Unexplained
Did telepathic powers really kill a young woman?
Just off the western coast of Scotland sits a small island called Iona.
The beautiful Inner Hebrides isle has a deep spiritual and supernatural heritage. For centuries, it has been considered sacred by Druids, pagans, mystics and Christians.
Many believe the veil between heaven and Earth is at its thinnest over the island.
Back in 1929, Iona caught the eye of a young woman named Netta Fornario.
Netta, 32, was a spiritual student and member of the occult group Alpha et Omega, which practised tarot and ritual magic.
Netta believed in the power of telepathy – as did her peers in the order – and was also, apparently, a psychic healer. In August 1929, Netta left her London home for Iona, planning to focus on her occult studies there. She was taken in by local landlady Mrs Macrae, and the women became friends. Mrs Macrae would tell her guest tales of local folklore and the supernatural, while Netta fascinated her landlady with her occult knowledge. Cheerful and upbeat, Netta was well-liked on the island. By day, she’d wander the land, trying to tap into Iona’s spiritual energy. At night, she’d enter a trance-like state to commune with the spirits of Iona. Netta sent a letter to her housekeeper in London. Do not be surprised if you do not hear from me for a long time. I have a terrible case of healing on, it read.
The letter didn’t say who Netta hoped to heal.
Then, one Sunday morning that November, Mrs Macrae heard commotion coming from her lodger’s room.
Opening the door, Mrs Macrae found panicked Netta frantically packing her bags.
‘I must return to London at once,’ she said shakily.
Netta claimed she was under psychic attack from several individuals, miles away from the island, and babbled of seeing a rudderless boat in the sky.
She claimed she’d received messages from other worlds.
Mrs Macrae couldn’t make any sense of Netta’s ramblings. But she noticed the silver jewellery Netta always wore had suddenly turned black.
Whatever had happened, Netta was terrified.
Mrs Macrae tried to calm Netta, told her she couldn’t leave as there were no boats to the mainland that day.
A look of despair crossed Netta’s face.
A short while later, Netta emerged from her room. Now calm, she said she’d be staying on Iona indefinitely.
When Mrs Macrae awoke the next morning, Netta had left to roam the wilderness.
But, hours later, she still hadn’t returned.
More time passed, and Mrs Macrae became concerned. Locals launched a search party.
Two days on, the body of Netta Fornario was discovered near an earthy mound, south of Loch Staonaig.
She was completely naked, except for a black cloak – and she clutched a ritual dagger.
Her body was lying on a cross carved into the turf. Her feet were cut and covered in blood, as if she’d been running from something.
It was clear she’d been conducting some kind of ritual.
But there was no obvious cause of death.
Eventually, the authorities settled on ‘exposure to the elements’.
Not everyone was convinced. Other members of Alpha et Omega echoed Netta’s claims that she’d been under vicious psychic attack, and that her mysterious death was actually
Her body was lying on a cross carved into the turf
a murder – by black magic. Dion Fortune, a famous occultist and friend of Netta’s, pointed the finger at Moina Mathers – wife and co-founder with husband Samuel Liddell Macgregor Mathers of Alpha et Omega. Moina had apparently launched telepathic attacks on other victims, who bore scratch wounds similar to those found on Netta’s body. But Mathers had died 16 months before Netta… Still, Dion was adamant that even death hadn’t stopped Moina using dark magic to assault the living.
Supernatural superstition? Is it really possible for someone to have been telepathically murdered by a spirit?
Iona residents soon began reporting strange phenomena around the area where Netta’s body was found.
Some saw strange blue lights. Others claimed to have seen a man in a dark cloak wandering near the cross in the turf.
Did this mysterious figure have anything to do with the young woman’s death?
Whatever really happened to Netta Fornario that day in the Scottish wilderness remains a mystery.
Lonely, magical isle…