The primary interest in Helen Duncan's mediumship invariably gravitates
towards her trial in 1944 and subsequent imprisonment. While
these events are obviously of considerable importance, the
concentration given to them may be somewhat disproportionate and
consequently, Helen's actual mediumship is possibly only seen as an
accompaniment to the period. Therefore, in writing the following,
I will concentrate on the subject of Helen Duncan, her
mediumship, and its development: in doing so, I am particularly
grateful to Gena Brealey, one of Helen's daughters, and Kay
Hunter for their excellent work, The Two Worlds of Helen
Duncan. Helen was born Victoria Helen McCrae MacFarlane on 25
November 1897. As a child there were signs of what was to
follow in later years, i.e. her reference to people, by name, who had
died years before, and her statements that she could both see and hear
them: as so often happens in such cases, she was chided and
rebuked. When her schooling finished, she went to Dundee to work
in the mills, although at the outbreak of the First World War,
Helen volunteered for work that would assist the war effort, but
already overweight and in poor health, she was rejected.
Nonetheless, possibly through suffering poor health herself and thereby
realizing its effect on people's lives, she took up work in
nursing. It was during this time that Helen met Henry Duncan, a
soldier who had been injured. Henry had a strong belief in
post-mortem survival and he became aware that the young Helen possessed
mediumistic abilities; he explained to her the meaning of some
of the things she had experienced in her life. Their
friendship led to marriage on 27 May 1916, and the young medium
became "Helen Duncan": a name that would be later firmly
inscribed in Spiritualism's history. Shortly after moving to
Edinburgh, Helen once again suffered from the blight of poor
health. As Henry also had difficulty finding work, the young
couple returned to Dundee where Henry was able to find
employment. At this stage Henry became determined to develop his
wife's mediumistic abilities and the couple began testing these using
objects to psychometrise. It was not long before Helen became
entranced and a communicator, calling himself Dr Williams, spoke
independently of Helen. The communicator chastised Henry
for concentrating on psychometry and advised him regarding the
development of Helen's obvious talents. It was decided that
a circle be formed and it would meet on Thursday evenings; at
these gatherings, the circle was given instructions by Dr Williams, one
of which was that: 'They were never to accept anything at
face value, but always question anyone claiming to come from the world
of spirit, asking for evidence and proof which could be
verified. In addition to the hardships that Helen and Henry were
experiencing, more were to follow when Henrietta, their third child was
born severely disabled; she was only thirteen months old when she
later died. The result was Henry suffering a complete breakdown
in health. Following this, fate was not prepared to leave the
Duncans alone as Isabella, their eldest child, was attacked by a wild
animal and suffered disfiguring facial injuries (Helen and Henry
had a total of nine children, three of whom died in
childbirth). Hardship continued to make its mark on the Duncan
household, and with Henry unable to work, Helen had to take up various
types of part-time work to provide for the family and this led her,
still unwell herself, to take up demanding work for which she had to
begin at 5am. It was in this period when Helen became aware
of her healing skills, and despite her own serious health
problems, she continued this work, even though she would often take on
the ailments of those she was trying to heal.
Notwithstanding all the turmoil and strain in their lives, the Duncans
decided to persevere with their Thursday circle. In this,
development was slow but successful: 'Due to the sincerity and
psychic ability of the sitters, materialisation was slowly being
achieved. A hand would sometimes appear on the small table in the
corner, and a head which was recognised by one of the sitters as his
father, appeared more than once'. In time, full materializations
joined the circle although in the early stages, the forms were
rudimentary and it was clear that much more work needed to be
done; moreover, there was violent activity that directed the
circle to be more discerning and careful about what they did. Dr
Williams communicated and advised that a cabinet was necessary and this
would aid Helen's development and the circle was also told to acquire a
red light and a trumpet. Despite all their family
responsibilities and hardships, the Duncans continued and this
eventually produced the desired outcome: 'Voices were now coming
through each week. Indeed, sometimes two or three voices could be
heard talking at the same time. The trumpet would circle the room
at great speed'. In time, a second trumpet was brought in for use
at the circle, and both would move around simultaneously, and be used
by different communicators to speak to different sitters at the same
time. It was during one such occasion that the circle witnessed
the formation of ectoplasm emerging from the cabinet where Helen
was seated, entranced; as they watched enthralled, a rod of
ectoplasm appeared and Dr Williams told one of the sitters to
test its strength which he duly did, even balancing it between two
chairs and sitting on it. In addition to the new development, the
séances included the manifestation of lights. At
this time, the materializations were still in a basic stage and Dr
Williams explained this was purely for testing in order to perfect the
process. However, as time went on, 'the materialised forms
began to take on a proper physical appearance, and began to appear less
artificial or unreal'. Subsequently, after a period of difficulty
with a control called Donald, another, called Albert Stewart, took on
this role. In 1931, Helen gave sittings at the LSA (London
Spiritualist Alliance); one sitter, a physician, reported seeing
Albert aside Helen and other materializations, including a small
child. Furthermore, 'standing under the red light,
ectoplasm was pouring out of the medium's mouth almost up to the
floor, after which it was reabsorbed'. Nonetheless, as Cassirer
notes, events during the series resulted in the LSA reports ending on a
sour note. Disturbed in this period, Helen encountered the
'psychic investigator' Harry Price and she was, not surprisingly,
disturbed by his outlook and manner of working. According
to Tabori, Price attended four séances, the last of which
ended in uproar with Price wanting to X-ray. Price subsequently
accused Helen of fraud saying that the ectoplasm was produced by
regurgitating material from within her body. This accusation was
published in his Regurgitation and the Duncan Mediumship (NLPR,
1931). In fact, as noted, after carrying out a thorough
examination, 'he admitted that examination had failed to disclose
anything'. The report obviously had some detrimental effect on
Helen, but fortunately there were some, hardly sympathetic to physical
mediumship, who would not associate themselves with Price and his
report: Cassirer notes how the Journal of the American Society
of Psychical Research refused to publish Price's notes.
After gaining a diploma from the Psychic Union, the Duncans moved to
Edinburgh and Helen began journeying to the different churches to
demonstrate her mediumship. To no great surprise, it did not take
long before Helen was the target of those who rejected the idea
of mediumship and that she could facilitate communication between
the two worlds. At a séance in a Glasgow Spiritualist
church, Albert advised that Helen should take great care later that
day; after the séance had ended, Helen travelled to an address
in order that she might give a sitting to a group of people, this
having been arranged after someone had written to Helen about having a
séance with her. After the séance began and Helen
had become entranced, she awoke to find herself being handled by
one of the sitters who was accusing her of fraud. The
sitter then went on to say that the police had been called and produced
a vest that she claimed had been used by Helen to produce Peggy, a
child guide. Despite Helen's vociferous, and somewhat colourful
protestations, the police arrived and Helen was cautioned and then
charged with fraud. Her trial began on May 3, 1933 and was held
at the Edinburgh court, lasting two days; at this she was accused
of fraudulently materializing the forms of the dead.
In their book, Brealey and Hunter refer to, and comment upon the
numerous inconsistencies of the prosecution witnesses.
Acquainted-One of the interesting features of the matter
was that it was ascertained that one of the sitters, and main
prosecution witnesses, was acquainted with Harry Price...
Fortunately, the trial that resulted in Helen being fined, did not harm
interest in her mediumship and she went on to give a number of
very successful test séances for researchers; eventually her
workload became considerable. In this time she had been able to
reverse the poverty of her earlier years, e.g. purchasing a
bungalow in which to live, although this attracted criticism from
various quarters. About this, Brealey and Hunter make a number
of salient comments: firstly, those who criticized Helen
and indeed other mediums, would say little about the vast income and
comfortable lifestyles of religious leaders, who could bring
little, if any, tangible comfort to the bereaved.
Furthermore, there was the worry of Henry's continuing ill health
and the simple fact that Helen had to be only too aware of the
uncertainty of what lay ahead (i.e. her poor health
continued and she was now an insulin-dependent diabetic).
Moreover, 'travel and accommodation had to be paid for, and
family supported. Only her family and close friends know how much
of her services were given free to those in need.... Many
churches still thriving today owe their origins to the free
demonstrations given by Helen Duncan'. As the First World War,
the Second brought untold misery and grief for so many who sought
reassurance from mediums. In this period, Helen was able to
fulfil this important role, and one of the locations to which she
regularly travelled was a location in Portsmouth called the Master
Temple. Here, 'a proportion of all collections at their
services and séances were always given to a charity, nobody in
need was ever turned away from their door'. On 1 January 1942,
Gena had a disturbing premonition about her mother and implored Henry
to stop Helen travelling to Portsmouth. But despite her pleas,
Helen left for Portsmouth and gave demonstrations of her
mediumship to those sitters who attended the Master Temple.
During the period in which Helen held séances at the Master
Temple, Albert gave instructions to those organizing the events that
caution should be exercised concerning those who attended:
however, this was ignored and a short time later a naval officer was
allowed to attend and other sitters noted his suspicious behaviour,
e.g. the lack of enthusiasm for the proceedings. More
warnings were issued by Albert but on 19 January 1944, after Helen
became entranced and Albert had materialized, three of those who
had been allowed to attend, rushed forward, seized the ectoplasm and
turned on the lights: amidst the chaos, the men effected the
entrance of the police into the room, the police officers already
waiting nearby to do this. Attempts by genuine sitters, including
those responsible for the séance, to assist Helen, were
prevented by the police. At her trial it was argued that Helen
was manipulating some material while the séance was taking
place, but at the time that the attack occurred, Helen actually asked
that both she and the room be carefully examined. However, as
Brealey says: 'It seemed strange then, and even now, that this
was not done'. One illustration of the authorities'
hostility was that Helen was refused bail and duly remanded in
custody. Helen engaged the services of a barrister and only
then, was she allowed bail. Nonetheless, in time matters became
even more bizarre: having secured bail, the case was referred to
the DPP (Director of Public Prosecutions), although the
initial charge was comparatively minor. But things began to
become clear when Helen discovered that she was being charged with
conspiracy. In contrast to the three prosecution witnesses, there
were numerous ones for Helen's defence, but she and those others who
had also been charged with her (Mrs Brown and Mr and Mrs
Homer), were soon to discover 'the Establishment wanted
blood'. After various charges were introduced, i.e. under The
Vagrancy Act and of conspiracy, the authorities decided the 1737
Witchcraft Act would be appropriate; as Roberts says in his own
account of the trial, this at least would ensure 'a sort
of makeweight against Mrs Duncan and her fellow defendants, a net
to catch them if they escaped conviction on the other
counts'. I do not intend dealing with the proceedings of
Helen's trial that began on 23 March 1944, as the details are well
known being covered in Maurice Barbanells' book, The Case of
Helen Duncan (London: Psychic Press Ltd, 1945), and the
later book Medium on Trial by Manfred Cassirer. The end result
of the trial was that Helen received a sentence of nine
months imprisonment. An appeal was rejected and Helen served her
sentence, and she was released from Holloway Prison in September
1944. As Cassirer notes, she then broke away from the SNU and no
longer held a diploma with them. On Helens release, it was only
too obvious that her health had clearly suffered a very great
deal. Despite this, it was not long before she once again began
to give demonstrations of her mediumship to those who needed
reassurance: 'When she looked at the naked misery in the faces
of those she knew who had lost sons, husbands, lovers, she just
could not refuse to help'. The Duncan family welcomed Barbanell's book
about her trial, published in 1945, although it was felt 'there
were some facts he had wrong'. Nevertheless, it did offer a
contrast to the media reporting of the case. In addition to
the upset caused through the trial and Helen's imprisonment, the family
believed the subject of Helen's earnings through her mediumship
had been distorted out of recognition; moreover, various attempts
to champion her case were more related to combating the Establishment's
hostility towards Spiritualism rather than Helen's innocence which
almost seemed incidental. An appeal was launched by Barbanell for
Helen's costs, but 'the response was so poor it had to be
abandoned'. This in itself may indicate to a student
of Spiritualism's history that by the close of the Second
World War, British Spiritualism had now begun to lose direction.
Despite these hardships, Helen continued to supply quality
evidence. For example, at a séance in Edinburgh, 'a small
negro boy came through and put his little hand on a gentleman's
knee. They had a long conversation in Swahili'. The
gentleman knew the boy, the son of one of his employees, and
stated 'the evidence he had received had given him irrefutable
proof of life after death'. To present Helen Duncan
the person, rather than just the medium, a statement by her daughter is
worth quoting: 'Into her home she took many in need of care
and love, some just for a short visit, others for much longer
periods... There was a 'gentleman of the road' who
would call every Sunday morning. Always he was given a hot meal
and a few pence'. She also relates how various young persons in
distress were taken in by Helen, at her own cost, until they were able
to deal with the problems that had broken them. The diversity of
communicators made possible through Helen is surely indicative of
not only the genuineness of her mediumship, but also its
range. Again, after her release from imprisonment, she gave
demonstrations that included a number in Stoke-on-Trent: in one case an
airman materialized for his mother, complete with the birthmark that he
had on his face before his passing. Another man materialized for
his wife, lacking the two fingers that he had lost while working.
Further proof was given on the occasions when Albert, over six
foot in height, brought Helen, only five foot, four inches, out
of cabinet, still entranced, and stood beside her. To
demonstrate their separateness even further, Albert would ensure that
the sitters could see Helen while he was standing, and speaking up to
four feet away. It was in this time that some sitters made
unreasonable demands on Helen, despite her ever-worsening health, and
it was obvious that her health was deteriorating at an alarming
rate. Her diabetes was often out of control and she
required surgical operations for the complications that arose. In
fact, 'each illness took longer to get over'. When Fodor
deals with Helen's mediumship, he refers to the antics of Harry
Price and the accusation of fraud made against her in Light
(17 July, 1931). Many Spiritualists and non-Spiritualists
defended her; one person in the latter category was Dr Montague Rust,
who 'deplored the precipitate conclusions and despite the adverse
report maintained that Mrs. Duncan was the most remarkable physical
medium in Europe'. Another was Will Goldston, the well-known
professional magician and illusionist, who said that what he had
witnessed could not have been effected through trickery. What
Fodor says in his introduction may say much more about Helen's
mediumship than the accusations that were cast about. He notes
how in a séance with Helen, 'ectoplasm, was seen in
quantities.... Figures of adults and children appeared
under voluminous drapery, movement of objects beyond the reach
of the medium were observed and as a means of control the
medium was placed nude into a sleeved sack with stiff buckram
fingerless gauntlets sewn to the sleeves of her suit. The
sack was sewn in at the back and fastened with tapes and cords to the
chair. At the end of the sitting the medium was often found
outside the bag, the seals, tapes and stitchings remaining
intact'. Beloff, writing later in 1990, refers to persons
who witnessed the mediumship of Helen Duncan (whom he says
was 'an uneducated woman of gross appearance whose manners
and language were anything but ladylike'), and says they
'all tell much the same story': two of these witnesses
being 'good friends of mine and prominent members of
the S.P.R'. He goes to to detail how: 'They all speak of
watching figures emerging from the cabinet or sometimes taking shape
out of swirling masses of amorphous ectoplasm, sometimes
they are of recognizable individuals whom the sitter had known in
his life, sometimes they engage in conversation, but, invariably, they
soon disappear by sinking through the solid floor'. The next
notable stage in Helen's mediumship was a séance held in
Nottingham in the closing months of 1956. Cassirer
describes how in this, 'a violent assault took place....
and [the police] tore down the cabinet curtains . More men
arrived, grabbed the medium and took flash photographs'. It was
only two months after the police attack that Helen died. Cassirer
notes that 'no legal action was taken against the police,
incommensurable with the supposed offence of which in any case,
there does not seem to have been any proof'. Helen's daughter recalls
how her mother received notification of the Nottingham police's
intention to prosecute although by this time her mother was becoming
seriously ill. She goes on to record how on one night, shortly
afterwards, she heard a knocking on her bedroom door and a voice
saying 'God be with you till we meet again'. The next
morning, on 6 December 1956, it was discovered that Helen had died
sometime during the early hours. And so, the police and
establishment were cheated of further pursuit of their
prey, and one of the greatest physical mediums of this
country passed into the world about which she had given so much
evidence, and to so many.
BY:- David J. Nicholls Dip.Th (Camb), B.A.(Hons), M.Phil
HELEN VICTORIA DUNCAN
