19th-Century Spiritualism and Madness

A fascinating phenomenon, 19th-century Spiritualism combined religious, psychological, and social elements, attracting the attention of both supporters and critics. This article examines the Spiritualist movement's influence on the development of psychology and its connection to the suffrage movement. We will examine how Spiritualism gained popularity despite opposition from religious and medical institutions, and the role of women within it, particularly through the example of Cora LV Richmond, one of the era's most important mediums.

For the past four years, I've devoted most of my free time to researching 19th-century spiritualism. I don't think I've had enough of it yet. The connections between the suffrage movement, spiritualism, and evolving notions of healing are particularly fascinating.

The budding scientific psychology of the 19th century zealously attempted to portray both spiritualist mediums and believers as mentally deranged—indeed, spiritualism attracted the insane. Undoubtedly, the popularity and hype surrounding spiritualism meant that the new psychologies were centralized. In fact, spiritualism had a host of immediate detractors and enemies! Traditional and newly established religious institutions, the medical establishment, and anyone involved with mourning, grave digging, and psychology. Such a list of opponents is quite impressive. Truly, it's no wonder spiritualism had such a difficult time getting its message across to the public. Given all this opposition, it may seem surprising that spiritualism gained the popularity it did. I believe this only demonstrates how strong its evidence truly is.