Hereward Carrington was a noted British author and investigator of
spiritualism. Originally a non-believer, he eventually became convinced
that psychic phenomena were real and devoted his life to related study,
investigation, and book writing.
In 1916, he wrote a story about a group of devil worshipers, which was
made into the fifteen chapter serial
The Mysteries of Myra (1916).
Carrington served as a consultant on the film, supplying costume and
set illustrations, as well as props such as pentagrams.
Harry Houdini and Carrington were rivals
in the 1920s in investigations of purported psychic phenomenon
sponsored by the Scientific American magazine. Carrington believed in
psychic phenomenon, Houdini did not. The most famous case the team
investigated was that of Mina Stinson Crandon ("Margery") in 1924.
Carrington's books include "Death: Its Causes and Phenomena" (1912),
"Personal Experiences in Spiritualism" (1913), and "Your Psychic Powers
and how to Develop Them" (1920).
Carrington's papers are held in the Princeton University's Manuscripts
Division.
