0:01 [SPEAKER_00]: It is the mid-19th century, and the world is buzzing with the Industrial Revolution. 0:08 [SPEAKER_00]: Factories are being built all around us. 0:11 [SPEAKER_00]: railway networks are expanding, and innovations like the steam engine are forever changing how goods are made and moved. 0:20 [SPEAKER_00]: And during all this growth in a small, seemingly unremarkable cabin in Hyde'sville, New York, something insane and extraordinary is about to happen. 0:32 [SPEAKER_00]: Two young sisters, hate and Maggie Fox, are about to kick start a movement that will sweep across continents, and forever change the way we view the afterlife. 0:50 [SPEAKER_00]: Welcome back, friend, to hometown history. 0:54 [SPEAKER_00]: In today's episode, we're going to see how a prank led to the birth of a whole new spiritual movement, giving rise to mediums and sayonses all around America. 1:07 [SPEAKER_00]: Stay with me here. 1:08 [SPEAKER_00]: I know this sounds odd, but the fox sisters are credited with pioneering the idea that you can speak to the dead. 1:22 [SPEAKER_00]: On December 11th, 1847, John and Margaret Fox moved into a new house, along with their daughters, Margarada, Maggie Fox, and Catherine, Kate Fox. 1:37 [SPEAKER_00]: This house, in the small hamlet of Hyde'sville, around 20 miles from Rochester, New York, already had the reputation of being haunted. 1:48 [SPEAKER_00]: So naturally, Miss Fox was extra alert, jumping at every noise in the house, from baking doors to creaking timbers, and to their shock things got pretty spooky, pretty fast. 2:06 [SPEAKER_00]: By the end of March 1848, around 4 months after they started living there, the family began hearing sounds that were just plain weird. 2:16 [SPEAKER_00]: Sometimes it sounded like someone knocking on the walls. 2:21 [SPEAKER_00]: Another times, sounded like furniture was moving all by itself. 2:28 [SPEAKER_00]: Now it's any rational mind would. 2:31 [SPEAKER_00]: The mother tried to look for the source of these sounds. 2:35 [SPEAKER_00]: But she couldn't figure it out. 2:38 [SPEAKER_00]: And with good reason, it's because the house wasn't actually haunted. 2:45 [SPEAKER_00]: Maggie and Kate Fox were just having a little fun, playing tricks on the family to see how long it would be before their mother figured it out. 2:57 [SPEAKER_00]: So basically, all of this started as a prank, Maggie and Kate wanted to puzzle their family, building up on the haunted reputation of the house. 3:08 [SPEAKER_00]: They would tie an apple to a string and bounce it on the floor to make a mysterious knocking sound 3:16 [SPEAKER_00]: or sometimes they just let the apple drop to keep their mom guessing. 3:20 [SPEAKER_00]: It was also supposed to be harm was fun, but it didn't stay that way. 3:28 [SPEAKER_00]: On the night of Mark's 31st, they decided to take their pranks up a notch. 3:34 [SPEAKER_00]: When the strange noise has started up again, Kate was right next to her mother, and she pretended she was seeing a spirit before her. 3:44 [SPEAKER_00]: She challenged the spirit to copy the snaps of her fingers, and it did, or so they made it seem. 3:51 [SPEAKER_00]: Their mother was so baffled by this, that naturally, she shared this bizarre incident with her neighbors. 4:01 [SPEAKER_00]: Now, the situation had clearly escalated, and they both thought that confessing would get them into trouble with their parents, and their preacher. 4:11 [SPEAKER_00]: So they went ahead with the ruse, and with that, they were able to convince their parents and neighbors that they could communicate with the spirit, using knocks, towing it so yes, or no questions. 4:25 [SPEAKER_00]: They told everyone that the spirit was called Mr. Slipfoot, which was a nickname for the devil. 4:33 [SPEAKER_00]: Apparently, Maggie had this so-called conversation in front of them, trying to communicate with Mr. Slipfoot. 4:42 [SPEAKER_00]: She asked it to tell her how many children were in the house, in an answered with six wraps, which is a banging sound, which was right. 4:56 [SPEAKER_00]: She then asked 5:01 [SPEAKER_00]: in a wrapped twice, for yes. 5:05 [SPEAKER_00]: She then asked if a spirit had once been injured in their farmhouse, in a wrapped twice again. 5:13 [SPEAKER_00]: This simple prank would stay with them for much longer than expected. 5:23 [SPEAKER_00]: Once they saw they were able to convince their parents, something like that, their confidence 5:30 [SPEAKER_00]: And if you are confused as to how two kids were able to convince so many people of something like this, you're right, it is a little unlikely. 5:41 [SPEAKER_00]: But back in those days, people were superstitious and took things like this very seriously. 5:49 [SPEAKER_00]: So pretty much everyone believed the girls without a doubt. 5:53 [SPEAKER_00]: And what started as a bit of fun, soon turned, pretty dark. 5:59 [SPEAKER_00]: The girls said the noises were from a spirit, name Charles B. Rosna, a peddler who was supposedly murdered and buried in their cellar. 6:10 [SPEAKER_00]: Their neighbors were completely convinced our murder had happened in the house, and out of fear, decided to take matters into their own hands. 6:20 [SPEAKER_00]: They went over the whole town and nearby towns, to get the names of people who formerly 6:30 [SPEAKER_00]: a finally found a man named Belle, and with no evidence and no thought accused him of being the murderer of the spirit in the house. 6:42 [SPEAKER_00]: This caused Belle to be shunned by his own community, and as you can guess, impacted his daily life forever. 6:51 [SPEAKER_00]: It only shows how powerful, and sometimes harmful, rumors and superstitions can be 7:02 [SPEAKER_00]: Once the neighbors were convinced, words spread out fast. 7:06 [SPEAKER_00]: And soon, the fox sisters found themselves at the center of a great amount of attention. 7:13 [SPEAKER_00]: It wasn't long. 7:14 [SPEAKER_00]: Before people from all over started showing up, wanting to see what all the fuss was about. 7:21 [SPEAKER_00]: Maggie and Kate fox quickly became the talk of the town. 7:25 [SPEAKER_00]: But with all that attention, 7:30 [SPEAKER_00]: not everyone was convinced. 7:34 [SPEAKER_00]: Some people started whispering that maybe the sisters were just playing tricks on everyone. 7:40 [SPEAKER_00]: But at the same time, some people thought something more spooky was that play. 7:45 [SPEAKER_00]: And even started tossing around the word, witchcraft. 7:50 [SPEAKER_00]: Things got so tense that the local church didn't want anything to do with them anymore. 7:56 [SPEAKER_00]: So considering the gravity of the situation, the fox parents thought it best to get the girls out of the spotlight for a while, so they sent them off to stay with their older siblings out of town, Maggie went to stay with her brother David, and Kate ended up 8:20 [SPEAKER_00]: because the introduction of Leia into this mix took things up a notch. 8:28 [SPEAKER_00]: Leia, the Evracurious One, got Kate to admit that there was no reality to all that chaos, and that it was all in elaborate rules. 8:39 [SPEAKER_00]: And that is when Leia saw a golden opportunity, an opportunity to capitalize on the attention her sisters were getting. 8:48 [SPEAKER_00]: She started dreaming up plans to take their act to the next level. 8:53 [SPEAKER_00]: Now, Rochester was buzzing with many different types of forward-thinking ideas, with people fighting for big changes, like ending slavery, and getting women the right to vote. 9:05 [SPEAKER_00]: At the time, the town was also full of people who were interested in some unusual, or unconventional religious ideas, 9:14 [SPEAKER_00]: Andrew Jackson Davis had just written a book, saying the dead could talk to the living. 9:20 [SPEAKER_00]: Something that Kate and Maggie Fox had claimed. 9:24 [SPEAKER_00]: And now, exactly the sort of thing Leah was interested in. 9:30 [SPEAKER_00]: Isaac and Amy post, two friends of liais, who were deeply involved in the fight to in slavery and get women the right to vote. 9:39 [SPEAKER_00]: We're dealing with the loss of their own children at this time. 9:43 [SPEAKER_00]: You can imagine how heartbroken and grief-stricken parents might try anything to see or hear their children again. 9:52 [SPEAKER_00]: So of course they were pulled into the idea of talking to spirits. 10:01 [SPEAKER_00]: But after seeing the sister's in action, they became believers. 10:06 [SPEAKER_00]: And just like that, Isaac and Amy posed started spreading the words about the sister's ability to talk to the dead. 10:15 [SPEAKER_00]: And before you knew it, a head grabbed attention once again. 10:18 [SPEAKER_00]: And now, everyone wanted a say on it. 10:24 [SPEAKER_00]: The entire situation laid the foundation for what would become the spiritualist movement. 10:30 [SPEAKER_00]: which was all about believing in life after death, and communicating with spirits. 10:37 [SPEAKER_00]: Leah was all in, telling her sisters they were actually chosen to deliver messages from the spirit world. 10:45 [SPEAKER_00]: Kate was on board, but she had her doubts. 10:49 [SPEAKER_00]: She couldn't shake the feeling that maybe what they were doing was it right? 10:54 [SPEAKER_00]: Not that it was going to stop Leah. 10:57 [SPEAKER_00]: They had come too far to turn back, and Lee it was already making plans to share their gift with even more people, now for money of course. 11:11 [SPEAKER_00]: Soon, despite Maggie's reservations, Lee announced that the spirits desired their talents to be shared with the wider public, 11:22 [SPEAKER_00]: This led to the first public demonstration, a Corinthian hall in Rochester on November 14, 1849. 11:32 [SPEAKER_00]: The audience, who is skeptical and expecting a hoax, watched as the sisters performed without a hitch. 11:40 [SPEAKER_00]: Even when local dignitaries were invited on stage to scrutinize their act, no fraud was detected, much to the crowd's frustration. 11:50 [SPEAKER_00]: It was some talent the Fox Sisters showed. 11:55 [SPEAKER_00]: Tensions peaked on the final night, leading to a near riot, with fireworks thrown in the sisters needing a secret of exit, but that wasn't so much of a disaster for the Fox Sisters. 12:09 [SPEAKER_00]: In fact, it launched them to fame. 12:13 [SPEAKER_00]: The buzz around their axe spread from local gossip to the pages of New York's Dailys, making them stars. 12:23 [SPEAKER_00]: Their tour across New York, and then down to the city, introduced them to the literary elite in skeptics alike, all curious about their sciences. 12:35 [SPEAKER_00]: Even those initially critical were swayed, with some papers retracting their accusations 12:43 [SPEAKER_00]: A spiritualism took off inspired by the Fox sisters, mediums emerged everywhere, hosting seances, and displaying more elaborate phenomena. 12:56 [SPEAKER_00]: Yet despite the competition, the Fox sisters remained the most prominent figures in this movement. 13:04 [SPEAKER_00]: And they continued touring, drawing the attention of notable figures 13:10 [SPEAKER_00]: including Elijah Cane, a young doctor and artic explorer, despite his initial skepticism and the controversy surrounding their potential union formed a significant relationship with Maggie, but he knew the truth or rather suspected it. 13:29 [SPEAKER_00]: In urge that she gave up the quote, life of dreary sameness and suspected deceit, which 13:38 [SPEAKER_00]: The things were about to turn ugly for the fox sisters. 13:46 [SPEAKER_00]: Five years later, after Kane's death, Maggie was left unsupported by his family and addicted to alcohol. 13:55 [SPEAKER_00]: With her overwhelming amount of grief, she returned to her roots. 14:00 [SPEAKER_00]: By this time, collic guilt, or anger, or depression, hate had also turned to alcohol to numb her feelings. 14:10 [SPEAKER_00]: Soon enough, the sister's drinking problems became increasingly problematic, leading to interventions, and eventually a public confession, a fraud. 14:24 [SPEAKER_00]: In 1888, at the New York Academy of Music, 14:29 [SPEAKER_00]: Maggie exposed the mechanics of their wraps, denouncing spiritualism, and implicating Leah in the deceit, and with that, him a rather complex fallout. 14:43 [SPEAKER_00]: Some people saw it as the end of spiritualism, while other split into factions, either denying the sister's genuineness, or accusing them of spite against Leah. 14:55 [SPEAKER_00]: Yet their legacy and spiritualism continued, with believers and skepticism continuing to debate their authenticity, long after their deaths. 15:06 [SPEAKER_00]: Once such debates started in 1904, and some bones were found in the cellar of the Fox family home, and hidesville in New York. 15:15 [SPEAKER_00]: Just as Kate and Maggie had claimed, during their very first acts, 15:20 [SPEAKER_00]: Sooner enough, this discovery reignited interest and speculation about the Fox Sister's claim of communicating with spirits, particularly the spirit they referred to as Mr. Splittfoot. 15:36 [SPEAKER_00]: But upon examination, the bones were determined to be a mixture of human and animal remains. 15:43 [SPEAKER_00]: And there were no conclusive evidence to support the story of the murdered peddler, 15:49 [SPEAKER_00]: So it was more of a curious footnote in the story of the Fox Sisters. 15:58 [SPEAKER_00]: The story of the Fox Sisters marked by fame, scandal, and sorrow shows the complex interplay of belief, skepticism, and the desire for connection beyond the veil. 16:12 [SPEAKER_00]: Yet the only fact that we can be certain of is the full reality of the Fox sisters, which they admitted to themselves. 16:22 [SPEAKER_00]: Whatever the case, there's no denying that the Fox sisters open the door to a new world of spiritual exploration, something that continues to fasten to us to this day. 16:35 [SPEAKER_00]: Thank you for listening to Home Town History and be sure to follow along for more stories
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