An Exposition of Spiritualism, Letters by Various Writers and a Review, With Intr., Notes and an Appendix by Sceptic

An Exposition Of Spiritualism, Letters By Various Writers And A Review, With Intr., Notes And An Appendix By Sceptic by Sceptic. This volume compiles a mid-19th century debate on Spiritualism, drawing together Preface, Introduction, two series of letters, editor’s notes, and an Appendix, sourced from the Morning Star letters of autumn 1860 and 1861 and the Star and Dial discussions. It presents both affirmative and critical voices on spiritual phenomena—table-turning, raps, levitations, spirit writings, and musical manifestations—alongside skeptical counterarguments grounded in physiology, psychology, and scripture. The work captures a heated public dispute about whether phenomena imply disembodied intelligences or can be explained by natural forces such as mesmerism or odyle, and it probes the implications for religion and science. The collection offers a broad snapshot of Victorian-era attempts to scrutinize, interpret, and reconcile spiritualist claims with emerging scientific and theological ideas.