An intriguing primer on American Spiritualism. (Photo: Amazon.com)
From time to time your humble blogger likes to share some of his library finds with Dateline>City of Angels visitors. This week I finished The Haunting of America, a fascinating look at our nation’s ongoing obsession with the paranormal, from the Salem Witch Trials to Harry Houdini’s attempts to unmask modern Spiritualism.
It’s a strangely perfect Independence Day recommendation: According to authors William J. Birnes and Joel Martin, alleged encounters with the Great Beyond have shaped American history more than any political science professor would ever care to admit.
For instance, while every schoolchild (excluding maybe those in the LAUSD) can recite the tragic legacy of the Salem Witch Trials, how many of us know the story of a late-night psychic vision that supposedly inspired a beleaguered George Washington to persevere at Valley Forge?
Or that prior to his presidency, Andrew Jackson personally witnessed phenomena surrounding Tennessee’s famous Bell Witch, one of the most bizarre demonic hauntings in U.S. history?
Or that President Lincoln and Mary Todd frequently welcomed a favorite clairvoyant into the White House for sittings and seances to not only contact their deceased son but to help advise Civil War strategy?
Indeed, by the late 19th Century, Spiritualism had so permeated American culture that leading scientists rushed to develop research methodologies to alternately prove or disprove the claims of an ever-increasing army of mediums, mesmerizers and psychic charlatans. These efforts continued into the early 20th Century. At his death in 1931, none other than Thomas Edison was rumored to be at work on a “spirit phone” designed to investigate communication with the dead.
For their part, the book’s authors are clear believers in the occult. Birnes is star of The History Channel’s UFO Hunters, while Martin is a well-known paranormal expert famous for exposing the Amityville Horror. Still, they’ve managed to turn out a moderately objective and even humorous tome presenting a mix of intriguing facts, little-known references and thoughtful speculation.
Whether you’re a supernatural devotee yourself, or an avowed skeptic scratching your head over how an otherwise enlightened society can fall for the “cold-reading” chicanery of Crossing Over’s John Edwards, The Haunting of America is a must-read primer on American Spiritualism.
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Mike, let me also recommend “Spook” by leading science writer Mary Roach. The book is fascinating, and the author has a wicked sense of humor.