Psychic Blues: Confessions of a Conflicted Medium

by Edward, Mark; Randi, James

• ISBN13: 9781936239276
• ISBN10: 1936239272
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-08-07
• Publisher: Consortium Book Sales & Dist

Summary

"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 Skepticmagazine, 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 Edwardhas 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 Skepticmagazine.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. ix
Preface	p. xi
Illusions Aside
The leap from Magic to Magick and how it all began	p. 1
The 900 Years
The psychic sweatshop and how I got my start there	p. 11
WorldÆs Greatest
Opportunity knocks and I make the leap	p. 45
Talking to the Dead
Making a living talking to yourself	p. 79
Radio Spirit
Hopping on the media bandwagon	p. 85
The OC Occultist
Navigating the land of the Woo-Woo Gurus	p. 111
Very Private Readings
The demands from being too close for comfort	p. 157
My Dear Agents
Those who help make psychic dreams come true	p. 167
Ladies' Night
Held hostage for my gift	p. 179
The Celebrity Syndrome
"Psychic to the Stars" and everything that comes with it	p. 195
Epilogue: Future Tense
Potentials and pitfalls that await	p. 217
Acknowledgements	p. 221
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