Page 85 - The 'X' Chronicles Newspaper - February 2023 Edition
P. 85
Secret Sting to Expose Celebrity Psychic 85
Inside the Secret Sting
Operations to Expose
Celebrity Psychic
Continued from Page 83
The idea of talking with the dead
is one of those stubborn hopes
that’s difficult for a culture to
move beyond.
Over the course of the reading, John
comfortably laid down the specifics of
Susanna Wilson’s life — he named
“Andy” and amazingly knew him to be
her twin. He knew that she and her
brother grew up in Michigan and that his
girlfriend was Maria. He knew about
Susanna’s father-in-law and how he died.
When I reached Thomas John, he insisted By March of last year, the new fake
But about two-thirds of the way through he did not use Facebook. He explained Facebook pages were up and running,
John’s riffing, he seemed to sense away the incident without hesitation. “I and they were fantastic — credible
something was fishy. All of which is, in do remember her coming to an event,” he fictional characters built out of regular
fact, part of the experiment. Gerbic said. “I recognized her because she was posts. Online, “Ed Caffry” was such an
knows only some of the facts of her there with that other guy who wrote that obvious good-time guy, a goofball who
character’s life. Her thinking is that if book.” He went on to say that if there is had just posted a picture of a bottle of red
John knows even more details than she tape of his giving them a reading, well: “I wine wearing a pair of sunglasses with
does, then it’s absolute proof that he’s have my eyes closed for an hour and a the caption, “I made a wine cooler. ...” He
looked through the Facebook posts. half when I’m doing readings. If she lives in Vegas and suspects his apartment
Gerbic’s sting is placebo-controlled, spoke up during that period of time, I is haunted. He has also posted a few
double-blind. On the tape, it’s easy to don’t remember that. It’s possible.” John pictures of “ghost orbs.”
catch the precise moment when John said he didn’t remember sending Gerbic a
sensed that something was wrong. John tweet after the show, but added: “I tweet Follow his friends, and you find yourself
was talking about the dead brother when a lot of people. I don’t remember doing in the company of zany “Zoe Bertino,”
he suddenly asked, “And ‘Buddy,’ who is that, but it’s possible.” and she’s such a nut, too. She wears blue
that?” wigs, posts easy aphorisms about life and
Then John pivoted, arguing that the entire is excited to be visiting America right
Gerbic had no idea and improvised, “my experiment wasn’t really scientific now from Australia. Anyone with a
father,” when in fact, Buddy was her enough. “For Susan to come to a reading forensic eye for Facebook life wouldn’t
fictional dead brother’s fictional dog. and get a two-minute reading and say, be surprised if she and Ed Caffry hooked
well, ‘I made a fake post about my dog, up on this trip.
John kept up the reading and then Buddy, and my father who died,’ it’s
interrupted himself: “Oh, I understand — really not any sort of scientific testing of I met Zoe and Ed on a cold winter
O.K., so I am being drawn over here,” psychic powers.” He added, “First off, morning in Cheltenham, Pa., at the home
and with that, he walked away. someone will have to be a scientist to do of Donna and Kenny Biddle. They were
a scientific experiment, not someone who getting into character. Donna adjusted
Back home, Gerbic and Edward excitedly used to be a photographer at Sears.” Zoe’s blue wig, and Kenny was bounding
checked to make sure her hidden tape around Ed-style, popping off with big,
recorder captured the whole moment. Since the sting, Thomas John used his goofball energy. Three other new friends
Later, Gerbic explained: “One really odd prestige out West to launch “Seatbelt were there, and they were also in their
thing happened to me a couple days after Psychic,” a show on Lifetime in which he characters. The five of them were
the event. I received a tweet from “surprises unsuspecting ride-share chattering nervously, excited to be
Thomas John to my Susan Gerbic passengers” when he “reveals he can heading out on a real mission.
account with only a heart.” How else communicate with the dead.” James
could that have happened, Gerbic asked, Corden, the host of “The Late Late The only remnant of Kenny Biddle on Ed
other than that John was winking at her Show,” gushed that he is “obsessed with Caffry that morning was an odd necklace,
— going back to Susanna Wilson’s ticket the show,” which resembles Jerry which upon closer inspection was a tiny
purchase to discover it was paid for by Seinfeld’s Netflix series “Comedians in replica of Thor’s hammer, Mjolnir.
Susan Gerbic. Cars Getting Coffee,” except instead of
comedians drinking coffee, it’s folks (Continued on Page 86)
talking to the dead.
