Become an investigator into demonstrations of Spiritualism!
During the Festival of Phantasmagoria, Mabry-Hazen House will host A Victorian Séance Experience inside the front parlors of the 1858 historic house.
Séances are ticketed and occur every 15 minutes starting at 6:30 pm.
Guests select a specific date and time to reserve a seat at the table. Each session is limited in size, and it is strongly recommended that tickets be purchased in advance.
All sitters must be age 10 or older. Sitters should arrive at least 15 minutes before their reservation.
These sessions use the traditional tools of the Victorian séance to educate about the history of Spiritualism. These séances are for educational and entertainment purposes. This is not a demonstration of mediumship or a way to contact the deceased. It is not recommended for the recently bereaved.
Service fees apply for online purchases. Payments with cash or check are available. Call 865-522-8661 to arrange payment during business hours.
Séance Seatings
As the evenings grow darker and the first hint of winter hangs in the air, the western world enters the season of the dead. It is a time when ghost stories, dark tales, and mysterious happenings rise up to help us understand death and the unexplained. Along with the historic house museum and family history, Mabry-Hazen House also preserves this darker history of Americans' experiences with death, burial, and Spiritualism. For the eighth year, Mabry-Hazen House will exhibit those macabre, yet fascinating cultural moments during their immersive A Victorian Séance Experience.
Under the guidance of a Victorian medium, the séances will reenact a nineteenth-century Spiritualist séance filled with “mysterious and startling wonders.” Joining their Victorian host, sitters will judge historic “demonstrations” of mediumship. Relying on primary sources from the nineteenth century, these sessions recreate a Victorian séance and give you an immersive experience to investigate them. Whether true manifestations of spirits or clever parlor tricks, sitters at the séances will experience this eerie, yet ubiquitous aspect of 19th-century American life.
These sessions use the traditional tools of the Victorian séance to educate about the history of Spiritualism. These séances are for educational and entertainment purposes. This is not a demonstration of mediumship or a way to contact the deceased. It is not recommended for the recently bereaved.
A Brief History of Spiritualism
In the early decades of Mabry-Hazen House’s history, Spiritualism, a new religious movement aimed at proving the immortality of the soul by communicating with the spirits of the dead, spread in popularity across the United States.
It gave many solace during a time of grief, for others proved a form of entertainment, and for some a livelihood earned from the credulous. In many peoples’ eyes, it even provided empirical proof of the immortality of the soul and life after death.
Claiming an ability to speak with the dead, mediums conducted séances for the curious and devout alike and ostensibly offered empirical evidence of manifestation of spirits. By 1897, spiritualism was said to have more than eight million followers in the United States and Europe, mostly drawn from the middle and upper classes.
Unfortunately, the height of the Spiritualist movement was riddled with cases of fraud. True believers and practitioners were often overshadowed by crooks and con artists who preyed on those who wanted to speak with their deceased loved ones. Although its popularity diminished, Spiritualism remains a vibrant religion today and inspired numerous other spiritual and religious movements. New age philosophies, theosophy, and present-day psychics and mediums trace their lineage to Spiritualism.
The Mabry-Hazen family were no strangers to Spiritualism. In 1868, Joseph A. Mabry attended séances performed by Spiritualist, Madame Mansfield. Evelyn Hazen, last descendant to live in Mabry-Hazen House, was a believer and practitioner of several offshoots of the Spiritualist religion and a small temporary exhibit will be on display showcasing artifacts from this theme.
Mabry-Hazen House may photograph or video visitors for educational and promotional purposes. Attendance to a Mabry-Hazen House event constitutes the attendee’s consent regarding the possibility of appearing in Museum marketing materials.
