Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Becoming Eusapia: The rise of the “Diva of Scientists”

2020; Cambridge University Press; Volume: 33; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1017/s026988972100020x

1474-0664

Francesco Paolo de Ceglia, Lorenzo Leporiere,

Psychedelics and Drug Studies

Argument Eusapia Palladino (1854-1918) is remembered as one of the most famous mediums in the history of spiritualism. Renowned scientists attended her séances in Europe and in the United States. They often had to admit to being unable to understand the origin of the phenomena produced. Cesare Lombroso, for example, after meeting Eusapia, was converted first to mediumism, then spiritualism. This article will retrace the early stages of her career as a medium and shed light on the way she managed to gain the attention of scientists. It will also show why they chose her as an epistemic object.