Fifty years ago, at the height of the space race, people were reporting more UFO and alien sightings than any time before or since. There was something in the Zeitgeist that encouraged people to see extra-terrestrial activity everywhere; it was the paranormal phenomenon of the age.
Now we live in very different times; more cynical times, perhaps. What, then, is the paranormal phenomenon of our age? It doesn’t come from mainstream media, or even popular culture (though perhaps the next few years will see an increase in vampire sightings). No, it is in fact born out of a powerful subculture centred around the figure of The Psychic.
Genuine paranormal ability aside, it’s good business; the psychic industry rakes in millions each year from hotlines alone – on top of stage shows and private readings. I’ve never followed such shows on television, or indeed sat in an audience, so I was intrigued to discover just how one would unfold.
The newfound ‘cult-like’ popularity is exemplified in the figure of Sally Morgan, perhaps the most notable stage psychic of our time. She has performed readings for the likes of Princess Diana, Katie Price and Uma Thurman, and is currently working on a new series of Psychic Sally on the Road for Sky Living, although she also appears on ITV2. She makes a comfortable living, with a Guardian journalist recently estimating her ticket sales alone at £2 million a year. She came to York on the 26th October as part of her tour, and I decided this was the ideal opportunity to find out what exactly was pulling in the crowds.
After doing a little research, I found that the psychic stage show is in fact a very daunting place, and not just for the performer. These events are a constant battle-ground in the war between cynics and believers. What degree of scepticism is it right, or even healthy, to maintain in the audience of a psychic show? Trying to strike a balance can be an intimidating affair. I don’t wish to appear antisocial, but equally no one likes to be taken for a fool.
As with all things, I eventually decided that the middle road was the only option. I believe one should attend such a performance keen to question it, but not intending to disprove it.
I found what I saw quite surprising. The first thing to strike me was the demographic of the audience: perhaps nine-tenths of the audience were middle-aged women. I think this must be important, as it shows quite clearly where the financial support comes from. Any advertiser can tell you that one of the strongest key demographics is the housewife.
It also differentiates this sub-culture movement from a full cultural one. Tellingly, as far as I could see, there were virtually no other students in the audience.
So, the show begins. But what does a show from Psychic Sally entail? Well, in her own words, “I just get these thoughts in my head, and, um, you know – they’re messages. They turn out to be messages for people that’re in the audience, um, from their loved ones. They’re from people that are dead.”
Seems simple enough… The show is very loosely structured and, much like a stand-up comedian, the psychic has nothing and no one but herself on stage. Unlike a stand-up, however, there is seemingly no script, no one else to turn to or rely on; only the relationship between the psychic and their audience.
Sally broadcasts her impulses, usually names but sometimes simply words or impressions, and the onus is on the audience to contextualise them, and give them meaning. Things get off to a rocky start but gradually warm up, and during the second half Sally makes a couple of impressively accurate assertions. Over the two hours, she directly addresses between 30 and 40 people.
What came as a surprise though was the inconsistent accuracy to Sally’s messages. The medium has, as recently as last month, come under fire from audience members who allege that she is ‘fed’ information via an earpiece. But from what I could see, and judging from the ‘hit and miss’ nature of her performance, it seems unlikely.
Nor did I see any evidence of cold-reading or trickery of any sort during the show. I can say with some confidence that this is an entirely honest performance: Sally simply comes onstage and vocalises impulses. These sometimes connect with the audience, and sometimes not. She isn’t trying to present herself as infallible, so why would an earpiece be necessary? The only point of contention is the origin of her ‘messages’. Are they simply random impulses in her brain, or are they influenced by the paranormal?
After all, this type of show is always going to attract criticism. Simply by setting a high price on tickets assures that everyone in the audience is desperate to reach a lost loved one. The psychic show begins to look like a very cleverly constructed trick, where the amount of profit is directly linked to the desperation of its audience. It’s that same desperation, however, that provides the critics with fuel for their fire: the medium becomes a rapacious figure, who takes advantage of a highly susceptible audience.
History is, sadly, littered with such figures, which doesn’t make the psychic’s job any easier. Mortality in any form is an emotional subject, and emotional people are easier to exploit. Faith Healing particularly has been a breeding ground for such deceptions. One example is German-born American evangelist Peter Popoff, who claimed to heal ailments with the power of Christ… in return for a fee.
Jack Coe, who believed in his own powers to such an extent that he removed a polio-stricken child’s leg braces. He was mistaken, and the boy suffered relentless agony for the rest of his life. Jack Coe was imprisoned for his error. But his mistake is somehow more palatable than Popoff’s, because he did, at least, believe the story himself.
The show was a very strange experience, and very different from my expectations. I managed to avoid Sally’s attentions, a fact of which I was deeply glad. Evidently there is some appeal for fans of mediums in contacting their lost ones, but it’s not an appeal I can understand. Having lost close relatives in recent months, whom I protectively feel like I knew like the back of my hand, to have a stranger relay messages from them would have been uncomfortable and unpalatable. I find it very difficult to conceive how this would be different for anyone else, and I can’t help but wonder if it’s a very healthy way to deal with grief.
I would certainly recommend a visit to Sally’s show to anyone who has the time and money. At £35, it’s a fairly large consideration on a student budget. But, approached in the right way, it can help you answer questions about bereavement and spirituality that you might find yourself asking one day.
There is only one way to confirm whether or not you see any validity in mediumship: see it firsthand. It wasn’t until I approached the show that I realised I don’t want to contact my deceased relatives. The part of my life in which they featured is, sadly, over and feeling as though they are still somehow present would only ever exacerbate that sense of loss and frustration. But you may feel differently. After all, it takes all sorts to make a world: the small, the large, and the medium.