Awhile back, one of my friend's parents talked to a medium. It was recorded, so I was able to hear it, and I have to say, it was pretty freaky. Some of the things the medium said concerned me, and I had not told anyone something that he mentioned. Since this has been stuck in my mind tonight, I'm wondering: Has anyone else talked to a medium or had someone they know talk to a medium? What were your experiences? And, do you or do you not believe in mediums and the ability to converse with the dead?

Mm, what you say is true, Ikki. It's like when someone walks into a palm reader's store, or area, they can deduce more than you want. They have more observation skills than magical ones. I've read a few books on palmistry, and while there are details about the shape of your fingers, the length of your heart line, if it splits, whatever. Details. But there are also chapters on observation. How does the person carry themselves? How do they shake your hand? Look at you? Things like that. The first thing they notice is you, not what you're there about. And they look for your reactions while they're telling you the information. Those are the frauds. Unfortunately, it's really easy to do it, which is why there are so many. The real ones probably stay quiet. Who wants media attention? Not your normal person who has an ounce of magical talent.

In all honesty, if it hadn't been for that one thing that no one knew, I'd have been kind of skeptical about the guy. (Especially since he said something that didn't quite make sense to me).

I know there are mediums out there who are frauds, and whenever I see/hear someone talk to a medium, I always think: Stop talking, you're telling him too much. They can make stuff up -- or deduce the correct things -- based on what you tell them.

It all depends on preference and personal experience. If my friend's mom hadn't talked to the medium, I doubt I would have. I was actually kind of worried when she did because, whether or not I believed him, I didn't know if I wanted to hear what he had to say.

I just can't help but feel that if mediums had a speck of legitimacy, they'd get more attention from scientists, the media, and society at large. Also, that there seem to be nearly as many ways of contacting the dead as there are mediums doesn't do much for the mediums' credibility.

I don't want to discredit anyone's beliefs or experiences about the afterlife, but I do think everyone would do well to remember that on a larger scale as a race, we have seen no tangible or verifiable evidence that all of you -- body, mind, and "soul" -- does not cease to exist the moment you die. It's also very interesting to note that the vast, vast majority of paranormal experiences are personal experiences. They happen to one person at a time and are usually impossible to conclusively prove or deny. Sometimes they are mired in so much symbolism that they could just as easily be a few not-so-amazing coincidences.

So if death is, in fact, the end of the road, does that mean we've got a lot of liars amongst us, given the high number of people who have reported such experiences? Not necessarily. It's a bit of a cop-out answer, but the power of the human mind is incredible. If you want to believe something bad enough, or expect something to happen or to be true with all your heart, you very well might see things that aren't there. I've had a few experiences like this myself. Also, deluding yourself in retrospect is surprisingly easy. Consider the number of people who allegedly had psychic dreams in the early morning hours of September 11, 2001, foretelling of grave disasters and planes crashing into buildings. The fact is, dreams are weird, hardly ever straightforward, and just about impossible to fully remember. I really think there are people who believe with all their hearts they had a grave premonition that morning, when in reality they just dreamed about something like throwing paper airplanes around. But now I've digressed horribly.

Logic like this is never going to convince the people who believe they have very vividly spoken with dead friends while fully conscious, and I don't really have an answer for them.

For me, it's always very uncomfortable when there's a discrepancy between what can be possible and what people are saying have happened. What I usually end up doing in such cases, especially when the people in question are friends or people I really trust, is just putting what they've said off to the side. I simply can't believe them and I don't want to disbelieve them.

The idea of mediums especially bothers me. I have lost people I've loved very much, and though it's been very difficult, I've come to terms with the fact that I'm never going to see them or speak with them again. I know I shouldn't let other people's experiences effect me, but I can't help feeling like what I've gone through has been cheapened a little when I hear people talking about the conversations they're having with their dead friends.

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In my oh-so-humble opinion, I believe most mediums are complete frauds. My girlfriend, who has a rather unusual affinity with ghosts that I still have a hard time understanding even after almost two years, would agree. She'd probably say you don't have to have some special ceremony to speak to the dead. I would say that speaking to the dead is kind of like speaking to God (in that it happens only if you want it to), but that's just the skeptic in me talking.

However, I have heard of (not witnessed) things that even I can't explain away. My girlfriend is a good example. She's told me of times where she's seen and talked to people who died years back and been told information (verified by living relatives of said person) that she would have never learned from the person when they were alive. While the skeptical part of me says that she's crazy or lying, her claims to seeing ghosts are said with such conviction that makes me half-believe her. There just have to be things I can't explain or even understand, especially since there are people like my girlfriend (certainly neither crazy nor a liar) who so believe in such supernatural stuff. It would logically follow, therefore, that at least some mediums must be the real deal, even if I have a hard time believing that.

It would be very interesting to actually interact with a medium, as I have never done that. I'd have to come to my own conclusions.

I've known people who have been mediums, but never in front of me. I've seen posession, but that's a little different. Who was she a medium for? With things like that you have to know and trust the source. If you're talking to the dead, remember they're still people, and they can still lie.