VISIT THE LARGEST CALIFORNIA SPIRITUALIST COLLECTION

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The spiritualist craze of reaching out to the dead through mediums started in the 1850s, gained ground during the Civil War, and peaked in the 1920s, when so many were grieving the losses from the influenza epidemic and WWI. Spiritualists left behind a rich treasure trove of artifacts -- from plaster hands mediums used to fool their clients, to spirit boards and trumpets, to elaborate mechanical devices designed to facilitate contact with the dead. 

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Some of them were used by charlatans, and others by sincere mediums. But you could you tell which was which? Explore this haunting piece of American history at the San Benedetto Paranormal Museum.