The Book of Dreams and Ghosts." . . the stories we have been telling deal with living men supposed to be influencing living men. When the dead are alleged to exercise a similar power, we have to suppose that some consciousness survives the grave, and manifests itself by causing hallucinations among the living. Instances of this have already been given in "The Ghost and the Portrait," "The Bright Scar" and "Riding Home after Mess." These were adduced as examples of veracity in hallucinations. Each appearance gave information to the seer which he did not previously possess. In the first case, the lady who saw the soldier and the suppliant did not know of their previous existence and melancholy adventure. In the second, the brother did not know that his dead sister's face had been scratched. In the third, the observer did not know that Lieutenant B. had grown a beard and acquired a bay pony with black mane and tail. But though the appearances were veracious, they were purposeless, and again, as in each case the information existed in living minds, it may have been wired on from them. . . ." |
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answered apparition appearance asked awake believe bocan Bolter bones brother called Claughton clothes coincidence Crown 8vo crystal gazing curious dead death died disturbances Donald Ban Donald Farquharson door dream duc d'Orléans Esther event evidence experience fact father fire Fródá Garpsdal gentleman ghost stories ghostly girl Glam Grettir hallucination hand haunted houses heard Hetty Hinton Ampner horse Iceland Inverawe Kjartan knew knock lady letter living Longformacus Lord Lord Brougham Lyttelton Mause Meresby mind minister Miss morning mother murder never night noises passed person raps recognised Ricketts says seen seer servant Shchapoff Sir George Villiers Sir Tristram sleep Soutar spirit tale telepathy tell things Thorgunna Thorhall Thorir Thorodd thought Thurid Ticonderoga told Towse trouble Tyrone veracious vision vols waking walking Wesley wife William William Soutar woman wraith ye Duke young
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