Spiritualism emerged in western New York in 1848 and soon achieved a wide following due to its claim that the living could commune with the dead. In Haunted Visions: Spiritualism and American Art, Charles Colbert focuses on the ways Spiritualism imbued the making and viewing of art with religious meaning and, in doing so, draws fascinating connections between art and faith in the Victorian age. Examining the work of such well-known American artists as James Abbott McNeill Whistler, William Sydney Mount, and Robert Henri, Colbert demonstrates that Spiritualism played a critical role in the evolution of modern attitudes toward creativity. He argues that Spiritualism made a singular contribution to the sanctification of art that occurred in the latter half of the nineteenth century. The faith maintained that spiritual energies could reside in objects, and thus works of art could be appreciated not only for what they illustrated but also as vessels of the psychic vibrations their creators impressed into them. Such beliefs sanctified both the making and collecting of art in an era when Darwinism and Positivism were increasingly disenchanting the world and the efforts to represent it. In this context, Spiritualism endowed the artist's profession with the prestige of a religious calling; in doing so, it sought not to replace religion with art, but to make art a site where religion happened.

The delicious horror of Ransom Riggs and the sass of Mean Girls meets Titanic in this follow-up to the #1 New York Times bestseller How to Hang a Witch, in which a contemporary teen finds herself a passenger on the famous “ship of dreams”—a story made all the more fascinating because the author’s own relatives survived the doomed voyage. Samantha Mather knew her family’s connection to the infamous Salem Witch Trials might pose obstacles to an active social life. But having survived one curse, she never thought she’d find herself at the center of a new one. This time, Sam is having recurring dreams about the Titanic . . . where she’s been walking the deck with first-class passengers, like her aunt and uncle. Meanwhile, in Sam’s waking life, strange missives from the Titanic have been finding their way to her, along with haunting visions of people who went down with the ship. Ultimately, Sam and the Descendants, along with some help from heartthrob Elijah, must unravel who is behind the spell that is drawing her ever further into the dream ship . . . and closer to sharing the same grim fate as its ghostly passengers. Praise for How to Hang a Witch: “It’s like Mean Girls meets history class in the best possible way.” —Seventeen “Mather shines a light on the lessons the Salem Witch Trials can teach us about modern-day bullying—and what we can do about it.” —Bustle.com “Strikes a careful balance of creepy, fun, and thoughtful.” —NPR “I am utterly addicted to Adriana Mather’s electric debut. It keeps you on the edge of your seat, twisting and turning with ghosts, witches, an ancient curse, and—sigh—romance. It’s beautiful. Haunting. The characters are vivid and real. I. Could. Not. Put. It. Down.” —Jennifer Niven, bestselling author of All the Bright Places

As Jewel Seymour crawled into bed with exhaustion taken a toll on her youthful body, no sooner did her head hit the pillow than the dreams begin to emerge. She dreamed of a land of beauty; a tropical island beach in the Caribbean with serene, white sands. While walking along the beach, Jewel could smell the ocean seawater and feel the humidity that comes with it. The setting sun felt warm on her face. Her thoughts were of peace and harmony, although it was soon interrupted by the figure of a young girl nearing her. Jewel was certain she recognized the young girl as Elizabeth Laddle, but this only alarmed her. Jewel's smile quickly disappeared. A thick fog coming off the ocean seemed to creep up over her feet, soon covering her knees. Once the fog enveloped the entire lower half of her body, Jewel experienced a renewed sense of fear, which she hadn't felt since she was a child. The approaching girl was no more than sixteen. Once Elizabeth was about three feet away, she opened her mouth to let a swarm of flies pour out of it. Jewel instinctively raised her arms to avoid the teeming insects and shielded her face, which action she mimicked in her sleep. She woke up with a start. Gasping for air, as though she were drowning in the ocean, her heart racing, beads of sweat pearled across her forehead. Jewel knew that this dream was another premonition of what was to come. Jewel sat up in bed and turned on the night lamp. She threw a glance at the alarm clock. Two-thirty in the morning! This was not a good night's rest. She turned off the light, trying to go back to sleep. At the age of thirty-one, Jewel felt that her nightmares should have been a thing of the past, but apparently they weren't. She was very aware that she had her own secret weapon, however. Yes, a secret weapon that would help save yet another young girl's life. With that thought, Jewel tried to focus on saving lives. She also knew that the dream was a premonition of yet more murders, for the spirit world usually warned her of what was to come. Thoughts of impending doom were on her mind, but with determination, Jewel brought her thoughts back to the serene scene of beaches before she finally surrendered to sleep once again.

As Jewel Seymour crawled into bed with exhaustion taken a toll on her youthful body, no sooner did her head hit the pillow than the dreams begin to emerge. She dreamed of a land of beauty; a tropical island beach in the Caribbean with serene, white sands. While walking along the beach, Jewel could smell the ocean seawater and feel the humidity that comes with it. The setting sun felt warm on her face. Her thoughts were of peace and harmony, although it was soon interrupted by the figure of a young girl nearing her. Jewel was certain she recognized the young girl as Elizabeth, but this only alarmed her. Jewel's smile quickly disappeared. A thick fog coming off the ocean seemed to creep up over her feet, soon covering her knees. Once the fog enveloped the entire lower half of her body, Jewel experienced a renewed sense of fear, which she hadn't felt since she was a child. The approaching girl was no more than sixteen. Once Elizabeth was about three feet away, she opened her mouth to let a swarm of flies pour out of it. Jewel instinctively raised her arms to avoid the teeming insects and shielded her face, which action she mimicked in her sleep. She woke up with a start. Gasping for air, as though she were drowning in the ocean, her heart racing, beads of sweat pearled across her forehead. Jewel knew that this dream was another premonition of what was to come. Jewel sat up in bed and turned on the night lamp. She threw a glance at the alarm clock. Two-thirty in the morning! This was not a good night's rest. She turned off the light, trying to go back to sleep. At the age of thirty-one, Jewel felt that her nightmares should have been a thing of the past, but apparently they weren't. She was very aware that she had her own secret weapon, however. Yes, a secret weapon that would help save yet another young girl's life. With that thought, Jewel tried to focus on saving lives. She also knew that the dream was a premonition of yet more murders, for the spirit world usually warned her of what was to come. Thoughts of impending doom were on her mind, but with determination, Jewel brought her thoughts back to the serene scene of beaches before she finally surrendered to sleep once again.

As Jewel Seymour crawled into bed with exhaustion taken a toll on her youthful body, no sooner did her head hit the pillow than the dreams begin to emerge. She dreamed of a land of beauty; a tropical island beach in the Caribbean with serene, white sands. While walking along the beach, Jewel could smell the ocean seawater and feel the humidity that comes with it. The setting sun felt warm on her face. Her thoughts were of peace and harmony, although it was soon interrupted by the figure of a young girl nearing her. Jewel was certain she recognized the young girl as Elizabeth, but this only alarmed her. Jewel's smile quickly disappeared. A thick fog coming off the ocean seemed to creep up over her feet, soon covering her knees. Once the fog enveloped the entire lower half of her body, Jewel experienced a renewed sense of fear, which she hadn't felt since she was a child. The approaching girl was no more than sixteen. Once Elizabeth was about three feet away, she opened her mouth to let a swarm of flies pour out of it. Jewel instinctively raised her arms to avoid the teeming insects and shielded her face, which action she mimicked in her sleep. She woke up with a start. Gasping for air, as though she were drowning in the ocean, her heart racing, beads of sweat pearled across her forehead. Jewel knew that this dream was another premonition of what was to come. Jewel sat up in bed and turned on the night lamp. She threw a glance at the alarm clock. Two-thirty in the morning! This was not a good night's rest. She turned off the light, trying to go back to sleep. At the age of thirty-one, Jewel felt that her nightmares should have been a thing of the past, but apparently they weren't. She was very aware that she had her own secret weapon, however. Yes, a secret weapon that would help save yet another young girl's life. With that thought, Jewel tried to focus on saving lives. She also knew that the dream was a premonition of yet more murders, for the spirit world usually warned her of what was to come. Thoughts of impending doom were on her mind, but with determination, Jewel brought her thoughts back to the serene scene of beaches before she finally surrendered to sleep once again.

Jewel Seymour must investigate yet another mysterious disappearance of a teenager, Tina Miles. She disappeared only minutes from her school without further clues. The local police hadn't been able to locate her so Jewel was called upon to help. Jewel Seymour was led on the trail by spirits to seek 'their' help to solve the mystery. However, when the police do get embroiled into the case, Jewel's world becomes entangled with corruption, deception, and mistrust, where she becomes suspicious of her own close associates. Jewel must learn with whom she can trust in order to solve the case of the missing teen before she too ends up joining the spirit world!