()

"REAL" SEANCES

There are two different types of seances that magicians do. Both are meant to show that spiritualists and mediums are not actually speaking to the dead.

"Real" Seances are just that, an attempt - using means dictated by mediums and spiritualists - to contact Houdini. "Prop Seances" are magicians performing seances using magic tricks and medium methods. The effects are not revealed but it is understood that this is a magic (or spook) show because it is being done by a magician - not a medium.

This section deals with Real Seances. They are generally very short and usually involve a few items on a table, a call for Houdini, a moment of silence for Houdini to come through, and finally a conclusion that Houdini did not show. While these seances always fail (should one actually succeed it would be bigger than the moon landings), they reinforce the belief that mediums and spiritualism methods cannot contact the dead. They are not meant to be spiritual and may only last 5 or 10 minutes. They are an easy way to promote businesses and are essentially publicity stunts, but done in an atmosphere of seriousness - at least for 5 or 10 minutes - then refreshments are served and everyone celebrates the failure of the seance.

The Psychic Circle or seance Circle seems to be the one constant in most of the legit Houdini seance attempts. It has survived pretty much intact and so we felt that a little background be given on what is probably the one constant of the traditional seance and mediums of the past 100 years. In the 1930's instructions were released by Abbott's on how to have a "proper" psychic circle for a seance. We include this here as the reason that people join hands at a seance. The article below was from Cranston Seymour - known for analyzing the mechanisms behind spiritualism and psychic phenomena - who appeared as a guest columnist for about a year.

"A typical "psychic circle" might be found in the parlor of a house some evening, where friends and acquaintances are gathered to pursue entertainment and mystery. Where the members are somewhat known to each other, the work of the circle can be carried on to best advantage.

The importance of a common and mental sympathy, or what is sometimes referred to as "rapport", is not apt to be understood unless one understands the theory of magnetism. The primary objective of such a psychic circle is to combine and intensify the magnetic psychic influences from several persons so as to obtain more profound phenomena than are possible unaided. The subject of magnetism has been dealt with in previous articles and hence will not be elaborated here

An ideal circle consists of men and women alternating in a circle, with only dim light. The leader of the circle is preferably one who has already obtained rapport or mental sympathy with all of the members, and one in whom the members have a certain measure of respect and confidence. In most cases a magician functions as an ideal leader of a circle.

After the lights are dimmed, the sitters should be asked to grasp hands with their neighbors so as to form a complete link around the whole circle. The leader then suggests that everyone imagines a subtle fluid or current leaving his right hand and entering the left hand of his neighbor which he grasps. Thus, the group should seek to initiate a current of animal magnetism flowing around the circle in a counter - clockwise direction.

If the members are at all sensitive, and if the mood has first been properly established, soon various individuals will commence to describe sharp tingling and even prickling sensations in their hands and arms, or possibly they may feel a sort of warm, vibrant current coursing through their limbs.

After a time, the direction of current flow may be reversed, and some people may then recognize the magnetic current when they were unable to previously. When a flow of current has finally been established, the group is ready to commence experiments.

A circle is an indispensable part of most of the work of spiritualistic mediums, the medium apparently drawing energy from the circle. In a more general psychic circle, however, the circle doesn't function so much as a reservoir of energy from which the subject may draw, as it does an organized directing source of energy whose power aids and facilitates the work of the subject.

A psychic circle, then, is an instrument not only for developing the raw energy, so to speak, for psychic development, but also a means of coordinating the assistance of sympathetic persons in the pursuit of psychical objectives."

In the 5 subcategories above we have included key seances done in the past 99 years. All of these seances were covered by the press and, in most cases, were covered before and after (see our press section for some of the actual newspaper articles). So if it is publicity you seek, create a press release for the papers and the online media and include what you plan to do and why your seance is a little different than all the other seances. You are sure to get coverage!

One of the common themes of all Houdini seances is trying to have something personal from Houdini. Most people today do not have Houdini props in their basement but a perfect substitute is printing a copy of Houdini's signature for your seance. Autographs are collected world wide and Abbott's did have some records in their archive with Houdini's signature so we have scanned it for you below.