Index to This Site

Wednesday 13 September 2017

Sugar Out of Nowhere

     A major intention of this blog was to rescue unusual stories which were likely to be overlooked and forgotten. Now it seems that every time I decide I have run out of material, and it is time to put the blog into hibernation, something new comes up. For example, I have just finished reading an undeservedly neglected book, The Physical Phenomena of Mysticism by Herbert Thurston. Fr. Thurston embodied the unusual combination of Jesuit priest and member of the Society for Psychical Research. He investigated mediums, ghosts, and poltergeists, and between 1919 and 1938 he examined the evidence for extraordinary, even paranormal phenomena associated with nuns, monks, and other mystics. I could spend a lot of time on these issues, but what caught my eye was the case of a young woman who was definitely not a saint. However, I have in the past written about "apports", or objects which appear out of thin air during poltergeist infestations, one of which involved the mysterious appearance of sugar. This present case bears some resemblance, although no poltergeist activity was involved. It is best that I quote Thurston's own words.