Victorian Popular Culture online resource

[Pcdunn]

I came across this link in relation to my library work:

http://www.victorianpopularculture.amdigital.co.uk/

It is divided into:
Spiritualism, Sensation, and Magic
Circuses, Sideshows, and Freaks
Music Hall, Theatre, and Popular Entertainment
Moving Pictures, Optical Entertainments, and the Advent of the Cinema

Thought some of you interested in the paranormal might want to check out their resources on Spiritualism, while our movie buffs might like those on the early moving pictures.

[louisa]

There are some paranormal things that I believe in but spiritualism is not one of them.

Many years ago my mother, my sister and I visited the Psychi Society of Great Britain in (I think it was) eton Square in London. The largest organization of it's kind in the UK. We had a private reading with two other people, so five of us plus the 'medium'.

She never even established that three of us were related and described different ancesters for all of us.

I could see how it worked for the two other people in the group though - they were unknowingly feeding the medium information which she turned into knowledge. They were impressed.

I think that anyone who says they can communicate with the dead is a liar (sorry to sound harsh) and they are pulling a fast one on the people that trust them (usually bereaved people) and should be shown up for what they are.

I totally believe that clairvoyants exist though because I have first hand knowledge. I went to a clairvoyant about ten years ago, I did not give my real name. I took off my wedding ring. She knew nothing about me and I said hardly a thing as she talked - yet she gave information that nobody could possibly know. The kind of things that she wouldn't have been able to guess at.

I believe that a good clairvoyant sees pictures in their minds, images of that person who is in front of them, doing different things. It's like looking at a photograph and they can describe what they see. That's how I think clairvoyancy works. However - they cannot see the future and some let themselves down by pretending they can.

It's when these people start saying they can give us messages from the dead - that's when it becomes outrageous.

[Pcdunn]

I was surprised to learn the Spiritualism is still a religion (or at least a belief system) in the UK. Here in the USA, it has virtually died out, except in the town of Lily Dale, New York. People there still practice as mediums, give readings to groups and individuals, and seem to believe in Spirit.

http://www.lilydaleassembly.com/

(Official site)

http://www.hbo.com/documentaries/no-one-dies-in-lily-dale

(Information on an interesting documentary about the place and people)

https://www.amazon.com/Lily-Dale-Town-That-Talks/dp/0061153745

(This book was where I first heard of the place. It is fascinating, as the journalist author admits to being a skeptic, yet thought she was almost swayed after spending a period of time in the town.)

[louisa]

I was surprised to learn the Spiritualism is still a religion (or at least a belief system) in the UK. Here in the USA, it has virtually died out, except in the town of Lily Dale, New York. People there still practice as mediums, give readings to groups and individuals, and seem to believe in Spirit.

http://www.lilydaleassembly.com/

(Official site)

http://www.hbo.com/documentaries/no-one-dies-in-lily-dale

(Information on an interesting documentary about the place and people)

https://www.amazon.com/Lily-Dale-Town-That-Talks/dp/0061153745

(This book was where I first heard of the place. It is fascinating, as the journalist author admits to being a skeptic, yet thought she was almost swayed after spending a period of time in the town.)

This is exactly the kind of scam set up that I was talking about.

What happens at those meetings has nothing whatever to do with God. Even if spiritualism existed (which it doesn't) it wouldn't need to be connected to God.

There are a lot of gullible people out there and many are happy to give their hard earned money to what they think is a good cause, especially if it has a connection with God.

As you tell, it tends to make me angry.

Back to the subject of clairvoyants - which is really a totally different subject, these genuine clairvoyants are fine by me because they are not pretending to be something they are not.

I consulted a clairvoyant when I lost my engagement ring. I had put it somewhere for safety and I couldn't remember where. I had searched the entire house.

The clairvoyant told me to look in a container that was above my head. I thought it was strange but when I got home and went to bed I started thinking about what she said. Then it dawned on me. I rushed downstairs to my kitchen and found my ring folded in tissue paper and inside a brass jug that was suspended on a hook on an old beam in my kitchen. That's where I had put my ring for safety!"

So these people can be useful in certain circumstances but don't believe them if they start talking about Indian guides and communicating with the dead and all that kind of baloney because it is JUST THAT.

[Ginger]

I'll be going to see a spirit medium in early March. I'll post a summary if people are interested.

[Pcdunn]

I'll be going to see a spirit medium in early March. I'll post a summary if people are interested.

I'd be interested. Remember to be wary if the medium starts throwing out letters of the alphabet and random birth months, hoping someone will claim a connection.

[Ginger]

I'd be interested. Remember to be wary if the medium starts throwing out letters of the alphabet and random birth months, hoping someone will claim a connection.

I'm open-minded, but far from credulous, so I'll be on my guard. It's a one-on-one session as well, so I feel confident in my ability to at least moderate, if not control, the pace and tone of the interaction, even though I'm dealing with a professional in her own milieu. At the very least, I won't have excitable people driving things headlong toward "success", and will have time to reflect on what's being told me.

I have a particular reason (which I'll not disclose until afterward) to expect that if she's the real deal, she's going to tell me a very specific bit of information early on in the interview. I'm reassured that (so far, at least) she's made no attempt to learn anything about me that I've been able to discover.

At any rate, we'll see. At worst, I'll spend an entertaining evening over tea and cakes with a high-quality sideshow act.

[louisa]

Ginger has the right attitude.

There used to be a very famous 'spiritualist' (just the word makes me angry) in the sixties and seventies who went all over the country playing to packed houses. He had a Jewish name which I've temporarily forgotten but it will come back to me.

My grandmother and her sister went to one of two of his 'shows' and they came away very impressed, but I suspect they were gullible types.

Beware if your 'medium' points to an area of his audience and says something like "I'm getting the letter A" - (you know the type of thing I mean).

I have already stated my opinions and I think clairvoyants (nothing to do with spiritulism) are genuine and can be very useful because I firmly believe that some people are genuinely gifted and can 'see' things that most of us cannot. Clairvoyants can be useful in helping with murder cases, or to help finding missing persons.

There's a well known illusionist in the USA -James Randi - who has been offering a million dollars to anyone who can PROVE to him the afterlife exists, that includes spirits and ghosts. He wants proof - scientific proof that cannot be challenged. He has already debunked most of it.

http://web.randi.org/

[Ginger]

I'll be going to see a spirit medium in early March. I'll post a summary if people are interested.

Okay, this was supposed to happen tomorrow, but she's just texted me to say that she's ill, and needs to reschedule. It seems a very prosaic misfortune to befall a medium, but I suppose that such things are bound to happen. I'll still post the results when it comes about.

[louisa]

Okay, this was supposed to happen tomorrow, but she's just texted me to say that she's ill, and needs to reschedule. It seems a very prosaic misfortune to befall a medium, but I suppose that such things are bound to happen. I'll still post the results when it comes about.

Thanks for the update Ginger. I'm looking forward to reading about your experience.

[YankeeSergeant]

Thanks It will come in handy!