Mediums

But if these people can give grieving people some solace, does it really do anyone much harm?

I accept that the boundary between solace and exploitation can be very thin, but as Norstat said, it gave her SiL some peace - which was what she needed at the time.

I don’t agree chestnut I don’t believe there is any connection between mediums and the dead and I think they all prey on emotionally weakened people a few perhaps do it in belief that they can help but the majority do it to make money out of emotionally saddened people
I went with my friend after her sister was killed as she wanted to visit one he was absolutely awful and you could see he was guessing…. when he mention he could see books ( her sister was a teacher) my friend was movingly convinced
This was years ago and this man is still doing the circuit with people adoring him he must have made a mint out of people’s misery.

Mediums are often genuine I think, but their abilities vary and they cannot pick up information to order. They have no control over what they see and have to take what comes through and it can sometimes be garbled or difficult to translate into sensible messages. That doesn't mean they are charlatans, just that their abilities are not as finely tuned as others who may be much better tuned in. Then there are of course real charlatans who give all the others a bad name and the result is that most people believe they are all like that.

I agree.
My SiL went to one. He was expensive and provided a tape of the session for her to take home.

She was entranced and convinced that he was communicating with her recently deceased mother.
She played the tape to us and it was very clear she was being duped and manipulated.
However, we didn’t have the heart to tell her that we thought he was a fraud. Once we were sure she wouldn’t make a return visit, we said nothing else.
The session seemed to bring her comfort.
Nevertheless, we were in no doubt that he was an egotistical, not very sophisticated, charlatan.

I do not believe in their claims but those that do seem to get comfort from them in the same way that those that believe in a god do, I do object to the financial side though.

I feel they prey on vulnerable people.