The Katie King Case

By Crusader1307

 Both a term and a supposed phenomenon – ''Katie King'' was a fixture of London and later World Newspapers in the 1870s and later 1880s. The Medium Florence Cook claimed that ''Katie'' was a ''Spirit Control'' who would manifest thru Her during Seances. In explanation, a ''Spirit Control'' is a reputed Spirit (sometimes seen as a Guide), that when summoned, controls and organizes other Spirits seeking to contact The Medium. The primary difference with a Guide and Control, is that Controls are ''known'' (or were), to attempt to physically manifest themselves by taking over the physical appearance of The Medium. Rarely seen in the late 19th Century, only (1) known supposed photograph exists of the so-called phenomenon.

In Cook's case, ''Katie'' was investigated by several prominent early Paranormal investigators. Several Seance's were monitors and in most cases, the phenomenon was almost immediately seen as a hoax. Despite this, many of ''Katie's'' followers still believed that ''She'' could manifest. After the last somewhat public expose regarding Cook being a fraud, ''Katie'' vanished from European paranormal encounters. ''She'' would reappear in New York City in the 1880s, by two American Mediums. These encounters were seen as attempts to cash in on the former sensationalism, due to the massive amounts of News articles which existed at the time. ''Katie'' was not ''seen'' again after the 1890s.