Correspondence: On the Degradation of the Spectral Parlor

Epistolary

November 12, 1923 To the Editor of The Aetheric Review: I find myself compelled to address the mounting catastrophe that is the "Public Manifestation Hall." For decades, the science of vaporous evocation remained a disciplined pursuit. It required the precise application of zinc-sulfur distillates, a curated atmosphere of silence, and, above all, a strict adherence to the social standing of the summoned. What we witness now is a carnival of the macabre. In the slums of Southwark, one may pay a single penny to summon a deceased relation for five minutes of frantic shouting. Is this the legacy we intend for our ancestors? To be dragged from the quietude of the void by the clumsy demands of a dockworker? The aether is not a public utility. It is a sanctuary of lineage. A spirit should be invited through a formal petition, vetted by a committee of peers, and greeted by a host in full evening dress. To summon the dead in a room smelling of stale ale and cheap tobacco is an affront to the very nature of existence. The working class has always lacked a sense of proportion; now, they seek to democratize the afterlife. If the barrier between worlds is reduced to a coin-operated machine, we shall soon find the spectral realm as cluttered and noisy as a Piccadilly station. We are not merely vulgarizing the present; we are polluting the eternity of our fathers. Sir Julian Vane