Hayes, everyone. This is Maria with your If you are into the paranormal, true crime, and just plain weird, you're gonna wanna listen to our podcast. My friend, Jessica and I talk about all things weird and creepy from the hat man to alien abductions to your creepy encounters. And that's where you, the listeners, come in. You're working on making more content for you for what your spooky little hearts desire, which means, you guessed it, we need your stories. You can
email them to ycmo pod@gmail.com. You can also find a link in our Instagram or you can leave a voice message. You can follow us on Instagram threads and Twitter at ycmo pod. Thank you for listening and stay creepy, my friends. If there's one thing that you should know about me by now, it's that I'm deeply fascinated by the spiritualism movement. I mean, over the last year, we've discussed a handful of different topics
relating to spiritualism on this podcast. And I can honestly say that this is an era in history when I would Hayes truly thrived. Now, I would be willing to bet that the same could also be said about many of you. After all, between the seances, the invention of various different spirit communication devices, is the boom of psychical research, the spiritualism movement truly paved the way for the modern day ghost
hunter. Of course, we are all well aware that the Spiritualism is Hayes given the field of paranormal research somewhat of a bad name. And really how could it not, given how fraudulent many of the so called psychic mediums of the era turned out to be. But even still, you have to admit, that these topics go hand in
hand. And for what it's worth, spiritualism may have made its modern day counterpart that much more credible, with many of today's paranormal investigators attempting to debunk claims of paranormal activity, instead of trying to create them. I guess what I'm trying to say, is that while spiritualism is be dead, gone, and buried, as paranormal investigators and researchers, we still see remnants of the movement to this day. Only now these practices have evolved into something we never
would have pictured. I'm Courtney Hayes and you're listening to haunts. Stay tuned. By all accounts, May and Lizzie Banks were mediums from the day they were born, which believe it or not, was pretty common for spiritualists of the era. These so called psychic gifts would manifest during a medium's early childhood. Then from there they would often be nurtured by an assortment of spirit guides in other mediums. And of course, May and Lizzie were no exception to that sort of origin story.
The Bang sisters were born in the late 18 fifties and early sixties into what would have been a typical all American family. Their father Edward was a tinsmith, while their mother, Milroy, was a homemaker. Alongside them, the girls grew up with 2 brothers, Edward and William, who themselves never developed any sort of mediumistic abilities. And so is was likely their mother, who shared in their psychic gifts. In fact, more than a few of my sources claim that Mirai Bangs
herself had been a trained psychic medium. And if that's true, well, then she almost certainly would Hayes played a role in her daughter's spiritual careers. Now it's worth mentioning that Miura's abilities were never legitimately verified. And at least from where I'm standing, it seems that the claims of her mediumship may have actually been made up
after the fact. But regardless, May, Lizzie and Miroi Bangs definitely had a flair for the theatrics, which incidentally made them some of the most influential and extraordinary women of the spiritualism movement. May and Lizzie Bangs were barely even teenagers, when they first began performing seances. It was August Bang sisters had drawn quite the crowd. Curious spectators would come from far and wide. And they would pay
good money too. Offered the chance to visit the Bangs family home, where these 2 young girls were showcasing abilities that were truly out of this world. For starters, the Bang sisters displayed a form of physical mediumship, in which they could produce concrete materials seemingly out of thin air. For instance, on more than one occasion, the audience watched in awe, as coal rained down from the ceiling. Beyond that, spectators could expect to see other inexplicable
phenomena throughout these performances. One common report, for example, claimed that messages from the dead would appear on slate tablets in full view of the audience. Even though, no one was close enough to pen those messages by hand. Another common claim is that the furniture would move about the Bang's family residence at will. Meanwhile, music would play throughout the home, even when May and Lizzie were restrained in a large wooden cabinet. I know. This activity per se sounds more like a
poltergeist than it does mediumship. But even still, the Bangs family remained adamant that May and Lizzie, with their keen ability to conjure spirits from the great beyond, had been solely responsible for these supernatural occurrences. And honestly, guys, that isn't even the half of it. Perhaps the most dazzling part of the Bang sisters' career was their keen ability to commission paranormal portraits.
Yes, you heard that right. Between the 2 of them, Lizzie and Mae Bangs could produce images of those dearly departed without so much as lifting a paintbrush. I should explain. In a typical sitting, the sisters would sit on either side of a table with a blank canvas propped up between them. This canvas would face the client who was sitting at the table between May and Lizzie. From there, the curtains would be drawn and the
sisters would lightly grip either side of the canvas. Then and only then, did something spectacular happen. There, in full view of the client, an image of their departed loved one would appear. It was as if the pigment had materialized on the canvas instead of being placed there by hand. Okay. Before we go any further, I should probably mention that this form of mediumship is incredibly rare, but it
isn't entirely unheard of. They call it precipitation, is, simply put, is a form of spirit communication that manifests or rather precipitates out of the ether and onto a surface, A blank canvas, in this case. Now when it comes to mediumship, most of us have a general understanding of the more automatic psychic abilities. You know, the sort where the medium themselves uses their body to channel
messages from the great beyond. Whether that be through automatic writing, painting or drawing, the medium typically perceives spirit communication, then channels that message by hand. But of course, that wasn't the case for the Bang sisters. On the contrary, May and Lizzie were able to bring these messages into is physical reality, simply by sheer will. There was nothing automatic about it. They didn't even have to lift a finger. I know. That's quite the gift. And an enviable one at
that. Well, that is unless the Bang sisters were actually frauds. Back in 1905, an article entitled, How Host Paint Spirit Portraits was published in the Chicago Daily Tribune. And for obvious reasons, it was a headline that drew some attention, which didn't exactly bode well for the Bang sisters. Because this article more or less outlined how they had been duping the public with their paranormal portraits. I know, I think it's safe to say that many of us probably saw this
coming. Because like I said, this is a rare gift. And the Bang sisters certainly weren't the first spirit mediums to be accused as frauds. That said, after reading it through, I actually felt that it was the article that had been full of it, which is saying something coming from your resident skeptic. You see, the article posed that this so called trick was
facilitated through the use of a false table. Allegedly, May and Lizzie were removing the blank canvas through the table after the curtains had been drawn, replacing it with one that showcased an image of the deceased. Now that alone, I could probably wrap my head around. After all, this was the age of Houdini, And who didn't love a good show is sleight of hand? But it's the next part that sort of
lost me. According to the article at least, the prepared painting, set to replace the blank canvas on the table, would actually be wrapped in several layers of tissue. The sisters could then slowly break away those layers throughout the course of the seance, as if their clients wouldn't have noticed a pile of paint soaked tissues sitting in front of them. That's one theory, I guess. But here's the real kicker.
A. T. Osborne, the Kansas City minister, who came up with this idea, said that he did so in a dream, which at least from where I'm standing, is a bit hard to take seriously. Now don't hear what I'm not saying. I wouldn't be surprised if the Bang sisters, is their paranormal portraits turned out to be fake. Especially considering that the Bangs women were eventually involved in their fair share of scandals. But I'm sorry, accusations made based on nothing more than a dream, don't exactly
carry a lot of weight in my book. And apparently, May and Lizzie Bangs shared in that sentiment. In fact, they even went as far as to challenge the minister to a bet. Wagering $1,000 that he couldn't recreate their abilities using a false table in a pack of tissues. It was a tempting offer, but in the end, Osborne declined. Ultimately claiming that a minister would never bet with a $1,000.
Now since I brought it up, I'd like to go ahead and end today's episode by discussing the aforementioned scandals that the bangs women had been a part of. If even only to get a better understanding as to why this entire story should be taken with a grain of salt. For starters, in 18/81, May and Neeroy Bangs had actually been arrested for illegitimate business practices. Specifically, when it came to running a business without a license to do so. In other words, they were offering their services.
Collecting payments from grieving patrons, all without any sort of licensing or legal authority. Now that alone might not be enough to call their integrity into question. After all, owning and operating your own business means jumping through a lot of different hoops. So I don't think it's unreasonable to believe that Mirai and the Bang sisters may have missed one by mistake. But that doesn't change the fact that a very pointed bill was passed by the
Illinois state senate in 18 90 1. The likes of which would prohibit anyone from personating spirits of the dead on penalty of fine or even imprisonment. It was an act that would ultimately cost many Illinois based mediums their livelihoods. And at least one of them painted the Bang sisters as the villains. Stating that while they had otherworldly powers, quote, their greed for gold had led them to abuse it. This episode of Haunts was written and produced by me, Courtney
Hayes. If you've been enjoying the show so far, I would greatly appreciate it if you could leave us a review. A lot of work goes into each episode and supporting the show in this way really helps us reach more listeners each week. It's entirely free and takes about 30 seconds and it would genuinely mean the world to me. Also, if you're interested in learning more about today's topic, I greatly encourage you to check out the show notes section on our website at
hauntscast.com. This is the location where I share my sources and provide any visual aid that may be referenced during the show. Finally, I would love to connect with you online. You can find me on Instagram at Hauntscast, or you can join our email list for updates about the show. Thank you again for listening, and until next time. Happy haunting. As the moonlight pierces through the dark, paranormal enthusiast and best friends, Farrah and Courtney venture deep into the woods armed with
flashlights and a sense of adventure. Farrah, are you sure this is a good idea? Sure. I'm sure. We're paranormal investigators. We're not scared of any ghosts. What was that? Probably some animals. My god. My flashlight is going out. Following the chilling sounds, the 2 stumble upon an abandoned and haunted building, is dark silhouette looming over them. Look. There it is. The abandoned radio station it's supposed to be mad haunted. Let's be careful. We don't know what's inside. Wow.
Look at this place. A long growl is heard coming from behind the girls. They turn around slowly, and to their surprise, a zombie is standing in front of them dressed to the nines, wearing a seventies bell bottom hot pink and purple leisure suit. Who are you pasty looking females and what the heck are you doing in here? Who are you calling pasty? Nice suit. Did you raid Barry Manilow's wardrobe or did John Travolta have a yard sale? Sorry
about that. We didn't mean any harm. We're just curious about this place. Curious, Well, come with me. I got something to show you. And as they wandered deeper into the building, they uncover vintage studio equipment covered in dust and decay. Farrah, you were looking for a new place to set up your podcast. Right? And this is it? Woah. Woah there, sweet cheeks. No. No. No. Don't worry. We'll make
it worth your while. We love the strange and unexplained phenomena, true crime, macabre, and the sinister. And, hey, you'd be a great touch to the show. Maybe be an announcer for us as well. That does sound stellar. I'm in. A few minutes later. 12 seconds later. 3 weeks later. Many months later. Okay. We're rolling. Welcome to Studio Sinister Podcast where we explore stories that haunt us all. And then we'll go make a fresh kill to
celebrate. Dawn. Just kidding. Join Pharah, Courtney, and Don the zombie on the first, 10th, 20th of every month for some rad chilling stories. And if you piss your pants, that's your problem. Come embrace the haunt. See you soon, sinister seekers.