ForalmostayearPearlCurran,aStLouishousewifewithlittleeducationandnoliteraryambitions,hadbeenplayingwithaOuijaboard.Suddenly,onahotsummerevening,somewordsappearedthatchangedherlife:"ManymoonsagoIlived.AgainIcome.PatienceWorthmyname.Ifthoushaltlive,soshallI."Worthclaimedtobethespiritofa17th-centurywomanwhohadgonetoAmericalateinlifeandhadbeenmurderedbyIndians.
Overthenextquarter-century,letters,shortstories,poems,andplaysflowedfromPatience,viaCurran.Twoofherbooksandnumerouspoemswerepublishedtocritialacclaim.Atherinsistence,theCurransadoptedachild,whomthespiritcalled"mineownbaby".CurrancontinuedtorecordcommunicationsfromPatienceuntilshortlybeforeherowndeathin1937.
珀爾．柯倫是密蘇里州聖路易斯市一家庭主婦，沒有受過什麼教育，也無意從事文學。她玩靈應盤將近一年，在一個炎熱夏夜，靈應盤上突然出現了些文字，改變了她一生：「吾乃佩興斯．沃思，久已作古，今復降臨，將與爾同生。」佩興斯自言是十七世紀一婦人的靈魂，晚年赴美洲，遭印第安人殺害。
其後將近四分之一世紀，佩興斯假柯倫之手，寫下很多書信、短篇小說、詩歌、戲劇等，出版的兩本書和不少詩篇，甚獲好評。她堅請柯倫夫婦收養一個孩子，還叫這孩子做「吾之嬰兒」。柯倫一直記錄佩興斯的靈示，直到一九三七年將近去世為止。