Ada Besinnet Medium

There are certain Mediums who, without specializing in any particular way, can exhibit a wide range of preternatural manifestations. Of all whom the author has encountered he would give precedence for variety and consistency to Miss Ada Besinnet, of Toledo, in America, and to Evan Powell, formerly of Merthyr Tydfil, in Wales. Both are admirable Mediums and kindly, good people who are worthy of the wonderful gifts which have been entrusted to them. In the case of Miss Besinnet the manifestations include the Direct Voice, two or more often sounding at the same time. One masculine control, named Dan, has a remarkable male baritone voice, and anyone who has heard it can certainly never doubt that it is independent of the lady's organism. A female voice occasionally joins with Dan to make a most tuneful duet. Remarkable whistling, in which there seems to be no pause for the intake of breath, is another feature of this mediumship. So also is the production of very brilliant lights. These appear to be small solid luminous objects, for the author had on one occasion the curious experience of having one upon his moustache. Had a large firefly settled there the effect would have been much the same. The Direct Voices of Miss Besinnet when they take the form of messages as apart from the work of the Controls are not strong and are often hardly audible. The most remarkable, however, of all her powers is the appearance of phantom faces which appear in an illuminated patch in front of the sitter. They would seem to be mere masks, as there is no appearance of depth to them. In most cases they represent dim faces, which occasionally bear a resemblance to that of the Medium when the health of the lady or the power of the Circle is low. When the conditions are good they are utterly dissimilar. Upon two occasions the author has seen faces to which he could absolutely swear, the one being his mother and the other his nephew, Oscar Hornung, a young officer killed in the war. They were as clear-cut and visible as ever in life. On the other hand, there have been evenings when no clear recognition could be obtained, though among the faces were some which could only be described as angelic in their beauty and purity.*

* Various estimates and experiences of this mediumship will be found in the author's "Our American Adventure," pp. 124-132; Admiral Moore's "Glimpses of the Next State," pp. 226, 312; and finally Mr. Hewat McKenzie's report, PSYCHIC SCIENCE, April, 1922.

On a level with Miss Besinnet is Mr. Evan Powell, with the same variety but not always the same type of powers. Powell's luminous phenomena are equally good. His voice production is better. The author has heard the Spirit Voices as loud as those of ordinary human talk, and recalls one occasion when three of them were talking simultaneously, one to Lady Cowan, one to Sir James Marchant, and one to Sir Robert McAlpine. Movements of objects are common in the Powell seances, and on one occasion a stand weighing 60 lb. was suspended for some time over the author's head. Evan Powell always insists upon being very securely tied during his seances, which is done, he claims, for his own protection, since he cannot be responsible for his own movements when he is in a trance. This throws an interesting sidelight upon the possible nature of some exposures. There is a good deal of evidence, not only that the Medium may unconsciously, or under the influence of suggestion from the audience, put himself into a false position, but that evil forces which are either mischievous or are actively opposed to the good work done by Spiritualism, may obsess the entranced body and cause it to do suspicious things so as to discredit the Medium. Some sensible remarks upon this subject, founded upon personal experience, have been made by Professor Haraldur Nielsson, of Iceland, when commenting upon a case where one of the Circle committed a perfectly senseless fraud, and a Spirit afterwards admitted that it was done by its agency and instigation.* On the whole, Evan Powell may be said to have the widest endowment of spiritual gifts of any Medium at present in England. He preaches the doctrines of Spiritualism both in his own person and while under control, and he can in himself exhibit nearly the whole range of phenomena. It is a pity that his business as a coal merchant in Devonshire prevents his constant presence in London.

With small additions source from PSYCHIC SCIENCE, July, 1925.

In 1922, Conan Doyle, accompanied by his wife and three young children, made a Spiritualist crusade through the United States, lecturing and attending seances. Besinnet urged him to visit.

"I do not mind telling you that I am going to Toledo because Miss Ada Besinnet is there and I hope through her to communicate again with my mother, my son and some other dear ones," he said. "I have great faith in Miss Besinnet's psychic powers and a deep respect for her intellect. She is a cultured woman and a courageous one, who, ever exposed to ridicule and merciless criticism, yet remains true to her belief, based on personal experience, that it is possible to communicate with the dead."

Described as sweet and motherly, Besinnet's own mother died when she was 7. She was raised by a well-to-do Old West End family, the matron of which believed in and nurtured the girl's psychic powers.

She built a strong following especially among the city's upper crust, charging $1 at first and eventually $20 to attend invitation-only seances, which often lasted three or four hours. Among her guests: President William Howard Taft.

If nothing else, an evening with Besinnet was excellent entertainment. Guests sat around an oak table in her home as the room darkened. Besinnet bound her hand to that of the person next to her. Lights flickered like fireflies, phonograph records played, whistling was heard, and there was singing in several vocal ranges. "Spirits" piped up, including an Indian chief named Black Cloud, a child, a Spanish dancer, and a soldier.

A trumpet was handed around and put next to the ear, connecting the guest to a departed loved one. People sometimes saw faces, and when the room's lights finally came up, there was often a penciled message from the afterlife.

At his two-hour lecture on The Proof of Immorality in Toledo's Coliseum Theater, Conan Doyle drew a capacity crowd of 3,000. He told the audience about his session with Besinnet: "I received a written message, in a scribble that might have been anyone's but that was signed by the name my mother always used in signing her letters to me. What could that American girl have known of that pet name?"

Conan Doyle, who wrote many letters to Besinnet and William Roche, a Toledo News-Bee political writer who married the psychic in 1931, said Besinnet "should be guarded and looked after very carefully, for she is very valuable."

In 1923, he was back in the United States and met her again.

"We were greatly favoured that evening in the seance, for we had the whole gamut of the Medium's powers, the powerful voices, the wonderful musical performances, the brilliant lights, the fitful materializations, the written messages, the continuation of the songs when a bandage was over the lady's lips, and finally the whole table was lifted bodily into the air. It was a very impressive exhibition."

He paid her expenses to hold a seance in New York City's Biltmore Hotel, whose owner, John Bowman, was a believer.

On hearing about Besinnet Harry Houdini, magician and escape artist, came to try and debunk Mediums. Houdini wrote to Besinnet four times in 1925, throwing down a $10,000 challenge if, which he stipulate after three seances, he could not figure how she staged the sessions. Conan Doyle advised her to ignore him and she did. Houdini towards the end of his life became to believe in Spiritualism.

Sherlock's creator died in 1930 at the age of 71. His family expected him to quickly contact them from beyond, but, Ravin said, it's not clear that he ever did.