GaryJJSpate (talk | contribs) Recategorize: Psychic and Tarot -> Psychic Phenomena (category tree consolidation) |
GaryJJSpate (talk | contribs) Add citations for Fox sisters/Spiritualism origins, Mary Todd Lincoln, and Derek Acorah/Kreed Kafer incident; add References and External links sections |
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== Origins: the Fox sisters and Spiritualism == | == Origins: the Fox sisters and Spiritualism == | ||
Modern Western mediumship traces back to 1848, when two young sisters, Margaretta ("Maggie") and Catherine ("Kate") Fox, reported mysterious rapping sounds in their family's home in Hydesville, New York, which they attributed to a communicating spirit. Their older sister, Leah, began managing public demonstrations, and the "Rochester rappings" quickly became a sensation, sparking the religious movement known as Spiritualism across the United States and Europe. The sisters toured for decades as professional mediums, and prominent contemporaries — including Mary Todd Lincoln, who reportedly held séances in the White House hoping to contact her late son — took part in the wider craze that followed. | Modern Western mediumship traces back to 1848, when two young sisters, Margaretta ("Maggie") and Catherine ("Kate") Fox, reported mysterious rapping sounds in their family's home in Hydesville, New York, which they attributed to a communicating spirit.<ref name="history-fox">{{cite web |title=How a Hoax by Two Sisters Helped Spark the Spiritualism Craze |url=https://www.history.com/articles/ghost-hoax-spiritualism-fox-sisters |website=HISTORY}}</ref> Their older sister, Leah, began managing public demonstrations, and the "Rochester rappings" quickly became a sensation, sparking the religious movement known as Spiritualism across the United States and Europe.<ref name="britannica-fox">{{cite web |title=Margaret Fox and Catherine Fox |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Margaret-Fox-and-Catherine-Fox |website=Encyclopædia Britannica}}</ref> The sisters toured for decades as professional mediums, and prominent contemporaries — including Mary Todd Lincoln, who reportedly held séances in the White House's Red Room hoping to contact her late son Willie — took part in the wider craze that followed.<ref name="whha">{{cite web |title=Séances in the Red Room |url=https://www.whitehousehistory.org/seances-in-the-red-room |website=White House Historical Association}}</ref> | ||
In 1888, Margaretta publicly confessed that the rappings had been produced by cracking her joints, and demonstrated the technique on stage. Despite the confession | In 1888, Margaretta publicly confessed, in a signed statement published by the ''New York World'', that the rappings had been produced by cracking her and Kate's knee and toe joints, and demonstrated the technique on stage at the New York Academy of Music.<ref name="history-fox" /> Despite the confession — which she partially retracted the following year — Spiritualism continued to grow, and mediumship remained a popular practice well into the 20th century.<ref name="britannica-fox" /> | ||
== Types of claimed contact == | == Types of claimed contact == | ||
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* '''[[Clairsentience]]''' (clear feeling) — physical or emotional sensations attributed to a spirit's presence | * '''[[Clairsentience]]''' (clear feeling) — physical or emotional sensations attributed to a spirit's presence | ||
Mediumship is also sometimes divided into ''mental mediumship'' (impressions, messages, and communication) and the largely discredited ''physical mediumship'' popular in the 19th and early 20th centuries, which claimed physical manifestations such as table movement, materialised objects, or ectoplasm during a séance — effects investigated at length, and frequently exposed as fraudulent, by early organisations such as the Society for Psychical Research. | Mediumship is also sometimes divided into ''mental mediumship'' (impressions, messages, and communication) and the largely discredited ''physical mediumship'' popular in the 19th and early 20th centuries, which claimed physical manifestations such as table movement, materialised objects, or ectoplasm during a séance — effects investigated at length, and frequently exposed as fraudulent, by early organisations such as the Society for Psychical Research.<ref name="britannica-fox" /> | ||
== Notable example: Derek Acorah == | == Notable example: Derek Acorah == | ||
[[Derek Acorah]] is one of the best-documented modern examples of a professional medium, through his long-running role on ''[[Most Haunted]]''. His case also illustrates the standard sceptical test applied to mediumship claims: | [[Derek Acorah]] is one of the best-documented modern examples of a professional medium, through his long-running role on ''[[Most Haunted]]''. His case also illustrates the standard sceptical test applied to mediumship claims: during a 2005 investigation at Bodmin Gaol, he was fed a fabricated spirit name — "Kreed Kafer," an anagram of "Derek Faker" — by the show's resident parapsychologist, [[Ciarán O'Keeffe]], and went on to describe contact with the entirely fictitious spirit as though genuine.<ref name="higgypop">{{cite web |title=Derek Acorah Possessed By "Kreed Kafer" On Most Haunted |url=https://www.higgypop.com/news/most-haunted-at-bodmin-gaol/ |website=Higgypop Paranormal}}</ref> The exposure led host Yvette Fielding to publicly call him a fake, and he left the show shortly afterwards.<ref name="higgypop" /> | ||
== Scientific perspective == | == Scientific perspective == | ||
Mediumship has never been demonstrated to the satisfaction of the scientific community. The most commonly proposed non-paranormal explanation is cold reading — the use of vague, high-probability statements, careful observation of a subject's reactions, and general statistical likelihood (common names, common causes of death, common family structures) to construct an apparently specific reading that the subject supplies most of the meaning for themselves. Deliberate prior research into a subject, sometimes called hot reading, has also been documented in cases of exposed fraud, including several associated with the original Spiritualist movement. | Mediumship has never been demonstrated to the satisfaction of the scientific community. The most commonly proposed non-paranormal explanation is cold reading — the use of vague, high-probability statements, careful observation of a subject's reactions, and general statistical likelihood (common names, common causes of death, common family structures) to construct an apparently specific reading that the subject supplies most of the meaning for themselves. Deliberate prior research into a subject, sometimes called hot reading, has also been documented in cases of exposed fraud, including several associated with the original Spiritualist movement.<ref name="britannica-fox" /> | ||
== Related concepts == | == Related concepts == | ||
* [[Psychic Ability]], the umbrella page for this and related claimed abilities | * [[Psychic Ability]], the umbrella page for this and related claimed abilities | ||
* [[Derek Acorah]], under [[:Category:Psychic Mediums|Psychic Mediums]] | * [[Derek Acorah]], under [[:Category:Psychic Mediums|Psychic Mediums]] | ||
* [[Hot reading]] | |||
* [[:Category:Parapsychology|Parapsychology]] | * [[:Category:Parapsychology|Parapsychology]] | ||
== References == | |||
{{Reflist}} | |||
== External links == | |||
* [https://www.whitehousehistory.org/seances-in-the-red-room White House Historical Association — Séances in the Red Room] | |||
[[Category:Psychic Phenomena]] | [[Category:Psychic Phenomena]] | ||
Revision as of 16:07, 5 August 2026
Mediumship is the claimed ability to communicate with the spirits of the dead, and to relay messages or impressions from them to the living. It is the psychic ability most closely associated with the wider ghosts and hauntings tradition, since a medium's claimed contact is specifically with the deceased, distinguishing it from clairvoyance or telepathy, which don't require a spirit intermediary.
Origins: the Fox sisters and Spiritualism
Modern Western mediumship traces back to 1848, when two young sisters, Margaretta ("Maggie") and Catherine ("Kate") Fox, reported mysterious rapping sounds in their family's home in Hydesville, New York, which they attributed to a communicating spirit.[1] Their older sister, Leah, began managing public demonstrations, and the "Rochester rappings" quickly became a sensation, sparking the religious movement known as Spiritualism across the United States and Europe.[2] The sisters toured for decades as professional mediums, and prominent contemporaries — including Mary Todd Lincoln, who reportedly held séances in the White House's Red Room hoping to contact her late son Willie — took part in the wider craze that followed.[3]
In 1888, Margaretta publicly confessed, in a signed statement published by the New York World, that the rappings had been produced by cracking her and Kate's knee and toe joints, and demonstrated the technique on stage at the New York Academy of Music.[1] Despite the confession — which she partially retracted the following year — Spiritualism continued to grow, and mediumship remained a popular practice well into the 20th century.[2]
Types of claimed contact
Mediums typically describe their perceptions using one or more of several claimed senses, sometimes referred to as "the clairs":
- Clairvoyance (clear seeing) — visual impressions
- Clairaudience (clear hearing) — auditory impressions, such as hearing a spirit's voice
- Clairsentience (clear feeling) — physical or emotional sensations attributed to a spirit's presence
Mediumship is also sometimes divided into mental mediumship (impressions, messages, and communication) and the largely discredited physical mediumship popular in the 19th and early 20th centuries, which claimed physical manifestations such as table movement, materialised objects, or ectoplasm during a séance — effects investigated at length, and frequently exposed as fraudulent, by early organisations such as the Society for Psychical Research.[2]
Notable example: Derek Acorah
Derek Acorah is one of the best-documented modern examples of a professional medium, through his long-running role on Most Haunted. His case also illustrates the standard sceptical test applied to mediumship claims: during a 2005 investigation at Bodmin Gaol, he was fed a fabricated spirit name — "Kreed Kafer," an anagram of "Derek Faker" — by the show's resident parapsychologist, Ciarán O'Keeffe, and went on to describe contact with the entirely fictitious spirit as though genuine.[4] The exposure led host Yvette Fielding to publicly call him a fake, and he left the show shortly afterwards.[4]
Scientific perspective
Mediumship has never been demonstrated to the satisfaction of the scientific community. The most commonly proposed non-paranormal explanation is cold reading — the use of vague, high-probability statements, careful observation of a subject's reactions, and general statistical likelihood (common names, common causes of death, common family structures) to construct an apparently specific reading that the subject supplies most of the meaning for themselves. Deliberate prior research into a subject, sometimes called hot reading, has also been documented in cases of exposed fraud, including several associated with the original Spiritualist movement.[2]
Related concepts
- Psychic Ability, the umbrella page for this and related claimed abilities
- Derek Acorah, under Psychic Mediums
- Hot reading
- Parapsychology
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "How a Hoax by Two Sisters Helped Spark the Spiritualism Craze."HISTORY.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Margaret Fox and Catherine Fox."Encyclopædia Britannica.
- ↑ "Séances in the Red Room."White House Historical Association.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Derek Acorah Possessed By "Kreed Kafer" On Most Haunted."Higgypop Paranormal.