Lunchtime Talk: A (Séance) Room of One’s Own

Next in our lunchtime talk series, join us in the Museum as Dr Romany Reagan uncovers the origins of Spiritualism in Britain.
About the Event
What comes to mind when you envision a séance? Do you see the atmospheric drama of a Victorian drawing room, hands clasped in the flickering candlelight? Or perhaps giggling teenagers nervously trying out a Ouija board? What probably doesn’t come to mind are UCL professors conducting scientific experiments, or activists fighting for the rights of women and the working class.

Our modern-day understanding of the Spiritualism movement in the late 1800s has often been misunderstood and reduced to parlour tricks; but the ideas shared and explored at that time broke through boundaries of gender and class dynamics. It was a social movement as much as a paranormal movement, and women in particular were leaders within it.

British Spiritualism rose in tandem with the British Suffragette movement and, while there are clear differences between the two, by delving into the birth of British Spiritualism we discover a newly blooming and subversive national identity of rebellion that continued to change and grow throughout the 20th century—fuelled by the tragedies of two world wars that gave the movement momentum. In this illustrated lecture, Dr Romany Reagan will delve into the origins and multifaceted dynamics of the Spiritualism movement to explore how a belief in ghosts was just the beginning.
About the Speaker
Dr Romany Reagan is an Arts Council England funded audio artist and research fellow, creating works with a focus on dark heritage, feminist history, layers of memory in place, and folklore. She has crafted pieces of creative public engagement at various local and national-level museums and heritage sites in London, UK. Her most recent work ‘Women’s Weeds: The hidden history of women in medicine’ is an audio installation at the Museum of the Home in London as part of their permanent collection. Romany continues to share untold and lost stories through immersive audio installations and to document her ongoing research into hidden histories on her blog Blackthorn & Stone.
Bluesky / Instagram / TikTok: @msromany

Essential
- The event is free, but booking is essential. Once tickets have sold out, there will be a reserve list on the day for walk-ins, and this will operate on a first-come, first-served basis.

- The talk will run from 12.30pm to 1.30pm, and take place in the Museum’s Learning Space. This room is clearly sign posted, but please speak to a member of staff on the day if you are unsure where to go.

- There is airport-style security at the Museum’s entrance. Please keep this in mind when planning your visit. We recommend arriving 15 minutes ahead of when the talk is due to start.

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Host or Publisher Bank of England Museum