Council pays psychic for exorcism

[vbloke]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/7240405.stm


A psychic was paid £60 by a council to rid a County Durham home of a "poltergeist" after a family became "distraught" by unexplained events.Oh dear.

[DrS]

And the full fee was 120, it seems.

A council spokesman said it funded half the psychic's fee as it was the most cost effective solution.

They say it doesn't reflect their own beliefs, but the tenants clearly believed ... so that's alright then. >:-)

[brodski]

Hmm. Interesting the legalities of this payment are somewhat dubious, I'll have to do some investigating…

[benjus]

You beat me to it - I was thinking of posting this...

Interesting that the psychic involved, Suzanne Hadwin, has so far escaped the attention of BadPsychics and this site despite having several stories about her on the interweb. Maybe it's time for that to change.

[Admin]

Suzanne will probably appear on BadPsychics as if by magic. ;D

This is quite possibly a ruse by the family to get the council to move them. It's a measure that's been used before.

[Admin]

The story's in today's Sunderland Echo - I'll scan it if anyone wants it.

[Fiona]

Wouldn't the church do it for free?

[bindeweede]

Here is the local ITV News coverage.

http://www.itvlocal.com/tynetees/news/?void=151258

[chillzero]

So, no photos of that handprint that was burned in her shoulder?

(those demonstrations of a slamming door, and flying clothing are hysterical - I'm glad they clarified for me what that might have looked like. ::))

That interview with the mother is just sad - she clearly needs help.

For some reason it stops playing at the point the council member is explaining the cost benefits, so I can't comment further. :sad:

[DrS]

I don't understand why the council argue that they would have been obliged to provide temporary housing if the family had left the property as they were apparently "threatening" to do. I thought this obligation only devolved on councils if their constituents were unintentionally homeless, not if they vacated from choice.

It seems then that the council agreed that any departure would be forced by the "presence", which rather dents the denial that the payment reflected the tenants' beliefs, not the council's own.

[Fiona]

They have a duty to provide temporary accommodation for vulnerable people who become intentionally homeless: to give them time to find something else. Vulnerable people includes families with young children. :smiley:

[bobdezon]

Suzanne will probably appear on BadPsychics as if by magic. ;D

This is quite possibly a ruse by the family to get the council to move them. It's a measure that's been used before.


Funny you should say that, Ive been doing some legwork as it were. O0

[SkepticReport]

Maybe it's time for a little SkeptiVism.

What would happen if skeptics in that area also wanted an exorcism in their house, paid for by the council?

If the council agrees, then you open up for a torrent of public spending on a superstitious belief. That's one heck of a point.

If the council doesn't agree, then the council does believe that such exorcisms work, but you have to be a believer to get it funded. That's also one heck of a point.

The only way they can get out of that is to admit they made a mistake. And that should be the goal: Not to criticize the council, but to prevent people from pointing to this as an example of official validation of psychics.

[dashwood]

do exorsisums work on chavs, you can see where i going with this???

[bobdezon]

http://badpsychics.com/badghosts/modules/news/article.php?storyid=83

[SkepticReport]

Medium Ms Hadwin said she used her "gift" to isolate the spirit in one room and then exorcise it from the house.

"I went into the house and there was a horrible atmosphere," she said.

"I could feel the entity around all the time. He was bombarding the house and the whole family - they were terrified.

"I put down a circle of salt, asked the family to be present and I have now sent him on his way."
Source (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/7240405.stm)She went into the house? Not at first:


Mrs Fallon, 23, moved into the three-bedroom council house in Peterlee, County Durham, with her husband Martin and two children in June last year.

They first contacted "ghostbuster" Suzanne Hadwin in December.

"She sent her spiritual guide to the house," Mrs Fallon said yesterday. "Me being me, I was waiting for a knock at the door.

"We got a call back later that night from Suzanne who said there was a male in the house. She said he was really angry and that he was after my youngest daughter Amy who is only 16 months old.

Source (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=513695&in_page_id=1770)That is not "helping". That is spreading agony, fear and terror.

[FarSideOfTheMoon]

She went into the house? Not at first:



That is not "helping". That is spreading agony, fear and terror.


Good sales technique though.

[bobdezon]

yes but did you like my picture of ms Fallon? :undecided:

[Legaleagle]

From the article

Now, through the power of prayer, holy water and protective salt circles, Mrs Fallon says she and her family have finally been left in peace.

What gets me about these spiritual/psychic bods is that we never hear any convincing explanation as to what the philosophy behind their actions amounts to. Which God was she praying to? How did the water come to be holy? What was the thinking behind the salt?


If this God has assisted in getting rid of this demon-thingy, then we have a prime facie case for the existence of the God in question and a demonstration of its powers. However, nothing further is heard on the subject of this supposedly powerful intervention on earth of a cosmic power, which if true has implications for all of us.:cheesy:




Fiona wrote:


Wouldn't the church do it for free?


Probably. They may well have been asked, looked into it and concluded that there was nothing going on. Whether you love or loathe christianity the Priests do tend to be guided by a code of ethics.


Furthermore, the church would at the least make an attempt at explaning its philosophy and reasons for acting in the way it does in cases where it performs exorcism (however silly you may ultimately find that reasoning/philosophy to be), which is more than you will ever get out of any psychic.