Can the cynics explain this (mediums)

[Disturbia81]

I've always been sceptical of them and know there are a lot of charlatans.
But have heard stories from people over the years who wouldn't lie. But remained cynical

A friend and I went to a group one, there were about 150 people there. He spoke to 10.
We used fake names on the booking so no research could be done on us.
Didn't talk about anything while there.

Anyway he mentioned a surname that had come to him, it was her brothers so she put her hand up. Then he got all her family names, relationships between them, specific funny things said, how he died, even how he looked when he was found etc.
She was in shock but got so much comfort knowing her was with her still.

He couldn't have known any of this.
I want to believe but also want to see if anyone can logically explain it?

You posted this 3 or 4 months ago pretending to be sceptical and want convincing. I'm going to say I think you're not sceptical and you want people to believe this happened because you believe it happened. I'm going to say again what I said then. You can't all have made a booking under fake names, one of you had to give your full name and address to pay with your card. That's how bookings work.

I posted it tonight... 🤔
Paid through paypal linked to throwaway email

You get good better and medicore no good in all walks of life,

not just with mediums etc..

a good Mediums brings a bit or some comfort 🤔 to the bereaved or just for someone who is curious looking for alternative perspectives on something in their lives ect,

it gives them a bit of reassurance ,

there are some good mediums in Spiritual churches or centres too
which is free to attend too..

second sight is a natural basic Primeval surival instinct there to guide us protect us from potential harm in whatever form that is,

Who has had an experience of feeling uneasy about someone even though 🤔 you don't know that person ?

and found out later ypur "internal" warning system was spot on,

even animals kingdom posses Primeval surival instinct themselves from potential danger in the wild,

Who has the experince of feeling uneasy about being in a situation even though everything appears to be normal etc?

who has had the experience of coming across someone who is good at lying saying something that is not true to them?

but you just sense and you can't put your finger on it that they are lying to you ,

The Gift of Fear etc

I am sceptical. I want to understand

It's nonsense, there is nothing to explain. I went to a "medium event" once, not long after one of my friends had died. I was in my 20s and the "medium" took one look at me and guessed I'd lost my Grandad, and was he called Derek? And did he have chest pain? And was he like a father figure? Nope and nope. Then when I wasn't nodding or giving any time to this crap, she said that I wasn't "receptive to the energies" and therefore they were blocked from coming through. Which is another way of saying quite plainly that you've got to be gullible beyond words to believe this crap, or else it 'won't work'.

My friend persuaded me to go and see one after my husband died. It was only a tenner back in the day so I went out of curiosity. It was totally embarrassing and she got everything wrong. Told me I was living with my boyfriend and had a little girl. Everything else she said was bollocks as well. I was cringing for her. She had no chance of cold reading that I was a very young widow.

@Disturbia81 I'm not sure why you directed the screenshot at me? I wasn't doubting that it happened and that you recorded it.

I was saying that the medium might have used the email provided in the ticketing process to research the mark. Isn't that possible?

I've just seen your update on using PayPal. PayPal requires a real name, so they will have gotten the information that way.

Don't these performers (as that is what they are) often have scouts in the queues and foyers at these events, hanging around and listening out. So if you and your friend were waiting to go in you might have revealed all sorts of stuff as you caught up with each other, which then gets reported back? Just a question like "Hows the family?" would give away loads as she told you brother X moved to Spain and brother Y has fallen out with her mum again, but Mum just takes it because she is on her own etc etc.

Sorry I replied to it after saying I quoted wrong, should have tagged you. Used a fake email as we wanted to give nothing away

You set up a fake PayPal account for the purpose of this one evening or you changed the email address on your existing PayPal account?

Maybe your friend is cahoots with the medium and you're the one being played

We made sure we didn't say anything. We went in cynical!

Princess Diana used to visit mediums apparently. She obviously wasn't given a pretty vital bit of information. Or do mediums only tell you what has happened, a bit like the Ghost of Christmas Past?

These people prey on the vulnerable and sad. And gullible.

Just wanna say thankyou for your replies so far! Think I will always be sceptical despite this. Just wanted to see if anyone could explain it as it happened but the only one that could is cold reading, just not sure how that works if nothing said at all and just a face at the back of a crowd. But I believe Derren Browns skills

Yes just past.

I’d love a logical explanation for what I saw that night too. I’ve seen a few mediums over the years and I recognised everything that’s been put forward on here, but this spiritualist thing was totally different.

I went to one and joked as I went in that I hoped my grandmother would tell me where I had put her engagement ring. Well the woman started going on about my grandmother was talking about how lovely I looked in my wedding dress. Which was odd because she didn’t come to my wedding as she was not well enough.

few weeks later I found the ring in the bag with my wedding dress. Gavel! 😂

Can’t cold read on Fb messenger with no info. I think most are scammy but I do think some people have a proper gift

You’ve said ‘cynical’ several times. I think ‘sceptical’ would be a better description.

Alhough come to think of it, both will do. I’m sceptical that these powers of talking to the dead exist and I’m cynical about the motives of people who claim to have these powers.

It’s all shite. Start to finish. Not one of these charlatans has ever produced a shred of proper evidence that they have paranormal gifts.

As a pp has said, even if you swallow this nonsense and believe that a dead person is dialling in from beyond the grave, what have they told you that you don’t already know? Does everyone become incredibly boring and limited in the afterlife?

I think the clairvoyant in the recent series of Traitors showed what an utter load of BS it is - surely she should have been able to pinpoint the traitors on day one due to their “aura” 🙄.

If you are sooooo desperate to understand like you say you are, all you have to do is go and watch derren browns programmes on catch up. He does cold reading with only yes, no or nod of the head answers. No one here does it for a living so how are they to explain to you how it's done? It's like asking MN how to calibrate a WW2 fighter jet and then claiming that it's not possible because no one in MN can tell you how to do it.

Very odd

Op, I think there are more things in heaven and on earth….

We talk about intuition, and following our gut. On the near death experience thread, many people spoke of feeling peaceful and being somewhere else. I’m not sure how mediums are different- perhaps they pick up things on a deeper level than the rest of us do. Who knows?

Maybe next time spend your money on seeing a derren brown show instead. He can demonstrate to you just this kind of reading, you can marvel at his accuracy. And then he can tell you how it was all fake.

Just because science can’t explain something yet doesn’t mean it’s bollocks…

In which case someone else with the exact same experience did the exact same thing and took the exact same standpoint. So I guess you could take that as a complete coincidence or it might fuel what you're thinking, IDK.

I still really think somehow you must have inadvertently fallen down with the payment somewhere.