The beautiful Myrna Loy in The Black Watch (1929)
Imagine living in the age before scientific reasoning! People practicing magic in various forms, performing rituals as though they were real? You have to wonder what a person's idea of the world must have been like, in an age when you believed spirits and phantoms ruled the earth, and we could bend them to our whim.
Another incredibly interesting part of magic's great history is the rise of Spiritualism in the Victorian age. Particularly the seances! People would go to great lengths- including spending a lot of money- to have a seance put on in their homes. They would invite unsuspecting friends and family members to experience the fright of their lives while being treated to messages from "the other side."Many times, this involved rigging tables, curtains, and other household items to project the presence of a spirit trying to make contact. I've often thought of staging an elaborate seance for a halloween party. Hmm... Maybe this year?
Buy a copy of the print above here.
Meet the accidental founders of Victorian Spiritualism.
Would you ever attend a seance?
Read about some of the incredible tricks used by Victorian "mediums!"
Tomorrow: adventures in owning cats.
