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Psychic Secrets Revealed
60 min.
Demonstrations and debunkings of psychic readings; “miracle” healings; telekinesis; and channeling messages from beyond the grave. Stacy Keach narrates.
If you want to see how John Edwards, Sylvia Brown, and James VanPraagh do their thing, this is where to tune in. Tonight at 8pm Eastern on NBC.
Did anyone watch this? This thread was the first I heard of it. I'm just wondering some examples of their tricks. I had heard something before like they have microphones all over which pick up the audiences (like on the John Edwards show) conversations that their having while waiting for the show to start, which is for hours. Since the people in the audience are coming there with hopes of speaking with loved ones who have passed, that person will probably be a topic of conversation while their waiting.
Ok this is gonna be a long post... bare with me ...
I saw the Penn & Teller episode that they had on John Edwards and his likes. It was a REALLY really good show & I think it was the best show they've had all season.... it was their very first one.
Here are some of the things they came up with after their research (they had an ex-CONartist who USED to do this kind of stuff before, he did a lot of their investigation & how it was done etc...)
For instance, yes, some have cameras & microphones all over the waiting rooms while the audience are waiting to get in to the show. Naturally the people are going to talk about the reason they are there & who they want to get in touch with etc, so they get information that way.
Also, it shows how many MISSES these guys have and how they are REALLY good at editing and putting together the parts where they hit right on. It showed this one guy who was supposedly getting in touch with a chick's dad, and the first clip we saw was the perfect one, it was: "It's a man, he says he likes the ocean.... he loved to fish?" All these were right on.
Later they showed all the take outs, and boy did he have a lot of misses before he got to that conclusion.
It was everything from (I dont remember exactly all the misses) but it was like "He likes to.....golf...." then he would make that his conclusion but the chick would naturally shake her head and he'd be "no no, wait.... Im seeing water..." and she'd nod slightly, and he would be like "he had a boat?" she'd shake her head. "he likes to swim" ... *shake head* ... he likes to fish *nods* ...
It was really pathetic.
BUT...the reason it doesnt get out is that the audience have to sign some REALLY heavy duty contratcts before they go in to the show (just right there I woulda paused & turned around in the doorway) stating that NOTHING that happens in the room will be talked about on the outside... freaky... hehe.
Also sometimes they have audience fill in questionnaires in the beginning of the show.... enough said!!
Another deal was they often bring out common names... like:
"Ohhh I think I have someone here..... he says his name is... Mmmm.... Mike......" And several in the audience will nod cause they know someone whos dead whose name was mike... so he'll home in on someone & start grilling them.
ANOTHER thing they revealed was they have "spies" that go out and "befriend" couples etc that have lost a loved one. The example was 2 couples who had lost their daughters to suicide.
It first showed the 2 couples as the "psychic" got in touch with their daughters, and she was right on the money with both couples.
So it left us thinking "well, this is suicide we're talking about, it's pretty serious, they should know what they're talking about before touching such a fragile subject" ...
Then after it showed how this couple had befriended a woman some place.... and had dinner with her etc etc, and of course, talked about their daughter to this woman eventually as they got to know her better. Same with the other couple with the suicidal daughter... turns out this woman who had "befriended" them worked for this psychic & turned in all the information she had gotten for the "psychic" to work with.
It was funny because last they sent in a guy who worked on their team to a "psychic" to see if she could get him in touch with a dead person.. well obviously this guy didnt have any dead people in mind, they just wanted to see how she did ...
He was great, his face was emotionless the whole time and she kept poking like "ohhh... I see a guy...its a friend of your father and his name is James"
The guy would be: "No dont remember anyone named james"
Psychic: "Oh...no he says you knew him as John"
Guy: "Uhm...no."
Psychic: "Oh no wait....I didnt hear right, its Morty."
Guy: "Hmm...dont remember anyone named that"
It was great. Anyways...thats some of their tricks... it's so sickening that they make money off of people that way who are already grieving the loss of a loved one ....
Here's a good site which explains the methods these guys use:
http://www.insolitology.com/rationally/edward.htm
General points to follow during a reading :
1. Bait - especially if with a group, one must establish a person to give a reading to. Using a letter is a good way to zero in, and at the same time gives the appearance of a hit.
example : Is there someone related to an M ? I'm seeing a M-A-R name. Martha, Margaret...
This example is doubly good because if M-A-R turns out to be correct, the hit is more impressive, otherwise the M angle still worked.
2. Slick tongue - your capacity to make the reading flow is very important to maintain appearances. It's better to have 10 hits and 40 failures than 2 hits and 6 failures, if only because of the power of selective thinking (people tend to remember big hits and ignore big misses as a general rule).
2a. Shotgunning - psychics like John Edward can go at a blinding speed of about one bait a second. This is called shotgunning. Keep cold reading and capitalize on success. Don't let failures tarry too long : throw lots of baits, lines and questions.
example : I see a heart problem with a father-figure in your family, a father, a grandfather, an uncle, a cousin... I'm definitively seeing chest pain here for a father-figure in your family.
2b. Back on your feet - have ready-made expressions for set situations, such as repeated failures.
example : When John Edward experiences repeated failures, he says "the energy is pulling back" and stops that reading.
3. Sympathetic audience - it is very important to always perform in front of a partisan audience. This brings you more supplemental answers to your questions and hits, more applause and cooperation, and more body language.
4. Questions - formulate statements in the form of a question if possible. That way, if the answer is no, hey, you were just asking a question. If the answer is yes, a hit !
example : I am "getting" alcohol. Is there anyone in your family with alcohol problems ?
5. Leave yourself outs - better to plan for failures, whenever of one statement or of an entire reading. You may want to develop your own theories on how your powers work, so that you may furnish answers for failures (also see Back on your feet above). Also, open-ended statements or statements relying on hidden knowledge are prefereable.
example : I sense some infidelity here… (from reading example below)
This line is good because even if the person is not cheating, then one can claim that this applies to the person's spouse.
Avid fans of The National Enquirer enjoy shows like that. My BF's best friends had a "friend" who got tickets for John Edward. One look at this woman and you're thinking, "Well, that's typical". She's one of those old passed-around biker women who has nobody and nothing going for her ( really)...perpetually on disability, always borrowing money and coming up with an excuse as to why she can't pay it back. Looks foolish at her age (early 50s) with tattoos on her legs...tsk tsk.
Why do people perpetuate their own stereotypes? Why would ANYONE believe in those psychics? I did think Miss Cleo was adorable and funny as hell, though, on her commercials...but to BELIEVE that sh*t?
They're desperate and need to believe in something I guess...
It's the same as the people who get brainwashed by religious sects etc...
In the case of John Edwards & his likes people just miss their loved ones so much that they want to believe they really CAN talk to them again that they'll try anything, and it really pisses me off that these guys take advantage of that.
I have a friend who goes to 'psychics" all the time... I love my friend to death, but she IS very lost in life, always has questions of what she wants to do and where she should go etc.... I always give her tips & advice, but I guess she chooses to believe the "miss cleos" around here that they will help point her in a direction & make life easier for her somehow...
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