VERY RARE Cavalcade Of The Spirit (Paperback, 224 pages) by Paul Miller (Psychic Press 1989)

Since modern Spiritualism first emerged in 1848, countless extraordinary reports of spirit communication and psychic events have been recorded — some so striking that they continue to provoke debate even today.

Cavalcade of the Spirit gathers together a wide range of these remarkable accounts. In this volume, former Fleet Street journalist Paul Miller recounts the astounding séances of the medium Etta Wriedt, where voices claimed to speak in numerous languages — Welsh, Spanish, Norwegian, Italian, Hindustani, Hebrew, German, French, Dutch, Serbian, Croatian and Arabic among them. On one occasion, a voice was even heard singing while another carried on a conversation.

Miller also turns his attention to George Spriggs, a medium famed for séances in which full materialisations were said to occur. During one of his visits to Australia, a witness reported seeing “ten or a dozen” distinct spirit forms appear in a single evening. Some resembled children, barely four feet in height, while others towered over six feet. Each form seemed to possess its own unique physical outline and mannerisms.

The author goes on to examine the interest that Spiritualism held for figures such as Queen Victoria and President Abraham Lincoln, and includes one of the most unusual tales in the field: a deceased father who allegedly guided his son to the location of a second will — a revelation later upheld in court.

Miller also explores other psychic abilities, such as spirit photography, trance work and automatic writing, offering readers an engaging tour through some of Spiritualism’s most curious and thought-provoking episodes.

Cavalcade of the Spirit stands as a distinctive anthology of intriguing, evidential stories — a compelling read for sceptics and believers alike.