Michael Tymn (yet another Darklore contributor!) has done a great write-up on his blog of the famous case of “The Widow’s Mite“. In his 1904 book of the same title, Isaac Funk – of ‘Funk and Wagnalls’ fame – laid out one of the most impressive pieces of evidence for an afterlife yet recorded:
“This case, certainly, represents one that has very possible claims to supernormal knowledge, to the say the least of it,” Dr. James H. Hyslop, the Columbia University professor of logic and ethics turned psychical researcher, wrote when he read Funk’s full report of the case. “I see no way to impeach it positively. I could imagine a theory to explain it without supposing the supernormal, but I would have no possible evidence in favor of what I can imagine.”
Michael is an expert on the history of mediumship, and his blog is a great place to visit for some fascinating reading. For those interested in reading more on this particular case, you can download The Widow’s Mite in its entirety from Archive.org (PDF and text versions).
