History
The Fox sisters (Maggie, Katie and Leah) of Hydesville, New York are credited with the birth of Spiritualism. Beginning in 1848, the Fox family was disturbed by rapping within the walls of their home and the sisters discovered that they could communicate with the entity producing the rapping. Eventually, the sisters spun this new- found talent into a profitable stage act which also consisted of moving tables and levitating objects. The act became quite popular and others suddenly “discovered” their own ability to communicate with the other side and Spiritualism was born. Entertaining an audience soon became an important part of the stage acts and parlor séances of Spiritualism and the antics of the “spirits” escalated.
By 1855, Spiritualism claimed over 2 million followers in both the US and Europe. Among these were Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Victoria Woodhull, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Harriet Beecher Stowe.
The first spirit photograph is credited to William Mumler in 1861, a jewelry engraver. He took a self portrait and when he developed the plate, there was an image of someone that had not been present. Coming during the rise of Spiritualism, spirit photography became the new fad. One man, William Hope, claimed to have captured the images of over 2,500 spirits in about 20 years.
Eventually, Spiritualism came under close scrutiny by skeptics. When scientists first began to examine Spiritualist claims, they did so in the hope of finding support for them. Instead, they exposed a great deal of trickery. Investigations began as far back as the 1850’s, but were poorly organized until the founding of the Society for Psychical Research (SPR) in 1882 in Britain and the American Society for Psychical Research in 1885. Other organized groups followed.
D&A Paranormal Investigators