Patience Worth and Pearl Curran

Oct 25, 2023

Patience Worth, a 17th-century ghost, communicated through Pearl Curran in the early 20th century. The mystery of their connection and the emergence of Patience's writings are explored. Pearl Curran's initial skepticism and her encounters with Patience through a Ouija board are highlighted. Patience's remarkable communication abilities, including never repeating words, are discussed. The evolution of Patience's writing skills, her literary career, and the rise and fall of her success in the 1920s are examined. The controversies, accusations of fraud, and challenges faced by Pearl after her husband's death are also covered.

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Introduction

00:00 • 2min

The Mystery of Patience Worth and Pearl Curran

02:19 • 3min

Pearl Curran's Encounter with Patience Worth

05:09 • 8min

The Remarkable Communication Abilities of Patience Worth

13:14 • 4min

The Evolution of Patients' Writing Abilities

17:26 • 6min

Patience's Literary Career

23:56 • 6min

The Rise and Fall of Patience Worth

30:06 • 14min

Building Materials and Historic Attractions

44:31 • 7min

Patience Worth was a popular writer in the early 20th century. But she was a 17th-century ghost, using Pearl Curran as her conduit from spirit realm to printed page.

Research:

Braude, Stephen E. “Dissociation and Latent Abilities.” Journal of Trauma & Dissociation. June 2000. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/233449262_Dissociation_and_Latent_Abilities
Cory, Charles. “Patience Worth.” Psychological Review. 1919. pp. 397-407. https://archive.org/details/psychologicalre01pratgoog/page/396/mode/2up
Denny, Diana. “Written by Pearl Curran … Or Ouija Board?” Saturday Evening Post. Sept. 16, 2010. https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2010/09/written-pearl-curranor-ouija-board/
Diliberto, Gioia. “Patience Worth: Author From the Great Beyond.” Smithsonian. Sept. 2010. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/patience-worth-author-from-the-great-beyond-54333749/
Millard, Bailey. “Will she meet her astral guide?” Los Angeles Times. Jan. 16, 1938. https://www.newspapers.com/image/380740453/?terms=pearl%20curran&match=1
“Mrs. Pearl Curran, Known as ‘Patience Worth,” Dies.” St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Dec. 4, 1937. https://www.newspapers.com/image/139329811/
Prince, Walter Franklin. “The Case of Patience Worth.” Boston Society for Psychic Research. https://books.google.com/books?id=KUvOAAAAMAAJ&dq=I+am+molten+silver,+running.+Let+man+catch+me+within+his+cup.+Let+him+proceed+upon+his+labor,+Smithing+upon+me.+Let+him+with+cunning+smite+my+substance.+Let+him+at+his+dream,+Lending+my+stuff+unto+its+creation.+It+shall+be+no+less+me.&source=gbs_navlinks_s
Ross, Isabel M. “Enduring Mystery of the Ouija Board reincarnation.” New York Tribune. November 23, 1919. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/data/batches/dlc_davis_ver01/data/sn83030214/00206532452/1919112301/0761.pdf
Simon, Ed. “Ghostwriter and Ghost.” The Public Domain Review. Sept. 17, 2014. https://publicdomainreview.org/essay/ghostwriter-and-ghost-the-strange-case-of-pearl-curran-patience-worth/
“The Women Helping to Boost.” Cherryvale Journal. January 28, 1910. https://www.newspapers.com/image/418556008/?terms=%22pearl%20curran%22&match=1
“State Aid By Women.” The St. Louis Star and Times. January 27, 1910. Https://www.newspapers.com/image/204738278/?terms=%22pearl%20curran%22&match=1
Yost, Casper S. “PATIENCE WORTH: A PSYCHIC MYSTERY.” New York. Henry Holt and Co. 1916. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/50810/50810-h/50810-h.htm
Worth, Patience. “The Sorry Tale; a Story of the Time of Christ.” Henry Holt and Company. June 1917. https://archive.org/stream/sorrytaleastory01currgoog/sorrytaleastory01currgoog_djvu.txt
Simon, Ed. “Darkness Made Visible: Eamonn Peters on Imagined Literature.” The Anthology of Babel, edited by Ed Simon, Punctum Books, 2020, pp. 365–88. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/jj.2353922.22

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