What Is a Seance?

It's human nature to want to be assured that there is life after death.

Seances and communicating with the after-life

A séance is a meeting of people who are gathered with the intention of trying to communicate with spirits of people who have died. While there have always been those who claim to communicate with spirits and angels, the real heyday of the séance began in the mid-1800s with the Spiritualist movement, which is generally believed to have begun in a small farmhouse in upstate New York with a pair of young sisters, Margaret and Kate Fox. The two girls lived in a house that was said to be haunted. After months of hearing disturbances late at night, young Kate Fox one night challenged the ghostly spirit to do as she did, and clapped her hands together. She was immediately answered by the exact same number of rapping sounds from the ghostly visitor. The girls quickly established a method of communication, asking the "ghost" questions and receiving answers as a series of knocks.

The Seance Movement

From that beginning, the Fox sisters built a career as trance mediums that spanned decades and launched an entire movement. The séance grew out of that movement. The word literally means 'seating' in French, and is used to refer to meetings. Since the mid 1800s, it has been used specifically to refer to meetings at which the participants intend to communicate with the spirits of the dead. Séances became popular with the rise of both Spiritualism and Science as people demanded 'proof' that life after death existed. While there have been many charlatans who preyed on the desire of the living to know that life after death is a reality, there have also been many mediums who were never exposed as frauds, despite years of attempts to unmask them. Séances often appeal to the theatrical in people.

How does a Seance Work?

A typical séance is held in a darkened room, with carefully chosen trappings - a cloth-covered table, candles, perhaps even a crystal ball to serve as a focus for the medium. There is often an experienced medium present - a person who has spoken with spirits or who allows them to use her body to communicate with those present. The spirit may manifest by tapping on the table or walls, by tipping the table or by speaking through the medium or through some other means entirely. In many cases, the medium or group of people may even use a Ouija board or other device to communicate with the spirits on the other side.

More on Seances & the Paranormal

• Airship R-101 Seance Case
• Ghosts
• Poltergeists
• How-to: Develop Your Extra-Sensory Perceptions

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