Saul did not speak to Samuel, because the Bible says that “the living know that they shall die, but the dead know not anything,” Ecclesiastes 9:5. Saul consulted a witch, which God had expressly forbidden, and Satan produced an apparition that looked and sounded like Samuel when he was alive. JTL7 5.4
In the future, Satan will again produce apparitions of people who have died, as well as other supposed communication with the dead, such as séances, fortune tellers, channelers, and near-death experiences. But the Bible strongly forbids any attempt to communicate with the dead or with the spirit world. JTL7 5.5
Today’s media and entertainment culture are saturated with references to the occult, near-death experiences and communication-with-the-dead themes. Movies, music, popular literature, sit-coms, TV drama, Broadway and video games—in a thousand forms, Satan attempts to make other-world communication enticing and credible. This emphasis is preparing masses to accept a deception of Satan and could affect our eternal destiny. JTL7 5.6