Ever wondered how Victorians communicated with the dead? Discover the eerie device they believed could amplify ghostly whispers.

Victorian Séances in Ohio: The Mysterious ‘Spirit Trumpets’ That Let Ghosts Speak!

Ever wondered how Victorians communicated with the dead? Discover the eerie device they believed could amplify ghostly whispers. 🌐 #News #Ohio #Paranormal #WeirdNews

ATHENS, OH – We recently launched a new weekly podcast, called Weird Mysteries with Jack Norton. This paranormal podcast explores the most bizarre and unexplained phenomena from around the globe. Join Jack as he uncovers eerie stories, strange occurrences, and the weirdest mysteries that will leave you questioning reality. Today’s episode focuses on a forgotten moment in rural OhioWanna listen to this article? Jack has a video for you at the bottom of this page.

Today, we’re exploring a fascinating piece of Victorian history: the spirit trumpet. And no, I’m not talking about Louis Armstrong when he’s drunk. A spirit trumpet is a simple device that was believed to amplify the whispers of shy ghosts, making it easier for the living to communicate with the dead.

Back in the Victorian era, trying to communicate with spirits was a challenge. The dead, as you might expect, didn’t have loud, booming voices. Instead, they were thought to speak in faint whispers that were almost impossible for the living to hear. To solve this problem, mediums came up with the spirit trumpet—a cone-shaped device that was said to amplify these ghostly voices.

I guess we’re still doing this today – I mean, how many ghost hunting shows have you watched with recorders trying to capture EVPs. But, I digress.

Before the invention of the spirit trumpet, mediums had to rely on more basic, non-verbal methods to communicate with spirits. Ghosts would knock on surfaces or painstakingly spell out messages by stopping mediums at certain letters as they recited the alphabet. It was a slow and tedious process. But the spirit trumpet changed all that.

It was like an early version of a telephone for the afterlife, supposedly allowing the dead to speak directly to the living.

The spirit trumpet really took off in the late 19th century, thanks to a spiritualist medium named Jonathan Koons. Koons lived on a farm in Athens County, Ohio, where he built a special room for public séances.

This “spirit room” became the birthplace of the spirit trumpet, which was reportedly invented by Koons’ son.

Mediums claimed that spirits could use the vocal cords of the person speaking into the trumpet to communicate. Since ghosts were often too soft-spoken to be heard in a séance, the trumpet provided the necessary amplification.

During séances, these trumpets were said to float in mid-air, powered by psychic energy.

This was documented by psychic researcher William Jackson Crawford in his 1919 book Experiments in Physical Science.

The earliest spirit trumpets were homemade, typically made of metal or cardboard, and looked like basic cones. But as their popularity grew, so did their design. Some trumpets were made of steel and featured telescoping sections that could extend and retract. Others even had glow-in-the-dark rings at the ends for added effect.

The first commercially produced spirit trumpets were created by Everett Atwood Eckel, who ran a tin shop in Anderson, Indiana.

Victorian séances usually followed a set routine. According to Crawford, participants would gather in a circle, pray, and sometimes sing hymns—all in complete darkness.

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The spirit would then announce its presence with knocks on the floor, which could range from gentle taps to loud thuds that shook the room. After these dramatic effects, the medium would introduce the spirit trumpet. When the spirit left, the trumpet would reportedly drop to the floor with a crash.

In one séance that Crawford observed, two spirit trumpets moved around the room, delivering a chorus of voices that instructed the living participants to “sing something” and to dim the gas lantern. Maybe it was a shy spirit making these requests, or maybe it was just the medium adding to the eerie atmosphere.

As we wrap up today’s journey into the eerie world of Victorian séances, it’s worth pondering the legacy of the spirit trumpet. Was it a genuine bridge between the living and the dead, or simply a clever tool for those seeking to believe in the unseen?

Whether you’re a skeptic or a believer, one thing is clear: the lengths to which people will go to connect with the beyond reveal a deep and enduring fascination with the mysteries of life, death, and the thin veil that separates the two. Until next time, keep questioning the unknown.

Listen to the Podcast

Spirit Trumpets: Whispers of the Dead (Audio Podcast)

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