My thesis statement: The Fox Sisters have sparked controversies with their careers as mediums. These controversies need to be addressed because they have the potential of targetting and scamming people dealing with grief after losing a loved one. Other examples of people being a scammer and being scammed are Sylvia Browne and Mary Lincoln. Furthermore, the spiritual movement that they practice, Spiritualism, has the potential to become a tool to heal people’s grief.
One source that I partially disagree with is Davenport’s “The Death-Blow to Spiritualism: Being the True Story of the Fox Sisters.” I disagree with some sections of this source because it is highly biased and has a lot of Davenport’s speculation and indignation. I do agree with some of the things he has said, but I will only use his source as a way of speculation and bringing up the potential controversies on the Fox Sisters. But it needs to be said that he has conducted interviews on the Fox Sisters and people who met them, so I will reference from that section of the text.
A source that will strongly object to Davenport’s article is Leah Underhill’s (who used to be known as Leah Fox) book on her experiences as a medium. These two sources will spark debate because of their opposing biases and opinions on the Fox Sister’s careers. Davenport shows it in a negative light with a manipulative narrative from the Fox Sisters. Underhill shows it in a positive light as acts of goodwill and service to the public.
Paranormal Spectacle 