Charles Carleton Massey (1838–1905), most well known as C. C. Massey, was a British

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

, Christian mystic and psychical researcher. Massey was born at Hackwood Park,

Basingstoke Basingstoke ( ) is the largest town in the county of Hampshire. It is situated in south-central England and lies across a valley at the source of the River Loddon, at the far western edge of The North Downs. It is located north-east of Southa ...

. He was the first president of the

British Theosophical Society The London Lodge (also London Lodge of the Theosophical Society) was an English lodge of the Theosophical Society. Until the 1910s, the lodge was an important part of the theosophical movement. History The London Lodge was founded on 27 June 187 ...

and a founding member of the Society for Psychical Research in 1882. His father was

William Nathaniel Massey William Nathaniel Massey (3 June 1809 – 25 October 1881) was a British barrister, author and Liberal Member of Parliament. Early life Massey studied law, being admitted as a student at the Inner Temple in November 1826, and was called to the ...

. His main interest was Christian Theosophy; he was influenced by the writings of

Jakob Böhme Jakob Böhme (; ; 24 April 1575 – 17 November 1624) was a German philosopher, Christian mystic, and Lutheran Protestant theologian. He was considered an original thinker by many of his contemporaries within the Lutheran tradition, and his first ...

. Massey, a convinced

spiritualist Spiritualism is the metaphysical school of thought opposing physicalism and also is the category of all spiritual beliefs/views (in monism and dualism) from ancient to modern. In the long nineteenth century The ''long nineteenth century'' i ...

, was associated with the medium Stainton Moses. He was also a member of the British National Association of Spiritualists and

The Ghost Club The Ghost Club is a paranormal investigation and research organization, founded in London in 1862. It is believed to be the oldest such organization in the world, though its history has not been continuous. The club still investigates mainly gho ...

. Massey had defended the medium Henry Slade against the accusations of fraud from Ray Lankester. In 1880 he translated Johann Karl Friedrich Zöllner's ''Transcendental Physics'' into English.Fichman, Martin. (2004). ''An Elusive Victorian: The Evolution of Alfred Russel Wallace''. University of Chicago Press. p. 186.

Publications

*C. C. Massey. (1909). ''Thoughts of a Modern Mystic. A Selection from the Writings of the Late C. C. Massey'', ed.

William F. Barrett Sir William Fletcher Barrett (10 February 1844 in Kingston, Jamaica – 26 May 1925) was an English physicist and parapsychologist. Life He was born in Jamaica where his father, William Garland Barrett, who was an amateur naturalist, Congre ...

(London: Regan Paul, Trench & Co).

Publications

References

Further reading