Qualities Of The Best Psychic Practitioners

Observations of a Parapsychologist/Psychic Entertainer By Loyd Auerbach

I’ve worked with some genuine psychics and mediums of extremely high caliber and psychic functioning, in investigations, under laboratory conditions, and in situations where they applied their talents.

Several years ago (2005), I wrote and presented a paper to a Parapsychology Foundation conference on mediumship in Charlottesville, VA, on what I’ve learned about psychics and the commonalities of the very best from working with some of the best over the years. I’ve since presented the topic at several parapsychological conferences, and had lots of feedback from colleagues that they, too, came to similar conclusions (but hadn’t really made a list).

In this article, I pass along what I’ve learned about the commonalities of the best psychics – and when I say “best,” yes I do to some extent mean the most accurate (really, the ones who are accurate most of the time). But what’s below is really about the more personal commonalities of the psychics and mediums who often seem impressive to people, and who work best with researchers and investigators.

How Psychic Is A Self-Proclaimed Psychic

It is not my intention to discuss in this article how to judge “how psychic” is a self-professed psychic, psychic medium, or medium. That requires a separate piece of its own. To my mind, choosing a psychic practitioner to work with can be summed up in two points: (a) how useful is the information provided by the practitioner and (a) how useful is the practitioner.

As to the first, one can only judge the usefulness of information within the context of the situation itself. I have observed a number of psychic practitioners provide information irrelevant to the situation. For example, in working with them in investigations of reported apparitions, hauntings and poltergeists, one should look at more than the verifiability of the information and consider how the information explains, supports, or melds with the experiences of the witnesses and information gathered in researching the case. Much of the usefulness of a psychic practitioner’s information in the resolution of cases rests with how that information is received and accepted by the clients (and perhaps the discarnate entity).

Psychic Practitioners and Ego

The usefulness of psychic practitioners is often related to how ego-involved the psychic is and his or her interpersonal skills. A psychic should not be the main focus of the investigation process or reading, as that should remain the experiences of the clients. Certainly while the focus in an experiment is on the subject, it’s the experiment itself that needs to be the focus.

Look At Me I’m a Great Medium

Many psychics and mediums seem to have a need to be the center of attention, but if they are good at communicating and working with people, they can still be good team players. It is those having a need to be “right” who can be real problems to deal with, especially when their perceptions are contradictory to the experiences of the witnesses and to other data collected, or to the results of an experiment.

Psychic Integrity

The best practitioners are those who understand that their psychic perceptions may sometimes be incomplete, influenced by their biases or personal problems, symbolic, or even from a different source than the current situation. Furthermore, they are willing to take each perception and examine it for both validity and relevance. The practitioner recognizes that others on the investigative or research team and perhaps even witnesses in a case investigation, or the client in a reading, may need clarification or may need to fit the practitioner’s perceptions into other parts of the case or even disqualify them for lack of validity or relevance. The Psychic or Medium does not become defensive if told that a particular perception is incorrect, misinterpreted, or misguided.

They realize that they may not be psychic in all situations. For example, many mediums who spend their time communicating with spirits are good when it comes to apparition (ghost) cases, but lousy – even totally “blind” – when it comes to reading living people. Many psychics who can read people or objects can’t pick up anything in apparition cases.

Consider The Science

They are willing to consider various non-paranormal and non-spiritual explanations for events in a case or experience and to consider fraud. They will follow suggestions from the field researchers, especially where focusing their perceptions to gain more or different information is concerned. They will participate with the investigators in trying to understand the initial and subsequent factors that led the clients to believe their building is haunted or to an individual believing he/she had an intense psychic experience. They are willing to discuss and consider their perceptions in light of the observations of the other investigators. They are willing to let go of ownership of their perceptions in discussion with the investigators and witnesses.

They are willing to learn the perspective of the researcher and field investigator, even to the point of understanding good investigative and experimental procedures. They may have their own personal spiritual or religious beliefs, but they do not force them into the cases or on others.

They consider the clients’ needs above their own.

They have a sense of humor, especially with regards to how seriously they take themselves.

Most of all, they have a real curiosity about their own abilities, what their limits might be, how they do in different situations and conditions, and how psi might actually work. I will note that those working as mediums seem to express much more curiosity about understanding what’s going on and the scientific studies of their abilities (and the possibility of life after death/Survival of Consciousness) than those who work as psychics (with no mediumship practice). On speculating about this, I believe it may be a result of mediums being focused on communication with living and deceased people – and the communication process -- while psychics are often more concerned with the information rather than the people.

Psychics and Mediums Must Work In Harmony With The Investigators

The best psychics and mediums seem to work with the investigators and the clients to set expectations of success at a reasonable level. While they are able to cite past successes, they are aware of their own limitations and are honest about them.

The best seem to display many additional qualities beyond their psychic talents. They have excellent interpersonal skills, and because of that are confident without being egotistical. It has been said that psychics often have great egos. This can be a plus if the practitioner understands the place of a big ego and is able to both freely admit this and most importantly to be humorous about it.

You Need a Good Sense Of Humor

The best psychics and mediums generally display a good sense of humor, especially about themselves. They do take their work seriously, but because of their maturity, they see the lighter side of life as extremely important. They actually enjoy watching (good) psychic entertainers and magicians, unlike many who don’t fit the criteria of this article who voice objections to “making fun of” the paranormal.

Personally, I’ve always said I take my subject seriously – but not myself. And I can have fun with it all. That sums up the attitude of the best psychics and mediums.

One special note: There are some very famous psychics out there who don’t fit these commonalities. They’ve often bullied their way to the top, or used any bit of mystery and/or fame and/or publicity to get there and frankly, what I end up observing about their psychic abilities (in my role as a parapsychologist) is extremely unimpressive. But even if they were incredibly psychic, I still wouldn’t recommend people to them because as people, they leave much to be desired. One of them (who has since died) was downright mean to people even in her TV appearances!

To sum up, here’s a list of the qualities I’ve found. I encourage all mentalists/psychic entertainers to incorporate these into your performing persona, naturally adapted to your own personality.

The best psychic practitioners

• Are confident without being egotistical (but still have a healthy ego)

• Display good “people skills” (with the living and the dead)

• Don’t set expectations too high, and know their own limitations and biases

• Are still willing to learn (i.e. from a parapsychologist/field researcher)

• Are curious about their own abilities, how they work, and what their limits are.

• Do not force their beliefs on others, even as they stand by their own beliefs.

• Put the clients first.

• Don’t claim to be right all (or even any particular unverifiable percentage) of the time.

• Display a good sense of humor, especially when it comes to themselves.

In other words, good psychic practitioners have good people skills above all else!

Two new paranormal TV shows are changing the landscape of ghost-hunting shows

A few months ago, I joined a team of paranormal investigators, visiting haunted locations for the first season of a brand-new indie ghost-hunting show called Inhuman Beings. This month, we launched a Kickstarter to finish Inhuman Beings and a paranormal documentary series called New Blood. The two shows aim to present a new outlook on the supernatural, showcasing the esteemed specialist in the occult, Michelle Belanger. Her expertise has been previously displayed on several publications such as Paranormal State, Portals to Hell, Conjuring Kesha, among others. Locations have been chosen for the first season of a brand-new indie ghost-hunting show called Inhuman Beings. This month, we launched a Kickstarter to finish Inhuman Beings and a paranormal documentary series called New Blood.

Inhuman Beings

Each episode of Inhuman Beings features a different location with a reputation for high strangeness. Rather than trying to banish ghosts or uncover demons, we approach the unknown with a sense of curiosity, keeping an open mind and looking into ghosts, UFOs, cryptids, the fae, and more.

We use some traditional paranormal investigation techniques, experimenting with REM pods, spirit boxes, a Kinect SLS camera, and an Ovilus. But we also get weird, trying out remote viewing experiments, using dream sigils to communicate with entities, and following our curiosity as far down the rabbit hole as we can go.

That led us to some strange places. During production, we found ourselves crossing a remote river to visit land ruled by the fae, exploring a strange castle with a mysterious past, and investigating the most haunted building in a small town.

As the team’s paranormal researcher, I dug into the locations before filming and was floored by how many anomalies had been reported in each spot.

In one episode, we venture to the area of the original Loveland frogman sightings, along the banks of Ohio’s Little Miami River. While doing preliminary research, I couldn’t believe how much lore was concentrated in one small area and how interconnected the different paranormal phenomena were there.

I had heard the famous 1950s story about a man encountering strange, frog-like humanoids—one of whom carried a wand emitting sparks—but the more research I did, the more reports I found about local sightings of UFOs, cryptids, aliens, and ghosts.

That was my first hint that things were going to get a lot stranger than I had expected. However, I was not fully prepared for the firsthand experiences we had when we arrived at the site and engaged in conversations with the locals, conducted our own experiments, and gained a true understanding of what the place was truly like.

New Blood

Much of the cast and crew of Inhuman Beings are also in New Blood, a longform docu-series about modern-day vampires.

In New Blood, a series of synchronicities leads witch and host of paranormal podcast Follow the Woo Fen Alankus (she/they) to move from LA to the spooky Midwest. There, she conjures an investigative film crew to document a secret society of vampires.

They delve into the mysterious world of vampires while staying in a haunted Airbnb. The experience, which involves visiting sacred vampire ritual spaces, braving the creepy woods of Ohio, and performing out-of-the-box psychical experiments and spells, changes all of them. Season one was a wild ride, and the next phases of initiation have already begun for the team.

The Kickstarter and team

Michelle Belanger (he/she/they) and Fen Alankus (she/they) have gathered a top-notch crew of film professionals and paranormal investigators. That includes historian and medium Stephanie Bingham (she/her), who has been featured on the CW’s Mysteries Decoded, Destination America’s Paranormal Lockdown and SyFy Channel’s School Spirits; tarot/oracle reader Tigresse Bleu (they/she); filmmaker, forager, and hedgewitch Aubrey P. Archer (they/them); and photographer and skeptic-turned-believer Taylor Brown (she/they), and me.

More than 100 hours of footage have already been shot for these shows, and both shows are slated for release in Fall/Winter 2023.

With the Kickstarter funding, the team will finish up the first seasons of both shows, start pre-production on the next seasons, and more. Backers get rewards like magically imbued Ouija planchettes, Bigfoot and Pride Demon T-shirts, subtle-body portrait readings, bonus and behind-the-scenes content, executive producer credit, guest spots on their shows, and more. Spread the word and help bring this fresh paranormal project into the world!

Legal Problems Faced By Paranormal Investigators

If you have a passion for everything paranormal and want to become a paranormal investigator, there are more things to consider than the latest recording equipment or investigative tools. No, you also need to consider the legal problems you could encounter as a paranormal investigator. What kind of legal problems can I face as a paranormal investigator, you may ask? Well, we are about to disclose the legal pitfalls of the profession!

Trespassing Is One Of The Main Legal Problems For Paranormal Teams

One common problem that paranormal investigators often forget about is trespassing. There may be an alleged haunted building in the neighborhood you want to check out, but have you thought about the owner of that particular building? Or has the building been cordoned off because it is unsafe to enter?

Some buildings are associated with local legends, so they are a prime location for paranormal investigators to visit. Unfortunately, some of those buildings can be really unsafe. Even though there may not be anyone inside – or even if the site has been abandoned for years – it does not give you the right to enter the building.

Before you go into any building, home or property, always make sure you have permission to do so. If you do not know the owner of the building, you can head to your local city hall for additional information. In some cases, special permission may be required before you will be able to conduct your investigation safely and legally.

Property Damage On Location

Property damage is another liability you may encounter while you work as a paranormal investigator. For example, a client could ask you to check out a building they own for paranormal activity. Several weeks after you have completed your work, the client can slap you with a lawsuit claiming you have damaged their property. While this is a “he said, she said” situation, you always have to take that possibility into consideration.

Since you can enter someone else’s property during an investigation, it can be a good idea to have a legal document drafted up that ensures you are not liable for damages. Of course, this must be within reason. For example, the document can specify that you will not cause damage to the building and that you cannot be held liable for any damages that are already present. As such, it can be a good idea to take some photographs of the building’s interior and exterior before you bring in any equipment. You may need permission from the owner to take these photographs as well.

Some investigations may require digging or other actions. If this is necessary, then you must have a consent form from the owner of the building. If you don’t have such a consent form, you may be liable for the damages caused by digging, tunneling, or any other actions performed by you during the investigation.

Emotional Distress

You may be surprised just how many legal problems you can encounter as a paranormal investigator and emotional distress is certainly one. For example, a client may claim that your investigation has caused them significant emotional distress. After which, the person in question may deem it necessary to sue you for damages. Therefore, make sure that this particular issue is covered in the legal document you draft for all your clients.

Professional Legal Advice Can Help

Help Lawyer

Now that we have mentioned some issues you can encounter, it is important to get appropriate legal advice before you start your journey as a paranormal investigator. While most people you meet won’t have bad intentions towards you, there is a small percentage that looks to profit from your sheer presence. So, get a legal document drafted by a professional lawyer or law firm and ensure you are covered when someone uses your investigative services. You may also want to look at certain types of insurance, which provide added protection for property damage and other legal problems you could encounter. At the end of the day, good preparation makes all the difference.

The Paranormal Investigator

Photographer: Priscilla Du Preez | Source: Unsplash

The years I spent as a criminal investigator have taught me one vital lesson. That is, to search for the truth, and go to where the evidence takes me to either build a case or find the case unfounded. To do this, the investigator must collect and preserve evidence and information.

Research Information

It must be available for all parties involved in the inquiry to examine and compare. After all, the evidence has been collected and carefully examined, the case is brought to another party, in this case - a prosecutor. The prosecutor then decides whether or not there is sufficient evidence to file the case and send it to court. It is in court that the case is decided by a jury selected from society. So goes our legal system in theory.

The Paranormal Investigator

When building a case for the existence of the paranormal, shouldn’t we use the same standards? If we ever hope to prove the existence to the scientific world, and society, should we have a system in place that allows for common standards and protocols? This would allow all evidence of the paranormal gathered to be considered on common ground. For example, a homicide investigation in Tacoma, Washington will be conducted in a similar fashion in Vero Beach, Florida. Yes, there are differences in some laws state to state. Each investigator will have a different style of interviews and investigation, but evidence will be uncovered, collected and preserved in a similar fashion. Done this way, there could be under certain circumstances, evidence used in Tacoma that could be used to help the case in Vero Beach. This is because basic standards in evidence collection and investigation had been adhered.

I believe this is an important concept. That would allow paranormal investigations that are conducted for the purpose of proving the case of life after death, to be accepted by a jury in society. Now many paranormal investigators will immediately take offense to this saying; “Everybody investigates differently” or “Nobody can tell you how to investigate”. Both are actually true statements. This concept is not meant to tell anybody how to investigate necessarily. What this concept does state, is that regardless of how you ask questions, or in which order you proceed with your work, there must be some protocols that are adhered to if you want your investigation to be considered valid to prove your case.

Some examples of this would be that all EVP sessions should be recorded. That should be prior to any questions being asked, there must be a preamble of: Time, Date, Location and the names of persons present during the session, etc. Now this is already the procedure for many groups, but do we consider it standard amongst all legitimate paranormal investigators? Some groups listen and gain possible EVP evidence but, they are using a voice recorder that cannot be transferred to a computer or other storage device.

If the EVP evidence cannot be preserved, then what use is it in an investigation? If these standards are not followed in criminal court. The evidence revealed during that part of the investigation is in danger of being thrown out. Why is that any different in the case of a paranormal investigation. There are plenty of people waiting in line to refute any evidence saying it is contrived in some way or misinterpreted by the investigator. Standards that are universally adhered to - show that the field of paranormal research, and investigation, is moving towards procedures that will validate their investigations and the evidence collected.

Now there will be those that say, that they don’t care if others believe their evidence. They do things their way and who cares what others think. “I know what I heard” or “I know what I saw” and that is all that is important. First let me say that there is nothing wrong with this line of thought! Everyone has the right to feel that way and conduct themselves in a manner, which is helpful, and productive to their goals and needs. This leads to the motives of those conducting these inquiries.

Many of the paranormal teams that exist today - conduct investigations with little or no thought as to what they are going to do with the evidence they get. I have spoken to a number of teams that keep their evidence in some type of computer storage. I have spoken to many others that share their evidence on their websites and very little other than that. Once again, there is nothing wrong with that way of thinking BUT…

Paranormal Investigator vs. Paranormal Thrill Seeker vs. Spiritual Searcher

What is your motive to investigate or research? There is no wrong answer to this, just the inner search to determine your motives for investigating.

According to the Cambridge English Dictionary an investigator is someone: “whose job it is to examine a crime, problem, statement, etc., in order to discover the truth.”

Taking this into consideration, it should be the nature of any investigator to search for the truth through evidence. A paranormal investigator and researcher must use standards that are accepted in the field to put their case together. This includes a systematic way of locating, collecting and preserving evidence.

This evidence then can be examined and compared with other evidence collected by the investigator, (or by other investigators conducting other investigations) in order to find commonalities (I will be discussing this concept in a future article).

The goal in this case is to find evidence, share with other investigators, and find the answer to question of is there life after death. Solving one of mankind’s greatest mysteries should the goal of the Paranormal Investigator.

Paranormal Thrill Seeker

Photographer: NeONBRAND | Source: Unsplash

The term “Paranormal Thrill Seeker” might sound derogatory to some but it truly isn’t. Thrill seeking is a part of our societal make up. Why do people jump out of a perfectly good airplane? Because it is fun and exciting. Why do people swim in the open with sharks? Because it is fun and exciting. This is perfectly acceptable and understood in our world today. Why wouldn’t seeking evidence of the paranormal be the same? All of us in the field have experienced the heart pounding, adrenalin rush of hearing the disembodied voice call your name, a door un-expectantly slamming shut, or the holy grail of “ghost hunting”, the sight of a full body apparition.

Anyone who goes to a possibly haunted location that tells you this isn’t a thrill, I would dare say isn’t being honest with themselves. Many groups who seek paranormal activity simply enjoy the thrill of the event. These teams certainly talk about it regularly, enjoy the camaraderie of those who also enjoy ‘the hunt” and are a vital part of finding evidence. But do they truly use this evidence with the intent of solving the case? For example, how often do groups of this category go to the level of comparing things like atmospheric or solar conditions with other teams that have captured the same type of evidence to find if there is a common link? They know the paranormal world exists. They have theories as to why it exists. But if the issue was honestly addressed, how many actually investigate to “discover” the truth?

Many make it a habit to go to the numerous famous locations worldwide and investigate the already well-known claims but, rarely if ever consider saving their evidence for comparison and review with evidence taken from other investigations. The term “Paranormal Thrill Seeker” should be looked at the same way others who engage in other adrenalin filled activities. There is nothing wrong with being a “Paranormal Thrill Seeker”, we all enjoy the rush. BUT, if the “thrill” is your motive, your goal, are you truly an investigator? This is a question you can only ask yourself, and ask it honestly.

Remember, an investigator is in search of the truth. The final answer revealed in that search, whatever it is, should be the goal of the investigator.

Spiritual Seeker

The term Spiritual Searcher is meant to denote those that are trying to find a personal answer to the question of life after death. The Spiritual Searcher is often one who has experienced a personal tragedy or has had a personal paranormal experience and is simply looking for the answers they need to bring order or closure to themselves. This individual has no other investigative goal but to prove to themselves the existence of the afterlife and providing proof to others is of minimal importance.

Everyone in these three categories have a place at the table in the world of paranormal inquiry. Not one is less important than the other. But the motivations of their goals are important to the field. This entire concept I have provided is surely going to create controversy.

The idea of what a “Paranormal Investigator” is has been engrained into today’s society. Much of that credit has to be given to the many shows seen on television that provide an, at times, unrealistic view of what paranormal investigation entails. When discussing this thought, I like to compare a paranormal investigation to a law enforcement stakeout. On television or in the movies, a police stakeout is an exhilarating adventure fraught with excitement and danger. The truth is a stakeout is most often a long VERY boring affair that MIGHT bring about 30 seconds of excitement and danger. The paranormal investigation is no different at all but that’s not generally what television presents to its viewers.

Paranormal Investigator

When you peel the layers of this concept away, you will find that a paranormal investigator needs to be a serious student of the question of life after death, dedicated to finding the answer. That’s what an investigator does. Because of how society has painted the term “paranormal investigator”, it is becoming increasingly difficult to understand what this means exactly. Within my own group, we even struggle with the concept at times. Despite this, we are constantly striving to improve our methods and protocols for the good of the field. But it requires work and dedication. This is the message I want to send to those who are seeking the final answer.

Regardless of which category you see yourself as part of, please understand that all are an important part to the field of paranormal research an investigation is. I just ask that you look within yourself and honestly examine the reason you do this. Share what you have learned. Seek training so that you know what you are heading into (You would never sky dive without receiving training prior to jumping would you?). Have fun with it, learn from it, find yourself in it. More importantly, be part of it.