Spiritualism

One, what we might call unusual interests of Gillingham’s The death of so many soldiers in the First World War gave fresh impetus to the Spiritualist movement as relatives sought consolation and relief by attempting to communicate with their lost loved ones. This prompted Gillingham to write a book outlining the dangers of Spiritualism.

Spiritualism is the belief that the dead communicate with the living through people who have supernatural gifts called mediums. This became very popular in Britain from the 1850s. It originated in the USA in the 1840s. It emerged as people were exploring both religious and non-religious interests concerned with the afterlife including supernatural forces, ghosts, and the power of mesmerism (hypnotism) amongst others.

This exploration was partly prompted by the publication of Darwin’s ‘Origin of Species’ in 1859. Darwin had delayed publishing his theory of evolution for years for fear of the religious crisis of faith and social disturbance it did indeed provoke. The ‘Origin of Species’ was just one of many scientific developments of the time. Because these advances were so rapid, the natural and supernatural often became blurred in popular thinking. Many prominent people, including Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Prince Albert and Queen Victoria, took part in seances.

Gillingham had become interested in psychology in his earlier work because he wanted to understand the phenomenon of ‘phantom limbs’, as some of his patients described still feeling the presence of a lost arm or leg. He became involved in Spiritualism, attending seances, corresponding with those who had experienced communications with those who had died. He even began using ‘automatic writing’, a process where messages from the dead supposedly are transmitted through someone writing their message.

In his book Gillingham reluctantly described his own experiences of Spiritualism as a lesson to others. He is concerned with the spread of Spiritualism throughout the world and the influence of prominent people who engage in it. Gillingham accepted that Spiritualism is very engaging but to seek communication from the departed is going beyond the bounds of legitimate enquiry and that no Christian should have anything to do with it. He explains that mediums achieve a rapport with their clients and can read off the minds of the sitters by telepathy and mental transference, but certainly do not communicate with the dead. He believes it is a strong delusion which blinds people in the extreme, many being bewitched and in extreme cases those who believe, are in danger of succumbing to the Devil or can end up in the asylum.

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