Beyond the Veil: A History of Spiritualism

It seems one of the eternal questions that has plagued humanity centers around what happens to us when we die. Most modern religions try to tackle this question, but none did so with more fervor than modern Spiritualism. What started in a cabin in New York with two young girls quickly spread across the globe. Soon, spiritual mediums who claimed they could communicate with the dead could be found in almost every town in the nation.

Katie Keckeisen's presentation examines the emergence of this religious phenomena, its connections to both the Civil War and World War I, and how it led to a battle of words between the creator of Sherlock Holmes and the greatest magician of all time.

Katie Keckeisen is Local History Librarian at the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library.

Join us in person at Newton Public Library, 223 E. 7th, or click here to sign up for the Zoom Webinar simulcast: https://us06web.zoom.us/.../reg.../WN_wTfLgJn4QoSCFsa5xkkJSw. Katie will be with us in person.

This Humanities Kansas Speakers Bureau program is made possible with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities and HK Friends of the Humanities.