Sherlock Holmes is Dead and Not Even his Spirit Lives
Sherlock Holmes is Dead and Not Even his Spirit Lives is an article written by Stephen L. Guinn published in the A.C.D. - The Journal of The Arthur Conan Doyle Society (Vol. 4, 1993).
This documented study analyses Pittsburgh newspaper coverage of Arthur Conan Doyle's 1923 visit, examining how the press balanced scepticism toward Spiritualism with admiration for Conan Doyle's personality and stature. Drawing on multiple contemporaneous articles and advertisements, it reconstructs local reception and media framing of his lecture tour.
Sherlock Holmes is Dead and Not Even his Spirit Lives
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's 1923 visit to Pittsburgh occurred just a year after his widely publicised tour of the United States. That tour had begun in New York City with Conan Doyle filling Carnegie Hall six times. During the tour, almost exactly one year prior to Conan Doyle's arrival in Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh readers saw this headline:
- THE PITTSBURGH SUN
- Vol XVII, No. 46. The Clean Newspaper, Pittsburgh, Pa. Saturday, April 12, 1922, Two Cents
- CONAN DOYLE BRANDED
- AS MENACE TO AMERICA
- BY POET-PHILOSOPHER
- "No Good Can Come of New Religion"
- Advocated by Briton, Edwin Markam Says
Edwin Markham, quoted in the headline, was a famous American poet-philosopher who spoke out strongly against Conan Doyle during ACD's 1922 visit to Chicago to lecture on spiritualism. Markham (1852-1940) was a widely regarded poet, writer and lecturer, who often wrote about the exploitation of labour, especially of children. His best known works are the poem, 'The Man with a Hoe', and a biography, Lincoln, the Man of the People.
Markham denounced Conan Doyle as a menace to American society and stated that no good could come from this new religion'. Having investigated spiritualism,
Markham thought that it was best avoided: 'It tends to queer all people who get into it. It sends them to the insane asylums. Several of my friends dabbled in it and all became unsettled mentally. They became detached from the practical. They took a weird look in the eye. They became abnormal.'
Markham went on in the news story to comment on numerous subjects of the day, including Flappers: 'Flappers, with their extremely short skirts, are unsightly objects to behold.'
With such a hostile article appearing in a Pittsburgh newspaper just one year prior to Conan Doyle's arrival, there was certainly reason for concern about how he might be received and reported by the Pittsburgh newspapers when he visited the city in 1923.
The news reporting, however, was markedly favourable, and, while there was great scepticism expressed, along with some joking about spiritualism, Conan Doyle himself was described in a highly positive manner. He arrived in Pittsburgh by train from Cleveland on a warm spring morning to be greeted by a host of Pittsburgh dignitaries and reporters.
- THE PITTSBURGH SUN
- VOL XVIII, No. 43 Pittsburgh, Pa. Thursday, April 19, 1923 Two Cents
- SHERLOCK HOLMES IS DEAD,
- NOT EVEN HIS SPIRIT LIVES
- Conan Doyle Says He Will Write No More
- Fiction, as He Has Other Work to Do.
Conan Doyle's visit was noted in all four of Pittsburgh's daily newspapers. The Pittsburgh Sun featured four articles including this front page story about his arrival. Sherlock Holmes received top billing as the Sun quoted Sir Arthur as stating that his fiction-writing days were over; he had more important work to do.
Conan Doyle eventually turned the attention of the reporters to the reason for his journey - a discussion of spiritualism. ACD described how he had given his life to the advancement of spiritualism and emphasised that he no longer had the time for Sherlock Holmes and similar less important writings:... from now on all of my writings will be on or about the subject of spirit manifestations.' (Of course we now know that this was not the case, as he published nine more Sherlock Holmes stories before his death in 1930.)
If the success of his journey to Pittsburgh is to be measured by publicity, Conan Doyle succeeded well, since spiritualism is widely noted in all of the articles about his visit that appeared in local newspapers. It is also clear, however, that the focus and interest of the reporters was not spiritualism, but Conan Doyle himself. The reporter for the Sun's front page article described ACD's visit as follows:
- 'But whether you believe in spooks and such and their ability to communicate with us mortals, you will like Sir Arthur. Big, hearty, genial and human, he is a veritable giant in stature and good humour, keeping alive to material things, events and people, with an inquisitive mind and an abundance of knowledge of places and facts.'
Conan Doyle was apparently quite inquisitive about Pittsburgh's history and geography, asking questions from the beginning of his stay about the location of Pittsburgh's fort, and where General Braddock fought his memorable battle, and where the Ohio River was formed. His manager, travelling with him from Cleveland, described him as the most interested traveller and the most insistent questioner on could imagine: 'His is a singularly human sort.'
The reporter noted that Conan Doyle showed another side to his personality when he discussed spiritualism: A certain vague and distant look came into his eyes, a far away, detached expression, as though he felt himself in touch with things loftier than earthly affairs, as though he sensed as all about him those people of the after-life." The reporter continued by describing Conan Doyle's open-mindedness about many subjects relating to spiritualism as well as his sense of humour. Apparently, someone had asked Sir Arthur where he kept his 'spooks' and ACD replied laughingly, 'Right here in this bag,' pointing to a small suitcase which, he said, carried the spirit photographs used in his lectures.
The reporter ended his article by noting that Sir Arthur had 'few of the mannerisms and expressions affected by the typical Britisher. In fact, he (even) looks like an American.'
- Carnegie Hall TONIGHT 8:15 Sir Arthur Conan
- DOYLE — "THE PROOFS OF IMMORTALITY"
- 50c to $2 at Hamilton's Today, Hall Tonight
Conan Doyle's visit to Pittsburgh was well-advertised in most of Pittsburgh's newspapers. This advertisement in the Pittsburgh Gazette-Times of Friday, 20 April 1923, was sandwiched between advertisements for the movies Robin Hood, starring Douglas Fairbanks (augmented by an orchestra of 30) and The Pilgrim, starring Charlie Chaplin.
The news of the day concerned debates over a proposal known as 'Daylight Savings Time' and prohibition, which had been enacted four years previously. Warren G. Harding was president and William McGee was the mayor of Pittsburgh.
- The Pittsburgh Press
- Thursday Afternoon, April 19, 1923
- NOTED AUTHOR WHO
- ARRIVED HERE TODAY TO
- TALK ABOUT "SPOOKS"
The rival afternoon paper, The Pittsburgh Press, also reported favourably about Conan Doyle while simultaneously ridiculing his belief in spiritualism. Reporter Ruth Gordon of The Pittsburgh Press made a point of separating her views of Conan Doyle's theories of spiritualism from her views of Conan Doyle the man. Wrote Gordon:
- You may not agree with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in his theories of spiritualism and his belief that those who have gone to the other side of the mystery we call death can communicate with others, but you certainly would like the man if you met him. He is a wonderfully kind, genial soul, not at all dogmatic as regard to his beliefs. Today in a short talk he gave to a group of reporters as soon as he arrived, he outlined some of the things he is trying so hard to make the world believe. In the middle of his talk, he stopped to speak to a scrub woman who was mopping the hotel floor. 'Do you want to work along here?' he asked courteously, preparing to move, but she shook her head. She was intent on hearing what he was saying and he raised no objection to her listening. It was a small thing, but such a kindly one to do.
Ruth Gordon went on to describe Conan Doyle's demeanour, which tells us much about how he could discuss such a controversial topic as spiritualism and yet be so well received in the press.
He is a quiet speaker, not argumentative, seemingly so sure of what he says that he does not need to augment his words with vehemence. He is a tremendously big man and evidently is as big in spirit. He didn't become the least bit peeved when inadvertently his interviewers addressed him as 'Mr Doyle' instead of 'Sir Arthur'. 'That's all right,' he smiled when an apology was offered. 'A title means very little anymore.'
- THE PITTSBURGH GAZETTE TIMES
- Friday, April 20, 1923
- FAITH UNSHAKEN BY
- "DOCTORED" SPIRIT PRINT,
- Photograph Acknowledged as Fraud Never Declared
- by Him as Authentic, British Writer Asserts.
- Will Lecture Here Tonight
This article, which appeared in the Pittsburgh Gazette Times, highlighted the controversy surrounding Conan Doyle's use of psychic photography in his lectures. His presentation on the 'Proofs of Spiritualism' heavily emphasised psychic photography as 'proof of the reality of psychic phenomena. He showed some twenty-five photographic slides that contained images taken of deceased individuals. His were 'authentic', and he claimed to have the photographs of all the members of his family who had died.
While lecturing in Chicago in 1922, he had been given the 'spirit' photographs of fire-fighters killed in a Chicago fire which he showed during his lecture. The photographs were later declared fraudulent. In this article, Conan Doyle claimed he had never characterised the photographs as authentic.
- THE PITTSBURGH SUN
- Vol. XVII, No. 44 Pittsburgh, Pa. Friday, April 20, 1923. Two Cents
- SPIRITED SCRIBE'S SPIRIT WAS
- RIGHT WHEN HE ASKED FOR PHOTO,
- BUT HE ASKED WRONG "SPIRIT"
- Who's Who When Sir Arthur and Bob Garland Meet?
Conan Doyle usually divided his lectures into two parts, one on psychic photography and the other on the philosophy of psychic research and its manifestations. Since he was speaking only one night in Pittsburgh, he blended the subjects into one lecture.
A comical side story connected to Sir Arthur's visit concerned a case of mistaken identity. The prominent Pittsburghers gathered to greet Sir Arthur on his arrival included city councilman Robert Garland. (1)
A reporter assigned to interview Sir Arthur mistook Mr Garland for the famous writer and proceeded to ask Garland a number of questions, including what he thought of Pittsburgh, its schools and business prospects, and other important issues of the day such as income tax, marathon dancing, and gold fish raising. Garland, being a consummate politician, was apparently not surprised at being interviewed, and the mistaken identity did not become apparent until he was called Sir Arthur. The reporter was, of course, greatly embarrassed and apologised, but the story of his erroneous interview leaked out when the photographer accompanying him told friends at the newspaper. The editors decided it was a story with an interesting twist and went so far as to run photographs of the two men, side-by-side, showing how closely they resembled each other.
- The Pittsburgh Post
- Saturday April 21, 1923
- SPOOKY FIRE GREETS
- SPIRITUALIST HERE!
- Smoke from the photographer's flash when he took this
- picture of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of Sherlock
- Holmes, the great detective of fiction, caused much
- excitement at the William Penn Hotel yesterday.
The Pittsburgh Post ran the above headline along with a picture of Sir Arthur, sitting at a desk with a book in his hand. Apparently the smoke that resulted from the photographer's flash caused much excitement as bell boys rushed to his room when it was reported that smoke was coming from his window. Sir Arthur declared the wraith-like spirals perfectly natural' and 'much better than the rest of the atmosphere for breathing purposes.' Pittsburgh had the well-deserved reputation as the 'Smoky City' during that period.
- The Pittsburgh Sun
- Vol. XVIII, No. 45. Pittsburgh, Pa. Saturday April 21, 1923. Two Cents
- LARGE CROWD TURNS
- OUT TO HEAR DOYLE
- Note of Sincerity Feature of
- Sir Arthur's Talk on "Proof"
- and Nature of After-Life.
Pittsburgh's Carnegie Music Hall was described as 'well-nigh packed' when Conan Doyle presented his 'proofs' of life after death. When he spoke to the packed house at the hall, the 'proofs' that he presented consisted of his own testimony that he had communicated with his son, killed during World War I, his mother, and other relatives on the other side'. It also contained some specimens of automatic' writings, received by what he alleged to be capable mediums', and photographic slides on which there were claimed to be 'ectoplasmic beings'.
The most outstanding feature of his lecture,' noted the reporter, 'was the sincerity of Sir Arthur, his unbounded faith that he was giving the world the greatest boon known to Christendom - something which would revolutionise all life and thought . Sir Arthur explained that his revelation was different from religious doctrines and that he substitutes proof for faith and certainty for vague belief. He did not attack religious beliefs but said positively his was the great and the only belief and that it must be believed because it was right."
Conan Doyle left Pittsburgh to venture west to give additional talks on spiritualism and, at last, to tour the world of cowboys, Indians, and trappers that he had read about, and even written about. This was his final trip to America and his only trip to Pittsburgh.
(1) Garland was a man of note in his day, having chaired a national committee on Daylight Savings Time during the administration of Woodrow Wilson. He is credited with the acceptance of daylight savings time in the U.S.. Garland died just before his 87th birthday, on 19 April 1949. This was the same date on which he had been mistaken for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 26 years previously.
- Article courtesy Christopher Roden, founder of The Arthur Conan Doyle Society (1989-2003).
