Overview
Ilise S. Carter’s new book When We Spoke to the Dead: How Ghosts Gave American Women Their Voice offers a sweeping cultural history of 19th‑century Spiritualism and its lasting impact on contemporary wellness practices. Drawing on her own experiences of loss, Carter frames the movement as a vehicle through which women in the United States could claim public authority in a male‑dominated society. The work is positioned as an accessible alternative to the dense academic tomes that dominate Spiritualist scholarship, aiming to answer the “big questions” of where the movement began, how it spread, and why it resonated so strongly with female audiences.
Key Findings
Carter traces Spiritualism from its “official birth” in 1848—when the Fox Sisters’ alleged communications with the dead sparked a national fascination—to its modern incarnations in wellness influencer culture. The book highlights several recurring themes:
- Empowerment through the supernatural. Women such as the Fox Sisters, Cora L. V. Scott, and later mediums used séances not merely as entertainment but as platforms for public speech, challenging prevailing gender norms.
- Mourning as a catalyst for social critique. Carter argues that personal grief often translated into broader criticism of institutions, notably the 19th‑century healthcare system that left many women without adequate medical support.
- Continuity with contemporary spirituality. By visiting sites like Lily Dale, a historic Spiritualist camp, and interviewing modern practitioners, Carter demonstrates how the movement’s language of “healing” and “connection” persists in today’s wellness market.
Cultural Context
The review by Kate Cherrell, published by the Society for Psychical Research, notes that Carter’s narrative balances “frippery and sensitivity,” avoiding the reduction of historic figures to caricatures. For example, the Fox Sisters are portrayed as “troubled young women” whose claims emerged amid a turbulent political landscape, rather than simply as fraudsters or curiosities. Similarly, Carter re‑examines Cora L. V. Scott’s multiple marriages and public divorce with a tone that likens her media presence to that of modern pop icons like Taylor Swift and Britney Spears—an approach that situates 19th‑century scandals within a familiar cultural framework.
Cherrell emphasizes that while the book is not a strict feminist history, it allocates substantial space to female voices, allowing readers to see how Spiritualism functioned as an early avenue for women’s public agency. By employing a journalistic, “nosy” style—complete with on‑site visits and first‑hand interviews—Carter bridges academic rigor with narrative readability, a blend that the reviewer finds both “compelling” and “immersive.”
Reception and Scholarly Value
According to the review, Carter’s work fills a noticeable gap in the literature: a social‑cultural overview that is approachable for general readers yet grounded in thorough research. The book’s strength lies in its ability to synthesize biographical sketches, historical context, and contemporary relevance without overwhelming the audience with technical jargon. Critics have praised the author’s “tangible warmth” and her willingness to “listen to hidden rooms,” a metaphor for uncovering marginalized perspectives within the Spiritualist tradition.
The review does caution that the breadth of the project sometimes comes at the expense of deeper feminist analysis, but it concludes that the book succeeds in sparking renewed interest in a movement that has long been dismissed as mere occult curiosity.
Related Media
The discussion of Spiritualism’s legacy extends beyond Carter’s volume. In a recent podcast, Rosemarie Pilkington examined the work of Dr. Bindelof, a German‑American physician who documented 1930s teenage séance experiments that produced striking physical phenomena. Pilkington’s commentary underscores how early scientific curiosity about Spiritualist practices intersected with gendered expectations—teenage girls were often recruited as participants, reflecting both societal anxieties and the allure of the supernatural. Together, Carter’s book and Pilkington’s interview illustrate a broader scholarly effort to re‑evaluate Spiritualism not as fringe superstition but as a cultural conduit for women’s voices in American history.
