July 16, 2025

Spirits in the Material World: Mediums and Spiritualism

54 minutes

EPISODE 141 | Spirits in the Material World: Mediums and Spiritualism

The late 19th and early 20th were rife with claims of contact with spirits of the departed, and plenty of people made a pretty penny convincing the grieving or the curious that they had the right stuff, the special connection to the Other Side. But it has continued past then, and even today there are those who would prey upon people to make a fast buck, supercharging the woo space in the process.

We’ll look at mediums, magicians, seances, channelers and more, including some of the tricks these con artists use to ply their ignoble trade. And we’ll also examine what’s up with the Ouija board.

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SECTIONS

Spirit (I Believe in You) - The Fox Sisters start it all im 1849, spiritism and spiritualism, the Cottingley Fairies

Watching You Without Me - Cold readings, the Barnum Effect, shotgunning, Forer and Criss Angel, John Edward the Douche, the vanishing negative, turning a negative, the Rainbow Ruse, flattery, warm readings, hot readings, spirit guides, how to avoid being tricked

Home by the Sea - Types of mediums, scammers getting caught (Daniel Dunglas Home, Rosina Mary Showers, Francis Ward Monck, the Davenport Brothers, May and Lizzie Bangs, Derek Acorah, Thomas John)

The Ghost in You - Origins of the Ouija Board in 1890, ideomotor response (IMR), some believe and like, some believe and don't like, Yeats used it to write poetry, Pearl Curran and "Patience Worth" writes book, Emily Grant Hutchings writes a book with Mark Twain's ghost

(Ghost) Riders in the Sky - Rosemary Isabel Brown channels dead composers, James Merrill uses a Ouija to write award-winning poetry, Jane Roberts starts the channeling industry with "Seth"

Music by Fanette Ronjat

More Info

The Fox Sisters (a haunted history)

Spiritualism Exposed: Margaret Fox Kane Confesses Fraud on the Skeptic Report

spiritism (spiritualism) entry in the Skeptic's Dictionary

The Spiritualists' National Union website

Society for Psychical Research website

A Pagan's Lexicon : Animal Spirits

How to find your animal spirit guide on Mooky Chick

John Edward on Villains Wiki

Why do a quarter of people across the world believe humans have psychic abilities?

A MAGICIAN AMONG THE SPIRITS by Harry Houdini, full text

James Randi Educational Foundation website

Kennard Novelty Company website

Written by Pearl Curran…or by Ouija Board?

The book was supposedly written by Mark Twain’s ghost 100 years ago

How to use the Ouija Board

The secret of the Ouija board in The Week

DIY Ouija Board!

Rosemary Brown obituary

'Even the spirits get a say': A Look Into James Merrill's Ouija Poems

The Problem of Seth's Origin: A Case Study of the Trance-Possession Mediumship of Jane Roberts, paper by Paul Cunningham

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4.9

2020 ratings