Pepper, May S. (1868-?)
Pepper, May S. (1868-?)
Pastor of the First Spiritualist Church of Brooklyn, whose powers of clairvoyance were a subject of lively discussion in the American press for a considerable time. She was born in Mansfield, Massachusetts, in May 1868. When only 16 years old, after the death of her mother, she became controlled by the spirit "Bright Eyes." As she demonstrated her mediumistic talent at public meetings, she was ostracized by members of the public and even her father, who claimed that her phenomena were from "the evil one." She became one of the leading American mediums and president of the Rhode Island State Spiritualist Association.
According to contemporary accounts, her congregation wrote letters to deceased friends and put them in a plain envelope on a small table. After a prayer and short sermon, Pepper would take a letter and return a correct answer to the question if it was put in a spirit of serious inquiry, or declare it to be an attempt to mislead her. It also was said that she asked the spirit she clairvoyantly saw to look for the letter addressed to him. Before all eyes, the pile of letters moved and one of them was taken as though by an invisible hand and thrown on the floor.
James H. Hyslop, William James, J. D. Quackenbos and many others expressed their confidence in Pepper's supernormal faculties.