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A séance (pronounced: ) is, on its most basic level, an attempt to communicate with the dead. The séance, or sitting, is led by a person known as a medium who will usually go into a trance and allow the dead to communicate through him or her. More recently, this has been known as channeling. Other forms of séances use Ouija boards and automatic writing. The Spiritualist Church is based around the belief that the dead can impart wisdom through its ministers in the form of channeling and séance.
John Edward, through his television show, is perhaps the most famous medium in the United States. A Brazilian medium, however, was so famous he was nominated for the Nobel Prize in 1981 and again in 1989, his name was Chico Xavier.
It would appear after decades of purported contact with the dead, those on the other side remain no more intelligent than when they were alive, perhaps less. Other than comfort, the knowledge possessed by the dead has produced nothing of substantial scientific value to the living. This has caused some skepticism.