Events - Event View

During the 19th century, the religious landscape was swept by a spiritualist movement which claimed to channel the dead, through the mouths of living psychic mediums. Victoria was quick to embrace the new movement and a spiritualist society was founded here in the 1860s. The Society counted some of the most prominent members of the local community amongst its members.  Far from being dismissed as a fringe idea, spiritualism became wildly popular in the English-speaking world, with an estimated 8 million followers by the 1890s.

Kate Humble is an historian who is currently the Superintendent of National Historic Sites for Coastal British Columbia with Parks Canada.  She did her graduate work at the University of Toronto, and has held public history and historic site positions such as the Curator of Fort Rodd Hill and Fisgard Lighthouse, the Operations Manager at Craigdarroch Castle, Education Curator at the Maritime Museum of BC and Manager of Visitor Experience at the Royal Armouries Museum, UK.  Born and raised in Victoria BC, she has also worked with Discover the Past as a tour guide on matters both historical and ghostly since 2004.