by Ray Langley

Created on: November 24, 2010

The Fox sisters were three daughters of John and Margret Fox’s five children reared in Hydesville, New York. Leah, Margret (Maggie), and Kate became the unintentional motivators of the Spiritual movement during the 1800’s.

Leah Fox the oldest sister of the three, believed the claims of her younger sisters that brought them to Rochester, New York amidst controversy. Margret and Kate had been claiming to be able to communicate with the spirits of the departed.

The trouble began as Margret at fifteen years old had discovered disembodied dragging and knocking noises in their house that the family could not track to a source.

Unlike her siblings, eleven year old Kate furthered curiosity by challenging the spirit to repeat the random number of noises that she would make by snapping her fingers, and to their amazement, the spirit replied.

With the growing interest of friends and neighbors the girls developed a code that would allow the spirit to respond “yes,” or “no” as well as spell out names. Further heightening the situation, the spirit claimed to be that of a murdered salesman buried in the basement; this led to the basement to be unearthed. Although, finding no body, some evidence of foul play led the previous occupant of the home, a Mr. Bell to become a pariah in the community. It was then that the parents sent young Margret and Kate to Rochester, New York and away from the attention.

The move to Rochester, New York was a fateful one, as the strange spirit noises followed the girls, and then convinced their older sister, Leah of the authenticity. The girl’s mother, the elder Margret Fox, being of strict Methodist faith, had also made paranormal connections to her own past, as several relatives had successfully predicted the date of their own deaths.

This experience in her past, and with Leah’s ardent belief, brought Mrs. Fox to introduce the phenomenon as a parlor trick to some of the family’s influential associates, and soon Leah was managing her younger sibling’s careers as “Mediums,” conduits to the spirit world.

Amy and Isaac Post were some of the first family associates to witness and believe that the girls were indeed able to contact the spirit world. The Posts spread this belief of the young girl’s abilities among their radical Quaker friends and family.

It was this first connection with a religious group that formed the foundation of what would later be refined as Spiritualism.

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>