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Victorian séance diaries record claims that deceased artists and people in their circles communicated through mediums—but they do not prove that the dead literally returned. The strongest documented example is William Michael Rossetti’s record of twenty séances from 1865 to 1868, including reported communications connected with Elizabeth Siddal and Gabriele Rossetti.
What was Victorian spiritualism?
From the mid-nineteenth century, spiritualism became a popular, controversial movement in Britain. Its practices included table turning and spirit writing, as well as séances in which participants sought communication with the dead. The Oxford University Museum of Natural History notes that people from varied backgrounds—including scientists, writers, artists and royalty—took part; some hoped that scientific investigation could explain the phenomena they encountered. Oxford University Museum of Natural History, “Presenting… Victorian Spiritualism”
That interest did not mean everyone agreed about what a séance demonstrated. Historian Peter Lamont describes a Victorian “crisis of evidence”: reports of mediums’ apparent powers were contested, and observers disagreed about how to interpret them. The question was not simply whether a person believed or disbelieved, but what evidence could distinguish a supernatural explanation from other possibilities. Peter Lamont, “Spiritualism and a Mid-Victorian Crisis of Evidence”
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Which artists were said to communicate after death?
The best-documented case in this account comes from the Pre-Raphaelite circle. William Michael Rossetti kept a diary describing twenty séances held between 1865 and 1868. The gatherings involved artists and friends, and included mediums Mary Marshall and Elizabeth Guppy. A 2022 scholarly edition presents the diary and discusses reported appearances of deceased figures including Elizabeth Siddal and Gabriele Rossetti. These are reports preserved in the diary and interpreted by its editors—not independently confirmed appearances. Royal Holloway, University of London, 2022; J. B. Bullen, Rosalind White and Lenore A. Beaky, Pre-Raphaelites in the Spirit World: The Séance Diary of William Michael Rossetti
Elizabeth Siddal and Gabriele Rossetti
One séance described in the diary took place in February 1866, four years after Elizabeth Siddal’s death. Siddal was the artist and poet who had been married to Dante Gabriel Rossetti; Gabriele Rossetti was the Rossetti family’s father. The diary’s reports connect both deceased figures with séance communications. The historical evidence establishes that participants recorded or discussed such claims, not that either person was present.
The picture sent to George Rae
A recorded exchange offers a glimpse of how participants assessed a medium’s answers. Dante Gabriel Rossetti had sent a picture to his patron George Rae. During a séance, Elizabeth Guppy reportedly answered questions about Rae and said the picture was in his drawing room. William Michael Rossetti then asked whether she had been away looking into Rae’s house; the recorded answer was “Yes.” This is an account of what was said at a séance, not independent verification that Guppy had paranormal knowledge or had inspected the house by supernatural means. J. B. Bullen, Victorian Web
What does the diary prove—and what does it not?
A diary can be valuable evidence of what its author and companions recorded, believed, questioned or found persuasive. It cannot, by itself, establish that a spirit supplied an answer. In the Rae episode, for example, the account preserves a claim about the picture’s location and the participants’ follow-up question; it does not provide independent corroboration of how the answer was obtained.
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The diary is therefore strongest as a window into the Rossetti circle’s engagement with spiritualism and into the ways séance claims were made and examined. It is not proof that famous painters routinely returned from the dead, nor does it settle the truth of supernatural explanations.
Was William Blake part of the same séance story?
Not in the same period or sense. Accounts of William Blake’s visionary heads link them to sessions with John Varley around 1819–20—decades before the 1865–68 Rossetti diary. Blake’s visions belong to an earlier, distinct context; they should not be folded into claims about Victorian mediums communicating with deceased artists. Blake reference
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Where to read the diary
Pre-Raphaelites in the Spirit World: The Séance Diary of William Michael Rossetti, edited by J. B. Bullen, Rosalind White and Lenore A. Beaky, presents the diary alongside a related 1856 letter from Anna Mary Howitt. It is a useful source for readers who want to examine the historical record and its editorial context; its publication does not verify the séance claims. Book record and scholarly edition
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