Are Psychics Real or Scam?

I had been to Psychics before just for fun, but have never been to a medium that would connect me to a loved one from the other side. I never thought about it deeply and didn’t think it was possible. But I was at a point in my life where I needed actual proof. 

My aunt had died a few weeks ago. And I crashed hard. She was my best friend, someone I could always rely on. She was there for my first day of school, my first walk, my first boyfriend, my first heartbreak, and my first day of college. And the thought of her not being there for my marriage, my first child or any of future significant events was eating me up inside. I spent weeks locked up in my room, barely eating or sleeping.

The only thing that brought me a little bit of relief was knowing that she was still out there somewhere, connected with me in some way.

Maybe it was in the form of energy, a soul bond, or maybe even just vibrations.

Unfortunately, I could not find any concrete scientific proof that such connections exist. 

The more I searched for scientific evidence or views of hardcore skeptics, the more I realized that people who don’t want to believe in the afterlife, in Psychics or in Mediums, will never ever entertain it as a possibility. No matter how much proof you give them.

However, what I found was a lot of evidence from people’s experiences. Experiences that I will share later in this article.

Even though I come from an agnostic family, I realized that I really wanted to believe in Psychics, in mediums and in a connection with my aunt that transcends the current scientific knowledge. Because otherwise, life felt meaningless for me. I found enough proof, to convince myself and silence my inner critic, in other people’s experiences. So I stopped looking for scientific proof and just decided to give it a try.

This particular Psychic Medium was highly recommended. And I can honestly say that he gave me the belief I needed to move forward with my life and process the passing of my aunt.

The things he said about my aunt could not have been known by anyone through social media, background checks or through cold reading me. The medium said that my aunt kept talking about a vineyard. She grew up in a vineyard near Finger Lakes back in the 70s. There was no way for anyone except close family members to know about that. The medium talked about a yellow blanket that was her favorite blanket. We shared it while watching so many movies on the couch. And then, they spoke about Dumbo, that was my favorite stuffed toy when I was a toddler.

A lot happened during the reading. I, of course, cried a lot. But it was cathartic. It took around an hour for the reading and by the end of it, I was sure my aunt was there somewhere. In whatever form she was there, she still cared for me. And she ended the reading saying exactly what she always told me, “You’re going to be okay my little Dumbo”. That’s what I needed to move forward with my life. I know now that she was present with me during the reading and that she is around me somewhere whenever I need her. I feel great comfort in knowing I will meet her when I pass on to the other side.

Are Psychics or Mediums Real?

For me personally, yes. But there is no scientific evidence. And it doesn’t help that there are probably tons of charlatans and con artists pretending to be psychics and taking advantage of vulnerable people. My second reading, trying to connect with my aunt using another medium, was horrendous. I could tell that the Psychic was trying to fish information out of me. Eventually, they just ended up paraphrasing what I told them back to me. Not very helpful. 

What does science say about this?

As I said earlier, there is no scientific proof that Psychic abilities are real. In fact, I feel the scientific community as a whole disapproves of Psychics and looks down upon them. That’s okay though. The truth is, the type of proof the scientific community requires is just not possible to gather. It’s because Psychics readings are so personal and they are never 100% accurate. Even the Psychic Medium who gave me closure got a couple of things wrong.

But, the good news is that a lot of people in the science community and general media are starting to appreciate the helpful effect a good Psychic reading can have on people. In fact, I have heard that some Psychologists recommend people in grief to visit a good Psychic medium. This can help them move on from the passing of a loved one the same way it helped me.

So what proof is there for Psychics to be real?

There are probably thousands of experiences of people that have proven without a doubt that there are some genuine Psychics and Mediums who can use their intuition, knowledge and their abilities to connect us with our loved ones, guide us through life, and give us information that we need (not what we want). I will list some of the most significant ones below.

How do Psychics Get Information?

They claim to get this information from extrasensory abilities. Most psychics claim to tune into our energies like radio waves and then let spirits guide them. 

Proof of Psychics and Mediums being real according to my research.

Below, you will find experiences of a lot of people that are proof of Psychic and Medium abilities that I found in my research.

1. Linda Zelik Connects With Her Son Who Died

Linda Zelik suffered from the devastating loss of her son. I can only imagine the grief and pain she went through after losing a son before his time. But she found a medium who connected her to her son and helped her come to terms with his passing on. Here’s what she said about her reading –  

“I was nervous as I walked up the steps of a nice, but unassuming home, in Sedona. Before starting. I asked if she wanted any additional information. She declined, explaining she only wanted to know what his spirit had to say. I thought to myself, She just might be the real deal.

The following two-hour session was the most amazing experience of my life! I have never been so astounded as when this woman reported detail after detail about Kevin. She described his relationship to each of us, what he loved to do, how he hadn’t been able to handle money, and how sorry he was for dying because he loved his life and that was not his intention. He explained to her about the troubled relationship with his ex-girlfriend. He also asked me not to be angry with her since what happened had been his own “stupid fault.”

During the reading, this woman repeatedly coughed, complained of shortness of breath, and of having a heavy sensation in her chest. An hour into the reading, I revealed my son had died by inhaling computer duster, causing him to asphyxiate. She offhandedly responded, “Oh, that is why I’m feeling this way,” and continued with the reading.

I would say that at least 90% of what she told me about him was spot-on. These were specific details that she could not have learned from any other source, and I didn’t give her any clues through my reactions. Needless to say, she made a believer out of me.”

She runs the open to Open to Hope foundation which helps grieving parents come to terms with the passing of their children. She is also the author of the book From Despair to Hope:  Survival Guide for Bereaved Parents.

To me, her experience is very similar to what I experienced with my aunt. And the details she goes through in her book about her son’s passing and the medium leaves little doubt for the legitimacy of mediums and their gift.

She consulted the medium called “Tara of Sedona” in Sedona, AZ who made her believe in mediums. From my experience, this medium usually has a long waiting list.

2. Elizabeth Entin has a reading that connects with her Dad

Elizabeth Entin wanted to connect with her Dad who passed away in 2015. She comes from an atheist family and never believed in anything spiritual. But after the passing of her Dad, she began looking for evidence of the afterlife and a way to connect with him.

She was probably one of the most skeptical people who went looking for a Psychic and she documents it in her book WTF Just happened.

The reading that blew her mind was her first reading from an undisclosed medium in Long Island. She was very careful before going to the reading so as to not reveal any information about her that could be used for background checks and hot reading.

According to her book, the psychic was able to guess the initial of her Dad’s name correctly. She claimed that her dad was talking about March tenth which did not relate to anything. But later, it turned out he was showing her the number 310, which was the apartment number that he lived his entire life in and often talked about at the time of his death in the hospital. She got a detail about her grandmother right which was impossible to get from social media.

There was more in her book that I won’t reveal here. But there was enough evidence for her to start believing in Psychic mediums and convinced her that she experienced her dad being present there. She later also found a lot of signs that convinced her that her Dad was watching over her.

She says,

“this woman knew things she absolutely could not have known and after that I was like you know I mean it’s so out of the realm of how like what’s possible versus impossible that it’s not like I walked away and the next day I was like oh okay she did all this I was like what was the catch and then was part of What’s led to this intense Journey because then I had to get another reading and another reading and they were varying degrees of you know believable versus not”

To me, this was a convincing enough experience because the writer Elizabeth Entin was very skeptical and her approach leaves very little room for doubts about these people having extraordinary gifts.

She recommends the medium Laura Lynn who has become quite famous and her waiting list is full. She no longer accepts new clients.

3. A Psychic Guided a CEO of Multimillion Dollars Company

Christine Holgate, the CEO of Blackmore, a supplement company, wanted to enter the Chinese market. A Psychic told her that they saw her taking a photo with the Chinese President Xi Jinping wearing green jewelery.

She wore a white dress with a green necklace to the G20 summit, and despite all odds against her, she got a photo with the Chinese president and the Australian president. The photo was used for marketing and increased the sales for Blackmore products in the Chinese market by almost 50,000% in the next two years, leading her to become the CEO of the year.

To me, this story is good evidence that some Psychics can see the future or at least get a good sense of what’s coming in the future. They use their intuition, gut feeling or whatever you want to call it. But I have seen it happen enough times to give at least some credibility to it. 

I do concede that this is not solid proof and it may also have been a case of placebo effect. Whatever it is, I find this story fascinating and it just adds to my belief in psychic abilities.

4. CIA Investigations into Psychics

CIA released an investigative report on the use of Psychics in law enforcement. You can read the full report on the official CIA website. Here are its findings – 

Eight of the police officers who used psychics stated that the psychic provided them with otherwise unknown information which was helpful

In three of these cases, missing bodies were discovered in areas described by the psychic

However, two officers reported that accurate information was provided by the psychic, but it was too general to be of assistance in the case

One officer also said he had little success and would not use a psychic again

To me, this is just another proof that there are genuine Psychics out there and fake ones. My experience with Psychics has been very similar. Some of them give extremely specific information, some give general information while some are downright wrong.

5. Everyone Has had a Personal Psychic Experience

Think about all the Psychic experiences you have had yourself. I believe everyone of us have at some point been amazed by our own intuition and gut feeling.

Were you ever thinking about an old friend only for them to call you on the same day?

Did you ever have a feeling not to take the highway only to find out there has been a terrible accident there? 

Or having a gut feeling about a person only to find out later that they had malicious intentions?

We have all had these kinds of Psychic experiences in our lives. Except, we just call them intuition or gut feelings. A lot of times they come true and we just chalk it up to intuition.

I’ve had a significant Psychic experience myself when I was a teenager. I was sleeping in the bed and woke up suddenly around 2 AM sweating, having a really bad feeling that my father is not okay. He was doing night duty at the hospital and my mother assured me that he was fine. When he came back the next day, he was extremely sad that he couldn’t save a patient who died exactly around 2 AM.

To me, these experiences are proof that we all have some sort of Psychic abilities. And that just leads to the logical conclusion that some people have more of it than others. And it also leads to the conclusion that with practice, some people can get better at it than others.

6. Well Known Psychic Incidents (Premonitions)

“Mummy, let me tell you about my dream last night,” said Eryl Mai Jones. A 10 year old Welsh school girl who lived in a coal town named Aberfan. 

“Darling, I’ve no time now. Tell me again later.”

“No, Mummy, you must listen,” she said. “I dreamt I went to school and there was no school there. Something black had come down all over it.”

A few days later, Aberfan tragedy hit which covered her school with pitch black coal debris.

This is one of the most famous cases of premonitions or dreaming about something that has not yet happened. Other cases include Abraham Lincoln dreaming of his own death, one person dreaming of RFK assasination and Mark Twain dreaming of his brother’s death.

To me, all this proves that our minds are capable of reading energies and sometimes predict the future. A lot of us do it in our dream state when our minds are working differently from when we are awake. But Psychics and Mediums can perhaps do it while they are awake because their minds are wired differently.

7. Case of Past Lives

A lot of psychics and mediums talk about your past life and what lessons you can learn from it. So while the following is not a proof of Psychics being real, it is a good case for past lives being a real phenomenon and again proof that science cannot explain everything.

James Leininger, an American child who at age two began having intense nightmares of a plane crash. He then described being an American pilot who was killed when his plane was shot down by the Japanese. He gave details that included the name of an American aircraft carrier, the first and last name of a friend who was on the ship with him, and a location and other specifics about the fatal crash. His parents eventually discovered a close correspondence between James’s statements and the death of a World War II pilot named James Huston.

The boy was examined by scientists and psychologists and a lot of what he said came out to be true. He met his old war buddies who were elders now and he could recognize most of them and could recount shared memories. He even met his elderly sister from his past life and shares enough memories that she is convinced.

The case was studied and examined by renowned child psychiatrist Jim B. Tucker. You can read his analysis over here.

To me, this is proof that we do not know everything about our minds and our connection with spirits, the afterlife or our past lives. Which makes the possibility of Psychics being real more likely.

8. Signs of Afterlife

A lot of psychics claim that you will get signs from the universe when you look for it. I have found this to be very true. For me, my aunt gave me signs in the form of the song she used to sing for me as a child. I have a fond memory of her singing “dancing in the rain” when we were both little. And I heard that song as soon as I came out of that Psychic reading in Nevada.

Elizabeth Entin, the author I spoke about earlier, also found signs in the form of a green plush toy. She wrote that she specifically asked for this sign from her dad and it was delivered to her during a visit to a group class.

But my favorite story of a sign is from this video where a girl was promised by her father that he would visit her on her wedding day no matter what. He passed away unexpectedly a year before her wedding. But he kept his promise and visited in the form of a butterfly. She immediately felt her Dad’s presence and tears start flowing. Just watching this gives me goosebumps.

@goshandong At the #wedding #scene, a butterfly landed on the bride's veil, "Dad turned into a #butterfly to send his #daughter to get #married", and the moment it landed on her body, tears #instantly #collapsed, and the bride cried until the corners of her mouth trembled. #Client: Dad died #unexpectedly three years ago, when the #temperature outside was already below #zero, and he really #came ♬ original sound – GoShandong

I know signs can be seen as wishful thinking. But to me, this just shows that our loved ones exist in one form or another in the universe. Love is the language of the universe and if anything can transcend death, it’s love.

Psychics explain it as your loved ones manipulating energy around you to give you signs. And that does make a lot of sense to me.

In the movie Interstellar, Anne Hathway’s character says this about love which kind of nails it down.

“Maybe it means something more – something we can’t yet understand. Maybe it’s some evidence, some artifact of a higher dimension that we can’t consciously perceive. I’m drawn across the universe to someone I haven’t seen in a decade, who I know is probably dead. Love is the one thing we’re capable of perceiving that transcends dimensions of time and space. Maybe we should trust that, even if we can’t understand it. All right Cooper. Yes. The tiniest possibility of seeing Wolf again excites me. That doesn’t mean I’m wrong.”

My Conclusions and explanation of Psychics being real –

I know what I provided above is not irrefutable proof of Psychics being real. But I don’t believe our souls just stop existing after we die. I believe we are more than just our bodies and our energies are connected to the universe somehow. And I believe psychics are capable of reading and interpreting those energies in ways most of us can’t.

And perhaps scientists need to do more research into this to explain it. But I know that Psychics are legitimate and real. They truly helped me at the time when no one else could help me. They have guided me when I truly needed guidance. And they have cared for me in ways I needed to be cared about.

And I have read stories of enough people being helped the same I was. If they weren’t real, they simply wouldn’t have existed in today’s society.

As to how they can do this, my only explanation is that our mind can do much more than we know. I believe some of us are born with a higher intuition or gut feeling than others. It’s not something that can be logically explained. But most of us can feel it.

And again, I agree there are a lot of fake Psychics out there since it’s not a regulated industry. But there are also genuine ones with real gifts.

Where can I find a good Psychic?

My recommendation – We have been conducting an analysis of Online Psychics where we ask our website visitors to visit Psychics and give us feedback on their experience. You can read the full analysis over here. But if you would just like the results, we found reliable and probably real Psychics at California Psychics or Purple Garden. We tested many other platforms and Psychics but these two platforms proved to be most reliable.

Other well known Psychics with a long waiting list

There are also well known Psychics who have raised in fame either due to being really real or due to being very good at faking Psychic abilities. The following Psychics usually have a long waiting list and are very expensive compared to my earlier recommendation. But if you are interested, you can look for an appointment with them.

Laura Lynn – One of the most famous Psychics. Her waiting list is currently closed.

Matt Fraser – A Television personality. Only does group readings which makes me skeptical of his abilities.

Kim Russo – A television personality. She does not do readings any longer.

Keira Elizabeth – $200 for a reading. Usually her spots are all filled.

Tracy Lee Nash – $225 for a reading. Has a waiting list of about 2 months.

Dave Campbell – $200 for a reading. Usually a long waiting list.

Fara Gibson – $600 for a reading. Usually 7-8 months waiting list.

Meaning of Common Terminologies

I’ve used some common terminologies in this article. See the meaning below –

Psychics – People who claim to have Psychic abilities. They can feel and know things about you by connecting to your energy, connect with spirits and guide you. Some may even predict the future.

Mediums – People who can connect with dead people or your loved ones. Think of it as an advanced version of a Psychic who is so attuned to their ability that they can really connect with souls. All Mediums are Psychics but not all Psychics are Mediums.

Evidential Reading – A reading where a Psychic first provides evidence of them actually having powers. They do this by telling you something about you that they couldn’t have known. Or by telling something about your loved one and your relationship with them, that they couldn’t have known (and sometimes, even you didn’t know).

Cold Reading – A technique where a person appears to know details about someone without prior knowledge, using cues like body language, clothing, and vague statements to elicit revealing responses.

Hot Reading – A method where the “reader” actually has prior knowledge about someone (often obtained secretly) and presents it as if it’s psychic insight.

Barnum Effect – The tendency for people to believe vague, general statements about personality are highly accurate and specific to them.

Is there a reliable institute that tests Psychic Mediums?

In my research, I found two foundations that do this. But I have noticed that a lot of noticeable and real Psychics do not bother with getting a certification because it’s just not worth the effort. Besides, I also found some of the Psychics that got certification from these foundations weren’t really that great.

Forever Family Foundation – A non-profit promoting the concept of life after death through grief support and education, certifying mediums via multi-step blind testing that ensures accurate, verifiable information is given under controlled conditions with no prior contact or feedback cues.
The Windbridge Institute – A research organization studying consciousness, afterlife, and psychic phenomena, testing mediums using triple-blind protocols where the medium, sitter, and experimenter are all unaware of each other’s identities to prevent bias and information leakage, focusing on accuracy, specificity, and replicability.

What is the proof against Psychic and Mediums?

Skeptics and scientists also have a point and I respect their opinion. There is a lot of evidence that can suggest that Psychic abilities are not real. But there isn’t enough evidence that discredits every Psychic experience out there.

1. Science couldn’t prove it.

A branch of science called Parapsychology has been trying to prove psychic abilities for almost 150 years now and they have always been unsuccessful.[1][2]

To me, this is just proof that Psychic abilities are extremely difficult to study and prove. 

2. The Psychic Challenge no one won

One gentleman even offered a $1 million reward for anyone who can prove their Psychic abilities, but the reward remained unclaimed and was discontinued in 2015. The psychic community calls the test too rigid and unrealistic – a claim which does hold some ground. After all, psychics tend to work with “energies”, which are very personal and their readings often don’t come true in literal ways, but what Carl Jung called Synchronicity.

3. Well known Con Artists

There have been cases of Psychic Mediums who later on revealed that they were conning the people using tricks or manipulation. This gives all Psychic Mediums a bad reputation and is often used by hardcore Skeptics as an example to label all Psychics as con artists. 

The Fox Sisters—Margaretta (Maggie) and Catherine (Kate)—rose to fame in 1848 in Hydesville, New York, claiming to communicate with spirits through mysterious “rappings.” They said these knocks were messages from the dead, sparking the Spiritualist movement and attracting large audiences to their séances. For decades, they toured the United States, convincing many that their abilities were genuine and inspiring other would-be mediums to follow suit .

In 1888, Maggie publicly confessed that the rappings were a hoax, explaining they created the sounds by cracking their toe joints against wooden floors and furniture. She demonstrated the technique on stage before an audience of 2,000 in New York. Although she later recanted her confession, their credibility never recovered. The episode remains one of the most famous examples of fraudulent mediumship, illustrating how stagecraft, psychology, and belief can combine to create convincing illusions.

You can read more about their case on Wikipedia and History.com.

To me, it just proves that there are a lot of fake Psychics out there that are probably conning people. But it doesn’t disprove that there are genuine Psychics with real gifts.

4. Hardcore Skeptics use Cold Reading/Hot reading as the only explanation

Then there are hardcore skeptics out there who are extremely skeptical about everything Psychics or Mediums do. The truth is, if you are extremely skeptical, you will find holes in almost any Psychic reading story. Especially if your mind is closed off to the possibility of this being real.

I understand where they are coming from. But almost every skeptic’s argument is that the Psychic used Cold Reading, Hot reading or the Barnum effect during the reading.

I agree that it’s possible. But to me, this does not negate the fact that some readings are actually evidential and provide a lot of clarity, and sometimes closure to people going through a hard time.

I can honestly say that my life changed for the better with Psychics on more than one occasion. And there are millions of people like me all over the world.

5. Monetary Gain as an Incentive

One argument that is often used against Psychics is that they do this for monetary gain. And this invites a lot of scammers and con artists into this field.

I agree with this statement because it is true. I have had my fair share of encounters with fake Psychics. But if you are educated about things like cold reading, hot reading and Barnum effect; then it’s very easy to spot the fake ones.

The other argument people make is why would genuine Psychics charge money when they had been provided this gift for free?

And the truth is, genuine Psychic readings take up a lot of energy. In fact, good Psychics don’t do more than a couple readings in a day because it exhausts them. So it just makes sense to charge money for something that takes up a lot of your energy and you are genuinely putting in the effort and time for your clients.

It is true that some Psychics charge a lot of money. But I have noticed that they only do it when they get very famous. There are still genuine and reasonably priced Psychics that can be found online and I explore them in this article.

6. What does an open minded Skeptic think of Psychics?

Kevin, the owner of this website, is an open minded skeptic. He doesn’t believe in Psychic abilities like me, but he believes that Psychic can be helpful. I think his views would be a good addition to this article – 

“Wanting to believe in a psychic is an innate need. A psychic or a Shaman is one of the world’s oldest professions. They existed before therapy, before psychology, and even before the English language.

I am a skeptic. And at one point of time, I used to laugh and dismiss anything related to a psychic reading. I used to put them in the same boat as spellcasters, witches, or black magic. Things that have absolutely no place in modern society and something I hate personally.

It’s because in my industry, that is the breakup coaching industry, spellcasters, priests and black magic practitioners are notoriously famous for scamming people. I’ve known quite a few people scammed by this which prolonged their breakup suffering more than necessary.

But psychics tend to be a little different from these charlatans and scam artists. And after hearing from my readers and clients and their experiences with them, I have come to realize that they can be helpful. This article is based on my conversations with hundreds of readers and clients who went to a psychic in their times of stress, along with my personal experience with psychics and my experience with human psychology – especially during a breakup.

As a result, I have started seeing psychics as more of a spiritual guide, rather than a prognosticator. A guide that can help you find a way forward in life. A guide that can help you choose a better path for yourself. A guide that can use spirituality and your innate need to listen to what a prognosticator says, to your advantage.

If that’s the way our minds are programmed to be, might as well go with the flow and use it to your advantage, right?

In the breakup industry, you will find charlatan coaches who would promise their “Secret Psychological Tactic” will guarantee an ex back. The same way, in the spiritual industry, there are spell casters who promise that “Black magic spell” will make their ex fall in love with them again.

But the breakup industry has some legit coaches who help people through a breakup. I know because I am one of them. I offer coaching and courses which have glowing reviews on the internet.

I think that’s the same with psychics. There are legit spiritual guides who probably use their intuition to guide their clients. Some of them claim to use energies, others claim to be clairvoyant, while some just use tarot cards.

And regardless of what technique they are using, I think the legit ones use some kind of intuition, a lot of empathy, maybe a little bit of cold reading and their knowledge of spirituality to guide you.

And in my opinion, that’s legit.”

Conclusion

Psychics are real. But there are a lot of charlatans and con artists out there that will take advantage of someone who wants to believe. You can avoid them by educating yourself about cold reading, hot reading and other tactics that they use. Once you know about these tricks, it’s very easy to spot them.

If your heart doesn’t want to believe in Psychics, you will find plenty of evidence against Psychics being real. In fact, I have already written down plenty of evidence against Psychics in my article above.

But if your heart wants to believe in Psychics, the experiences and the evidence I provide above in this article should be enough to silence your inner critic and let yourself feel connected to the universe.

If you look for a Psychic, you will eventually find a genuine Psychic that you will resonate with. I’ve also done a lot of analysis of different Online Psychics and found some of them to be genuine. You can read my analysis here.