“No living man […] has so completely, and for so long a period, given his whole mind and heart and soul to the advance of the cause; no man, probably, is owed so much by, and at the same time himself owes so much to, Spiritualism as Mr. Morse.”
From “The Mysteries of Mediumship.” Reprinted from Light. 1894. Publisher Thomas Olman Todd.
J. J. Morse (1848-1919) was a prominent British spiritualist and trance medium of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He has been credited for advancing Spiritualism through his work as a medium, lecturer, and editor of Spiritualist publications. The Morse family ran a private hotel for Spiritualists from their home, which was established in 1883. Morse’s daughter, Florence, who was a powerful clairvoyant and inspirational speaker, ran a library and reading room for Spiritualists at the hotel.
“In addition to the hotel Mr. Morse conducts an Institution for Spiritualists, which is doing excellent work. The visitor, entering the spacious and lofty room devoted to this branch of the effort, is struck first by the excellent library, consisting of some five hundred books connected with all phases of the subject, many of them exceedingly rare and practically obtainable at the present time.”
From “The Mysteries of Mediumship.” Pg. 4. Reprinted from Light. 1894. Publisher Thomas Olman Todd.
Mediumship
Born in 1848, J. J. Morse became an orphan at the age of 10. His journey to mediumship began with skepticism, and he tried to dismiss his first encounters with the spiritual. In one instance, he wrote a message from his parents, saying: “You will become a great medium; you will yet do great good in the world.” At the time, he dismissed it as his imagination.
Morse would come to accept his abilities after mesmerism, similar to hypnosis, failed to provide a concrete explanation. He began his career as a medium at James Burns’s Spiritual Institution, which offered the first séances for trance mediumship in London. While specialized in trance mediumship, Morse had some experiences with other psychic abilities, such as the power of healing, and being able to stick his hand through fire without injury.
As a trance medium, Morse was highly successful, getting calls all across England, Wales, and Scotland, delivering multiple trance addresses a week. Of the 12 spirits Morse channeled, the most notable two were chief control Tien Sien Tie and The Strolling Player.
“The Strolling Player has a gruff and at times almost surly note, though two or three minutes’ conversation quickly shows that the rather rough exterior covers a really kindly disposition. Tien is soft, suave, perfectly courteous, and grave to austerity. It is probably that he never uttered a joke in his life, either here or there; doubtful if he ever conceived one.”
From “The Mysteries of Mediumship.” Pg. 22. Reprinted from Light. 1894. Publisher Thomas Olman Todd. In Folder “Mediumship,” Box 30, Eileen J. Garrett Parapsychology Foundation Collection, Collection 331. University of Maryland Baltimore County. Baltimore, MD.
From orphan to successful medium, J. J. Morse reflected on his life as a prophecy. He said that his ancestors had the motto “Mors janua vitae” — “Death is the gate of life.” Embracing Spiritualism, Morse attributed his success in life to spiritual intervention.