Some people believe that King Saul conjured Samuel from the dead when he used a medium to try to contact Samuel.  But is this so?

The account is found in 1 Samuel 28, which is set at the end of Saul’s life.

1 Sam 28:1  Now it happened in those days that the Philistines gathered their armies together for war, to fight with Israel. …

1 Sam 28:3  Now Samuel had died, and all Israel had lamented for him and buried him in Ramah, in his own city. And Saul had put the mediums and the spiritists out of the land.
1 Sam 28:4  Then the Philistines gathered together, and came and encamped at Shunem. So Saul gathered all Israel together, and they encamped at Gilboa.
1 Sam 28:5  When Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart trembled greatly.
1 Sam 28:6  And when Saul inquired of the LORD, the LORD did not answer him, either by dreams or by Urim or by the prophets.
1 Sam 28:7  Then Saul said to his servants, “Find me a woman who is a medium, that I may go to her and inquire of her.” And his servants said to him, “In fact, there is a woman who is a medium at En Dor.”

Saul was understandably afraid of the Philistine army and wanted to inquire of God.  Saul would normally have done this through Samuel, but he couldn’t since he had died.  Nevertheless he tried inquiring of God but with no success.  In desperation Saul then inquired of a medium—despite having put them out of the land.

1 Sam 28:8  So Saul disguised himself and put on other clothes, and he went, and two men with him; and they came to the woman by night. And he said, “Please conduct a seance for me, and bring up for me the one I shall name to you.”
1 Sam 28:9  Then the woman said to him, “Look, you know what Saul has done, how he has cut off the mediums and the spiritists from the land. Why then do you lay a snare for my life, to cause me to die?”
1 Sam 28:10  And Saul swore to her by the LORD, saying, “As the LORD lives, no punishment shall come upon you for this thing.”
1 Sam 28:11  Then the woman said, “Whom shall I bring up for you?” And he said, “Bring up Samuel for me.”
1 Sam 28:12  When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice. And the woman spoke to Saul, saying, “Why have you deceived me? For you are Saul!”
1 Sam 28:13  And the king said to her, “Do not be afraid. What did you see?” And the woman said to Saul, “I saw a spirit ascending out of the earth.”

The woman said she saw a spirit “ascending out of the earth”.  It certainly sounds like she saw someone stirring from the dead.

1 Sam 28:14  So he said to her, “What is his form?” And she said, “An old man is coming up, and he is covered with a mantle.” And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he stooped with his face to the ground and bowed down.
1 Sam 28:15  Now Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” …

Saul perceived that the spirit was Samuel, meaning that he thought the spirit was Samuel.

1 Sam 28:15 … And Saul answered, “I am deeply distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God has departed from me and does not answer me anymore, neither by prophets nor by dreams. Therefore I have called you, that you may reveal to me what I should do.”
1 Sam 28:16  Then Samuel said: “Why then do you ask me, seeing the LORD has departed from you and has become your enemy?
1 Sam 28:17  “And the LORD has done for Himself as He spoke by me. For the LORD has torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbor, David.
1 Sam 28:18  “Because you did not obey the voice of the LORD nor execute His fierce wrath upon Amalek, therefore the LORD has done this thing to you this day.

When Samuel was alive that’s exactly what he had told Saul.

1Sa 15:27  And as Samuel turned around to go away, Saul seized the edge of his robe, and it tore.
1Sa 15:28  So Samuel said to him, “The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today, and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you.

So again, it sounds like Samuel.  Let’s continue with the encounter with the spirit.

1 Sam 28:19  “Moreover the LORD will also deliver Israel with you into the hand of the Philistines. And tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. The LORD will also deliver the army of Israel into the hand of the Philistines.”

That’s exactly what happened to Saul and his sons the next day.  They all died.

1 Sam 31:6  So Saul, his three sons, his armorbearer, and all his men died together that same day.

What’s going on here?  Who was Saul really talking to?  The spirit sounded like Samuel.  The spirit said the same things that Samuel had said when he was alive.  Furthermore, the spirit accurately predicted the deaths of Saul and his sons.

But was this spirit Saul talked to really Samuel?  No.  It was not Samuel.  Samuel was dead.  The dead know nothing.

Eccl 9:5  For the living know that they will die; But the dead know nothing, …

Eccl 9:10  Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work or device [cheshbon] or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going.

The Hebrew word translated device is cheshbon, which can mean “reasoning or reckoning”.  The dead do not think.  It is impossible to communicate with the dead.  For further reading see, “Do you have an immortal soul?”

If the spirit was not Samuel, then who was it?  It must have been a spirit being.  Clearly it wasn’t God or a righteous angel because the spirit was lying about its identity, and God and His righteous angels do not lie.

The spirit was a lying spirit or a demon.  That means that the spirit Saul talked to — the spirit Saul thought was Samuel — was in fact a demon.

That’s what Satan and his demons do.  They deceive and pretend to be something they are not.  They transform themselves to appear as righteous servants.

2 Cor 11:14  … For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.
2 Cor 11:15  Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, …

The spirit Saul talked to was a demon pretending to be Samuel.  God commands us not to consult mediums (people who claim to get in touch with the dead), because it’s getting involved with demons.  Here are some Scriptures where God forbids getting involved with the occult in any way.

Lev 19:31  ‘Give no regard to mediums and familiar spirits; do not seek after them, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God.

Deu 18:10  “There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer,
Deu 18:11  “or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead.

It’s very clear that God forbids getting involved with the occult in any way.  Just how serious is God about this?   Very!  In fact it is one of the two reasons God killed Saul.

1 Chr 10:13  So Saul died for his unfaithfulness which he had committed against the LORD, because he did not keep the word of the LORD, and also because he consulted a medium for guidance.
1 Chr 10:14  But he did not inquire of the LORD; therefore He killed him, and turned the kingdom over to David the son of Jesse.

Conclusion

Did King Saul conjure Samuel from the dead? The answer is no.  After a careful examination of the passage in 1 Samuel 28 and other related Scriptures we see that although it looks like Saul spoke to Samuel, he didn’t.  Saul actually spoke to a demon pretending to be Samuel.  It was a lying spirit who transformed himself to appear like Samuel to deceive Saul.