Gladys Osborne Leonard
Encyclopedia
Gladys Osborne Leonard was a British trance medium, renowned for her work with the Society for Psychic Research where she attempted to prove life after death.
She gained famed as a medium after a session with the family of Sir Oliver Lodge, which was publicised in his book Raymond. In 1918 Leonard began working with the Society for Psychical Research. The Society would often use proxies in place of grieving relatives in an attempt to minimise fraud. However, their publication detailing the results of these sittings was glowing in praise, and resulted in even more publicity for Leonard. Leonard later worked with Radclyffe Hall
and the results of those sessions were published in the Proceedings for the Society for Psychical Research in 1919.
Furthermore, skeptics who have analysed the writings found in Raymond have concluded that auto-suggestion is the likliest explanation for the information supposedly gathered by Leonard.
Other skeptics have alluded to the possibility that Leonard was trained as an actress in her formative years and have suggested that this attests to her success in mediumship.
Life
Leonard was born in Lythom in May of 1882. She claimed to have experienced her first 'visitation' by spirits when she was a child. She claimed that the spirits would show her landscapes which she would refer to as the 'Happy Valley'. She was trained as a singer but childhood illness in 1906 prevented her from continuing. Her interest in spiritualism developed whilst she was ill when a Spiritualist nurse in the hospital invited her to take part in her first table seance.Work
By 1915 Leonard was giving professional readings. She claimed to channel the spirit of an Indian woman named Feda who had been married to her great-great-grandfather, and readings were given 'through' her. Patrons of Leonard attested that when Feda was being channeled Leonard spoke in broken English with little understanding of the language.She gained famed as a medium after a session with the family of Sir Oliver Lodge, which was publicised in his book Raymond. In 1918 Leonard began working with the Society for Psychical Research. The Society would often use proxies in place of grieving relatives in an attempt to minimise fraud. However, their publication detailing the results of these sittings was glowing in praise, and resulted in even more publicity for Leonard. Leonard later worked with Radclyffe Hall
Radclyffe Hall
Radclyffe Hall was an English poet and author, best known for the lesbian classic The Well of Loneliness.- Life :...
and the results of those sessions were published in the Proceedings for the Society for Psychical Research in 1919.
Critical Reception
Though never publically declared a fraud by skeptics of the time, Leonard's work has been analysed thoroughly and many suggestions have been made as to how she managed to achieve success. As a medium she specialised in 'book tests', whereby she would select a book from the shelf which held special significance to the deceased. Eleanor Sedgewick analysed these tests and found that only 36% were successful.Furthermore, skeptics who have analysed the writings found in Raymond have concluded that auto-suggestion is the likliest explanation for the information supposedly gathered by Leonard.
Other skeptics have alluded to the possibility that Leonard was trained as an actress in her formative years and have suggested that this attests to her success in mediumship.