The Supernatural? by Lionel A. Weatherly & John Nevil Maskelyne

The Supernatural? by Lionel A. Weatherly & John Nevil Maskelyne
In this work, Lionel Weatherly inspects and investigates stories of mirages, prophetic dreams and the experiences of historical figures like Joan of Arc. Illusionist John Nevil Maskelyne, who exposed the fraud of a number of spiritualists including the Davenport Brothers, and who created several famous illusions which are still being performed today, examines the truth behind a number of famous Eastern magical illusions. Maskelyne also scrutinizes mediumistic fraud, questioning the credibility of figures like D. D. Home and Madame Blavatsky, in an entertaining and carefully argued investigation of phenomena which have mystified for centuries.

From the preface:

I have tried my best to make my statements as clear as possible, to invest my explanations with language that anyone could understand. Above all I have, I hope, steered clear of that dangerous shoal, upon which so many authorities on these subjects have wrecked their literary craft; viz., "Religious Arguments."

To Mr. J. N. Maskelyne I here tender my most grateful thanks. Without his help I could not have asked any publisher to launch this work upon the market.

Who is there, in this England of ours - who is there, I may say, at all known to men, who has the right, from practical experience, to speak with such authority on Magic, on Spiritualism, or on the so-called Miracles of Theosophy, as Mr. Maskelyne? Who was it exposed the Davenport Brothers? Who was it who threw many a bombshell into the Spiritualistic camp? Who is it who fearlessly cautions those at the bottom of these latter-day miracles, and bids them Beware? The man whose friendship I value, whose assistance to me has been absolutely indispensable, and who will, I know, as long as he lives, devote himself to the exposure of fraud, deception, and trickery, whenever carried out under the guise of supernatural religion.

PREFACE
CHAPTER I. Introduction.
Superstition
Witchcraft
Believers in the Supernatural
CHAPTER II. What is Mind?
The Unknowable
Divisions of the Mind
I. - Perception
II. - Intellect
a. Memory
b. Reason and Judgment
c. Imagination
III. - Emotion
IV. - Will
CHAPTER III. Description, Physiology, and Classification of Hallucinations and Illusions.
Sense Deceptions generally
Definitions of Hallucination and Illusion
Physiology of Hallucination
Explanation of Illusion
Classification
CHAPTER IV. Ordinary Sense Deceptions.
Simple Sense Deceptions
Atmospheric Illusions
The Mirage
The Fata Morgana
The Giant of the Brocken Mountain
Fog Spectres
Case of Dr. Lombard
A Murderer's Hallucination
A Lover's Apparition
Nicolai
Sir Walter Scott's Friend's Illusion
An American's Illusion
Beethoven
Luther
The Demon of Socrates
Hallucinations and Illusions by Suggestion
Epidemic Hallucinations and Illusions
Vampires
Mrs. A.'s Sense Deceptions
De Quincey's Day-dreams
CHAPTER V. Dreams.
Sleep
A Dreamless Sleep
Dreams generally
Are dreams divinely inspired?
Ancient Ideas of Dreams
Classification of Dreams
Dream Illusions
Dream Hallucinations
Nightmare
Persistent Dream Images
Differences between the Sleeping and Waking Mind
Prophetic Dreams and their Occasional Fulfilment
Somnambulism
Dream Crimes
CHAPTER VI. Ghosts. Haunted Houses.
Ghosts in all Countries
Causes of Belief in Ghosts
Reasons against Reality of Ghosts etc.
Ominous Night Noises
Explanation of Phantasms of the Dead
The Hallucinations of Thos. Perks
Lord Lyttleton's Apparition
The Hallucination of Mr. Cassio Burroughs
Miss Bailey's Ghost
Unexplained Ghost Stories
Telepathy
CHAPTER VII.
I. - Oriental Jugglery, (by J. N. Maskelyne).
Introductory
Fiction and Romance
Travellers' Tales
The Genesis of Oriental Miracles
Oriental Literature concerning Magic
The Basket Trick
The Mango Tree Trick
The Burial Trick
II - Modern Spiritualism. (J. N. Maskelyne )
Andrew Jackson Davis
The Fox Family
Mrs. Norman Culver's Statement
Daniel Douglass Home
The Davenport Brothers
Annie Eva Fay
Dr. Slade
Prosecution of Slade
Eglinton
So-called Materialisations
Artemus Ward on Mediums
What has Investigation Proved?
Tableturning
Thoughtreading
Spirit Photography
Report of the Seybert Commission
III. - Theosophy. (J. N. Maskelyne.)
Madame Blavatsky
The Starting of the Theosophical Society
Madame Blavatsky in India
Madame Blavatsky in London
The Coulombs' Confession
Mr. Hodgson's Report
What Theosophists Say
Mrs. Besant
CHAPTER VIII.
Joan of Arc
Percy Bysshe Shelley
Swedenborg
CHAPTER IX. Insane Sense Deceptions.
Analogy between Dreams and Insanity
Hallucinations of Hearing
Illusions of Hearing
Hallucinations of Sight
Illusions of Sight
Hallucinations and Illusions of Touch, Taste, and Smell
Complicated Hallucinations and Illusions
CHAPTER X.
Belladonna
Indian Hemp
Opium
CHAPTER XI. Conclusion.
AN ADDENDUM TO THE CHAPTER ON THEOSOPHY
1st edition 1891, 273 pages; PDF 158 pages.
word count: 71538 which is equivalent to 286 standard pages of text