Communing with the dead used to be commonplace in Knoxville. This spooky season, the Festival of Phantasmagoria at the Mabry-Hazen House will give you a chance to witness the ritual for yourself.
The Victorian era was defined by a fascination with the occult, Patrick Hollis, Hazen Historical Museum Foundation executive director, told Knox News. High mortality rates and rapidly evolving technology of the industrial revolution contributed to the rise of Spiritualism, a religion that involves using a medium to contact people "on the other side."
Although this movement began in New York in 1848, Knoxville was certainly not immune from its influence. Traveling mediums came to town, people held at-home séances, and a few times, sightings of the spirits
of the dead were reported.
Residents of the Mabry-Hazen House − where the upcoming festival is to be held − dabbled in Spiritualism, too.
Knoxville was no stranger to séances and Spiritualism
At venues around Knoxville, performers and mediums hosted well-attended séances, old newspaper articles show. In 1871, the world-renowned Davenport Brothers held a séance at a crowded Hoxsie's Hall. The spooky gathering was even attended by Tennessee Gov. DeWitt Senter, who was "chosen by the audience to go on the stage and see that all was done fairly," the Knoxville Daily Chronicle reported.
In 1883, J.L. Frazier held a séance at his house on Market Square that was "given" by Spiritualist A.F. Ackerly, according to the Knoxville Daily Tribune. The article described the audience as "composed of the most respectable merchants, professional men and mechanics of the city." There was a table with several objects laid out. During the séance, it was reported that a spirit interacted with them, scratching across a guitar, rattling some bones and twirling a tambourine on a cane.
Another medium, the London-based Dr. Eddy, held a séance at Staub's Theatre in 1893. His shows were known to feature a rising and floating table and flowers carried out to patrons "by invisible hands," the Journal and Tribune reported. The Miller Brothers gave a séance in Knoxville in 1896.
But you didn't have to go to a theater to see these spooky spirit interactions. The Knoxville Daily Chronicle even ran a piece titled "How to Form Spirit Circles at Home" in 1882 that instructed readers to gather in a circle of between four and six people and sit uninterrupted for an hour. The group was directed to sing or talk, as long as neither was "of a frivolous nature." Then, if successful, they might witness "a feeling like a cool wind sweeping over the hands," followed by "table tiltings or raps."
Joseph Mabry's dabblings in Spiritualism
Joseph Mabry, a member of the Mabry-Hazen family, was a prominent Knoxville businessman in the mid to late 19th century. He was an investor, land speculator and an enslaver. In 1868, he attended a séance in New York City, put on by a celebrated medium known as Madame Mansfield.
Part of the appeal of Spiritualism was people's desire for a religion that tangibly supported the idea of an afterlife. Along with that, many sought comfort during a time when death, and untimely death, was prevalent, whether that was a family member killed in the Civil War or a child dying from an illness, Hazen Historical Museum Foundation director Patrick Hollis said.
"But Mabry's not going in there for the reasons of, you know, restoring his faith, or providing that reinforcement, or trying to say goodbye to one of any of his children that have died," Hollis told Knox News. "No, Joseph Mabry went in there to learn about the future of bond markets. He wanted help in his speculations."
He ultimately ended up in financial trouble, which led him to sell off land. That ended in a deal gone bad and a Gay Street gunfight that resulted in his death.
Visit Mabry-Hazen for The Festival of Phantasmagoria
The Festival of Phantasmagoria - now in its eighth year at the Mabry-Hazen House - was started to expose people to the "historic traditions and culture around death, and the afterlife, and the occult and the unexplained," including some of the topics described here.
The event will have artifacts related to Spiritualism and some of its offshoots, tarot readings, silent movies, scary stories and Victorian séance experiences, which cost $25 for adults.
The festival also will feature the exhibit "Ghost in the Machine," which explores the science of the paranormal, loaned through a partnership with the American Museum of Science and Energy in Oak Ridge. A 19th-century theater illusion called Pepper's Ghost − you've seen it if you've been to Disney's Haunted Mansion − will be recreated, too.
Aside from the séance experience, the festival is free and runs Oct. 28-Nov. 1. Find more information online at mabryhazen.com/festival.
Hayden Dunbar Evans is the storyteller reporter. Email: hayden.dunbar@knoxnews.com. Instagram: @knoxstoryteller.
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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Victorian Knoxville's spiritualism and séances revived at Mabry-Hazen
