The Modern Séance: The Spiritualist Movement Meets the Modern Ghost Hunt

There’s a stretch of human experience we love to dance around but rarely embrace: the unknown. It sits at the intersection of curiosity and fear, an intoxicating blend of mystery and doubt. And for one night, The Modern Séance dares you to step across that line—to confront the ethereal with your own hands, your own voice, and your own heartbeat, whether you believe or not.

Here’s the pitch: Picture a dimly lit room heavy with the scent of aged wood and candle wax. In one corner, a medium (in our case Kelly) and a circle of people are congregated around an old wooden table decorated with a collection of candles . Across the room, modern-day seekers huddle over glowing screens and sleek, buzzing devices—ghost-hunting equipment more likely to be found on a sci-fi set than a dusty séance table.

It’s tradition versus technology, belief versus skepticism, in a public event that’s one part spectacle, one part experiment, and all parts unforgettable.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Let’s talk about why you need to be there.

Where Mysticism Meets Curiosity

You might think you know what a séance is. It’s the stuff of Victorian drama—hands clasped tightly in a circle, eyes wide with fear, candles flickering ominously. You’re not entirely wrong. That’s where it began, at least in the Western imagination. Séances rose to prominence in the 19th century, part of a larger spiritualist movement that sought to connect the living with the dead.

And why not? Back then, mortality was everywhere—cholera epidemics, wars, child mortality rates we’d now call unthinkable. People longed for connection, for the comfort of knowing their loved ones weren’t entirely lost to the abyss.

But here’s the twist: the desire to reach across the void hasn’t faded. It’s just evolved. Today, we bring not only our hope but our tools—EMF readers, spirit boxes, and thermal imaging cameras. We ask the same questions, but now we want the answers to be quantifiable, captured in decibels, data points, and pixelated heat maps.

The Modern Séance is not just a nostalgia trip for believers. It’s a place where we, as humans, confront the oldest question with the newest tools: What happens when we die? And perhaps more importantly, are we ever truly alone?

An Evening to Remember

When you arrive at The Modern Séance, you’ll be greeted by something that feels halfway between a haunted house and an indie film set. The venue itself—a hand selected, haunted location with a history that will raise the hair on the back of your neck—sets the tone.

You’ll begin by choosing your experience.

Option 1: Traditional Séance

Sit at the table. Take a deep breath. Here, it’s all about surrender. Kelly and Chris will act as facilitators for this part but we want to leave it open to your participation as well. You’ll hold hands (yes, even with strangers), and we invite spirits to communicate. Knocks, whispers, flickering candles—every sound, every flicker of light will carry the weight of possibility.

For the skeptics, this is your chance to play anthropologist. What does belief look like up close? How does it feel when you’re part of the circle? Are you open to the idea that something—anything—might answer the call?

Option 2: Modern Ghost-Hunting

If sitting quietly isn’t your style, this is where you’ll want to be. We will arm you with state-of-the-art equipment: EMF detectors to sense electromagnetic fields, thermal cameras to track temperature anomalies, and spirit boxes designed to capture voices from beyond.

You’ll monitor the séance from the outside. Maybe you’ll catch a whisper—a soft, disembodied voice cutting through static. Maybe you’ll capture ashadow that shouldn’t be there. Or maybe, just maybe, you’ll leave with nothing but your own heartbeat echoing in your ears.

Either way, you’re part of the investigation. You’re the scientist, the skeptic, the believer, the storyteller.

A Night Beyond the Living

Let’s talk logistics. The event isn’t a free-for-all, despite how chaotic it might sound. Groups will rotate through each experience, ensuring everyone gets a chance to sit at the table and hold the gadgets. There’s no pressure to participate beyond your comfort level. In fact, part of the beauty of The Modern Séance is its inclusivity. This isn’t just for die-hard ghost hunters or people who binge-watch paranormal reality shows. It’s for the curious, the adventurous, the ones who want a story to tell over coffee on Monday morning.

There’s an intermission, of course, because even ghost hunting requires hydration and snacks. And during the break, you’ll have a chance to swap stories with fellow participants. Did someone feel a sudden chill? Hear a voice? See something out of the corner of their eye? Or is everyone trying to out-skeptic each other, explaining away every anomaly with science and logic?

That’s the magic of the night. Whether you leave convinced or unconvinced, you’ll leave changed.

The Humanity of Hauntings

Here’s the part where I get philosophical—because this isn’t just about ghosts, is it? It’s about us.

A séance, a ghost hunt, a flickering candle in a dark room—they’re all just mirrors. They reflect our hopes, our fears, our longing to make sense of the senseless. We want to believe there’s more, that we matter enough to leave a mark, even after we’re gone.

But it’s not just about life after death. It’s about connection. When we reach out to the spirits, we’re really reaching out to each other. In the circle, we’re holding hands with strangers, united by a shared vulnerability. In the ghost hunt, we’re collaborating, sharing tools and stories, searching for answers together.

That’s why The Modern Séance isn’t just an event; it’s an experience. It’s a reminder that whether or not the ghosts are real, the people around you are. And sometimes, that’s more comforting—or more terrifying—than anything supernatural.

Why You Shouldn’t Miss It

You can spend a Friday night doing what you always do. Netflix. Takeout. Scrolling through social media until your eyes blur. Or you can choose to step into something that feels alive, electric, and just a little dangerous.

The Modern Séance isn’t promising you’ll meet a ghost. But it is promising you’ll meet something unexpected—whether it’s a story, a shiver, or a side of yourself you didn’t know existed.

This is your chance to be part of something bigger. To question, to connect, to wonder. To sit in the flickering candlelight and feel, for just a moment, like the veil between worlds is thin enough to touch.

So, what’s it going to be? Another predictable weekend—or the chance to tell your grandchildren that, yes, you once sat at a séance table, called out to the spirits, and waited for a knock?

We’ll see you there. Bring your curiosity. And maybe a flashlight.