Elleda Wilson: A spirited time
Oct. 27—Spiritualism, "the belief that the dead communicate with the living, as through a medium," as defined by the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, caught fire in the U.S. in the late 1840s, when the Fox Sisters, three mediums, began performing in New York. Other mediums soon followed suit, and spiritualism and seances spread all over the country.
The Daily Astorian, dated Sept. 16, 1877, even mentions that a "spiritualistic colony" was being formed in Tillamook County: "Dr. Smith, late of Astoria, is in that part of the country selecting lands for a colony of our spiritual friends from this part of Oregon. We are informed that the colony will go prepared to carry on all the elements that tend to build up wealth and make their surroundings comfortable."
Soon the movement spread to England, and The Spiritualist, a newspaper published from 1869 to 1882, was chock full of supernatural phenomena tales, seance tips and the like. Both American and British scholars and writers contributed articles. Be sure to read, "How to Form Spirit Circles" for a little Halloween exercise in spiritualism. But beware: The directions are so detailed, any spirits in the room have probably already fainted from boredom while you were preparing to meet them.
