No spirit at fundraiser: religious objectors kill seance at Saskatchewan museum

MOOSE JAW, Sask. _ Plans for a Halloween seance at a Saskatchewan museum have been sent to the grave following complaints from religious leaders and residents.

Officials at the provincially run Western Development Museum in Moose Jaw had organized a Halloween “ghost walk” to help raise funds to repair a train that takes children around the building. The event was to include a presentation on talking with the dead as well as a demonstration.

Many in the city were spooked by the idea.

“The manager at the museum started receiving phone calls and emails and personal visits from individuals who were objecting to the seance pretty much by and large on religious grounds,”  said David Klatt, the museum agency’s executive director.

“One of the specific comments that was made, which I guess would give you an example of what we were hearing, is that we would be inviting evil through the doors if we were to conduct the seance.”

Even the local legislature member, Warren Michelson, ended up fielding concerns.

The museum gave in to the pressure and cancelled the event, but only after a lot of deliberation.

“The board really struggled with it … because there are matters of principle here,” Klatt said. “Does the museum have the right to put on a broad spectrum of programming? Are we going to limit our programming because of the concerns of a special interest group?”

The other problem was that it’s too late to put together a different fundraiser before Halloween. The museum’s board had hoped to raise $1,000 toward the train-repair bill. The money will be raised eventually, Klatt said, and the train should be back on track by next summer.

The Western Development Museum was established by the Saskatchewan government in 1949 to preserve farm machinery and other aspects of the province’s history. Board members are appointed by the province to oversee four facilities in Saskatoon, Moose Jaw, Yorkton and North Battleford.