menu_book Chapter 2

for more information or to volunteer please visit librivox dot org recording by pamela crants creepy tales by edgar allen poe the facts in the case of m of course i shall not pretend to consider it any matter for wonder that the extraordinary case of mr valdemar has excited discussion it would have been a miracle had it not especially under the circumstances through the desire of all parties concerned to keep the affair from the public at least for the present or until we had farther opportunities for investigation through our endeavors to effect this a garbled or exaggerated account made its way into society and became the source of many unpleasant misrepresentations and very naturally of a great deal of disbelief it is now rendered necessary that i give the facts as far as i comprehend them myself they are succinctly these my attention for the last three years had been repeatedly drawn to the subject of mesmerism

and about nine months ago it occurred to me quite suddenly that in the series of experiments made hitherto there had been a very remarkable and most unaccountable omission no person had as yet been mesmerized in articulo mortis it remained to be seen first whether in such condition there existed in the patient any susceptibility to the magnetic influence secondly whether if any existed it was impaired or increased by the condition thirdly to what extent or for how long a period the encroachments of death might be arrested by the process there were other points to be ascertained but these most excited my curiosity the last in especial from the immensely important character of its consequences in looking around me for some subject by whose means i might test these particulars i was brought to think of my friend mr ernest waldemar the well-known compiler of the bibliotheca forensica and author under the nom de plume of issachar marx of the polish versions of wallenstein and gargantua mr waldemar who has resided principally at haarlem new york since the year eighteen thirty nine

is or was particularly noticeable for the extreme spareness of his person his lower limbs much resembling those of john randolph and also for the whiteness of his whiskers in violent contrast to the blackness of his hair the latter in consequence being very generally mistaken for a wig his temperament was markedly nervous and rendered him a good subject for mesmeric experiment on two or three occasions i had put him to sleep with little difficulty but was disappointed in other results which his peculiar constitution had naturally led me to anticipate his will was at no period positively or thoroughly under my control and in regard to clairvoyance i could accomplish with him nothing to be relied upon i always attributed my failure at these points to the disordered state of his health for some months previous to my becoming acquainted with him his physicians had declared him in a confirmed

it was his custom indeed to speak calmly of his approaching dissolution as a matter neither to be avoided nor regretted when the ideas to which i have alluded first occurred to me it was of course very natural that i should think of mr waldemar i knew the steady philosophy of the man too well to apprehend any scruples from him and he had no relatives in america who would be likely to interfere i spoke to him frankly upon the subject and to my surprise his interest seemed vividly excited i say to my surprise for although he had always yielded his person freely to my experiments he had never before given me any tokens of sympathy with what i did his disease was of that character which would admit of exact calculation in respect to the epoch of its termination and death and it was finally arranged between us that he would send for me about twenty-four hours before the period announced by his physicians as that of his decease it is now rather more than seven months since i received from mr waldemar himself the subjoined note my dear p you may as well come now d and f are agreed that i cannot hold out beyond to-morrow midnight and i think they have hit the time very nearly waldemar i received this note within half an hour after it was written and in fifteen minutes more i was in the dying man's chamber

i had not seen him for ten days and was appalled by the fearful alteration which the brief interval had wrought in him his face wore a leaden hue the eyes were utterly lustreless and the emaciation was so extreme that the skin had been broken through by the cheek-bones his expectoration was excessive the pulse was barely perceptible he retained nevertheless in a very remarkable manner both his mental power and a certain degree of physical strength he spoke with distinctness took some palliative medicines without aid and when i entered the room was occupied in pencilling memoranda in a pocket-book he was propped up in the bed by pillows doctors d and f were in attendance after pressing valdemar's hand i took these gentlemen aside and obtained from them a minute account of the patient's condition the left lung had been for eighteen months in a semi-oceous or cartilaginous state and was of course entirely useless for all purposes of vitality the right in its upper portion was also partially if not thoroughly ossified while the lower region was merely a mass of prurulent tubercles running one into another

several extensive perforations existed and at one point permanent adhesion to the ribs had taken place these appearances in the right lobe were of comparatively recent date the ossification had proceeded with a very unusual rapidity no sign of it had discovered a month before and the adhesion had only been observed during the three previous days independently of the thysis the patient was suspected of aneurysm of the aorta but on this point the ashe's symptoms rendered an exact diagnosis impossible it was the opinion of both physicians that mr valdemar would die about midnight on the morrow sunday it was then seven o'clock on saturday evening on quitting the invalid's bedside to hold conversation with myself doctors d and f had bidden him a final farewell it had not been their intention to return but at my request they agreed to look in upon the patient about ten the next night

when they had gone i spoke freely with mr valdemar on the subject of his approaching dissolution as well as more particularly of the experiment proposed he still professed himself quite willing and even anxious to have it made and urged me to commence it at once a male and a female nurse were in attendance but i did not feel myself altogether at liberty to engage in a task of this character with no more reliable witnesses than these people in case of sudden accident might prove i therefore postponed operations until about eight the next night when the arrival of a medical student with whom i had some acquaintance mr theodore l l relieved me from farther embarrassment it had been my design originally to wait for the physicians but i was induced to proceed first by the urgent entreaties of mr valdemar and secondly by my conviction that i had not a moment to lose as he was evidently sinking fast mr l l was so kind as to accede to my desire that he would take notes of all that occurred and it is from his memoranda that what i now have to relate is for the most part either condensed or copied verbatim

it wanted about five minutes of eight when taking the patient's hand i begged him to state as distinctly as he could to mr l l whether he mr valdemar was entirely willing that i should make the experiment of mesmerizing him in his then condition he replied feebly yet quite audibly yes i wish to be i fear you have mesmerized adding immediately afterwards diverted too long while he spoke thus i commenced the passes which i had already found most effectual in subduing him he was evidently influenced with the first lateral stroke of my hand across his forehead but although i exerted all my powers no farther perceptible effect was induced until some minutes after ten o'clock when doctors d and f called according to appointment i explained to them in a few words what i designed and as they opposed no objection saying that the patient was already in the death agony i proceeded without hesitation

exchanging however the lateral passes for downward ones and directing my gaze entirely into the right eye of the sufferer by this time his pulse was imperceptible and his breathing was stertorous and at intervals of half a minute this condition was nearly unaltered for a quarter of an hour at the expiration of the period however a natural although a very deep sigh escaped the bosom of the dying man and the stertorous breathing ceased that is to say its stertorousness was no longer apparent the intervals were undiminished the patient's extremities were of an icy coldness at five minutes before eleven i perceived unequivocal signs of the mesmeric influence the glassy roll of the eye was changed for that expression of uneasy inward examination which is never seen except in cases of sleep-waking and which it is quite impossible to mistake

with a few rapid lateral passes i made the lids quiver as in incipient sleep and with a few more i closed them all together i was not satisfied however with this but continued the manipulations vigorously and with the fullest exertion of the will until i had completely stiffened the limbs of the slumberer after placing them in a seemingly easy position the legs were at full length the arms were nearly so and reposed on the bed at a moderate distance from the loin the head was very slightly elevated when i had accomplished this it was fully midnight and i requested the gentleman present to examine mr valdemar's condition after a few experiments they admitted him to be in an unusually perfect state of mesmeric trance the curiosity of both the physicians was greatly excited dr d resolved at once to remain with the patient all night while dr f took leave with a promise to return at daybreak mr l l and the nurses remained we left mr valdemar entirely undisturbed until about three o'clock in the morning when i approached him and found him in precisely the same condition as when dr f went away

that is to say he lay in the same position the pulse was imperceptible the breathing was gentle scarcely noticeable unless through the application of a mirror to the lips the eyes were closed naturally and the limbs were as rigid and as cold as marble still the general appearance was certainly not that of death as i approached mr valdemar i made a kind of half effort to influence his right arm into pursuit of my own as i passed the latter gently to and fro above his person in such experiments with this patient had never perfectly succeeded before and assuredly i had little thought of succeeding now but to my astonishment his arm very readily although feebly followed every direction i assigned it with mine i determined to hazard a few words of conversation mr valdemar i said are you asleep he made no answer but i perceived a tremor about the lips and was thus induced to repeat the question again and again

at its third repetition his whole frame was agitated by a very slight shivering the eyelids unclosed themselves so far as to display a white line of the ball the lips moved sluggishly and from between them in a barely audible whisper issued the words yes asleep now do not wake me let me die so i here felt the limbs and found them as rigid as ever the right arm as before obeyed the direction of my hand i questioned the sleep-waker again do you still feel pain in the breast mr valdemar the answer now was immediate but even less audible than before no pain i am dying i did not think it advisable to disturb him farther just then and nothing more was said or done until the arrival of dr f who came a little before sunrise and expressed unbounded astonishment at finding the patient still alive after feeling the pulse and applying a mirror to the lips he requested me to speak to the sleep-waker again i did so saying mr valdemar do you still sleep

as before some minutes elapsed ere a reply was made and during the interval the dying man seemed to be collecting his energies to speak at my fourth repetition of the question he said very faintly almost inaudibly yes still asleep dying it was now the opinion or rather the wish of the physicians that mr valdemar should be suffered to remain undisturbed in his present apparently tranquil condition until death should supervene and this it was generally agreed must now take place within a few minutes i concluded however to speak to him once more and merely repeated my previous question while i spoke there came a marked change over the countenance of the sleep-waker the eyes rolled themselves slowly open the pupils disappearing upwardly the skin generally assumed a cadaverous hue resembling not so much parchment as white paper and the circular hectic spots which hitherto had been strongly defined in the centre of each cheek went out at once

i use this expression because the suddenness of their departure put me in mind of nothing so much as the extinguishment of a candle by a puff of the breath the upper lip at the same time writhed itself away from the teeth which it had previously covered completely while the lower jaw fell with an audible jerk leaving the mouth widely extended and disclosing in full view the swollen and blackened tongue i presume that no member of the party then present had been unaccustomed to death-bed horrors but so hideous beyond conception was the appearance of mr valdemar at this moment that there was a general shrinking back from the region of the bed i now feel that i have reached a point of this narrative at which every reader will be startled into positive disbelief it is my business however simply to proceed there was no longer the faintest sign of vitality in mr valdemar and concluding him to be dead we were consigning him to the charge of the nurses when a strong vibratory motion was observable in the tongue

this continued for perhaps a minute at the expiration of this period there issued from the distended and motionless jaws a voice such as it would be madness in me to attempt describing there are indeed two or three epithets which might be considered as applicable to it in part i might say for example that the sound was harsh and broken and hollow but the hideous hull is indescribable for the simple reason that no similar sounds have ever jarred upon the ear of humanity there were two particulars nevertheless which i thought then and still think might fairly be stated as characteristic of the intonation as well adapted to convey some idea of its unearthly peculiarity in the first place the voice seemed to reach our ears at least mine from a vast distance or from some deep cavern within the earth in the second place it impressed me i fear indeed that it will be impossible to make myself comprehended as gelatinous or glutinous matters impress the sense of touch

i have spoken both of sound and of voice i mean to say that the sound was one of distinct of even wonderfully thrillingly distinct syllabification mr valdemar spoke obviously in reply to the question i had propounded to him a few minutes before i had asked him it will be remembered if he still slept he now said yes no i have been sleeping and now now i am dead no person present even affected to deny or attempted to repress the unutterable shuddering horror which these few words thus uttered were so well calculated to convey mr l l the student swooned the nurses immediately left the chamber and could not be induced to return my own impressions i would not pretend to render intelligible to the reader

for nearly an hour we busied ourselves silently without the utterance of a word in endeavours to revive mr l l when he came to himself we addressed ourselves again to an investigation of mr valdemar's condition it remained in all respects as i have last described it with the exception that the mirror no longer afforded evidence of respiration an attempt to draw blood from the arm failed i should mention too that this limb was no farther subject to my will i endeavoured in vain to make it follow the direction of my hand the only real indication indeed of the mesmeric influence was now found in the vibratory movement of the tongue whenever i addressed mr valdemar a question he seemed to be making an effort to reply but had no longer sufficient volition to queries put to him by any other person than myself he seemed utterly insensible although i endeavoured to place each member of the company in mesmeric rapport with him i believe that i have now related all that is necessary to an understanding of the sleep-waker's state at this epoch other nurses were procured and at ten o'clock i left the house in company with the two physicians and mr l l

in the afternoon we all called again to see the patient his condition remained precisely the same we had now some discussion as to the propriety and feasibility of awakening him but we had little difficulty in agreeing that no good purpose would be served by so doing it was evident that so far death or what is usually termed death had been arrested by the mesmeric process it seemed clear to us all that to awaken mr valdemar would be merely to insure his instant or at least his speedy dissolution from this period until the close of last week an interval of nearly seven months we continued to make daily calls at mr valdemar's house accompanied now and then by medical and other friends all this time the sleeper waker remained exactly as i have last described him the nurse's attentions were continual it was on friday last that we finally resolved to make the experiment of awakening or attempting to awaken him and it is the perhaps unfortunate result of this latter experiment which has given rise to so much discussion in private circles to so much of what i cannot help thinking unwarranted popular feeling

for the purpose of relieving mr valdemar from the mesmeric trance i made use of the customary passes these for a time were unsuccessful the first indication of revival was afforded by a partial descent of the iris it was observed as especially remarkable that this lowering of the pupil was accompanied by the profuse outflowing of a yellowish ichor from beneath the lids of a pungent and highly offensive odor it was now suggested that i should attempt to influence the patient's arm as heretofore i made the attempt and failed dr f then intimated a desire to have me put a question i did so as follows mr valdemar can you explain to us what are your feelings or wishes now there was an instant return of the hectic circles on the cheeks the tongue quivered or rather rolled violently in the mouth although the jaws and lips remained rigid as before and at length the same hideous voice which i have already described broke forth for god's sake quick quick bring me to sleep or quick waken me quick i say to you that i am dead

i was thoroughly unnerved and for an instant remained undecided what to do at first i made an endeavor to recompose the patient but failing in this through total abeyance of the will i retraced my steps and as earnestly struggled to awaken him in this attempt i soon saw that i should be successful or at least i soon fancied that my success would be complete and i am sure that all in the room were prepared to see the patient awaken for what really occurred however it is quite impossible that any human being could have been prepared as i rapidly made the mesmeric passes amid ejaculations of dead dead absolutely bursting from the tongue and not from the lips of the sufferer his whole frame at once within the space of a single minute or even less shrunk crumbled absolutely rotted away beneath my hands upon the bed before that whole company there lay a nearly liquid mass of loathsome of detestable putridity

the facts in the case of m valdemar recording by pamela kranz