Chapter V: Hallucinations

From the occurrence in a dream of the ideas of events which happen to coincide with actual events, let us turn to apparitions occurring during the waking hours of the percipient.

The late Professor Sidgwick, at the head of a committee, sent out the following question to 17,000 educated persons not known to have had hallucinations:--"Have you ever, when believing yourself to be completely awake, had a vivid impression of seeing or being touched by a living being or inanimate object, or of hearing a voice, which impression, so far as you could discover, was not due to any external physical cause?"

The replies demonstrate how frequent are hallucinations amongst healthy, normal-minded persons. No fewer than 1684, or one in ten, of the persons interrogated, had had visual and auditory and even tactile hallucinations, realistic human phantoms, and other apparitions. We find that, according to the age classification, of 1295 visual hallucinations 72 occurred while the percipients were under ten years of age, 217 between the ages of ten and nineteen, 300 between twenty and twenty-nine, 143 between thirty and thirty-nine, 81 between forty and forty-nine, 40 between fifty and fifty-nine, 22 between sixty and sixty-nine, 5 later than seventy, and 415 at unstated ages. Some of the hallucinations occurred immediately after waking, others while the percipients were awake in bed; but the great bulk occurred in a fully awakened state, and a large number appeared out of doors.

Of hallucinations of which we may say that they are due to a projection from the agent's mind, commonly to a dying man or woman, to that of the percipient, perhaps one of the most famous is that of Lord Charles Beresford, as described by him to the Society for Psychical Research:

"It was in the spring of 1864, whilst on board H.M.S. _Racoon_,
between Gibraltar and Marseilles, that I went into my office on
the main deck to get a pipe; and as I opened the door I saw my
father lying in his coffin as plainly as I could. It gave me an
awful jerk and I immediately told some of the fellows who were
smoking just outside the usual place between the guns, and I
also told dear old Onslow, our chaplain. A few days after we
arrived at Marseilles, and I heard of my father's death, and he
had been buried that very day and at the time, half-past twelve
in the day. I may add that at the time it was a bright, sunny
day, and I had not been fretting about my father, as the latest
news I had of him was that although very ill he was better. My
dear old father and I were great chums, more so than is usual
between a man of seventy-two and a boy of twenty, our
respective ages then."

The evidence is so bulky that we may quote only a case here and there at random:

"On December 9th 1882 Mr T. G. Keulemans was living with his
family in Paris. The outbreak of an epidemic of smallpox caused
him to remove three of his children, including a favourite
little boy of five, to London, whence he received in the course
of the ensuing month several letters giving an excellent
account of their health.

"On the 24th of January 1881, at half-past seven in the
morning, I was suddenly awoke by hearing his voice, as I
fancied, very near me. I saw a bright opaque white mass before
my eyes, and in the centre of this light I saw the face of my
little darling, his eyes bright, his mouth smiling. The
apparition, accompanied by the sound of his voice, was too
short and too sudden to be called a dream; it was too clear,
too decided, to be called an effect of the imagination. So
distinctly did I hear his voice that I looked round the room to
see whether he was actually there. The sound I heard was that
of extreme delight, such as only a happy child can utter. I
thought it was the moment he woke up in London, happy and
thinking of me. I said to myself: 'Thank God, little Isidore
is happy as always.' Mr Keulemans describes the ensuing day as
one of peculiar brightness and cheerfulness. He took a long
walk with a friend, with whom he dined; and was afterwards
playing a game at billiards when he again saw the apparition of
his child. This made him seriously uneasy, and in spite of
having received within three days the assurance of his child's
perfect health he expressed to his wife a conviction that he
was dead. Next day a letter arrived saying that the child was
ill; but the father was convinced that this was only an attempt
to break the news; and, in fact, the child had died, after a
few hours' illness, at the exact time of the first apparition."

Another case as recited by Madame D----, of St Gaudens, is to be found in "Posthumous Humanity." She says:

"I was still a young girl, and slept with my elder sister. One
evening we had just retired to bed and blown out the light. The
smouldering fire on the hearth still feebly lighted the room.
Upon turning my eyes towards the fireplace I perceived, to my
amazement, a priest seated before the fire and warming himself.
He had the corpulence, the features, and the general appearance
of one of our uncles who lived in the neighbourhood, where he
was an archbishop. I at once called my sister's attention. She
looked in the same direction, and saw the same apparition. She
also recognised our uncle. An indescribable terror seized us
both, and we cried 'Help!' with all our might. My father, who
slept in an adjoining room, awakened by these desperate cries,
jumped out of bed and ran in with a candle in his hand. The
phantom had disappeared, and we saw no one in the room. The
next morning a letter was received informing us that our uncle
had died the previous evening.

"At Wiesbaden, Professor Ebenan, whose old sister kept his
house, stated that he had a friend residing forty or fifty
miles off--likewise a professor--who was very poor and had a
large family. On hearing that his wife was dying, Mr E---- went
to see them, and brought back their eldest boy, for whom a
little bed was put up in Mr E----'s room.

"One morning, about ten days after, Mr E---- called and asked
me: 'Do you believe that at the moment of death you may appear
to one whom you love?' I replied: 'Yes, I do.' 'Well,' he said,
'we shall see. I have noted the day and the hour, for last
night after I went to bed the child said sweetly (in German):
"Yes, dear mamma, I see you." To which I replied: "No, dear
boy, it is I; I am come to bed." "No," he said, "it is dear
mamma, she is standing there smiling at me," pointing to the
side of the bed.' On his next visit Mr Ebenan told us that he
had received a letter informing him that at that time, and on
that evening, the wife had breathed her last."

In some cases a vague shadowy form is seen which gradually acquires definiteness. Here is an interesting example contributed to "Proceedings," vol. x., by a Mr T. A.:--

"9th May 1892.

"I saw a darkish vapour leave my father's head when he died,
about twelve years ago, and it formed into a figure full-sized,
and for seven consecutive nights (I) saw it in my room, and saw
it go each night into the next room, in which he died. It
became more distinct each night and brighter each night, till
it was quite brilliant, even dazzling, by the seventh night. It
lasted, say, one and a half minutes. It was quite dark when the
phantom used to appear. I was quite awake, going to bed; [age]
thirty two."

In other cases what is first seen is a glow of light--the apparition subsequently appearing in it.

Mr R. W. Raper, of Trinity College, Oxford, made the following statement to the Society for Psychical Research:--

"'Just before Christmas 1894 I went over to Liverpool with one
of my brothers and my sister. It was a very fine clear day and
there was a great crowd of people shopping in the streets. We
were walking down Lord-street, one of the principal streets,
when, passing me, I saw an old uncle of mine whom I knew very
little, and had not seen for a very long time, though he lived
near me. I saw three distinct shapes hobbling past (he was
lame), one after another, in a line. It didn't seem to strike
me at the moment as being in the least curious, not even there
being three shapes in a line. I said to my sister: "I have just
seen Uncle E----, and I am sure he is dead." I said this, as it
were, mechanically, and not feeling at all impressed. Of course
my brother and sister laughed. We thought nothing more about it
while in Liverpool. The first thing my mother said to us when
getting home was: "I have some news"; and then she told us that
this uncle had died early that morning. I don't know the
particular hour. I saw the three shapes at about twelve in the
morning. I felt perfectly fit and well, and was not thinking of
my uncle in the least, nor did I know he was ill. Both my
brother and my sister heard me say that I had seen him and
believed he was dead, and they were equally astonished at
hearing of his death on our return home. My uncle and I knew
each other very little. In fact, he hardly knew me by sight,
although he knew me well when I was a small child.'

"The corroboration from the percipient's mother and sister is
quite ample; the day of the agent's death coincided with the
apparition, but the hour is not certainly known."

Another well-known case is that of Prince Victor Duleep Singh, who writes:

"On Saturday, October 21st, 1893, I was in Berlin with Lord
Carnarvon. We went to a theatre together and returned before
midnight. I went to bed, leaving, as I always do, a bright
light in the room (electric light). As I lay in bed I found
myself looking at an oleograph which hung on the wall opposite
my bed. I saw distinctly the face of my father, the Maharajah
Duleep Singh, looking at me, as it were, out of this picture;
not like a portrait of him, but his real head. The head about
filled the picture frame. I continued looking, and still saw my
father looking at me with an intent expression. Though not in
the least alarmed, I was so puzzled that I got out of bed to
see what the picture really was. It was an oleograph
commonplace picture of a girl holding a rose and leaning out of
a balcony, an arch forming the background. The girl's face was
quite small, whereas my father's head was the size of life and
filled the frame."

The Prince's father had been in ill-health for some time, but nothing alarming was to be expected. On the day following the dream he mentioned it to Lord Carnarvon, and on the evening of that day Lord Carnarvon handed him a telegram announcing the elder Prince's death. He had had an apoplectic seizure on the previous evening and never recovered. It is interesting to note that he had often said that he would try to appear to his son at death if they happened to be apart. The account is confirmed by Lord Carnarvon.

It sometimes happens that the point of hallucination is not quite reached. The following instance, communicated to the Society for Psychical Research, is straightforward enough:

"'20 Rankeillor Street, Edinburgh,

"'December 27th, 1883.

"'In January 1871 I was living in the West Indies. On the 7th
of that month I got up with a strong feeling that there was
something happening at my old home in Scotland. At seven A.M. I
mentioned to my sister-in-law my strange dread, and said even
at that hour what I dreaded was taking place.

"'By the next mail I got word that at eleven A.M. on the 7th of
January my sister died. The island I lived in was at St Kitts,
and the death took place in Edinburgh. Please note the hours
and allow for the difference in time, and you will notice at
least a remarkable coincidence. I may add I never knew of her
illness.

"'A. C----N.'

"In answer to inquiries, Mr C----n adds: 'I never at any other
time had a feeling in any way resembling the particular time I
wrote about. At the time I wrote about I was in perfect
health, and in every way in comfortable circumstances.'"

There is nothing unreasonable in the assumption that telepathy is the agency primarily concerned in these manifestations. The idea having been received, a hallucination is built up, so to speak, by the percipient. A truly hallucinable person can suggest to himself his own hallucinations with no external aid, but a non-hallucinable personage cannot induce these hallucinations at all. Dr Hugh Wingfield stated to the Society for Psychical Research that the case of one of his patients proved that hallucinations could be produced by self-suggestion. "He could, by a simple effort of the mind, himself believe almost any delusion--_e.g._ that he was riding on horseback, that he was a dog, or anything else, or that he saw snakes--if left to himself the delusion vanished slowly. Anyone else could remove it at once by a counter-suggestion. He made," he adds, "these experiments without my consent, as I consider them unsafe."

Hallucination is at times accompanied by curious organic effects. One of the commonest of these is a feeling of cold--generally described as a "chill" or "cold shudder." The following example is taken from the Census of Hallucinations of the Society for Psychical Research:--

FROM MISS K. M.

(_The account was written in 1889._)

"[About twenty years ago] I was about ten years old, and was
staying with friends in Kensington. Between the hours of eight
and nine P.M., we were all sitting in the drawing-room with the
door open, [it] being a very warm evening. Suddenly I
experienced a cold shudder, and on looking through the door
opposite which I was sitting, I saw the figure of a little old
lady dressed in a long brown cloak with a large brown hat,
carrying a basket, glide down the stairs and disappear in the
room next the drawing-room. The impression was that of someone
I had never seen. I was talking on ordinary subjects, neither
ill, in grief, or anxiety. There were several other people in
the room, but no one noticed anything but myself. I have never
had any experience of this kind before or since."

Occasionally, but very rarely, pain is described as resulting from a hallucination. Other effects include fainting fits and tactile impressions. Noise would appear in some cases to produce visual hallucinations, by creating in the hearer a strong expectation of seeing something corresponding to it, or that may account for it. From "Phantasms of the Living" we glean the following:--

"Between sleeping and waking this morning, I perceived a dog
running about in a field (an ideal white and tan sporting dog),
and the next moment I heard a dog barking outside my window.
Keeping my closed eyes on the vision, I found that _it came and
went with the_ barking of the dog outside; getting fainter,
however, each time."

A weak state of health on the part of the percipient would seem to be conducive to hallucinatory visions. Here is a case in point contributed to the "Society for Psychical Research Proceedings," vol. x., by a Professor G----:

"Saw an old woman with red cloak, nursing a child in her arms.
She sat on a boulder. Place: a grassy moor or upland, near
Shotts, in Lanarkshire. Date: over twenty years ago. Early
autumn, in bright sunny weather. Made several attempts to reach
her, but she always vanished before I could get up to the
stone. Place far from any dwelling, and no spot where anyone
could be concealed.

"[I was] walking; had been slightly troubled with insomnia
which afterwards became worse. Age about thirty.

"No one [was with me]. I heard a vague report that a woman with
red cloak was sometimes seen on the moor. Can't now remember
whether I had heard of that report before I saw the figure--but
think I had not.

"Saw many years ago (age about twenty-one), a dog sitting
beside me in my room: saw this only once: was troubled slightly
with insomnia at the time which afterwards became worse."

The percipient's own view, the collector tells us, is that the experience on the moor was entirely due to "nerves," as both then and previously when he saw the dog he had been much overworked, and in each case a severe illness followed.

Not always does a visual hallucination take the form of a living human form. Occasionally the object seen or the sound heard is non-human in character. In insanity and in diseases such cases are frequently met with, the hallucination being often of a grotesque or horrible sort. Thus we have a case in which a young child beheld a vision of dwarfish gnomes dancing on the wall. Among the phantasms of inanimate objects in the collection of the late E. Gurney were a star, a firework bursting into stars, a firefly, a crown, landscape vignettes, a statue, the end of a draped coffin coming in through the door, and a bright oval surrounding the words "Wednesday, October 15, Death." Geometrical patterns, sometimes taking very complicated forms, comprise another known type of hallucination.

As to a theory for hallucinations, the most acceptable one is that they have their origin in the brain, and that the senses are made to share in the deception. There is little doubt that William Blake's hallucinations were voluntary. Gurney refers to a friend, a painter, who was able to project a vision of his sitter out into space and paint from it. We have already seen that a hypnotic agent can cause his subject not merely to see things but to feel them, even to the extent of crying out with pain when an imaginary lighted match is applied to his finger.