Become an investigator into demonstrations of Spiritualism at
A Victorian Séance Experience!
Séances
Séances occur every 20 minutes starting at 6:30 pm and ending at 9:20pm Thursday Oct 24, 10:30pm Friday Oct 25 and Saturday Oct 26, and 8:50pm Sunday Oct 27). 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 tickets be purchased in advance. All sitters must be age 10 or older. Sitters should arrive at least 15 minutes before their reservation.
Adult Sitting Admission (18+) - $25
Mabry-Hazen House Member Rate - $20
Youth Sitting Admission (10-17) - $15
Tickets for A Victorian Séance Experience go on sale Sept. 17 for Mabry-Hazen Members. General Presale Begins Sept. 27. Service fees apply for online purchases. Payments with cash or check are available. Call 865-522-8661 to arrange payment during business hours.
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.
From 6:30pm-9:20pm on October 24, 6:30pm-10:30pm on October 25-26 and 6:30pm-8:50pm on october 27, 2024, Mabry-Hazen House will host A Victorian Séance Experience inside the front parlors of the 1858 historic house.
The House of Tarot will offer tarot readings and Halloween vendors from 6:00pm-9:30pm on thursday, 6:00pm-10:30pm on Friday and Saturday, and 6:00pm-9:00pm on Sunday.
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 seventh 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.
This project is being supported in part by federal award number 21.027 awarded to the City of Knoxville by the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Arts & Culture Alliance
House of Tarot
In addition to the séances, Mabry-Hazen House also hosts the House of Tarot, a 40’x60’ walled and lighted tent that offers tarot readings and Halloween vendors! No reservation is needed to come browse the wares and get your cards read!
House of Tarot Times
Thursday, oct 24, 2024
6:00pm - 9:30pm; Open to the Public
6:30pm - 8:30pm; Monsters Made With Love Workshop (requires registration)
Friday, oct 25, 2024
6:00pm - 10:30pm; Open to the Public
7:30pm - 8:30pm; Spooky Story Time with author Suzy Trotta
Saturday, oct 26, 2024
6:00pm - 10:30pm; Open to the Public
7:30pm - 8:30pm; “The Good Death: Victorian Mourning Practices” Talk by Karen Peterman
Sunday, oct 27, 2024
6:00pm - 9:00pm; Open to the Public
A Victorian Séance Experience is sponsored by New Moon Rising Gifts & Goods
Tarot Readers
Tarot Reading Vouchers are sold a la carte at $10 per voucher. Cash, card, and Venmo accepted.
Readers include:
East S.M.
Pamona Sparrow
Stephanie Bibey
Josh Hinkin
Bobbi Stout
Courtney Lozano
Frank Callo
Donald Fenestre-Marek
Madam Maxmilian Julius
Murph
Whitney Petelka
A Victorian Séance Experience is sponsored by J-Bird Digital Designs
Vendors
Vendors include:
Frog Juice Boocherie Pop-Up Sober Bar
Kelsey Tiara Photo Tintypes
LuckyGirl Eleven
Scary Rigged
Lyndsey Ullom Art
Amy Treats
Soothsayer Teahouse and Apothecary
bluemonday
Ocean Love Handmade Jewelry
… and more!
A Victorian Séance Experience is sponsored by Borderland Tees
A Victorian Séance Experience is sponsored by Partial Coffee & Wine
The museum decorates Mabry’s Hill in spectre-acular fashion for séances! This year, we aim to ensure the appearance of apparitions across the grounds with our Sponsor a Ghost program. Our community can sponsor, craft, and place their ghoulish guests around the site.
Sponsoring a ghost is a great way to market your organization, business, or individual support and will create a frightful welcome for every visitor during our Halloween celebration. Don’t miss this opportunity to get involved by registering to Sponsor a Ghost today!
Thursday, October 24, 2024 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Unleash your inner creativity and embrace self-love with our Monster Sewing Workshop. Learn a life-long skill while practicing mindfulness as you create your own, perfectly imperfect fleece monster. Join Laurie for a fun and quirky sewing experience that will leave you feeling empowered and oh-sew-satisfied!
The workshop will take place in the Julia Meek Guest House at Mabry-House on the first evening of A Victorian Séance Experience. Workshop tickets are separate from A Victorian Séance Experience viewings.
Workshop tickets are $36.00 before processing fees per person. Space is limited. All required materials will be provided with the cost of admission. Attendees must be 14 years of age or older. Learn more about Monsters Made with Love at https://monstersmadewithlove.com/.
...And more fun to be announced!
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.