There were a bunch of strange beliefs circulating about ghosts and psychic energies back in the early 20th century. Some researchers believed that ghosts could be captured in a bottle. Others went further and claimed that it might soon be possible to capture psychic energy in a glass bottle. While neither of these things ever happened, it is still fun to read about what they thought about the psychic sciences long ago.
Feather Danger
In 1914, the Countess of Warwick announced to the nobility that the wearing of bird feathers degraded their aura. Anyone who decorated his or her head with the feathers or wings of deceased birds were in grave psychic danger. [1]
Ghost Radio
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle loved to dabble in the psychic sciences so it was little wonder that in 1922 he predicted that we mortals would be able to talk to the dead within the next five years. He believed that the spirits already had the means of contacting us from the spirit world. All we needed to do was to build a special radio to properly receive their messages. [2]
Fingerprinting the Spirits
Can spirits be fingerprinted for identification? Back in 1931, psychic researchers believed that this was possible. They claimed that spirits have already left behind their fingerprints and that an archive should be made of the living so that when they die and pop back for a visit, they could be identified by their prints. [3]
Anyone Can Talk with the Dead
The instructions for talking with a ghost were simple, according to Professor Hyslop, 1912. All you need to do is:
“Go into a dim room alone. Close the door tightly behind you. Sit there quietly and concentrate your mind on the dead. And in a few minutes, maybe, you will get a message from a ghost.” [4]
Albuquerque, New Mexico
According to one strange prediction back in 1920, Albuquerque was going to be one of the greatest psychic centers in the U.S. A psychic temple was already materializing there and would soon be visible to everyone. We are, of course, still waiting. [5]
