17/11/2019 The Frauds of Madame Blavatsky by William Emmette Coleman

Published by Blavatsky Study Center. Online Edition copyright 2004.

The Frauds of Madame Blavatsky

by Wm. Emmette Coleman
[Reprinted from The Summerland (Summerland, California), April 18, 1891, p. 2.]

It is well known that the founder of theosophy, Mme. H. P. Blavatsky, has

for a number of years denounced Spiritualism and mediumship in no
uncertain terms. As per contra it may be well to present a few facts
relative to the connection of this woman with spiritualistic and other
alleged occultic phenomena. In 1874, she first came to the attention of the
American public in connection with certain alleged marvelous
manifestations of “spirits” to her through the Eddy’s at Chittenden,
Vermont. It was claimed among other things, that a buckle, attached to a
decoration, buried with her father, was brought, from his grave in Russia,
to her at the Eddy’s, by spirit power. It was subsequently established that
decorations of Russian officers were never buried with the bodies of those
upon whom they were bestowed. It is clear, then, that the alleged spiritual
phenomenon was a trick or device, doubtless arranged between herself and
the mediums. These mediums have been detected in trickery a number of
times, and I have a mass of positive evidence as to the fraudulent character
of the Chittenden manifestations. There is little doubt that the whole of the
“wonderful” phenomena described as occurring at that place in connection
with Mme. Blavatsky, were fraudulent, --- got up by preconcerted
arrangement between the Madame and the mediums.

In 1875, the Madame was closely involved in certain manifestations,

claiming to come from “John King,” through the mediumship of Mr. and
Mrs. Holmes in Philadelphia. Mme. Blavatsky then claimed to be herself a
medium of the said John King; and through her various phenomena from
him, are said to have occurred, including long messages by rapping, direct
writing and painting by John King, transportation of objects, etc., all
similar in character to many, afterwards claimed as being performed
through her by the mahatmas or adepts. She sent General F. J. Lippitt a
painting, which she said had been painted by John King for the General;
but proofs that this painting had been done by the Madame herself, were
afterwards published. She was also seen to get up in the night and paint
pictures, which she claimed were produced by spirit power. The Holmeses
were exposed as frauds both before and after Mme. Blavatsky’s partnership
with them in the “John King” manifestations in 1875; and there is strong
evidence that she and the Holmeses were in collusion in the production of
bogus phenomena, principally for the purpose of hoodwinking Colonel
Olcott into the belief in her remarkable occultic powers.

In 1874 and 1875, Mme. Blavatsky many times declared, in the most
emphatic manner, that she was a life-long Spiritualist and the champion of
mediums, and Spiritualism was the world’s savior, etc. In 1875, she
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instituted a new society, called the “Theosophical,” at first quasi

spiritualistic in nature, but subsequently of a more pronounced anti-
spiritualistic character. After transfer of the headquarters of this society to
India in 1878-79, she became radically anti-spiritualistic, and has since
been a bitter opponent of that which she professed so ardently in 1874-75.
In India she became notorious through the performance of a number of
purported feats of magic, alleged as being partly her own work and partly
those of certain adepts, living in the Tibetian Himalayas. Overwhelming
proofs of the frauds practiced in the performance of these feats, has been
published by her confederates in guilt, Madame and M. Coulomb, and by
Mr. Richard Hodgson, in his report of a scientific examination of said
phenomena.

I have evidence that a number of the leading workers in the Theosophical

Society acknowledge that fraud was practiced by Mme. Blavatsky and her
assistants in the production of her feats said to have been done by the
adepts and herself. I have read the original of a letter [by] probably the
ablest and one of the most honest of the leading theosophists of the world,
in which he avows his knowledge of the frauds practiced by Mme.
Blavatsky, and her assistants in the production of spurious maketime
phenomena. He speaks of a nasty trick “the old lady” has of writing bogus
letters from the mahatmas, instancing a case when a friend of his had been
caused to go to Germany, in obedience to a spurious letter from the
mahatma; while he himself had received one of these bogus letters from
the Madame. While he believes that a very few of the mahatmic
phenomena are genuine, he is convinced that nearly all of them are
fraudulent. He also says that he was warned by the Countess
Wachtmeister, the Madame’s confidential friend and champion, “to beware
of bogus manifestations” made by Mme. Blavatsky. He also says that Mr.
A. P. Sinnett, the author of “Esoteric Buddhism,” detected her in a trick
attempted to be played on him, with a spurious “precipitated” letter, and
that it nearly caused Sinnett to throw up the whole business. He says, in
addition, that Dr. Franz Hartmann, the most prolific of theosophic authors,
had written a pamphlet, in which like Col. Olcott and Mr. Cooper Oakley,
he declared a large number of the Madame’s phenomena to be fraudulent.
It is published that Dr. Hartmann, Mr. W. Q. Judge (President of the
American section of the Society), and a native Hindu, destroyed the trick
shrine at Madras, in which the spurious mahatma phenomena were
performed for so long by the Madame, with the assistance of the
Coulombs. This shrine contained such palpable evidence of the trickery
that had been performed by its aid, that these three destroyed it, to prevent
its examination by Mr. Hodgson and others. This destruction Dr.
Hartmann acknowledged to Mr. Hodgson. It is also published that the
knowledge of her frauds in India is held over the Madame’s head by Mr.
Judge, and that the society was compelled to pay Mr. Judge’s expenses
back to America from India, he having threatened that if such was not
done, he would publicly expose the fraud he had discovered.

Mrs. Anne Kingsford, author of “The Perfect Way,” and at one time a
prominent theosophist, severed her connection with the Theosophical
Society, alleging as a reason her discovery of the frauds practiced by
Madame Blavatsky. Mr. A. O. Hume, was at one time one of the most
prominent theosophists in India, and he was the person to whom was
addressed, in conjunction with Mr. Sinnett, the Koot Hoomi
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correspondence, ultimating in the publication of “The Occult World” and

“Esoteric Buddhism.” When he discovered the fraud that Madame
Blavatsky, and her confederates had practiced on himself and others, he
severed his connection with the Society, and since then has had nothing to
do with it. We thus have the very “head and front” of the society cognizant
of the Madame’s frauds, namely, Col. Olcott, W. Q. Judge, A. P. Sinnett,
Dr. Hartmann, Dr. Cooper Oakley, Countess Wachtmeister, Anne
Kingsford, A. O. Hume, and the writer of the letter referred to, who has not
given permission for the publication of his name.

The doctrines of theosophy are contained in the two works of Madame

Blavatsky, “Isis Unveiled” and “The Secret Doctrine.” The whole of these
peculiar theories and statements are plagiarized from other works and
authors. I have discovered the source whence they were “borrowed.”
There is nothing original per se in theosophy. Her first book, “Isis
Unveiled,” is a compilation from other books, mostly without proper
credit. The bulk of the contents of this work was copied, with light
alterations, from other books, without crediting the borrowed matter to the
sources whence it was stolen. I have traced to the original source most of
the contents of the work, and such a gigantic mass of unadulterated
plagiarism the world probably never saw before. Moreover, the quotations
from other authors in this book are in a great many cases grossly garbled,
distorted, and perverted; and in a number of cases spurious citations
manufactured by the unscrupulous Madame, are attributed to various books
and authors. Besides this, the whole work is one mass of blunders and
errors of every imaginable description. The extreme carelessness of the
author and her great ignorance in every branch of knowledge, are
conspicuous on every page of the work. The world’s literature has never
before been cursed with such a monument of plagiarism, literary forgery,
falsehood, ignorance, blunders, and general balderdash as that alleged
production of the Tibetan mahatmas in “Isis Unveiled.” I am now
publishing in “The Golden Way,” an expose, in detail, with proofs of every
statement, of the true character of this unique production. It is probable
that I may, at some future time, publish a book giving a complete expose of
theosophy in all its features, with full evidence of the truth of every point
presented.

San Francisco, Cal.

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