Communication with the dead was popular in late 1800s America. Mediums, séances, and a variety of paranormal practices spread like wildfire. Two historical events converged to create this. The first was the invention of the telegraph. In 1837 Samuel Morse communicated by wire. This invention was stunning in the Victorian era. It altered the very definition of reality. The idea of communicating over wires raised a possibility: if communication could be made over long distances using energy, was it really far-fetched to think one could communicate with the dead? The second event was the Civil War. The carnage of the Civil War defied description. In that bloody conflict, one out of every 50 Americans died. There was no system of notifying next-of-kin. Nobody knew what happened to them. A family member marched off to war, and simply disappeared. The level of grief was unimaginable. The entire nation was traumatized. Everybody lost somebody. And, humans being humans, they searched for answers. The séance filled the gap. Respectable people engaged in such practices. And with them came a host of scammers and con artists. The era of mediums and séances in the 1800's is nearly forgotten today.