Vox Clamantis in Deserto:
Dirigite Viam Domini!
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We are in receipt, from C.H.K. of Chicago, of a series of alarming predictions. We have at present no information about Mr. K., and we cannot print in full the six pages he sends us. His letter, however, is obviously the product of an educated mind, and displays both the dedication and the detachment of the Adept. We summarize without comment, pro or contra:
Within the next four years there will be terrestrial cataclysms of the first magnitude, but before this, other unhappy events will occur. Industrial strife and civil war. Russia will attack the United States, but the war will be short by reason of earth change. There will be long continued earthquakes of great violence; three days and nights of darkness, and the jarring impact of a great meteor. The center of gravity of this planet will be changed, and the sun and moon will also change and be increased in brightness. Rivers and mountains and climates will change, vast areas will be submerged. Though this country will remain intact, or nearly so, few of its people will survive - nor will there be many left in other lands that may still survive. The New Cycle will begin with America as the Motherland of the Sixth Race.
To come to these matters in more detail: England, most of Scotland, France, Yugoslavia, Turkey, Hungary, Norway, Spain, Argentina, Japan, part of Italy, part of India, part of Africa, and the greater part of Russia will become sea bottoms.
Florida will be submerged. The area of New York City will be destroyed by tidal wave, then sink into the opening earth. The eastern part of Chicago, and Lake Michigan, will also be engulfed. The San Francisco area will suffer from one of the forerunning quakes. All large communities will be but a memory in the book of Time. The seas will sweep over the coastal regions, then recede far beyond the old shores, and new lands will appear. The climate of the poles will become warm. People who change to be on safe ground will not remain conscious, but will fall into a stupor for the duration of the change... But the new era will be one of peace, brotherhood, and undreamed-of achievements.
"This prophecy is not based upon guessing, but upon the power of seership, of spiritual cognition. Let him who desires reject its reality. I ask no man to believe that which he does not want to believe, for that would contravene the Universal Law."
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Those who desire may obtain the full text of these forecasts by sending a stamped and addressed envelop to C.H. Kramer, 4102 No. Kostner Ave., Chicago 41, Ill. We understand Mr. Kramer's only object is to spread this information. Authentic information concerning Mr. Kramer will be welcomed by the Round Robin Editor.
VARIORUM
Bell Witch
Mrs. E.F. Graham (Ruidoso, N.M.) sends a clip from Your Mind magazine retelling the story of the Bell Witch. This article describes the entity as the spirit of a local witch or wise woman, and the author asserts that he has devoted much research to the subject. But his "explanation" is worthless if the tale as told in "The Bell Witch" (Chas. Bailey Bell, M.D., 1934. 228 pp.) is trustworthy, as we believe it is. The word witch is a misnomer; the entity was invisible, powerful, capable of physical violence, utterly vicious and cruel at times (it murdered John Bell in the end), on other occasions very wise, gentle, protective, and philosophical. It spoke constantly with all manner of people, was never seen (so far as is certainly known), and committed a thousand outrages. Self-styled scientists, investigators, occultists, religionists, sceptics by the thousand came to lay the ghost or to mock at a great swindle; without except, they retired in confusion and defeat. No one could come to grips with the thing. It appears some time in the 1970s at the Bell home in Tennessee; remained four years; disappeared and returned as promised after seven years; promised to return again after 107 years.
The first half of the 19th century was characterized in Tennessee particularly by an extraordinary uprush of psychism and supernormal happenings. The Chatanooga public library has a remarkably fine collection of works dealing with this subject.
It is quite impossible to offer here any resume of the story of the Bell Witch, and even more useless to attempt any interpretation of worthwhile comment. To talk about this as poltergeist phenomena does not help in the least. The whole affair seems to fall outside any of the familiar categories of occult studies. Precisely for this reason, it is to us appalling. The basic problem, of course, is not the physical happenings; it is the appearance on this earth scene of a powerful and often vicious entity, with which, apparently, there was no Power of earth or heaven capable of dealing, for which philosophy and religion have no syllable or explanation, and concerning which occultism is, so far as we know, equally silent. The data are voluminous and widely known - and they fit into no hypothesis.
This Round Robin bulletin includes among its readers (we are to proud to say) some three or four to whom we fully accord the powers of various grades of the Adepti, and also others who are deeply learned in occult and psychic studies (Illuminism). Perhaps some of these (if fully acquainted with the facts involved) will comment for us upon this hundred-year-old mystery, the mere existence and possibility of which is a menace to our world and a mockery of the fumblings of human intelligence.
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Wanted: Time,
Money, and
Intelligence.
We have cries of anguish from readers, some of whom "can hardly stand it" not to see for themselves, or have "a complete review and synopsis" of the "True Relation" which was described in the last RR - now reposing inaccessibly in the library of the Theosophical University. "Inaccessibly," because even for this Editor, there is a 200 mile trip, a week of work and considerable expense involved in such a review - and a whole issue of RR to print it. It's a hundred-dollar job, in short - and while Robins have bills, they are not of the $100 variety.
"Spirit of Heath
or goblin"...
Tricksy Trolls are credited or blamed for interrupting Saturday night dances in Georgetown, a Colorado mining community - tugging skirts, untieing shoes, and rocking a chair all evening. Old-timers dug up the troll lore of a nearby mine, fire-starting, dog-pestering, clothespin loosening, huffling and puffing down chimneys and the like; say they have seen the small folk dancing on the pine-clad slopes on moony nights. What to do? Well, Georgetown folk gave the trolls a share in their dance time, play music for them, and so all goes well. (Toledo Blade, Sept. 26. Clip from Victor Nold, Montpelier, O.)
Black Mass
in Milan?
"For at least the 15th time in five years, consecrates Hosts have been stolen from a church near Milan. Authorities believe such thefts occur frequently without being reported." And the Archbishop told the press "there are individuals and organized groups trying to get consecrated Hosts, which they use for unmentionable purposes... The sect of Judas the traitor is at work, all the more repulsive because boys are defiled." Time for August 5 printed this, and the ever-sapient commentator describes the Black Mass as "pseudo-liturgical mumbo-jumbo, having as basic ingredients a consecrated Host, an apostate priest, a prostitute, and a virgin." Seabrook's Witchcraft gives a fair description of a black mass - but, as usual, without much grasp of the rational of this performance - and there really is one. (Clip from Mrs H.L, Mass.)
Ghost of
Antigonish
still weeps and wails, goes cho-chunk-chop with an invisible axe, till an unseen tree falls with an audible whoosh. All this is near Caledonia Mills, Antigonish County, Nova Scotia. But there's a long long story back of this, and the tree chopping isn't a tenth of it - fires started, and fire balls, and people getting slapped, and whacked with horsewhips, and knocks and steps and poltergeistiana generally (pax to the purists). Dr. Walter Franklin Prince went out there once, came back with the story that one 18-year-old Mary Ellen M. did everything with her own fair hands - one of more-than-one reports which reflect less than credit on a truly distinguished investigator. (Two-column clip from Boston Globe, 8/26; kindness of Mrs. H.L.)
Ca et La
Appalling case of necrophilia in Turkey; man of 35 who molested five newly buried bodies of young women; sapiently reported by the press as a case of "vampirism." (Cin. Times)... Harvard ethnologist, hexed by a witch doctor, has to hire another one to unhex him (Tampa Tribune)... Weird storm of unprecedented violence of all Eire, lasting 36 hrs., attributed to atom bomb (Boston Globe)... Four hour cloudburst described as "terrible" over York, Me. (North'mpt'n Gazette, Mass.)... British Magazine (30 Rockefeller Plaza, N.Y.) for May had an article called Stalking a Witch Doctor. Crooked leg bones of a boy were softened, straightened, hardened again in a few hours, boy was cured... Also, same magazine, had "Man with a Stick", old man in Australia who located submarines 30-40 miles away with a divining rod.
Dr. Nandor Fodor is explaining strange experiences in Digest and Review (686 Broadway, N.Y. 12). As to the poltergeist in Houston, Dr. Fodor's explanation consists in admitting that such things are great [25] mysteries, which is exactly what any honest and competent scientist should and would say. Only, when Dr. Fodor talks, as he often does, about repressed hates and memories acting like haunts and poltergeister, we wish he would elaborate a bit... In Sept. Mind Digest, Ural R. Murphy, Ph.D., D.D., tells of a little chat he had with Thomas Troward, deceased metaphysician, who came to visit him in "an immense ray of fadeless light." But Dr. Murphy (Ph.D.) doesn't really expect to be believed, feels he is going contrary to "the great preponderance of human opinion" (!?!)... American Scientist, 34-2, graphs new types of earth motion from atom bomb test. There's also a depressing article giving an optimistic view of the "Aim and Progress of Psychology," by J.R. Kantor.
Federation News, issued as a supplement to Chimes (Brea, Calif.) prints details and full text of the brief for the defense, in the case of the State of Nebraska vs. Rev. Lionel Everman, pastor of the First Spiritualist Church, accused of violating the Lincoln ordinance by "revealing or pretending to reveal" um-um-um etc. Victory of the Rev. Everman was complete, rout of the Philistines very great, and Chimes has done a good and worthy deed in publicising it.
Theosophical Forum (Covina, Calif.) as usual is filled with excellent and well-written material which no student of occult matters can afford to miss... Spiritual Digest (55 State Rd. Hampton Manor, Rensselaer, N.Y.) also has remarkably good material... RR acknowledges East-West, Golden Rays, Psychic Review (World Service), National Spiritualist, Psychic Observer, Western Spiritualist, Chimes, Kosmon Pioneer, Sunflower, Psychoanalyst, A.R.E. Bulletins, New Age Interpreter... Also Walter Graham's new STAR, a scientific quarterly with a liberal viewpoints... and, to late to review this time, a pamphlet on Atlantis by Dr. Charles J. Ryan, another of the Golden Fleece and the Apron, by Dr. Nandor Fodor, and the book on Mediumship by Rev. Robt. G. Chaney.
For assistance and instruction (gratis) in astrology, philosophy, and Rosicrucian studies, write to Ann B. Karmichiel, 1400 So. Stiles St., Linden, N.J. She is an experienced and competent instructor.
Instruction in PENDOLOGY: Dorthea Frood, author of the article Pendology in Sept. Round Robin, will give instruction in theory and practical use of the Pendule (pendulum). She has had much experience, particularly in diagnosis. This instruction is unique and valuable. Personal, or by mail, terms to be arranged. Address Dorothea Frood at 1621 So. Grand Ave., Los Angeles 15.
For unique greeting cards adapted to the birth month, made by automatic or "controlled" drawing, write Mrs. H.M. Plemon, 59 Atlantic Ave, Long Beach 2, Calif. $1.00 for 6. Specify months. Sample from RR.
Geomancy, or Divination by the Element of Earth. Mimeographed, 30 pages. The only separate compilation now published in English. By Meade Layne (Ed. RR). $2.00.
Letters to a Soldier. Basic ideas of spiritism and occultism, with reading list. Mimeographed booklet. Meade Layne (Round Robin). $1.00.
Bobbitt Agency, 1609 - 10th Ave. No., Nashville, Tenn. - for single copies and subscriptions, all psychic and spiritistic periodicals. Rates and list on request.
- Bell, Charles B. The Bell Witch: A Mysterious Spirit. Nashville: Lark Bindery, 1934. Print. <http://amzn.to/1OUsmVV>
- Seabrook, William. Witchcraft: Its Power in the World Today. New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1940. Print. <http://amzn.to/1xvd7wX>