Spiritualism
A modern movement that centers communication with departed persons through séances, mediumship, and spirit-led teaching, Spiritualism emerged in the mid-19th century and continues as a diverse set of communities and practices worldwide.
Quick Facts
- Period
- 1848 - Present
- Region
- Americas
- Key Figures
- Andrew Jackson Davis, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Catherine "Kate" Fox +2 more
Key Figures
Andrew Jackson Davis
Theologian/Trance Lecturer
American Spiritualist movement; trance speaking and writingAndrew Jackson Davis was a formative figure in the intellectual and theological development of mid-19th-century American...
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Prominent Advocate and Public Intellectual
British Spiritualist movement; public defender of mediumship and spirit communicationSir Arthur Conan Doyle, best known as the creator of the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes, was also a prominent and p...
Catherine "Kate" Fox
Founder
Fox sisters; early American SpiritualismCatherine "Kate" Fox was one of the Fox sisters whose early public demonstrations following the Hydesville events of 184...
Leonora Piper
Noted Medium / Investigated Figure
American Spiritualism; subject of investigations by the Society for Psychical ResearchLeonora Piper emerged in the late 19th century as one of the most thoroughly investigated mediums in the history of Spir...
Margaretta (Maggie) Fox
Founder
Fox sisters; early American SpiritualismMargaretta "Maggie" Fox is one of the two Fox sisters most often associated with the public emergence of modern Spiritua...
The Story
This narrative combines documented history with dramatized scenes for storytelling purposes.
Origins and Founding
The movement known as Spiritualism coalesced in a particular moment and place in the United States: the village of Hydesville (later incorporated into the outsk...
Beliefs and Worldview
Spiritualist worldviews are diverse, but a set of core claims recur across many communities and writings: the survival of personality after bodily death; the po...
Practice and Ritual Life
Spiritualist practice centers on a constellation of activities: séances and mediumship, public and private sittings, healing rituals, trance addresses, and the ...
Authority and Transmission
Authority in Spiritualism takes multiple forms: charismatic authority embodied in mediums, institutional authority expressed through churches and associations, ...
The Tradition Today
Spiritualism remains a living religious tradition in the early 21st century, present in multiple regions with differing institutional shapes. Its strongest inst...
Timeline
Hydesville Rappings (Hydesville, New York)
**1848-11** — In November 1848 a family in Hydesville, near Rochester, New York, reported a series of unexplained rapping sounds and alleged spirit communications; these events became the canonical origin story for modern Spiritualism when the Fox sisters emerged as public witnesses and performers shortly thereafter.
Fox Sisters’ Public Demonstrations and Early Tours
**1849-1850** — Margaretta (Maggie) and Catherine (Kate) Fox began demonstrating the rappings publicly and touring in upstate New York and New England; their visibility helped spread séance culture and stimulated the formation of local Spiritualist circles and periodicals.
Spiritualism Reaches Britain
**1850s** — Reports of mediumistic phenomena and traveling mediums reached the British Isles in the 1850s, leading to public demonstrations, the formation of local societies, and an active transatlantic exchange of ideas and lecturers between the United States and Britain.
Allan Kardec’s The Spirits' Book (Publication)
**1857** — Allan Kardec published The Spirits' Book in France, a systematic compilation of spirit teachings that founded a distinct strand known as Spiritism (Kardecism), which shares mediumistic emphases with Anglo-American Spiritualism but developed its own doctrine and strong following—particularly in Brazil.
Founding of Lily Dale Assembly (Cottage City) as a Spiritualist Center
**1879** — An intentional Spiritualist community in western New York—later known as Lily Dale Assembly—was established in the late 19th century and developed into a long-standing center for mediums, summer assemblies, and Spiritualist education and tourism.
Founding of the Society for Psychical Research (SPR)
**1882** — The Society for Psychical Research was founded in London to apply investigatory methods to claims of telepathy, mediumship, and survival; the SPR’s formation introduced sustained scholarly scrutiny into Spiritualist claims and set standards for controlled inquiry.
Formation of the American Society for Psychical Research (ASPR)
**1885** — An American counterpart to the British SPR organized investigators and interested scholars to study mediumship, consciousness, and related phenomena, attracting figures from academic, religious, and Spiritualist communities.
Public Admission by One Fox Sister
**1888** — In 1888 a widely reported public statement by one of the Fox sisters asserted that earlier rappings had been produced by mechanical means; the admission and the sisters' later recantations fed widespread controversy and became emblematic of debates over fraud and authenticity.
Founding of National Spiritualist Association of Churches (U.S.)
**1893** — In the late 19th century Spiritualists in the United States organized national church structures to coordinate ministerial training, ethical standards, and congregational life; one such body was established in 1893 to give denominational form to diverse local congregations.
Eusapia Palladino’s European Demonstrations
**1890s** — Italian medium Eusapia Palladino toured Europe, providing high-profile demonstrations of physical mediumship that were attended by scientists, skeptics, and believers, producing heated debate and experimental studies across the continent.
Arthur Conan Doyle’s Major Book-Length Advocacy
**1926** — In the early 20th century Arthur Conan Doyle published extended defenses of Spiritualism, bringing significant public attention to mediumistic claims; his works and lectures mobilized literary prestige in service of advocacy for spirit communication.
Persistence and Diversification into Contemporary Practice
**20th–21st century** — Throughout the 20th and into the 21st century Spiritualism persisted in churches, intentional communities such as Lily Dale, online networks, and in regional expressions like Brazilian Spiritism, evolving in practice, training, and public engagement while continuing debates about evidence and ethics.
Sources
- academic_bookRadical Spirits: Spiritualism and Women's Rights in Nineteenth-Century America
Ann Braude, Harvard University Press, 2001 — examines Spiritualism’s intersection with women’s public roles and reform movements.
- academic_bookTalking to the Dead: Kate and Maggie Fox and the Rise of Spiritualism
Barbara Weisberg, HarperCollins, 2004 — a focused historical study of the Fox sisters and the early movement.
- academic_bookThe Other World: Spiritualism and Psychical Research in England, 1850–1914
Janet Oppenheim, Cambridge University Press, 1985 — a study of Spiritualism’s rise and interaction with scientific inquiry in Britain.
- primary_textThe Spirits' Book
Allan Kardec, first published 1857 — foundational text for Kardecist Spiritism, an important comparative tradition.
- primary_textThe History of Spiritualism
Arthur Conan Doyle, a sympathetic early 20th-century advocate whose writings influenced public discussion of Spiritualism.
- organizational_websiteSociety for Psychical Research (SPR) — historical resources and publications
Source for historical publications, investigations, and bibliographic materials on mediumship and psychical research.
- reference_encyclopediaEncyclopaedia Britannica: 'Spiritualism' entry
Concise reference overview of Spiritualism’s history and beliefs.
- organizational_publicationTalks and Proceedings of the American Society for Psychical Research (ASPR)
Historical records of investigations and discussions in the United States concerning mediumship and related phenomena.
- institutional_websiteHistories of Lily Dale Assembly and local Spiritualist centers
Primary resource on the history and contemporary life of one of Spiritualism’s best-known intentional communities.
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