Big Seance: My Paranormal World

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In this episode:

Intro :00

Steele Alexandra Douris is an author, artist, and Victorianist, specializing in Victorian crime, gothic fiction, and spiritualism. She is a PhD candidate in the English department at Stanford University, where she has taught courses on Victorian spiritualism, ghost stories, and the gothic novel. She holds an MA in English from Stanford University and a BA in Anthropology from the University of Texas at Austin. As an undergraduate, Steele observed the social behavior of lemurs, wielded a trowel as part of a central Texas archaeological dig, and learned to identify primate fossils and human bones. As a graduate student, she disappeared into the archives of Victorian Britain, and now emerges only periodically to collect new tarot decks, hunt for fossils, and hoard art supplies. Steele splits her time between foggy NorCal and sunny South Texas, towing her mountain of journals and sketchbooks with her wherever she goes. You can learn more about Steele by visiting SteeleAlexandraDouris.com :50

Steele’s book is Spirits, Seers & Séances: Victorian Spiritualism, Magic & the Supernatural. 2:36

What is a “Victorianist?” Plus Steele’s academic passions. 3:26

A passion for archaeology, art, and literature. 5:01

What did the newspapers have to say about it? “I work a lot in newspapers... 19th century newspapers, 19th century periodicals and early 20th century women’s magazines.” 6:38

In her research into Spiritualism, Steele was amazed by how many Spiritualist magazines, newspapers, and periodicals there were at the time, like The Medium and Daybreak. “The material really just gave me a glimpse into the entire engine of the Spiritualist community beyond just what I had pictured at the beginning.” 7:38

Steele includes really great “try it yourself” exercises at the end of each chapter! Examples include instructions for holding a traditional spirit circle, sitting for a solitary seance, meditating like Dr. Mesmer, automatic writing/automatic art, channeling blindfolded, sitting for a psychic portrait, practicing psychometry, channeling your inner folklorist, exploring your own shadow/reading a gothic tale, scrying, making a Halloween card, or holding a Christmas seance! 8:55

Patrick discusses some of the really cool fall issues of The Delineator, an American women's magazine of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. 10:51

Tableaux Vivant, a fascinating, long-lost Victorian party activity. 12:02

“It’s hard to move in many modern occult circles without tripping over the Victorians. And yet, somehow, in the process of becoming ubiquitous, the Victorians have also become invisible.” 16:16

Patrick on one of his “a-ha” moments from the book: “Some of us dream of putting away our modern tools and technology to pretend we’re Victorian. But in reality, Victorians were all about becoming modern, with the huge advances in technology that was happening at the time.” 16:16

What economic class of Victorians are we usually imagining? 21:12

Need a timeless response to someone worried about the dangers of using the Ouija Board or practicing any form of spirit communication? Try this great mid-1890s quote from prominent Spiritualist W.T. Stead, which he claims was channeled by his spirit guide,...

In this episode:

Episode Teaser :00

Intro 1:13

Listener Feedback from Leslie 1:48

Looking for some Halloween content? Have you heard past episodes devoted to Halloween? Check out BigSeance.com/Halloween for the whole spooky collection. 3:14

Bios for Theresa and Claire! 5:34

Some backstory on how Patrick got connected with Theresa and Claire. 7:45

Theresa shares the story of how the collaboration for this new book happened. 10:10

This is Claire’s first book! But we already knew this book was going to happen over a year ago, didn’t we? 13:20

White Feather, Claire’s spirit guide. Plus, a testimonial from Theresa about Claire’s work. 15:52

How Claire works and some of what she believes. 19:12

Evidential Mediumship and inviting science into the world of mediumship. 22:42

Sometimes a reading doesn’t produce evidence. 27:25

Getting stuck in grief. 31:40

Theresa shares what it’s like to collect so many stories from readers over the years. 34:07

More on White Feather. 38:24

Claire’s first spirit communication at the age of four. 39:50

A great chapter and resource for those who have questions about getting a reading from a medium. 43:08

What does the future of mediumship look like? 45:28

Hard work, discipline, practice, and training. 50:20

More information about how to get the book and when it’s available! (November 2, 2017 in the UK) 52:50

Projects and events coming up for Theresa and Claire. 55:03

Did the Big Seance Podcast bring Claire and Theresa together in the first place? 58:51

Outro 1:01:35

Outtakes 1:03:13

For more on Theresa, Claire, and the book!

TheresaCheung.com

ClaireBroad.com

Theresa on Facebook

Claire on Facebook

Claire on Twitter: @CBMediumship

Answers from Heaven on Amazon (UK)

Theresa's previous appearance on the podcast (Episode 79)

Claire's previous appearance on the podcast (Episode 38)

Record your voice feedback directly from your device on my SpeakPipe page! Call the show at (775) 583-5563 (or 7755-TELL-ME). I would love to include your voice feedback in a future show. Visit BigSéance.com for more information.

Please help The Big Séance Podcast by subscribing to the show on Apple Podcasts, TuneIn Radio, Stitcher, Google Play Music, and iHeart Radio.

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In this episode:

Intro :00

About today’s episode! :51

Inspired by past guest and parapsychologist, Dr. Callum Cooper, Patrick recently read two books on parapsychology, and wanted to share his thoughts. The two books are Parapsychology: The Controversial Science (1991) by Richard S. Broughton, Ph. D. and Extra-Sensory Perception After Sixty Years: A Critical Appraisal of the Research in Extra-Sensory Perception (1940) by J.G. Pratt, J.B. Rhine, Burke M. Smith, and Charles E. Stuart. Next up is the even earlier groundbreaking book, Extra-Sensory Perception (1934) by J.B. Rhine. 1:43

Patrick recently had a mediumship reading from Jen Piwowarski, a listener who is also a budding new medium. This reading inspired some interesting stories that Patrick wanted to share with you. 6:44

The cake stand and a shattered glass: The poltergeist activity that Patrick’s Great Aunt remembers from a time when he was still in the womb. 7:37

A spooky and sad story from Patrick’s Great Grandma’s old farmhouse. True? Embellished? The tale has passed through the family over the years. 9:02

Pour the tea for Patrick’s conversation with longtime listener, librarian, and friend of the podcast, Susan Davy! 12:23

Susan was one of the very first listeners to call in and use the show’s hotline! Did you know the show has a hotline? It’s 1-775-583-5563. 13:23

Susan recently introduced Patrick to Danny Robins and the Uncanny. It’s a book (Into the Uncanny: A Real-Life Investigation Into the Paranormal), a podcast (Uncanny), and as of this week, if you live in the UK, a new television show (Uncanny). 15:32

Susan Davy is a librarian by trade, and here’s her pitch as to why Danny’s work and the Uncanny is something you need to check out! 17:06

The audience is allowed to contribute to the cases in the Uncanny. Plus Room 611 and #BloodyHellKen. 21:00

For American’s in particular, you’ll be excited to learn that these stories aren’t from the same old haunted locations. They’re all new to us! 23:43

Danny Robins, a writer by trade, isn’t afraid to be funny, and he podcasts from a shed. 25:55

There are two years of episodes to binge if you’re just getting started! 28:26

In most episodes, Danny features at least two experts to discuss the week’s story. One is usually more on the skeptic side (often Ciarán O’Keeffe), and the other tends to be more open to believing. Evelyn Hollow is one of the experts often featured, and Patrick has reached out to her for an interview. By the way, he’s reached out to Danny Robins’ team as well. He’s gotten a response and hopes to be able to schedule an interview soon! 28:50

The Uncanny TV series just dropped on BBC Two in the UK! 31:30

UncannyCon! 33:01

Next up! Susan shares several of her own paranormal experiences, beginning with a frightening McDonalds trip that has c...