Munnings, Frederick T(ansley) (ca. 1928)

British fake trumpet medium and former bugler. Writer H. Dennis Bradley, who held several experimental sittings with Munnings in his home, dismissed his claims to direct voice mediumship. Bradley stated that the sittings were entirely valueless and, in February 1926 a public warning against Munnings was issued in the press by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Abraham Wallace, R. H. Saunders, and H. D. Bradley.

For publication of the warning, Munnings brought an action for libel against the Daily Sketch and the Sunday Herald in 1928. However, he did not face the issue before the court and judgment was entered for the defendants. Thereupon Munnings sold his "Confessions" to The People newspaper. It appeared in installments for several weeks, written by journalist Sydney A. Moseley, branding Munnings's whole psychic career as an incident of fraud. The understanding between Moseley and Munnings, however, was not perfect and in an interview to the International Psychic Gazette, Munnings entered a mild protest against his own sensational disclosures.

Psychical researcher Harry Price was instrumental in the exposure of Munnings, who claimed to produce the independent voices of "Julius Caesar," "Dan Leno" (famous nineteenth-century comedian), "Dr. Crippen" (a murderer), and "King Henry VIII." Price had invented a voice control recorder and ultimately proved that all the voices were those of Munnings.

Sources:

Berger, Arthur S., and Joyce Berger. The Encyclopedia of Parapsychology and Psychical Research. New York: Paragon House, 1991.

"The Cases of Mr. Moss and Mr. Munnings." Journal of the Society for Psychical Research 23 (1926).