The SEANCE

13th Friday, Jonathan Weekly

Séance is the practice of calling back the dead. It is often not considered healthy for a human being to summon a spirit. People have been known to suffer after making mistakes in the process of séance. The person can suffer from hysteria, phobias of many kinds and most commonly heart attacks, in case of even a small mistake during a séance.

Séance was first started in the 14th century. Over the years, the practice has developed to a great extent. The most common method of practicing seances is done by concentrating hard on a person, in a room where the only light should be coming from the candle which the practitioner is required to hold in his hand while sitting in front of a mirror. In any case, the practitioner shouldn’t put the candle off. Just concentrating on something other than the person recalled can end the séance. Throughout the process, the practitioner should keep his eyes closed. The practitioner should also refrain from asking questions about the other side of life.

The practice is very dangerous and should not be done without proper training.

But all these warnings had hardly any effect on Aarti who was determined to practice séances.

Aarti was a little girl when her beloved uncle died in a plane crash. Since then, Aarti had felt as lonely as a cloud until she heard about these séances. Once it had got into her head that there was a chance that the dead could be recalled, there was no turning back. She researched far and wide, interviewed persons who people say are related to witchcraft and read many books and journals. After all the lot, Aarti was sure of the fact that the dead could be recalled.

Then, Aarti started to practice séances herself with a view of contacting her uncle. After a lot of failure, Aarti finally was able to contact her uncle. Aarti was able to talk to her uncle for five minutes, which left Aarti mad with joy. As months passed, Aarti and her uncle had regular talks.

Once it so happened that just while she was starting her séance, her concentration was broken. It was unusual because during her last few months of séances, she had not been disturbed. Aarti opened her eyes and looked around. There was only the shimmering light of the candle, herself and her reflection in the mirror and nothing else but the darkness…






She again focussed her mind back into the séance. After ten minutes of deep concentration, she began to see her face fading in the mirror. It wasn’t that Aarti had opened her eyes, she saw this in the deep tunnels of her mind. Then something happened which Aarti thought would never happen to her. It wasn’t her uncle who had come to her séance. It was someone else. An old lady with a candle in her hand had come to her séance.

This was the most dreaded experience for the person practicing séances. More often than not, the practitioners got heart attack in such incidents.

But Aarti was too much educated and determined to be afraid of such experiences. She stared firing questions to the woman who looked more like a witch. The woman kept on replying. It wasn’t until Aarti asked her about the other side of life, that the woman became furious with anger. Aarti had broken one of the basic rules of séance by asking her about the life on the other side.

Aarti tried to end the séance by thinking of something else, but was not able to get the lady out of her mind. The woman started to get on Aarti’s mind but Aarti fought her from doing so. The woman was getting stronger while Aarti struggled to get her off her mind. Aarti knew that if she didn’t get the lady off her mind quickly, she would also be a victim of hysteria. Time was also running out for Aarti. Séances are usually conducted for fifteen to twenty minutes, but this one had already taken forty-five.

Aarti suddenly picked up her determination and decided to put off the candle. By doing so, the séance would end but the soul wouldn’t be able to rest in peace. Aarti put off the candle and opened her eyes. But then she realized that there was still a glimmer of candlelight. She looked up to the mirror. An old lady was staring back at her with a candle in her hand, smiling.

Aarti had her heart attack………….