Mediumship is meant to be the ability to communicate with spirit - not to be confused with psychic phenomena which is about picking up information about a person.
It’s an area full of history and controversy and is probably one of the most studied areas of the paranormal.
Mediumship grew in popularity in the mid to late 1800’s and early 1900’s, during the rise of the Spiritualist movement. Séances were held in homes and some in venues with people hoping to hear from loved ones. Early researchers were curious of these events and documented everything from what people said when in trance and automatic writing to direct voice phenomena and materialisations.
There are also different types of Mediumship:
Mental mediumship, where communications is through impressions, inner voices, or visions.
Physical mediumship, where phenomena is created externally with voices, movements or objects forming.
Trance or channelled mediumship, where the medium enters an altered state and allows another consciousness to speak through them.
Psychology can see this as some kind of access to some “creative unconscious”. Survivalist can think of it as genuine contact with non-physical entities. But it does make you think - where does the information come from?
Modern studies, including controlled “blind readings,” have had some interesting results. According to some, there are mediums who have produced verifiable information without any prior knowledge of the people they are reading, even under blinded protocols. Results aren’t always consistent, but they’re enough to keep research active in parapsychology today.
For investigators, a medium may be part of an investigation team, or an individual who is part of a case may have received “spirit messages” which to them explains their haunting.
If you are looking at investigating mediumship phenomena here are a few things to keep in mind:
Create and maintain structured protocols. Make sure you know who knows what beforehand.
Record and review sessions carefully. Look for details you can check against, not general statements.
Respect belief and emotion. For many people, messages received bring comfort and closure.
Mediumship can have a strong emotional aspect to the person receiving the information. It is often someone wanting a connection with a loved one and in hope that they are ok. As well as the possibility of after death communication.
As investigators, our task isn’t to judge, but to document and explore.
