Talking to the Dead : Kate and Maggie Fox and the Rise of Spiritualism
• Psychics & Other Frauds , • Spooky Nonsense: Ghosts & Hauntings
From a review of Barbara Weisberg's Talking to the Dead : Kate and Maggie Fox and the Rise of Spiritualism in The New York Times:
More than a century before John Edward had his psychic television series and Sylvia Browne answered callers' questions on Larry King, Kate, age 11, and Maggie, 14, were wowing audiences in New York, Washington and Ohio. Through strange rappings, which the girls first claimed to hear in their bedroom in Hydesville, N.Y., one night in March 1848, spirits passed along messages that gave career advice, comforted grieving mourners and even urged a child's parents to allow extra dessert. ...
That shouldn't be surprising. Reason and faith have pendulumed throughout American history, with belief in the supernatural tending to flourish during periods of social and political transition. Ms. Weisberg's description of mediums delivering "inspiring addresses to large audiences on the pressing issues of the day, such as perfecting the body through diet and exercise," sounds remarkably contemporary.
Patricia Cohen, Otherworldly Pursuits and Down-to-Earth Motives