Swami Laura Horos
Encyclopedia
Swami Laura Horos was a late 19th and early 20th century medium
. She was convicted of fraud
several times in the US, and was tried for rape
and fraud in London in 1901. She was described by Harry Houdini
as "one of the most extraordinary fake mediums and mystery swindlers the world has ever known".
in 1854, the daughter of King Ludwig I of Bavaria
and his notorious mistress, the dancer Lola Montez
, and that she was raised by foster parents
from a young age. However, it seems that she was born in Louisville, Kentucky
in 1849. She seems to have been married many times, and used the names Princess Editha Lola Montez, Edith Solomon, Della Ann O'Sullivan, Ann O'Delia Diss Debar (or Dis De Bar), Vera Ava, Madame Messout or McGoon, or Swami Viva Ananda.
She seems to become involved with Victoria Claflin and Tennessee Claflin, popular exponents of spiritualism
in the 1860s and 1870s, and was a disciple of Madame Blavatsky
. She claimed to be the wife of West Virginia
statesman Joseph H. Diss Debar, and produced "spirit paintings" by Old Master
s. She was prosecuted several times for fraud. She was convicted of fraud after persuading elderly lawyer Luther Marsh to give her his townhouse in New York
's Madison Avenue
, and sentenced to 6 months imprisonment in June 1888. She was imprisoned for two years in Illinois
for another fraud, under the name Vera P Ava; and as Editha Loleta Jackson, she was expelled from New Orleans
in May 1899 as a swindler
; and she was imprisoned for 30 days later that month.
She married Frank Jackson Dutton in Louisiana
in 1899, calling herself Princess Editha Lolita. The couple went to England
in the 1890s, calling themselves "Swami Laura Horos" and "Theodore Horos". They set up a "Purity League" at the Theocratic Unity Temple, near Regent's Park
in London
, and worked as fortune tellers and diviners, advertising their services in newspapers, such as The People
and the Western Morning Advertiser. They were arrested in Birkenhead
in September 1901, and charged with obtaining property by false pretenses
, rape
and buggery
. The later charges seems to have arisen from louche sexual practices at their temple in London. The couple defended themselves
, but the Swami was sentenced to 7 years imprisonment, and her husband to 15 years. She was held in the prison in Aylesbury
, and released on licence in July 1906.
She spent some time in South Africa
, calling herself Helena Horos of the College of Occult Sciences, and ran a fruitarian
colony in Florida
. She was in Cincinnati
in 1909, under the name Vera Ava, but her later whereabouts are unknown.
A biography is included in the 1938 book Beware Familiar Spirits by American magician John Mulholland
's (reprinted in 1975).
Mediumship
Mediumship is described as a form of communication with spirits. It is a practice in religious beliefs such as Spiritualism, Spiritism, Espiritismo, Candomblé, Voodoo and Umbanda.- Concept :...
. She was convicted of fraud
Fraud
In criminal law, a fraud is an intentional deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual; the related adjective is fraudulent. The specific legal definition varies by legal jurisdiction. Fraud is a crime, and also a civil law violation...
several times in the US, and was tried for rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
and fraud in London in 1901. She was described by Harry Houdini
Harry Houdini
Harry Houdini was a Hungarian-born American magician and escapologist, stunt performer, actor and film producer noted for his sensational escape acts...
as "one of the most extraordinary fake mediums and mystery swindlers the world has ever known".
Biography
She claimed to have been born in ItalyItaly
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
in 1854, the daughter of King Ludwig I of Bavaria
Ludwig I of Bavaria
Ludwig I was a German king of Bavaria from 1825 until the 1848 revolutions in the German states.-Crown prince:...
and his notorious mistress, the dancer Lola Montez
Lola Montez
Eliza Rosanna Gilbert, Countess of Landsfeld , better known by the stage name Lola Montez, was an Irish dancer and actress who became famous as a "Spanish dancer", courtesan and mistress of King Ludwig I of Bavaria, who made her Countess of Landsfeld. She used her influence to institute liberal...
, and that she was raised by foster parents
Foster care
Foster care is the term used for a system in which a minor who has been made a ward is placed in the private home of a state certified caregiver referred to as a "foster parent"....
from a young age. However, it seems that she was born in Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
in 1849. She seems to have been married many times, and used the names Princess Editha Lola Montez, Edith Solomon, Della Ann O'Sullivan, Ann O'Delia Diss Debar (or Dis De Bar), Vera Ava, Madame Messout or McGoon, or Swami Viva Ananda.
She seems to become involved with Victoria Claflin and Tennessee Claflin, popular exponents of spiritualism
Spiritualism
Spiritualism is a belief system or religion, postulating the belief that spirits of the dead residing in the spirit world have both the ability and the inclination to communicate with the living...
in the 1860s and 1870s, and was a disciple of Madame Blavatsky
Madame Blavatsky
Helena Petrovna Blavatsky , was a theosophist, writer and traveler. Between 1848 and 1875 Blavatsky had gone around the world three times. In 1875, Blavatsky together with Colonel H. S. Olcott established the Theosophical Society...
. She claimed to be the wife of West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
statesman Joseph H. Diss Debar, and produced "spirit paintings" by Old Master
Old Master
"Old Master" is a term for a European painter of skill who worked before about 1800, or a painting by such an artist. An "old master print" is an original print made by an artist in the same period...
s. She was prosecuted several times for fraud. She was convicted of fraud after persuading elderly lawyer Luther Marsh to give her his townhouse in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
's Madison Avenue
Madison Avenue (Manhattan)
Madison Avenue is a north-south avenue in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, United States, that carries northbound one-way traffic. It runs from Madison Square to the Madison Avenue Bridge at 138th Street. In doing so, it passes through Midtown, the Upper East Side , Spanish Harlem, and...
, and sentenced to 6 months imprisonment in June 1888. She was imprisoned for two years in Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
for another fraud, under the name Vera P Ava; and as Editha Loleta Jackson, she was expelled from New Orleans
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
in May 1899 as a swindler
Confidence trick
A confidence trick is an attempt to defraud a person or group by gaining their confidence. A confidence artist is an individual working alone or in concert with others who exploits characteristics of the human psyche such as dishonesty and honesty, vanity, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility,...
; and she was imprisoned for 30 days later that month.
She married Frank Jackson Dutton in Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
in 1899, calling herself Princess Editha Lolita. The couple went to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in the 1890s, calling themselves "Swami Laura Horos" and "Theodore Horos". They set up a "Purity League" at the Theocratic Unity Temple, near Regent's Park
Regent's Park
Regent's Park is one of the Royal Parks of London. It is in the north-western part of central London, partly in the City of Westminster and partly in the London Borough of Camden...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, and worked as fortune tellers and diviners, advertising their services in newspapers, such as The People
The People
The People, previously known as the Sunday People, is a British tabloid Sunday-only newspaper. The paper was founded on 16 October 1881.It is published by the Trinity Mirror Group.In July 2011 it had an average daily circulation of 806,544....
and the Western Morning Advertiser. They were arrested in Birkenhead
Birkenhead
Birkenhead is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. It is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite the city of Liverpool...
in September 1901, and charged with obtaining property by false pretenses
Theft
In common usage, theft is the illegal taking of another person's property without that person's permission or consent. The word is also used as an informal shorthand term for some crimes against property, such as burglary, embezzlement, larceny, looting, robbery, shoplifting and fraud...
, rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
and buggery
Buggery
The British English term buggery is very close in meaning to the term sodomy, and is often used interchangeably in law and popular speech. It may be, also, a specific common law offence, encompassing both sodomy and bestiality.-In law:...
. The later charges seems to have arisen from louche sexual practices at their temple in London. The couple defended themselves
Litigant in person
A litigant in person, in the United Kingdom, is an individual, company or organisation that is not represented in court by a solicitor or barrister, but nevertheless has rights of audience...
, but the Swami was sentenced to 7 years imprisonment, and her husband to 15 years. She was held in the prison in Aylesbury
Aylesbury
Aylesbury is the county town of Buckinghamshire in South East England. However the town also falls into a geographical region known as the South Midlands an area that ecompasses the north of the South East, and the southern extremities of the East Midlands...
, and released on licence in July 1906.
She spent some time in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, calling herself Helena Horos of the College of Occult Sciences, and ran a fruitarian
Fruitarianism
Fruitarianism involves the practice of following a diet that includes fruits, nuts and seeds, without animal products, vegetables and grains. Fruitarianism is a subset of dietary veganism....
colony in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. She was in Cincinnati
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
in 1909, under the name Vera Ava, but her later whereabouts are unknown.
A biography is included in the 1938 book Beware Familiar Spirits by American magician John Mulholland
John Mulholland
John Mulholland is the name of:*John Mulholland , president of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, 1910–1912*John Mulholland, 1st Baron Dunleath , Irish businessman and Conservative Member of Parliament*John F...
's (reprinted in 1975).
External links
- chroniclingamerica.loc.gov, Paducah sun., October 16, 1901, Weekly Edition, Image 3.