Séance Event Series

On Sunday, October 21st of 2018, Shaker’s Cigar Bar began our Séance event series for the first time in years. Evoking the spiritual world via seances specifically is something that we’ve refrained from doing for quite some time due to some risky occurrences from the past. However, it was felt that these doors should be opened once again – to take a deeper look into Shaker’s history, the spiritual world as a whole, and the abilities of those with heightened cognizant connections to those beyond our plane of existence.

As research assistant, initially I was just going to sit and observe from the sidelines what happenings would occur. Thanks to the openness of Skully (the medium conducting the Séance), and the rest of the group attending, I was able to join the circle and feel even further the journey we were about to embark on collectively.

Initially walking into the room – it was uncannily cold, though there were no open windows and the rest of the building, even the parts unoccupied by mass groups of people, was a comfortable (if not slightly warm) temperature.

The room wherein which we gathered holds a lot of dark and twisted history, and with it a very heavy energy. With this floor of the bar having been a brothel in the 1920s, the establishment did keep an in-house doctor where procedures dealing with things like STDs or unwanted pregnancies could be done – and they were performed in this room. These procedures were often painful, unsanitary, and distressing to these girls. As an employee of Shaker’s, I know that there exists far more perturbed backstories of this room and the doctor that resided in it than just those I’m permitted to discuss.

Skully was prepped with all the workings you would hope to be present during a séance such as this: candles, offerings, a water dish, salt to cleanse the room, and sage to cleanse those (living) participants. She also had an app on her phone that allowed us to see blips of energy around the room as they appeared/disappeared and would proclaim words throughout that it heard from beyond so that we all could hear.

We began.

“Shorter.”

Her phone almost immediately began speaking. The first prominent presence that came through was that of a creepy older gentleman. He was short and stocky, from what Skully had sensed. We addressed him as “The Penguin,” because that’s the kind of vibe he gave off. He had taken a liking to one of the girls sitting directly to my left.

“Judge.”

Many of the bordello girls whose spirit’s linger at Shakers have a strong attachment to the room we were in. Those who have, perhaps, not fully crossed the threshold into whatever life may lay beyond ours can have dithering energy caught in places where they may have experienced trauma. Given my previous description of this room, this was that space for many of these girls. This energy was felt by many of the people in the room – not just Skully. Many felt creeping tingles on their backs, arms, or hands. Waves of warmth washed over some, though the chills persisted.

Someone asked what these girls felt and why they didn’t or couldn’t fully pass over.

“Nothing.”

Noises were heard – majority of which were back in the corner by the mantel on the wall. At one point it sounded like scurrying across the floor, like an animal or a small child.

Skully confirmed she felt like this was Elizabeth – a young girl who’s spirit typically resides in our women’s bathroom. Elizabeth’s presence felt playful – much different than some of the previous energies we experienced. Elizabeth met her demise by falling out of an apple tree and breaking her neck back in the early 1800s. It was a bit strange that she had decided to join us in the doctor’s room that night.

Skully asked her if she could make her presence a little more known. A girl across from me and I noticed the smoke rising from the candles on the table in front of us started emitting some thicker and darker smoke than it had been before. I was hesitant to point it out, but once she did I eagerly agreed I noticed as well. Another thing noticed on the table where the smoke seemed to be floating to: an apple.

“Slide.”

Throughout, everyone began becoming more and more vocal with what they were thinking, feeling, wondering. Things began getting more personal as people started bringing up loved ones who have passed away, and we began to get responses. Whether it be deceased friends, a grandmother, a father… messages were conveyed, and tears were shed.

“Secret.”

Skully expressed that she had felt like someone had their hand on her shoulder.

“Indeed.”

One girl in particular who had reached out to her father seemed to be extremely sensitive in the sense that she could feel a lot of energies and felt a hard connectiveness when Skully portrayed what she had gotten from his attempts to be responsive. This girl had tried to move different spaces around the room in order to see if she could shake the persistency of what she was feeling. However, it seemed like whatever it was had followed her despite her spatial location around the table.

“Orbit.”

Through Skully, there seemed to be different personalities with the different people who were emulated. In attempting to communicate with a friend of mine who has passed, Brad, Skully was definitely able to pick up on his randomness. It took hours for the chills to subside from my spine.

“Powder.”

It seemed by this time that everyone at the table had spoken up at least once – aside from the gentleman to my right, who just happened to be the only man in attendance.

“Dried.”

When we wrapped up, everyone attempted to shake all the chills from their bodies. I moved my hands for the first time since we had begun and felt blood rush back into them as I did. My hand that was touching the singular man’s – numbness. To be able to wrap my head around what had just happened was quite the feat, but perhaps that’s what I loved about it the most.

“Alive.”