Hester Dowden
| Hester Dowden | |
|---|---|
Hester Dowden
|
|
| Born | 1868 Dublin, Ireland |
| Died | 1949 |
| Nationality | Irish |
| Occupation | Spiritualist Author |
| Known for |
Mediumship Occultism |
| Spouse(s) | Dr. Travers Smith |
Hester Dowden (1868–1949), or Hester Travers Smith, was an Irish spiritualist medium who is most notable for having claimed to contact the spirits of Oscar Wilde, William Shakespeare and other writers. Dowden's spirit-communications were published by various authors. She wrote Voices from the Void (1919), an account of her life as a medium, and Psychic Messages from Oscar Wilde (1923).
Dowden was the daughter of the Irish literary scholar Edward Dowden. She used both her maiden name and her married name Hester Travers Smith. Her husband was a prominent Dublin physician. Dowden was closely linked to the Irish literary world through her father, knowing, among others W.B. Yeats and Bram Stoker. She was probably the model for the medium in Yeats's play, The Words upon the Window Pane. Her daughter married the playwright Lennox Robinson. Though she wrote only two books under her own name, her spirit-communications provided the basis for approximately twelve books published by other authors.
Dowden had intended to become a musician. In 1891 she moved to London to study music, but was forced to travel back to Dublin to look after her father when her mother died. When her father remarried in 1895, Dowden clashed with his new wife. Within a few months she had moved out of the house to marry Dr. Travers Smith. The marriage was not a success. The couple eventually separated and were divorced in 1916. Dowden moved back to London, becoming a professional medium in 1921.
Dowden claimed to communicate via various spirit guides, "Peter" (an Irish-American rogue), "Eyen" (an ancient Egyptian priest), "Astor" (also another medium's guide), "Shamar" (a Hindu), and finally "Johannes." The last was an ancient Jewish neo-Platonist who lived 200 years before Jesus.
She was closely associated with William Fletcher Barrett, the psychical researcher. She was also responsible for introducing Geraldine Cummins to mediumship.
Dowden set up as a professional medium after she became convinced of her powers. In Voices from the Void she claimed that the spirit of Hugh Lane, who had drowned in the sinking of the Lusitania spoke to her before she knew of his death in the disaster. Her son-in-law Lennox Robinson and a vicar were present when the communication came through. However, Lane's death had been reported in the papers that very day. Dowden claimed not to have read them.
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