Page 14 - 200810 - The 'X' Chronicles Newspaper - October 2008

14 John Edward: Hustling the Bereaved 14 John Edward: Hustling the Bereaved John Edward: Hustling attending séances undercover and once John Edward: Hustling the Bereaved obtaining police warrants against a fraudulent the Bereaved medium from the notorious Camp Chesterfield by Joe Nickell by Joe Nickell spiritualist center in Indiana (Nickell 1998). The camp is the subject of the book The Psychic Mafia, written by a former medium who Superstar "psychic medium" John recanted and revealed the tricks of floating Edward is a stand-up guy. Unlike the spiritualists of yore, who typically plied their trumpets (with disembodied voices), ghostly apparitions, materializing "apports," and other trade in dark-room séances, Edward and his ilk fake phenomena (Keene 1976)-some of which I often perform before live audiences and even have also witnessed firsthand. under the glare of TV lights. Indeed, Edward (a pseudonym: he was born John MaGee Jr.) has Mental Mediumship his own popular show on the SciFi channel Mental Mediumship called Crossing Over, which has gone into national syndication (Barrett 2001; Mui 2001). The new breed of spiritualists-like I was asked by television newsmagazine Edward, James Van Praagh, Rosemary Altea, Dateline NBC to study Edward's act: was he Sylvia Browne, and George Anderson-avoid the really talking to the dead? physical approach with its risks of exposure and possible criminal charges. Instead they opt for The Old Spiritualism the comparatively safe "mental mediumship" The Old Spiritualism which involves the purported use of psychic ability to obtain messages from the spirit realm. Today's spiritualism traces its roots to This is not a new approach, since mediums have 1848 and the schoolgirl antics of the Fox sisters, long done readings for their credulous clients. Maggie and Katie. They seemed to communicate with the ghost of a murdered In the early days they exhibited "the classic form of trance mediumship, as practiced by peddler by means of mysterious rapping shamans and oracles," giving spoken "'spirit sounds. Four decades later the foxy sisters messages' that ranged all the way from personal confessed how they had produced the noises by trickery (Nickell 1994), but meanwhile others (and sometimes strikingly accurate) trivia to hours-long public trance-lectures on subjects of discovered they too could be "mediums" (those the deepest philosophical and religious import" the head, from what he's showing me." No who supposedly communicate with the dead). (McHargue 1972). longer, apparently, can the dead speak in The "spiritualism" craze spread across flowing Victorian sentences, but instead are Some mediums produced "automatic" or the United States, Europe, and beyond. In "trance" or "spirit" writing, which the entities reduced to gestures, as if playing a game of darkened séance rooms, lecture halls, and supposedly dictated to the medium or produced charades. theaters, various "spirit" phenomena occurred. by guiding his or her hand. Such writings could One suspects, of course, that it is not the The Davenport Brothers conjured up spirit imagined spirits who have changed but rather entities to play musical instruments while the be in flowery language indeed, as in this excerpt the approach today's mediums have chosen to from one spirit writing in my collection: two mediums were, apparently, securely tied in Oh my Brother-I am so glad to be able to employ. It is, indeed, a shrewd technique known a special "spirit cabinet." Unfortunately the come here with you and hold sweet communion as "cold reading"-so named because the subject Davenports were exposed many times, once by walks in "cold"; that is, the medium lacks a local printer. He visited their spook show and for it has been a long time since I have advance information about the person (Gresham controlled this medium but I remember how well volunteered as part of an audience committee to used I had become to her magnetism[,] but we 1953). It is an artful method of gleaning help secure the two mediums. He took that will soon get accustomed to her again and then information from the sitter, then feeding it back opportunity to secretly place some printer's ink as mystical revelation. on the neck of a violin, and after the séance one renew the pleasant times we used to have. I The "psychic" can obtain clues by want to assure you that we are all here with you of the duo had his shoulder smeared with the this afternoon[-]Father[,] Mother[,] little observing dress and body language (noting black substance (Nickell 1999). Alice[-]and so glad to find it so well with you expressions that indicate when one is on or off In Boston, while photographer William track), asking questions (which if correct will H. Mumler was recycling some glass and we hope and feel dear Brother that you appear as "hits" but otherwise will seem have seen the darkest part of life and that times photographic plates, he accidentally obtained are not with you now as they have been . . . . innocent queries), and inviting the subject to faint images of previous sitters. He soon and so on in this talkative fashion. interpret the vague statements offered. For adapted the technique to producing "spirit example, nearly anyone can respond to the extras" in photographs of his clients. But "Cold Reading" mention of a common object (like a ring or Mumler's scam was revealed when some of his "Cold Reading" watch) with a personal recollection that can ethereal entities were recognized as living seem to transform the mention into a hit. (For Boston residents (Nickell 1994). By contrast, today's spirits-whom John more on cold reading see Gresham 1953; The great magician Harry Houdini Edward and his fellow mediums supposedly Hyman 1977; Nickell 2000.) (1874-1926) crusaded against phony contact-seem to have poor memories and spiritualists, seeking out elderly mediums who difficulty communicating. For example, in one Continued on Page 15 taught him the tricks of the trade. For example, of his on-air séances (on Larry King Live, June while sitters touched hands around the séance 19, 1998), Edward said: "I feel like there's a J- table, mediums had clever ways of gaining the or G-sounding name attached to this." He also use of one hand. (One method was to slowly perceived "Linda or Lindy or Leslie; who's this move the hands close together so that the L name?" Again, he got a "Maggie or Margie, or fingers of one could be substituted for those of some M-G-sounding name," and yet again the other.) This allowed the production of heard from "either Ellen or Helen, or Eleanore- special effects, such as causing a tin trumpet to it's like an Ellen-sounding name." Gone is the appear to be levitating. Houdini gave public clear-speaking eloquence of yore; the dead now demonstrations of the deceptions. "Do Spirits seem to mumble. Return?" asked one of his posters. "Houdini The spirits also seemingly communicate Says No-and Proves It" (Gibson 1977, 157). to Edward et al. as if they were engaging in Continuing the tradition, I have pantomime. As Edward said of one alleged investigated various mediums, sometimes spirit communicant, in a Dateline "He's pointing to his head; something had to affect the mind or