emphasises the advantage that society gives against witchcraft. Of four
people whose lives have been destroyed or grievously injured by
hypnotism, whose circumstances are known to the writer, three were
childless married men (two were unhappily married), and the fourth case
was a bachelor's, a poor young man's.
It may be noted that in the North of Europe, at least half a small class
of men were attacked, and the others were more or less connected with
these. The most were diplomatists and consuls.
The advantage of society must be referred to a great extent to the stream
of thought-transfer from hypnotists being checked and broken up; for the
effect of this stream being made indirect or semi-direct, its dominating
power is thereby greatly diminished.
On the other hand, in three cases where attacks were defeated, the
subjects were happily married men, and in two, if not in the three (the
third case the writer gathered at second hand and fortunately remembered
later), they had children. On the third visit of Miss Freer to B---- that
lady notes that "the influence is evil and horrible. The worn features at
breakfast were really a dismal sight."[27]
[Footnote 27: "Haunting of B----House," p. 210.]
On this occasion it looks as if more than three persons (Miss Langton on
the 19th of February had noted three voices) were engaged in the attack.
The writer has no doubt, from personal and observed experience, that
sometimes transfer is used, but is doubtful to what extent.
Boxes on the ear, slaps on the back, nay a flip as with a towel on the
bare back, are felt, the last even by a clothed person. In Poltergeist
cases, as in Alice's, a slap on the back was felt; perhaps she
hypnotised Miss K. and slapped her on the back and transferred the slap
to her (Alice's) mother.
This would be like the two engineer students' case, where the hypnotised
one appeared to a friend.
In Poltergeist cases, one person perhaps does the mischief; in inferior
haunted house cases two would be enough. The Poltergeist raisers are
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