A séance (pronounced: [seɪɑ:ns]) 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. The International Phonetic Alphabet is a phonetic alphabet used by linguists to accurately and uniquely represent each of the wide variety of sounds (phones or phonemes) the human vocal apparatus can produce. ... This page deals with the cessation of life. ... For other meanings of medium, see medium (disambiguation). ... Trance is an altered state of consciousness. ... This page deals with the cessation of life. ... According to Websters Dictionary: the practice of professedly entering a meditative or trancelike state in order to convey messages from a spiritual guide. ... A typical Ouija board Ouija (pronounced wee-juh or wee-jee) refers to the belief that one can receive messages during a séance by the use of a Ouija board (also called a talking board or spirit board) and planchette. ... For an article about surrealist Automatic writing go to surrealist automatism. ... Spiritualism is a religion in which contact with the spirits of the dead through a medium is central. ...

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. For the 2004 U.S. Democratic vice-presidential candidate, see John Edwards. ... Photographs of Nobel Prize Medals. ... Chico Xavier:The crazy spiritism guy Francisco Cândido Xavier (April 2, 1910 - June 30, 2002), popularly known as Chico Xavier (Chico is the nickname to Francisco, just as Frank is to Francis), was the most popular and prolific medium in 20th century Brazils Kardecist Spiritism movement. ...

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.