Give a brief history of who the Fox sisters were – and in particular, their social class, where they lived, the time period when they became famous – and this is the key part of this question – why these are relevant to understanding these events.
Was it significant that the “founders of Spiritualism” were women? Did this fact make their claims more believable or important? (or less?) Would the rise of Spiritualism have occurred, or occurred the same way if these were three brothers?
How do you explain the fact that even when they were proven (and one later admitted) to be charlatans that this did not seem to destroy the Spiritualist movement?
Are there similar charlatans at work today? Why do people believe them or, is Horner nuts and these people are actually legitimate mediums?