HOME | ARTICLES | CUNNING LINGUISTICS | LINGUISTICS | SKEPTICISM

ABOUT ME | EMAIL | PAREIDOLIA MUSEUM

B@D LANGUAGE
Investigating language myths and mysteries

Finding an Unhappy Medium

Psychic Medium
Luke Patrick

From the Book of Luke...(Patrick):
"We grieve over the loss of our loved ones who have passed, to us they are gone. However, they have only passed into the next life, a life that is higher to us, a life which is not a physical level of life. They are always connected to us, through love, eternally."

"Psychic Medium" Luke Patrick was in town to present his show From the Other Side. "It's like John Edward's Crossing Over," Luke explained. ...Between the two of them they sound like a "Why did the chicken cross the road?" joke...

Luke claims to have first become aware of his amazing powers of mediumship at the tender age of nine. Ever since, he has received "messages and guidance from friends and relatives who have passed over, and can convey these messages with extraordinary accuracy". Also gifted as a psychic, Luke assists people with "their queries on such matters as relationships, career, health and other such matters". Things haven’t always been so smooth for Luke’s career though. Only a few years ago, a psychically frustrated Luke contemplated ending his career as a psychic medium.

Suffering a mid-psychic crisis, Luke went driving, and in his distraction his car careered from the road and over a cliff. Hanging precariously, the car was held in place by a shopping trolley that was lodged into the side of the cliff face. But Luke survived the ordeal, and this dramatic incident convinced him that he was meant to continue his good work; it was "a sign that I had to keep sharing my gift". He decided to take his gift "into the public arena in order to create a much larger knowledge of spiritual awareness to individuals who have been unable to find genuine and professional psychics for support and guidance."

Luke would be in Armidale for "one night only". The local newspapers were in a frenzy over Luke’s upcoming visit. So was Luke, "I cannot wait and you will not be able to wait either", he promised. They all ran page-sized advertisements for Luke’s show. These listed the "rules of the show", a strict inventory of ‘do’s and don’ts’ for those attending his performance. "By entering the stage area, you are agreeing to be read by Luke. If you feel embarrassed or flustered or not open to receive messages or guidance, then it is better for you to vacate your seat for someone who is anxious for a reading." As we will see, Luke makes no guarantee that even the anxious will get a reading. But no one is immune from Luke’s unpredictable readings; he claims that he has read a barman, a doorman and even someone in an adjacent room!

Luke sat at the entrance to the auditorium as the audience members arrived, chatting with them as they queued. There’s no limit to the information he can glean this way, both elicited and overheard. Both Joe Nickell (Skeptical Inquirer Vol. 25, No.6, 2001) and Michael Shermer (How We Believe: The Search for God in an Age of Science) have reported cases of mediums, John Edward and James Van Praagh respectively, who have been caught red-handed, using methods of ‘hot reading’, that is, cheating by using prior-gained information, to give a startlingly ‘accurate’ and intimate reading.

The $27 entry fee does not ensure a reading, "you are encouraged not to put physical thought projection on a divine non-physical energy". And if you do actually get a reading, Luke may try to blame you for his misses. Is Luke’s reading wrong, or have you forgotten the person he has contacted? "Do not get psychic amnesia," he warns. Don’t expect Luke to contact someone once close to you either, he may only contact your great-grandfather’s aunt’s second cousin’s adopted son’s illegitimate daughter. "Luke doesn’t want you to forget your family tree so he encourages you to bring some of your own information". Documents listing numerous names of little known, distant family members increases his potential for a ‘hit’. Then the old ‘later on it will all make sense to you’ trick. "Write down what you are told in case you find that the reading does not make sense immediately, as later you may connect". If not, he, and your money, will be long gone by then anyway! Finally, be grateful that you have basked in the glory that is Luke, "appreciate the messages, even if you are not the person being read".

Well, Luke was wrong, I was able to wait until the big night. The room was half-filled to capacity with an audience of about 100 people, mostly groups of women. My nemesis, ghostbuster Ama Nazra, sat at the next table. Luke was a pudgy-faced fellow with a belly fit for a skeptic. He started the show by comparing "From the Other Side" with "Crossing Over". "They are loosely related. For that I must thank John Edward and James Van Praagh." Luke explained the proceedings, a reading, followed by an intermission and lastly, a question and answer session.

Before the reading, Luke needed to focus and wanted the audience to engage in a sort of psychic joint attention with him, "We’ll start with a five minute meditation". Before we could do so, a female member of the audience cried out "is this room protected?" Luke snapped, "I am, I don’t know about this room. Now, let’s close our eyes and have silence." Feeling like I was back in the classroom, I duly closed my eyes and focused on a number of people with whom I would like to ‘make contact’. Asking the audience to open their eyes, Luke began with a caveat. "If I don’t make contact with your loved one, it is not my fault, it is yours. Don’t expect anything". Such candour would have gone down well in his advertisements. Luke’s interaction with the audience was already attesting to his pledge, "know that you are in good hands, with lots of love and support."

Luke paused for dramatic effect then cried, "Anyone here had a cot death?" One hand raised hesitantly. "Was it your child?" Luke asked. "No." "Then it’s not you. Anyone else? No? Okay." Who was the message intended for then? Had Luke tuned into the bistro or the pokie rooms instead? No, Luke needed a more common cause of death with a greater margin of error. "Anyone here had a death from suicide?" At least twenty hands went up and I could literally see Luke’s expression relax with surprise and relief. "The suicides are very aggressive. They always push their way through," he claimed. Pause.

"Who has the letter D? No? S?" Like a chubby cheerleader, Luke proceeded to run through the alphabet, "Who has an N? Can anyone give me a P?" An ‘E’ didn’t mean the person’s first name or even surname necessarily began with that letter. It could simply mean that the deceased person had an ‘E’ somewhere in their name! Then he 'received' the letters "Bo or Br" for a man in the audience. This brought an unimpressive silence until another audience member muttered, "Maybe it’s ‘br’, as in ‘brother’!" Luke overheard and latched onto this, concluding that ‘Br’ referred to ‘brother’. This reminded me of Richard Saunders’ encounter with The Amazing Valda who ‘received’ the letter ‘D’ and in the absence of a hit, saved face by declaring that ‘D’ stood for ‘Dad’. By this process, most of the letters of the alphabet can be instilled with meaning, ‘F’ for ‘friend’, ‘U’ for ‘uncle’, or ‘C’ for ‘colleague’...

These letters could refer to family, friends or acquaintances, distant or familiar, dead or alive. Even place names. Often, Luke would coax names and information from the audience. In their eagerness to “make contact”, people will provide all the fodder a medium needs for a cold reading. “I see a ‘B’. Does that mean anything?” “Yes, ‘B’ was Bill. Short for William. That was my father. He died in England recently”. Gaining courage, Luke started ‘hearing’ names. The performance became a veritable episode of "Romper Room" for all of the names he uttered.

Like a biblical who’s who, Luke contacted Matthew, John, Mark and Joseph. There weren’t any Dylans, Britneys or Wolfgangs; the more complex or unusual names could only be provided by the audience. His website states, "it is very important to get feedback, a simple yes or no as this goes a long way in a reading. We encourage you to not give more information than Luke asks for". And he asked for a lot of information from his audience members. Occasionally, he received responses such as "I can’t say" or, "I’d rather not say that". Hitting a stalemate, Luke would simply move on.

And just what information would Luke ‘receive’? His advertisements boast, "Luke likes to validate past and present events, he names the departed loved ones to the appropriate individuals as well as confirming how their passing occurred." He often named departed loved ones to inappropriate individuals too. So, what was Luke’s technique? Initially he would name a cause of death. He covered all of the statistically high causes: heart disease, cancer and lung disease, still without being specific. He would then narrow the field by running through a few initials and names until an audience member ‘validated’ the reading. In an audience of 100 people, Luke had a nice cross section of society. Each reading 'resonated' with at least several people who felt the message was intended for them. They would then provide further information, names, places and their personal relationship to the deceased. The readings wouldn’t venture much further.

The power of belief and the desire for belief are strong. In this hope, the audience overlooked glaring errors. "He died suddenly", Luke guessed during one reading. The lady he addressed shook her head slightly so Luke quickly changed tactic. "But you knew he was going to be ill for a long time". This adjustment received a fervent nod. Once, Luke caused offence by incorrectly stating that a mother’s living son had a problem with alcohol and drug abuse. At another point, Luke asked his audience of rural folk, "Who lost a relative that liked animals? I think they lived on a farm."

Much of the show was consumed by Luke adopting a pensive look while indulging in a lengthy pause. To justify the large gaps Luke explained, "this is tough work. The tv shows are edited so you don’t get to see these boring bits where I receive messages." The readings completely lacked convincing elements and detail. There were only two "personal messages" that Luke was capable of receiving and he ended each reading with these. The suicide cases all sent their "apologies" to their grieving families. Every other spirit sent their "love". Then would come Luke’s inevitable closing line, "I’m sorry. That’s all I have. I’ll leave that with you."

Following six superficial, uninformative readings, Luke announced a fifteen-minute interval after which he would resume with a question and answer session. "Is that all?" shouted a lady at the next table. "That was crap! So general!" This was out of Luke’s earshot but a number of people at surrounding tables laughed in agreement. Although the critic was clearly fortified with alcohol, I was heartened to hear these nuggets of skepticism.

When the show recommenced, the herd had thinned substantially. The remainder probably stayed to try and get value for their money. For the final part of the show, Luke said he would visit each table to ask if anyone had any questions about his abilities or any other supernatural topic. Luke explains that he is "dedicated to achieve total divine awareness, not only in Australia, but internationally also". The questions that followed betrayed the crowd’s implicit belief in the paranormal, in angels, déjà vu, reincarnation, earth-bound spirits and spiritualism. The audience clearly accepted Luke as an absolute authority on all matters spiritual and psychic.

"Luke, how do you receive the messages?" someone asked. He responded that the messages arrive in many different forms. They may be visions of faces or names that appear like text on a computer screen. Thoughts, like memories of the deceased. Sounds such as voices or music. The smell of perfume or the ocean. If only his readings were this vivid and detailed! Luke’s website states that "whoever had a dominant presence in this physical plane will also have one in the after life". In my observations, Luke was limited in his ‘communication’, guessing a common possible cause of death, guessing an initial somewhere in their name and producing a stock ‘message from the afterlife’. Hardly the "life changing" experience promised in his advertisements.

The questions and wisdom continued. "When people die, are they healed of any sickness they had in life?" someone asked earnestly. "When people die, they go to what I like to call the ‘heaven hospital’" Luke proclaimed. "This is where they are healed of their earthly afflictions." Organs are repaired, sight and hearing are restored. People even “de-age” when they “cross over”, appearing younger and healthy. Short of being issued with wings and a halo at the Pearly Gates, Luke told us "we are made whole again".

Luke had some ridiculous theories. "What happens to someone evil like Hitler when they die?" asked another member of the audience. I once read in a New Age magazine that Hitler was a sort of ‘Team Leader’ in Hell, so I wondered what he was up to these days. Perhaps he would take over as CEO when Satan retires. It seemed that Hitler had dropped Totalitarianism for Reincarnation. "Hitler needs to pay his karmic debt", Luke stated. He then went on to explain that Hitler had life lessons to learn. He would need to learn submission and obedience. He would be reborn as a person who had no power or control and is "probably living under one of today’s oppressive regimes"!

Finally, Luke approached my table and I asked the first subversive question of the evening. "Why are the messages you receive so vague?" Cool Hand Luke handled my dissidence with all the seasoned charm and grace of a paranormal salesperson, even sneaking in a plug. He had clearly answered this question before. "Many spirits don’t like to share private messages in public. A lot of people have more success in a private session. You can speak with my agent at the front door for that." And with that he moved quickly from my table, saying he would attempt to see "if any last spirits" were about, before he would "close the session". This final reading would offer the greatest insight into his modus operandi.

Luke adopted his pensive look. "I have an ‘M’. Anyone lose a loved one with an ‘M’ in their name?" "I lost a ‘Max’" whispered a distressed lady sitting next to me. The lady, crying softly, proceeded to reveal all the details that Luke needed, that Max was her husband and had committed suicide in his forties. Her son sat beside her and they held hands tightly. Luke made a few failed guesses and decided to cut his losses. Shockingly, he then claimed the lady’s softly-spoken admissions as his own! "Okay. I have that your husband Max died of suicide in his forties. He sends his apologies. That’s all I have. I’m sorry. I’ll leave that with you." The lady spoke quietly, and Luke loudly repeated all she said to the audience. This gave the effect of him ‘receiving’ the information rather than eliciting it.

Luke ‘receives’ more messages from the living than the dead.

Luke ended the session to a reluctant trickle of applause. While the audience appeared to respect his ‘authority’ as an expert on the paranormal, no one appeared to be overly impressed with his powers of mediumship. Luke’s website asserts that there are "no passive audience members" at his shows. In contrast to this, Luke initiated no more than six readings. This would leave about 95% of the audience to be disappointed spectators for their $27 entry fee. So how can one be assured of a reading? Why, book a private reading! At the close of the show, Luke mentioned that he would be in Tamworth in a few weeks and could see private clients then. I hated to think of the grieving people who would pay a hefty fee and travel three hours there and back, all for nothing.

His web site brags that he "has been inundated with private bookings since he commenced his Australia wide tour". No surprise, his show is nothing but a poor advertisement for his private gigs, where the real money is. Ironically, his website proclaims "No product sell. No courses. Just participation!" But there was "product sell". Luke conducts motivational seminars, "Positive Achieve. Dealing with self sabotage, addictions, and negative energies." He may not have sold books, CDs or tapes but the show was still a big push for his private sessions and seminars.

That’s all I have. I’m sorry. I’ll leave that with you.

Stollznow, Karen. 2004. Finding an Unhappy Medium. The Skeptic, Vol. 24, No. 3. NSW: Australian Skeptics. pp.24-27.



Get into The TANK Vodcast archives.

The ONLY Skeptical Vodcast!




  Can Graphology diagnose heart disease?

  The Cunning Linguist...(not) Speaking in Tongues.

  Check out my interview...I am...Paranormal Investigator of the Week!

  Is San Francisco Haunted?

  Missouri's Most Haunted House? The Lemp Mansion.

  Remote Viewing: Remote Chance?

  EVPs: Can we hear voices of the dead?

#$%@!
and Welcome to Bad Language

I'm Dr. Karen Stollznow...Linguist, Writer and Paranormal Investigator (of the skeptical kind)

“I admit it, I am not one of the great linguists."
- Not one of the great Presidents, January 2001

Thank God I'm an Atheist!

The Winchester Mystery House

Ghost Mining: Investigating a Haunted Hotel

Chain Letters: Break The Chain!

Electronic Voice Phenomena: Ghosts or Gobbledegook?

An arse by any other name...

Can backwards speech reveal hidden messages?

I don't have an accent!

Are Skeptics closed-minded, nay-saying curmudgeons?

Pope Benedict XVI or

Pope Tart?

You're a Linguist... How many languages do you speak?