Boards and knives

Jung's mother was involved in at least two well-known paranormal experiences, which are mentioned in virtually every book on Jung. Sitting in his research room, Carl suddenly heard a loud bang coming from the living room. He rushed there and found his terrified mother. The round walnut table had cracked right down the middle. The crack was uneven, but it had gone straight through the solid wood. It wasn't the dryness of the wood that was to blame; the table was 70 years old, and it was a humid day. Jung thought, "These are definitely strange accidents." Emilie replied in her "different voice," as if reading his mind, "Yes, yes, that means something." Two weeks later, a second incident occurred. Returning home in the evening, Jung encountered an excited housekeeper. An hour earlier, a loud bang had been heard, this time coming from a large sideboard. No one had any idea what could have caused the noise. Jung checked the sideboard. Inside, where they had stored bread, he found a loaf and a bread knife. The knife was shattered into several pieces, all neatly arranged in a bread basket. The knife had previously been used for tea, but since then, no one had opened or even touched the cupboard. When Jung brought the knife to the knifemaker, he learned that the steel was not defective and that someone must have broken it intentionally. Jung kept the broken knife for the rest of his life and, many years later, sent a photograph of it to the psychology researcher J.B. Rhine.