Dr J.M. Peebles, in returning thanks to those assembled to welcome him, said that he had long felt an inspiration within him to carry the truths of Spiritualism to all parts of the world; that had been his main purpose in his travels, and he carried with him, and scattered everywhere, books and papers. In every country he had visited he had found Spiritualists. Spiritualism he had found everywhere, but more especially in India. The Chinese loved money more than the Hindoos, were not so spiritual, and were, in short, the Yankees of the East. He then described their well-known method of obtaining a kind of planchette writing.
He next stated that an Irish family, of the name of Kelley, lived at St Thomas, eight miles from Madras, and that the son was a medium. The father was once supervising a body of men on a railway, when he lost patience with a lazy Hindoo, and struck him severely. The Hindoo called on his God to curse him, saying, “Curse him in his outgoings and incomoings! in his thoughts, and in his body!” The next morning the arm of Mr Kelley which had struck the man was swollen, and for about three weeks thenceforth it gave him intense pain.
All at once the pains left him, and the same night his son had what was called “a fit,” but which was in reality a trance, and he spoke in the Hindustani tongue. Physical phenomena then began. Stones were hurled against the house, dishes and furniture would occasionally slide around the room. Mrs Kelley wrote about these disturbances to her husband, who then sent for his son; the noises followed him, and stones fell on the carriage while his brother-in-law was with him. They entered the library, where all the books fell to the floor, except the Bible. This the brother-in-law deemed to be a significant point, until he turned to leave the room, when the Bible flew at him, and struck him in the back.
A Catholic priest was sent for, who sprinkled the building with holy water, but the disturbances did not stop. Next, an old man from the mountains, a Fakir, a ghostly old sage, said to have power over spirits, was sent for. He took a pot of incense in his hands, marched around the building, chanted prayers, then put his hand on the young man’s head, and told him to fast and to bathe. Next night the old man told the youth to follow him round the building until after dark, when he made him sit down, threw a white cloth over him, and then “pathetised” his head. He also burnt camphor and frankincense, made the youth change his garments, sprinkled him with water, and then retired. Next night was the time of trial. The old man made the young one march with him round the house, then took him into a private room, where he washed and annointed him with oil; he burnt paper around his body, and burnt all his clothes, then ordered the “demons” to leave; lastly, he told the young man that he was safe, and surrounded by a higher order of spiritual beings, which indeed proved to be the case.
He (Mr Peebles) had met the old man, and was told that the aged exorcist had never tasted animal food; he never came down from the mountains when he was sent for by men, but only when he was ordered by his spirits. He was much in demand among the populace.
[…]
Spiritualist, 15th February 1878.
Eastern Psychological Phenomena.
By JM Peebles, M.D.
A strange spiritual phenomenon in India – the casting out of a demon.
The Assistant Director of Public Instruction and Registrar of Assurances, Mr D.S. White, of Madras, is a writer of considerable note, and, theologically speaking, an outright freethinker, with no spiritualist proclivities; and yet he confessed that he had witnessed marvellous phenomena, alleged to be spiritual, that sorely puzzled him; and, among others, referred to the wonderful manifestations that occurred in the presence of young Kelly, son of Mr P. Kelly, a railway contractor. Before leaving the city I visited Mr Kelly, his son Thomas, and Mr Cronin, the brother-in-law, getting written statements from them in confirmation of the marvels referred to by Mr White. Reserving the written documents, I submit the following condensed statement.
The Kellys, Irish in descent, were a quiet, industrious family of Roman Catholics, residing at St Thomas, some eight miles out from the city of Madras. They had never heard of a people known as Spiritualists. Mr Kelly, having the supervision of some native Hindus employed upon the public works some distance from home, struck one of these intractable natives with considerable violence. The Hindu was terribly exasperated, and threateningly called upon his ancestral god to palsy the arm or otherwise punish the man who had dealt him the blow; and, strange to relate, almost immediately thereafter, and without any appreciable cause, painful swellings came upon the offending arm. These for a time proved absolutely incurable, and then, all at once, they went away, seemingly of themselves; but at the same time his son Thomas became afflicted and annoyed by what could only be attributed to superhuman agencies.
Perplexed and troubled, Mrs Kelly wrote her husband of the strange things occurring by invisible powers in the presence of this son, such as stones dropping down before him, dishes sailing out of the cupboard and flying about the room, doors opening of their own accord, trunks unlocked without keys, and some other things too odd to be mentioned.
Mr Kelly replied to the letter in a rather harsh manner, reproving the wife and family for their superstition. But the noises increased; furniture was injured in locked rooms; crockery-ware was dashed to pieces before their eyes; and a four-pound shot came crashing down through the roof one evening, yet leaving no discoverable opening.
At this singular crisis of affairs Mr Kelly sent for the son to come to him at once. He did so, and yet these inexplicable manifestations followed him. The son-in-law, Mr Cronin, a well-educated man, still remaining sceptical upon the spiritual origin of these troublesome wonders, went personally with a carriage to convey the young man to his own house. On the way, the carriage was struck several times by some seemingly heavy weapon, stones fell into the carriage before their own eyes, and also a marble paper-weight from his sister’s table.
The following is an extract from Mr James Cronin’s lengthy statement: –
“On the following day, April 30th, reaching my sister’s house about 10 a.m., I met my brother, who said, come quickly into the hall. I went, and saw the whole of the books, usually in an open bookcase, scattered about; some sticking to the roof of the room, and others hung by the rafters on the roof; the Bible alone was left in the book-case. This circumstance induced my brother to exclaim, ‘I defy the spirits, or whatever they may be, to meddle with that book!’ The challenge was accepted; for having replaced the books, and turning to go out of the room, my brother felt a heavy shock at the back of his head, and wheeling around the Bible fell at his feet… Soon a crucifix and a stove were thrown into the hall. I now not only became convinced, but timid; and accordingly I induced the young man to join a ‘religious order.’ … The supernatural phenomena continued, annoying us especially when at prayers.
“Three priests were called in at one time, but they could do nothing toward casting away these evil spirits. Valuable papers were taken from locked drawers and thrown about the room; property was destroyed; my brother was struck on the head, and what caused more anxiety, it was plainly perceptible that he was growing melancholy, nervous, and sickly. Sometimes he would fall into trance-like fits; and at these times he was strong as a Samson, but very weak after coming out of them. When in these trance states he would talk Hindustani, but could not speak a word of it in his natural condition…
“When in this state of stupor or trance I elicited from the spirit that the young man’s father having struck a lubbay-caste man at Virumputty, a place near Trichonopoly, a spell was put upon him. But he being a healthy, strong-minded man, it did not have so much effect, and was therefore turned upon this young man…. I laid hold of the young man, a struggle ensued by the door, and he awoke weak and exhausted.”
Finally, this family sent quite a distance for one of those self-sacrificing, holy-minded Hindus, who it was said to have the power to thwart all diabolical influences, and cast out demons. He came, wearing a white, robe-like dress, and remained three days and three nights. The first evening he marched around the house several times, carrying fire in his hand, chanting sacred hymns and repeating prayers. He put the lad in front of him the second night, burned perfumed paper, drew diagrams, anointed him, and had him put on a complete change of apparel. The third and last night he placed a mesmeric circle by passes around his head, bathed him in soma-scented water, anointed him with holy oil, made him put on another entire suit of clothes, and repeating prayers, pronounced him, the family, and the house, relieved of all demoniacal influences. And from that hour nothing strange or superhuman occurred.
I sawseveral members of the family, and also the young man, now about twenty, hale and healthy. He dislikes to talk about the diabolical influences that so long followed and infested him. I may further say, that this old Hindu desired to and did take away with him all the cast off garments that this young man had worn, and so did to burn them.
A portion of this extraordinary case of obsession was published in the Madras News, May, 1874.
Spiritualist, 7th June 1878.