Summoning Beetlejuice: The Veil Between Life and Death

It’s showtime! Beetlejuice Beetlejuice was unleashed into theaters on September 6th, 2024, and since then, has skyrocketed interest in “the ghost with the most” and the object of his desire, the spiritual medium Lydia Deetz. 

Of course, people were fascinated with reaching the other side long before the Deetz family discovered the Handbook For The Recently Deceased. But what exactly does it mean to make contact with the beyond? 

Mediums, psychics, and a slew of tools and methods have allowed individuals to peek behind the curtain of the spirit world. But, what has been found left more questions than answers. 

Read on to explore the mysteries of the beyond as we dive into what it truly means to summon Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetle…

Experience real-life tales of the living mingling with the dead on a ghost tour near you with US Ghost Adventures!

The Beginnings of Modern Spiritualism

Since its inception, Spiritualism has infiltrated science, religion, and pop culture in various ways, due largely in part to its influence on grieving loved ones. Though it’s helped many find solace, the movement has inspired frauds to exploit those trying to reach their deceased loved ones and capitalize on their pain.

Enter the Fox sisters.

The Hydesville Incident

Long before Lydia Deetz became a pop culture icon for all things ghostly, the Fox sisters propelled themselves into the spotlight as renowned spiritualists who had the ability to communicate with the dead.  

It all began on the night of March 31, 1848, when Mr. John D. Fox invited his neighbor, Mrs. Redfield, to their home to get an outsider’s perspective on the poltergeist activity that had plagued them. It seemed that no matter what the family did, they couldn’t escape the incessant knocking and violent bed-shaking.

When Mrs. Redfield arrived, she found the two daughters huddling in fear in the corner of their bedroom. She listened as the violent raps intensified before young Kate Fox demanded that the spirit respond to the snap of her fingers. 

“Here, old Splitfoot, do as I do,” Kate would instruct the expressive spirit. Every snap that she produced was answered with a knock. Soon, Mrs. Fox began asking the spirit a series of questions. How many children did she have? It responded with seven knocks. The spirit was communicating through the veil.

Mrs. Redfield soon brought her husband over, who called several other neighbors, which eventually turned into a block party for those wanting to talk to the dead. Through knocks and raps, the citizens discovered that he was a peddler murdered in the house five years prior. 

His throat was cut with a butcher knife, and his body was buried in the cellar ten feet underground. Five hundred dollars was taken from his person, and they even ascertained his name, Charles B. Rosna. 

Curiously enough, the girls were nowhere in sight, even though they were the primary spiritual communicators.

The Hydesville Spook House

The Fox home, located in Hydesville, NY, soon became known as the Hydesville Spook House. Their initial dig on April 1st was halted at the water table, and the noises ceased the following evening. The dig was resumed as the water settled during the summer. Human bones and hair were found ten feet below ground, just as Charles B. Rosna’s spirit had described.

It was truly an astounding moment, but it was only the beginning of what launched the spiritualism movement. In 1904, a few schoolchildren playing in “The Spook House” aided in discovering the rest of his body. He was stored within the walls for half a century, and a small peddler’s tin box was also found with his remains. 

The young Fox Sisters were sent to stay with their older sister, Leah Fox Fish, in Rochester, NY, but their reputation preceded them. After a quick visit to the Hydesville House to hear the knocking for themselves, local leaders Issac and Amy Post invited the girls and their older sister to their house. The Posts asked them to repeat their apparent supernatural abilities, and to their surprise, it worked. This experiment may be one of the first modern examples of a paranormal investigation. 

The three were then brought to a large hall, where the experiment was repeated in front of four hundred people. The repeated noises met with a deafening silence from the shocked crowd. Afterward, Amy Post stripped the girls and closely examined them for any trickery. She found none. 

The girl’s fame skyrocketed, and their abilities were linked to a belief in the afterlife that changed how many saw their own religious beliefs. America’s obsession with Spiritualism, mediums, and seances was just beginning. Even though Beetlejuice was far off the horizon, the three Fox sisters would incite the same fervor in pop culture.

The Evolution of Spiritualism

The Fox Sisters quickly became a regional and later a national phenomenon. Their popularity grew during the Civil War as many Americans yearned to talk to their loved ones lost in the violence. Benjamin Franklin was even summoned up from his eternal rest at the behest of a wealthy banker. 

However, like many other entertainers, the Fox Sisters paid a price for their fame. Leah retired early from the hardships of traveling, instead choosing to perform seances privately in New York. 

Maggie fell into a deep depression after her husband, Arctic explorer and Navy Physician Elisha Kent Kane, passed away suddenly in 1857. She numbed the pain with alcohol, as did Kate, to alleviate the pressure she experienced from wealthy elites. 

It all came crashing down in 1888 when The New York World interviewed Maggie. In fiery defiance, Maggie denounced Spiritualism as a whole and even claimed that the acts she and her sisters performed were fake. 

Although the sisters faded from view, their legacy impacted American culture. Spiritualist associations and churches began popping up almost as soon as the Fox Sisters appeared in the media. The most well-known of these organizations, the Society For Psychical Research, was founded in 1882 and still leads the field of paranormal research. 

Notable Spiritualists of the Late 19th Century/Early 20th Century

• Arthur Conan Doyle—The author of Sherlock Holmes was so obsessed with the movement that he created an entire encyclopedia on Spiritualism, its history, and its impact on religion. 

• Sojourner Truth—The African-American leader of the Abolitionist movement escaped slavery and discovered Spiritualism in 1856, sold all of her possessions, and moved to a spiritualist camp in Michigan. Spiritualism greatly influenced her political speeches later in life. 

• Mary Todd Lincoln—The First Lady of the 16th President turned to Spiritualism after her second son, Willie, passed away in 1862. She was one of many who attempted to contact loved ones during the Civil War. Seances were held in the Red Room of the White House. 

• Mark Twain— America’s most beloved author, had questions about the afterlife and seances but firmly believed in telekinesis and the power of spiritual healing. His curiosity led  Twain to join the Society for Psychical Research in 1884. He maintained that it was possible to communicate without being physically present. Even if he didn’t believe in ghosts, he believed in the afterlife.

• Harry Houdini—While the famous magician staunchly opposed mediums, denouncing them as frauds, he famously instructed his wife Bess to contact him in the afterlife. She did so every Halloween for ten years. It is still a tradition for magicians today to hold a seance for Houdini.

With influential people spreading the idea of speaking with the dead and later movies like Beetlejuice, peeking behind the veil has become more popular than ever. And, as the need for otherworldly communication grew, so did the creation of methods used to contact the other side.

Speaking to The Dead

In Beetlejuice, the Deetz family and friends contact the dead souls of Adam and Barbara Maitland by reciting a passage from the Handbook For The Recently Deceased. 

But how close does this famous scene come to the real thing? How does one speak with the dead, and who can someone turn to when they’re not sure how?  

Seance: A group of about 6-8 people attempts to contact a spirit or ghost under the guidance of a medium. Holding hands, the group summons a soul while the medium channels the spirit’s energy. They need to be performed in the darkness and aided by candlelight. Floating chairs, furniture, and even people have been reported during seances. 

Medium: A person with the ability to contact the spirit world. Spirits speak through mediums during seances and can produce ectoplasm through their body. Mediums may become so possessed by spirits that they will levitate. 

Psychic: A person who has mental capabilities beyond the normal. Psychics can detect and communicate with ghosts and have extrasensory perception (ESP), telekinesis, or other abilities. They intersect with the spiritual but are not solely dedicated to it like mediums. 

Clairvoyant: A person who can predict the future through visions, dreams, the spirit world, or specific tools.

Seer: Similar to clairvoyants, seers can see the future and communicate with the spirit world, often with a religious purpose. They can commune with the next realm and the god or gods of their religion. 

Tools and Methods Used To Summon Spirits

There are varying degrees to how one can pierce the veil, and many tools are used to summon, talk, and channel spirits. 

Spirit Boxes: These electronic devices communicate with spirits in real time and can be used by anyone. They scan radio frequencies, and investigators listen for responses or relevant messages from spirits or other entities. 

Dowsing Rods: Dowsing rods are two hand-held rods that detect spirits by moving or crossing when in the presence of supernatural energy, guided by the spirit’s influence on the rods. They are used to answer yes or no questions, and the rods will cross when they are ready to answer the desired question. 

Crystal Balls: Crystal balls are found in numerous cultures worldwide. Most commonly seen during the Medieval period, these round spheres helped seers, psychics, or fortune tellers predict the future. Crystal balls differ from other forms of divination in that they can tell someone what could happen rather than what will happen.

Dreams/Prophecies: Many mediums and clairvoyants naturally connect with the dead. They have prophetic dreams or visions that tell them the future. 

Spiritualism In Pop Culture Today

Before Beetlejuice, there was Bloody Mary. This popular game involves saying “Bloody Mary” in front of a dark mirror, usually in a bathroom, with their eyes closed. When the brave player opens their eyes, a bloody woman is said to appear in the mirror. Though “Bloody Mary’s” identity varies between regions, the game’s popularity grew and began appearing in media references in the 1970s.

Of course, not all depictions of spiritualism are based on a legend. 

Based on a 1971 novel of the same name, The Exorcist centers around the terrors that can be unleashed using an Ouija board. The filming was plagued by a curse that caused set malfunctions, delays, and even death. Even more terrifying, the book was based on an actual event that occurred in 1949. 

Hellraiser, released in 1987, is another popular classic about the consequences of reaching out to the dead. It revolves around an item from hell that unleashes a world of pain and demons upon anyone who finds it. Spirits often attach to items and can be contacted or summoned through them, such as the Maitland’s wedding clothes in Beetlejuice. 

Through the 1980s, films like these and games, such as Dungeons and Dragons, prompted a new movement: the Satanic Panic. Many thought that devil worship and communicating with the dead was corrupting society. The opposition to this cultural movement was far from the first and would not be the last. 

But just like Beetlejuice, the movement found a way to fight back, and it has been impossible to get rid of ever since.

The Veil Between Life and Death

Once believed to be a practice only performed by religious figures and a select few, communicating with the dead has become a widespread phenomenon indulged in by everyone from amateur ghost hunters to proclaimed professionals and everyone in between.

Influential figures, including authors, political figures, and entertainers, helped put the movement in the spotlight. It’s depicted in TV, books, movies, and almost every other media we see today. 

In a way, we can all be Lydia Deetz, celebrating her newfound confidence and success at the end of Beetlejuice. Humankind rejoices at its newfound ability to communicate with the dead. While it’s far from perfect, we have the tools and methods to reach beyond the veil and into the other side. 

For more on communicating with spirits, check out our series The Science of Hauntings, where we take a deep dive into the theories behind the phenomenon, how to tell if your house is haunted, how to speak to the dead, and more!

To explore some of America’s most haunted locations, visit US Ghost Adventures for details on our ghost tours, overnight haunted stays, and ghost-hunting equipment designed to help you uncover what lies beyond the veil.