Katie King (spirit)
Materialized spirit at the center of a 1870s Spiritualist controversy.
In the 1870s, Spiritualists referred to a figure they called Katie King, whom they believed was a spirit that had taken physical form. Whether this spirit was authentic or a hoax became a major public debate in the mid-1870s. The entity reportedly first appeared between 1871 and 1874 during séances led by Florence Cook in London, and then from 1874 to 1875 in Philadelphia, where the mediums Jennie Holmes and her husband Nelson Holmes claimed to produce it.
Spiritualists thought Katie King was the daughter of John King, a spirit control—a powerful, communicative spirit that arranges for other spirits to appear at a séance. John King was active from the 1850s through the 1870s and was said to be the ghost of the buccaneer Henry Morgan.
Florence Cook was a teenage girl who began claiming mediumistic abilities in 1870. Between 1871 and 1872, she trained under the established mediums Frank Herne and Charles Williams. Herne was linked to the spirit John King, and Cook became associated with Katie King, described as John King’s daughter. Herne was later exposed as a fraud in 1875. Katie King’s appearances evolved from a disembodied face into a fully materialized form.
At a séance in Hackney on December 9, 1873, lawyer William Volckman attended a session with Cook. When Katie King materialized and, as usual, held participants’ hands, Volckman grew suspicious of how much the spirit resembled Cook. He grabbed the spirit’s hand and waist, accusing it of being the medium in disguise. Other participants pulled the spirit away from Volckman and returned it to a cabinet; Cook emerged from the cabinet minutes later. Volckman publicly stated his belief that the spirit was a trick by Cook. Supporters of Cook argued that Volckman had violated proper séance etiquette, discrediting his investigation. They also pointed out that Volckman was connected to another medium, Mrs. Guppy, who might have wanted to harm a rival. Additionally, they claimed that since spirits borrow energy and matter from their medium, it was natural for Katie King to resemble Cook. Despite these defenses, the incident hurt Cook and her supporters—newspapers called it an “exposure”—so they sought stronger backing from Sir William Crookes, a respected scientist.
In 1874, Crookes investigated supernatural phenomena from Spiritualist mediums, focusing on Florence Cook, who was then 17 or 18 years old.
- Field
- Spiritualism
- Known for
- Materialized spirit believed to be the daughter of spirit control John King
- Associated mediums
- Florence Cook, Jennie Holmes, Nelson Holmes
Lore & Background
Katie King was believed by Spiritualists to be the daughter of John King, a spirit control of the 1850s through the 1870s that appeared in many séances involving materialized spirits. John King claimed to be the spirit of Henry Morgan, the buccaneer. Florence Cook (ca 1856–1904) was a teenage girl who started to claim mediumistic abilities in 1870 and developed her abilities under established mediums Frank Herne and Charles Williams. Herne was associated with the spirit John King, and Florence became associated with Katie King. Katie King developed from appearing as a disembodied face to a fully physical materialisation.
At Hackney on 9 December 1873, lawyer William Volckman attended a séance held by Florence Cook, during which Katie King materialized. Suspicious of the spirit's similarity with Cook, Volckman seized the spirit's hand and waist, accusing it of being the medium masquerading as her ghost. The spirit was wrestled from Volckman's grasp by other participants. Volckman published his opinion that the spirit was a masquerade by Cook. Supporters of Miss Cook denounced Volckman on the grounds that he had broken his agreement to proper etiquette, and argued that since spirits borrowed energy and matter from their medium, it was not surprising that Katie King resembled Cook.
Between 1871 and 1874, Sir William Crookes investigated the phenomena. A 15-year-old Cook, alone in Crookes's house with Crookes's friends and family as witnesses, was said to have materialized Katie King, who walked about, talked, allowed herself to be weighed and measured, and even held the family's baby. On one occasion, at a joint seance in Crookes's home in March 1874, Katie King was seen in company with 'Florence Maple', a spirit materialised by the medium Mary Showers who was exposed as a fraud shortly thereafter. Katie's exact height and weight varied, though Katie was always taller than Florence Cook, with a larger face, and different hair and skin. According to those present, the two were both visible at the same moments.
Reader's Guide
The Katie King controversy was a defining episode in the history of Spiritualism, highlighting the tensions between belief, investigation, and fraud. The involvement of Sir William Crookes, a prominent and respected scientist, lent credibility to the phenomenon in the eyes of many Spiritualists, but also provoked widespread public debate. Crookes's 1874 report asserting that Florence Cook produced genuine preternatural phenomena caused an uproar, with his testimony about Katie King considered the most outrageous and sensational part.
The later American episode involving Jennie and Nelson Holmes further complicated the legacy. Just as Robert Dale Owen's article for the Atlantic Monthly was going to press in January 1875, a woman named Eliza White claimed to have masqueraded as Katie. Both the Atlantic Monthly and Owen admitted to being duped. Arthur Conan Doyle maintained that this exposure did more damage to Spiritualism than any other exposure of the period. Investigations by leading Spiritualist Henry Steel Olcott in 1875 re-established the Holmeses' credibility for many Spiritualists, with the accepted story being that Eliza White had been hired to pose for a photograph and later extorted money and sold the story to the press. The case remains a classic example of the difficulty of verifying supernatural claims and the role of public controversy in shaping belief.
Did You Know?
- Katie King was believed to be the daughter of John King, a spirit control who claimed to be the spirit of buccaneer Henry Morgan.
- At a séance on 9 December 1873, lawyer William Volckman seized the materialized spirit, accusing it of being the medium Florence Cook in disguise.
- Sir William Crookes investigated Florence Cook and reported that Katie King was taller than Cook, with a larger face and different hair and skin.
- In 1875, a woman named Eliza White claimed to have masqueraded as Katie King for the American mediums Jennie and Nelson Holmes.
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