Synopses & Reviews
On March 23, 1944, as the Allied Forces were preparing for D-Day, Helen Duncan--Nell to her six children and four grandchildren and Hellish Nell to her detractors--stood in the dock of Britain's highest criminal court accused of: witchcraft At the time of her arrest, Helen Duncan was Britain's most controversial psychic, a celebrity medium with a notorious reputation. During her seances, she channeled spirits who spoke from the world beyond, and one a few occasions, her spirit seemed to know too much: Helen's seances were accurately revealing top-secret British ship movements. Intelligence authorities wanted Hellish Nell silenced. Using diaries, personal papers, interviews, and declassified documents, Nina Shandler resurrects this strange episode and explores the unanswered questions surrounding the trial: Did Hellish Nell channel spirits of the dead who gave away wartime secrets? Was she a calculating charlatan or the innocent target of obsessive wartime secrecy? Why did the Director of Public Prosecutions try her as a witch, and not a spy? Sometimes comic, sometimes tragic, The Strange Case of Hellish Nell is a true crime tale laced with psychic phenomena and wartime intrigue.
Synopsis
On March 23, 1944, as the allied forces prepared for D-Day, Britains most famous psychic, Helen Duncan-Nell” to her family-stood in the dock of Britains highest criminal court accused of...witchcraft. It was a trial so bizarre Winston Churchill grumbled, Why all this tomfoolery?” But the Prime Minister was not privy to the Military Intelligence agenda fueling the prosecution: Duncans séances were accurately revealing top-secret British ship movements. The authorities wanted Hellish Nell” silenced. Using diaries, personal papers, interviews, and declassified documents, Nina Shandler resurrects this strange courtroom episode and the shadowy world of wartime secrets and psychics. Sometimes comic, sometimes tragic, The Strange Case of Hellish Nell is a true crime tale laced with supernatural phenomena and wartime intrigue.
Synopsis
The fascinating story of Britain's World War II witchcraft trial of Helen Duncan, the grandmother who conducted séances, and had a knack for revealing military secrets
About the Author
Nina Shandler, Ed.D., a licensed psychologist and family therapist, is the author of Estrogen: The Natural Way and Ophelias Mom. She lives in Massachusetts.