The Death-Blow to Spiritualism: Being the True Story of the Fox Sisters

In 1848, two young sisters in a small New York farmhouse made a discovery that would reshape American religion: mysterious rappings that seemed to communicate with the dead. Margaret and Kate Fox had invented the trick as a harmless prank, but when word spread, it became Spiritualism, a movement that would captivate America, generate thousands of followers, and eventually reach even the White House. Decades later, consumed by guilt and desperation, the sisters finally confessed: the spirits had been a lie all along. This book, published shortly after their public revelations in the 1880s, contains their own account of how a childhood game transformed into a national faith, and why they could no longer carry the weight of the deception. It's a haunting story of fame, remorse, and the terrible power of a truth that arrives too late to undo the damage.