Calling

A person will simply call out to the room and ask if there is a spirit present who is willing to communicate. Usually the caller will ask for a response that is either auditory such as knocks or taps, visual such as lights or manifesting to some degree or physical such as touch someone in the room or move an object.

How responses are interpreted are solely down to the people witnessing it. Sceptics may be quick to dismiss taps as coincidence, so repeat requests for confirmation by asking for specific responses such as tap on a bell or a glass rather than at random, anywhere in the room. A response from a specific request as suggested is harder to dismiss.

A pendulum

A pendulum can be used to answer simple questions. A pendulum is often a light chain with a stone or crystal attached to the bottom. The user pinches the end of the chain and lets the pendulum hang freely.

The user programs the pendulum by asking it to show which way it swings to mean yes, no and maybe. Once this is established the user can then ask questions and the pendulum should respond, directed by the spirit, with yes, no and maybe answers.

From a sceptics point of view the user may not be aware of slight movements they are making and in turn add motion to the pendulum. Additionally, they may subconsciously create the answer they want to hear while interpreting the response as paranormal.

Dowsing Rods

Two equal size ‘L’ shaped rods are held steady in the hands of the dowser. It is believed that a spirit can use its energy to move the rods in answer to questions put to it. It works in a similar way to the pendulum. The rods can be made professionally or from wire coat hangers - either method is believed to work if used correctly.

It’s easy to dismiss these methods as movements created by the person holding the item rather than spirit intervention. There have been occasions where violent or sudden movements have occurred that have left the cause unexplainable such as rods spinning round or the pendulum being tugged out of the person’s hand. This is not definitive evidence of paranormal activity but it does warrant further investigation to see if it can be repeated and recorded.

Ouija Board

Feared by a lot of people, the Ouija Board is another tool for communicating with ‘spirits’. Some say the board attracts evil spirits and bad luck; others say if used properly they are fine. The spirit in this case will push the planchette over a letter in order to spell out a message.

On the other hand, it is believed the ideomotor effect is responsible for the movements. This is basically a muscular movement that is initiated by the mind independent of volition or emotion and can give the impression that the planchette is being moved by a force beyond the control of the people who are taking part. The Ouija Board is also open to abuse from participants who may find humour in falsifying the event.

Glass Divination

This is similar to a Ouija Board except a glass is used as a planchette and there is no lettered board, just a smooth surface. A member of the group asks questions and the glass moves accordingly. This method of communication is subject to the same scepticism as the Ouija Board as the participants could move the glass while others believe they are witness to a paranormal event.

It is important that the participants place their fingers lightly on the glass and allow it to move freely and not to influence its movement in any way. There have been occasions where the movements have been so forceful that the glass has flown off the table. But as with all of these methods of communication, there is no hard evidence to say this was purely paranormal regardless of how honest the participants are. It may even be Extra Sensory Perception at work!

Table Tipping

A group sits or stands around a table with their fingers lightly placed on the top. Someone requests that if a spirit is present to move the table in response to questions or tip it, raise it or shake it. Usually with this method of communication, that goes back to the 1800's, knocks and raps can be heard too, usually from the table itself.

In order to prevent participant fraud as much as possible, place a light tablecloth on the table. This will indicate if anyone is forcing the table as opposed to letting it move freely. If there is a spare person or camcorder, have them monitor the event with the freedom to see under and around the table.

Seance

A group sits in a circle or around a table, usually holding hands to form an unbroken chain or with hands flat on the table with hands touching their neighbour. Often a medium will call out for a spirit to make itself known. These are often conducted in low light conditions that is believed to help focus energy as well as add to the atmosphere of the room. The latter comment alone makes me wonder how much psychology is at play during the event.

This is similar to Calling but the combined energies of the group are believed to make it easier for the spirit to communicate. The medium and group usually ask for protection before commencing to help fend off ‘evil or malevolent spirits’. The spirits are said to communicate via the caller and are sometimes sensed/seen to walk around the group and stop at particular people that interest it.

Medium

A medium is person who claims to be able to contact and receive messages from people who are dead and are now in spirit form. They are usually more sensitive to feeling emotions or sensing and seeing the spirit of a person and therefore able to speak to them. Mediums claim that messages are often symbolic and need to be interpreted, some see images or can hear various sounds, but most often claim that there is no direct conversation, which is why messages are often vague, or inaccurate.

It is also believed that spirits occupy a different frequency, like radio stations, hence why we are unable to see them. Mediums claim they can tune in to the relevant ‘spirit frequency’ in order to contact them.

Automatic Writing

This is when a person takes a writing instrument and paper and allows a ‘spirit’ to control their hand in order to write or draw on the paper. The person should sit quietly and allow their mind to wander and not pay attention to the writing until it has ceased.

Whether this is the work of a spirit, the subconscious mind or fraud is open to debate.

Examples of writing that I've seen range from scribble to articulate and neat writing that is claimed to be a completely different writing style to the person undertaking the experiment. Sometimes images are drawn instead of words, again with completely different levels of style, interpretability and method of drawing.

EVP - Electronic Voice Phenomenon

It is believed by some that the voice of a spirit can be captured on a recording device. In order for this to work, a person would ask a question out loud and leave their recording device on to capture what some people may perceive to be a response. Sometimes this response appears appropriate for the question; sometimes it seems completely random or indistinguishable.

This method of communication is open to corruption due to the vast amount of radio waves, signals, interference or cross modulation that can be picked up as well as natural sound waves that can be mistaken for the voices of the dead. There have been some interesting EVP’s captured and examples of these can be found online Here. Whether or not these are genuine examples of spirit communication is up to the listener.

Crystallomancy

This is when a person stares into a glass, window, water, a mirror, or any shiny, transparent or reflective object to induce self-hypnosis (crystal balls come under this method).

It is believed that by inducing self-hypnosis the person wishing to communicate is putting themselves on the same level as the spirits and are able to communicate or receive information directly to or from them. Some people believe they are opening a doorway that allows spirits to find it easier to reach the living by thinning the barriers between each plain.

This method is open to criticism as again, there is no proof that the people are not just tapping into their own thoughts, hearing and seeing what they would like to see or hear or simply manifesting their own fears!

As you can see, there are many ways in which to communicate with the spirit world. Whether you believe any of these are plausible or just purely ridiculous, they have all been used for many years and continue to leave people wondering about their authenticity and accuracy.

You’ll just have to decide for yourselves if you try any of these and get results. I’d like to hear your views on the forum if you’d like to share them.


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More detailed guides to undertaking these methods of communication can be found online.

Remember; always be cautious of messages you receive and DO NOT assume them to be from spirits - either good or evil! If there are a few participants, quite often the message can be created by one of them (or yourself) whether they or you are aware of it or not. And dont act on any instructions that are intended to harm someone or thing. Cos that is bad man!