History

Humankind has most likely always been fascinated by the afterlife, the Spirit World, and the question of what happens after death. But what exactly is “Modern Spiritualism”?

The birth of Modern Spiritualism is generally dated to March 31, 1848, in Hydesville, New York. The Fox family had recently moved into a small house where mysterious rapping noises could repeatedly be heard, especially at night.

On the evening of March 31, the two younger daughters, Margaretta and Catherine Fox, began interacting with the sounds. They clapped their hands and snapped their fingers, and the noises responded with the same number of knocks. Their mother then asked the sounds to count to ten, which they did correctly. She later asked for the ages of her children and again received the correct number of responses.

It was later discovered that a peddler had reportedly been murdered in the house several years earlier. Strange noises had been heard there before, but no one had ever attempted to communicate with them.

News of the events in Hydesville spread quickly, and many people came to witness the phenomena for themselves. Within only a few weeks, numerous signed witness statements documenting these communications with the Spirit World had already been collected.

The events in Hydesville are therefore regarded as a major turning point and the beginning of Modern Spiritualism. They supported the belief that:

• it is possible to communicate with the Spirit world,

• there are mediums, and

• there is indeed a life after death.

Modern Spiritualism soon spread throughout the United States and eventually reached England, where Spiritualism is still recognized as a religion today.

In 1901, the Spiritualists’ National Union (SNU) was founded in England and continues to unite many spiritualist churches and organizations across the country.

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