Michael Prescott is an author of a number of thriller-type novels, but also a frequent and very thoughtful blogger on the subject of the afterlife, and to a lessor extent, spirits and ghosts. He contributed an interesting column to The Daily Grail back in May that we wanted to highlight, regarding both the obsession that some take in the paranormal and the speculation about ‘Hungry Ghosts’, a type of malevolent spirit described in the Tibetan Book of the Dead “who deceive and corrupt their human interlocutors.”
He relates the story of Joe Fisher, who wrote a book on the subject of “hungry ghosts” and eventually became so ensnarled in the subject that he began to suffer acute dislocation from the day-to-day world and personal relationships. The story does not end well. Read it. There may be a lesson in here for us ghost hunters.
Prescott’s post reminds me a little of the Amy Allan thing – watch out for spirits who wish you ill, she warns her clients frequently, and by the way, you should probably sell your house and move…and they might follow you anyway. But Fisher’s tale may be less about the malevolent designs of evil spirits and more about losing perspective, willfully allowing the line between this world and the next (assuming there is a next) to become dangerously blurred.
funny, this is the first story I went to, and lo and behold . . . there’s a blurb about Amy Allan. She was the reason I came on here to begin with, just didn’t buy all her ‘drama trauma’ with the ‘I see dead people’ spiel. Was looking up the show she’s on (forget the name now), and wanted to know what someone thought about it. I agree with you, and think she’s a bit too dramatic, especially w/the faces.
I believe Amy Allen is another Noreen Renier who was proven by a federal judge in court to be a fraud. Amy Allen is a terrific actress . She knows when to perform to the camera. It does not matter where you stand on paranormal I just have to offer this solution. After years of reading the cards, I now believe that some people are good at intuitive feelings. Most are not just fakes with a great amount of drama. The program she is on “dead files” is a lie. Just like Noreen Renier who had many police officers come on and prove she did catch the killer, Amy has the same thing. A cop who shows his ring while driving. Why? To prove to his audience he is a cop. Un huh so what? cops are trained to lie. Especially detectives. Hauntings are not what most people believe. Scientifically it is not proven true or false. That leaves a wide playing field and fakes take advantage of that. The serious ones do not reveal their findings and tout how great they are instead it is recorded and reviewed by those in the field.
I think that the more a person wishes for something to be real, the more real it will become to them. I love watching these shows on TV, but it is solely for entertainment value. Psychics are frauds. I don’t know why they do it. Perhaps to feel special in some way. People and places are fairly easy to read for anyone that pays attention. It certainly isn’t a magical occurrence, it is simply a person’s ability to notice the little things and put two and two together. Remember Crossing Over? Is there someone with an old person who died in the audience? Is it a J name? hahah. Everyone knows an old person, and J is a very common letter. It’s not magic, it’s statistics. Everyone has unresolved issues with people that have died that are close to them, and everyone wants to believe in an afterlife. Without an afterlife what is there? Nothingness. People are afraid of nothingness and simply returning to the dirt. It’s why religions have always been around.
Joe, I’m personally quite sympathetic to your point of view on mediums. I can say that both Sharon and I have sat for mediums on many occasions, primarily in response to both of our personal losses in 2004. It was grueling time for both of us (we didn’t meet until several months afterward), and both of us were desperate for some validation that our respective spouses were ok after their untimely passing. One of Sharon’s readings was quite astonishing in its accuracy – none of mine were even close.
I linked to Prescott’s blog because I think he’s a thoughtful guy and a very good writer on these matters. And frankly…as ‘ghost hunters’, we encounter many people who dismiss the idea of spirits as fanciful delusion. We frequently wish that many people view the subject with an open mind and look at the evidence in its totality before arriving at a judgement. In that context, we are forced to keep an open mind on the subject of post-life communication, even if we are skeptical of most mediums’ alleged abilities.
As for ‘Crossing Over’, John Edward is an accomplished cold reader. Of this, there is no doubt. It is certainly not possible to prove that he cannot ever converse with spirits – most of what we have seen of this program (we haven’t watched it much in the last few years, although I believe it is still running) is standard issue cold reading.
I would encourage anyone interested in this subject to watch sometime the film “Hereafter”, with Matt Damon. Although it is a work of fiction and a Hollywood production, it keenly and accurately (in our view) captures the dynamic between mourning people and the practice of mediumship.
Thanks for visiting and for sharing your thoughts.
I think Mary Jane had too much Mary Jane! Lol!! Learn where to appropriately put punctuations, please!!!!!
Missy ,dear, you lack the critical skill set to actually write an interesting comment; instead you’re a self- appointed punctuation pretender. Your play on my name reveals how you have destroyed your life.