Hunter Selkirk Various Chapters of Listen My Son

There is only this one little book about Hunter Selkirk, Listen My Son by Harry Emerson as time goes by I will try and scan it all. This was with a brilliant little LG mouse scanner

I was going to leave it there but I think the foreword and Chapter ! give context

FOREWORD
AS I write I can see a pen in my hand; to my right I can see an ink bottle; in front of me I can see the paper on which I am writing.
My five years old grandson is playing on the hearthrug. I can see him. He is chattering away to me and I can hear him. Outside I can hear a bus starting.
There is a slight west wind blowing. I know that if I go outside I will not be able to see the wind, but I will be able to feel and hear it.
I am aware that I have pressed down a switch and the light that came on is an electric light. Beyond a few elementary technicalities, I know not why a light should come when I press that switch, but I do know that the light is on.
I have just finished reading a daily newspaper that has given me the latest news of the fighting in all parts of the world, so I know that the war is still going on.
I am aware of all these things because I possess in full measure the physical senses that enable me to do so. It is through these same physical senses that I have observed the phenomena described in this book.
If I go to my bookcase I can read of the Battle of Waterloo or the relief of Mafeking, but these battles are not so real to me as the Battle of the Somme, the Hindenburg Line, or even the fight at Villers Bocage on D Day plus eight when my son was taken prisoner.
I know of these past wars through reading about them, but I can understand what they were like a good deal better because of my own more recent experiences. It is the same with the psychic phenomena I have witnessed.
I have read the many psychic stories in the Bible, and I can more readily believe that they happened because I have seen similar things happen in my own time.
As to the medium, Hunter Selkirk, an honest man is always
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FOREWORD
worth knowing, and I am happy to know that he is my friend. He is intelligent and unassuming, always ready to help where help is needed. He wears the same smile with his pit clothes as he docs with his Sunday go-to-mecting clothes, and is dubbed "a canny fellow" by all Northerners who know him.
Most Spiritualist churches in the North of England find it necessary to engage a larger hall for a Hunter Selkirk meeting. He never wears a hat or a cap, but this is not because he cannot get one to fit him. He is immune from that objectionable disease known as "swollen head."
He is sincere and energetic in his work as a Spiritualist minister, but not sanctimonious or difficult to approach. He has addressed well over a thousand meetings during the last twenty years, and has given proof of the survival of their loved ones to thousands of people. Of his physical mediumship, you will read in the following chapters.
This book is really a series of letters to my son. It was suggested to me that other people's sons and daughters might like to read them, so I present them to you with very few alterations. Only personal items have been omitted.
You will, no doubt, have your opinion on life and religion. If you are one of the few who have an absolute faith in a firm conviction, something that is a real prop for you, then I would want to be the last to take away that prop. But as I sincerely believe that the great majority of people have no such prop on which they can lean when bereavement comes to them, I offer this true account of people who have been pronounced dead but who have proved to me that they are still living. Spiritualism lifted me from the "Slough of Despond" and provided me with a sound prop.
I tell these tilings to my son only after very careful investigation. They had to be right and true before I would tell them to him. He will believe me because he knows I would not deceive him.
You are different; I am a stranger to you. All I can say to you, whether you believe it or not, is that these phenomena happened as I have stated. I was as sceptical as you can possibly be, but I found that it is not a matter of opinion. These things are facts.
Hunter Selkirk is a genuine medium, and I, as they say in the
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FOREWORD  9
North, am neither drunk nor daft. All the phenomena I have described arc from notes taken at the actual time they happened.
So read on. I hope your reading will bring your loved ones in the spirit world around you, as the writing did for me.

CHAPTER ONE
DEATH CANNOT DESTROY YOU
LISTEN, my son, and listen attentively. What I am about to relate is my own experience, and will be of great value to you in your conduct of life. It will teach you how to live wisely, how to live socially, politically and religiously, and it will not confine you to a narrow way of living.
Your enjoyment of life will not be restricted; it will be enhanced, because it will give you a confidence and a faith in humanity and in yourself which no other philosophy could give you. It will show you that you are far more important than you now think you are; it will show you that you are really a part of God, and therefore an eternal being. It will prove to you that, no matter what trials you may have to undergo, you cannot be destroyed. Even death cannot destroy you. You will learn that the three score years and ten so much talked about is only a very small part of your life, and by taking this extended view of life you can always be young.
If you can get this conviction firmly embedded in your soul, not only will you find that the material tilings you need will be easier to come by, but you will be preparing yourself for another phase of your existence, where greater opportunities will present themselves. The life which will open out before you, when you have discarded the physical body you are now manifesting in, will be interesting and full of promise.
When you die, you will continue to live as an individual. There is no doubt about that. I will later give you evidence which has proved these facts to me. I have witnessed psychic phenomena which it has not been the lot of many men to witness, and by sincere and patient investigation I have found that these phenomena do occur through the co-operation of people who once lived here as we are doing now. The many fantastic theories advanced to account for these happenings are wrong, and you need pay little attention to them. I have saved you the trouble.
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LISTEN MY SON
This religion known as Spiritualism, given to the world through chosen mediums, by wise men and women of the spirit world, has taught me that my first duty is to myself. I must take care of my physical body, nourish it, exercise it and keep it clean and free from abuse of any kind, so that it may be able to contain me and the spirit body or soul which I will need when I pass to the next phase of my life.
As the soul is co-incident with the physical body and grows with it, then it too will need nourishment and exercise. The food for the soul is love, the exercise is the practice of unselfishness and service to all mankind. If you possess a robust soul and a strong spiritual individuality, you can have a confidence that will carry you anywhere.
This does not mean that you should be meek and knuckle down to any injustice; on the contrary, it means that wherever you see injustice being done, you should be up and doing something about it. You may have to suffer for this, but the strong spirit and robust soul you have built for yourself will make these sufferings seem lighter and will call to your aid spirit helpers ever ready to assist.
You will have no doubts about it being true, because survival after death is proved by demonstrated evidence today. There is no mystery about it; it is practical and it works.
This is a religion which you can take with you wherever you go. It will help you to determine your conduct in your work, your play, your home, your politics and your social endeavours. It will check you and direct you aright when you are inclined to do the wrong tilings. That is what true Christianity is, and what religion ought to be, a way to live all the time.
But you cannot get a religion like this if you are bound and limited by any creed fashioned by man to supply the material wants of the few, and which would try to instil into your mind by fear the philosophy that your only hope of any better time in an after-life is that you slave and obey the dictates of someone who has attained a position of authority mainly because of the material advantages it will afford him.
I can now believe the story of Jesus and his life where I could not before. I can understand why he was crucified—for practising his mcdiumship and revealing to the people, in a practical
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DEATH CANNOT DESTROY YOU
way, the power of the spirit. I can appreciate his rebellious attitude to the vested interests of his day and their cruelty and injustice to the people.
Your mother has come back from the dead and spoken to me. I have seen her. I have kissed her. I have spoken to her. She meant more to me than anyone I ever read about or knew, and because of the fact that she was able to come back, I can well and truly believe that Jesus came back and spoke to his disciples. Now, he is somebody, not merely a symbol.
Spiritualism has shown me that religion, a belief in God, is an essential part of my life. I must have religion, but not the narrow-minded, fear-laden philosophy that I was taught in my childhood, when we were told that if we stole a turnip out of a field or an apple from an orchard we would be burnt in the everlasting fire. I didn't believe it then, with the result that when I was old enough to please myself I left religion severely alone.
But God is not like that; the way to Him is not a narrow way, but a great broad highway, capable of accommodating all of His offspring. All He asks of us is that we express His love in our conduct towards our fellow-man, and that means weekdays as well as Sundays.
One thing is certain. No matter who we are, whether we be saint or sinner, peer or peasant, we must all, sooner or later make our way into the indestructible splendour of eternity.
There is NO doubt that some uninformed person will tell you that Spiritualism is the work of the devil. It has been said to me many times, but I need only tell you that it is more like the work of the devil to obstruct the spreading of the truth.
Some will trot out the old bogy that it leads to insanity. I can give you direct evidence to the contrary. It saved me from insanity or something very like it.
Others may tell you that Spiritualism is not necessary, but as one spirit teacher said to me, "I think the enlightened views expressed by certain members of the orthodox churches today show that our journey was necessary and has borne fruit."
All these objections to Spiritualism are wrong and are in the main voiced by people who have not investigated and know very little or nothing about it. I am qualified to tell you they are wrong because I have been at great pains to find out the truth.
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14 LISTEN MY SON
You are a soldier. You are expected to bring all your intelligence and logical reasoning to bear upon the subject you are being taught. You know that if you do that you will be a good soldier. Well, all I ask you to do is to use the same intelligence and the same logical reasoning in regard to religion, and you will see that Spiritualism is not only acceptable but really worthwhile..
The fact that you are intelligent enough to make a good soldier is evidence enough to me that you will be intelligent enough to understand "an eternal path of progress open to every human soul."


"THE VOICE OF YOUR MOTHER" CHAPTER 5
IT was in September 1938 that I attended my first direct voice and materialisation séance. It was held in a bedroom of an ordinary four-roomed house and the medium was Hunter Selkirk.
When I arrived, I was taken upstairs by our hostess, Mrs. Cook, to inspect and examine the séance room. It was a small room, about four yards square, and nine feet from floor to ceiling. In the corner, diagonally across from the doorway, was a "cabinet" made up of two curtains of black sateen, hung upon a wire stretched across the corner, about 18 inches from the ceiling. This left a space at the top; there was no cover, and the curtains reached to the floor.
The furniture in the room consisted of ten chairs for the sitters arranged in a semi-circle around the cabinet, and a dressing table set right back against the wall. The only article in the small cabinet was a hard-bottomed chair for the medium. The one window was blacked-out to keep the light out. The door leading from the stair-head opened inward into the séance room.
When all the sitters, and the medium, whose chair was placed just outside the cabinet, were seated, the light was switched off and we were in complete darkness. The meeting began with the singing of a hymn, after which a prayer was offered. During the singing of the next hymn, a small light appeared, high up near the ceiling about the centre of the room. It was about the size of an overcoat button, of a light transparent blue and particularly bright and twinkling. It hovered for a
28 LISTEN MY SON
second or two and then moved slowly downward and towards the cabinet. The medium, by this time, had been moved along with his chair, into the cabinet and the curtains had been closed.
The light, still retaining its size and brilliance, moved through the material of the curtain into the cabinet. Almost immediately, we heard the voice of Zuru, the medium's principal guide and guardian. The light, I was told, was Zuru's light and often, but not always, he came in this fashion and took control of the medium and the meeting.
In the mellow tone of an old man, but containing characteristics of the medium's voice, Zuru, using the vocal organs of the medium, bade us all "Good evening." He speaks in a "clipped word" style and this manner of speech is maintained throughout the whole of Zuru's talk.
He gave each one a kindly welcome to the meeting and told me, as a newcomer, that I was embarking upon a scientific expedition which would probably cause a mild revolution in my mind, but assured me that there was nothing to be afraid of; all would seem perfectly natural and reasonable, and would result in my being comforted. He told me I would learn much that would be of benefit to me and, through me, to others with whom I would come in contact. Apart from sitting in complete darkness, and I had plenty of company, (here had been nothing so far to cause alarm.
We sang again, and soon there appeared, in the opening between the curtains of the cabinet, a misty-looking light. This seemed to me like a very large opal. It was about the size and shape of a small melon, and moved slowly over to the sitter on the extreme right of die semi-circle. This sitter, a lady, spoke to it, saying, "We arc very pleased to see you," but received no reply. It moved to die next sitter on my right and I could see the outline of a face.
I was next in turn, and as the light moved and halted in front of me, I could see distinctly the face of a woman. The face was illuminated by a soft light which seemed to come from under-neath the chin. It was a nice face, very pale, and every feature was perfect, the eyes were blue and had depth and expression. I said: "Who are you? Are you anyone I know?" But she did not answer. I saw a remarkable resemblance to one of the sitters.
"THE VOICE OF YOUR MOTHER" 29
It was my first experience of this kind and, although I knew all the sitters, I did not know them so well as I do now. To make sure that I was not being imposed upon, after the face had moved to the next sitter on my left, I looked along to my right to see if the lady I suspected was still sitting on her seat. By a chink of light coming through the blind I saw that she was.
The lady sitting on my left recognised the visitor as a guide she had seen on a previous occasion. The sitter asked a question and the guide, a nun, signified "Yes" by nodding. Only the face of this spirit visitor was visible and she brought her own light with her.
Well, there it was. I had looked into the eyes of a woman who was not in the room before the meeting started, and who had not come in with us. It certainly was not the medium. He is dark and unshaven. Her eyes were blue; his are dark, almost black. I should mention also that the medium had come out of the mine at 5.30 p.m., he had bathed, had a meal, and travelled two miles to the meeting, which began at 7 p.m.
After she had visited each sitter in turn, this lady from the spirit world moved back to the cabinet and disappeared inside. I had seen my first ghost and I had not been afraid. In fact, I thought, if all ghosts were so nice, I would not mind meeting them often. I felt better for it. I know now, of course, that I had the sitters in that meeting to thank. It was they who created the good conditions.
That was the only materialisation we had that night. The rest of the meeting was devoted to direct-voice speaking. This is so called because the spirit visitor speaks in his or her own voice, independent of the medium, sometimes with the aid of a trumpet, like a megaphone, and sometimes without. Our first visitor to speak in this fashion was Topsy, a little coloured girl who is very witty. Her job, besides acting as announcer on occasions, is to create harmony and good conditions for other visitors.
She came in very quickly and, using the trumpet, asked if we were all happy. Her voice is that of a gay, contented child, quite unlike die medium's voice. She often stands quite close to us and, although we cannot sec her, it is obvious, as she moves from one to another, that the voice is definitely coming from her. She

30 LISTEN MY SON
touched mc on the knee with the trumpet and asked me if I was enjoying myself. She said she liked me and hoped she would see me often. I said I hoped so, too.
As the conversation progressed between us, I forgot that she was a child who, having had a leg torn off by a crocodile, had been dead for a hundred years or more. I had been told this before. She is certainly "all there" in every way. As she went away she told mc that someone very important to me was coming next.
Zuru, through the medium—he always speaks like this— asked us to hold each other's hands and warned me not to get excited or I might "break die conditions." It was difficult, but I obeyed as well as I could. Presently two small lights came out of the cabinet and moved across the room towards where I was sitting. We were singing softy as they hovered just above my head. Then from out of the air, fully six feet away from the medium, a voice, little more than a whisper, said, "Harry, it's Dot."
I must have heard that name Harry spoken many thousands of times in my lifetime, but in that whisper I recognised immediately the voice of your mother. No other living soul could say Harry as she said it. She seemed very excited and her voice broke with emotion. There was no one in that room who had ever known your mother. 1 asked afterwards what the two lights meant and was told that someone accompanied her to help.
Wonder piled upon wonder. There was no doubt now. Your mother was still living and under proper conditions could speak to me. It is said that sincere and heartfelt thanks is prayer. If that be true, then no greater prayer ever ascended to God than my prayer at that moment. His holy ministers had led me to this man, Hunter Selkirk, so that I could find again the great love that had bloomed in my life. I hope, Ken, that you will ever keep this picture in your mind. No matter what anyone may say to you, I, your father, tell you that this is true.
After your mother had gone, Zuru spoke again and said someone else was coming for me. In a minute or two a great booming voice high up against the ceiling, said: "I have led you in the past and will continue to lead you along the winding road of life. I will be near to help you when you need help. I


TEACHING FROM BEYOND 31
will come to you in the shade of the tree. 1 will come to you in your home. I will make my presence known to you, so that you may feel and know me. I am real, I am no myth." I got to know later that he is a North American Indian.
The little coloured girl came again and with her amusing talk made us all laugh and put us in good humour. She told us that it was time to close. Zuru gave the closing prayer—and so ended the most amazing meeting I had ever attended.
I had seen; I had heard; I had felt; I had spoken to people who had lived upon the earth as I was doing now. These people had died, had been buried—to await the sounding of the "last trump."
The Christian religion, as I understood it, was confounded. It was incomplete. It had shrivelled to a vague, indefinite theology where it ought to have been a sound, robust conviction.

I bought the Hunter Selkirk book. It seemed very honest to me. Hard to know what to make of it.

I agree Obi simply written and very honest. It is amazing that it seems almost the only book to mention him given how hard working he appears from the writers description.

It would be good if there was something else to back up the amazing stories in the book. It appears Hunter had no gimmicks like flying trumpets or stomping Indians just spirit lights, faces, materialisations and solid evidential direct voice evidence. It also appears that he was not to rigid about ensuring their was stygian darkness in the room, indeed there are references to moonlight entering and light through the blinds.

This sort of partial darkening, where people could actually see something in the room, was quite often recorded in the earlier days. Indeed pre 1900 there are many more records of materialisation in quite good light.

One of the first of these was a newspaper account, again lacking supportive evidence, of a materialisation with DD Home in a room where the drapes were only partially closed and there was good light. Indeed if it was possible to validate the reference it might even be the first full materialisation. Of course DD Home was a great opponent of dark circles (as were many of the 19th century mediums for a good account of the controversy see https://www.spiritualismlink.com/t2043-light-magazine-and-psycholgical-review-against-dark-seances & https://www.spiritualismlink.com/t566-the-snooper-scope-infra-red-camp-chesterfield-revelations of course in this section of the forum ther is much that is good as well https://www.spiritualismlink.com/f5-physical-mediumship).

But of course there was another post on here about Hunter Selkirk which does reference publications which do verify parts of his mediumship. As I suspected we would need access to the Spiritualist periodicals of the 1930's.

https://www.spiritualismlink.com/t1361-hunter-selkirk-a-great-clairvoyant#8269
HUNTER SELKIRK - “A GREAT CLAIRVOYANT” by Harry Emerson (this is an extract from Chapter 19 of Listen my son)

I have not attended many of these meetings, but in each one where I have been present wonderful evidence has been given to people who were complete strangers to the medium. So accurate were the descriptions and so convincing was the evidence produced that the recipients at times literally gasped.

I have no record of my own of these meetings and I would not attempt to tell you of them from memory, but I have some newspaper cuttings describing some of the meetings I have attended. Here is an account of one meeting, from the “Two Worlds” of October 14, 1938, headed “A Great Clairvoyant”:

“One of the best displays of evidential clairvoyance and clairaudience that I have witnessed for a long time was given by Mr. Hunter Selkirk at West Stanley last week. The West Stanley Church, which is doing useful work in a busy mining area of Durham, held its largest propaganda meeting when over 500 people were present.

“Mr. Hunter Selkirk, of Craghead, is a collier, a man in the prime of life, a fine example of muscular manhood, and I particularly liked the naturalness with which he did his work.

“There was no desire to create a great impression, no attempt to pose before his audience, no theatrical display. He was a working man who talked on the platform as he would talk amongst a company of friends. He was evidently under a strong measure of spirit control, for here and there the broken English of his inspirer obtruded itself. In every case he indicated the individual for whom his description was intended. In the course 45 minutes he gave evidence to 18 different people, and his descriptions were accompanied by names and particulars which made identity sure.

“Mr. Selkirk started by saying: ‘There’s a friend here upon the platform who says she is Mrs Coxon and that she comes for Mr and Mrs Jack, who are in the audience. She also brings a friend by the name of Rutherford.’
Speaking to a lady at the side of Mrs Jack he said: ‘Your Auntie is here and your husband, too; he wants you to stop fretting, to buck up and catch the sunshine.’

There’s a young girl here who wants her mother; it is for you, madam,” indicating a lady in the audience. “She says she’s your daughter, Janie. She tells me that the person sitting next to you is her Granny; her Grandad comes with her and brings his love. They also bring a woman here who wants her husband; she says she’s Mrs. Cook. Her husband is not here hut you know him, and she wants you to convey the message to him. ‘Tell him not to bother to take flowers to my grave every week, but to put the flowers before my photograph in the home.’

“Pointing to another lady he said: ‘There’s a man here who says he is William Young, and that he passed away at Bumopfield. He brings a bad condition of the chest, which had much to do with his passing. He is brought by Jack and Robert, both of whom belong to you. They also bring with them Mrs Curry and Mr Croft. Mr Croft evidently belonged to some society or something, for when his name is mentioned he wants to shout “present.” They tell me you have visited the hospital today. You have no need to worry; the patient will recover.’

“Speaking to another lady and gentleman, he said: ‘With you there’s Mrs Miller and Jane Ann Oliver; she died at Blackhill, and you are to tell Tom that she’s been. They tell me that you are both investigators who are just starting your interest in the subject. You are both going to be successful.

“‘Then there’s Mrs Walton who passed away near where you live. She wants to speak to Tom. She was an elderly lady, over 70, and she says that she passed away in the Old Miners’ Home. There’s someone with her who says his name is Thomas, and he tells me to tell you that William has arrived safely.’

“Speaking to another lady, he said: ‘There’s a young girl for you, called Ivy, closely related to you. She’s about 18 or 19 and had long golden hair. She must have passed away some time ago, as she evidently died before permanent waves were in vogue.

“To another member of the audience, Mr Selkirk described an old lady of 89 years of age whose name was Nellie Blatchford. There was also a Mrs Barde there, who said she wanted her son. Mrs Bartle said that she wished she could stay a week and tell her son all he wanted to know, but at any rate she could assure him that ‘Spiritualism is the key to the house of perfect happiness.’ The son was advised to keep working and to dig hard and he would presently get all his difficulties and doubts explained.

“There was not a single point made by Mr. Selkirk in connection with any of the descriptions which was not clearly acknowledged as correct.

“The meeting at West Stanley created a tremendous impression on an interested audience, and the evidence produced by this fine clairvoyant left no doubts in the minds of his hearers.”

I think you will agree that this is outstanding for a man who knows nothing of what he is going to say when he mounts the platform before an audience of 500 people.

Just think of the many traps he could fall into did he attempt to foist upon these people something of his own manufacture. All these people are not Spiritualists. Many are there to see if it is really true. Some who attend, hoping it is not true, get a shock sometimes when they get evidence that they cannot deny from their dead friends.

I know of an instance where a man denied everything the medium gave him concerning his wife who had passed on. The medium gave her name and told the man that his wife was asking him to forgive her for something she had done. On being asked if he recognised the description, he replied that he did not know the woman.

Afterwards it was found that everything the medium had told him was correct, but he refused to recognise his wife because he would never forgive her for what she had done to him. It was hardly fair to the medium and certainly not very kind to his wife, who had pleaded for forgiveness from beyond the grave.

I remember a meeting, held in a large hall capable of accommodating 6oo people, where many latecomers had to be provided with forms on the stair-head landing. In one case a name was claimed by a person in the hall, but the medium said it was not for her, it was for someone of the same name on the landing to whom he wished to speak. This proved to be correct.

At a meeting held in the City Hall, Newcastle-on-Tyne, in April 1944, over 2,000 people attended. This meeting was addressed by Air Chief Marshal Lord Dowding and Hunter Selkirk was the demonstrator.

Many evidential messages were given by the medium, from young men of the Services who had recently passed on and who gave their names, all of which were claimed and recognised.

One outstanding example was a message from a young airman to a lady in the audience. He asked the lady to tell his wife that he had been, and to prove his identity he gave his wife’s christian name, which was the extremely uncommon name of Ethne. The lady acknowledged that this was correct. This could not be guesswork.

I have never heard of the name before, and I know that Hunter Selkirk had never seen the lady before; also, it is very unlikely that he would be able to see her clearly enough to be able to identify her again. So again it seems that the most intelligent explanation is that the young airman was not dead, but alive and active enough to come to that meeting and take advantage of what must have seemed to him a heaven-sent opportunity to let his wife know that he still loved her.

At a meeting held in our own church at Craghead, a lady, unknown to Hunter Selkirk, was given a message from her husband. She acknowledged the name given, but the husband, to make certain that she would know that it was indeed he, gave the number, containing seven figures, of a silver watch that had belonged to him and which the lady had with her in her handbag.

Four hundred people heard that message given. This lady came to the meeting to see if there was anything in Spiritualism. Like many more she found all she needed.

Fascinating - thanks Jim

OK an update we now have Chapter 8 Complete

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CHAPTER EIGHT
CHRISTMAS TREE FOR SPIRIT CHILDREN
IT was Christmas Eve and we had come together again for our meeting. On entering the séance room we found that Mrs. Cook had arranged and decorated it for a Christmas party. In the centre was a large Christmas tree, reaching almost to the ceiling, and from it different coloured ribbons were stretched. To each ribbon was attached a small parcel, placed underneath the chair of each sitter. These parcels contained presents for the sitters, to be handed out later in the meeting by one of the spirit children.
It seemed strange to be sitting in a room decorated for a children's party with not a child to be seen. But after the door
CHRISTMAS TREE FOR SPIRIT CHILDREN 41
was shut and the light was put out, they did come, and made no mistake about making their presence known.
After a hymn and a prayer Zuru spoke and thanked Mrs. Cook for decorating the room. "It is the same old anniversary,'' he said. "The same light still shines. The same message comes to you. The same symbol of the Christ child within you bringing the message of peace and good will to all."
The room was not quite dark. It was a bright moonlight night and the moonlight, penetrating the window curtains, enabled us to distinguish the tree and other objects in the room. Although this was a children's party Bob Ellis was our first visitor. We heard someone moving about and soon the fun began. I could just make out a form standing in front of me, then someone had loosened my waistcoat at the top and was trying to force a blown-up balloon down inside. Bob tried this sort of tiling with other sitters, but only succeeded in bursting the balloon on every occasion.
While he was doing this, Topsy was standing beside the cabinet laughing and encouraging him. After Bob had gone, Topsy told us that the other children were coming, and very soon we heard the sound of little feet. The volume of sound increased as they emerged from the cabinet. We heard one pair, then two, three, four, until we lost count and all these spirit children were running around the Christmas tree. We could just see the small forms flitting past - and remember what I told you about die ribbons with the parcels attached. They did not trip over them and they were not disturbed. One pair of feet sounded heavier than the others and Topsy said, "It is Jacko with his clogs on."
All the time this was going on, Topsy was singing and keeping the children in order. There was very little room between the tree and the sitters, and I know I would have great difficulty in walking around in daylight without tripping over something. This lasted for about three minutes. Then the sound of the patter of little feet gradually died away.
Topsy, by this time, had passed to the back of the chairs and I felt her hands on my shoulders. She told me to watch the window as she came back. I looked towards the window and saw her form outlined against the dim moonlight. She lifted the
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curtain and let the moonlight stream in for a second or two.
She next took one of the streamers and gave the end to a sitter to hold and said she was going to climb up the streamer to the top of the tree. She was talking all the time and the voice travelled higher and higher until it was almost up to the ceiling. She came down much quicker, with a bump and an "Oh! ' Topsy went away after this but promised to come back.
Most of the children visited us singly after this. The first to come was Ivy Rutherford. She died of diphtheria when she was five and since passing has been taught to speak politely and correctly. She prides herself on her good manners. She never wastes a second but talks all the time. "We will press forward, let others crawl behind if they want to," she said. She took her present from the tree, a Christmas stocking, from which she took a small ball with an elastic attached. She threw it several times, until the elastic snapped. Then she gave it to Dorothy to keep for her. "And don't let Topsy have it," she said.
The next to come was a little London boy named Jimmy Prudhoe. He was killed in a street accident and, when he first came, he was a real cheeky little fellow who wanted to know what we were all staring at. "What's the matter with me? Do I look funny?" he asked. We explained and told him we were very pleased to see him. Then we asked him where he had lived in London. He told us he had lived in Baker Street and in answer to further questions said that his father and mother had been killed in an air raid.
"What did your mother say when she saw you?" asked someone. Jimmy replied: "She said, 'What! have you turned up again?' But she was darned pleased to see me again," he added. He was being bombarded with questions from all sides when he broke in with: "Blimey, you ain't arf an inquisitive crowd! Can't you talk about something else than me?" But he enjoyed himself at this party and many a visit we had from him after this. What a wonderful, lovable little chap he turned out to be.
The children followed each other quickly and each had something to say. Some were full of talk; others were shy but said they were pleased to come. It was evident with some that they were repeating what someone else was telling them to say.
There was Bobby Chaytor who was drowned in the river at
CHRISTMAS TREE FOR SPIRIT CHILDREN 43
Chester-le-Street. He spoke in the broad Durham dialect. "These London folks think they're clever wi' their swanky taak, but aa knaw what aam taakin' aboot," he said.
Mary Kendrick, who said she lived in Victoria Street, London, a shy little girl, with a sweet little voice, told us that her brother Wilfrid was in the Air Force. "I am going to school but I don't know what the teacher's name is yet, ' she said.
Billy Robson, who was killed in the mine at Craghead when only 15, came to the party and spoke to those he knew. "It's Billy Robson's voice right enough," was the general comment.
George Thirlaway, another boy who lived at Craghead, and who left a message for his mother, was also recognised by his voice. There was little Lizzie Stonehouse, who belonged to Sunniside and who said: "Ivy brought me. I have to say Thank
you!
Then there came the coloured brigade, Jacko, Poppy, Billy Boy, Louisiana and Sambo, all children who are training to be guides and who speak enthusiastically of school and the teaching they receive. There was Sunrise, a Red Indian boy who is learning to be a healer, and Mitzi, another little coloured girl. All these children came and spoke to us without using the trumpet. We could not distinguish the features. All we could see was the size and shape of the form as it stood outside the cabinet or moved around.
The voices were all different and in every case came from the form as it moved from one sitter to another. Some of the more experienced were lively in their movement; others were shy and came out timidly, but all seemed to walk. It all seemed so natural. These children talked to us, they touched us, they stood so close that we could hear and feel them breathing. It seems that when they come in this fashion they need air as we do. It seems funny, doesn't it? But it happened as I have stated. The medium was in the cabinet all the time. We could hear him.
We had a visit from Iza, who died as a boy a long time ago. He is an Assyrian and has been attached to Mrs. Cook as a guide for a good many years. He speaks good English in a refined cultured tone, and has proved a good help on many occasions. All his tuition in speaking our language has been received since he passed to the spirit world.
44 LISTEN MY SON
He came to the party as a boy and, unlike the others at this meeting, he brought a light with him. We could see his face dearly as he went to Mrs. Cook and said, 4'Hello, Mother." Mrs. Cook asked about a nephew who is in the Air Force and Iza said that so far he was all right and added, "But you know, Mother, you people living on the earth make conditions so difficult that even we cannot see very far ahead sometimes, but you can rest assured that all will do their best for him." This was a very comforting message for Mrs. Cook.
He moved to each in turn and as he stood just outside of the cabinet he said: "You are all making your way up the hill. Some day you will all go over the hill, and when you do I hope to meet you there. Where you heart is there your treasure lies. I love you all. Good night."
Topsy came again and, starting at the right hand end of the semi-circle, took the parcels from underneath the chairs and presented them with, as she said "a few well-chosen remarks." Whether they were well chosen or not is a matter of opinion, but they caused a lot of laughter. It is really very wonderful having this child stand close to you laughing and talking as naturally as if she was a child living on the earth. She comes as a child but she is a very wise person. She will be full of fun and witty remarks and suddenly her mood will change and we hear something like this: "I want you to feel that we have had a harmonious hour together. We have sung from our hearts; we have laughed with joy. We have felt the sacred touch from the realm of spirit. It is indeed a blessing that we can change frequently, from wind to calm, from storm to sunshine, and from apparent foolishness to sublime thought. All these blended make life worthwhile and its aim is fulfilled. We are happy and content in spirit with these heart-to-heart reunions.
"As I leave you I hope you have gained strength and encouragement to help you in the days that lie ahead. We come from the spirit world to speak to you, to tell you that eternal life is yours, with one aim, to teach you to live your earth life in the service of others, and so fit yourselves for the fuller life to come. All join in sending their love to you." After giving some instructions for our next meeting Topsy sang, "Now The Day Is Over," and went away. Zuru spoke and asked us to close the
WAR VICTIM RETURNS 45
meeting, saying: "May the Great Spirit protect you all till we meet again. Good night, God bless you all."
Generally speaking, a bedroom is a private room, the place where one writes in one's diary or wrestles with some secret problem or worry, and very often where people die. But who would think that a party for children who have been dead for some time would be held in an ordinary bedroom and that these children attended and joined in the fun?

Hmm Mac we had our second Christmas Tree Seance this year, there are others, different but still worthwhile. I will report on it shortly.

This looks very interesting. I'm signing off for the night and only had time to glance at it, but I want to read it at greater length and comment, next time I sign on.

We're still waiting for the report from Jim-Admin, Jim Mc....

I really wanted to follow up on Hunter Selkirk, as I expected it needed access to periodicals of the time. At last the Psychic news Archive is on hand. This gives us details of a demo he did in Newcastle with 20 messages. Just the tip of the iceberg many more references to him in PN.

Over winter I've been in touch with the UoM archivist about the problems they had earlier with the PN archive. That was sorted but the archive ran only to 1967 and I learned that funding for the new fiscal year had still to be finalised with no certainty at that time that new money would be available. It appears though that in the latest edition of Psychic News it's been announced the archive would be completed later this year - I'm no longer a PN subscriber so I didn't see the piece.

Based on what I'd heard about PN's announcement I got in touch again with the UoM and later learned that some funding would be made available and some additional years of digitisation would go ahead before the autumn of this year.

But it looks unlikely that the remainder of the project - from 1967 to 2010 - will be completed this year.

Damn Mac its great to have it free but I know at one time Gale would have taken over and recovered the costs by charging. However, you can access Gale through many national libraries for free.

Admin wrote:Damn Mac its great to have it free but I know at one time Gale would have taken over and recovered the costs by charging. However, you can access Gale through many national libraries for free.

What's Gale, Jim?  

As you're a historian it might be worth your while looking for stuff that particularly interests you and download it now while the archive is being made available.  Who knows how long it will remain that way?  I'm interested in the later years from the mid 1980s to the death of the newspaper format but I may have a long wait before those editions get digitised......

Sorry Mac Gale Cengage; they handle many newspapers and when I was researching Meurig Morris they wer kind enough to give me a months free access to the Daily mail because the Library of Australia had not added that paper to their licence.

Yes I had wanted that section to be digitised it would have been interested in the church ads around London for the years Lis was working.

I am going to look at Hunter Selkirk in detail, finish my work on Meurig, look at the issues of trance mediumship and the mind of the medium (grabbing all the WW2 prophecies from the great trance guides etc. etc.

Admin wrote:I am going to look at Hunter Selkirk in detail, finish my work on Meurig, look at the issues of trance mediumship and the mind of the medium (grabbing all the WW2 prophecies from the great trance guides etc. etc.

I hope you'll publish your findings here on SL, Jim....

I read “listen my son” and found it most interest.

So did I Obi but sadly, until now, there was nothing else to find out about him. Now I can write a more detailed story. I have found a description of a decent materialisation seance in decent blue light which is critical to belief as long as the source is good.

Admin wrote:So did I Obi but sadly, until now, there was nothing else to find out about him. Now I can write a more detailed story. I have found a description of a decent materialisation seance in decent blue light which is critical to belief as long as the source is good.

I look forward to reading it