Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in Adelaide Part II -
How to Talk to the Dead
Sir
Arthur Conan Doyle was a tenacious champion of the spiritualist movement, after
first discovering it in 1886. He devoured as many texts about the subject as he
could, and became involved in seances and table tipping, as well as frequently
visiting psychics.
Conan
Doyle lost his first wife, Norma in 1906, and it is believed that the
depression he felt after her death, may have triggered him to bury himself
further in the occult and spiritualism.
He truly believed that his own son, Kingsley, who died in 1918, had contacted him from beyond the grave, talking through a medium. He stated that Kingsley had also touched him on his head during the séance.
He truly believed that his own son, Kingsley, who died in 1918, had contacted him from beyond the grave, talking through a medium. He stated that Kingsley had also touched him on his head during the séance.
Sir
Arthur Conan Doyle arrived in Australia at Fremantle on board the R.M.S. Naldera
on the 17th of September 1920. He then, on the same ship, arrived in,
Outer Harbour, Adelaide on Tuesday the 21st of September, before
making his way to Gibson’s Grand Central Hotel, where he based himself for the
duration of his time in Adelaide.
Conan Doyle’s
tour of Australia, titles “Death and the Hereafter” began in Adelaide:
On Saturday
the 25th of September, Conan Doyle delivered his first lecture in
the Adelaide Town Hall, titled “The Human Argument”, to an estimated audience
of 2000 people. It was noted by journalists of the time that many in the
audience were well educated business people of Adelaide.During this talk, Conan Doyle outlined what led him to his belief in spiritualism, and what he called “the hard facts” about the movement. He also detailed the history of spiritualism around the world up until that point.
On
Monday the 27th of September 1920, Conan Doyle delivered his second
speech, this time titled “The Religious Argument”. During this lecture Conan
Doyle explained that spiritualism was not separate from the Churches beliefs,
but that they were intertwined, and that one proves the other.[1]
On
Tuesday the 28th, Conan Doyle delivered the final lecture to
Adelaide audiences, titled “Pictures of Psychic Phenomena”. During this
lecture, Conan Doyle had many of his photos that were taking during seances,
projected onto a screen for the audience. Within the photos were alleged apparition
photos of his son Kingsley, and of mediums producing “ecto-plasm”.[2]
Sir
Arthur Conan Doyle then took his tour around Australia and New Zealand to sold
out venues.
Sir Arthur
Conan Doyle went on to write twenty books about spiritualism, they are:
The
New Revelation
(1918),
Life
After Death
(1918),
The
Vital Message
(1919),
Spiritualism
and Rationalism
(1920),
The
Wanderings of a Spiritualist
(1921),
The
Coming of the Fairies
(1922),
The
Case for Spirit Photography
(1922),
Our
American Adventure
(1923),
Our
Second American Adventure
(1924),
Spiritualist's
Reader
(1924),
Memories
and Adventures
(1924),
The
Early Christian Church and Modern Spiritualism (1925),
The
Land of Mist
(1926, fiction),
The
History of Spiritualism,
in two volumes (1926),
Pheneas
Speaks. Direct Spirit Communication in the Family Circle (1927),
Our
African Winter
(1929), The Edge of the Unknown (1930).
© 2017 - Allen Tiller = The Haunts of Adelaide: History, Mystery and the Paranormal
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[1] 1920
'THE RELIGIOUS ARGUMENT', The Northern Champion (Taree, NSW : 1913 - 1954),
27 November, p. 8. , viewed 15 Jul 2017, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article158367509
[2] 1920
'THE CONAN DOYLE LECTURES', The Register (Adelaide, SA : 1901 - 1929),
24 September, p. 8. , viewed 15 Jul 2017,
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article57921970
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