Page 68 - The 'X' Chronicles Newspaper - Vol 24 No 2 - February 24 2015

John Edward: Hustling the Bereaved
John Edward: Hustling
the Bereaved
Continued From Page 57
Another session-for an episode of
Crossing Over attended by a reporter for The
New York Times Magazine, Chris Ballard
(2001)-had Edward “hitting well below 50
percent for the day.” Indeed, he twice spent
“upward of 20 minutes stuck on one person,
shooting blanks but not accepting the negative
responses.” This is a common technique:
persisting in an attempt to redeem error,
cajoling or even browbeating a sitter (as Sylvia
Browne often does), or at least making the
incorrect responses seem the person’s fault. “Do
not not honor him!” Edward exclaimed at one
point, then (according to Ballard) “staring down
the bewildered man.”
When the taped episode actually aired,
the two lengthy failed readings had been edited
out, along with second-rate offerings. What
remained were two of the best readings of the
show (Ballard 2001). This seems to confirm the
allegation in the Time article that episodes were
edited to make Edward seem more accurate,
even reportedly splicing in clips of one sitter
nodding yes “after statements with which he
remembers disagreeing” (Jaroff 2001).
Edited or not, sessions involving a group
offer increased chances for success. By tossing
out a statement and indicating a section of the
audience rather than an individual, the
performing “medium” makes it many times
more likely that someone will “acknowledge” it
as a “hit.” Sometimes multiple audience
members will acknowledge an offering,
whereupon the performer typically narrows the
choice down to a single person and builds on the
success. Edward uses just such a technique
(Ballard 2001).
Still another ploy used by Edward and
his fellow “psychic mediums” is to suggest that
people who cannot acknowledge a hit may find
a connection later. “Write this down,” an
insistent Edward sometimes says, or in some
other way suggests the person study the
apparent miss. He may become even more
insistent, the positive reinforcement diverting
attention from the failure and giving the person
an opportunity to find some adaptable meaning
later (Nickell 1998).
Debunking Versus Investigation
Some skeptics believe the way to counter
Edward and his ilk is to reproduce his effect, to
demonstrate the cold-reading technique to radio
and TV audiences. Of course that approach is
unconvincing unless one actually poses as a
medium and then-after seemingly making
contact with subjects’ dead loved ones-reveals
the deception. Although audiences typically fall
for the trick (witness Inside Edition’s use of it), References
I deliberately avoid this approach for a variety
of reasons, largely because of ethical concerns.
I rather agree with Houdini (1924, xi) who had
done spiritualistic stunts during his early career: * Barrett, Greg. 2001. Can the living talk to the
At the time I appreciated the fact that I
surprised my clients, but while aware of the fact
that I was deceiving them I did not see or
understand the seriousness of trifling with such
sacred sentimentality and the baneful result
which inevitably followed. To me it was a lark. I
was a mystifier and as such my ambition was
being gratified and my love for a mild sensation
satisfied. After delving deep I realized the
seriousness of it all. As I advanced to riper
years of experience I was brought to a
realization of the seriousness of trifling with the
hallowed reverence which the average human
being bestows on the departed, and when I
personally became afflicted with similar grief I
was chagrined that I should ever have been
guilty of such frivolity and for the first time
realized that it bordered on crime.
Of course tricking people in order to educate
them is not the same as deceiving them for crass
personal gain, but to toy with their deepest
emotions-however briefly and well intentioned-
is to cross a line I prefer not to do. Besides, I
believe it can be very counterproductive. It may
not be the alleged medium but rather the
debunker himself who is perceived as dishonest,
and he may come across as arrogant, cynical,
and manipulative-not heroic as he imagines.
As well, an apparent reproduction of an
effect does not necessarily mean the cause was
the same. (For example, I have seen several
skeptical demonstrations of “weeping” icons
that employed trickery more sophisticated than
that used for “real” crying effigies.) Far better, I
am convinced, is showing evidence of the actual
methods employed, as I did in collaboration
with Dateline NBC.
Although John Edward was among five
“highly skilled mediums” who allegedly fared
well on tests of their ability (Schwartz et al.
2001)-experiments critiqued elsewhere in this
issue (Wiseman and O'Keeffe, see page 26)-he
did not claim validation on Larry King Live.
When King (2001) asked Edward if he thought
there would ever be proof of spirit contact,
Edward responded by suggesting proof was
unattainable, that only belief matters: “. . . I
think that to prove it is a personal thing. It is like ABOUT JOE NICKELL, PhD
saying, prove God. If you have a belief system
and you have faith, then there is nothing really
more than that.” But this is an attempt to
insulate a position and to evade or shift the
burden of proof, which is always on the
claimant. As Houdini (1924, 270) emphatically
stated, “It is not for us to prove the mediums are
dishonest, it is for them to prove that they are
honest.” In my opinion John Edward has
already failed that test.
Acknowledgments
I appreciate the assistance of Tom Flynn who
helped me analyze the video clips mentioned in
the text and refine the hypothesis that Edward
may have glimpsed a reflection. I am also
grateful to Tim Binga, Barry Karr, Kevin
Christopher, Ben Radford, and Ranjit Sandhu
for other assistance.
* Ballard, Chris. 2001. Oprah of the other side.
The New York Times Magazine, July 29, 38-41.
dead? Gannett News Service, published in USA
Today, August 10.
* Edward, John. 1999. One Last Time. New
York: Berkley Books.
—. 2001. Crossing Over. San Diego: Jodere
Group.
* Gibson, Walter B. 1977. The Original Houdini
Scrapbook. New York: Corwin/Sterling.
* Gresham, William Lindsay. 1953. Monster
Midway. New York: Rinehart, 113-136.
* Houdini, Harry. 1924. A Magician Among the
Spirits. New York: Harper & Brothers.
* Hyman, Ray. 1977. Cold reading: how to
convince strangers that you know all about
them. Skeptical Inquirer 2(1),
(Spring/Summer): 18-37.
* Jaroff, Leon. 2001. Talking to the dead. Time,
March 5, 52.
* Keene, M. Lamar. 1976. The Psychic Mafia.
Reprinted Amherst, N.Y.: Prometheus Books,
1997.
* King, Larry. 2001. Are psychics for real?
Larry King Live, March 6.
* McHargue, Georgess. 1972. Facts, Frauds,
and Phantasms: A Survey of the Spiritualist
Movement. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 44-
45.
* Mui, Ylan Q. 2001. Bring me your dead. New
York Post: TV Sunday, July 8, 105.
* Nickell, Joe. 1994. Camera Clues. Lexington:
University Press of Kentucky, 147-149.
—. 1998. Investigating spirit communications.
Skeptical Briefs 8(3) (September): 5-6.
—. 1999. The Davenport Brothers: Religious
practitioners, entertainers, or frauds? Skeptical
Inquirer 23(4) (July/August): 14-17.
—. 2000. Hustling Heaven. Skeptical Briefs
10(3) (September): 1-3.
* Nickell, Joe, with John F. Fischer. 1988.
Secrets of the Supernatural. Buffalo, N.Y.:
Prometheus Books, 47-60.
* Nordlander, Charles. 2001. Letter from
executive producer of Crossing Over to Time,
March 26.
* Schwartz, Gary E.R., et al. 2001. Accuracy
and replicability of anomalous after-death
communication across highly skilled mediums.
Journal of the Society for Psychical Research,
January: 1-25.
Joe Nickell, Ph.D., is Senior Research Fellow of
the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI) and
"Investigative Files" Columnist for Skeptical
Inquirer. A former stage magician, private
investigator, and teacher, he is author of
numerous books, including Inquest on the
Shroud of Turin (1998), Pen, Ink and Evidence
(2003), Unsolved History (2005) and
Adventures in Paranormal Investigation (2007).
He has appeared in many television
documentaries and has been profiled in The
New Yorker and on NBC's Today Show. His
personal website is at joenickell.com.[]