Mediums - Real or Phony?

[Enhance]

I can imagine we have some varying takes about this topic on this board. I wanted to talk about it since watching a couple of episodes of Long Island Medium on TLC. The show stars a woman named Theresa Caputo, who claims she can connect with spirits in the real world so they might speak with their loved ones again. The show is chalk-full of her going to various places in her city, feeling spirits in the area and then talking to random strangers about their family members/friends that are currently with them. Caputo also has TLC record interviews of her with a client for broadcast.

 

I'm a bit of a skeptic, naturally. The idea that certain people can see/hear spirits and can communicate with their loved ones doesn't fit with my perceptions of the world. That said, having seen some of her episodes, she does a lot more than educated guessing with her clients. She talks about very specific things (including relaying markings on the spirit (such as a tattoo)) to the loved one. I can't think of many specific examples, but many of them go beyond the realm of something you'd find out in an obituary or through basic research.

 

So, either people like Caputo are truly gifted, or they're the best damned researchers, educated-guessers and television-manipulators in the world. Personally, I still think it's mostly a crock.

 

For the theists on our board, Caputo said being Catholic means she's not supposed to have connections with spirits. What does your understanding of your faith say about mediums?

[tschu]

Since when was there any question about this?

 

Phony.

[Hingle McCringleberry]

Since when was there any question about this?

 

Phony.

 

Since some stupid woman got a show on cable, and even dumber people buy into her crap....

[Enhance]

Since when was there any question about this?

 

Phony.

Considering there's a two year waiting list to meet with her, it appears to be more of a business than anything else - a business she runs quite successfully.

 

But, that doesn't change the fact that thousands (even millions) believe spiritual contact with a loved one is possible outside of a personal level - people believe in mediums. It stands to reason that if you have strong religious faith, you may believe these kinds of things are possible. However, as I said in the OP, Caputo says her "gift" has brought her closer to God, even though her religion says it shouldn't.

[Hingle McCringleberry]

Since when was there any question about this?

 

Phony.

Considering there's a two year waiting list to meet with her, it appears to be more of a business than anything else - a business she runs quite successfully.

 

But, that doesn't change the fact that thousands (even millions) believe spiritual contact with a loved one is possible outside of a personal level - people believe in mediums. It stands to reason that if you have strong religious faith, you may believe these kinds of things are possible. However, as I said in the OP, Caputo says her "gift" has brought her closer to God, even though her religion says it shouldn't.

 

 

If she is for real she would do this guys test. one million dollars to prove it, as tested by a third party.... Although she is more than likely making more money scamming the rest of us..

 

[carlfense]

Fake things are fake.

[The Dude]

1:27 - 1:34

 

[Comish]

I fall into the camp that believes it is all fake.

 

However, I've got to relate that TWICE I've been lucky enough to get chosen from the audience to participate in major magician's shows (last time it was Copperfield), and I can promise you I was not on the "inside" of any set-up or scam.

 

How any of that works is beyond me but I certainly can't explain it (although if I was just watching on TV or in the audience, I'd assume the audience "participants" were "in on it") and I assure you I was not.

 

Just last month I was front row for Chris Angel and was befuddled when his cycle "transformed" from 4 feet in front of me to the lobby.

 

(sorry if I got off on a tangent here, but I would lump mediums,fortune tellers, magicians, illusionists, see'ers, etc into pretty much the same tent of fakery). Still amazed by them sometimes though.

[knapplc]

How did the Magi know Jesus had been born? Astrology.

 

I've always found it interesting that the Bible seems to verify the veracity of astrologists, but the Church denounces them.

[fro daddy]

I am unsure on some of this. There are alot of things that are unexplained. Be it ghosts, people who 'feel' others who are not near or have passed, or a number of other things that happen. The biggest issue to me is that like most things in life, if people feel they can make a buck they will lie and scam their way to it. I dont know how much I believe or how much is real. I know a portion, maybe even the largest portion, is fake as all get out.

 

With that said, I think a number of people have had an experiance or know someone who has. There are somethings that cant be explained. And honestly, if there is a posibility of ghosts, then in my mind there is a possibility that someone could see/comunicate with them. I do know that people say we barely use any of the human brain and that it is one of the most complex and powerful things known to man. I know that normal people are gifted with things that others consider wierd or odd. People that have photographic memories, people who have mathmatical brains, gift of recall & mind over matter for good and bad (placebos). Others claim having alterted states of consciousness, hypnosis and multiple versions of ESP.

[Muck]

The Medium & The Magician

 

.../snip/...

 

Houdini, who had not even been present at the investigation, much less stumped, was not pleased. He told Scientific American that he would forfeit $1,000 of his own money if he failed to expose Margery as a fraud. Traveling to Boston, he reviewed the findings of his peers. To his way of thinking, the investigation had been mishandled from the start. Most of the committee members had availed themselves of the Crandons' generous hospitality during the proceedings–staying in their home, eating their food, and enjoying their company. This, Houdini believed, had badly compromised their objectivity. Later it was revealed that accepting room and board had been the least of the transgressions. One investigator had actually borrowed money from Dr. Crandon, while another hoped to win his backing for a research foundation. Worse yet, the distinguished panel was not unaware of Mrs. Crandon's attractions. At least one committee member drew comfort in his old age from the recollection of amorous encounters with the celebrated medium.

 

After the July 23 séance, Houdini left the Crandon home much impressed by the famous Margery–though not by any supernatural powers, he hastened to assure his colleagues. At his hotel later that evening, the magician explained how and why his conclusions differed from theirs. One feat that had baffled the other sitters was the ringing of a'spirit bell box,' a small wooden clapper-box that sounded an electric bell when pressed from the top. Although Margery's hands were held by the sitters on either side of her and her feet were in contact with theirs, the bell box rang repeatedly throughout the séance–a phenomenon she attributed to Walter.

 

.../cont/...

 

[JJ Husker]

Come on people. The movie Ghost? Whoopi Goldberg? You're gonna tell me that sh#t wasn't real?

[wildman]

Just because it can be faked doesn't mean it's always going to be faked. I belong to a paranormal team in Lincoln called Paranormal L.I.G.H.T.S. Like a lot of people in order for me to believe it I have to witness it. When I was younger I was almost in a car crash as bus pulled out infront of me and stopped on a dirt road. As I slammed on the brakes to try and stop before impact, I heard a voice saying I can stear around it. I listened and I avoided the bus and the ditch. The scary thing was I was alone in the car yet I heard a voice telling me what to do to avoid it. I started believing in guardian angels at that point. When I was in Iraq, one morning in December I was getting ready for a mission in Baghdad like I had hundreds of times before. Except for 12/27/2003, that day I didn't feel right at all. Once we left the gates we made a left and went 3 blocks down athe road. An IED blew up about 10 ft from me causing some hearing less and unfortunately one civilian losing their life. Just last summer my team and I had the privelege of going to Villisca Iowa to investigate the Villisca Axe Murder House. We had a door slam infront of us when there was no breeze. We had motion detector lights light up when no one was in the room or even sometimes the house. Or the most chilling evidence of catching evp's on a digital recorder. No matter how many times you hear them it's always chilling to listen to a recorder and hear a voice that shouldn't be there answering your questions.

 

For you skeptics i'm not saying this for you to comletely change your beliefs. But people believe in this for a reason. Sure some of them are like sheep and beliving just because they want to. But some people like me have had experience that no matter what you do you can't explain what happened.

 

Now to the tv shows such as Ghost Hunters, Ghost Adventures, Paranormal Research Society and these shows of these mediums. Now i'm not saying or even belive 100% of them are real or 100% fake. I'm betting the truth is they try to make is a real as possible but will use some editing when needed. I mean who really wants to watch a paranormal show where it's just people walking around in the dark for an hour and nothing happens. Or a medium goes shopping or sits in a studio full of people and no spirits present themselfs.

[knapplc]

One of the main concerns I have is that ghosts have evolved so much over time. Now that we're in an era of prevalent recording devices, ghosts no longer appear as full-blown apparitions wearing period clothing - instead they appear as little lights, or unexplained noises, or sounds on a recording. I've watched shows that deal with this stuff, and frankly, it's tremendously unconvincing. Not once have I heard a noise on a recording that makes me think a spirit was the cause.

 

Where are the clear videos of ghosts? With the overabundance of recording devices, ghosts should be easier than ever to record, but even ghosts that have been rumored to roam buildings for hundreds of years fail to appear on camera - or at least, in a manner convincing enough to dispel skepticism.

[Enhance]

My mother says she had butterflies in her stomach the morning of 9/11, before the attacks, and the morning of the day her mother died. She also claims to have felt butterflies on days other bad things have happened.

 

She also says she's had butterflies and nothing has happened.

 

It's pure superstition, imho. The morning you avoided that IED, wildman, you probably just had diarrhea and didn't know it yet.