Providentia

When The Devil Came To Morzine

It was a fine spring day in 1857.

The charming little town of Morzine, located in south-eastern Savoy (then an Italian province), was already well-known for its panoramic views of the Alps and the religious piety of the people who lived there. A ten-year old girl named Peronne Tavernier was eagerly preparing for her first communion when, on March 14 of that year, she reportedly saw a young girl falling into a river.  Although the girl was unharmed, Peronne became increasingly uneasy during the day and, while at school, collapsed into a strange stupor where she reportedly "lay as one dead for some hours."   After being carried home, she regained consciousness but collapsed again a few days later. Peronne's strange fits began occurring more frequently until April when she and another girl,were found unconscious together where they had been herding goats on the hillside. Afterward, both children began showing similar fits including strange behaviour while in a trance state. Eyewitnesses reported seeing the girls stretching out their hands and receiving an invisible letter. On awakening, they reported visions of the Virgin Mary and the Devil.

As the fits grew worse, the two girls both began swearing blasphemously and screaming that serpents were wrapping around them.  The convulsions were so bad that three adult men were needed to hold Peronne down. More remarkably, they began accusing several men in the village of "bewitching" them and made predictions that others would be possessed as well. Peronne also predicted her father's death from witchcraft (he did die shortly afterward but the cause of death isn't recorded). Other people in the village began to show similar symptoms including a fifteen-year old girl named Julie Plagnat who went into convulsions and claimed to be possessed by seven devils. Julie also cut herself severely with a hatchet during one of her seizures (one of her possessing devils claimed responsibility). Although the parish priest was actually skeptical about the possession cases, the villagers loudly complained about his disbelief.

Peronne's brother, Joseph Tavernier, grew despondent after his father's death and claimed that the Devil was preventing him from eating. Joseph resisted any attempt at forced feeding and eventually starved to death. Over the course of the next few months, more than twenty-seven cases of demonic possession were recorded in Morzine. The symptoms were rarely the same in each case. While some reported being chased by black dogs that only they could see, others reported visions of men being transformed into animals. There were also cases of villagers "speaking in tongues". When a physician was sent to Morzine to examined one of the possessed women, he reported that "the devils in her" taunted him by saying that his medicine was useless and only exorcism could drive them out.

As panic grew over the possession cases, suspicion fell on those villagers who Peronne and the others had accused of witchcraft. One elderly shoemaker in particular, Jean Berger, was attacked by an angry mob armed with scythes and nearly killed. Others were forced to close their businesses out of fear since many villagers were demanding that the "magicians" be burned to end Morzine's suffering. The main suspect was a defrocked priest who had been driven out of Morzine years before and had supposedly cursed the town as a result. Despite a bizarre ceremony performed by the villagers to kill the ex-priest (who was in hiding in Geneva), there was no relief from the possessions. Even exorcisms did little to calm the villagers.

By 1860, France had annexed Savoy and the French government took an interest in the odd happenings in Morzine. The government dispatched two prominent psychiatrists to examine the cases in depth. One of them, Dr Constans, was the inspector-general of lunatic asylums across France who wrote the first scientific analysis of the Morzine possession epidemic. Of the one hundred and twenty cases of possession that were reported, Constans examined sixty-four in depth and concluded that there was no set pattern to the possession cases. While the overwhelming majority of cases were women, they varied widely in age and the symptoms that they presented. Some spoke in voices while others showed bizarre convulsions (including acrobatic leaps that astonished the ones watching). Dr. Constans had the worst cases sent to asylums and threatened the other villagers with heavy fines but the epidemic dragged on.

Finally, by 1865, the French government had enough of the strange happenings in Morzine. Dr. Constans returned with a full detachment of soldiers and a replacement priest for the Morzine parish. Armed with full police powers by the French government, Constans declared martial law on the town. All accusations of sorcery were punished with heavy fines and villagers showing signs of possession were ordered to return to normal or face exile. As before, the worst cases were sent to asylums and the rest were scattered as far from Morzine as possible. Although the government measures were harsh, they apparently did the trick. Despite reports of fresh outbreaks in other parts of France where the worst cases had been sent, the Morzine epidemic was essentially over.

But not completely. A few years later, Professor Joseph Tissot, a philosophy professor from Dijon, visited Morzine to research the epidemic and its aftermath.While Tissot noted that the government action had been effective in bringing the town under control, there were still some remaining possession cases. In a remarkable series of experiments, Tissot carefully examined these cases (he even secretly dosed them with holy water to observe their reaction) and concluded that the possessions were due to simple hysteria. He also examined the eyewitness reports and Tissot wrote about his findings in a book which has since become a classic of early skepticism.

As you might expect, the skeptical tone of the book offended many of those churchmen who had believed that the Morzine epidemic was real. Some of them even argued that the holy water test had failed because Satan was too cunning to fall for such a trick! While Tissot's book stirred up controversy, it died down quickly enough. As Tissot had prophetically pointed out, the expansion of the main road into Morzine ended the isolation that had encouraged the epidemic and the town settled down to becoming just another rural village.

While there have been other episodes of mass hysteria before and since, the Morzine epidemic represents one of the first case to be formally studied from a scientific perspective. Given the rash of anti-witch hysteria currently occurring in other parts of the world, it seems more important than ever to recognize the dangers of  suggestion and superstition when allowed to go to extremes.

Are African American Patients Getting Equal Health Care?

Although African Americans perceive discrimination in health care settings, experience higher levels of medical mistrust compared with European Americans, and experience poorer communication with health care providers, little is known as to how these barriers to quality patient-provider relationships arise and manifest themselves. A study published in the journal Health Psychology examined experiences of African American community members regarding these barriers and additionally explored participants’ perspectives on race in the patient-provider relationship. Methods: Focus groups were conducted as part of a study exploring participants’ experiences and relationships in health care settings. Sixty African American adults were recruited through community settings and activities to participate in 1 of 9 focus groups segmented by gender. Transcripts were reviewed for content related to perceived discrimination, mistrust, poor communication, and race discordance. Themes providing insight into participants’ subjective experience of these potential relationship barriers were derived through qualitative coding (using NVivo 10) and iterative discussion. Results showed that perceived discrimination arose when African American patients, particularly women, felt their symptoms or problems were discredited. Medical mistrust occurred when clinicians did not convey respect to patients, leaving patients to wonder whether their clinician’s treatment was discriminatory or not. Poor communication arose when clinicians did not acknowledge patients’ perspectives during interactions. Patients often viewed these actions as discriminatory.  The researchers concluded that African Americans experience poor communication with their health care providers, medical mistrust, and perceived discrimination when accessing health care in numerous and sometimes interrelated ways. The investigators recommend ways to reduce the experience of such barriers and to improve patient-provider relationships for African Americans in health care. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

For the abstract

Police Warn Against Clown Hysteria

Clowns are scary.

Even before the current rash of "killer clown" sightings being reported to police forces across the United States, we've always found something creep in clowns.  With their makeup, bizarre clothes, and tendency to attack audiences with  pies, seltzer bottles, and balloon animals, the fear of clowns remains common enough for mental health professionals to have a formal term for it: coulrophobia.   Certainly books and movies such as It and Killer Klowns from Outer Space have played on this fear often enough.   Along with fictional clowns such as Sideshow Bob, the Joker, and Pennywise, there are gruesome real-life example such as John Wayne Gacy, the serial killer and rapist who often did charity appearances as "Pogo the Clown." 

But this new epidemic of clown hysteria seems to be something else altogether.  People have reported sighting clowns chasing children and stalking schoolyards in New Jersey, Alabama, Georgia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania.  Some reports have them holding swords or driving vans marked with clown themes but actual arrests remain rare.   In Martinsburg, Pennsylvania, an 18-year-old man was arrested for prowling while wearing a clown mask and holding an airsoft pistol and police are cautioning children about traveling alone given the fear of copycat incidents.  Pennsylvania police are also investigating a fatal stabbing of an 16-year-old boy which may have been clown-related though details are still scarce.

Though most of the current clown sightings are likely due to mass hysteria or practical jokers, the sheer "creepiness" of malevolent clowns lurking in the shadows remains the stuff of nightmares.  In his new book, Bad Clowns,  Ben Radford of the University of New Mexico suggests that the lingering fear we all seem to have of clowns is due to "the superficially contradictory human feelings of horror and humor" that clowns convey.   The book explores the history of nasty clowns from Punch and Judy of 17th century London to modern examples from fiction and real-life.  

Perhaps not surprisingly, "bad clowns" have become much more recognizable than the "good clowns" who are supposed to make people laugh.  Sinister clowns have become an industry all in themselves including obscene clowns, S & M clowns, sex clowns, troll clowns, etc.   In a recent study by psychologist Frank McAndrew having people rate different professions in terms of "creepiness", clowns topped the list, largely due to their unpredictability.

In the meantime, clown panic remains at an all-time high and it remains to be seen how long it will be before this latest round of hysteria dies down.

The Zzyzx Connection

When Curtis Howe Springer first discovered the mosquito-ridden swamp land that would become the centre of his real estate empire, the people who knew him likely thought he had finally gone insane.    Situated on a dry lake near the Mohave desert, the land was 200 miles away from Los Angeles and pretty much in the middle of nowhere.  Still, after six previous failures with other resort schemes, Springer had few other options available to him and he knew it.   Realizing that he could get the land he wanted on the edge of the Mohave desert at an amazingly low price, he promptly filed a spurious mining claim for 12,000 acres of federal property and began building his dream.  

Often calling himself "the last of the old-time medicine men,"  Curtis Springer was  one of  a long line of hucksters trying to get rich with the promise of miracle cures and healthy living.   Often claiming to be a medical doctor and a Methodist minister (despite having no academic qualifications whatsoever), his long history of  peddling quack cures had already led to frequent investigations by the American Medical Association but this hardly put a dent in his moneymaking schemes.    And, beginning in 1944, he soon broke ground on what would become his biggest project yet.  

Over the next few months, Springer supported himself and his family by making Christian radio broadcasts and shuttling back and forth between Los Angeles and the new resort he was building.   Operating on a shoestring budget, he recruited workers from Los Angeles' Skid Row.  After buying a large bus, he rounded up vagrants and offered them meals and shelter in exchange for their labour.  While some of them balked at the "no-alcohol" policy,  there was still no shortage of men willing to work.  Many even stayed on afterward to work and live on the new resort.

Say what you will about Springer, he had big dreams.  Naming his new settlement Zzyzx (pronounced zye-zix), he chose the name to show that his new resort was "the last word in health."  While the land he had claimed already had an old army post and an abandoned railway station, Springer went on to build a two-story hotel which he called "the Castle," a series of cottages to be rented out to guests, a private airstrip he named "Zyport", a church, and a radio station for his broadcasts.   He also constructed a health spa, complete with imitation hot springs (which he tried to pass of as real even though the needed to set up a boiler to heat the various pools).  

By 1945, Zzyzx was ready for business and the ads began running in newspapers across the country.   Complete with Curtis Springer's picture, the ads announced that buses were available to take any and all customers to and from the Zzyzx Warm Mineral Springs report (naturally, Springer also arranged for signs to be posted on highways to point the way).  The ads also stated that "while you're there, you'll have the finest natural foods, sun, mud, and mineral baths."   Of course, he also promised that "a definite Christian atmosphere prevails."   To top it off, Springer was also careful to point out that "we make no fixed charge for your stay at Zzyx.  We accept whatever amount God has made available to you to pay."    He even arranged for a regular shuttle bus leaving from Los Angeles' Figueroa Hotal each Wednesday.   While many indigents and elderly people took advantage of the free bus ride to get  a free meal, Springer got enough paying guests to make his resort a success.

But Springer's resort was just the tip of the iceberg when it came to the media empire he would eventually build.   Along with the regular visitors to Zzyx, Springer also had  a syndicated radio program that could be heard across the country.  At the peak of his popularity, Springer's program was carried by hundreds of  radio stations in the U.S. and abroad.   Along with popular music, his broadcasts had regular sermons and appeals for money as well as selling a wide range of health cures for everything from cancer to infertility.   Boasting "all-natural" ingredients, Springer's quack remedies usually consisted of various juices and herbs with a few spices thrown in.  Among the products he offered were "Mo-hair" for curing baldness and "Antediluvian tea" for treating the diseases of old age.  Patrons could purchase them at the resort or via mail order.

And it worked.    Springer's products were sold nationally and internationally.  The fact that Springer wasn't really a medical doctor and the American Medical Association had long since branded him as a quack hardly mattered.   He continued to give "free" health lectures across the country which he also used to flog his various products.  Aside from assorted battles with federal and state government over back taxes, his real legal troubles didn't begin until 1967 when federal officials started taking a closer look at his money-making schemes.

Despite his success building the Zxyx resort, Springer really pushed his luck when he began offering parcels of his land to well-off investors who wanted to build homes there.    Though he had been living and working on the land that was part of his original mining claim, it was still public property and.  Under federal law, his claim only applied if he could prove that the land contained valuable minerals (it didn't).   This was enough for the federal government to accuse him of being a "squatter" and take Springer to court.    His long history of bogus health claims also caught up with him at last and he was charged with false advertising as well.    As one doctor who testified against him in his trial later related, "After I testified against Springer on his baldness cure, he reached into his pocket and paid the $2500 fine like it was a $2 traffic ticket.   He was on the radio again that night conning and charming his listeners." 

After a long, drawn-out legal battle consisting of various appeals and deferrals, Curtis Springer was finally convicted and sentenced to sixty days in jail in 1974.   Though he offered to pay the government over $30000 in back taxes, they refused and, the Zzyzx resort was closed  and basically became a ghost town.   Two years later, what remained of the resort was taken over by the California State University and converted into a research station known as the Desert Studies Center.  Operated by different branches of the University, the Center remains a popular spot for researchers and volunteers seeking to learn more about the Mohave desert and the unique flora and fauna of the region.  The land surrounding the Center is still part of the unincorporated community of Zxyx, California though it's mainly known for its history and being just 100 miles away from Las Vegas, Nevada.  The road signs are still there pointing the way to Zzyzx which is enough to ensure that Springer's legacy isn't completely forgotten.

As for Curtis Springer himself, he and his wife relocated to Las Vegas where he spent the rest of his life before dying in 1986 at the age of 90.   No word on whether he credited his Antediluvian tea for his long life. 

The King's Doctor

King George III never liked doctors (which was why his relationship with Francis Willis got off to a rocky start).

The episodic insanity that earned him the nickname "Mad King George" had led to numerous assessments by doctors across England. When the 70-year old Willis arrived at Kew Palace on December 5, 1788, King George tried to appear calm but became agitated as he assured Willis that he had no need for a doctor. After Willis mentioned that he had once been a clergyman before going into medicine, the king replied: "'I am sorry for it. "You have quitted a profession I have always loved, and you have embraced one I most heartily detest."  Willis reportedly responded that "'Our Saviour Himself went about healing the sick".  The King's answer? "Yes, yes, but He had not £700 [a year] for it, hey!" (it would become a very popular quote).

If the King had no liking for Francis Willis, the other doctors liked him even less. Born in 1718, Francis Willis was ordained as an Anglican priest and later became vice-principal of Brasenose College in Oxford. After his marriage, he and his wife moved to Lincolnshire when he began to practice medicine (apparently before he was actually awarded a medical degree).  According to some sources, Willis used his Oxford contacts to "persuade" the university to grant him a medical degree in 1759 to avoid legal troubles. With his new medical credentials, Willis began working as a part-time physician at a hospital in Lincoln, England. His treatment of "wrongheads" (a common term for the mentally ill at the time) was so successful that he opened his own asylum at Greatford Hall.

While not as famous as Philippe Pinel and Jean-Baptiste Pussin in France, Willis' approach to treating the mentally ill seemed revolutionary at the time. His treatment included having his patients working in the fresh air doing manual labour rather than the typical prison-like setting that characterized so many other English asylums.  Although Francis Willis' medical credentials weren't respected by other doctors (he wasn't a member of the Royal College of Physicians for instance), his success with mental patients (including relatives of several prominent nobles) led to him being asked to treat the King's strange illness.

King George's other doctors weren't pleased that Willis was being brought in to see the king (one doctor even commented that Willis was "nothing more than a mountebank"). The fact that Willis confidently announced that the king's illness was curable made them even more suspicious. Although the actual cause of King George's madness is still being debated (porphyria seems to be the most likely possibility), none of the other doctors saw any realistic hope in his case. While largely a figurehead, the King was still the titular head of a vast overseas empire (even though the recent American Revolution had reduced England's foreign possessions somewhat). The prospect of a cure was something that the Queen and the English government didn't dare reject. Francis Willis quickly became a court favourite due to his reputation as a healer and his forthright manner.

Along with his sons John and Robert (also physicians), Francis Willis quickly took charge of the King and placed him under the same strict routine that he used with his patients. If King George refused orders, Willis would have three attendants force him into a straitjacket and confine him until he was more agreeable.Willis also used a specially made chair (dubbed the "coronation chair") whenever King George was being especially resistant. Once when Willis grew tired of the King's rants about one of the ladies of the court, he gave his patient a stern lecture about proper courtesy while the King was tied into the chair with a handkerchief stuffed into his mouth.

It's hardly surprising that the King quickly grew to hate Doctor Willis (father and sons) as much as he hated all his other doctors. The promised cure seemed increasingly unlikely as the King rambled on about horses, hunting, the English government, etc, along with moaning about his sessions in the straitjacket and the chair.  To deal with blistering from his restraints and his inability to sleep at night, the King was treated with medications including calomel, digitalis (foxglove), camphor, quinine, and emetics that often had him praying for death. Through it all, Willis posted regular reports stating that the King was improving. While other doctors disagreed, Willis' reports emphasized the King's rational episodes and the reduced need for restraints. Of course, the King also had "bad days" in which he would fly into rages and attempt to escape when taken on public walks (Willis downplayed these).

There was public celebration when the King began showing a sharp improvement in 1789. Not only did he begin caring about his appearance, he also appeared extremely lucid in his regular conversations. Members of the official Opposition continued to be suspicious (they had been pushing for the Prince of Wales to be appointed Regent) but the King kept improving. By the end of February, the Queen commissioned a 'Prayer of Thanksgiving upon the King's Recovery' that was distributed to all the churches in the country. Francis Willis and the other doctors became national heroes (Willis was granted an annual pension by a grateful Parliament).  Despite the turbulent political upheavals of the next few years (and several assassination attempts), the King remained in good health until 1801 when he suddenly relapsed.

After emerging from a coma, the King began recovering very slowly. To help his recovery along, the Willises subjected their patient to a harsh regimen of emetics and blistering to "combat his excitable moods". The King eventually ordered them out of his house but the Queen and Cabinet authorized the Willises to use forcible restraint again. After a month of seclusion, King George eventually threatened a "Royal Strike" (not signing any bills into law) until he was allowed to see his family. By 1804, the King's health took a sudden turn for the worse but, when John Willis and his brother Robert came to see their patient, they found out that George had left orders 'to prevent anyone of the Willis family from being placed about him.   Although another specialist in mental disorders was summoned instead, the King still ended up in a straitjacket (but not for long).

After Frances Willis died in 1807, Robert and John Willis continued to tend to the King but his condition steadily declined. By 1810, after the death of his favourite daughter, King George's condition worsened to the point that Parliament passed an act making his eldest son, Prince George, his regent. Blind and almost completely incapacitated, King George III lived in seclusion until his death in 1820. Despite his illness, he had the second longest reign in British history (only his granddaughter Victoria and descendant Elizabeth II ever managed to rule longer).

Frances Willis' Greatford Hall asylum was moved to a larger facility at Shillingthorpe Hall in 1833. Aside from a memorial to him at the local Greatford Church, he was largely forgotten until 1991 when Alan Bennett released a play titled The Madness of King George. Later made into an Academy award-winning movie with Ian Holm as Willis, the play and the film have done much to revive interest in Francis Willis. Despite the harshness of his methods, he was certainly a true pioneer of psychiatry. Whether his treatment helped the King to function through one of the most politically turbulent periods in British history is anybody's guess.

Self-harm, Trauma, and Dissociation

Despite a number of studies, the reasons for self-injurious behavior (SIB) have yet to be clearly specified. In a recent study published in the journal Psychological Trauma, researchers used path analysis to test the hypothesis that exposure to adverse events produces depression and posttraumatic stress, which in turn motivate dissociation that, when at high levels, supports the use of SIB.   A sample of 679 adults (54% female, mean age = 53 years) were recruited from the general population by a national survey company, and administered measures evaluating posttraumatic stress, depression, dissociation, and SIB. Results showed that a total of 4.3% of participants reported some level of SIB within the prior 6 months. Younger age, exposure to adverse events, posttraumatic stress, depression, and dissociation were all related to SIB by univariate analyses. Path analyses revealed that although adverse events predicted posttraumatic stress and depression, which were then associated with SIB, these paths to SIB were no longer significant once dissociation was entered into the model, indicating full mediation. Rather than arising directly from posttraumatic stress or depression, SIB may occur most proximally in response to dissociation, with the pain associated with SIB potentially serving to interrupt or titrate unwanted hypoarousal and numbing. Clinicians should consider specifically targeting dissociation and its adversity-related antecedents when treating SIB. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

For the abstract

U,K. Exorcists Blame Harry Potter and Abortion for Rise in Possession Cases

In a recent interview following the death of the Catholic Church's top exorcist, two unnamed British exorcists are blaming public interest in the supernatural, including the Harry Potter books, with the recent rise in exorcism cases.  Much like the late Father Gabriel Amorth, a longtime opponent of Harry Potter books and "evil yoga", the exorcists stated in a recent interview in The Times that a general weakening of faith and a "need to believe in something invisible" has led to more people than ever requesting exorcisms.

Each of the 22 dioceses in the United Kingdom has at least one exorcist (cities such as Liverpool have four on call), and all are reportedly being kept busy with exorcism requests.   According to the Times interview, symptom can include "an ability to predict events or suddenly speak a new language or a sudden violent fear of holy objects, such as the case of a worshipper who found herself screaming blasphemies at a statue of the Virgin Mary".   Exorcists also distinguish between cases of possession, in which the body is completely possessed by demons, and "oppression" in which people still have partial control over their bodies.

Most exorcists insist that their training helps them recognize whether the person requesting help is genuinely possessed or suffering from mental illness.  According to one Liverpool exorcist however, both can co-exist since trauma can make people vulnerable to Satanic influence.    "Only when it is obvious there's something other than mental illness going on would we get involved," he states. "Otherwise, I would pray with them but say 'You should go to your GP.'

One exorcist warned "Satan is always looking for people with no relationships or broken relationships. So one can be a Catholic and be baptised, and still have a demonic problem because of doors that have been opened, or that have been opened for them."   Along with a fascination with the supernatural, including Harry Potter books and ouija boards, abortion, pornography, alcoholism, and a "decline in orthodox Christian faith" are all things that can make people more vulnerable to Satanic influence. 

While exorcist names have traditionally been kept secret to protect them from frivolous requests, contact details are now available online.  Still, there is no central database of exorcisms performed so actual statistics on how often they are performed remain unavailable.  It is also unclear whether the increased media attention towards exorcists, including books, movies, and television shows, has been feeding this new demand for the rite. 

One American exorcist suggests that the failure of the mental health system may be a factor as well.  Though he works with a team of mental health professionals to weed out psychiatric cases, the lack of mental health services in many places means that patients need to turn to more unconventional forms of treatment.

The Snailmail Solution (Part Two of Two)

Continued from Part One

When Jacques Benoit agreed to demonstrate his snail telegraph, he likely wasn't expecting quite so much skepticism from his sponsor Triat and the writer Jules Allix.   Even though both of his communication devices happened to be located in the same one-room apartment, he was adamant that physical distance didn't matter to his sympathetic snails.  Posting himself on the receiving end and allowing Allix to send the message seemed like a reasonable enough precaution to rule out any trickery.   

Or, at least that was the idea.   In reality, Benoit kept shuttling back and forth between his two communication devices.   Usually on the pretext of needing to ensure both devices were in good working order, Benoit was rarely away from either device for long.   While he insisted that his test was valid despite all this shuttling back and forth, you can hardly blame his guests for being, er, less than impressed.  

Another problem was that the messages were prone to distortion with frequent mistakes being made.   Even when Allix and Triat entered their own messages, what supposedly came out the other end was usually misspelled.   Just getting the snails to do what Benoit wanted them to do was next to impossible.  Finally, Benoit decided to cap off his demonstration by sending a message to the (probably fictitious) Biat in the United States.  Holding a snail in his hand, he then touched the four snails corresponding to the four letters in  Biat's name.  A few moments later, the snails then poked out their horns and the message "CESTBIEN" was received.

Jules Allix seemed c0nvinced that the snail telegraph was genuine and proceeded to publish the La Presse article praising this new discovery.   Monsieur Triat, on the other hand, was less gullible.  He flatly told Benoit that he was withdrawing all funding.   After some pleading, Triat relented, but only if another test, one that was a little more rigorous, proved that the device actually worked as promised.   Triat then recruited Emile de Gerardin, the founder of La Presse, and they worked out what they considered to be a much fairer test of Benoit's device.   This time, one of Benoit's compasses would be set up in Triat's gymnasium and another one would be set up in a side apartment out of sight of the first machine.  Fully prepared to be generous if he were proved wrong about Benoit's device, Triat offered to pay the inventor one thousand francs a day if his device actually worked.

As for Benoit, he agreed to all the conditions quickly enough and even consented to having his heavy scaffolds removed from the apartment so they could be set up at the gymnasium.   Then, in what was likely the least surprising development of all, Benoit disappeared without a trace on the day the demonstration was scheduled to begin.   And, that was it for Jacques Benoit.   While he would be seen from time to time wandering Paris' streets (one witness described him as "very thin, with eager restless eyes, apparently partially deranged.."), nothing more was even heard from him.   He died in 1852.

Despite JBenoit's sad demise, his invention still lived on, more or less.   Certainly Jules Allix did his best to keep the dream alive with his La Presse article.   He even suggested that women could carry portable versions of the snail telegraph so they could call for help if needed (which makes for a fascinating mental picture, if nothing else).    But Allix knew enough to give up eventually considering the international scorn he was beginning to receive.  Even Charles Dickens and the venerable Punch magazine weighed in with their own satirical take on sympathetic snails and the quest for wireless communication.    From that point onward, the pasilalinic-sympathetic compass was largely forgotten while the "unsolvable" technical problems associated with laying a transatlantic cable were soon solved.  Global communications became a reality by 1860 and there was no need for a magical snail telegraph to send messages around the world.

Until 1871, that is...

Following the ouster of Napoleon III and the siege of Paris by Prussian troops, a radical group of workers took advantage of the turmoil and created their own independent government which they called the Paris Commune.    The "Communards" as they called themselves found themselves fighting a war on two fronts:  along with the Prussian army, they also had to deal with the French government itself which was determined to crush the new  movement.  While searching for a way to pass messages without being detected, one of the leading Communards, a politician and writer named Henri Rochefort recalled Allix's long-ago story about the Benoit-Biat telegraph and decided to have a working model made.  As head of the Barricades Commission, Rochefort had enough clout to override any objections other Communards might have had about squandering limited resources by experimenting with sympathetic molluscs. 

To nobody's surprise (except for Rochefort presumably), the snail telegraph was as unreliable as ever.  The project was abandoned, the Commune was crushed by French troops after just a few months in power, Rochefort fled the city in disguise, and that was pretty much it for the Benoit-Biat telegraph.   Aside from a chapter in Sabine Baring-Gould's 1889 book, Historic Oddities and Strange Events, the wondrous snail telegraph has been largely forgotten.  

Unless you happen to be a fan of Japanese manga.   The popular manga series One Piece features, among other things, Transponder snails that can be used as rotary phones, fax machines, and surveillance cameras.   No word on whether One Piece's writers were inspired by Jacques Benoit to come up with this particular innovation. 

Along with manga fame, Jacques Benoit's story represents an intriguing example of pseudoscience in action.  Benoit's story certainly contains all the elements to be found in other, more well-known, examples I could name.   First, we have a charismatic inventor offering a radical new discovery that would transform the world based on some obscure principle that sounded scientific enough.   Add in the media interest (without any attempt at verifying these claims) and financial backers with more money than sense and, well, just about every example of pseudoscience pretty much ends the same way.

So, was Jacques Benoit a huckster or did he actually believe in his own discovery?  You be the judge.