Red-Haired Ash Reads

This was a fascinating look at the history of Spiritualism and its role in the history of faith, fraud, feminism, and financial opportunities. This covers things like women’s suffrage, the changing of people’s faith and rituals, the rise in popularity of these spiritualists in media, the racism of the movement, and scientific testing done to try and prove or disprove its possible to talk to the dead. 

I personally have never experienced anything paranormal or ghost related but I really love learning all the history behind the spiritualism movement and haunted places. This book provided an interesting look at the history of Spiritualism, the women who were famous for it, and the changes that Spiritualism brought to the world in various aspects. I really enjoyed learning the histories of the women who became big named mediums and their rise and fall in society. Also, I really appreciated that the author discussed the racism within spiritualism because it is not a topic that should be looked over, especially since this movement started around the Civil War. 

Overall, this was a fantastic and informative book. I learned a lot about Spiritualism and the women who were famous at the time because of it. 

TW: death of parent; grief; COVID pandemic; misogyny; racisms; antisemitism; 

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