Saturday, November 15, 2008

Eye on the Paranormal – Issue 10: Exorcism on TV – Is It Ever the Real Deal? Part 1

Eye on the Paranormal


Copyright 2008 by Kirby Robinson

Welcome back to our latest issue of Eye on the Paranormal, the first and only weekly blog that takes a critical look at the world of the paranormal. I know many of you were anticipating the beginning of my in depth analysis of Psychic Kids: Children of the Paranormal. But, in the past 48 hours some developments have come to light. Everyone who’s actively involved in our effort to bring integrity, honesty, and truthfulness back to the paranormal field, decided, as a whole, to delay my analysis until the information can be verified. We will then determine what the proper thing to do with it will be.

We at the Eye on the Paranormal endeavor to verify all facts and information numerous times. People have brought rumors, innuendoes, and hearsay to us and since we strive for integrity and to remain above board we refuse to engage in such practices.

PARTNERS IN THE EFFORT:

I’d like to ask all the readers of the Eye on the Paranormal that if find this informative; please visit the three following sites. These people are fighting the good fight in their own way.

The Ghost Divas are a group of fine ladies who are experienced ghost hunters and paranormal investigators. They strongly believe in the truth and they’ve had the courage to expose the lies and deceptions of many of the para-celebrities. http://www.myspace.com/theghostdivas

Paranormal Preacher in his own light is making efforts to expose trickery and deception. http://www.theparanormalchurch.zoomshare.com/0.html


PEOPLE ARE TALKIN’!

“I am removing you as a friend because of the mean way you have treated this gentle, kind man. It seems that you have made it your goal in life to try and destroy him for no reason that I can find, other than possibly jealousy. You present yourself on your site as someone who tries to live a life that would be pleasing to God, but you actions toward Chip Coffey belie that. Take a look in the mirror. You may need to take a deep look into your soul at your motives.” Tanila, Alpharetta, Georgia

My motives are clear to me. I'm trying to help people that Paranormal State and Chip Coffey have taken advantage of. But you're entitled to your opinions and I'm entitled to mine. You’re entitled to take appropriate actions based on those opinions just as I am allowed to take with mine.
God bless you.
Your friend in spirit,
Kirby

BAD MONTH IN PARANORMAL “PARADISE”:

By gosh, there’s something in the water in paranormal paradise land. And unfortunately, it’s been making folks act silly within the past few weeks.

~1 Paranormal State airs a totally fictitious episode entitled “I Am Six.” Others have named it “My Credibility is Sinking” as it concerns a fake exorcism in Quincy, IL. Numerous errors in procedures that deal with both determining if an exorcism is warranted as well as within the exorcism itself raised red flags with numerous experts in the field. In addition to the continuity errors within the exorcism itself, “I Am Six” has brought almost every credible demonologist/exorcist to question this episode.

~2 On Thursday, October 30, the Science Fiction Channel aired a block of episodes of a series entitled “The Real Exorcist” featuring Reverend Bob Larsen. We watch as he casts out numerous demons throughout America and Great Britain. The only problem is that some of the people who had demons cast out of them faked their possessions. They were no more demonically possessed than the average Joe. This was exposed throughout the Internet and numerous cable news networks.

~3 On Halloween night the Science Fiction Channel aired a 7-hour long episode of Ghost Hunters Live, where their investigators supposedly had their jackets pulled numerous times and a very mechanical sounding voice is caught on an EVP. Since then, there has been an ever-growing buzz on numerous web sites and talk shows on whether this event was staged. Sides have been taken and even friendships and alliances have been broken between longtime friends who question the validity of these events.

~4 Now it’s being alleged by numerous sites that Ghost Adventurers have been caught being less than honest about events on their show.

Folks, what’s happening here? The credibility, which was minimal to begin with, is slipping away from the paranormal field. Facing all the negative media concerning these events, we need to ask a very important question -- who’s to blame?

~1 The para-celebrities. Due to the fact that they’ve agreed to participate in these shows, and then grow accustomed to the fame and fortune that is associated with them, they become slaves to the ever-important ratings game.

People who do ghost hunting for fun and have a sincere desire to carry out paranormal investigations may like watching a group of men run through a dark building for hours and have nothing happen, all the while being informed of how to do an investigation. But the average 6-pack Joe wants to see some action. He wants to see demons. He wants to hear EVPs. So the para-celebrities and their supporters begin to develop a concept or mantra which consists of, “Okay, it’s just TV.” or “It’s just entertainment, entertainment, entertainment… and why not?” Or, “everyone else is doing it. So why not me? It’s just this one time. Well, okay, maybe twice. But I’m not doing anything bad; I’m doing it only because of the ratings and my family’s financial future. And I can’t forget all the extra money I make from speaking at conventions, and the merchandise I sell…”

~2 The producers. Because they have to please the cable networks, their advertisers, and they have to compete harder and harder for the ever-shrinking audience.

They also don’t truly understand the paranormal field. Maybe they watched “The Exorcist” “Ghost Busters” “Ghost” or the “Poltergeist” movies. They say, what the heck, all investigations must be this exciting. When they do a real case and find out how things really work, which 99% of the time is NOT exciting, they have to make things up. Make the para-celebrities look better and what the heck, they don’t do it in every scene and again it’s entertaining, entertaining, entertaining. And if anybody catches us we’ll just say it’s bad editing.

~3 The paranormal field. They don’t have a lot of fortitude and backbone to say enough is enough. Let’s be real, let’s get real, and let’s ask for peer reviews. But they won’t. And they don’t. Because they think, just maybe if I play along I’ll get along and when the para-celebrity comes to my town to film a show, I’ll be able to buy my buddies down at the local bar and grill a round of drinks and tell ‘em to watch me on TV.

But please don’t hold your breath as the party’s just about over in Hollywood. Every time a scam is exposed more media get interested and less programming will take place. Plus the fact the current crop of para-celebrities doesn’t want any competition. They might throw you a few tiny crumbs, but you won’t ever get thrown a piece of the pie. Because, hint here folks, why do you think no major over the air network has aired a paranormal show to date? They won’t stand for any trickery or deception like the cable networks will.

~4 The general public is the least to blame but their trust is being abused. They put their faith and trust in these supposed “experts” would share with them only the truth. Only real events and only real evidence.

Shame on the para-celebrities. Shame on their shows. Shame on the producers, and shame on us, the paranormal field, for not speaking up in a louder and more united voice. Let’s all say enough is enough. Let’s return some integrity, dignity, and honesty to the paranormal field before it’s too late. The clock is ticking it’s almost struck midnight. Do you want the paranormal field to be doubted, like the general public does with televangelists? It’s up to you. Like Paul, I’ll keep on fighting the good fight even if I just have one reader and one friend in MySpace. Sometimes when you do right you gotta be willing to be dragged through the mud, to be ridiculed, and have lies spread about you. But you know, I can look at myself in the mirror. I know it’s not about jealousy. It’s not about some hidden agenda. It’s about 3 words: INTEGRITY, HONESTY, and TRUTHFULNESS.

We’ve completed our overview of Paranormal State’s Seasons 1 and 2. And with the information we now have, we could spoil it for the viewers concerning Paranormal State’s upcoming season 2.5 or 3.0 or 2.9 or whatever they’ve decided to call it. But we won’t do that; we’re going to sit on the information at this time. We will focus on exorcisms on television and give a thorough overview of Reverend Bob Larson’s “The Real Exorcist” and delve deeper into the deceptions of the “I Am Six” episode that we didn’t have time to do in issue 9.

Reverend Bob Larson is a good man, I think. I like him, I’ve talked to him, and even attended a few of his seminars. But Reverend Larson, unfortunately, has fallen off the path. He has gotten caught up, like so many I know that are involved in the radio and TV ministry field, by the demands of having to keep the money coming in an ever-changing market for religious programming, and seeing others of lesser talents getting ahead. Reverend Larson’s heart is in the right place, even if his mind isn’t.

Reverend Larson is no stranger to TV. He’s done TV specials for the BBC in the past and has been featured on numerous news programs as people question the whole concept of exorcism and his personal techniques.

So let’s take a look, since I can talk about this as I do this on a daily basis. This is my calling and this is my path.

EXORCISMS ON TV – REAL OR FAKE?:

First of all, it is extremely important when one begins such an investigation to not walk into it expecting it to lead to a confrontation with a demon. If you do that, you’re going to ignore all signs that would lead you away from that happening. My motto is to eliminate the probable before one grasps the improbable.

The first warning sign is if the person contacts me and their opening remark is, “I have a demon.” Or “I need an exorcism performed.” Quite often that is indicative of a person that may not be legitimate and may have other issues. Once I begin an investigation the first thing I do after walking the property, is sit down with the client[s] and get a thorough family history running back as many generations as possible. I want to know of any occult involvement, mental health issues, addiction issues, the level of religious activity within the history of the family, if anyone in the family has been victims of serious crimes like murder, rape, incest, etc., or if members of the family have committed such acts. You want to know as many details about the current generation as possible. The second thing I do is if they haven’t had a thorough medical check up, then get one done. Not just a 15-minute visit to an ear, eye, nose, and throat doctor, but I want the person to have a complete and thorough medical exam. Thirdly, I want to have the person go through a complete and thorough psychological examination by not one but two separate therapists or psychologists. I want to eliminate schizophrenia, disassociative disorders, epilepsy, Tourette’s Syndrome, and numerous other illnesses that I will discuss later. After that is done I take my client[s] through an extensive checklist.

The first set I go through is a list that concerns mental changes that affect the person who is possibly possessed.

~1 Look for changes within a person’s personality
~2 Has the person started to isolate themselves?
~3 Have there been changes in sleep patterns?
~4 Is there a sudden weight loss or gain?
~5 You look for changes in attitude and behavior particularly has the person become more irritable and hostile?
~6 Has the person been cursing a lot?
~7 Do they show an aversion to not only religious objects and religious texts, but do they refuse to enter a church?
~8 Look for cutting behaviors.
~9 Has their mode of dress changed?
~10 Have they stopped caring for their personal hygiene?
~11 Look for a gathering or obsession with occult materials.
~12 Has the person been destroying objects—particularly religious ones?
~13 Have they become abusive and threatening towards others on a more frequent basis? Have they been having emotional outbursts?
~14 Have they become more violent? Have they started to hurt animals?
~15 Have they experienced nightmares and night terrors on a more frequent and intensive basis?
~16 Do they perform acts where they play with their own feces and urine?
~17 Are they preoccupied with sex? Do they start touching themselves inappropriately in front of others?
~18 Have they been showing signs of having multiple personalities?
~19 Has their diet changed? Do they seem like they enjoy their usual meals or have foods that they once disliked become a favorite to them?
~20 Have they been experiencing blackouts or loss of previously expressed memories?

Next, I run through a checklist of physical changes that the person may have gone though.

~1 Do they go for long periods of time without blinking their eyes?
~2 Do they go into catatonic states often?
~3 Do they speak languages they could not possibly know? Or has their normal speech pattern changed?
~4 Does the person speak in a language that is not of this earth?
~5 Does the person become completely rigid physically like a statue?
~6 Do their eyes become almost black at times?
~7 Do they have changes in facial features?
~8 Have they shown inhuman strength?
~9 Do they begin to exhibit precognition [the ability to predict future events]?
~10 Does the person display what is called retrocognition, [the ability to recall past events they couldn’t possibly know about others]?
~11 Does the person show an interest in telling strangers information about their past lives?
~12 Has their voice changed?
~13 Have they begun to read other people’s minds?
~14 Have they begun to levitate?
~15 Has there been writing or symbols appear on their body with no explanation for those events? [This is a tricky one because often people will try to fake this. Do these events ever happen in your presence or only when the person is alone? Do they only happen on parts of the body where it’s easy to reach and does it only happen on parts of the body that one would not want disfigured—face, neck, back of hands, forearms, etc.]
~16 Do they physically move in unusual patterns? For example, do they begin to contort physically, spin like a ballerina, balance on one foot easily
~17 Does their hair color change?
~18 Do multiple voices come from their mouth at the same time?
~19 Do animals show fear in their presence?

Here is a partial list of outward manifestations that occur around the individual[s] that I look for:

~1 Do objects move by themselves?
~2 Do objects disappear with no explanation, never to be found again?
~3 Do objects disappear and are suddenly found in a new location?
~4 Do objects disappear and later suddenly reappear in front of you?
~5 Do objects suddenly come from nowhere?
~6 Banging, knocking, or pounding may be heard in a house or in just one room.
~7 Are objects smashed for no reason?
~8 Are there repeated doorbell ringing noises or pounding on the doors?
~9 Do religious objects disappear or get desecrated?
~10 Are there groaning sounds?
~11 Are there scratching sounds?
~12 Foul odors hang around this person with no explanation.
~13 Odd lights or orbs may shoot around the room.
~14 Furniture, often heavy, may move on its own.
~15 Have there been reports of shadow like people within the area?
~16 Have there been strange looking creatures reported around the area?
~17 Doors and drawers open and slam shut on their own.
~18 Electrical appliances turn on or off.
~19 Spontaneous fires – have they been happening?
~20 Have there been infestations of rodents or insects?
~21 If anyone talks of God or religion does this person go into a fit?
~22 Sounds of glass breaking may be heard but there’s never any evidence found.
~23 Sudden temperature changes in a room or the person’s body temperature changes inexplicably.
~24 Have people reported a feeling of being watched when they are alone?
~25 Unexplained voices are heard.
~26 Unexplained winds are felt.

These are checklists that I run through with my clients and there are other things that I ask but don’t feel comfortable with sharing at this time. The fewer responses of such changes being noted, activities being reported, of the individual and their surroundings makes me less certain that an exorcism is needed. If at this point I determine that further action needs to be taken I’ll often ask for a minister or a religious person of the person’s faith, to come in and say prayers over the individual. Reactions will be recorded as well as to see if there are any changes from the previous report. Quite often it’s a low level infestation and prayers and property cleansing will do the trick. But if that doesn’t work then we proceed to more serious levels of action.

Now, I’m getting ahead of myself here, so let’s go back to Reverend Larson. If one observes any and all of the episodes that were shown that evening, Reverend Larson did not do anything nearly as thoroughly as I mentioned in the lists above. And in actuality, you can go to Reverend Larson’s site right now and answer the 21 questions that will lead him to determine if you’re demonically infected. Here’s the link: http://www.demontest.com/test.htm which, these simple questions can’t determine that fact.

And this isn’t Bob Larson’s first brush in being a bit overeager to perform exorcisms for the benefit of the camera and his audience. The Paranormal Preacher has caught Bob numerous times engaging in unnecessary exorcisms and exposing his techniques of manipulation of his audience, whether it’s just one person or hundreds. For example, let’s use one of the cases presented on the 10/30/08 airing. The young lady, Lori Green, has come out and publicly admitted that she faked everything. Reverend Larson was way too eager to oblige her. He performed an unnecessary exorcism just for the cameras, ratings, and for the sake of his personal ego.

Lori Green, 23, feels that her involvement in the occult has led to her into being possessed by a demon.

Notice that her child and her chickens are at ease in her presence. In addition, note that during her initial interview with the host, as she answers questions, her eyes dart to the side, which is a common behavior for people giving deceptive answers.

Bob meets Lori at a house that is rumored to be haunted, which is a ridiculous thing to do. A deliverance/exorcism should be conducted on holy ground, if possible. Why do an exorcism in a place that can only stir up more negative spirits?

The only three signs that she exhibits in my checklist are:

~ Cutting
~ Occult involvement
~ Suicidal thinking

But Reverend Larson is not dissuaded at all; he feels an exorcism is much required.

Reverend Larson attempts to link her cutting with death. If Reverend Larson knows anything about cutters he knows that the majority die young -- quite often before the age of 21. It’s not a demonic influence that leads to their death it’s a deteriorating mental state.

Notice when Lori talks about giving herself to the devil Reverend Larson passes up an important step in the process. He should have had her reverse that offer. But he’s too eager to get the sparks flying. Notice no reaction to the holy oil on the forehead. In addition, there’s no reaction to the cross at the side of the face.

Reverend’s Larson’s style of exorcism is one of total confrontation. He uses the term “I” far too often. Nor does he follow any recognized, established exorcism rite, which is dangerous unless you are in a state of grace and your faith is extremely strong.

When Reverend Larson attempts to talk to the demon, again he should have seen red lights going off in his eyes and heard alarms going off in his ears, the demon would not have come out passively if he’s facing a confrontational fight. Nor is it worth any time to try to get a demon to feel remorse or sorrow. Those are two emotions that a demon has no interest in. Lori doesn’t get upset until the third time the cross touches her face. It’s a good thing that Reverend Larson does of sending a demon to torment; this allows the exorcist an opportunity to reach the possessed individual.

And isn’t it interesting that Reverend Larson is taking on a gunslinger style that it’s him and the demon that is going to face a big confrontational showdown in the near future? Bob should know better that it’s not him that’s confronting the demon, but it’s all that is holy flowing through him that’ll be confronting the demon.

The second round of exorcisms is performed in a voodoo room, and again, this is not a wise idea. Reverend Larson expresses this belief that every demonically possessed individual is possessed by the Devil, Satan, and Lucifer the term being used interchangeably, which in reality, they are separate entities and have little interest in possessing individuals. They have much bigger agendas.

I’m going to let you in on the last big secret of this episode. And it might be even bigger than the fact that Lori was engaging in deception towards Reverend Bob Larson, but there’s even an additional layer of deception going on here. Just like in Paranormal State, the viewer is given the impression that these events are filmed in order and take several days. I won’t break down every single scene; I think my readers are smart enough to do that on their own. But all three scenes of demonic deliverance/exorcism and all scenes with Lori, were filmed in one day. And the exorcisms were even done out of order. How’s that for truth, integrity, and the American way?

So as we see, the para-celebrities, no matter if you’re of religious ilk or not, are engaging in deceptive practices. Next week as we dive into part 2 of this analysis, we’ll uncover more acts of deception with “I Am Six.” We’ll reveal more breeches of procedure when it comes to deliverance/exorcism rites, and even expose Ryan Buell for violating rules of his own church in this episode.

CALL TO ACTION:

It seems some folks just can’t learn to tell the truth and their lies just get sadder and sadder. The people over at PRS/PS have been caught red-handed. It’s time to ‘fess up.

For those who are unaware, during the investigation that was part of Paranormal State’s THE MESSENGER episode, it seems that the participants from PRS decided to plant a cold can of Budweiser on a bed to get Bill the ghost to appear.

Ryan and Chip enter the room and Ryan claims he picks up a cold spot and when the intrepid pair flip on the light they claim they see an outline of a person on the bed. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyHjjDR9JBQ&feature=related The Messenger, Part 2

Booweiser


Budweiser beer can video image


There are 3 things everyone can do in the effort to get the truth out to the general public and proper authorities. They’re free, and will only take a few moments of your time. But they can pay off big in exposure.

1) Call, write, and/or email Anheuser-Busch, Inc. and tell them that their product is being used without their permission and in an act of deception. Tell them it is reflecting badly on the image of such a respected corporation. Also, you might pitch some new taglines for their Budweiser Beer product. Mine are:

~ FORGET ABOUT MILLER TIME – IT’S DEAD TIME!
~ TAKE A SIX PACK OF BUD TO THE GRAVE WITH YOU!
~ THE KING OF DEAD BEER – BUDWEISER
~ BUD – THE BEER FOR THIS LIFE AND THE AFTERLIFE!

1 800 DIAL BUD
(1 800 342 5283)
Anheuser-Busch, Inc.
One Busch Place
St. Louis, MO 63118
Copy and paste this into your browser:
http://contactus.anheuser-busch.com/Email/email.aspx?Site=IB

2) Lakeshore Entertainment is the production company behind the film “The Exorcism of Emily Rose.” It’s very clear that PRS/PS and/or Laura’s family is ripping off the story from this fine motion picture for the sake of 15 minutes of fame. Even Paranormal State puts to use the 1,2,3,4,5,6 from the film. So the production company should both be warned and compensated, or have the I AM SIX episode yanked. Here is the contact information:

Lakeshore Entertainment
9268 West Third Street, Beverly Hills, CA 90210 USA
Phone: [310] 867-8000
Fax: [310] 300-3015
info@lakeshoreentertainment.com
contact@lakeshoreentertainment.com
www.lakeshoreentertainment.com

3) Penn State is an established institution with a spotless reputation for serious research and above board practices. The president of the university needs to know how PRS is using and abusing its image. Call, write, and/or email them about what is happening.

Graham B. Spanier
Office of the President
0201 OLD MAIN
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA 16802
(814) 865-2507 or 814-865-7611
E-mail: president@psu.edu

THE PARANORMAL MOMENT OF TRUTH CHALLENGE

Dear Ryan Buell, Chip Coffey, Lorraine Warren, Sandra & Keith Johnson, Dr. Ron Milione, Tony Spera, Shannon & Jeff Sylvia, C.J. Sellers, Chris Moon, Michelle Belanger, Chad Calek, Michael & Marti Parry, Mark & Debby Constantino, Kim Russo, David Schrader, Reverend Andrew Calder, Reverend Bob Larson, Grant Wilson, and Jason Hawes :

I have expressed concerns about how you conduct your investigations and the validity of those investigations, where anyone with a clear and discerning eye can see that they are not authentic. I have also witnessed heavy-handed tactics being used against people who question your alleged authority within the paranormal community and dared to raise questions concerning the validity of appearing on the A&E shows, Paranormal State, and Psychic Kids: Children of the Paranormal. I can no longer sit by in silence. That is why I came up with The Paranormal Moment of Truth Challenge, which will benefit you, your organization, the paranormal field, and a charity that would be assisted from the donation of the prize money.

1 ~ It would silence your critics if you are determined to be telling the truth about all your claims and how they are presented. There can be no one left to challenge your honesty and integrity.

2 ~ It would not only benefit your organization, but it would also help the entire paranormal field. Because if such evidence is true, it will be brought to a much wider audience, which hopefully would fuel additional legitimate investigations. So it’s a win-win situation for everyone.

3 ~ The charity of your choice would have the prize money donated to them. If the truth is being told, that prize money could reach $500,000.

So, what is The Paranormal Moment of Truth Challenge? I am sure you’ve heard of the Fox Network program entitled The Moment of Truth. This is where a contestant is hooked up to a lie detector test and asked 50 questions, of which 21 of them are used on the actual show. As long as you tell the truth, you keep on winning money -- up to $500,000. The production company, Lighthearted Entertainment Inc., would jump at an opportunity of doing a show with the two of you. And I will put my personal credibility on the line and appear, as well. For if you visit my Free All Spirits page (www.myspace.com/freeallspirits), you’ll notice that I personally make what some would call outlandish claims concerning my work as a Demonologist/Exorcist/Paranormal Investigator/Caring Spiritual Adviser.

If you would like to be "one step closer to the truth" then this is a way to achieve your goal. If interested, please contact me at this email address and I will get the ball rolling as soon as possible.

Your friend in spirit,
Kirby

To date, this is the response that I’ve received from them.




Why not do the show? Only you, the paranormal field, and a charity of your choice would benefit.

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT - NEW DRUG IN SCHOOLS

Please pass this on even if you do not have kids in school. Parents should know about this killer drug. Grandparents, send it to your families and friends.

This is a new drug known as 'strawberry quick '. There is a very scary thing going on in the schools right now that we all need to be aware of.

There is a type of crystal meth going around that looks like strawberry pop rocks (the candy that sizzles and 'pops' in your mouth). It also smells like strawberry and it is being handed out to kids in schoolyards. They are calling it strawberry meth or strawberry quick.

Kids are ingesting this thinking that it is candy and being rushed off to the hospital in dire condition. It also comes in chocolate, peanut butter, cola, cherry, grape, and orange flavors.

Please instruct your children not to accept candy from strangers and even not to accept candy that looks like this from a friend (who may have been given it and believed it is candy) and to take any that they may have to a teacher, principal, etc. immediately.


INFORMATION REQUEST: If anyone wants to share any information with their experiences involving the PRS, Ryan Buell, Chip Coffey, and any other para-celebrity that has made an appearance on Paranormal State, whether it is good or bad, I would like to read it. Your confidentiality is 100% guaranteed.

NOTE: Please feel free to copy and paste this and place it all over the web. And, unlike any of my other blogs, you can even repost this under your own name!