Spirit Slate Writing and Kindred Phenomena

CHAPTER I.. The Single Slate.

THE SINGLE SLATE.

There has probably been nothing that has made more converts to spiritualism than the much talked of “Slate Writing Test,” and if we are to believe some of the stories told of the writings mysteriously obtained on slates, under what is known as “severe test conditions,” that preclude, beyond any possible doubt, any form of deception or trickery, one would think that the day of miracles had certainly returned; but we must not believe half we hear nor all that we see, for the chances are that just as you are about to attribute some unaccountable spirit phenomena to an unseen power, something turns up to show that you have been tricked by a clever device which is absurd in its simplicity.

There are a large number of methods of producing slate writing, but the writer will describe a few which will be sufficient to give an idea of the working of slate tests in general. First we have the ordinary one in which the writing is placed on the slate beforehand, and then hidden from view by a flap or loose piece of slate. (Fig. 1.) After both sides of the slate have been cleaned, the false flap is dropped on the table, the side which is then uppermost being covered with cloth similar to the table top, where it will remain unnoticed, or the flap is allowed to fall into a second slate with which the first is covered. In the latter case no cloth is pasted on the flap. Sometimes the flap is covered with a piece of newspaper and is allowed to drop into a newspaper lying on the table, then the newspaper containing the flap is carelessly removed, thus doing away with any trace of trickery.

Another way of utilizing the false flap is as follows: The writing is not placed beforehand on the slate, but on the flap, which, as before, is covered with the same material as the table top. This is lying on the table writing downward. The slate is handed around for inspection, and, on being returned to the performer, he stands at the table and cleans the slate on one side, then turns it over and cleans the other. As he does so he lifts the flap into the slate. The flap is held in firmly by an edging of thin pure sheet rubber cemented on the flap between the slate and the cloth covering of the slate. This grips the wooden sides of the frame hard enough to prevent the false piece from tumbling out accidentally.

We now come to another style, wherein a slate is cleaned on both sides, and, while held in the hand facing the audience, becomes suddenly covered with writing, and the slate is immediately given for inspection. The writing is on the slate previous to the cleaning, and is hidden from view by a flap of slate colored silk, held firmly in place by a pellet of wax in each of the corners of the silk. Attached to this silk flap or covering (at the end that is nearest to the performer’s sleeve) is a stout cord or string, which is also made fast to a strap around the wrist of the hand opposite to that holding the slate. If the arms are now extended their full length, the piece of silk covering will leave the slate and pass rapidly up the sleeve out of the way, and thus leave the writing exposed to view. (Fig. 2.) The slate is found to be still a little damp from the cleaning with the sponge and water it had been given previously. This is easily accounted for. The water from the sponge penetrates just enough through the cloth to dampen the slate.

There is still another slate on which we can make the writing appear suddenly. It is composed of a wooden frame, such as all wooden-edged slates have, but the slate itself is a sham. It is a piece of cloth painted with a kind of paint known as liquid, or silicate slating, which, when dry and hard, is similar to the real article. This cloth is twice the length of the slate and just the exact width. The two ends of the cloth are united with cement, so as to make an endless piece or loop. There is a small rod or roller in both the top and bottom pieces of the frame, the ends being made hollow to receive them. Over these rollers runs the cloth, stretched firmly and tightly. Just where the cloth is joined or cemented is a little black button, or stud of hard rubber or leather. This allows the cloth to be pushed up and down, bringing the back to the front; and by doing so quickly, the writing which is written on the cloth at the rear of the frame is made to come to the front in plain view. (Fig. 3.)

Still another idea in a single slate is as follows: An ordinary looking slate is given out for examination, and, on its being returned to the medium, he takes his handkerchief and cleans or brushes both sides of the slate with it; and, upon again showing that side of the slate first cleaned, it is found covered with writing apparently done with chalk. The following is the simple explanation of it: Take a small camel’s hair brush and dip it in urine or onion juice, and with it write or trace on the slate whatever you desire, and when it becomes dry, or nearly so, the slate can be given for examination without fear of detection. The handkerchief the performer uses to clean the slate with is lightly sprinkled with powdered chalk. He makes believe to clean the one side devoid of preparation, but the side containing the invisible writing is gently rubbed with the handkerchief, not too hard just enough to let the powdered chalk fall on the urine or onion juice, where it leaves a mark not unlike a chalk mark.

It will not be out of place to describe a trick by which writing is produced upon an ordinary china plate by a somewhat similar means. The plate is examined and cleaned with a borrowed handkerchief, and then the performer requests the loan of a pinch of snuff, or uses a little sand or dust, which he places on the plate. He now commences to move the plate around in circles, and while doing so the snuff or sand is seen to gradually form itself into writing. The explanation is simple--whatever writing you desire to appear on the plate is placed beforehand on it. It is done with a camel’s hair brush dipped in the white of an egg and allowed to become dry before being handed around for inspection. As the performer cleans the plate he breathes on both sides of it, as if to give it moisture enough to help take off any dirt that might be thereon when rubbed with the handkerchief. In breathing on the front of the plate containing the writing done with the white of the egg, he moistens the writing enough to make the snuff or sand, as the case may be, adhere to it. Of course, in cleaning the front of the plate, care must be taken not to brush or disturb the invisible writing.

It may not be amiss to also mention another method of producing writing, employed by mediums to obtain a message on a blank piece of paper which has been placed between two slates, which are held by the medium in his hand, high above his head, and, on afterwards taking the slate apart, the paper is covered with writing. This again calls into use the extra or false flap. (Fig. 1.) A piece of paper with writing on it is placed face downward on one of the slates and covered with the false flap. It then looks like an ordinary slate. On this is placed the plain piece of paper, and over this is laid the second slate. The slates are now held up in plain view of the audience, and on being lowered to the table they are turned over, thus bringing the blank piece of paper under the false flap and the one with the writing on it on the top of the flap, which has fallen from the slate, which is now the top, but originally the bottom one, on or into the under one, and, of course, on the removal of the present top slate, the writing is found on what is supposed to be the original blank paper.

If the paper is to have a private mark put on it by an observer, so as to prove the writing really does appear on that identical piece of paper, the operation is varied as follows: The false flap is done away with, and the paper, which is furnished by the medium, has written on it the desired communication with ink, which is made visible and brought out black by means of heat. For the invisible ink you can use sulphuric acid, very much diluted, so as not to destroy the paper. The necessary heat is obtained in the following manner: The table (Fig. 4) on which the slates are resting is hollow, and has concealed in it a spirit lamp filled with alcohol. This lamp sits directly under a trap in the table top, which is covered underneath for safety with sheet iron, so it will not catch fire. When the slates are placed on the table they are laid over the little trap door, which, in conjuring parlance, is known as a “trap.” This is now opened, and the slates allowed to become well heated and the trap then closed, and the prepared paper, upon coming in contact with the hot slate, is thus covered with writing.

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