- Spirit, your presence is getting weaker,
Focus your energy.
Focus your energy.
(spooky music)
This video was brought to you
by The Great Courses Plus.
Thanks to this sponsorship,
we are able to make a donation
to the work of Cheyney McKnight
of Not Your Mama's History.
(dramatic music)
Spirits, knock three times.
(light knocking)
Knock three times.
(light knocking)
Knock three times.
♪ Knock three times on the
ceiling if you want me ♪
♪ Twice on the pipe if the answer is no ♪
Finally, i have been fighting for a dawn
featuring Tony Orlando opener
on this channel for a long time.
You all have no idea what i went through.
Today you've come to hear a story,
a story that begins about 180 years ago
in a little farmhouse
in Hydesville, New York,
where two sisters learned
to talk to the dead,
(rapid speaking)
What?
(rapid speaking)
No, they weren't sisters
like the Kardashians.
- [Female] re you kidding me?
- Well actually, they were
sort of like the Kardashians.
- [Female] Oh my god!
- As I was saying, it's
1848 and the Fox sisters,
11-year old Kate and 14-year
old Maggie were awakened
in the night by strange
thuds and knocking sounds.
The Fox family had been
hearing the knocking noises
or rappings as they called
them, for some time.
As the story goes, on this
particular March night,
the girls tried
communicating with the source
of the strange noises.
Something seemed to be
consciously responding
to Maggie and Kate's
requests and questions.
When they asked to count five,
they heard five loud knocks in response.
And when Maggie asked, "If
you are an injured spirit,
manifest it by three raps!"
They heard (three raps).
Over the next few weeks,
news of the young girls
who could communicate with the spirits
of the dead spread quickly.
Members of the press descended
on the Hydesville farmhouse
looking for answers from
the girls and their ghost.
To escape these crowds,
Kate and Maggie were sent
to live with their older
sister in Rochester, New York.
At the time, Rochester
was a hub of social,
political, and cultural movements.
Eventually, the sisters would cross paths
with leading reformers
like Frederick Douglass
and Elizabeth Cady Stanton.
So it was here that a
religion and a movement
called spiritualism would take shape,
which in popular culture,
we know associate with
seances and Ouija boards.
Yes, ultimately, it was
about speaking with the dead,
which tends to be the
part that people remember,
for obvious reasons.
Ghosts (ghosts moaning) is the reason.
But spiritualism was also
about working with the dead
to enact reform for the living.
Spiritualists were fiercely feminist.
According to the Harvard
Divinity Scholar Anne Braude,
spiritualism became a major,
if not the major vehicle for the spread
of women's rights ideas
in mid-century America.
Spiritualists were also abolitionists.
Many of spiritualism leaders
and practitioners were black.
Seance circles and communities
formed like Harmonia
where Sojourner Truth lived,
and Cercle Harmonique,
a group formed by Afro-Creole
spiritualists in New Orleans.
After the Civil War, there
was violent resistance
to any sort of racial equality.
If the living aren't reforming,
aren't listening to you,
perhaps you could find sympathy
and aid among the dead.
Speaking of the Civil War,
this is where we need to start
if we wanna understand the
rapid rise of spiritualism.
now, prior to the war,
the idea of the good death was crucial.
You wanted to die at home,
surrounded by loved ones.
The dying person poised
at the threshold of heaven
could also impart divine
wisdom and be like,
oh wow, yeah, can confirm,
there's an after life.
It's great, woo, here I go.
But all of a sudden, here's the Civil War,
and soldiers are dying far
from home with no assurances
that the good death will be provided.
With so many families not even knowing
if their loved one had died,
let alone where or how,
these unanswered questions became
a torment for those left behind.
For those seeking consolation,
spiritualism provided answers and comfort.
We need to combine this
with the swift increase
in scientific discovery in the decades
following the Civil War.
Living in that time must have seemed like
something out of a science fiction novel.
Germ theory, x-rays,
electricity, photography,
telephones, moving images,
things that made the invisible visible.
So why not the spirits of the dead?
Lest you think this is
purely a fringe movement,
what if I told you that
following the death
of President Lincoln and first lady
Mary Todd Lincoln's young son,
the couple held numerous seances
in the Red Room of the White
House, trying to contact him.
And after President
Lincoln's assassination,
the first lady commissioned
a spirit photograph with her dead husband.
Spirit photos purportedly captured images
of the dead on camera.
Although many spiritualists
touted them as evidence
of the after life, the
photos were, in actuality,
processing manipulations
like double exposures.
And some of them are, to be
honest, not very convincing.
(spooky music)
Photography historian, Kate Scott,
explained that the resulting
spirit could convince
a person who wanted to be convinced.
The story doesn't end here.
Spiritualism has experienced
a resurgence in popularity
following just about
every mass death event
in the US and the UK since the Civil War.
During World War I,
there were approximately
40 million military
and civilian deaths world wide.
Then, right at the tail
end of the war came
the pandemic of 1918,
which was estimated to have
taken another 50 million lives.
In response, people would once again turn
to spiritualism for answers.
Families found solace
in popular news stories
from the front lines of the
war where soldiers claimed
to have witnessed supernatural
manifestations of angels
and spirits of the dead
rising up to protect them
on the battle field.
(spirits groaning)
The most popular story is from
just two weeks into the war.
British troops had arrived
in the Belgium town of Mons
to join forces with the
French against the Germans.
Even with British assistance,
they were outgunned,
outmanned, outnumbered, outplanned.
I've never seen Hamilton, but
my colleagues have told me
that this reference is (laughing).
The situation was dire
and death seemed certain.
But suddenly, a luminous cloud appeared
and an angel holding a sword emerged.
On the ground, a spectral
army of soldiers armed
with long bows rose to join
the ranks of the British.
This newly formed regiment,
comprised of both living
and dead soldiers,
went on to do the impossible
and defeat the Germans.
Thanks zombie soldiers.
Auf Wiedersehen, Germans.
The problem is this story
was a literal story,
a piece of fiction called "The Bow Men."
It was published in a London newspaper
alongside real, reported news,
making it unclear that
it was a work of fiction.
Soon, churches began reprinting the story
in parish pamphlets and magazines,
even going so far as to cite sources
and passing it off as fact.
Spiritualists followed
suit, not surprisingly.
They loved the part about the army
of the dead rising up to aid the living.
(spirits groaning)
By 1919, a spiritualism
craze was in full effect.
Even Thomas Edison was
trying to build a machine
that would allow people
to talk to the dead.
Not the invention you
probably remember him for.
Here's how an anonymous veteran
writing into the newspaper,
The Courier, described almost
every household of the time.
"Mothers and friends of
fallen soldiers resorting
to table-rappings,
creakings, automatic writing
through the medium of the
planchette, Ouija, heliograph,
all in the hopes of
once more communicating
with their loved ones."
Spiritualism was also getting
a boost of credibility
from celebrities and
so-called men of reason,
like British physicist, Oliver Lodge,
and the author of "Sherlock
Holmes," Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
But they weren't without their critics.
Most notable among them,
famed magician Harry Houdini.
You'd really think the Sherlock Holmes guy
would be debunking talking to the dead
and the famous magic
guy would be all for it,
but I don't know.
After being invited to
a seance at his friend,
Arthur Conan Doyle's house,
where he felt he was
being clearly deceived,
Houdini dedicated himself
to exposing mediums
and spiritualists who he deemed vultures
who prey on the bereaved.
And really, who better
to expose fake mediums
and their tricks than the
world's greatest magician,
as they both employed many
of the same techniques.
So how did fraudulent mediums
convince mourning families
they were the real thing?
Welcome, thank you for coming tonight.
To summon the spirits, we
will first light this candle
so they will know where to find us.
Next, I will place this
bell (bell ringing)
beneath the table so they
know how to reach us.
This is a spirit cone.
It will amplify the voices of the dead
so we can hear them better.
Please, place your hands on the table.
I will place my own hands on top of yours
so you can be sure I am not
making any additional movements.
Now, we will summon the dead.
Do you hear us?
Spirits, do you hear us?
Spirits, do you hear us?
Send us a sign.
Send us a sign.
(bell ringing)
Send us a sign.
We hear you.
Do you have a message for us?
Do you have a message for us?
(gasping loudly)
Spirits, I feel your presence.
Use me as your vessel, spirits.
(lightening crashing)
Spirit, your presence is getting weaker.
Focus, focus your energy.
Focus your energy.
Focus your energy.
(spooky music)
So let's break down what happened here.
I asked my grieving widow to
put her hands upon the table.
And then, I put my hands on hers,
assuring her that I was here
with her the whole time.
But when she was
disoriented and distracted,
I quickly blew out the candle, (blowing),
plummeting the room into darkness.
I used my feet to grab the bell
and ring it. (bell ringing)
While the subject was distracted
by the sound of the bell,
I used my Indiana Jones
quick reflexes to move
my right hand away and quickly replace it
with the thumb on my left hand so
she never feels my hands are gone.
Now that my hand is free,
I quickly move the spirit cone to my lap.
I place the ectoplasm,
which was really just gauze,
into my mouth and made
the table move and shake
by kicking up my knees.
While the widow was once again captivated
with my spirit manifestation skills,
I removed the ectoplasm
and placed the spirit cone
on my head, flinging it across the table.
The tricks are simple
enough, but when you combine
a talented seance performer
with the desperate desire
to hear from a dead loved one,
more often than not, you
can create a true believer.
Now, we can't avoid talking about
the most famous spiritualistic accessory
of them all, the Ouija board,
aka, all my sleepovers from 1990 to 1998.
The originals were called talking boards
and they've existed for quite some time.
But they began to be marketed
to the general public
due to the popularity of spiritualism
and instant accessibility to
spirits they allegedly provide.
(Chewbacca speaking)
In the 1960s, the patent
for the Ouija board
was sold to Parker Brothers,
makers of other fine games
like Hey Pop, There's A Goat On The Roof.
Parker Brothers later became Hasbro.
The game has held a unique
place in American pop culture,
referenced in urban legends
and films like "The Exorcist."
- Oh yeah, well let's pose one.
(dramatic music)
- And "Ouija, Origin of Evil."
In 2009, Hasbro had the
Ouija board making headlines
once again when it released a version
of the board for girls.
(bell dinging)
The original spiritualists were girls.
She's got a lot of friends,
and some of them are ghosts.
It's always been mysterious.
It's always been mystifying.
And now, the Ouija board
is just for you, girl.
With 72 fun questions included,
you'll never run out of things to ask.
Who will call or text me next?
Will I be a famous actor one day?
Who wishes they could
trade places with me?
(dramatic music)
- [Ghostly Voice] I do.
- Believe it or not,
that really was the product
description from Hasbro.
Putting the bro in Hasbro.
Although the Ouija board
is steeped in urban legends
and spooky slumber party stories,
the spookiness behind the
game is simply science.
It's a phenomenon called
the ideomotor effect
in which a person is not
aware of the small movements
their body is making.
In other words, your
subconscious desire for
a particular outcome or result
can manifest as actual movement.
So when people use an Ouija board,
they are moving the
planchette across the board.
But the movements are so small that they
aren't even aware of them.
Which psychologically is a little spooky.
After all, let's try it.
Spirit, do you have a
message for someone here?
T
G
C
P.
That's right.
This video is sponsored
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Those of you who have
been watching my channel
for awhile might be
wondering, Ouija boards,
talking to the dead, ectoplasm?
Who is this person,
what have you done with
our curmudgeonly skeptic?
Don't worry, I'm still an abject nihilist,
but did you know there
is more to skepticism
than just being a buzz kill
at your friend's seance?
♪ Knock three times on the
ceiling if you want me ♪
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How To Think Like A Scientist.
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Spoiler, biology.
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The planchette has told me
that spiritualism's
popularity waned once again,
but not for long.
Following World War II, when the world,
once again, had to contend
with death and mourning
on a massive scale, folks
again reached out to their dead
through seances, mediums and Ouija boards.
In 1944, a Scottish
medium named Helen Duncan
was convicted under the
Witchcraft Act of 1735 when,
during a seance, she revealed
top secret information
about the sinking of a
Royal Navy battleship
off the coast of Egypt,
information she claimed to
have received from the spirits.
Duncan had gained notoriety
by claiming to produce ectoplasm,
which we already know is not
spirit triturus, but gauze.
But this confidential
information probably came
from a family member
or acquaintance of one
of the 861 sailors who
had died in the incident.
When government officials notified
the families of the deaths,
they gave them strict instructions
to keep the information to themselves.
But come on, 861 families
aren't gonna do that.
So what about spiritualism today?
Here's the thing.
If you have ever watched
a ghost hunter show,
you've participated in a form
of modern day spiritualism.
After September 11th, 2001,
the US would experience
another shocking and
traumatic loss of life.
In the months that followed,
Americans began taking part
in a new form of spirit communication.
Gone were the young, diverse
female leaders of spiritualism,
seeking to change the
world for the better.
This new batch of
believers found their stage
via countless cable TV show platforms.
Shows like "Ghost Hunters"
and "Ghost Adventures"
became so popular, they
launched a subculture
and spawned thousands
of ghost hunting groups
across the country.
For years, you couldn't change the channel
without coming across at
least one show fearing dudes
in tight black t-shirts
yelling at spirits.
- Find this evil entity.
- Are there any kids who wanna play?
Find proof of its existence. (screaming)
and pick a fight with it.
- Dude, run!
- It most definitely, obviously
would appear to be ghosts.
I'm not saying ghost
hunters and spiritualism
are the same thing, but they
do share the same impulse
to communicate with the dead
and prove the existence of an after life.
Real or not, maybe what matters most here
is that some studies have
shown that communicating
with the dead can be helpful.
According to Dr. Alison Forti,
a professor at Wake Forest University,
"Speaking out loud to a
loved one who has passed,
whether at a grave site
or out loud at home
is helpful for many
people processing grief."
Interestingly enough, it's
actually pretty common
for people to have some kind
of paranormal experience
involving a dead loved one
or pet in which they sense
or believe they are being
contacted by a spirit.
These experiences are sometimes referred
to as bereavement hallucinations.
As common as these experiences are,
in Western culture where grief
is stigmatized and hidden,
people are hesitant to share
their bereavement hallucination
experiences for fear
of being shamed or having
their sanity questioned.
With the pandemic, we are all, once again,
experiencing loss and
grief on a massive scale.
So the question is, in the
months and years to come,
will people once again
turn to spiritualism
or some for of it to
cope with their grief?
It's already happening
out there but do you think
it will once again go mainstream?
Oh, and what happened to
those precocious little Fox Sisters?
- [Female] Oh my god.
- Kate continued to hold seances
and advocate for spiritualism,
while Maggie ended up falling
in love with an older man
and converted to Catholicism,
which is also sort of spooky.
- [Female] I'm like, so upset.
- Later in life, Maggie
was paid to confess that
the rapping, seances and
spiritualism itself was all a hoax.
- [Female] Completely not true.
- But a year later, she
recanted her confession,
stating "Spiritualism
wasn't a hoax at all,
but that everything she and
her sister, Kate, did was real,
and they had truly been
speaking to the dead.
- [Female] I really, you know,
apologize if I offended anyone.
- Thank you again to
The Great Courses Plus
for sponsoring this video.
Your sponsorship allows
us to make a donation
to Cheyney McKnight of
Not Your Mama's History.
Normally, we use these
sponsorships to donate
to organizations, but today,
we're trying something
different by giving money
to support the work of an individual.
Cheyney McKnight is a
performance artist and historian
who creates educational
programming about slavery
and the African experience during
the 18th and 19th centuries.
(dramatic music)
- ]Cheyney] Within the past year,
I discovered the Harlem burial ground.
I leave fruit, lavender.
I sometimes just sit and talk with them.
They may be a bit lonely.
I think we need to say
thank you to the people
who came before us as well as honor them.
- You can learn more about
Cheyney's work at the link below.
This video was made
with generous donations
from death enthusiasts just like you.
(vocalizing)
You get this vibe of spiritualism
to enact reform for the living.
Oh yeah, you should just,
the whole neighborhood
is absolutely interested in
your musical selection, car.
And I get to understand
what you're listening to
at the same volume as
if you were playing it
in my own house on a large boom box.
It was published in a Los
Angeles newspaper along,
Los Angeles newspaper.
Wouldn't that be funny.
Oh my god, my, oh my god, my
legs are covered in sweat.
They are like defrosting
hams on this chair.
Blah.
Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom,
boom, boom, boom, boom.
Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom.
The vultures who prey on the bereaved.
Vultures, who prey on the bereaved.
Vultures who prey on the bereaved.
The (beep) the Houdini voice.
Magic, what's a magic voice?
For girls.
For girls.
What is with all the
music outside tonight?
There's a COVID on.
Welcome.
Thank you for coming. (laughing)
That was my fault.
I should've--
- What's it,
you can't handle my costume?
- While they were distracted
with everything going on,
I blew out the candles. (blowing)
Shit. (laughing)
I do.
I do.
I do.
Hey Pa, there's a goat on the roof.
