Séance

Do you enjoy being frightened? Séance is the perfect show for the thrill seekers out there. Before you even enter the space, you’re warned not to come inside if you have heart or back problems, if you’re pregnant, under 15, or suffer from claustrophobia. The mood is set from that moment onward. You know this is a show that won’t muck around.

The nervous tension builds as you’re escorted into a shipping container. Inside, it’s decked out with a little Victorian era drawing room style. It’s very appropriate for a séance. There’s emerald green wallpaper, red velvet covered stiff backed chairs, and over the clothed table, little bells tied to red string hang in case a spirit should appear to ring them.

You’re instructed to sit with a space between each person. A few audience members (including this reviewer) are a little too scared to follow that instruction, instead having their partners sit by them for protection. None of the staff object to this as they ask you to put on the headphones hanging to your left. After a quick sound check, you’re plunged into pitch darkness and the thrills really begin.

Séance only runs for 20 minutes, but it certainly feels like a lot longer. Not a speck of light leaks into the room. You can see nothing. This is a show you feel and hear instead. Losing the sense of sight heightens the fear factor very quickly.

The expertly recorded and mixed soundscape in your ears is supported by motion in the shipping container and your chair. You’re taken on a mind trip, where you vividly imagine a séance occurring around you. The denouement includes some spine tingling ASMR (Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response) that makes the hairs stand up on the back of your neck. You get goose bumps on your goose bumps. It almost gets to the point of being unbearable.

Then the lights flick back on and your startled face peers back at the startled faces of the people on the opposite side of the table. It’s over, but you still feel shaken and immersed in the reality created with sound and motion.

This isn’t a show for the faint hearted. Even hardened horror fans may feel a little discombobulated afterward. Séance is genuinely thrilling if you’re tough and downright scary if you’re a bit more highly strung. It’s highly recommend for thriller and horror fans or people looking for something a little different to the usual theatrical experience.

Kiesten McCauley