For the Smart Money Cookie

The Helen Duncan story is one that is both fantastic and sadly,
very tragic. She was born in Scotland in 1898. Her greatest
period of popularity was during the 1930’s and 1940’s when the
was most in demand as a psychic. What she was most known for was
holding séances in people’s homes where she would supposedly
contact family members who had long gone to their graves.

In 1933 Duncan was accused of fraud when a policewoman
successfully grabbed a vest that was supposed to be Helen’s
spirit child helper. She was found guilty of fraud and fined ten
pounds. In spite of this scandal, she continued to hold her
séances until 1944 when one of them was raided by the police. A
police officer tried to grab the ectoplasm that was coming from
the medium, thinking it was just a white sheet, but he was
unable to grab a hold of it. No sheet was actually found when
other officers went through the room. Even though no evidence of
fraud was discovered, Duncan and three others were ordered to
appear at Portsmouth magistrates’ court. They were all charged
with conspiracy.

They were refused bail, and Duncan spent four days in a British
prison. The case was sent to the central criminal court at the
Old Bailey. There, many charges were brought against her which
included vagrancy and conspiracy, and believe it or not, the
Witchcraft Act of 1735. This absolutely caused an uproar with
Spiritualists. The trial lasted seven days. During that time
many people testified on Duncan’s behalf. They each recalled
many feats she performed. Duncan told one of her visitors that a
family member had just died, and later it was confirmed that
this person had died just two hours before the meeting. Many
other claims were made to verify that Duncan was indeed
legitimate.

Even though many attempts were made to prove Duncan’s ability,
she was eventually sentenced to nine months in jail. After she
finished serving her sentence, she returned to do her spiritual
work. There were many accounts of her work as a medium. Many of
the reports told of the actual appearances of those who had
passed away.

In 1951, the Witchcraft Act of 1735 was finally done away with
and in its place was put the Fraudulent Mediums Act. In 1956,
the police raided one of Helen’s séances in Nottingham. They
claimed to be searching for props and interrupted a séance right
in the middle. Supposedly this interruption caused a great shock
to Duncan by having the ectoplasm return to her body too
quickly. A doctor was called to examine her. She became so ill
that she had to return to Scotland to be with her family. In
just five weeks after the raid she died. Many believe the raid
to be the cause.

There are no definite conclusions to this very sad and tragic
story. If she was the talented medium that many claimed she was
then she did herself no good by adding fraudulent activities to
her gifts. The truth is, we will never really know if she was a
gifted psychic or just another con artist.