Modern spiritualism—the belief in communication with the dead (often through persons known as "mediums")—began at Hydesville, NY in 1848. Two sisters, Maggie and Katie Fox, pretended to receive rapping messages from ghostly entities. Years later they confessed that it was all a trick, but spiritualism had long since begun to flourish as a popular belief.In dark-room séances, spirits apparently wrote messages on slates, spoke through tin trumpets, and even showed themselves as shimmering "materializations." Magicians such as Harry Houdini exposed numerous séance deceptions, but "mediums" continue to convince many of their ability to talk with the dead, and haunted houses (or at least haunted people) continue to enjoy media attention. |