LILY DALE 2025
11th ANNUAL SYMPOSIUM @ LILY DALE
July 23-26, 2025
Curated by Shannon Taggart
$225 FULL 3-DAY EVENT PURCHASE TICKETS HERE
*Please note, Lily Dale has a $15 Gate Fee *Single day tickets are also available
Need a Room in Lily Dale?
LILY DALE’S HISTORIC MAPLEWOOD HOTEL
LILY DALE GUEST HOUSES
LILY DALE CAMPGROUND
There’s much to explore in Lily Dale, including free healing and message services. You may want to allow extra time when planning your trip.
Travel Questions? EMAIL ME
EARLY BIRD EVENT
Wednesday, July 23rd @ 4 pm—6 pm
Ticket Link Here
Spoon Bending Party, with Shannon Taggart + Guests
Metal bending parties became popular in the 1970s after “mystifier” Uri Geller began twisting silverware on television. Part I will be a short history of 20th-century mind-over-matter experiments with metal objects and the magicians, physicists, and Spiritualists who conducted them. Part II is a workshop intended to be fun – a party! The bending will be accomplished by holding utensils with our hands and applying slight pressure when the metal feels soft. Participants are encouraged to bring silver, plated, or stainless forks and spoons – the more, the better.
SYMPOSIUM OPENING EVENT
Thursday, July 24th @ 8 PM
WEIRD STUDIES Live!
Professor Phil Ford and writer J.F. Martel record a live episode of Weird Studies, an arts and philosophy podcast exploring ideas that are hard to think and art that opens up rifts in what we are pleased to call "reality."
This year, Phil and JF will be discussing the work of the paranormal journalist John Keel.
SYMPOSIUM DAY I
Friday, July 25th, 9 am—6 pm
The Worlds of Eric Dingwall: Psychical Investigator, Intelligence Agent, & Sexologist,
with Christopher Josiffe
Dr Eric Dingwall was a friend, associate and rival of the famous ‘ghost-hunter’ Harry Price. Research Officer for the Society for Psychical Research in the 1920s, his overly-sceptical stance frustrated and occasionally infuriated SPR colleagues, but private communications tell a different story. A number of physical mediums impressed and mystified him with their displays of inexplicable phenomena in the séance room. An intelligence agent during WW2 and later appointed Assistant Curator of the British Museum's Private Case (a collection of erotica and pornographic literature). An acknowledged expert in this area, he became an unofficial police consultant assisting investigation of crimes with unusual sexual or occult overtones. Librarian and author Christopher Josiffe will shed light on this secretive and intriguing character.
The Paranormal Object, with Jack Hunter
Author and founding editor of the journal Paranthropopgy, Jack Hunter, Ph.D., will explore ideas relating to animism, panpsychism, and the 'new materialism' to reconsider the role and nature of so-called 'inanimate objects' in the paranormal. Recent theoretical developments in the humanities and social sciences have sought to re-conceptualize matter - usually considered to be essentially inert - as something active in the world and possessing real agency. This presentation will emphasize poltergeist phenomena - inanimate objects' central role - and suggest an alternative perspective to the poltergeist's standard spirit, psychokinetic, and fraudulent models.
Consciousness, Costume and Camping: Decoding the Kindred of the Kibbo Kift, with Annebella Pollen
Who were those mysterious green-clad hooded figures roaming the hills of England in the 1920s, hiking in triangular formation? What was the meaning of the strange shadows they cast at Stonehenge? And what of the cryptic banners they waved at antiquarian sacred sites and the carved totems they raised? As a thousand-strong band of social reformers and spiritual seekers, the Kindred of the Kibbo Kift wore their art, magic and political beliefs on their sleeves, but they were – and are – often misunderstood. Annebella Pollen Ph.D., author of The Kindred of the Kibbo Kift: Intellectual Barbarians, introduces us to the organization’s radical ethos, and to their equally radical style, to explain their uncompromising vision for bringing peace to a war-torn world.
The Cinematic Séance: A History of Spiritualism and Film, with Murray Leeder
Cinematic depictions of Spiritualism have often been unflattering, especially after the 1930s, with legions of depictions of phony mediums, comedic at best, villainous at worst. However, in the early 20th century, favorable depictions existed alongside critical works. In this presentation, Murray Leeder, Ph.D., will explore the relationship between Spiritualism and the film industry. Films discussed will include Photographing a Ghost (1898) by George Albert Smith, a stage mesmerist and Society for Psychical Research employee turned pioneering British filmmaker, and silent-era pro-Spiritualist features such as Unseen Forces (1920), Whispering Shadows (1921), Flesh and Spirit (1922), and D.W. Griffith’s The Greatest Question (1919). Leeder will explore how Spiritualists actively protested against negative depictions and secured changes. Contrast will also be drawn with later films like Ghost (1990) and Hereafter (2010).
The Visionary Power of Liminal Dreaming, with Jennifer Dumpert
We all possess the ability to maintain a waking, rational mind while sinking into the free associative, kaleidoscopic realms of the subconscious. Yet few of us delve into the visionary potential of this easy-to-learn practice. Liminal dreaming occurs at the boundaries of consciousness. This category of dreaming is made up of hypnagogia—the hallucinatory dream state through which we pass as we sink into sleep—and hypnopompia—the floaty, mesmerizing dreams we have as we surface back into waking. Liminal dreaming is one of the most unusual states naturally achieved by our brains, both experientially and as measured by EEG. In this talk, Jennifer Dumpert, author of Liminal Dreaming: Exploring Consciousness at the Edges of Sleep, will describe ways these states have been used to access liminal realms and for divination, creativity, problem solving, dream incubation, and healing. She will also provide several exercises to help anyone access liminal dream states at will.
The Art of Ectoplasm: Juliette Bisson’s ‘Scientific Artworks’, with Serena Keshavjee
Historians have discussed how abstract painters such as Hilma af Klint and Piet Mondrian, have used occult theories to make art. There has been less research on how photography has been used to express notions of the "other world." In this talk, art historian Serena Keshavjee, Ph.D. will focus on Juliette Bisson, the psychic researcher, photographer, and artist credited by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle with capturing the first ectoplasmic materialization on a photographic plate. Bisson worked closely with German psychical researcher Dr. Albert von Schenck-Notizing, and the widely disseminated photographs of ectoplasm that he published were often produced in collaboration at her art studio in Paris. Bisson was trained as a sculptor and had connections to vaudeville, and these skills came together to change the style of spirit photographs in the early 20th century. This talk will also introduce contemporary feminist artists who have been inspired by Bisson's dramatic photos to make art today
Brightness Visible: The Surprising Spirituality of the Twenty-First Century Gothic, with Victoria Nelson
Close to three hundred years since its founding, what began as a subversive literary shock genre is now a mainstream behemoth. The dynamic ever-expanding Gothic has dug its tentacles into so many pop culture products and lifestyles that Maurice Lévy has dubbed the phenomenon “a spreading process and imperialist conquest of the whole human experience.” The most striking feature of the elastic, all-pervasive twenty-first century Gothic is its presence in a gamut of alternative spiritual practices drawn from the popular imaginary that flip heroes and villains, turn the dark monsters of the traditional Gothic into shining role models and even objects of worship. Author Victoria Nelson (The Secret Life of Puppets, Gothicka, Neighbor George) will explore the new “bright” Gothick in some of its many forms along with its radical theological implication that if we want to get to heaven, monsters and demigoddesses can show it to us right here on earth.
SYMPOSIUM DAY II
Saturday, July 26th, 9am—6pm
Occult Zelig: Reflections on a Life of Esoteric Quest, with Leonard George
When he was four, a bump on the head launched Leonard George, Ph.D. on a trajectory of lifelong wonder. Chasing the ever-beckoning, ever-receding Muse of the Liminal where She takes you is the road of esoteric adventure. It led him to major figures in the realms of witchcraft, magic, parapsychology, shamanism, Neoplatonism, Spiritualism and Vajrayana Buddhism, such as Maxine Sanders, J.B. Rhine and Chögyam Trungpa. Like the main character in the movie Zelig, he sometimes found himself in proximity to history. The quest took him to special places around the globe—from Mongolia to Bolivia, Egypt to Iceland, Guatemala to Tibet—and to Lily Dale, New York. Leonard will share memories, images, disillusionments, tales, ideas, suggestions and gossip.
Unveiling the Eileen J. Garrett Parapsychology Foundation Collection, with Beth Saunders
In 2022, Special Collections at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, received the extraordinary gift of one of the world’s largest collections devoted to parapsychology. Named for its co-founder, the 20th Century trance medium Eileen J. Garrett, the archive includes books, periodicals, photographs, and audio-visual materials on the history of psychical research, Spiritualism, mysticism, mediumship, apparitions, hauntings, poltergeists, near-death and out-of-body experiences, as well as studies on ESP, psychokinesis, and precognition. In this presentation, Art historian and Curator Beth Saunders, Ph.D. will share highlights and hidden gems, including Eileen Garrett’s scrapbooks, Nandor Fodor’s notes on the Dalby Spook, Hans Holzer’s ghost recordings, and Admiral Angelos Tanagras’s long-distance telepathy experiments. Attendees will also be guided on accessing this resource, which is open to the public.
The Mystery of Gef the Talking Mongoose, with Christopher Josiffe
During the 1930s, Britain’s newspapers were full of incredible stories about Gef, a ‘talking mongoose’ who allegedly haunted a farmhouse in a remote district of the Isle of Man. Gef was said to talk in several languages, sing, steal objects from nearby farms, eavesdrop on locals, and bear gossip back to his host family, the Irvings. Despite investigations by ghost-hunter Harry Price, psychoanalyst and psychical researcher Nandor Fodor and others, there is still no single accepted explanation for the extraordinary phenomena at Doarlish Cashen, the Irvings’ farm. Hoax, mental illness, poltergeist - or all three? Christopher Josiffe, author of the award-winning Gef! The Strange Tale of an Extra-Special Talking Mongoose, will talk about his findings during seven years of research.
Theosophical Architecture in Southern California: The Krotona Colony of Hollywood and Ojai,
with Amy Slonaker
From its earliest inception at a Spiritualist séance in Vermont in 1874, the Theosophical Society’s influence quickly spread worldwide. In 1912, a new center of Theosophy, The Krotona Colony, was founded in Hollywood, California, under the leadership of its second president, Annie Besant (1847-1933). In 1924, Krotona relocated north of Los Angeles to the bucolic hamlet of Ojai, establishing a sprawling complex that remains in operation today. By surveying examples of the Krotona colonies’ unique designs, this talk identifies a particularly Theosophical style of architecture that embodies and amplifies the philosophical message of Theosophy. The eccentricity of Krotona’s buildings is mirrored in the creators themselves, such as the pioneering female architect and Theosophist Marie Russak Hotchener (1865-1945) and the architect-occultist Robert Stacy-Judd (1884-1975, pictured) whose fascination with the lost city of Atlantis influenced his flamboyant designs. In this illustrated talk, Amy Slonaker, JD, Ph.D. presents a virtual walking tour of the colorful homes and meeting places of Southern California’s Theosophists.
Los Angeles: The Architecture of Sacred Desire, with Erik Davis
Greater Los Angeles is one of the most religiously diverse cities on the planet and has been a matchless incubator of esoteric, mystical, occult, and paranormal sects and lore for 150 years. The famous Angeleno Paramahansa Yogananda, author of The Autobiography of a Yogi and founder of the Self-Realization Fellowship, called the city the Benares of America. A relentlessly self-mythologizing city, Los Angeles also has a tradition of fanciful, gaudy, and imaginatively arresting architecture and landscape design. (It is no accident that the area spawned the first theme parks.) Inevitably, these two trends combined to give the Southland all manner of wonderful, inspiring, and sometimes bizarre architectures of the sacred. But such sites are not permanent, especially in this turbulent landscape. The devastating fires in Los Angeles this year destroyed the most important Theosophical archive in the world, while the marvelous Wayfarers Chapel, a Swedenborgian worship space in Palos Verde, had to be dismantled in 2024 because of unstable ground. In this talk, Author Erik Davis, Ph.D. will return to some territory he covered in his 2006 book The Visionary State: A Journey through California’s Spiritual Landscape in order to explore LA’s phantasmagoric terrain, where desires both sacred and profane commingle into a veritable theme park of the spirit.
Richard Shaver: A Personal Mythology of Secret Caves and Ancient Rocks, with Doug Skinner
Richard Shaver first appeared in the pulp magazines of the 1940s, claiming experiences with forgotten civilizations in underground caverns. In this illustrated talk, author and musician Doug Skinner traces his troubled life and unique view of the world, with special emphasis on the visionary paintings he made by gazing at stones.
How to Build a Haunted House: An Introduction, with Robert Schneck
The archetypal haunted house has “an unsavory history”, yet houses with terrible histories are often ghost-free, and new houses can be haunted. Location (e.g., Indian burial grounds) is a popular explanation, but what if the structure itself is involved? The design, orientation, and materials might be as important as a building’s history, and this raises a question: if haunted houses are created accidentally, can they also be created deliberately? For 25-years, Robert Schneck has been considering “How to Build a Haunted House”, in order to build one. This lecture explains the project, how different approaches can be combined to cultivate haunting, and what to do with the completed building.
Artists-in-Residence 2025
Sponsored by Sacred Grounds Coffee House
FREE EVENT
Thursday, July 24th @ 4 pm—6 pm
Webb Gallery
Exhibition: Art of the Spirit
Gallery Talk @ 4 pm
A Pop-up exhibition of seven visionary and mediumistic artists, curated by Gallery owners and collectors Bruce and Julie Webb. For this event, Bruce and Julie will examine artworks with the audience and share stories about each artist.
Artists include:
JB Murry
Royal Robertson
Chelo Gonzalez Amezcua
Grant Wallace
Helen Burkhart Mayfield
Nan Swan
Frank Jones
*with special addition to the exhibition by Tim Kerr
Up Around The Sun
Record Release + Performance @ 5 pm
Tim Kerr and Jerry Hagins join us to celebrate their new album, Water Valley on Dial Back Sound.
AFTER PARTY
Saturday, July 26th @ 7 pm
Co-sponsored by Illuminated Brew Works.
Secret venue outside of the Lily Dale gates.
WITH GRATITUDE
Special thanks to additional sponsors Charles & Penelope Emmons, Ed & Lauren Thibodeau of The Bird House at Lily Dale, and Ralph Smith.
