Clairvoyant
Later this week I am going to a Spiritualist Church to see a locally renowned psychic. I am going to be totally up front here and say that, despite having what I consider to have been strange supernatural experiences in the past myself, I do not believe in clairvoyants.
I used to, completely. Members of my family whom I love and respect deeply are firm believers. I even have close family members who would describe themselves as psychic. Who am I to argue? For all I know, there may be something in it.
Trouble is, over the years I have discovered and looked in to the practices of Hot and Cold Reading. I have watched people such as Derren Brown demonstrate how such deceptions are carried out. I don't believe for one minute my close family members indulge in such practices. Quite the opposite in fact; I believe them to be totally honest, loving, caring and responsible people. All I am saying is when it comes to such things, I hold judgement in reserve these days.
Nevertheless, I am looking forward to our evening this week, not least because I will be in the company of two of my sisters. But also because I am interested to see how this psychic works and what messages, if any, 'come through.' I will report back next week with an honest summary of my experience. I may even end up basing a little story around it, who knows?
All of this aside, the psychic is obviously a great tool for horror and dark fiction. I love the sense of 'other' they bring with them to both story and film. Despite my beliefs these days, I have no problem in putting them on hold for the sake of enjoying a good spooky story - whether I am writing it or reading it or even watching it. I loved the medium in 'Poltergeist.' Scared me stupid!
Take a look at my limericks page for the new limerick of the week, a fun verse based, funnily enough, on psychics.
I include some links you may or may not wish to take a look at. I would LOVE to hear your thoughts and experiences on the subject, if you feel like sharing. In the meantime, take care and thanks for reading.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acnUkYNTk90 YouTube Derren Brown Fools Psychic Readers and Talk to the Dead
http://www.skepdic.com/coldread.html Cold Reading - The Skeptic's Dictionary
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTNwkvHfE_Y Hot Reading - Psychic Methods Revealed
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQMYzB6gUQc - Poltergeist - YouTube
