Spirit Rapping Hands
Name/Title
Spirit Rapping HandsEntry/Object ID
2021.2.1Tags
SeanceDescription
Wooden hands, one with painted fingernails and cuffs, the other wtih fabric cuff in red velvet with green trim.Use
To communicate with spirits during seancesContext
Spirit rapping hands are, in essence, magic tricks. They were first used in 1849 by two young girls, the Fox sisters, to 'shock' their parents into believing that they were communicating with a ghost in their home. Their parents and neighbors were so amazed by this, that the parents put the girls into show business, and spirit rapping hands started being used by 'mediums' in seances to communicate with spirits. Spirit rapping hands worked by placing them in the middle of a table on a hollow wooden board (the hollow board made the rapping sound vibrant), the attendees at the seance would hold onto the board. When the spirit was asked a question, the hands would rap the answers onto the board.Collection
MagicCategory
Magic