Books about Spiritualism

Complete Hypnotism, Mesmerism, Mind-Reading and Spiritualism - A. Alpheus

Amazon Synopsis: Being an Exhaustive and Practical System of Method, Application, and Use

There is no doubt that hypnotism is a very old subject, though the name was not invented till 1850. In it was wrapped up the "mysteries of Isis" in Egypt thousands of years ago, and probably it was one of the weapons, if not the chief instrument of operation, of the magi mentioned in the Bible and of the "wise men" of Babylon and Egypt. "Laying on of hands" must have been a form of mesmerism, and Greek oracles of Delphi and other places seem to have been delivered by priests or priestesses who went into trances of self-induced hypnotism. It is suspected that the fakirs of India who make trees grow from dry twigs in a few minutes, or transform a rod into a serpent (as Aaron did in Bible history), operate by some form of hypnotism.

The people of the East are much more subject to influences of this kind than Western peoples are, and there can be no question that the religious orgies of heathendom were merely a form of that hysteria which is so closely related to the modern phenomenon of hypnotism. Though various scientific men spoke of magnetism, and understood that there was a power of a peculiar kind which one man could exercise over another, it was not until Frederick Anton Mesmer (a doctor of Vienna) appeared in 1775 that the general public gave any special attention to the subject. In the year mentioned, Mesmer sent out a circular letter to various scientific societies or "Academies" as they are called in Europe, stating his belief that "animal magnetism" existed, and that through it one man could influence another. No attention was given his letter, except by the Academy of Berlin, which sent him an unfavorable reply.

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The Darkened Room: Women, Power, and Spiritualism in Late Victorian England - Alex Owen

Amazon Synopsis: A highly original study that examines the central role played by women as mediums, healers, and believers during the golden age of spiritualism in the late Victorian era, The Darkened Room is more than a meditation on women mediums—it's an exploration of the era's gender relations. The hugely popular spiritualist movement, which maintained that women were uniquely qualified to commune with spirits of the dead, offered female mediums a new independence, authority, and potential to undermine conventional class and gender relations in the home and in society. Using previously unexamined sources and an innovative approach, Alex Owen invokes the Victorian world of darkened séance rooms, theatrical apparitions, and moving episodes of happiness lost and regained. She charts the struggles between spiritualists and the medical and legal establishments over the issue of female mediumship, and provides new insights into the gendered dynamics of Victorian society.

The History of Spiritualism - Arthur Conan Doyle

Amazon Synopsis: Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. Hesperides Press are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

Lily Dale: The True Story of the Town That Talks to the Dead - Christine Wicker

Amazon Synopsis: In Lily Dale, New York, the dead don't die. Instead, spirits flit among the elms and stroll along the streets, sometimes dressed in garb more common 120 years ago, when Lily Dale was founded and suffragette Susan B. Anthony was a frequent guest. According to Spiritualists who have ruled this Victorian hamlet for five generations, the dead don't go away and they stay anything but quiet. Every summer twenty thousand guests come to consult the town's mediums, who can hangout a shingle only after passing a test that confirms their connection to the spirit world. On the hot June day when reporter Christine Wicker comes to the world's oldest and largest Spiritualist community, she is determined to understand the secret forces -- human or otherwise -- that keep Lily Dale alive. She follows three visitors: a newly bereaved widow; a mother whose son killed himself; and a beautiful, happily married wife whose first visit to Lily Dale brings an ominous warning. Are the mediums cold-hearted charlatans, as Sinclair Lewis wrote of them? Or are they conduits for a hidden world that longs to bring peace and healing to the living, as psychologist William James and muckraker Upton Sinclair once hoped to prove? Investigating a movement that attracted millions of Americans in the 1800s and now barely survives, Wicker moves beyond the mediums' front parlors and into the lives that tourists never see. She follows the mediums to a place where what we know and how we know it is the greatest mystery of all.

The Missing Link in Modern Spiritualism - A. Leah Underhill

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Modern Spiritualism - Uriah Smith

Amazon Synopsis: As we draw closer to the secong coming of Christ, the line between good and evil becomes blurred as evil masquerades as good, disguised in popular entertainment, communication and innocent pleasures. Since the early days of witchcraft, modern spiritualism now offers lighter options including so called harmless psychics, Wicca organizations and the ever famous Magic-8 ball and Ouija board. Spiritualism offers power, knowledge, reuniting with deceased loved ones and the thrill of the unknown. It has offered hope to those in despair and strength to the weak. But the questions we must ask are - has it fulfilled, if any, of these promises? Are we being deceived or are we selling stock options in our soul to the Prince of Darkness himself? In the Bible we find the solemn warning that in the last days, evil influences will be let loose upon the world; false pretensions will be urged upon the midst of men' and deceptions, based up by preternatural signs and wonders, will develop to such a degree of strength, that if it were possible, they would deceive the very elect. Is it possible that Spiritualism may be the very development of evil, against which this warning is directed? Read online or download

The New Revelation - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Amazon Synopsis: The New Revelation is a non-fiction account of Sherlock-Holmes-creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's philosophical look at religion. He spent many years of his life lecturing about spiritualism and even wrote many pamphlets and essays about the matter. In The New Revelation, he expounds on his thoughts about ESP, psychic phenomena, and communication with the dead through mediums. Read online or download

Book Trailer: Mooresville Public Library (Mooresville, Indiana) presents a book trailer featuring "The New Revelation" and "The Vital Message."

In this new edition, Braude discusses the impact of the book on the scholarship of the last decade and assesses the place of religion in interpretations of women's history in general and the women's rights movement in particular. A review of current scholarship and suggestions for further reading make it even more useful for contemporary teachers and students.

The Reluctant Spiritualist: The Life of Maggie Fox - Nancy Rubin Stuart

Amazon Synopsis: Here is the first authoritative biography of Margaret Fox, the world-famous medium and cofounder of the Spiritualism movement that swept America in the mid-1800s. In 1848, fifteen-year-old Maggie and her sister Katy created rapping sounds by manipulating their toe joints, practicing until they convinced their parents that their farmhouse was haunted. What started as a prank soon transformed into a movement: By 1853 more than thirty thousand mediums were at work, with Maggie among the most famous. But when she denounced the faith in 1888-appearing before a packed auditorium in her stocking feet to demonstrate-Spiritualism withered almost as quickly as it had bloomed. Through the memoirs of the Fox sisters, the letters of Maggie's Arctic explorer husband, contemporary newspaper accounts, and other primary sources, Nancy Rubin Stuart creates a vibrant portrait of a Victorian-era woman at the heart of the tumults of her time.

The Spirits Book: Spiritualist Philosophy – Allan Kardec, translated by Anna Blackwell

Amazon Synopsis: This book is about Spiritism, a movement founded by Frenchman, Allan Kardec. It is based on the belief in the survival of spirit after death. It is similar to Spiritualism.

Spiritualism and the New Psychology - Millais Culpin 2009

Amazon Synopsis: (Culpin interprets Spiritualism using the new field of psychology which was coming into prominence in the early 1900s.) This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curated for quality. Quality assurance was conducted on each of these books in an attempt to remove books with imperfections introduced by the digitization process. Though we have made best efforts - the books may have occasional errors that do not impede the reading experience. We believe this work is culturally important and have elected to bring the book back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. This text refers to the Bibliobazaar edition. Read online or download

The Spiritualists: The Passion For The Occult In The Nineteenth And Twentieth Centuries - Ruth Brandon 1984

Ruth Brandon chronicles the story of early spiritualism beginning with the Fox sisters.

Talking to the Dead: Kate and Maggie Fox and the Rise of Spiritualism - Barbara Weisberg 2004

Amazon Synopsis: March 1848. Mysterious knocks are heard in a little house in rural New York, throwing the community into turmoil. Are the children who live there -- Kate and Maggie Fox, sisters aged eleven and fourteen -- making the raps to trick their parents? Or are the girls mediums for otherworldly messages? From a battery of strange sounds and the excitement they create, modern Spiritualism is born.

Talking to the Dead: Kate and Maggie Fox and the Rise of Spiritualism follows the remarkable story of the Fox sisters, who were catapulted to fame after word spread that they communicated with spirits. Within a few years, tens of thousands of Americans were flocking to seances. An international movement developed. Yet forty years after those first knocks, the sisters shocked the country by denying that they had ever been in contact with the dead. Shortly after, in another stunning reversal, they changed their story again and reaffirmed their faith in the spirit world.

Were the Fox sisters con artists who had taken a childhood prank too far? Or were they really in touch with "voices from beyond"? In this riveting biography, Barbara Weisberg traces not only the lives of Kate, Maggie, and their family -- including the girls' shrewd and charismatic sister, Leah -- but also the social, religious, economic, and political forces that helped shape the Spiritualist movement. A vivid, compelling overview of a remarkable period in U.S. history, Talking to the Dead provokes questions about belief systems, the power of celebrity, the wish to reconcile faith and science, and the timeless quest for knowledge about life after death.

The Vital Message- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

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Book Trailer: Mooresville Public Library (Mooresville, Indiana) presents a book trailer featuring "The New Revelation" and "The Vital Message."

The Wanderings of a Spiritualist - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

In The Wanderings of a Spiritualist, Conan Doyle documents his own life experiences as a spiritualist. Read online or download

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