The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1866-01-05
The Spiritualism Huunbug

The SplrituallSm HunDug'
The beginning of modern Spirit Rapping was
ls4s. The place was Arcadia, Wayne county,
State of New York. The discovercr, or in
yentor. as YOU please, was one JoHS ID. Fox,
who resided with his family in that village
There Were in the family several female FOXES,
who figured prominently in the Inauguration
of this new religion
In the month of March, lS4S, there were
heard III the habitation OF the FOXES mysterl-
Gus noises knockings, rappings, tappnsS,
.huffing of tables, chairs, and other articles OF
furniture, which could not be accounted Tor on
the absurd hypothesis of human agency. The
family was at first naturally astonished and
awe struck at the insurrectionary movement
of their hither % we'll behaved furniture. But
familiarity finally dispelled their terrors, and
they betook themselves TO philosophical in
vestgation of the phenomena which had thus
peremptorily demanded their attention. The
result was the rational and satisfactory con-
clusion that the sounds were supernaturally
produced. The FOXES, who appear to have
been persons of q fine inventive genius, hit
upon mode of communicating with their spi-
ritual visitors. Various methods have been
since adopted, but, according to that employed
by the Fox family, an affirmation, in the spirit
language, is conveyed by single rap; mega
tive by silence. Five raps demand the alpha
bet, and that may be called over rtr0 roce, or
else a printed form is laid upon n table and the
finger or pencil slowly passed along it, when,
on arriving at the required letter, rap is
heard. The querist then recommences until
words and sentences are spelled out.
These are the rudments Of the spiritual
spelling book BY the use of these Mrs. Fox
ascertained that their ghostly visitor was one
CHARLES RAYS age, thirty years that he
had been murdered in that house and buried
in the cellar, and that the murderer was alive.
They immediately proceeded TO dig in the
cellar, and dug and dug till they found water,
but nothing else. After this astounding affair,
one of the ladies Of the Fox family removed
TO Rochester, and another 10 Auburn, ana
were both followed by the rappings. One
of the sisters CATHARIYE, was the most ia
vored in their yisitations. The thing becofn-
ing a matter of public interest, it was finally
concluded by the sisters TO invite the public to
be present at their interviews with the spirit,
and to permit them to advance the cause of
truth by contributing one dollar apiece at the
door. At this period of their history there
appears upon the stage one Mrs. NORMAN
CULVER, a conneX!on, by marriage, of the Fox
family, who has published TO the world
statement, which the friends of the FOXES
were unable to deny, that CATHARISE Fox re-
quested her TO assist in making the rappings;
that she practiced under her directions as
medium; that the rappings were produced
with the toes, and that the whole process,
throughout, was one of premeditated and de-
liberate deception. An apologist for the Fox
family admits the truth of Mrs. CULvER's
statement, but undertakes 10 say that Miss
Fox was only humbugging Mrs. CULVER
We have thus gone into detail concerning
the origin of spirit-rapping, because simple
statement of it's origin disposes of all its
claims If its founders were impostors, IL
matters little how huge and snowy the super
structure which the credulity of mankind has
built upon the foundation We care not how
numerous the dupes, nor how high in station
some of them may be. They are not as numer-
GUS as the believers in witchcraft, nor are the
most respectable of them as wise and learned
as many of the victims Of that delusion The
whole thing has lately undergone the ordeal
OF Judicial Investigation, in the trial OF Col
CHESTER, before United States Court in New
York. He professed to be a medium, Init the
jury and the Judge concluded that he was
Juggler, and the Judge gave very good reasons
for that opinion. II swas remarkable fact
that, while there are thousands of so-called
mediums in the United States, CoLoHEsrER
did not subpoena one Of them to testify to the