"Esme Denali, Spirit Medium" by Saturno Butto and John Howe, Art Nouveau, Mixed Media

The gaslight flickered, casting macabre shadows upon the assembled figures.

Esme, draped in a gown of aqua blue velvet, her eyes reflecting the faint orange glow, began her spectral incantation.

Her voice, a low, melodic drone, echoed through the cavernous drawing room, stirring the dust motes into a mournful ballet.

The air hung heavy with anticipation and the scent of ancient leather and pipe tobacco.

Each face, etched with a mix of curiosity and nervous apprehension, was lit by the flickering flame in Esme's hand.

As she reached the crescendo of her ritual, a cold wind swept through the room, extinguishing the last remaining candle, plunging them into an inky blackness.

A collective gasp escaped their lips, followed by an eerie silence, broken only by the rhythmic tick of a grandfather clock.

In that moment, the line between the world of the living and the dead seemed to blur, leaving them suspended in a realm of unsettling possibility.