Nestled in rural western New York, Lily Dale has been a center of Spiritualism since its founding in 1879. This religion, rooted in the belief that human souls persist beyond physical death, ...

The New York Times obtained a copy of Lily Dale’s “mediumship guide,” last revised in 2022, when Ms. Scobercea began the process. In addition to three letters of recommendation, ...

Schlott with her dad, Dick, in Lily Dale, NY. Dick didn’t find out till he was 80 that he had been adopted — and only because of his daughter’s sleuthing.

“I love Western New York, have a special place in my heart for Jamestown, and when the opportunity came to spend a weekend with my fans in nearby Lily Dale, I said, ‘Yes! Count me in,” Scott said.

(RNS) — Every year before heading to Lily Dale Assembly, Doot Bokelman says a brief prayer inviting her relatives who have passed away to meet her at the spiritualist meeting in Western New York.

The 17-track album focuses on piano music Tracy spontaneously composed while playing in Lily Dale’s 19th-century auditorium; the music later augmented by field recordings she made during her stay.

Shannon Taggart began photographing the mediums of Lily Dale, New York, in 2001, curious if members of the Spiritualist community could really speak to the dead. Two decades later, her project has ...

“We were drawn to Lily Dale because of our fascination with the history of Western New York, which is just a hotbed for religious and social experimentation in the 19th century,” says co-author Sarah ...

The Spiritualist town of Lily Dale, despite its potential for eerie imagery, surprises with undeniable charm, deepened by the community's shared belief that the dead never actually die.

Though photographer Shannon Taggart grew up only an hour from Lily Dale, New York, the lakeside hamlet where people congregate to commune with the dead, she didn’t visit until she was 26 years old.