An Extraordinary Journey: The Memoirs of a Physical Medium (2010) by Stewart Alexander

 

After learning about and investigating Spiritualism for two years, Stewart Alexander decided to form a home circle and conduct seances.  Months passed with no discernable results.  The breakthrough occurred one night when he was invited to attend a sitting with his brother and sister-in-law.  He accepted the invitation as he didn't want to miss anything should this be the occasion when something finally occurred.  And it did.
 
Stewart heard a voice in his left ear, saying, "Turn out the light — continue to sit."  He recalled, ". . . without variation those precise words were repeated again and again just as if they were on a loop of magnetic audio tape."  He then became aware of "a presence" and his body reacted with spasms and tremors.  "At the same time my consciousness seemed quickly to locate itself outside, behind and to the left of my body and from that position I observed my mouth fall open and with a rush the following words issued forth: 'I come speak, brother, sister.'"
 
These words had been spoken by a being Stewart would understand to be his "principal spiritual guide" who subsequently identified himself as 'White Feather.'  Among the physical effects felt by Stewart when White Feather spoke through him, his left hand would begin to "curl in upon itself as if grossly deformed."
 
Stewart decided to dedicate himself to the 'great work' of mediumship after attending two sittings with Direct Voice medium Leslie Flint in 1973/4.  On these occasions, Stewart recognized the individual voices of loved ones who'd passed over, including his grandmother.  When White Feather spoke to him, Stewart asked if, during his earthly life, he had a physical deformity.  "Instantly he replied — 'Do you mean my left hand?'"
 
Stewart entered a deep trance state whenever physical phenomena occurred at the meetings of his home circle.  Other significant communicators who manifested through his mediumship beyond White Feather "who for some years was our single communicator" included in 1982 Lila Josephs, who in her earthly life had been a medium that was a friend of a circle member.  A year later, Lila was followed by 'little Christopher,' who has been known to ease any tension among sitters with his childlike and amusing ways.  In 1992 the circle was introduced to a new sitter — "the singular Walter Stuart Stinson.  Students of Spiritualism and of physical research will know that the name of Walter Stinson was, during the 1920s and 1930s synonymous with the Boston (USA) medium known to the world under the pseudonym of 'Margery the Medium.'"  'Frieda Johnson' arrived in 1996 and the 'Spirit Team' was augmented again in 2000 with 'Dr. Franklin Barnett.'
 
Stewart's book includes appraisals of mediums whose careers were chronicled during previous epochs.  He reminded that many prominent mediums cooperated fully with researchers only to find themselves regarded with suspicion and doubt.  The concluding portion of the book features Stewart's profiles of two cases of 'suspect surreptitious fingerprints' resulting from seance room phenomena.  These mediums were George Valiantine and Mina 'Margery' Crandon.

 Photograph (detail) of a materialized hand and the entranced Mina 'Margery' Crandon during a seance.

Herbert Dennis Bradley wrote about the mediumship of George Valiantine in three books.  In the first book Toward the Stars (1924), Bradley described experiencing "the most staggering event of my life" — a conversation with his sister Annie ten years after the end of her Earth life.  Bradley's opinion about Valiantine changed because of two incidents in particular that are chronicled in his third book And After (1931).  Stewart commented:

At séances held in 1931 in Bradley's home, it had been discovered that fingerprints, made upon smoked paper in the séance room, supposedly by the Spirits, were in fact of the medium's own right big toe or elbow joint.  Dennis Bradley consulted Scotland Yard with the prints and they conclusively confirmed his suspicions.  When challenged, Valiantine, according to Bradley, had broken down and claimed not to understand how such a thing could have happened.

Valiantine steadfastly maintained that he had no explanation for these circumstances.  Bradley wrote in his third book that Valiantine never wavered in his denial of personal guilt concerning the incident and neither did he waver in his defense of the 'guides.'

As the case is profiled by Stewart, soon after this incident, during a seance for a man identified only as 'Mr. X' in the book, a fingerprint obtained on smoked paper was, on subsequent examination, found to be that of the middle finger of his left hand.  Stewart commented, ". . . the entire matter appeared to contradict basic common sense.  Prior to those sittings the medium, as we knew, was already under grave suspicion regarding the nature of his séance room fingerprints.  It therefore seems inexplicable that he should have attempted to perpetrate the self-same fraud upon his host."

Concerning Mrs. Mina 'Margery' Crandon, Stewart explained: ". . . it was discovered by the leading researcher E. E. Dudley, that some of the alleged Spirit fingerprints made at séances over a period of several years and claimed by Walter to belong to him, were, in fact, identical to those of Margery's dentist."  Stewart noted, "The Crandons' dentist had suggested the use of a dental compound known as 'Kerr Wax' in order for the print impressions to be made."

Stewart investigated the allegations in a remarkable way.  During a 1994 meeting of Stewart's home circle, Walter himself was invited to comment on the affair.

This part of the book ends with the passage: "All these years later he [Walter] is still unable to account for the fact that beyond any reasonable doubt those [fingerprints] he knew to be paranormal were eventually found to be identical to those of his sister's dentist.  It is as much a mystery to him today as it was then."

Here is a link to "The Felix Experimental Group (FEG): Applied Spiritual and Physical Spirit Manifestation" blog article "The Eclectic Margery Crandon" that is my source for the above photo.

Previous post "Alec Harris: The Full Story of His Remarkable Physical Mediumship by Louie Harris":

http://metaphysicalarticles.blogspot.com/2011/10/alec-harris-full-story-of-his.html