Pub Psychic Nights as Heterotopia: Exploring Experiences of Marginal, Unlikely, and Transformative Spaces in Contemporary Spirit Communication

In Britain, a revival of Victorian era-style spiritualism is arguably underway. Yet, instead of seances or mediumship demonstrations in domestic homes, theatres, or the Spiritualist Church (as during the ‘golden age of spiritualism’), public houses (‘pubs’) have emerged as the latest collective space for contemporary spirit communication. Drawing on innovative ethnographic research, and engaging with Foucault's concept of heterotopia, we argue that pub psychic nights destabilise social norms and empower marginalised participants, as well as encourage reflection and the potential for real-time social change, especially for working-class women. The broadly accessible and commonplace nature of the British pub helps to scaffold and promote the development of alternative beliefs and practices, beyond more traditional locations for spirituality. Despite critiques, in a context where religious institutional affiliation has dramatically declined, pub psychic nights function with transformative potential and offer new spaces that combine spirituality with social change.