Case file · High strangeness

The Seeress of Prevorst

From 1826, doctor-poet Justinus Kerner treated Friederike Hauffe of Prevorst, who fell into trances, saw spirits and spoke a 'language of the soul'.

1826 CE · 49.04, 9.43 · status: disputed

The account

Kerner's 1829 book 'Die Seherin von Prevorst' became a classic of early psychical literature.

The sceptical view

Modern readers see an ill young woman, probably with tuberculosis and dissociative symptoms, shaped by her doctor's beliefs.

Sources

  1. Wikipedia: Friederike Hauffe
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