*Historical* A rather grand suburban home in Carshalton Beeches holds a surprising secret. For it was here in the 1930s, that famous ghost hunter Harry Price conducted paranormal experiments in the back garden – as depicted in the illustration above.
Harry Price gathered dignitaries from the University of London Council to witness an unusual event. He had arranged for the renowned Indian magician and firewalker, Kuda Bux, from Kashmir, to perform a fantastic stunt.
How could Kuda Bux walk on hot coals and not be harmed? Could English professors complete the same feat?
In 1935 they got together to find out.
Pathe News covered the event. It was a curious experiment. Members of The Times and Observer newspapers were also present.
On this occasion, Harry enlisted the help of his friend Mr Alex L Dribbell, who hosted experiments on his behalf in his large back garden.
For the first time, the exact location has been pieced together by studying various photos of the event.
The garden is half an acre in size and the house is at 38 Woodmansterne Road, Carshalton Beeches, once named The Halt. Price described the location as a “natural stage set in beautiful surroundings”.
The unusual Firewalking event in Carshalton made international news.
In 1935, The Golden Age newspaper in New South Wales, Australia reported on the spectacle. We’ll forgive them for getting the county wrong.
Mr Price repeated the experiment in 1937 with a man from Kanpur in India, named Ahmed Hussain. This rather over-dramatised depiction of events in Carshalton Beeches is from an Italian magazine.
The caption underneath reads:
“Carshalton firewalking experiment – was organised by the famous ghost hunter Harry Price, with the participation of a Pakistani mystic, magician and fire walker and under the surveillance of some professors from the University of London and doctors. The experiment wanted to prove that there are people who have the capacity to walk on burning embers without suffering foot burns. But, the experiment failed, because all the English participants suffered serious foot burns”
Infact, An Englishman named Reginal Adcock did manage to walk across unharmed. Science has attempted to explain how this illusion works. Charcoal dissipates heat very quickly, and by walking across at a steady speed, no harm is done.
An entrepreneurial man, Harry Price is best known for his paranormal investigation at Borley Rectory in Essex. The events that happened here have been made into feature films.
© Words and Research by Secret Carshalton. Various sources include Reddit, harry Price website, and Wikipedia
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