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Boo Review #10: The Séance on Twenty-Seventh Street in Rochester, NY · Common Mystics

• 0:00
  Speaker A: Foreign Good evening and welcome to the BOO Review. I'm your host, Jill Stanley. Tonight we delve into a chilling tale that blurs the line between the paranormal and reality. This tale comes to us from the Democrat and Chronicle out of Rochester, New York, dated Monday, March 17, 1890. Join us as we revisit the eerie events that unfolded nearly two decades ago involving a seance that ended in tragedy. Jacob Evans, along with Stephen and Marianne White, found themselves entangled in a mystery that would haunt them for years to come. For more on this, let's welcome Jennifer Jaynes at the Bulletin desk. Jennifer?
• 1:00
  Speaker B: Thanks, Jill. One of the most remarkable aspects of Rochester, New York is the complete absence of haunted houses within its limits. This is especially surprising given the city's historical reputation for a monopoly on ghostly activities. Rochester was so synonymous with paranormal phenomena that the initial crude attempts at communicating with spirits were famously known as Rochester Wrappings. Ironically, this past association might explain the current lack of ghostly inhabitants in the city. When the now infamous Fox Sisters made their debut, the local spirits had a distinct advantage in attracting their attention. The Fox sisters, Maggie, Kate and Leah rose to fame in New York in 1848. Their ascent began in late March of that year when Maggie and Kate claimed to communicate with the spirit of a deceased peddler through a series of mysterious knocks and wrappings within their family home. This phenomenon captivated the local community and beyond, sparking a widespread curiosity and attention. It ushered in an era of spiritualism wherein the living sought to communicate with the dead in illustrious parlors of the well. To do so henceforth, no spirit could ignore the futility of haunting old, dilapidated, drafty and uncomfortable residences to impress a limited and unwilling audience. By aligning with mediums like the Fox Sisters, these ghosts could travel the world and be welcomed with respect and attention in high society, requiring only minimal effort to produce the simplest manifestations. And this new approach likely elevated these spirits to an elite class of ghostdom, making their return to their old plebeian haunts improbable. But many years ago, Rochester, New York was rotten with dusty old houses that were actively haunted by ghosts. One famous ghost set all New York agog in the 1860s. Its habitat was an ornate three story brick house on the south side of 27th Street. It produced the most outrageous noises, apparently by means of chains and moans and creeks. It finally took to showing itself in the upper windows at long intervals. It got into the papers, and the next evening 27th street presented a most extraordinary scene. As soon as it was dark, people began to pour into it, and by 9 o'clock it was crowded by a mass of wildly excited people. They would press up close to the house, shouting and calling for the ghost to appear, and then, seized with sudden panic, would rush away, crowding, screaming and trampling each other down in their mad fright. Soon a platoon of police cleared the streets and guarded it at either end, allowing only those who lived in the haunted neighborhood to pass their guard. Night after night after night, the police shut down the street. And night after night after night, gaping crowds peered past the police line. One day, a young woman named Susan Berry approached the police with a request to occupy the old house for an evening. Susan, a vibrant and attractive 20 year old, worked as a domestic at the local shoemaker shop located across from the busiest tavern in Rochester. She was often seen washing windows and sweeping the front step of the shoe shop. She greeted every passing officer with a warm wave and a smile as they walked their beats or came and went from the tavern. The old shoemaker often lamented that his maid spent more time on the front walk waving to gentlemen than than cleaning the inside of his shop. Nonetheless, he kept her around largely without complaint. As Susan was both charming and beguiling, she was well aware of her influence on the opposite sex and did not hesitate to exploit it. Consequently, she had a little difficulty convincing the police to grant her access to the house on 27th street for an evening. What do you want to be up in there for? Asked Officer Cobbs. But Cobby, cooed Susan as she gingerly outlined the badge on his chest with her index finger. I want to make contact with the ghost. Then maybe I'll be famous like the Fox girls. You will help me, won't you? Susan was a spirit spiritualist and a devoted follower of the renowned Fox sisters. Deeply obsessed with communicating with the dead, she frequently held seances in her tiny room above the shoemaker shop. There, she and a few acquaintances would gather around a small oak table, holding hands in silence, the dim room softly lit by white taper candles. Yet no ghosts had ever graced her room with their presence. Susan was convinced that she could make contact with the spirits if she conducted a seance in the famously Haunted house on 27th Street. Susan persuaded Officer Cobbs to grant her access to the old house for a few hours. The following evening, he escorted her through the police barricade accompanied by three friends who had eagerly agreed to join the ghostly adventure. Her beau, Jacob Evans, and their married friends Stephen and Marianne White. All in their 20s, they possessed the fearless curiosity of youth none had ever encountered. A Ghost in person and the prospect of a seance was exhilarating. As Officer Cobbs led the four ghost hunters, equipped with their satchel of gear through the side door, he cautioned them to be careful in the old house. He assured them he would return at 10 to escort them out. Once inside, Susan and Marianne unpacked their gear and lit two lanterns. They wandered through the dusty rooms, searching for the ideal spot to stage the seance. Jacob and Stephen, trying to scare the women, made howling noises and knocked on the walls as they passed through the dimly lit rooms. However, Susan and Marianne were not amused by their antics. This is serious business. The ghost won't come out if it thinks you're fooling around. Susan scolded them sternly. Stephen and Jacob feigned contrition, trailing penitently behind the ladies. Yet every so often, one of them would let out a low howl whenever Susan and Marianne turned around to reprimand them. Each man would blame the other for the noise. Finally, the four stumbled upon a dining area with a rectangular table and worn fabric covered chairs. Dusty moth eaten drapes sagged against the black windows, filtering out the dim light of a waning moon. An old gas chandelier hung still and dark from the 12 foot ceiling. Susan spread a white tablecloth over the table, while Marianne took out matches and lit four candles. The lanterns were placed on the floor on opposite sides of the room. The four gathered around the table, positioning themselves opposite each other. Susan and Marianne on one side, Stephen and Jacob on the other. Susan instructed everyone to hold hands and focus on the candle flames. Closing her eyes, she recited an incantation, inviting the house's ghost to manifest. They began to take turns asking questions to the unseen entity. What is your name? Why are you here? What do you want? For nearly an hour, the four continued to ask questions aloud, followed by long periods of silence. Marianne and Susan breathed deeply, gazing into the light of the flickering flames with focus and determination. In contrast, Jacob and Stephen grew bored and restless. They began asking frivolous questions. What is your shoe size? Would you rather raise goats or chickens? Stephen let out a low moan, mimicking a ghost. The women were not amused. Then Jacob wrapped his shoe against the table leg, causing Marianne to jump and scream. The men laughed. Susan felt both irritated and disappointed. With hot tears in her eyes, she scolded the men for spoiling her only chance to make contact with the famous 27th Street Ghost. The evening was ruined and there was no reason to continue sitting in the dark with people who weren't taking the seance seriously. Susan stood up from the table. Come on, Susie, pleaded Jacob, still holding her hand. Don't be cross. We were just having some fun. Susan yanked her hand from Jacob's grasp and lifted one of the candles. As she brought the flame to her lips, a sudden violent gust of cold air extinguished all four candles at once. A shiver ran down Susan's spine as goosebumps prickled the back of her neck. Her eyes darted to her three friends seated at the table, their faces masks of sheer horror, frozen in shock. Smoke rose from the candle wicks in delicate ribbons, creating eerie silhouettes against the walls illuminated by the lanterns overhead. The chandelier swung with a rhythmic creak. He's here. Whispered Susan, inching back down into her seat. The other three rose to leave immediately. None of them truly wanted to encounter a real ghost. They believed it was all just a game. Jacob, Stephen and Marianne withdrew from the table. Jacob and Stephen picked up the lanterns while Marianne headed towards the door. Suddenly, as Marianne reached for the doorknob, the door opened, then slammed itself shut in her face. Both lanterns flared and extinguished themselves, plunging the room into darkness. Marianne, Jacob and Stephen huddled together in a corner, their breaths quick and shallow. Susan, however, remained in her chair, as rigid and motionless as a corpse. Jacob called out to her first, followed by frantic pleas from all three to end the game and leave. Susan remained silent, but an unfamiliar low growl echoed through the room, sending chills down their spines. Nearly frozen with fear, Stephen cautiously pulled back the ancient drapes, allowing moonlight to illuminate the scene. Susan sat at the table, her head tilted back at a disturbing 90 degree angle, her lips blue, her mouth moving, growling in an unrecognizable language, Stephen, Jacob and Mary Ann scrambled to their feet and raced to the door. Their hearts pounding wildly, they flung it open and dashed towards the side exit. As they burst out of the house, they collided with Officer COBBS. It was 10 o'clock and he had returned to fetch the ghost hunters. Startled by the commotion caused by the panicked trio, Cobbs nonetheless remained composed. Marianne and Stephen urgently declared they needed to leave immediately. Rushing past Officer Cobbs and into the street, Jacob grabbed the policeman by the lapels, shouting, susan needs help. Please help her. Officer Cobbs shook himself free of Jacob's grip and instructed him to calm down. Drawing his pistol from his holster, he commanded Jacob to lead him to Susan. Jacob trembled as he guided Cobbs through the door and back into the house. The rhythmic creaking from the dining room filled their ears. They followed the eerie sound to the threshold of the room, stopping dead in their tracks at what they saw. Susan dangled from the old gas chandelier by her throat. The dusty curtains twisted into a makeshift noose. The bare windows let the moonlight frame the horrific scene, a scene that would forever haunt the nightmares of those who witnessed it. In the days and weeks that followed, the police investigation exonerated the trio of any wrongdoing. Aside from trespassing, the stories of Susan's mysterious death, told and retold by the breathless crowds, only fueled public fascination with spiritualism in Rochester. This intrigue persisted until Maggie and Kate Fox publicly admitted that their spirit communications had all been elaborate hoaxes. It had been a performance. While the Fox sisters never truly contacted the dead during their seances, they introduced a new form of ghostly entertainment that continues to captivate both skeptics and believers to this day. Of course, for the rest of their days, no one could ever convince Jacob Evans or Stephen and Marianne White that seances were merely harmless parlor games. Back to you, Jill.
• 16:04
  Speaker A: In closing tonight, the tale of Jacob Evans and the White family serves as a poignant reminder of the human fascination with the unknown. Despite the confessions of the Fox sisters that shattered the credibility of many spiritualists claims, the allure of the supernatural continues to captivate imaginations. Whether seen as mere entertainment or a genuine quest for the otherworldly, these stories remind us all of the innate desire to explore the mysteries that lie beyond our understanding. Thank you for joining us and from everyone here at the Boo. Review, good night. This has been a Common Mystics Media production in association with Access Paranormal Story by Dennis brose edited by Yo Kai Audio, Kalamazoo, MI for more Common Mystics, please visit our website commonmystics.net follow us on all our socials monmysticspod listen to Common Mystics wherever you're hearing your favorite podcasts. And once again, thank you and good night.