No, I'm not talking about the kind of "spirituality" supposedly possessed by some non-religious people. I'm not sure I even understand what that means. Over the past couple of weeks, I've been looking into the religion of Spiritualism and its role in our society. I've always had this fascination with Harry Houdini, and in my last creative writing workshop, we read a novel in which his lifestyle played an integral role. That got me thinkin'. What's the deal with this Spirtualism thing?
Here are the basics, according to Wikipedia (Our Lady of Random, Possibly Flawed And Certainly Just-The-Basics Information): Spiritualism was most popular from the 1840s through the 1920s. After the crash of 1929, it kind of died out among crowds. What sets Spiritualism apart from most other mystical religions is the belief that "spirits of the dead can be contacted by mediums" and that "these spirits are believed to lie on a higher plane of existence than humans, and are therefore capable of providing guidance in both worldly and spiritual matters."
So, Spiritualists held séances--you know that clichéd image of a bunch of teenagers holding hands around a table covered with a red table cloth, a crystal ball in the middle, the lights low? Yeah...it's not really like that. Spiritualism, as it turns out, was predominantly practiced by adults. They did hold hands around a table, and a medium would be among them. Mediums are similar to oracles in mythical traditions. It is believed that they can communicate with spirits, or even that their bodies are used as mediums (hence the name), as hosts, for visiting spirits to inhabit while they communicate with others in the room.
Harry Houdini had a fascinating relationship with spiritualism. He was incredibly close with his mother, Cecilia. After her death in the 1920s, he sought desperately to contact her through spiritualist mediums and self-proclaimed psychics (Wikipedia). As medium after medium failed to adequately do so, Houdini grew continually discouraged. Eventually, he became so disgusted with "false mediums", he began to travel the world, attempting to debunk the movement:
"Houdini's magical training allowed him to expose frauds who had successfully fooled many scientists and academics. He was a member of a Scientific American committee which offered a cash prize to any medium who could successfully demonstrate supernatural abilities. Thanks to the contributions and skepticism of Houdini and three others (there were five in the committee), the prize was never collected. As his fame as a "ghostbuster" grew, Houdini took to attending séances in disguise, accompanied by a reporter and police officer. Possibly the most famous medium whom he debunked was the Boston medium Mina Crandon, also known as "Margery"" (Wikipedia).
More on Harry later. For now:
Rosabelle, answer, tell, pray, answer, look, tell, answer, answer, tell.
Also, in the course of my research, I found this. Kind of amazing, I think.
