The séance was the most effective way, according to Spiritualist
mediums, of communicating with the dead. In this manner, messages from the departed could be passed on to the living and the
spirits could announce their presence by manifesting displays of the supernatural.
To begin, the lights
were normally turned down very low or extinguished altogether. The reason for this, Spiritualists believed, was that spirit
forms were more easily seen in the darkness. Often they manifested as luminous apparitions or would cause things to move about
in ways that would only be done if it could remain unseen. Debunkers and sceptics, of course, offered other reasons for this
-- that darkened conditions would hide the deceptive practice of fraud.
The sitters were normally divided
equally by gender. A circular arrangement of chairs worked best, normally around a large table. Their hands were placed flat
on the table, sometimes clasped together or merely with their fingers touching.
There were a number of unwritten
rules for séances as well. Usually, no more than two or three séances were held in a week and they were to last
for no more than two hours unless the spirits asked for an extension. Sitters were not allowed to touch the mediums or any
of the manifested spirits, unless the spirits touched them first. It was believed that to come into contact with the medium,
one of the manifested forms or the ectoplasm that might be generated by the medium during her trance, could severely injure
the medium or perhaps the sitter. In addition, a sudden return to consciousness caused by interfering with the medium could
cause illness, insanity or even death.
Another vital ingredient for a successful séance was appropriate music. Most
sittings opened with hymns or prayers and on many reported occasions, the spirits chimed in with ghostly music and the creation
of melodies though instruments like trumpets, horns and tambourines.
The furnishings of the séance
room were normally simple and made of wood. Small tables were often needed for tilting and tapping by the spirits and sitters
were normally provided with basic wooden chairs. Many physical mediums also made use of what were called spirit cabinets,
an enclosure where the medium could be segregated while entering the trance state. Many of the cabinets were actual wood enclosures,
although it was more common for a corner of the room to be hung with a curtain and closed.
We have been running Victorian Séance nights since 1998 in the Cotswolds and since 1994
at the Creaky Cauldron in Henley Street where we have a genuine Spirit Cabinet in addition to an antique Ouija and Séance
table. So you know you'll be in safe hands.
