Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles
available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. The Fox sisters
were three sisters from New York who played an important role in the
creation of Spiritualism, the religious movement. The three sisters were
Leah Fox (1814-1890), Margaret Fox (also called Maggie) (1833-1893) and
Kate Fox (1837-1892). The two younger sisters used "rappings" to
convince their much older sister and others that they were communicating
with spirits. Their older sister then took charge of them and managed
their careers for some time. They all enjoyed success as mediums for
many years. In 1888 Margaret confessed that their rappings had been a
hoax and publicly demonstrated their method. She attempted to recant her
confession the next year, but their reputation was ruined and in less
than five years they were all dead, with Margaret and Kate dying in
abject poverty. Spiritualism continued as if the confessions of the Fox
sisters had never happened. "This pattern of confession followed by
retraction, which is not uncommon, has supplied both true believers and
sceptics with material to support their case, so controversy never
ends."
