Join Us In Person

Join us for an evening conversation with Dr. Mark Benbow, a Wilsonian scholar, in the historic drawing room at the President Woodrow Wilson House Museum.

As kids, did you play with a Ouija Board, or hold a séance with your friends, especially around Halloween? Such spooky games were popular in Wilson’s time as well. But they also were taken seriously by many as part of the Spiritualism movement, which dates back to before the Civil War in this country. Wilson, his wife Ellen, and their three daughters enjoyed playing with a Ouija Board. After his death, Wilson’s second wife, Edith, held séances in her S Street home to try to contact her late husband after his death in 1924. Other prominent Washingtonians also held séances hosted by popular local mediums.

In this spooky-season talk, Wilsonian specialist Dr. Mark Benbow will explore the Wilson family's relationship with Spiritualism, both as a serious religious movement, and its inclusion of family-friendly, but eerie games. A selection of Wilson House collection objects relating to the talk will be on display before the lecture.

Dr. Mark Benbow recently retired as Associate Professor of American History at Marymount University. He earned his Ph.D. from Ohio University, and from 1987 - 2002 he worked in the Directorate of Intelligence in the Central Intelligence Agency. From 2003 - 2006 Benbow was Historian for the Woodrow Wilson House Museum in Washington, DC.

Benbow has published three books to date: "Leading Them to the Promised Land: Woodrow Wilson, Covenant Theology, and the Mexican Revolution: 1913-1915" (2010), "The Nation's Capital Brewmaster: Christian Heurich and His Brewery, 1842-1956" (2017), and "Woodrow Wilson’s Wars: Woodrow Wilson as Commander in Chief" (2022). His articles on Wilson and his era have appeared in multiple scholarly journals, and he has published essays in books on Wilson, on American foreign policy, and in specialized reference works. He is currently mulling over possibly writing a book on Woodrow Wilson and his love of cinema.

Duration

Program is 60 minutes | Doors open at 6pm

Admission

$15 per person
Registration required - Limited seating.