I See… Murder!

It’s been a busy couple of weeks! Tons of rain, work, and research for my writing.

I finished my research on private investigators. Well, there’s ALWAYS more research that can be done. Maybe it’s better to say I stopped my research on private investigators for now. I look forward to some in-person visits.

This weekend I started my research into psychics who have helped in real criminal investigations. Within minutes I noticed an interesting detail. Between the three sources, I found to start with (2 articles and a television series) the names of psychics overlaps. A few names showed in all three sources, some only in two of my initial sources. Plus, a first glance showed this to be an exceptionally small group. So, I decided to do a general search for psychics, and wow, what a difference! Not only was the overlap practically nonexistent, the large number of results returned was staggering! One website I visited boasted no fewer than 431 psychics you can pay to guide your future! A different site after a quick browse has 466 psychics available to discuss your love life. The same site listed only 18 psychics who offer assistance with missing persons and/or pets.

Another interesting difference was the names. Pick any random call-a-psychic site and you’ll find names like Psychic Sally and James the Foreseer (totally made up, if you find them it’s a total fluke) and relative anonymity. While the psychics who keep popping up in my research already list full names, cities they lived in, cases they’ve helped with. Videos, interviews, newspaper articles, and books they’ve written. Information galore!

Psychics have been involved in some pretty big cases: Son of Sam, Caylee Anthony, Patty Hearst, and The Hillside Strangler, just to name a few.

The psychics I’ve already found who have helped solve crimes have intriguing careers, too. I only say intriguing because when most people hear psychic, it’s a knee-jerk reaction to think they’ve set up shop in an old house on a hill, incense heavy in the air and a shingle out front inviting you in to know your future. But these people are ministers, nurses, and professors just to name a few.

Research into this subject is definitely interesting and keeping an open mind is a necessity. Sometimes I catch myself leaning over my computer reading avidly and exclaiming “Wow!”. Other times, I’m rolling my eyes and saying “Give me a break!”

My protagonist, while a psychic herself, doesn’t advertise herself as such and is definitely a skeptic. I can’t help but wonder if most psychics are natural skeptics of others. It’s got to be hard to be a professed psychic and have to deal with the split reactions to your ability. This is not a subject people are unopinionated about. The response will be either “Wow! Tell me more!” or “Give me a break! Quick, tell me what I’m thinking!”

I’m enjoying this research as it allows me to walk the fine line between skeptic and awe.

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