Some folks embrace the paranormal because they’re fascinated by ghosts or spirits. Others revel in the dark and the arcane. Jaymes White, however, was drawn to the spooky life by something a little more wholesome: the power of friendship.
“I was inspired by Stephen King’s ‘It,’ where a group of people come together to conquer something dark,” he said.
That belief in human connection led White to start a séance series that has become a Halloween institution in Toronto. This year marks its 10th anniversary — a decade of sold-out gatherings where strangers come together to commune with the other side. “I like seeing people accomplish things that they never thought were possible, showing them that the mind can go beyond what they understand,” he said. “You never know how strong a séance is going to be. It’s really based on the group and what they bring to the table.”
Over the years, White has led more than 1,400 séances in eight different Toronto locations, with more than 20,000 people taking part. The sessions run from October through the end of November, with the final séance on Nov. 30 — a date that holds special meaning as the birthday of White’s late mother.
The criteria for choosing a location, he says, are instinctive. “I want a dark location with lots of history to set the right atmosphere,” he said. “It’s not just about the space, but how it affects people on a deep psychological level when they are actually there.” He has run the seance in eight different Toronto locations; last year, they were at the Stanley Barracks at the CNE. (His dream location is the notoriously haunted Kingston Penitentiary.) For this year’s special 10-year anniversary séance, he returned to Toronto landmark, George Brown House, home to White’s breakout séance.
At a recent séance, the crowd included both repeat visitors and curious first-timers: couples, friends and a few solo adventurers, most of them younger. (One senior guest surmised that older people’s lack of participation might be because they’re a little closer to actual death than their younger compatriots.)
At the beginning, the tour guide asked who identified as believers and who were skeptics. The group was evenly split. White has seen many people convert from one type to the other over the years. “Last year, for example, there was a man who was very sceptical and professed to be a non-believer. But when he was downstairs where most of the activity was being felt, all of a sudden, he claimed that something grabbed him and we saw him run yelling from the room,” White remembered. “From that moment on, he was a true believer.”
Student and first-time attendee Robin McDonough, a fan of gothic literature and moody horror movies, has always been intrigued by ghosts — even if they don’t believe in the undead. “I like the idea that places retain a memory of the things that happen there,” they said. “I really liked the location. The George Brown House has some really impressive architecture and history, and it was cool to wander around it in the dark. It was super-atmospheric.” They weren’t nearly as scared as their friends were, but, they said, “I think with stuff like this you kind of get the most out of it if you commit to the concept, so I was willing to believe for the two-hour span. I would describe my experience a bit like going on a roller coaster. There’s a sense of thrill, but ultimately I knew nothing actually dangerous was going to happen. I still left feeling like I had a good time.” And, they added, they were already planning to return next year.
The séance’s surprises remain secret to outsiders, but participants can expect to tuck an obsidian stone into their pocket to ward off evil, handle a vintage Ouija board and view haunted objects. The most powerful moment, though, comes when guests join hands to form a sacred circle — a circle that must not be broken. It’s a small moment of physical connection that feels rare in our increasingly isolated world.
“What I truly love is that for two hours we all get to escape the real world, and I get to meet really cool people and we bond by the end of it,” White said, pointing out that he has met many of his best friends at the seances. Now, they have become family for him. “Whether we are holding hands, being terrified for a moment, laughing, or crying we get to experience the connection that we lack in a world that has become so technologically dependant,” he said. “Because we are such a disconnected society, it brings us back to being human.”
