This afternoon I took part in a ghost walk through Victoria's oldest cemetery. This walk had a twist because it was hosted by mediums -- who had been hired to share their impressions as the group moved through the graveyard. The idea intrigued me because I'm very interested in shut-eyes and how they do their readings. What I actually learned was something significantly more interesting. Okay...maybe I didn't LEARN it as much as I CONFIRMED it.

To keep this post reasonably short, I'll tell you that there were three mediums. The first specialized in getting emotions from the dead. The second said she actually saw the dead...and had been doing so since she was six. The third said he often got messages from the dead.

"On the way here, I heard from a priest," this guy said. "He was quite old when he died. He said he didn't want us to forget him. His name was John."

There's a sharp intake of breath from beside me. I see an elderly woman looking back at me with wide amazed eyes. It's a look I've seen before many times in my performances. I am looking into the eyes of a True Believer.

True Believers are splendid additions to any mentalist's audience. These wonderful people are already on board with everything. They believe in all manner of psychic power and will do whatever it takes to have their views validated. They will feverishly search their minds, use their creativity and imagination to MAKE anything the psychic (or mentalist) says fit their preconception of what's true. They're demonstrative and positive...and make the perfect volunteer.

As I look around me, I see that there are True Believers all over the crowd. Their eyes are fixed on the psychic and they are hanging on every word.

When we get to the part of the cemetery where the clergy are buried, a number of them scour the headstones and one suddenly cries out that they have found one belonging to a FATHER JOHN...and moreover -- having done lightning math -- he was 82 years old when he passed.

A shudder runs through the group. I mean a REAL shudder. There's a thrill and a shared delicious feeling that we have all somehow touched the Unexplained...the Paranormal.

I am thinking that a) there's a pretty good chance that there will be an old priest named John and b) that most people die when they are older. I am a cynical soul, so it also occurs to me that the psychic could well have already been to the cemetery and scouted out that tombstone and then just maneuvered us into a place where we would find it.

There are a lot of other possibilities. But I keep them to myself because I am looking around me at the audience. They are eating it up. If the idea of an 'educated guess' or 'preshow' has occurred to anyone it's not showing on a single face. They are busy looking at each other with wondering shakes of the head...

...the same expressions we see at our performances.

The long and short of it? Many people WANT to believe. We have nothing to prove to them. They already buy the whole package.

At one point we stood by a child's grave. On each corner of the plot was a small blue and white pinwheel. One medium said that she had a strong sense of 'presence' here. The second saw a 'child' (Again...not a vast stretch.) She asked the child if she could make all four pinwheels spin at the same time. We all watched breathlessly. Nothing. Then the breeze picked up and one pinwheel slowly revolved a couple of times. Wild spontaneous applause. (You did read that I said these were PINWHEELS and that the BREEZE picked up and ONE of them moved a little, right?)

This post isn't designed to annoy or challenge readers who believe in these things. And I am not dissing the mediums who were on the walk. They had a job to do and they did it. I am not poking fun at the audience for buying into the whole proposition either.

I AM saying that it was fascinating to be looking at it from the outside...that pre-existing belief systems in some segments of our audience -- aka "True Believers" -- make what we do onstage so very much more effective because each incredulous look -- each gasp adds a powerful "something" to the performance of mentalism.

These are the people who line up after the show to talk with you and ask how long you've had your Gift. Splendid people.

How do you find the True Believers? Like the woman who sees ghosts, you don't need to look for them. They will find you.

David

PS On the off chance that someone reading this is outraged, let me add that a) I use a very specific disclaimer b) I don't do psychic readings for money...nor to I EVER claim to hear from the dead c) I have not started a cult d) I have not developed a conclusion as to whether or not psychic ability actually exists -- although I have an open (and intelligent) mind e) I see the performance of mentalism as beautiful theater...and if you disagree, that's your right and f) in order to make the aforementioned 'beautiful theater' I work with everything within me to make what happens onstage as utterly believable as I possibly can make it...and if you disagree...well...I don't care. Much.

Unfortunately, very few people around here any more play it for real or care about being real. They think its just about entertainment.

Equally as important is to know the demographic, right? Know where you are, the main majority belief system, the lore of the land etc

As well as the overall identity of your place of work.

If you play it for real for a place where most identify as atheist then... You're not going to change those views nor are they likely to believe that your psychic abilities are nothing but a very smart trick...

No matter who you are, a percentage will also question the claim to their friends and might even Google it...

Likewise, if you tell a room of true believers that it's all psychology, they will smile and nod and then tell you that you're either hiding behind that or will just nod and think "oh no, he's psychic, he just isn't ready yet..."

Playing it for real will get you laughed at in some quarters. Yet if you presented it as psychological, they'd be on board and get into it...

Also, when you read the lovely old little mentalism pamphlets, some of them are presented as a mini lecture on a technique or brand new discovery which you then demonstrate. These are from the 1910s onwards.

Playing it for real is great, for some nd for the right demographic. Doing it for others that way will give you a different atmosphere.

And why not move on and present mentalism in a different angle? Isn't it about time?

Besides, ever been to a psychic medium on stage? They never do book tests, chair tests or handle playing cards or guess who has the black ball.

I once psyche forced a card for a guy from sierra Leone. He laughed and laughed and rubbed his face. Then he said "if you did this back home, you'd be kidnapped and burned to death".

I did something similar in Iraq about 30 years ago (a "which person / which hand, led me to my BOHT technique.)

Similar reaction. Scared the everloving s### out of me, and got me away from magic and into mentalism. As suggested, just let them find you.... there are many out there, and perhaps for good reason.

And maybe, just maybe, 'ol John the Priest made the one pinwheel out of four say hello,, just a little bit.

Great post, David.

Bryn

I've always been a fan of working out who you are, discover your niche and both find your audience and let them find you...

Cookie cutter mentalism is not for me... One size does not fit all and most importantly YOU need to have something to say/share that is meaningful to you and in turn, others identify with it because it's something they identify with too.

If you are real then you're real.

If you're not real but try to play it for real isn't it then entertainment?

Who's real... raise my hand?

Here's a simple test. My partner is a telekinetic and I can control people's minds. My partner will attempt to raise your hand, while I will prevent you from doing so.

Whoever succeeds at their particular task is the real one.

The schrodinger'arm test

My hand just went up! no, down, no, up....STOP!!!!

I love your post David. It brought me back to my youth--when I was maybe 10 to 15 or so. I lived on another freakin' planet! I bought UFO magazines, watched Ted Serios, and Filipino psychic surgeons on Joe Pyne and Alan Burke (anyone remember those guys?). I got a Milton-Bradley Kreskin's ESP Test Kit for Xmas. (And knowing nothing of normal distributions and bell-shaped curves, I got excited by occasional Zener card runs way over five correct.) All those fantastic fantasies are long gone from my imagination but I still remember what thrills and chills they could conjure up.