For many years had I heard of a town, just 60 miles south of Buffalo, where you could not only pay your respects to the dearly departed—you could talk to them too.
Lily Dale, NY is a small community of people who practice the Spiritualist religion. Founded in 1879 by a group of believers looking for a place to hold their summer camp meetings, the town now claims to be the oldest and largest community in the world devoted to the practice of Spiritualism.
Growing up in Buffalo, I had a number of friends who made trips to this unusual little town, hoping to communicate with lost loved ones or get a glimpse into their future. Many were unconvinced but curious. Others were seeking a true, other-worldly experience—and in some cases, felt the town delivered. One of my dear friends, for example, met with a psychic who told her there was something wrong with her chest. A short while later, my friend collapsed at home from a pulmonary embolism. Coincidence? She doesn’t think so.
It is fairly common to see signs for psychics, palm readers, and mediums in woebegone corners of many small towns, but Lily Dale is unique in its attempts to professionalize the practice of communing with the dead. Mediums must pass a test given by the Lily Dale board in order to practice there. [1] Such tests notwithstanding, I’m not usually one to seek help in communicating with lost loved ones, being personally a bit unconvinced by the whole idea. However, in the summer of 2022, shortly after my mother passed away, I admit my curiosity got the better of me.
My two sisters and I decided to visit Lily Dale together. One sister is very interested in spiritual centers, sacred spaces, and energy vortexes around the world; the other sister is, like me, more skeptical. I tried to keep an open mind as we skirted around pretty Cassadaga Lake, paid the entrance fee at the gate house, and drove into town. To me it felt like we had time-traveled—back to an era of Victorian houses, forest pathways, and people riding about town on bicycles. Wind chimes filled the air with strange melodies, as we passed houses surrounded by flowers, fairy figurines, and crystal balls.
We paid the small fee for our threesome to meet with a spiritualist during their regular “summer season.” At 7 pm, a large group of visitors gathered in an ancient building referred to as the Auditorium. After a brief welcome, we were divided into smaller groups where we met with our assigned spiritualist. We soon learned that ours was a “student” medium; someone still trying to figure out how to use the unusual powers she believed she possessed.
I’m sorry to say, we left rather disappointed. The medium told my sisters and I she was “seeing” a woman who recently passed away—our grandmother, she thought. (Our grandmother actually died nearly 50 years earlier.) When we told her it was our mother we were hoping to hear from, she began what I can only describe as “guessing” at things our mother might want us to know. None of it made much sense and we left more dubious than when we arrived.
I would not write it off as a lost cause though. There is a definite sense of peace when you enter “the Dale,” a feeling that you’ve traveled somewhere far removed from the troubles and turmoil of the modern world. And I believe there is nothing wrong with people seeking an experience that eases their way through a time of grief.
Most important to me though, my trip to Lily Dale served as inspiration for a scene in my next book. One of my characters, a highly superstitious Buffalonian of Sicilian ancestry, is the kind of person who is naturally drawn to the offerings of a place like Lily Dale. However, what she heard there is not at all what she expected.
Have you ever visited a psychic or medium? What was your experience like? I would love to hear your stories in the comments below.
Moxie Gardiner is a writer, gardener, and traveler who grew up on the West Side of Buffalo, NY. In a previous life she was a journalist, magazine editor, speech writer, and policy wonk. Back in the day she made three solo parachute jumps, flew in an F-15 fighter jet, and crawled through mud pits at the Jungle Operations Training Course in Panama. She now meditates, grows tomatoes, and enjoys a good online Zumba routine at home on winter evenings. Virgin Snow is her first novel, and she is currently working on Book Two in the trilogy.
[1] For more information, Lily Dale: The Town that Talks to the Dead, by Christine Wicker, is a wonderful book with plenty of illuminating facts and interesting insights, as well as descriptions of her personal experiences there.