There is something sufficiently fascinating about table-turning to fix the attention and interest of guests gathered for an evening’s recreation, and as it needs no previous arranging, it is an excellent device at an impromptu party.

The table must be round, light, and of wood. As many of the company as can be squeezed in its circle may take part, but the excitement will be shared by the onlookers. Each places both hands lightly on the surface with the thumbs touching, and the little finger joined to that of his neighbor. It is important that there should be no break in the chain of hands, as this prevents the flow of the electric current, which is alone responsible for the vibration and movement of the table.

The time of waiting for its first motion must be spent in silence, and may last from five to twenty minutes. Any “wag” who takes it into his head to jerk the table with his knees, or push it with his hands during this period, should at once be called upon to forfeit his place.

Those experienced in table-turning know perfectly well how different the movement caused by such a proceeding is from the real tilt the table gives when moved by the electric current, and will soon discover the impostor, for no trick can bring about the same curious vibration.

The table should be treated with the greatest respect, otherwise its “spirit” becomes taciturn and silent, and, even after the tilting backwards and forwards has gone on for some time, it has been known to retire at the slightest sign of levity and incredulity. Not until the manipulators are assured of its movement should any question be asked, and, before this is done, they must agree upon some plan by which they may comprehend the answers given.

Two taps or bows may stand for “Yes,” one for “No,” or vice versa; but, when once decided upon, should remain fixed.

The question must not be asked until the preliminary vibrations have ceased; then one of the party—the medium, so-called because he or she possesses more magnetic power than the rest, addresses the spirit, and those anxious to hear anything affecting themselves must use him or her as mouthpiece. The table is questioned in some such way as this:—

Medium—“Are you going to be kind to us to-night, O Spirit? Please answer two taps for ‘Yes,’ and one for ‘No.’”

At this polite request the spirit doubtless replies in the affirmative. When ages and dates are required, the medium counts the number of taps, and gleans the result when the taps cease.

Names are discovered by carefully going through the alphabet. Each tap stands for a letter, and, when the table pauses, the initial and other letters of the name are provided, until the whole is spelt out. Thus, supposing the medium inquires the name of his left-hand neighbor, which it may be presumed is Alice, the spirit, having apparently heard the question, gives one decided jerk, and then is perfectly motionless. The medium says “A—next letter, please.” The table obediently bobs twelve times; that is, until L is reached. The medium continues, “Next letter, please,” and the table obligingly bobs nine times. “I,” says the medium—“next letter, please.” Three bobs give C. Five bobs give E. The table is then motionless, and another question may be asked.

Queries should never be clamored at once by the impatient guests, nor should one monopolize the spirit’s attention with his own affairs. A good plan to follow is for each in turn to supply the medium with an inquiry. The initials, Christian or surname, of the man or maid one is destined to marry may be revealed by the spirit. Initial letters are better, because when there are many eager to know their fate, the full names take too long.

Sometimes it will be noticed that the spirit gives very decided answers, jerking to one side so abruptly that the players are obliged to push back their chairs and have some difficulty in keeping their hands on its surface. At other times it seems undecided, and if the question is an unwelcome one, the spirit will race through the alphabet again and again at a great speed and without a moment’s pause. When this is the case, another question should be asked.

The Presence of an “Unbeliever”

Should the spirit refuse to communicate at the end of twenty minutes, the manipulators may be sure that an “unbeliever” is in their midst, or that the whole assembly has too small magnetic power. When this happens, other persons should try their skill.

As mediums are not uncommon, there will probably be one among them, and a brief waiting at the table will prove that this is the case.

A good experiment to spare further waste of time is for the circle of attendants to decrease until only sufficient are left to maintain the chain. In this way the medium is discovered. A good medium creates movement in five minutes or less, and, with a tiny tea-table, it has often been shown that, when once set in full motion, all may withdraw except the medium under whose magnetic touch the table will continue to gyrate for several minutes.

The spirit has many characteristics, and sometimes tires of the part expected of it, and, yielding to a frivolous mood, will dance or jump all over the floor, sometimes carrying its ministers out of the room to the passage. At others it remains true to the rÔle of dignified sage, philosopher, and seer; but its moods are complicated, and these depend a great deal upon the amount of concentration and will that dominate it.

Constant peals of laughter provoke it to giddiness or abrupt, curt “answers,” while not infrequently, after several hours in which inquiries have been constantly fired at it, it shows a most discourteous inclination to remain stolidly non-committal and motionless. Then the medium with gentle coaxings may restore its good temper and patience, but only for a short period.

Perhaps the real reason for this reserve is to be found in the players themselves, whose magnetic power becomes exhausted, and fails to act as spontaneously as during the early hours of the evening. At any rate, when the medium asks courteously, “Are you very weary, O Spirit?” the table will frequently reply with two most emphatic bobs.

Another means of discovering a medium and an “unbeliever” (the latter term does not imply a cynic, but simply an individual with an insufficient supply of magnetism) is to ask the spirit to spell out the name of the person it loves best. In nine cases out of ten, it will spell out the name of the medium, and it will be found that it is as quick to reveal the person it hates, viz., the “unbeliever”—no matter if he is far removed from its vicinity.