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The Specter of the Indian: Race, Gender, and Ghosts in American Seances, 1848-1890
The Specter of the Indian unveils the centrality of Native American spirit guides during the emergent years of American Spiritualism. By pulling together cultural and political history; the studies of religion, race, and gender; and the ghostly, Kathryn Troy offers a new layer of understanding to the prevalence of mystically styled Indians in American visual and popular culture. The connections between Spiritualist print and contemporary Indian policy provide fresh insight into the racial dimensions of social reform among nineteenth-century Spiritualists. Troy draws fascinating parallels between the contested belief of Indians as fading from the world, claims of returned apparitions, and the social impetus to provide American Indians with a means of existence in white America. Rather than vanishing from national sight and memory, Indians and their ghosts are shown to be ever present. This book transports the readers into dimly lit parlor rooms and darkened cabinets and lavishes them with detailed seance accounts in the words of those who witnessed them. Scrutinizing the otherworldly whisperings heard therein highlights the voices of mediums and those they sought to channel, allowing the author to dig deep into Spiritualist belief and practice. The influential presence of Indian ghosts is made clear and undeniable.
202 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 2017
About the author
Kathryn Troy
5 books136 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 10, 2017
MY THOUGHTS
This book will hook you from page one. SO many moments that may touch your soul and heart. It will may you think, not only about spirits, ghosts but the Indian. Sometimes we think the Indian is a lost race, but is it really? There spirits continue!
This book is about history and the different aspects that make up that history including, religion, race, gender and spirit. Indians have always had a magical or mystical side to them.They were a struggling race.Most were looking for peace, a place to be away from being hunted and hated. It seemed they could never settle down for any length of time before they had to uproot their villages and move on. Most believed in the spirit of the soul. Some believed that the Indian was going to be a thing of the past. They were dwindling in numbers and they were . Others believed that the Indian, physically were fading but their spirits were still alive and presenting themselves as ghosts . Some believed this was the way the Indian was staying alive - through their spirits. The spirits are forever there, so if the actual physical form of the Indian was leaving, their counterparts in the shape of ghosts from the spirits.came to light. This book was fascinating as it took the reader into the recesses that have a mystical feel to them. Sometimes in the dark nooks and crannies that keep the reader turning the pages. You get the feel of the seance, even though you are not there. You can picture people around the table as the spirits enter their world, That world sometimes belong more to the spirits though. The stories of the spirits are told from the ones who were there and felt their presence. The exact details put you there. You can feel the heart skip a beat as the spirits come to sight, only if within your mind. You can picture the expressions on the faces of those at the seance as they hear the spirits.
How did these specters affect the American Spiritualists? They were used in various ways, politically, for power, as mediators for peace and sometimes for trouble, a form of strength. They were a connection between the spiritual and the real world. Spirits don't have to be from the past. They are very much a part of the present and most likely will be a part of the future.
A tremendous amount of research must have gone into this book along with a keen insight into the Spirits. Some believe, some don't. It's up to you the reader.
I received a copy of this book and voluntarily decided to review it.
This book will hook you from page one. SO many moments that may touch your soul and heart. It will may you think, not only about spirits, ghosts but the Indian. Sometimes we think the Indian is a lost race, but is it really? There spirits continue!
This book is about history and the different aspects that make up that history including, religion, race, gender and spirit. Indians have always had a magical or mystical side to them.They were a struggling race.Most were looking for peace, a place to be away from being hunted and hated. It seemed they could never settle down for any length of time before they had to uproot their villages and move on. Most believed in the spirit of the soul. Some believed that the Indian was going to be a thing of the past. They were dwindling in numbers and they were . Others believed that the Indian, physically were fading but their spirits were still alive and presenting themselves as ghosts . Some believed this was the way the Indian was staying alive - through their spirits. The spirits are forever there, so if the actual physical form of the Indian was leaving, their counterparts in the shape of ghosts from the spirits.came to light. This book was fascinating as it took the reader into the recesses that have a mystical feel to them. Sometimes in the dark nooks and crannies that keep the reader turning the pages. You get the feel of the seance, even though you are not there. You can picture people around the table as the spirits enter their world, That world sometimes belong more to the spirits though. The stories of the spirits are told from the ones who were there and felt their presence. The exact details put you there. You can feel the heart skip a beat as the spirits come to sight, only if within your mind. You can picture the expressions on the faces of those at the seance as they hear the spirits.
How did these specters affect the American Spiritualists? They were used in various ways, politically, for power, as mediators for peace and sometimes for trouble, a form of strength. They were a connection between the spiritual and the real world. Spirits don't have to be from the past. They are very much a part of the present and most likely will be a part of the future.
A tremendous amount of research must have gone into this book along with a keen insight into the Spirits. Some believe, some don't. It's up to you the reader.
I received a copy of this book and voluntarily decided to review it.
September 21, 2017
I am thrilled someone has finally decided to explore the Native American side of the United States story. This is the spectral side of their story. The Indians had a hard way of life even before the White Man came along and tossed them off their lands and took away not only their livelihood but also their lives. In this book we get to explore how after death the Native's let their thoughts and feelings be known to early spiritualists. Native's have always believed in the spiritual side of life. This book will show you they were right. If you believe.
Kathryn Troy has done an outstanding job with this book. I was so into this book I couldn't put it down. This book gives you so much history, so much research, and so many point based facts. It is not over the top mind blowing though. She has written it all out with the perfect amount of information that it does not bog your brain down. The research she has done must have been astronomical. Everything in the book is backed up with documentation so you know this is not just her opinion of the facts. I love how she takes you back in time to the seance as it is happening. She lays it all out for you to the point your mind will actually take you the seance. You can feel the power around you.
I was given a copy of this book to read by the author for review.
Kathryn Troy has done an outstanding job with this book. I was so into this book I couldn't put it down. This book gives you so much history, so much research, and so many point based facts. It is not over the top mind blowing though. She has written it all out with the perfect amount of information that it does not bog your brain down. The research she has done must have been astronomical. Everything in the book is backed up with documentation so you know this is not just her opinion of the facts. I love how she takes you back in time to the seance as it is happening. She lays it all out for you to the point your mind will actually take you the seance. You can feel the power around you.
I was given a copy of this book to read by the author for review.
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July 7, 2023I need someone who knows one single damn thing about Indian Country to write this book instead. Lordy.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews