Fox, Margaret (1833–1893)

Canadian-born US spiritual medium. With her sister Katherine, she became famous for her psychic ability. The girls gave public demonstrations of their powers, sparking widespread public interest in spiritualism as a modern religious movement. In 1888 Margaret publicly confessed that her ‘psychic powers’ were a hoax.

Brought up in New York State, USA, the sisters moved to New York City 1850 and claimed to be able to communicate with ‘departed spirits’ from an early age.