Communication With The Dead

Most of us have heard about John Edwards with his program "Crossing Over", Sylvia Brown, and James Van Praugh. Each of these people have claimed that they can communicate with the dead. The new breed of spiritualists-like Edward, James Van Praagh, and Sylvia Browne avoid the physical approach with its risks of exposure and possible criminal charges. Instead they opt for the comparatively safe “mental mediumship” which involves the purported use of psychic ability to obtain messages from the spirit realm.


This is not a new approach, since mediums have long done readings for their credulous clients. In the early days they exhibited the classic form of trance mediumship, as practiced by shamans and oracles, giving spoken spirit messages that ranged all the way from personal (and sometimes strikingly accurate) trivia to hours and long public trance lectures on subjects of the deepest philosophical and religious import.


Some mediums produced “automatic” or “trance” or “spirit” writing, which the entities supposedly dictated to the medium or produced by guiding his or her hand. Such writings could be in flowery language indeed, as in this excerpt from one spirit writing in my collection: In my program, I use two slates which are proven to be blank on both sides. Both slates are tied with a ribbon and a piece of chalk sandwiched in between the two slates. All this is done while the spectator is holding onto the slates. A little bit of acting in calling up the spirits to read the mind of the spectator and I untie the ribbon and written on the slates with chalk is whatever I want revealed about the spectator. Sounds amazing and I would love to tell you how it's done, but it's a secret.


Today’s spiritualism traces its roots to 1848 and the schoolgirl antics of the Fox sisters, Maggie and Katie. They seemed to communicate with the ghost of a murdered peddler by means of mysterious rapping sounds. Four decades later the fox sisters confessed how they had produced the noises by trickery, but meanwhile others discovered they too could be “mediums” (those who supposedly communicate with the dead).


The “spiritualism” craze spread across the United States, Europe, and beyond. In darkened séance rooms, lecture halls, and theaters, various “spirit” phenomena occurred. The Davenport Brothers conjured up spirit entities to play musical instruments while the two mediums were, apparently, securely tied in a special “spirit cabinet.” Unfortunately the Davenports were exposed many times, once by a local printer. He visited their spook show and volunteered as part of an audience committee to help secure the two mediums. He took that opportunity to secretly place some printer’s ink on the neck of a violin, and after the séance one of the duo had his shoulder smeared with the black substance.

Todays newest medium is Theresa Caputo an American television personality best known for portraying herself as a medium on the television show Long Island Medium. Caputo's claim of being a medium has been publicly challenged by multiple sources, ranging from print publications such as Wired Magazineto television news programs like Inside Edition. Caputo has been described by D. J. Grothe as a "charlatan"whose claims James Randi has stated are "not true.

Rebecca Kay Watson is an American blogger and podcast host. She is the founder of the Skepchick blog and also co-hosts The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe podcast. She also previously co-hosted the Little Atoms podcast. Watson founded Skepchick in 2005, describing it as "an organization dedicated to promoting skepticism and critical thinking among women around the world." Originally the site consisted of a forum and a monthly online magazine, Skepchick Magazine, which was launched January 15, 2006. Listen to what she has to say about Theresa Caputo.