Category: Guerrilla Skepticism
A column by Susan Gerbic
Operation Onion Ring – Thomas John and the Children
Before I get to the story of Operation Onion Ring, I want to make an announcement. I’ve been thinking about writing a book about Grief Vampires and kept putting it off for someday. I was really productive in the past fifteen months of lockdown and with the conclusion of Operation Onion Ring, I know it’s …
Coming Soon – Thomas John’s Spirit Circle for Children
So what could possibly go wrong with Grief Vampire, Thomas John speaking to dead family members of children ages five to twelve and charging their parent $400 apiece for the opportunity? Maybe I’m suspious but I’m not sure this is such a great idea. Well the Guerilla Skeptics have been following this Virtual Spirit Circle …
McLauchlan Investigates Medium Gordon Smith – Aberdeen, Scotland
This is the last article in a series of four accounts from Alistair A. McLauchlan who attended four mediumship events in Scotland in 2019. In the first three of these articles, we meet Karen Docherty and David Frances in Dundee, Andrew Lindsay in Perth, and Lisa Williams in Edinburgh. Note: McLauchlan was discouraged from taking …
McLauchlan Investigates Medium Lisa Williams – Edinburgh, Scotland
This is part three in a series of four accounts from Alistair A. McLauchlan, who attended four mediumship events in Scotland in 2019. In the first two these articles we met Karen Docherty and David Frances in Dundee and Andrew Lindsay in Perth. Note: McLauchlan was discouraged from taking photos. What is included here was …
McLauchlan Investigates Medium Andrew Lindsay – Perth, Scotland
This is part two in a series of four accounts from Alistair A. McLauchlan who attended four mediumship events in Scotland in 2019. In the first of these articles we meet Karen Docherty and David Frances in Dundee. Note: McLauchlan was discouraged from taking photos; what is included here was taken surreptitiously. I’ve altered the …
Dundee – Karen Docherty and David Francis
Featured Image: McLauchlan Investigates Mediums Karen Docherty and David Francis in Dundee, Scotland This is part one in a series of four accounts from Alistair A. McLauchlan, who attended four mediumship events in Scotland in 2019. McLauchlan had written to me out of the blue saying that he had been following my work investigating …
Message for “psychic” James Higgins – “A woman in Spirit is trying to get ahold of you – hurry book now!”
A few months ago, I was asked to join a Facebook group called James Higgins Psychic Scammer EXPOSED! Like most of you, I get a lot of group requests, but this one piqued my interest. I had never heard of James Higgins before this. I’ve been following the team’s efforts for the past six months …
Click Click Click Thomas John
Click, click, click, click, click, click. “Do we have any men on the call?” The Guerilla Skeptics are still participating in Zoom events featuring psychic mediums who are unable to ply their trade in person because of the pandemic (that they did not foresee coming). We are calling this series of investigations Operation Lemon Meringue. …
Suzane Northrop – Operation Lemon Meringue
Twenty years ago, The Skeptic Society released a TV series called Exploring the Unknown, with Michael Shermer as producer. In an episode of that series, mentalist Mark Edward was asked to explain how psychic medium Suzane Northrop appeared to be speaking over the radio to the dead family members of sitters (persons receiving a reading). …
Right Turns Only! Circling Back to Seatbelt Psychic
Jonathan is not what you would think of when you think of a stereotypical believer in psychics. He is male, which is a minority in the sea of people who show up to psychic events. He is also college-educated and works in a science-based industry. Jonathan has always seen himself as skeptical and normally wouldn’t …
Maria Verdeschi and Thomas John—Operation Lemon Meringue
As I’m sure you are already aware, on October 20 we lost one of our own: James Randi. He was my friend and inspiration; he will be missed. It feels like my heart will not heal, and from the outpouring of love and remembrances I saw on social media in the days following his death, …
Thomas John and Kimberly Meredith—Operation Lemon Meringue
Once again, we return to Operation Lemon Meringue—the Guerrilla Skeptics investigations into the online events from grief vampires such as Thomas John and his associates. For more information about our past investigations, you can find them here on my website. Today’s report is from a September 17, 2020, Zoom event with Thomas John and medical …
Operation Lemon Meringue – Thomas John
Zoom has been amazing for me during this pandemic—I’m at home, but I’m able to connect with friends and family all over the world. Even train, coach, and plot for all the various projects I’m involved in. I’ve recorded many interviews with members of the skeptic community and posted them on Facebook and YouTube for …
The Thomas John Experience – Review
The day before the release of psychic medium Thomas John’s new show on CBS All Access—The Thomas John Experience—I released an article with my predictions for the show. That was June 4, 2020, and now it’s time to review those predictions and see how I did. If this is your first introduction to Thomas John …
Abysmal Failure: A Skeptical Psychic Medium Attempts to Read Susan Gerbic
I’m going to tell you about my latest reading with a psychic medium who approached me in July 2020. She felt very strongly that she needed to reach out to me so I could get a reading from a “true and genuine psychic.” I’m not going to disclose who this person is for reasons I …
There is NO WAY the Psychic Could Have known!
Mark Edward and I hear this statement so often that I’m going write an article about it. “There is NO WAY the psychic could have known that!” With a lot of emphasis on the “NO WAY” part. These are the statements that usually follow that first statement: I’m not on social media anywhere. This happened …
Grief Vampires – An Update
I am often asked why we are still fighting the same old fight with these psychics. Why won’t they go away when we have exposed them over and over again? It is frustrating; they do seem to be everywhere. But I think we are seeing some hope. Data shows that the psychic world is a …
They Oddly Did Not See This Coming
We have all seen those clever memes on social media of pictures from a psychic fair with an additional sign that says, “Cancelled due to Unforeseen Circumstances.” We pass them around and have a little chuckle; well we are at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic (or at the end if you believe psychic Jeanette …
The Thomas John Experience—Buckle Up, He’s Back!
Well it is here: Thomas John Flanagan’s newest bit of fame. His new show, The Thomas John Experience, will air on CBS All Access on Thursday, June 4, 2020. If you have been following the story of Thomas John through my writings, you will know that he has been exposed so many times that he …
What do I do with his Damn Book?
I’m writing this from stay-at-home California, and if you are reading this soon after its publication, you are likely reading it from a stay-at-home somewhere in the world. What I am asking now is “Why did this happen without warning? Why didn’t they see this coming?” No, not the governments of the world, although that’s …
Vaccine Activism: The Day the Vaxxed Bus Came to Town
This January, a few days after our local SkeptiCamp, the Vaxxed bus visited Monterey, California. It’s a problem anytime the Vaxxed bus visits anywhere, but this was my city and I wasn’t happy about it. First a bit of information. Vaxxed: From Cover-Up to Catastrophe is an American pseudoscience “documentary” directed by discredited doctor Andrew …
Good Day New York Fox 5 and Grief Vampire Matt Fraser
I just can’t understand why morning TV shows give free publicity to grief vampires such as Matt Fraser. The hosts laugh and have a good ol’ time as if this is just a jump-house of frivolous fun bubbles. They think that people communicating with the dead is as normal as a six-toed cat. Kind of …
Operation Pizza Roll — Part II
“The NAME was specific but WE didn’t really get a lot of information over who this is.” —Thomas John Thomas John, the Manhattan Medium turned Seatbelt Psychic and star of the popular Operation Pizza Roll sting, has his own show at Caesars – Cleopatra’s Barge. Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin often hung out there and …
A Window into GSoW
It has been my honor and privilege to be the leader of the Guerrilla Skeptics of Wikipedia (GSoW) team for many years. I have fingers in many pies in the skeptic movement (and yes, this is a movement). I receive accolades and awards from the community, but I want to remind everyone that we have …
Thomas John – ABC 7 Windy Predictions
As we near the opening night for Thomas John Psychic Medium at Cleopatra’s Barge at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, which is January 16, 2020 (I can hardly wait), I thought we would take another look at one of his flawless readings. This was suggested by one of TJ’s biggest YouTube fans. This video was …
Matt Fraser LIVE!
It’s been a while since the Operation Peach Pit investigation we completed on medium Matt Fraser. To catch up quickly, here is the NYT’s article and Kenny Biddle’s article with details of the experience. I promise I haven’t ignored him. All the footage I’ve seen of Fraser shows him to be a very quick and …
Thomas John and the Believers
Faking questions? I highly doubt it. These people overwhelming believe Thomas John is in contact with their dearly departed. It’s extremely sad to watch people preyed on by these grief vampires who are trying to get a hook into their desperation and trust. As someone who has lived in this skeptic universe for years, I’ve …
An Interview with Rex Morgan, M.D. Writer/Artist Terry Beatty
Susan Gerbic: So, Terry, thank you for taking some time to talk to me. I’ve been reading Rex Morgan, M.D. for years but got into it quite late in Rex’s terms, as it has been running since 1948. It was created by Dr. Nicholas Dallis and has been in print for over seventy years. …
What’s Wrong with the News Just Reporting the News? Matt Fraser on Morning TV
I’ve become very interested in the relationship between mediums and the morning news programs giving free publicity to push psychics’ shows and private readings. I know that morning programming is trying to be engaging and fun, even showing the reporters as a friend to the viewer in the hopes of persuading them to start every …
Robert S. Lancaster: February 11, 1958 – September 7, 2019
We have lost one of the most influential members of the modern skeptic community. And it is very possible that you won’t have even heard of him. I’m going to fix that right now, so read on. Before Facebook, Twitter, and other social network platforms, we used forums to communicate. Some of you probably still …
Three Parents Reveal the Truth about Psychic Thomas John
One of my team members just got back to me with extensive research of another of Thomas John’s readings. This time it was three grieving women, Linda M. McCarthy, Beth West, and Tracy Soussi, each of whom lost a son. Soussi is currently Thomas John’s assistant. All three women state that “some” of the information …
Musings on SkeptiCal at Ten
It has been ten years since the Sacramento Area Skeptics and the Bay Area Skeptics cosponsored the first SkeptiCal. I’m very proud to say that I have attended all ten and enjoyed them all. The conference is usually held in either Oakland or Berkeley, but this year it found a new location. On June 9, …
I’m Speechless! Thomas John reads KJBK Fox2 Derek Kevrea
Cover Image: Facebook Post by Derek Kevrea — “I’m speechless. Thomas John: Celebrity Medium communicated with my Grandpa. Said ‘He’s proud of you’. It’s a miracle I held it together.” If you have been following the career of Thomas John “Seatbelt Psychic” Flanagan also known as The Manhattan Medium through my various investigations, then …
Behind the Scenes at Wikipedia with the GSoW
I would like to introduce you to the most prolific editor for Guerrilla Skepticism on Wikipedia (GSoW), Leon Korteweg. Leon is unusual in many good ways, but as far as our Wikipedia editing team goes, he was already a prolific editor when he joined us. The majority of our (so far) 150-member team are first-time …
Thomas John Revisited
On February 26, 2019, the New York Times published an article by journalist Jack Hitt, featuring the two-year investigation I and my team had conducted on mediums Thomas John and Matt Fraser. These operations were named Operation Pizza Roll and Operation Peach Pit. Also included in the NYT article was a mention of research I …
Activism for the Rest of Us
Normally I’m not one to expound on a peer’s article, especially when that peer is Steven Novella, skeptic communicator extraordinaire. But I’m about to do so now. Novella wrote an article that focused on a Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) editorial about medical misinformation (“JAMA on Medical Misinformation,” published April 24, 2019) and …
Fringe Theory on Portuguese Wikipedia
Since nearly the beginning of the Guerrilla Skepticism on Wikipedia (GSoW) project, I have been preaching to anyone that will listen that if we are going to educate the world about pseudoscience, we will have to recognize that not everyone reads in English. This is why our team edits in many languages. We write and …
Buckle Up – Seatbelt Psychic
CSI Fellow, Susan Gerbic investigates Lifetime’s “Seat Belt Psychic”. Thomas John (The Manhattan Medium) drives around Los Angeles picking up “unsuspecting” riders, along the way he speaks to their dead family members and pets. Very accurate and specific readings. There is no way he could know these things … unless.
Operation Pizza Roll – Thomas John
Susanna and Mark Wilson got a psychic reading from the Manhattan Medium, Thomas John’s March 2017 psychic event. Thomas John was accurate and detailed with his readings. One problem though, Susanna and Mark Wilson don’t exist. But their Facebook pages do.
What can we learn from Michael Marshall’s “Be Reasonable” Podcast?
Be Reasonable is a monthly podcast that Michael started in January 2013. It is a reasoned discussion with people who are outside what we would call the scientific world.