I was recently invited to attend a séance by a reader. They are held, by appointment only, in a historic antique warehouse in Hightstown. I am always up for new experiences but, being the chicken that I am, I dragged my mother for moral support. I had never been to Empire Antiques, a 70,000 square foot warehouse with antiques and collectibles in every available foot of space. The building is old and still very much a warehouse. In the gloom of night with antiques scattered everywhere and creaky floorboards, it was the perfect setting for an evening with the spirits. Being a 200-year-old building, there are several harmless spirits who visit the building as it was of some importance in their lives.

From my limited experience, I know there are many gifted people with psychic ability and as many with no ability but a business plan in place to capitalize on unsuspecting clients. Having met this psychic previously, I had reason to believe she was one of the gifted ones. Even so, I kept my antenna up for mischief.

Up the creaky, dark staircase we went, down dim hallways…into the unknown. There were 9 of us attending. A mother and daughter, two girlfriends, my mother, myself, and these ladies with abilities I try to comprehend. The names don’t really matter as it could have been anyone attending. The nine of us sat around a small table with the mediums facing each other. Candlelight flickered, cleansing herbs were burned, and prayers were said asking for protection and only good to come of our evening. We lightly placed our hands on the table. I could see I wasn’t the only guest who was a little apprehensive. The psychics explained the procedure and what we should expect will happen. They have no control over which spirits “come through”. Basically, they open up a channel of communication and anyone who wants to come through has the opportunity. I had high hopes of hearing from my father who passed away 23 years ago this month. We were very close, and I miss his guidance and his love. My mother was also hoping for a sign. With hands on the little table, it started to vibrate slightly. Then it moved a little in this direction and that. I will only relate my personal experience that night, rather than detail the experience of all six guests.

When a spirit has a message for you, the table vibrates its way over to you so you clearly know who it is intended for. I’m sitting there, watching everyone’s hands to see if anyone is manipulating this and no one was. The first person to come through to me was completely and utterly unexpected. My message was from an unrelated woman who’s name starts with an S. I don’t have a lot of friends who have passed as I am only in my 50’s. I couldn’t think of one with an S. Then one of the psychics says she sees a toaster and smells toast. Did I have anyone in my life who loved toast. BINGO…it is Sarah!!! Sarah was a housekeeper who had worked for my father’s family since she was a teenager. She worked for my grandmother and her sisters and eventually helped my mother weekly with housework. She helped raise my sister and I and was a very big part of our family. She would come into the house in the early morning, take bread out of the breadbox and pop it into the toaster and start her cup of tea. She would sit herself down in the kitchen and bark orders to all of us to get us up and moving and cleaning while she dunked her toast and jam into her tea. I have wonderful memories of Sarah watching us while our parents vacationed, coming out to dinner with the family, and always with us on special occasions. She had an abusive, alcoholic husband and rotten kids who treated her terribly. My sister and I cared for her in her later years when her own children would not. I guess coming through to me was her way of showing her love.

My mother heard from her paternal grandmother who I didn’t know. The table then moved to my mother again. A related man with an M name. Was it her husband? Yes! It was my Daddy. The psychic saw him with his head covered in white cloth, he was buried in the Orthodox Jewish tradition, in his prayer shawl. She asked if he has a namesake, no. She said he has a message for someone close to him with the same initial, M. My nephew. He wants my nephew to have his yarmulke. I suspect he wants this to remind my nephew who he is, where he comes from and who loves him. He said he is saddened that my children and my sister’s children have no connection and asked me to repair the relationship. I said I would. One of the psychics asked who has the silver car…my mother does. He says he likes to ride in the silver car with her and listen to my mother sing, and she does sing while she drives. He mentioned my grandfather clock which I purchased after his death. He likes it and mentioned the keys which I lost when I moved in December. He mentioned that it was repaired, it was broken in the move. He asked about the opera glasses I have from my great grandmother. He mentioned the desk I have from his home on Long Island and said I should get a blotter and use it. He said I have not celebrated my agonizing divorce properly and need to go out and ‘party like a rock star’. Yes, my 70-year-old father wants me to whoop it up with friends and go on a cruise to Bermuda! He told me he is watching and protecting me, and my children and he is very proud of where my life has taken me. It was so emotional and overwhelming but at the same time I felt so blessed to have contact with him. The table shuffled over to touch my mother’s body and then crossed the circle to touch mine. The psychic explained that my father just hugged both of us by using the table to touch. And then he was gone.

The psychics then said Walter was there. Walter is a German immigrant who had worked in the factory in the building in the early 1900’s. He is a sweet harmless spirit wandering the areas he frequented in life. He pops in on occasion when they have a séance to say hello and check in. But wait…Walter has brought someone through for one of us. The psychic asked if anyone has a Toby that was important in their life. Oh, my G-d, Toby is a dog I lost almost 2 years ago. Poor little Toby had a brain tumor. He was still well enough to enjoy his life, so my children begged me not to put him down yet. I went away for the weekend to visit my son in camp and my then 22-year-old daughter came to dog sit. Poor Toby had a brain seizure. My daughter could not reach me, so she called my mother and they took the dog to the vet and put him out of his misery. I had such tremendous guilt for not being there when my little boy needed me most, for not saying goodbye, and for my mother and daughter having had to take that responsibility. Toby came through to tell me he understood and loves me.

The next was to my mother. It was a spirit of an unrelated man whose name started with B. Don’t know who it is. He is young, a child or young man and he has tattooed numbers on his forearm as if he was in a concentration camp. Astoundingly, I realized this is the young man my son honored during his Bar Mitzvah. Yad Vashem, the holocaust museum in Israel, has a program Remembrance of the Names where they pair Bar Mitzvah children with victims of the holocaust who were not Bar Mitzvah as they were in the camps. My son Brad was paired with Benjamin Roussak, a young Jew from Paris who was sent to his death in a camp. Brad did his service with Benjamin on his mind and dedicated a plaque in his name so that every year, on the anniversary of his deportation, a prayer would be said in his name. Benjamin’s father’s family was entirely wiped out in the holocaust. His only surviving relative is a female cousin on his mother’s side who still lives in Paris. According to his cousin, there are no Roussaks left on earth, the name died with Benjamin and his family in the camps. The spirit was that of Benjamin, confirmed because when I asked if it was him, the table went crazy. He told my mother, through the psychic, how happy he is that he has not been forgotten and how proud he is for what Brad did for him.
I could go on and on about other experiences that night 7 years ago for my mother and I and write a book on who came through for the other ladies attending. It was an astounding night; one I will never forget. I felt so blessed that my father, Sarah, Toby, Benjamin, and others came through. I feel very loved and very honored. Each friend that I related the story to was so fascinated that they wanted to go to a séance. I have since been back (with the justification that I am keeping them company) 7 or 8 times, and each experience has been equally wonderful and rewarding in so many ways. These séances are open to the public by appointment only. If you are interested in attending or want more information, you can call Denise and Kathy at (732) 816-7374. There is a charge per person but, I have to tell you, my night was priceless.