Today in literary history: July 13

Here's what happened on July 13 in literary history.

A memorial service for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, famous for both writing the Sherlock Holmes stories and also for his fervent belief in spirits, was held at Royal Albert Hall in London in 1930.

Thousands of people packed the hall for the chance to hopefully speak with the late author's spirit (one source said 6,000; another, 10,000), and still more had to be turned away for space reasons.

Among those people: medium Estelle Roberts, who was among Doyle's favorites.

After more traditional memorial service activities took place, it was time for Roberts to summon the author's spirit.

Roberts spent about a half hour on stage before shouting, "He's here!" The announcement, it was noted, aligned with some members of the audience beginning to leave.

Supposedly, Roberts saw Doyle walk across the stage in his evening clothes and sit down in a chair that had been designated specifically for him. He also commented to the medium that a member of his family had gone into "the hut" that morning and then shared a message with her for his wife.

To the crowd's disappointment, surely, the organ struck up a song and prevented the audience from eavesdropping on this message.

Doyle's widow kept it secret but did say publicly: "It is a happy message, one that is cheering and encouraging."

Sources: The Royal Albert Hall, Literary Hub