Message #190624

[Apparition from Beyond the Veil]

The duchess only knew the earl by sight, and had not heard that he was ill.  She knew she was not asleep, for she opened her eyes to get rid of the vision, and, shutting them, saw the same thing again. {45a}

In fact, the “vision” was an illusion hypnagogique.  Probably most readers know the procession of visions which sometimes crowd on the closed eyes just before sleep. {45b}  They commonly represent with vivid clearness unknown faces or places, occasionally known faces.  The writer has seen his own in this way and has occasionally “opened his eyes to get rid of” the appearances.  In his opinion the pictures are unconsciously constructed by the half-sleeping mind out of blurs of light or dark seen with closed eyes.  Mr. Cooper’s story would be more complete if he had said whether or not the earl, when visited by him, was in a chair as in the vision.  But beds are not commonly found in bathrooms.