Welcome
I don’t know about you, but I’ve found myself thinking a lot about how we’re living right now in a moment that will be heavily studied, considered and examined by future generations. Between the global pandemic, the varied response to it around the world, the protest movements that have emerged in the middle of it, the continuing political changes and challenges, 2020 will be a long chapter at the very least.
And so I’ve been thinking a lot about whether history will judge us kindly or not. In these pages we haven’t shied away from passing judgement on historical figures. We don’t always give them the benefit of the doubt or judge them by their contemporary standards. We try to call it as we see it and I wouldn’t expect anything less from future historians. It’s a reminder to always try to do what you can, make choices empathetically and live up to the best version of yourself.
All of which has little to do with this month’s issue, unless I contort myself into making some analogy about being haunted by ghosts of Christmas future or something. We’re taking a dive into the macabre this issue, but in a hopefully fun way as we explore Victorian spiritualism. The occult craze that swept the Western world was a peculiar one that brings up a lot of intriguing stories and odd tales. I hope you enjoy reading that and the rest of the issue, as always.
Jonathan Gordon
Editor