Preliminary Report of the Commission Appointed by the University of Pennsylvania to Investigate Modern Spiritualism In Accordance with the Request of the Late Henry Seybert

"Preliminary Report of the Commission Appointed by the University of Pennsylvania to Investigate Modern Spiritualism" is a scientific publication generated by a commission formed in the late 19th century. The work provides an in-depth investigation into the phenomena of Modern Spiritualism, particularly focusing on practices such as slate writing and purported mediumistic powers, as observed by a group of esteemed scholars and professionals in the field. The opening of the report outlines the commission's inception and its objective to scrutinize claims of spiritual manifestations, as prompted by the late Henry Seybert's legacy. The initial discussions highlight the varying experiences of the members as they attend séances with mediums, especially Mrs. S.E. Patterson. They detail their attempts at observing the slate writing phenomenon, yet they encounter unfavorable outcomes that lead them to question the authenticity of the claimed spiritual acts. Throughout the early portions of the report, the commission expresses their earnest approach to the investigation while simultaneously revealing a skepticism about the truthfulness of spiritualist claims, setting a tone of critical inquiry that permeates the whole report. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

The Seybert Commission was a group of faculty members at the University of Pennsylvania who in 1884–1887 investigated a number of respected Spiritualist mediums, uncovering fraud or suspected fraud in every case that they examined.