Jun
6
The Fox sisters - Spiritualism
June 6, 2007 |
THE FOX SISTERS.
THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE APPEARED IN THE BOSTON JOURNAL,DATED NOVEMBER 23.1904.THE SKELETON OF A MAN SUPPOSED TO HAVE CAUSED THE RAPPINGS,FIRST HEARD BY THE FOX SISTERS IN 1848.HAS BEEN FOUND IN THE WALLS OCCUPIED BY THE SISTERS, AND CLEARS THEM FROM ANY SHADOW OF DOUBT HELD CONCERNING THEIR SINCERITY IN THE DISCOVERY OF SPIRIT COMMUNICATION.
THE FOX SISTERS DECLARED THEY HAD LEARNT TO COMMUNICATE WITH THE SPIRIT OF A MAN, AND THAT HE TOLD THEM, HE HAD BEEN MURDERED AND BURIED IN THE CELLAR. REPEATED EXCAVATIONS FAILED TO LOCATE THE BODY AND THUS GIVE POSITIVE PROOF OF THEIR STORY. HOWEVER WILLIAM H. HYDE WHO OWNED THE HOUSE, MADE AN INVESTIGATION AND FOUND AN ALMOST ENTIRE HUMAN SKELETON BETWEEN THE EARTH AND CRUMBLING CELLAR WALLS, UNDOUBTEDLY THAT OF A WANDERING PEDLAR WHOM IT WAS CLAIMED WAS MURDERED IN THE EAST ROOM, AND BODY WAS HIDDEN IN THE CELLAR.
THE STORY BEGINS IN THE LITTLE VILLAGE OF HYDESVILLE, NEAR THE TOWN OF NEWARK, WAYNE COUNTY,NEW YORK. IN THE YEAR 1842.THE HYDE FARM WAS OCCUPIED BY A MR. AND MRS.BELL WHO DURING THE LAST THREE MONTHS OF THEIR STAY, WERE JOINED BY A 15 YEAR__OLD SCHOOLGIRL NAMED LUCRETIA PULVER, WHO SOMETIMES WORKED FOR THEM, AND BOARDED WITH THEM. AFTERNOON A PEDLAR CALLED AT THE BELL HOME. HE WAS A MAN ABOUT 30 YEARS OLD, DRESSED 1N A BLACK FROCKED COAT WITH GREY VEST AND TROUSERS, AND WAS GREETED BY THE BELLS WITH FRIENDLINESS AND AS AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE. THE PEDLAR CARRIED WITH HIM A PACK OF GOODS CONTAINING DRESS MATERIALS AND OTHER DRAPERIES. SHORTLY AFTER THE ARRIVAL OF THE PEDLAR, MRS. BELL CALLED THE GIRL TO SAY SHE COULD NOT AFFORD TO KEEP HER ANY LONGER, AND THAT AS SHE WAS GOING TO THE NEXT VILLAGE,THE SAME AFTERIOON,SHE MIGHT PACK HER CLOTHES AND THEY WOULD GO TOGETHER. BEFORE PACKING LUCRETIA CHOSE A PIECE OF DELAINE FROM THE PEDLARS PACK,AND ASKED HIM TO LEAVE IT AT HER FATHERS HOUSE. THIS HE PROMISED TO DO THE NEXT DAY.THE PEDLAR DID NOT CALL AS PROMISED,NOR WAS HE EVER SEEN AGAIN.
THREE DAYS LATER, MRS. BELL APPEARED, AND, GIVIIG HER SOME FLIMSY EXCUSE, ASKED THE GIRL TO RETURN WITH HER TO HER HOME.SHE TOLD LUCRECTIA HOW KIND THEIR OLD FRIEND THE PEDLAR,HAD BEEN TO  THEM, GIVING MRS.BELL SEVERAL GIFTS AND TRIKKETS. ON THEIR ARRIVAL AT THE COTTAGE MRS.BELL GAVE THE DELIGHTED GIRL ONE OR TWO ARTICLES THE GIRL ADMIRED. THAT NIGHT LUCRECTIA BEGAN TO HEAR NOISES AND KNOCKINGS IN HER BEDROOM. ON ONE OCCASION WHEN THE BELL’S WERE AWAY FROM HOME, THE YOUNG GIRL HAD HER BROTHER AND HER FRIEND AURELIA LOSEY STAY WITH HER. DURING THE NIGHT THEY ALL HEARD NOISES WHICH THEY SAID SOUNDED LIKE THE FOOTSTEPS OF A MAN PASSING FROM THE BEDROOM TO THE CELLAR VIA THE CELLAR STAIRS. THEY WERE ALL SO FRIGHTENED THAT THEY GOT UP TO FASTEN THE DOORS AND WINDOWS. MRS. BELL ASSURED LUCRECTIA THAT THE NOISES WERE MADE BY RATS. ABOUT A WEEK AFTER THE VISIT BY THE PEDLAR, LUCRECTIA WENT TO THE CELLAR FOR SOME POTATOES AND STUMBLING FELL INTO A HOLE FILLED WITH SOFT SOIL. SHE SCREAMED FOR HELP AND MRS. BELL CAME TO HER RESCUE, EXPLAINED THAT THEY WERE RAT HOLES. FOR A FEW
NIGHTS THEREAFTER MR.BELL WAS OBSERVED FILLING UP THEâ€RAT HOLES†WITH EARTH HE CARRIED THERE HIMSELF.
THE SOUNDS CONTINUED UNABATED, ON ONE OCCASION WHEN MRS.PULVER CALLED TO WEAVE AT THE BIG LOOM IN LUCRECTIA’S ROOM, SHE FOUND MRS.BELL QUITE ILL FROM THE LACK OF SLEEP. ON ENQUIRING THE CAUSE SHE WAS TOLD BY MRS. BELL THAT SHE FREQUENTLY â€HEARD THE FOOTSTEPS OF A MAN TRAVERSING THE HOUSE ALL NIGHT†AND THAT SHE WAS †SICK OF HER LIFE.†A FEW MONTHS AFTER THESE EVENTS THE BELL’S LEFT THE NEIGHHOOD. AND THE HOUSE WAS OCCUPIED FOR ABOUT 18 MONTHS BY MICHAEL WEEKMAN.HIS WIFE AND TWO SMALL, DAUGHTERS AND A “HIRED GIRL†NAMED JANE..FOR SIX MONTHS THEY HEARD NOTHING
THEN EXTRAORDINARY SOUNDS BEGAN TO BE HEARD. THEY STARTED AS RAPS ON THE FRONT DOOR, YET WREN IT WAS OPENED NO ONE WAS THERE. ONE NIGHT MRS. WEEKMAN HEARD WHAT SOUNDED LIKE FOOTSTEPS OF SOMEONE WALKING IN THE CFLLAR. ANOTHER NIGHT THEY WERE AWAKENED BY THEIR 8 YEAR OLD DAUGHTERS SCREAMS.SHE INSISTED
THAT SOMETHING COLD HAD TOUCHED HER FACE AND HEAD. SO FRIGHTENED WAS SHE, THAT SHE REFUSED TO SLEEP IN THE SAME ROOM FOR SEVERAL NIGHTS AFTERWARDS. IT WAS JANE THE GIRL IN THEIR EMPLOY, WHO SAW,AS FAR AS IT IS KNOWN, THE ONLY DEFINITE MATERIALISATION OF A FIGURE IN THE COTTAGE.
SHE DESCRIBED HIM AS ’A YOUNG MAN OF MEDIUM HEIGHT, WITH SANDY HAIR,DRESSED IN GREY TROUSERS AND A SLACK COAT.SHE WAS FORBIDDEN TO SPEAK ABOUT IT. AND THE UNEXPLAINED EVENT WAS SOON FORGOTTEN. SHORTLY AFTERWARDS THE WEEKMAN’S MOVED OUT.
AT THIS TIME THE FOX FAMILY MADE THEIR ENTRANCE, .JOHN FOX HAD TAKEN OVER THE LITTLE SMITHY AT HYDESVILLE. JOHN AND HIS WIFE MARGARET, HAD SEVEN CHILDREN, ONE OF WHOM EMILY,DIED IN INFANCY, ONLY THE TWO YOUNGEST, MARGARETTA AND CATHERINE,AGED 13 AND 11. LIVED AT HOME. FROM THE TIME THE FOX FAMILY ENTERED THE HOUSE ON DECEMBER 11,1847,THEY WERE CONSTANTLY DISTURBED BY SIMILAR NOISES HEARD BY LUCRECTIA PULVER AND THE WEEKMANS. IN JANUARY 1848,THE NOISES BEGAN TO BE HEARD AT NIGHT IN THE BEDROOM OF MR. AND MRS. FOX. OFTEN APPEARING TO SOUND FROM THE CELLAR BENEATH THE BEDROOM. AT FIRST MARGARET FOX THOUGHT IT WAS THE HAMMERING OF A SHOEMAKER IN THE HOUSE NEARBY WHO WAS WORKING LATE, BUT AS THE KNOCKINGS BECAME MORE DISTINCT, AND FORM EVERY PART OF THE HOUSE, SHE REALISED THIS WAS NOT SO. IN FEBRUARY THE NOISES BECAME SO DISTINCT AND CONTINUOUS THAT THEIR REST WAS BROKEN NIGHT AFTER NIGHT. ANOTHER TIME KATE FELT AS IF A COLD HAND WAS ON HER FACE. FINALLY CHAIRS WERE MOVED FROM THEIR PLACES.
THE PRESENCE OF ADOLESCENT CHILDREN AND THE TYPE OF PHENOMENA WOULD TODAY BE TAKEN AS A STRONG INDICATION OF POLTERGEIST ACTIVITY. MARCH 31,1848,WAS A COLD AND STORMY DAY WITH SNOW ON THE GROUND, DAVID FOX THERE ONLY SON,CAME TO VISIT HIS PARENTS FROM HIS PARK THREE MILES AWAY. HIS MOTHER TOLD HIM THE STORY OF THE RAPS AND NOISES, WHICH HAD LEFT THEM SO WEARY FROM LACK OF SLEEP, HE ADVISED HER NOT TO TELL THE NEIGHBOURS AND ASSURED HER WHEN SHE FOUND OUT WHAT IT WAS, †IT WILL BE ONE OF THE SIMPLEST
THINGS IN THE WORLDâ€. THAT FRIDAY NIGHT THEY RETIRED EARLY HOPING FOR A RESPITE FROM THE DISTRUBAICES. IT WAS NOT TO BE. THE RAPPINGS AND KNOCKS WERE LOUDER THAN EVER. JOHN FOX TRIED THE WINDOWS TO SEE IF IT WAS THE SASHES RATTLING,BUT THE RAPS ONLY ECHOED HIS ATTEMPTS AT SHAKING THE WINDOWS. AT LAST KATE,THE YOUNGEST CHILD, EXCLAIMED â€HERE MR SPLITFOOT,Do AS I DO AND CLAPPED HER HANDS. THE EFFECT WAS INSTANTANEOUS: THE INVISIBLE RAPPER RESPONDED BY IMITATING THE NUMBER OF HER MOVEMENTS.MARGARETTA THEN CRIED â€NOW DO AS I DO,COUNT ONE,TWO ,THREE†ONCE MORE THE RAPS REECHOED THE COUNT.KATE SILENTLY MADE THE MOTION OF SNAPPING HER FINGERS. INSTANTLY THE
SOUNDS RE_ECHOED THE MOVEMENTS.â€LOOK!†SHE CRIED,’LOOK, IT CAN SEE AS WELL AS HEAR†.ADDRESSING THE UNSEEN RAPPER,MARGARET FOX SAID â€COUIT TENâ€. THE RAPS OBEYED. â€HOW OLD IS MY DAUGHTER MARGARETTA AND KATE†BOTH AGES WERE CORRECTLY RAPPED OUTâ€. HOW MANY CHILDREN HAVE I. â€SEVEN WAS THE REPLY.SHE REPEATED THE QUESTION. AGAIN CAME SEVEN RAPS.â€HOW MANY HAVE I LIVING â€SIX RAPS RESPONDED.
“HOW MANY I)EAD†A SINGLE KNOCK.†ARE YOU A MAN THAT KNOCKS†NO RESPONSE. “ARE YOU A SPIRIT?†IF YOU ARE RAP TWICE PROMPTLY THE SOUNDS ANSWERED HER,THE RAPS FIRM AND STRONG.SHE THEN ASKEDâ€WILL THE NOISE CONTINUE IF I CALL IN SOME NEIGHBOURS? THE ANSWER WAS BY RAPPING IN THE AFFIMATIVE, WHEN MRS.REDFIELD, THE FIRST NEIGHBOUR TO COME IN, FOUND THAT THE HOUSE,COULD TELL THE AGE OF HERSELF,AS WELL AS OTHERS, AND GIVE CORRECT ANSWERS TO
QUESTIONS ON MATTERS OF WHICH THE FOX FAMILY WAS QUITE IGNORANT,SHE CONCLUDED THAT THERE WAS SOMETHING BESIDE A SUBJECT OF RIDICULE AND LAUGHTER IN THESE UNSEEN BUT AUDIBLE COMMUNICATIONS. THESE NEIGHBOURS INSISTED ON CALLING OTHERS WHO COME AND AFTER INVESTIGATION WAS EQUALLY CONFOUNDED.
PERPHAPS THE BEST TESTIMONY TO THE EVENTS OF THAT NIGHT,CAME FROM AN IMMEDIATE NEIGHBOUR, WILLIAM DEUSLER. THROUGH INTENSIVE QUESTIONING HE ESTABLISHED THAT THE SPIRIT CLAIMED TO BE A PEDLAR, CHARLES ROSNA. WHO HAD BEEN MURDERED FOR HIS MONEY,THAT HE WAS 31 AT THE TIME OF HIS DEATH,AND HAD LEFT A WIFE AND FIVE CHILDREN:THAT HIS WIFE HAD BEEN DEAD FOR TWO YEARS.
AS THE EXCITEMENT GREW,THE QUESTIONS CAME THICK AND FAST.THE PEDLAR ADDED THAT FIVE YEARS PREVIOUSLY, JOHN BELL HAD KILLED HIM AS HE SLEPT__CUTTING HIS THROAT WITH A BUTCHERS KNIFE__GAINING POSSESSION OF HIS HOARDED $500. BURYING HIS BODY THE FOLLOWING NIGHT IN THE CELLAR,TEN FEET BELOW THE SURFACE. ON THE ADVICE OF A MOST RESPECTED FRIEND ISSAC POST, A HIGHLY ESTEEMED QUAKER,THEY ESTABLISHED COMMUNICATION THROUGH THE ALPHABET. SENTENCES WERE SPELLED OUT BY WHICH THEY LEARNED THAT HOSTS OF SPIRITS, GOOD AND BAD, HIGH AND LOW,COULD UNDER CERTAIN CONDITIONS NOT UNDERSTOOD AND IMPOSSIBLE FOR THEM TO COMPREHEND,COMMUJICATE WITH EARTH.
THE FOX SISTERS WERE CALLED THE â€ROCHESTER KNOCKERS†THE “FOX GIRLS†THE “RAPPERS†ETC. AND OTHER EQUALLY FOOLISH EPITHETS, BUT THEY NEVERTHELESS PROCEEDED WITH THEIR WORK FOR THE SPIRIT WORLD,FULFILLING AN ASSURANCE MADE IN THE VERY FIRST OF THE COMMUN1CATIONS TO THE FOX FAMILY, NAMELY â€THAT THESE MANIFESTATIONS WERE NOT TO BE CONFINED TO THEM, BUT WOULD GO ALL OVER THE WORLDâ€.
SO FROM VERY HUMBLE BEGINNINGS,BEGAN MODERN SPIRITUALISM.