Who was Fred S. Ellmore?

Fred S. Ellmore wrote of “The Indian rope trick” in 1890, gaining the Chicago Tribune wide publicity. About four months later, the Tribune printed a retraction and proclaimed the story a hoax. However, the retraction received little attention, and in the following years many claimed to remember having seen the trick as far back as the 1850s. None of these stories proved credible, but with every repetition the story became more ingrained.

Penn and Teller ( I love these guys ) examined the rope trick while filming their three-part CBC mini-series, Penn & Teller's Magic and Mystery Tour. The tour travelled the world investigating historical tricks, and while in India they travelled to Calcutta where they recreated the trick.

Penn and Teller invited two British tourists shopping nearby to see what they claimed was a fakir performing the trick. As they walked back, an assistant ran up and claimed the fakir was in the midst of the trick, so they rushed the rest of the way so they wouldn't miss it. As the witnesses neared the room they dropped a thick rope from a balcony . The witnesses saw what they thought was the end of the trick, the rope falling as if it had been in mid-air seconds before.

What had they missed?
Absolutely nothing. It was meant to infer they missed the performance. The reality was nothing happened. It was all staged.

Even H. P. Blavatsky was lured into it (September, 1890) never getting the “Fred S. Ellmore” punch line.

You see, Fred S. Ellmore was a pseudonym used by John Elbert Wilkie.

The inside joke being:
Fred S. Ellmore ==> Fred Sell More.

She eluded it to hypnosis rather that the power of suggestion.


Found this stuff ages ago.
http://madamearcati.blogspot.com/2009/11/prince-philip-conferred-doctorate-on.html?zx=5f10db7d94d6bbb5

http://madamearcati.blogspot.com/2009/11/countess-of-shannon-her-adoption-fight.html
http://madamearcati.blogspot.com/2010/10/almine-mystic-countess-is-now-voice-of.html

http://madamearcati.blogspot.com/2009/12/goddess-almine-survived-assassination.html
http://www.almine.info/photos/pictures/countess465x600.html

Gurdjieff described various type of teachers. ==> http://pvrguymale.blogspot.com/2011/02/fake-schools.html

He was also astute enough to recognize various paths. ==> http://pvrguymale.blogspot.com/2011/02/fourth-way.html

And Emmet Fox had these pearls of wisdom regarding teachers too ==> There is a simple test by which you can tell a true teacher from a false one. ==> http://pvrguymale.blogspot.com/2010/06/there-is-simple-test-by-which-you-can.html