By Elizabeth Elving
Dr. Kenneth James stood behind the pulpit at Church of the Spirit and smiled at the congregation. It was one of the first Sundays of the year to feel like spring and the crowd was sparse; about 40 people had trickled in during the morning meditation. “When you talk to someone about Spiritualism,” James began, “a lot of times they’ll say – ‘Isn’t that all about talking to dead people?’” He paused, letting the crowd chuckle at his remark. He asked what was wrong with that question and the answer came quickly from one of the front pews: it’s impossible to talk to dead people because there is no death.
Spiritualism is based on the concept of a “continuity of life,” in which death is only a transition to another state of being. Spiritualists believe that intuitive people known as Mediums can receive messages from the spirit world and deliver them to people in this one. This idea captivated Americans in the 19th century when the sisters Leah, Kate, and Maggie Fox of Hydesville, New York, traveled the country showcasing their apparent ability to commune with the dead through mysterious knocking sounds. The Fox Sisters were widely discredited in their lifetime, and for most people their legacy is a dim historical footnote. But not everyone believes they were frauds.