Summoning The Spirits: Seances and Creative Practices in Britain, France and Beyond

6.00pm – Pay What You Can £6.00 / £4.00

Discover how 19th-century séances sparked a creative revolution. Dr David Evans explores spiritualism’s impact on literature, art, and film, revealing its surprising influence on British and French culture and beyond.

In 1848, Maggie and Kate Fox, two teenage sisters from Hydesville, NY, played a prank on their parents which quickly sparked an international phenomenon. The girls claimed that the knocking sounds heard in the middle of the night were produced by the spirit of a dead man with whom they could communicate. So began a global craze for spirit contact, with countless mediums offering a paying public ever more elaborate séances.

In this event, the world-famous, Dundee-born psychic medium, June Field, joins Dr David Evans to discuss psychic mediumship and look at the writers and artists – from Arthur Conan Doyle and Victor Hugo to Georgina Houghton – who were enthusiastic participants. Drawing examples from literature, film, the visual arts and opera, we will explore our enduring fascination with spirit communication, and look at the particular role the spirits have played in creative practice.

Running time: 1h 30m