Princess Mysteria (stage name of Vauleda Hill Strodder, 1888 - March 14, 1930) was an African American
mentalist, who wrote a regular column for ''
The Chicago Defender''.
Biography
Vauleda Hill was born in an American family in 1888 and grew up in
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...
, but identifying her exact birthplace is made difficult by her insistence that she was born "at the foot of the Mahali Mountains in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, near
Bombay
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
."
The story as she told it is that she developed skills as a mentalist as a child and, by the age of six, was able to answer questions before they were asked. Impressed by her performance, the Rajah of
Bengal
Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...
made her a princess.
[ Historians agree that this was just a legend created to promote her performances, and note that it was not uncommon for African American women claiming "occult" powers to advertise themselves as Indian.][ She dressed as an Indian, with rich jewels and a headband. She also performed as a mentalist, calling herself a "human radio," on the waves of WJKS, a radio station in ]Gary, Indiana
Gary is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The city has been historically dominated by major industrial activity and is home to U.S. Steel's Gary Works, the largest steel mill complex in North America. Gary is located along the ...
.[ Eventually, she emerged as one of the most applauded mentalists in the United States.][
Mysteria also became famous for dispensing her wisdom weekly on her own column, called "Advice to the Wise and Otherwise," in the African American newspaper ''The Chicago Defender'' from 1920 to 1930. She died unexpectedly, after a short illness, on March 14, 1930, in Chicago. ''The Chicago Defender'' commented that, "from roughly 1917 until her death in 1930, no other female magician and few male magicians received as much coverage in the black press as she did."][
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Princess Mysteria
1888 births
1930 deaths
American magicians
Mentalists