Letter to Harry Price (12 october 1924)

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This letter was written by Arthur Conan Doyle on 12 october 1924 to Harry Price about Hope, Zollner and Curnow.


Letter

Windlesham
12th October, 1924.

Dear Mr. Price,

I fear we must cross swords over the Hope pamphlet, but we can agree to keep that separate.

Thanks for the information about Zollner. It corroborates what I enclose. When I consider that Barrett and other careful observers sat with Slade immediately before, and Zollner immediately after, I have very grave doubts about the Ray Lankester 'exposure' which came in between. I remember that Maskelyne Senior deposed that it was a trick table, whereas we actually have the table, and it is quite ordinary.

Curnow tells me that you speak of a confession from Davenport as to trickery. Could you give me any reference as to that. Houdini was Davenport's great friend in his old age and I have discussed Davenport with him and he never mentioned such a thing. Sometimes however a true medium recants, as early Christians used to do, under pressure of persecution. Thus Buguet was threatened with spiritual terrors by the Archbishop of Toulouse unless he recanted his spirit photography, and Miss Fox (as shown in my article in this month's 'Psychic Science') recanted when practically off her head — and then recanted her recantation. However I should be interested to look up the confession of Davenport, about whom I have a great deal of information.

Yours sincerely,

Arthur Conan Doyle