Life — April 17, 1931 — page 6: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "Spirit Messages, and What Of It?" by Don Herold This satire mocks the spiritualist craze of the early 20th century. The article ridicules séances and spirit communication, suggesting spiritualists are either frauds or delusional—they're too busy receiving trivial "messages" to provide genuine insight. The cartoon depicts angels in heaven receiving a message request from "Mr. Brown" (a spiritualist on earth) via "Terre Haute" (likely referencing spiritualist activity in that Indiana city). One angel appears confused or indifferent, suggesting heaven has better things to do than relay greeting messages. The satire targets spiritualism's absurdity: grown adults spending resources on elaborate rituals to contact the dead, only to receive mundane communications like "Tell Frank to give my love to Nora."