Houston TV station to interview crime-solving medium on Feb. 14

[Ladewig]

KPRC channel 2
You see the supernatural at work on this season's hottest new show, "Medium," but wait until you meet the Houston medium who's solving crimes with her psychic powers, Monday at 10 p.m.

I don't want to comment before I see it. I want to keep an open mind.

[Lisa Simpson]

I think they are running the same segment on KNBC, Los Angeles' NBC affiliate. At least, I've been seeing ads about Allison Dubois for tonight's news. I'm hoping the segment will show up on their website.

[KillerBob]

This one is local to Houston.

Judging by their website story, Ladewig, I think it's going to be even worse than you expect.

http://www.click2houston.com/entertainment/4195340/detail.html

[KillerBob]

The link was pretty much verbatim of what was said on air.

Apparently, this was her biggest hit:

A few years ago, Logan's angels showed her the murder of a young girl. They even gave her street signs and landmarks.

"I saw a red brick building, a telephone pole and a long-stemmed red rose," she said.

Logan contacted Houston police who asked her to take them to the location.

"At one point, I kept saying, 'Where are you?' and (my guide) kept saying, 'You're there. You're there,'" she said.

The girl's body was never found, but they did find the rose painted on the side of a nearby floral shop.


I can't believe they just aired that. I just remembered why I quit watching that channel's news program years ago.

I'm getting really tired of writing complaint letters... :rolleyes:

[Ladewig]

Yes, that was given as an example of helping police. Following up on the vision led to no witnesses, no evidence, no body, and no leads. She eats up limited police resources and calls it help.

What was just as bad is that the "psychic" said that many other psychics have helped the police and the reporter didn't actually contact the police department to get a response to the claim.

[Ashles]

Let's just remind ourselves what we know about the delightful Ms Dubois.
I posted this a little while ago:
Originally posted by Ashles
Having read this weeks commentary it appears that this Allison Dubois is a rather rude example of a psychic.

Firstly she rather stupidly pretends that she doesn't believe the $1 million prize fund exists or that Randi wouldn't pay it (most psychics these days at least have the good sense to just ignore the subject as it's fairly uncontentested by anyone that the money really does exist).

She is obviously new to this whole game.

She is fairly uneccessarily personal with Randi, but no big deal, I'm sure he's used to it from more eloquent people than Allison.

Let's vist her web site next:

Allison Dubois' website (http://www.allisondubois.com/default.htm)

Well here she describes herself as a research medium and criminal profiler.

Criminal profiler? Well there is some vague reference to some content in her book:

That's hardly a criminal profiler.
Plus I don't remember reading about any of these cases. Perhaps she has some links to news sites that reflect her amazing success? Oh no she doesn't.

Let's look at her book - you can't miss it - it's mentioned in huge letters on the first page.

The very title is psychologically disturbing:
"Don't Kiss Them Goodbye"

For some reason I'm getting a sense of a very aggressive and self important person who is determined to be a psychic and to hell with what lies she tells, or what psychological damage she might do by saying things like "Don't Kiss Them Goodbye".
Councillors? Greiving process? Don't bother with all that rubbish. Contact Allison for an expensive and personal reading (over the phone!)

Indeed in the Words to Inspire (http://www.allisondubois.com/wordsofwisdom.html) section of her website the only quote by her (again you won't miss it - it's the only one in bold) says

Even her inspirational words are aggressive and attacking (if rather lame)

I see she got round Gary Scwartz by talking to a dead relative of his. What an impartial observer he always turns out to be.

Finally aren't these sort of people legally supposed to have some kind of disclaimer suggesting that their readings are for advice or entertainment or something?
I don't see one here.

No, Allison is real and right and to hell with you if you think otherwise.

Does anyone else think she she seems an unusually unsympathetic and unpleasant character?

And let's not forget Stumpy's thread (http://forums.randi.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=51388&highlight=dubois) about Schwarz's 'testing' of Dubois.

Alison Dubois is the very lowest type of Psychic. The one who refuses to be tested, yet loves publicity and GETS INVOLVED WITH CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS.

It's about time we saw people like this being prosecuted for wasting police time.

And she has the cheek to write on the front page of her website:
Hi my name is Allison DuBois, welcome to my website. I belong to a new generation of mediums who are out to break old stereotypes that put a negative spin on people with mediumship abilities. I call things like I see them and I am not afraid to push the boundaries of my abilities under university research conditions. I pride myself on accuracy, consistency and easing the pain of those who have lost loved ones.
(Bolding mine)

[Lisa Simpson]

Unfortunately, I forgot to tape the segment on Allison DuBois that aired last night on KNBC. I'm hoping it will show up on either their website or their on-demand cable channel.

[Luke T.]

Originally posted by KillerBob
The link was pretty much verbatim of what was said on air.

Apparently, this was her biggest hit:

I can't believe they just aired that. I just remembered why I quit watching that channel's news program years ago.

I'm getting really tired of writing complaint letters... :rolleyes:

Don't give up the fight. Write a letter. Write to the reporter of the newspaper article. Write to the reportor of the aired program. Write to the editor.

Ask them if they contacted the police and why didn't they air the response the police had to this woman's claims. Ask them if during their pursuit of cheap infotainment ratings thrills if they ever considered the grievous insult and injury they inflicted on the family of the victim.

Be respectful, but be clear in your scorn. Shame them.

I recently wrote a similar letter to an Arizona reporter who gave Allison Dubois a glorious write-up. She let Dubois make claims and lies out the yin-yang without fact-checking any of them. So I gave the reporter a few facts to follow up on. I asked questions she should have learned to ask herself in the first week of journalism school. She probably won't follow up on Dubois, but maybe next time she won't be such a rube.

[KillerBob]

Originally posted by Ladewig
Yes, that was given as an example of helping police. Following up on the vision led to no witnesses, no evidence, no body, and no leads. She eats up limited police resources and calls it help.



What?!? You don't think this was helpful to the police?

Maybe you didn't read the quote carefully enough. She did help the police locate a rose painted on the side of, *gasp*, a floral shop!!!

I'm sure that will turn out to be the piece of evidence that the case will turn on...

[Ashles]

I hear Alison Dubois has helped clear up the mystery of where bears defaecate.

Apparently she sensed 'woods'.