Supernatural Entertainments: Victorian Spiritualism and the Rise of Modern Media Culture

249 Pages·2016·34.996 MB·English

by  Simone Natale

S U P E R N A T U R A L
E N T E R T A I N M E N T S
Victorian
Spiritualism and
the Rise of
Modern Media
Culture
s i m o n e n a t a l e
s u p e r n a t u r a l e n t e r t a i n m e n t s
s i m o n e n a t a l e
S U P E R N ATURAL
N T E R TA I N MEN
E T
S
VICTORIAN SPIRITUALISM AND THE
RISE OF MODERN MEDIA CULTURE
s i m o n e n a t a l e
the pennsylvania state university press
university park, pennsylvania
Library of Congress Copyright © 2016
Cataloging-in-Publication Data The Pennsylvania State University
Natale, Simone, 1981– , author. All rights reserved
Supernatural entertainments : Victorian spiri- Printed in the United States of America
tualism and the rise of modern media culture / Published by
Simone Natale. The Pennsylvania State University Press,
pages cm University Park, PA 16802-1003
Summary: “Explores the proliferation of
spiritualist séances in mid-nineteenth-century The Pennsylvania State University Press is
Europe and the United States, and the con- a member of the Association of American
nection to the contemporary evolution of the University Presses.
media entertainment industry”—Provided by
publisher. It is the policy of The Pennsylvania State
Includes bibliographical references and index. University Press to use acid-free paper. Publi-
ISBN 978-0-271-07104-6 (cloth : alk. paper) cations on uncoated stock satisfy the minimum
1. Spiritualism—United States—History—19th requirements of American National Standard
century. 2. Spiritualism—Great Britain—His- for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper
tory—20th century. 3. Seances—United States— for Printed Library Material, ansi z39.48-1992.
History—19th century. 4. Seances—Great
Britain—History—19th century. This book is printed on paper that contains 30%
5. Popular culture—United States—History—19th post-consumer waste.
century. 6. Popular culture—Great Britain—
History—19th century. Frontispiece: Illustration of a séance from
I. Title. Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, May 12, 1888.
Photo courtesy Brandon Hodge
BF1242.U6N36 2015 (MysteriousPlanchette.com).
133.909’034—dc23
2015029606
Typeset by Regina Starace | Printed and Bound by Sheridan Books
Composed in Filosofia | Printed on Natures Natural
contents
list of illustrations viii
acknowledgments ix
introduction 1

PART 1: CONFIGURATIONS OF SÉANCES PART 3: SPIRIT AND MATTER
1 The Medium on the Stage: 5 Stranger than Fiction: Print
Theatricality and Performance Media, Automatic Writing, and
in the Spirit Séance 21 Popular Culture 109
2 Parlor Games: Play and Social 6 The Marvels of Superimpo-
Life in the Haunted House 42 sition: Spirit Photography
and Spiritualism’s Visual
PART 2: HOW TO SELL A SPIRIT Culture 135
3 Breaking the News: Controversy,
Sensation, and the Popular afterword 170
Press 65
notes 175
4 Mediums and Stars: Religion,
bibliography 200
Consumerism, and Celebrity
index 231
Culture 82

At the outset of my career
I saw that everything
depended upon getting
people to think, and talk,
and become curious and
excited about the “rare
spectacle.”
—p. t. barnum,
Struggles and Triumphs, 1869
illustrations
1 The advertisement for a “grand 19 The “direct process” of automatic
social reunion” organized by London writing 130
spiritualists 27 20 The “electrical process” of automatic
2 The new “Hall for Spiritualists” on writing 131
“New Water Street, Station Road, 21 William Mumler’s spirit photograph
Blackburn” 28 of Mary Todd Lincoln with the spirit
3 Physical demonstrations of spirit of her deceased husband 139
phenomena 34 22 William Mumler’s spirit photograph
4 Mediums dancing under the influ- of Mrs. Tinkman with the spirit of her
ence of different spirits 35 deceased daughter 140
5 Conversation in the séance 23 Reproduction of a spirit photograph
circle 46 by Jay J. Hartman 143
6 Levitation of the séance table 52 24 Spirit photograph published as the
7 Levitation of a musical frontispiece to Samuel Watson’s The
instrument 54 Religion of Spiritualism 148
8 The spiritoscope, designed by Robert 25 Photograph commissioned from
Hare 57 Eadweard Muybridge by Kate and
9 Exposé of a spiritualist medium 77 Robert Johnson 151
10 Portrait of Katie King, the spirit guide 26 William Mumler’s Three Spirits with a
of medium Florence Cook 87 Photograph on a Table Propped Against a
11 Photographic portrait of medium Vase with Flowers 152
Georgiana Houghton 88 27 A fake spirit photograph illustrat-
12 Stereoscopic photograph of a séance ing W. K. L. and Antonia Dickson’s
with Eusapia Palladino 95 History of the Kinetograph, Kinetoscope,
13 Eusapia Palladino’s “My Own and Kineto-phonograph 155
Story” 100 28 A photographic trick reproduced in
14 Exposure of the trickery of Eusapia Albert A. Hopkins’s Magic 160
Palladino 103 29 A Spirit Photograph: The Wraith
15 Cover of the Medium and Daybreak of Mr. Maskelyne Appearing to Dr.
dedicated to a medium 118 Weatherly 162
16 A spirit-drawn illustration from 30 Jacoby in the Realm of His Ghosts: So-
Hafed Prince of Persia 125 Called Spirit Photography 163
17 Writing under the influence of 31 The Liberation of the Prestidigitator
spirits 129 Jacoby 164
18 Two persons joining hands to per-
form automatic writing 129
acknowledgments
This book is populated by the sweetest spirits: those of the many persons
who provided useful insights, supported me, and contributed in many ways
to its creation. It is the result of studies, research, and writing across many
different places in Italy, Canada, Germany, and the United States, and
therefore bears the trace of various influences, environments, and friends.
It could not have come into being in this form without those hectic interna-
tional movements that many young scholars experience today. I began my
research at the University of Turin in Italy, where I was fortunate enough
to have a supervisor, Peppino Ortoleva, who did not fear to embark on an
unusual topic and provided me with endless insights, comments, and ideas.
Historian of photography Nicoletta Leonardi and film scholar Silvio Alovi-
sio were of great help in developing my research from an interdisciplinary
perspective, especially during its initial stages. I also found it useful to dis-
cuss my work with the group of students and researchers who attended the
Media History Seminars, directed by Professor Ortoleva. I am thankful to
Giulia Ceriani Ruggero Eugeni and Massimo Leone, who offered some key
advice on how to improve my work. Massimo was the first to encourage me
to find an international publisher for this book.
My experience as a visiting scholar in the Department of Communi-
cation Studies at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada, was essen-
tial. Thanks so much to Kim Sawchuk, who invited me to Concordia and
introduced me to the faculty, students, and staff of the department, as well
as the vibrant and stimulating environment of the Mobile Media Lab. I am
also deeply indebted to Jeremy Stolow, who generously offered sugges-
tions and hints about secondary literature; he made some crucial contri-
butions to my reflections, giving advice with intelligence and friendliness.
The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation generously supported much
of the research leading to the publication of this book through a postdoctor-
al research fellowship in 2012–13 at the University of Cologne in Germany.
I would like to thank my postdoctoral supervisor, Irmela Schneider, for her
great support and insights, as well as my colleagues at the Institute for Media
Culture and Theatre, who helped provide an ideal environment in which to
pursue my work. Subsequent revisions and research were supported by a