Spirits at Stowe: Spirits After Dark

Spirits at Stowe considers spiritualisms as a tool of resistance among radicals and reformers of the 19th century. Through contact with spirits, radical women claimed authority to speak the unspeakable, especially the right to full control and autonomy over their own bodies and families.

Claiming power to speak out and to speak freely in a deeply unjust world was also a dangerous act, particularly for Black and economically marginalized activists. The tour tells a story of 19th-century spiritualism as a tool for maneuvering through challenges. It also explores the fraught atmosphere that people had to navigate during that time. Spiritualism offered the way to imagine an “other” and better world beyond the boundaries of an unjust and dangerous real one.

Spirits at Stowe deals with themes such as violence, sexuality, and reproductive rights.
It is not recommended for children under 13.

Host or Publisher Stowe Center for Literary Activism