The skeptics among us know that James Van Praagh is a con and a fraud. He’s one of those people who can “talk to dead people” who have “crossed over.” Just like John Edward.
It’s hard to convince believers that it’s all a game of cold reading, though, when their TV shows are edited down to 20 minutes from hours of taping.
But perhaps this clip will help. It’s a five-minute, unedited clip of Van Praagh on an Australian talk show getting guess after guess after guess wrong when talking to people who have lost their loved ones.
Notice the following in just the first part:
At 0:40, he asks a lady if her deceased relative took medicine. (An old person taking medicine?! Never.) He follows up by asking about arthritis, back problems, and legs… common problems for the elderly. (The lady says no to everything, which is pretty amusing.)
Van Praagh then asks the (white, presumably Christian) woman if the mother was buried. As if that’s breaking news. After getting confirmation, he goes on to say, “… cause she’s talking about getting buried and about a wake or a funeral…”
*facepalm*
Right after that, he asks for a Catherine/Cathy (also common names). No luck. Another lady offers the name “Katie” and he runs with it as if that’s what he meant to say.
Those are just the first couple minutes.
How anyone could be so gullible as to be taken in by this?
Because they’re saddened by the loss of their loved ones. They missed their deceased relatives. And they’re willing to believe what a con man says.
Still, it’s dishonest and Van Praagh doesn’t give a damn that he’s making all this up and toying with the audience’s emotions. It’s all just a game for him — one in which he makes a lot of money off of his victims.
(via Cynical-C Blog)
