There are a number of ways these mediums made followers and believers that they were able to communicate messages from those who had passed. One was table turning that involved moving tables or knocking on the floor in response to letters called out by the Alphabet. Another method used planchettes, heart shaped devices with two wheels at one end and a pencil at the other. Users would place their fingers on the device, which would then be guided by the spirits who would write the messages. Both methods were problematic