July 2023

It's been quite a while since we last had a red light seance and I was a little nervous before we began, this was going to take experimentation to a whole new level for us.

Since physical circle sittings began in 2005, I had always disconnected the internet, unplugged the phone and turned off all unused electrical appliances. For this evening, I would be ignoring that protocol and be sitting in the same room as a router.

I had anticipated technical problems with multiple devices in the room, and it wasn't long before the internet and electrics began not behaving. My remote sitter's computer initially lost sound, along with the capacity to adjust levels and settings; the option just disappeared. When we finally did make contact, his computer registered no internet but worked fine, although I was reported by him to be down.

There was a steep learning curve and the new format of sitting in front of a camera, verses a member of the group, was unnerving. I was highly sceptical of the ability of speakers to be able to communicate, let alone transfigure, but my concern appears to have been unwarranted.

As I sat in the cabinet, looking out into the seance room, not seeing a human face felt daunting. The fractured communication over the internet made for some sticky moments, where our speech overlapped, it wasn't ideal. Wanting to keep the room in red light, I had been careful to shield the rear of the phone and allow only the camera to be uncovered. This worked relatively well.

To my amazement, it wasn't long before I was told my face was blurring. To begin with I assumed this was the camera malfunctioning at the low light level, however, my sitter reported that other details in the room remained sharp, with only my face being adjusted. Features that were considered to be visibly different to mine were reported, and voices captured close to the time of appearance.

Considering this was the first time using such technology in the room, our positive results provide optimisim for the future.