Conan Doyle's Recent Messages

Since his death in 1930 there have been many reports of apparent messages from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the best-known being those received by Grace Cooke, which led to the founding of White Eagle Lodge shown here on the right.

A more recent series of communications, continuing up to the present day, is the subject of my forthcoming book, A Study in Survival; Conan Doyle Solves the Final Problem, to be published by O Books this month (November) (for further details see www.o-books.net). A percentage of the proceeds will be donated to the Undershaw Preservation Trust. The simple method of communication used, fully described in the book, involves completely random, ‘blind’ readings from Conan Doyle’s own books, of which I now have a large collection. These readings have over fifteen years produced a large number of astonishingly apt and relevant comments on a wide range of subjects in which Sir Arthur might be expected to have an interest.


On hearing of the Undershaw appeal and being invited to attend its the open day on May 21st, I wondered if any comments might be forthcoming from the house’s first owner. My first attempt that very evening produced the phrase, ‘Under the stained glass windows.’ That afternoon I had stood in the derelict hallway of Undershaw, gazing up at the stained glass windows which Conan Doyle had commissioned for his new house, showing the coats of arms of various branches of his family.


On the following day at the White Eagle Lodge conference to mark the 150th anniversary of Conan Doyle’s birth, I gave a talk on the messages and was asked at the end to demonstrate the method of communication, using a copy of Thy Kingdom Come (the first account of the Grace Cooke sittings) which was thrust unexpectedly into my hands. The first words I read were ‘He proved his method,’ followed by ‘A splendid window opening to a vista of unknown country there.’ The most stunning feature of Undershaw is a superb bow-fronted window in the main upper bedroom with a breathtaking view of the overgrown garden and distant hills.


On returning home and seeking another comment on Undershaw, the theme of windows was again repeated – in a completely different book: ‘The high thin window of old stained glass …the coats of arms upon the walls.’ A little later (at Lynn’s request) I tried again, and immediately read of a 'household in the heart of Surrey'. The passage continued: 'I drove to the place .... The house was a fair-sized one, standing back from the road, with a curving drive which was backed with high evergreen shrubs. It was an old, tumble-down building in a crazy state of repair. The trap pulled up in front of the blotched and weather-stained door.' A perfect description of Undershaw in its present ‘crazy state of repair’!



Roger Straughan