Sylvia Browne

{{Psychic}}
'''Sylvia Browne''' {{lived|1936|2013}} was one of the most popular, self-serving, and blatantly callous "[[psychic]]s" out there.<ref name=stopsylvia>[https://web.archive.org/web/20140206025909/http://www.stopsylvia.com/home/ Stop Sylvia Browne] was a site documenting Browne's various shenanigans.</ref> Now she is just one of  the deadest.<ref>[http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2013/11/20/famous-psychic-sylvia-browne-dead-at-77/ Famous Psychic, Sylvia Browne Dead At 77]. sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com, 20 November 2013.</ref> Browne was the leader of an allegedly [[Gnostic]] church called the Society of Novus Spiritus, based around the teachings of her [[Channelling|channeled]] "spiritual guide" Francine; she promoted both a mother and father [[God]], and claimed to teach [[Christianity]] the same way [[Jesus]] did. She publicly espoused both an [[afterlife]] (and afterlife communication) and [[reincarnation]].

==Career highlights and problems==
Browne was a regular on the now-canceled {{wpl|The Montel Williams Show|Montel Williams syndicated TV talk show}}, where she was known for claiming to speak with the dead, and famous for several notorious flameouts. Her failures included mis-predicting the outcomes of the {{wpl|Shawn Hornbeck}} case, and on the syndicated radio show ''[[Coast to Coast AM]]'', the {{wpl|Sago Mine disaster}}. Her method of "psychic" operation seems to be simple [[cold reading]].

Browne attempted to claim [[James Randi]]'s [[Million-dollar challenge | Million-Dollar Challenge]],<ref>[http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/component/content/article/3-newsflash/1404-randi-foundation-responds-to-qpsychic-nikki.html Randi Foundation Responds to "Psychic Nikki”], James Randi Educational Foundation, 6 September 2011.</ref> but after agreeing to the initial terms she made no further effort after 2001. In addition, those who consulted with Browne said that she seemed quite fond of [[nutritional supplement|lecithin supplements]] for some reason.

Due to her disproportionate fame for her cold reading ability, she managed to attract the attention of Robert S. Lancaster, an anti-bullshit writer who started a two-year exposure campaign to point out just how much of a fraud she was.<ref name=stopsylvia />

A 2010 [[Skeptical Inquirer]] article examined 115 missing person and murder cases Browne commented on, and discovered she was correct zero times.<ref>[http://www.csicop.org/si/show/psychic_defective_sylvia_brownes_history_of_failure Psychic Defective: Sylvia Browne’s History of Failure], ''Skeptical Inquirer'', Volume 34.2, March/April 2010.</ref>

{{quackbox|Throughout her career as a “psychic,” Sylvia Browne took money—under false pretenses—from people who were emotionally vulnerable. By inventing messages from or about lost loved ones, she could tarnish the true memories of these people. Sylvia’s medical diagnoses could lead people who trusted her to pursue incorrect diagnoses, waste money ruling them out, and/or ignore the advice of their own medical professionals.|<ref>[https://quackwatch.org/11Ind/browne/ Sylvia Browne: Psychic or Con Artist?] Quackwatch, 14 December 2013.</ref>}}

=="You had one job.  One. Job."==

*Browne made a spectacular mistake when she used her "powers" to gain insight into the outcome of a mining accident.  First reports suggested all but one of the miners had survived so Browne said this was not a ''"gloomy moment"'' and "I knew they would be found."  Later, when it became clear in fact all but one of the miners had been killed she changed her story and said the dead miners were crazy to report they were alive and she meant [[Cold reading#Rainbow ruse|their bodies would be found]].  Most people would consider finding bodies a very gloomy time.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110611171548/http://stupidevilbastard.com/2006/01/sylvia_browne_reveals_shes_a_hypocrite_as_well_as_a_fraud/ Sylvia Browne reveals she’s a hypocrite as well as a fraud.]; [http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,180681,00.html TV Psychic Misses Mark on Miners]</ref>
*Browne went on ''The Montel Williams Show'' to inform Louwana Miller, mother of Ohio kidnapping victim Amanda Berry, that her missing daughter was dead.<ref>[https://archive.ph/9odtg Montel: Amanda Berry Reading]. Sylvia Browne tells a mother that her missing daughter is dead. Archived from the original at stopsylvia.com.</ref> As it turns out, Berry was very much alive. According to [[Joe Nickell]], editor of [[Skeptical Inquirer]], "The [Ariel Castro abduction] is a test case for all psychics. Why didn't one psychic wake up in the middle of the night and know where they were?"<ref>[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/09/sylvia-brownes-amanda-perry-psychic_n_3240157.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular Sylvia Browne's Failed Amanda Berry Prediction Returns To Haunt Her]</ref>
*She once predicted that Bill Bradley would win the 2000 U.S. presidential election and that the [[Reform Party]] would come in second.<ref name="Predictions2000">[https://archive.ph/US3IX 2000 Predictions]. Archived from the original at www.sylvia.org.</ref> Neither event occurred.
*She predicted that she knew [[Osama bin Laden]] and [[Saddam Hussein]] were "hiding in caves."  Hussein was found in a "spider hole", which could be described as a cave, but bin Laden was hiding in a mansion, surrounded by an army base.<ref>[https://archive.ph/mcSFW Psychic Sylvia Browne's predictions come true - sort of]. Archived from the original at fraudtech.org.</ref><ref>Coast to Coast AM, [https://web.archive.org/web/20090427174723/http://www.coasttocoastam.com/show/2003/10/22 The Other Side], October 22, 2003. Saddam was captured on December 13.</ref>
*She said that Bin Laden was dead long before his 2011 death.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110513065224/http://blog.newsok.com/smokeandmirrors/2011/05/06/bin-laden-prediction-wrong-again-sylvia In 2004 Sylvia Browne wrongly reported Bin Laden Dead]</ref><ref>[https://archive.ph/y1xSC Dear Sylvia]. Archived from the original at sylviabrowne.com, 9 September 2009.</ref>
*She predicted a guilty verdict in the 2005 child molestation trial of Michael Jackson<ref>[https://archive.ph/Nshnl Page 2: Predictions: Jacko Convicted, But Blake Gets Off]. Archived from the original at msn.com, 14 January 2005.</ref> Jackson was acquitted of all charges.
*She died aged 77 and never saw it coming, having forecast that she would live to be 88.<ref>[https://archive.ph/8pip1 The 'fortune'-ate life of Sylvia Browne]. Archived from the original at sylviabrowne.com.{{quotebox|Sylvia Browne knows for certain she'll die at the age of 88. Knowing one's own expiration date would alarm most; for her it's old-hat.

"I died at 26 and came back," Browne remembered. "The other side is magnificant. Unexplainable colors, landscapes, the meadows and the mountains. When you see something that gorgeous, how do you explain that? You just can't; words are stupid when it comes to that."}}</ref>

==Runs in the family==

Browne's son, Chris Dufresne, is also in the business of psychic readings.  Browne claimed that her son's psychic abilities are equal to her own—which, to be fair, is technically true. In 2012, Browne charged $850 for a 30-minute phone reading and Dufresne charged $500 for a 30-minute phone reading.<ref>[https://archive.ph/WcFf Psychic Readings]. Archived from the original at readings.sylviabrowne.com.</ref> In 2020, Dufresne's cost for a thirty minute phone reading is $219.<ref>[https://www.sylviabrowne.com/online-booking Book a Reading]. sylviabrowne.com.</ref>

==See also==
*[[Fortune-telling]]
*[[Lisa Williams]]

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Browne, Sylvia}}
[[Category:Psychics]]
[[Category:Entertainers]]
[[Category:Shysters]]

Categories: Psychics, Entertainers, Shysters