Arthur Ford (psychic)
| Arthur Ford | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Occupation | Psychic, spiritualist medium |
Arthur Ford (January 8, 1896 – January 4, 1971) was an American psychic, spiritualist medium, clairaudient, and founder of the Spiritual Frontiers Fellowship (1955). He gained national attention when he claimed to have contacted the dead son of Bishop James Pike in 1967 on network TV. In 1928 Ford claimed to have contacted the deceased spirits of Houdini's mother and later in 1929 Harry Houdini himself.
Arthur Ford was born in Titusville, Florida and grew up in Fort Pierce, Florida. As a youth he followed a religious pilgrimage that took him to Transylvania College, a Disciples of Christ school in Lexington, Kentucky. Ordained as a Disciples minister, he served a church in Barbourville, Kentucky. Ford said he realized his psychic abilities during World War I. He claimed that while in the army, he could "hear" the names of soldiers several days before they would appear on casualty lists.
Around 1921, Ford was a traveling Spiritualist trance medium who professed to be controlled by a spirit guide he referred to as "Fletcher." He eventually settled in New York City as pastor of a Spiritualist church. He developed a popular following, and in 1927 traveled to Great Britain. One of his lectures was attended by veteran Spiritualist Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who enthusiastically told people the next day, "One of the most amazing things I have ever seen in 41 years of psychic experience was the demonstration of Arthur Ford."
Ford was tested only once by the American Society for Psychical Research. He attempted to identify through psychic means the owners of objects (psychometry). He completely failed the test.
Following her husband's death in 1926, Bess Houdini began attending seances conducted by Ford. Author Andrew Lycett suggests that Arthur Conan Doyle encouraged a "vulnerable" Bess to believe Ford's claims that he could contact the dead in order "to win an important victory for Spiritualism". In 1928, Ford claimed he was able to contact Harry Houdini's deceased mother via his spirit guide "Fletcher." A year later, he claimed to contact the deceased Houdini himself and relay the full text of a secret message Houdini proposed to convey to Bess after his death. Bess initially endorsed Ford's claims, but later repudiated them. Authors William Kalush and Larry Sloman speculate that Bess Houdini was initially supportive of Ford's claims due to the effects of alcoholism, and that she had romantic feelings for Ford. Others such as Milbourne Christopher speculate that the text of the message used a private code between Houdini and his wife that could have easily been broken by Ford or his associates using a number of existing clues.
...
Wikipedia