SPIRITUALISM

Spiritualism had its heyday during the 1840s and at the turn of the century in North America and Western Europe. During these periods of wars and upheaval, people sought comfort by contact with their departed loved ones. Historians often point to March 31, 1948, as the birth date of the Spiritualism movement, when Margaret and Kate Fox, of Hydesville, New York, first made the astonishing announcement that they had contacted the spirit of a murdered peddler in their home. The peddler communicated with them by knocking on the table or wall. Thereafter, séances flourished among the upper middle class and the wealthy in America. Mediums, such as Paschal Beverly Randolph and Cora Scott, toured the country giving lectures and demonstrations. During this time, the writings of Franz Mesmer, from whom the term “mesmerism” is derived, particularly influenced the Spiritualist view of the afterlife and contact with the supernatural.