Mina Crandon
Encyclopedia
Mina "Margery" Crandon was the wife of a wealthy Boston
surgeon and socialite, Dr. Le Roi Goddard Crandon. She became well known as a medium
who claimed that she channeled her dead brother, Walter Stinson.
but moved to Boston as a young woman. While working as a secretary of a local church in Boston, she met and married Earl Rand, a grocer. They had one son. She later met Dr. Crandon when she entered a Dorchester, Massachusetts
, hospital for an unspecified operation, possibly appendicitis
. Dr. Crandon was her surgeon. She and Dr. Crandon crossed paths again later that year when Dr. Crandon served as a lieutenant commander and head of surgical staff in a New England Naval hospital during the First World War and she served as a civilian volunteer ambulance driver who transported casualties to the hospital. Mina sued for divorce from Earl P. Rand on January 1918 and became Dr. Crandon's 3rd wife a few months later. She moved to Dr. Crandon's house at 10 Lime Street, with her son. Dr. Crandon later adopted her son and changed his name to John Crandon.
s as a hobby, possibly to distract her older husband from a morbid obsession with mortality. On July 23, 1924 her name was submitted as a candidate for a prize offered by Scientific American
magazine to any medium who could demonstrate telekinetic ability under scientific control
s. With a doctor as husband, Crandon was well prepared for the challenge, and her charm and lack of interest in personal monetary reward made her seem honest to the public eye. Her séance circles included members of the middle class as well as luminary members of the Boston upper class and Ivy League elite. Famous supporters such as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle gave her significant credibility. She became so popular that her prayers were read by the US Army. The Scientific American prize committee consisted of William McDougall, professor of psychology at Harvard; Harry Houdini
, the famous professional magician and escape artist, who later would debunk her as a fraud; Walter Franklin Prince
, American psychical researcher; Dr. Daniel Frost Comstock
, who introduced technicolor to film; and Hereward Carrington
, amateur magician, psychical researcher, author, and manager for the Italian medium Eusapia Palladino
.
A later review by Dr. Joseph Banks Rhine
lent further insight into Crandon's performances. Dr. Rhine was able to observe some of her trickery in the dark when she used luminous objects. He refused to test her further, and postulated that she may have been subject to a personality disorder. However, Crandon continued to conduct séances and improve upon the production of effects. An English teacher, Grant Code, became a frequent visitor to the Crandon home and was enthralled by Crandon's later astonishing performances. Ultimately, he too was able to duplicate them. Code's exchange of letters with psychic investigator Walter Franklin Prince
regarding Margery are currently held in the archives of the ASPR
.
An elaborate investigation was held by a committee of Harvard scholars. Finally, the Harvard committee also pronounced Crandon as being fraudulent. On 30 June 1925, one of the Harvard investigators saw Crandon draw three objects from her lap. One object was shaped like a glove or flat hand, one resembled a baby's hand, and the third was not described, possibly due to it being a plastic phallus.
The Society for Psychical Research
wanted further investigation. A committee of three Professors, Knight Dunlap, Henry C. McComas and Robert Williams Wood were sent to Boston. Crandon had a luminous star attached to her forehead, identifying the location of her face in the dark. After a few minutes a narrow dark rod appeared over a luminous checkerboard which had been placed on the table opposite Crandon. It moved from side to side and picked up an object. As it passed in front of Wood he lightly touched it with the tip of his finger and followed it back to a point very near Crandon's mouth. Wood thought it probable she was holding the rod by her teeth. He took hold of the tip and very quietly pinched it. It felt like a knitting needle covered with one or two layers of soft leather. Though the committee had been warned that touching the ectoplasm could result in the illness or death of the medium, neither Crandon nor the "ectoplasm
" rod gave any evidence of Wood's actions. At the end of the sitting Wood dictated his actions to the stenographer. Upon hearing this Crandon gave a shriek and fainted. She was carried out of the room and the committee was asked to depart. Wood was never invited again.
Crandon's "teleplasmic hand" that allegedly appeared in photographs was said to resemble sewn tracheae. Allegations were made by some conjuring historians of Houdini and medium-ship that her surgeon husband had altered her genitalia and this was where she concealed her teleplasmic hand. The "hand" did not move after its appearance on the table before her. It lay still as if it were dead and then supposedly vanished. She refused to wear tights, and refused to be internally searched. However, proof that Crandon had been surgically altered has never been found. The 'hand' only appeared when Dr. Crandon sat next to his wife, Mina, and held or controlled, her right hand. There are photos of the alleged teleplasmic hand and its position. It appears to be coming from Crandon's groin.
Crandon's reputation was damaged when a fingerprint left on wax ostensibly by her channelled spirit, her deceased brother, Walter, was discovered to belong to her dentist by a member of the Boston Society for Psychical Research. Her dentist divulged that he had taught her how to make these prints. However, Crandon continued to perform until her early death in 1941, at about the age of 53.
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
surgeon and socialite, Dr. Le Roi Goddard Crandon. She became well known as a medium
Mediumship
Mediumship is described as a form of communication with spirits. It is a practice in religious beliefs such as Spiritualism, Spiritism, Espiritismo, Candomblé, Voodoo and Umbanda.- Concept :...
who claimed that she channeled her dead brother, Walter Stinson.
Biography
Crandon grew up on a farm in CanadaCanada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
but moved to Boston as a young woman. While working as a secretary of a local church in Boston, she met and married Earl Rand, a grocer. They had one son. She later met Dr. Crandon when she entered a Dorchester, Massachusetts
Dorchester, Massachusetts
Dorchester is a dissolved municipality and current neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is named after the town of Dorchester in the English county of Dorset, from which Puritans emigrated and is today endearingly nicknamed "Dot" by its residents. Dorchester, including a large...
, hospital for an unspecified operation, possibly appendicitis
Appendicitis
Appendicitis is a condition characterized by inflammation of the appendix. It is classified as a medical emergency and many cases require removal of the inflamed appendix, either by laparotomy or laparoscopy. Untreated, mortality is high, mainly because of the risk of rupture leading to...
. Dr. Crandon was her surgeon. She and Dr. Crandon crossed paths again later that year when Dr. Crandon served as a lieutenant commander and head of surgical staff in a New England Naval hospital during the First World War and she served as a civilian volunteer ambulance driver who transported casualties to the hospital. Mina sued for divorce from Earl P. Rand on January 1918 and became Dr. Crandon's 3rd wife a few months later. She moved to Dr. Crandon's house at 10 Lime Street, with her son. Dr. Crandon later adopted her son and changed his name to John Crandon.
Scientific American
Crandon began experimenting with séanceSéance
A séance is an attempt to communicate with spirits. The word "séance" comes from the French word for "seat," "session" or "sitting," from the Old French "seoir," "to sit." In French, the word's meaning is quite general: one may, for example, speak of "une séance de cinéma"...
s as a hobby, possibly to distract her older husband from a morbid obsession with mortality. On July 23, 1924 her name was submitted as a candidate for a prize offered by Scientific American
Scientific American
Scientific American is a popular science magazine. It is notable for its long history of presenting science monthly to an educated but not necessarily scientific public, through its careful attention to the clarity of its text as well as the quality of its specially commissioned color graphics...
magazine to any medium who could demonstrate telekinetic ability under scientific control
Scientific control
Scientific control allows for comparisons of concepts. It is a part of the scientific method. Scientific control is often used in discussion of natural experiments. For instance, during drug testing, scientists will try to control two groups to keep them as identical and normal as possible, then...
s. With a doctor as husband, Crandon was well prepared for the challenge, and her charm and lack of interest in personal monetary reward made her seem honest to the public eye. Her séance circles included members of the middle class as well as luminary members of the Boston upper class and Ivy League elite. Famous supporters such as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle gave her significant credibility. She became so popular that her prayers were read by the US Army. The Scientific American prize committee consisted of William McDougall, professor of psychology at Harvard; Harry Houdini
Harry Houdini
Harry Houdini was a Hungarian-born American magician and escapologist, stunt performer, actor and film producer noted for his sensational escape acts...
, the famous professional magician and escape artist, who later would debunk her as a fraud; Walter Franklin Prince
Walter Franklin Prince
Walter Franklin Prince was Investigating Officer of the Boston Society for Psychical Research in Boston during the years Harry Houdini served as an agent of the organization while investigating reportedly corrupt spiritualist mediums. Prince was an Episcopal minister, earning his two B.D.'s from...
, American psychical researcher; Dr. Daniel Frost Comstock
Daniel Frost Comstock
Daniel Frost Comstock was an American physicist and engineer....
, who introduced technicolor to film; and Hereward Carrington
Hereward Carrington
Hereward Carrington, Ph.D. was a well-known British investigator of psychic phenomena and author...
, amateur magician, psychical researcher, author, and manager for the Italian medium Eusapia Palladino
Eusapia Palladino
Eusapia Palladino was a Spiritualist medium from Naples in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies ....
.
Conjuring
There was much disagreement among the committee, and, in the end, only Carrington voted in favor of Crandon. Carrington is now thought to have been romantically involved with her. However, Committee Secretary Malcom Bird leaked to the press that the Committee was leaning toward a positive vote. Incensed, Committee Member Harry Houdini returned from abroad to submit his dissenting vote. His pursuit to discredit Crandon became a part of his stage act, and he reproduced her effects to audiences as well as published a pamphlet that described how she achieved some of her more basic effects.A later review by Dr. Joseph Banks Rhine
Joseph Banks Rhine
Joseph Banks Rhine was a botanist who later developed an interest in parapsychology and psychology. Rhine founded the parapsychology lab at Duke University, the Journal of Parapsychology, and the Foundation for Research on the Nature of Man...
lent further insight into Crandon's performances. Dr. Rhine was able to observe some of her trickery in the dark when she used luminous objects. He refused to test her further, and postulated that she may have been subject to a personality disorder. However, Crandon continued to conduct séances and improve upon the production of effects. An English teacher, Grant Code, became a frequent visitor to the Crandon home and was enthralled by Crandon's later astonishing performances. Ultimately, he too was able to duplicate them. Code's exchange of letters with psychic investigator Walter Franklin Prince
Walter Franklin Prince
Walter Franklin Prince was Investigating Officer of the Boston Society for Psychical Research in Boston during the years Harry Houdini served as an agent of the organization while investigating reportedly corrupt spiritualist mediums. Prince was an Episcopal minister, earning his two B.D.'s from...
regarding Margery are currently held in the archives of the ASPR
American Society for Psychical Research
The American Society for Psychical Research is an organisation dedicated to parapsychology based in New York, where it maintains offices and a library. It is open to interested members of the public to join, and has a website...
.
An elaborate investigation was held by a committee of Harvard scholars. Finally, the Harvard committee also pronounced Crandon as being fraudulent. On 30 June 1925, one of the Harvard investigators saw Crandon draw three objects from her lap. One object was shaped like a glove or flat hand, one resembled a baby's hand, and the third was not described, possibly due to it being a plastic phallus.
The Society for Psychical Research
Society for Psychical Research
The Society for Psychical Research is a non-profit organisation in the United Kingdom. Its stated purpose is to understand "events and abilities commonly described as psychic or paranormal by promoting and supporting important research in this area" and to "examine allegedly paranormal phenomena...
wanted further investigation. A committee of three Professors, Knight Dunlap, Henry C. McComas and Robert Williams Wood were sent to Boston. Crandon had a luminous star attached to her forehead, identifying the location of her face in the dark. After a few minutes a narrow dark rod appeared over a luminous checkerboard which had been placed on the table opposite Crandon. It moved from side to side and picked up an object. As it passed in front of Wood he lightly touched it with the tip of his finger and followed it back to a point very near Crandon's mouth. Wood thought it probable she was holding the rod by her teeth. He took hold of the tip and very quietly pinched it. It felt like a knitting needle covered with one or two layers of soft leather. Though the committee had been warned that touching the ectoplasm could result in the illness or death of the medium, neither Crandon nor the "ectoplasm
Ectoplasm
Ectoplasm may refer to:* Ectoplasm , the outer part of the cytoplasm* Ectoplasm , supposed physical substance that manifests as a result of spiritual energy or psychic phenomenon...
" rod gave any evidence of Wood's actions. At the end of the sitting Wood dictated his actions to the stenographer. Upon hearing this Crandon gave a shriek and fainted. She was carried out of the room and the committee was asked to depart. Wood was never invited again.
Crandon's "teleplasmic hand" that allegedly appeared in photographs was said to resemble sewn tracheae. Allegations were made by some conjuring historians of Houdini and medium-ship that her surgeon husband had altered her genitalia and this was where she concealed her teleplasmic hand. The "hand" did not move after its appearance on the table before her. It lay still as if it were dead and then supposedly vanished. She refused to wear tights, and refused to be internally searched. However, proof that Crandon had been surgically altered has never been found. The 'hand' only appeared when Dr. Crandon sat next to his wife, Mina, and held or controlled, her right hand. There are photos of the alleged teleplasmic hand and its position. It appears to be coming from Crandon's groin.
Crandon's reputation was damaged when a fingerprint left on wax ostensibly by her channelled spirit, her deceased brother, Walter, was discovered to belong to her dentist by a member of the Boston Society for Psychical Research. Her dentist divulged that he had taught her how to make these prints. However, Crandon continued to perform until her early death in 1941, at about the age of 53.
External links
See: http://www.forteantimes.com/gallery/seance.shtml Compare this with other photos- Mina Crandon & Harry Houdini: The Medium and The Magician
- PBS article
- Library of Congress Archives of newspaper articles regarding Houdini and Mina Crandon
- http://www.answers.com/topic/james-malcolm-bird James Malcolm Bird
Further reading
- Margery by Thomas Tietze, Harper & Row Publishers, New York, 1973.
- A Review of the Margery Case. The American Journal of Psychology, Volume 37, pp. 431–41 by Franklin Walter Prince
- Houdini!!!: The Career of Ehrich Weiss by Kenneth Silverman, Harper Collins Publishers, New York, 1996.
- Ghosts I Have Talked With by Henry C. McComas, Williams and Wilkins Co., 1937.
- Final Séance: The Strange Friendship Between Houdini and Conan Doyle by Massimo Polidoro, Prometheus Books, New York, 2001.
- Secrets of the Psychics: Investigating Paranormal Claims by Massimo Polidoro, Prometheus Books, New York, 2003.
- The Secret Life of Houdini: The Making of America's First Super Hero by William Kalush and Larry Sloman, Atria Books, New York, 2006.
- The Elmwood Visitation by Carolyn Gray, Scirocco Drama, 2007.