![]() The story is that he purchased the demolished building’s materials and used them to build his own home. He did, however, recognize a bargain when he saw it. The locals believed it was haunted, so they tore it down.Īs far as I know, my ancestor, David Macy of Indianapolis, didn’t believe in ghosts. The first has to do with a condemned government building in Indianapolis, Indiana. Now before we end, I have to tell you about two true life ghost stories in my family’s history. The spiritualist “made a few mysterious motions and rapped on the table,” then reported good news: “Your friend is still in the west of Ireland and is married to a rich woman!” Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), 26 December 1909, page 3 He left out the part about this “friend” being in reality an old horse. At this séance in 1909, one of the participants asked the medium about his “very good friend who did all our work,” and who had departed several years earlier. The story from this next newspaper article has a humorous twist. Huntoon was not so good now as she used to be. One of the men attending the séance said that Mrs. He examined the written messages and reported that “the writing was a horrible hieroglyphic and all strangely alike.” The end of the old news article reports: Argus and Patriot (Montpelier, Vermont), 19 January 1898, page 2 Huntoon’s séances were elaborate ruses which many fell victim to. One man heard from his dear departed wife, who wrote on a piece of paper: “My darling husband.” Mrs. Sometimes messages from the other side were received. For 50¢, her customers got to see spirits move, tin cans rattling and hands jingling bells from behind a curtain. Huntoon, a well-known spiritualist, put on quite a show. This historical newspaper article from 1898 reports that Mrs. Heraldo de Brownsville (Brownsville, Texas), 22 July 1937, page 8 Werner struggled and strained to produce a message from the ghost of deceased magician Howard Thurston, but failed. In 1937, a $10,000 reward was put up by “medium exposer” Joseph Dunninger for anyone who could provide a “genuine manifestation” – a contact with the spirit world. Perhaps your ancestors were among those who attended séances I know mine were – but whatever their reasons, marvelous reports of séances and ghosts filter through historical newspapers! And then there were the doubters who went to great lengths to debunk what they considered outrageous fraud. ![]() Some who turned to spiritual psychic mediums were true believers others went out of curiosity or on a lark. ![]() Reactions to séances have been mixed throughout history. ![]() Jennie Cook – “held under the auspices of the Ladies’ Auxiliary.” Miami Herald (Miami, Florida), 23 July 1916, section 2, page 12 This 1916 newspaper article reports there will be an “independent message séance” at the First Independent Spiritual Church, and another “message séance” at the home of Mrs. The interest in séances and ghosts carried over into the early 20th century. Photo: séance conducted by John Beattie, Bristol, England, 1872, from the Eugène Rochas Papers held at the American Philosophical Society Library. Starting in the Victorian Era, séances, psychics and spiritualists seemed to be everywhere, as more and more people believed they could talk to – or receive messages from – the spirit world, and thereby communicate with their departed spouse or child. ![]() In this blog article, Mary searches old newspapers for stories about ghosts, séances and psychics – and tells two related stories from her own family’s history. Introduction : Mary Harrell-Sesniak is a genealogist, author and editor with a strong technology background. ![]()
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