Search For Tomorrow has introduced the world of the occult to daytime viewers. Dark Shadows came close but in a highly stylized, Gothic manner complete with vampires and
eerie effects. However, Search is treating it in a realistic manner, devoid of anything sensational or "gimmicky." The writers and producers painstakingly researched their
material, and have a psychic, Alexander Murray, to advise them.
"The intent is to realistically show the kinds of things that do happen, and to work them out in a story in a metaphysically correct way," Alex explained.
Alex is a gentle, cheerful young man with a good sense of humor. Nonetheless. He is one of New York’s foremost people in the field, and his credentials include over 30 trance sessions at the United Nations, an extensive international clientele, and a busy schedule as a lecturer, teacher, and seminar reader. He has also been the subject of research projects for the American Society for Psychical Research, successfully demonstrating clairvoyance, out-of-body experiences, psychokinesis, and the banishing of poltergeist phenomenon.
Finding Mr. Murray was production coordinator Bonnie Bogand’s job. She was to locate someone who was well versed in all aspects of the occult to be a consultant on the staff.
"I started at the occult bookstores. I went to the two biggest ones in New York, and spent a couple of hours at each. I was so intrigued by all the reading material there is on the subject I surrounded myself on the floor with books and read them until the manager finally came over and said I couldn’t read them there!
"The big problem was to find someone that was serious," she continued. "There are rip offs in every field, and the occult is certainly no exception. We wanted to treat this very seriously, and not as a gimmick to get more viewers, so we didn’t want any sensationalism," she explained.
"The second problem was to find someone articulate, possibly with a flair for drama, who could relate well to the writers, directors, and actors, because this person was going to be involved every step of the way. He would help with the specifics, such as the technique that a psychic would use in reading tarot cards or giving a séance—gestures, incantations, whether or not her eyes would be closed. He would be involved in anything to do with the physicality of what happens, such as lighting or costuming.
"He would also have a series of meetings with the writers, going over the story line, telling them whether or not they were being far-fetched, exploring the possibilities of voodoo. When we decided to have a fire caused by lightning, we did it in a way that the audience could decide for themselves whether or not Tante Helene started the fire, but we determined that there is a basis in occult truth for a power to do this."
…After Bonnie secured a directory listing everyone in the country who is involved in the occult, she called organizations like Foundation Faith, the Parapsychology Institute of America, and the American Society for Psychical Research. It is illegal for these institutions to recommend anyone, but if she gave them names, they would indicate their opinion. The only problem was that none of them seem to agree on any one person.
Like most other fields, the occult tends to have specialists, and Search needed someone who was well versed in all aspects from séances to tarot, so many people were
immediately eliminated. Finally, it was narrowed down to Alexander Murray, so Bonnie made an appointment for a séance, without telling him who she was or why she was interested.
"I didn’t want to go alone, so my boyfriend went with me. It wasn’t at all what I expected. I thought it would be pitch black, with special effects like a fan blowing the
curtains and a black cat. It was just a group of people sitting around the room in chairs-not even holding hands around a table. Alex conducted the session, opening it with some incantations and prayers. Then his mind left his body and he became about seven different people, with different accents and sometimes even different languages. He
basically spoke about love and a philosophy of life. There was nothing ugly or scary.
"One thing happened that was very exciting. He has a spirit guide, who allows the other spirits to some and go out of his body without becoming possessed by an evil spirit. She (his spirit guide is a woman) went around the room and told everyone something about their vibrations and auras. When she came to me she said she saw someone in my aura, and that it was an aunt named Helen. I told everyone at the office and they were all really excited."
After the séance, Mary Ellis Bunim, the producer, also went to see Alex, and she was unequivocably chosen as the show’s consultant.
One of the things Alex has done is to give Jane White, the actress who plays the central occult figure "Tante Helene," a shibboleth to protect herself and the rest of the staff from evil visitations.
"A shibboleth is a protection that you may do in the form of a mantra. Even when you play act, you are touching upon the real thing. There is a tradition that every time the play Macbeth is done there is a curse on it and something goes wrong. There are a lot of magical incantations in that play, and the actors may not know it, but every time they say them they can release a lot of energy.
"I explained to Jane that even though she is only acting, there is power in words, and she should make a clear distinction between herself and "Tante Helene," so I gave her something to protect herself and the cast, so that the spirit world would understand it was just a play. We didn’t want any weird happenings, like tapes being erased or flats falling over, and that kind of thing has been known to happen."
In a similar vein, Alex explained that the other characters in Henderson are going to be affected by their contact with the occult world, even though they may not believe in it or be aware of it.
"They come into contact with ‘Tante Helene’ on a casual basis, but once they make the contact it is like opening Pandora’s box. They’re involved whether they know it or not. Once exposed, it is like radiation, and the outcome will be worked out in the story."
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