Spiritual Photographing
In answer to numerous inquiries and several threats of prosecution for libel in consequence of what I have written in regard to impostors who (for money) perform tricks of legerdemain and attribute them to the spirits of deceased persons, I have o... Spiritualist Humbugs Waking Up
I hear from spiritualists sometimes. These gentry are much exercised in their minds by my letters about them, and some of them fly out at me very much as bumble-bees do at one who stirs up their nest. For instance, I received, not long ago, from m... The Ballot-test The Old Gentleman And His Diseased Relatives
An aptitude for deception is all the capital that a person requires in order to become a "spirit-medium;" or, at least, to gain the reputation of being one. Backing up the pretence to mediumship with a show of something mysterious, is all-sufficie... The Consumptive Remedy
There is a fellow in Williamsburg who calls himself a clergyman, and sells a "consumptive remedy," by which I suppose he means a remedy for consumption. It is a mere slop corked in a vial; but there are a good many people who are silly enough ... The Count De St Germain Sage Prophet And Magician
Superior to Cagliostro, even in accomplishments, and second to him in notoriety only, was that human nondescript, the so-called Count de St. Germain, whom Fredrick the Great called, "a man no one has ever been able to make out." The Marquis de ... The Davenport Brothers Their Rise And Progress
The Davenport Brothers are natives of Buffalo, N. Y., and in that city commenced their career as "mediums" about twelve years ago. They were then mere lads. For some time, their operations were confined to their own place, where, having obtained... The Diamond Necklace
In my sketch of Joseph Balsamo, alias the Count Alessandro de Cagliostro, I referred to the affair of the diamond necklace, known in French history as the Collier de la Reine, or Queen's necklace, from the manner in which the name and reputation o... The First Humbug In The World
The domain of humbug reaches back to the Garden of Eden, where the Father of lies practised it upon our poor, innocent first grandmother, Eve. This was the first and worst of all humbugs. But from that eventful day to the present moment, falsehood... The Golden Pigeons
"Old Grizzly Adams" was quite candid when, in his last hours, he confessed to the clergyman that he had "told some pretty large stories about his bears." In fact, these "large stories" were Adam's "besetting sin." To hear him talk, one would suppo... The Miscegenation Hoax
Some persons say that "all is fair in politics." Without agreeing with this doctrine, I nevertheless feel that the history of Ancient and Modern Humbugs would not be complete without a record of the last and one of the most successful of known... The Moon-hoax
The most stupendous scientific imposition upon the public that the generation with which we are numbered has known, was the so-called "Moon-Hoax," published in the columns of the "New York Sun," in the months of August and September, 1835. The sen... The Peter Funks And Their Functions
Not many years ago, a dignified and reverend man, whose name is well known to me, was walking sedately down Broadway. He was dressed in clerical garb of black garments and white neckcloth. He was a man of great learning, profound thought, long e... The Petroleum Humbug
Every sham, as has often been said, proves some reality. Petroleum exists, no doubt, and is an important addition to our national wealth. But the Petroleum humbug or mania or superstition, or whatever you choose to call it, is a humbug, just as tr... The Princess Cariboo Or The Queen Of The Isles
Bristol was, in 1812, the second commercial city of Great Britain, having in particular an extensive East India trade. Among its inhabitants were merchants, reckoned remarkably shrewd, and many of them very wealthy; and quite a number of aristocra... The Spirit-rapping And Medium Humbugs And Their Origin
The "spirit-rapping" humbug was started in Hydesville, New York, about seventeen years ago, by several daughters of a Mr. Fox, living in that place. These girls discovered that certain exercises of their anatomy would produce mysterious sounds--my...

The Miscegenation Hoax The Whale The Angel Fish And The Golden Pigeon Apollonius Of Tyana Old Grizzly Adams Brandreth's Pills The Real Power Of Imagination Doctors And Imagination Spiritual Letters On The Arm How To Make Them Yourself Count Cagliostro Alias Joseph Balsamo Known Also As Cursed Joe

Humbug Universal - In Religion - In Politics - In Business - In Science - In Medicine Definition Of The Word Humbug The Twenty-seventh Street Ghost Spirits On The Rampage Spiritualist Humbugs Waking Up The Princess Cariboo Or The Queen Of The Isles The Peter Funks And Their Functions The Tulipomania The Ballot-test The Old Gentleman And His Diseased Relatives