"Mark Edward is an equivocator, fibber, and mountebank. Which begs the question: if a liar admits to lying, can he be telling the truth? He is a literate, informative, intellectual, a student of the psychology of humans, a foe of those who would defraud the public for personal gain, and as an author and practicing psychic, he is first and foremost an entertainer."-Joel Moskowitz, International Brotherhood of Magicians
Mark Edward admits that for years he exploited believers who wished to connect with supernatural ideas and sad family members who missed dead loved ones.
Now Edward is a magician who works the Haunted Castle in Hollywood and is also on the editorial board of Skeptic magazine, where he reveals the means of psychic scamsters. This entertaining book is at once a confessional and instructional regarding human belief and those who exploit it.
Though Edward believes that most practitioners of the psychic business are out-and-out scam artists, he also counters the skeptic belief that the supernatural is a lie.
Both skeptic and skeptical of skepticism, Mark Edward has worked as a 900-number psychic, ghost hunter, and Hollywood Magic Castle medium. He has also worked vigorously to debunk psychic frauds and currently works on the editorial board of Skeptic magazine.
Autorentext
Inhalt
Preface
Chapter I: Dawn of the Con
Whatever possessed me?
Chapter II: The 900 Years
The psychic sweatshop and how I got my start there
Chapter III: Talking to the Dead;
Making a living talking to yourself
Chapter IV: World's Greatest Opportunity knocks and I make the leap
Chapter V: Radio Spirit
Hopping on the media bandwagon
Chapter VI: The OC Occultist
Navigating the land of the Woo-Woo Gurus
Chapter VII: Very Private Readings
The demands of being too close for comfort
Chapter VIII: My Dear Agents
Those who help make psychic dreams come true
Chapter IX: Lady's Night
Held hostage for my gift
Chapter X: The Celebrity Syndrome
"Psychic to the Stars" - and everything that comes with it
Epilogue: Future Tense
Potentials and pitfalls that await