Spirituaism and there beliefs?

H everyone could anyone please clarify something for me? My wife has a friend who visits one of these chappels to contact her mother who she says has not died but passed over and exists in a ethereal spirit world known as behind the veil not physicaly but as a spirit version of her former physical self.
She told me she communicates through a women who she calls is a spirit medium.
I am interested mainly because they don,t charge for there services I thought that had to be the rub.
She also said they communicate directly with spirits.When I asked her what a psychic medium was she said they pick up residual energy of a person by holding a necklace or even by remote writing.
This type of belief I know nothing about but would like to.

Thanks