The House in Hydesville

The Fox sisters lived in a small cottage in Hydesville, which is a very small town that is Southeast of Rochester, New York (US). They heard spirit raps in the cottage, and learned how to communicate with the spirit there, who was a peddler who had been murdered in the house years before.  The news of their ability to communicate spread like wildfire and became the catalyst event for the foundation of Modern Spiritualism.  Here is an excellent first-person account of their experience, and a historical account that describes their lives and experiences with Spiritualism. The Lily Dale Museum has items from the Fox family. The House in Hydesville is a play that just finished running in the Geva Theatre in Rochester.  I went to see it.  The acting was excellent, and the stage was well done.  It's a beautiful place.  There's not a bad seat in the house, and it was two or three seats short of a sellout. As a Spiritualist, I found the story very disappointing.  On the way out, one of my spirit folks said "Skeptics win on this one", and that describes it quite accurately.  I wouldn't suggest it to anyone.