By SEAN PLUMMER
Ottawa-based mentalist Jaymes White has spent the last several Halloween seasons terrifying Toronto-area residents with séances conducted at allegedly haunted locations like Black Creek Pioneer Village and the George Brown House downtown. COVID turned last year’s event into a still-creepy online event, but the in-person experience has returned, albeit in smaller, more intimate gatherings at the Eatonville Farmhouse in the city’s west end. Rue Morgue sat down with White to talk about this year’s new séance event and the cursed objects its built upon.
Give us an overview of the Jaymes White Eatonville Farmhouse séance event.
We are going to conduct a séance at one of Toronto’s last remaining/oldest farmhouses. A lot of it depends on the group and if they are able to connect.
I understand that the Eatonville Farmhouse was suggested by a client?
How we find our locations is our fans send us emails on where they think we should do the next séance. We received an email about this place and then contacted them. We also had to contact the family who donated some of the haunted possessions just to get permission. We really encourage everyone to send us their haunted locations because, you never know – it could be the next JW Séance location.
What were your impressions of the location and what sold you on it for this year’s event?
I have an obsession with haunted items. I own 308 haunted items from around the world. I always wanted to do a séance at a location where there was a lot of haunted items. We believe the house is haunted because of the Campbell collection.
In the past, your séances have, in part, involved guests holding hands, which is not possible this year due to COVID safety measures.
That was one of the reasons why I almost did not do a séance this year: how do you do table rapping without holding hands? We had to do our research and discovered a technique called a shimenawa which comes from Japan. It [involves] a ritualistic hemp rope that, when you put it in a circle, is believed to ward off evil spirits and protect you. It is exactly like holding hands without physically doing it.
What other challenges did COVID present in shaping this year’s experience?
There were many challenges because of COVID in order to do a séance. Séances are supposed to be really intimate, but how do you make it intimate with social distancing? You need to find ways to involve the audience in order for them not to feel left out. The goal was to try our best to make it as good as the last ones while enforcing COVID protocols, and I think we have!
One of the advantages of COVID is that for once we have small groups. We have never had group sizes this small because of the popularity. We are finding that they are way more intimate and personal. It allows more people to participate and be involved. We might consider group sizes similar to this in the future.
How have these smaller groups impacted the séances?
It is crucial in a séance for the group to talk. The less people could mean they might talk less. I am finding though, it has been relatively good. I think maybe the small groups are more desired since there is more participation.
You did an online event last year called Evoke. How do you feel about getting back to an in-person experience, as limited as it may be?
Evoke was an online séance that surprisingly sold out. Rue Morgue also attended it. It was a very challenging creation, but in the end of the day I am happy it happened. People seemed to have really loved it – [they] had a lot of weird things happening in their houses which [are] very hard to explain.
I am use to doing around 200 experiences a year, so last year, not being able to do that was very weird. I am just honestly looking forward to seeing and talking to people. I like to think the séance allows people to leave their lives for two hours and just escape into a new world.
What research went into creating this year’s séance?
We did a lot of communications with the government to follow all the COVID rules so everyone would feel safe and comfortable. We wanted a safe environment. Everything was pushed forward in terms of séance history and location since we had limited time [because] we were not sure if we were doing a séance because of possible lockdown.
I understand that this year’s experience is less about the farmhouse itself than it is about the objects inside it. These are part of the Campbell Collection which, you say, has a “dark past.” What is the Campbell Collection and what is this dark past of which you speak?
I do not want to reveal much just so people can find out at the séance. However, the Campbell collection was essentially a haunted collection belonging to someone who donated the collection to the house. Ever since the collection joined the house, a lot of weird stuff started happening.
Can you tell us about one of the more notable objects?
There is this like rocking horse/donkey and so many people have had issues with it. They claim that it has rocked on its own and made weird sounds. This has happened at least 10 times now.
They say October 31 is the time when the veil is thinnest between the worlds of the dead and the living. Do you notice things getting weirder or stranger in your séances as you move closer to Halloween?
I honestly find Halloween séances the most boring; nothing ever seems to happen. I am not sure why. So far my favourite séances have been the witching hour séances beginning at 2 a.m. There is just something creepy about doing a séance that late. A lot of weird stuff has happened in those. My favourite night in my life and for séances is Devil’s Night. It always delivers for me.
Perhaps my favourite horror movie séance is from 1957’s Night of the Demon. What is yours and why?
I try my best to watch all the séance movies but they all seem so similar. Maybe the movie Ouija Shark because it was so bad that I hated it, but I really do like sharks as an animal so it wins because of its title.
Jaymes White’s Eatonville Farmhouse Séance runs until November 27th, 2021.
