Not since the middle of the 14th century when the 100 Years War and the “Black Death” intersected in time did such a catastrophe befall humankind as what happened from 1914 to 1920. During this half decade, the world suffered from World War One and the Spanish Flu pandemic. Approximately 10 million combatants died, another 10 million civilians perished during the war, and an astounding 50 million died worldwide from this deadly flu. The pandemic killed many souls in the prime of their lives, ages 20 to 40. The horrific loss of life during the war, for example, the British army suffered 19,000 lives in one day alone, July 1, 1916, cause many people to find some meaning and relief. The trend by average people and celebrities to conjure up their deceased loved ones via seances and Ouija boards proliferated in the Western world. “The two most prominent proponents of spiritualism were British: Sir Author Conan Doyle and Sir Oliver Lodge. Doyle was, of course, the creator of “Sherlock Holmes” Lodge was a respected physicist known for his work with radio waves.” Both men lost sons during the war. A whole industry of afterlife ‘experts’ cropped up giving their customers an outlet for their grief. ” On a 1922 lecture tour Doyle told a reporter, ‘I have many times spoken with my son, and that he remained happy. You see, a so-called dead man goes to a happier plane,’ Doyle explained. ‘There is no crime, no sordidness, and it is many, many times happier’.” There is more to read about this subject in “The Reluctant Soldier.”
