Daniel Dunglas Home
Encyclopedia
Daniel Dunglas Home (March 20, 1833 – June 21, 1886) was a Scottish
physical medium
with the reported ability to levitate to a variety of heights, speak with the dead, and to produce rapping and knocks in houses at will. His biographer Peter Lamont opines that he was one of the most famous men of his era. Harry Houdini
described him as 'one of the most conspicuous and lauded of his type and generation'. Home conducted hundreds of séances
, which were attended by many eminent Victorians.
There were speculations and one recorded eyewitness account by F. Merrifield in the Journal of Psychical Research describing conjuring methods and fraud that Home may have employed.
in Scotland, as were many of her predecessors, like her great uncle Colin Uruqhart, and her uncle Mr. McKenzie. The gift of second sight
was often seen as a curse
, as it foretold instances of tragedy and death. Home's father, William Home, was the illegitimate son of Alexander, the 10th Earl of Home
. Evidence supports the elder Home's illegitimacy, as various payments meant for William were made by the 10th Earl. Elizabeth and William were married when he was 19-years old, and found employment at the Balerno paper mill
. The Homes moved into one of small houses built in the mill for the workforce, in Currie
(six miles south-west of Edinburgh). William was described as a "bitter, morose and unhappy man" who drank, and was often aggressive towards his wife. Elizabeth had eight children while living in the mill house: six sons and two daughters, although their lives were not fully recorded. The eldest, John, later worked in the Balerno mill and eventually managed a paper mill in Philadelphia, Mary drowned in a stream at 12-years old in 1846, and Adam died at sea at the age of 17 while on route to Greenland
, which Home says he saw in a vision and reportedly confirmed five months later.
, 3 miles (4.8 km) east of Edinburgh. According to Home, his cradle rocked by itself at the Cooks' house, and he had a vision of a cousin's death, who lived in Linlithgow
, to the west of Edinburgh.
as they could not afford a cabin. After landing in New York, the Cooks travelled to Greeneville
, near Norwich, Connecticut
. The red-haired
and freckle
d Home attended school in Greeneville, where he was known as "Scotchy" by the other students. The 13-year old Home did not join in sports games with other boys, preferring to take walks in the local woods with a friend called Edwin. The two boys read the Bible
to each other and told stories, and made a pact stating that if one or the other were to die, they would try and make contact after death. Home and his aunt soon moved to Troy, NY, which is about 155 miles (249.4 km) from Greeneville, although Home in his own book stated it was 300 miles (482.8 km) away. Home lost contact with Edwin until one night when Home, according to Lamont, saw a brightly lit vision of him standing at the foot of the bed, which gave Home the feeling that his friend was dead. Edwin made three circles in the air before disappearing, and a few days later a letter arrived stating that Edwin had died of malignant dysentery
, which was three days before Home's vision.
A few years later Home and his aunt returned to Greeneville, and Elizabeth Home emigrated from Scotland to America with the surviving members of the family to live in Waterford, Connecticut
, which was 12 miles (19.3 km) away from the Cook's house. Home and his mother's reunion was short-lived, as Elizabeth appeared to foretell her own death in 1850. Home said he saw his mother in a vision saying, "Dan, 12 o'clock", which was the time of her death. After Elizabeth's death Home turned to religion. His aunt was a Presbyterian, and held the Calvinist
view that one's fate has been decided, so Home embraced the Wesleyan
faith, which believed that every soul can be saved. Home's aunt resented Wesleyans so much that she forced Home to change to Congregationalist, which was not to her liking, either, but was more in line with her own religion. The house was reportedly disturbed by rappings and knocking similar to those that occurred two years earlier at the home of the Fox sisters
. Ministers were called to the Cooks' house: a Baptist, a Congregationalist, and even a Wesleyan minister, who all believed that Home was possessed by the Devil, although Home believed it was a gift from God. According to Home, the knocking did not stop, and a table started to move by itself, even though Home's aunt put a bible on it and then placed her full body weight on it. According to Lamont, the noises did not stop and were attracting the unwanted attention of Cook's neighbours, so Home was told to leave the house.
The 18-year old Home stayed with a friend in Willimantic, Connecticut, and later Lebanon, Connecticut
. Home held his first séance in March 1851, which was reported in a Hartford newspaper managed by W. R. Hayden, who wrote that the table moved without anyone touching it, and kept moving when Hayden physically tried to stop it. After the newspaper report, Home became well-known in New England
, travelling around healing the sick and communicating with the dead, although he wrote that he was not prepared for this sudden change in his life because of his supposed shyness.
Home never directly asked for money, although he lived very well on gifts, donations and lodging from wealthy admirers. He felt that he was on a "mission to demonstrate immortality", and wished to interact with his clients as one gentleman to another, rather than as an employee. In 1852, Home was a guest at the house of Rufus Elmer in Springfield, Massachusetts
, giving séances six or seven times a day, which were visited by crowds of people, including a Harvard professor, David Wells, and the poet and editor of the New York Evening Post, William Cullen Bryant
. They were all convinced of Home's credibility and wrote to the Springfield Republican
newspaper stating that the room was well lit, full inspections were allowed, and said, "We know that we were not imposed upon nor deceived". It was also reported that at one of Home's demonstrations five men of heavy build (with a combined weight of 850 pounds) sat on a table, but it still moved, and others saw "a tremulous phosphorescent light gleam over the walls". Home was investigated by numerous people, such as Professor Robert Hare
, the inventor of the oxy-hydrogen blowpipe, and John Worth Edmonds, a Supreme Court
judge, who were sceptical, but later said they believed Home was not fraudulent.
In his book, "Incidents in My Life", Home claims that on August 1852, in South Manchester
, Connecticut, at the house of Ward Cheney
, a successful silk manufacturer, he was reportedly seen to levitate twice and then rise to up to the ceiling, with louder rappings and knocking than ever before, more aggressive table movements and the sounds of a ship at sea in a storm, although persons present said that the room was badly lit so as to see the spirit lights.
New York was now interested in Home's abilities, so he moved to an apartment at Bryant Park
on 42nd street. His most verbal critic in New York was William Makepeace Thackeray
, the author of Vanity Fair. Thackeray dismissed Home's abilities as "dire humbug", and "dreary and foolish superstition", although Thackeray had been impressed when he saw a table turning. Home thought that Thackeray was "the most sceptical inquirer" he had ever met, and as Thackeray made his thoughts public, Home faced public scepticism and further scrutiny. Home travelled between Hartford, Springfield, and Boston
during the next few months, and settled in Newburgh
by the Hudson River
in the summer of 1853. He resided at the Theological Institute, but took no part in any of the theological discussions held there, as he wanted to take a course in medicine. Dr. Hull funded Home's studies, and offered to pay Home five dollars a day for his séances, but Home refused, as always. His idea was to fund his work with a legitimate salary by practicing medicine, but he became ill in early 1854, and stopped his studies. Home was diagnosed with Tuberculosis
, and his doctors recommended recuperation in Europe. His last séance was in March 1855, in Hartford, Connecticut, before he travelled to Boston and sailed to England on board the Africa, at the end of March.
, William Cox, who owned a large hotel at 53, 54 and 55 Jermyn Street, London. As Cox was so enamoured of Home's abilities, he let Home stay at the hotel without payment. Robert Owen
, an 83-year-old social reformer, was also staying at the hotel, and introduced Home to many of his friends in London society.
At the time Home described as tall and thin, with blue eyes and auburn hair, fastidiously dressed but seriously ill with consumption. Nevertheless, he held sittings for notable people in full daylight, moving objects that were some distance away. Some early guests at Home's sittings included the scientist Sir David Brewster (who remained unconvinced), the novelists Sir Edward Bulwer-Lytton and Thomas Adolphus Trollope
, and the Swedenborgian
James John Garth Wilkinson
. As well as Brewster, fellow scientists Michael Faraday
and Thomas Huxley
were prominent contemporary critics of Home's claims. It was the poet Robert Browning
however, who proved to be one of Home's most adamant critics. After attending a séance of Home's, Browning wrote in a letter to The Times
that: 'the whole display of hands, spirit utterances etc., was a cheat and imposture'. Browning gave his unflattering impression of Hume in the poem, "Sludge the Medium" (1864). His wife, Elizabeth Barrett Browning
, was convinced that the phenomena she witnessed was genuine and their discussions about Home were a constant source of disagreement. Frank Podmore
writes of a Mr Merrifield's first-hand account of experiencing Home's fraudulence during a séance.
Home's fame grew, fuelled by his ostensible feats of levitation. William Crookes
claimed to know of more than 50 occasions in which Home levitated "in good light" (gas light) at least five to seven feet above the floor. Homes' feats were recorded by Frank Podmore
: "We all saw him rise from the ground slowly to a height of about six inches, remain there for about ten seconds, and then slowly descend." In the following years Home travelled across continental Europe, and always as a guest of wealthy patrons. In Paris, he was summoned to the Tuileries to perform a séance for Napoleon III. Home also performed for Queen Sophia
of the Netherlands, who wrote: "I saw him four times...I felt a hand tipping my finger; I saw a heavy golden bell moving alone from one person to another; I saw my handkerchief move alone and return to me with a knot... He himself is a pale, sickly, rather handsome young man but without a look or anything which would either fascinate or frighten you. It is wonderful. I am so glad I have seen it..."
In 1866, Mrs Jane Lyon, a wealthy widow, adopted Home as her son, giving him £60,000 in an attempt to gain introduction into high society. Finding that the adoption did not change her social situation, Lyon changed her mind, and brought a suit for the return of her money from Home on the grounds that it had been obtained by spiritual influence. Under British law, the defendant bears the burden of proof in such a case, and proof was impossible since there was no physical evidence. The case was decided against Home, Mrs Lyon's money was returned, and the press pilloried Home's reputation. Home's high society acquaintances thought that he behaved like a complete gentleman throughout the ordeal, and he did not lose a single important friend.
Home met one of his future closest friends in 1867; the young Lord Adare (later the 4th Earl of Dunraven). Adare was fascinated by Home, and began documenting the seances they held. The following year, Home was said to have levitated out of the third storey window of one room, and back in through the window of the adjoining room in front of three witnesses (Adare, Captain Wynne, and Lord Lindsay).
. They had a son, Gregoire ("Grisha"), but Alexandria fell ill with tuberculosis, and died in 1862. In October 1871, Home married for the second, and last time, to Julie de Gloumeline, a wealthy Russian, whom he also met in St Petersburg. In the process, he converted to the Greek Orthodox
faith.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle stated that Home was unusual in that he had four different types of mediumship: direct voice (the ability to let spirits audibly speak); trance speaker (the ability to let spirits speak through oneself); clairvoyant (ability to see things that are out of view); and physical medium (moving objects at a distance, levitation, etc., which was the type of mediumship had no equal). Home was suspicious of any medium who claimed powers he himself did not possess, particularly the materializing mediums (such as the Eddy Brothers
), who claimed the ability to produce solid spirit forms, and he marked these as fraudulent. Since materializing mediums always work in darkened places, Home urged that all séances be held in the light. Home, in his 1877 book Lights and Shadows of Spiritualism, detailed the conjuring tricks employed by false mediums.
Lord Adare stated that Home "swung out and in" of a window in a horizontal position. "He [Home] came in [through the window] again, feet foremost, and we returned to the other room. It was so dark I could not see clearly how he was supported" [outside of the three story window]. Outside the house there is an extending ledge connecting the balconies of each described window. Frank Podmore
recorded that Home had a constant companion that sat opposite of him during his séances. A lady acted as a medium and used to help Home during the seances attended by Henrietta Ada Ward.
Between 1870 and 1873, chemist and physicist William Crookes
conducted experiments to determine the validity of the phenomena produced by three mediums: Florence Cook, Kate Fox
, and Home. Crookes' final report in 1874 concluded that the phenomena produced by all three mediums were genuine, a result which was roundly derided by the scientific establishment. Crookes recorded that he controlled and secured Home by placing his feet on the top of Home's feet. Crooke's method of foot control later proved inadequate when used with Eusapia Palladino
, as she merely slipped her foot out and in of her sturdy shoe. In addition, Crookes' motives, methods, and conclusions with regard to at least one other medium he studied have been called spurious, casting doubt on his conclusions about Home. Alexander von Boutlerow, Professor of Chemistry at the University of St. Petersburg and Home's brother-in-law, also obtained positive results in his tests of Home.
Frank Podmore
and Milbourne Christopher
provide a source of speculation on the ways in which Home could have duped his sitters. Some testimony suggests that Home often conducted his demonstrations in dim light. For example, there is this report from a witness: "The room was very dark...Home's hands were visible only as a faint white heap". The light conditions during Home's most famous feat of levitation were disputed, but some witnesses recorded that it was quite dark. Gordon Stein speculated on the deception of Crookes' testing devices (with diagrams) and gave a third-hand account of Home being caught with a vial of oil of Phosphorus. During a Crookes test when Home "is not touching with his hands." there are objects just lying beneath his hands that his fingertips are touching, a small match box and a small bell. The measuring arm of Crookes' gauge does not exactly "move." It trembles. it was reported by sitters and Crookes Home's accordion played only two pieces, Home Sweet Home and The Last Rose of Summer. Both contain only one-octave. Home played his accordion with only one hand beneath a table In 1869, at the residence of Miss Douglas, Crooke's assistant watched Home play the accordion, enclosed in a cage, while he watched beneath the table. He saw nothing suspicious. Skeptic James Randi
stated that Home was caught cheating on a few occasions, but the episodes were never made public, and that the accordion Home is supposed to have played was a one-octave mouth organ
that Home concealed under his large moustache. Randi writes that one-octave mouth organs were found in Home's belongings after his death. According to Randi 'around 1960' William Lindsay Gresham
told Randi he had seen these mouth organs in the Home collection at the Society for Psychical Research. Eric Dingwall, who catalogued Home's collection on its arrival at the SPR does not record the presence of the mouth organs, and Lamont speculates that it is unlikely Dingwall would have missed these or did not make them public.
The accordion in the SPR collection is not the actual one Home used. They display a duplicate.
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
physical medium
Mediumship
Mediumship is described as a form of communication with spirits. It is a practice in religious beliefs such as Spiritualism, Spiritism, Espiritismo, Candomblé, Voodoo and Umbanda.- Concept :...
with the reported ability to levitate to a variety of heights, speak with the dead, and to produce rapping and knocks in houses at will. His biographer Peter Lamont opines that he was one of the most famous men of his era. Harry Houdini
Harry Houdini
Harry Houdini was a Hungarian-born American magician and escapologist, stunt performer, actor and film producer noted for his sensational escape acts...
described him as 'one of the most conspicuous and lauded of his type and generation'. Home conducted hundreds of séances
Séance
A séance is an attempt to communicate with spirits. The word "séance" comes from the French word for "seat," "session" or "sitting," from the Old French "seoir," "to sit." In French, the word's meaning is quite general: one may, for example, speak of "une séance de cinéma"...
, which were attended by many eminent Victorians.
There were speculations and one recorded eyewitness account by F. Merrifield in the Journal of Psychical Research describing conjuring methods and fraud that Home may have employed.
Family
Daniel Home's mother, Elizabeth ("Betsy") Home (née McNeill) was known as a seerProphet
In religion, a prophet, from the Greek word προφήτης profitis meaning "foreteller", is an individual who is claimed to have been contacted by the supernatural or the divine, and serves as an intermediary with humanity, delivering this newfound knowledge from the supernatural entity to other people...
in Scotland, as were many of her predecessors, like her great uncle Colin Uruqhart, and her uncle Mr. McKenzie. The gift of second sight
Second sight
Second sight is a form of extrasensory perception, the supposed power to perceive things that are not present to the senses, whereby a person perceives information, in the form of a vision, about future events before they happen , or about things or events at remote locations...
was often seen as a curse
Curse
A curse is any expressed wish that some form of adversity or misfortune will befall or attach to some other entity—one or more persons, a place, or an object...
, as it foretold instances of tragedy and death. Home's father, William Home, was the illegitimate son of Alexander, the 10th Earl of Home
Earl of Home
The title Earl of Home was created in 1605 in the Peerage of Scotland for Alexander Home of that Ilk, who was already the 6th Lord Home.The Earl of Home holds the subsidiary titles of Lord Home , and Lord Dunglass , in the Peerage of Scotland; and Baron Douglas, of Douglas in the County of Lanark ...
. Evidence supports the elder Home's illegitimacy, as various payments meant for William were made by the 10th Earl. Elizabeth and William were married when he was 19-years old, and found employment at the Balerno paper mill
Balerno
Balerno is a suburb of Edinburgh, Scotland situated 12 kilometres south west of the city centre, next to Juniper Green and Currie. Administratively, Balerno falls within the jurisdiction of the City of Edinburgh Council.- History :...
. The Homes moved into one of small houses built in the mill for the workforce, in Currie
Currie
Currie is a civil parish and suburb of Edinburgh, Scotland, situated 10 kilometres south west of the city centre. A former village within the County of Midlothian, it lies to the south west of the city, between Juniper Green and Balerno on the Lanark Road...
(six miles south-west of Edinburgh). William was described as a "bitter, morose and unhappy man" who drank, and was often aggressive towards his wife. Elizabeth had eight children while living in the mill house: six sons and two daughters, although their lives were not fully recorded. The eldest, John, later worked in the Balerno mill and eventually managed a paper mill in Philadelphia, Mary drowned in a stream at 12-years old in 1846, and Adam died at sea at the age of 17 while on route to Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
, which Home says he saw in a vision and reportedly confirmed five months later.
Early life
Daniel Home was Elizabeth's third child, and was born on 20 March 1833. He was baptised by the Reverend Mr. Somerville three weeks after his birth at Currie Parish Church on 14 April 1833. The one-year old Home was deemed a delicate child, having a "nervous temperament", and was passed to Elizabeth's childless sister, Mary Cook. She lived with her husband in the coastal town of PortobelloPortobello, Edinburgh
Portobello is a beach resort located three miles to the east of the city centre of Edinburgh, along the coast of the Firth of Forth, in Scotland. It is now a suburb of Edinburgh, with a promenade fronting on to the wide sand beach....
, 3 miles (4.8 km) east of Edinburgh. According to Home, his cradle rocked by itself at the Cooks' house, and he had a vision of a cousin's death, who lived in Linlithgow
Linlithgow
Linlithgow is a Royal Burgh in West Lothian, Scotland. An ancient town, it lies south of its two most prominent landmarks: Linlithgow Palace and Linlithgow Loch, and north of the Union Canal....
, to the west of Edinburgh.
America
Sometime between 1838 and 1841, Home's aunt and uncle decided to emigrate to the United States with their adopted son, sailing in the cheapest class of steerageSteerage
Steerage is the act of steering a ship. "Steerage" also refers to the lowest decks of a ship.-Steerage and steerage way:The rudder of a vessel can only steer the ship when water is passing over it...
as they could not afford a cabin. After landing in New York, the Cooks travelled to Greeneville
Neighborhoods of Norwich, Connecticut
Several neighborhoods of Norwich, Connecticut maintain independent identities and are recognized by official signs marking their boundaries. The following is a list of neighborhoods in Norwich.-Bean Hill:...
, near Norwich, Connecticut
Norwich, Connecticut
Regular steamship service between New York and Boston helped Norwich to prosper as a shipping center through the early part of the 20th century. During the Civil War, Norwich once again rallied and saw the growth of its textile, armaments, and specialty item manufacturing...
. The red-haired
Red hair
Red hair occurs on approximately 1–2% of the human population. It occurs more frequently in people of northern or western European ancestry, and less frequently in other populations...
and freckle
Freckle
For other uses of the word, see Freckles .Freckles are clusters of concentrated melanin which are most often visible on people with a fair complexion. A freckle is also called an "ephelis". Freckles do not have an increased number of melanin producing cells...
d Home attended school in Greeneville, where he was known as "Scotchy" by the other students. The 13-year old Home did not join in sports games with other boys, preferring to take walks in the local woods with a friend called Edwin. The two boys read the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
to each other and told stories, and made a pact stating that if one or the other were to die, they would try and make contact after death. Home and his aunt soon moved to Troy, NY, which is about 155 miles (249.4 km) from Greeneville, although Home in his own book stated it was 300 miles (482.8 km) away. Home lost contact with Edwin until one night when Home, according to Lamont, saw a brightly lit vision of him standing at the foot of the bed, which gave Home the feeling that his friend was dead. Edwin made three circles in the air before disappearing, and a few days later a letter arrived stating that Edwin had died of malignant dysentery
Dysentery
Dysentery is an inflammatory disorder of the intestine, especially of the colon, that results in severe diarrhea containing mucus and/or blood in the faeces with fever and abdominal pain. If left untreated, dysentery can be fatal.There are differences between dysentery and normal bloody diarrhoea...
, which was three days before Home's vision.
A few years later Home and his aunt returned to Greeneville, and Elizabeth Home emigrated from Scotland to America with the surviving members of the family to live in Waterford, Connecticut
Waterford, Connecticut
Waterford is a town in New London County, Connecticut, United States. It is named after Waterford, Ireland. The population was 19,152 at the 2000 census. The town center is listed as a census-designated place .-Geography:...
, which was 12 miles (19.3 km) away from the Cook's house. Home and his mother's reunion was short-lived, as Elizabeth appeared to foretell her own death in 1850. Home said he saw his mother in a vision saying, "Dan, 12 o'clock", which was the time of her death. After Elizabeth's death Home turned to religion. His aunt was a Presbyterian, and held the Calvinist
Calvinism
Calvinism is a Protestant theological system and an approach to the Christian life...
view that one's fate has been decided, so Home embraced the Wesleyan
Wesleyanism
Wesleyanism or Wesleyan theology refers, respectively, to either the eponymous movement of Protestant Christians who have historically sought to follow the methods or theology of the eighteenth-century evangelical reformers, John Wesley and his brother Charles Wesley, or to the likewise eponymous...
faith, which believed that every soul can be saved. Home's aunt resented Wesleyans so much that she forced Home to change to Congregationalist, which was not to her liking, either, but was more in line with her own religion. The house was reportedly disturbed by rappings and knocking similar to those that occurred two years earlier at the home of the Fox sisters
Fox sisters
The Fox sisters were three sisters from New York who played an important role in the creation of Spiritualism. The three sisters were Leah Fox , Margaret Fox and Kate Fox . The two younger sisters used "rappings" to convince their much older sister and others that they were communicating with...
. Ministers were called to the Cooks' house: a Baptist, a Congregationalist, and even a Wesleyan minister, who all believed that Home was possessed by the Devil, although Home believed it was a gift from God. According to Home, the knocking did not stop, and a table started to move by itself, even though Home's aunt put a bible on it and then placed her full body weight on it. According to Lamont, the noises did not stop and were attracting the unwanted attention of Cook's neighbours, so Home was told to leave the house.
Fame
Lebanon, Connecticut
Lebanon is a town in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 6,907 at the 2000 census. The town lies just to the northwest of Norwich, north of New London, and east of Hartford...
. Home held his first séance in March 1851, which was reported in a Hartford newspaper managed by W. R. Hayden, who wrote that the table moved without anyone touching it, and kept moving when Hayden physically tried to stop it. After the newspaper report, Home became well-known in New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
, travelling around healing the sick and communicating with the dead, although he wrote that he was not prepared for this sudden change in his life because of his supposed shyness.
Home never directly asked for money, although he lived very well on gifts, donations and lodging from wealthy admirers. He felt that he was on a "mission to demonstrate immortality", and wished to interact with his clients as one gentleman to another, rather than as an employee. In 1852, Home was a guest at the house of Rufus Elmer in Springfield, Massachusetts
Springfield, Massachusetts
Springfield is the most populous city in Western New England, and the seat of Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers; the western Westfield River, the eastern Chicopee River, and the eastern...
, giving séances six or seven times a day, which were visited by crowds of people, including a Harvard professor, David Wells, and the poet and editor of the New York Evening Post, William Cullen Bryant
William Cullen Bryant
William Cullen Bryant was an American romantic poet, journalist, and long-time editor of the New York Evening Post.-Youth and education:...
. They were all convinced of Home's credibility and wrote to the Springfield Republican
Springfield Republican
The Republican is a newspaper based in Springfield, Massachusetts. It is owned by Newhouse Newspapers, a division of Advance Publications. It played important roles in the United States Republican Party's founding, Charles Dow's career, and the invention of the pronoun "Ms."-Beginning:Established...
newspaper stating that the room was well lit, full inspections were allowed, and said, "We know that we were not imposed upon nor deceived". It was also reported that at one of Home's demonstrations five men of heavy build (with a combined weight of 850 pounds) sat on a table, but it still moved, and others saw "a tremulous phosphorescent light gleam over the walls". Home was investigated by numerous people, such as Professor Robert Hare
Robert Hare (chemist)
Robert Hare was an early American chemist.Hare was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on January 17, 1781. He developed and experimented with the oxy-hydrogen blowpipe, with Edward Daniel Clarke of Oxford, shortly after 1800. He married Harriett Clark and had six children...
, the inventor of the oxy-hydrogen blowpipe, and John Worth Edmonds, a Supreme Court
Supreme court
A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of many legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, instance court, judgment court, high court, or apex court...
judge, who were sceptical, but later said they believed Home was not fraudulent.
In his book, "Incidents in My Life", Home claims that on August 1852, in South Manchester
Manchester, Connecticut
Manchester is a township and city in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town had a total population of 58,241.- History :...
, Connecticut, at the house of Ward Cheney
Ward Cheney
Ward Cheney was a pioneer manufacturer of silk fabrics.-Biography:Ward Cheney was principal founder of the house of Cheney Brothers, and was most active in its business management. He first engaged in the dry-goods business in Providence, Rhode Island, with his brother Charles...
, a successful silk manufacturer, he was reportedly seen to levitate twice and then rise to up to the ceiling, with louder rappings and knocking than ever before, more aggressive table movements and the sounds of a ship at sea in a storm, although persons present said that the room was badly lit so as to see the spirit lights.
New York was now interested in Home's abilities, so he moved to an apartment at Bryant Park
Bryant Park
Bryant Park is a 9.603 acre privately managed public park located in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is located between Fifth and Sixth Avenues and between 40th and 42nd Streets in Midtown Manhattan...
on 42nd street. His most verbal critic in New York was William Makepeace Thackeray
William Makepeace Thackeray
William Makepeace Thackeray was an English novelist of the 19th century. He was famous for his satirical works, particularly Vanity Fair, a panoramic portrait of English society.-Biography:...
, the author of Vanity Fair. Thackeray dismissed Home's abilities as "dire humbug", and "dreary and foolish superstition", although Thackeray had been impressed when he saw a table turning. Home thought that Thackeray was "the most sceptical inquirer" he had ever met, and as Thackeray made his thoughts public, Home faced public scepticism and further scrutiny. Home travelled between Hartford, Springfield, and Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
during the next few months, and settled in Newburgh
Newburgh (city), New York
Newburgh is a city located in Orange County, New York, United States, north of New York City, and south of Albany, on the Hudson River. Newburgh is a principal city of the Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown metropolitan area, which includes all of Dutchess and Orange counties. The Newburgh area was...
by the Hudson River
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
in the summer of 1853. He resided at the Theological Institute, but took no part in any of the theological discussions held there, as he wanted to take a course in medicine. Dr. Hull funded Home's studies, and offered to pay Home five dollars a day for his séances, but Home refused, as always. His idea was to fund his work with a legitimate salary by practicing medicine, but he became ill in early 1854, and stopped his studies. Home was diagnosed with Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
, and his doctors recommended recuperation in Europe. His last séance was in March 1855, in Hartford, Connecticut, before he travelled to Boston and sailed to England on board the Africa, at the end of March.
Europe
Home's name was originally Daniel Home, but by the time he arrived in Europe he had lengthened it to Daniel Dunglas Home, in reference to the Scottish house of Home, of which his father claimed to be a part. In London Home found a believer in spiritualismSpiritualism
Spiritualism is a belief system or religion, postulating the belief that spirits of the dead residing in the spirit world have both the ability and the inclination to communicate with the living...
, William Cox, who owned a large hotel at 53, 54 and 55 Jermyn Street, London. As Cox was so enamoured of Home's abilities, he let Home stay at the hotel without payment. Robert Owen
Robert Owen
Robert Owen was a Welsh social reformer and one of the founders of utopian socialism and the cooperative movement.Owen's philosophy was based on three intellectual pillars:...
, an 83-year-old social reformer, was also staying at the hotel, and introduced Home to many of his friends in London society.
At the time Home described as tall and thin, with blue eyes and auburn hair, fastidiously dressed but seriously ill with consumption. Nevertheless, he held sittings for notable people in full daylight, moving objects that were some distance away. Some early guests at Home's sittings included the scientist Sir David Brewster (who remained unconvinced), the novelists Sir Edward Bulwer-Lytton and Thomas Adolphus Trollope
Thomas Adolphus Trollope
Thomas Adolphus Trollope was born in Bloomsbury, London on 29 April 1810, the eldest son of Thomas Anthony & Frances Trollope . He was educated at Harrow School and Winchester College...
, and the Swedenborgian
Swedenborgian
A Swedenborgian is the doctrines, beliefs, and practices of the Church of the New Jerusalem, and is an adjective describing a person or an organization that understands the Bible through the theological writings of Emanuel Swedenborg....
James John Garth Wilkinson
James John Garth Wilkinson
James John Garth Wilkinson , was a Swedenborgian writer.-Life:The son of James John Wilkinson , a writer on mercantile law and judge of the County Palatine of Durham, he was born in London. He studied medicine, and set up as a homoeopathic doctor in Wimpole Street in 1834...
. As well as Brewster, fellow scientists Michael Faraday
Michael Faraday
Michael Faraday, FRS was an English chemist and physicist who contributed to the fields of electromagnetism and electrochemistry....
and Thomas Huxley
Thomas Huxley
Thomas Henry Huxley PC FRS was an English biologist, known as "Darwin's Bulldog" for his advocacy of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution....
were prominent contemporary critics of Home's claims. It was the poet Robert Browning
Robert Browning
Robert Browning was an English poet and playwright whose mastery of dramatic verse, especially dramatic monologues, made him one of the foremost Victorian poets.-Early years:...
however, who proved to be one of Home's most adamant critics. After attending a séance of Home's, Browning wrote in a letter to The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
that: 'the whole display of hands, spirit utterances etc., was a cheat and imposture'. Browning gave his unflattering impression of Hume in the poem, "Sludge the Medium" (1864). His wife, Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Elizabeth Barrett Browning was one of the most prominent poets of the Victorian era. Her poetry was widely popular in both England and the United States during her lifetime. A collection of her last poems was published by her husband, Robert Browning, shortly after her death.-Early life:Members...
, was convinced that the phenomena she witnessed was genuine and their discussions about Home were a constant source of disagreement. Frank Podmore
Frank Podmore
Frank Podmore was an English author, founding member of the Fabian Society, and writer on psychic matters.-Life:...
writes of a Mr Merrifield's first-hand account of experiencing Home's fraudulence during a séance.
William Crookes
Sir William Crookes, OM, FRS was a British chemist and physicist who attended the Royal College of Chemistry, London, and worked on spectroscopy...
claimed to know of more than 50 occasions in which Home levitated "in good light" (gas light) at least five to seven feet above the floor. Homes' feats were recorded by Frank Podmore
Frank Podmore
Frank Podmore was an English author, founding member of the Fabian Society, and writer on psychic matters.-Life:...
: "We all saw him rise from the ground slowly to a height of about six inches, remain there for about ten seconds, and then slowly descend." In the following years Home travelled across continental Europe, and always as a guest of wealthy patrons. In Paris, he was summoned to the Tuileries to perform a séance for Napoleon III. Home also performed for Queen Sophia
Sophie of Württemberg
Princess Sophia Frederika Mathilde of Württemberg was Queen of the Netherlands as the first wife of King William III of the Netherlands.-Biography:...
of the Netherlands, who wrote: "I saw him four times...I felt a hand tipping my finger; I saw a heavy golden bell moving alone from one person to another; I saw my handkerchief move alone and return to me with a knot... He himself is a pale, sickly, rather handsome young man but without a look or anything which would either fascinate or frighten you. It is wonderful. I am so glad I have seen it..."
In 1866, Mrs Jane Lyon, a wealthy widow, adopted Home as her son, giving him £60,000 in an attempt to gain introduction into high society. Finding that the adoption did not change her social situation, Lyon changed her mind, and brought a suit for the return of her money from Home on the grounds that it had been obtained by spiritual influence. Under British law, the defendant bears the burden of proof in such a case, and proof was impossible since there was no physical evidence. The case was decided against Home, Mrs Lyon's money was returned, and the press pilloried Home's reputation. Home's high society acquaintances thought that he behaved like a complete gentleman throughout the ordeal, and he did not lose a single important friend.
Home met one of his future closest friends in 1867; the young Lord Adare (later the 4th Earl of Dunraven). Adare was fascinated by Home, and began documenting the seances they held. The following year, Home was said to have levitated out of the third storey window of one room, and back in through the window of the adjoining room in front of three witnesses (Adare, Captain Wynne, and Lord Lindsay).
Personal life
Home married twice. His Best man was the writer Alexandre Dumas. In 1858, he married Alexandria de Kroll ("Sacha"), the 17-year-old daughter of a noble Russian family, in Saint PetersburgSaint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
. They had a son, Gregoire ("Grisha"), but Alexandria fell ill with tuberculosis, and died in 1862. In October 1871, Home married for the second, and last time, to Julie de Gloumeline, a wealthy Russian, whom he also met in St Petersburg. In the process, he converted to the Greek Orthodox
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
faith.
Death
At the age of 38, Home retired, as his health was bad – the tuberculosis, from which he had suffered for most of his life, was advancing –and his powers, he claimed, were failing. He died on the 21 June 1886, and was buried in the Russian cemetry of St. Germain-en-Laye Paris.Critical reaction
Eddy Brothers
The Eddy Brothers refers to William Eddy and Horatio Eddy, popular Spiritualist mediums of the 1870s.-History:During the 1870s, the Eddy brothers held seances in Chittenden, Vermont, claiming to materialize spirits of the dead including drowned sailors, Native Americans, and soldiers who died in...
), who claimed the ability to produce solid spirit forms, and he marked these as fraudulent. Since materializing mediums always work in darkened places, Home urged that all séances be held in the light. Home, in his 1877 book Lights and Shadows of Spiritualism, detailed the conjuring tricks employed by false mediums.
Lord Adare stated that Home "swung out and in" of a window in a horizontal position. "He [Home] came in [through the window] again, feet foremost, and we returned to the other room. It was so dark I could not see clearly how he was supported" [outside of the three story window]. Outside the house there is an extending ledge connecting the balconies of each described window. Frank Podmore
Frank Podmore
Frank Podmore was an English author, founding member of the Fabian Society, and writer on psychic matters.-Life:...
recorded that Home had a constant companion that sat opposite of him during his séances. A lady acted as a medium and used to help Home during the seances attended by Henrietta Ada Ward.
Between 1870 and 1873, chemist and physicist William Crookes
William Crookes
Sir William Crookes, OM, FRS was a British chemist and physicist who attended the Royal College of Chemistry, London, and worked on spectroscopy...
conducted experiments to determine the validity of the phenomena produced by three mediums: Florence Cook, Kate Fox
Fox sisters
The Fox sisters were three sisters from New York who played an important role in the creation of Spiritualism. The three sisters were Leah Fox , Margaret Fox and Kate Fox . The two younger sisters used "rappings" to convince their much older sister and others that they were communicating with...
, and Home. Crookes' final report in 1874 concluded that the phenomena produced by all three mediums were genuine, a result which was roundly derided by the scientific establishment. Crookes recorded that he controlled and secured Home by placing his feet on the top of Home's feet. Crooke's method of foot control later proved inadequate when used with Eusapia Palladino
Eusapia Palladino
Eusapia Palladino was a Spiritualist medium from Naples in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies ....
, as she merely slipped her foot out and in of her sturdy shoe. In addition, Crookes' motives, methods, and conclusions with regard to at least one other medium he studied have been called spurious, casting doubt on his conclusions about Home. Alexander von Boutlerow, Professor of Chemistry at the University of St. Petersburg and Home's brother-in-law, also obtained positive results in his tests of Home.
Frank Podmore
Frank Podmore
Frank Podmore was an English author, founding member of the Fabian Society, and writer on psychic matters.-Life:...
and Milbourne Christopher
Milbourne Christopher
Milbourne Christopher was an American illusionist.President of the Society of American Magicians, an honorary vice-president to the Magic Circle, and one of the founding members of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, Christopher authored several books, including a biography of Harry Houdini, and...
provide a source of speculation on the ways in which Home could have duped his sitters. Some testimony suggests that Home often conducted his demonstrations in dim light. For example, there is this report from a witness: "The room was very dark...Home's hands were visible only as a faint white heap". The light conditions during Home's most famous feat of levitation were disputed, but some witnesses recorded that it was quite dark. Gordon Stein speculated on the deception of Crookes' testing devices (with diagrams) and gave a third-hand account of Home being caught with a vial of oil of Phosphorus. During a Crookes test when Home "is not touching with his hands." there are objects just lying beneath his hands that his fingertips are touching, a small match box and a small bell. The measuring arm of Crookes' gauge does not exactly "move." It trembles. it was reported by sitters and Crookes Home's accordion played only two pieces, Home Sweet Home and The Last Rose of Summer. Both contain only one-octave. Home played his accordion with only one hand beneath a table In 1869, at the residence of Miss Douglas, Crooke's assistant watched Home play the accordion, enclosed in a cage, while he watched beneath the table. He saw nothing suspicious. Skeptic James Randi
James Randi
James Randi is a Canadian-American stage magician and scientific skeptic best known as a challenger of paranormal claims and pseudoscience. Randi is the founder of the James Randi Educational Foundation...
stated that Home was caught cheating on a few occasions, but the episodes were never made public, and that the accordion Home is supposed to have played was a one-octave mouth organ
Harmonica
The harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
that Home concealed under his large moustache. Randi writes that one-octave mouth organs were found in Home's belongings after his death. According to Randi 'around 1960' William Lindsay Gresham
William Lindsay Gresham
William Lindsay Gresham was an American novelist and non-fiction author particularly regarded among readers of noir. His best-known work is Nightmare Alley , which was adapted into a 1947 film starring Tyrone Power.- Biography :Gresham was born in Baltimore, Maryland...
told Randi he had seen these mouth organs in the Home collection at the Society for Psychical Research. Eric Dingwall, who catalogued Home's collection on its arrival at the SPR does not record the presence of the mouth organs, and Lamont speculates that it is unlikely Dingwall would have missed these or did not make them public.
The accordion in the SPR collection is not the actual one Home used. They display a duplicate.
Further reading
- Afterlife: an Investigation, by Colin WilsonColin WilsonColin Henry Wilson is a prolific English writer who first came to prominence as a philosopher and novelist. Wilson has since written widely on true crime, mysticism and other topics. He prefers calling his philosophy new existentialism or phenomenological existentialism.- Early biography:Born and...
, 1987. - Mediums, Mystics and the Occult by Milbourne ChristopherMilbourne ChristopherMilbourne Christopher was an American illusionist.President of the Society of American Magicians, an honorary vice-president to the Magic Circle, and one of the founding members of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, Christopher authored several books, including a biography of Harry Houdini, and...
, Thomas Crowell, 1975 - Learned Pigs and Fireproof Women by Ricky JayRicky JayRichard Jay Potash , better known by the stage name Ricky Jay, is an American stage magician, actor, and writer. He is a sleight-of-hand expert and is notable for his card tricks, card throwing, memory feats, and stage patter.-Life and career:...
, Villard Books, 1987; See pages 37–42, Photos on page 40. - Revelations of a Spirit Medium by Harry Price and Eric J. Dingwall, Arno Press, 1975 reprint of 1891 edition by Charles F. Pidgeon. This rare, overlooked, and forgotten, book gives the "insider's knowledge" of 19th century deceptions
- Ghost Hunters: William James and the Search for Scientific Proof of Life After Death by Deborah Blum, Penguin Press, 2006; Briefly discusses Home's career and the scientific investigation of his abilities, in the larger context of the 19th century and the scientific inquiry into life beyond death.
External links
- Experiences In Spiritualism with D. D. Home - Lord Adare's report of Home's seances, sadly incomplete, PDF format
- Home, Daniel Dunglas - An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural James Randi
- The Strange Case of Daniel Dunglas Home Andrew LangAndrew LangAndrew Lang was a Scots poet, novelist, literary critic, and contributor to the field of anthropology. He is best known as a collector of folk and fairy tales. The Andrew Lang lectures at the University of St Andrews are named after him.- Biography :Lang was born in Selkirk...
, Chapter 8 of Historical Mysteries (1904) - Daniel D. Home, the Celebrated Medium
- Map location of Currie and Balerno, near Edinburgh