Conjuring the Spirit World

Spirits were in the air and the dead weighed heavily on the minds of Americans and Europeans in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Mediums and magicians from Houdini to Margery the Medium delved into the supernatural and offered communication with the departed at seances and magic shows, two interrelated forms of popular culture that relied heavily on works of art. Conjuring the Spirit World is the first illustrated volume to illuminate the art and objects that made medium and magician performances iconic during the height of the Spiritualism movement and beyond.

An international selection of paintings, photographs, posters, stage apparatuses, costumes, film, publications, and other objects reveal how audiences were entranced and mystified by these experiential performances, captivating willing believers and garnering skeptics as they navigated the intersecting realms of science and spirituality. Accompanying an exhibition at the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, a town with historic connections to Spiritualism, magic, and witchcraft.