Psychical Phenomena and the War

PSYCHIC; AND THENAR-- - HEREWARD CARRINGTON Cornell Hntoeraitg Sltbrarg 3tl?ata, New $n*k BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME OF THE SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND THE GIFT OF HENRY W. SAGE 1891 Cornell University Library D 639.P8C31 Psychical phenomena and the war 3 1924 027 889 959 Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924027889959 PSYCHICAL PHENOMENA AND THE WAR PSYCHICAL PHENOMENA AND THE WAR BY HEREWARD CARRINGTON, Ph.D. AUTHOR OF "DEATH: ITS CAUSES AND PHENOMENA," "THE PROBLEMS OF PSYCHICAL RESEARCH," "THE COMING SCIENCE/' "THE PHYSICAL PHENOMENA OF SPIBITUAXJBM," "death DEFERRED," HTC. NEW YORK DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY 1918 Copyright, 1918, By DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY, Inc. DEDICATED TO THOSE BRAVE SOULS WHO HAVE, WHILE FIGHTING FOR THEIR COUNTRY, SOLVED THE PROBLEMS WITH WHICH THIS BOOK DEALS PREFACE The present book is an attempt to study the psychological forces at work in the present world war; and for this purpose I have divided the book into two por- tions : Part I dealing with psychology proper,—applied to the minds of nations and of individuals ; Part II to psychical or supernormal phenomena,—largely of a spiritistic character,—which have been observed to oc- cur at various times, and of which the present war fur- nishes many fresh examples. Thus Part I may be said to study the mind of the soldier up to the point where he is killed in action; while Part II continues our study of the same soldier after his death. We thus extend our inquiry into the realms of the vast Beyond,—and seek to bring back from that Unknown Land definite knowledge of those who so- journ there. • • • * • • • Several books have been published dealing with psychic phenomena consequent upon the great war, such as Raymond; Private Dowding; Gone West, etc., but these books are strictly limited in their purview, and do not attempt to survey the whole field, while the last two mentioned are the product of automatic writing. Sir Oliver Lodge's book has, of course, aroused a great deal of comment, and has been the means of affording solace to many who have been bereaved by the war. I wish to acknowledge, in this place, my indebtedness to these books, for having suggested to me the compila- vii viii PREFACE tion of the present volume ; I have also made extracts from the books in Chapter XL I wish also to acknowledge here my indebtedness to the editor of the Journal of the Society for Psychical Research, for kind permission to quote several cases published in the Journal; to Mr. Ealph Shirley, editor of the Occult Review, for permission to quote several valuable articles appear- ing in his magazine; and to the Harbinger of Light, The International Psychic Gazette, Light, The Two Worlds, Asoth, The Psychical Research Review, The Literary Digest, The Bookman, and other periodicals, for material utilized. Also, to Eosa Stuart's book, Dreams and Visions of the War, and to M. Maeter- linck's The Light Beyond, for "cases" and quotations. For material utilized in Part I, I wish especially to acknowledge my indebtedness to M. LeBon's book, The Psychology of the Great War, and to Dr. George W. Crile's Mechanistic Conception of War and Peace. The bulk of the psychological material, relating to the mind of the combatant in action, is taken from my own article on "The Mind of the Soldier," first published in the Forum, January, 1916, and reprinted here, by the editor's kind permission, with considerable addi- tions. The chapter dealing with the psychology of the soldier in action is (naturally) based almost entirely upon observations on the Franco-British front; and but little reference to the psychology of the American soldier is as yet possible. Doubtless many psychological observations of great value will be forthcom- ing, when U. S. soldiers get into action on a vast scale. I particularly wish to acknowledge, here, my indebtedness to Mrs. Ethel Raynor,—to whose sympathetic cooperation and assistance this book owes so much. H. C. CONTENTS PAGE Preface vii PART I.—NORMAL CHAPTER I Introductory 3 II. German Methods of Warfare: 7 The Psychology of the Doctrine of "Frightful- ness." Ill The Psychology of the Soldier: .... 29 §1. During Mobilization; in the Canton- ments; in the Trenches. IV. The Psychology of the Soldier (continued) . 61 §2. During the Attack; Pain; Shell-Shock; Dreams; Fatigue, etc. PART II.—SUPERNORMAL V. Psychical Phenomena, Science and The War 101 VI. Psychic Phenomena Amidst the Warring Nations 128 VII. Prophecies and Premonitions 141 VIII. Apparitions and Dreams of Soldiers . 172 IX. Clairvoyant Descriptions of Death; Death Described by "Spirits." 229 X. Our Dead Soldiers Yet Live! 242 XI. Communications From Soldiers Who have "Died" 270 XII. The Spiritual Revival Awakened by the War 327 Index 361 be PART I NORMAL — PSYCHICAL PHENOMENA AND THE WAR CHAPTER I INTKODUCTOEY The importance of psychical investigation has never been so forcefully demonstrated to us as by the present great World War. Is man essentially body or spirit? The former seems to be the view expounded in German philosophy; and it has resulted in the greatest cataclysm the world has ever known. Every month that passes, thousands of souls are being shot into the spiritual world or obliterated altogether, ac- cording to our view of the facts. What becomes of them? Is it not our duty to ascertain, so far as is hu- manly possible, whether they be truly obliterated, or whether they continue to persist in some spiritual world? and if so, how and where? Surely this is the most important question man can set himself, when every day the papers contain names of those "killed in action"—a long "Roll of Honour," with no cer- tainty of anything beyond! At a time such as this, when thousands of parents, wives and mothers are yearning for some definite word from those who are no more ; at a time when the faintest word of hope and encouragement would mean so much, if founded upon truth and ascertainable fact; the importance of this in- 3 — 4 PSYCHICAL PHENOMENA AND THE WAE vestigation surely looms up before us ; for it is by this means,—by psychical phenomena and by these alone, that either the truth or the falsehood of spiritual existence can be proved; for this method and this alone is the one capable of ultimately solving the great rid- dle of existence. ... The whole question of psychology, in the present war, assumes a great and hitherto unsuspected importance. For, on the one hand, we find certain psychological principles underlying the methods and conduct of the various warring nations ;—the mind of the soldier in the cantonment, in the trenches, and in action —his dreams, phobias, fears and heroism; and, on the other hand, as we have said, it enables us to attack the great central problem: whether the soul or spirit of man is extinguished at death, or whether it continues to persist in some other sphere of activity—some "spiritual world"—whither we shall all one day travel. i_A gigantic psychological experiment is being undertaken in Europe ; as never before, certain psychological and psychical phenomena present themselves for investigation and solution ; and these should assuredly be studiedjwitb the same degree of care and exactitude as the wounds, injuries, and pathological disturbances due to bodily injury are being studied by physicians and surgeons now at the front. »£For, in the present conflict, surgery of the soul is no less a reality than surgery of the body ; and such an opportunity for gath- ering valuable psychical and psychological data may not again present itself for many generations—in fact, never again, in the history of the human race^-and my purpose in writing this book is largely to make a first,—it may be crude,—attempt to gather together and study material of this character, and to urge upon INTRODUCTORY 5 the various warring governments the importance of having a few experts appointed, on all fronts, whose duty it would be to gather psychological data of this character, for future generations to study. Already, the French Government has approved the publication, in the Bulletin des Armees of an appeal, by Professor Charles Richet, for psychical experiences and "cases" of all sorts ; and I understand that a great number of such cases have already been collected, and will be published shortly. A similar investigation, undertaken by the British and American governments, would doubtless yield lasting and extremely valuable scien- tific results. The present world war, while it must be considered, in a sense, the greatest catastrophe the world has ever known, yet has shown us, as nothing else possibly could, the innate spiritual loftiness and heroism resi- dent in man's soul. Deeds of valor have been performed which we would have deemed incredible but a few years ago,—or attributed only to the heroes of mythology. Compared with them, the soldiers in the present war shine out as super-heroes—there is no comparison, indeed, between the single brave deeds-of- arms formerly performed, and the year-in, year-out struggle, the continuous hell, which our soldiers are en- during. And whereas, in former wars, single acts of heroism were marked for distinction, in the present conflict, every man is a hero; and not only the men, but the women too have displayed a devotion, a pluck, an endurance surprising to all who have witnessed it, and never before approximated in the history of the world.

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