Margaret Fox

Margaret and Catherine Fox were American mediums whose séances in the mid-19th century popularized spiritualism. Moving to a farm near Hydesville, New York, in 1847, they began hearing strange "rappings" that they and others attributed to spirits. These events, known as the "Rochester rappings," led to public demonstrations managed by their sister, Ann Leah Fish.

The sisters' fame grew, and they held lucrative séances in New York City, attracting notable figures like Horace Greeley. Their tours across the country made spiritualism a widespread fad and a subject of controversy. While Margaret later converted to Roman Catholicism and rarely served as a medium, Kate continued her séances, which included music and materializations. Both sisters struggled with alcoholism, and in 1888, Margaret confessed the rappings were a hoax, though she later retracted this statement. Their lives ended in poverty.1