Major funding for backstory is provided by an anonymous donor, the National Endowment

for the Humanities and the Joseph and Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation.

From Virginia Humanities, this is Baxbury.

Welcome to Baxbury, the show that explains the history behind today's headlines.

I'm Joanne Freeman.

If you're new to the podcast, each week my colleagues Brian Ballot, Ed Ayers, Nathan

Connelly, and I explore a different aspect of American history.

Now October 31st is lurching towards us like a zombie stalking the nighttime streets.

So many are decorating their haunted houses and stalking up on candy in preparation for

one of America's favorite holidays, Halloween.

A testament to its enduring popularity.

Halloween spending is expected to top $8.8 billion this year, according to a 2019 survey

by the National Retail Federation.

So today on the show, as ghosts and ghouls of all ages get ready to descend on neighborhoods

across the country, we're digging into the archives and bringing you our spookiest

segments.

You'll find out how one man made a fortune off photographs that allegedly captured spirits

from the other side.

And you'll learn how Edgar Allen posed horror stories reflected 19th century fears of

slave insurrection.

But first, we're going to begin in the 19th century when the idea that the living could

commune with the dead turned into a full-fledged American religion.

...