Ghosts of futures past : spiritualism and the cultural politics of nineteenth-century America

285 Pages·2008·4.92 MB·English

by  McGarry, Molly

Ghosts of Futures Past

Ghosts of Futures Past
Spiritualism and the Cultural Politics
of Nineteenth-Century America
Molly McGarry
University of California Press
Berkeley Los Angeles London
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© 2008 by The Regents of the University of California
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
McGarry, Molly.
Ghosts of futures past : spiritualism and the cultural
politics of nineteenth-century America / Molly McGarry.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn: 978-0-520-25260-8 (cloth : alk. paper)
1. Spiritualism—United States—History—

19th century. 2. United States—Religion—19th
century. 3. Religion and culture—United States—
History—19th century. I. Title.
bf1242.u6m34 2008
133.90973'09034—dc22 2007037340
Manufactured in the United States of America
17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 08
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
This book is printed on New Leaf EcoBook 50, a 100%
recycled fiber of which 50% is de-inked post-consumer
waste, processed chlorine-free. EcoBook 50 is acid-free and
meets the minimum requirements of ansi/astm d5634–01
(Permanence of Paper).
For H.
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Contents
List of Illustrations ix
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction 1
1. Mourning, Media, and the Cultural Politics
of Conjuring the Dead 17
2. Indian Guides: Haunted Subjects
and the Politics of Vanishing 66
3. Spectral Sexualities: Free Love, Moral Panic,
and the Making of U.S. Obscenity Law 94
4. Mediomania: Th e Spirit of Science
in a Culture of Belief and Doubt 121
5. Secular Spirits: A Queer Genealogy
of Untimely Sexualities 154
Notes 177
Select Bibliography 231
Index 261
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Illustrations
1. “Seated woman with spirit of a young man,” ca. 1885 18
2. “Unidentifi ed man with three spirits,” ca. 1861 27

3. Portrait of Cora L. V. Scott Hatch, ca. 1850s 34
4. “Th e Spirit of Temperance,” ca. 1875 43
5. “Unidentifi ed woman with male spirit pointing upwards,”
ca. 1861 59
6. “Mrs. S. A. Floyd,” with Indian spirit, ca. 1861 74
7. Materialization séance by fl ash-light, ca. 1890s 102
8. Portrait of Katie King, 1874 108
9. Portrait of William Crookes and Katie King, 1874 109
10. “Mr. Chapin oil merchant—& his spirit wife & babe
recognized,” ca. 1861 112
11. Mollie Fancher in a spirit trance, 1887 151
12. “Planchette,” ca. 1880 160
ix