Mediums and clairvoyants came into vogue, holding regular séances in the homes of people of all classes. The term séance comes from the French word meaning 'to sit' or to hold a session, and people would gather at a séance for the purpose of making contact with dead relatives or friends who they thought would appear to them in the form of ghosts.

Séances became popular during the Victorian era and were all the rage again after World War One when many bereaved people were desperate to find evidence of loved ones living beyond the grave. Mediums and clairvoyants gave society 'evidence' that ghosts really did exist and they gave hope that one day we would all be reunited with the deceased.

Poltergeist is a German word from the German verb poltern which means to make noise, rumble or knock, and the word geist which translates as spirit or ghost. In essence, when the terms are combined, you get a noisy ghost, rumbling spirit or a variety of other synonyms. Poltergeists are the most commonly reported type of 'haunting' activity. What's more, poltergeists are the easiest spirits to fake because there is visible evidence which can be mocked up to make séance goers believe that they have contacted the dead.

Participants might observe a cold breeze on their faces, the tilting of a table, the materialization of items from thin air, or musical instruments playing mysteriously. Hands or figures would appear to float, and participants might feel the touch of a cold hand. Participants who might negatively impact at a séance would be gleaned out by thorough questioning from the conducting medium or primary sitter so that they wouldn't challenge the believers.

The spiritualists performing séances were essentially using very simple tricks out of a stage magician's repertoire. Conjuring spirits in essence was more of conjuring tricks.

Spirits that would actually float about the room were created by taking small balloons that could be inflated and painting faces on them. The movement of the balloons would make the sitters believe the "spirits" were moving about above their heads and the credulous would believe that the voices emanating in the room were coming from these shapes.

Other séance illusions were created with mirrors and smoke, and of course the knocking noises were created by a séance accomplice that would be hidden behind a curtain or screen.

Séance mediums do collectively receive a bad press because séance tricks used in the past. However, theatrical séances held on a misty Halloween night can be great spooky entertainment for a Halloween party.