An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural Page 27

  See also Adamantius.

  Piddington, Sydney and Lesley

  (1918-1991 and 1925- ) In their heyday during the 1940s, the Piddingtons had England thoroughly convinced that they were able to read one another's minds. Aside from their great skill, the fact that they were able to make use of radio exposure (in 1949) was a strong reason for their success. At a period when the notion of ESP was being referred to as “mental radio,” the Piddingtons were regarded by many as probably able to converse by telepathy. They were careful to disavow any such idea.

  During their time, these performers were the subjects of much scientific controversy, though their attitude convinced most academics that they were entertainers and nothing more, which was exactly the case.

  Pike, Bishop James A.

  (1913-1969) Episcopalian Bishop James Pike became a devoted supporter of spiritualism, convinced by the spirit medium Arthur Ford that he'd been contacted by his deceased son Jim. In 1966, at age twenty, Pike's son had shot himself in a cheap New York hotel room. The bishop even wrote a book about the personal evidence that Ford had offered him to prove the contact, and various bits of “proof” he'd discovered himself.

  Pike was deeply impressed by what he described as “evidential” events such as one day finding a safety pin on the floor which was open at an angle which he said was exactly the angle formed by the hands of a clock at the hour his son had died. It is little wonder that Pike accepted everything else offered him to establish the reality of survival-after-death. One wonders what would have happened had his son died at six o'clock.

  Such persons often become interested in survival-after-death ideas when a loved one dies, as was also the case with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Sir William Crookes. Pike was unaware of such advantages as the Blue Book and Ford's own personal research files, which enabled the medium to produce all sorts of apparently evidential material of a personal nature to support his claims.

  Pike died tragically in 1969 in Israel during a spiritual pilgrimage in the desert.

  Pio, Padre

  Padre Pio da Pietralcini (né Francesco Forgione, 1887-1968) was an Italian Capuchin monk famous for exhibiting the wounds known as “stigmata.” He first exhibited these at age 28, bleeding from the hands.

  Piper, Leonora E.

  (1857-1950) A Boston housewife who said she discovered her power as a spirit medium at age twenty-seven, Mrs. Piper told of an Indian spirit guide with the unlikely name of Chlorine who was aided by another guide named Dr. Phinuit, which she pronounced “finny.” Strangely, this French doctor knew only a little French and less about medicine.

  The mediumship of Mrs. Piper, which involved dramatic teeth-gnashing, moaning, and thrashing about, was enthusiastically supported by the famous psychologist/philosopher William James. The fact that she regularly spoke with Longfellow and Bach (the latter spoke no German in Summerland) provided James with excellent methods for testing the medium, but such tests were not done.

  Mrs. Piper began featuring automatic writing, and then in 1911 abandoned her séances altogether and concentrated solely on the automatic writing.

  She was investigated by Richard Hodgson, a member of the American Society for Psychical Research, for eighteen years. He became convinced of her legitimacy, and he was very pleased when she told him that he would have a long life, would soon marry, and would have two children. Hodgson died a few months later, unmarried and childless.

  PK

  See psychokinesis.

  Placebo Effect

  Miraculous recoveries, unexplained cessation of pain, and termination of certain medical conditions in faith healing and other such procedures is often believed to be either due to occult forces or to divine intervention. More likely, this could be due to the well-known placebo effect.

  Some recent studies indicate that in cases of neuroses and depression, almost any type of therapy is better than none at all. The word placebo is Latin and means “I shall please.” It is defined by Webster's as

  a process or substance, of little or no known worth in itself, which is applied to a problem in order to produce an encouraging or “pleasing” result.

  This phenomenon takes place when a patient is exposed to a satisfactory “bedside manner” and/or when medication, manipulation, passing of the hands, prayer, or other means (any or all of which may be entirely ineffectual in themselves, but are seen by the recipient as unique, special, or advanced) are applied to the problem. Such effects may also take place when the patient feels in control of his situation or when he has surrendered that control to another in whom he has confidence. This is a simple case of what is known as “transference.” Encouragement leads to hope, and hope to better self-care and self-interest.

  Many types of chronic pain, because of the emotional condition of the sufferer, are associated with chronic anxiety. An efficient and caring physician, knowledgeable about the placebo effect, can largely alleviate that anxiety and thus improve at least the symptoms of certain ailments.

  Even American jurist Oliver Wendell Holmes had an opinion on this matter:

  Healing is a living process, greatly under the influence of mental conditions. It has often been found that the same wound found received in battle will do well in the soldiers that have beaten, that would prove fatal in those that have just been defeated.

  It is well to consider the possibility of this powerful psychological effect when evaluating some claims of miraculous healing.

  Planchette

  The heart-shaped pointer device often said to have been invented in 1852 by a man named Planchette, but this seems highly unlikely, given that the French word planche means “board,” and thus planchette means “small board.”

  This device is usually used with a Ouija board, the point of the heart moving over the board to indicate the letters or numbers. It is supported above the board or paper on three short legs equipped with tiny casters or other bearings. If equipped with a pencil at the pointed end as a support, it can be used over a piece of paper in automatic writing.

  The planchette used as an automatic writing device.

  The Daily News of London in 1896, describing in an obituary the life and work of a hare-brained socialite of the day, was well aware of the real value of the device:

  For nine years, he toyed with the planchette, the turned tables, in short used the familiar, hanky-panky means of communication with the unseen world.

  See also Ouija board.

  Police Dowsers

  (first see dowsing) These are dowsers who claim they assist the police by sensing the presence of bodies or murderers while consulting maps. This is only a variety of the police psychics phenomenon, but shows some specifically unique aspects. An example follows.

  One of the most prominent serial killer mysteries ever to take place in the United States became known as the Hillside Strangler case. Over a long period of time, a number of women had been murdered in southern California and the police were baffled. California dowser Verne McGuire, who used a pendulum swinging over a map, confidently told a writer for the Ridgecrest Daily Independent newspaper how he had helped to solve that case. McGuire told the Independent that the police refused to listen to him at first, but that finally he and his dowser friends

  got the Los Angeles police and sheriff's department, the Marshall Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. They told us that if we knew where the Hillside Strangler was, we must be involved with him. To prove we weren't involved, we had to find him in such a way that it was impossible we could be involved, so we moved in with some cops. Then he killed again. Because he would now be on the run, we thought this was the best time to look for him.

  These amateurs proposed to find the strangler by using their pendulums over a map of the area. According to McGuire, they actually located him by this means and sent the police to a certain spot on the map, where he was found in his car sitting at a service station, and in the trunk of the car were articles of clothing and a purse belonging to one of his
victims. When the murderer was arrested, said McGuire, “He knew they had him. We were vindicated.”

  Not according to the police, who in fact solved the case by totally different means. First of all, the Hillside Strangler turned out to be two persons working together, not just one. The U.S. Marshal's Office was not involved at all in the investigation, nor was the FBI. As for the Los Angeles police, who actually solved the case, they reported that McGuire's description of how and where the killers were found is quite fictional:

  McGuire's statements concerning the “Hillside Strangler” case and his involvement are in conflict with what occurred. One of the suspects was arrested in Bellingham, Washington, and the second was arrested at his place of business in the City of Glendale. No clothing belonging to any of the victims was ever found.

  The case provides an excellent example of unchallenged claims uncritically published by the media, the kind of claims which unfortunately are usually not again examined and which thus go into the literature of the paranormal as factual. In this case, Mr. David J. Simmons contacted the editor of the Ridgecrest Daily Independent newspaper and informed him of the facts. The editor ignored this and neither acknowledged the contribution of Mr. Simmons nor published it. The Independent continues to promote belief in unproven claims.

  Police Psychics

  (first see psychometry) There are some psychometrists who claim they can handle items connected with crimes, particularly violent crimes, and can obtain, by their powers, impressions that help the police in the solutions of these crimes. These people are sometimes called in by the police, but more often it turns out that they themselves have contacted the police, have said that they know something about a crime, and are thus invited to make a statement. The police, by the very nature of their duties, must choose to record any volunteered information.

  In one case in the United States within recent years, police listened with more than usual interest to a psychic who told them about a serious industrial fire that he not only had predicted with great accuracy, but about which he had supplied important details after the event, details which it appeared he could only know as a result of his special powers. His account was so accurate that he was immediately arrested and an investigation soon revealed that he'd had no need of paranormal powers to produce his visions. His information was essentially firsthand: He himself was the arsonist.

  If there is any ability on the part of a psychic to supply law enforcement officials with relevant data which might assist in obtaining the solution to a crime, that ability should be cultivated and used. To find out if psychics could assist the police, American psychologist Dr. Martin Reiser conducted two extensive investigations into the use of psychics by the Los Angeles Police Department for that purpose. After several years of research, his conclusion was that psychics could contribute nothing useful to police work. “Psychics come out of the woodwork during cases which the media become heavily involved in,” he says.

  Part of Dr. Reiser's experimentation involved weapons used in homicide cases. These were mixed in with “virgin” items as controls, and it was found that the psychics were unable to differentiate among them.

  Inspector Edward Ellison of the U.K.'s Scotland Yard, in response to statements by psychics that they regularly worked with them, reported that:

  1. Scotland Yard never approach psychics for information.

  2. There are no official “police psychics” in England.

  3. The Yard does not endorse psychics in any way.

  4. There is no recorded instance in England of any psychic solving a criminal case or providing evidence or information that led directly to its solution.

  Inspector Ellison had canvassed his department to find out if any police officers had consulted psychics or were able to benefit from the use of psychics. In all of the eight districts of London that the Yard covers, he made inquiries, and he found that rather than the officers seeking out the psychics, it was the other way around. Said Ellison, “They've [the police] been approached, is the answer.

  “I've had a psychologist and a statistician standing by since last August, and so far, nothing reported,” said the inspector. The inquiry ended in August 1991. The results were negative.

  The famous Yorkshire Ripper case in the U.K. was a bonanza for the psychics, and for the sensational newspapers as well. The Sunday People newspaper asked Britain's then-leading psychic/medium who provided what she said were psychic drawings of the Ripper's friends, relatives, and even his car mechanic. All this information was not only useless, but was quite wrong.

  Mr. Bob Baxter, chief press officer for the West Yorkshire police, made a statement about the hundreds of persons who offered clues in the Yorkshire Ripper case:

  Many people contacted us during the Ripper inquiry. Many of them were mediums or people professing to have psychic powers. However, nothing that any of these people told us has any bearing on the outcome of the case. We certainly did not discuss our investigations with them.

  This is in sharp contrast with the numerous claims made by psychics who said they helped solve the matter.

  In 1980/81, a series of murders of young black men in Atlanta, Georgia, attracted the attention of psychics, who sent in more than nineteen thousand letters and over two thousand drawings that attempted to identify the killer. Most of those described or drawn were white men, but the murderer turned out to be a young Afro-American. None of the drawings or letters properly described the murderer or gave his correct name, though many names were tried.

  Poltergeist

  Derived from the German words polter for “commotion” and geist for “spirit,” a poltergeist is a ghost of mischievous character, usually throwing things about and damaging the surroundings. Martin Luther referred to this type of manifestation and declared it to be the product of demons.

  Poltergeists usually show up in homes where a discontented adolescent lives, and the phenomena seem to take place only when that individual is present. When the discontent is relieved, the mischief ceases. It is interesting to note that in a significant percentage of these cases, the child is also adopted or living in a foster home.

  A modern case of such a haunting took place in Columbus, Ohio, at the home of the Resch family in 1984. See Columbus poltergeist.

  Poppet

  Another name for the wax doll used in voodoo.

  Possession

  The literal occupation of a person's body by a devil, demon, or spirit is believed in by several religions, even today. It is said that the possessed person speaks in a different voice and often in an unknown tongue. The 1972 film The Exorcist popularized the idea and gave rise to dozens of suddenly popular exorcisms.

  See also glossolalia and obsession.

  Potion

  A mixture or liquid, usually to be ingested, made to serve a magical function. Also known as a philter, especially when used to win the object of one's affection or to bring about an erotic or emotional effect on the subject.

  See also ointment.

  Poughkeepsie seer

  See Davis, Andrew Jackson.

  Powder of Projection

  See philosopher's stone.

  Prabhupada, Swami

  See Hare Krishna.

  Prayer

  A recited incantation designed to force or cajole a deity or deities into changing the normal, existing, or probable course of events in the universe, obtain an advantage, or avoid a divine penalty. Also an expression of gratitude or adulation, or an affirmation of continual fear, made to a deity.

  A prayer is often accompanied by a promise or a sacrifice (the firstborn, money, giving up a favorite vice, not lying, a select bit of food the priests can eat) to seal or satisfy the agreement. A spell.X

  Precognition

  Knowledge of a future event or circumstance not obtained through inference or deduction, but by paranormal means.

  Prediction

  See prophecy.

  Premanand

  B. Premanand is a prominent leader
of the Indian Committee for Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal. He publishes the Indian Skeptic, a monthly journal of the committee. Premanand tours the subcontinent and around the world demonstrating how the Indian fakirs and “god-men” do their conjuring tricks, and he constantly questions claims of kundalini and other powers said to be possessed by the many Indian performers.