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The Fox Sister’s DiscoveryHYDESVILLE, NEW YORK - Every parent once in a while has a night like the Fox’s were having. Their two little girls, Margaret age 10, and Kate aged 7 would not go to sleep. Loud knocks and bangs kept the couple up until finally the Mother stormed into her girl’s bedroom to demand quiet. What she discovered on opening the door would haunt the world forever. The little girls were playing a game, that late night in 1848, one girl would ask a question and a rap was clearly heard in answer. At first their mother thought they were somehow making the noise then realized she could see both children clearly and the rapping sound didn’t seem to be coming from them. Cheerfully the children informed her that they had found a way to question the tapping phantom. One rap meant yes, two raps meant no, and in this way they had learned that their ghost was a deceased peddler who had been killed in the house and was buried in the basement. Needless to say it’s doubtful that any of the Fox family got any sleep that night. Mediums and Marvels Out of the strange night, which actually occurred according to the Fox’s on March 31, 1848, a trend called Spiritualism was born. This belief not only assured its believers of a life after death, but also offered a way to communicate with loved ones who had died. Well into the 1930’s Spiritualism enjoyed a huge popularity and gave those who were able to communicate with the dead, called Mediums, a great deal of wealth. Mediums would go into a trance, or sleep like state, and a spirit would manifest itself by either speaking through the Medium or rapping on the table. Other methods of communication were levitating objects, playing musical instruments, or a spirit actually appearing in some form in the room where the séance was held. |
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Many of the Mediums of that time where proved to be faking their abilities and Spiritualism began to be viewed as passé’. The Fox sisters first admitted to faking the tapping sounds then recanted that confession. Both sisters died penniless and were buried in pauper graves. The belief that spirits exist and sometimes attempt to communicate in this manner has continued to today.
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