Best case scenario?
Someone takes the most precious thing you have left of your loved ones, your memories, and alters them. You’re left with cheap platitudes as what you think are their last words spoken to you.
Cite for this, please, because I’m not buying it. Maybe a few amateurs believe they possess a small amount of psychic ability, but it takes a real con artist to bring in the big money.
Toward her end (which she didn’t predict) Sylvia Browne got sloppy in hiding her con.
It’s a day later. I wonder if the OP would be willing to share her experience.
Thank you Kayaker. I was going to link to the same thing.
I can’t share a cite, but if you look through the JREF’s Million Dollar Challenge application backlog, you’ll see a number of folks claiming some type of psychic ability. Now, this is hardly a statistically significant survey, since there’s two reasons one might apply to this challenge (either one genuinely believes in ones abilities, or one believes one can also fool the JREF), since the nature of this is that it’s biased against people who know they are running a scam.
Again, it’s not a statistically valid number or anything, but reading through some of these, it’s clear that the psychic types fall into two camps - those that continue on to the test with scientifically valid protocols (presumably, those who believe in their powers), and those who become obstinate or disappear during the protocol negotiation (Presumably, those who know they are full of bunk and are seeing their particular flavor of bunk being avoided). Far more applicants fall apart during negotiations than continue on. (And, I can’t find any of the examples here, but has a long-time participant in the skeptic community, I’ve heard a few tales of challengers who were true believers in themselves, and it’s kind of heartbreaking).
Anyway, not exactly a cite, but an interesting and related read
Years ago I went to a Halloween party where the hosts had hired a psychic to give all the guests personal readings, so I got one for the fun of it, since it was paid for. I was careful to keep a poker face and answer all her questions with simple yes or no answers to limit any cold reading she could do on me. Most of it was generic horoscope-type stuff, but one question took me by surprise- “do you have a court case coming up soon?” I did, in fact (I had gotten a ticket for playing my stereo too loud).
But after many of us had had readings we started to compare notes, and it turned out she had asked a couple other people the court case question. When they answered no, she told them to be careful in the future when driving and such, because she saw an elevated chance of legal problems in their future. She also made the same statements to several of us, such as “you have a lot of irons in the fire, too much going on in your life- you need to simplify things”. It became clear that she must have had a set of questions and statements keyed to our general age (mid-20s at the time) and demographics.
Later she did a seance/dead relative channeling with all of us as a group, and that was amusing because one couple kept glomming on to all the dead relatives she channeled up–
“I’m seeing a large, kindly-looking woman. She’s wearing an apron and baking cookies…”
“Ooh, ooh, that’s an exact description of my Aunt Mary!”
“I see a thin bald man smoking…”
“Hey, that sounds like your Uncle Joe-- he used to smoke!”
Hi All:
I am so surprised by all the responses.
I am also surprised by all the negativity. I am always open to listening and learning, but not from some who seem to be snarky and self-righteous. I just do not understand why people have to be rude and condescending. I really, really like this site, it seemed to be the first one I have found with truly smart and insightful posters. However, the meaness of some hurts. Is there a way to block some posters? Just asking.
As for last night:
As one poster suggested, the first thing I did was count the tables, the number of people at the tables, the pricing of the tickets, and took out what the hall probably made. This lady makes a pretty good living, in my opinion.
After last night, do I now believe someone can communicate with the dead? Sadly no. I want so much to have answers to questions never asked, that will haunt me always.
I did go in with an open mind. The medium was very pretty, and had on a nice outfit (not that it matters, just my observations). She was also pretty funny. She gave “messages from heaven” to almost everyone. I have to admit, some were pretty creepy, but my guess would be it is a learned skill over time.
It seemed like she used the power of deduction, if that is the correct term. If you look at a persons age, dress, style, you can tell a lot about a person. Then you can work it from there. She kind of reminded me of a good MC at a wedding.
She seemed to bring a lot of comfort for the believers in the room (which, I believe was everyone except me). I noticed a lot of families and/or friends came together, and a lot of people there had seen her or others like her before.
For the most part I found it quite funny. She does not claim to see the future, she just talks to dead people is all. Good thing they are ALL in heaven.
Like I wrote above, some of what she said to some people was kind of spooky.
Dear God, she never took a break. I was getting so tired and bored, I wanted a nap! Then I got the sillies, and had to muffle my laughs at everything she was saying. Then my sister and friend (who are TRUE believers) got silly too. I kept making jokes under my breath. That part was fun. I have not laughed in a long time.
So at the end of the night, I was no more a believer than I was before. However, getting out with people and having a good laugh was worth the price.
The only thing I still honestly do not get, is if they honestly believe what they say? I mean, she seemed so nice, and says she volunteers at hospitals, etc. She also seemed to be really religious, which I found really peculiar.
I cannot believe she is knowingly scamming people. If anyone has any uncynical thoughts on that, I would love to hear from them. 
Please check out the link in post #40 to see why some of us get “snarky” when it comes to con artists that sell false hope for real money.
Being open to listening and learning is fine, but you also have to use what you learned. If you always laughed at psychics before, why did you have high hopes for this one? If they’ve never convinced you before, why would you think this one would be any different? It’s one thing to say ‘Ive never done this, Ill give it a try and see what it’s like’, and it’s another to say ‘well the last dozen times I did this it didn’t work, but this time it might’.
And do you think this person does something to justify this level of income?
The problem is that some do and some don’t, and it’s hard to tell the difference sometimes. Given that to date no psychic anywhere has ever been able to give objective evidence of their psychic abilities, the people who do believe are deluded, and the people who don’t believe are fraudulent.
That’s what she would be counting on if she was scamming. She’s nice, nice people don’t do that right? She’s religious, they don’t do that right? She’s pretty and dressed nicely, someone like that wouldnt do that would they?
Before you say I’m just being cynical, think about it. If this person could actually talk to the dead, what else could she be doing with this gift besides telling people mourning that their dead relatives miss them? Someone who could genuinely talk to the dead would be in invaluable to the police, and yet despite many claims no psychic has ever actually used their abilities to help an investigation. How many people want information only a dead person has? Imagine if they could help an archaeologist or anthropologist, what we could find. This person could command any price and people all over the world would pay it. And yet, what they’re doing is what you saw: telling people what they want to hear using something strangely close to cold reading.
In the end, whether or not she believes she is psychic is irrelevant. Supporting people like this is bad. There are many other ways to have a fun night out without lining the pockets of someone who is living off of people’s ignorance.
Are you kidding me??? I checked out the site, and there is no “medium” listing, or “people who communicate with people from heaven” listing.
Also, while on this link I looked up a few of the “supposed” traumas and tragedies that come from these subjects - they are ridiculous at best!
Talk about wrong information, read the site on “attachment parenting” that has nothing to do with “attachment parenting” just plain old child abuse. I did not read anything on this link that “attachment parenting” was detrimental. I have no idea where they got their explanation of “attachment parenting”, but just from this one link, I find the site a lot more damaging and creepier, as well as misinforming than any fake medium. :smack:
She also claims to have worked with law enforcement and the FBI. Why do you believe anything she says?
Then she is a successful scam artist, isn’t she?
I am beginning to have my doubts as to how much of a skeptic you were before this happened.
Look in the sections titled “Faith Healing” and “Psychics”.
If she **was **knowingly scamming people, how would you have expected her to behave?
I ask because I always get a laugh when some young person commits some act of unspeakable horror and their next door neighbors always say,
“We just don’t understand. He was always such a nice quiet young man. He always kept to himself and never bothered anyone.”
The point is, if he was planning to do some act of unspeakable horror, how would you expect that he would behave? Would he do anything to draw attention to himself and lead people to believe what he was planning? Or would he just keep to himself and keep quiet?
Hey delsina363, glad to hear you had a good time. It sounds like you finally got some validation for being a nonbeliever, but it was cool that you put yourself in a situation where you had an open mind and came to your own conclusions about it.
Speaking of which…
The purpose of this website is fighting ignorance. Psychics are exactly the kind of thing that is supporting ignorance.
Again, another piece of ignorance that is being fought. You say you go into this with an open mind but this doesn’t seem like it. The evidence is that she is scamming people by making things up to tell them exactly what they want to hear in exchange for money. How can that not be knowingly scamming people?
To have a complete stranger pass off made up information as truth about your loved ones that you have known your entire life, have/had strong emotional ties to, is not only an insult to your intelligence but an insult to you as a person as well as an insult to your loved ones.
How would you like it if after you passed your spouse or children went to a complete stranger that never met you for them to tell your family made-up information about you.
You catch more flies with honey. From day one I have said I have a lot to learn, that is why I liked this site so much, I found posters a lot more intelligent and real.
90% of the posts I have received have been nothing but insulting. Then when I say I am here to learn please do not insult me, I get replies “well what did you expect”. A little patience and courtesy maybe?
I never had been to anyone like this before (a medium). I thought it was odd that it was being held in the same place where I had my Moms memorial service exactly 6 months ago. I feel terribly, terribly, terribly guilty about the way my Mom died.
I was grasping at straws I know, but it certainly was not my intention to come on this site and rile up posters to throw barbs my way.
It seems like if you are open and honest, and convey your vunerabilty and your ignorance on some subjects, some posters will eat you alive.
I really cannot take the bitchy sarcastic smarter than you posters on this site, so I shall take my leave, I hope you are all happy. You are once again a group of elitists. Do not even bother commenting, as I will not be coming back to see them. That being said, I am sure the same jerks will have smug comments anyway.
Goodbye Straight Dopers.
Please try to remember that we were the ones that showed you that she was a con artist, and she was the one that took your money.