the Great.' In every kiosk, on every street, and in every bazaar there was nothing talked of but the wizard.""The Moqui Snake Dance" by Harry Kellar "If this power of the Moqui Indians to make companions of venomous rattlesnakes, to toss them about at will and to join with them in the mad whirl of a dance is not magic, what is it?"
The Fox Sisters "During the summer and autumn of 1849, it began to be whispered about that communications from the spirits of the departed had been and were being received in the city of Rochester, N.Y. - the alleged mediums being three sisters."
"Levitation" by Harry Kellar "The Sultan of Zanzibar described to me and asked me to duplicate the feat of the witch doctors of the east coast of Africa and of Borneo, who, he believed, projected their astral bodies at will, with the curious additional power of imparting to the astral image an aspect so hideous and terrifying that its appearance to human eyes could actually destroy life itself."
Daniel D. Home, the Celebrated Medium "A short time ago the daily papers reported the death of the celebrated medium Daniel D. Home, whose health was known to be in a very precarious condition. Instead, however, of having departed for the spirit-land, he still lives."
"The Whirling Fakirs of Calcutta" by Harry Kellar "The old man and his three assistants whirled faster and faster, with a rhythmic motion. Suddenly, to our great astonishment, we became aware that there was only one form visible, that of the old man."
Dr. Von Vleck, the Spiritual Medium Detective "Dr. Von Vleck will perform and fully explain the 'wonderful manifestations' exhibited by the Davenport Brothers, Dr. Slade, the Fox family and other notorious professional mediums.
Spiritualistic Humbugs "The believers in spiritualism flatter themselves that they are the pioneers in a new field of discovery, and they consider all who do not believe in this humbug, as conservative and so behind the progress of our age that they can not see the truth."
"Fakirs of the East" by Harry Kellar "With horrible contortions and the appearance of great agony, which the old fakir assured us was only an appearance, his assistant returned to the land of the living."
Tags: victorian, victorian age, spiritualism, fox sisters
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