It’s Halloween, so there’s no better time to reflect back on my first séance, which happened while I was attending an art residency in the famed Spiritualist hamlet of Lily Dale, NY. It wasn’t originally part of my itinerary, but when you’re spending two weeks living in the largest community of folks who speak to the dead, do as the locals do.
:::a séance is a gathering where people try to communicate with spirits or the dead, typically through a medium:::
In this episode, I reflect on the séance experience as a first timer with Tiffany Hopkins, a spiritualist medium and host of my Lily Dale art residency and Thom Daly, a spiritualist medium who led the séance I attended.
Thom walks us through the history of Spiritualism + Lily Dale, the ins and outs of ectoplasm, the difference between psychic vs medium, and gives us a visual tour of the spirit trumpet.
Tiffany discusses the importance of maintaining a relationship with deceased loved ones and how to incorporate mediumship into an artistic practice…and other far-out things :)
Follow Thom on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dalyspiritualist/ + his email is [email protected] if you plan on visiting Lily Dale and need a lay of the land :)
Thom Daly is a Spiritualist Medium, student of the Morris Pratt Institute, the Inner Spiritual Center, as well as a member of the Lily Dale Assembly- where he resides year round. His work explores the history, science, and practice of evidential mediumship—bridging Spiritualism’s roots with modern expression. Being guided by the belief that mediumship is a sacred faculty, he strives to preserve its integrity with a focus on providing clear evidence to the continuity of life.
Follow Tiffany on IG: https://www.instagram.com/normalizetalkingtothedead/ | check out her website: https://www.normalizetalkingtothedead.com/ | and buy their book Beyond: A Living Person’s Guide to the Dead https://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Living-Persons-Guide-Dead/dp/1454958391
Tiffany Hopkins is an author, medium, educator, and researcher based in Lily Dale, NY. She runs Nobox Inc., a research and design firm. She also works to share the unique experience of living surrounded by people who talk to the dead through Normalize Talking To The Dead, a website, podcast, and residency. Her book Beyond: A Living Person’s Guide To The Dead was published in 2025.
* NT2TD ARTIST RESIDENCY: https://www.normalizetalkingtothedead.com/residency
* Sacred Grounds Coffee House – Artist in Residence Application: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeBSB8ouIcv6dUGtAoXpsvHtJJCrl6JaV9SPwUxzzZPesuiqw/viewform
* Join Tiffany’s Mediumship for Creativity Seasonal Circles https://www.morbidanatomy.org/classes/p/mediumship-for-creativity-seasonal-circles-with-medium-and-writer-tiffany-hopkins
* YouTube link of No One Dies In Lily Dale (2001) movie:
The album I referenced during Tiffany’s interview.
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xoxo Stevie
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