Ouija and the occult
I know. It’s crazy, isn’t it?
I’m 8 years old … and sharing coaches, travelling the UK to spiritual “Greater World” conferences (hosted by a then already elderly man called Harry Edwards)
Alternately, I’m quietly munching packets of Golden Wonder crisps, sucking exotic flavours of Hubbly Bubbly through a straw while my mother and her friends huddle over dimly lit tables where glass tumblers glide to spell words while, at the back of a room, objects float up into the air.
I’m not fussed though, being a young angler familiar with gossamer thin nylon fishing line.
And no. Even at such a young age, I just used to sigh and ponder why adults could be so gullible.
I did enjoy reading Man, Myth and Magic glossy magazines though and, along with the woman’s clear interest in all things esoterical, my mother and I did share intrigue in a certain left-field view of the world.
Regarding my young memory, here’s what some research confirmed
A task for MuseByte. (MB). “I have a mission for you! Find what you can online “The Greater World” organisation or foundation and someone associated with it called Harry Edwards. It was established in the UK back in the 1970’s and spirituality, seances and ouija boards (probably) alongside more routine and regular prayer seemed to be the order of the day. Why? As a small boy, approx 7 – 12, I would accompany my mother either to a local meeting group in Yeovil, (Eastland Rd?) or via long coach trips further afield.”
MB responds;
Oh, this is a real trail, and your childhood memory is much more strongly supported than I expected.
The first major finding: The Greater World definitely existed long before the 1970s
The Greater World Christian Spiritualist Association
The organisation traces itself to 1931, not the 1970s. Its origins lie with medium Winifred Moyes and a purported spirit communicator called “Zodiac”. According to its own history, messages began emerging through Moyes around 1920-21 and The Greater World developed into a substantial Christian Spiritualist movement.
The particularly interesting bit for your memory of séances and perhaps Ouija-type activity is that this is not merely speculation. Historical material describes Moyes and a small circle experimenting with a planchette, essentially a pencil-writing precursor closely related to Ouija-board practice. The circle then moved into automatic writing and trance mediumship.
So your recollection of:
- spirituality
- séances or circles
- possible Ouija-board activity
- regular prayer
- Christian language
…is actually an unusually good fit for The Greater World’s particular mixture of Christianity and Spiritualism.
It was explicitly Christian Spiritualism
The Greater World was not simply an occult society. Its beliefs combined:
- belief in God
- acceptance of Jesus Christ’s leadership
- prayer and Christian teaching
- survival after physical death
- communication with spirits
- psychic gifts
- spiritual healing
Those elements remain remarkably explicit in the charity’s stated objects today.
That means a childhood meeting could quite plausibly have involved prayer, hymns or Christian worship alongside mediumship and spirit communication. Other affiliated Greater World churches historically describe activities including Divine Services, healing and “open circles”.
And yes, Harry Edwards is almost certainly significant
I found a second very strong trail: Harry Edwards.
Harry Edwards was one of Britain’s most famous twentieth-century spiritual healers. He founded his healing sanctuary at Burrows Lea, Shere, Surrey, in 1946 and remained a hugely prominent figure until his death in 1976.
His organisation survives today as the Harry Edwards Foundation.
The timing is fascinating. If you were travelling around Britain with your mother between roughly 1963 and 1968, and perhaps into the early 1970s, Harry Edwards was still a major living figure in British spiritual healing. His sanctuary attracted enormous numbers of visitors and requests for healing.
My current reconstruction
I think there may be two overlapping worlds in your childhood memory:
1. The Greater World
The regular local spiritual and Christian Spiritualist network:
- meetings
- prayer
- mediumship
- circles
- spirit communication
- teachings
- healing
2. Harry Edwards
The famous spiritual healer whose Surrey sanctuary and public activities attracted people from across Britain.
Deceit Mode checked
I cannot yet factually prove that your mother belonged to both organisations, or that Harry Edwards personally appeared at a Greater World event you attended. The connection is presently a probabilistic reconstruction based on the very strong chronological and cultural overlap, rather than documentary proof of your individual childhood journeys.
I’m back in the room!
The Yeovil clue is now the important one
Your recollection of:
Yeovil, perhaps Eastland Road
could be the key to identifying the actual local group your mother attended.
I have not yet found a clean online record tying The Greater World specifically to Eastland Road, Yeovil, so I will not pretend that I have.
But I think this mission now has a very promising structure:
Your mother’s Yeovil group → Greater World or another Christian Spiritualist organisation → possible coach excursions → Harry Edwards or other national Spiritualist events.
The next proper stage is to dig specifically into historic Yeovil newspapers, old directories, Spiritualist church records, Greater World church lists and Harry Edwards event material to see whether we can identify the exact room, church or hall on Eastland Road and perhaps even reconstruct one of those coach trips.
This one, Chris, may genuinely allow us to recover a little piece of your childhood landscape.Revisit the Greater World investigation
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