The Ghost Story
Lily Dale, a gated spiritualist community of 275 residents founded in 1879, is the only town in America where registered mediums outnumber regular citizens. At the end of a wooded trail in Leolyn Woods stands Inspiration Stump, a sacred monument where mediums channel the dead during twice-daily summer ceremonies—paranormal investigators consider it a spiritual vortex where the barrier between worlds is thinnest. In the Assembly Hall, a bearded man in Victorian-era glasses materializes during sessions, watched by visitors who feel sudden cold spots wrap around them. The community's connection to the Fox Sisters, founders of American spiritualism, deepens its reputation as a place where the living and dead coexist.