Will You Sit at the Table? The Thrill of a Victorian Séance

An Invitation Into the Unknown

The room is dimly lit. Candles flicker in the draught. Shadows gather in the corners, as though waiting. Around the table, hands clasp in uneasy silence. A breath is held, a question whispered, and then, without warning, the table trembles.

Would you sit at the table? Would you dare to join the company of those who believe the veil can part, if only for a moment?

This was the question posed to countless men and women of the Victorian age, when séances gripped Britain with a strange and unshakable fascination. A century later, the allure remains. This Halloween in Aberdeenshire, you are invited to rediscover the mystery for yourself. But before you take your seat, let’s journey back to the candlelit parlours of the past, where wonder, fear, and curiosity first gathered.

The Allure of the Victorian Séance

The 19th century was an age of contradictions. Industry was booming, science marched forward with electricity and evolution, yet alongside these advances came an obsession with ghosts, spirits, and the afterlife. For many Victorians, the séance was not simply a parlour game but a serious attempt to bridge the worlds of the living and the dead.

The movement of spiritualism arrived from America in the 1850s, carried on the whispers of the Fox sisters who claimed to converse with the departed through mysterious raps and knocks. From there it spread like fire through Britain. Aristocrats and workers alike gathered in drawing rooms to watch tables tilt, trumpets levitate, and voices emerge from the shadows.

At the heart of it all was a human longing: an ache to believe that death was not the end, that those we loved might still be listening. The Victorians, with their strict mourning rituals and heavy black veils, were especially susceptible to such promises. Where science offered them cold facts, the séance offered comfort, drama, and wonder.

Behind the Parlour Doors

A typical Victorian séance was thick with atmosphere. Curtains drawn tight, lamps extinguished, a circle of participants sat in silence. The medium, often a young woman, entered a trance, her voice changing, her eyes rolling upwards. Questions were asked, raps and knocks answered. Sometimes trumpets floated in the dark, sometimes ghostly hands brushed against a sitter’s cheek.

Was it real? Some believed with fervent devotion. Others thought it was trickery yet revelled in the performance. Either way, the séance provided a thrilling release. It was a safe space to flirt with the supernatural, to taste fear and awe without leaving the drawing room.

Writers like Arthur Conan Doyle defended spiritualism with passion, while others, such as Harry Houdini, sought to unmask its tricks. Yet no amount of scepticism could diminish the cultural impact of these gatherings. They were, in a sense, the first immersive theatre experiences: part ritual, part entertainment, part profound exploration of mortality.

The Emotional Experience

To understand why séances endure, one must consider not only their mechanics but their effect. Imagine the thrill of anticipation as the circle forms, the shared nervous laughter that gives way to silence. Imagine the sudden sound - a knock, a breath - that makes every spine tingle.

The séance was as much about the collective experience as the supernatural claim. Sitting in darkness, bound together by belief or curiosity, participants became part of something larger. Whether they left convinced of spirits or simply entertained, they left changed.

It is this emotional alchemy, the mixture of fear, fascination, and wonder, that gives the séance its enduring power.

Séances Then and Now

In our modern age of technology, where scepticism often outpaces faith, one might assume the séance has lost its charm. Yet the opposite is true. Today, more than ever, people seek experiences that break the ordinary pattern of life. They crave encounters that unsettle, that stir imagination, that reconnect us with the mysteries we too often ignore.

The Victorian séance lives on, not as dusty ritual but as an immersive encounter with history and mystery. My work draws on original accounts of these gatherings, blending them with psychic experiments and Scottish folklore to create evenings that are both authentic and theatrical.

It is not about proving or disproving the existence of spirits, but about rediscovering that delicate state of wonder the Victorians knew so well. The thrill is not in the answer, but in the question.

Would You Sit at the Table?

So we return to the question: would you take your place at the table?

It is not merely a question of courage. To join a séance is to embrace curiosity, to lean into mystery, to be willing to share in a collective story. For some, the draw is supernatural: hopes of a message from beyond. For others, it is theatrical: the delight of stepping into history, candlelit and alive. For all, it is the thrill of participating in something unusual, something that stirs the imagination in ways a cinema or pub cannot.

There is also a deeper psychology at play. As human beings we are wired for ritual and narrative. When we sit in darkness, hands joined, waiting for the unseen, we engage with something primal. The Victorian séance reminds us that life itself is uncertain, that mystery lingers at the edges of the everyday. To sit at the table is to honour that truth -and to savour it.

A Halloween Experience in Aberdeenshire

So this Halloween, I invite you to do more than dress in costume or carve a pumpkin. I invite you to step into history, to join me in recreating the atmosphere of a Victorian séance.

Held in Aberdeenshire, these intimate evenings blend storytelling, psychic tests, and authentic Victorian practice. By candlelight, you will become part of a circle much like those formed more than a century ago. The room will fall silent, questions will be asked, and together we shall see what answers emerge.

It is an experience designed for those who seek something beyond the ordinary. A Halloween night not of cheap thrills but of genuine atmosphere and connection.

Practical Details

• Dates: 18th October 2025

• Location: Banchory Lodge Hotel

• Tickets: https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/booking/select/yjkgmzworoqn

• Booking: Advance booking is essential as places are strictly limited to preserve the intimate setting.

Final Invitation

The Victorians gathered because they were curious, because they longed for answers, because they wanted to feel something extraordinary. This Halloween, you have the same opportunity.

So I ask you once more: would you sit at the table? Would you dare to lean forward in the candlelight, knowing that something might knock, whisper, or stir in the dark?

Seats are waiting, but not for long. Claim yours, and be part of a night where history and mystery converge.