Education, medicine and a shared religious project
Born in 1875, Curtiss worked in physical education before his religious writing became widely known. The University of Texas records his appointment as gymnasium director and assistant football coach in 1900. He later qualified in medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. In 1907 he married Harriette Augusta Brown, whose teachings and claimed spiritual inspiration became central to their joint work.
An esoteric study group they formed in Philadelphia began meeting in 1908 and developed as the Order of the 15, also known as the Order of Christian Mystics. Harriette used the name Rahmea and served as its teacher; Homer, known as Pyrahmos, acted as secretary and editor. Their books sought a meeting point between Theosophy and Christianity. His publications continued into the 1940s, including Personal Survival, before his death in 1946.
A collaborative account of the afterlife
The held 1926 fifth edition of Realms of the Living Dead names both Curtisses as authors. Its introduction traces the book to their 1915–16 lecture tour and earlier lessons for students. It also describes their respective roles: teachings were said to pass through Harriette while she was awake, in collaboration with Homer, and to be confirmed by their own psychic experiences. That description is their account of the book’s authority.
They steer between two positions they consider misleading: fear of everything astral, and the assumption that the dead automatically become all-knowing guides. Chapters distinguish several realms and discuss astral doubles, helpers, elementals and methods of communication. Their aim is to replace fear with a structured spiritual philosophy. The detailed map expresses the Order’s teaching that spiritual growth continues through different conditions of existence.
