Mediumship is the practice of certain people—known as mediums—to purportedly mediate communication between spirits of the dead and living human beings.

Attempts to contact the dead date back to early human history, with mediumship gaining in popularity during the 19th century. Investigations during this period revealed widespread fraud—with some practitioners employing techniques used by stage magicians—and the practice started to lose credibility. The practice still continues into the 21st century, with high-profile fraud uncovered as recently as the 2000s.