LOST IN SUMMERLAND – AT THE WORLD’S LARGEST GATHERING OF PSYCHICS AND MEDIUMS TWO BROTHERS CONFRONT A PAINFUL SECRET

By Barrett Swanson

Commentary by Charles Sulka

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Interesting update on the state of affairs in America’s New Age Movement, ostensibly written from the perspective of a skeptical intellectual. The writing is certainly polished — the man makes good use of his Thesaurus, and his prose is mellifluous. There are vignettes galore to go along with some fascinating anecdotes. It is captivating to hear how this man, who does his best to portray himself as an impartial observer, describes the spiritual meanderings of the diverse groups represented at this annual gathering of psychics and astrologers.

As in all things spiritual, there exists the subtle danger of being deceived … but this writer avoids giving so much as a hint of the threat from the demonic, as such concerns exist among Christians (or even God-fearing non-Christians, for that matter.) One cannot discern a monotheistic worldview even as a possibility from anything this writer has to say here.

I think this piece is probably one of the most masterful examples of deception ever written. The story begins with a depiction of the advent of the Spiritualist movement in America in the 1840s, explaining how a trio of enterprising (read ‘conniving’) young women, the Fox sisters from Wayne County, New York, duped a number of people, including some prominent individuals, and an entire congregation of Quakers, into believing they could communicate with the spirits of the dead. The sisters used various tricks to create rapping and thumping sounds in darkened rooms during seances, pretending that these sounds were made by spirits attempting to communicate. Many were fooled — the occult holds a particular fascination for fools. Through widespread public performances, the girls achieved no small degree of fortune and fame; two of the sisters later became prominent in fortune-telling and spirit channeling, making a good living from the rubes.

At one point, Spiritualism literally swept the country, with copycats springing up across the nation. The author makes it sound like this was the beginning of a epistemological reawakening, but in reality it was more hype than anything else. One need only read the second paragraph of the Wikipedia entry on the Fox sisters and the Spiritualist movement to learn than the sisters eventually admitted that their act was nothing more than a hoax. They died in shame, disgraced, in abject poverty.

But the writer never mentions this; we are never told how the story ends, or the fate of these spiritual con artists. The reader is very cleverly kept in the dark about the sad ending of the pitiable sisters’ dabbling in the occult. This should be our first clue that we are being deliberately misled by an adept, an expert manipulator of words and ideas.

The story is a set-up, a trap for the unwary. The writer presents us with (only) two possible outcomes: (a) a vague, indeterminate conclusion of mysteries and mysticism awaiting further confirmation, or (b) an affirmative conclusion where the claims of the paranormal are firmly established. As one would expect, answer (b) is what the writer delivers. From the beginning, it is clear that the third possibility — the admission that objective analysis reveals that all this occult mysticism hocus-pocus is nothing but bunkum — is not an option. It is a rigged game, with the writer’s bias leading us to an inevitable conclusion that supports his worldview. It’s all very slick.

While an interesting read, there is nothing of importance here. The story is more of a deep dive into the personal lives — and psyches — of two brothers, portrayed through a masterfully written exposition of the trials and traumas of their tortured lives. There is no pretense of normalcy; both men are depicted as walking wounded, traumatized, injured (both physically and mentally), confused, depressed, even suicidal. This technique, known as baring one’s soul, works well. Somehow it all seems more believable, the writer’s words more honest, because of the revelations the author gives us about the dark state of their souls. This creates a bond between writer and reader — a bond of trust.

The rhetorical device the writer uses here is to gain the reader’s trust by baring one’s soul. In this way, the writer conceals the trap that has been laid for the unsuspecting reader. Swanson is a gifted writer, that is apparent. This article may be BS … but is very cleverly crafted BS.

But that does not make it true, or real. The world of the occult is nothing but con artists, liars, and frauds. The best that could ever be said about psychics, astrologers, or fortune-tellers is that they are fools. The ‘science’ behind astrology, numerology, prognostication, and the other occult practices is bogus. That is, if any claim to a scientific basis for such practices is made at all; usually, the basis for their ‘powers’ is said to be some form of magic, which is far more difficult to disprove.

The writer tells us that (for some obscure reason) he does not use real names for the practitioners of the occult that are featured so prominently in his story. This makes no sense, as these people seek recognition and publicity, as it is free advertising. Furthermore, the reader is given few facts that can actually be checked, and the few historical details the writer does give us (such as the vignette of the Fox sisters) are incomplete, inaccurate, apparently intended to deceive. In the end, the reader is left with the impression that the whole thing is probably a confabulation, a masterful work of fiction mixed with facts designed to delude gullible readers.

There is too much here that cannot be checked … and much of what can be checked, doesn’t check out.

So, what is the point? Are we to entertain the notion that it might be true … at least some of it? (I assure you, all claims related to the future being discernible from the alignment of the planets are bogus.) Even if some people can mystify with supernatural powers and magical thinking, God’s warnings about dabbling in the occult are still valid. It is essential to mankind’s survival that our frame of reference be a reality-based worldview. If we ever should come to the point where human beings perceive their reality through magick and illusion — or just plain stupidity — it will be the end of the human race. This is not a joking matter. This is why God commanded that witches (occultists and fortune-tellers of various stripes) be put to death.

I understand why the Lord commanded that witches be put to death. It really is the right way to deal with the problem, even if it is a practical impossibility. Besides, the death penalty is a bit extreme for what usually is little more than the crime of stupidity, almost always in combination with cupidity, the prospect of easy money through fraud and deception. It really should not be that difficult to limit the damage these people can do. It is only necessary to outlaw the practices of these occultists, and forbid the teaching of such nonsense, especially to children.

We need to build a hyper-linked database of occultist frauds and psycho-kinetic con artists (“Wikiflakes” or maybe “Wikikooks”) so that we can ensure that those who dabble in the occult are kept out of contact with children and gullible individuals. It is of paramount importance that occultists, psychics, astrologers, fortune-tellers, spiritualists, mystics, and other delusional individuals never be allowed to serve as public officials or hold any position of influence, power, or authority. Taking it further, we need to put it in the constitution that American society be reality-based.

To accomplish this, we need to re-think the role of religion in America. America has become a disgrace, a threat to the entire human race. America has become the Great Satan, the modern-day Babylon, the Kingdom of the Cults, with false prophets spreading lies from television screens and astrologers and perverts running the government. It is important that we put an end to these delusional con artists hiding behind the facade of religion and the veil of official secrecy.

(chs 01-19-2020 1215 -0500 / 06-14-2020 1407 -0500)

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