A few weeks ago I was on The Maury Show during a segment called “Ghosts Caught on Tape.” One of the segments shown was the ghost of Puckett’s Garage in Oklahoma. Several alert viewers sent me emails claiming that I was furthering a known hoax. One email even accused me of not doing my homework… ouch!

There are a couple of things I want to say in my defense, and one in my offense (the best defense is a good offense, right?). First, as with all of the evidence I’ve ever displayed on my Web site or in my lectures, I never claim that what I have is proof. Because of time constraints, there were portions of the Maury interview that didn’t make it to the air. Maury Povich asked how we know some of these videos are a hoax or someone playing a joke. My response was that we don’t know with all of these, but we often have some pretty compelling circumstances surrounding the video. Again, it’s evidence, not proof. Some people see enough evidence that a phenomena is proved to them, others can see all of the evidence in the world and they’ll never believe. No problem. That’s their choice.

Back to Puckett’s garage… you can view a write-up about the video (and see it) here: http://www.ghouli.com/investigations/puckett.htm

The reason for the emails was mainly because this video clip was shown on a television show last year where some researchers were able to mostly recreate the phenomena by hanging a plastic doll by a string close to a security camera. Even though the video looked very similar to the Puckett’s garage footage, the show said the results weren’t conclusive.  Basically, unless someone comes forward and says, “Hey, I faked this,” it will remain inconclusive.

These videos are all a part of a much bigger discussion. Does something happen after death? And if so, can we see evidence of it here in the world of the living?

So in response to those emails from people trying to keep my honest I say, “You may be right.” But I also ask that people look at all of the evidence. Consider the millions of clips, photos, and personal accounts. Can we dismiss them all? I can’t. And that’s what keeps me going.

In January of this year psychic Sylvia Browne was busted in another blunder. Now I have no idea whether Sylvia Browne has a psychic gift, used to have one, or only has one on occasion, but I do know that two of her predictions over the last 13 months are deplorable and inexcusable. Not only was she 100% wrong, but she was commenting on life and death issues in real-time.

I know for a fact Sylvia Browne has gotten other predictions wrong in addition to the two I’m going to discuss here, but I don’t take issue with a psychic saying something like, “You’ll meet a tall, dark stranger and fall in love,” and the person being read for meets a short, fat friend and falls in love with that person instead. No one really gets hurt in a prediction like this (except the tall, dark stranger, of course).

Let’s stick to the facts. On January 2, 2006, Sylvia Browne was on the Coast to Coast overnight radio program with George Noory–I show I’ve also had the pleasure of being an overnight guest on. January 2nd was the day that the 13 coal miners in West Virginia were still stuck underground. During the early parts of the four-hour program, George Noory interrupted the show to announce the great news that 12 of the 13 miners had been found alive. Sylvia Browne said she knew they would be okay. She said she thought one might not make it, but she knew. She also acknowledged that it’s easy for a psychic to say something like that after the fact, but nevertheless, she knew.

A few hours later, during the same show, George Noory read the corrected newswire that 12 of the 13 coal miners had perished and the previous wire story was wrong. Sylvia Browne could only ponder aloud how the newswire could make such a mistake. And she didn’t miss a beat. She changed her story 100% during the same radio program and said she knew that most of them were gone.

It’s crass, rude, and wrong to comment on issues like this in real-time. But what happens next is even worse.

On October 6, 2002, Shawn Hornbeck went out for a bike ride in Richwood, Missouri and didn’t return. His parents were desperate to find their child and eventually they made their way to the Montel Williams show to ask Sylvia Browne for help. The date was February 26, 2003 and Sylvia told the frightened parents that she had the answer. She told the parents that her boy was dead and his body was in the woods 20 miles away near two jagged boulders. His bicycle was dumped in another state. The heartbroken parents left and tried to accept that their child was dead.

In early January of this year, Shawn Hornbeck was found alive and well in St. Louis, Missouri with another boy who had gone missing just a few weeks earlier.

Every psychic I’ve ever interviewed (and there have been quite a few) will say that they can’t be 100% accurate all of the time. I accept that. But if one isn’t 100% sure, one better not comment on life and death to the faces of those who are affected most by the missing person in question.

What Sylvia Browne did was despicable and unacceptable. On her own Web site she offers a vague apology for getting this one wrong, but it’s so vague I actually find it even more insulting than saying nothing.

We talked about this issue quite a bit on a recent X Zone Radio Show, but I wanted to go on written record saying Sylvia Browne’s behavior on these issues is inexcusable. If someone wants to spend $750 for a 20-30 minute phone reading with Sylvia Browne, that’s their business. But please oh please don’t ask about anything related to life and death issues. She clearly has no problem with guessing on those subjects.