In this week’s episode of Medium Rare, your spectral sleuths Claire and Duncan dust off the pages of a rare and long-forgotten gem: Spirit Messages (1901). Journey with us as we dive into the life and legacy of Mrs. Mayer, a powerful slate-writing medium who made waves in New York City’s spiritualist circles at the turn of the 20th century.

Renowned by professor Hiram Corson as "the most powerful of the slate-writing kind" he'd encountered, Mrs. Mayer played a pivotal role in forming spiritual connections most notably bringing together Corson's wife, Caroline Rollin Corson and the Spirit Band. Her mediumship would later inspire Corson’s housekeeper, Matilda Sjoegren, to explore her own psychic gifts, eventually becoming Corson's primary medium.

But Mrs. Mayer’s influence didn’t end t ...