ILLUSIONS AND HALLUCINATIONS. 635 



Tlie following account may be taken as typical of tlie true 

 illusion : * 



" One evening, at dnsk, I went into my bedroom to fetch some- 

 thing I wanted off the mantelpiece. A street lamp threw a slant- 

 ing ray of light in at the window, just sufficient to enable me to 

 discern the dim outline of the chief articles of furniture in the 

 room. I was cautiously feeling for what I wanted when, par- 

 tially turning round, I perceived at a short distance behind me 

 the figure of a little old lady, sitting very sedately with her 

 hands folded in her lap, holding a white pocket handkerchief. I 

 was much startled, for I had not before perceived any one in the 

 room, and called out 'Who's that ?' but received no answer, and, 

 turning quite round to face my visitor, she immediately vanished 

 from sight. * Well/ I thought, ' this is strange ! ' I had left all 

 the rest of the household downstairs ; it was hardly possible that 

 any one could have followed me into the room without my being 

 aware of it, and besides, the old lady was different from any one 

 I had ever seen. Being very near-sighted, I began to think my 

 eyes had played me a trick ; so I resumed my search in as nearly 

 as possible the same position as before, and having succeeded, 

 was turning to come away, when lo ! and behold ! there sat the 

 little old lady as distinct as ever, with her funny little cap, dark 

 dress, and hands folded demurely over her white handkerchief. 

 This time I turned round quickly and marched up to the appari- 

 tion, which vanished as suddenly as before. And now being con- 

 vinced that no one was playing me any trick, I determined to find 

 out, if possible, the why and because of the mystery. Slowly 

 resuming my former position by the fireplace, and again perceiv- 

 ing the figure, I moved my head slightly from side to side, and 

 found that it did the same. I then went slowly backward, keep- 

 ing my head still until I reached the place, when, deliberately 

 turning round, the mystery was solved. A small polished ma- 

 hogany stand near the window, which I used as a cupboard for 

 various trifles, made the body of the figure, a piece of paper hang- 

 ing from the partly opened door serving as the handkerchief; a 

 vase on the top made the head and headdress, and the slanting 

 light falling upon it and the white curtain of the window com- 

 pleted the illusion. I destroyed and remade the figure several 

 times and was surprised to find how distinct it appeared when 

 the exact relative positions were maintained.'' 



In this case the form of the illusion seems to have been almost 

 entirely determined by sensory stimuli, but in many cases the 

 operation of the central factor can still be traced. For example, 

 Parish quotes f from Prof. Lazarus an experience of his own. 



* Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research, vol. x, p. 95. f Op. clt., p. 135. 



