In 19th century Britain, ghostly technologies blurred the lines between spirituality and commerce, a trend echoed in today's grief technologies that profit from the desire to connect with the dead.
Spiritualism as a market phenomenon
In the 19th century, spiritualism became a commercial enterprise in Britain, blending the desire to communicate with the dead with the rise of new technologies and mass media.Mediums and financial arrangements
Spiritualist mediums like Daniel Dunglas Home avoided direct payment for their services but accepted gifts, travel, and material support, while spiritualist magazines criticized materialism even as they sold elixirs and remedies.Modern grief technologies
Today, technologies like "thanabots" — AI-driven conversational agents that mimic the voices of the deceased — echo the 19th-century spiritualist movement, raising similar questions about the intersection of grief, technology, and profit.Victorian fascination with the supernatural
Victorian Britain, known for its industrial progress and scientific achievements, was also deeply interested in the supernatural, ghosts, and the macabre, which found expression in new forms of entertainment and commerce.Technological illusions and ghostly imagery
Advances in optics, photography, and stagecraft allowed for the creation of illusions like the "Pepper's ghost" effect, while photography was believed to capture the presence of the dead, further blurring the line between the real and the supernatural.The role of the "obscene supplement"
Philosopher Slavoj Žižek described how societies rely on practices and desires that seem to contradict their official values, calling this the "obscene supplement," which can become a commercial force in unexpected ways.Spiritualism's arrival in Britain
Spiritualism, which began in the United States after the Fox sisters claimed to communicate with spirits through knocking, spread to Britain through traveling American mediums and became a movement with its own celebrities and commercial networks.Spiritualism and consumer culture
Spiritualism offered an escape from Victorian materialism but also created new forms of consumption, such as séances, spiritualist publications, and products that blurred the line between spiritual experience and commercial enterprise.Balancing spiritualism and commerce
Spiritualist mediums and publishers navigated the tension between spiritual ideals and financial needs, often framing commercial activities as support for a higher calling, while maintaining the illusion of authenticity and credibility.Photography as proof of the supernatural
Photography, seen as an objective technology, was used to create images presented as evidence of spirits, reinforcing the idea that the supernatural could be captured and sold, just like any other product of the age.Modern parallels to Victorian spiritualism
Today's "digital necromancy," which uses AI to simulate the voices of the dead, mirrors the 19th-century spiritualist movement, showing that the desire to connect with the deceased continues to drive both emotional and commercial innovation.Legacy of Victorian capitalism
The Victorian spiritualist movement demonstrates how desires that seem to challenge societal norms can instead reinforce the structures of capitalism, a lesson that remains relevant in the modern market for grief technologies.
