Spiritualism is a belief system that focuses on the communication with the spirits of the dead. In America, death-obsessed Victorians quickly adopted the religion’s macabre practices, beginning in the 1850s with the Fox Sisters. Maggie, Kate, and Leah Fox were three sisters from Rochester, New York who claimed they could communicate with the dead via rapping noises. Their claims became so popular and were taken so seriously that they began holding enormous séances in theaters where they’d charge admission for their talents.
Séances gave Spiritualism its quintessential spookiness. In a frenzy, they spread from New York to London; from theaters to homes. Séances become as common as tea parties and luncheons, though never short of breathtaking. Parlors were transformed into ghostly shrines adorned with dozens of glowing candles. Sitting intimately ‘round the oblong séance table, you would find Victorians of all ages, of all social classes, and most often you would find women.
Women gathered together as witches did in covens, to listen to raps and taps of tables, doors, and walls. At the center of the table, you would find their coven leader, the medium, who coaxed the dead into exposing secrets as the living listened eagerly for answers:
“Did you die peacefully?
Will you forgive me?
Do you love me?
Are you at peace?” 1
As a medium conducting a séance, a woman had more status and opportunity than she did anywhere else in society. Victorian society demanded that a woman satisfied her husband sexually whenever he wished, had no property or voting rights, and did not have the power to divorce her husband or even gain custody of her children if he divorced her. Spiritualism offered her a way to fight the patriarchy – by communicating with the dead. Although male mediums existed, female mediums were preferred because they were thought to have more spiritual faculties than their male counterparts: “A female medium was often considered a better communicator than a male medium because she had allegedly a better predisposition to spiritual perfectibility.” 2 Everyone wanted a female medium because she had a perfect rapport with the dead.
It’s no surprise then that Spiritualism grew to be a movement that attracted huge amounts of female followers. It was one of the few religions that allowed a woman to play such an integral role. Her natural powers and abilities were celebrated as she conducted her séance, bringing the living – especially women – closer to the dead.
Resources:
- “The In-Betweens” by Mira Ptachin in TinHouse, Volume 17, number 3
- The Victorian Web
