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The Restless Spirits of Kleines Klingental: Basel’s Haunted Nunnery

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A house of God turned into the sinful playground of the rich and powerful nuns, the former Dominican Cloister, Kleines Klingental in Basel is said to be haunted by the ghostly nuns, still to this day praying to be released from their sins. 

In the cityscape of Basel, few would suspect that beneath its serene facades and picturesque medieval streets, lurk tales of scandal, sin, and spectral unrest. One of the city’s most persistent and unsettling legends clings to the site of Kleines Klingental, a former nunnery turned barracks, museum, and, by some accounts, one of Basel’s most active haunted sites.

Read more: Check out all ghost stories from Switzerland

Today it goes under the name of The Kleines Klingental Museum and showcases statues from the Cathedral. It is here, in what was once a house of prayer and seclusion, that shadows from centuries past still move in the dark corners. And if the legends are to be believed, the ghosts that roam these halls were once no ordinary nuns.

Museum Klingental Basel: The old nunnery is said to be haunted by the sinful nuns that used to live there, centuries ago. // Source: Mikatu/Wikimedia

A Cloister of Contradictions

Founded in the 13th century, the Klingental Monastery was established in Kleinbasel, just across the Rhine from Basel’s bustling old town. It dates back to at least 1274 when twelve Dominican nuns settled in Kleinbasel, having come to Basel from Alsace via the Black Forest.

Officially a place of pious retreat for noblewomen, it soon became something altogether different. The Klingental Monastery, which at its peak was home to 52 nuns, was the richest and most distinguished monastery in Basel. The women who sought sanctuary here were largely from wealthy, aristocratic families, bringing with them not only their dowries and fine possessions but also their personal attendants and, as rumor has it, a disdain for the strictures of monastic life.

Nuns in Medieval Europe: There were few career options for a woman except marriage or cloister. Many nuns excelled as illustrators, tapestry-makers, musicians, gardeners and cooks. Some wrote diaries and texts that survive today and provide interesting insights into the way in which they lived and thought.

Among the nuns spending time in the cloister were two representatives of the Eptingen family, the cousins ​​Sophie and Elisabeth, appear. Susanna, a daughter of Georg von Hattstatt and Elisabeth von Tierstein, is also documented as a nun in 1334. Clara, the daughter of the Basel mayor Henmann II von Ramstein, was also a nun at St. Clara.

There were cases of women being sent to the convent against their will, like Anna von Ramstein. She was the cousin of Susanna von Ramstein, whose father was mayor of Basel in the 15th century. She was said to have been rebellious at the Steinen monastery and, after a failed escape attempt, was brought to St. Clara that she successfully escaped from in 1462.

The nun Katharina, mentioned in 1357, was the stepdaughter of Claus Berner the Younger and the records curiously says she was “taken from the Jews.” In a pogrom before the plague in 1349, the Jewish inhabitants of Basel were expelled from the city or killed. Many of their children were forcibly taken from their families to convert them to the Christian faith, and this nun was most likely one of them.

The four nuns Agnes, Ennelin, Gredlin, and Katharina von Hachberg were of roya blood being the daughters of Margrave Rudolf III of Hachberg-Sausenberg (1343-1428) and Röteln and his wife Anna von Neuenburg (1374-1427).

So how then, did this seemingly pious and respected community of women get the reputation of evil and sinful nuns?

Position of Power: In the 13th century, the abbess of the Fraumünster abbey in Zurich was the chief office-holder of the city. She appointed mayors and judges, had voting rights and the right to sit in the Imperial Diet of the assembly of Princes of the Holy Roman Empire.

From Sacred to Profane at Kleines Klingental

By the late Middle Ages, the Dominican cloister’s reputation was in tatters. Cloistered walls became veils for intrigue. Lovers came and went under the cover of night, and luxuries forbidden by monastic vows flowed freely behind thick stone walls. Chroniclers of the era spoke darkly of secret births and whispered of infants drowned in the cold, rushing waters of the Rhine to preserve the illusion of chastity. 

Attempts by church authorities to restore order and penitence to the monastery met with clever defiance and the noble-born nuns using their rank and influence to evade the scrutiny of even the most zealous inquisitors.

Now, how true were these rumors? Did they really do all of the things their legend accuse them of? Or is this just yet another example of the male dominated church looking down on the female community, perhaps the most powerful women could be at that time? Or was it when the male dominated military moved in that the ghostly legends started? 

The Old Haunted Nunnery: Detail from Matthäus Merian’s 1642 bird’s eye view of the city of Basel in his work Topographia Helvetiae, Rhaetiae et Valesiae . The area of ​​the Klingental Monastery can be seen in the center.

The Military Takes Over

With the arrival of the Reformation in the 16th century, the monastery was secularized, and much of its land was repurposed. By the 19th century, the site had become a barracks. But the soldiers stationed at Kleines Klingental soon discovered they shared their quarters with more than just their fellow men.

Nights in the old nunnery became restless affairs. Strange wailing echoed through the empty corridors. Disembodied footsteps padded softly across stone floors. Soldiers reported encountering ghostly figures clad in flowing black habits, faces hidden in shadow, clutching rosaries or silently weeping. It was whispered that these were the unquiet souls of the sinful nuns, cursed to wander the halls where they had once schemed, sinned, and sought fleeting pleasures.

Some claimed that the phantoms prayed aloud at midnight, their voices mournful, seeking forgiveness too long denied. Others spoke of ghostly processions in the dead of night — pale women gliding past candlelit walls, vanishing into darkness. Apparitions of a mother cradling a child before disappearing into the old well, rumored to have once been used to dispose of unwanted infants, chilled even the most hardened soldier’s blood.

Even the soldiers quartered there left a deadly imprint on the barracks. As they were renovating the place, 29 skeletons of the soldiers, most likely dying in an outbreak of the Spanish flu and buried on the grounds, were found. 

The Ghostly Legacy Lives On in Kleines Klingental Museum

The soldiers left in 1966. Today, the Kleines Klingental Museum occupies part of the historic site. While much of the monastery was lost to time and urban development, several original monastic cells and the old cloister remain intact. And with them, so too, it seems, do the phantoms.

Artists in the art studios in the right wing of the barracks and caretakers who have spent long evenings within the ancient walls speak of unexplained chills, flickering lights, and strange nocturnal sounds. Some report seeing figures in habits lingering in shadowed doorways or passing by in mirrors, only to vanish when pursued. The local legend insists that the unrepentant souls of Kleines Klingental still walk, their sins too great to allow them peace centuries after their death. 

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References:

Basler Phänomene: Spuk, Phantome, Poltergeister | barfi.ch

Happy Halloween! 🎃 Ein Streifzug durch Basels grusligste Orte — Bajour

Huhuuuh! – Sieben Spukhäuser in der Region | TagesWoche

Museum Kleines Klingental – Wikipedia

St.Clara und das Clarissenkloster in Basel 

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Anchanchu: The Shapeshifting Vampire of Bolivia’s Lonely Roads

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In the loneliest corner of the Andean highlands of Bolivia and Peru, an Aymaran legend of the Anchanchu or the Abchanchu is said to lurk. Disguised as an elderly man, weary from his travels, he uses people’s goodness to attack and drink their blood. 

Come in, come abchanchu, do not do any harm, because Mallcu protects me.
– Chant to keep the monsters at bay

South America is no stranger to terrifying folklore — from weeping women haunting riverbanks to spectral riders in the dead of night their ancient and distinct cultures throughout history has given rise to so many different legends and myths. 

One of the more obscure and perhaps not so well known tales chills the blood quite like that of Anchanchu, sometimes known as the Abchanchu, one of Bolivia’s most enduring and sinister legends. For generations, whispers of this deceptive creature have echoed through mountain villages and remote country paths, warning travelers of the horrors that may lurk beneath a frail, human guise.

Vampires on the Road: Said to haunt the deserted roads in highland Bolivia, the Anchanchu appears as an old man before attacking. The Anchanchu: In Aymara mythology, Anchanchu or Janchanchu (Hispanic spelling, Anchancho) is a terrible demon that haunts caves, rivers, and other isolated places. This deity is closely related to the Uru god Tiw. He is also said to be a vampiric deity, feeding on people’s blood.

The Legend of the Bloodthirsty Trickster

At first glance, Anchanchu appears as nothing more than a harmless, elderly man on the side of the road, a hunched figure, weary from travel, moving slowly along the dusty Bolivian roads. His face is lined with age, his clothes tattered from long journeys, and he leans heavily on a walking stick, luring in his unsuspecting victims. 

But behind those sorrowful eyes lies a predator.

Anchanchu is a vampire of ancient origin, known for his ability to shapeshift into this deceptive, vulnerable form. 

When a kind-hearted passerby offers to assist the seemingly feeble traveler, walking him to safety or providing shelter for the night when he knocks on your door, it’s then that his true, monstrous nature is revealed. The helpless elder transforms into a savage creature, attacking his victim under the cover of darkness and drinking their blood.

Sometimes he lures the victims to his home, promising them a hot meal or anything to get them inside. Other times he plays on your good will, and you bring him home and give a bed for the night. Even if you survive the attack, you will slowly die of the disease the monster leaves you with. 

In some versions of the tale, it’s said the vampire leaves little trace of his victims, allowing him to wander from town to town, his terrible secret forever cloaked by his kindly, unassuming appearance.

A Cautionary Tale Born from Bolivia’s Mountains

The legend of Anchanchu is believed to have originated in Bolivia’s Andean highlands, where treacherous mountain paths wind between isolated villages. It is believed that the vampire story comes from an older demon lore of the modern Aymara people in Bolivia and Peru. 

The Aymara People: The Aymara or Aimara people are indigenous people in the Andes and Altiplano regions of South America. The ancestors of the Aymara lived in the region for many centuries before becoming a subject of the Inca Empire in the late 15th or early 16th century and later of the Spanish in the 16th century.

In these remote regions, travelers would often rely on the kindness of strangers for survival — a fact that the myth of Anchanchu turns tragically on its head. It used to be confined to small regions until the 18th century, when tales of the monster travelled further. 

Aymara Settlement: The story of the Anchanchu as a vampiric demon was confided to the rural Bolivian highlands. Here, a Aymara town around 1904.

In the Uyuni region, he comes with the cold, and if you don’t remember to close the windows and lock your doors, he will just walk right in. 

Uyuni: The Uyuni region is mostly known for the mysterious and beautiful salt flats. It is also thought to be a place where the Anchanchu roams.

For the people of Huancané, it is recommended to not walk at night, specifically after midnight. Anchanchu appears as a red dog around one to three A.M. His appearance is described as being a pudgy, bald, older man.

If you find yourself on a deserted Bolivian road as the sun begins to set, and you happen upon a frail old man limping along the path, remember the warnings of generations past. His weathered smile and pleading eyes may mask ancient hunger, and one act of misplaced kindness could be your last.

Anchanchu or the Abchanchu waits for the charitable, hiding his fangs behind a trembling voice — and the mountains have many lonely places where the missing are never found.

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Abchanchu: Bolivian Vampire. From the desk of The Reddest Raven | by Rayven Red | Feb, 2025 | Medium

Anchanchu. Dios del mal aymara.

Anchanchu – Wikipedia

Aymara people – Wikipedia

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The Legend of the Jiāngshī: China’s Hopping Vampire

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With stiff limbs after rigor mortis has set in, the Chinese vampire entity, the Jiāngshī is after the life force of the living. But where did the lore of the hopping undead really come from? 

The concepts of vampires and the undead is not a modern notion. Long before Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and centuries before Hollywood’s suave, bloodthirsty counts graced silver screens, the people of ancient China harbored their own chilling tales of the dead refusing to stay buried. 

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In Chinese folklore, these restless corpses came not with bat wings or seductive stares, but with stiff limbs, pallid skin, crimson eyes, and long hooked claws. Their name? Jiāngshī (殭屍) — roughly translating to “stiff corpse” or more colorfully, “corpse-hopper.”

Yes — they hopped. And it was every bit as unsettling as it sounds.

Mr. Vampire (1985)

What is a Jiāngshī?

The Jiāngshī (僵尸) is a reanimated corpse, a creature caught somewhere between life and death. It goes under many names like Chiang Shi, Kang Shi and Geungsi. The myth also appears in other parts of Asia; such as South Korea, Japan, and Vietnam.

Unlike your typical Western vampire, which drains blood with charm and elegance, a Jiāngshī is known for its stiff, rigor mortis-bound body that can only move by hopping, arms outstretched like some grim parody of a child’s game.

Its arrival is accompanied by the scent of decay and often a sinister green phosphorescent glow. Traditionally, it feeds on the life essence or qi of the living or by simply draining their vital energy. Victims struck down by a Jiāngshī would either die outright or rise again as one of its own.

As for appearance — imagine a corpse with ashen or moldy green skin, protruding fangs, claw-like fingernails, and red, hungry eyes. In some accounts, it wears the clothes it was buried in: threadbare robes from dynasties long past.

In some folkloric accounts it had more powers and was capable of running and chasing people at high speed. 

Origins of the Legend of the Jiāngshī

The origins of the Jiāngshī legend are as murky as a midnight fog rolling through a mountain pass. Tales of reanimated corpses in Chinese culture can be traced as far back as the Qing Dynasty (1644–1912), with possible roots stretching into even earlier dynasties. 

One plausible theory ties their genesis to the folk custom of “transporting corpses over long distances, “ ((千里行屍; 千里行尸; qiān lǐ xíng shī)In rural China, Xiang province (present-day Hunan), when people died far from home, families often couldn’t afford to transport the body by cart. A lot of people worked construction work in the backwaters of western Hunan and the death toll was high. But they all preferred to be buried with their family in their ancestral homeplace.

the first emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang, whose reign was rife with war and conquest in an attempt to claim land and establish the Chinese states.

Instead, local priests or corpse-handlers were hired to bind the corpses upright between bamboo poles, carried by porters walking in unison. They avoided driving during the day as people feared dead bodies. From a distance, the swaying of the corpses might have resembled hopping — giving birth to stories of corpse-hoppers prowling the countryside.

Couple this with deep-seated fears of improper burials, vengeful spirits, and death-related taboos, and you had the perfect storm for spawning the Jiāngshī myth. This practice also gave rise to the belief that Taoist sorceres could be paid for the corpse to “hop their way home” if they couldn’t afford the transportation costs.

The Jiāngshī’s Vampiric Traits

The Jiāngshī shares enough blood-chilling traits to land itself firmly in the category of vampiric folklore like the eastern European one. In some ways it could also look more like a mindless zombie than an immortal and intellectual vampire. If absorbing enough energy, it could even fight. It was said to come from the hills, soaring through the air to devour infants. 

They believed they could be created with dark magic or by spirits possessing the dead bodies, or even by absorbing enough yang qi energy to return. There were also more specific ways to become this entiry like When the dead person is not buried even after a funeral has been held. The corpse comes to life after it is struck by a bolt of lightning, or when a pregnant cat (or a black cat in some tales) leaps across the coffin.

Its victims may fall ill, die, or rise as new Jiāngshī. It is repelled by sunlight and sleeps in their coffins, caves or dark forests during the day. 

Like its Western counterparts, a Jiāngshī is often born of violent death, improper burial rites, or spiritual unrest. In some tales, even a strong grudge or curse could tether a soul to its body, animating it into a hopping nightmare.

Unlike its western counterparts though, there is rarely talk about the Jiāngshī feeding on human blood with fangs. 

How to Stop a Jiāngshī

Chinese folklore, practical as ever, offers several creative ways to ward off or destroy a Jiāngshī and they have several weaknesses. As with most undead, exposure to daylight causes the creature to decay or combust.

They also feared their own reflection and mirror could also repel them. They were also afraid of things made from peach trees, a rooster calling, fire and hooves of a black donkey, dropping a bag of coins as they must count them, glutinous riceand blood of a black dog among other things. 

Fulu or Taoist talismans are also a classic way of fighting dark entities. Written on yellow paper in red ink and affixed to the creature’s forehead, these magical scrolls could immobilize or dispel the vampire.

The Jiangshi in Pop Culture

The legend of the Jiāngshī didn’t fade with the passing of imperial China. Instead, it found new life in Hong Kong horror comedies of the 1980s and 90s, notably the cult classic Mr. Vampire (1985), which turned the hopping vampire into an iconic figure of Chinese pop culture. Interestingly, the use of the entity in pure horror movies without comedy has proved to not work. 

It is also perhaps from Hong Kong cinema that we get the depiction of a stiff corpse dressed in official garments from the Qing dynasty. The Manchu style qizhuang and the headpiece Qingdai guanmao could come from anti- Manchu propaganda. 

Modern adaptations often blend humor with horror, depicting Taoist priests armed with incense sticks and spirit scrolls battling swarms of hopping undead. While the Jiāngshī might seem quirky or even comedic in some modern depictions, at its core it’s a reflection of ancient anxieties about death, spiritual unrest, and the consequences of neglecting the dead. 

Beneath the slapstick lies a persistent echo of ancient fears: that death, if disrespected, will come hopping after you.

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References:

https://link.springer.com/rwe/10.1007/978-3-030-82301-6_38-1

Hopping Vampire – 僵尸 (jiāngshī) – CHIN 3343: Chinese Popular Culture Terms, Vol. 2

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The Knocking Ghost of Utengasse 47: Basel’s Poltergeist Case

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In a small apartment at Utengasse 47 in Basel, a poltergeist was said to torment the family living there. It got so bad and they found no solution that the family had to vacate the place instead. 

In the old working-class neighborhoods of Basel’s Kleinbasel district, Utengasse is today an unassuming street, its tidy rows of homes giving little hint of the dark history that once unfolded there. But in 1929, one of the most unsettling and inexplicable hauntings in Swiss urban folklore made its mark at Utengasse 47 where a poltergeist was said to be haunting.

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Unfolding like a classical poltergeist case of eerie knocks, invisible hands, and a terrified child caught in the grip of something unseen.

A Home with a Terrible Secret

In 1929, there was a woman living there together with her three children in a small apartment at Utengasse 47. The haunting began as a series of strange and persistent knocking sounds inside the home’s second-floor apartment, particularly from a thin wall separating the living room from the children’s bedroom. 

These sounds weren’t the casual creaks and groans of an old building settling into itself, but deliberate, insistent taps and raps like some unseen presence were methodically announcing itself from within the very bones of the house.

The true focus of this unseen terror appeared to be 10-year-old Marcel, a boy whose innocent curiosity seemed to draw the spirit’s attention. Every time Marcel neared the partition wall, he was seized by an inexplicable, ice-cold dread and panicked. His limbs trembled uncontrollably, and he was overwhelmed by a suffocating sense of fear that no one could explain.

A Town’s Whispered Panic

As word spread of the disturbances at Utengasse 47, curious neighbors gathered outside. The phenomena worsened at night with loud knocking sounds echoing from the walls, disembodied tapping in the dead hours, and a general air of suffocating unease. The events quickly came to the attention of both the authorities and the local press and the police were said to have made several visits to check the apartment, searching it from top to bottom. Nothing was found. 

They watched the boy as well, pinning him down when he got his panic attacks. Even with his arms and legs restrained, the strange poltergeist knocking sound was heard. Doctors and physicists also stopped by, unable to find something scientific they could pin the strange phenomena on. 

In an era when spiritualism was still a subject of hushed parlor conversations and séances were as much entertainment as superstition, the case drew the interest of spiritualist investigators as well when they couldn’t find any logical explanation of it all.. They scoured the apartment, attempting to contact whatever entity might be responsible. Yet no convincing explanation or natural cause could be found.

A Decision from the City

The situation reached such a fever pitch that even the Basel Department of Buildings intervened. Though many officials suspected the episode to be a hoax or hysteria, they could find no perpetrator and no rational origin for the relentless sounds. Ultimately, faced with mounting public concern and the palpable distress of the tenants, the city made a rare and decisive move: the haunted apartment was ordered vacated.

In a time when housing shortages were severe due to Basel’s post-war growth, this was an extraordinary step. The apartment remained empty for three months, an unheard-of vacancy for a modest dwelling in a crowded, working-class district. No one ever complained about these types of noises again. 

We don’t really know what happened to Marcel, or what he thought of the frightening phenomena he was experiencing back then. The building still stands today with its outward appearance giving no hint of the strange disturbances that once gripped its walls.

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Spiritism and the Religion of Spirit Communication

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Spiritism or Kardecism is a philosophy and religion of spirit communication. After being inspired by the Spiritualist movement, the French Allan Kardec developed the loose movement of seances, mediums and communicating with the dead into something people still practice today. 

There is a debate about whether or not we should call the spiritism movement a religion or not, but it certainly was a movement together with Spiritualism that impacted the western world and how they view death, the afterlife and ghosts and the paranormal.

The Spiritism Movement was started by the French author and teacher Allan Kardec and is also called Kardecist spiritism or Kardecism. A simple way of explaining the difference between Spiritualism that grew in popularity in North America was that Spiritism was mainly in Europe and although much alike was much more organized and had a stricter doctrine. Today, the word spiritism is used for most of the religious and doctrines believing that the spirits go on after the body dies. 

He believed in physical reality and that alongside that, there was another spirit world. This world, he believed, could be accessed through mediums and that spirits exist separately from human bodies. 

Most of the practice of Spiritism is around the mediumship and communicating with the dead. It can manifest in automatic writing or drawing among other psychographic ways. 

Read More: Spiritualism and the Occult: Automatic Writing and When Ghosts Slide Into Your DMs 

The spiritists also believe in reincarnation and that the spirit is constantly trying to achieve intellectual and moral perfection. 

The Spiritism Movement as we know it today started in Europe in the 1850s, but soon spread, becoming very popular in the USA, Brazil and in the French colonies. 

Allan Kardec and the Founding of Spiritism

Allan Kardec’s real name was Léon-Dénizarth-Hippolyte Rivail and was really the one that organized the loose movement in Europe to a path with a certain doctrine and way of thinking. He was born in 1804 in Lyon in France and studied in Switzerland. When coming back to Paris he purchased a school for boys in 1928 and was a teacher.

Read More: Check out the story of the haunted Paris’ Haunted Père Lachaise Cemetery, were Kardec is buried.

He was in his 50s when he became interested in séances and started researching them and compiling the consistent things the mediums talked about into a philosophy he called Spiritism. The name Allan Kardec was a name picked out by a spirit called Truth. 

Table Tipping and Communicating with the Dead

A very popular pastime in Europe at the time was animal magnetism, mesmerising and what would eventually be called Table Tipping. This was equally seen as pure fun as well as a séance. Although a skeptic at first, Kardec became interested in the phenomenon and started to explore it as well. 

Table Tipping: Table levitates during Palladino’s séance at home of astronomer Camille Flammarion, France, 25 November 1898. There are two women seated at the table. Palladino sits at the far short end.

Kardec studied the phenomenon and concluded in The Book on Mediums that some communications were caused by an outside intelligence, as the message contained information that was not known to the group.

Read More: Table Turning: When Spirits Spill the Tea Through Furniture

Skeptics and those exposing the truth behind the table turning chucks it up to the ideomotor effect, not ghosts trying to communicate through furniture. The movement experienced in the seances was due to involuntary and unconscious muscular reactions. This scientific explanation was published in the Medical Times and Gazette in 1853, but that didn’t stop its popularity or people believing in it, it only made the hoaxes more elaborate. 

Spiritualism and the Fox Sisters

In addition to European dabbling in the occult already, Kardec became increasingly more interested in Spiritualism from the USA. It was a popular movement that had started with communication with the dead’s spirits. This movement is often connected with the popularity of Margaret and Catherine Fox who kicked off the Spiritualism movement in the USA with their table rapping. 

The Fox sisters: Kate (1838–92), Leah (1814–90) and Margaret (or Maggie) (1836–93). They were famous mediums in Rochester, New York. Taken around 1852

Since childhood they had been famous ever since they communicated with spirits in 1848 with the spirit haunting their home in New York. They later came to Europe to hold public séances.

Read More: The Spiritualist Movement: The Fox Sisters Who Started a Ghostly Revolution as a Prank

Allan Kardec was definitely directly inspired by this, but narrowed the belief system down to one doctrine. For example, Spiritualists do not necessarily believe in reincarnation but this part was important for the Spiritists. He worked to distance himself from fortune-tellers, mediums and magicians from the movement of the time, many of those often ending in trouble when discovered as a fraud.

The Spiritist Codification

Kardec’s first of five foundational Spiritist texts was 1857’s The Spirits’ Book. More than a book on ghosts, it’s a collection of philosophical questions Kardec asked mediums around in Europe. This was also an effort to bridge both religion, science and philosophy to one thing that he himself called a “Positive Faith”. More books followed and collectively, they are called the Spiritist Codification. 

Spiritists believe all humans are spirits, and the body is only a temporary vessel. After you die, the spirit crosses into the spirit world where it resided around the same time it was alive last before being reincarnated. 

It also adheres a lot to the Christian belief in one god as well as the rules science dictates. When Kardec developed his idea, it was definitely through the lens of a christian. Spiritists often cite biblical events to make their claim of how spirits exist, like how Moses consulted the dead, how Saul heard the spirit of Samuel. 

After Kardec died in 1869, medium and writer Léon Denis who had met Kardec many times, continued with his legacy and furthered its popularity. 

Backlash Against the Movement of Spiritism

Although the Spiritism Movement became popular and came from a place of Christianity, it wasn’t without controversy. Critics saw the movement as evil and devil worship. Many of the mediums were also accused of being frauds and charlatans, profiting on people’s grief and fear of the afterworld. 

Read More: Spiritualism and the Occult: The History of Ectoplasm and Gooey Ghosts

In Europe, this type of mediating and communication with spirits have been prosecuted since the middle ages, mostly because it was seen as blasphemous behavior. British witchcraft laws used against mediums were not repealed until the 1950s when the last woman was convicted for witchcraft.

Helen Duncan: Born in Scotland in 1898. In 1926 Duncan claimed to have developed her mediumistic powers. She was around 29 years old at the time. But long before that she had scared her fellow pupils at with her dire prophecies and hysterical behavior. Eventually, Duncan claimed to be able to produced fully-formed physical materialization of spirits by emitting them as ectoplasm through her mouth.

Also scientists attacked the movement, calling it madness, hysteria and fanciful without root in science and the real world. The Roman church condemned it, Brazil even banned it. Counter-movement to expose mediums, like Harry Houdini did for years, started as well. 

What Happened to Spiritism?

Freud: Although said to not believe in the paranormal, Freud once wrote: “Though I am a man of science, I cannot dismiss the idea that ghosts might embody our suppressed desires and unfulfilled wishes.”

With so much hype and popularity that only seemed to be growing at the turn of the century, it begs the question of why Spiritism isn’t a bigger movement today as before. The answer to that might be as boring as timing. 

Two big factors happened at the time that fought against the Spiritism Movement of Spiritualism. One of them was the discipline of psychology that started to take hold of people, especially modern and well read people in Europe. The very same group that a couple of decades ago would probably have turned to Spiritism or some sort of Spiritualism.

Sigmund Freud, who denied all existence of ghosts, was a leading voice going forward, and although some of the earlier psychologists played around with the idea of a spirit world, their voices weren’t strong enough. Although his official stance on ghosts have been to not believe in them, he had some interesting musings and discussions of the concept of ghosts and the supernatural.

The other thing happening in Europe at the time was World War 1 and had a big impact on culture. The war and fear of war stopped a lot of new ideas and thinking that flourished in more peaceful times. Who knows how the movement would have progressed if not for the European wars that century?

Were are the Spiritists Today?

But did Spiritism completely die? Through French colonialism the texts and ideas spread to the colonies in the 19th century to the mid-20th century, especially in Vietnam. Here, the movement and idea was crucial for the Cao Dai religion that started in Vietnam in 1926. The age-old traditions was a mix of Asian divination and mediumship from Vietnamese folk religion with ancestor worship, Confucianism, occult practices from Taoism, theories of karma and rebirth from Buddhism.

Caodaism: Cao Dai monks inside Cao Dai Holy See, Tây Ninh, Vietnam. Priests are dressed in red, blue and yellow, followers in white. The full name of the religion is Đại Đạo Tam Kỳ Phổ Độ (大道三期普度) ‘The Great Faith for the Third Universal Redemption’.

French Spiritists Mediums travelled to Saigon, which today is Ho Chi Minh City and interacted with the Cao Dai mediums. They then began to mix with the new traditions of European Spiritism with the old. Some of them even claimed they had been visited by the spirit of Kardec. 

In addition to the French Colonies, the Spiritism Movement spread to Latin America as well, where it had a big impact on Brazil, even though they banned it in 1890. Today it is the third most popular religion in Brazil. 

The mediums also channel spirits for healing purposes and in Brazil they had around 13000 Spiritists centers that are a sort of physical or mental aid facility in 2022. This can be various ways, often a “laying of hands” much like they do with Reiki to heal energy.

Laying of the Hand: In Christian churches, chirotony or “Laying of the Hand”, is used as both a symbolic and formal method of invoking the Holy Spirit primarily during baptisms and confirmations, healing services, blessings, and ordination of priests, ministers, elders, deacons, and other church officers.

Although the Spiritism Movement didn’t have the hold of people as it used to, there are definitely still practitioners today throughout the world. Today, the International Spiritist Council claim that they have over 13 million followers in 36 countries.

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Allan Kardec – Wikipedia

Séance | Spiritualism, Mediumship & Clairvoyance | Britannica

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Spiritualism and the Occult: Automatic Writing and When Ghosts Slide Into Your DMs

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In the height of the spiritualism movement of séances, mediums and table turning, automatic writing was a popular way to communicate with the dead. But what type of writing and messages did the practice leave us with?

Imagine sitting alone in a dimly lit room, pen in hand, paper in front of you, when suddenly—your hand jerks forward, scribbling furiously as if someone else is holding the pen. You sit there, equal parts fascinated and mildly horrified, as cryptic messages, strange symbols, or maybe just some very messy handwriting pours onto the page you have no control over. Is it a deep connection to the spirit world… or did your subconscious just have way too much caffeine?

This is the basic premise of automatic writing—a ghostly communication method that’s part séance, part psychological mystery, and 100% unsettling.

What Exactly Is Automatic Writing?

Automatic writing, also known as psychography, is the act of writing without conscious thought, letting an unseen force (be it your subconscious mind or something a little more… otherworldly) take the wheel. The idea? Spirits, guides, or even higher consciousnesses use your hand as their personal typewriter to deliver messages from beyond.

It’s not only to come in contact with ghosts that automatic writing is used, and is a method used by writers to tap into their subconsciousness and let the words flow on the paper instead. This was particularly popular with French surrealists and was for a while a popular therapy form in Freudian psychology. Unlike brainstorming or journaling, you’re not supposed to think about what you’re writing. Instead, you let the pen flow, giving the spirit world a direct hotline to your notebook. 

Automatic Writing: An alleged psychograph (psychic picture) by the spiritualist medium Francis Ward Monck. Born in 1842, he was a British clergyman and spiritualist medium who was exposed as a fraud. In 1876 a sitter named H. B. Lodge stopped his séance and demanded Monck to be searched. Monck ran out and locked himself in another room, escaping out of a window. A pair of stuffed gloves was found in his room, as well as cheesecloth, reaching rods and other fraudulent devices in his luggage.

When talking about automatic writing within spiritualism, we often talk about mediums letting themselves be used for spirit to talk through. Some claim that they go into a sort of altered state, some not even remembering what happened and what they wrote down, as it came from the afterlife, not their own mind. The handwriting often looks different, even the language could be foreign. 

Read More: Books Written by Ghosts and Channeled Texts

Automatic writing has been a staple within the spiritualist community for centuries now, often combined in a séance as a way to contact the dead, much like Table Turning, Ectoplasma, Spirit Drawing and other means of communications. 

A Brief (and Slightly Haunted) History

Automatic writing isn’t some New Age trend—it’s been around for centuries, quietly creeping through spiritual practices and philosophical circles in all cultures, times and places on earth with a written language.

Some of the more famous traditions of automatic writing includes:

Ancient China:

Spirit writing, known as Fu Ji (扶乩), was practiced as early as 1100 AD, using a suspended stylus to communicate with deities and ancestors. It was considered so powerful that it was eventually banned during certain dynasties—because nothing says “this works” quite like outlawing it.

Read More: China’s Mystical Writing: Fu Ji (扶乩) – When Spirits Pick Up the Pen

The tradition of Fu Ji spread into Taoist lore as well and through this, the kung fu system is even credited to a sage from beyond, given to the living through writing. 

Enochian Magic:

In the west automatic writing has a long tradition long before the New Age takeover as well. One of the earlier examples we can find is through Enochian magic that supposedly gave guidance through the Enochian language, or the language of angels as it was believed to be. 

Here it was particularly John Dee and Edward Kelley in Renaissance England who practiced the art and was advising Queen Elisabeth I, giving this alleged spiritual messaging real life consequences. 

Enochian Magic: John Dee (13 July 1527 – 1608 or 1609) was an English mathematician, astronomer, teacher, astrologer, occultist, and alchemist. He was the court astronomer and advisor to Elizabeth I. As an antiquarian, he had one of the largest libraries in England at the time. As a political advisor, he advocated the foundation of English colonies in the New World to form a “British Empire”, a term he is credited with coining.

Victorian Era:

Pearl Curran: Patience Worth was allegedly a spirit contacted by Pearl Lenore Curran. Starting in July 1912, Pearl Curran, along with her friend Emily Grant Hutchings, began using the Ouija Board. According to their accounts, they soon made contact with several spirits, each bringing their own unique messages and stories from the afterlife.

The 19th century in Europe and USA saw the golden age of spiritualism, where automatic writing made its grand comeback for the popular masses as a means to make the communication quicker than table turning and rapping could. Mediums at candlelit séances would go into trances, letting their hands scrawl out letters from the dead while wide-eyed onlookers gasped (and sometimes fainted for dramatic effect).

Literary heavyweights got in on the action too. Surrealist writers and artists, like André Breton, used automatic writing as a creative tool, believing it bypassed the conscious mind to tap into pure thought. Perhaps his most well known word produced by automatic writing is his book Soluble Fish.  

Then there was Pearl Curran, who in the early 1900s supposedly contacted a 17th-century spirit named Patience Worth, whom she met through a session with a Ouija Board. Together they allegedly wrote several novels, thousands of poems and other writings together. Many people think that this case is one of the best examples that automatic writing is real, mostly because they didn’t think that a housewife would be able to write all of this by herself. Proof of a ghost or just a touch of misogyny? 

From this era, perhaps Hélène Smith, who used the pseudonym of Catherine Elise Muller who was the most well known medium using automatic writing. She was born around 1863 in Geneva, Switzerland and held many séances. She claimed to have been a Hindu princess as well as Marie Antoinette in her previous lives. 

Not only did she produce automatic writing in Arabic, but also in something that she said were the languages of Mars and Uranus translated into French. Although a wild claim to make, and it certainly wasn’t without controversies, she actually had a fair bit of support from believers in her extraterrestrial language. 

Modern Psychology

Although the act of automatic writing still lingers in the corners of religious belief, New Age spiritualism and for those believing in the paranormal, we mostly talk about automatic writing from a scientific and psychological viewpoint today. Documented examples are considered to be the result of the ideomotor phenomenon and a milder form of dissociative state.

How It (Allegedly) Works

Message from Mars: 19th century medium Hélène Smith (Catherine Müller) did automatic writing to convey messages from Mars in Martian language. The “Martian” language looked a lot like her native language French and that her automatic writing was from forgotten sources like books read as a child. The term cryptomnesia is used for this phenomenon.

The process is of automatic writing is a simple concept—at least on paper:

Set the mood: Dim lights, candles, maybe a little incense. Spirits love ambiance.

Grab your tools: A notebook, a pen, and an open mind.

Get in the zone: Many practitioners meditate or use light hypnosis to clear their minds.

Let it flow: Relax your hand, hold the pen loosely, and wait. The theory is that a spirit will “guide” your hand, bypassing your conscious brain.

Decode the chaos: Once you snap out of it, you might find anything from coherent sentences to frantic scribbles that look like your cat ran across the paper.

For believers, automatic writing is a spiritual tool—a direct line to the afterlife or higher planes of existence. Many think that the power comes from themselves as mediums and if it doesn’t work for some, they simply doesn’t have the power and sensitivity for it.

For skeptics, it’s a textbook example of the ideomotor effect (the same involuntary movement theory behind Ouija boards and table tipping).

Read More: Check out The Dark Origins of the Ouija Board: A Mysterious History of Spirit Communication and Table Turning: When Spirits Spill the Tea Through Furniture for more information of the history behind this.

Essentially, your subconscious mind is doing the work, but because you’re not aware of it, it feels like an external force.

Famous Writers and the Art of Automatic Writing

Many famous people have over the years been involved in automatic writing, either doing it themselves or their ghosts have said to have been channeled through other mediums. Charles Dickens unfinished work of The Mystery of Edwin Drood was supposedly finished written through the hand of the itinerant printer T.P James, now remembered as the Brattleboro hoax.

Another famous writer who got involved in the supernatural automatic writing was W.B Yeats who married Georgie Hyde-Lees, a woman who claimed she could channel spirits through automatic writing. This influenced him greatly and his writing after they married.

Read More: Renvyle House and a visit from Yeats

Also the writer Arthur Conan Doyle and his wife explored automatic writing. Once they even held a séance with Harry Houdini where Lady Doyle wrote 15 pages worth of communication with a spirit she claimed was Houdini’s mother. Houdini himself saw it all as a hoax. 

When Things Got… Dark

Of course, no paranormal practice comes without a little side-eye from the dark side. Some caution that automatic writing can be a gateway for less-than-friendly spirits. After all, if you’re leaving the door open, who knows what’s going to walk (or scribble) through it? There are stories of people contacting malevolent entities or receiving unsettling, cryptic messages that seem straight out of a horror film.

And then there’s the famous case of Aleister Crowley—yes, that Aleister Crowley—who claimed to have channeled the text The Book of the Law through automatic writing, dictated by an otherworldly being named Aiwass. He was also very inspired by Enochian Magic. Let’s just say it didn’t exactly help his already spooky reputation.

Aleister Crowley: The book was dictated to him by a beyond-human being, Aiwass, who he later referred to as his own Holy Guardian Angel. Through the reception of the Book, Crowley proclaimed the arrival of a new stage in the spiritual evolution of humanity, to be known as the “Æon of Horus”. The primary precept of this new aeon is the charge, “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.” Read the Book.

Exposing the Hoaxes

In the modern era, from Victorian times up to today, there have been people dedicated to exposing charlatans and frauds, trying to pass off their tricks as true communication with ghosts. Some of the more famous paranormal investigators was Harry Price who got involved in many popular mediums and ghost stories. One of them was for example the infamous haunted Borley Rectory where a housewife was trying to cover up an extramarital affair and make it look like ghosts were haunting her house. 

Read More: The Mysterious Tale of Borley Rectory – Was it Really Haunted?

Science largely dismisses automatic writing as a psychological phenomenon. The ideomotor effect explains how subtle, unconscious muscle movements can create the illusion that an external force is at work. Plus, the human brain is really good at finding patterns in randomness. Those looping scribbles? Your brain’s dying to read them as a message.

Harry Price: Harry Price pictured with assorted pieces of his “ghost hunting” equipment

But for spiritualists and believers, automatic writing isn’t about proof—it’s about connection. Whether it’s a voice from beyond, the collective unconscious, or simply a way to tap into deeper layers of your own psyche, the results often feel real to those who experience it.

A Pen, Some Paper, and Maybe a Ghost?

Automatic writing sits at that curious crossroads where psychology and the paranormal shake hands—and then maybe slap each other. Is it a portal to the spirit world? A glimpse into the subconscious mind? Or just a very dramatic way to doodle?

Either way, the next time your hand randomly scribbles something when you’re zoned out in a meeting… Maybe it’s not just boredom. Maybe, just maybe, it’s someone—or something—trying to say hello.

Or maybe you just really need another cup of coffee.

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Automatic writing – New World Encyclopedia

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Table Turning: When Spirits Spill the Tea Through Furniture

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One of the earliest ways of communicating with the dead in the modern era was through Table Turning or Table Tipping. For many it was nothing more than a fun parlor trick and game, but for others it became a lifestyle and the foundation of a new spiritual movement.

When it comes to contacting the dead, humanity has tried just about everything—from scribbled seances and Ouija boards to full-blown ghost-hunting TV shows with night vision cameras, spirit boxes and EMF readers. But before the high-tech ghost gadgets and Hollywood dramatics, there was a simpler (and much wobblier) method: table tipping. Known also as table turning or table tilting, this Victorian-era parlor game blurred the line between a quirky party trick and a deep dive into the supernatural. 

Table Turning: Image published in the magazine l’Illustration in 1853 to illustrate an article entitled: History of the week

A Wobbly Beginning: The History of Table Tipping

The roots of table tipping dig deep into the mid-19th century, during the spiritualism boom that gripped America and Europe. The year was 1848, and the infamous Fox Sisters of Hydesville, New York, had the world spellbound with their “spirit rapping” escapades. They claimed they could communicate with the dead through a series of knocks and taps—a revelation that sent Victorian society into a frenzy of séance-hosting and ghost-chasing.

The Fox Sisters: Leah (April 8, 1813 – November 1, 1890), Margaretta (also called Maggie), (October 7, 1833 – March 8, 1893) and Catherine Fox (also called Kate) (March 27, 1837 – July 2, 1892). The Fox sisters were three sisters from Rochester, New York who played an important role in the creation of Spiritualism.

It wasn’t long before people wanted more…action than what the Rochester Rapping from the Fox sisters provided. Why settle for a few spooky knocks when you could have an entire table dance across the room?

Read More: The Spiritualist Movement: The Fox Sisters Who Started a Ghostly Revolution as a Prank

Enter Table Turning, which came to Europe from America in the winter of 1852 when Maria B. Hayden came to London as a medium and quickly became a popular Victorian parlor game and show. The arrival 

of the steamer ‘Washington’ at Bremen in March 1853 is said to have first brought these ‘spiritual gymnastics’ to Germany. The art of table tipping became even more popular in France when it came to Paris in April the same year that had a strong tradition of mesmerism and animal magnetism.

Magnetism: Mesmerists saw Table Turning as a sign of animal magnetism, while fundamentalists condemned it as a work of Satan. Animal magnetism, created by German doctor Franz Mesmer in the 18th century, suggests that all living things have an invisible natural force. This force, known as Lebensmagnetismus, could produce physical effects, including healing. Pictured above: Drawing room scene with many people sitting and standing around a large table; a man on a crutch has an iron band wrapped around his ankle; others in the group are holding bands similarly; to the left, a man has hypnotized a woman.

Participants would sit around a small table, fingertips lightly resting on the surface, and—after a bit of concentration and maybe a dramatic chant or two—the table would begin to rock, tilt, and sometimes even levitate. Supposedly, this was the work of spirits answering questions or simply showing off. Think of it as a supernatural form of charades, except the stakes included possible possession.

Earlier Versions of Table Turning

Although thought today to be a Victorian fad, the art of some sort of divination around a table is much older than when Spiritualism brought it to the masses as a popular game and show. In ancient Rome tables were used for divination called Mensa Divinatoriae.

In fourth-century Ammianus Marcellinus (325-391), a Roman historian, describes a table that had a slab on it with all the letters of the alphabet. Above it was a ring in a thread swinging over the letters and spelling out the words. 

A Message from Satan: Evangelical clergymen claimed that table turning was associated with Satan. Revs. N. S. Godfrey, E. Gillson, and others held séances where the “spirits” admitted to being either bad people or devils. These confessions led the clergymen to condemn table-turning altogether. As they said: ‘Table-moving tested and proved to be the result of Satanic agency’.

Even older examples are from the Christian writer, Tertullian (155-222) who mentioned some sort of table turning when he said to pagans: Do not your magicians call ghosts and departed souls from the shades below, and by their infernal charms represent an infinite number of delusions? And how do they perform all this but by the assistance of angels and spirits, by which they are able to make stools and tables prophecy

There are also those claiming that Jews in the 17th century practiced turning in a work published. Although it was said to be magic, Sabbatai Zevi tried to defend the practice, claiming it was a sacred ritual as singing psalms to God.

The Rules of Table Turning

Gather your friends, Light some candles because, of course, spooky ambiance is crucial, rest your fingertips lightly on the table. No heavy-handed shoving allowed—at least not officially. Ask questions and wait for the table to tip, tilt, or tap in response.

The first such sign was often a quivering motion under the sitters’ hands; it increased until the table pulsated with a mysterious energy. Many sources claim that this usually takes around 10 minutes, perhaps longer, perhaps not at all. After the vibratory stage the table might jerk, tilt, stumble about, spin and eventually become entirely levitated. 

Effect on literature: Eusapia Palladino the table appeared to be somehow alive like the back of a dog. In one of his stories a similar phenomenon occurred during the mediumship of medium D. D. Home induced Alexander Dumas to fantasize the table as an intelligence itself. The conception of a spirit entering furniture became a favorite idea with French authors afterward.Table levitates during Palladino’s séance at home of astronomer Camille Flammarion, France, 25 November 1898. There are two women seated at the table. Palladino sits at the far short end.

Spirits would allegedly answer “yes” or “no” questions by lifting certain legs of the table or tapping out coded messages, often said to be from a deceased close to someone around the table or a well known person. The messages would often take a long time to write down, and tools like the Ouija Board were made to make the communication with the dead easier and faster later.

Read More: The Dark Origins of the Ouija Board: A Mysterious History of Spirit Communication 

The color or type of table wasn’t very important, nor was the type of wood it was made of for most mediums. Many mediums said they preferred that no metals like nails were used as they claimed to be very sensitive to metals. Many also liked to cover the table with a cloth. 

Table Tipping Inspiring a Spiritualist Movement

Table Turning wasn’t just confined to dimly lit living rooms. It caught on with spiritualist circles, prominent mediums, and even some of the intellectual elite. Allan Kardec studied the phenomenon and concluded in The Book on Mediums that some communications were caused by an outside intelligence, as the message contained information that was not known to the group. He eventually went on to kick off the Spiritism movement and religion after this.

Even after the Fox sisters came out and said that it had all been a hoax, the tradition of spiritualism and table turning continued to grow in popularity. But here’s the twist: even when exposed, people still wanted to believe. After all, isn’t it more fun to think a ghost is tilting the kitchen table from the afterlife than to admit your friend is just really bad at keeping his fingers still?

Exposing the Truth Behind the Table Turning

But it wasn’t only inspiring for some, and people started to devote their time to expose the hoax behind table turning. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the writer of Sherlock Holmes was a staunch believer in the practice. Ironically, his fictional detective would have debunked it faster than you can say “elementary.” Even though he wanted to believe it, he spent a lot of time debunking mediums and the hoaxes behind them. 

Table Turning as a Hoax: The magician William Marriott demonstrating a fraudulent method to levitate a table. From On the Edge of the Unknown. Pearson’s Magazine, March-October 1910.

Harry Houdini, the world’s most famous escape artist and part-time ghostbuster, spent much of his later career exposing fraudulent mediums as well. He attended séances incognito, calling out tricksters who used hidden wires, magnets, and even sneaky footwork to get tables dancing. So what was the trick behind the magic?

Harry Houdini: On the stage of the New York Hippodrome, Houdini exposes techniques used by fraudulent mediums in 1925. Some of the methods he exposed was the mechanics behind Table Turning.

Skeptics and those exposing the truth behind the table turning chucks it up to the ideomotor effect, not ghosts trying to communicate through furniture. The movement experienced in the seances was due to involuntary and unconscious muscular reactions. This scientific explanation was published in the Medical Times and Gazette in 1853, but that didn’t stop its popularity or people believing in it, it only made the hoaxes more elaborate. 

This was the case from well meaning people wanting to believe or there would also be those who just performed plain fraud, often looking for money and fame. 

One of these fraudulent methods was described by The magician Chung Ling Soo, or William Ellsworth Robinson that was his real name, involved a pin driven into the table and the use of a ring with a slot on the medium’s finger. Once the pin entered the slot, the table could be lifted.

The Italian spiritualist and medium, Eusapia Palladino, who used custom-made boots with soles that extended beyond the boots’ edges in order to lift tables.

Table Turning: An alleged table levitation of the medium Eusapia Palladino in 1909.

The Paranormal Legacy: Why We Still Love a Good Table Flip

Though Table Turning eventually fell out of fashion—replaced by flashier tools like the Ouija board and EVP recorders—it left a lasting impression on the way we view spirit communication. It tapped into a fundamental human desire: the need to believe that death isn’t the end.

In modern paranormal circles, table tipping has made a bit of a comeback. Some ghost hunters use it in investigations, while others see it as a quaint relic of the spiritualist era. Table Turning sits at that strange intersection of human psychology and the supernatural. It’s a little bit spooky, a little bit silly, and entirely captivating. 

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References:

Table-turning – Wikipedia

Table-turning (or Table-tipping) | Encyclopedia.com

Animal magnetism – Wikipedia

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Kardecist spiritism – Wikipedia

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The Dark Origins of the Ouija Board: A Mysterious History of Spirit Communication

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The Ouija Board has a long and winded history that has created its own lore and rules. What is really the truth behind the board, where spiritualism meets consumerism?

The Ouija board: a simple game to some, a portal to the unknown for others. Whether you see it as harmless fun or a dangerous tool of the occult, one thing is certain—the Ouija board has a long, eerie history that stretches across centuries and cultures. Behind the polished wooden planchette and alphabet-strewn board lies a tale of mysticism, deception, and perhaps even something sinister.

Although most people know what the Ouija board is, few people know its origin, according to Ouija historian, Robert Murch. Sit tight, light a candle, and let’s delve into the shadowy origins of the Ouija board. But be warned—some doors, once opened, are difficult to close.

Ouija Board: Painting by Norman Rockwell depicting a couple using a Ouija board. This painting was used for the cover of the May 1, 1920 issue of The Saturday Evening Post.

Ancient Spirit Communication: The Predecessors of the Ouija Board

Before Parker Brothers got their hands on it, the concept of talking to spirits through objects wasn’t new, although the notion that Ouija Board was an ancient thing was. Cultures across history have been obsessed with communing with the dead, and they weren’t shy about getting creative.

China’s Mystical Writing: Fu Ji (扶乩)

As early as 1100 AD, the Chinese had a form of “spirit writing” called fu ji, which involved using a suspended wooden or bamboo stylus to guide messages from beyond. Taoist monks and mystics believed the deceased could communicate through this method, leaving cryptic (and sometimes terrifying) messages for the living. Sound familiar? It should—it’s basically an ancient prototype of the Ouija board.

Read More: China’s Mystical Writing: Fu Ji (扶乩) – When Spirits Pick Up the Pen 

The Spiritualist Movement: A Victorian Obsession

Fast forward to the 19th century, when the world was gripped by a new obsession: Spiritualism. This was the golden age of séances, mediums, and all things ghostly. It largely started when the Fox sisters from New York claimed to be able to communicate with the dead. People were desperate to reach lost loved ones, and mediums capitalized on that desire. Knocks on walls, flickering candles, and even floating tables were all part of the supernatural spectacle.

Read More: The Spiritualist Movement: The Fox Sisters Who Started a Ghostly Revolution as a Prank

But let’s be real—not all mediums were exactly credible. Many were caught faking spirit communication, using tricks that would make even Houdini roll his eyes. But fraud or not, the demand was high, and the market was ripe for a faster, easier way to contact the dead.

Spiritualism and Table Turning: Medium William Marriott levitating table. Although communicating with the devil moved away from this, the part of sitting around a table lingers.

Birth of the Ouija Board: A Capitalist Séance

Enter businessman Elijah Bond, who saw dollar signs where others saw ghosts. In 1890, he, along with Charles Kennard and William Fuld, created the first commercial “talking board” for The Kennard Novelty Company: Their goal? To cash in on the Spiritualist craze with a device that lets anyone communicate with spirits.

One problem with Spiritualism and the communication with the dead, was that it was too slow to deliver the messages. There were more people wanting to talk with the dead than there were mediums to deliver the messages, besides, it could be expensive to attend a seance. 

The solution was to make a more effective way of communicating. Often the mediums would spell out the entire alphabet and wait for the spirit to knock when they reached the right letter. Too boring, so the board came with the entire alphabet. 

The idea of a talking board like this was already a popular thing in the spiritualist communities in Ohio and the press reported on these boards as far back as 1886. Together with the desperation and grief of the loss in the aftermath after the Civil War, the market was there for the taking. 

The more efficient ways of communicating with the dead piqued the interest of the men that would form The Kennard Novelty Company and would exclusively make the Ouija board. In the beginning it was the local coffin maker, E.C. Reiche from Prussia who made the boards. The business venture was a success. It was a tool to communicate with the dead in the easiest way possible.

The name “Ouija” is a whole mystery in itself. Many people think that it’s the combination of the French oui and the German ja. According to legend, the board named itself when Bond’s sister-in-law asked it for its name during an early session one night in 1890. Helen Peters was a strong medium according to Bond and claimed the word meant “good luck”.

It is also possible that it was because she was wearing a locket with a picture of a woman where the word was written next to it. Some have speculated that it was actually a picture of the famous writer, Ouida, that Peters really liked and just misread her name. 

She has since been known as Mother of the Ouija Board.

The Patent Office and the “Supernatural” Test

Mother of the Ouija Board: Helen Peters

Now here’s where things get extra weird. When Bond and his crew applied for a patent, the U.S. Patent Office was skeptical. The officials allegedly demanded proof that the board actually worked before granting a patent. So, Peters asked the board to spell out the name of the chief patent officer—who, mind you, they had never met.

It did.

They got their patent.

Coincidence? Trickery? Did Bond, who was a patent attorney, know of this officer’s name beforehand? Or something else?

The Ouija Board Divides the Peters Family

So what happened to Peters and Helen Peters who was a vital person when creating the board? According to the stories, she wanted nothing to do with the board after it created a rift within the family. 

Family heirlooms from the civil war went missing from her home and she asked the board who had taken them. According to Peter’s grandson, it was a family member, something the Ouija board had told them. Half the family believed it, creating a rift in the family that was never resolved and tore them apart. 

After this, she sold her stock in the company and told everyone until her dying day to never play the board, because it would lie. 

William Fuld: The Man Who “Died for the Board”

William Fuld, who took over production of the Ouija board in the early 1900s, was one of its biggest promoters. He cut ties with his brother in 1919 and never spoke again. The feud was so big, Isaac Fuld exhumed his baby daughter and reburied her in another cemetery. 

In 1927, Fuld fell to his death from the roof of a factory when he was overseeing an installation of a flag—one that he claimed the Ouija board told him to build to prepare for big business. He was expected to live through this injury, but the bumpy road to the hospital sent one of his fractured bones through his heart. On his deathbed, he begged his children to never sell the board out from the family. 

For decades, the Ouija board was just another quirky parlor game, sold alongside Monopoly and Clue. After Full died, people started to argue about who really was the inventor behind the board, and several rival boards appeared and failed to reach the cult status the Ouija have. Four decades after Full’s death, they sold the board out of the family.

A fun pastime for the whole family as well as a spiritual oracle. The more uncertain the times were, the more the board sold. During the first world war there was a surge in interest in the board as well as during Prohibition times. In the second world war, a single New York department sold over 50 000 boards over five months in 1944. During the Vietnam war, the Parker Brothers bought the game and two million boards were sold, more than Monopoly. 

It wasn’t until the mid-20th century that things took a sinister turn.

Hollywood’s Love Affair with the Ouija Board

If there’s one thing Hollywood does well, it’s making innocent things terrifying (looking at you, Annabelle). The 1973 horror classic The Exorcist sent the Ouija board straight into the realm of nightmares. In the movie, a little girl uses a board to talk with a spirit she thinks is Captain Howdy, unwittingly inviting a demon into her life. Suddenly, the board wasn’t just a game—it was a gateway to hell.

The Exorcist: After the use of the Ouija Board in the horror movie, many believed that the thing was the thing of the devil.

After that, reports of “Ouija-related hauntings” skyrocketed, appearing in over 20 films and appearing on countless shows. But this also affected how Ouija was seen in the real world. Stories of possessions, cursed homes, and terrifying encounters flooded the media. 

Religious groups condemned the board, and even today Catholics claim that the board is “far from harmless”, and that it is an occult practice and that “nothing positive can ever come from the use of Ouija board.”. Exorcists got busy, and Parker Brothers probably started questioning some life choices.

Real-Life Horror Stories (Or So They Say…)

Whether you believe in ghosts or not, the Ouija board has a long list of spooky anecdotes attached to it:

The “Zozo” Demon: Many people claim to have encountered a malevolent entity named Zozo through the Ouija board. He’s known for deception, threats, and generally ruining your night. Skeptics say it’s a case of the ideomotor effect (your muscles move the planchette unconsciously). Believers say, well…good luck sleeping.

Read More: The Demon Zozo: The Mysterious and Terrifying Entity of the Ouija Board

In 1930, a woman in Buffalo participated in a murder, supposedly on the encouragement of Ouija board messages.

Read More: The Ouija Board Murder in Buffalo

So, is it just a game? Or is something playing you?

The board has been through much criticism from religious groups, even burning. in Alamogordo, New Mexico in 2001, it was burned on bonfires along with copies of Harry Potter and Disney’s Snow White and Eminem CD’s.

Fearing the Ouija Board: A woman tosses a Ouija Board into a bonfire outside a church in New Mexico in 2001, after the church’s pastor urged parishioners to burn dozens of Harry Potter books and other types of literature and games they found offensive. // Source

The Science of the Ouija Board: A Trick of the Mind?

Of course, there’s a rational explanation for all of this. The Ouija board is often linked to the ideomotor effect, where tiny, unconscious muscle movements create the illusion that an external force is moving the planchette.

In simpler terms: your brain is tricking you. You think you’re not moving the planchette, but your subconscious is. Science has replicated this effect in multiple studies, proving that the board’s messages aren’t coming from ghosts—they’re coming from you and small muscular movement creating a large effect.

Boring? Maybe. But definitely less terrifying than summoning a demon.

What research of the board has shown though, is that with the help of Ouija board, participants have been able to answer more factual questions correctly than without it. 50% accuracy for vocal responses compared to 65% for Ouija Board responses. Read the entire research report. 

The subconscious working better than anything else, or something else coming to visit?

Final Thoughts: Should You Use a Ouija Board?

Look, I’m not here to tell you what to do. But let’s be real—whether you believe in spirits or not, the Ouija board has a reputation. If it’s just a board game, why do so many people have terrifying experiences with it? Why does it consistently pop up in stories of hauntings and possessions?

Maybe it’s just superstition. Maybe it’s the power of suggestion.

Or maybe…just maybe…some doors are better left closed.

People have tried to come up with rules for safe playing, like claiming you shouldn’t ask the board about God, where treasures are buried and when you are going to die. It is said that if you try to burn the board, it will scream at you, so the safe way to get rid of it is to break it into seven pieces, sprinkle it with holy water, then bury it. 

Hasbro, whose website warns: “Handle the Ouija board with respect and it won’t disappoint you!”

But hey, if you do decide to use one, don’t say I didn’t warn you. And for the love of all things spooky—never, ever forget to say goodbye.

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References:

The Ouija Board Can’t Connect Us to Paranormal Forces—but It Can Tell Us a Lot About Psychology, Grief and Uncertainty | Smithsonian 

The Dark History Behind Ouija Boards

Ouija board | Spiritualism, Divination, Supernatural | Britannica 

The Ouija board’s mysterious origins: war, spirits, and a strange death | Life and style | The Guardian 

https://www.sfomuseum.org/exhibitions/mysterious-talking-board-ouija-and-beyond

BBC NEWS | Entertainment | ‘Satanic’ Harry Potter books burnt 

BBC NEWS | Entertainment | ‘Satanic’ Harry Potter books burnt 

The Museum of Talking Boards: Ouijastitions

Earlier boards:

History of the Talking Board 

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The Ouija Board Murder in Buffalo

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Many horrible things have been blamed on the Ouija Board over the years. One of the most famous cases was the murder often named The Ouija Board Murder in Buffalo were a woman in Buffalo was killed after the Ouija Board pointed her out in a mission for revenge. 

In 1930, Buffalo, New York, was the backdrop for a chilling murder case that intertwined themes of jealousy, manipulation, and supernatural beliefs. This case, often referred to as the “Ouija Board Murder in Buffalo,” involved the tragic death of Clothilde Marchand, a respected artist and wife of sculptor Henri Marchand.

The Ouija Board Told them to do it

Lila Jimerson

In the fall of 1929, 66 year old Nancy Bowen and 36 year old Lila Jimerson had a Ouija Board session. The Seneca Native women lived on the Cattaraugus Reservation where Bowen was a tribal healer and Jimerson worked at the reservation school. 

Read More: Check out all ghost stories from the USA

Not long ago, Bowen’s husband had died and they tried to contact the afterlife to get an explanation. The loss of Bowen’s husband had really affected her and she was looking for answers in all the wrong places. The board started to move, and according to them, the spirit of her husband, Sassafras Charlie Bowen spelled out: “They killed me.”

When the women asked who they were, the answer was Clothilde and an address on Ripley Street in Buffalo. The board also added that she had short hair and was missing teeth. Since Bowen couldn’t read herself, Jimerson was guiding the planchette and spelled out the words. Turns out, the Ouija Board pointed them in the direction of someone they already knew. 

The Marchand Family

Henri Marchand, a 53 year old French-born artist renowned for his dioramas and wax models, relocated with his wife, Clothilde, and their children to Buffalo in 1925. She was a tiny woman who had given up her life as a painter to take care of their children. 

Henri was commissioned to create dioramas for the Buffalo Museum of Science, a project that required close collaboration with local communities, including the Seneca Nation. During this period, Henri developed a professional relationship with Lila Jimerson, a young Seneca woman who served as a model for his work. Little did Clothild know, his affairs would become the death of her. 

After the Ouija Board session, Bowen started to receive letters signed from a certain Mrs Dooley that no one knew who was. In the letter, it said that Clothilde Marchand was actually a witch who had hexed Sassafras Charlie, who was also a tribal healer, because she was jealous. After her witchcraft didn’t work, she had to kill him herself, the letter claimed. Bowen started to fear that she was next.

The Murder of Clothilde Marchand

Nancy Bowen

On March 6, 1930, the Marchand household was shattered by violence. Bowen had tried to kill Clothilde with hexes and witchcraft instead, but when this didn’t work, she showed up to do the job herself. She knocked on the door and was let in as Clothilde recognized her from the reservation. Clothilde was found dead in their home on Riley Street, having suffered fatal injuries from a hammer and chloroform stuffed down her throat. She was found by her 12 year old son when he came home from school. 

The neighbors led the police to the reservation as many natives working as models came and went to their house and Jimerson was arrested. The investigation quickly led to Nancy Bowen, after Jimerson gave her name to the police, who confessed to the murder. 

Bowen revealed that she had been manipulated by Jimerson into believing that Clothilde was a witch responsible for the death of Bowen’s husband, Charlie. Driven by these manipulations, Bowen confronted and killed Clothilde. 

The Trials and Aftermath

The subsequent trials for the The Ouija Board Murder in Buffalo garnered significant public attention. Henri Marchand’s testimony revealed his numerous affairs, too many to count as he said in court, including his involvement with Jimerson.  He claimed getting romantically involved with the native women were necessary for his artistic endeavors as they would much easily take off their clothes for his modeling then. He also said that his dead wife was fully aware and supportive of his affairs, although nothing but his testimony says this. According to Jimerson, Marchand had said that he was tired of his wife and that this led to her planning to rid them of her. At the time of his wife’s murder, he was actually driving around with Jimerson. 

Jimerson faced two trials; the first ended in a mistrial due to her health issues, and the second concluded with her acquittal. Bowen pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to time served. Henri Marchand relocated to Albany, remarried his 18 year old niece, and continued his work until his death in 1951. Jimerson lived out her days in Perrysburg, New York, passing away in 1972. Clothilde Marchand was laid to rest in an unmarked grave in Buffalo’s Forest Lawn Cemetery. 

They never found out who wrote the letters, but it didn’t match up with Jimerson’s handwriting. If they ever tested it at Marchand’s is unclear, but doubtful. Although the murder was convicted, was it really justice served in The Ouija Board Murder in Buffalo?

The Ouija Board Murder in Buffalo

This case highlights the complex interplay of cultural beliefs, personal relationships, and societal prejudices. A lot of the focus on The Ouija Board Murder in Buffalo ended up being on the Ouija Board and witchcraft and not about how an innocent woman lost her life, and the manipulation from external forces that led to it.

The Ouija Board Murder in Buffalo underscores how deeply held superstitions and manipulations can lead to tragic outcomes, and it serves as a poignant reminder of the consequences of jealousy and deceit. Still today, you can see the sculptures in many museums to this day, including the Buffalo Science, the Smithsonian as well as the State Museum. 

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References:

MURDER INCITED BY JEALOUS MODEL; Killing of Artist’s Wife Is Confessed by Two Indian Women in Weird Story of Witchcraft. CONSULTED OUIJA BOARDHer Love for Marchand Led Her to Induce an Aged Friend to Beat Mrs. Marchand to Death. Woman Served as Indian Model. Artist Said Love Was Not Returned. MURDER INCITED BY JEALOUS MODEL – The New York Times

OUIJA BOARD MURDER TO GO TO GRAND JURY; Indictments Will Be Sought Against Indians for Slaying Buffalo Artist’s Wife. – The New York Times 

Henri Marchand (sculptor) – Wikipedia 

The Ouija Board Murder, 1930 : r/HistoricCrimes

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The Spiritualist Movement: The Fox Sisters Who Started a Ghostly Revolution as a Prank

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It’s impossible talking about communicating with the dead without talking about The Fox Sisters and their impact they had on the Spiritualism movement as well the enduring popularity ghosts and the afterlife have on people, even when its well known fraudsters performing. 

At a public demonstration at the New York Academy of Music, Maggie Fox takes the stage. She had all her life been one part of the most popular medium duo in the world at the time. She had since she was a little girl held public seances where she and her sister would communicate with the dead. Now she was telling everyone in the crowd that it had all been a fraud.

She was met with hissing and cheers from the crowd. People had spent their money on her, been comforted when she said that their dearly departed was at peace in the afterlife and with her help, she could communicate a message from the spirit world to the world of the living. All a lie. 

“When I began this deception I was too young to know right from wrong,” Maggie told the crowd, according to the Herald. “That I have been mainly instrumental in perpetuating the fraud of Spiritualism upon a too-confiding public, many of you already know. It is the greatest sorrow of my life.”

The Fox Sisters: Portrait of Kate and Maggie Fox, Spirit Mediums from Rochester, New York. Along the bottom edge of the daguerreotype “Kate and Maggie Fox, Rochester Mediums, T.M. Easterly Daguerrean” is inscribed. Portions of the daguerreotype are colored with pink pigment.

Spiritualism and the Hunt for Ghosts and Communicating with the Dead

The 19th century was a time of grand discoveries, scientific advancements, as well as talking to ghosts.

Enter Spiritualism, a movement that swept through the Western world like an eerie whisper in the dark. It promised communication with the dead, answers from the great beyond, and (let’s be honest) a fair share of parlor tricks.

At the center of it all? Two young girls from upstate New York, Margaretta and Catherine Fox—better known as the Fox Sisters. Their story is one of mystery, deception, and perhaps a little too much ambition. Were the Fox sisters truly gifted with the ability to communicate with spirits, or did they accidentally start one of the biggest hoaxes in history?

Light a candle, keep your ears open for unexplained knocks, and let’s step into the shadowy world of the Fox Sisters and the rise of Spiritualism.

A Knock in the Night: The Birth of a Phenomenon

Our tale begins in Hydesville, New York, in 1848, in a modest farmhouse occupied by the Methodist Fox family. It was here that 14-year-old Margaretta (Maggie) and 11-year-old Catherine (Kate) first encountered what they believed to be messages from beyond the grave.

Read More: Check out all ghost stories from the USA

The family had been experiencing strange noises—knocking sounds in the walls, unexplained raps on furniture, eerie disturbances in the dead of night. 

The Fox Sisters Childhood Home: Original Cottage before it was moved to Lilydale in 1916. This is where the alleged haunting started.

Instead of running for the hills, the Fox Sisters leaned into it when they scared their parents. One fateful evening, they wanted to share it with a neighbor. They said they heard the rapping every night on the walls and furniture. The neighbor was curious and wanted to see for herself and came to visit the small bedchamber the sisters shared with their parents. Their very superstitious mother, Margaret started, asking the knocking to count to five.

Five heavy knocks answered. Then followed her command when asking for fifteen knocks. 

“What is our guest’s age,” she asked and the entity in the room answered with thirty-three knocks. 

Convincing even the adults in the room, they didn’t even consider that the night was going into April Fool’s day. The young girls called the knocking for Mr. Spitfoot, a nickname for the devil, and the parents genuinely thought the house was haunted by something evil. They then called it Charles B. Rosna, the name of a man allegedly killed on the property. 

There was a rumor that a peddler had been murdered in the same farmhouse five years before and that this was the spirit trying to communicate with them. It’s uncertain if the story started before or after the Fox sisters started to hear the knocking. There was a whole ordeal of whether or not there actually was a dead man buried on their property haunting it, but after excavations, it has, as with everything else, said to be a hoax.

The Rise of Spiritualism: Talking to the Dead Becomes Trendy

The 19th century was the perfect time for a movement like Spiritualism to explode. Death was everywhere, and people were desperate for comfort. High infant mortality rates meant grieving parents longed to speak to lost children. The Civil War (later on) would create millions of mourning families, looking for closure. Scientific progress made people more open to the idea that maybe there was something beyond the grave that could be studied.

And then came the Spiritualist Movement—an alluring blend of religious belief, science, and just enough mystery to keep people hooked. It promised proof of the afterlife, making it one of the most compelling belief systems of the era.

The Fox Sisters weren’t just two kids from New York anymore. They were the pioneers of an entire industry—one that would dominate the world for decades.

The Fox Sisters Take the Stage

With their newfound fame, the sisters—along with their older sibling, Leah Fox—decided to take their act on the road. They moved to Rochester, New York, a place where all kinds of spiritual movements flourished. This area gave birth to Mormonism, Millerism that would become Seventh Day Adventism – As well as Spiritualism. 

The Fox sisters: Kate (1838–92), Leah (1814–90) and Margaret (or Maggie) (1836–93). They were famous mediums in Rochester, New York. Taken around 1852

They began holding public séances, demonstrating their “spirit communication” abilities to packed audiences. Where they could have been condemned to death for their claims to be communicating with the dead a couple of centuries ago, now they could make money from it. Leah had seen that this act could turn into a nice business venture.

The formula of the Fox Sisters was simple but effective:

A darkened room for maximum spookiness and where you could hide details your audience shouldn’t see. A table where spirits could “manifest” through knocks and tilts. A crowd eager for messages from beyond. And just like that, a supernatural empire was born.

They traveled from city to city, performing for skeptics and believers alike. Even respected intellectuals and politicians found themselves drawn into the movement. In 1849, 400 people came to see them at Rochester’s Corinthian Hall. After the performance they were taken to a backchamber and undressed to be examined by skeptics, finding no evidence of a hoax.

A physician from New England named Dr. Phelps claimed that his windows had shattered during one of their seances and that his clothes had been torn off by an unseen entity and objects were dancing on his floor. Even turnips had sprung from the carpet, inscribed with mysterious hieroglyphs. 

The Medium Madness: When Talking to the Dead Became Big Business

By the 1850s, Spiritualism was in full swing, with thousands of people across America and Europe attempting to communicate with the dead. In upstate New York there were forty families claiming to have the same gifts as the Fox sisters, and hundreds of more throughout Virginia and Ohio. 

They were not the first to claim to be able to communicate with the dead, and there were already many thinkers and philosophers who were exploring the idea around the same time. Franz Anton Mesmer from Australia was healing people in the States in the 1840s by putting them in a hypnotic state where some who woke up, thought they had been visited by a spirit. Philosopher and mystic, Emanuel Swedenborg from Sweden described a world of spirit and claimed to have seen and talked with them. 

And then things got really out of hand.

Séance: After the Fox Sisters, the séance and spiritualism got a boost in popularity that changed how the western world would see the ghosts and afterlife. The alleged clairvoyant medium Erik Jan Hanussen (middle) at a an illuminated séance.

With the Fox Sisters’ success, everyone and their ghostly grandmother wanted a piece of the action. Suddenly, mediums were popping up everywhere, offering séances, table-tipping sessions, and spirit photography.

It was a belief system with a show, filled with lighting, music and drama feeding on people’s curiosity of death and longing after their death. The mediums like The Fox Sisters became celebrities. Some of the most famous names in Spiritualism came out of this boom, including:

Daniel Dunglas Home, a medium who could allegedly levitate. There was also Eusapia Palladino, known for “spirit hands” appearing out of thin air. This is where the notion of Ectoplasm was coined. 

Read More: Spiritualism and the Occult: The History of Ectoplasm and Gooey Ghosts

The Bangs Sisters, who produced “spirit paintings” of deceased loved ones. But with fame came skepticism. Scientists, magicians, and journalists began questioning whether these supernatural events were real or just elaborate hoaxes.

Read More: Georgiana Houghton and her Spirit Drawings in Watercolor

Not to say that this went on without controversy. They had from day one people suspecting them for fraud. One time Maggie was almost kidnapped by a group of men who didn’t like the childrens show. They tried as early as 1849 to end the charade and said that the spirit bid them farewell during a show. But Leah pushed them onward.

And unfortunately for the Fox Sisters… things were about to fall apart.

The Fall of the Fox Sisters: Confession and Collapse

By the late 1870s, the Fox Sisters’ once-glorious reputation was crumbling. Throughout their career they had noted mistakes they made. Like when they conjured the ghost of Benjamin Franklin through writing and one observer noted how the former president’s spelling and grammar had diminished since he died. On a show in Buffalo the girl’s had cushions placed under their feet and only silence came through that night. 

Maggie struggled with alcoholism as she was mourning the death of her sort-of-husband in 1857. His family hated her and she wasn’t even allowed to attend his funeral. She had by then converted to Catholicism to honor her belated husband and promised to abandon Spiritualism forever. 

Kate on her side had married a devoted Spiritualist and wanted to expand and cash in on the grief the Civil War left in society. She was also accused of fraud and drinking heavily under the pressure to constantly summon spirits and perform.

The final blow came in 1888, when Maggie Fox did the unthinkable—she confessed and was scheduled to publicly denounce Spiritualism.

In a public lecture at the New York Academy of Music, she admitted that their ghostly communications had been faked all along. Leah had distanced herself from the younger sisters and Maggie was mad at her and the other Spiritualists who ridiculed Kate for her drinking and calling her an unfit mother as all of her children had been taken from her because of her drinking. Kate herself was in the audience to support her. 

Their secret? Cracking their toe joints to produce the knocking sounds. They also used their knuckles.

Yes. The entire phenomenon that launched Spiritualism had been created using nothing more than clever deception and a few well-placed toe pops.

Maggie even demonstrated the technique on stage, proving that the rapping noises could be recreated without any supernatural assistance. She confessed to the New York World in 1888 that the childhood prank had spun out of control. 

“My sister Katie and myself were very young children when this horrible deception began. At night when we went to bed, we used to tie an apple on a string and move the string up and down, causing the apple to bump on the floor, or we would drop the apple on the floor, making a strange noise every time it would rebound. Then we started to crack our bones. A great many people when they hear the rapping imagine at once that the spirits are touching them, It is a very common delusion.”

She then went on to expose her sister, Leah, who had known it was fake all along and exploited them. The audience was horrified. The Spiritualist Movement had been built on a lie.

But here’s the kicker—even after the confession, people still believed in Spiritualism that had by then spread around the world. Many brushed off Maggie’s words, claiming she was coerced or simply bitter. After all, people had claimed to talk with the dead before the Fox sister’s ever existed and types of mediums have been around in all cultures at all time. The movement was too big to die, and it continued to thrive long after the Fox Sisters faded into obscurity.

Maggie later recanted her confession the year after confessing it all, but the damage was done. What was the hoax? The confession or their entire career? According to Spiritualist she had been lying at the confession performance as she needed money and they paid her 1500 dollar for it. She then said that her spirit guides had told her to do so. Still, she spent the rest of her life to reveal the tricks behind her profession and the lies of other mediums. 

Maggie never reconciled with her sister who died in 1890. Her sister Kate died two years later, Maggie eight months after that. Both sisters died in poverty, their once-glorious reputations reduced to whispers of fraud and scandal.

Legacy: The Fox Sisters’ Impact on the Paranormal World

So, were the Fox Sisters frauds? Yes. But did they also accidentally launch an entire paranormal movement? Also yes.

Their “discovery” of spirit communication led to:

The rise of modern-day mediumship, the popularization of séances, spirit boards, and paranormal investigations. An entire industry of ghost hunters, TV psychics, and supernatural tourism. Even today, we see echoes of the Fox Sisters in every ghost-hunting show, every psychic reading, and every flickering candle during a séance.

Whether you believe in ghosts or not, one thing is clear: the Fox Sisters left their mark. Even when confessing to lying people refused to believe in the power of communicating with the dead. It was something that people desperately needed to believe in. 

They may have started with toe cracks and lies, but their influence? It’s undeniably haunting.

So, the next time you hear a mysterious knock in the night, ask yourself—

Is it just the wind?

Or is Mr. Splitfoot still knocking?

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References:

How a Hoax by Two Sisters Helped Spark the Spiritualism Craze | HISTORY 

The Fox Sisters and the Rap on Spiritualism | Smithsonian

The Paris Review – How the Fox Sisters’ Hoax Gave Birth to Spiritualism

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