|
||
Definition: The entire spiritualist movement can be almost entirely attributed to the three Fox sisters, Katherine (c. 1836 - 1892), Leah (c. 1811 - 1890) and Margaret (1833 - 1893). In 1848, young Kate and Margaret reported mysterious thumping in their bedroom - noises which got so bad that the whole family eventually had to move out. Later the sisters began to give shows in which spirits answered questions through the use of mysterious rappings which no one was ever able to identify.
Scientists and other learned people declared the spiritual manifestations "genuine" and the sisters made quite a lot of money touring the country. Imitators sprang up everywhere, creating their own acts to impress people. The sisters eventually admitted that they had been fooling everyone - they produced the rappings by cracking their toe joints. Nevertheless, their fans continued to believe and even thought that the confession was itself the hoax.
Also Known As: none
Alternate Spellings: none
Common Misspellings: none
Related Resources:
What is Atheism?
The definition of atheism causes many people problems. Too often, people have the wrong idea of what atheism really is and what atheists really believe.What is Agnosticism?
Misunderstandings about agnosticism are just as frequent as misunderstandings about atheism.
