It’s time for the first séance with Miss Tique, aka  @coven_of_skulls!

Spiritualism was a movement revolving around the belief that it was possible to communicate with the spirits of the dead, especially via séances. Many ideas that originated in that time regarding séances are still present, e.g., in modern movements interested in the paranormal or popular horror and gothic tropes.
While there are a few people who could be credited with starting spiritualism, it hadn’t taken off until 1848 when the famous Fox sisters claimed to contact the spirit of a murdered peddler in their house.

To contact the realm of the dead, the Fox sisters held sessions of ‘spirit rappings’ in which a spirit was supposed to spell out answers to questions by raps, taps, and knocking. It often involved calling out the alphabet, letter by letter, which often took a long time. After a few decades of fame, the sisters revealed themselves to be frauds and admitted they produced the sounds by cracking the joints in their toes.

The New York Herald reported, “There stood a black-robed, sharp-faced widow working her big toe and solemnly declaring that it was in this way she created the excitement that has driven so many persons to su*c*de or insanity. One moment it was ludicrous, the next it was weird.”