The parlor séance
Eight to twenty guests around one table, in a private home, a historic house or a hotel suite. The classic. Candlelit, close and personal.
Theatrical séances
An evening around the table, the lights low, a medium who knows the history of every trick in the room, and the uneasy question nobody can quite let go of. Vince Wilson has been performing séances since 1998, and has written the book on staging the most famous one of all.
What happens at a séance with The Paranormalist
Guests are seated in a circle. The room is darkened. Vince tells them who, historically, sat in circles like this one, what they hoped to hear, and what they swore they heard. Then the circle is closed and the experiment begins. Messages arrive. Objects misbehave. Somebody laughs, too loudly, and then stops. I have found that the quietest guest at the table is always the one who goes home and checks the closet.
It is entertainment, made with care and a real respect for the history. Vince is a paranormal historian first, which means every séance is built from the documented practices of the Spiritualist era: the trumpet séance, slate writing, table tipping, the cabinet, the spirit bell. Nobody is promised a conversation with a departed relative. Everybody is promised a story they will tell at breakfast.
At the table
Parlors, stages, dinner tables and one very dark room. Real séances with real guests, none of whom were harmed, though several needed a drink afterward.
Kinds of séance
The Houdini séance
Built on Houdini’s promise to send a message from beyond, and staged with the authority of the man who wrote the book on it. A natural for Halloween, Houdini’s death anniversary on October 31.
The stage séance
For theatres, ballrooms and conferences of fifty to several hundred, with volunteers brought to the table on stage and the whole room drawn in.
The historic venue séance
Researched for the building it happens in. Hotels, museums, mansions and taverns all have their dead, and Vince does the digging before he does the dimming.
Why people book Vince for séances
Television producers have called on him as a séance and paranormal authority for the Discovery Channel, Travel Channel, CNN, National Geographic, PBS and others. He has lectured on séances and Spiritualism across the United States and in Europe, including at The Magic Circle in London. He wrote The Houdini Séance and Bizarre Magick, and Ultimate Ghost Tech, a guide to paranormal investigation, before that. He also runs Poe’s Magic Theatre in the Lord Baltimore Hotel, which is to say he has opinions about rooms.
Based in Baltimore, Vince performs séances throughout Maryland, Washington DC, Delaware, Virginia, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and travels anywhere the dead are expected.
Can’t wait for the real table?
The talking board was patented right here in Baltimore in 1890. Vince keeps one on this website for anyone who would like a word with the other side before the candles are lit.
The Talking Board
Ask it a question, rest a fingertip on the planchette, and watch it spell out an answer. Ask kindly, and always say good bye.
Questions people ask
What is a theatrical séance?
A theatrical séance is a live, immersive performance built on the history and rituals of the Victorian and Spiritualist séance: a darkened room, a circle of guests, a medium, and the question of whether anyone else is listening. Vince Wilson performs it as sophisticated entertainment grounded in real history, not as a claim to contact the dead.
Is a séance safe for guests who are nervous?
Yes. Vince has performed séances since the late 1990s and runs them with clear consent. Nobody is forced to take part, nobody is touched without agreement, and the experience is unsettling in the way a good ghost story is, not cruel.
How many people can attend a séance?
An intimate parlor séance works best for 8 to 20 guests around a table. Theatre and ballroom séances can be staged for 50 to several hundred people, with volunteers brought to a table on stage.
Where can Vince Wilson perform a séance?
Anywhere with a door that can be closed and lights that can be lowered: historic houses, hotels, theatres, museums, libraries, private homes, corporate retreats and Halloween events. He is based in Baltimore and performs throughout Maryland, Washington DC, Delaware, Virginia, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and travels nationally and internationally.
What is a Houdini séance?
Harry Houdini promised his wife Bess he would try to send a coded message after his death, and séances have been held every Halloween since he died in 1926. Vince Wilson wrote The Houdini Séance, a book on staging them, and performs Houdini séances for theatres, conventions and private events.
How much does a séance cost?
It depends on the size of the audience, the travel involved and how elaborate the evening is. Send the date and location through the inquiry form and Vince will reply with options.
Bring The Paranormalist to your table.
Tell Vince the date, the place and the kind of evening you have in mind. He answers every inquiry personally, usually within a day or two.