Psychic Smackdown
PSYCHIC SMACKDOWN
PART 3 of 3
Part 1 | Part 2
GOOD EVENING LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! WELCOME TO THE PSYCHIC SMACKDOWN ARENA!
In the blue corner, we have renowned psychic medium Allison DuBois. In the red corner, famous skeptics James Randi, Ray Hyman, and the Two Percent Company. And in the silver corner - yes we have THREE competitors tonight folks! - in the silver corner, we have Gary E. Schwartz Ph.D. and former champion of Allison DuBois now reviled by both Allison and the skeptics.
Allison comes out swinging with the premier of the TV show Medium, inspired by her life as a medium, followed closely by the March release of her book Don’t Kiss Them Good-Bye. Listen to the audience cheer! Sounds like the little lady’s got quite a following.
But here comes The Two Percent Company with Allison DuBois Week: one, two, three, four, five in a row. Ouch! That’s gotta hurt.
Gary Schwartz wades in with his book The Truth About Medium only to be…DENIED by Ray Hyman with a reminder of his 2002 critique of Schwartz’ methods used in The Afterlife Experiments.
Schwartz counters with How Not to Review Mediumship Research but he’s badly injured and appears in need of a medic. Here comes Allison to give him a hand…but wait…she appears to be severing all ties with Schwartz because he wrote a book about her?
Unbelievable folks! This night is certainly full of surprises. I don’t think I’ve seen a match with such cunning and duplicity. Schwartz doesn’t seem to know what hit him.
The enemy of my enemy is apparently NOT James Randi’s friend as he darts in and out of the fray. How he can fight with one hand while holding up a caricature of Allison DuBois with the other is something to see.
Uh-oh. Allison just took a solid hit from the family of her friend Domini who say she outright lied in her book when she talked about Domini’s death. It doesn’t look good for her, folks. The skeptics are closing in.
But wait! Allison’s followers have borne her up and are carrying her away from her attackers. The crowd appears to be chanting but I can’t quite make out what they are saying. It sounds like “nothing is impossible with faith…nothing is impossible with faith.” Well, I’ll be a monkey’s uncle. True believers.
I guess that’s it folks. Allison was surely beaten fair and square but as long as she has people who believe in her she will live to fight another day. Have a good evening and come back and join us again soon!
TIMELINE OF REFERENCED ARTICLES / EVENTS
- 2001 Allison DuBois begins University of Arizona research program
- 03/2002 Schwartz’Afterlife Experiments
- 01/2003 Hyman’s How Not to Test Mediums, Critiquing The Afterlife Experiments
- 03/2003 Schwartz’ How Not to Review Mediumship Research
- 12/2004 Randi’s Another Medium Well Done
- 01/2005 TV show Medium debuts
- 03/2005 DuBois’ Don’t Kiss Them Good-Bye featuring a story about her dying childhood friend Domini
- 03/2005 The Two Percent Company’s Allison DuBois Week
- 11/2005 Schwartz’ Truth About Medium
- 11/2005 Allison DuBois severs all ties with Gary Schwartz (allisondubois.com | twopercentco.com)
- 06/2006 Randi’s Featured on NBC with charicature of Allison DuBois
- 07/2006 The Two Percent Company’s Polar Opposites featuring a letter from Domini’s sister Karen and a comment from Domini’s sister Kris
Tags: allison dubois, gary schwartz, medium, medium nbc, skeptics
Related Stories
POSTED IN: Allison DuBois

7 opinions for Psychic Smackdown
J. Clerkin-Whitcomb
Sep 26, 2006 at 10:24 pm
Big Fun! Nicely done! Where the hell are the Medium fans? We gotta do something about this. Anybody with your talent for writing and commitment to her subject should be being read and commented upon! Hey Medium Fans!! New forum here with an insightful blogger heading it up!
GET WITH IT!
Again Sheila, well done!
mariaduval
Feb 1, 2007 at 2:13 am
Yup, it’s a shame as there should have more comments right here. Medium is a great show! I think Patricia Arquette really acts well in the series as a psychic.
Sheila
Feb 1, 2007 at 10:20 am
Maria: I had only been blogging here for about a month when I posted this. I do not think Medium Dreams readers quite knew what to do with me. :) They are more comfortable leaving comments these days. Glad you found the blog!
Medium Dreams » Allison DuBois on Oprah, Part Deux
Feb 17, 2007 at 5:30 pm
[…] I just watched the Allison DuBois segment on Oprah again and several things jumped out at me. Perhaps it is because I have read both of her books, the book from the scientist in charge of her university testing, and the many blogs and forums of skeptics who think Allison DuBois is just a big old ghost-hag. (See my Psychic Smackdown post for a roundup.) […]
Witchcraft
Mar 2, 2007 at 4:39 pm
What an amazingly original concept for a post. You are right though, as long as people believe in her (after all, she has her own show, how cna she not be real) then she will live to fight another day.
Dawn
Mar 2, 2007 at 7:53 pm
I loved that, Sheila. I’m still not sure where I stand on the subject of the real Allison Dubois or psychics, but as long as Medium is on the air and Patricia Arquette is playing Allison Dubois, then I will be a true believer in the show, forever and always.
Sheila
Mar 3, 2007 at 9:08 pm
Witchcraft: “she had her own show, how can she not be real” … hahahahahahahaha, you’re funny!
Dawn: That’s what I love about escapism: TV, books, movies. Your enjoyment is not predicated on a lifelong belief in whatever the story is about. You only have to believe for the duration of the story. I just love stories.
Have an opinion? Leave a comment: