In the 19th century, Americans’ fascination with the occult made fortune tellers and mediums common entertainment at fairs, lecture halls and private parties. Newspapers across the country carried stories of remarkable psychic predictions and spirit manifestations. Journalists also regularly exposed practitioners as frauds, but this did little to temper the faith of true believers. In […]
Con artists
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Humbuggery in Humboldt, Part 1
“We have been told that Eureka is the best town for fakirs on the coast and it is a ‘good thing’ as any first-class fakir will testify who has tried it.” — The Daily Standard, March 8, 1900 Though technology has evolved, human nature has not. Like today’s confidence men and women, scammers of Humboldt’s […]