Observations placeholder
Mr. W. T. Catlengh sees the double of his dying daughter
Identifier
028022
Type of Spiritual Experience
Background
A description of the experience
Case XXXI. - I share an interesting study on "premonitions" published by Mrs Sidgwick in the Proceedings of the S.P.R. (Vol. V, p. 295). The relator, Mr. W. T. Catlengh, residing in Chelsea, 15 Lincoln Street, writes in these terms on December 19, 1883:
quoted in Professor Ernest Bozzano Les phénomènes de bilocation Traduit de l’italien par Gabriel Gobron and translated further into English by Serge Patlavskiy]
" Sir, your article on The Standard brings to mind an event that occurred five years ago, precisely five weeks before my eldest daughter died. The poor girl had never been robust, and in order to better supervise her while she slept, I placed her little bed close to me. My wife was sick at the time, which is why we always had a light on in the room.
In the night in question, I was sleeping with my back to the girl, when I was suddenly awakened by a touch on my shoulder. I suddenly turned around thinking that the little girl was calling me, and I clearly saw her spiritual double slowly rising from the bed, kneeling and with her hands joined, as if she were praying. The thought that she was dead crossed my mind. I put my hand on her forehead, which I found warm, and I noticed that she was breathing regularly. I also noticed that her arms had not come out of the blankets and that her small body was completely covered.
The next day, I took note of the event on my calendar, convinced that it announced the girl's death. She was apparently in excellent health, and for five more weeks everything was fine, but by the sixth week the little angel had died of an attack of tuberculous meningitis." (Signed: W. T. Catleugh)
In a second letter, Mr. Catleugh adds:
" I must make a slight correction to the report sent: Consulting my calendar for the year 1879, I noticed that the inexplicable feeling of touching with the vision that followed, occurred on the night of February 1st, at 1:30 in the morning; from which it follows that my little girl fell ill six weeks after the event, and not five.
Had it been a dream, I would not have bothered to write. I absolutely affirm that I was awakened by a mysterious touching on my shoulder, as I affirm that the room was lit and that when I turned around, I saw the child's spiritual form slowly rising from the little bed, so natural that it seemed alive, and that finally I saw it suddenly disappear... I had no concerns about her health. Although nervous and delicate, she had never had any serious ailments, not even the usual childhood illnesses, and she was then even healthier than ever." (Ms. Catleugh confirmed her husband's story in all aspects).