Amanda Hart & Ben Murphy In Sick PR Stunt - Missing Child Madeleine McCann

Originally Published May 14, 2017

By Jon Donnis
Very rarely does a psychic make me want to throw up my dinner in disgust........ ok quite often they make me want to throw up my dinner in disgust, but this time it is even worse.

Many of you will have seen in the news the story of Madeleine McCann, the young "photogenic" child that has gone missing in Praia da Luz in Portugal.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6651307.stm

Well the they still haven't found the poor child, but guess what, two of the UK's most incredulous 'psychics' have apparently flow to Portugal to join in the hunt for Madeleine.

Amanda Hart from St Albans and Ben Murphy from Watford are the two psychics in question who believe they can help, of course self promotion doesn't come into it.

Well it does actually, these two non-entities in the psychic world have stooped lower than I thought possible.

This is the kind of sick stunt I would expect from Sylvia Brown.

These two 'psychics' through a PR agency, released the press release about them travelling to Portugal.

Amanda Hart you may remember as being one of the failures on Channel 5's Psychic Challenge program, in fact she was so bad it was laughable.

You can check out exactly how poorly she did at John Jacksons excellent site
http://www.skeptics.org.uk/commentary_display.php?d=britains_psychic_challenge

As for Ben Murphy, he is not much better, his claim to fame is that he helped in tracking down the murderer of teenager Sally Anne Bowman, the truth is he did nothing of the sort.

You can see what Ben Murphy said at this link
Click Here

Forum member Meercat took a look at his claims regarding this case.
Here is what he had to say:

The information he gives is so vague.
Quote:

Sally first showed me how a man grabbed her from behind.

He could have said "Did a little jig". It's irrelevant.

Quote:

He was wearing gloves and a hooded top, but his face was blanked out.

Cant say for certain at this time what the offender was wearing at the time of the attack, although a hoody and gloves seems to be standard issue for murderers theses days.

Quote:

He had stabbed her quite a few times

As was reported before he made his comments.

Quote:

She then showed me a handbag with some writing on the side and also some of the things from her bag - a phone, some keys.

It was reported that her white Prada bag was missing. I think its safe to assume a teenage girl out on the town would have in her bag a phone and keys.

Quote:

Sally Anne then showed a man in his bedroom taking a clear bag containing a few of her personal items out of a wardrobe.

Again, at this point its not known if the offender had a bag like this in his wardrobe.
Quote:

From the bedroom she showed me a park. In the park she showed me a small hill where there was a tree and a man kneeling down at the tree.

"She said that these items are buried here and the man comes back to look at them.

Why the hell doesnt he go and find them then?

Quote:

I was also given the name Justin while in meditation.

Must have been Timberlake then as the man arrested for her murder is Mark Dixie.

I feel sorry for the mother to be in such a state of grief that she actually grasped at the 'help' this fake came up with.

If he had said "The murderer is a 34 year old chef who will be arrested on DNA evidence following a fight in a pub" I would have been impressed.
The Police and Forensic Science solve cases, 'Mediums' don't.

Details of the man arrested can be found By Clicking Here

These psychics are no more than parasites, and what makes it worse is that they are not the only ones.

It has been reported that the police and media groups are currently being deluged by psychics making offers to help, although the police are not taking these offers seriously.

So far it seems to be only Amanda and Ben who have flown over to "start their own investigation"

I really don't know what to say about these two psychics.

These people are the lowest of the low, the sickest of the sick, truly fame hungry parasites.

If Hell exists then it will have a seperate wing just for psychics like this.

Further Reading
Tony Youens looks at Ben Murphy
http://www.tonyyouens.com/Commentary120306.htm#mdw

John Jacksons write up of Psychic Challenge with Amanda Hart
http://www.skeptics.org.uk/commentary_display.php?d=britains_psychic_challenge

Fifteen Minutes of Fame - Psychics And The Media - By Emma-Louise Rhodes

Anyone can be famous, or so the media tells us. The Big Brother society that has been created over the past ten years in Britain has demonstrated that the least talented and the most desperate can aspire to becoming a ‘star’, regardless of the cost. Yet among the endless list of wannabe singers, actors and presenters all baying for their brief spell in the limelight, another kind of ‘celebrity’ has emerged: that of the TV psychic.

Day in day out, the viewing public is bombarded with talent contests to seek out ‘real’ talent and market it. The message is clear – if you have what it takes, then it could be you. Of course, stage schools and performing arts courses are hugely oversubscribed with those frantic for fame (along with those who truly believe in their art) and the competition is immense. Therefore anyone who is ‘gifted’ in another, less likely, field stands slightly more chance of grabbing their fifteen minutes of fame and gaining the love/hate of the fickle British public.

EARLY PARANORAL PHENOMENA AND INSTANT FAME

Since the dawn of the Spiritualist movement, many mediums have been awarded celebrity status. Margaret and Katie Fox of Hydesville, New York were the first Spiritualists who achieved notoriety (post Swedenborg and Andrew Jackson Davies) – their elder sister swiftly securing press interviews and a theatre tour as soon as the ‘rappings’ created by the girls became public. The revelations surrounding the Fox sisters soon gave way to a nationwide craze, with everyday folk claiming that they possessed supernatural powers in order to capitalise on the Spiritualist frenzy. 

In particular, young women became attached to the movement. In her book, The Darkened Room: Women, Power and Spiritualism in Late Victorian England, Alex Owen writes of early Spiritualism in Britain:

Quote:

‘The 1870s ushered in the beguiling, youthful
creatures …These young women introduced new,
thrilling and daring phenomena and a theatrical style
of mediumship which emphasised visual spectacle
and display.’

Both Florence Cook (who produced the ‘materialisation’ of the famous spirit Katie King) and Mrs Guppy (who conjured up flowers, fruit and blocks of ice on her séance table) could well have been stage actresses or vaudeville entertainers as opposed to the infamous Spiritualists they instead became. Women attracted to mediumship were both the flamboyant and the bold; those who desperately wanted to break free from the constraints of Victorian life and ‘become’ something or someone else. This, coupled with the dashing Daniel Dunglas Home representing the make faction, made Spiritualism something which was, not only exciting and out of the ordinary, but also hugely saleable on the worldwide stage. 

The response from the general public, both in the US and Britain, was that of fascination. This search for knowledge by individuals who had never before considered the supernatural, fuelled the need for mediums to make themselves known and become minor celebrities in the process. The fact that the Fox sisters had performed in theatres early in their career, immediately placed Spiritualism in the entertainment bracket, as well as forming itself as a fringe religion. Mediumship and performance soon went hand in hand – a partnership which has not been separated to this day. 

THE NEED FOR CELEBRITY STATUS

The renaissance of the ‘medium as celebrity’ in the UK was undoubtedly led by Doris Stokes in the early eighties. As the first medium to appear at the London Palladium, Stokes, for the first time in over fifty years, became a psychic who was a well-known household name. Her books sold millions of copies worldwide and, although claims of fraudulence were abundant both in and after her lifetime, Stokes undoubtedly secured herself notoriety as one of the most famous British mediums of all time. 

The advent of the TV show Crossing Over with John Edward in the US in 1999 again sparked interest in celebrity mediums. In the UK, Living TV’s Sixth Sense with Colin Fry followed in 2002, along with Most Haunted in the same year. Millions tuned in to Most Haunted Live specials, to watch medium Derek Acorah being apparently possessed by the spirit of witch finder Matthew Hopkins, highwayman Dick Turpin and more infamous characters from history. 

Mediums are always ready to cite their experiences of contact with a famous deceased individual and, in doing so, many hope to secure such prominent status themselves. TV medium Sally Morgan (‘Psychic to the Stars’) has often spoken of her alleged psychic banter with Marilyn Monroe and mediums Craig and Jane Hamilton-Parker are always happy to exploit their ‘The Spirit of Diana Séance’ (where a group of people who had worked with the Princess ‘contacted’ the late Diana via the Hamilton duo). 

Magazine programmes, such as This Morning and Richard and Judy, realise that their target audience (predominantly women) generally share an interest in psychic phenomena (as is so often illustrated in the cheaper female magazines) and, due to this, it provides an interesting topic for discussion. Psychics regularly appear on daytime TV, desperate to show off their talent and win viewers over. However, as is so often the case, such segments nearly always demonstrate to the astute viewer nothing more than predictable cold reading by the mediums in question. 

The debunking of medium Craig Shell on the Bad Psychics website (1) illustrated a typical example of a young man, desperate for fame, fortune and celebrity status who was willing to do whatever it took to establish himself alongside the likes of Colin Fry and Derek Acorah. Although completely unknown before the BP expose, Shell’s website proclaimed: “Do you need a celebrity figure to open an event or fate?(sic) Craig will be happy to attend and speak with any guests and to become involved in any day to day activities (price on application)”. The site - titled Celebrity Medium - also included the Living TV and Most Haunted logos at the bottom of the page (although he had no association with either). 

Should such people be scorned and punished for taking advantage of the basic human need to be reconciled with a dead loved one? Certainly there should be appropriate laws in place to discourage such behaviour (and prosecute when necessary) and the general public made aware of the fraudulent techniques used by such persons. Yet, regardless of their gross manipulation of the bereaved, it is surely as important for us to understand the need for fame in today’s throwaway world, and the psychology of those who will do whatever it takes to gain renown. Although exploiting the grieving is far more damaging to society in general than, say, appearing in a pornographic movie, there is really very little difference. The need to break out from the mundane nine to five lifestyle and ‘make it’ often ensures that countless individuals leave their morals behind in search of the apparent fulfilment of fame and, in doing so, are swept along with the imaginary façade that they have created.

REALITY TV?

The numerous TV channels that have been created in the past ten years in Britain have caused an influx of the diverse and the drab. This, along with the need to publicly recognise and embrace the supernatural (regardless of how ludicrous this might seem) has seen a desperate increase in programmes ‘investigating’ the paranormal. Such investigations rarely fulfil their criteria in terms of uncovering the truth behind Spiritualism and merely encourage the dangerous belief that a mortal can transmit the thoughts and wishes of the deceased. ‘Celebrity’ mediums usually feature, typically showing off their ‘abilities’ by summoning up the dead in a two-up, two-down semi in Bradford. Regardless of the sense brought to these programmes by sceptics such as Professor Chris French, the producers are always keen to leave a question mark over the possibility of life after death and careful never to knock the psychic in question too harshly. 

Many programmes carry a disclaimer at the end of the credits, not unlike that which appears on Sixth Sense with Colin Fry stating:

Quote:

‘This is an entertainment programme only.
Differing opinions exist to the true nature of
clairvoyance and clairaudience.’

Yet medium Craig Hamilton-Parker expressed his dislike of the way the media treats psychics by stating the following:

Quote:

‘Mediums often have to put up with a lot of stick.
If we demonstrate on TV we are expected to have
a sceptic on the show to add balance - unless it is
billed as entertainment, which to most Spiritualists is
abhorrent.’ (2)

It seems that Hamilton-Parker does not find theatre tours or once featuring as ‘resident psychic’ on Channel 4’s The Big Breakfast in order to promote his work abhorrent, although these are deemed as entertainment to just the same extent. Spiritualists who remain firmly in churches, giving readings for free, must sometimes cringe at certain mediums who appear in the media for (it appears) their own personal gain. On the other hand, one would consider that surely a psychic who has a special webpage titled ‘Psychic’s TV’ with numerous clips of his ‘portfolio of TV shows’ wouldn’t be too offended by the word ‘entertainment’. But, in a somewhat contradictory way, Craig Hamilton-Parker obviously is.

The dislike of the need for questioning is always very apparent in mediums. Many project a ‘Why should I have to prove myself to you?’ attitude, yet know that their TV career depends upon it. If they don’t come up with the goods, then the chances are they will not be hired again. 

The basic need to be respected and admired can manifest itself in different ways. The desire to be rich and famous burns in many, and striving to attain this often sees those who might, on the surface, have high principles selling out in order to grab the public’s attention. Regardless of whether the medium in question has made a cold and calculated decision in manipulating the public, or whether they honestly believe that they have a gift and should make themselves known nationally due to this, the want for recognition of some kind in an undeniable element in undertaking such a career path.

In a society where we are constantly inundated with, literally, the good, the bad and the ugly on our television screens, the division between reality and fantasy becomes increasingly blurred. It is surely up to the viewing public to make their own informed decisions about truth and lies, right and wrong, yet the very fact that a programme such as Most Haunted has been running for over five years (with strong viewing figures) and never actually captured the whole form of a ghost on camera, dictates otherwise. Do the viewers really believe, due to the documentary style format of such programmes, that they are one hundred per cent fact, or do they suspend their disbelief and enjoy an hour of television where celebrity mediums are possessed by the souls of the dead all in the name of entertainment?

Perhaps by questioning some of our own personal motives and agendas we can come to understand the psychology of the celebrity medium. In an article published in the New York Times in 2006, Benedict Carey wrote on the strong motivation of fame:

Quote:

‘… fame-seeking behaviour appears rooted
in a desire for social acceptance, a longing
for the existential reassurance promised by
wide renown.’

By understanding the need to belong, along with the desire for celebrity we can begin to comprehend just why ordinary people decide to deceive and manipulate others by fraudulently conjuring up the dead spirits of departed loved ones - be it at a local Spiritualist fete or on a nationwide morning talk show.

By Emma-Louise Rhodes

REFERENCES

(1) www.badpsychics.com
(2) Hamilton-Parker, Craig, ‘We’re No Frauds’, Daily Express, 2 June, 2004

Carey, Benedict, ‘The Fame Motive’, New York Times, 22 August, 2006
Owen, Alex, The Darkened Room: Women, Power and Spiritualism in Late Victorian England, University of Chicago Press, 2004

BBC3's Bullshit Detective - Exposes Philip Holden, Kevin Wade & Goldy

The very excellent Bullshit Detective on BBC3 has come up trumps again with their latest show.

A while back Ciaran O'Keeffe was approached by the program makers, with the idea that they wanted to expose 3 psychics.

Philip Holden
Kevin Wade
Goldy

Ciaran was asked to come up with a fake story that would be planted onto 'The Chocolate Factory' website, Wikipedia, and also published on some leaflets.

Here is the final edit of the story based on the story that was submitted by Ciaran

Quote:
Although it’s now a fashionable arts complex, the building did, at one time, house a London chocolate factory. A couple of stories from the 19th Century, when it was a working factory, may help explain some of the haunting experiences that have been reported since.

The Chocolate Factory was dogged with bad luck as soon as it opened in the mid 1870s. Close to a year’s takings were stolen a few days after Christmas in 1878. The management at the time were unable to recover the losses and had to sell stock and some machinery to a rival factory. There were rumours that a local burglar, Charles Pearce, may have been responsible for the burglary. Following the burglary several accidents befell the workers. These ranged from burnt hands due to the ‘conching’ process that came into effect in the early 1880s to broken bones as a result of sloppy cleaning on the factory floor.

The worst accident happened to an American, George Bull, who had managed the factory since its founding. He was a fat, aggressive, ruthless man from Maine, who ruled the company with an iron fist and had accumulated considerable wealth from cutthroat business deals over the years.

Early one morning whilst supervising a delivery he became impatient with the delivery man and grabbed the final crate himself and threw it into the factory where it shattered. In the commotion, the delivery cart’s horses were startled and bolted, crushing George beneath in the process and cutting his legs from the knees down. The driver ran off after the cart and, wanting to avoid reprisals, ran off himself, knowing he was the only witness to the incident. He was caught later by the police who simply logged it as an accident.

Some staff have reported hearing, late at night, the sounds of horses braying and also what sound like horses hooves on cobbled floor. Some stagehands who used to work in the theatre reported times when they heard a loud crash on the stage and rushed to find no-one there, and, nothing smashed on the stage itself. A local ghost group back in 1985 investigated the place and, during a ouija board got the name Otto.

The current owners of the venue have, in the past, kept these stories quiet, not wishing to put off theatre-goers, but now realize that, if anything, it would attract visitors, living that is!


So the BBC now had a great made-up story, they planted it on the Chocolate Factory website, as well as on Wikipedia and on leaflits, all they needed now was to call in 3 of the top psychics in the UK, and let them do the rest.

Nancy Orlen Weber - An experience with a cold hearted Psychic

The following article was originally published on the old website on 2nd January 2007, I have republished it per request of a user.


---

Rev. Nancy Orlen Weber, R.N is an American Psychic peddling her wares and selling her oils to any unsuspecting person out there.

Here forum member "vthokiegirl" tells us of her experience with Nancy Orlen Weber and gets a harsh lesson in the depths some psychics will go to make money.

---

By vthokiegirl
Last weekend, with great anticipation, I began a trip to my home state, New Jersey, USA. I was to catch up with old friends and to have a one hour session with the self-professed psychic medium, Nancy Orlen Weber. She advertises herself as a reverend, an R.N., a psychic, a medium, a medical intuitive, and an animal communicator. She is gaining recognition by her work as a psychic police detective, aiding her local police in finding missing and deceased persons. She has appeared on Court TV’s half-hour reality-based show, “Psychic Detectives,” as well as The Biography Channel’s “Psychic Investigators.” She has yet, however, to be embraced by paranormal enthusiasts within the Internet forum and blog community. 

I believed that her credentials, along with the fact that she resides not far from my home town, gave her added credibility. On her website, she states that “a reading usually touches on two things, the first what I see and feel about you, your energy, your life, your health, influences in your life, etc. and the second is the direction you ask me to take in the reading so it can be a mixture of whatever you need.” As you will read below, I was not offered a chance to direct the session and, although I once believed myself to be a sophisticated skeptic, I realized that I was just as easily hoodwinked and bedazzled as the average believer by the charm of that "glib and oily art to speak and purpose not.” 

I feel that I am now aware, as I had not been before, of some of the potential dangers surrounding psychic readings. What I experienced from the reading was a sense of loss. By that, I mean, a loss of faith (in humanity and an afterlife), of my pride, of my time, and, of course, my hard earned money. I traveled over 1000 miles. I spent $205.00 on the session. What I gained was a sense of having been scammed by a slick, well-oiled, well-trained saleswoman. 

May I suggest that you heed my warning, for self-professed psychic mediums do not come with their own warning labels. Legally, one cannot prove that someone is not a psychic. Therefore, buyer beware. You may read this material and think to yourself, “Weber’s information may be useful. I think I will look into purchasing the book that she refers to.” I have nothing against homeopathic remedies. If nutrition or homeopathy is your bag, become a nutritionist or homeopath. Don’t practice these respected fields under the guise of being a psychic medium. I traveled a great distance to make contact with those who have crossed over. I was lead to believe that this psychic medium had the ability to make that contact. Instead, what I received was a cold reading and an Avon lady sales pitch for Young Living herbal products. The following is a transcript of the session.

Weber: You don’t have very much energy…I am seeing a disconnect between your nerves and your muscles…Your nerve to muscle is not strong. I am not allowed to diagnose. I am a medical intuitive. Nerve to muscle is significant for you. 

VT: Humm..

Weber: I am looking at the relay and thinking this is not happening well. I am also looking at consequences of medical treatment that has left you – they have left their own set of problems. Fortunately, you have some really strong arenas working for you. You have will power and a half. You have probably needed it.

So, in saying that, I want you to open up the door of conversation about this…because we need to talk together. I look at you and go – you are better than you have been and you are through the woods, but you still need to do a lot of changes. And you still need to take care of something and learn some things here that I know nursing doesn’t teach us.

VT: I am happy to learn anything.

Weber: I know – I understand.

VT: What would you like to know?

Weber: Anything you would like to say about it, because I go tentatively on this one….you already know…

VT: I do have arthritis in my thumbs, it’s hereditary…Sometimes my neck gets sore…

Weber: Yeah, I know…

VT: I have had some surgery.

Weber: Yeah, that I saw. And that is part of the consequences that I see you have been experiencing.

VT: My parents are deceased. Their dying was very difficult for me. 

Weber: And that doesn’t help. I see a lot of stress. Years ago, when my prognosis was a permanent wheelchair, I said “Well, if I aim in the direction of healing, I may never dance again but I might walk.” But at least if I start moving in that direction, I will slow down the process. Well that was about 30 years ago. I haven’t needed a wheelchair or had any symptoms of anything since doing the Essential Oils. I bypassed the problems. All my money went to learning nutrition and homeopathy and getting antioxidants. We didn’t have clothes or health insurance, but we were well. This is what we call the Oil Bible (holding the Essential Oils: Desk Reference).

VT: By the way, I have to ask you: do you have mediumship ability?

Weber: Yeah, I do and if they come in, I will be telling you. I knew you were looking….

VT: Well, I’m sure everyone coming in here asks.

Weber: Well, no. Some people don’t even mention….but I don’t mention it unless somebody says something.

VT: I see…

Weber: I keep these books here so you don’t have to pay shipping or tax.

VT: Oh, you sell them…

Weber, Yeah I keep extras here for people who want to learn. How is your blood pressure?

VT: It’s usually good.

Weber: Right, give me your pinky (she puts some oil on my finger). This is peppermint, put it on your tongue and take a deep breath…that is the equivalent of 26 cups of peppermint tea. It is very antifungal. You can put in a drop in water and you drink peppermint water a couple of times a day.

Grade A and grade B are the grades of oils. Therapeutic grade doesn’t exist in America. One drop of an oil can have hundreds of properties of an essential oil. In France and Germany, they use them in hospitals and they use them all over. Two companies in America use therapeutic grade. This company, “Young Living” - it’s all organic. I have been to the distillery and seen the manufacturing. Joy (she holds up the bottle) - this is a blend of many essential oils. One is helichrysum, which maps out nerves and repairs nerves. It’s the only thing I have ever seen that can. Now this is for pain and arthritis…Here is some Basel…OK, now we are doing lemon grass…

Ok, we are going to talk about unburdening your body. We have something called toxic brew…in today’s world…we have about 170 known insecticides, pesticides coming in if you are not eating 100% organic. You are having at least the same amount of known toxic chemicals on the body with your personal care products everyday and in your household cleansers. Household chemicals, Lysol. Your olfactory bulb is the most potent messenger to the brain. You are going to throw them out and you are going to go to a health food store and you can get anything you want there except for one other ingredient. Let’s see if I have an open bottle and you can smell it. Cinnamon, Clove, Eucalyptus, and Rosemarie…Like it?

VT: Smells good.

Weber: OK, well there is this “Thieves Household Cleanser” that is actually ingestible. This is the strongest known antibacterial agent on this planet, bar known. Kills periodontal disease in its tracks. Kills staph, strep, pneumococus. This is all lab tested. 
So, coming back to you…unburdening the body…I smell a lot of coffee around your father.

VT: He liked his cup of espresso.

Weber: He’s listening. So, he’s here for the lesson, too.

Ok, getting the Ph to be normal in interstitial tissue means that you do not inundate the body with known ph imbalances. This means you get rid of your household cleansers. 

VT: I have so many.

Weber: Yeah, but they’re killing you. This house is totally cleaned with organic products. I use it everywhere. No one gets sick here.

VT: What is this product?

Weber: I’ll give you a catalogue. I have some here in stock. You order it from Utah. I carry some extras here for people to get started. I can get the book here. So, with these products, you unburden the body. 

VT: Well, you know I’m a skeptic…

Weber: You shouldn’t eat sugars, nothing artificial, no Splenda. Chlorinated sugar – the pharmaceutical companies should be shot. Artificial affects the central nervous system. It affects everything. It weakens muscles unbelievably. There are a group of people that I have worked with over the years, who when they suddenly collapse and they are unable to walk, the first thing I say to them, how much diet soda do you drink a day. Everyone of them gives me a history of it. It goes to the muscles. So, no soda. It leaches calcium from the bone. I’ll give you some samples called Emergen-C, they are vitamin Cs. One box is about $12.00 in the store, 30 packets, you carry it around and you pop it in water. It fizzles, it is very healthy for you. 

Lemon oil, orange oil…they are essential oils. They are very inexpensive. Peppermint oils, lemon oils are about $10.00…285 drops…They are good for several months…You put them in water, you drink lemon water….Lemon is your most alkalizing food known to man. It’s Ph of 9.0. You add organic squeezed lemons to water or anything you eat.

VT: But I like my soda. I am skeptical of these kinds of products…

Weber: They are telling me you were like this when you were little…..yes, she was always like this…wasn’t that fun for you (she looks at the ceiling, as if talking to my parents’ spirits). Actually, they are saying you were adorable. They were saying that you were as cute as can be and fun.

VT: (laughing) I was…

Weber: Did you put on plays or something. Did you put on little shows for them or something. 

VT: I was always trying to be entertaining.

Weber: Yeah, they are telling me you put on little skits. What’s this they are telling me about a rabbit or bunny or something?

VT: (I’m looking puzzled. I never owned a rabbit.)

Weber: I don’t think it was real. 

VT: I use to have lots of stuffed animals. 

Weber: Yes, that is what they are telling me. 

VT: I wish they could tell me what lies ahead in the future.

Weber: I am sure if they could sit here with you, they would tell you they would not want you to suffer and they would want you to take a look at things. Regardless of whether this is an answer today or anything is an answer, they would want you to continue to seek healing and not let negative feelings be the guide to what you do. How about instead of looking for clarity that way, how about looking for clarity in taking care of your body and making some very basic changes. How does your neck feel right now? (She had rubbed some oils into my neck previously). I’ll give you a catalogue and I suggest you look at the book (Essential Oils). Chapter 26 is “Liver, Health, and Ph Balance.” All health is basic, get rid of your household cleansers. I looked at you and I said, “How are we going to get her to do this?” So, this is the catalogue, the book, and this is the website, you can look up anything and read about the oils.

By vthokiegirl

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Most of you can see quite easily that Nancy is only interested in selling her various oils and books.

Some people may see this as harmless, but this is big business and psychics like Nancy are coining in a fortune from unsuspecting people.

We can only say to people to avoid psychics like this, but unfortunately there seems to be a constant stream of people ready to be ripped off.

We can only commend "vthokiegirl" for telling us of her experience so it can act as a warning to others.

By Jon Donnis

Court TV's "Haunting Evidence" TV Show Review

“Haunting Evidence” on Court TV

Review by Pat Dunn

When it comes to paranormal reality programming, American television leaves haunted castles and séance parlor tricks to the British, and turn to psychic solvers of crimes (the more violent, the better), as evidenced by the rash of reality shows featuring psychics-turned-detectives currently airing on U.S. cable channels: “Psychic Investigators” on the W Network, “Sensing Murder” on The Discovery Channel, “Psychic Detectives” and “Haunting Evidence” on Court TV.

“Haunting Evidence” borrows many tricks from Hollywood, including a dramatically-lit title sequence featuring a trio of investigators striking poses, and dramatic re-creations of the crimes the team is investigating. The team members are Carla Baron, a psychic profiler, John J. Oliver, a medium, and Patrick Burns, a paranormal investigator.

In the first episode, “Mystery on the Appalachian Trail”, the trio travels to Shenandoah National Park to attempt to gather new evidence in the cold-case double homicide of two women who were murdered on a camping trip. First, though, we are shown Burns being guided around the crime scenes by a police representative, while the case is recapped for the viewers. Next we see Burns arriving with Baron and Oliver, who, we are informed by a narrator, “have never been to the Park and know nothing about the case.” (Somehow I would have preferred more than just the program’s word on this.)

The trio splits up, with Burns and Baron heading off to discover which trail the victims had taken. Baron manages with remarkably little effort to choose the trail that soon leads Burns to the (snow-hidden) marker he had been previously shown by his guide, marking the campsite of the victims, Laura Winnans and Julie Williams.

Rejoining Oliver, the two psychics begin to share their impressions of the victims and their attacker. The image of Bible pages turning suggests the killer was a religious fanatic, and this was a hate crime. Oliver correctly “hits” on two details he was not told about the case: that the women had a Golden Retriever dog with them, and that one victim was bound with duct tape. (Okay, now wait a second. These are not new clues, given that the police knew them, and so does the audience, thanks to the re-creation scenes during the recap. So why mention them? Just to prove Oliver’s abilities? Couldn’t they have been lucky guesses, based on the number of people who take their dogs camping with them, and the popularity of duct tape among rapist-murderers?) Baron, not to be outdone, “hits” on the fact that Julie was found near water (a small stream).

Burns sets up four video-cameras at the former campsite of the victims and retreats back to the crew’s staging area at the road, leaving Baron and Oliver alone to try contacting the victims’ spirits. At one point, Burns, watching the monitors, notes a light anomaly streaking behind Baron as she is speaking to one of the victims. He interrupts Baron, who seems more irritated than alarmed, and asks the program’s cameraman if his light meter is on. Receiving a negative reply, Burns shrugs and says, well, he doesn’t know what that was, but it was weird. (Uh, right, thanks, Patrick).

The rest of the episode alternates between the psychics’ impressions and re-creations of the unknown man stalking Julie after having already murdered Laura. There is a summary of the “new information” the pair have offered, but strangely, no agreement between them as to the killer’s identity. Baron believes it was a man who was one of the police’s prime suspects, but who could not be tied to the crime by forensic evidence. Oliver believes it was someone else, perhaps questioned by the police, but not really one of the major suspects. (A name, guys, that’s what they’re really after here, you know.)

“Hidden Truth”, the fourth episode, involved the team being called in by the family of a young man found lying dead next to his wrecked car. He was posed, as if someone had been at the scene, and indeed, the medical examiner had already revised his initial cause of death from “accidental” to “undetermined” before the team arrived to tackle the case.

Baron visits the young man’s home, while Oliver (dressed dramatically in all black, this time, and wearing sunglasses most of the time), is lucky enough to be able to check out the remains of the victim’s car. The two piece together a theory that the victim was frightened of someone, had been chased by them, and ultimately beaten to death. There are fewer “hits” this time, possibly because of less forensic evidence, but the narrator continues to assure us that there’s no possible way either psychic could know what they’re telling us. (Well, since they’re mostly talking about emotions and feelings, that is probably true.) Burns’s contribution to the investigation is the observation that it’s odd the dogs across the road from the crew’s shoot did not begin barking until Baron was addressing the victim’s spirit. (I’d like to see Jason from “Ghost Hunters” give this guy one of his famous glares for being such a gullible “paranormal investigator”.)

If psychic detective shows thrill you, give this flashy entry a try, but really, folks, don’t believe everything you see on TV. And USA’s “Psych” about a guy with a photographic memory faking being a psychic detective is a much better use of an hour.