Derren Brown – The so called Messiah 7 of 8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Q2qR7PJQnQ&feature=related

Derren Brown: … and has offered me an impressive endorsement there. I turned down an offer she made for me to speak at a meeting that evening and I left her came to write about me. Now I’m getting ready to talk to the dead.

If spiritualists have really been talking to the dead all these years then that is a wonderful and important thing. If on the other hand it’s not true, then it could be seen as a very ugly and manipulative lie. Now, that’s not to say anything about Janet who we’re going to meet later. She could be of course, be genuine. But it’s truly worth having information that help you make better decisions. Now one piece of information worth knowing is that there is a skill called cold reading which dates back to the first psychics and mediums which is a way of talking to people as if you know everything about them and people make your statements fit their situation.

Since the mid-1800’s spiritualists have been talking to the dead, apparently delivering messages from beyond the grave which seems so specific that they must be real. I’m going to use every trick in the book and there are books if you care to look for them. Written by openly fraudulent mediums teaching their techniques but of all the tasks facing me for this special, this one makes me feel the most uncomfortable. I personally believe, given my knowledge of the psychic industry that I’m using techniques here, used by pretty much any successful medium. But you’re going to watch this knowing that I’m fake and if that makes you feel uncomfortable then that is kind of my point.

I’m here as Frasier Sherwell. Well I’ve come to meet the respected medium Janet Nohavec to convince her of my abilities.

Janet Nohavec: I have a spiritualist church here in America and also a school for mediumship. We believe in mediumship that’s very evidential, so we take this quite seriously. So we train people who can give very good detail.

DB: And you are bringing in people I suppose into a belief system or religion system as well do you find that normally happens? They’re also entering into a church perhaps?

Janet: It affects them spiritually. It sets their spiritual path…

DB: Yeah?

Janet: It affects at what they look at the world like. It affects, for many people, what they believe about religion. It touches them on a very many levels.

DB: The people attending this event are fairly skeptical New Yorkers who have responded to an advertisement to come along and have a reading. Okay so I’m going to go in now and give a demonstration to Janet and a group of people who I’ve genuinely not met before. But using medium skills and my own skills, I’ll give a more accurate reading than mediums tend to ever give and I’m interested to see how Janet takes it. We’ll see. Okay, there’s somebody who passed on a day that was either a birthday or an anniversary or something like that. You’re laughing is that…

Woman01: Yes.

DB: Yeah? Um, this is a young chap, this isn’t an old man, this is a young chap. I think you got very close. I think this is a real. I think you parted before he passed on though. Is that right?

Woman01: Yes.

DB: Yeah. Um, it’s not my forthcoming… held a lot of things back. Yeah? For all I know quite good natured, he’s got quite a dimply face when he smiles is that right?

Woman01: Yes.

DB: Yeah? Pecans?

Woman01: Yes.

DB: Yeah? This is uh… all right hang on. I’m getting a name which I don’t think is his, all right, but he’s given me a couple of names. And there’s Charles or Charley it’s his name and Tom or Thomas, two different names that he’s given me, Charles or Charley or Tom or Thomas.

Woman01: Can I tell you who that is?

DB: Is it something?

Woman01: Yes, that’s my ex husband.

DB: Is it another relationship? Sorry?

Woman01: That’s my ex-husbands name. But he’s not passed on.

DB: No, no, no, no. I’ve said that this isn’t him; this is a name that he’s given me about something. Okay, um, you’ve got some issue with this guy and I don’t know what that is. All right… but…

Woman01: He’s my ex that why I think.

DB: Yeah. I thi… This is him just looking out for you. All right?

Woman01: Yeah I appreciate it.

DB: Um, he says you’ve been feeling lonely and you’ve got a silly pet which he finds funny. Um, you’ve got a silly pet?

Woman01: Yes.

DB: Okay? Um, I think that’s what that’s about I think it’s just him being… looking out for you and just kind of being there and you know, just…  just… just making that connection.

Woman01: Frazier mentioned things that only I knew about. The one that passed away and he just mentioned specific things like uh, him passing away on our anniversary. The fact that we we’re very close because we we’re engaged to be married and it was very revealing and he said I had silly pets, which is true. I have two aquariums so, it was a great read.

DB: Coming up after the break, find out if a very respected medium will be able to tell if I’m really speaking to the dead and what her reaction will be.  This is the final part of the journey I want to see if a highly respected medium and teacher of mediums will be able if I’m really talking to the dead. I have to give convincing messages to a group of people I haven’t met and know nothing about. Now in a way I hope you’ll find in this is unpleasing as I found it to perform.  Okay, all right. Old lady, but with black hair, tied back. Yep?

Woman02: Uh-huh.