In 1848, sisters Kate, Leah, and Margaret Fox became instant celebrities when they began communicating with the dead. Living in a house supposedly serving as the burial site of a murder victim substantiated these claims of spiritual communication, and the series of raps and knockings that could be heard in response to the girls’ questions were assumed to be coming from beyond the grave.

People from all over the girls’ hometown of Hydesville, New York came to witness the phenomenon, and soon people from all over the state and country arrived to see for themselves. The sisters became famous, holding public séances, serving as mediums between the living and dead, and playing key roles in the growing Spiritual movement. From the beginning, however, there were doubters who believed that the communication was nothing more than a hoax, and that the rappings and knockings were somehow created by the girls themselves.

Years later, Margaret made a startling confession; she claimed that the spiritual communication had been part of a scheme, and that she was responsible for the noises. Skeptics reacted knowingly, but others didn’t buy it. Believers had faith in the possibility of mediums at work and were convinced that communication between this world and the next was possible. Unfortunately for the sisters, their lives ended tragically, marred by alcohol, poverty, and depression. But their legacy lives on in the resulting Spiritual movement that they played an integral role in.

Sally Morgan (born 20 September 1951 and also known by her stage name Psychic Sally) is a British television and stage artist and author who claims to have psychic abilities.

Before Morgan did a reading for BIG BROTHER winner Brian Dowling on ITV2 in 2007, she claimed she did not know him. In fact, she had done a prior reading for him in 2005 as reported in the News of the World. Regarding this she later said in a 2008 article for The Independent that “I did it because the director told me to”.

During a show in Dublin, Ireland in September 2011, Sally Morgan was accused of receiving information about her audience members from an offstage confederate, which she then repeated in her “psychic readings”. Following a show at the Grand Canal Theatre, several callers to radio network RTE reported that they had overheard a male voice relaying information to Sally from the control room at the rear of the theatre. A caller said, “The first half of the show went really well but when the second half started we could clearly hear a man’s voice coming from the window behind us. Everything he said, the psychic would say 10 seconds later. It was as if she was having the information relayed to her.” Sally Morgan responded to The Guardian report on her website denying the involvement of all Grand Canal Theatre employees and stating that her head microphone was a one-way device.

The Merseyside Skeptics Society and Simon Singh promoted a test of Sally’s psychic abilities, set for 31 October 2011. Morgan did not to attend.

Mentalist Derren Brown states that it is possible that Morgan is being honest and not receiving hot-readings from her staff. He believes that psychics, just like your plumber and doctor, should be checked to see if they have passed their exams and their credentials examined. He hopes that Morgan will agree to be tested, and that if she passes she will work with scientists to “advance our race, help us find peace among ourselves and understand the nature of eternity, and not merely pass on bland condolences or upsetting revelations from the Other Side.”

Magician Paul Zenon writing for the Mail Online states that stage psychics use cold reading and Internet tools like Google maps to fool audiences into parting with their money. He writes “if … performers like Sally Morgan aren’t actually talking to the dead, then I think the public has a right to know. Citing “substantial damage to her reputation, as well as hurt, distress and embarrassment” Morgan sued Associated Newspapers for £150,000 over Zenon’s September 22, 2011 article.  JREF President, D.J. Grothe, writing for The Huffington Post, states that he wonders why she would sue for £150,000 when she can prove her ability by winning JREF’s, ”Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge”? “It makes one wonder if even Sally Morgan believes that Sally Morgan’s powers are real.”

In a Guardian article Simon SIngh describes an incident in which Sally Morgan gave a reading to two members of the audience, Drew McAdam and his wife Elizabeth. The reading described a man called Toby who had died in an explosion. However, prior to the show, Drew and his wife say they fed Sally this information by emailing her website and leaving notes in a box provided in the foyer for so-called “love-letters”. Toby was also a fictional character who died in an explosion in the 1970s BBC drama, Doomwatch.

 Loading ...