Shut up, okay, welcome back
to "The Jersey Shore-acle." I transcend dimensions,
I speak to spirits, I live off Exit Nine
off the turnpike. So, today, I have been
summoned to the home of an adorable little boy and his adult friend
who he barely knows. My name is Stuart,
and I'm 12 years old. I'd say
I'm a pretty happy kid. That is, until it showed up. Its name is Adam, and he's making Halloween
really not scary. Eh. So I'm hoping
the Jersey Shore-acle can connect me
with a dead relative. Or a murderer. Whichever's more terrifying. Hello, it's so nice
to meet you. Thank you for having me. I sensed you needed it, good, you sat down, okay, we're gonna start this,
are you ready? Yeah. All right,
now before we start, I do have a couple
of questions, okay? I need you to tell me-- That mediums are scammers who
prey on your grief for money? What is this? It's in my contract no one
can have bigger hair than me. Adam, she's going
to contact the dead for me. It's an age-old tradition. It sure is, a tradition of faking it and ripping people off. Séances first became
popular in America during the 19th century, when three young ladies
named the Fox sisters started charging admission to watch them communicate with the dead. If there be any ghosts
in this room, may they knock. (knock knock knock) And if those ghosts think
people should give us money, also knock. (knocking) (gasps) As they grew up,
the Fox sisters became bona-fide celebrities, touring and holding
packed sessions multiple times a day. Sorry, darling,
we couldn't possibly fit you in, we're talking to Shakespeare
and Attila the Hun at noon. But later in life,
Maggie Fox spilled the beans and revealed
how they tricked their public, making knocking sounds using an apple on a string and writing secret messages with their feet. I feel the spirit... wait for it... (Adam)
Despite Maggie's confession,
the spiritualism movement continued to this day, and modern mediums
still make bank. Famous mediums even
have best-selling books and hit TV shows. Yes, TV shows
that are totally real! That's right,
the higher the hair,
the closer to heaven, okay, enough chit-chat,
let's start this reading. Oh, yeah, I'm feeling
something very powerful. Oh, yeah,
it's a presence. Did you lose someone
with a J name, like a John,
a Jack, a Julia-- Yes, my grandpa's
name was Jason. Bam! That's it. Okay-- oh, oh... oh, I'm feeling a pain. Oh, yeah,
in my chestal area. Is there any type of thing that
happened in that region area? Yes, he-- he died
of lung cancer. Bada-bingo, what you
think about that, Mr. Everything, huh? Okay, so...
your grandfather's
telling me, oh, something about
a book, why? Why? Uh... I think he owned a book. And I saw it once. That's it.
That's it. He wants me to tell you
he cherishes those moments, and he loves you. Boom, shut up, I'm done. That was amazing! How do you explain that? Simple, she was
doing a cold reading. Uh... who this? You're not a spirit,
I did not summon you. Okay, can we cut? (bell ringing) This is Mark Edward. He's a magician who went
undercover as a psychic medium to research
how they scam people. I used to do everything
she does for a living, and I can tell you
exactly how it's done. Cold reading is a series
of questions and statements that mine you for information,
without you even knowing it. First, the medium lists common names
to guess at a match. And they start
with just the initial so that you fill in
the blank. Oh. Yeah. I know tons of people
with J names. And lots of them are dead. Mediums then offer details
which sound specific but are actually quite generic. Chest pains could be
lung cancer, heart disease, or really anything. No, no, I sensed that
he died because of something in the chest. Or the head. Uh-huh? Definitely
somewhere in the body. Finally, she offered a question
phrased like a statement to make you do the work
and make a connection. Honey, sugar, the book. It was real, right? Actually, no. Grandpa hated books. Now that I'm thinking of it,
I was thinking of his TV Guide. By using questions
that could apply to anyone and judging your body language
to see how you respond, mediums manipulate you into thinking they know things
nobody else could know. And since they often work
in group settings, if they don't get it right, they just move on
to someone else in the room. I mean, how about you, haircut?
You know something about a book? No-- somebody here must know
something about a book. Ugh! Why did I ever buy this? Well, cold reading
often seems supernatural because it's a truly
amazing skill. But that's all it is. A really good magic trick. And while there's nothing wrong
with a little illusion, it is straight-up unethical to take advantage
of other people's grief for your own gain. I've even seen people lose
their entire savings because a medium convinced them to hand it over. You scammer!
How do you even
sleep at night? Okay, calm down. Everyone just
take a minute, close your eyes, okay,
just imagine smoke or whatever. Poof, I'm gone. It's time for me to go, too. Just kidding. It's an editing trick.
Truly ‘Everything’. He even ruined himself on the Joe Rogan podcast. I honestly feel bad for this guy. You can see he has a lot of issues with mental health but tries to play everything off as normal.