Christopher's Ectoplastic Travels in Time: How a middle-school prank started a religion

By Christopher Thisse

photo credit: designwallah via photopin cc

The fall leaves in upstate New York are gorgeous.  I highly recommend a trip to see them.  The other day I was strolling through New York in 1888 when I stumbled across the October 21^st edition of the New York World, with the confession from Margaret (Maggie) Fox.  Have you heard of the Fox sisters?  They accidentally created a religion.

In the winter of 1847 the younger Fox Sisters, Maggie and Katy decided to play a prank on their easily frightened mother.  They began creating rapping sounds by tying strings to apples and bouncing them on the floor.  Or they would toss the apples onto the floor which would create an odd sound every time it rebounded.  Intrigued and frightened, their mother investigated.  Being superstitious, she believed it was supernatural in origin. 

Planning to do a grand finale for their prank, the sisters decided to have an active conversation with the ghost they were creating.  They enticed the ghost, whom they named Mr. Splitfoot, to rap against the walls in the patterns they created by snapping their fingers.  To further prove it, they mimed snapping their fingers and the ghost created the appropriate number of raps. 

Their mother took this performance to heart and began questioning the ghost.  The girls created the appropriate answers, perhaps fearing that if they confessed then they would be in trouble.  Their mother was so convinced; she asked the spirit if she could bring others to speak with it.  Not knowing what else to do, the sisters made the ‘ghost’ agree to this.  Neighbors were brought in and asked questions which were answered so acutely that the sisters began to gather a minor following.

Fox Sisters From Left: Margaret, Kate & Leah. US-PD

Their older sister, Leah, was a single mother who saw opportunity.  She went to Hydesville to speak to the younger sisters and got them to divulge the truth.  Instead of turning them out, though, she became their manager of sorts.  She pushed them to do more performances.  The sisters eventually moved to Rochester and continued their séances.  One of the first couples to witness these performances was a prominent Quaker couple who were also important local figures who were pushing certain political agendas such as women’s suffrage and equality of all people regardless of race, creed, nationality, or gender.  They became the first ‘Spiritualists’ per se.

Much of what had happened up until that point could be attributed to the religious climate of the country at the time.  Popular religious theorists had come up with the idea that the spiritual world was in constant contact with the physical world and we humans simply couldn’t tell.  It was theorized that someday soon someone would find a way to speak to the dead.  Enter the Fox sisters.

Pushed by their older sister (Even when they were doubtful and wished to stop) the Fox Sisters continued performing séances and traveling the world.  They did séances for prominent politicians, actors, writers, etc.  They became wealthy and famous.

But the guilt of deceiving the public took its toll.  They developed drinking problems.  Their lives were troubled and they suffered intense mental stress in trying to maintain the duel reality.  In 1888, Margaret Fox gave an exclusive confession for the sum of $1,500.  She hoped it would end the deception that she considered Spiritualism to be.  She detailed how she and her sister had developed the method of popping their toes in such a way to produce raps.  A year later, she recanted her confession in writing.  Within five years, both younger sisters were dead and buried in paupers’ graves.

photo credit: Psychology Pictures via photopin cc

But to this day, Spiritualism lives on.  One can still find mediums giving séances for donations all across the nation and overseas. 

But how does this relate to magic, I hear you say.  Simple.  The methods that the Fox Sisters created have never been duplicated, but other methods took their place.  The methods of table tipping, table rapping, Ouija, pendulums, etc., are still used to this day by the bizarre magicians of the world.  A lovely evening of wine and conversations with the Fox Sisters did wonders for my own act.

Further reading:

Fox Sisters on HistoryNet.com

Fox Sisters on ParanormalEncyclopedia.com - The Confession

Christopher Thisse is a time traveling psychic magician.  Not all of those things are true. He has been performing semi-professionally for over eight years, starting in a small circus troupe in Providence, Rhode Island.  When he moved to Fresno he shifted his focus to magic and now works for Ellusionist, one of the largest magic companies in the world.  His troupe, Of The Fireflies, has performed for some of the largest events in the Central Valley and Fresno area of California including Trashique, Freedom Fest, CMAC’s Anniversary Event and many ArtHop events.  When not doing impossible things in front of crowds, Christopher can often be found writing urban fantasy themed Steampunk stories, cooking, tending bar at parties, or training his German shepherd puppy. And if all else fails, look for him out in the Black Rock Desert. Or on Facebook!