Visions from Beyond
In the late 1800s, Nellie Titus had a dream about a missing girl. A dream so precise, so disturbingly accurate, that it drew the attention of scholars, spiritualists, and skeptics alike — including America’s most famous psychologist, William James.
In Episode 92 – “The New Hampshire Clairvoyant” we step back in time to a snow-covered mill town, where a woman who’d had visions all her life claimed to see what no one else could. It wouldn’t be the last time her name showed up in the papers.
Here is a look at some of the cases Nellie was involved in.
The Bertha Huse Case 1898
In 1898, a young woman named Bertha Huse left her home before anyone was awake. When her parents awoke, they couldn’t find her. After days of searching, Nellie Titus had a vision and saw exactly what had happened to her. They found her, dead in the lake.
The Mabel Page Murder 1904 – 1906
Mabel Page was murdered, and it didn’t take long to find a suspect. 22-year-old Charles Tucker was blamed, and enough evidence was found for a jury to sentence him to death. Nellie Titus saw the man who killed Mabel Page in a vision. She saw where he hid the knife. She offered to help, but the courts wouldn’t allow it. Charles Tucker was electrocuted in 1906.
The Braley Boy 1905 – 1907
One morning, a nearly 3-year-old boy went missing while playing in his yard. His mother was the last person to see him, and many people (including Nellie Titus) believed she had a role in his disappearance. All Titus was able to see in any of the visions she had was Mrs. Braley. The search continued but was eventually called off. Two years later, a bucket filled with quicklime containing possible skin and threads was found near the family farm. They believed it to be the remains of the young Braley boy, but there was no way to be sure; the quicklime had done its job.
Credibility out of Harvard
In 1907, after studying and then meeting Nellie Titus, Harvard Professor William James wrote about clairvoyance in the first volume of the American Society for Psychical Research. In his opinion, Nellie showed the strongest signs of actual seership.
The Fredette Farm Treasure
In 1908 Titus had a vision of $75,000 worth of gold that was buried over twenty feet deep on farmland owned by the Fredette family. Dozens of men dug for weeks while thousands of onlookers stopped to witness the digging. In the end, nothing was found, and her credibility took a hit.
The Missing Doctor
In 1921, Nellie Titus was brought out of retirement to find another missing person. Try as she might, Titus was unable to locate the doctor in Lake Mascoma, the place where she became famous. She couldn’t get a read on the good doctor. Luckily, they found him some days later just by chance.
Nellie Titus Passes Away
Nellie lived to the ripe ol’ age of 93. Along the way, she amassed four grandchildren, 16 great-grandchildren, and five great-great-grandchildren. She lived what was hopefully a long and fulfilling life, helping others when she could.
Leave a Reply