For the guests at Ruth Bennet's fashionable Georgetwon home, the seance was just a playful diversion . . . until Ruth's niece Sara spoke in a deep guttural voice not her own . . . and the game became frighteningly real.. The New York Times calls Miss Michaels a specialist, saying, "When the seances get going and the ghosts walk (and talk), even the nonbelievers take notice".