Psychic Kids: Children of the Paranormal: Fact or Fake? Pt. 3

By C.C. Starbuck

Continued from Psychic Kids: Children of the Paranormal: Fact or Fake? Pt. 2

ARE YOU PSYCHIC TOO

Coffey attempts to stroke the egos of other family members of these psychic kids by saying it runs in the family. There is no proof offered outside a phone call from an unidentified woman. Coffey helps build the egos of the child and seems to be as important to him to build the ego of others. The whole family is psychic! Can we be seeing a remake of a 1970'sTV classic "The Partridge Family" called "The Psychic Partridge Family"? Join "The Psychic Partridge Family" as they travel the highways of America giving readings to everyone they encounter.

-The subject of death is raised and Coffey brings up the name of Moody and his near death experiences as if his research is acknowledged by the medical profession, when in reality it is not. As I have pointed out earlier, it has been attacked and questioned from different viewpoints. From a theological standpoint, his work is not valid due to tossing out all NDEs that had hell and the devil related to them. Concerning a medical standpoint, this is due to shoddy research methods. Coffey also states that no one knows what lurks on the other side, which is troubling for he claims to be a Christian. All Christians are told what to expect when we die. (Oddly, by touting Moody's research, it does in some ways validate the Christian concept of what happens in death.)

- Coffey brings up the issue of a sense of community. America is lagging behind China where there are schools and great training centers for over 100,000 super psychic kids. If we accept this story as true, we are offered no proof. We can question whether China's interest in these kids is to help them develop for their own good? Or for the good of intelligence agencies run by the Chinese army and government for spying on the civilian population? Many governments around the world have spent billions of dollars and invested many years in research in the field.

- Coffey states that he has a forum for psychic kids to get help. He does not share that these threads have been shut down for several months. Nor does he mention the main focus of the site is to sell his book and tickets to upcoming Coffey Talks. He neglects to inform the reader that he is making money off the site.

- The two moderators also make money off the site as they have websites that people are directed to in order to receive training. One moderator even used the "Psychic Kids: Children of the Paranormal" Facebook page as a way to sell Coffey's (and others affiliated with Coffey) products and services. There was no intention to actually assist psychic kids. The moderator served as a watch dog and personally attacked anyone posting anything negative and/or asking insightful questions. All this was done without the knowledge of anyone affiliated with A&E.)

- Coffey states his readings are more like consultation sessions than readings. On his website you will notice he likes to know what you want from the reading, which automatically tells him what to discuss.

- Many psychics that I have talked to state that they want nothing from the client prior to the reading. (This is due to the fact that with just a client's name and phone number, with the power of Google and a $19.95 personal data search you can find out a lot about people). The psychics I spoke with suggested never giving the psychic any information other than the desire to book an appointment.

- Claiming a reading is more like a therapy session raises the issue about the psychic being licensed by the state to do therapy. If you start calling it therapy then it cannot be for entertainment purposes only.

- Coffey brings up the subject of angels and spirit guides. Having talked to many pastors, priests and a few so-called demonologists, it seems like some very bad advice is being given here. Coffey never tells the readers how to test the spirit.

- He fails to address the issues of whether a child has an overactive imagination or possible signs mental illness. It is indeed troublesome that selling books filled with a medley of misinformation is the goal of new age teachers. "Growing Up Psychic: My Story of Not Just Surviving but Thriving--and How Others Like Me Can, Too" is categorized as nonfiction, yet it contains enough subjective experiences and anecdotal tales to categorized the book as a work of fiction. But Coffey and other individuals affiliated with the new age will make any claim in order to get the public to buy into them.

Chapter 4 – THE NEED FOR PSYCHIC PROTECTION

In my career in law enforcement I came to accept there is evil in the world. I doubt you will find a cop, whether he walks a beat or works plainclothes, that would say otherwise. Those who inflict suffering on their fellow man and animals that I have witnessed cannot simply be explained away by psychic, logical or social reasons. Nor do I believe the catch phrase that someone is just a bad person. (The case that shook me up the most was the mother of a three-year-old son who tossed the child into a big pot of boiling water just because her boyfriend was late for a date.) It left the indelible impression that some kind of evil walks among us.

In the first episode of "Paranormal State" Coffey informed Ryan Buell that he knew very little about demons or demonology and was not an exorcist. As this was made a few years ago, it seems that has not changed. I interviewed pastors, theologians, so-called demonologists, and a few well known people in the paranormal community who are in charge of clergy networks and demon hunting groups. From what I learned, much of the information presented in this chapter could not work. If following Coffey's advice, it might invite more harmful spirits.

- The Rosenberg story is inspiring but spirits do not have to listen to man, and without invoking the name of Jesus Christ the spirit would never have left.

- The hot water heater story might be frightening but how would the plumber know the two valves broke simultaneously? Could they have broken at separate times? The plumber speaking about the virtues of Coffey would not have had any impact in driving the spirit away. If Coffey was psychic, he should he have known the spirit was there in his home as his angels and spirit guides would have warned him.

- The demon experts that I have consulted with regarding the demon possession section of this book concerning the signs do give it a thumbs up. It does contain a common mistake made by people about an exorcist. You do not have exorcist Bob Blue, you have Father Bob Blue who is trained to perform an exorcism.

- Additional concern is that a layperson is not allowed to perform the solemn rite of exorcism. Laypeople can say prayers of deliverance. As to non-Catholics, they can cast out demons but cannot use the rite to do so.

- Chip shares the Carmen Reed story which is better known by the name "A Haunting in Connecticut" both the book and film. (For years she has made money from this case via the lecture circuit.) Although Ray Garton wrote an interesting story concerning it, what you see may not be what really took place. At one time Coffey was going to write a book about the case.

- Smudging is mentioned but no explanations are given as to why it works. Are demons frightened by smoke?

- Never is the subject of one having a relationship with GOD ever brought up. My demon experts inform me that the only sacred objects needed are: cross/crucifix bible, holy water and the word of God.

- It's puzzling that the episode dealing with the demonic is not even mentioned in Coffey's book. Entitled "Demon House", it might be the most controversial episode of the show's short run. Alexa's family owned a home in which multiple demons were said to live, causing the family to flee from their home in the middle of the night. On the Shedding Some Light blog, there is an entry dated August 22, 2008 on the subject.

Psychic Kids: Children of the Paranormal - The Demon House episode

I watched all 6 episodes of "Psychic Kids: Children of the Paranormal" at least once, and "The Demon House" episode many times. And I've consulted with others to compare my reactions and refine my opinions.

Every time Chip Coffey first meets one of the children and asks them to perform some kind of psychic skill, the kids are always 100% accurate 100% of the time.

But when it comes to the Demon House episode that's entirely a different matter. The first time I viewed it I could not believe what I was seeing, and with each successive viewing it gets worse.

Now prior to moving on, let me write this in plain English: I get no personal pleasure from this whatsoever. But I have made a commitment to the truth, I've promised to help ALL and I feel that I'm being led to write these words, so I couldn't be what I am if I shirk my metaphysical duty.

So, here is my analysis of The Demon House:

Each episode begins with a statement that "this is a documentary." By definition that means it's to be factual and objective, which implies that events and situations will not be manipulated within either the production or presentation. To both Ryan Buell's and Paranormal State's credit, they do not imply this within their program's description.

The episode opens with a young girl in Houston, Texas by the name of Hailey. She's 12, and lives with her mother, Ileana. The girl sees a spirit of a man that threatens her and brings other spirits that have physically and verbally threatened to harm her. She lives in fear of said violence. The mother claims that there's no help and all this is starting to impact Hailey's life.

At this point in the episode, I feel that Hailey is telling the truth and there is certainly a negative presence in her room and closet that is potentially harmful to both her and her mother.

We then meet Alexa, 14, from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida who claims she has seen ghosts and demons since the age of 8. The family fled 2 years ago from a house that is demonic, and they have been unable to return to it except for brief moments in the daylight hours. Alexa claims, "someone is there and it kinda freaks me out." Leslie, Alexa's mother, states, "things happen." We are never told what events led to the family fleeing nor why she waited for 2 years to seek help for the house. In the background we notice a door is open and Alexa freaks out when a bird flies through the house. We learn that she has had issues when it comes to social adjustment.

Alexa then describes the demon she claims to have seen and says, "It was anger, frustration, and betrayal." She claims to see a shadow run by and she can stand next to it with no impact.

Mom says, "she is afraid to talk about her child's issues due to fear that they will say that Alexa is crazy, take her away, and put her into a mental institution." Which are basically the same fears that Hailey's mother has uttered in her on camera interview.

At this point, if Alexa and her mother came to me concerning this home and telling me that there was demonic activity occurring there, I would be very hard pressed to believe them. And here's why:

Point 1 – A bird flying through the house is not proof of spirit activity, but an open door.

Point 2 – Alexa makes a big effort physically as well as verbally, to sell her story. Point in fact, is when she uses three terms to sell the demon to the audience. This is often done for dramatic reasons within film, TV, and literature.

Point 3 – Leslie never does explain what really happened that night in the home that drove them out. Leaving lots of personal possessions behind and not returning to claim them, sounds as if one of the elements of the Amityville Horror myth is being borrowed. Notice the shiny black countertops in the kitchen and the overall lack of dust and cobwebs.

Point 4 – Alexa claims that a shadow moved across the light, yet we never see anything.

Point 5 – Alexa claims that a demon/dark spirit at one point is standing right next to her and is very upset about her presence. Yet nothing happens. And if you ever suffer the unfortunate opportunity to stand next to a demon, you will physically know it.

Point 6 – Neither Alexa or her mother ever inform the viewers that they are both regulars at new age/psychic conferences within the state of Florida, according to some professionals that I've worked with in that area. This would give them great insight into knowing the terminology.

Now Chip Coffey and Dr. Lisa Miller enter and begin to work with Alexa. Due to wanting to keep this a reasonable length, I'm not going to focus on anything except the demon house and Hailey's fear of the dark presence. An important point is when Hailey brings out the mirror and tells a bored looking Chip the mirror is a portal into the spiritual world and at one time she sees Isaiah, chapter 26 written on it. This passage happens to deal with how God shall protect the righteous but He also shall judge those who have turned to other gods and engaged in destructive behavior.

Chip and Dr. Miller discuss the fear that was at the old house would follow Alexa to the new house. Chip states, unequivocally, that it is something they need to focus on. Now let's stop here.

1. Chip should have taken the time to find out what that Bible quote meant. And taken a look, spiritually, himself, at the mirror.
2. The family moved out of the old house 2 years ago. If the demon chose to follow the family, it would have. This is certainly an issue because the viewer is led to believe that Alexa is its target. So why didn't the demon follow its desired target?

They now agree to take the two girls to the demon house and Chip promises to teach them means of protection and the happy trio set off to the home.

Point 1 – Concerning spiritual protection -- it is not something you learn in a few minutes. There are many aspects of it, which is not something that can be taught in one session, which is the feeling that you get from the program.

Point 2 – I think the reader should be getting my opinion that the demon house is without a demon, and there's nothing there to be afraid of.

The first trip made to the house features Chip, Alexa, and Hailey. Nothing happens, at least on tape. There are no noises, no movement, no voices, no visual clues whatsoever. Alexa claims she smells something bad and that this is supposed proof of demonic activity. Some points to consider here:

Point 1 – Alexa's claim of one demon now has grown to many demons.

Point 2 – Chip, with an eerily lit face, which calls to mind "The Blair Witch Project" movie, begins to toss the word demon around.

Point 3 – Isn't it strange that only Alexa is "attacked" in the van after the demon house walk through?

Point 4 – Hailey states, "all you have to do is say 'in the name of God, leave me alone!' and they have to leave you alone." Which is totally untrue, and if she was taught this on the set, there's somebody there that doesn't know much about demonology.

The show really goes downhill from here and if this wasn't serious, it would make a great comedy hour.

Point 1 – Linda, the demonologist, and her assistant, Beth, don't ask any questions of Chip concerning the case. They let Chip tell them that the house is demonically possessed; therefore it must be demonically possessed. Yet Chip has declared in this show and in Paranormal State that he is not a demonologist or an exorcist.

Point 2 – Alexa and Hailey both affirm that something is going to happen when they go to the house that night and again, nothing does except Alexa says she feels sick.

Point 3 - Telling the kids that they can come to the house cleansing is a huge mistake on their parts. House cleanings are no joke and I've seen as much demonic violence in a house cleansing as in an exorcism.

Point 4 – Linda shows that she is clearly lacking the ability of spiritual discernment when she handles Hailey's mirror, and she is totally condescending towards Hailey when she asks about the angry spirits. Linda just tells Hailey to ask them why they're angry. Maybe Hailey's residence, not being in Florida but in Texas, was too far away to cleanse. Maybe it wasn't in the show's budget.

Point 5 – When traveling in the van before arriving at the demon house, Chip builds up tension by saying, "it knows we're coming and it knows what's planned." Yet again, nothing happens.

Point 6 – Hailey and her mother are told it will be safe to stay outside of the demon house. Demons can come out through the doors, windows, walls, ceilings, and from underground. So standing outside is not a safe place, either.

Point 7 – When they are doing their walk-through, Linda, the demonologist, picks up nothing.

Point 8 – Alexa, again sounds the alarm that the demon is going to do something. Again, what happens? Nothing!

Point 9 – Alexa aggressively tells the demon to leave her alone and suddenly she is free of its presence. Which is about as likely as a pea shooter stopping an oncoming tank.

Point 10 – Finally, the house cleansing that was performed was amateurish at best, simply going through a house and rebuking and putting crosses on the walls is not a house cleansing.

Unfortunately, at the end, the child that needed the help the most left without really spending any time with Chip, getting any guidance from Dr. Miller, or having the spirits removed from her home.

This is like a low-budget action flick that spends the majority of the movie building up the confrontation between the hero and his arch-enemy. And then, at the very end, the showdown is over in mere seconds. We were given the false impression that this was a serious demon, yet it turned out to be weaker than Casper the friendly ghost.

What we have here is hype over substance. Excitement and danger over reality. And illusion combined with delusion giving us a cloudy picture of what really did and did not happen. Every time a show is done like this there's a cost. People see these shows and accept them as being real and they build up their belief systems from that. Then, in real life, they act out what they've seen. 

After the filming was over those involved with the show packed their bags and left Alexa and her mom on their own. But what appeared to be faked turned genuine as Alexa started to be harassed by a real demon. When the family turned to the show's producers and hosts they got no help and were left on their own. Things got so bad for the family they had to go to a TAPS convention in Florida and run through the convention hall asking all the so called demonologists and demon experts there for assistance. The mother and daughter were escorted up to a hotel room and an immediate exorcism was performed on Alexa.

Read the last part of Psychic Kids: Children of the Paranormal: Fact or Fake? Pt. 4