# @thekansascitystar on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/CjtVwhxMcoA
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/19115470-thekansascitystar-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/thumbnails/93eddb0826.jpg
- **Posted:** 2022-10-14T21:00:13.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Kansas City Star (@thekansascitystar) — https://gondola.cc/thekansascitystar

## Caption

A reader recently asked our KCQ team if “Spiritualism” was ever popular in Kansas City. Well, reader, the short answer is yes — not only did the movement gain followers here, it also caused a scandal that made national news.

After the Civil War, the spiritualism movement spiked in KC and across the U.S. the popularity of seances and clairvoyants soared, and one Missouri medium, John Harvey Mott, became successful enough to attract national attention.

He was a “materializing” medium – rather than simply interpreting knocks, he conjured visible apparitions that conversed with his customers. Newspaper accounts in the 1870s described a hallway curtain or, later, a cabinet with an opening. Mott sat behind the partition, and his customers formed a circle and would sing. The lights were dimmed, the curtain or cabinet was opened, and the faces of dead friends and relatives seemed to appear.

The supernatural nature of Mott’s talents might be questionable, but his ability to deliver a spectacle must have been superb. Visitors flocked to his home in Memphis, Missouri. The train station bustled, and local hotels filled with believers hoping to see the medium.

Mott later relocated to a house on East 15th Street in Kansas City and began hosting seances. The Star reported that he was a hit among curious and affluent Kansas Citians who could afford his services.

But when a reporter attended one of Mott’s seances, he was exposed. Read what happened at the link in our bio. ✏️ Sara DeCaro, Kansas City Public Library

#KansasCity #Seance #KCQ #KansasCityPublicLibrary #Spiritualism #Medium

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## Tags

kcq, kansascity, medium, seance, kansascitypubliclibrary, spiritualism

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