There's a letter from Kipling's sister (forget to whom - it should be with
the Society's collection deposited at Sussex University) in which she
claims to have seen the 'Egg' and the 'colours' as described in 'They'. I
once researched the story in depth for a paper (still unpublished),
visiting the Society for Psychical Research to see what they said about it.
Their Librarian (a most helpful man) confirmed that the Egg and the
colours are a well-known psychic phenomenon, but thought it unlikely that
two random strangers would see the same colours in the same circumstances,
as he said everybody sees them differently. He showed me a booklet that
describes Trix's career as the well-known medium 'Mrs Holland'. It seems
she is famous in those circles because she (in India), and two ladies in
England and the U.S., all independently received similar 'messages' from a
recently deceased, leading psychic. It didn't sound very convincing to me
but I am unlearned in these matters! The booklet gave a poem by Trix
which she claimed had been written without her conscious knowledge while
she was in a trance, sitting in a garden. The poem is about a child's
grave in the garden. She said she had not known, but found out
afterwards, that there really was a child's grave in the garden. I don't
know quite how this connects with 'They' but it does sound suggestive.
Lisa Lewis
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