Halottlato

In Hungarian folklore, The Halottlato (or lato), Conjurer of the Dead, come into their skills through a trance which occurs during a severe illness by which they are unconscious and close to death for days. After they recover, they emerge as a lato.

They are psychic mediums who Hungarians visit to seek out the deceased. A lato will first eliminate the skeptics from their visitors, then describe what the deceased was wearing when they died. They take down messages from the deceased in the form of a letter.

Borsod County in Hungary is notorious for their Halottlatos and many Hungarians in Canada have imported the folklore of the latos.