Lily Dale Assembly: Architecture and Community-Building

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Lily Dale Architecture library

The Lily Dale library was built in 1924

The second half of the 19th century was a time when progressive ideas and religious movements took hold in the United States. In the 1870s, a group of Spiritualists and Liberals began to meet in Laona, NY to discuss their beliefs and to practice healing and mediumship. They began to meet at the nearby Alden farm, eventually expanding their day-long conferences into lengthier summer gatherings. In 1879 the Spiritualist Society of Laona purchased 20 acres along Cassadaga Lake to found what would later become known as the Lily Dale Assembly. As time went on, this Spiritualist camp became a strong community.
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The Hillywood Show goes full SuperWhoLock with Sherlock Parody

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Sherlock Watson bus Hillywood Sherlock ParodyThe Hillywood Show is up to their usual hijinks, giving us another entertaining parody video. This time, they’re portraying the immensely popular BBC series Sherlock. Sherlock Parody scenes are played against an adaptation of the song “Thrift Shop” by Mackelmore and Ryan Lewis. The creative Hillywood team even managed to snag a cameo from series creator Steven Moffat and his son Louis. Now that they’ve added Sherlock to their catalog on top of the previous parodies of Doctor Who and Supernatural, the Hindi sisters have proved their #SuperWhoLockian cred.

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Lily Dale Assembly: 19th Century Reform and Revival in Western New York

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Lily Dale old stump crop

Inspirational Stump at Lily Dale, NY

Lily Dale Assembly is a Spiritualist community founded at the end of the 19th century in Chautauqua County in Western New York. Residents and visitors to this small community aspire to make connections with those who’ve passed to the afterlife. It’s attracted progressives, reformists, and freethinkers for well over a century. This spiritualist town rose out of the religious reform and revivalism that flourished in New York State in the 19th century. Continue reading

Monster of the Week: Huli Jing

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huli-jing-china

After aging for 1,000 years, a huli jing becomes a jiuwei hu (nine-tailed fox)

Accounts of foxes with supernatural powers have existed for millennia. The huli jing (狐狸精 húlijīng) is a fox spirit that arose out of Chinese traditions, predating the Japanese kitsune and Korean kumiho. Despite attempts to suppress the practice, the huli jing was venerated at household shrines throughout China for many centuries.

The fox can be a force of benevolence or malevolence, depending on its individual nature, thus the intentions of these mischievous creatures are suspect when they interact with humans. A huli jing may attempt seduction to steal human essence, curse those they seek vengeance against, reward worshippers with wealth, or provide sage guidance.

“Without fox demons, no village is complete.” —Chinese proverb Continue reading

Lily Dale Assembly: Walking the Fairy Trail

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lily-dale-fairy-trail-2-blue-winged-angelChautauqua County in Western New York is home to old growth forests, beautiful lakes, and enchanted footpaths. Lily Dale Assembly has all of this and more. The long-standing community of Lily Dale is dedicated to understanding the science, philosophy, and religion of Spiritualism. Just past the Fox Cottage Mediation Garden, on the eastern edge of Lily Dale Assembly, is a woodland path known as the Fairy Trail. Here you can enjoy a peek into the unseen world while walking through a beautiful woodland. Continue reading

The Walking Dead at Comic Con 2016: Season 7, a killer cliffhanger, and TWD cosplay

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The Walking Dead Comic Con full panel

The Walking Dead at San Diego Comic Con 2016

The hugely popular series The Walking Dead had a hugely populated panel at San Diego’s Comic-Con this year. Talking Dead host Chris Hardwick moderated the panel, which was so huge he had to do it in two sections. It started with the series producers: Scott Gimple, Robert Kirkman, Dave Alpert, Gale Anne Hurd, and Greg Nicotero, who answered questions about what to expect in Season 7. Then the cast took the stage, including series regulars Andrew Lincoln, Norman Reedus, Steven Yeun, Lauren Cohan, Chandler Riggs, Danai Gurira, Josh McDermitt, Michael Cudlitz, Sonequa Martin-Green, Christian Serratos, Ross Marquand, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan.

 

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Supernatural at Comic-Con 2016: Season 12, Mary Winchester’s return, and the Hunt for Lucifer

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Supernatural panel SDCC 2016

Robert Singer, Andrew Dabb, Jared Padalecki, Jensen Ackes, Misha Collins, Mark Sheppard

Great storytelling has kept viewers coming back to Supernatural year after year. The cast never misses a chance to share the love with their fans at a convention. They’re regulars at San Diego’s Comic-Con, where attendees had a chance to learn what, and who, to expect during their 12th Season of Supernatural on The CW. Continue reading

Honolulu Supernatural Con: 7 Spooky and Mundane Things to Do on Oahu

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Dean in Hawaiian shirt Supernatural The Bad SeedCan’t wait for the Salute to Supernatural convention in Honolulu? Neither can we. November 2017 may seem like a long way off, but not if you’re planning the vacation of a lifetime. Once you’ve got your tickets and your hotel, you’ll need to figure out how you’re going to spend your time on Oʻahu. That’s right, you’re going on a Hawaiian vacation! If you’re like Dean Winchester and enjoy sunsets, long walks on the beach, and frisky women, then you’re destined for a good time. Continue reading

Stranger Things Review: How Netflix Learned to Love the 80s

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Joyce Byers Winona Ryder Stranger ThingsThe Netflix original series Stranger Things was released on July 15, just in time for your summer binge-watching pleasure. The eight-episode series was created by brothers Matt and Ross Duffer. Stranger Things isn’t easily classified, except by the 1980s. The series is set in 1983 and pays tribute to some of the best filmmaking of that era. Stranger Things includes monsters, government experiments, teen romance, heroic sacrifice, family, friendship, and much more. Get some popcorn, grab a friend, and prepare to be scared. Continue reading

Lily Dale Assembly: Spiritualist Practices in the 19th and 20th Centuries

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Hypnotic Séance 1887 by Richard Bergh

Hypnotic Seance, 1887, by Richard Bergh

Lily Dale Assembly is dedicated to understanding the science, philosophy, and religion of Spiritualism. Spiritualists believe that individual personal identity continues after death, that those in the spirit world can communicate with the living through a medium, and that healing and prophecy are expressions of God. Throughout Spiritualism’s history, the methods by which mediums would communicate with the spirit world have changed. Spiritualist practices of the past that focused on the physical manifestation of spirit  have given way to a modern emphasis on mental mediumship. Continue reading