Ghost club

The Ghost Club is a 1862 in London based organization whose purpose is the ghost hunt and exploration of paranormal phenomena such as ghosts - and haunting is.

history

Beginning

The beginnings of the club are in Cambridge in 1855, as Fellows of Trinity College began to look for ghosts and parapsychology to care. Officially founded in London in 1862, its earliest members, along with Charles Dickens, included academics and clergy from the University of Cambridge . One of the first investigations by the club concerned the work of the Davenport brothers in 1862 , who appeared to make contact with the dead in their shows. However, the result of the investigation was never published.

The club researched spiritistic phenomena on site , which were of particular interest at the time. In the 1870s, the club appeared to disband with the death of Dickens.

Established in 1882

The club was not revitalized until All Saints' Day in 1882 through Alfred Alaric Watts, son of the journalist and poet Alaric Alexander Watts, and Reverend Stainton Moses, a well-known contemporary medium. However, they claimed to be the original founders of the club without acknowledging its origins in 1862. At the same time, the Society for Psychical Research (SPR) was founded, which initially many members of the club also joined. While the SPR devoted itself to scientific studies, the Ghost Club remained a tight-knit, mysterious community whose members were firmly convinced of the existence of spiritualistic phenomena. In 1886, Stainton Moses resigned as Vice President of the SPR and instead devoted himself to the Ghost Club, which at the time met monthly.

The club's archives show that the names of its members, both living and dead, were solemnly recited on November 2nd. The deceased members were also still considered regular members of the club, whose presence is said to have been noticeable on several occasions. A variety of topics were discussed at the meetings, such as ancient Egyptian religion or the ability of fortune telling . At this stage of its existence, the Ghost Club could be seen as an occult or spiritualist association of the Victorian era , which celebrated All Souls' Day on November 2nd.

The director of Jesus College in Cambridge, Arthur Gray, took the club as a model in 1919 for The Everlasting Club , a popular Cambridge-set ghost story that many still hold to be true.

20th century

The number of participants was low with 82 members over the period of 54 years, and women were not allowed in the club, but now the organization has become a reservoir for some of the most original and controversial minds of their time, such as the chemist and physicist Sir William Crookes , the physicist Sir Oliver Lodge , the psychologist and former collaborator of Sigmund Freud Nandor Fodor and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle , the inventor of Sherlock Holmes . Visitors to the club were, among others, from 1911 the poet William Butler Yeats and from 1925 the architect, archaeologist and parapsychologist Frederick Bligh Bond , who was dismissed as head of the excavations at Glastonbury in 1922 because his work was based on information obtained through a medium . In 1926 he emigrated to America and was active in the American Society for Psychical Research , but renewed membership in the Ghost Club on his return in 1935.

Harry Price while investigating a haunted house in Meopham, Kent, 1936

Harry Price , British parapsychologist and author who had made a name for himself with the media Stella Cranshaw, Eileen Garrett and the Schneider brothers (Willi and Rudi) as well as the witch experiment , joined the club in 1927. When he was elected president, he redesigned the club meetings to an evening social meeting with technical discussions. In addition, he decided to admit women and tried to improve the image of the club, away from a spiritualist association towards an association of skeptics who critically discussed paranormal phenomena. Members included Cyril Edwin Mitchinson Joad , Sir Julian Huxley , Algernon Blackwood , Sir Osbert Sitwell, and Frederick Montague, 1st Baron Amwell . After Harry Price's death in 1948, the club's activities stalled, but other members tried to keep it going, most notably Philip Paul and parapsychologist and author Peter Underwood. From 1962 he was president of the club and described many of the club's activities in his books.

In 1993 the club experienced a period of internal tremors when Peter Underwood moved as president of what he said was originally founded in 1851 and called the Ghost Club Society , and some club members followed him. Tom Perrott resigned, but resumed the chairmanship at the request of the remaining members. After this time it was decided to democratize the processes within the club. For example, the clause that allowed membership only by invitation of a member was deleted from the conditions of admission, the offices of president and chairman were merged, all members were allowed to speak in council meetings and they were encouraged to get involved in association matters. In addition, the club expanded its remit to investigate UFO sightings, dowsers , cryptozoology and similar topics.

21st century

In 1998 Tom Perrott resigned as chairman, but was still involved in club affairs. His successor was Barrister Alan Murdie selected, the number of books had written about ghosts, such as Haunted Brighton and regular contributor to the magazine Fortean Times wrote. From 2005 to 2009, Kathy Gearing became the first woman in the club's history to preside over the club, followed by Alan Murdie, who had previously held the position.

Club meetings take place monthly at London's Victory Services Club near Marble Arch . In addition to numerous studies in England, places in Scotland are also increasingly being researched.

Known members

Since it was founded in 1862, the club has had many celebrities among its members, including Charles Dickens , Sir Arthur Conan Doyle , Sir William Crookes , Royal Air Force officer Lord Dowding , Arthur Koestler , the English philosopher Cyril Edwin Mitchinson Joad, Donald Campbell , Sir Julian Huxley , Sir Osbert Sitwell , William Butler Yeats , Siegfried Sassoon , Dennis Wheatley , Peter Cushing , Peter Underwood and Maurice Grosse, who was known for his research on the Enfield poltergeist. Today's members include Colonel John Blashford-Snell, Order of the British Empire , writer Lynn Picknett, writers Colin Wilson and Geoff Holder, and parapsychologist Ciarán O'Keeffe.

Investigations

Glamis Castle, 2005

Places of alleged paranormal activity that the club has researched since its inception include the Borley Rectory , Essex , Chingle Hall Mansion, Queen's House , Royal Air Force Museum , Glamis Castle , Winchester Theater, The Ancient Ram Inn in Wotton-under-Edge, Stroud , Woodchester Mansion, Balgonie Castle in Fife (Scotland) , Ham House , New Lanark , Coalhouse Fort , the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Alloa Tower , Scotland Street School Museum in Glasgow, Michelham Priory , London's Clerkenwell House of Detention, and the Jedburgh Castle prison .

literature

The club has been featured in several books such as No Common Task (1983), This Haunted Isle (1984), The Ghosthunters Almanac (1993), and Nights in Haunted Houses (1994), all by Peter Underwood; Some Unseen Power (1985) by Philip Paul; The Encyclopedia of Ghosts and Spirits (1992) by Rosemary Ellen Guiley; Will Storr Versus the Supernatural (2006) by Will Storr; The Guide to Mysterious Glasgow (2009) by Geoff Holder; Ghost Hunting: a Survivor's Guide (2010) by John Fraser and A Brief Guide to Ghost Hunting (2013) by Leo Ruickbie.

Web links

• The Ghost Club

Individual evidence

1. ^ Peter Underwood: Dictionary of the Supernatural . Harrap Ltd., London, 1978, ISBN 0-245-52784-2 , p. 144.
2. ^ ^{A b c d} William Hodson Brock: William Crookes (1832-1919) and the commercialization of science . Ashgate Publishing, 2008, ISBN 0-7546-6322-1 , p. 440.
3. ^ Project Gutenberg Australia: The Everlasting Club . Retrieved October 29, 2014.
4. ↑ Arthur Gray: Tedious Brief Tales of Granta and Gramarye ( Memento of the original from September 23, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The  archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Ghost Story Press, 1993, ISBN 978-0952049203 .
5. ^ Trevor H. Hall: The spiritualists: the story of Florence Cook and William Crookes . Helix Press, 1963, p. 97 ff.
6. ↑ Mysterious Britain & Ireland: The Ghost Club - A History by Peter Underwood ( Memento of the original from July 3, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Retrieved October 29, 2014. 
7. ↑ The Ghost Club Society ( Memento of the original from December 16, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
8. ^ The Ghost Club: Publications by Ghost Club Members . Retrieved October 29, 2014.
9. ↑ Fortean Times: Yorkshire Ghost Busters ( Memento of the original from March 14, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , from March 2008. 
10. ↑ The Ghost Club newsletter, summer 2009, p. 2.
11. ↑ The Ghost Club: History ( Memento of the original from March 1, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Retrieved October 29, 2014. 
12. ↑ The Ghost Club: The Ram Inn, Potters Pond, Wotton-under-Edge , July 12, 2003.
13. ^ The Ghost Club: Balgonie Castle, Scotland , February 26, 2005.
14. ↑ The Ghost Club: Ham House, Surrey , March 27, 2004.
15. ↑ The Ghost Club: Village of New Lanark , May 15, 2004.
16. ^ The Ghost Club: Village of New Lanark , April 23, 2005.
17. ↑ The Ghost Club: Coalhouse Fort, Essex , October 4, 2003.
18. ↑ The Ghost Club: Coalhouse Fort, Essex , October 20, 2007.
19. ^ The Ghost Club: Glasgow Royal Concert Hall , March 7, 2009.
20. ↑ The Ghost Club: Alloa Tower, Alloa , November 24, 2007.
21. ^ The Ghost Club: Scotland Street School, Glasgow , October 27, 2007.
22. ^ The Ghost Club: Scotland Street School, Glasgow , October 25, 2008.
23. ^ The Ghost Club: Michelham Priory, Sussex , April 5-12, 2003.
24. ↑ The Ghost Club: The Clerkenwell House of Detention , May 15-16, 1999.
25. ↑ The Ghost Club: Jedburgh Castle Jail , May 24, 2008.
26. ^ Peter Underwood, No Common Task: Autobiography of a Ghost Hunter . Harrap Ltd., London, 1983, ISBN 978-0-245-53959-6 .
27. ^ Peter Underwood: This Haunted Isle . Javelin Books, Poole, 1984, ISBN 978-0-7137-1699-3 .
28. ↑ Peter Underwood: The Ghosthunters Almanac, A Guide to Over 120 Hauntings . Eric Dobby Publishing Ltd., Orpington, 1993, ISBN 978-1-85882-010-1 .
29. ^ Peter Underwood: Nights in Haunted Houses . Headline Book Publishing, London, 1994, ISBN 978-0-7472-4258-1 .
30. ↑ Philip Paul: Some Unseen Power - Diary of a Ghost-Hunter . R. Hale, London, 1985, ISBN 0-7090-2384-7 .
31. ↑ Rosemary Ellen Guiley: The Encyclopaedia of Ghosts and Spirits . Checkmark Books, New York, 1992, ISBN 978-0-8160-4086-5 .
32. ↑ Will Storr: Will Storr Versus the Supernatural: One Man's Search for the Truth about Ghosts . Ebury Press, London, 2006, ISBN 978-0-09-190173-8 .
33. ^ Geoff Holder: The Guide to Mysterious Glasgow . The History Press, London, 2009, ISBN 978-0-7524-4826-8 .
34. ^ John Fraser: Ghost Hunting: a Survivor's Guide . The History Press, London, 2010, ISBN 978-0-7524-5414-6 .
35. ↑ Leo Ruickbie: A Brief Guide to Ghost Hunting . Constable & Robinson, London, 2013, ISBN 978-1-78033-826-2 .