Elsa Barker facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Elsa Barker
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| Born | 1869 Leicester, Vermont, United States |
| Died | 1954 |
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| Language | English |
| Nationality | American |
Elsa Barker (born 1869, died 1954) was an American writer. She wrote novels, short stories, and poems. Elsa Barker became well-known for a series of books. These books included Letters from a Living Dead Man (1914). She also wrote War Letters from the Living Dead Man (1915) and Last Letters From the Living Dead Man (1919). Elsa Barker claimed these books contained messages from a dead man. She said she received these messages through a process called automatic writing. This is when a person writes without consciously thinking about the words.
Elsa Barker's Life Story
Elsa Barker was born in 1869 in Leicester, Vermont. Her parents were Albert G. and Louise Marie Barker. Sadly, both of her parents passed away when she was young.
Early Career and Education
Elsa Barker started her career as a shorthand reporter. This means she wrote down spoken words very quickly. She also worked as a teacher and a newspaper writer. In 1901, she was an editor for the Consolidated Encyclopedia Library. She gave lectures for the New York Board of Education from 1904 to 1905. From 1909 to 1910, she worked on the editorial team for Hamptons magazine.
Writing Plays and Novels
Elsa Barker also wrote a play called The Scab. This play was about labor issues. It was performed in New York and Boston between 1904 and 1906. Her very first novel was The Son of Mary Bethel. It was published in 1909.
Interest in the Occult
Elsa Barker's father was interested in the occult. This means he was interested in hidden or supernatural things. Elsa shared this interest. She became a member of the Theosophical Society. This group studies different religions and philosophies. She also joined the Rosicrucian Order of Alpha et Omega. This is a spiritual and philosophical organization.
Life in Europe and "Dead Man" Letters
From 1910 to 1914, Elsa Barker lived in Europe. She lived first in Paris, France, and then in London, England. She was in London when World War I began. In 1912, while in Paris, she felt a strong urge to write something. She said she didn't know where the words came from. She felt "strongly impelled to take up a pencil and write."
She signed the passage with the letter "X". At first, this letter meant nothing to her. Later, she was told that "X" was the nickname of a judge from Los Angeles. His name was David P. Hatch. She then found out that Judge Hatch had died before she received the message.
In 1914, she published a book of these messages. It was called Letters from a Living Dead Man. She truly believed these passages were real messages from the dead man. Judge Hatch's son also believed that the messages were from his father. Elsa Barker published two more books of Judge Hatch's messages. These were War Letters from the Living Dead Man (1915) and Last Letters From the Living Dead Man (1919).
Later Life and Studies
Around 1915, Elsa Barker became interested in psychoanalysis. This is a way of understanding the human mind. By 1919, she was studying for 14 hours every day. From 1928 to 1930, she lived on the French Riviera. Elsa Barker passed away on August 31, 1954.
Elsa Barker's Books
Here is a list of some of the books and poems written by Elsa Barker:
- The Son of Mary Bethel (1909)
- The Frozen Grail & Other Poems (1910)
- Stories from the New Testament for Children (1911)
- The Book of Love (1912)
- Letters from a Living Dead Man (1914, 1920)
- War Letters from the Living Dead Man (1915)
- Songs of a Vagrom Angel (1916)
- Last Letters From the Living Dead Man (1919)
- Fielding Sargent (1922)
- The Cobra Candlestick (1928)
- The C.I.D. of Dexter Drake (1929)
- The Redman Cave Murder (1930)
