William Eglinton was born in Islington, England in 1857. He had no knowledge of Spiritualism until his father attended a debate at the Hall of Science in London in 1874. Dr. Sexton and Mr. Foote’s discussion piqued his father’s interest and he formed a home circle.

At first, Eglinton thought his father was crazy, but he joined the circle, determined that if anything happened, he would expose the fraud. After many nights with no activity, the table animated. The next evening William went into a trance with no effort. He came under the guidance of a spirit called Joey Sandy and then a spirit called Ernest who created materializations.

Word spread and so many séances were requested that Eglinton gave up his job at a printing firm about 1875. He held seances for the Dalston Association of Spiritualists, the Brixton Psychological Society and the British National Association of Spiritualists.  

There are reports of Eglinton being carried by invisible power over tables and participants. Under test conditions, a Dr. Nichols witnessed white-robed forms standing by Eglinton. Hands, arms, faces would appear and disappear. Eglinton’s one-armed spirit guide, Abd-u-lah, materialized adorned with jewels which were examined by attendees. This was seen in good under good lighting conditions

Eglinton’s most extraordinary act was his own transposition at the home of Mrs. Makdougall Gregory in 1878. During this séance he transported through the ceiling into the room above. The account was published in The Spiritualist of March 22, 1878.

Eglinton traveled the world, visiting Capetown, Stockholm, Denmark, Germany, Bohemia, New York City and Calcutta. While in India, he was accused co-operating with Mme. Blavatsky in a fraudulent demonstration.  Eglinton denied that he met Mme. Blavatsky, but it appears that he took many letters of introduction to her and met her in Calcutta. After the scandal, Eglinton attempted to retire from professional mediumship. He became a partner in a publishing firm, Ross Publishing Company. That endeavor lasted about a year.

In 1884, Eglinton turned to slate writing which he believed was easier than materializations. He traveled through Europe the following year, stopping in Paris and Vienna.  In 1887 he visited Russia and held a séance for Emperor Alexander III. He remained for repeated experiments and was confirmed as a genuine psychic.

After returning from Russia, Eglinton married. He abandoned mediumship and became editor of The New Age and The Tatler. As a journalist his association with Spiritualism was never mentioned.  He died March 10, 1933.

Additional Reading:

Fodor, Nandor (1933) An Encyclopaedia of Psychic Science.

Farmer, J.S. (1886) Twixt Two Worlds, Psychological Press, London.