Performance-goers may be treated to a variety of mentalism demonstrations during a theatrical séance, including examples of clairvoyance, ESP, precognition and telekinesis, in addition to or in preparation of apparent mediumship.
From the 1970s on Gibson would attend the Houdini seances at New York's Magic Towne House, run by Dorothy Dietrich and Dick Brookz.
[2] A short theatrical seance also concludes Supernatural Chicago, a popular interactive theater show by Neil Tobin.
Popular practitioners of the theatrical virtual séance format have included Todd Robbins and Vince Wilson.
Phantoms employed items associated with, and actually belonging to, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Harry Houdini.
According to Houdini, if the séance leader is honest and admits his trickery, he is a theatrical performer; if not, he is a charlatan and a fraud.
[4] Ethically, a paying audience should be notified beforehand that they will be experiencing a work of interactive theater rather than an actual Spiritualist seance.