Spiritualism is the basis of all religions. Spiritualism recognizes that there are special people gifted for unknown reasons with the ability to communicate with spirits of the dead; through these mediums, as they are called, the spirits can speak, write, levitate or materialize objects, and sometimes even manifest in temporary physical bodies made of ectoplasm.
Spiritualism offers proof of life after death in a way no other religion can; the living can talk directly to their dearly departed, and, more importantly, learn how best to live to later profit after they themselves pass on.
A Brief History
Spiritualism is a religious movement that was started in 1848 by the activities of Margarett and Catharine Fox. As the story goes, the house in Hydesville, New York, that the Fox family was staying in was plagued by strange noises that Mrs. Fox, Margarett and Catharine's mother, attributed to a ghost. The girls discovered that if they clapped, the unknown entity would respond with rapping sounds; soon, a complicated rapping system was developed the had raps for "yes," "no," and each letter of the alphabet. Through this means of communication the spirit identified itself as a man murdered by a former resident of the house, and, as proof, claimed his body was buried in the basement. An escavation of the basement floor by the Fox family later turned up human teeth, hair, and some bones.
The press loved the story, and Margarett and Catharine's older sister, Mrs. Leah Fish, was quick to capitalize on the publicity by turning her younger sisters ability to communicate with the entity into a stage act. As more and more people came to see the Fox Sisters communicate with the dead man, more and more phenomena happened; more 'spirits' begain to communicate, and the spirits that were communicating gradually became better known and more famous personages (according to Harper's Encyclopedia of Mystical & Paranormal Experience, they had the spirit Ben Franklin communicate with them during this time), and physical phenomena would occasionally occur (tables and objects would move on their own, or sometimes float into the air). The Fox Sisters' show eventually attracted the backing of the famous P.T. Barnum, who took the girls to New York City and made them nationwide stars.
The fame of the Fox Sisters and their tour to promote their "Spiritualist" society encouraged others to discover their own talents for communicating with the dead. It wasn't long before other "mediums" started to appear; and only a short time more before most started charging money for their services. These services were rendered in sessions called seances, which typically took place in a darkened room with the participants sitting in a circle holding hands. The purpose for holding hands was clear; it prevented anyone from using their hands to falsely produce ghostly phenomena, and, often, the medium would be tied to the chair with his or her legs secured as well. Under these circumstances, sounds were heard, the medium would talk in different voices and languages, small physical objects would appear and disappear, furniture would levitate or move, and, occasionally, a spirit would "materialize" in a temporary physical form.
Spiritualism was brought to Britain in 1852 by the Boston medium, Mrs. Hayden. It took time for the movement to catch on in Britain, because of the strong influence of the Church of England, but once it did it was there to stay.
By 1855, Spiritualism claimed to have two million followers. In the previous year, a petition with no less than 15,000 signatures was sent to the U.S. senate demanding an investigation into Spiritualism because the believers of the phenomena knew the dead were anxious to communicate... but the petition was tabled. There was little doubt that the movement's quick growth was due to its claims to have final proof of life after death; but it had reached its peak in America. Over the next forty-five years, conflict with organized religions and the movement's own inner conflicts were to weaken it.
To start with, also in 1855, Margarett Fox converted to Catholicism. She and her sister Catharine were both alcoholics, and Margarett had become disillusioned with the whole idea of Spiritualism. She continued to do the stage act with her sister for two more years due to family pressure, but when her older sister Leah quit as their manager after her marriage to a wealthy businessman in 1857, Margarett also left the act. Catharine continued to make irregular appearances, regaining some of her waning fame by producing automatic mirror-writing (messages written so they were only readable in a mirror).
During this time, Spiritualism was condemned by leaders of organized religions, who attempted to get laws passed banning the movement. Many mediums were ostracized by family and friends, mainly because of the religious ban. Starting in the 1850's in Britain, and in the 1880's in America, investigators began looking into and exposing the many fraudulent mediumship schemes that were operating in both countries, further sullying Spiritualism's image.
More damning still, in 1888, the Fox Sisters made a public appearance in New York in which Margarett stated that Spiritualism was a fraud and an evil, and that herself and Catharine had been faking phenomena all the years they had been in practice. The sisters then went on tour to expose the fakery of Spiritualism... even though Catharine continued to work as a medium. In 1889, Margarett recanted her confession, but her inconsistant behaviour had already damaged Spiritualism's public image deeply. In 1892, Catharine died of alcoholism, and in 1893, Margarett died ill and destitute at a friend's home in Brooklyn.
Added to all this trouble and bad press was the most important element in the declining popularity of Spiritualism: the final proof of the immortality of the soul that the Spiritualist leaders kept promising never arrived. By 1900, the Spiritualism movement was dying due to a lack of the very proof it had initially claimed as its strength.
Though interest in Spiritualism died out in America for the most part, it had taken firm root in Britain and continued to thrive. The first Spiritualists churches and 'home circles' began in Britain in 1865. Several Spiritualist organizations were founded there in the 1800's: the Marylebone Spiritualist Association was founded in 1872 (now known as the Spiritualist Association of Great Britain), the British National Association of Spiritualists was founded in 1884, and from that organization the London Spiritualist Alliance was founded in 1896 (now known as the College of Psychic Studies), and the National Federation of Spiritualist Churches was founded in 1890 (now known as the Spiritualists National Union).
Spiritualism enjoyed a minor revival in popularity during World War I, as thousands turned to mediums in the hopes of contacting the spirits of those killed in the war. These conversions to Spiritualism were helped greatly by the endorsements of well-known public figures such as sir Oliver Lodge and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
Unfortunately, however, the war also opened up opportunites for fraudulent mediums again, and, once the war ended, public interest quickly soured again. By 1920, Spritualism had finally lost its momentum... and, even though interest continues on both sides of the Atlantic to this day, it has never reached the same sort of nationwide publicity again.