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Sophia Elizabeth De Morgan – A shared hallucination of three heads beside the preacher
Identifier
026892
Type of Spiritual Experience
Background
A description of the experience
From Matter to Spirit – The Result of Ten Years Experience in Spirit Manifestation – Sophia Elizabeth De Morgan
Whether the next case of vision will be thought to involve the necessity of other presences I am not sure. It was my own experience, the only time when I ever saw what appeared to be an external and objective reality not apparent to all others.
I was at a church with a little girl. It is needless to give an assurance of the truthfulness of my young companion, as her trustworthiness is not a necessary element in the question. But my own credibility as a narrator is requisite to give my experience value in the judgment of those who would draw inferences from it and other similar facts.
While listening with extreme pleasure and deep attention to the preacher's beautiful illustrations of our Lord's discourse to the Samaritan woman, of the fountains of living water springing up unto everlasting life, I suddenly saw over the shoulders of the preacher what appeared like the outlines of three bright heads, so brilliant as to cast the light-coloured wall behind into shadow.
I touched my young companion, asking her (she had much power of vision) whether she had seen anything; I was beginning to add, 'I saw three,' when she stopped me, saying, 'I will tell you afterwards.'
When we left the church she told me that just before I spoke she had seen three heads-only the head and neck-beside the preacher. She could not discern the faces. When we reached home she drew the sizes, which differed from each other a little, and the relative position of these heads, with perfect accuracy.
I cannot believe that the words 'I saw three,' even if she heard them, could have suggested to her mind precisely the same vision as had appeared to myself.