The Fox Sisters and the Birth of Spiritualism

On the night of March 31, 1848, in a small farmhouse in Hydesville, New York, two sisters began communicating with what they claimed was the spirit of a murdered peddler. The mysterious rapping sounds they produced launched a religious and cultural phenomenon: Spiritualism. Within years, millions believed the dead could speak to the living. Séances became fashionable. Mediums multiplied. Then, forty years later, the sisters confessed it was all a trick. But by then, Spiritualism had become a movement too large to kill.

The Rappings

The Fox family—John, Margaret, and their daughters Margaretta (14) and Kate (11)—had recently moved into a house reportedly haunted by strange sounds. On this night, Kate challenged the invisible noisemaker: “Here, Mr. Splitfoot, do as I do.” She clapped her hands. The same number of raps responded.

The family established a communication system—one rap for no, two for yes, and raps spelling out the alphabet. The “spirit” claimed to be Charles B. Rosna, a peddler murdered in the house and buried in the cellar. Word spread. Neighbors came to witness. The story exploded across newspapers. The Fox sisters became celebrities.

The Movement

The rappings arrived at a perfect cultural moment. Religious ferment swept America, particularly in New York’s “Burned-Over District.” People grieved the dead of wars and epidemics. Science was challenging traditional religion. Spiritualism offered “proof” of the afterlife.

The older sister Leah became their manager. The sisters gave public demonstrations, held séances, and toured America and Europe. They claimed spirits communicated through them, that the dead could reach the living, that the afterlife was real and accessible.

By the 1850s, millions claimed to be Spiritualists. Thousands of mediums practiced. Séances became social events. Table-turning and spirit writing emerged. The movement reached Europe. Famous believers included Mary Todd Lincoln, who held séances in the White House; Queen Victoria, reportedly; Sir Arthur Conan Doyle; and William James, who studied the phenomenon scientifically.

The Confession

On October 21, 1888, at the New York Academy of Music, Margaret Fox confessed: “I am here tonight as one of the founders of Spiritualism to denounce it as an absolute falsehood… The rappings are simply the result of a perfect control of the muscles of the leg below the knee which govern the tendons of the foot and allow action of the toe and ankle bones that is not commonly known.”

She demonstrated how she could crack her toe joints to produce the sounds. Kate supported the confession.

Many Spiritualists refused to accept it, claiming the sisters had been bribed or coerced. The movement continued—the confession barely dented its popularity. Both sisters lived out their remaining years in poverty. Margaret later tried to recant her confession. Both died within years—Margaret in 1893, Kate in 1892.

Legacy

The confession seems definitive: two girls played a prank that spiraled beyond their control. But questions remain. Did they really fool so many people with toe-cracking? Why did Margaret try to recant? Did they believe in what they did at some point?

Intriguingly, in 1904, a wall in the Hydesville house collapsed, revealing a partial human skeleton. Was Charles B. Rosna real after all? The house burned down in 1955. The truth, if any, went with it.

Spiritualism survived the confession. The Spiritualist church continues worldwide. Lily Dale, New York, hosts a Spiritualist community. Mediums still practice. The movement spawned psychical research and influenced the New Age movement. The Fox sisters transformed American culture—they legitimized talking to the dead, created the medium profession, and showed how a hoax could become a religion.

Two teenage girls cracked their toes and launched a religious movement that convinced millions the dead could speak. They got rich, got famous, confessed, and died in poverty. But the movement they started outlived them—and outlives still.

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On March 31, 1848, two girls in New York claimed to speak with the dead. They gave séances for presidents and queens. They convinced millions that the spirit world was real. Forty years later, they confessed it was toe-cracking—a children’s trick. But by then, Spiritualism was a religion, and religions don’t die with confessions. The Fox sisters showed the world something profound: it’s not about whether it’s real. It’s about whether people want to believe.