In the early-to-mid 1870s, as interest in Spiritualism and psychic mediums swept the United States, William and Horatio Eddy, two enterprising brothers from the tiny village of Chittenden, Vermont, made headlines for their supposed psychic abilities. In time, the brothers attracted the attention of the movement’s biggest names including Henry Olcott and Helena Blavatsky, until 1875, when allegations of fraud destroyed their massive popularity.

References

American Hauntings. n.d. The Haunted Museum from Another World. Accessed September 19, 2026. https://www.americanhauntingsink.com/eddy.

Bigelow, L.A. 1873. "The Eddy family humbug again." Burlington Free Press, September 29: 3.

Bushnell, Mark. 2012. "A spirited past." The Times Argus (Barre, VT), April 1: B1.

Hall, Joseph. 1873. "The Eddy family--exposure of the humbugs by a 'spiritualist'." Rutland Daily Herald, September 13: 2.

Herman, Jan. 1976. "The eerie Eddys." Burlington Free Press, October 31: 67.

New York Sun. 1875. "Exposure of the Eddys." Rutland Daily Globe, November 27: 2.

Olcott, Henry Steel. 1875. People From the Other World. Hartford, CT: American Publishing Company.

Rutland Daily Globe. 1873. "The Eddys and Spiritualism." Rutland Daily Globe, October 15: 1.

—. 1873. "Visit to the Eddy family." Rutland Daily Globe, October 1: 4.

Rutland Weekly Herald. 1871. "Quarterly convention of the Vermont State Spiritualist Association." Rutland Weekly Herald, February 2: 1.

Wescott, D.P. 1875. "The modus operandi of the Eddys'." Rutland Daily Globe, March 22: 3.

Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)

Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)

Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley

Listener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra Lally

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