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Can Psychics Really Talk to the Dead? 17

Here to Hereafter: Can

Psychics Really Talk to the

Dead?

by Benjamin Radford

In the Clint Eastwood film "Hereafter,"
Matt Damon stars as George, a man who has the
ability to communicate with ghosts. George,
who retired from the contacting-the-dead
business (calling it a curse instead of a blessing)
is reluctantly drawn back into doing readings
for people who have recently lost loved ones.
People in nearly every culture have long
believed that communication with the dead is
possible, and throughout the ages many people
have claimed to be able to speak with the dearly
departed. Ghosts and spirit communication
often show up in classic literature, including
mythology, the Bible and Shakespeare's plays. Yet their powers have never been proven Oxford Professor Argues
In Victorian England, it was fashionable under controlled scientific conditions, and their
in many circles to conduct séances; Ouija track records of success are spotty at best. In a Invisible Aliens Are
boards, three-legged tables, candles and other 2002 case, Browne, a regular on the "Montel
accoutrements were used to try to contact the Williams" show, told the parents of missing Interbreeding With
dead. In the U.S., belief in communication with child Shawn Hornbeck that their son was dead. Humans
the dead rose dramatically in the 1800s along His body, she said, would be found in a wooded
with the rise of Spiritualism, a religion founded area near two large boulders, and that he had
on hoaxed spirit communication by two young been kidnapped by a very tall, "dark-skinned
sisters in Hydesville, N.Y. Despite the fact that man" who wore dreadlocks. In fact, Hornbeck
the sisters later admitted they had only been and another boy were found alive five years
pretending to get messages from the dead, the later in the home of a Caucasian, non-
religion they helped start flourished, claiming dreadlocked Missouri man named Michael
more than 8 million adherents by 1900. Devlin who had kidnapped them.
For well over a century, many mediums There are even entire towns whose
have been caught faking spirit communication. populations claim to get messages from the
Harry Houdini exposed many psychics as frauds dead. For example, each year more than 20,000
who used trickery to make vulnerable people people visit New York's Lily Dale Assembly, the
believe in the reality of spirit messages. (For oldest and largest Spiritualist community in the
more on this, see Massimo Polidoro's book United States. The dozen or so permanent
"Final Séance," Prometheus Books, 2001). resident mediums offer their psychic services to 26 April 2019 The News Team
Whether real or faked, the messages tourists.
supposedly conveyed from the great beyond Despite more than a century of research, The Oxford Student has learnt that Dr Young-
have changed dramatically over time. A century science has yet to validate the afterlife, ghosts or hae Chi, Professor at Oxford’s Oriental Institute,
ago, mediums "in touch with the spirit" during psychic powers. Of course, speaking to the dead believes in a strong correlation between climate
séances would write pages and pages of requires no special skill or ability; it's getting a change and alien abductions.
"automatic writing," the psychic's hands response that's the hard part. Shakespeare noted In 2012, Dr Chi gave a lecture at the the
allegedly guided by ghosts to convey lengthy this in "Henry the Fourth, Part I," when Ammach Conference, titled ‘Alien Abduction
handwritten messages. Glendower claims to have psychic abilities: "I and the Environmental Crisis’ in which he
Curiously, ghosts seem to have lost their can call spirits from the vasty deep," to which outlined his theory concerning the presence of
will (or ability) to write since that time — or his cousin Hotspur replies, "Why, so can I, or so aliens on earth.
even communicate effectively. These days the can any man. But will they come when you do Dr Chi began his lecture with the
spirits (as channeled through mediums) seem to call for them?" statement that “perhaps human civilisation is
prefer a guessing game and instead offer only coming to an end”.
ambiguous, vague information: "I'm getting a Benjamin Radford is managing editor of In his fifty-five minute presentation he
presence with the letter M, or J in the name? A Skeptical Inquirer science magazine, and cited Dr David Jacobs, an ‘abduction researcher’
father, or father figure perhaps? Did he give you author of "Scientific Paranormal Investigation: in the US, who argued that aliens’ primary
something special to remember him by, How to Solve Unexplained Mysteries"; his Web purpose is to colonise the earth, by interbreeding
something small?" with humans to produce a new hybrid species.
site is www.RadfordBooks.com.
If spirit communication is real, one Second generation ‘hybrids’ are, according to
might think that countless unsolved homicides Jacobs, walking unobserved among us.
and disappearances could be easily solved Dr Chi argued that “it is not only
simply by contacting the dead and getting scientists and theologians, but also non-human
specific, incriminating evidence about the species who appear to be greatly concerned
circumstances of their deaths. about the survivability of the human species”.
In "Hereafter," George repeatedly views He pointed out that the timing of aliens’
his ability as a curse. But in reality, those who appearance coincides with the earth facing
claim to be psychic mediums (such as James major problems, climate change and nuclear
van Praagh, John Edward, Alison DuBois, and weapons in particular.
Sylvia Browne) eagerly exploit their "curse," He concludes that “it may be more or
making millions of dollars on book deals, less assumed that the hybrid project is a
appearances, private readings and TV shows. response to this impending demise of human
civilisation”. []