1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:02,520 Speaker 1: Hey everybody. Before we get started with this episode, we 2 00:00:02,600 --> 00:00:06,400 Speaker 1: have one last live show to announce for We will 3 00:00:06,440 --> 00:00:09,400 Speaker 1: be in New Orleans, Louisiana at the National World War 4 00:00:09,400 --> 00:00:12,840 Speaker 1: Two Museum on Tuesday, November six. Okay, we know that 5 00:00:12,920 --> 00:00:16,320 Speaker 1: selection day, but we don't want coming to our show 6 00:00:16,360 --> 00:00:18,439 Speaker 1: to keep you from the polls. We are both going 7 00:00:18,520 --> 00:00:20,720 Speaker 1: to vote early before we leave for New Orleans, and 8 00:00:20,800 --> 00:00:23,759 Speaker 1: Louisiana offers early voting as well, so we encourage you 9 00:00:23,800 --> 00:00:26,120 Speaker 1: to do so. You can find out more about this 10 00:00:26,160 --> 00:00:28,480 Speaker 1: show and get a link to buy tickets at missed 11 00:00:28,480 --> 00:00:35,920 Speaker 1: in History dot com slash tour. Hi, everybody, Happy last 12 00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:39,520 Speaker 1: Saturday in October. We are taking one last chance break 13 00:00:39,560 --> 00:00:42,120 Speaker 1: classic Halloween episode before the end of this month, and 14 00:00:42,159 --> 00:00:45,640 Speaker 1: this one is from from host Sarah and Bablina. It 15 00:00:45,760 --> 00:00:49,640 Speaker 1: is all about the Sisters Fox and the modern Spiritualist movement. 16 00:00:50,120 --> 00:00:56,960 Speaker 1: So happy early Halloween and enjoy. Welcome to Stuff You 17 00:00:57,000 --> 00:01:07,360 Speaker 1: Missed in History Class from how Stuff Works dot com. Hello, 18 00:01:07,400 --> 00:01:09,160 Speaker 1: and welcome to the podcast. I'm to Blaine A Chuck 19 00:01:09,200 --> 00:01:11,679 Speaker 1: Reboarding and I'm Sarah Dowdy. And if you've listened to 20 00:01:11,680 --> 00:01:14,480 Speaker 1: this podcast for a little while, you've probably heard us 21 00:01:14,520 --> 00:01:18,080 Speaker 1: refer to something called spiritualism. A lot of the historical 22 00:01:18,120 --> 00:01:21,280 Speaker 1: figures we discuss we're spiritualists, which basically means that they 23 00:01:21,480 --> 00:01:25,440 Speaker 1: believed that people who have physically died continue to exist 24 00:01:25,480 --> 00:01:29,480 Speaker 1: in a kind of spirit world. Furthermore, the spiritualists also 25 00:01:29,560 --> 00:01:32,440 Speaker 1: believe that people who have passed onto the spirit world 26 00:01:33,160 --> 00:01:36,240 Speaker 1: can and do continue to communicate with us in the 27 00:01:36,280 --> 00:01:40,120 Speaker 1: material world, usually through special people called mediums. So even 28 00:01:40,120 --> 00:01:42,880 Speaker 1: if you haven't heard of spiritualists, you've probably heard of 29 00:01:42,920 --> 00:01:46,160 Speaker 1: mediums from TV shows and movies. Yeah, they're pretty common 30 00:01:46,200 --> 00:01:49,840 Speaker 1: in pop culture. But we should also mention that adherents 31 00:01:49,840 --> 00:01:53,920 Speaker 1: of this philosophy or this religion differ quite a bit 32 00:01:54,040 --> 00:01:56,880 Speaker 1: in their exact beliefs or their world view. But you know, 33 00:01:56,920 --> 00:01:59,960 Speaker 1: we give you the gist here. You have the basic understanding, 34 00:02:00,120 --> 00:02:03,960 Speaker 1: and a lot of high profile people throughout history were 35 00:02:04,080 --> 00:02:07,440 Speaker 1: actually spiritualists, and we've talked about some of them before. 36 00:02:07,560 --> 00:02:11,560 Speaker 1: March podcast subject Victoria Woodhall was one kind of her 37 00:02:11,600 --> 00:02:16,480 Speaker 1: famous pre political career and even made her living as 38 00:02:16,480 --> 00:02:18,960 Speaker 1: a medium for a while. Another one of our favorites, 39 00:02:19,000 --> 00:02:21,920 Speaker 1: a guy who just pops up in podcast after podcast. 40 00:02:22,280 --> 00:02:26,800 Speaker 1: Arthur Conan Doyle was famously a spiritualist and even wrote 41 00:02:26,840 --> 00:02:30,600 Speaker 1: about it. But what is known as the modern spiritualist movement, 42 00:02:30,960 --> 00:02:33,640 Speaker 1: the one that took place in the us UM in 43 00:02:33,639 --> 00:02:37,079 Speaker 1: the mid eighteen hundreds or so, wasn't launched by celebrity 44 00:02:37,200 --> 00:02:40,160 Speaker 1: or an influential religious leader of some kind. It was 45 00:02:40,200 --> 00:02:44,440 Speaker 1: actually kicked off by two regular little girls, Margaret and 46 00:02:44,520 --> 00:02:48,079 Speaker 1: Catherine Fox. Margaret and Catherine Fox, they were also known 47 00:02:48,120 --> 00:02:51,639 Speaker 1: as Maggie and Kate or Kathy more casually. They were 48 00:02:51,680 --> 00:02:54,760 Speaker 1: born in eighteen thirty three and eighteen thirty seven, respectively. 49 00:02:55,120 --> 00:02:58,399 Speaker 1: Their parents were John and Margaret Fox, a couple who 50 00:02:58,520 --> 00:03:01,560 Speaker 1: had four children together and and separated for a time 51 00:03:01,639 --> 00:03:04,960 Speaker 1: because of John's alcoholism. So when John got his act 52 00:03:05,000 --> 00:03:08,040 Speaker 1: together and was working as a respectable blacksmith again, they 53 00:03:08,080 --> 00:03:10,720 Speaker 1: got back together and had kind of their second brood 54 00:03:10,760 --> 00:03:13,960 Speaker 1: of children, of which Maggie and Kate were apart. So 55 00:03:14,040 --> 00:03:15,600 Speaker 1: we're going to tell you a little bit about these 56 00:03:15,639 --> 00:03:19,040 Speaker 1: sisters lives and their involvement in launching spiritualism. But to 57 00:03:19,120 --> 00:03:21,480 Speaker 1: do so, we have to give you a little ghost 58 00:03:21,520 --> 00:03:26,320 Speaker 1: story first. So in the winter of eighteen forty seven 59 00:03:26,560 --> 00:03:30,600 Speaker 1: eighty eight, the Foxes moved. They moved to the hamlet 60 00:03:30,639 --> 00:03:34,160 Speaker 1: of Hydesville, New York, which is about twenty miles west 61 00:03:34,200 --> 00:03:38,760 Speaker 1: of Rochester. And they're in Hydesville, John and Margaret rented 62 00:03:38,840 --> 00:03:42,200 Speaker 1: a house for them and their younger kids, Maggie and Kate, 63 00:03:42,240 --> 00:03:45,400 Speaker 1: who are about fourteen and eleven years old at the time. 64 00:03:45,800 --> 00:03:50,120 Speaker 1: But this house was not your ordinary rental. It came 65 00:03:50,160 --> 00:03:53,280 Speaker 1: with a little bit of a reputation. It was said 66 00:03:53,360 --> 00:03:59,480 Speaker 1: around town to be haunted. So things started to suggest 67 00:03:59,520 --> 00:04:01,880 Speaker 1: that maybe that was the case pretty quickly. Yeah, So 68 00:04:01,960 --> 00:04:04,760 Speaker 1: things went fine for a little while, and then around 69 00:04:04,880 --> 00:04:09,320 Speaker 1: March of the Foxes started to hear these strange sounds 70 00:04:09,320 --> 00:04:13,600 Speaker 1: around the house at night, creepy knocking noises, thumps on 71 00:04:13,640 --> 00:04:17,200 Speaker 1: the ceiling, bumps on the walls and doors, and sometimes 72 00:04:17,200 --> 00:04:20,440 Speaker 1: the wrapping sounds were violent enough to shake the furniture. 73 00:04:20,560 --> 00:04:23,080 Speaker 1: So not just the little mouth scurring through the walls 74 00:04:23,160 --> 00:04:26,719 Speaker 1: or something. Yeah, really creepy stuff. The girls, though, didn't 75 00:04:26,720 --> 00:04:29,320 Speaker 1: seem to be that bothered by it, strangely enough, but 76 00:04:29,360 --> 00:04:33,200 Speaker 1: their mother, Margaret, who was very superstitious was. She lost 77 00:04:33,240 --> 00:04:36,320 Speaker 1: sleep over it. They checked the house, they didn't find 78 00:04:36,320 --> 00:04:39,599 Speaker 1: anything amiss, and then on March thirty one, Margaret was 79 00:04:39,800 --> 00:04:42,960 Speaker 1: so tired and just needed some rest she tried to 80 00:04:42,960 --> 00:04:45,280 Speaker 1: get her family to get to go to bed early 81 00:04:45,440 --> 00:04:48,600 Speaker 1: when it was barely dark, but the rapping noises started 82 00:04:48,640 --> 00:04:50,640 Speaker 1: again when they were getting into bed, so she got 83 00:04:50,720 --> 00:04:53,520 Speaker 1: up and she took a look around, and when she 84 00:04:53,560 --> 00:04:56,640 Speaker 1: made it to the girls room, Kate was looking into 85 00:04:56,640 --> 00:05:01,960 Speaker 1: the darkness and she bravely called out, Mr Splitfoot, do 86 00:05:02,120 --> 00:05:05,000 Speaker 1: as I do, and then she proceeded to snap her 87 00:05:05,000 --> 00:05:07,560 Speaker 1: fingers in a way that mimicked the noises that they 88 00:05:07,560 --> 00:05:10,680 Speaker 1: had heard. But the strange thing happened next. When Kate 89 00:05:10,920 --> 00:05:15,000 Speaker 1: finished this call out to Mr split Foot, those sounds 90 00:05:15,120 --> 00:05:20,080 Speaker 1: from somewhere in the house imitated her. And then Maggie 91 00:05:20,080 --> 00:05:26,800 Speaker 1: clapped her hands four times, so it answered back yes. 92 00:05:27,160 --> 00:05:31,960 Speaker 1: And according to most accounts, Kate then said, oh, mother, 93 00:05:32,120 --> 00:05:35,520 Speaker 1: I know what it is. Tomorrow is April Fool's Day 94 00:05:35,880 --> 00:05:40,120 Speaker 1: and someone is trying to fool us. So, uh, it 95 00:05:40,160 --> 00:05:43,320 Speaker 1: sounds a little suspicious but also a little cool at 96 00:05:43,320 --> 00:05:48,000 Speaker 1: this point intriguing. Yeah, and Margaret wasn't buying Kate's explanation. 97 00:05:48,160 --> 00:05:52,800 Speaker 1: She decided, Hey, my kids are talking to these noises, 98 00:05:52,880 --> 00:05:56,680 Speaker 1: these strange whatever they are as Mr split Foot. So 99 00:05:56,880 --> 00:05:58,880 Speaker 1: she decided, I'm going to try to chat with this 100 00:05:59,000 --> 00:06:02,960 Speaker 1: eerie thing my self. So she said count to ten, 101 00:06:03,520 --> 00:06:08,080 Speaker 1: and it made ten noises, and then she asked whatever 102 00:06:08,200 --> 00:06:10,560 Speaker 1: was making the noise to wrap out the ages of 103 00:06:10,600 --> 00:06:14,280 Speaker 1: all of her children successively, and it did so correctly, 104 00:06:14,520 --> 00:06:18,040 Speaker 1: pausing between each one long enough to set each child's 105 00:06:18,080 --> 00:06:21,839 Speaker 1: age apart all the way through Kate's age, and then 106 00:06:21,880 --> 00:06:25,760 Speaker 1: even weirder after that, there was a longer pause and 107 00:06:25,839 --> 00:06:30,919 Speaker 1: then three more wraps, and those corresponded to the age 108 00:06:30,920 --> 00:06:34,120 Speaker 1: of the Fox's child who had died in infancy. So 109 00:06:34,200 --> 00:06:37,560 Speaker 1: by this point Margaret thinks that she's dealing with something real, 110 00:06:37,800 --> 00:06:41,880 Speaker 1: and she asked this thing um if it was a 111 00:06:42,000 --> 00:06:45,520 Speaker 1: human being making the noise, and her question was met 112 00:06:45,600 --> 00:06:49,240 Speaker 1: by total silence, no wraps, And then she asked, was 113 00:06:49,279 --> 00:06:53,920 Speaker 1: it a spirit? And if so, manifests itself by making 114 00:06:54,040 --> 00:07:00,400 Speaker 1: two sounds. Margaret then just started asking a lot of 115 00:07:00,400 --> 00:07:02,760 Speaker 1: other questions because she was thinking, all right, it is 116 00:07:02,800 --> 00:07:07,320 Speaker 1: a spirit. And she later, by the way, relayed these questions, 117 00:07:07,400 --> 00:07:11,720 Speaker 1: these original statements in a published work, and she started 118 00:07:11,760 --> 00:07:16,560 Speaker 1: asking it was it an injured spirit? Was it injured 119 00:07:16,600 --> 00:07:20,960 Speaker 1: in this house? And then more questions like was the 120 00:07:21,000 --> 00:07:23,320 Speaker 1: person living who had injured it? Now we're getting into 121 00:07:23,400 --> 00:07:26,160 Speaker 1: kind of TV territory. I yeah. So she went on 122 00:07:26,200 --> 00:07:28,920 Speaker 1: that way for a while, and then she decided, I 123 00:07:28,960 --> 00:07:31,800 Speaker 1: gotta show this to people, So she started inviting the 124 00:07:31,840 --> 00:07:35,000 Speaker 1: neighbors over to check out this phenomenon too. So that 125 00:07:35,160 --> 00:07:38,280 Speaker 1: night about a dozen neighbors had come over and become 126 00:07:38,280 --> 00:07:41,000 Speaker 1: convinced of the spirit's presence in the same way by 127 00:07:41,080 --> 00:07:44,400 Speaker 1: asking questions that it answered correctly with an appropriate number 128 00:07:44,400 --> 00:07:47,720 Speaker 1: of raps. They asked questions like the number of kids 129 00:07:47,760 --> 00:07:49,880 Speaker 1: they had in the ages of the kids, similar things 130 00:07:49,880 --> 00:07:53,080 Speaker 1: to what Margaret had asked, and eventually by asking yes, no, 131 00:07:53,360 --> 00:07:56,200 Speaker 1: and nu miracle questions. They later also came up with 132 00:07:56,240 --> 00:07:58,600 Speaker 1: a code system, by the way, so that the raps 133 00:07:58,600 --> 00:08:01,440 Speaker 1: could actually spell out words been to some more detailed 134 00:08:01,520 --> 00:08:05,400 Speaker 1: questions perhaps right. And they found out from this line 135 00:08:05,440 --> 00:08:09,240 Speaker 1: of questioning the details of the spirit story it had 136 00:08:09,280 --> 00:08:12,720 Speaker 1: been a thirty one year old peddler, a father of five, 137 00:08:12,840 --> 00:08:15,480 Speaker 1: who was brutally murdered in the home's basement like a 138 00:08:15,520 --> 00:08:18,480 Speaker 1: couple of years two to five years prior long earlier. 139 00:08:18,600 --> 00:08:21,720 Speaker 1: So to test the truth of the story, which by 140 00:08:21,760 --> 00:08:23,960 Speaker 1: this point you know, they had these cold hard facts 141 00:08:23,960 --> 00:08:27,360 Speaker 1: to work with, the neighbors decided that they would excavate 142 00:08:27,640 --> 00:08:32,000 Speaker 1: the home seller, but unfortunately heavy spring rains got on 143 00:08:32,040 --> 00:08:35,320 Speaker 1: the way and filled up the excavation pit and delayed 144 00:08:35,360 --> 00:08:38,880 Speaker 1: the project for many weeks. But still, even without that 145 00:08:39,400 --> 00:08:43,400 Speaker 1: proof or or the neighbors actually getting to look for something, 146 00:08:43,800 --> 00:08:47,600 Speaker 1: rumors about the haunting in the Foxes home started to 147 00:08:47,679 --> 00:08:50,280 Speaker 1: spread far and wide, and hundreds of people, some of 148 00:08:50,320 --> 00:08:53,960 Speaker 1: them skeptics of course, some of them believers, would flock 149 00:08:54,080 --> 00:08:56,920 Speaker 1: to Hidsville over the next few weeks to check it 150 00:08:56,960 --> 00:08:59,600 Speaker 1: out for themselves at least try to evaluate for themselves 151 00:08:59,600 --> 00:09:02,480 Speaker 1: what was going on, And during that time, the spirit 152 00:09:02,640 --> 00:09:06,800 Speaker 1: seemed to become bolder. Rather than these regular light wraps, 153 00:09:06,880 --> 00:09:10,960 Speaker 1: it started producing louder noises, even ones that mimicked a 154 00:09:11,080 --> 00:09:13,319 Speaker 1: death struggle when it was telling the story of how 155 00:09:13,360 --> 00:09:16,680 Speaker 1: it died um and people began to notice that Maggie 156 00:09:16,840 --> 00:09:20,719 Speaker 1: and Kate were always around when those spirit noises were 157 00:09:20,720 --> 00:09:32,720 Speaker 1: going on. Skeptics, of course, wondered if the girls were 158 00:09:32,800 --> 00:09:35,360 Speaker 1: somehow the source of the noises, but others began to 159 00:09:35,360 --> 00:09:38,559 Speaker 1: see them as the mediums through which the spirits communicated, 160 00:09:39,080 --> 00:09:41,640 Speaker 1: and this had a couple of different effects for the girls. 161 00:09:41,640 --> 00:09:44,600 Speaker 1: Some people in the neighborhood regarded them with awe because 162 00:09:44,640 --> 00:09:48,800 Speaker 1: of this, as kind of divinely inspired or chosen individuals, 163 00:09:49,160 --> 00:09:52,120 Speaker 1: and others thought of them as unholy, perhaps even witches. 164 00:09:52,640 --> 00:09:56,680 Speaker 1: So once word of the Hydesville haunting started to get around, 165 00:09:56,720 --> 00:10:01,880 Speaker 1: Maggie and Kate's oldest sister and a fox fish showed 166 00:10:01,960 --> 00:10:04,680 Speaker 1: up in town went to visit the girls, and Leah, 167 00:10:04,720 --> 00:10:07,560 Speaker 1: at this point was divorced. She lived in Rochester. She 168 00:10:07,679 --> 00:10:11,200 Speaker 1: taught music lessons to support herself and her daughter, but 169 00:10:11,400 --> 00:10:15,320 Speaker 1: after she learned about her younger sister's roles as local 170 00:10:15,360 --> 00:10:18,920 Speaker 1: mediums pretty prominent local mediums by this point, she took 171 00:10:19,000 --> 00:10:23,000 Speaker 1: Kate back to Rochester with her, and apparently Maggie and 172 00:10:23,080 --> 00:10:27,559 Speaker 1: Margaret soon followed along, and they weren't the only ones 173 00:10:27,640 --> 00:10:32,080 Speaker 1: who made this family move though. Apparently the spirits also 174 00:10:32,200 --> 00:10:37,120 Speaker 1: followed the girls to Rochester and started haunting their home Mayor. 175 00:10:37,200 --> 00:10:39,520 Speaker 1: But it wasn't really like they were trying to escape 176 00:10:39,559 --> 00:10:41,960 Speaker 1: from them, no, not at all. Actually, according to an 177 00:10:42,040 --> 00:10:45,840 Speaker 1: article by Nancy Reuben Stewart in American History, Leah claimed 178 00:10:45,840 --> 00:10:47,960 Speaker 1: in her memoir that the ghost had followed them to 179 00:10:48,040 --> 00:10:51,440 Speaker 1: Rochester and quote so disturbed her household that she was 180 00:10:51,480 --> 00:10:55,959 Speaker 1: forced to move, but apparently Leah's next home was actually 181 00:10:56,040 --> 00:10:58,800 Speaker 1: next to a cemetery, which is kind of a weird 182 00:10:58,880 --> 00:11:01,240 Speaker 1: place to move if you want to get away from ghosts, 183 00:11:01,240 --> 00:11:04,840 Speaker 1: as Stewart points out, maybe like you're looking for new work. Actually, 184 00:11:05,040 --> 00:11:08,079 Speaker 1: and maybe that's actually probably a smart thing to do, 185 00:11:08,200 --> 00:11:10,840 Speaker 1: now that we think of it. But the spirits continued 186 00:11:10,880 --> 00:11:13,280 Speaker 1: to hang around the sisters, and in fact, they became 187 00:11:13,320 --> 00:11:15,720 Speaker 1: more energetic, and soon Lea decided it was time to 188 00:11:15,720 --> 00:11:19,000 Speaker 1: share them with other people, so they started holding seances 189 00:11:19,000 --> 00:11:22,560 Speaker 1: in Rochester. Maggie and Kate conducted them, and Leah set 190 00:11:22,600 --> 00:11:25,240 Speaker 1: herself up as the interpreter of the raps. She was 191 00:11:25,320 --> 00:11:28,320 Speaker 1: kind of the impresario of the whole thing. So here's 192 00:11:28,320 --> 00:11:31,560 Speaker 1: how they worked the seances. That is, the guests would arrive, 193 00:11:32,000 --> 00:11:34,800 Speaker 1: they'd sit around a table and say a prayer and 194 00:11:34,840 --> 00:11:38,080 Speaker 1: then sing. Then they'd hold hands and sit for a 195 00:11:38,080 --> 00:11:41,520 Speaker 1: while in silence until eventually Maggie or Kate would fall 196 00:11:41,559 --> 00:11:44,960 Speaker 1: into a trance. Then the rapping noises would begin. And 197 00:11:45,080 --> 00:11:48,760 Speaker 1: people loved going to these. Demands for the sciences grew, 198 00:11:48,880 --> 00:11:52,640 Speaker 1: even people like congressmen and judges, prominent folks in the 199 00:11:52,679 --> 00:11:56,360 Speaker 1: community wanted to take part, and they eventually became known 200 00:11:56,480 --> 00:12:01,240 Speaker 1: as the Rochester Rappings, which some a little different than 201 00:12:01,280 --> 00:12:04,080 Speaker 1: what it really is. But then in November of eight 202 00:12:05,559 --> 00:12:09,760 Speaker 1: Leah made a big announcement. She said that the Spirits 203 00:12:09,920 --> 00:12:12,520 Speaker 1: it wasn't enough to just keep doing these stances. The 204 00:12:12,559 --> 00:12:17,080 Speaker 1: Spirits wanted them to go public to publicize spiritualism, and 205 00:12:17,160 --> 00:12:20,559 Speaker 1: so they rented out Corinthian Hall, which was the largest 206 00:12:20,600 --> 00:12:24,520 Speaker 1: auditorium in Rochester, and charged in mission for the very 207 00:12:24,559 --> 00:12:28,839 Speaker 1: first time cents ahead to those who wanted to hear 208 00:12:28,880 --> 00:12:32,840 Speaker 1: the wraps in person. And Leah and Maggie Kate was 209 00:12:33,040 --> 00:12:36,640 Speaker 1: away at the time, I think visiting someone. I think 210 00:12:37,040 --> 00:12:40,800 Speaker 1: appeared on the stage at this huge Corinthian Hall four 211 00:12:40,920 --> 00:12:44,840 Speaker 1: nights in a row that month, and they weren't really 212 00:12:44,920 --> 00:12:48,880 Speaker 1: met with a enthusiastic crowd though. There were a lot 213 00:12:48,880 --> 00:12:53,200 Speaker 1: of skeptics and a pretty hostile crowd in fact, jeering 214 00:12:53,520 --> 00:12:56,040 Speaker 1: and um. A lot of the people in the audience 215 00:12:56,160 --> 00:12:59,120 Speaker 1: just thought that they were coming to see the Sisters 216 00:12:59,240 --> 00:13:03,440 Speaker 1: exposed and frauds, and they didn't know how Leah and 217 00:13:03,520 --> 00:13:05,920 Speaker 1: Maggie would try to keep it up four nights in 218 00:13:05,920 --> 00:13:09,000 Speaker 1: a row in this in this huge venue, so for 219 00:13:09,080 --> 00:13:12,160 Speaker 1: three days. During the stretch of four performances, Maggie and 220 00:13:12,240 --> 00:13:15,640 Speaker 1: Leah agreed to submit to investigations by different committees that 221 00:13:15,640 --> 00:13:19,360 Speaker 1: were actually chosen by the previous night's audiences. According to 222 00:13:19,400 --> 00:13:22,920 Speaker 1: an article by Barbara M. Weisberg in American Heritage, they 223 00:13:22,960 --> 00:13:26,480 Speaker 1: were basically man handled during these episodes. Their feet were held, 224 00:13:26,840 --> 00:13:29,840 Speaker 1: they were placed in different positions. They were made to 225 00:13:29,920 --> 00:13:33,120 Speaker 1: stand on glass plates with their skirts tied tightly around 226 00:13:33,120 --> 00:13:36,360 Speaker 1: their ankles. A committee of women even took the sisters 227 00:13:36,400 --> 00:13:39,360 Speaker 1: into a room and disrobed them to examine them and 228 00:13:39,400 --> 00:13:42,920 Speaker 1: their clothing to see what was causing these rapping sounds. 229 00:13:43,760 --> 00:13:46,800 Speaker 1: So the rapping sounds did keep going as those examinations 230 00:13:46,800 --> 00:13:49,840 Speaker 1: were taking place, so the committees ended up acquitting the 231 00:13:49,920 --> 00:13:54,360 Speaker 1: sisters of any sort of fraud. They all were convinced. This, however, 232 00:13:54,400 --> 00:13:56,880 Speaker 1: did not help persuade the angry mob that showed up 233 00:13:56,880 --> 00:13:59,520 Speaker 1: on the fourth night. Maggie and Leah actually needed a 234 00:13:59,520 --> 00:14:03,080 Speaker 1: police escort to get out of their safely, but their 235 00:14:03,200 --> 00:14:08,000 Speaker 1: star and modern spiritualism was officially born. Yeah. I mean, 236 00:14:08,280 --> 00:14:11,320 Speaker 1: this seems like it would have only added to their 237 00:14:11,440 --> 00:14:14,520 Speaker 1: fame around town and people want to go out and 238 00:14:14,520 --> 00:14:18,080 Speaker 1: see them, both the detractors and the supporters. But there 239 00:14:18,080 --> 00:14:21,760 Speaker 1: were a lot of factors that actually helped spiritualism catch 240 00:14:21,800 --> 00:14:25,080 Speaker 1: on quickly. There was a recent bestselling book called The 241 00:14:25,120 --> 00:14:29,680 Speaker 1: Divine Principles of Nature by seer Andrew Jackson Davis, and 242 00:14:29,800 --> 00:14:32,920 Speaker 1: that was based in turn on the writings of the 243 00:14:33,000 --> 00:14:38,960 Speaker 1: eighteenth century philosopher and former podcast subject Emmanuel Swedenburgh and Um, 244 00:14:39,000 --> 00:14:42,400 Speaker 1: these writings seemed to predict the opening of communication with 245 00:14:42,480 --> 00:14:45,880 Speaker 1: the spiritual world, so gave people some something concrete to 246 00:14:45,920 --> 00:14:49,400 Speaker 1: look at. It was good timing. It was very good timing. Um. 247 00:14:49,560 --> 00:14:53,360 Speaker 1: There was also popular interest in mesmerism and that might 248 00:14:53,360 --> 00:14:55,600 Speaker 1: have helped paved the way, and we talked about that 249 00:14:55,720 --> 00:15:00,520 Speaker 1: for last year's Halloween podcasts. And another aspect which we've 250 00:15:00,600 --> 00:15:03,200 Speaker 1: kind of in a strange way, talked about two in 251 00:15:03,240 --> 00:15:08,440 Speaker 1: the Victoria Woodhull podcasts. Spiritualism also supported reforms such as 252 00:15:08,480 --> 00:15:13,280 Speaker 1: abolition and women's suffrage, which we're really gaining steam at 253 00:15:13,280 --> 00:15:16,760 Speaker 1: the time. And then one final thing going on at 254 00:15:16,760 --> 00:15:21,440 Speaker 1: the time, or one extra thing relating to new technology 255 00:15:21,560 --> 00:15:26,680 Speaker 1: and science. The telegraph had become a central metaphor for spiritualism. 256 00:15:26,680 --> 00:15:30,360 Speaker 1: Mediums were like a spiritual telegraph in a way. So 257 00:15:30,400 --> 00:15:34,040 Speaker 1: you have this great concrete thing, not just the book 258 00:15:34,080 --> 00:15:37,360 Speaker 1: to look at, but um, a scientific a piece of 259 00:15:37,400 --> 00:15:41,800 Speaker 1: technology to compare something that seemed really abstract too. Yeah, 260 00:15:41,880 --> 00:15:43,600 Speaker 1: they could look at it and say, hey, if you 261 00:15:43,640 --> 00:15:46,160 Speaker 1: can talk in an instant to someone in a different city, 262 00:15:46,200 --> 00:15:48,960 Speaker 1: why can't you talk to someone in the spirit world 263 00:15:49,160 --> 00:15:51,960 Speaker 1: so easily. So there was a lot going on. Yeah, 264 00:15:52,160 --> 00:15:56,360 Speaker 1: and obviously bringing a lot of past podcast material together. 265 00:15:57,320 --> 00:16:00,960 Speaker 1: So by eighteen fifty four, according to spirit List estimates, 266 00:16:01,000 --> 00:16:03,720 Speaker 1: the movement had somewhere from one to two million followers 267 00:16:03,720 --> 00:16:06,840 Speaker 1: in the US. And as the movement grew, the spectacles 268 00:16:06,880 --> 00:16:09,640 Speaker 1: just got more and more complicated. It wasn't just simple 269 00:16:10,080 --> 00:16:14,800 Speaker 1: knocking or rapping noises anymore. There were phosphorescent, glimmering clouds 270 00:16:14,840 --> 00:16:21,160 Speaker 1: around people, levitating furniture, heavenly music, and something called spirit writing, 271 00:16:21,400 --> 00:16:24,320 Speaker 1: which occurred when a medium was in a trance and 272 00:16:24,360 --> 00:16:27,600 Speaker 1: then the spirit would try to communicate through her. She 273 00:16:27,640 --> 00:16:29,680 Speaker 1: would actually write on a piece of paper or something 274 00:16:29,760 --> 00:16:33,200 Speaker 1: a little bit from her spirit, sophisticated than the wrapping 275 00:16:33,360 --> 00:16:37,480 Speaker 1: alphabet system. Yeah, it was definitely a more elaborate way 276 00:16:37,520 --> 00:16:41,280 Speaker 1: to get your message more information across quickly. That way. Yeah, 277 00:16:42,040 --> 00:16:45,520 Speaker 1: But the Fox Sisters were only getting more and more 278 00:16:45,520 --> 00:16:47,920 Speaker 1: famous in all of this too. They went to New 279 00:16:47,960 --> 00:16:52,440 Speaker 1: York City, they conducted really lucrative seances for some well 280 00:16:52,520 --> 00:16:56,560 Speaker 1: known folks there. Um. One famous seance included the New 281 00:16:56,640 --> 00:17:00,560 Speaker 1: York Tribune editor Horse Greeley, who was a big, big 282 00:17:00,600 --> 00:17:04,600 Speaker 1: proponent of the Sisters. Um. It also included William Cullen, Bryant, 283 00:17:05,080 --> 00:17:09,640 Speaker 1: George Ripley, George Bancroft, and James S. Ventimore Cooper too. Yeah, 284 00:17:09,640 --> 00:17:12,920 Speaker 1: and according to Weisberg's article, Cooper blessed the Fox Sisters 285 00:17:12,960 --> 00:17:16,000 Speaker 1: on his deathbed for having prepared him for quote this hour. 286 00:17:16,240 --> 00:17:20,440 Speaker 1: I mean, that's a pretty good customer testimonial, I'd say 287 00:17:20,600 --> 00:17:24,280 Speaker 1: it is. And of course, though, as spiritualism's popularity grew, 288 00:17:24,480 --> 00:17:27,040 Speaker 1: skeptics grew more vocal about it too, And some of 289 00:17:27,040 --> 00:17:29,160 Speaker 1: the points they raised were really funny. I mean, if 290 00:17:29,200 --> 00:17:31,000 Speaker 1: you think about it, some of the things they brought 291 00:17:31,080 --> 00:17:32,919 Speaker 1: up were like, Okay, if you're a spirit in the 292 00:17:32,960 --> 00:17:37,080 Speaker 1: spirit world, why are you spending all your time knocking 293 00:17:38,160 --> 00:17:43,480 Speaker 1: or why yeah, or levitating furniture and moving it around. 294 00:17:43,520 --> 00:17:46,000 Speaker 1: I mean, wouldn't you find a better way to communicate 295 00:17:46,080 --> 00:17:56,720 Speaker 1: or you know, something else to do with your time. So, 296 00:17:56,760 --> 00:17:59,720 Speaker 1: as you might imagine, a lot of mediums were exposed 297 00:17:59,720 --> 00:18:02,560 Speaker 1: as for odds during this time, and Debunker's kept trying 298 00:18:02,560 --> 00:18:05,360 Speaker 1: to expose the Sisters the Fox Sisters as well. There 299 00:18:05,359 --> 00:18:07,960 Speaker 1: were a couple theories put out there as to how 300 00:18:08,000 --> 00:18:11,880 Speaker 1: they could be pulling this off. One was something called 301 00:18:11,920 --> 00:18:14,880 Speaker 1: toe ology. So just to explain this, some people thought 302 00:18:14,880 --> 00:18:17,120 Speaker 1: that the sisters had been making the wrapping sounds by 303 00:18:17,160 --> 00:18:20,359 Speaker 1: cracking their toes, which Doublina and I have had a 304 00:18:20,400 --> 00:18:24,480 Speaker 1: thorough conversation of this, and I'm just cure. I mean, 305 00:18:24,480 --> 00:18:28,240 Speaker 1: does anybody out there is anyone out there really able 306 00:18:28,280 --> 00:18:32,240 Speaker 1: to crack their toes to a super loud volume like 307 00:18:32,359 --> 00:18:34,560 Speaker 1: an ace audience hall would be able to hear it 308 00:18:34,840 --> 00:18:38,040 Speaker 1: enough to make it sound like wrapping on walls or floors, 309 00:18:38,680 --> 00:18:43,359 Speaker 1: because we do not have that power. Yes, thank goodness. 310 00:18:43,960 --> 00:18:46,480 Speaker 1: But there was another theory too, which sounds a little 311 00:18:46,480 --> 00:18:48,359 Speaker 1: more believable to me. It came from a trio of 312 00:18:48,400 --> 00:18:51,800 Speaker 1: doctors in Buffalo. They said that the rapping noises sounded 313 00:18:51,840 --> 00:18:54,879 Speaker 1: just like noises produced in the knee joints. So the 314 00:18:54,920 --> 00:18:58,480 Speaker 1: Fox Sisters allowed them to test this theory in one 315 00:18:58,600 --> 00:19:01,520 Speaker 1: and the doctors considered the us to success. When a 316 00:19:01,600 --> 00:19:06,720 Speaker 1: sister's knees were restricted, no raps occurred. So the sisters 317 00:19:06,760 --> 00:19:10,280 Speaker 1: claimed though that the environment was just too hostile for 318 00:19:10,320 --> 00:19:12,920 Speaker 1: the spirits and that's why they didn't show up during 319 00:19:12,960 --> 00:19:16,399 Speaker 1: this test. Answer. But regardless, it didn't hurt their popularity. 320 00:19:16,600 --> 00:19:20,280 Speaker 1: No again, it's it's any publicity is is sort of 321 00:19:20,320 --> 00:19:24,320 Speaker 1: good publicity for these sisters. And as successful as Maggie 322 00:19:24,359 --> 00:19:27,160 Speaker 1: and Kate though were as mediums, they didn't fare so 323 00:19:27,200 --> 00:19:30,920 Speaker 1: well in their personal lives. And the eighteen fifties, Maggie 324 00:19:30,920 --> 00:19:35,800 Speaker 1: became involved to some extent with a very well renowned 325 00:19:35,880 --> 00:19:41,639 Speaker 1: famous Arctic explorer named Dr Elisha Kent Kane, and there's 326 00:19:41,760 --> 00:19:44,800 Speaker 1: not a whole lot of evidence about their relationship, but 327 00:19:44,840 --> 00:19:48,040 Speaker 1: what evidence there is suggests that there was some connection 328 00:19:48,080 --> 00:19:51,560 Speaker 1: between them. They were very likely in love, but because 329 00:19:51,720 --> 00:19:55,280 Speaker 1: of her profession, he didn't really see her as a 330 00:19:55,320 --> 00:20:00,040 Speaker 1: proper prospect. He thought that she was fraud probably, and 331 00:20:00,240 --> 00:20:03,280 Speaker 1: he tried to transform her to make her somebody who 332 00:20:03,320 --> 00:20:06,879 Speaker 1: he could be with a more suitable match. She lived 333 00:20:06,880 --> 00:20:09,440 Speaker 1: with his family for a little while to get an education, 334 00:20:09,520 --> 00:20:13,920 Speaker 1: but ultimately he would not publicly claim a connection with her, 335 00:20:14,000 --> 00:20:17,919 Speaker 1: So that's kind of a sad life story there for 336 00:20:17,920 --> 00:20:20,679 Speaker 1: for Maggie it is. And after his death in eighteen 337 00:20:20,720 --> 00:20:23,680 Speaker 1: fifty seven, Maggie said that they had been secretly married 338 00:20:24,040 --> 00:20:27,240 Speaker 1: or maybe common law married, it differs depending on which 339 00:20:27,240 --> 00:20:29,760 Speaker 1: source you look at, and he she also said that 340 00:20:29,800 --> 00:20:32,919 Speaker 1: he left her a small inheritance, but his family really 341 00:20:32,960 --> 00:20:35,639 Speaker 1: fought this and she ended up publishing a book of 342 00:20:35,760 --> 00:20:38,560 Speaker 1: letters from him to her later, but we're not really 343 00:20:38,560 --> 00:20:41,640 Speaker 1: sure to what extent she edited that or how accurate 344 00:20:41,680 --> 00:20:44,439 Speaker 1: they are. In eighteen fifty eight, though, she did follow 345 00:20:44,520 --> 00:20:48,840 Speaker 1: Kane's wishes and retired and converted to Roman Catholicism. Maggie's 346 00:20:48,880 --> 00:20:52,880 Speaker 1: older sister, Leah retired the same year. She married her 347 00:20:52,920 --> 00:20:57,480 Speaker 1: third husband, who was a wealthy businessman and a spiritualist 348 00:20:57,560 --> 00:21:01,680 Speaker 1: conveniently enough around this time and really just didn't need 349 00:21:01,720 --> 00:21:07,320 Speaker 1: money from seances anymore. And then Kate continued to stay 350 00:21:07,359 --> 00:21:09,800 Speaker 1: in the scene to be visible in the movement for 351 00:21:10,160 --> 00:21:13,040 Speaker 1: several more years after her sisters had both retired, but 352 00:21:13,400 --> 00:21:17,320 Speaker 1: in the eighteen sixties both she and Maggie began to 353 00:21:17,960 --> 00:21:21,680 Speaker 1: succomb more and more to their problems with alcoholism, and 354 00:21:22,359 --> 00:21:26,320 Speaker 1: eventually Kate moved to England in eighteen seventy one hoping 355 00:21:26,400 --> 00:21:30,119 Speaker 1: to beat that addiction, and was able to for for 356 00:21:30,160 --> 00:21:33,320 Speaker 1: a time at least yep. She married wealthy barrister and 357 00:21:33,359 --> 00:21:37,120 Speaker 1: spiritualist Henry D. Jenkin and had two kids with him, 358 00:21:37,160 --> 00:21:39,720 Speaker 1: But when Jenkin died in the early eighteen eighties, she 359 00:21:39,840 --> 00:21:43,040 Speaker 1: lost her battle with alcoholism and ended up moving back 360 00:21:43,040 --> 00:21:45,960 Speaker 1: to the States as her condition just continued to worsen. 361 00:21:46,600 --> 00:21:49,320 Speaker 1: But the Fox sisters did have one more big moment. 362 00:21:49,400 --> 00:21:52,000 Speaker 1: Their lass big moment in the Spotlight really occurred in 363 00:21:52,359 --> 00:21:56,080 Speaker 1: October eight eight. At that time, Leah tried to have 364 00:21:56,240 --> 00:21:59,400 Speaker 1: Kate's children taken away because of her alcoholism, and so 365 00:21:59,760 --> 00:22:02,760 Speaker 1: in her defense, Maggie kind of decided to lash out. 366 00:22:03,200 --> 00:22:06,200 Speaker 1: Before an audience at New York's Academy of Music, Maggie 367 00:22:06,240 --> 00:22:08,760 Speaker 1: confessed that the sister's communication with the spirits had been 368 00:22:08,800 --> 00:22:12,639 Speaker 1: a hoax, and removing her right shoe, she confirmed that 369 00:22:12,800 --> 00:22:15,440 Speaker 1: to ology theory that we told you about earlier by 370 00:22:15,520 --> 00:22:18,960 Speaker 1: creating sharp raps with the first joint of her big toe. 371 00:22:19,520 --> 00:22:22,000 Speaker 1: She basically said the whole thing started as the girls 372 00:22:22,160 --> 00:22:24,800 Speaker 1: trying to play a prank on their superstitious mom way 373 00:22:24,840 --> 00:22:28,159 Speaker 1: back in Hydesville, and ended with Leah turning them into 374 00:22:28,320 --> 00:22:31,160 Speaker 1: her own money making tools, asking them how how they 375 00:22:31,160 --> 00:22:34,679 Speaker 1: did it? Essentially a year later, though Maggie were canted 376 00:22:34,720 --> 00:22:36,960 Speaker 1: this confession. She said that she had been pressured into 377 00:22:37,040 --> 00:22:40,120 Speaker 1: it by powerful people because she needed the money. Both 378 00:22:40,160 --> 00:22:43,480 Speaker 1: she and Kate tried to continue holding seances to make money, 379 00:22:43,560 --> 00:22:47,440 Speaker 1: even though Kate also tried to confess over the years 380 00:22:47,480 --> 00:22:48,919 Speaker 1: and prove that it had been a hoax, and then 381 00:22:48,960 --> 00:22:51,080 Speaker 1: would go back now and again to be in a medium, 382 00:22:51,119 --> 00:22:53,600 Speaker 1: But neither of them were as successful as they had 383 00:22:53,640 --> 00:22:56,320 Speaker 1: been earlier in their career. They spent their last years 384 00:22:56,320 --> 00:23:02,040 Speaker 1: in poverty, and Leah died in eight in eight and 385 00:23:02,080 --> 00:23:06,760 Speaker 1: finally Maggie in eighteen ninety three, and by that point 386 00:23:06,840 --> 00:23:10,720 Speaker 1: spiritualism had already started to wane in the United States, 387 00:23:10,760 --> 00:23:14,879 Speaker 1: but it's popularity was still growing elsewhere, and it still is, 388 00:23:14,960 --> 00:23:18,840 Speaker 1: of course, around today. The Fox sisters are still credited 389 00:23:18,880 --> 00:23:22,360 Speaker 1: with launching the modern spiritualist movement, although there are probably 390 00:23:22,359 --> 00:23:26,480 Speaker 1: a variety of opinions out there about their actual ability 391 00:23:26,520 --> 00:23:30,920 Speaker 1: to communicate with spirits. We do have one last note, though, 392 00:23:31,240 --> 00:23:32,880 Speaker 1: We would like to leave you on a spooking note 393 00:23:32,920 --> 00:23:36,000 Speaker 1: for a Halloween Podcast. Yes, of course. Uh, it's a 394 00:23:36,080 --> 00:23:39,280 Speaker 1: note that relates to that variety of opinions about their 395 00:23:39,320 --> 00:23:44,159 Speaker 1: actual ability to communicate. So remember that original communication of 396 00:23:44,200 --> 00:23:46,919 Speaker 1: theirs with the Spirit of the Peddler. Well, when the 397 00:23:46,920 --> 00:23:50,000 Speaker 1: water did finally drain out of that excavation pit in 398 00:23:50,040 --> 00:23:54,200 Speaker 1: the seller in eighteen forty eight, some partial remains were found, 399 00:23:54,480 --> 00:23:57,320 Speaker 1: some hair and a few bones. Of course, skeptics at 400 00:23:57,320 --> 00:24:00,640 Speaker 1: the time thought that it was a plant, but according 401 00:24:00,680 --> 00:24:04,200 Speaker 1: to Weisberg's article, in the early nineteen hundreds, a skeleton 402 00:24:04,359 --> 00:24:07,960 Speaker 1: was found behind the cellar wall, and experts later estimated 403 00:24:08,000 --> 00:24:11,680 Speaker 1: that it had been there for about fifty years, so 404 00:24:12,640 --> 00:24:16,160 Speaker 1: right around the time that the spirit told the sisters 405 00:24:16,240 --> 00:24:22,600 Speaker 1: it had been murdered. Something to think about. Thank you 406 00:24:22,720 --> 00:24:26,240 Speaker 1: so much for joining us for this Saturday classic. Since 407 00:24:26,280 --> 00:24:28,320 Speaker 1: this is out of the archive, if you heard an 408 00:24:28,320 --> 00:24:30,840 Speaker 1: email address or a Facebook U R L or something 409 00:24:30,920 --> 00:24:34,480 Speaker 1: similar during the course of the show, that may be obsolete. Now. 410 00:24:34,560 --> 00:24:37,520 Speaker 1: So here is our current contact information. We are at 411 00:24:37,640 --> 00:24:40,239 Speaker 1: History Podcast at how Stuff Works dot com, and then 412 00:24:40,280 --> 00:24:43,560 Speaker 1: we're at Missed in the History. All over social media 413 00:24:43,840 --> 00:24:48,400 Speaker 1: that is our name on Facebook, Twitter, Tumbler, Pinterest, and Instagram. 414 00:24:48,400 --> 00:24:53,880 Speaker 1: Thanks again, for listening. For more on this and thousands 415 00:24:53,880 --> 00:25:01,359 Speaker 1: of other topics, visit how stuff works dot com.