In this first half of our two‑part deep dive, we trace the early lives of Kate and Maggie Fox, the two young sisters whose mysterious “rappings” in 1848 Hydesville, New York, ignited what would become modern Spiritualism. We explore their childhood in a home already rumored to be haunted, the strange knocks that threw their Methodist family, and eventually the entire community, into turmoil, and the moment the girls became the center of a national obsession.

We unveil Leah, the older third Fox sister and her early roll in shaping their development as well as others such as Amy and Isaac Post who became early believers of the Fox sister’s liminal connection. The couple spread the story through reformist circles, tying Spiritualism to movements like abolition, temperance, and women’s rights.

We walk through their first public demonstration at Corinthian Hall in 1849, the birth of the paid séance, and the way the girls — shy, young, and often overwhelmed — were swept into a cultural moment far bigger than themselves.

Part One ends as the sisters coming into adulthood, struggling with alcoholism and romance. We end with Maggy’s conversion to Catholicism and Kate’s return the US, setting the stage for the sisters’ rise to international fame, the pressures that would follow, and the unraveling still to come in Part Two.

Resources:
How the Fox Sisters’ Hoax Gave Birth to Spiritualism

The Fox Sisters and the Rap on Spiritualism

Fox Sisters – Psi Encyclopedia

File:Psychic-science-1922-10-the-mystery-of-the-three-fox-sisters-p212.jpg - The Arthur Conan Doyle Encyclopedia

Note: Article is Pages 212-237

Very Mysterious: The Fox Sisters and the Spiritualist Movement

In this week’s episode, Heather takes us deep into the story of Lilly Dale, the world’s largest spiritual community. Tucked away in a small hamlet (my new favorite word btw) in western New York, it has always been a magnet for mediums, mystics, and religious reformers.

As we move through the history of the area, themes of abolition, women’s suffrage, and early LGBTQ+ advocacy can be found throughout. The Spiritualist Camps brought the teachings of spiritualism to the Midwest and other areas. The ripple effect birthed dozen of offshoots and social experiments across the region, reshaping American faith and activism permanently.

We dive into what Lilly Dale reveals about the enduring human need for connection, meaning, and rebellion against oppression. Tune in and unpack how a place built on communication with the dead became a living hub for progress and controversy.

Key Themes

• Spiritualism & Social Change:
  The séance table wasn’t just about spirits, it was a platform for voices long ignored.

• Women at the Center:
  Mediums, reformers, and healers who used spiritual authority to challenge patriarchal norms.

• Faith as Activism:
  How movements born in Lilly Dale’s orbit helped fuel abolition and suffrage.

• Mystery Meets History:
  Why this small lakeside town still draws seekers, skeptics, and storytellers.

• The Stump and Aether:
  How one of Lilly Dale’s most sacred spiritual places calls back to our discussion on aether. Aether is said to be the element used to speak to the dead in this area. An unexpected callback that totally makes sense.

This episode bridges history with the current. The echoes of various groups that came out of the Lilly Dale area can be seen today throughout the country, through small religious groups, politics, and social structure. Lilly Dale isn’t just a relic of ghost stories, but a living archive of how belief can become activism.

Main Reference:
Spiritualisms Place Reformers, Seekers, and Seances In Lilly Dale, written by Averill Earls, Sarah Handley-Cousins, Marissa C. Rhodes, and Elizabeth Garner Masarik

Introducing Hex Haven Headline Highlights, aka the 4H Club!
This is a segment we've been wanting to come out with and we're excited to be releasing the first one tonight. We normally dive into research on history, mystery and everything spiritual, but it's important to also remain present and talk about the shit that's going on in the world right now too. Especially as a lot of it seems so heavy at the moment. So every once in awhile, we'll be doing episodes like this.

Tune in, listen close, and then join the 4H Club by jumping into the conversation on whatever platform you’re on. Your voice is part of this, too.

This headline is the beginning of a bigger conversation about AI that we want to have. There is so much more we want to explore on the implications in rapidly developing technology and what it means if we don't stay informed and involved in the conversation. This headline about Plato, the humanoid teacher, seemed like science fiction, but it's real, and we needed to hop on air and talk about it.

What We Explore

• The First Lady’s unveiling of Plato, the new AI “robot teacher,” and what it signals about the future of education. There are questions that need to be asked out loud and discussed. Listeners, PLEASE pipe in with your views on this. We want to hear your thoughts.

• The expanding role of robots in warfare, caregiving, companionship, housework, and creative work, and why these shifts matter for every single one of us.

• The tension between innovation and responsibility: how to use AI as a tool without letting it replace human connection, intuition, or creativity.

• The rising concerns around AI plagiarism, authorship, and the ethics of using machine‑generated content in schools, workplaces, and creative spaces.

• Real‑world cases where AI was implicated in suicide or homicide, and what these stories reveal about risk, vulnerability, and the need for guardrails. Mental health is one area we absolutely need to continue to touch on here as the implications have already proven dangerous.

This technology isn’t going away, but kids definitely shouldn’t be navigating it alone. It’s important, especially for parents to stay informed without spiraling into fear. AI is powerful, strange, and evolving fast. It can be dangerous for children and those suffering from mental health concerns already. And it could be dangerous if we consider this Plato technology with the recent push to limit women dominated careers like nursing and teaching. It is essential that we let our government know what we are and are not okay with this technology being used for and that requires staying informed.

Comment or email in your thoughts.
HexHavenPodcast@gmail.com

Resources

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/2026/03/first-lady-melania-trump-convenes-record-45-nations-at-the-white-house-and-introduces-american-built-humanoid/#:~:text=Imagine%20a%20humanoid%20educator%20named,knowledge%2C%20and%20even%20emotional%20state.

https://med.stanford.edu/news/insights/2025/08/ai-chatbots-kids-teens-artificial-intelligence.html

In this episode, Heather and Sharon sit down to unpack something both of them have been moving through in real time: the confusing, beautiful, disorienting process of a spiritual awakening. This isn’t a lecture, it’s a conversation between two friends comparing notes on research, identity shifts, emotional upheaval, and the strange synchronicities that have shaped their lives over the past few years.

• Why this topic matters now — the cultural moment, the energetic climate, and why so many people feel like something is shifting.

• What a spiritual awakening actually feels like — not the glamorized version, but the raw, human one.

• How awakening has shown up for both hosts — intuition spikes, emotional waves, identity unraveling, and the “hard shell” that forms from trauma and empathy.

• The stages people commonly move through — from the initial crack in the façade to the long-term integration.

• The messy side effects — fatigue, confusion, somatic releases, and the Dark Night moments no one warns you about.

• The shadow side — spiritual bypassing, ego traps, and losing yourself in the aesthetic instead of the work.

• How Heather and Sharon stay grounded — daily practices, community, rest, and keeping one foot in the mystical and one in the practical.

This isn’t a detached overview — it’s a reflection of where both hosts are in their own journeys. They talk openly about:

• The triggers that pushed them inward

• The emotional and spiritual “cracking open”

• The humor and chaos that come with being intuitive, sensitive, and deeply human

• The ongoing process of rebuilding a self that feels authentic

After listening, ask yourself: Does any of this sound like what you’re going through? If so, the hosts invite you to share your experience — anonymously or not — to help build a fuller picture of what awakening looks like in real life.

In this episode, we take a closer look at Morris Pratt, the Wisconsin farmer whose curiosity and conviction helped shape American Spiritualism. We walk through his life, his legacy, and how his vision eventually became the Morris Pratt Institute, a cornerstone for spiritualist education.

We also explore the Institute’s degree and certification programs, how they’re structured, and why they’ve remained influential for over a century.

From there, we widen the lens to the National Spiritualist Association of Churches (NSAC). Its history, its role in shaping modern spiritualist practice, and how it connects back to Pratt’s original mission.

And for longtime listeners, we revisit a few familiar names from Season One, including Maggie and Kate Fox, whose story we first touched on in our Ouija board episode, to show how these threads continue to weave through the larger tapestry of American Spiritualism.

It’s history, context, and a little bit of connective tissue for the road ahead.

Season 2 Premiere
Welcome back to Hex Haven. We’re opening this season with a topic that refuses to stay buried; Aether. The fifth element. The upper air. Zero-point energy. The invisible something that bridges science, spirit, and the strange. With brand‑new theme music by Matt Shook and a refreshed logo, we’re stepping into a new era, and this episode sets the tone for where we’re headed.

In this premiere, we explore why the idea of aether keeps resurfacing across history, research, and spiritual traditions. From ancient philosophy to modern physics to conspiracy‑tinged “lost” inventions, aether sits right at the crossroads of curiosity and controversy.

🌬️ What We Cover in This Episode

Ancient Origins - This is where the mythic and the philosophical start to braid together.

We trace the concept back to its roots:

• The Greek idea of “The Upper Air”

• Aether as Spirit

• Plato, Aristotle, and The Timaeus

• The Pentagram and the five‑element system

Scientific Aether & the Age of Light - We explore:

• Isaac Newton’s belief in a luminiferous aether carrying light through the cosmos

• The Michelson–Morley experiment and why it didn’t detech aether.

• Einstein’s surprising role in both disproving the old aether and later reimagining it as the dynamic fabric of spacetime

Suppressed Science & Killer Patents - Inspired by The Why Files: Killer Patents Vol. 1, we look at:

• The 1951 Invention Secrecy Act

• Floyd Sweet’s device

• How energy inventions were denied patents.

• The mysterious deaths, destruction, revolving around these devices.

• The role of coal, petroleum, and industry in shaping what technologies get to exist

It’s a wild ride through the intersection of innovation, fear, and power.

Modern Physics & the Aether Question

We break down:

• David Bohm’s implicate order using the “folded/unfolded blanket” analogy

• The Double Slit Experiment and why it still blows minds

Peeking Behind the Veil

Could the implicate order explain hauntings, dreams, time travel, collective consciousness, past lives, demonic activity, or divination? We talk about emotional energy, trauma‑imprinted locations, and why some places feel “ripped open.”

Simulation Theory & the Divine - We explore how simulation theory unexpectedly loops back to the idea of God — or at least, some kind of organizing intelligence behind the curtain.

Nikola Tesla & Over‑Unity - We unpack Tesla’s “Over Unity Device” and why mainstream sources call it debunked

LET US KNOW: What do you think about aether? If you believe in its presence, how do you visualize it or draw upon it? Share your thoughts — we love hearing how listeners experience the unseen.

If you’re ready to step into the liminal space between science and spirit, this episode is your doorway. Welcome to Season 2.

In this episode, we take a moment to review our first year of podcasting before we close the door on Season One. You’ll hear some clips of our favorite moments this year mixed in with a good deal of recapping what we’ve learned and how we’ve grown. This is our time to figure out what worked for us and what drained our energy. Our conversation is filled with deep reflection into our personal fears, how we process the anxiety of putting ourselves out there, and what we’ve overcome in just a year.

We’re officially calling Season One The Year We Found Our Voice, because it’s the truest way to describe what this year has been for both of us. Finding your voice doesn’t happen overnight. It's a slow, tender process of pushing back against doubt and taking that first leap of faith. Growth comes with practice, and that’s more than okay.

We may have stumbled into Season One, but we’re ending it as stronger, more grounded, more confident women. Not perfect, and no longer trying to be, but fully ourselves in a way we weren’t at the beginning.

We also want to thank all the listeners who have supported us this year. We wouldn’t have made it to a year without you all. Stay tuned to the end to hear what Spotify awards Hex Haven Podcast received in 2025. The results shocked us both and we could not be more grateful for all the your support we’ve received in our debut year.

We’ve got a lot of exciting ideas coming at you in Season Two and we can’t wait to share them with you! We’re more motivated than ever to foster a community of curious thoughtful individuals who aren’t afraid to ask themselves the big questions.

Subscribe or follow to get notified when we release new episodes and join the community!
Check out our Patreon to get early access for just $1 a month.

Buckle up for this emotion packed episode where we unpack our reactions to our first local Hex Haven event! In December, we threw a winter solstice tarot party featuring friend of the pod, Dianna. Huge shout out to her for offering so many readings and sacrificing her own time and energy to provide her services. The company was great, the readings were enlightening, and the food was awesome.

In this episode, we start with Sharon’s emotional reaction to her reading. Here we unpack marriage and how a spiritual awakening can change the dynamic. Not only in a marriage, but with everyone around you. Sharon gets honest about communication and personal trauma and how it can make or break a relationship. She touches on how the cards assured her trust in herself and the strength of her bond with her husband.

Then we dive into some interviews with a few of our party guests that felt comfortable enough to share their experiences. Special thanks to Cari, Onyx, and Aiden for the interviews!

Finally, we dive into some strange happenings and energies Sharon has been experiencing and unpack why her magick seems to be a little kablooey lately. Is it residual energies from so many readings in one place? An attachment? Or a release of negative energy generated by shadow work and overextending herself? Stay tuned for the end of the episode to hear more and let us know in the comments what you think the root cause could be