I think it is time to talk about something that many magicians like to keep secret but a lot of braver people have tried to expose. I’ve been uncomfortable about the world in which I work for some time now. When I first started in the magic world I looked up to people like Derren Brown, David Copperfield and David Blaine. What they did seemed to defy logic and reality and I had to know what was behind it all. Continue reading →

Over the years psychics and psychical researchers have presented all manner of claims relating to supernatural phenomenon.  Whether such abilities exist or not, is not the purpose of this article, but even if the people on this list do possess genuine abilities it hasn’t stopped them being the subjects of skeptical stings.  Below is a video version of this post, albeit with less detail due to the format if you’d rather watch instead of read.  Otherwise, after the jump we’ll look at my personal favourite Top 5 Psychic Stings. Continue reading →

Do psychic powers exist? Subjectively you will find a lot of people with personal experience of psychics and mediumship, it is a big trade – the exact number of practicing mediums is unknown – with the more famous getting television shows and 2000 seater theatre venues. Continue reading →

Its been a funny old year. I am sure we have all had personal ups and downs, some very big downs and some very big ups. But on a larger scale there has been a lot of change and strange goings on. The worlds of celebrity, politics and media have thrown us some oddities this year and although many other sites have listed the bizarreness of 2015 I thought I’d jump on the page-hits band wagon. Now, not all of these on the list are funny bizarre, some of them are simply weird whilst others examples of people getting their just desserts. In no particular order let’s crack on: Continue reading →

I really enjoy Harry Potter. It’s fun, it’s entertaining and is at it’s heart a very simple story of good versus evil. The movies are wonderful examples of film as art, with a truly phenomenal cast. Rowling completed the seven books in the series, but they do not represent the whole. Continue reading →

It is almost Hallowe’en again. That time of year where people dress in silly costumes but aren’t Royalty. Despite originally being a religious event tied to Paganism, and later usurped by Christianity – because if there is one thing Christianity does well it’s look at other cultures and go “Mine”- the celebration of Hallowe’en has taken on a very secular form. Of course you will still find religious themed events such as the Edinurgh Samhuinn festival, but mostly it’s a chance to go out and get drunk whilst dressed as a Sexy Pluto the dog. Continue reading →

Photography is an art that anyone, of any skill level, can partake in. You don’t need an expensive camera- even some art exhibitions have been created by using a camera phone. The quality of cameras today, even the most basic disposable, is head and shoulders above those of 170 years ago- obviously so. We live in an age where at any moment, in any location we can snap near infinite numbers of photographs, of any and all things. Even naughty covert photography in museums is easy with camera phones at the ready. And it seems the popularity of photography has never waned since its invention. Continue reading →

There is debate between those who are skeptical and those who believe in the paranormal as to whether ghosts exist. Evidence presented by one faction is commonly rejected by the other- though I would argue the skeptical side is doing so in an evidence based manner… as I’m sure believers would also argue for their side. Continue reading →

This is something I’ve wanted to write for a while, but whenever I put pen to paper, or fingers to keys, I seem to run out of steam. Not because the subject is pointless, or because there isn’t much to say but because of the reverse. There is just so much to say on the topic. As a skeptic, and especially as one whose focus is the paranormal, I am often met with people who genuinely believe in what it is I am presenting a skeptical view of. Continue reading →

It is not uncommon to hear it said that all psychics are frauds. In the UK that is a claim that would need backing up with solid evidence lest you fall foul of a libel lawsuit, but in other countries with libel laws that operate differently, it is quite easy to throw around accusations of deception with little risk of retaliation in any legal sense. It is also clear that it is very easy to find a list of exposed, or admitted, psychics throughout history- the founders of Spiritualism (the religion without which we might not even HAVE psychics today) Margaret and Kate Fox were exposed as charlatans when Margaret confessed. Continue reading →