Theatrical Séances

Theatrical Séances is that aspect of stage magic that pretends to contact the spirits of the dead.

Theatrical séances are usually performed in either total or partial darkness to set the mood for the performance and to hide the "behind-the-scenes" goings-on of the magician and his assistants. Performance-goers can be treated to a variety of magic tricks during a theatrical séance include examples of clairvoyance, ESP, precognition and telekinesis. Séances performers will often utilize ventriloquism, hypnotism, cold reading, warm reading, hot reading, secret confederates and many other theatrical and stage magic tricks to present the illusion they are in "contact with spirits."

Popular Examples of Theatrical Séances

Theatrical séances are very popular at Halloween and are offered for fright value. Private magic cabarets usually offer this type of performance including the [http://www.psychictheater.com/ Psychic Theater] in Scranton Poconos which offers theatrical séances year round. This is a full evening presentation of paranormal experiments such as mind reading, telekinesis, psycometry leading to the 7 steps to a seance, which concludes the presentation. It is currently the longest running performance of its type having started in 2003. [http://www.houdini.org/ The Houdini Museum] , in the same building, offers yearly séances but geared only towards specifically "contacting Houdini."

Los Angeles' Magic Castle has a separate room dedicated to theatrical séances. [http://www.magiccastle.com/visiting/seance.cfm] Their evening séance program entitled, "Demons" is a recreation of a Victorian-era séance replete with mediumistic staples such as table-rapping, slate (writing), spirit photography, eerie inexplicable sounds and many other "psychic" experiments.

History of Theatrical Séances

The spiritualist movement of the 1800s was created by charlatans who were familiar with spiritualistic and mediumistic stage magic including the Fox sisters, the Davenport Brothers, Mina Crandon and Eusapia Palladino. [skepdic.com] All of the these performers were exposed as frauds and/or ultimately admitted to fraud. In the 1920s, Harry Houdini launched a crusade against fraudulent mediums as a result of this movement. [Silverman, Kenneth. Houdini!!!: The Career of Ehrich Weiss. 1997.]

The Seybert Commission (1884-1887) was an early a group of respected academics from the University of Pennsylvania who investigated many renowned spiritualist mediums. They uncovered or suspected fraud in every case they examined. The Erasmus Foundation offers €10,000 for anyone who can successfully manifest any psychic or occult phenomena but no one has successfully passed their tests. The James Randi Foundation has offered US$1,000,000 for any verifiable example of psychic or occult ability. Though it has tested over 600 individuals, no one has been able to manifest any psychic or occult phenomena whatsoever. [http://www.randi.org/joom/challenge-info.html] In addition, James Randi's Project Alpha has exposed many occult charlatans.

Camp Chesterfield is a notorious, contemporary spiritualist center in Indiana. [ [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2843/is_2_26/ai_83585955 Undercover among the spirits: Investigating Camp Chesterfield - Investigative Files | Skeptical Inquirer | Find Articles at BNET ] ] It was the subject of M. Lamar Keene's 1976 infamous "exposé" "The Psychic Mafia". [ [http://skepdic.com/fordhoax.html Arthur Ford hoax ] ] Keene, who was formally employed as a spiritualist medium, openly admits that all spiritualist phenomena found in séances is nonsense especially that which is reported to have taken place in Camp Chesterfield. [ [http://skepdic.com/truebeliever.html true believer syndrome ] ] Currently, mediumistic performers like John Edward, Sylvia Browne and James Van Praagh can be seen plying their trade formerly on the Sci-Fi Channel and most recently on network television. [ [http://skepdic.com/medium.html medium ] ] (See: True-believer syndrome)

Ethics and Legality

It should be pointed out that theatrical séances are not meant to be "real" séances and are only seen as entertainment. Hence the adjective, "theatrical". Unfortunately, unscrupulous performers will avoid being clear with paying audience members. To be clear, a fake séance, that is, one that is planned and fabricated and uses contrivances, is a theatrical séance. If the séance leader is honest and admits his trickery, he is a theatrical performer. If not, he is a charlatan and a fraud. [ [http://www.intervalmagic.com/houdinimuseum.org/articles/1926_05.19.html Houdini in The New York Times, Hints of Seances at White House ] ]

Spiritualistic/mediumistic stage magicians involved in debunking fraudulent mediums will use theatrical séances in order to educate an otherwise gullible public.

The principle distinction between a séance performed by frauds and those performed for sincere purposes is primarily a matter of exchanged money. If money is exchanged for the opportunity to be present at a séance, it is meant merely for entertainment purposes. This is supported by the municipal orders in many localities including [http://www.miami-criminal-lawyer.net/html/fraud-offenses.html/ Florida] , [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/7354089.stm/ Great Britain] , [http://law.onecle.com/new-york/penal/PEN0165.35_165.35.html/ New York City] and [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2003/07/17/MN240405.DTL/ San Francisco] . Examples of fraudulent mediums include: Derek Acorah, Helen Duncan, Arthur Ford, Sylvia Browne, the Fox sisters, the Davenport Brothers, Mina Crandon and Eusapia Palladino.

Legitimate religions embracing a benevolent soteriology and offering a systematic theology and advanced and well-developed ethics that has a logically and morally consistent metaethics would not charge its adherents for "services rendered" especially for offering advice or catechism lessons. The above fortunetelling regulations only cover paid-for services. They aren't meant to attack spiritualism but only criminals who hope to fleece the vulnerable. [Hints of Séances at the White House. New York Times. May 19, 1926 • Page 26, Column 2 .]

Spiritualistic & Mediumistic Stage Magicians

*Eugene Berger
*John Nevil Maskelyne
*Harry Houdini "(prior to becoming a debunker of spiritualist frauds)"
*Dick Brooks
*Larry White
*Al Manson
*Rick Haslett
*Dixie Dooley
*Lee Earle
*Stuart Cumberland

References