Talking with the dead. Illustration of two men communicating with the spirit of a recently- deceased person in a graveyard at night. The men are standing within a circle inscribed with mystical writing which will protect them from the spirit. The spirit is being questioned as to where it stored treasure during its life. The art of using supposedly magical or psychic powers to communicate with the dead is known as necromancy; its practitioners are called mediums or necromancers. The man with the book is the English alchemist Edward Kelly (1555-93). Kelly often attempted to consult spirits to locate treasure. Artwork of Walton-le-Dale churchyard.