Customer Reviews

Psychic Mafia

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3 star:		(3)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

Lamar Keene was a midcentury American psychic who used trickery and deceit to finance his extravagant lifestyle. At one point, he gave it up, and found strength from a friend (a Mason!) to expose his former friends and colleagues as frauds. The writing is a bit sensationalistic, but it matches its subjects well. Learn about ectoplasm, spirit messages, rapping, and - God help us all - "spirit sex." If you're a believer, this should only entrench your belief; if you're a skeptic you won't learn much. For those of us paranormal fence-straddlers, though, The Psychic Mafia is as eye-opening as its subjects claim to be. Thanks, Lamar!

Not only enlightening, but fun, too. The author's experience as a fake psychic are instructive to anyone interested in the supernatural -- and show just how easy it is to be taken in by a clever con man. The "Psychic Network" working across the nation to lend credence to psychic claims was a true revelation to me. How much easier it must be to perpetrate such frauds in the current computer age!

A classic!

For years, when it was out or print, those in the know had been searching for those few rare copies of this book. (My local used book store once had me third on the list of people to notify on the off chance one showed up!) Now its back in print. If you are interested in the subject of how fortune telling and spiritualist effects can be used to defraud, cheat and steal this is MUST reading.

Peter Huston, author of "Scams from the Great Beyond."

A scream right until the last chapter, when Keene disappointingly reveals that he has now turned to God. As such, 'The Psychic Mafia' is strikingly similar to John Anderson's personal expose 'Psychic Phenomena Unveiled'; he too turned from ouija to Jesus, making one wonder just what is missing in these people's lives that they have to have something, anything, mystical to believe in. Nevertheless, Keene keeps the interest up by steadily revealing the secrets behind so-called spirit phenomena. The seance concept is rather dated now; perhaps before too long we will be treated to similar admissions by today's high priests of crackpotism, the channelers.

I feel a little bad for enjoying this book so much -- once I picked it up and started reading, I honestly couldn't put it down. This is the story of a real "spirit medium" who reveals all of the gory details behind his rise to fame and fortune. Unlike many books written about this topic, the medium doesn't cloak his methods in mystery -- if he discusses a miraculous event, he'll tell you exactly how it was performed. It's astounding how simple the trickery really is... and yet how easily it's accepted by people as the real thing.

My qualms, of course, come from knowing that the methods detailed in this book are still being used 30 years later to dupe people. While this winds up being a bittersweet tale of redemption and regret in the case of Mr. Keene, his general portrayal of the psychic industry reveals a group of people who are so cynical that they will do anything to make a dollar, even if it means preying upon the heartsick and the innocent. What's worse, he shows that many of the people who buy into this nonsense are likely to suffer from "true-believer syndrome," where even after they're told that it's all a sham, they'll still choose to believe. That's frightening.

Overall, though, I'd say this is a must read for anyone who's even slightly interested in learning how easy it is to deceive others. Though the book is fairly short, it includes an extensive bibliography and a large amount of detail. A good follow-up book that talks about spiritualism's roots is Jim Steinmeyer's "Hiding the Elephant: How Magicians Invented the Impossible and Learned to Disappear."

Before reading this book I had no idea there were such things as spiritualist camps or that people paid exorbitant amounts of money to attend them. I also had no idea that human depravity could extend so far as to blatantly take advantage of people they way the frauds described in this book do. M. Lamar Keene does a great job of exploring the psychology of the psychic fraud, having been one himself for many years. His journey through the conspiratorial world of psychic graft is a fascinating one, and after reading this you'll probably come away thinking, "Psychics aren't in league with devils after all. They're devils themselves!" Whether this applies to all psychics is anybody's guess, but the message is clear: In the psychic world, you're much more likely to be a victim than a "client".

I have read thousands of books in my life. This one takes the cake. You'll find yourself engrossed in the macabe. Easy, light reading - but packed with a punch. I personally have an autographed copy of this book and wouldn't give it up for the world. Its sealed in plastic - airtight. I purchased this latest paperback for day-to-day reminders of what goes on in the seance room. Be prepared, you'll learn about the so-called "other-side."

Wonderful book about mediums from the last century. Goes into explicit detail how things are shown to apparently seem real to the gullible, which includes all financial classes of people. Naturally, he got much heat from the fraud artists to keep quiet exposing them, since those phony mediums feared their loss of power over those victims. It also explained a brief history of psychic shows going back to the 1800's.

Read this confession before engaging any so-called psychic! The author's testimony is a rare-find in a world of tricksters, scammers and criminals who take advantage of others at every opportunity. This book reveals that the dark underworld of "psychics" and exposes certain personalities for who they really are. Psychics are never what they claim to be. Don't be conned by the next con who advertises herself as a pretty face "psychic". The only thing they're reading is the amount of cash in your wallet!

The publisher should be thanked for reprinting this out-of-print book.

Interesting, but begs for confirmation by the end. Not very well written, but good enough to finish. An interesting consideration but unsatisfyingly unconfirmed. Examples, and bibliography much too old.