Conjuring Curiosities

This episode, Clara takes Sabrina on an exploration of the origins of Spiritualism and the remarkable story of the Fox sisters. Join us as we uncover the intriguing events that sparked a movement and forever changed the way we perceive the afterlife! Discover how the Fox sisters' alleged ability to communicate with the spirit world captured the public imagination, leading to the emergence of Spiritualism—a movement centred around the belief in the continuity of consciousness after death and the possibility of communication with the departed.

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SOURCES:

Wikipedia - Fox sisters

Wikipedia - Spiritualism (beliefs)

Thecanadianencyclopedia.ca - Spiritualism

Smithsonian Magazine - The Fox Sisters and the Rap on Spiritualism

Center for Inquiry - A Skeleton’s Tale:The Origins of Modern Spiritualism

Friendsofdalnavert.ca - GABBING WITH GHOSTS: THE FOX SISTERS AND THE RISE OF SPIRITUALISM

The New Yorker - Why Did So Many Victorians Try to Speak with the Dead?

A Magician Among the Spirits - Harry Houdini

Medium.com - As Long As What You’re Saying Is True

ABC News - Psychic Who Said Amanda Berry Was Dead Silent After Berry Is Found Alive

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Clara tells Sabrina about the vibrant green hue that took Victorian society by storm, adorning everything from wallpapers to dresses. But behind the allure of this captivating colour was a chilling tale of deception, danger, and death.

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SOURCES:

Crosscut - Arsenic: Victorians' secret

Smithsonian Magazine - In Ancient Rome, Purple Dye Was Made from Snails

Racked.com - The History of Green Dye Is a History of Death

The Paris Review - Scheele’s Green, the Color of Fake Foliage and Death

Wikipedia - Scheele's Green

American Duchess - A Little History of Arsenic Green

Historic UK - Poison Panic

Wikipedia - 1858 Bradford sweets poisoning

Darthmouth Toxic Metals - The Facts on Arsenic

The Atlantic - When Poison Was Everywhere

Wikipedia - Carl Wilhelm Scheele

National Library of Medicine - Arsenic in medicine: past, present and future

Global Founders London - Dangerous Beauty: A Short History of Hazardous Cosmetics and Natural Alternatives

Wikipedia - Marie Lafarge 

King 5 - This Washington study might make you think twice about your makeup choices

The Guardian - Elon Musk was once an environmental hero: is he still a rare green billionaire?

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Clara takes Sabrina into the bizarre world of Victorian mummy unwrapping parties, and unearth the strange ways in which mummies were used in the 1800's. We discuss how ground-up mummies found their way into Victorian paintings, fertilizer, and even medicine.

See photos discussed in this episode on our instagram.

Follow us on tiktok for videos that cover a condensed version of each topic!

SOURCES:

A Bit About Britain - Periods in History

Historic UK - Kings and Queens of England & Britain

Wikipedia - Mummies of Guanajuato

National Geographic - These Mexican mummies draw crowds and controversy

Ksat.com - Origins of Mexico’s mysterious mummy museum and Day of the Dead connection

Travels with Talek - THE MUMMIES OF GUANAJUATO, MEXICO: SCREAMING CORPSES BURIED ALIVE

Ripleys - MUMMY UNWRAPPING PARTIES OF THE VICTORIAN ERA

Medium - The Victorians Were Mad for Mummies

Anchient Origins - Romans Drank Gladiator Blood as an Epilepsy Cure!

National Geographic - ​The gory history of Europe’s mummy-eating fad

Britannica - 7 Surprising Uses for Mummies

Burials & Beyond - The Weird World of Mummy Parties

The Conversation - Why did people start eating Egyptian mummies? The weird and wild ways mummy fever swept through Europe

Lapham's Quarterly - A Brief History of Medical Cannibalism

Wikipedia - Mummia

Dig It With Raven - We Used To Eat Mummies?!

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In the very first episode of Conjuring Curiosities, Clara tells Sabrina that in the Victorian era, death was not only a part of life but a spectacle intertwined with intricate rituals and symbolic gestures. We cover the customs, clothing, and keepsakes that accompanied grief, from elaborate mourning attire to the macabre beauty of hair jewellery.

See photos discussed in this episode on our instagram

Follow us on tiktok for videos that cover a condensed version of each topic!

***Correction: There is currently no proven connection between oral plaque and arterial plaque!

SOURCES:

Statista - Child mortality rate (under five years old) in the United Kingdom from 1800 to 2020*

CANADIAN HISTORY: PRE-CONFEDERATION - 12.2 Childhood in a Dangerous Time

Very Well Health - Life Expectancy From Prehistory to 1800 and Beyond

Our World In Data - Life Expectancy

Office for National Statistics - Causes of death over 100 years

Approaching Death: Improving Care at the End of Life - 2. A Profile of Death and Dying in America

Vintag.es - “Living Room” What We Call Today, Was Actually Called “Death Room” in the 19th Century!

Random Times - What We Call Today “living room”, Was Actually Called “Death Room” in the victorian era…

Wikipedia - Queen Victoria

Pubmed - Deaths in childbed from the eighteenth century to 1935

The Frick Pittsburgh - Memory and Mourning: Death in the Gilded Age

Compass Rose Design - HISTORY OF VICTORIAN MOURNING JEWELRY

Englishhistory.net - Mourning

Issuu.com - Victorian Mourning Interpretation For Historic Homes

Lancaster History - Mid-Late Victorian Mourning Dress

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