Husband Wields Occult Powers

September 1909: Mrs. Christina Brown of Elgin, Illinois filed for divorce from her husband on the grounds that he was a wizard who wielded occult powers, compelling her to do things against her will, such as:

• Sitting for hours in one chair while he controlled her thoughts as well as actions without touch or word.
• Revealing the choicest bits of neighborhood gossip, no matter how solemnly she had sworn to keep them a secret.
• Telling him what she really thought of him, despite her effort to pretend that he was the only man in the world.
• Admitting that she didn't believe his fish stories.
• Confessing that she had cooked up the oldest and poorest food in the house when he brought a friend home to dinner unexpectedly.
• Purchasing a hat and gown at the cheapest store in town when she had fully intended to buy them at a more expensive establishment.

The Alexandria Times-Tribune - Sep 6, 1909