Helen Duncan

Helen Duncan (1897 – 1956) was a Scottish medium who became the last person to be imprisoned in the U.K. under the Witchcraft Act of 1735. • Born in Callander, Stirlingshire on 25 November 1897, Helen Duncan made her name as a medium by offering seances in which she appeared to summon the spirits of recently deceased persons by emitting ectoplasm from her mouth. In 1931, Duncan she was examined by the London Spiritual Alliance who denounced her as a fraud. In 1934, during a seance in Edinburgh, a sitter grabbed at one of her materialisations, which turned out to be a stockinette undervest. Duncan was found guilty of affray and fake mediumship at Edinburgh Sheriff Court, and was sentenced to a £10 fine or one month in prison.

In 1941, during World War II, Duncan held a seance in Portsmouth at which she indicated knowledge that HMS Barham had been sunk; which was true, but had been kept secret to avoid its demoralising effect on public opinion. At the séance a spirit named Syd is alleged to have materialised; Syd apparently wore a cap with an HMS Barham band, and spoke with a relative. It seems however that although the sinking had not been made public, relatives of the dead – including many in Portsmouth – had been told by the Admiralty.

In January 1944, Duncan was arrested her at another séance when a white-shrouded manifestation proved to be Duncan herself, in a white cloth. Duncan was tried under section 4 of the Witchcraft Act 1735, covering fraudulent "spiritual" activity, found guilty, and imprisoned for nine months.

Duncan's trial became a controversial topic. The Prime Minister, Winston Churchill wrote a memo to Home Secretary complaining about the misuse of court resources on the "obsolete tomfoolery" of the charge.

After her release in 1945, Duncan returned to conducting seances; at one, witnessed by a group of stage magicians led by William Goldston, founder of the British Magicians Club, the Great Lafayette is said to have materialised. The Great Lafayette (1871-1911) was a stage illusionist who had died during a performance at the Empire Theatre in Edinburgh, when the set for one of his illusions, ‘the Lion's Bride’ developed an electrical fault; Lafayette died, along with ten of his players, trying to rescue his stallion ‘Arizona’ from the flames while the orchestra played “God Save the King”.

In 1956, the Nottingham police raided a séance Helen Duncan was giving; a few days later, in December 25th, she passed over to the other side.