The Secrets of the Séance Society: Illustrated True Stories of Talking to the Dead

A gorgeous and delightfully spooky compendium of famous (and infamous) spiritual mediums who communicate with the dead. Plus, it includes an entertaining and instructive medium's manual and usable Ouija board!

From the author-illustrator of the bestselling The League of Lady Poisoners, this lavishly illustrated treasury considers these haunting questions: What are spirits? Where can we find them? And how can we contact them? In answer, Lisa Perrin recounts, with respectful sincerity and a healthy dose of humor--complemented by clever Victorian-inspired portraits, icons, and lettering--the advent of Spiritualism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The book spotlights the era's larger-than-life characters who, unlike many Spiritualist mediums who shared their gifts privately with clients, found their way onto stages and into newspaper headlines, and ultimately explores the deeper question of why the living world is endlessly trying to connect with the dead.

• Learn about the Fox sisters and the birth of Spiritualism, when the sisters claimed to hear tapping, knocking, and rapping from a spirit of a peddler whose body had been buried in their cellar.
• Explore the outrageous occurrences at mediums' seances, such as the disembodied four-fingered hand that emerged from under the table of the Schneider brothers to play a musical instrument placed on the floor.
• Traverse through the disintegration of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Harry Houdini's friendship due to their famously differing opinions on the topic of spirits.
• Delve into Perrin's documentation of celebrities, investigators, fraudsters, reformers, and rebels of the age, and her knowledgeable overview of Spiritualism's path that continues to stretch into modern culture.

Fascinating and fearsome all at once, this thrilling survey of mediums and their historical context will delight any reader who enjoys exploring the world beyond the veil. Through all the myths and legends, there is comfort to be found in the effort to contact the dead, for it is, at heart, time spent thinking about them and honoring their memories.

INTERACTIVE ELEMENTS: A medium's manual walks you through all the tools a medium needs and includes instructions on how to hold a proper Victorian séance, should you want to try to commune with spirits at home (at your own risk!). There is also an illustrated Ouija board and removable planchette for a more interactive paranormal experience.

GHOSTS NEVER DIE: Powerhouse author-illustrator Lisa Perrin is a perfect fit for this popular topic, offering an animated guide to communing with spirits that plays into our cultural obsession with the paranormal and occult, and also pokes a little understanding fun at it.

IRRESISTIBLE GIFT: Perrin's beautiful and distinctive art style perfectly captures the romantic allure of the afterlife and the urge to commune with the dead. Her irreverent voice makes this an especially fun read for all those drawn to the exquisitely macabre. Packaged in a bedecked hardcover as glorious as her first book, this makes an irresistible gift for fans of shows like Wednesday and Stranger Things, murder mystery readers, and true-crime podcast listeners.

Perfect for:

• Fans of ghost stories, true crime, and all things paranormal/occult
• People interested in spiritualism and other methods of contacting the dead
• Admirers of Victoriana and the golden age of Spiritualism
• Fans of Lisa Perrin's beautiful illustration and readers who loved The League of Lady Poisoners
• Shoppers looking for a unique spooky gift
• Fans of Living for the Dead, The Haunting of Hill House, Wednesday, and other spooky stories and popular media

Author: Lisa Perrin
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Published: 09/22/2026
Pages: 216
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.76lbs
Size: 10.15h x 7.51w x 0.89d
ISBN: 9781797235622

About the Author
Lisa Perrin is an award-winning illustrator, designer, entrepreneur, and educator. She is a professor in the Illustration department at MICA, and her work has been recognized by The Society of Illustrators, American Illustration, 3X3 magazine, and PRINT magazine. Her first book, The League of Lady Poisoners, came out in 2023. Based in Baltimore, Perrin can often be found obsessively artmaking and imbuing her life with unfettered whimsy. Her work explores the old world in a new way, combining humor with darkness and beauty with strangeness.