1882.] Haunted Houses and their Phenomena . 61 
experiment, where Miss Houghton is implicitly described as 
not in contact with the medium, whilst a certain date was 
given by the planchette, no such explanation seems at all 
admissible. But there are many so-called spiritual mani- 
festations which, whatever may be their source and their 
nature, are quite incapable of being accounted for by any 
transmission of thought between the spectators and the 
medium. Hence we do not see that mind-reading is likely 
to do any great things towards the “ exposure ” of Spiritual- 
ism. A reflection here occurs to us : why is mind-reading 
not, like Spiritualism, proclaimed mere jugglery and im- 
posture, or explained by the rather hazy hypothesis of 
“ Dominant Ideas ” ? Surely the evidence in the one case 
is as trustworthy as the other, and amongst those who have 
accepted Spiritualism as truth there are men of attainments 
as high and of integrity as unspotted as any of the advo- 
cates of mind-reading can lay claim to ! Why, then, do 
two novelties, each at variance with commonly received 
doctrines, meet with treatment so utterly different ? 
II. HAUNTED HOUSES and THEIR PHENOMENA; 
SUBJECTIVE OR OBJECTIVE ? 
By Frank Fernseed. 
ANY persons will undoubtedly pronounce this ques- 
tion utterly beneath the level of a scientific journal. 
Like the negative philosophers of the last century 
they will adopt the convenient method of banishing to the 
realm of fable and delusion whatsoever cannot be explained 
by their system. From this course I must beg to dissent. 
The more difficult a subject, — the more it has been compli- 
cated by superstition and imposture, — the more clearly it is 
the duty of Science to search closely and perseveringlyinto its 
nature. The difficulties here confronting us are not small. 
We all have a natural tendency — more or less pronounced — 
to believe whatsoever is mysterious and inexplicable, just in 
proportion a^ it departs from the common run of our expe- 
rience. The (i credo quia impossible est” of Sir Thomas 
