It may conjure up images of seances in gaslit parlours, but the impact of Covid-19 is fuelling a 21st-century revival of spiritualism.
The idea that the living could communicate with the dead became hugely popular about a century ago after the Great War and the Spanish influenza outbreaks, which took tens of millions of lives.
Now the impact of the latest pandemic is once again causing people to ponder their mortality and attempt to contact lost loved ones.
The Spiritualists’ National Union (SNU) has seen a surge of interest in its activities in the past year.
“In the very first month of lockdown applications for membership increased by 325 per cent,” said Steven Upton, its spokesman.
“In their normal daily routine people are extremely busy
