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Treasures archived for discovery
Dissertations Upon the Apparitions of Angels, Demons and Ghosts and Concerning the Vampires of Hungary, Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia
Alexia Lang
Issue date: 10/26/09 Section: News
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In the days before All Hallows Eve, we must be on the lookout for suspicious, paranormal activity.
But don't worry. The LaBudde Special Collections has exactly what you need to stay educated and safe during this haunted season.
Nestled safe in the stacks of books kept in the collections vault is a volume titled "Dissertations Upon the Apparitions of Angels, Demons and Ghosts and Concerning the Vampires of Hungary, Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia."
Written in 1759 by the Rev. Father Dom Augustin Calmet, a Benedictine monk and abbot of Senones in Lorraine, the book is a guide to all things supernatural.
Drafted originally in French but later translated to English, "Dissertations" is an excellent guide to understanding spirit activity and battling demons, goblins and vampires.
"I am not ignorant that the apparitions of angels, demons and departed souls are a subject which has employed a great number of writers," Calmet wrote.
Although he said he is doubtful he will shed any more light on the subject, he writes hundreds of pages. The specific topics can be seen by viewing the seven pages of content devoted to apparitions and another seven devoted to vampires.
The book begins by addressing good and evil angels in a chapter labeled "That departed souls sometimes come again."
Following chapters include "Influences of dead men raised to life for a little time," "Evocation of departed souls, instances of it," "Spirits in mountains," "Witches and their nocturnal assemblies" and so much more.
Calmet takes a rather light-hearted approach with goblins.
He is also a little sarcastic with witches. He explains it is silly to think that witches fly on broomsticks, rather they take drugs and practice teleportation.
For those who are dealing with vampires, he has sound advice. He gives specific steps of how to dispose of the body so it can't come back to life.
If you are in a graveyard and see three holes in the ground next to a grave, you have a case of a vampire. Dig up the body immediately and check for flexibility of limbs, fluidity of blood and un-petrified flesh. If these signs are present, consult local law and seek a consensus about what should be done.
Calmet advises the body should be burned as soon as possible.
The best part of this book is it was written in a time when everyone was superstitious and actually believed in all things supernatural.
It's a must-read.
For those who don't want to delve into the spiritual side of things, the LaBudde Special Collections also houses a collection of funeral ephemera.
Death notices, funeral invitations and murder notices are all stored in the collection.
Some of the more famous names contained in the collection include President Abraham Lincoln, President James Garfield, President Theodore Roosevelt and Isaac Ridge, the first graduate physician to settle in Kansas City.
For more information about these eerie artifacts, visit the LaBudde Special Collections on the fourth floor of the Miller Nichols Library or go online at http://library.umkc.edu.
alang@unews.com
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