With The Spirits

The urban fringes of towns in the North of England used to contain many churches, both Anglican and Nonconformist. Most are gone, or at least converted to some secular use such as selling carpets. However look hard enough in these working class districts and you’ll find a Spiritualist ‘church’. There’s nothing overtly religious about these gatherings. The main event being when the Medium contacts the spirits who then pass on messages to a member of the congregation who believes the spirit is someone they once knew. Basically the Medium chucks out some leading questions based on the supposed contact they are having with the deceased or ‘transitioned’ and it goes on from there. The spirits remain anonymous ( no name, rank and serial number) and it’s often the case that the person supposedly being contacted will help the Medium along with a few bits of information. I doubt that Harry Houdini would be impressed. Whilst the other religions have long ago abandoned these districts, the Spiritualists seem capable of attracting congregations even in this time of covid.