A Whole Town that Talks to Spirits?
A Whole Town that Talks to Spirits?
What if I told you there was a place where Victorian Spiritualism lives on?
I live in Cleveland, Ohio. In summers, I like to drive through the finger-lakes region of New York State—just a few hours away. But veer off the beaten tourist track a little bit, and you might just find yourself transported in time. Well. Sort of.
I have spent a bit of time studying the historical relationship between Victorian science, religion, and the occult, what was known as Spiritualism. Some quite famous people were ardent practitioners, including Arthur Conan Doyle (of Sherlock Holmes fame). Seances, table-rapping, ectoplasm photographs, and more rubbed shoulders with new x-ray technology and the study of atoms. And why not? If tiny particles like x rays could pass through a body made up on minuscule atomic particles, maybe ghosts were real, too. That, at least, was the thinking in the 1900s. But in Lily Dale, NY, the view persists. It’s the home of the Lily Dale Assembly of Light, which still regards communication with the dead as possible—and yes, even scientific. Whether you believe or not, it’s still an absolutely fascinating history. And Jill Tracy, a musician, had just spent the last year and some writing music while in those haunted environs. She joins us on Thursday, Feb 23, at 7pm for an immersive experience of music and spirit.
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