TITLE: Calling the Spirits: A History of Seances
AUTHOR: Lisa Morton
PUBLISHER: Reaktion Books
ISBN: 9781789142808
PODCAST EPISODE: Book Club 25
REVIEWER: Hilary Wilson
In Reaktion Books’ recent release, Calling the Spirits: A History of Seances, Lisa Morton has done the unthinkable. Tracing humankind’s history of contacting the dead from Homer to Ghost Hunters in under 400 pages, this slim volume contains within it a comprehensive view of Spiritualism up to the modern day -- complete with biographies of all its central figures.
Morton doesn't shy away from the occasionally controversial nature of the subject. She presides over intense debates over the years about the nature of Spiritualism, offering perspectives from all sides. Are Seances demonic? Are Ouija Boards dangerous? Are mediums actually calling up the dead, or simply reading the minds of the living? All of these questions and more are thoroughly considered.
More interesting than these debates, however, is the simple question of how a religious movement, founded by a set of siblings who later admitted to being frauds, still has followers to this day. What was it about Spiritualism, or simple spirit communication in general, that enraptured us so deeply? Why were Spiritualists so determined to prove that there was life after death?
While the book is primarily historical, the latter chapters do address modern day belief in spirit communication. Morton devotes pages to modern mediums, as well as their effect upon both entertainment and law enforcement agencies. The secrets of the trade, both past and present, are revealed to the reader. Yet, Morton thoughtfully explains why mediums - or psychics as they are now primarily called - still thrive.
“Is it also possible that some mediums suffered from nothing worse than a desire to provide comfort to others?” Lisa Morton asks. I believe that that is a question worthy of much more consideration. More than 170 years after the Fox sisters first took to table-rapping, we are still taken with the desire to talk to the dead and see ghosts. It’s about time that we turn from questioning the reality of this phenomena, and instead consider what our desire to believe in it says about ourselves.
AUTHOR: Lisa Morton
PUBLISHER: Reaktion Books
ISBN: 9781789142808
PODCAST EPISODE: Book Club 25
REVIEWER: Hilary Wilson
In Reaktion Books’ recent release, Calling the Spirits: A History of Seances, Lisa Morton has done the unthinkable. Tracing humankind’s history of contacting the dead from Homer to Ghost Hunters in under 400 pages, this slim volume contains within it a comprehensive view of Spiritualism up to the modern day -- complete with biographies of all its central figures.
Morton doesn't shy away from the occasionally controversial nature of the subject. She presides over intense debates over the years about the nature of Spiritualism, offering perspectives from all sides. Are Seances demonic? Are Ouija Boards dangerous? Are mediums actually calling up the dead, or simply reading the minds of the living? All of these questions and more are thoroughly considered.
More interesting than these debates, however, is the simple question of how a religious movement, founded by a set of siblings who later admitted to being frauds, still has followers to this day. What was it about Spiritualism, or simple spirit communication in general, that enraptured us so deeply? Why were Spiritualists so determined to prove that there was life after death?
While the book is primarily historical, the latter chapters do address modern day belief in spirit communication. Morton devotes pages to modern mediums, as well as their effect upon both entertainment and law enforcement agencies. The secrets of the trade, both past and present, are revealed to the reader. Yet, Morton thoughtfully explains why mediums - or psychics as they are now primarily called - still thrive.
“Is it also possible that some mediums suffered from nothing worse than a desire to provide comfort to others?” Lisa Morton asks. I believe that that is a question worthy of much more consideration. More than 170 years after the Fox sisters first took to table-rapping, we are still taken with the desire to talk to the dead and see ghosts. It’s about time that we turn from questioning the reality of this phenomena, and instead consider what our desire to believe in it says about ourselves.