David Phelps Abbott

Amateur magician and investigator of Spiritualist mediums. He was born in Falls City, Nebraska, September 22, 1863. Abbott published numerous essays and several books on psychical subjects. His book Behind the Scenes with the Mediums exposed many techniques of fake mediumship. In spite of his skepticism regarding the claims of mediumship, however, Abbott did not rule out the possibility of genuine phenomena. In a thoughtful contribution to the second volume of The Dream Problem by Ram Narayana (Delhi, 1922), he stated: "I mention these things to show that telepathy is far from established as a fact, yet I must say that I believe it to be possible under certain conditions, but positively it can not be commanded at will in the slightest degree." He then related personal and family experiences of veridical dreaming.

David Phelps Abbott - Writings

Fraudulent Spiritualism Unveiled*

* As to whether communication with the departed is possible, no discussion is here attempted. The episodes following, from experiences well authenticated, merely illustrate what sleight-of-hand experts have long known — that most "mediums," "astrologers," "mind readers," and the like, can be proven to be frauds. Their dupes are puzzled, and sometimes won over, in the name of Spiritualism, either by the tricks familiar to all "conjurers," or else by the psychology of deception (see page 280). Some of the cleverness displayed is marvelous, as the following pages show. The passages by Hereward Carrington are copyrighted by Herbert B. Turner & CO., 1907, and those by David P. Abbott are copyrighted by the Open Court Publishing Company, 1907. — EDITOR.

A Doctor of the Occult
How the Tricks Succeeded
The Name of the Dead

Mind Reading in Public
Some Famous Exposures

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