Until this past Saturday, I had never attended a séance. For some reason, I was never presented with an opportunity to do so. I’ve had plenty of chances to have my fortune told, or my cards read, though I’ve never done those either. But there was something different about a séance. When I heard that a friend by the name of Sebastian Black was hosting an intimate séance at his house – Black Manor – I asked my wife if she wanted to come along with me. She jumped at the opportunity.
We’ve all seen the images of séances, with a candle-lit room, a round table, mystifying items displayed on shelves and counters… that pretty much sums it up, right? Well, as a matter of fact, Mr Black, or Count Black… I’ll just call him Sebastian… had pretty much set up Black Manor right out of something that you would read in a mysterious 18th century novel. It all started with the gargoyles at the front door, right down to the lion doorbell. Every inch of Black Manor is mystifying and intriguing.
Sebastian and his wife Iris Mandes Black greeted us at the front door, and before I knew it we had a glass of red wine in our hands, and Iris was giving us a tour of the place. Every nook and cranny beheld some otherworldly item – it was fascinating. It was also difficult to take it all in. One of my favorite rooms was Sebastian’s oracle chamber where he conducts private sessions – one-on-one card readings, numerology charts, and palm readings. For his séances, Sebastian’s magic number is 6 to 13 guests. He has two different rooms to accommodate the smaller or larger number of guests.
This past February I wrote about a much larger event that Sebastian was heading up, at a local Variety Hall – he tells me that his comfort zone is interacting with about 50 people when doing larger events. He’s also very comfortable with his one-on-one sessions, and his smaller, more intimate group séances at Black Manor.
As we continued to walk around, led by Iris, we gradually met the four other people who were attending the evening’s séance. One was a friend of Sebastian’s, who brought along a companion – a high power Buffalo attorney. The remaining two guests turned out to be a couple. He was a local tattoo artist with slicked back hair, a norse skipper beard, and yellow biker shades, and his girlfriend was dressed in a steampunk-Victorian shirt with black and white healed saddle shoes. Sebastian was wearing all black, looking very dapper, as was Iris, who fit the role as his “assistant” perfectly.
Before long, Sebastian began gathering everyone into the séance room, where he began to clear the place of any evil or mischievous spirits, while welcoming positive energy. I took a seat at the round table, with my wife to my right, and the attorney to my left. Now, I’m not going to get into the details of the séance, because Sebastian is hosting additional sessions on select Fridays at Black Manor, but what I can say is that every single person in the room, whether a believer or not, was completely in awe by the mystifying experience. No, there were not ghosts flying around the room. Rather, the séance featured a Ouija board (but much more than that), dolls, candles, dice, bells, cards, and an array of other items that Sebastian and spirits interacted with throughout the course of the evening. I must admit that I was fairly spellbound by the goings-on.
After the evening wrapped up, and the lights came back on, I asked Sebastian if I could inspect certain items. With his permission, I began to look over a couple of the more mystifying articles, including a bell that, to say the least, tripped me out. Everyone at the table was equally impressed. Afterwards, we gathered at the dining room table for a spell, to talk about what we had just witnessed. Sebastian was openly candid about his persona that evening. He told us about a number of mystifying events in his own life, and how he had come to be a medium, channeling spirits, and acting as a lighting rod for mystic energy.
One thing that I would like to point out is the house – Black Manor. Sebastian and Iris moved from The Bronx a few years back because they had come across this house, which was featured in the hardcover coffee table book Beautiful Homes of Buffalo. Iris never thought that they would ever in a million years be able to afford such a house, and I must say that it is rather exquisite.
Between the house, the guests, our hosts, and the spirits, we all had an incredibly enchanting and memorable evening. In fact, I am already planning a return with four of our friends who have been dying to know what happened. I won’t tell them either, because half the fun is not knowing what the heck is going on. All I can say is that if you are a believer, or a skeptic, you are guaranteed to be entertained in ways that you just can’t even imagine. Sebastian is renowned for his craft, not just in Buffalo, but far and wide. We are lucky to have him, Iris, and the boutique theater in Buffalo.
An Intimate Evening with Para-Psychic Sebastian Black @ Black Manor
Friday evenings at 8:00pm | November 16 through December 18, 2018
Seating is limited to 13 seats per evening | North Buffalo near the Buffalo Zoo
Click here to learn more, and to reserve your seat at the table
For one-on-one sessions, click here.