Spirits After Dark

Spirits at Stowe

January 3, 2025

Our tours and lectures are unique, in that they delve into the historic, social, and political context of the 19^th century and explore the role of spiritualism in the lives of reformers, suffragists, and Black activists.

What is spiritualism?
Broadly speaking, spiritualism is the belief that an individual’s awareness persists after death and can be contacted by the living. During Spirits at Stowe, we discuss the histories of multiple spiritualist traditions in U.S. history, and how these beliefs helped inspire, nourish, and connect politically radical individuals and communities from the mid-19th through the dawn of the 20th centuries—paying special attention to abolitionism, women’s rights, labor rights, and the intersections among them. We also specifically reference the Spiritualist faith, which was prevalent in the 19th and early 20th century and continues today, with various communities active.

Spirits at Stowe considers spiritualisms as a tool of resistance among radicals and reformers of the 19^th century. Through contact with spirits, radical women claimed authority to speak the unspeakable, especially the right to full control and autonomy over their own bodies and families.

Claiming power to speak out and to speak freely in a deeply unjust world was also a dangerous act, particularly for Black and economically marginalized activists. The tour tells a story of 19th-century spiritualism as a tool for maneuvering through challenges. It also explores the fraught atmosphere that people had to navigate during that time. Spiritualism offered the way to imagine an “other” and better world beyond the boundaries of an unjust and dangerous real one.

Spirits at Stowe deals with themes such as violence, sexuality, and reproductive rights.
It is not recommended for children under 13.

During the tour, the Stowe House is “set” to reflect a Spiritualist setting. It takes place later in the evening and lit by (electric) candlelight. Participants on the tour observe and engage with the materials of Spiritualism including a planchette on view, Isabella’s “Spirit Book” in which she recorded the names of those who she felt she communicated with through Spiritualism, images of Spiritualist books and photography to illustrate the images and words associated with Spiritualism, and quotes about Spiritualism. Tour participants will consider the possibilities, limitations, and contradictions of Spiritualist beliefs.

REGISTER!

Spirits at Stowe will continue from November through January, offered on the first Friday and third Saturday of each month.

Location Stowe Visitor Center

Doors Open

Program 4:00 - 5:00 PM

School Group Interest Form

School Group Interest Form 2024

Thank you so much for your interest in a group tour at the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center! Please help us schedule your visit by answering the questions below.

School name:

Please suggest three dates and times when your group would like to visit. (Note: the Stowe Center is closed on Sunday and Tuesday.)

Contact Teacher Name:

Contact Teacher Email:(Required)

Contact Teacher Phone Number:(Required)

Number of students expected to attend:(Required)

Please enter a number from 8 to 40.

Please identify the grade level(s) of attending students:(Required)

Likely number of chaperones (including other teachers):

The Stowe Center requires one adult per every 10 students.

Are there special student, teacher, or chaperone accommodations that can help us serve you best?

Do you plan to have lunch on site?

Yes, please.

No, thank you.

Are you interested in scheduling a joint visit with our neighbor, The Mark Twain House and Museum?

Yes, please

No, thank you.

If yes, have you already contacted The Mark Twain House?

Yes

Adult Group Interest Form

Group Tour Interest Form 2022

Thank you so much for your interest in a group tour at the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center! Please help us schedule your visit by answering the questions below.

Group Name:

Name of Primary Contact:(Required)

Contact Email:(Required)

Contact Phone Number:(Required)

What date would you like to visit? (The Stowe Center typically books group tours for Thursday through Sunday visits.)

Expected number of visitors:(Required)

Please enter a number from 20 to 42.

Please indicate the number of adults, seniors, and children expected in your group:

Are there special accommodations that can help us serve you best?

Are you interested in a joint visit with our neighbor, The Mark Twain House and Museum?

Yes, please.

No, thank you.

If yes, have you already contacted The Mark Twain House?

Yes

Isabella Beecher Hooker

Isabella Holmes Beecher Hooker (1822-1907)
An ardent member of the woman’s suffrage movement, Isabella Holmes Beecher Hooker joined in the cause along with Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony.

Isabella was the first child of Lyman Beecher and his second wife, Harriet Porter Beecher.

Isabella began her education at Catharine Beecher’s Hartford Female Seminary and lived with her sister Mary Perkins. In 1841 she married John Hooker, a descendant of Thomas Hooker, the founder of Hartford. John Hooker was a lawyer and an abolitionist.

In the early 1860s Isabella got involved in the woman’s suffrage movement. Isabella joined Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony as a member of the National Woman’s Suffrage Association in 1869. She was a founding member of the Connecticut Woman’s Suffrage Association. Isabella’s ideas of equality were influenced by John Stuart Mills’ On Liberty and the Subjection of Women.

In 1871, Isabella organized the annual convention of the National Woman’s Suffrage Association in Washington D.C. and presented her argument before the Committee on the Judiciary of the United States Senate. Her husband, John Hooker, believed in his wife and supported her activities. He helped Isabella draft a bill to the Connecticut Legislature giving married women the same property rights as their husbands. The bill passed in 1877. Isabella annually submitted a bill granting women the right to vote, but it did not pass in her lifetime.