What is the most ridiculous paranormal scam you know of?

Question

I believe there are a lot of unexplained phenomena, but there are certainly plenty of scams. What's the most absurd, ridiculous scam you know about? The funnier, the better!

Answer 1

What's ridiculous and absurd to me is that there are still some people who think crop circles are made by aliens, even when it's terribly easy to create one with just a board and some rope. But that's more of a hoax than a scam. The most ridiculous scam is what millionaires Sylvia Browne and John Edward are doing. It's an old, old trick but still an effective trick with a little practice (even more so with the advent of TV and video editing) and what's absurd and sad is that people are still falling for it.

Answer 2

I remember online reading about a team of women from the early 1900's who use to run a seance scam.  There are picture on line of how they would rig things to make it seem that they were talking to the dead.  They would make oozie stuff come out of their body as well as other things.  Very hard to believe that people used to fall for that stuff.

Answer 3

selling haunted artifacts on ebay or haunted dolls I like the add "Genuine haunted doll" or geniune love spells

Answer 4

John Edwards who claims to talk to the dead.  He had his own tv show and would tell people that their dead relatives approved of their new hair-dos.

Answer 5

There were people who...knowing that paranormal things were happening to me...did things to make me think other paranormal things were happening ...as a joke. These were people I trusted and admired.

Answer 6

I think it's the "reality shows"Ghost Hunters,Psychic Detectives that kind of junk.It's reminiscent of Pro-Wrestling.It's so obviously faked and exaggerated.Yet folks buy into it hook line and sinker.Pro-wrestling at least was mostly believed by kids.These paranormal shows seem to fool adults as well.People are getting rich,now that's ridiculous.

Answer 7

It would have to be ouija boards or fake psychics.

Answer 8

A former invader on his home planet of Irk, Zim (b. June 1 1993) was exiled by the Almighty Tallest for almost destroying his own home planet. His banishment sent him to Earth, a far out planet full of tall, ugly, and stupid bags of mostly water, called Humans, where he settled, unknown to the rest of Earth's population.

Zim first made himself known to the world when he assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand to trigger World War I and created the formula for New Coke soon after. When asked why he did this he simply said: “Your pathetic planet was boring me.” After triggering the First World War, crashing the stock market and giving Albert Einstein the idea for the Atomic Bomb, Zim was not seen publicly again till 2006 where he took over the planet from the reigns of George W. Bush. He ended The War Against Terror and created a dictatorship-economy based primarily on tasty, tasty dookie. Zim, according to his publicist Gir, went on a holiday with the ‘Piggies’. He returned a few days later and flew to the moon on a rocket made of flaming cheese. He discovered that the moon was, in fact, made of Cheetos.



The ruler of earth and his shady bodyguards, Almighty Tallest Red and Almighty Tallest Purple.It is rumored that Zim is actually an expiremental government  that was created by a race of giant radioactive rubber pants. When asked about these rumors, Zim dismissed them as "LIES!!! FILTHY LIES!!!" and had the Irken Fleet sweep Wyoming. FUN FACT: You just lost The Game.  (That is so cheap!) ((Damnit!! I lost!!))

Answer 9

In New orleans, I was told that they have this abandoned church where vampires used to live and that is why they boarded up the windows because the vampires are inside still. Reports show that many people have disappeared on the corner of the church and many report getting bit and showing two bite marks on there neck. But on the medical reports they showed that nothing unusual was happening and that many pf the peole self-inflicted there injuries. The worst thing is a few people truely believe this and spend tons of money on equipment to try and capture them and try to spend money to get inside the church, to only find out that the roof is banned to everyone. Vampires? please a big scam if you ask me.

Answer 10

People still believing in Sylvia Browne is ridulous.

I'd say it was sad rather than funny though.

http://www.stopsylviabrowne.com/

Answer 11

Well, this may sound like a cliche to you, but the most absurd stories would have to be about Bigfoot and the crop circles.  I watched these specials on the National Geograhic Channel and the findings seemed all bogus and f**k*d up!  Like with the crop circles, it all turned out to be someone using fancy camera tricks and computerized special effects--what a hoax that was!  lol.

Answer 12

the exploits of Harry Houdini.

Answer 13

There's this sect that believes a supernatural entity is going to come to earth and cause a huge war. The people who believe  will get saved and go to some sort of utopian afterlife and the ones who don't believe get eternal punishment.

The sect has a huge involvement in mistreatment and sexual abuse of children, of forcing people to give up their money while at the same time encouraging large families, and of teaching people that ridiculous beliefs are the given word of their deity and anyone who doesn't believe will suffer the terrible punishment.

Answer 14

I think the funniest I have seen was concerning the poltergeist that turned out to be a o'possum.  It was stealing off the back porch, cat food, gardening gloves, small kids toys(like gumby and pokey).  Of course the person would hear the noise and go out but was not able to see anything, yet these things were gone...we got him on video and still photgraphy using one of those night hunting cameras.  It was pretty funny....

One a national level, I think the most absurd thing I have seen lately was the Ghost Hunters episode at the Moss Beach Distillery.  The scam was on the business, but the thing I don't understand was why didn't Ghost Hunters research team know that the business was rigged?  I can't tell you where I read about it cause I don't remember, but I was aware of where they were going just by the trailer...I remember reading about how the owners had rigged the business with the fake features.  I lay that at the feet of the whomever should have been researching the place....

Answer 15

aw jeez too many to list.

cant ya narrow down your question a little?

Answer 16

The one that comes to mind immediately is Paranormal State.  What a load of BS.  Although that's not a money maker, it is a spread of misinformation.  Oh, and Psychic Kids too.  That show is downright abusive.

As far as paranormal money making scams go, I'd have to say anything involving regression therapy, psychic readings and especially mediums like Sylvia Browne.  That sort of work is unconscionable.