She told them boy was dead Crystal ball fails psychic in Mo. kidnap BY CHRISTINA BOYLE DAILY NEWS WRITER Montel Williams' psychic pal Sylvia Browne told the family of missing Shawn Hornbeck he was dead shortly after the Missouri boy vanished - and later allegedly offered to help locate his body for $700 per half hour. The popular TV clairvoyant appeared on the "Montel Williams Show" in February 2003, four months after Shawn disappeared, and told Pam and Craig Akers she believed their son was "no longer with us." She also advised that his body could be found in a wooded area 20 miles from their Richwoods, Mo., home, near two large jagged boulders. Shawn, now 15, was found alive and well last Friday, living just miles away with a man now charged with snatching the boy when he was 11. Browne's "vision" of his death caused search teams to redirect their efforts and drew dozens of calls from the public who believed they lived near the woods matching Browne's descriptions. The family also claims the psychic then tried to cash in, which Browne vigorously denies. "She called Pam and Craig about one month after the show and pretty much offered her services to continue their discussion for a fee," said Wayne Evans, a spokesman for the Shawn Hornbeck Foundation. "Pam was that desperate that if she had had $700 in her bank account she would have put it on the table. We are talking about a mother who would have sold her soul to have her boy back." "Everybody was angry," he added. "Sylvia Browne's name was never brought up again until Shawn was found. He's home now, and that's all that matters." Browne, a regular guest on the "Montel" show, apologized for her misfire, exposed first by StopSylviaBrowne.com, a blog dedicated to tracking the psychic's every blunder. "I'm terribly sorry that this happened," she told the Daily News. "But I think my body of work stands by itself. I've broken case after case." "I think it's just cruel to jump on this one case in which I was wrong," she added defensively. "I've said thousands of times I'm not God." She also denied ever offering her services to Shawn's family for cash. "There's never been a case that I've ever charged for a missing child," Browne said. "I would never do that. Never, never." A spokeswoman for Williams said the talk show host was taping more shows and unavailable for comment. Browne was his only guest on yesterday's show. Michael Devlin, the 300-pound pizza parlor manager charged with kidnapping Shawn four years ago and a second boy just last week, is to be arraigned today in Missouri courtroom. He is also under investigation for the disappearance of another boy, Charles Arlin Henderson, 16 years ago.
The problem with psychics when they've been tested is that they've been shown to be too inconsistent with their predictions. Many of these psychics seem to make predictions that most people could make if they knew how to use the tricks that psychics use such as cold readings and knowing how people recieving readings will engage in selective thinking.
http://www.randi.org/sylvia/index.html A few years back psychic investigator James Randi offered to test Sylvia's abilities but she has yet to accept his offer for some reason.
Sylvia has been tested on her abilities. I don't know the exact source of it, but I remember reading that most physics test have a 75-80% accuracy rate and hers was at about 88-90%. What people don't realize is that they're not always 100% right. It's not a black or white, right or wrong thing.
Sylvia Browne is unfortunately a prime example of a person who is apparently not a very good psychic trying to be one. However James Randi is unfortunately a prime example of a person who sees the obvious, but not much else.
Psychics won't always be 100% right, I agree, but I think Sylvia Browne is a bit bogus, imho. And, even if my take is inaccurate, I still think she's way overmarketed, and the humbleness that I believe is VERY important to having these abilities, is long gone.
I've been following the exploits of Sylvia Browne and The Amazing Randi for quite sometime, and all the evidence points to Browne being a fraud. I rarely side with James Randi but in this case, and in the case of Randi vs Uri Geller he's right on the mark. Perhaps Sylvia Browne was blessed with psychic ability years ago, but with Sylvia Browne Enterprises making between $500 - $700 dollars a session, the only things she see's these days are dollar signs Here's a story about Browne posted on Randi's website: Controversial TV psychic Sylvia Browne made a major mistake about the West Virginia miners tragedy on a Tuesday night radio show. I always like it when psychics are asked, ‘If you know so much, how come you haven’t won the lottery or cashed in big in Vegas or in stocks?’ Maybe Browne was thinking the same thing when she was a guest on George Noory’s live syndicated radio show, "Coast to Coast" at around 3 a.m. on Wednesday. She had the bad luck to be commenting on a developing news story — the mining disaster in West Virginia —- which took a surprise turn. That tragic twist — that the wrong announcement had been made about the miners’ fates — turned out to be even worse for Browne. Just following the transcript of what occurred, it’s clear the psychic had no idea what had happened to the miners, though she claimed to have been right on top of it. Hotwater
How did you hear about this????? About her being a fraud?? Personally I don't believe that to be true. You can't expection perfection from anyone but God. Seems she was wrong once and ya'll are just looking for an excuse to criticize.
Sylvia Browne is a fraud, and her track record over the past several years is absolutely appalling She promised to be tested by James Randi (in a place of her choosing) and has failed to fulfill her obligation. If she's this great psychic (like she proclaims) then why has she been avoiding him at every turn? Hotwater
It's all over the Internet, SparkleGal. The wires are a-buzzin' with the news. Tongues are a-waggin' and lips are a-flappin' in the breeze. Didn't anybody tell you?
There are no psychics. That's all a money racket designed to dupe dupes and desperate people seeking something more. And apparently it works.
I do NOT appreciate being called a con artist. The fact that some people who claim to be psychics may indeed be intent on conning people out of their money does not mean that we all are. Many of us provide an honest service for a decent price.
Tarot card reading. All of those who I have given readings to (who have given me feedback) have said that I was accurate and helpful. Of course, I wouldn't imagine charging $700 an hour, anyone who needs my services enough to be willing to pay that much I would feel very guilty about charging.
