If you’ve ever attended a séance, you know that the ambiance of the room is one of the most—if not the most—important parts. Whether it’s real or fake, either way it’s got to have some wicked effects to be exciting. Maybe the room features billowy curtains, or dim lighting with red and black candles; whatever the effects are, they have to be spooky enough to make the attendees at least feel like something special is going on.
This is why I find it highly funny that the first Twitter séance recently occurred. As popular as Twitter is becoming for everything from news stories to job postings to everything in between, something like a séance is simply not Twitterable. What’s next? Twitter sex? (I’m betting that one’s already been done, hasn’t it?)
So here is how it went down: Twitter users voted on who they wanted to contact and Michael Jackson won—along with Kurt Cobain, River Phoenix, and William Shakespeare. The participants asked questions via Twitter live, and their answers were provided by the event’s host, Angels Fancy Dress, a store in London.
The shop did at least employ a bona fide psychic for the event. Jayne Wallace, who has been reported to have contacted recently deceased spirits earlier this year, says that she made contact with three of the four stars—and they each had a pretty interesting tale to share.
Cobain, says Wallace, was sorry that drugs destroyed him. She also reports that the lead singer of Nirvana caused her physical harm before he answered her question.
Jackson and Phoenix were apparently more benevolent spirits. Wallace claims that Jackson was singing when she contacted him at first—no big surprise there. She tweeted that Jackson told her that he shold have asked for help, and that he was finally at peace—news that fans worldwide were surely glad to hear.
Wallace, considered a well-respected medium in the psychic community, also claims that Phoenix says he is sorry about the way he died and that his brother is a better actor. I have to laugh at that; surely the psychic was having a laugh at this one, at both the readers’ as well as Phoenix’s expense.
Wallace says that Shakespeare could not be reached. Perhaps the bard was elsewhere, or simply too busy for such parochial entertainment.
Over 4,000 responses were given during the event, far surpassing the store’s initial expectations. You have to admit, as a publicity stunt, it was a pretty unique idea.