The Seance - History and Origins

A dark room, a mysterious woman; floating objects; knocking sounds; an unworldly voice. This is a seance, where a mysterious medium attempts to contact, or at least pretend to contact, the dead so that they may communicate with the living they have left behind.

Seance, the word that has become associated with communicating with the dead, has its roots in a far less provocative meaning. In French, the word seance originally meant a seated meeting of any type. Eventually, however, both in French and English the word became associated specifically as a means to communicate with the dead in another, unearthly world. It is, in effect, the close-up examination of, and communication with, the spiritual world. The Seance - History and Origins - Read Full Story