Patterson, Mrs. S. E
Patterson, Mrs. S. E.
American slate-writing medium, the first subject of the experiments of the Seybert Commission in 1884. In two sittings, no results were obtained, and evidence of fraud appeared.
A slate given to the medium was returned six months later without any writing inside. Dr. Horace Howard Furness, a member of the commission, gave her a second slate. At the end of a fortnight, the announcement was made that the slate pencil inside had disappeared, as it was not heard rattling. This was taken as a sign of success, as in Patterson's case the completion of the writing was not indicated by raps, but by the sudden appearance of the slate fragment on the top of the slates.
When, however, the committee opened the slates, no writing was seen inside. On the other hand, according to the report, the wooden frames bore telltale marks of a knife which was inserted to force an aperture for the slate pencil.