Where: Lily Dale is located in rural Western New York
What: A mecca for Spiritualism (Spiritualism is an organized religion, National Spiritualist Association of Churches, with churches in two dozen states.)
When: This hamlet dates back to 1879
Why: It’s a place where like-minded people can live without judgment or persecution.
I first learned about this community seven or eight years ago. I keep meaning to visit but have not gotten there yet. I have, however, done lots of research on it because regardless of your beliefs, it is a unique and intriguing place. How can I not be fascinated with a paranormal place like this?
Lily Dale has a population is around 270 (mostly women). Many residents make a living as mediums, but they can’t just hang out a shingle. They must fulfill several requirements, including a detailed test and so many hours of public sessions. If you are unable to pass the mediumship registration process to get certified, you cannot practice inside the gates of Lily Dale.
And you can’t own land in Lily Dale. Instead, you buy a leasehold. This grants you the right to live on the available property for a set number of years. Mortgages are not permitted so you need to have enough money (cash) to buy the home. But yet you pay property taxes! Also, you must be a member in “good standing” with the Lily Dale Assembly. In order to join the assembly, you must be a member of a recognized Spiritualist church for a minimum of one year, have reference letters, pay dues, and discuss your intentions and interest with the assembly board.
But perhaps the most interesting thing about Lily Dale is that none of its residents believe in death. You don’t die but rather go on to become a spirit still very much “living” in this world. Check out the HBO special “No one Dies in Lily Dale” if you don’t believe me. They never use the word “ghost” but spirit is a synonym for ghost and that’s why this place caught my interest. That and the fact that it is full of big, old Victorian-style houses painted funky colors like pink, purple and green, with yard gnomes in all shapes and sizes adorned with witch hats and also lots of alien statues.
If you go and attend a reading, you will notice that the medium does not use tarot cards, or crystal balls or Ouija boards or anything similar. They consider them “toys” and “gimmicks.” A nondenominational prayer is recited and then you can ask questions and speak with someone on the “other side.”
Summer is a busy time with lots of tourists and special events, such as workshops, readings, healing services, and celebrity lectures. Past speakers include Deepak Chopra (renowned medicine guru), Dr. Wayne Dyer, John Edward (famous psychic), and meditative chanting sessions with Tibetan monks. Television medium Lisa Williams has a home here. There is a gate fee until Labor Day except for Sunday mornings for church service.
Lily Dale contains 160 private residences, two hotels, seven guest houses, campgrounds, Spiritualist and New Age bookstores, church and Healing Temple, two eateries, a lake and lakefront beach, Leolyn Woods (a forest with huge 200-400-year-old trees, including hemlock, black cherry, and red maple), picnic areas, a museum, library, and café.
Lily Dale is the locale for YA paranormal novels by New York Times bestselling author Wendy Corsi Staub, who grew up a few miles from Lily Dale, New York. Staub has also written an adult thriller set in Lily Dale entitled In the Blink of an Eye, published by Kensington Books and currently writes the Lily Dale Mysteries, an adult spin-off series featuring new characters as well as several from the original.
Lily Dale was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2022. I think that Lily Dale is one of those places you just have to see and experience for yourself.
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