TORONTO — It’s been seven years since Jaymes White and his séance team last descended upon the George Brown House on Beverley Street in Toronto. And even though he’s not one to revisit the same place twice, he’s made an exception.
“Beverley was special for me,” he said, seated inside George Brown’s old office, surrounded by the Father of Confederation’s personal belongings. “Firstly, because our cameras caught the most unexplained footage we’ve ever caught in our whole lives. Some of the stuff we caught her doing was insane.
“Then this was also a fan favourite for whatever reason.”
The Beverley Street mansion is also where White made his mark as a séance host in Toronto. So, it’s fitting to celebrate a 10th anniversary by returning to where he broke through to the other side. That, and he’s built a solid rapport with the Ontario Heritage Trust and with the house itself.
But each year brings new challenges to hosting a séance, and this time, the team only had nine days to prepare the historic home for guests.
Sitting in the corner of Brown’s office, White wears a baseball cap with his long hair tucked behind his ears. He admits that while there’s some room for improvisation in a séance, it’s not his preferred way to work.
“With séance, I know a lot of it’s impromptu — a lot of it’s freestyle,” he said. “It’s always different, but you still want a pattern. You still want the essence.”
White returned to the George Brown House because of its significance to Canadian history. Brown, after all, was a Father of Confederation. The Scottish-born journalist and politician founded The Globe and launched what would become the Liberal Party of Canada, yet his name doesn’t get the attention that others from his era do.
It’s his spirit — along with a few others — that’s said to still wander the halls of the house, now used as commercial office space.
Built between 1874 and 1876 in the Second Empire style, complete with a mansard roof and dormer windows, the home was designated a National Historic Site in 1976 and restored by the Ontario Heritage Trust between 1987 and 1989.
Brown met a tragic end when he was shot in the thigh by former Globe employee George Bennett. The wound became infected, and Brown died at home on May 9, 1880. Bennett was later hanged for the crime.
Visitors have reported sightings of Brown in his office, as well as of a young, faceless girl named Alexandra on the stairs. Some believe she may date back to when the house was home to the Canadian National Institute for the Blind between 1920 and 1956, or when it served as a facility for children with learning disabilities.
Paranormal investigators have also reported equipment malfunctions inside the house — cameras shutting off unexpectedly or phones activating on their own.
“Sometimes, when you’re doing a table-rapping — the most famous séance technique — we’re asking for a sign and all of a sudden someone’s phone goes off, even though their phone’s on silent or off,” White recalled.
One guest’s smartwatch even lit up by itself.
“I don’t really understand it,” White said with a shrug. “But it’s a common thing.”
Now marking a decade of hosting séances, White admits it’s second nature. Last year’s event took place at the Stanley Barracks on the Exhibition Grounds. In 2023, he held it at the Foy-Smith House on Isabella Street — its swan song before demolition — and in 2022, it was the Applewood Shaver farmhouse.
The séances at the George Brown House began September 26, and even after eight nights, White said there’s a noticeably melancholic energy inside the historic mansion.
“The Barracks was a cool spot, but I like Beverley more because you can actually breathe — there’s actual air,” he said with a laugh. “The vibe is different in this house. I’ve done eight séances here and people are having more of an emotional response — lots of crying.”
The Beverley Street Séance with Jaymes White runs until November 30.