Excerpt from Second Edition of a Discovery Concerning Ghosts: With a Rap at the "Spirit-Rappers", To Which Is Added a Few Parting Raps at the "Rappers, " and Questions, Suggestions, and Advice to the Davenport Brothers

Yes, I do see before me, "in my mind's eye" -

A vast army, composed of ghost, goblin, and sprite!
With their eyes full of fire, all gleaming with spite!
All lurking about in the "dead of the night"
With their faces so pale and their shrouds all so white!
Or hiding about in dark holes and corners,
To fright grown-up folk, or little "Jack Homers."
But though they all stand in this fierce grim array,
Armed with pen and with pencil, "I'll drive them away."

It is not only, however, against these horrible and ghastly-looking cloud of flimsy foes that one has to deal with in a question like this, but there are numbers of respectable and respected authors, and highly respectable witnesses, on the side of the ghosts, and it must be admitted that it is no easy matter to put aside the testimony of all these respectable persons. They may have thought, and some may still think, that they have done, and are doing, good, by supporting this belief, but I know on the contrary that they have done, and are doing, great harm, and I, therefore, stand forth in the hope of "laying" all the ghosts, and settling this long-disputed question for ever.

The belief in ghost, or apparition, is of course of very early date, originating in what are called the "dark ages, " and dark indeed those ages were! as a reference to the early history of the world will show, and although we have in these days a large diffusion of the blessed light of intelligence, nevertheless there is still existing, even amongst civilized people, a fearful amount of ignorance upon the subject of Ghosts, Witchcraft, Fortune-telling, and "Ruling the Stars, " besides a vast amount of this sort of imaginary and mischievous nonsense. Now it will be as well here to inquire what good has ever resulted from this belief in what is commonly understood to be a ghost? None that I have ever heard of, and I have been familiar with all the popular ghost stories from boyhood, and have of late waded through almost all the works produced in support of this spiritual visiting theory, but in no one instance have I discovered where any beneficial result has followed from the supernatural or rather unnatural supposed appearances, whereas, on the other hand, we do find unfortunately a largo and serious amount of suffering and injury arising from this belief in ghosts, and which I shall have occasion to refer to farther on, but I will now proceed to bring forward some of the evidences which have been adduced from time to time, all pretty much in the same style, in support of the probability and truth of the appearance of ghosts - first, in fact, to call up the ghosts, in order that I may put them down.

All the ghost story tellers, or writers upon this subject, seem to consider that one most important point in the appearance of apparitions is, that the ghost should be a most perfect and Exact Resemblance, in every respect, to the deceased person - the spirit of whom they are supposed to be.

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