CALLING THE SPIRITS: A History of Seances with Lisa Morton (VIRTUAL)

From Halloween expert Lisa Morton, a level-headed and entertaining history of our desire and attempts to hold conversations with the dead. Joining Morton in conversation is MTH&M Education Program Manager Dr. Erin Bartram.
 
Calling the Spirits investigates the eerie history of our conversations with the dead, from necromancy in Homer’s Odyssey to the emergence of Spiritualism—when Victorians were entranced by mediums and the seance was born. Among our cast are the Fox sisters, teenagers surrounded by “spirit rappings”; Daniel Dunglas Home, the “greatest medium of all time”; Houdini and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, whose unlikely friendship was forged, then riven, by the afterlife; and Helen Duncan, the medium whose trial in 1944 for witchcraft proved more popular to the public than news about the war. The book also considers Ouija boards, modern psychics, and paranormal investigations, and is illustrated with engravings, fine art (from beyond), and photographs. Hugely entertaining, it begs the question: is anybody there . . . ? 

 FREE virtual event, although donations are gratefully accepted. REGISTER HERE. 

Copies of CALLING THE SPIRITS signed by the author are available for purchase through the Mark Twain Store; proceeds benefit The Mark Twain House & Museum. Books will be shipped after the event. We regret that we are NOT able to ship books outside the United States as it is cost-prohibitive to do so.  

 About the author: 

Lisa Morton is a screenwriter, author of non-fiction books, and prose writer whose work has been described the American Library Association’s Readers’ Advisory Guide to Horror as “consistently dark, unsettling, and frightening.” She is a six-time winner of the Bram Stoke Award, the author of four novels and over 150 short stories, and a world class Halloween and paranormal expert. www.lisamorton.com 

Programs at The Mark Twain House & Museum are made possible in part by support from CT Humanities; the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development, Office of the Arts; Ensworth Charitable Foundation, Bank of America, N.A., Trustee; the Greater Hartford Arts Council’s United Arts Campaign; The Hartford; The Mark Twain Foundation; The National Endowment for the Humanities; and Travelers.