"On the night of the first disturbance we all got up, lighted a candle and searched the entire house..."

In 1848, in a ramshackle farmhouse in Hydesville, N.Y., Kate and Maggie Fox decided to play a little trick on their parents. They made mysterious rapping noises with their toe bones and pretended to talk to spirits. What Kate and Maggie never could have expected is that they would launch a powerful religious movement that still thrives today. Under the strict control of their older sister Leah, the Fox Sisters became the "first and the best" in the Spiritualist Movement that would take America and Europe by storm.

That's the premise of a play, "Answering Spirits," that will be performed in February at North Seattle Community College's Stage One Theatre. The play, by Stephen Volk, will be directed by Susanna Burney and will feature the acting talents of Sarah Jones, Ali Crosier, Jay Berger, Bonnie Lykes and Natalie D. Jensen.

The play traces a 40-year career that started as a childish prank and took a disastrous personal toll. The play is a fascinating look at our unending search for spiritual enlightenment and its dangerous alchemy in the world of celebrity.

The show runs from February 18 through February 27th.

For more information, call North Seattle Community College at 526-0063. NSCC is located at 9600 College Way North in the Licton Springs neighborhood.