Overview

Ghosts spoke. Women listened. Everything changed. In the 1840s, the Fox Sisters--and the legions of mediums they inspired--ignited the Spiritualist movement that swept through Victorian parlors and presidential campaigns alike. Contacting the dead wasn't merely a parlor trick: It was a political statement, a declaration of self that still echoes. Séances attracted suffragists and scientists, skeptics and charlatans, giving women a voice in a society that often refused to hear them. But as Spiritualism surged, it also blurred the lines between faith, fraud, feminism, and financial opportunity, drawing figures as varied as Harry Houdini, Victoria Woodhull, and even modern self-help gurus into its ever-expanding orbit. From wartime séances to the rise of televangelists, from Victorian ghosts to goop-approved wellness rituals, When We Spoke to the Dead unearths the forgotten roots of today's obsession with manifestation, mysticism, and the power of belief. Exploring America's deep-seated hunger for the unseen--whether through politics, personal empowerment, or grief--this book traces how the supernatural, once condemned as heresy, became the ultimate commodity.

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9798228633636

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Ilise S. Carter is a freelance writer and performer based in New York City. Her first book, The Red Menace: How Lipstick Changed the Face of American History from Prometheus Books has been called ""one of the most fascinating fashion histories I've ever read"" by Harper's. As her award-winning stage persona, The Lady Aye, she has worked as sideshow performer with acts ranging from Rob Zombie to Cirque du Soleil and has appeared on Gossip Girl, Oddities, The President Show, Mysteries at the Museum, and Dickinson. Janelle Tedesco is a passionate, empathic, and excitable person by nature, so she loves getting to pour her soul into the narrative and characters of a well thought-out story! She has a BFA in MTH from Boston Conservatory. Janelle has performed on stages all over the world, most notably on The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas starring Ann-Margret. She has written award-winning films and won Best Actress twice. Since becoming a mother, Janelle feels she has become a better person and a better actor and storyteller. Her depth of emotion has increased tenfold, and you can hear and see that in her work. Professionally, she is an audiobook narrator, actress, singer, filmmaker, and stuntwoman.

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