Anna Winsor and Old Stump, 1889
Aug. 5th, 2023 05:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lb_leeOkay, so ever since the Book of Lists #2 days, the old multi case of Anna Winsor/Old Stump has been a research thorn in our side. The Book of Lists #2 got a lot of basic facts wrong and never cited anything, but over the years we were able to find proper sources and data on all the cases it described... except Anna Winsor/Old Stump. UNTIL NOW.
Yes, we finally found proper information on the case! It was buried in the Proceedings of the American Society for Psychical Research, from 1889, pg. 551-554, in the "Notes on Automatic Writing" section, where there are a few people described with similar set-ups.
Anna Winsor was a "hystero-epileptic," nineteen years old, being treated by Ida Barrow around 1863. Barrow's case notes report, "She believes [...] that her right arm is a foreign object and a nuisance. She believes it to be an arm and a hand, but treats it as if it had intelligence and might keep away from her. She bites it, pounds it, pricks it, and in many ways seeks to drive it from her. She calls it 'Stump; Old Stump.' Sometimes she is in great excitement and tears, pounding 'Old Stump.' Says 'Stump' has got this, that, or the other, that belongs to her." (552) When "wild with delirium," Anna "Tears her hair, pillow-cases, bedclothes, both sheets, night-dress, all to pieces. Her right hand [Old Stump] prevents her left hand, by seizing and holding it, from tearing out her hair, but she tears her clothes with her left hand and teeth. . ." (ibid)
Despite this mistreatment, Old Stump seems to have acted as the one sane man. "When her delirium is at its height, as well as at all other times, her right hand is rational, asking and answering questions in writing; giving directions; trying to prevent her tearing her clothes; when she pulls out her hair, it seizes and holds her left hand. When she is asleep, it carries on conversation the same; writes poetry; never sleeps; acts the part of a nurse as far it can; pulls the bedclothes over the patient, if it can reach them, when uncovered; raps on the head-board to awaken her mother (who always sleeps in the room) if anything occurs, as spasms, etc." (553)
Old Stump would also draw and write poetry independently of Anna, who had zero interest in whatever it did. The drawings are lost, but a poem in mixed Latin and English remains:
"Sed tempus recessit, and this was all over,
Cum illi successit, another gay rover
Nam cum navigaret in his own cutter,
Portentum apparet, which made them all flutter.
Est horridus anguis which they behold,
Haud dubio sanguis within them ran cold.
Tringinta pedes his head was upraised,
Et corporis sedes in secret was placed.
Sic serpens manebat, so says the same joker,
Et sese ferebat as stiff as a poker
Tergura fricabat against the old light-house,
Et sese liberabat of scaly detritus
Tunc plumbo percussit thinking he hath him,
At serpens exsiluit full thirty fathom,
Exsiluit mare with pain and affright,
Conatus abnare as fast as he might.
Neque illi secuti ? no, nothing so rash,
Terrore sunt muti he'd made such a splash
Sed nunc adierunt the place to inspect,
Et squamas viderunt, the which they collect.
Quicumque non credat and doubtfully rails,
Ad locum accedat, they'll show him the scales
Quas, sola trophea, they brought to the shore
Et causa est ea, they couldn't get more." (553)
Barrow reports that in such poetry, "the hand-writing differs greatly in different pieces" (ibid). Anna Winsor died in 1873, and apparently the last ten years of her life have no record, at least not as far as the American Society for Psychical Research is concerned.
By modern multi standards, it's an odd duck of a case, and people don't talk about it much anymore, but the Proceedings of the American Society for Psychical Research describes multiple automatic writers with similar (though less agonized) set-ups, where consciousness would divide into different parts of the body, usually involving hypnotic trance.
It's nice to finally have proper information on this case, after all these years!
Also, man this book has some great chapter headings: "Circular No. 6. Issued by Committee on Apparitions and Haunted Houses," "On Some Objections to the Theory of Telepathy," "Appendix to the Report on Phantasms and Presentiments"... too bad it's over 600 pages long!
Citation: American Society of Psychical Research. Proceedings of the American Society of Psychical Research, Vol. I (Containing Nos. 1-4.) 1885-1889. (Boston, Damrell and Upham, 1889), 551-554. Accessed online at https://archive.org/details/proceedingsofame18589amer/page/550/mode/2up?view=theater
Yes, we finally found proper information on the case! It was buried in the Proceedings of the American Society for Psychical Research, from 1889, pg. 551-554, in the "Notes on Automatic Writing" section, where there are a few people described with similar set-ups.
Anna Winsor was a "hystero-epileptic," nineteen years old, being treated by Ida Barrow around 1863. Barrow's case notes report, "She believes [...] that her right arm is a foreign object and a nuisance. She believes it to be an arm and a hand, but treats it as if it had intelligence and might keep away from her. She bites it, pounds it, pricks it, and in many ways seeks to drive it from her. She calls it 'Stump; Old Stump.' Sometimes she is in great excitement and tears, pounding 'Old Stump.' Says 'Stump' has got this, that, or the other, that belongs to her." (552) When "wild with delirium," Anna "Tears her hair, pillow-cases, bedclothes, both sheets, night-dress, all to pieces. Her right hand [Old Stump] prevents her left hand, by seizing and holding it, from tearing out her hair, but she tears her clothes with her left hand and teeth. . ." (ibid)
Despite this mistreatment, Old Stump seems to have acted as the one sane man. "When her delirium is at its height, as well as at all other times, her right hand is rational, asking and answering questions in writing; giving directions; trying to prevent her tearing her clothes; when she pulls out her hair, it seizes and holds her left hand. When she is asleep, it carries on conversation the same; writes poetry; never sleeps; acts the part of a nurse as far it can; pulls the bedclothes over the patient, if it can reach them, when uncovered; raps on the head-board to awaken her mother (who always sleeps in the room) if anything occurs, as spasms, etc." (553)
Old Stump would also draw and write poetry independently of Anna, who had zero interest in whatever it did. The drawings are lost, but a poem in mixed Latin and English remains:
"Sed tempus recessit, and this was all over,
Cum illi successit, another gay rover
Nam cum navigaret in his own cutter,
Portentum apparet, which made them all flutter.
Est horridus anguis which they behold,
Haud dubio sanguis within them ran cold.
Tringinta pedes his head was upraised,
Et corporis sedes in secret was placed.
Sic serpens manebat, so says the same joker,
Et sese ferebat as stiff as a poker
Tergura fricabat against the old light-house,
Et sese liberabat of scaly detritus
Tunc plumbo percussit thinking he hath him,
At serpens exsiluit full thirty fathom,
Exsiluit mare with pain and affright,
Conatus abnare as fast as he might.
Neque illi secuti ? no, nothing so rash,
Terrore sunt muti he'd made such a splash
Sed nunc adierunt the place to inspect,
Et squamas viderunt, the which they collect.
Quicumque non credat and doubtfully rails,
Ad locum accedat, they'll show him the scales
Quas, sola trophea, they brought to the shore
Et causa est ea, they couldn't get more." (553)
Barrow reports that in such poetry, "the hand-writing differs greatly in different pieces" (ibid). Anna Winsor died in 1873, and apparently the last ten years of her life have no record, at least not as far as the American Society for Psychical Research is concerned.
By modern multi standards, it's an odd duck of a case, and people don't talk about it much anymore, but the Proceedings of the American Society for Psychical Research describes multiple automatic writers with similar (though less agonized) set-ups, where consciousness would divide into different parts of the body, usually involving hypnotic trance.
It's nice to finally have proper information on this case, after all these years!
Also, man this book has some great chapter headings: "Circular No. 6. Issued by Committee on Apparitions and Haunted Houses," "On Some Objections to the Theory of Telepathy," "Appendix to the Report on Phantasms and Presentiments"... too bad it's over 600 pages long!
Citation: American Society of Psychical Research. Proceedings of the American Society of Psychical Research, Vol. I (Containing Nos. 1-4.) 1885-1889. (Boston, Damrell and Upham, 1889), 551-554. Accessed online at https://archive.org/details/proceedingsofame18589amer/page/550/mode/2up?view=theater
no subject
Date: 2023-08-05 10:07 pm (UTC)[John]
Ive always wondered about Old Stump, glad you were able to find more information on them. I hope Anna's relationship with Old Stump improved over time.
no subject
Date: 2023-08-05 10:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-08-05 10:15 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-08-05 10:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-08-06 09:22 pm (UTC)Thanks for sharing!