Life — April 26, 1923 — page 8: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "Disconnecting Eternity" - Life Magazine Satire This page satirizes the spiritualist craze of the early 20th century. The sketch shows people conducting séances to receive "Spirit Messages" via slate pencils and telegraph wires—a popular spiritualist practice. The article mocks how spiritualists claimed famous figures like Shakespeare, Darwin, and John Milton were communicating from beyond, dictating trivial or plagiarized content. The satire targets the Directors of spiritualist movements who, despite initial success, became "really annoyed" when the messages grew embarrassingly absurd (like setting sun oil prices). The headline "Disconnecting Eternity" suggests cutting off these phony otherworldly communications. The piece ridicules both the gullibility of spiritualist believers and the charlatans exploiting them for profit.