Found this on the Internet.
Rather interesting.....
From
Believers and Skeptics.
Audiences paid to see Houdini expose the tricks of fraudulent mediums.
In the years following the sensation that greeted the Fox sisters, demonstrations of mediumship (séances and automatic writing, for example) proved to be a profitable venture, and soon became popular forms of entertainment and spiritual catharsis. The invention of the telegraph in 1844 led spiritualists to claim that an unseen "spiritual telegraph" to the dead also existed.[14] The Foxes were to earn a living this way and others would follow their lead.[1][4] Showmanship became an increasingly important part of Spiritualism, and the visible, audible, and tangible evidence of spirits escalated as mediums competed for paying audiences. As independent investigating commissions repeatedly established, most notably the 1887 report of the Seybert Commission,[15] fraud was widespread, and some of these cases were prosecuted in the courts.[16]
Despite numerous instances of chicanery, the appeal of Spiritualism was strong. Prominent in the ranks of its adherents were those grieving the death of a loved one. Many families during the time of the American Civil War had seen their men go off and never return, and images of the battlefield, produced through the new medium of photography, demonstrated that their loved ones had not only died in overwhelmingly huge numbers, but horribly as well. One well known case is that of Mary Todd Lincoln who, grieving the loss of her son, organized séances in the White House which were attended by her husband, President Abraham Lincoln.[13] The surge of spiritualism during this time, and later during World War I, was a direct response to those massive battlefield casualties.[17]is on the internet.
What is your belief?
Rather interesting.....
From
Believers and Skeptics.
Audiences paid to see Houdini expose the tricks of fraudulent mediums.
In the years following the sensation that greeted the Fox sisters, demonstrations of mediumship (séances and automatic writing, for example) proved to be a profitable venture, and soon became popular forms of entertainment and spiritual catharsis. The invention of the telegraph in 1844 led spiritualists to claim that an unseen "spiritual telegraph" to the dead also existed.[14] The Foxes were to earn a living this way and others would follow their lead.[1][4] Showmanship became an increasingly important part of Spiritualism, and the visible, audible, and tangible evidence of spirits escalated as mediums competed for paying audiences. As independent investigating commissions repeatedly established, most notably the 1887 report of the Seybert Commission,[15] fraud was widespread, and some of these cases were prosecuted in the courts.[16]
Despite numerous instances of chicanery, the appeal of Spiritualism was strong. Prominent in the ranks of its adherents were those grieving the death of a loved one. Many families during the time of the American Civil War had seen their men go off and never return, and images of the battlefield, produced through the new medium of photography, demonstrated that their loved ones had not only died in overwhelmingly huge numbers, but horribly as well. One well known case is that of Mary Todd Lincoln who, grieving the loss of her son, organized séances in the White House which were attended by her husband, President Abraham Lincoln.[13] The surge of spiritualism during this time, and later during World War I, was a direct response to those massive battlefield casualties.[17]is on the internet.
What is your belief?
happens to all of us I'm sure
pants off horses 
