Nothing To Fear

Harriet enjoys the seance when her childhood dog makes his presence known

Farleigh pulled chairs away from the table, while Brenda lit candles, and insence. She explained that the curtained cubicles would be expounded upon after the seance, and asked Fiona if the lights from each one would interfere with the spirit contact. Fiona said that it was up to the others. Lester said that a spirit was already saying "leave my light on" and that he had "lived in the house at one time." 

Brenda didn't want to give away any details, and of course, each guest could have read the newspaper accounts of the train accidents, so she trusted Lester with choosing. He said that the spirit loved his "hideout" and told him that it was in the back right corner. Feldman to the rescue. Brenda had assigned it to Guy Brown, but only she knew that, so his dimmed light was left on during the seance.

Each guest was seated, and Lester asked if anyone wished to say something to the spirits before beginning the association. Harriet said that her husband told her to say a prayer of protection, so the others sat while she asked for guidance in this new "endeavor." Brenda didn't ever feel it was necessary to ask for protection. Everyone touched little fingers to the persons on either side. 

Fiona said that the session was free form, and that she would summon the spirits first, followed by Lester, then Josie. Fiona thanked the great spirit for all of creation, and the ability to stay connected to loved ones. Then she summoned the "Eternal Spirits" to come closer, and feel welcomed. Lester called on his ancestors to guide the guests with love and wisdom. Josie invited the shy, and reluctant souls to speak up, and "know that you are remembered."

Fiona instructed Harriet, Farleigh, and Brenda to trust any feelings that they were having about loved ones. Fiona immediately said that there was a dog spirit close by Harriet, and Josie said that she psychically felt the dog's tail "whamming" her leg "like a whip." Harriet said that she had owned an uncut boxer when she was a child, and his tail was "murder."

Farleigh wasn't feeling anything at first, but later said he felt that Edwina knew he was at a seance. Josie said that there was a young man with a funny name watching the proceedings, but his mother called him away. Brenda joked that it was the equivalent of modern children watching a carnival side show, or watching too much TV. Josie closed her eyes, concentrated, and said that he would be back after "mama" went to bed. Harriet asked if people in the spirit world ate and slept. "They do everything we do, and more" Fiona answered as she went into trance.

"Gentleman says that things will change in this town. The house will be torn down, and several houses will cover the acre. He has coffee now. Wood floor and young woman leaning on a counter smiling. The town he built is safe in the spirit world. He is fading from view."

Brenda felt that two black women were giggling in the background. They weren't being disrespectful. They were both dreaming about the seance. Fiona suggested that they may have been the two servants who cooked and cleaned at the Blundon house. Brenda had shared a few details with her about the family history. The young man with the odd name came back to say that he was older than they think. Lester said he wanted to call the young man "Flower" or "Maple" and Brenda said "How about Waters." 

Lester said that he was called "nature boy" by his father. There was no way to verify that, except to find living relatives in the area. Josie channeled an older woman named Sarah who said that she wanted a headstone, but only for the living who needed to look at it. Brenda would do research about that situation.

The energies faded away very quickly. Harriet said that she could definitely attend another session because she knew that souls never died. Brenda led everyone downstairs after blowing out the candles, and turning off the light in the cubicle that belonged to Guy Brown.

Harriet asked a lot of questions, and stared into the fireplace. She wanted to be more spiritual, and had a lot of problems with religion sometimes. She hoped that her new dog was actually the spirit of her childhood boxer. Josie said that anything was possible, and that people had great misconceptions about Spiritualism. The group dismissed the Fox sisters and their trickery. Granted, there were often noises during spirit contacts, but no one in Brenda's group would ever play tricks. They knew that life was an evolution, and that no one had all the answers, and there were no hard fast rules about any of it.

The snacks were devoured, and Brenda offered to put anyone who wished to spend the night into a room filled with mannequins. Farleigh raised his hand. She also explained why she was preparing the curtained cubicles for the young men killed by a train in 1895 "right in front of the house." No one thought it the least bit strange. Lester, and Josie drove away after a few last words about the spirits. They were eager to come back again. Harriet walked the short hop to her house under a dim street light. For Farleigh, it was a good start. Brenda still felt like an amateur, but she felt more connected to Mr. Blundon, despite the fact that he was still, essentially, a mystery.

C J. Marks