Paschal Beverly Randolph
Paschal Beverly Randolph

Author: John Patrick Deveney

Publisher: SUNY Press

Published: 1997-01-01

Total Pages: 642

ISBN-13: 9780791431191

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His most enduring claim to fame is the crucial role he played in the transformation of spiritualism, a medium's passive reception of messages from the spirits of the dead, into occultism, the active search for personal spiritual realization and inner vision.

Psychic Investigators
Psychic Investigators

Author: Efram Sera-Shriar

Publisher: University of Pittsburgh Press

Published: 2022-06-14

Total Pages: 332

ISBN-13: 0822988712

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Psychic Investigators examines British anthropology’s engagement with the modern spiritualist movement during the late Victorian era. Efram Sera-Shriar argues that debates over the existence of ghosts and psychical powers were at the center of anthropological discussions on human beliefs. He focuses on the importance of establishing credible witnesses of spirit and psychic phenomena in the writings of anthropologists such as Alfred Russel Wallace, Edward Burnett Tylor, Andrew Lang, and Edward Clodd. The book draws on major themes, such as the historical relationship between science and religion, the history of scientific observation, and the emergence of the subfield of anthropology of religion in the second half of the nineteenth century. For secularists such as Tylor and Clodd, spiritualism posed a major obstacle in establishing the legitimacy of the theory of animism: a core theoretical principle of anthropology founded in the belief of “primitive cultures” that spirits animated the world, and that this belief represented the foundation of all religious paradigms. What becomes clear through this nuanced examination of Victorian anthropology is that arguments involving spirits or psychic forces usually revolved around issues of evidence, or lack of it, rather than faith or beliefs or disbeliefs.

Spectral Evidence
Spectral Evidence

Author: N. Riley Heagerty

Publisher: Lulu.com

Published: 2018-02-27

Total Pages: 148

ISBN-13: 1387336134

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What you will read in Spectral Evidence Volume I are marvels, literally psychic wonders of the world that may surpass belief-but they are true, documented and witnessed by individuals of unimpeachable character. These are some of the greatest mediums from the astounding records of Historic Spiritualism compiled by historian N. Riley Heagerty over many years. From famous lawyers, doctors and every walk of life and intellect, these are the eye-witness documents that for the most part have been swept under the carpet of prejudice and denial but now have been resurrected so that humanity can know, once and for all, the glorious beauty and drama of what true mediumship produced within the heyday of Spiritualism. If you believe in the written word, this is positive proof of life after death and communication by spirits. Fasten your psychic safety-belt.

Spiritualism's Place
Spiritualism's Place

Author: Averill Earls

Publisher: Cornell University Press

Published: 2024-10-15

Total Pages: 240

ISBN-13: 1501777270

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In Spiritualism's Place, four friends and scholars who produce the acclaimed Dig: A History Podcast, share their curiosity and enthusiasm for uncovering stories from the past as they explore the history of Lily Dale. Located in western New York State, the world's largest center for Spiritualism was founded in 1879. Lily Dale has been a home for Spiritualists attempting to make contact with the dead, as well as a gathering place for reformers, a refuge for seekers looking for alternatives to established paths of knowledge, and a target for skeptics. This intimate history of Lily Dale reveals the role that this fascinating place has played within the history of Spiritualism, as well as within the development of the women's suffrage and temperance movements, and the world of New Age religion. As an intentional community devoted to Spiritualist beliefs and practices, Lily Dale brings together multiple strands in the social and religious history of New York and the United States over the past 150 years: feminism, social reform, utopianism, new religious movements, and cultural appropriation. Podcasters and historians alike, Averill Earls, Sarah Handley-Cousins, Elizabeth Garner Masarik, and Marissa C. Rhodes each identify one site in Lily Dale and one theme that its history illuminates. They use those sites and themes to approach Lily Dale not as debunkers but as inquisitive researchers and storytellers. At the same time, they also reflect on their own relationships contending that it's never quite possible to separate grief, hope, faith, and friendship from understandings of the past. Spiritualism's Place breaks myths, unveils unexpected stories, and finds new ways to contemplate Spiritualism's role in American history.

Guided by Spirit
Guided by Spirit

Author: Charles F. Emmons PhD

Publisher: iUniverse

Published: 2003-03-03

Total Pages: 336

ISBN-13: 9781462075270

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AN INVITATION TO A JOURNEY What do spirit mediums themselves think about what they do? What do scientists and Spiritualists think about "messages from the spirit world?" We are a social scientist and a psychotherapist who have spent ten years answering these questions. Acting as mediums ourselves, we question and marvel at our own experiences. To learn more, we interviewed 40 mediums and studied the lives of 80 others. Journey with us...INTO THE MIND OF THE MEDIUM.

The Theosophical Society
The Theosophical Society

Author: Jeffrey D. Lavoie

Publisher: Universal-Publishers

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 383

ISBN-13: 1612335535

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This peer-reviewed study represents a culmination of years of research into the history of the Theosophical Society. In this unique project which combines biographies with source analyses, Jeffrey D. Lavoie records a detailed history of the early Theosophical Society and examines its relationship with the modern Spiritualist movement between the years 1875-1891. Special attention has been paid to some of the neglected figures associated with these organizations including Arthur Lillie- the Gnostic-occultist and early critic of the Theosophical Society; the Davenport Brothers- the Spiritualist mediums who developed many of the standard elements which became associated with modern Spiritualism; Alfred Wallace- the prominent scientist, Spiritualist, and supposed member of the Theosophical Society and many others. This work will appeal to a wide array of readers including those interested in modern religious movements, Western Esotericism, South Asian history, and Victorian studies.

Final Seance
Final Seance

Author: Massimo Polidoro

Publisher: Prometheus Books

Published: 2010-06-03

Total Pages: 264

ISBN-13: 1615924248

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. . . Polidoro has written--and written well--a saga of two Titans that is also a remarkable exploration of both superstition and obsession, at the lush twilight of the Edwardian era.--Baltimore SunThis is the story of an unusual friendship between two of the most intriguing characters of the early 20th century-renowned escape artist Harry Houdini and celebrated mystery writer Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (creator of Sherlock Holmes). Both men were fascinated by the occult practice of spiritualism, Houdini as an ardent skeptic who often publicly exposed fraudulent mediums and Conan Doyle as a true believer who became convinced that the dead could and did communicate with the living. Despite their differing perspectives the two men not only respected each other but became friends. The correspondence between them on the subject provides a fascinating glimpse not only into the personalities of two talented and interesting celebrities but also into a psychic phenomenon that is the ancestor of today's channeling craze.Based on original correspondence, photographs, and his own extensive research, Massimo Polidoro reconstructs this unusual friendship between a believer and a skeptic, which weathered mediums, seances, an apparition of Houdini's departed mother, automatic writing by Conan Doyle's wife, public debunkings, and hurt feelings. He also discusses the final rift that ended the friendship of the two strong-willed men. Fans of Conan Doyle, Houdini, magic, and the historical roots of the New Age will be delighted by this amazing story.Massimo Polidoro is executive director of the Italian Committee for the Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal, editor of Scienza & Paranormale (Science and the Paranormal), and author of twelve books on the paranormal.