Paranormal record / 1871

Katie King materialisations: Florence Cook and William Crookes

1871 · 16 Bruce Villas, Hackney, and Crookes's house on Mornington Road, London, United Kingdom

45Partially documented Paranormal Being / humanoid 29 sources

Hackney, East London. 1871. A teenage medium named Florence Cook sat hidden behind a curtain, and something came out to meet the room. At first it was only a pale face. Then a whole figure in white. She called herself Katie King. She walked. She talked. She let the sitters weigh and measure her. Then the chemist William Crookes took her into his own house. He timed her pulse. He cut a lock of her hair. He fitted up five cameras to photograph her. On 21 May 1874, Katie said goodbye. The argument over who she really was has never ended.

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Key facts

When	1871 to 1874
Time of day	evening séances
Where	16 Bruce Villas, Hackney, and Crookes's house on Mornington Road, London,United Kingdom
Duration	about three years (1871 to May 1874)
Witnesses	8
Witness roles	scientist
Found	physical traces
Evidence	none confirmed
Investigations	none recorded
Status	disputed

The phenomenon

A full-form female figure called Katie King, typically dressed in white, who stepped from the medium's curtained cabinet, walked, talked and allowed herself to be weighed and measured. She was usually taller than Florence Cook, with a larger face, golden auburn hair, unpierced ears and a steady pulse of 75. She could vanish instantaneously, white robes and all.

Colour	white

Context

Hackney, East London. 16 Bruce Villas, opposite London Fields. From 1871 the Cook family home hosted séances that would divide Victorian science. The medium was Florence Cook. She never charged for a sitting.

Sources (29, most influential first)

Katie King (spirit) · Wikipedia · Wiki, blog, podcast · wiki
Florence Cook (medium) · Wikipedia · Wiki, blog, podcast · wiki
Crookes, Sir William · Encyclopedia.com · Press, book, documentary · other
William Crookes and the Spectral Visitor · ORAU Health Physics Museum · Academic / paper of record · academic
Excerpt from The Spiritualist, 5 June 1874 · atisma.com · Wiki, blog, podcast · blog