Charles Carleton Massey (1838–1905), most well known as C. C. Massey, was a British barrister, Christian mystic and psychical researcher.[1]

Massey was born at Hackwood Park, Basingstoke. He was the first president of the British Theosophical Society and a founding member of the Society for Psychical Research in 1882.[2][3] His father was William Nathaniel Massey. His main interest was Christian Theosophy; he was influenced by the writings of Jakob Böhme.[4]

Massey, a convinced spiritualist, was associated with the medium Stainton Moses. He was also a member of the British National Association of Spiritualists and The Ghost Club.[5][6]

Massey had defended the medium Henry Slade against the accusations of fraud from Ray Lankester.[7] In 1880 he translated Johann Karl Friedrich Zöllner's Transcendental Physics into English.[8]

Publications

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  • C. C. Massey. (1909). Thoughts of a Modern Mystic. A Selection from the Writings of the Late C. C. Massey, ed. William F. Barrett (London: Regan Paul, Trench & Co).

References

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  1. ^ Brock, William Hodson. (2008). William Crookes (18321919) and the Commercialization of Science. Ashgate Publishing. p. 208. ISBN 978-0754663225
  2. ^ Luckhurst, Roger. (2002). The Invention of Telepathy, 1870–1901. Oxford University Press. p. 51. ISBN 978-0199249626
  3. ^ Pert, Alan. (2007). Red Cactus: The Life of Anna Kingsford. Books & Writers. pp. 90-91. ISBN 978-1740184052
  4. ^ Versluis, Arthur. (2007). Magic and Mysticism: An Introduction to Western Esoteric Traditions. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 120. ISBN 978-0742558366
  5. ^ Lavoie, Jeffrey D. (2012). The Theosophical Society: The History of a Spiritualist Movement. Brown Walker Press. pp. 73-74. ISBN 978-1612335537
  6. ^ Lavoie, Jeffrey D. (2014). Search for Meaning in Victorian Religion: The Spiritual Journey and Esoteric Teachings of Charles Carleton Massey. Lehigh University Press. pp. 135-136. ISBN 978-1611461848
  7. ^ Slotten, Ross A. (2004). The Heretic in Darwin's Court: The Life of Alfred Russel Wallace. Columbia University Press. p. 342. ISBN 978-0231130110
  8. ^ Fichman, Martin. (2004). An Elusive Victorian: The Evolution of Alfred Russel Wallace. University of Chicago Press. p. 186. ISBN 978-0226246130

Further reading

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  • Jeffrey D. Lavoie. (2014). Search for Meaning in Victorian Religion: The Spiritual Journey and Esoteric Teachings of Charles Carleton Massey. Lehigh University Press. ISBN 978-1611461848