Mediums Rare [Hardcover]

Richard Matheson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 2000

Prolific screenwriter and genre novelist has long maintained an interest in parapsychology, telepathy, ESP and the like. His brief and elegantly printed new volume amounts to a lightly fictionalized history and quick, evocative episodes of paranormal abilities from Greek antiquity to those of the renowned American psychic Edgar Cayce. Most of the episodes in between depict the famous seers, mediums and performers of the 19th century, whose feats Matheson admires. Margaret and Kate Fox, aged 10 and seven, in 1848 convinced their parents and many other Americans that they were in touch with the ghosts in a haunted house. (Matheson adds that the grown-up Margaret recanted, explaining how she had herself produced the ghosts' mysterious rapping noises; he believes the recantation fake, arranged by the sisters' "enemies.") Civil War-era medium Nettie Colburn instructed President Lincoln to visit his troops; Matheson thinks she channeled deceased statesman Daniel Webster. New England mediums "Mrs. Leonard and Mrs. Piper" underwent elaborate tests in attempts to prove their psychic connections genuine; William James, for one, was impressed. Harry Houdini used his great stage-magic talents to unmask a bevy of psychic frauds; Matheson describes some, then discusses what he believes are genuine paranormal experiences linked to Houdini. Matheson's afterword repeats his confident claims that the powers he describes are real and pleads for serious study of them. Fans of parapsychology or of the author's esteemed novels may enjoy this lively exploration of topics that so interest a genre legend.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Prolific screenwriter and genre novelist Matheson (What Dreams May Come; I Am Legend; Passion Play [Forecasts, June 26], etc.) has long maintained an interest in parapsychologyAdivination, telepathy, ESP and the like. His brief and elegantly printed new volume amounts to a lightly fictionalized historyAin quick, evocative episodesAof paranormal abilities from Greek antiquity to those of the renowned American psychic Edgar Cayce. Most of the episodes in between depict the famous seers, mediums and performers of the 19th century, whose feats Matheson admires. Margaret and Kate Fox, aged 10 and seven, in 1848 convinced their parents and many other Americans that they were in touch with the ghosts in a haunted house. (Matheson adds that the grown-up Margaret recanted, explaining how she had herself produced the ghosts' mysterious rapping noises; he believes the recantation fake, arranged by the sisters' "enemies.") Civil War-era medium Nettie Colburn instructed President Lincoln to visit his troops; Matheson thinks she channeled deceased statesman Daniel Webster. New England mediums "Mrs. Leonard and Mrs. Piper" underwent elaborate tests in attempts to prove their psychic connections genuine; William James, for one, was impressed. Harry Houdini used his great stage-magic talents to unmask a bevy of psychic frauds; Matheson describes some, then discusses what he believes are genuine paranormal experiences linked to Houdini. Matheson's afterword repeats his confident claims that the powers he describes are real and pleads for serious study of them. Fans of parapsychology or of the author's esteemed novels may enjoy this lively exploration of topics that so interest a genre legend. (Aug.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 140 pages
• Publisher: Cemetery Dance Publications; Limited edition (August 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1587670070
• ISBN-13: 978-1587670077
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,159,067 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Metaphysical History Made Interesting, December 24, 2000

By 

Deborah A. Woehr (San Jose, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mediums Rare (Hardcover)

I bought this book thinking this was fiction. It is, but it isn't. Mediums Rare is a short compendium of famous psychics throughout history, told in a fictitous format. Masterson starts out with the story of King Croesus of Lydia, which took place around five forty-six b.c. Croesus wanted to declare war on a neighboring country. So, he sent out an envoy to seven oracles to ask them the same question. "What is King Croesus doing today? The first six failed, and the seventh passed. King Croesus asked the seventh oracle what would happen if he invaded the neighboring country? The oracle said that a great army will be defeated. King Croesus assumed his army would win and didn't see the need to ask the oracle whether or not this was true. Lydia lost the war. There are other stories, such as the Fox Sisters and Nettie Colburn, who advised Abraham Lincoln visit the Army of the Potomac (which ultimately ended slavery in America). Out of all of them, the story of Edgar Cayce is the most extraordinary. Supposedly, he was visited by an angel, who gave him his special ability when he was thirteen years old. It is said that Cayce gave 14,256 psychic readings. At the end of the book, Masterson summaries each case and talks about the decline of the spiritual craze of the 19th century. Scientists no longer ridule people who claim to be psychic like they did in the late 1800s and early 1900s, but study them. For those of you who enjoy Richard Matheson's stories, or the subject of the paranormal, this does not disappoint.