Michael Prescott's Blog

One thing that bothers me is an author of paranormal research who I respect and believe to be sincere has already defended him. I don’t know him at all. But, while their are people like Gary Swartz and Julie Biesel (sorry I’m sure I just misspelled her name.) doing good research on mediums and such. I am very skeptical of mediums as a whole. Although, I’m certainly not a Skeptic as in close minded religious atheist. Anyway, this doesn’t help as far as research into the paranormal is concerned.

We’ll see. But in defense of the credulous physical mediumship sitters, Gary’s been kicked out of the retreat he performs at, and last I saw there was a mob with pitchforks coming after him.

I’m less convinced every single case was or is fake. I know physical mediums personally who only practice among friends, charge nothing, and work on their seances 4 or 5 times a week. Then, after a year, paranormal things start happening… things start flying around the room, etc. So, there’s no way I can dismiss physical mediumship at this point. However, people taking paranormal claims and then using them to amass wealth or power, is a very old story. And it continues now in the form of Gary Mannion, whose name is hopefully now permanently finished.

Amos… not quite so vulnerable in this case, maybe, given that the culprit was covertly filmed and exposed. It’s a common misconception that all proponents of physical mediumship are gullible dupes. In my experience, although that could justly be applied to many who attend this sort of event, some experienced sitters who believe they have witnessed genuine phenomena of a more extreme nature can be incredibly critical.

Predictably, some people are defending Mannion or at least “raising questions” about the incident. EVP/ITC researcher Tom Butler posted this on Facebook:
“First, I am guessing the camera was smuggled in…. [T]here are considerable ethical issues we should all have with the camera person.
“Second, a common concern amongst deep-trance mediums is the problem of being used as a trance puppet. Matter-through-matter has been demonstrated in good light. Accepting the reality of it, and accepting that the medium does go into deep trance to produce the phenomena, it may be more energy efficient for his control to simply release the medium from his bonds and use his body as an instrument.”
I don’t see any ethical issues associated with hiding a camera in the room, given that it was used to expose a fraud. The hidden camera is a standard part of undercover investigations done in the media.
As for the “trance puppet” argument – well, if this is how Spirit works, then why bother with materialization seances at all?

On the other hand, we have mediums such as George Anderson – if you haven’t read about him, he’s worth a look. He doesn’t operate in the classic dark room either.
I still remain skeptical of him and others of course. Among the comments for one of his books, a woman bitterly complains that he was totally off in her reading with him. And yet there are many many people who state that he was dead-on right with them.
My own feeling is that it must be extraordinarily difficult for those “on the other side” to communicate with us. There may be people who have some inborn talent for this, but I would suspect that they probably strike out many times and don’t succeed – just like most of us do every day in our endeavors.

Also, I of course have an issue that he was ripping people off. But I meant that the worst aspect of such fraud is that it gives Skeptics the best kind of fuel for their debunking of everything paranormal.
Michael wrote,
||I don’t see any ethical issues associated with hiding a camera in the room, given that it was used to expose a fraud. The hidden camera is a standard part of undercover investigations done in the media.||
Indeed. I think the only issue would be if he captured *real* phenomena and was making money off of those videos while giving the medium nothing. Sort of like bootlegging a tape at a concert (which is not necessarily unethical, but by way of analogy…).
Thompson has not allowed infrared video in his sessions, saying that the camera, even though it’s a 100% passive device, could harsh the vibe or something. Even though he does voice recording all the time. Bollocks!

Michael, Tom Butler also admitted to covering up a case of fraud “for the greater good” in another comment he posted on FB. This is what he had to say:
“I am in no position to speak for the medium in question. Of course, deliberate deception is inexcusable and the center is right not to ask him back. We encountered such a situation in France and had to sort out the cost benefits to our community of speaking out. As directors of a paranormalist organization, we decided to remain silent for the greater good. We continue to struggle with how we might do so without undue damage to the larger community.”
It’s unfortunate that people like Butler are willing to keep silent rather than deal with these situations honestly.

AOD, I’ve watched John Edwards a few times and my impression was that he was fishing. I received this impression by the way he was talking fast, and the way he uses the “I’ve got a “G”…” I didn’t get the same impression from George Anderson. But then again, I am extremely skeptical and could be wrong.

Kathleen,
John Edward was part of Gary Schwartz’s study group along with George Anderson and others.

Kathleen,
I just want to add that Pearl Curran gave a rather detailed point-by-point description of what she was seeing as visual images in her mind when she was receiving information from Patience Worth. In Pearl’s case her visualizations were complimented by what she described as Patience Worth speaking the words to be conveyed over and above what Pearl Curran was experiencing as images in her mind. I think that Pearl Curran was unique in this I am not aware of other mediums who so clearly saw and heard information from some other source.
http://www.patienceworth.com/i-am-a-child-with-a-magic-picture-book/
Even Pearl Curran at times had difficulty understanding names that Patience Worth used in her story, especially The Sorry Tale where names were Roman, Greek, Arabic, and Indian. Patience had to resort to ‘sounds like’ in order to get Pearl Curran to understand the name (The name ‘Legia’ is an example.) – AOD

It was just my impression that John Edward was fishing. It was a few years ago that I saw a program that featured him, and he seemed to be asking the subject person the first letter of a departed one. It didn’t leave a good impression on me, his behavior. Maybe I’m wrong, but that’s what I observed. I felt George Anderson was more accurate (and eerie). Not all of these men and women claiming to be mediums are legitimate, I think that’s clear. I still remain very very skeptical of them, including Anderson, as everyone should be.

Sorry, here is the correct link:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/6caudn1rn5wrfzd/Motif_%20Rebuttal,%20with%20Accompaniment%20_%20Spirit%20and%20Science%20Journal.pdf?dl=0

Kathleen wrote,
||It was just my impression that John Edward was fishing. It was a few years ago that I saw a program that featured him, and he seemed to be asking the subject person the first letter of a departed one. It didn’t leave a good impression on me, his behavior. Maybe I’m wrong, but that’s what I observed.||
Oh, I’m not saying you’re wrong per se. I have watched a bunch of Edward videos on YouTube and read some transcripts, and it definitely seems he gets big hits. I think the pressure to be “on” all the time causes him to “fish” with poor, undifferentiated psychic information, which I totally agree is not a good thing to do, as it leads to the kind of impression you have received. Moreover, it’s just not a very aesthetic way to practice psi, IMHO. If you’re not getting much, say you’re not. There’s no shame in that. The problem arises when you have to deliver a “product.”
My overall impression is that Edward is sincere, he’s not a fraud, though we can’t rule out the possibility that sometimes he’s truly just guessing (consciously or unconsciously).

Amos, I probably wouldn’t trust Kai after finding out about the cheating. But if good controls are in place it doesn’t matter how honest the medium is or how credulous the researchers are. I think Braude’s argument for not throwing out evidence where good controls were in place is valid. Then the issue becomes “How good were the controls?”, which is easier to sort out than the personal attributes of those involved in the seance.

Thought this was kind of funny -she got her answer. Although you can’t see the chair, only hear it.



Lynx.

I agree Art. Taking a composite view of the evidence seems perfectly reasonable to me.

The Gary Mannion ‘fake medium’ saga continues
Nic Whitham of the UK’s Banyard Centre where Gary conducted a physical seance, exposed him as a ‘fraud’ in this video
http://www.garyfiles.co.uk/# where he was seen moving round the circle of sitters getting them to touch his chest and waving his shirt to create a breeze.
The sitters, who paid fees to attend, assumed what they felt was ‘spirit’ and that Gary was bound up in a chair.
Now Gary has released a video answering questions about what happened:
https://youtu.be/BziW_wm6zkg
In it he claims that it wasn’t trickery but his ‘spirit team’ took him out of his chair in a trance and worked him like a puppet – an action he completely approves of – and he says he can’t remember anything about what went on.
Meanwhile Psychic News this week plans to publish a second exposure article.
For any of you interested enough to pursue this further, Gary’s private circle in Australia, released a statement from his ‘spirit team’ suggesting the entrancing was some kind of experiment they conducted.
Here is that statement from the Wallacia Development Centre, followed by some comments of my own about the Gary response video.
Who is in control during a séance?
Statement by a spirit team, who’s way of working is questioned. Direct answers in regards to sitter’s questions stated by the team during home-circle. Posted with permission from the spirit team. Transcript and recording available to those that I (Inge Crosson), as circle leader, trust to be true and trustworthy.
“The time has come to re-evaluate physical mediumship and prevent its destruction. We are aware of the damage which has been done to the medium, but he will not be the only medium who will be subjected to this. We are obliged to work with the other teams as well and yes, we may have used this medium as the first port of call, but he won’t be the last, as the wheels are in motion. We are not the only team which has been asked to put their medium through this and are aware he is not the only medium in the firing line and other teams go through a similar process.
It is not our intention to ridicule or destroy that medium, especially as we work with this medium, but we all, on our side of life, do understand that there is a greater picture and a greater desire from your side of life. Sometimes we must destroy and establish structure in order to change. Indeed, you yet have to understand physical mediumship. Many of your world will not understand and that is fine, as has been happening in the past with physical mediumship as well. Many who have been put down and were neglected by your side of life are now revered. (Inge’s note: read about defamation of Helen Duncan, Gordon Higginson, Alec Harris etc.) This will raise awareness of physical mediumship on your side of life and will draw many back to home-circle and redevelopment. This is a necessary fact of what we want to achieve with your side of life. Yes, sacrifices will be made and have been made before.
On the grander picture this is about changing your movement and your understanding, and indeed within the circles and smaller groups, it gives us an opportunity to try new things and make improvements for the long run. We can attempt a lot more in a safer, smaller environment than what we were achieving in a public sitting. And this is not just with this medium, but with all other mediums. We have a greater opportunity to achieve greater things with your side of life and this will change the movement for the better. We are not the only team and work in collaboration with other teams to improve your movement. There is a need to upset the movement, to put questions in people’s minds to evaluate what is happening in a séance room and our capabilities, to raise knowledge, awareness and understanding. If questions are raised, we are happy to answer them. At the moment, this is the best way forward for us.
Do understand, we gave the medium the impression not to sit and the location of the camera, but again, we were given the signal to go ahead with permission from the medium, so we worked the best way we could and work with what is our limitation. We have worked with your technology if and when we have chosen to and we have been happy with the results, but we do that at a time and place when we dictate and the time and energy is right to do so. The best argument we can give you with your statement going forward is, we worked with the situation which was provided to us. Under different circumstances we would have attempted to work differently. Just because your equipment cannot pick up everything we were attempting, does not mean fraud is automatically the result, as has been demonstrated by other mediums throughout the years. In regards to the night in question, yes, we used the medium as our blueprint, as the base to work from. Indeed, if we had not gone through it this way, it would have manifested in another way, in a more harmful way for the medium’s body. (Inge’s note: During a séance here, a loose light socket caused the light to come on while the medium was outside the cabinet tied in the chair, and ectoplasm was being extruded from his fingertips and nose and eyes. The medium was very ill for over 3 weeks).
In regards to the night in question, that was a great opportunity for us to experiment to try something different and indeed, many who sat there that night were worked with and they felt our side of life and their loved ones and they experienced phenomena. Yes, we used the medium as a blueprint, as a base to extract that phenomena, but what they experienced for themselves was real.
As we have spoken earlier, it’s a new experience for us as we normally work with the ectoplasm and it was a very different and strange experience and indeed, when we work that way we work with the medium’s mind and the personality. And indeed, we are happy with that experiment and I know from your side of life you do not understand it and are unhappy, which we hope to correct, but we were happy with what we were able to achieve.
Also, as I said in regards to the cable ties, indeed as we have demonstrated with this medium and with other mediums, if we wish to go beyond the restraints we will do so and we have done so. Indeed, because your side of life has become so caught up on what is genuine and what is fraud, you see the cable ties as a means of restraining the medium, whereas the cable ties are there for the medium’s protection. If we were to try to experiment and we need to subdue the body, it prevents injury to the medium, but as it has been demonstrated with multiple mediums, that if we wish to work beyond the cable ties we can do so. (Inge’s note: example – during checking by sitter, she noticed that the medium’s arms were tied to the front of the chair and the lower half of his body was towards the back of the chair and in another sitting the lower part of the body was missing all together. Another time, Imelda was asked to check the ties and then move back for 2 seconds and then forward to check again and the medium’s onesie was flying out of the cabinet with the medium still securely tied.)
It is not a necessity of the cable ties that is a misunderstanding from your side of life. The cameras which were used in the incident in question would not pick up on a lot of what happened in the room that night.” (Inge’s note: Medium was tied at the beginning and still tied at the end of the séance and independent sitters verified that they were the same cable-ties through the way they cut them when tying him up)
Released by the Spirit teams home-circle Inge Crosson, Imelda Penny, Jennifer Bennett, Cindy Grimwood, Eddie Dzenis and Olive our beautiful matriarch.
My comments about Gary’s video response to the claims of fraud.
Unfortunately Gary Mannion comes across to me as rather over confident with a degree of arrogance.
I don’t think I heard one word of apology to those sitters who felt they had been tricked and not got what they paid for.
When challenged about this Gary tried to argue that sitters could ask any question they liked – did he really expect anyone to ask ‘When we feel a spirit materialisation will it actually be you in the flesh out of the chair?”
Of course not because they had bought into the concept that the seance was a demonstration of paranormal phenomena – if they saw the trumpet moving they trusted it was spirit moving it and not Gary out of his chair.
Gary reveals in the interview that it’s not the first time this ‘entrancement’ had happened.
Does he then warn sitters at all seances that this kind of thing might happen? Does he put this in his literature so they can make a decision whether or not to spend their money? I think not.
What disturbed me most about this interview was Gary’s inference that his spirit team could do absolutely anything and he would go along with it.
He must accept that people were deceived.
Even if has has been argued there was some ‘genuine’ phenomena there not recorded on film, some sitters at least didn’t get what was promised but Gary refuses to accept that this is ethically wrong whether through people or a spirit team.
Cooperation between humans and spirit is one thing but when one gives spirit carte blanche to do whatever they like, it’s getting close to religions who worship a god who can even direct them to kill in his name.
Personally I don’t know what happened here.
I’d like to believe Gary’s version of events is the truth – I have friends who testify that he can produce genuine phenomena and certainly I know a scientist who has tested his healing abilities and finds them genuine.
But I would like to see a little more humility and understanding from Gary to people whose lives have been thrown into turmoil by these revelations.
And I’d like to hear an interview with NiC of the Banyard Centre who it seems is being accused by Gary of some kind of personal vendetta against him.

I have to laugh to myself when I read comments how John Edward is classed as a Medium,not in a month of Sunday’s, JVP, and others are psychics if that! I have never head so many questions in my life as he asks, Mediums have an acute sensitivity and awareness of the Spirit world it is not a talent! The parapsychologists who are doing the research are quite naive to be polite, yt? hey are not knowledgeable of the difference there is a between a psychic and Mediums.Psychics read the auric fields of the individual,it is an repository of impressions of incidents in a person’s life,so information can be retrieved but Mediums are are aware of Spirit energies,they receive the consciousness/soul who relays their characters,personalities and idiosyncrasies of the Spirit person, what you mostly see on church platforms today is abysmal,it could b e psychic or hot reading butt in many cases not mediumship. I have nothing against psychics,they can help but not platforms as “”plastic” Mediums