SPIRIT SLEUTHS

A history of spiritualism from 1838 to today, with tributes to some of its most dedicated debunkers.

Acknowledging that belief in spirits can be a comfort to many in times of war or other loss, Jarrow nonetheless sees spiritualism as based on deception and riddled with con artists—and so a worthy target for skeptical investigators. In this thoroughly researched study, she singles out two investigators in particular for their persistence: Harry Houdini, who made exposures of séance fakery a regular part of his stage act, and his protégé Rose Mackenberg, a tough-minded private detective and master of disguise who worked with victims and law enforcement to shut down spirit scams for decades after Houdini’s premature death. Though the author tallies individual examples to the point of tedium, she does offer insights into the clever techniques used by both hoaxers and hoax-busters, as well as a timely case study on the persistence of irrational belief in the face of logic and overwhelming negative evidence. She also presents an expansive (if unsympathetic) gallery of renowned spiritualists from the Fox sisters to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and on to “Psychic Zoe” and other contemporary mediums, coupled with portraits of two admirably talented, strong-minded sleuths who stood for truth. Though most of the cast here is white, people of color are included in one of the many period séance and “ghost” photographs that accompany the narrative.

Overstuffed in places with too many examples but penetrating and provocative.