--the devils of ecclesiastical literature; but their
power fails utterly before purity of mind and purpose; they can do
nothing with a man unless he has first encouraged in himself the vices
into which they seek to draw him.

One whose psychic sight has been opened will often see crowds of these
unfortunate creatures hanging round butchers' shops, public-houses, or
other even more disreputable places--wherever the gross influences in
which they delight are to be found, and where they encounter men and
women still in the flesh who are like-minded with themselves. For such
an entity as one of these to meet with a medium with whom he is in
affinity is indeed a terrible misfortune; not only does it enable him
to prolong enormously his dreadful life in Kamaloka but it renews for
perhaps an indefinite period his power to generate evil Karma, and so
prepare for himself a future incarnation of the most degraded
character, besides running the risk of losing a large portion or even
the whole of the lower Manas. On this lowest level of the astral plane
he must stay at least as long as his earthly life would have lasted if
it had not been prematurely cut short; and if he is fortunate enough
_not_ to meet with a sensitive through whom his passions can be
vicariously gratified, the unfulfilled desires will gradually burn
themselves out, and the suffering caused in the process will probably
go far towards working off the evil Karma of the past life.

The position of the suicide is further complicated by the fact that
his rash act has enormously diminished the power of the higher Ego to
withdraw its lower portion into itself, and therefore has exposed him
to manifold and great additional dangers: but it must be remembered
that the guilt of suicide differs considerably according to its
circumstances, from the morally blameless act of Seneca or Socrates
through all degrees down to the heinous crime of the wretch who takes
his own life in order to escape from the entanglements into which his
villainy has brought him, and of course the position after death
varies accordingly.

It should be noted that this class, as well as the shades and the
vitalized shells, are all what may be called minor vampires; that is
to say, whenever they have the opportunity they prolong their
existence by draining away the vitality from human beings whom they
find themselves able to influence. This is why both medium and sitters
are often so weak and exhauste