Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Fleecing The Gullible: The Gift That Keeps On Giving

Anthony Grzelka has been the subject of some previous discussion here including examples of his fake 'psychic' readings, but EoR is always intererested in how the science of psychic prediction progresses, so it's time for another look at the best, most accurate pyschic Western Australia has to offer.

Here's a puff piece a regional television station produced (which really should have come with an advertorial warning, since it's hardly news):



He's a Ghost Whisperer, "just like the ones in the movies". That would mean his ghost whispering is fictional then? It's good that Mr Grzelka does this to "help others", not just for the money. EoR does, however, feel heartened that he is encouraging skeptics:

I do believe people should be skeptical because there are people that want to take your money and run.


Others just want to take your money again and again. Mr Grzelka is a master of the Barnum statement, cold reading, the leading question, and the rapidly forgotten run of mistaken guesses. He has an absolutely incredible ability to ask people questions and repeat the information back. His performance is stunning in its transparently fake 'readings'. He'll wander around the bush for hours until he finds some bones. Any bones. Give him a photo, and he'll psychically talk to the wandering spirits (because, apparently, if you take a photo of a ghost it gets captured on the image — even a digital image — and is dragged around wherever that image goes). Even a fake ghost photo will do for his performance, when he'll blather on about all sorts of random stuff in the hope that some of it will seem to be relevant to the (usually desperate for such hits) mark.

Whether I am a bogus medium will of course be asked after an incident like this and there is no way of avoiding this.


EoR doesn't think the question needs to be asked. It's been answered (and, as some of the commenters on that page have noted, 'bogus medium' is a tautology).

Like any good psychic, he's also got a gallery of badly taken photographs, and photoshopped images labelled as ghosts and spirits. Like this baby:

Magic ghost baby - not faked at all

EoR is convinced that this must be real. Why, only the other day he took a photo and this is the incredible result:

Magic psychic pooh

Clearly, the spirits are trying to communicate a Message.

3 comments:

  1. I used to hear him on the radio occasionally. One morning, as he took an ad break, I said to my wife "I"m getting a J name". When he came back on he aid to the next caller "I'm getting a J name".

    I think I'm double psychic.

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  2. Interesting to watch. I was struck by Mr Grzelka's measured tonal qualities and extravagant gesturing.
    Did a spot of research...
    It appears utilizing nonverbal communication makes it easier to lie convincingly, and this is likely to be used by those wishing to deceive.
    http://www.tinyurl.com.au/gjr

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