Sara Weiss
Sara Weiss | |
|---|---|
| Born | Sarah Ditto McBride Rushville, Ohio, USA |
| Died | 23 March 1904 St. Louis, Missouri, USA |
| Notable works | Journeys to the Planet Mars or, Our mission to Ento (Mars): Being a Record of Visits Made to Ento (Mars) by Sara Weiss, Psychic, Under the Guidance of a Spirit Band, For the Purpose of Conveying to the Entoans a Knowledge of the Continuity of Life, Transcribed Automatically by Sara Weiss, Under the Editorial Direction of (Spirit) Carl De L'Ester (1903) |
Sara Weiss (née Ditto McBride, died 23 March 1904) was an American spiritualist and author.
Biography
Weiss' birth date is uncertain.[1] She was born in Rushville, Ohio,[2] to a farmer and had little formal education.[3] She was married to A. M. Weiss,[3] who outlived her.[4]
Weiss was a spiritualist medium.[5] She claimed that her debut work Journeys to the Planet Mars... (1903) was a factual work that had been communicated to her via psychic messages,[6][7] from 6 October 1892 to 16 September 1894, which she wrote as an amanuensis.[8] The book covered the history of a peaceful utopian society on the plant Mars[6] and depicted a heroic Martian race which had advanced transportation and feats of civil engineering, such as canals.[9][10] The book also included thirteen botanical drawings of "Martian flora" and a note about pronunciation of the Martian language.[11] The book was intended to validate spiritualism.[12]
Her second work Decimon Hûŷdas: A Romance of Mars...[13] was published posthumously in 1906.[3] This recounted the story of two lovers and described the Martian religion.[5]
Weiss died in St. Louis, Missouri, on 23 March 1904.[14]
Publications
- Journeys to the Planet Mars or, Our mission to Ento (Mars): Being a Record of Visits Made to Ento (Mars) by Sara Weiss, Psychic, Under the Guidance of a Spirit Band, For the Purpose of Conveying to the Entoans a Knowledge of the Continuity of Life, Transcribed Automatically by Sara Weiss, Under the Editorial Direction of (Spirit) Carl De L'Ester (1903)[6][11][15]
- Decimon Hûŷdas: A Romance of Mars: A Story of Actual Experiences in Ento (Mars) Many Centuries Ago, Given to the Psychic Sara Weiss and by her Transcribed Automatically Under the Editorial Direction of Carl De L'Ester (1906)[6][11][15]
References
- ^ Calanchi, Alessandra (June 11, 2024). ""Renewed in health": Meeting Giordano Bruno on planet Mars". Between. 14 (27): 93–109. doi:10.13125/2039-6597/5444. ISSN 2039-6597. Retrieved September 28, 2025.
- ^ "Summary Bibliography: Sara Weiss". The Internet Speculative Fiction Database (ISFD). Retrieved September 28, 2025.
- ^ a b c Clark, Stuart (November 10, 2022). The Book of Mars: An Anthology of Fact and Fiction. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-80110-929-1.
- ^ Edmunds, Albert Joseph (1913). Has Swedenborg's "lost Word" Been Found?". p. 274.
- ^ a b Caterine, Darryl; Morehead, John W. (February 18, 2019). The Paranormal and Popular Culture: A Postmodern Religious Landscape. Routledge. pp. 111, 138–139. ISBN 978-1-351-73181-2.
- ^ a b c d Clute, John (November 18, 2024). "Weiss, Sara". The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (SFE). Retrieved September 28, 2025.
- ^ Partridge, Christopher (January 1, 2015), "Channeling Extraterrestrials: Theosophical Discourse in the Space Age", in Guttierez, Cathy (ed.), Handbook of Spiritualism and Channeling, Brill, p. 394, doi:10.1163/9789004264083_019, ISBN 978-90-04-26408-3, retrieved September 28, 2025
- ^ Brooks, Landon (2012). "Reading the Red Planet". Science Fiction Studies. 39 (2): 313. doi:10.5621/sciefictstud.39.2.0313. Retrieved September 28, 2025.
- ^ Crossley, Robert (November 1, 2008). "Mars and the Paranormal". Science Fiction Studies. 35 (Part 3): 466–484. doi:10.1525/sfs.35.3.0466. ISSN 0091-7729. Retrieved September 28, 2025.
- ^ Lewis, James R. (March 9, 1995). The Gods Have Landed: New Religions from Other Worlds. SUNY Press. p. 4. ISBN 978-0-7914-2330-1.
- ^ a b c Crossley, Robert (January 3, 2011). Imagining Mars: A Literary History. Wesleyan University Press. pp. 140–142. ISBN 978-0-8195-7105-2.
- ^ Partridge, Christopher (November 12, 2012). UFO Religions. Routledge. p. 38. ISBN 978-1-135-25159-8.
- ^ Davin, Eric Leif (December 7, 2005). Partners in Wonder: Women and the Birth of Science Fiction, 1926-1965. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. p. 59. ISBN 979-8-7651-8410-3.
- ^ "St. Louis Globe-Democrat". Newspapers.com. March 24, 1904. p. 4. Retrieved September 28, 2025.
- ^ a b Smith, Geoffrey D. (August 13, 1997). American Fiction, 1901-1925: A Bibliography. Cambridge University Press. p. 711. ISBN 978-0-521-43469-0.