The Fletcher Historical Society presents…
The Devil's Cabinet: The Famous Eddy Family of Spirit Mediums
October 14th, 7 PM FREE ADMISSION
No Filming Allowed
In keeping with the spirit of the Halloween season, the October meeting of the Fletcher Historical Society will resurrect the ghosts of Vermonters past. Come learn about the famous Eddy family of Chittenden, Vermont (Rutland County). During the mid to late 1800's they became world-renowned as spirit mediums with the alleged ability of generating full-bodied spirit manifestations or "materializations" of the departed. People traveled from all over the world to Chittenden to witness these phenomena for themselves. Some came with the hope of seeing and speaking to their own departed family members. Others came as skeptics, hoping to debunk the family's alleged powers as "humbug". By 1874, the family was so well-known that Chittenden started being referred to as "Spirit Vale". To this day, there are many who believe that the family had genuine supernatural abilities.
The lecture includes a PowerPoint presentation with sketches and photos and makes connections to Mark Twain, P.T. Barnum, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Harry Houdini, Queen Victoria, and President Abraham Lincoln. The material in the presentation is the result of 6+ years of historical research including land records, court records, newspaper articles, letters, diary entries, and genealogical records. Much of the material previously published about the Eddy family is historically inaccurate and some of Jason's findings may come as a surprise to those who are familiar with the story.
Speaker/Presenter: Jason Smiley. Jason works at Dealer.com as a Compliance Specialist. He has been researching the story of the Eddy family for 6+ years and is working on both a screenplay and a non-fiction book about the story.
Place and Time: 7 PM, Wednesday, October 14 at the Fletcher Historical Society (old Grange Hall),
121 Fletcher Road, Fletcher, Vermont 05444.
Appropriate refreshments will be served. Finger food with real fingers? Hmmm....
Free admission. Please, no video filming.