James Van Praagh
Encyclopedia
James Van Praagh is a self-proclaimed medium who has written several books on spirituality
and spirit
communication.
at the age of 14; however, he has described himself as experiencing spiritual phenomena from a young age that eventually drew him away from conventional religious practice and into Spiritualism
.
He graduated from San Francisco State University
, majoring in Broadcasting and Communications, and subsequently moved to Los Angeles. It was there that he first discovered a direct interest in metaphysics
and began working as a medium
following a prediction
by another medium who suggested it was his destiny
.
Van Praagh built his early career performing private readings for clients by communicating with the spirits of their dearly departed, and quickly graduated to wider audiences through the sale and distribution of a series of audiotapes, books, and eventually the television appearances that gave him wide national exposure.
Van Praagh said his first reading came in first grade. He claims to have informed his teacher her son had been hit by a car, but it was not serious and he had only suffered a broken leg. The teacher told him to sit down, but a few minutes later the principal told her that her son had, in fact, been in an accident, and broken a leg. The teacher was shocked and asked how James knew that. Van Praagh's teacher has been dead long before Van Praagh made this claim, and it has not been verified.
Van Praagh claims that through his mediumistic
abilities he receives messages from spirits and feelings about their presence that provide "detailed evidential proof that a loved one survived death."
In 2002, he hosted his own daytime talk show, Beyond with Van Praagh, in which he gave readings to audience members.
His work continued to inspire his own brand of successful television shows with CBS and produced the miniseries Living with the Dead and The Dead Will Tell, and the CBS drama Ghost Whisperer
. Van Praagh often appears in the media to promote his group readings, seminars and workshops. One such appearance on the TV show "The Circle" shows Van Praagh giving a 5 minute reading to several audience members.
, President of the James Randi Educational Foundation
, released a public letter to Van Praagh on October 10, 2011 through the Huffington Post. Grothe challenged Van Praagh to take the JREF million dollar challenge to test his psychic abilities. "If your 'psychic powers' are real, hiding from our offer makes as much sense as throwing away a winning lottery ticket."
The JREF has issued challenges to Van Praagh, Allison DuBois
, Sylvia Browne
, Carla Baron, John Edward
, to prove their abilities in controlled experiments. Ben Radford, an investigator and journalist with CSICOP, quotes Magician James Randi
: "James Van Praagh and Allison DuBois have turned the huckster art of ‘cold reading' into a multi-million-dollar industry, preying on families' deepest fears and regrets. . . . They should be embarrassed by the transparent performances.”
JREF members dressed as zombies tried to infiltrate Van Praagh's "$100-a-head 'spirit circle'" October 2011 in Laguna Beach, CA. Grothe said they want Van Praagh to take the JREF million dollar challenge proving that he can communicate with dead people. "'We're not rabble rousing,'... He gets people when they are at their lowest and sees them as his target market'". The zombies were thrown out by security after being promised that someone from the psychics camp would come out to talk to them. Grothe states that "'even dead people get the silent treatment'".
Josh Elliott
investigates Van Praagh for ABC
's Nightline
Beyond Belief
program which aired August 17, 2011. Elliott's interview begins with a visit to Van Praagh's home with a reading Elliott called a "moving experience". He saw that Elliott was adopted, his mother's name was Susan and that a man named Leo was watching over him. Impressed at first until he remembered a personal online interview stating all these details was easily available on the Internet. Elliott asks Van Praagh, "You knew I was coming here...did you Google me?" to which Van Praagh states, "No I didn't know who you were."
During a walk on the beach near his home, Nightline watched Van Praagh stop complete strangers who were amazed with their impromptu readings, Elliott states that after observing several of these interactions it seemed obvious that the stranger was helping Van Praagh because they "wanted to believe." When they asked Van Praagh to do a on-the-spot reading for the show's producer, Van Praagh stated that he was "tired". Nightline then followed Van Praagh to a group spirit circle where his followers paid $100 each to attend. Elliott states that he "asked general questions that were sure to resonate with someone." Elliott's conclusion at the end of the show was that "Van Praagh failed to make a believer out of me that day . . . . after all he has plenty of those."
Skeptics suggest Van Praagh uses the mentalism
technique of cold reading
to simulate psychic powers. They point to several incidents in which Van Praagh's claims have been wrong, such as when he suggested to the parents of the abducted Shawn Hornbeck that the boy's body might be found in a railroad car. Hornbeck was found alive four years later, having been abducted but not killed, and the kidnapper was not a railroad plant worker as Van Praagh had suggested. Van Praagh has responded by asserting that his messages are often vague and hard to interpret and sometimes he mistakes their meaning.
Senior Research Fellow at CSI (formerly known as CSICOP), Joe Nickell
reviews Van Praagh's February 26, 1999 appearance on Larry King
Live with a detailed analysis of the phone readings given during the show. Nickell writes, "in no instance...did the purported medium reveal anything of a substantive, convincing nature. Instead he appeared to be practicing "cold reading
"..."
Investigator Joe Nickell
believes modern day self-proclaimed mediums like John Edward
, Sylvia Browne
, Rosemary Altea
and James Van Praagh are avoiding the Victorian tradition of dark rooms, spirit handwriting and flying tambourines as these methods risk exposure. They instead use “mental mediumship” tactics like cold reading
or gleaning information from sitters before hand (hot reading
). Group readings also improve hits by making general statements with conviction, which will fit at least one person in the audience. Shows are carefully edited before airing to show only what appears to be hits and removing anything that does not reflect well on the medium.
In 2003 the Independent Investigation Group IIG attended a taping of James Van Praagh's syndicated series “Beyond,” in order to document the difference between what actually occurred at the taping and how it appeared on TV after editing. As suspected, there were many significant differences, the IIG concluded that Van Praagh’s power emanates from the editing room. IIG director James Underdown
writes that in one of the live shows they witnessed, Van Praagh was observed signing books and chatting with a woman he learned was from Italy. During the taping he asked that same section if there was "someone from another country". To the TV audience this would have looked impressive when that same woman raised her hand, we knew that he had used the hot reading
technique of gaining foreknowledge and had clearly "cheated".
Barbara Walters
publicly called out Van Praagh on The View
for telling her that he saw she had elevated levels of white blood cells in her body. She went to her doctor and had tests run on her blood and discovered that she was perfectly normal. She stated that "its a dangerous thing to do, looking at someone and saying you have elevated something, there's an aura
...".
. He is openly gay and has been with his partner since 1995.
Signet Book ISBN 0451191722
Button Books ISBN 0525944818
Pocket Books ISBN 0743227263
New American Library ISBN 0451201698
Fireside Books ISBN 0743229436
Fireside Books ISBN 0743229428
HarperOne ISBN 0061553387
HarperOne ISBN 0061778141
Spirituality
Spirituality can refer to an ultimate or an alleged immaterial reality; an inner path enabling a person to discover the essence of his/her being; or the “deepest values and meanings by which people live.” Spiritual practices, including meditation, prayer and contemplation, are intended to develop...
and spirit
Soul
A soul in certain spiritual, philosophical, and psychological traditions is the incorporeal essence of a person or living thing or object. Many philosophical and spiritual systems teach that humans have souls, and others teach that all living things and even inanimate objects have souls. The...
communication.
Early life and career
Van Praagh was born in Bayside, New York and is the youngest of four children. Raised Roman Catholic he attended seminarySeminary
A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of secondary or post-secondary education for educating students in theology, generally to prepare them for ordination as clergy or for other ministry...
at the age of 14; however, he has described himself as experiencing spiritual phenomena from a young age that eventually drew him away from conventional religious practice and into Spiritualism
Spiritualism
Spiritualism is a belief system or religion, postulating the belief that spirits of the dead residing in the spirit world have both the ability and the inclination to communicate with the living...
.
He graduated from San Francisco State University
San Francisco State University
San Francisco State University is a public university located in San Francisco, California. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers over 100 areas of study from nine academic colleges...
, majoring in Broadcasting and Communications, and subsequently moved to Los Angeles. It was there that he first discovered a direct interest in metaphysics
Spiritualism (beliefs)
Spiritualism is a dualist metaphysical belief that the world is made up of at least two fundamental substances, matter and spirit. This very broad metaphysical distinction is further developed into many and various forms by the inclusion of details about what spiritual entities exist such as a...
and began working as a medium
Mediumship
Mediumship is described as a form of communication with spirits. It is a practice in religious beliefs such as Spiritualism, Spiritism, Espiritismo, Candomblé, Voodoo and Umbanda.- Concept :...
following a prediction
Prediction
A prediction or forecast is a statement about the way things will happen in the future, often but not always based on experience or knowledge...
by another medium who suggested it was his destiny
Destiny
Destiny or fate refers to a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual...
.
Van Praagh built his early career performing private readings for clients by communicating with the spirits of their dearly departed, and quickly graduated to wider audiences through the sale and distribution of a series of audiotapes, books, and eventually the television appearances that gave him wide national exposure.
Career as a medium
On an episode of the radio show LovelineLoveline
Loveline is a syndicated radio call-in program in North America, offering medical and relationship advice to listeners, often with the assistance of guests, typically actors and musicians. Its flagship station is KROQ-FM in Los Angeles....
Van Praagh said his first reading came in first grade. He claims to have informed his teacher her son had been hit by a car, but it was not serious and he had only suffered a broken leg. The teacher told him to sit down, but a few minutes later the principal told her that her son had, in fact, been in an accident, and broken a leg. The teacher was shocked and asked how James knew that. Van Praagh's teacher has been dead long before Van Praagh made this claim, and it has not been verified.
Van Praagh claims that through his mediumistic
Mediumship
Mediumship is described as a form of communication with spirits. It is a practice in religious beliefs such as Spiritualism, Spiritism, Espiritismo, Candomblé, Voodoo and Umbanda.- Concept :...
abilities he receives messages from spirits and feelings about their presence that provide "detailed evidential proof that a loved one survived death."
In 2002, he hosted his own daytime talk show, Beyond with Van Praagh, in which he gave readings to audience members.
His work continued to inspire his own brand of successful television shows with CBS and produced the miniseries Living with the Dead and The Dead Will Tell, and the CBS drama Ghost Whisperer
Ghost Whisperer
Ghost Whisperer is an American television supernatural drama, which ran on CBS from September 23, 2005 to May 21, 2010.The series follows the life of Melinda Gordon , who has the ability to see and communicate with ghosts...
. Van Praagh often appears in the media to promote his group readings, seminars and workshops. One such appearance on the TV show "The Circle" shows Van Praagh giving a 5 minute reading to several audience members.
Skepticism
D.J. GrotheD.J. Grothe
Douglas James "D. J." Grothe is an American writer and public speaker who talks about issues at the nexus of science, critical thinking, secularism, religion and the paranormal. He is president of the James Randi Educational Foundation...
, President of the James Randi Educational Foundation
James Randi Educational Foundation
The James Randi Educational Foundation is a non-profit organization founded in 1996 by magician and skeptic James Randi. The JREF's mission includes educating the public and the media on the dangers of accepting unproven claims, and to support research into paranormal claims in controlled...
, released a public letter to Van Praagh on October 10, 2011 through the Huffington Post. Grothe challenged Van Praagh to take the JREF million dollar challenge to test his psychic abilities. "If your 'psychic powers' are real, hiding from our offer makes as much sense as throwing away a winning lottery ticket."
The JREF has issued challenges to Van Praagh, Allison DuBois
Allison DuBois
Allison DuBois is an American author and medium. DuBois has controversially claimed to possess psychic abilities and use them to help U.S. law enforcement officials solve crimes, which formed the basis of the TV series Medium....
, Sylvia Browne
Sylvia Browne
Sylvia Browne is an American author who describes herself as a psychic and spiritual medium...
, Carla Baron, John Edward
John Edward
John Edward McGee, Jr. is an American television personality and professional psychic medium. He is best known for his TV shows Crossing Over with John Edward and John Edward Cross Country....
, to prove their abilities in controlled experiments. Ben Radford, an investigator and journalist with CSICOP, quotes Magician James Randi
James Randi
James Randi is a Canadian-American stage magician and scientific skeptic best known as a challenger of paranormal claims and pseudoscience. Randi is the founder of the James Randi Educational Foundation...
: "James Van Praagh and Allison DuBois have turned the huckster art of ‘cold reading' into a multi-million-dollar industry, preying on families' deepest fears and regrets. . . . They should be embarrassed by the transparent performances.”
JREF members dressed as zombies tried to infiltrate Van Praagh's "$100-a-head 'spirit circle'" October 2011 in Laguna Beach, CA. Grothe said they want Van Praagh to take the JREF million dollar challenge proving that he can communicate with dead people. "'We're not rabble rousing,'... He gets people when they are at their lowest and sees them as his target market'". The zombies were thrown out by security after being promised that someone from the psychics camp would come out to talk to them. Grothe states that "'even dead people get the silent treatment'".
Josh Elliott
Josh Elliott
Josh Elliott is a television journalist who is the news anchor for ABC's Good Morning America. Previously, he was co-anchor for the live telecast of ESPN's SportsCenter from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. ET with Hannah Storm or Sage Steele...
investigates Van Praagh for ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's Nightline
Nightline
Nightline, or ABC News Nightline is a late-night news program broadcast by ABC in the United States, and has a franchised formula to other networks and stations elsewhere in the world. It airs weeknights, usually for 31 minutes. Created by Roone Arledge, the program featured Ted Koppel as its main...
Beyond Belief
Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction
Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction is an American television anthology series created by Lynn Lehmann, presented by Dick Clark Productions, and produced and aired by the Fox network from 1997 to 2002. Each episode featured five stories, all of which appeared to defy logic, and some of which were...
program which aired August 17, 2011. Elliott's interview begins with a visit to Van Praagh's home with a reading Elliott called a "moving experience". He saw that Elliott was adopted, his mother's name was Susan and that a man named Leo was watching over him. Impressed at first until he remembered a personal online interview stating all these details was easily available on the Internet. Elliott asks Van Praagh, "You knew I was coming here...did you Google me?" to which Van Praagh states, "No I didn't know who you were."
During a walk on the beach near his home, Nightline watched Van Praagh stop complete strangers who were amazed with their impromptu readings, Elliott states that after observing several of these interactions it seemed obvious that the stranger was helping Van Praagh because they "wanted to believe." When they asked Van Praagh to do a on-the-spot reading for the show's producer, Van Praagh stated that he was "tired". Nightline then followed Van Praagh to a group spirit circle where his followers paid $100 each to attend. Elliott states that he "asked general questions that were sure to resonate with someone." Elliott's conclusion at the end of the show was that "Van Praagh failed to make a believer out of me that day . . . . after all he has plenty of those."
Skeptics suggest Van Praagh uses the mentalism
Mentalism
Mentalism is a performing art in which its practitioners, known as mentalists, appear to demonstrate highly developed mental or intuitive abilities. Performances may appear to include telepathy, clairvoyance, divination, precognition, psychokinesis, mediumship, mind control, memory feats and rapid...
technique of cold reading
Cold reading
Cold reading is a series of techniques used by mentalists, psychics, fortune-tellers, illusionists, and con artists to determine or express details about another person, often in order to convince them that the reader knows much more about a subject than they actually do...
to simulate psychic powers. They point to several incidents in which Van Praagh's claims have been wrong, such as when he suggested to the parents of the abducted Shawn Hornbeck that the boy's body might be found in a railroad car. Hornbeck was found alive four years later, having been abducted but not killed, and the kidnapper was not a railroad plant worker as Van Praagh had suggested. Van Praagh has responded by asserting that his messages are often vague and hard to interpret and sometimes he mistakes their meaning.
Senior Research Fellow at CSI (formerly known as CSICOP), Joe Nickell
Joe Nickell
Joe Nickell is a prominent skeptical investigator of the paranormal. He also works as an historical document consultant and has helped expose such famous forgeries as the purported diary of Jack the Ripper. In 2002 he was one of a number of experts asked by scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr...
reviews Van Praagh's February 26, 1999 appearance on Larry King
Larry King
Lawrence Harvey "Larry" King is an American television and radio host whose work has been recognized with awards including two Peabodys and ten Cable ACE Awards....
Live with a detailed analysis of the phone readings given during the show. Nickell writes, "in no instance...did the purported medium reveal anything of a substantive, convincing nature. Instead he appeared to be practicing "cold reading
Cold reading
Cold reading is a series of techniques used by mentalists, psychics, fortune-tellers, illusionists, and con artists to determine or express details about another person, often in order to convince them that the reader knows much more about a subject than they actually do...
"..."
Investigator Joe Nickell
Joe Nickell
Joe Nickell is a prominent skeptical investigator of the paranormal. He also works as an historical document consultant and has helped expose such famous forgeries as the purported diary of Jack the Ripper. In 2002 he was one of a number of experts asked by scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr...
believes modern day self-proclaimed mediums like John Edward
John Edward
John Edward McGee, Jr. is an American television personality and professional psychic medium. He is best known for his TV shows Crossing Over with John Edward and John Edward Cross Country....
, Sylvia Browne
Sylvia Browne
Sylvia Browne is an American author who describes herself as a psychic and spiritual medium...
, Rosemary Altea
Rosemary Altea
Rosemary Altea is a New York Times best - selling author and psychic medium. She has appeared on various televisions shows, including Larry King Live, The Oprah Winfrey Show "20/20," "Unsolved mysteries", "Prime Time, with Diane Sawyer," "Politically Incorrect," "Leeza," "The View," and Fox and...
and James Van Praagh are avoiding the Victorian tradition of dark rooms, spirit handwriting and flying tambourines as these methods risk exposure. They instead use “mental mediumship” tactics like cold reading
Cold reading
Cold reading is a series of techniques used by mentalists, psychics, fortune-tellers, illusionists, and con artists to determine or express details about another person, often in order to convince them that the reader knows much more about a subject than they actually do...
or gleaning information from sitters before hand (hot reading
Hot reading
Hot reading is the use of foreknowledge when giving a psychic reading in stage magic performances, or in other contexts. The reader can gain information about the person receiving the reading through a variety of means, such as background research or overhearing a conversation...
). Group readings also improve hits by making general statements with conviction, which will fit at least one person in the audience. Shows are carefully edited before airing to show only what appears to be hits and removing anything that does not reflect well on the medium.
In 2003 the Independent Investigation Group IIG attended a taping of James Van Praagh's syndicated series “Beyond,” in order to document the difference between what actually occurred at the taping and how it appeared on TV after editing. As suspected, there were many significant differences, the IIG concluded that Van Praagh’s power emanates from the editing room. IIG director James Underdown
James Underdown
James Underdown has been the executive director of The Center for Inquiry Los Angeles since 1999. The Center for Inquiry is a non-profit educational organization with headquarters in Amherst, NY, whose primary mission is to foster a secular society based on science, reason, freedom of inquiry, and...
writes that in one of the live shows they witnessed, Van Praagh was observed signing books and chatting with a woman he learned was from Italy. During the taping he asked that same section if there was "someone from another country". To the TV audience this would have looked impressive when that same woman raised her hand, we knew that he had used the hot reading
Hot reading
Hot reading is the use of foreknowledge when giving a psychic reading in stage magic performances, or in other contexts. The reader can gain information about the person receiving the reading through a variety of means, such as background research or overhearing a conversation...
technique of gaining foreknowledge and had clearly "cheated".
Barbara Walters
Barbara Walters
Barbara Jill Walters is an American broadcast journalist, author, and television personality. She has hosted morning television shows , the television newsmagazine , former co-anchor of the ABC Evening News, and current contributor to ABC News.Walters was first known as a popular TV morning news...
publicly called out Van Praagh on The View
The View
The View is an American talk show broadcast on the ABC as part of ABC Daytime. Created by Barbara Walters and Bill Geddie, who both also serve as the show's executive producers, the program features a panel of women as co-hosts...
for telling her that he saw she had elevated levels of white blood cells in her body. She went to her doctor and had tests run on her blood and discovered that she was perfectly normal. She stated that "its a dangerous thing to do, looking at someone and saying you have elevated something, there's an aura
Aura
-Science and medicine:*Aura , a symptom experienced before a migraine or seizure*Aura , a satellite in the NASA Earth Observing System series*1488 Aura, a main-belt asteroid*Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy...
...".
Personal life
On the Larry King Live episode on May 26, 2009, it was revealed that Van Praagh was in a same-sex marriageSame-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage is marriage between two persons of the same biological sex or social gender. Supporters of legal recognition for same-sex marriage typically refer to such recognition as marriage equality....
. He is openly gay and has been with his partner since 1995.
Books by James Van Praagh
Listed by versions most likely available, not original publication date.- Talking to Heaven: A Medium's Message of Life After Death Published March 1999.
Signet Book ISBN 0451191722
- Reaching to Heaven: A Spiritual Journey Through Life & Death Published February 1999.
Button Books ISBN 0525944818
- Heaven & Earth: Making the Psychic Connection Published November 2002.
Pocket Books ISBN 0743227263
- Healing Grief: Reclaiming Life After Any Loss Published April 2001
New American Library ISBN 0451201698
- Meditation with James Van Praagh Published December 2003.
Fireside Books ISBN 0743229436
- Looking Beyond: A Teen's Guide to the Spiritual World Published Oct 2003.
Fireside Books ISBN 0743229428
- Ghosts Among Us Publisher HarperCollins June 2009.
HarperOne ISBN 0061553387
- Unfinished Business: What the Dead Can Teach Us about Life Published May 2009.
HarperOne ISBN 0061778141