Calling in company

By 1853, when the popular song “Spirit Rappings” was published, Spiritualism was an object of intense curiosity in New England.

“For a night when sleep eludes you, I have,
At last, found the formula. Try to summon

All those ever known who are dead now, and soon
It will seem they are there in your room, not chairs enough

For the party, or standing space even….’’

From “Better Than Counting Sheep,’’ by Robert Penn Warren (1905-1989), celebrated poet, novelist and critic, a Kentucky native, he lived the latter part of his life in Connecticut and Vermont