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THEORY
OF
APPARITIONS.
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ESSAY
TOWARDS
A THEORY
OF
APPARITIONS,
BY
JOHN FERRIAR, M, D.
A thousand fantasies
Be°jiri to throng into my memory,
Of calling shapes, and beck'ning shadows dire.
And airy tongues, that syllable men's names
On sands, and shores, and desert wildernesses.
These thoughts may startle well, but not astound,
CoMus, I. 205.
LONDON:
PllINTED FOR CADELL AND DAVIES ; BY J. AND J. HADDOCK, WARRINGTON.
181. '3.
/ l^d 6'^t ^^/^*C
CONTENTS.
Page.
Chapter I. Reality of spectral impressions — General law of the system, to "jjhich they may be referred —Division of the subject — Spectral illusions exemplified -------.13
Chapter II. A lazvyer^s argument for the exist- ence of witchcraft — Proofs of spectral inpres- sions, from recollected perceptions — New Eng- land witches — Cardan — Donne — Jonson — The maid of France — and other visionaries - - 28
Chapter III. Beaumont^s Visions — Those of Tasso — Kotter — Drabicius — Arise Evans — Bovet 69
Chapter IV. Medical distinctions of spectral impressions. Sepulchral remedies : Preparations of the human skull — Mumia — Apparition of Ficinus to Michael Mercato — Warning voice to 2uarra;us — Visions of Dr. Pordage. Latent lunacy; exemplified in the character of Hamlet 95
Chapter V. Accessory causes of delusion, re- garding spectral impressions — Apparition of Desfontaines — Ghosts at Portnedown Bridge — Lucian's story of a Split Ghost — Instance of a Ghost in two places at once.
PREFACE.
W HEN a late ingenious Physician dis- covered the elastic fluid, which he termed his ' Gas of Paradise/ and which he hoped to render a cheap substitute for inebriating liquors, he claimed the ho- nors due to the inventor of a new plea- sure.
How far mankind would have bene- fited, by the introduction of a fresh mode of intoxication, 1 leave to the reflection of those sages, whose duty it would have become to appreciate its value,
A
vi PREFACE.
as an additional source of revenue to the state. But when I consider the de- light with which stories of apparitions are received by persons of all ages, and of the most various kinds of knowledge and ability, I cannot help feeHng some degree of complacency, in offering to the makers and readers of such stories, a view of the subject, which may ex- tend their enjoyment far beyond its for- mer limits. It has given me pain to see the most fearful and ghastly commence- ments of a tale of horror reduced to mere common events, at the winding up of the book. I have looked, ako, with much compassion, on the pitiful instru- ments of sliding pannels, trap-doors^ back- stairs, wax-work figures, smugglers, rob- bers, coiners, and other vulgar machinery, which authors of tender consciences have
PREFACE. Vll
employed, to avoid the imputation of belief in supernatural occurrences. So hackneyed, so exhausted had all arti- ficial methods of terror become, that one original genius was compelled to convert a mail-coach, with its lighted lamps, into an apparition.
Now I freely offer, to the manufac- turers of ghosts,' the privilege of raising them, in as great numbers, and in as horrible a guise as they may think fit, without offending against true philoso- phy, and even without violating proba- bility. The highest flights of imagina- tion may now be indulged, on this subject, although no loop-hole should be left for mortifying explanations, and for those modifications of terror, which completely baulk the reader's curiosity, and disgust him with a second reading. -^ A 2
viii PREFACE.
Another great convenience will be found in my system; apparitions may be evoked, in open day,— at noon, if the case should be urgent, in the midst of a field, on the surface of water, or in the glare of a patent-lamp, quite as easily, as in the ' darkness of chaos or old night/ Nay, a person rightly prepared may see ghosts, while seated comfortably by his library-fire, in as much perfection, as amidst broken tombs, nodding ruins, and awe-inspiring ivy. To those unfortunate persons, who feel a real dread of appa- ritions, I hoj^ to offer considerations which will quiet their fears, and will ^ even convert the horrors of solitude into a source of rational amusement. But I must forbear to display all the utility of this treatise, lest my reader should ima- gine that I am copying Echard's mock- panegyric on his own dialogues.
PREFACE. IX
Take courage, then, good reader, and knock at the portal of my enchanted castle, which will be opened to you, not by a grinning demon, but by a very civil person, in a black velvet cap, with whom you may pass an hour not dis- agreeably.
-Observe, however, that the following treatise is applicable, in its principles, tQ profane history, and to the delusions of individuals only. If any thing con- tained in the ensuing pages could be construed into the most indirect refe- rence to theological discussions, the manuscript would have been committed^ without mercy, to the flames.
What methods may have been em- ployed by Providence, on extraordinary
A 3
X PREFACE.
occasions, to communicate with men, I do not presume to investigate ; nor could I hope to display them in lan- guage equal to the numbers of our sweetest poet, with which I shall con- clude these remarks :
And is there care in heaven ? and is there love In heavenly spirits to these creatures base. That may compassion of their evils move ? There is : else much more wretched were the case Of men than beasts. But O th' exceeding grace Of highest God I that loves his creatures so. And all his works with mercies doth embrace. That blessed angels he sends to and fro. To serve to wicked man, to serve his wicked foe.
How oft do they their silver bowers leave.
To come to succour us, that succour want ?
How oft do they with golden pinions cleave
The flitting skies, like flying pursuivant.
Against foul fiends to aid us militant ?
They for us fight, they watch and duly ward.
And their bright squadrons round about us plant.
And all for love, and nothing for reward :
O why should heavenly God to men have such regard ?
Faerie 2ueene, Cant, viii.
THEORY
OF
APPARITIONS.
A i
OF THE
THEORY OF APPARITIONS.
CHAPTER I.
JReality of spectral impressions — General law of the system, to which they may be referred-^Division of the subject — Spec- tral illusions exemplified.
A Shall begin this discussion, by admit- ing, as an undeniable fact, that the forms of dead, or absent persons have been seen, and their voices have been heard, by witnesses whose testimony is entitled to belief.
14 THEORY OF APPARITIONS.
It would be an endless task to ransack the pages of antiquity, for instances of this kind. The apparition of the Genius to Brutus, and of the Fury to Dion, cannot be doubted. We may be allowed, however, to enquire, whether the im- proved state of physiology affords any glimpse of light on this subject, and whedier such extraordinary and terrific impressions cannot be explained, from the known laws of the animal oeconomy, independent of supernatural causes, in the examples furnished by profane his- tory.
It is well known, that in certain dis- eases of the brain, such as delirium and insanity, spectral delusions take place, even during the space of many days. But it has not been generally observed, that a partial affection of the brain may exist, which renders the patient liable to such imaginary impressions, either of gight or sound, without disordering his
THEORY OF APPARITIONS. 15
judgment or memory. From this pecu- liar condition of the sensorium, I con- ceive that the best supported stories of apparitions may. be completely account- ed for.
To render this inquiry more perspicu- ous, I shall consider,
I. The general law of the system, to which the origin of the spectral im- pressions may be referred :
II. The proof of the existence of morbid impressions of this nature, with- out any sensible external agency :
III. The application of these prin- ciples to the best-authenticated examples of apparitions.
§ I-
It is a well-known law of the human ceconomy, that the impressions produced
16 THEORY OF APPARITIONS.
on some of the external senses, especially on the eye, are more durable than the application of the impressing cause. The effect of looking at the sun, in producing the impression of a luminous globe, for some time after the eye has been withdrawn from the object, is fa- miliar to every one.
This subject has been so thoroughly investigated by the late Dr. Darwin, that I need only to refer the reader to his treatise on ocular spectra.* In young persons, the effects resulting from this permanence of impression are extremely curious. I remember, that about the age of fourteen, it was a source of great amusement to aiyself. If I had been viewing any interesting object in the course of the day, such as a romantic ruin, a fine seat, or a review of a body
* The experiments in this Essay appear to have been suggested, by those of Mariotte, Lc Cat, and ^ernouilli*
THEORY OF APPARITIONS. 17
of troops, as soon as evening came on, if I had occasion to go into a dark room, the whole scene was brought before my eyes, with a brilliancy equal to what it had possessed in day-light, and remained visible for several minutes. I have no doubt, that dismal and frightful images have been presented, in the same man- ner, to young persons, after scenes of domestic affliction, or public horror.
From this renewal of external impres- sions, also, many of the phasnomena of dreams admit an easy explanation. When an object is presented to the mind, during sleep, while the operations of judgment are suspended, the imagina- tion is busily employed in forming a story, to account for the appearance, whether agreeable or distressing. Then the author enjoys the delight of perusing works of infinite wit and elegance, which never had any real existence, and of which, to his utter mortification, he cannot recollect a single line, next
IB THEORY OF APPARITIONS.
morning ; and then the Bibliomane pur- chases illuminated manuscripts, and early editions on vellum, for sums so trifling, that he cannot conceal his joy from the imaginary vender.
Dr. R. Darwin seems to believe, that it is from habit only, and want of atten- tion, that we do not see the remains of former impressions, or the musc^ voli- tantes, on all objects."* Probably, this is an instance, in which the error of external sensation is corrected by experi- ence, like the deceptions of perspective, which are undoubtedly strong in our childhood, and are only detected by repeated observation.
*' After having looked," says Dr. Dar- " win, '* long at the meridian sun, in *' making some of the preceding experi- " ments, till the disk faded into a pale " blue, I frequently observed a bright " blue spectrum of the sun in other
* Zoonomia, Sect. xi. 2.
THEORY OF APPARITIONS. 19
objects all the next and the succeeding day, which constantly occurred when " I attended to it, and frequently when " I did not attend to it. When I closed " and covered my eyes, this appeared '^ of a dull yellow; and at other times *^ mixed with the colours of other objects " on which it was thrown."*
It is scarcely necessary to mention the well-known experiment of giving a rota- tory motion to a piece of burning wood, the effect of which is to exhibit a com- plete fiery circle to the eye.
To this principle of a renewal of impressions formerly made by different objects, belongs the idle amusement of tracing landscapes, and pictures of vari- ous composition, in the discoloured spots of an old w^all.- This may be truly called a waking dream, as it is composed of the shreds and patches of past sensations ; yet there are, perhaps, few persons who
* Sect. xi. 8.
20 THEORY OF APPARITIONS.
have not occasionally derived entertain- ment from it. It is probably on the same principle, that we are to account for the apipearances of armies marching, in desart and inaccessible places, which are sometimes beheld by the inhabitants of the vallies, in mountainous regions* The accidents of light and shade, and the interposition of partial fogs, or clouds, produce the same effect on the eye, as the discoloured patches of the wall ; and the rolling of the mist adds motion to the spectral images.
In like manner, recollected images are attributed to the moving lights, in the splendid exhibitions of the Aurora Borealis. The Icelander beholds in them the spirits of his ancestors;* and the vulgar discern encountering armies, and torrents of blood, in the lambent meteors of a winter-sky. The humble diversion pf seeing pictures in the fire, which
f Voyage d' Islande, in the Ambigu.
THEORY '6*' APPARliTrONS. 2 l
occupies children of smaller growth in the nursery, is calculated on the same principles. In some cases, the imagina- tion is assisted by physical causes, in a very imposing manner, as in the instance of the Giant of the Broken,* in Ger-
* I subjoin the original Dcc<5'4fi'F,''*as'-iP Will amuse the reader. . •
" In the course of my repeated tours through the Harz,* I ascended the Broken twelve times; but I had the good fortune only twice, (both times about Whitsuntide) to see that atmosp1ieri<5''ph6n6meaon, called the Spectre of the Broken, which appears to me worthy of particular attention, as it must, no doubt, be observed on other high rabuntains, which have a situation favorable for producing it. The first time I was deceived by this extraordinary pheno- menon, I had clambered up to the summit of the Broken y^^vj early in the morning, in order to wait for the inexpressibly beautiful view of the sun risino- in the east. The heavens were already streaked 'with, red; the sun was just appearing above the horizon in full majesty, and the most p'erfect serenity prevailed throughout the surrounding country, when' the other Harz mountains in the south west, towards the \Vorm mountains, &c. lying under the Broken began to be
* The Harz mountains are situated in Hanorer, B
22 THEORY OF APPARITIONS.
many, the ' nursing mother ' of ghost&. The giant was seen to occupy the summit of a mountain, at certain periods, to the inexpressible amaze- ment of the inhabitants of the valley, and of travellers. After many years of alarm and wonder, a passenger, while he was contemplating the dreadful appa- rition, was obliged to raise his hand quickly to his head, to secure his hat from being carried away, by a gust of
covered by thick clouds. Ascending at that moment the granite rocks called the Terapelskanzel, there appeared before nae, though at a great distance, to- wards the Wornt mountains and the Acl^ermaunshohe, tl^ gigantic figure of a man, as if standing on a large pedestal. But scarcely had I discovered it when it began to disappear, the clouds sunk down' speedily and expanded, and I saw the phenomenon no more. The second time, however, I saw this spectre some- what more distinctly, a little below the summit of the Broken, and near the Heinnichshohe, as I was look- ing at the sun rising, about four o'clock in the morning. The weather was rather tempestuous ; the sky towards the level country was pretty clear, but the Harz mountains had attracted several thick clouds, which had been hovering^ round them, and which beginning
THEORY OF APPARITIONS. 23
wind. The giant immediately perform- ed a similar motion ; when the traveller bowed, the giant bowed in return ; and after various experiments, it was ascer- tained, that the portentous appearance was nothing more than the shadow of the traveller, reflected from a dense white cloud, opposed to the sun.
I remember to have heard, many years ago, a relation of a similar nature.
on Ihe Broken confined the prospect. In these clouds, soon after the rising of the sun, I saw my own shadow, of a monstrous size, move itself for a couple of seconds in clouds, and the phenomenon disappeared. It is impossible to see this phenomenon, except when the sun is at such an altitude as to throw his rays upon the body in a horizontal direction ; for, if he is higher, the shadow is thrown rather under the body than be- fore it. In the month of September last year, as I was making a tour through the Harz with a very- agreeable party, and ascended the Broken, I found an excellent account, and explanation of this pheno.- menon, as seen by M. Haue on the 23rd of May 1797, in his diary of an excursion to that mountain. I shall therefore take the liberty of transcribing it.
B 2
24 THEORY OF APPARITIONS.
from a gentleman, who underwent the deception.
He was benighted, while travelling alone, in a remote part of the highlands of Scotland, and was compelled to ask shelter for the evening, at a small, lonely hut. When he was to be conducted to his bed-room, the landlady observed, with mysterious reluctance, that he would find the window very insecure.
** After having been here for the thirtieth time,'* says M. Haue, *' and, besides other objects of my attention, having procured information respecting the above-mentioned atmospheric phenomenon, I was at length so fortunate as to have the pleasure of seeing it; and perhaps my description may afford satisfaction to others who visit the Broken through curiosity^ The sun rose about four o* clock, and the atmosphere being quite serene towards the east, his rays could pass with- out any obstruction over the Heinnichshohe- In the south west, however, towards the Achtermaunshohe, a brisk west wind carried before it their transparent vapours, which were not yet condensed into thick heavy clouds. About a quarter past four I went to- wards the inn, and looked round to see whether the atmosphere would permit me to have a free prospect
theorV of apparitions. 25
On examination, part of the wall ap- peared to have been broken down, to enlarge the opening. After some en- quiry, he was told, that a pedlar, who had lodged in the room a short time before, had committed suicide, and was found hanging behind the door, in the morning. According to the superstition of the country, it was deemed improper to remove the body through the door of the house ; and to convey it through
to the southwest; when I observed, at a very great distance towards the Achtermaunshohe, a human figure of a monstrous size. A violent gust of wind having almost carried away my hat, i clapped my hand to it by moving my arm towards my head, and the colossal figure did the same. The pleasure whicli I felt on this discovery can hardly be described ; for I had already walked many a weary step in the hope of seeing this shadowy image without being able to satisfy my curiosity. I immediately made another movement by bending my body, and the colossal figure before me repeated it, i was desirous of doing the same thing once more, but my colossus had vanished. I remained in the same position, waiting to see whether it would return, and in a few minutes it again made its appearance in the Achtermaunshohe,
B $
26 THEORY OF APPARITIONS.
the window was impossible, without removing part of the wall. Some hints were dropped, that the room had been subsequently haunted by the poor man's spirit.
My friend laid his arms, properly pre- pared against intrusion of any kind, by the bed-side, and retired to rest, not without some degree of apprehension. He was visited, in a dream, by a fright-
I paid my respects to it a second time and it did the same to me. I then called the landlord of the Broken; and having both taken the same position which I had taken alone, we looked toward the Achtermaunshohe, but saw nothing. We had not, however, stood long, -when two such colossal figures were formed over the above eminence, which repeated our complunent by bending their bodies as we did ; after which they vanished. We retained our position ; kept our eyes fixed upon the same spot, and in a little the two figures again stood before us, and were joined by a third. Every movement that we made by bending our bodies, these figures imitated — but with this difference, that the phenomenon was sometimes weak and faint, sometimes strong and well defined. Having thus had an opportunity of discovering the whole secret of this
THEORY OF APPARITIONS. 27
ful apparition, and awaking ia agony, found himself sitting up in bed, with a pistol grasped in his right hand. On casting a fearful glance round the room, he discovered, by the moon-light, a corpse, dressed in a shroud, reared erect, against the wall, close by the window* With much difficulty, he summoned up resolution to approach the dismal object^ the features of whicli^ and the minutest parts of its funeral apparel, he perceived distinctly,- He passed one hand 0¥er k;
phenomenon, I can give the following information to such of my readers as may be desirous of seeing it themselves. When the -rising sun, and according to analogy the <:ase will be the same at the setting sun, tiirows his rays over the Broken upon the body of a sian standing opposite to £ne light clouds floating around* or hovering past .him, he needs only fix his €ye steadfastly upon them, and in all probability, he ■will see the singular spectacle ?af his own shadow ex- tending to the length of five or six hundred feet, afc ;the distance of about two miles before him. This is ^ne of the most agreeable phenomena, J everiiad an opportunity of remarking on the great obser-vations of iGermany^ Philosophical Magazine, vol. i. page 222.
B4
28 TH$X®^AQfAAPBARIXiM^.
felt no thing:;,, and; staggered back to the bed. Aft^r a long interval, and much reason iogi ;U^ith vhiniseif, he renewed his investigatiory, . and at, length discovered that the object of his terror was produced by.iitlie moon-beams, forming a long, biight image, through the broken win^ (jov/^o-on, which his fancy, impressed by ^lig dream, had pictured, with mischlev- OQ^LacOiiraiey, the lineaments of a body prepared I for* interment. Powerful asso- ciations: of jierror, in this intance, had excited the recollected images with un- common force and effect.
In another instance, related by an Italian WTiter, whole multitudes were deceived for several hours, by an appa- rition of a more specious kind. A croud Wcis assembled in the streets of Florence, earnestly beholding the image of an angel, hovering in the sky, and expect- ing some miraculous consequences. He soon perceived;^ that the deception was
THEORY OF APPARITIONS. 29
produced by a partial mist, which co- vered the dome of the churchy and left the gilded figure of an angel, which surmounted the building, illuminated by the rays of the sun. Without the presence of a philosopher, this would have passed for a supernatural appear- ance.
30 THEORY OF APPARITIONS.
CHAP. II.
A lawyer^ argument for the existence of witchcraft — Proofs of spectral impres- sions, jrom recollected perceptions — New Eng land witches — Cai^dan — Donne — Jonson — The maid of France-^ and ctlier visionaries^
XN a compilation, on the duties of a Justice of Peace, published by Nelson, we meet with a proof of the existence of witchcraft, which the editor appears to have thought irrefragable > ^' It seems,'" saith he, *' that there must formerly ^* hav^e been such a crime as witchcraft, f' because divers statutes have been made ^* against it." Were we to reason in the same manner, respecting demoniacal
THEORY OF APPARITIONS. 31
agency, in medical cases, jjroof could be brought, (particularly from the older German writers), that medicines have been administered, for the purpose of expelling the devil from human bodies, into v^hich it was supposed that he had entered, and that many different reme^ dies had been employed to this end.
Instead of resorting to any arguments of this nature, I shall now proceed to shew, that the forms of objects which have no external prototypes, are exhi- bited to the mind, in certain states of the brain.
§ II.
In the course of my professional em^ ployment, I have frequently conversed with persons, who imagined that they - saw demons, and heard them speak. This species of delusion admits of many gradations, and distinctions, exclusive of actual insanity,
32 THEORY OF APPARITIONS.
When the brain is partially irritated, the patient fancies that he sees spiders crawling over his bed-clothes, or person ; or beholds them cov^ering the roof and v/alls of his room. If the disease in- creases, he imagines that persons who are dead, or absent, flit round his bed ; that animals croud into his apartment, and that all these apparitions speak to him. These impressions take place, even while he is convinced of their fallacy. All this occurs sometimes, without any degree of delirium.
I had occasion to see a young married woman, whose first indication of illness w^as a spectral delusion. She told me, that her apartment appeared suddenly to be filled with devils, and that her terror impelled her to quit the house with great precipitation. When she was brought back, she saw the whole stair- case occupied by diabolical forms, and was in agonies of fear for several days.
THEORY OF APPARITIONS. 33
After this first impression wore off, she heard a voice tempting her to self- destruction, and prohibiting her from all exercises of piety. Such was the account given by her, when she was sensible -of the delusion, yet ? unable to resist the horror of the impression. When she was nearly recovered, I had the curiosity to question her, as I have interrogated others, respecting the forms of the demons with which they had been alarmed ; but 1 never could obtain any other account, than that they were small, very much deformed, and had horns and claws, like the imps of our terrific modern romances.
I have been forced to listen with much gravity, to a man partially insane, who assured me that the devil was lodeed in his side, and that I should perceive him thumping and fluttering there, in a manner which would perfectly con- vince me of his presence.
34 THEORY OF APPARITIONS.
Another lunatic believed that he had swallowed the devil, and had retained him in his stomach. He resisted the calls of nature during several days, lest he should set the foul fiend at liberty. I overcame his resolution, however, by administering an emetic in his food.
In Mather's Wonders of the invisible Worlds containing the trials of the Ame- rican witches, in 1692, a work which may be regarded as official, it appears that the visions of several persons who thought themselves bewitched, were oc- casioned by the night-mare.
On the trial of Bridget Bishop, at Salem, for example ; " John Cook testi- *' fied, that about five or six years ago, " one morning about sun-rise, he was ^' in his chamber assaulted by the shape " of this prisoner, which looked on him, ' grinned at him, and very much hurt " him with a blow on the side of the
THEORY OF APPARITIONS. 35
" head." " Richard Ceman testi-
" fied, that eight years ago, as he lay ** awake in his bed, with a light burning *' in the room, he was annoyed with ** the apparition of this Bishop and of " two more that were strangers to him, " who came and oppressed him so, that " he could neither stir himself, nor " wake any one else," &c.
Again, on the trial of Susannah Martin, " Bernard Peache testified, that being in " bed, on the Lord's day night, he heard ^* a scrabbling at the window, whereat ** he then saw Susannah Martin come in " and jump down upon the floor. She ** took hold of this deponent's feet, and " drawing his body up into one heap, " she lay upon him near two hours ; in " all which time he could neither speak " nor hear."
In the introduction to his history of the trials, which were conducted on such evidence, Mather gravely says ;
66
36 THEORY OF APPARITIONS.
" Tis, as I remembei% the learned
" Scribonius; who reports, that one of
^' his acquaintance, devoutly making his
prayers on the behalf of a person
molested by evil spirits, received from
" those evil spirits an horrible blow over
'* the face : and I may myself expect
not few or small buflfetings from evil
spirits, for the endeavours wherewith
" I am now going to encounter them,
*' I am far from insensible, that at this
" extraordinary time of the Devil's com-
" ing down in great wrath upon us, there
jf are too many tongues and hearts there-
tf\, by set on fire of helly that the various
"opinions about the witchcrafts which
" of later time have troubled us, are
*^ maintained by some with so much
" loud fury, as if they could never be
" sufficiently stated, unless written in
'' the liquor wherewith witches use to
" write their covenants ; and that he
" who becomes an author at such a
" time, had need be fenced with irojiy
*^ a?id the staff' of a spear.''
THEORY OF APPARITIONS. 37
Stoughton, the Lieutenant-Governor of New England, affixed his approbation to this book, vouching for the truth of the statements, and declaring that atl good men would " greatly rejoice, that ^' the spirit of the Lord had thus enabled " him (Mather) to lift up a standard " against the infernal enemy, that hath ^^ he^n conwig in like a flood upon its,''* Such was the force of this memorable fit of national insanity, during which torrents of innocent blood were shed, by the misguided judges and juries, under the impression that they were actually invaded by a legion of devils ; the part of which was really performed by them- selves.
Nothing, indeed, can be added to the diligence of Remy, or Remiglus, with respect to the forms of demons. He was a commissioner for the trial of witches, in Lorrain, and as he informs us, in the
G
38 THEORY OF APPARITIONS.
course of fifteen years, he eondemned nine hundred criminals to the stake. His book is one of the most remarkable productions of creduhty ; for the mon- strous absurdities which it contains are supported by juridical proofs, most af which evidently proceeded from spectral impressions, when they were not ex- torted by torture.
My edition of this work, which is become very rare, was printed by Vin- centi, at Lyons, in 1595. It is entitled, DiEMONOLATRElA. The trials appear to have begun in 1583. Mr. Remy seems to have felt great anxiety to ascertain the exact features and dress of the demons, with whom imny of the persons sup- posed themselves to be familiar. Yet nothing transpired, in his examinations, which varied from the usual figures exhibited by the gross sculptures and paintings of the middle age. They are
THEORY OF APPARITIONS. 39
said to be black-faced,* with sunk, but fiery eyes, their mouths wide, and smell- ing of sulphur; their hands hairy, with claws : their feet horny and cloven.
* Lib. i. p. 76, 77. Nam aut in vultu foeditas est, ac turpitudo, aut uncis, hamisque, qaales obscse- nis vulturibiis insunt manus pedesve depravatos ha- bent, aut denique insolita, atque insigni aliqua nota quse naturae immanitatem prodant, conspicuos se os- tendunt. Joannes Piscator, Henaezel , Salome, Ca- tharina Balandrtea, Nicoleea Ganatia, Sennel Armen- taria, et Joanna Gerardiria, retulerunt se & saspe, efe otiose, atque attente considerasse suos Magistellos, cum praeseutes colloquerentur; observasseque semper illis obscuras atrasque fuisse facies : ac (quod Jorman- des dicit de Hunnis^ quos Demonibus incubis satos ferunt) offse similes : lumina penitus abdita, flammas tamen instar micantia : Oris rictus sparsos, profundos, ac perpetuo olidi, sulphureique aliquid sestuantes: manus strigosas, et villis atque hamis deformes : pedes corneos bifidosque : staturam nunquam justam, sed aut brevitate aut vastitate semper aliqua insolentem, totam- que adeo Seriem extra modum.
Addit Alexia Belhoria, ilium se aiiquando vidisse capite, vel pede altero truncum, mutilumque, cum forte saltationes nocturnas una cum suis agitaret. Qu£e res me in memoriam inducit ejus rumoris, qui me puero circumferebatur de Empusis, qqarum frequentes
C 2
40 THEOHY OF APPARITIONS.
Not only are the voices and stature of the demons described by Remy's autho- rities, but many other extraordinary cir- cumstances are recorded, which might have been omitted with great propriety. The curiosity of the worthy judge seems to have been as unHmited as his credu- Hty. I ought to add, that his book is
de nocte choreae in triviis turn videri ferebantur (la Mequie Hennequin) id est, familiam Hellequinam vocitabant : nam Hellequinos ab incubis Daemonibus suam traxisse originem non ignobiles Scriptores pro- diderunt.
Nicolaea Ganatia, Eva Hesoletia, Jana Nigra Armacuriana, ac pleroeque alias vocem illis esse aiunt, qualem emittunt, qui os in dolium> aut testam rimo-
sam, insertum habent... ..Aut certe exilem et
debiiem, p. 80.
In the 6th chapter, Remy has indulged his curio- sity in a most extraordinary, and almost reprehensible manner.
Ab hoc qui nobis istos concubitus, succubitusque Daemonum memorant uno ore loquuntur omnes, nihil iis frigidius &c. The other details are too shocking to be repeated, p. 55,
THEORY OF APPARITIONS. 41
written in Latin, in a good style, and bears marks of considerable erudition.
The result of all these inquiries has been, that recollected images only are presented to the persons labouring under delusions of this nature.
But the most remarkable and decisive narrative of this kind was published, some years ago, by Nicolai, the cele- brated author and bookseller, of Berlin. *^ Those who pretend to have seen and *' heard ghosts obstinately maintain, that ^' they perceived these apparitions by *' means of their senses. In order to " defeat that belief, we generally desire " them to consider how many people have ^^ been imposed on by artful novices, and ^* how liable we are to deceive ourselves ; *^ we advise them to lay hold of the sup- *' posed spectres; assuring them that they are generally found to be oi a very cor- poreal nature. But tliose who have a € 3
44
42 THEORY OF APPARITIONS.
" predilection for the miraculous, pay ^' no regard to these objections; insisting " that the productions of their disordered " imaginations are real beings. We can- *^ not therefore collect too many of such " well substantiated facts, as shew how- *^ easily our imagination imposes on us *^ erroneous notions, and deludes not " only delirious persons but even those " who are in full possession of their facul- " ties, by causing them to see phantasms " which scarcely can be distinguished " from real appearances."
*^ I have myself experienced a case of '^ this nature, w^iich to me appears highly " remarkable, both psychologically and " medicinally ; I saw^ in a state of mind ** completely sound, and after the first " terror was over, with perfect calmness, " for nearly two months, almost constantly *' and involuntarily a vast number of hu- '' man and other forms, and even heard '' their voices, though all this was merely
THEORY OF APPARITIONS. A3
^' the consequence of a diseased state of " the nerves and an irregular circulation *' of the blood."
*' It being a matter of considerable im- ^' portance that an incident of this nature ^' should be observed with the strictest at- '' tention, and related, together with all « collateral circumstances, with the most '' conscientious fidelity, I shall not omit " any thing of which I retain a clear " recollection. The truth of what I am *' going to advance will not require a far- ther testimony, as Dr. Selle, who was my physician and was daily informed " by me of every trifling occurrence and « change that happened, is still living, « and will, by all who know him, be most ^* readily admitted as an unobjectionable witness. During the ten latter months of the year 1790, I had experienced seve- ral melancholy incidents which deeply '' affected me, particularly in September, « from which time I suffered an almost
44 THEORY OF APPARITIONS.
*' uninterrupted series of misfortunes that " afflicted me with the most poignant grief. " I was accustomed to be bled twice a " year, and this had been done once on " the 9th of July, but was omitted to be " repeated at the end of the year 1790. " I had, in 1783, been suddenly taken " with a violent vertigo, which my phy- " sicians imputed to obstructions in the " finer vessels of the abdomen, brought '' on by a sedentary life and a continual ^^ exertion of the mind. This indisposition " was successfully removed by means of " a more regular and strict diet; particu- '' larly efficacious in the beginning I had " found leeches to the arms, and they " were afterwards repeated ^wo or three ** times knnually when I felt violent con- '' gestions in the head. The last leeches '* which had been put on, previous to the *^ appearance of the phantasms of which '' I am about to speak, had been applied '' on the first of March 1790, less blood '^ had consequently been evacuated in
THEORY OF APPARITIONS. 45
" 1790 than was usual with me, and from *' September, I was constantly occupied in " business that required the most unre- " mitted exertion, and was rendered still " more perplexing by frequent interrup- ** tions."
I had, in January and February of the year 1791, the additional misfortune to experience several extremely unpleasant " circumstances, which were followed on " the 24th of February by a most violent ^' altercation. My wife and another person " came into my apartment in the morning " in order to console me, but I was too " much agitated by a series of incidents " which had most powerfully affected my " moral feeling, to be capable of attending '' to them ; on a sudden I perceived, at ^^ about the distance of ten steps, a form ** like that of a deceased person, I pointed " at it, asking my wife if she did not see '' it ? It was but natural that she should " not see any thing, my question there-
46 THEORY OF APPARITIONS.
^' fore alarmed her very much, and she *' sent immediately for a physician, the " phantasm continued about eight mi- *' nutes. I grew at length more calm, and being extremely exhausted, fell into a restless sleep which lasted about *' half an hour; the physician ascribed *^ the apparition to a violent mental emo- *' tion, and hoped that there would be no " return, but the violent agitation of my mind had in some way disordered my nerves, and produced farther conse- quences which deserve a more minute ^^ descriptian/*
" At four in the afternoon, the form " which I had seen in the morning re- ^' appeared. I was by myself when this *^ happened, and being rather uneasy at ^^ the incident, went to my wife's apart- " ment, but there likewise I was prevented " by the apparition, which, however, at " intervals disappeared, and always pre- " sented itself in a standing posture : about ^^ six o'clock there appeared also several
THEORY OF APPARITIONS. 47
^' walking figures, which had no connec- '^ tion with the first."
*' I cannot assign any other cause of all ^* this, than a continued rumination on the *' vexations I had suffered, which, though " calmer, I could