Psychic James Van Praagh Shows Off His “Powers” On The Dr. Phil Show
Montel Williams may be going off the air, but it appears there’s no shortage of talk show hosts willing to sell themselves out for a ratings boost. Just look at the Thursday, May 15th episode of Dr. Phil, on which self-proclaimed psychic James Van Praagh came by to promote “Ghost Whisperer” and shill his new book, Ghosts Among Us: Uncovering the Truth About the Other Side.
Dr. Phil usually comes across as quite reasonable and logical, and has even advised against using psychics on previous shows. At the start of this particular episode, he claimed to be a skeptic in matters of the paranormal. And Dr. Phil did indeed question some of Van Praagh’s assertions-but this was done rather light-heartedly, while still promoting Van Praagh’s book.
During one segment, Van Praagh walked through Paraount Studios, supposedly on a ghost hunt. Dr. Phil’s website insists that the results of this walk “will surprise you!” Van Praagh points out a building and says, “Lucille Ball was here. That was her office.” He then talks to a Paramount employee who informs him the building housed Lucille Ball’s dressing room. When asked if anything strange happens there, the employee says, “Doors have a tendency to open and close.”
So Van Praagh was able to (almost) identify Lucille Ball’s dressing room? That shouldn’t be surprising to anyone-especially when you take into account that James Van Praagh USED TO WORK IN THE LEGAL DEPARTMENT OF PARAMOUNT STUDIOS. Are we really supposed to believe that he sensed Lucille Ball’s spirit, when the more likely possibility is that he simply used some information that he aquired as a Paramount employee?
Anyone who has ever watched the Dr. Phil show knows that he is not one to mince words; when he thinks one of his guests is full of it, he promptly tells them so. He appeared to be dancing around the issue with Van Praagh, however. When one woman claimed that she is constantly haunted by a violent spirit named “Jerry,” Dr. Phil only half-heartedly suggested the real problem may be a mental disorder, and allowed Van Praagh’s reading with the guest to dominate the segment.
Another woman said she was “addicted to psychics,” sometimes seeking their guidance through psychic hotlines three to four times a day. Dr. Phil pointed out that anyone could be on the other end of those hotlines because “there is no screening ,” and firmly told the woman she was “getting scammed.” All the while, of course, he was sharing the stage with an even worse con artist. What screenings has Van Praagh had to go through? What qualifications does he have that make him more legitimate than hotline psychics? Dr. Phil then followed this segment by allowing Van Praagh to perform readings for audience members, never saying a word about the less-than-impressive results. Is it any wonder that some people become dependent on psychics, when so many popular TV personalities (Montel Williams, Larry King, etc.) appear to endorse these frauds?
If this is Dr. Phil being “skeptical,” I’d hate to see him when he’s selling himself out.
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This uncritical pandering to psychics by television continues to be unfortunate, although there have been a few decent critical news commentaries in recent years. But, as you pointed out, this all seems to be nothing more than a promotional commercial for Van Praagh – sell out indeed.
Good post. There seem to be an infinite of Dr Phil-style presenters who will happily advertise self-proclaimed psychics.
It’s really amazing how many psychic bullshitters get to be on TV. Whole nights pass when half the UK cable channels show nothing but dross like “Most Haunted” and “Psychic detectives.”
It seems like most of you here agree with us! I’d love to ask Dr. Phil what his thought process was in having Van Praagh on the show. Could he possibly have a reason besides ratings? I don’t think for one second that Dr. Phil takes these psychics seriously…and I’m disappointed that he didn’t take more of a stand. I think I’d have minded less if he actually DID believe in psychics. The fact that he doesn’t just made this episode even more sad.
Sorry, but there’s no tooth fairy, no Santa Claus and nobody communicates with the dead. When Van Praagh was doing the reading of the audience members, he was using a technique called “Cold Reading”. Go to http://www.drphil.com/shows/show/1094 and read the transcript. “There’s a guy here who died on a motorcycle,” he says. A curly-haired woman stands. “My friend died on a motorcycle,” she says. This seems miraculous, but let’s think about it. Dr. Phil’s audience appears to contain a few hundred people. The chance is very large that someone in that audience will know someone who died on a motorcycle. Remember, it did not necessarily have to be the woman who stood up. He gets credit for a hit if anyone stands up.
Van Praagh asks if he was in a band? She doesn’t answer this question, so not a hit.
Are you in a band? She says that her friend is. Apparently she’s not and the dead motorcycle guy was not, so no credit for this one.
“There’s a Michael also”, he says. She answers that Michaels was his last name. By saying “there’s a Michael also”, he is implying that this is a different person, not the motorcycle guy, but she connects it for him, so it appears to be a hit. If you walk up to 100 people and ask if they know anyone named Michael, I’d bet that 99 would. How can VanPraagh lose?.
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while i don’t have any kind of faith in psychics ,i happen to know the the program “ghost hunters” isn’t faked so i’d rely more on a ghost hunter to tell me about something dead than a psychic.
i may not have the same beliefs as another(religious,ufo’s,etc but .freedom to believe without being obligated to explain why one believes is called freedom to believe. /i don’t question one’s beliefs regarding proof.thats why it’s called a ‘belief’.i don’t have any qualms about it.they believe what they do,so what?? as long as they’re not stealing my wife or raping my cattle ,i’m happy/.
to even question validity of a belief is an oxy moron action..one can’t prove solidly ,a belief.
there’s” i believe” and “i know”
you can’t request proof for the “i believe.”
it’s like demanding proof that a theory is fact/.
it’s like demanding to know if brittany spears is wearing underwear..
well..not the last one./
Dennis: “GHost Hunters” may or may not be faked–I wouldn’t know for sure if it is or isn’t. But even if it’s not deliberately faked, that doesn’t prove that ghost hunters are more valid than psychics. I suspect there are many psychics out there who genuinely believe in their psychic abilities, and are not faking anything, at least deliberately. Either way, I would still approach “Ghost Hunters” with a healthy skepticism…
I disagree that believing without being obligated to explain why is “Freedom to believe.” I would say that “Freedom to believe” is not being imprisoned or persecuted for your beliefs. I have the right to question a person’s beliefs, just as that person has the right to say, “I don’t need to explain myself to you–I’m happy believing.” Still, I have the right to start the conversation.
I don’t really have any qualms about people having their own personal beliefs. The problem is, though, that often these beliefs seep into public society. I simply don’t have the time or the energy to explain all the issues I have with irrational belief–I’ll simply say that I have an issue when people make decisions based on their religious belief, and not based on critical thinking or logic. Of course, they can make their personal decisions however they like, but when they make decisions that affect me and/ or my country (i.e. banning gay marriage, abortion, which president to vote for, etc.) based on irrational, unproven belief, I have the right to ask for some evidence. And if beliefs cannot be solidified, as you say, than they should NOT be used to make decisions that impact society.
And as far as this specific article goes, psychics like James Vab Praagh make a living exploiting the unsubstantiated beliefs of the people who use their services. Because these psychics claim to provide a service, and often request money for that service, I (and their customers) have every right to ask that they prove their abilities.
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