How did Spiritualism draw ideas from Franz Anton Mesmer’s Magnetist movement?

Spiritualism drew significantly from the Magnetist movement, which was rooted in the magnetic-healing theories of Franz Anton Mesmer. The Magnetists specialized in public demonstrations of magnetic phenomena—including hypnotism—and spiritual healing.1

Spiritualism absorbed many of the fundamental assumptions of the Magnetist movement, particularly regarding the practice of healing and the use of trance states. However, Spiritualism diverged from Mesmer’s original framework by reinterpreting the source of these phenomena. While Magnetists attributed their results to the manipulation of an invisible fluid known as animal magnetism, Spiritualists maintained that such healings and phenomena were the direct result of spirit influence.1

By adopting these methods, Spiritualism integrated the Magnetist focus on public demonstration and therapeutic trance into its own religious practice, ultimately centering these experiences on the belief that the living could communicate with the dead.12