Girls Mystic Powers Fail: Alice Belle Kirby Unable to Produce Results after Reaching New York from Her Louisiana Home, Daily Racing Form, 1938-11-22

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GIRLS MYSTIC POWERS FAIL Alice Belle Kirby Unable to Produce Results After Reaching New York From Her Louisiana Home. NEW YORK, N. Y., Nov. 21 The mystic powers that permit Alice Belle Kirby, thirteen-year-old Louisiana School girl, to move pianos by command, dump heavy men off tables and herself to float through the air, refused to work amid New Yorks tall towers yesterday. Alice Belle floated to New York in a plane with her mother and the local superintendent of schools to appear on a radio program tonight, but her psychic powers would not work in demonstrations yesterday and she was not certain that they would work today. A thin child with a mass of dark hair , and deep set eyes, the Louisiana miss was tired after the long plane ride, but she did her best to summon the psychic forces they say help her accomplish the feats which are accepted as gospel by her townspeople. The first test was to make a table rise from the floor An ordinary wooden table about three by four feet, weighting perhaps 100 pounds, was used. Seated beside it Alice Belle spread her fingers on its surface and closed her eyes. "Come table, rise; come, table, rise," she pleaded, but the table did not rise. Automatic writing was then tried. No answer came. Neither Alice Belle or her mother were particularly dismayed by failure of the tests. "We are not commercializing Alice Belle," her mother said, "and it does not make any particular difference whether it works or does not." Both Alice Belle and her mother refer to the mysterious force which they say guides the girl at times as "it," and "it" promised Alice Belle through automatic writing that "it" would work in New York on December 15. Joseph B. Dunninger, head of the council for psychic research, wants a demonstration of "it" and will pay 0,000 to Alice Belle if she can produce anything in the way of phenomena which he cannot duplicate. Neither Alice Belle nor her mother expects "it" to work all the time. When "it" works, it works, they say philisophically. When "it" does not it does not. Being of a psychic nature, it cannot be made to work by any command or desire of Alice Belle.


Persistent Link: https://drf.uky.edu/catalog/1930s/drf1938112201/drf1938112201_2_5
Local Identifier: drf1938112201_2_5
Library of Congress Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/unk82075800