The Tedworth Drummer: reported in a contemporary newspaper of 1663.


 (Illustration is a tiny excerpt from Hogarth's 'Credulity, Superstition and Fanaticism: a Medley'.)

 

Pp. 253-255 in Mercurius Publicus, Comprising the sum of Forraign Intelligence, Issue 16 (April 16th -23rd 1663), published in Oxford.


The  Examination of William Drury of Ufcut in the County of Wilts, Tayler; taken this 15 of April 1663, before Isaac Burges Esq; one of his Majesties Justices of Peace for the said County.

This examinant saith, that he was at the late Assizes holden at Gloucester, indicted for the felonious taking away of two pigs from ----- and that upon his arraignment he was found guilty, begged for the psalm of mercy, and read for his life.

And this examinant further saith, that upon Friday last, the 10 of this instant April, the gaoler with six watermen assisting, forced him out of prison at Gloucester, carried him to the water-side, and there put him into a barge, wherein were three prisoners brought from Hereford, two from Worcester, and four taken out of the gaol at Gloucester; all nine being willing to be sent away; but himself refusing, was forced into the barge about six o’clock Friday morning last; in which barge he this examinant saith there were seven barge-men, and no more, nor any other guard upon the ten prisoners. Immediately they set forth for King-road, made within a mile of Newnam near Aust-passage, and there they lay at anchor for a fresh tide, which was upon Saturday last.

And he this examinant saith, the barge-men being all asleep, he leapt forth into the sea in his clothes, and swam to land: and that at the same time he saw three or four more of the prisoners escape in the same manner; and that there was no bustle or opposition made against them by any in the barge; but if there had, he this examinant saith he was resolved to have knocked them on the head, or they should have done so by him; but he would have escaped; for he was resolved never to go beyond sea.

And he this Examinant further saith, he came upon Monday last (in his way home) to Malmsbury, and there bought a drum of James Fowler, having formerly bought a drum of him, viz. the same drum that Mr John Mompesson had taken from him at Ludgurshal, and lo with the drum at his back came to his house at Ufcut, on Monday night last, and there beat his drum.

That he was apprehended and seized Tuesday morning last by the said Mr Mompesson, and brought before Justice, viz. Mr Burges aforesaid, on Wednesday last, and then charged by Mr Mompesson with suspicion of promoting Witchcrafts, and to causing the troubles that had been in his house for above these twelve months.

The [?] the Drummer for himself.

 

The Information of Mr John Mompesson of Tedworth in the County of Wilts, taken this 15 of April, 1663, upon oath, against William Drury.

Who saith, that at the beginning of March last was twelve month he being at Ludgurshal in this county, at the bailiff’s house, and hearing a drum beat, enquired what drum it was. The bailiff informed him that he was a stranger going for Portsmouth, having a pass under the hands and seals of two of his Majesties Justices of Peace for the County of Wilts for his passing to Portsmouth, and to be allowed and relieved in his journey; and that he had been requiring money of them, and they were collecting money for him.

He this informant saith, that suspecting him to be a Cheat, he desired the Officer of the town to send for him, which accordingly he did, and examining him how he dared go up and down in that way beating his drum, and requiring money; he this informant saith Drury answered, I have good authority; and produced a pretended pass under the hands and seals as aforesaid; Drury positively affirming it was their hands and seals. He this informant saith, that knowing it to be counterfeit, he charged him with it, and was sending him before a Justice of Peace: and then Drury begged and conffesed he made it: and upon his begging he let that pass. But he this informant futher saith he took away his drum; which Drury was very unwilling to part with.

He this informant saith, he left the Drum for some time after at Ludgurshal; and that immediately after he had sent for the drum to his house, a drum began to beat in the night, Roundheads and Cuckolds go dig, go dig, (which the said Drury did usually beat, and seldom any other note.) This beating of a drum increased more and more, from room to room: at last he this informant saith, he burnt the drum that he had taken from Drury; and then the beating of a drum, and sometimes knocking, several great noises, scratching, troubling the beds, sometimes the noise so violent that it might be heard a mile; and continues to this day, and more than formerly.

And if they call to it, as several persons have, saying, Devil, Knocker or Drummer, come tell us; if the man from whom the drum was taken be the cause of this, give three knocks, and no more: and immediately three loud knocks were given, and no more. After that, another time, Come, tell us if the man from whom the drum was taken be the cause of all this, by giving five knocks, and away; and presently five very loud knocks were given, and away, and no more heard that time.

Drury’s examination as to this confesses his being at Ludgurshal about the time named, and his beating drum there; his false pass, and that Mr Mompesson took away from him his drum; but denies that he has any way practised witchcraft, or that he has been any way the cause of that trouble.

For the escape made by him, add the charge given against him by Mr Mompesson of witchcraft, he was sent to the county gaol at Sarum,  there to remain till the next Assizes.

It may be observed that this Drury was about four or five months since committed to Gloucester gaol for felony; and Mr Mompesson being informed he had several times in the gaol expressed himself pleased at the report of the troubles in his house, saying, Although the drum be burnt, the Devil is not dead; and that he had been better let me and my drum alone: two or three days after the late Assizes holden there, resolved to go down to Gloucester, forty miles from his house, to inform himself what was become of Drury. The night before he took his journey, a drum beat in his stable, where it had not been heard to beat before; and the morrow morning his gelding being brought forth of the stable, was fallen very lame; but however, he went for Gloucester, and there was informed as before related, that he was sent away for Virginia.

Mr Mompesson being upon his return back from Gloucester, in his way, on Monday night last, lodged at a place called Wroughton in this county; within two miles of Ufcut. On Thursday morning he was informed that the said Will. Drury came to his house at Ufcut, the Monday night, with a drum at his back, and had beat it that night. Upon which Mr Mompesson procured a warrant to search for, and apprehend him: which the same day was accordingly done, and the said Drury sent to gaol.

It is supposed that this Drury, with the other prisoners, have made this escape by murthering [murdering] the barge-men.

 -------------------------------

If you're intrigued by the rhythm 'Roundheads and Cuckolds go dig go dig' you can read lots about it (including in the context of this very story) in Pete Stewart's interesting article on the Lowland and Border Pipers' Society website.

 

'Tedworth' is Tidworth, specifically North Tidworth. 'Ufcut' is Uffcott, and 'Ludgurshal' is Ludgershall. 'Sarum' is Salisbury. 'Malmsbury' is Malmesbury.

If 'Newnam' is Newnham, then that's not really very near Aust Passage (it's on the far side of the Severn, much closer to Gloucester). Maybe it refers to the site of the New Passage ferry that ran from near Redwick from the 1630s, which was only a couple of miles away from Aust?

 


 

Strange aerial object fells tree, Portglenone, County Antrim (1958)

It's interesting that the Strange Object made a strange noise and is being explained as a whirlwind - it is reminiscent of the Furl-wind of the fairies. And there are many parallels between fairies and UFOs too!

 

Surveying the damage.

Mr Joseph Bennett standing beside the tree which was hit by the mysterious object.

Mystery of Flying Object Which Cut Tree in Two.

A middle-aged Portglenone farmer is still thinking about a mysterious black object which went over his head on Sunday afternoon - and cut a tree in two. Mr Joseph Bennett of Bracknamuckley, was out walking when he heard a strange noise. He looked up. 

"It made a sound like rushing wind," he said. "The thing- it was about seven feet broad - flashed towards me some 18 or 20 feet up. It came from the south and was travelling in a north-westerly direction. Next thing I saw was its swift passage through a row of trees which divide two farms at Gortfadd. It cut one of the trees in half; the trunk was two feet thick. In a matter of seconds it had vanished. It was an oak tree, 40 ft. high, and it is sliced clean eight feet from the base."

And the question they were asking in Portglenone today was: "What was that thing?"

Belfast Telegraph, 30th December 1958.


Farmer's Description.

Mysterious flying object snaps tree at Portglenone.

There is much speculation in the Portglenone district about a mysterious "black flying object" which hurtled over the district on Sunday, snapped a two-foot thick oak tree and narrowly missed a house. Few people saw the object, but one of those who did was a farmer, Mr Joseph Bennett, of Bracknamuckley. He says that he was standing at the top of a hill overlooking a valley when the object went past. He told a reporter:-

"Its speed was such that I only had it in my vision for a fraction of a second. First thing that attracted my attention to the fact that something unusual was happening was a vicious, hissing sound. Then I saw the object, about two-foot thick and about seven-foot across. It was not rotating, nor did it give me the impression that it was a whirlwind as, apart from the stricken oak tree, it disturbed nothing else.

It was travelling from the south, in a north-westerly direction and, as it passed through a row of trees which divide two farms at Gortfad, near the Orange Hall, it snapped the oak tree about eight feet from the ground. Before I could collect my senses, it was gone from my view."

About 40 feet of the felled tree is lying in a meadow. There is no sign of burning on the tree, but there are indications that it was subjected to great pressure.

Belfast News-Letter, 31st December 1958.

 

Q.U.B. Scientist Probes 'Flying Axe' Mystery.

"Belfast Telegraph" Reporter.

The strange black object reported to have ripped apart a large oak tree at Portglenone, Co. Antrim, on Sunday, has already entered the files of U.F.O. (unidentified flying object) researchers. Mr Terence Nonweiler, lecturer in the aeronautical engineering department of Queen's University, and a former member of the Council of the British Interplanetary Society, today visited the scene.

Before leaving for Portglenone, Mr Nonweiler told me: "This would appear to be the first case in the United Kingdom where such a mysterious happening has been reported and in which some tangible evidence remains in the shape of the damaged tree." 

The farmer, Mr Joseph Bennett, of Bracknamuckley, insists that the tree was sliced in two by a huge, black object which passed over his head, and then proceeded on its way. He says it was moving at a height of 18 to 20 feet. The tree shows no sign of scorching, which would indicate lightning, and there is no damage to adjoining trees. 

Thousands of U.F.O.'s in many parts of the world, are now on record. The term is used by scientists who refuse to accept the description "flying saucer," which came into vogue a few years ago after several pilots had reported circular objects travelling at speeds of thousands of miles an hour. In Great Britain, U.F.O. enthusiasts are formed into clubs and keep watch at week-ends from mountain tops. They even have their own magazine.

The Forestry Department of the Ministry of Agriculture are interested in the oak tree, and today instructed their forester at Portglenone, Mr A. McLean, to examine the tree. An official said: "This is most unusual in an oak tree but not in an elm. We have never had an instance of this before. We will be glad to have full details for the record." Mr Nonweiler spent about 15 minutes at the tree. He found that there were signs of rotting at the point where it had broken off, and there were also four marks on the bark - three on the trunk and one on a large branch, all in a direct line. He said: "I think that the rotten state of the trunk explains why it broke at that particular point, and the four cuts in the bark may have some significance." He was not prepared to say positively, however, that the tree had been brought down by a flying object.

Mr Bennett told Mr Nonweiler: "At about 3.30 pm on Sunday I saw what looked like a small black cloud giving off a hissing sound and travelling at fantastic speed along the valley from the direction of Lough Neagh at a height of about 20 feet. It passed right through the tree which crashed and proceeded on its way at the same speed as if nothing had happened. The tree came down with a terrible crash. It was going so fast that I could not tell whether it was a solid object or not. It was going at many times the speed of a jet plane."

Mr Alfred Connolly, who owns the field in which the tree stood, said that the state of the branches made it look as if something solid had torn across the tree as it came down. He added: "Mr Bennett is a most reliable witness. If he says he saw a black flying object you can be sure that he saw it."

The tree was today the main object of interest in the Portglenone area and cars stopped every few minutes on the nearby road as the occupants alighted to examine it.

 

What was it? Mr Joseph Bennett beside the fallen oak tree at Portglenone, Co. Antrim, which he saw felled by the mysterious object. He described it as being like a black cloud, about seven feet wide, travelling at a very high speed an dmaking a hissing noise.
 

Belfast Telegraph, 31st December 1958.

 

The "Flying Object" Still A Mystery.

The large oak tree at Portglenone, Co. Antrim, reported by a local farmer, Mr Joseph Bennett, to have been struck by a mysterious flying object on Sunday, was examined yesterday by Mr Terence Nonweiler, of Queen's University, Belfast. Mr Nonweiler, who is lecturer in the aeronautical engineering department and a former member of the Council of the British Interplanetary Society, found that there were signs of rotting at the point where the tree had been broken. "You could pull great lumps out of it," he said. A stump of about 8ft. high had been left standing. He thought that the rotten state of the trunk explained why it had broken at that point. Mr Nonweiler was not prepared to say if the tree was broken by a flying object.

The Forestry Department of the Ministry of Agriculture had instructed their local forestry officer to make a report on the tree. Mr Nonweiler said he was told that the officer had seen the tree yesterday.

Interest was aroused in the tree when Mr Bennett reported that he saw it sliced in two by an object like a small black cloud, moving at tremendous speed less than 20 feet from the ground. It seemed to strike the tree, about 40 feet of which fell to the ground.

Belfast News-Letter, 1st January 1959.

 


 
Mr Terence Nonweiler, of Queen's University, formerly a Council member of the British Interplanetary Society, examines the shattered trunk of the oak tree at Portglenone which was struck by a mysterious object.

Ballymena Weekly Telegraph, 1st January 1959.

 

Whirlwind snaps tree.

On Sunday afternoon, December 21, Mr Joseph Bennett, farmer, of Bracknamuckley, was out for a walk when he heard the sound of rushing wind. Looking up, he saw about 18 or 20 feet above him a black cloud some seven feet broad, travelling from the south at a very great speed. It passed over the Gortfad district and right through a row of trees between two farms near the Orange Hall, cutting one of them in half, leaving only eight feet of tree standing. Where the tree was cut measured about two feet in diameter. The fallen tree remains there to be seen.

Ballymena Observer, 2nd January 1959.

 


 
Portglenone wood puzzle.

Mr Arthur Simpson, an expert on timber diseases, examining pieces of the Portglenone tree which is said to have been knocked down by a mysterious object. Mr Simpson, who is attached to the Forestry Division of the Ministry of Agriculture, found traces of fungal rot in the tree close to the point of breaking, strengthening the opinion that the tree was diseased.

Belfast Telegraph, 2nd January 1959.

 

'Flying Axe' was really a whirlwind, say forestry experts.

Forestry experts gave their verdict today on the Portglenone "flying object" which felled a two-foot thick oak tree last Sunday - it was a whirlwind. Samples of the sheared trunk were examined under a microscope at the Ministry of Agriculture's Forestry Division in Belfast and were found to be decayed. "The tree snapped just below a dead branch," an official said today. "It was very heavily branched at the top and the strain over the years had damaged the cells. A sudden gust of wind was all it needed." 

Just one thing puzzles the experts - the cleanness of the break. "It could be that the fungus developed in a regular pattern," the official said, "but it is unusual. There was certainly no evidence of impact damage on the outside of the tree, or on trees nearby."

To get the samples local forester Andy McLean had to climb the eight-foot tree stump. Souvenir hunters have been at work on the felled section of the tree.

Dr E.M. Lindsay, director of Armagh Observatory, today put forward the theory that the tree had been brought down by a waterspout. He said that the fact that the black object was said to have come from the direction of Lough Neagh, together with many examples in the files of the Observatory of waterspouts near the lough helped to support this theory.

"Oddly enough," said Dr Lindsay, "practically all these reports were made in the last century, but they are well authenticated. One official, who lived at Loughgail, observed several. There were many such reports in the early 1800s."

Dr Lindsay has not seen a waterspout in Northern Ireland, but he has experienced many on visits to South Africa. The water taken up by the whirling current of air accounts for the blackness, he says.

Belfast Telegraph, 2nd January 1959.

 

Flying Object - 'Evidence is too flimsy'.

Although an element of mystery still surrounds the felling of a tree at Portglenone by a small black object travelling, according to a local farmer, "at fantastic speed," an examination of the Meteorological Office records have shown that gusts of wind of 52 miles an hour occurred about the time of the incident. Weather experts inclined to the view that a local whirlwind, similar to that at Kilkeel a few months ago, had been responsible.

"It may be," a Meteorological Office spokesman said, "that it was not severe enough to do any other damage."

Mr Terence Nonweiler, Queen's University lecturer on aeronautical engineering and a former member of the council of the British Interplanetary Society, who examined the tree last week, said afterwards that the evidence was "too flimsy" to say that the tree had been brought down by a solid flying object. He thought the marks on the tree would not fit the theory that it had been brought down by the object. He was impressed, however, by the testimony of Mr Joseph Bennett, a local farmer, who told him that he had watched the object from its appearance over Lough Neagh until it left the valley after bringing down the tree.

And it is the opinion of local people that "something very odd" happened on Sunday afternoon.

Forestry experts have also given their verdict on the Portglenone "flying object"; they, too, consider that the felling force was a whirlwind. Samples of the sheared trunk were examined under a microscope at the Ministry of Agriculture's Forestry Division in Belfast and were found to be decayed. "The tree snapped just below a dead branch," an official said later. "It was very heavily branched at the top and the strain over the years had damaged the cells. A sudden gust of wind was all it needed."

Just one thing puzzles the experts - the cleanness of the break. "It could be that the fungus developed in a regular pattern," the official said, "but it is unusual. There was certainly no evidence of impact damage on the outside of the tree, or on trees nearby." 

To get the samples local forester Andy McLean had to climb the eight-foot tree stump. Souvenir hunters have  been at work on the felled section of the tree.

Dr E.M. Lindsay, director of Armagh Observatory, has put forward the theory that the tree was brought down by a waterspout. He said that the fact that the black object was said to have come from the direction of Lough Neagh, together with many examples in the files of the Observatory of waterspouts near the lough helped to support this theory. "Oddly enough," said Dr Lindsay, "practically all these reports were made in the last century, but they are well authenticated. One official, who lived at Loughgall, observed several. There were many such reports in the early 1800s."

Ballymena Weekly Telegraph, 8th January 1959.

Philip the Imaginary Ghost

A transcript of two programmes you can watch here on YouTube. 

They feature AR George Owens and Iris Owens' Philip Experiment. It's really interesting to see the group in action around the table. I'm not so sure there's some strange force at work tipping the table. I mean they don't believe there's a ghost tipping the table - that's the whole point of the experiment. But they do seem to believe there's some weird force going on. And having done the old 'levitation' trick at school where you lift someone up - well no, you don't feel like you're doing anything. But that doesn't mean that you aren't.

The bumps are of course much more interesting - assuming someone isn't making them deliberately by cracking their knuckles on the table or something. You'd like to think they'd have the integrity not to. But perhaps meeting every week gets boring if nothing happens. If there are genuinely bumping noises, well that's something that does need explaining.

It would also be interesting to find out more about 'Lileth' from the other experiment that was running. I'd not heard of this before. I wonder how many other experiments have ever been run? The problem of course is that they're rather time-consuming and you need committed participants.


Philip the Imaginary Ghost (1974 documentary).

Narrator: Over the last hundred years or so there have been many groups of people who meet regularly to sit in what are called mediumistic circles. This is done in the hope of receiving messages from the spirits of their deceased friends and relatives. In a typical sitting or séance the participants are seated with their hands on top of the table, sometimes with their fingers touching, sometimes not. It is said that the spirit who is supposed to be present often causes a variety of strange physical effects to occur, as suggested by this engraving made in 1871 when spiritualism was in its heyday. In the old days there was serious doubt as to whether these phenomena were genuine. It was believed that for them to occur, a specially endowed person known as a spirit medium had to be present if the spirits were to be able to manifest these effects. Undoubtedly many of these spirit mediums were fraudulent. 

It was also easy to cheat because it was believed that the sittings or seances had to be in darkness or in a subdued light. Research by Sir William Crookes who worked with the famous medium D D Home in a good light, and by Harry Price and other famous investigators who studied Stella Cranshaw in 1923, proved that some of these physical phenomena were genuine and not the result of trickery. Whether we believe in spirits or not, it shows that there are forces in the universe at present unknown to science, and different from the four forces known to physicists. 

In 1972 a group consisting of eight members of the Society for Psychical Research in Toronto, Canada, decided to find out more about this mysterious force. They wanted to find out firstly whether it could be produced in full light. Secondly, whether a spirit medium was necessary or if instead it could be generated by ordinary people. And thirdly, if the force was produced by disembodied spirit, or instead was generated by the living participants in the circle. Dr George Owen, director of the Toronto SPR, guided the sessions from the beginning.

George Owens: The members of the group are regarded as perfectly normal people, or as normal as anyone can actually be. Four are housewives, Sue, Dorothy, Andi and Iris. Sid is a salesman, Bernice an accountant, Al is an engineer, and Lorne a designer. None of them claimed to be a medium. Psychical research is just one of their many diverse interests. As researchers the group had to be scrupulous in their approach. The first problem they had to solve was this – how to be sure that if they got physical effects, these were not due to a spirit. So they decided to make up a completely fictional character. An imaginary person with the given name of Philip, and a completely imaginary biography. A week later, she [Sue] narrated the story of Philip. 

“Philip was as aristocratic Englishman, living in the middle 1600s at the time of Oliver Cromwell. He was married to a beautiful but cold and frigid wife Dorothea. One day when out riding Philip came across a gypsy encampment and saw there a beautiful gypsy girl, Margot, and fell instantly in love with her. He brought her back secretly to live in the gatehouse near the stables of Diddington Manor, his family home. For some time he kept his love nest a secret, but eventually Dorothea, realising he was keeping someone else there, found Margot and accused her of witchcraft and stealing her husband. Philip was too scared of losing his reputation and his possessions to protest at the trial of Margot, and she was convicted of witchcraft and burned at the stake. Philip was subsequently stricken with remorse. Finally one morning his body was found at the bottom of the battlements where he had cast himself in a fit of agony and remorse.
“Ooh that’s nice story! You really used your imagination on that one!”

The group discussed the character and life they had given Philip until they were all agreed on the details. A picture was drawn by Andi and agreed to be a true likeness of Philip. It should be stressed that although Diddington Manor is a real place, there is no evidence that no one like Philip ever lived there. In addition, some historical errors were deliberately introduced into the story to emphasise its fictitious nature.

To consolidate the idea of Philip and to put themselves in mutual rapport, the group met weekly to meditate on Philip and his adventures. No apparition of Philip appeared, but observers occasionally noted a slight mistiness in the centre of the circle. However, this may merely have resulted from visual fatigue. In the fall of 1973, the group changed their approach as the result of reading articles by Mr [?] and Mr Brooksmith and Mr Hunt which appeared in the British SPR. These investigators have got physical effects by sitting round the table as in the old spiritual seances, but they created an atmosphere of jollity and relaxation. They told jokes, sang songs and exhorted the table in a light-hearted way to obey their commands. The Toronto group adopted the same approach, singing such ditties as Lloyd George Knew My Father, to the tune of Onward Christian Soldiers, playing music such as Greensleeves or Amazing Grace, and addressing questions to the table as if it really were Philip.

And between sittings, objects [familiar?] to Philip, such as fencing foils, 17th century manuscripts and pictures of Diddington Hall were kept. For most sittings the same four-legged table was used.


Narrator: It’s not easy for eight responsible normal adults to fool around in this way. They had to train themselves in a particular psychological attitude. They had to imitate a stage comedian who may give a very farcical performance on stage, but off the stage is sober and practical. As soon as the group adopted this new approach they got phenomena. First there came a vibration in the table. Also raps came out of the table. They seemed to come from inside the woodwork.

“Hello Philip, are you there?” “Good morning Philip” “Hi Philip, I heard you bought some more new horses.” “Come on, speak up, let’s hear some knocks.” “Come on let’s get some bangs. Come on, let’s get going.” “Have you brought Dorothea with you. Have you seen Dorothea lately? No? Would you like to see Dorothea lately? No? Didn’t you love Dorothea in your time? No. That was two. Yes we need them louder. Do it louder. Did you like Dorothea? (Knock knock). Ooh! Did you love – Margot?! Yes! Say it again, did you love Margot? (Knock). Good.

(The table rocks about).

GO: Then the table would actually move, it would glide over the thick pile carpet or even rear up on one or two legs only. Attempts to reproduce this motion by pushing always failed. It was impossible to imitate the table’s spontaneous motion.

Narrator: The group had succeeded many times. Visitors have watched the proceedings in bright light or even joined the group at the table. It’s clear that there’s no possibility that the phenomena is produced by trickery. The society’s research committee under Professor Owen has taken every precaution to obviate fraud and can state categorically that the phenomena are genuine and paranormal.

(Much rather drunken sounding singing ‘Up in the air and upside down!’. The table tips towards one side, until on its side completely).

GO: We found that Philip, the imaginary communicator, will answer questions put to him by sitters or visitors. One rap for yes, two raps for no. Philip of course has no independent existence. He says just what a majority of the sitters happen to think he ought to say. It is a case of psychokinesis by committee. If a question has an obvious answer, the response, in the form of one rap or two, comes promptly and with emphasis. If however, the members of the committee take time to individually reason out what the question means, or are doubtful as to the right answer, then the response is feebler and delayed.


Narrator: Dr Joel Whitton, a medical psychologist, was asked to comment: “Well I’d first like to emphasise that this is an important experiment because it’s done in the laboratory and it’s reproduceable. Now from the psychological point of view there are several considerations. First is, I have to ask myself what are the psychological conditions necessary to produce this phenomenon? It seems to me that the group is in a childlike creativity. This is brought on by the playing and the singing and the humour. The group lets their hair down. As opposed to the adult who says ‘This phenomena can’t be done because its against the laws of physics’ the child simply says ‘If I want to do it, it can be done’. Now second, I ask myself ‘What does this rapping and the table turning mean symbolically? Is it some type of concentration of energy or er, is it an elaborate defence mechanism against some deep-seated unconscious conflict? Third, the group is involved in a joint feeling of mutuality. Each member almost intuitively senses the other person and their feelings, and as such it has important overtones in various group programmes.”

One of the group: I think this Philip experiment has forced me to look at the whole spectrum of parapsychology. I’ve always believed that there’s a little bit of telepathy and precognition. But two years ago if you had told me that a group of us would be able to take this table and move it without any physical force, I, I think I would have laughed at you.

“This whole concept has made me much more aware of energy forces around – before you were aware of but didn’t really think about.”

GO: “I can’t see any way that any of this can move the table ourselves so there’s got to be energy or something which would be very interesting if we could find out how it works.”

Sue: “The experiment on Philip has been a very exciting thing for me because it’s taken an abstract thought of mine and made it into a concrete experiment.”

Lorne: “It’s offered an alternative explanation to me for the theory of spirits of the dead causing hauntings. The hauntings seem to be real but I have no faith in the departed spirits theory.”

“I think it’s been the most exciting parapsychological experiment that I’ve ever taken part in. We’ve been interested in these physical phenomena for so many years and I feel that at last we’ve made a breakthrough.”

Narrator: The group of eight has shown that a group of normal non-mediumistic people can acquire a kind of psychological skill enabling them to generate a strong physical force without the aid of spirits or supernatural influence. They have proved that this force is latent in most ordinary human beings. To gain understanding of this force they are continuing their work. They hope also that with new and original variations it will be imitated by other investigators.

II

ESP- Extra Special People - with Allen Spraggett.

AS: On this programme you meet ESP – Extra Special People – who explore that shadowy world that lies on the border between science and superstition, the known and the unknown. And on the programme today, you won’t believe it, our guest is a talking table called Philip. Now just a minute, before you tune out, I’ve not freaked out completely! We’ll explain who and what Philip the talking table is. I have a guest in human form – Mrs Iris Owen of the Toronto S PR. And of course Iris, we’ve worked together in the society for some time now. Tell us about Philip, the talking table, the imaginary ghost – how the whole thing started.

IO: Well it sounds absolutely crazy of course, but in fact it is a serious scientific experiment. George and I, my husband, have been interested in this field for many years.

AS: Now let me just say Iris, because you might be too modest – your husband George Owen is a distinguished parapsychologist as well as being a noted scientist in other areas.

IO: Yes indeed, and we were very fortunate to come to Canada five years ago to devote most of our time to the fringe areas of science and particularly parapsychology. This actual experiment arose out of a discussion we were having one night on ‘what was the nature of a ghost’. And it followed the investigation that we had done in Toronto of a haunted house where in fact some of our investigating team had seen what they thought was an hallucination or a ghost, and we discussed what it could be. Was it really the spirit of departed people, and we couldn’t believe this was so – but if it was an hallucination (which was the conclusion we came to), well why can’t we create our own hallucination? If we could create our own hallucination ourselves, then we would know a bit more about this. So we decided to make our own ghost. We called the group that were doing it ‘the ghost-creating group’. We didn’t know at first how to go about it – there aren’t any do-it-yourself ideas about it. So we decided that if we were going to prove that it wasn’t a departed spirit we had to invent a story, a character, not even a well-known story book character would do. One of our group, Sue, who had a beautiful imagination, invented our ghost for us. And then we spent a year, and I mean one night every week a for a whole year, we spent in meditation and thinking about our ghost and trying to conjure up a vision of him.

AS: Now you had a character, you invented him, you gave him a name – Philip, and you gave him a history, and then you tried to get him to communicate. What was the history of Philip?

IO: Well we set him in the 1500s in England at the time of Oliver Cromwell. He was a Cavalier, he had been a supporter of Charles. He was married to a beautiful and frigid wife Dorothea, married for the sake of joining the estates. He was riding around his estates one day and he met a beautiful gypsy girl, Margot, dark eyes, beautiful gypsy girl, and he fell instantly in love with her. Took her back to the castle where he hid her in the stables or in the dower house, and later his wife discovered her and blamed her, charged her with witchcraft and said she’d stolen her husband. And Philip himself was too concerned both for his own personal safety (by then Cromwell was on the throne) and also for the financial side of his estates, to defend her, and so she was tried and burnt at the stake.

AS: He was a craven wretch!

IO: Well we didn’t think he was quite that craven! In fact afterwards he was so distraught that he jumped from the battlements of the castle one night, and his body was found at the foot of the battlements. And then in the story that Sue invented, every century or so his ghost is seen walking the battlements searching for his lost love.

AS: OK, how did you go about getting this imaginary ghost to communicate?

IO: Well as I say, at first we, we, meditated for a whole year and we didn’t get anything very much in the way of results, and were beginning to feel a bit despondent and maybe we were wrong after all. And then we came across the work of some English experimenters in the British Society for Psychical Research, some eight to nine years ago, where they had worked on an experiment to make a table rise, to levitate a table. They were working on what we call (in the trade I was going to say, but as parapsychologists) the physical phenomena: rappings, movement, the sound of trumpets, the kind of thing that happened a great deal in the Victorian-type séance room when spiritualism began, and when this kind of thing was more of a parlour game than anything in its beginning. But [Kenneth Spatcheldore] had evolved a theory that if you trained yourself in a certain psychological skill, which was similar to the Victorian séance room, in other words if you sat around and sang repetitive songs and you told jokes and you worked in a relaxed atmosphere and literally ‘got into the spirit of the thing’, you would produce these physical phenomena, the raps and so on.
At that stage we said to ourselves well if this works for physical phenomena, why shouldn’t it produce our ghost? And so we decided to try this. Now we read the literature very thoroughly and there are many many papers on it. There is a philosophical reasoning as to why it works – and this is too short a programme for me to explain it. And we tried it, and the first sitting or two we were a little bit self-conscious. It’s not very easy, we’re all serious scientifically-minded people really. And to sit around and do all this sort of nonsense – talk to a table! We weren’t at that stage thinking we were talking to the table. We were surprised when suddenly one night we heard a rap from the table. Quite a loud rap! And we thought, you know – what is this? And we sat there very much surprised, and I think Dorothy said ‘perhaps it’s Philip!’ and immediately there was another rap. And so we said ‘Rap once for yes and two for no – are you Philip?’ and there was another rap.
And so this did surprise us very much. We carried on a little conversation like this rather non-plused the first time.

 AS: Did you get movements then rather quickly?

IO: Shortly afterwards the table kind of slid a bit, and we accused each other of pushing it, naturally. We couldn’t believe it would move by itself. In fact the first few months we were watching each other like hawks, and if anybody’s finger moved the slightest bit – you’re pushing! This sort of thing.

AS: Iris, we're going to take a break. We’re going to come back and introduce our viewers to Philip the talking table, and the rest of the Philip group. And we hope Philip will put in an appearance and do some communicating with us today.



III

(The group are stood around a table with their fingers on it).

AS: Here we are, and our guest is Philip the talking table and his eight friends, and you’re going to be introduced to each one of them in a moment. Right now Philip has been communicating through some raps.

(Various members of the group talking in a tone usually applied condescendingly to a child or animal): Come on – a real loud one! Come on! Say hello! That’s right, now do it louder. Say hello to all the people. It’s a big audience you’ve got out there. Say hello to everybody. (The table creaks). Go on, show off. You know you’re a ham actor. You can do it. A really loud one. Look we don’t want you to move, we want lots of nice loud raps. Come on! We’ll sing you a song.

AS: Why don’t we go around the table and each one of you give your name and say hello to Philip and we’ll ask him to respond.

IO: Hello Philip, this is Iris, you know me! Say hello. No, he’s not.

Hi Philip, this is Sidney, are you gong to say hi today? A little one?

AS: I’ve should say we’ve got a microphone under the table to pick up these ‘pings’ or raps.
(slight ticking)

It’s Andi. Gonna say hi to me? You said it before.

Hello Philip, it’s Bernice, are you gonna say hello tonight? Good, yes…

IO: Louder, Philip.

Lorne: Hello Philip! Did I get one there?

You try . Oh yes! One for Al. He likes Al.

AS: A little louder, Philip, if you please.

Hi Philip, it’s Dorothy here! (ooh there’s one)

Hello Philip, it’s Sue. (a bump and an ooh)

Say hello to Allen.

AS: Hello Philip. (thud) – there’s a good one. Another one.
AS: I think we should say that these raps have come in a number of different circumstances with outside witnesses present, including a psychiatrist, and they have agreed that the raps do indeed seem to come from inside the table. They’re not being produced by anybody here. The microscope is picking up these raps and they do seem to come from inside the table.

IO: You can see that all our hands are absolutely still and we’re standing up and our feet are on a carpeted floor so nobody could be kicking or tapping, or the sort of things that are usually alleged.

AS: Right. Why don’t you ramp it up and see if Philip will put on some antics for us.

IO: Oh I’m sure he will. There’s nothing he likes better. (Much hubbub) Come on! Show them what you can do! Right up in the air! (The table tips and sways quite violently. They sing in a drunken fashion. The table almost tips over.) Mind the microphone, Philip! (One table leg folds under the table. The microphone falls over). Bring it back here Philip! Mind the microphone! Let’s lift it back!

AS: How many tables have you demolished since you started?

IO: We’ve demolished quite a number!

AS: I can say I was present on one occasion when you were using quite a heavy wooden table and the leg broke off it that night.

IO: And actually we have used two or three heavy wooden tables but one of the troubles… (much talking over her).

Come on! Right over! Mind the microphone! Don’t knock the mic! What are you doing! Get away! Chase Sidney then!

AS: Now in some experiments you have put paper doilies on the table under your hands, to show that you couldn’t possibly be applying pressure or friction, and yet the table has bounced around just the same way.

IO: And sometimes thing will stick to the table, if we put a sweet or something, even though the table…

AS: I’m putting my ring onto the table. Do you think it might stay?

IO: Swallow it right up! Now Philip you’ve got his ring! Bend it! Bend it, Philip! (Much exhorting) (It falls on the floor. The table leg has bent up again). Not the leg!

AS: I take it that if you’ve demolished several tables, Philip then doesn’t have a preference for one 
particular table. He moves from one to the other.

IO: Oh yes any table anywhere.  One of the reasons why we don’t use the big tables quite so much is because we’re frightened about the house getting damage. Last time we used a wooden garden table it went and knocked holes in the wall.

AS: And he’s also produced raps and thumps in the wall, hasn’t he? What about the big question – has Philip ever been able to get the table off the floor completely - all four legs?

IO: Yes! Well why don’t you do it tonight, Philip? He did it once, only about ½ an inch off the floor, and it only went for two or three feet. But there were two other witnesses in the room, and er, it was a thick carpeted floor, if it had been… (indistinct).

AS: Well let’s try it now.

IO: Come on this is your big opportunity! Maybe your last opportunity! Come on, right up! Straight up! Come on! Shall we sing you a song?! Up in the air! (rather drunken-sounding singing) (The table wobbles and the leg collapses).

AS: He’s wrecked four tables and now he’s working on his fifth! What about turning the table upside down – and I know that this happened, getting the raps while the table is upside down? Let’s do that. Let’s keep it within range of our trusty microphone here. All right, now the bottom of the table is clearly exposed.

(They crouch and put their hands on the upturned table)

IO: Hello Philip! Are you enjoying being here tonight?! Come on, Philip!

Come on Philip, say hello, are you still there?! (a bump) Aah.

IO: Philip, if you perform you can have a nice big pint of beer, would you like that? (a bump)

AS: Now that was the loudest rap of the evening.

He loves his beer, hahah. (Rather drunken sounding singing of ‘one hundred bottles of beer on the wall’ including hiccups and laughing).

IO: Would you like two bottles of beer? Yes? A little bit louder than that. Let Allen hear you want two bottles of beer.

AS: Yeah, there’s a rap.  Now all hands are visible, let’s just dwell on this point. All hands are visible, but at this point all raps are clearly coming from, it would appear, certainly, from within that table. 

Let’s try it again. Philip, give us a good loud clear rap.

IO: For one bottle of beer. (Bump) Louder than that!

Louder for two! Come on Philip. If you want a bottle of beer, rap loudly! Louder, Philip! Come on Philip, louder! Here comes the microphone! It has to be louder or Allen won’t buy it! One rap right under the microphone. Here Phil, right here. Come on Philip, louder. Louder! That’s better! Ooh!

AS: Congratulations Philip. Alright, let’s stand him up right side up. What sort of questions does Philip respond to, can we ask him about er… (much laughter) … sex and beer are his, er.. Well let’s ask him some questions.

IO: Philip have you got Dorothea with you? No. Have you got Margot with you? Yes!

AS: Now Margot was his lover, the gypsy girl.

IO: What else shall we ask him. Oh yes, did you bring.. Is Lileth here?

AS: Now who is Lileth?

IO: It’s from another group. Now I told you this was a scientific experiment, and experiments have to be repeatable. So we decided that if our thesis was true, another group of people should be able to do the same thing with a different story.

AS: So Lileth is another imaginary ghost?

IO: Another imaginary ghost. A heroine of the French Resistance who lived in Canada and was sent up during wartime to work with the French Resistance. She was betrayed and shot as a spy by the Germans. And she had a Canadian Officer lover. And Philip has met Lileth and he’s quite friendly with her.

AS: Can I ask any of you who would like to answer – now you are all thoughtful intelligent people. You have professional backgrounds, you’re skilled in your various fields. How do you really feel about this Philip phenomenon? Sue?

Sue: I think it is purely a physical thing, coming from the brain, that any human being who has trained in the skill can do it. It’s just it takes some training to develop the skill, and I think it’s a source of energy which perhaps we have helped to find, and then maybe it can someday be used as a source of energy.

AS: Lorne, how do you feel about it?

Lorne: I just think that.. in respect to the fact we’ve produced artificially the sort of effects that you generally get from, what are supposed to be ghosts.

AS: In other words, the minds of you people working together have been able to produce movements in this table, raps in answers to your questions – all the things that traditionally ghosts have done. So are you saying that the traditional ghost may have been a projection from the minds of living people?

Lorne: That’s my view.

AS: Do you all agree with that?

It could be, it could be that. Yeah. It could be one of the answers to it.

AS: OK let’s ask Philip a question, we’ve got about one minute left for Philip in this command performance here. What’s going to get him to give us a good loud answer, as a kind of grand finale for him. You people know his feelings. Does he love, what’s the gypsy?

IO: Do you still love Margot, Philip?

Sue: Do you want to come on TV again, Philip?

He’s gone shy all of a sudden.

AS: Are you still there Philip? (a creak) Give us one more rap for goodbye.

IO: Say goodbye to Allen.

A real loud one. Louder than that.

IO: He’s saying no. He doesn’t want to go.

Give us one rap, Philip.
 We must go Philip, one loud goodbye for everyone.
Do you miss (Jo?) Hmm ?hmm. Louder still. Say goodbye George.

AS: We’re going to have to say goodbye to Philip for now, and we’ll be back in a moment to ‘rap’ this up with some more information about Philip.



IV

AS: My guest on Extra Special People is Iris Owen from the Toronto Society for Psychical Research. And Iris, that must be about the wildest sequence ever seen on television! A group of grown people with a table bouncing around and answering questions. But let’s get serious now. It’s a marvellous party game, having a talking table. But there’s something deeper than that involved. What the implications of this Philip experiment?

IO: Well of course as you say, Allen, there is a serious scientific experiment. And there are two aspects of it that are important. Firstly, the part that is of interest to the physicists – how does a combined thought from a group of people transform itself into something that can produce a physical effect such as a noise or a table movement.

AS: I should say that to me these pings from within the table are the most singular thing about the phenomenon. And I have put my hand on the table more than once and have felt the vibration, the pulsation, directly under it.

IO: Yes, it is the most extraordinary thing.

AS: The second thing –

IO: The second thing is of interest to psychologists. The physical, the psychological background of a group of people getting themselves into a state of mind where they can in fact share a common thought and a, produce these things.

AS: For one thing, you have to be in a kind of childlike frame of mind, don’t you?

IO: We describe it as a psychological skill, and it’s learnt just as in the same way as when you’re learning to the piano you have to start with the scales and go all the way through until you can play something in the nature of classical music, this is a psychological skill that we learn, in this way. And this is why it’s, erm, it doesn’t happen as often as one would think it must.

AS: Well maybe you’ll have some more imaginary ghosts around. Well, Iris Owen, it’s been marvellous having you on the programme, and we will be back again with more Extra Special People, and we’ll be talking to interesting folks who inhabit that shadowy world that lies on the border between science and superstition, the known and the unknown. They’re all unusual. They’re all Extra Special People.