Enchanted Ground: The Spirit Room of Jonathan Koons

by Sharon Hatfield

In Enchanted Ground, Sharon Hatfield brings to life the true story of a nineteenth-century farmer-turned-medium, Jonathan Koons, one of thousands of mediums throughout the antebellum United States. In the hills outside Athens, Ohio, Koons built a house where it was said the dead spoke to the living, and where ancient spirits communicated the wisdom of the ages. Curious believers, in homespun and in city attire, traveled from as far as New Orleans to a remote Appalachian cabin whose marvels would rival any of P. T. Barnum’s attractions. Yet Koons’s story is much more than showmanship and sleight of hand. His enterprise, not written about in full until now, embodied the excitement and optimism of citizens breaking free from societal norms. Reform-minded dreamers were drawn to Koons’s seances as his progressive brand of religion displaced the gloomy Calvinism of previous generations. As heirs to the Second Great Awakening, which stretched from New York State to the far reaches of the Northwest Territory, the curious, the faithful, and Koons himself were part of a larger, uniquely American moment that still marks the cultural landscape today.

360 pages, Hardcover

Published November 8, 2018

Reviews

[John Thorndike · Rating 5 out of 5]

On the surface, Enchanted Ground presents a vivid history of séances, spiritualism and religious innovation in the second half of the 19th Century, all centered on the Jonathan Koons farm in Athens County, Ohio. Slightly buried in the text, but even more fascinating, is the eternal question about such séances and visits by spiritual beings: how much of it is genuine, and how much is chicanery?

Hatfield presents the debate from the point of view of those who attended such sessions. When a spirit’s voice spoke through a trumpet in a dark room, or a variety of musical instruments played, or a message on a piece of paper, with the ink still wet, fluttered into the hands of someone in the audience—who had made this happen? A thousand-year-old spirit? The medium, or other members of his or her family? In some period accounts, ghostly arms tap people on the hand or shoulder, or tiny lights flash near the ceiling, even while the medium is tied to a chair. Koons and other spiritualists were almost all deeply religious, and while their offerings aren’t as dramatic as the parting of the Red Sea, many seem quite devotional.

What does the author believe? Her Afterword is wonderfully balanced, and though it’s something of a spoiler, let me quote from the final pages. After agreeing with an 1850's spiritualist that the Koonses were a mixture of gold and dross, Hatfield writes, “Even if one concludes that many of the séance manifestations were akin to magic tricks, the role of telepathy and remote viewing in the various Koons phenomena cannot be ruled out.”

Along the way, no matter what we believe, we’re given a fascinating portrait of a widespread religious movement. There were thousands of spiritualist mediums in the U.S. in the 1850s, and hundreds of them, from east, west and even out of the country, came to the fabled Spirit Room of Jonathan Koons. He charged nothing to attend his sessions, and often provided room and board to his visitors. He was a self-educated farmer and family man, honored by some, doubted by others, and written about by many. Somehow, though I live only three miles from the Koons farm below Mt. Nebo, I knew almost nothing of this story—and how glad I am that I found this remarkable book.

[Izzadorah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a bit hard to get through, but it was really informative and I definitely want to give it credit for that. This would be the perfect book if you want to do a deep dive into Jonathan Koons' life and the spiritualism movement in early American history, but if this is just a somewhat interesting topic to you then you will probably find it a little boring and tedious to get through. Still interesting, just a bit too dense for what I was wanting

[Marta Mills · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sharon Hatfield plucked a somewhat-known figure from southeastern Ohio and developed the historical and social context around him to show the importance of Jonathan Koons as a leader of the spiritualist movement in the antebellum period. Through use of telling details, Hatfield breaths life into Koons’s character and drops us into the rough living of the newly settled Appalachian foothills. Is the poor farmer who conducts night-time shows for visitors to his small, remote log cabin really channeling ancient spirits or is it sleight of hand? Hatfield doesn’t say, but presents the reactions of believers and skeptics alike.

[Catherine Hines · Rating 1 out of 5]

I hesitate to admit this, but I'm am a distant relative of Jonathan Koontz' which is why I bought this book. It's satisfying my curiosity, if nothing else.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full of fascinating information with an easily accessible narrative. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and would encourage others to do the same, as it is both informative and engaging.