The Fox sisters' confession
On 21 October 1888, Margaret Fox appeared at the Academy of Music in New York City and demonstrated how she made rapping sounds.
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Wikipedia says that in 1888 the sisters Margaret (Maggie) and Kate Fox went to New York City. A reporter there offered them $1,500 for an exclusive if they exposed their methods. On 21 October 1888 Margaret appeared at the Academy of Music with Kate present. Wikipedia gives the audience as 2,000 people. It says she produced raps audible throughout the theatre at will, and that doctors came on stage and verified that the sound came from the cracking of her toe joints.
Smithsonian Magazine records that a newspaper, the New York World, ran an interview with Maggie that same day, ahead of her evening appearance, and says she would denounce Spiritualism in public. Mental Floss quotes a letter she sent to that paper. In it she said she had seen so much deception that she was willing to call Spiritualism a fraud.
"In 1888, the two sisters traveled to New York City, where a reporter offered $1,500 if they would expose their methods and give him an exclusive on the story. Margaretta appeared publicly at the New York Academy of Music on October 21, 1888, with Kate present.[14]: 89–111 Before an audience of 2,000, Margaret demonstrated how she could produce—at will—raps audible throughout the theater. Doctors from the audience came on stage to verify that the cracking of her toe joints was the source of the sound.[25][26][g]"
- The Teen Girls Who Talked to the Dead, Atlas Obscura (2015)
- The Rise and Fall of 5 Claimed Mediums, Mental Floss
- A Very Common Delusion: Spiritualism and the Fox Sisters, Smithsonian Magazine