Kat O’Dell

Kat O’Dell

Meet Kat (she/they) 

Katherine O’Dell, a Louisville native, is one-half of the creative duo behind Derby City Midnight. Kat is an artist across multiple disciplines, as well as a researcher and designer. Derby City Midnight is a self-published periodical full of found, archival, and community materials centered around lesser known, esoteric, and strange entries in Kentucky History.  

Kat’s Project 

Currently, the Derby City Midnight team is working to examine the roots and subsequent transformations and manifestations of the Modern (19th and 20th century) Spiritualist movement as it occurred within the state of Kentucky. Particularly, how Spiritualism in Kentucky blended elements of Christian Mysticism, Shaker culture, Revivalism, psychic mediumship, and burgeoning pseudo-scientific methods. We are researching a range of religious organizations and trends from Revivalist Evangelical churches to fringe and insular religious communities. We are also looking at how Native American, African, and Germanic magical traditions, as well as early Appalachian folklore all intersected to inform growing Spiritualist communities in the Commonwealth. Many of these concepts and practices would now be considered occult or esoteric, but we endeavor to show, through storytelling, the long and legitimate history of spiritual engagement beyond the earthly realm, and its connection with the communities that held these beliefs. This research will culminate in a special issue of Derby City Midnight, as well as a storytelling event with visual aids and music to help bring to life some of the compelling stories we find.  

Check out Derby City Midnight’s website here: www.derbycitymidnight.com