Less than 24 hours after I left a post on the Magic Cafe's escapology forum, asking if someone could escape from flex-cuffs when secured a la David Thompson, one escape artist reports successfully accomplishing the maneuver.
The escape artist in question, Roslyn Walker, has a Web site here. He is described as "specialising in DEATH DEFYING ESCAPES, HIGH IMPACT JUGGLING, SIDESHOW LUNACY and MAGICAL COMEDY." Twenty-six years old, he lives in the UK.
Here's what he wrote in the forum:
HA HA HA HA!!!!!!
Got it!!
This is great.
No gimmicks, no worries... just did it at home.
The secret is revealed in the photo of the medium sat in the chair.
I think its a cool escape... but that's what it is, an escape. I'm gonna work on it and use it myself
Add some other bits and it'll be something that could play quite huge.
I think I'll even do it full view
Naturally I would love to see him do it in full view.
The "photo of the medium sat in the chair" is in this article.
Another participant in the discussion, Jari, adds:
Ros is right. No gimmicks. I thought it reading Sauropods first post. Picture makes thing clear. There's even two ways to escape. There would be good chance to Ros make some publicity with this case.
Two ways - count 'em, two - to escape! ("Sauropod" is me, by the way.)
And what's that about "publicity"? Ros writes,
He's [i.e., David Thompson] only doing a flippin' UK tour!!!
AND its gonna be during October!
Now, how can I get the most out of this?
I've not done any major publicity before, so if anyone has any ideas please help me
Someone advises,
First, you find his schedule. Then, you contact the newspapers in the towns he's playing. It's reasonably certain that at least one town will have somebody who bites. It'll take some talking, but if you can expose him before he hits a town, you'll be able to sit back and chuckle. It won't stop the shuteyes from believing, but it could raise some fun problems for him.
Be prepared to do a reading or two, at the event. But figure a way to expose that too, without giving it away. It'd be nice if this guy went home with less money than his plane ticket cost.
Ouch. Another escape artist volunteers,
hi Ros we are fairly close may be we could tag team him?
I have to say, if Victor Zammit was ticked off at me before, he's probably even more unhappy now. But why should he be? If it's a trick, it needs to be exposed. Besides, he's the one who keeps throwing out that $500,000 challenge, like Gary Hart daring the media to follow him around. (Some of you are old enough to get that political reference.)
I hesitated about posting this because I hate to give David Thompson a heads-up. But I already said I would be asking this question on the Magic Cafe forum, so the cat was out of the bag. Anyway, I'm hoping it's too late for him to make any changes in his touring plans.
In any event, if he does make any changes, it will be clear evidence - no matter how he spins it - that he is afraid of being found out.
---
Update. I received a private message from Roslyn which he gave me permission to quote. Here it is, in full:
In case you haven't checked your thread on medium David Thompson I've cracked it and have discovered a method that makes escape possible from ungaffed chair, using ungaffed zip ties and it does NOT use an assistant or stooge of any kind.
I obviously have no idea if this is what he's actually doing, but rest assured it would definately be possible to recreate his seance without the need to use any form of mediumship or other psychic or spiritual phenomena.
Feel free to quote me on this if you want to. I'm planning a little press release right now.
Roslyn
Were Zammit a conscientious and capable investigator of these phenomena, this is the kind of preparatory work he'd have done BEFORE his very first sitting with Thompson. Now I think his reputation is so pinned to Thompson that I don't think he's capable of withdrawing anything, at least not humbly!
Expect many messages from the great beyond from "William" informing us that the "energies" are now all wrong and that things will have to be scaled back yadda yadda yadda...
Posted by: Darryn | September 13, 2007 at 02:13 PM
Good work, Michael, if he is indeed a fraud as suspected I hope he goes down in flames, he's nothing more than a liability now, Vic will find out the hard way.
And if it all comes to pass, it is significant that the impetus for the debunking came not from the usual protagonists but from the "woo-woo" camp, proving yet again that plenty of us are quite capable of being critical and skeptical of alleged paranormal phenomena when it's called for.
Posted by: Markus Hesse | September 13, 2007 at 03:35 PM
I've updated the post with a note from Roslyn.
Posted by: Michael Prescott | September 13, 2007 at 04:40 PM
I have once again offered Mr. Zammit a chance to address some of these criticisms and accusations on my online, radio show, AfterlifeFM.
Mr. Zammit has repeatedly turned down my offers based on my "inappropriate" imitations of voices heard in the David Thompson séances. So everyone is clear on this, I have offered to apologize for any insult or injury my imitations may have caused, but I stand by the assertion that anyone with some skill of mimicry could produce voices that, under the same circumstances of the séances conducted by the Circle of the Silver Chord, be perceived to be that of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Louis Armstrong, etc.
To Mr. Zammit, Mr. Thompson and any of his supporters, I encourage you to step up to the podium and address these criticisms head on.
Remember, this challenge is not being directed by a group of "closed-minded skeptics and debunkers;" we are psi-friendly, science-loving amateur researchers who see it as our duty to the study of consciousness survival, to defend truth and reason, even at the expense of sacrificing one of our own.
"Truth fears no trial" - proverb
Posted by: Marcel Cairo | September 13, 2007 at 05:06 PM
Regardless of whether the protocol can be faked, there's still evidence purported by sitters, like Camilla and others, which provides evidence of supernatural occurrences.
But what you are doing, Michael, is turning up the heat. I don't discount physical mediumship, so I still give David a tiny bit of room in my mind for plausibility. But, the heat has to be turned on or else he'll always stay in the frustrating state of ambiguity. The best mediums are the ones that have survived even the hardest ridicule. Let's see how David holds up.
Posted by: Cyrus | September 13, 2007 at 06:37 PM
More good work, Michael. Marcel's quoted proverb is utterly appropriate, particularly in this instance. As far as the restraints go, I'm still in favor of my duct tape idea. Mr.Zammit seems restrained from responding on Marcel's program. Could that be due to "verbal" duct tape?
Posted by: Kevin | September 13, 2007 at 08:27 PM
While there is a tiny possibility that David Thompson is a "real" medium, it seems increasingly unlikely that this is the case.
If you go to the official Circle of the Silver Cord website (http://www.silvercordcircle.com/phenomena/Phenomena_30sep2003.pdf) you can see photos of what is claimed to be ectoplasmic emissions coming from the intrepid Mr. Thompson. These were, as the site states, taken in 2003 in red light.
In the interim between then and now (four years!) there have not been any more photos. (Never mind that the photos that they do have look extremely fake.)
If Thompson could stand to be photographed in red light with ectoplasm that one time, then surely he could get some more recent, higher resolution photos that could be analyzed by all of us "closed-minded debunkers."
I guess the point is that this is just one of many, many problems with the whole Zammit/Thompson situation.
Posted by: Nate | September 13, 2007 at 08:37 PM
Sorry, the link I posted is wrong.
Go to:
http://www.silvercordcircle.com
Then click on "Phenomena", then "Ectoplasm photographs in red light."
Posted by: Nate | September 13, 2007 at 08:39 PM
This is needed it has come to my attention over the last twenty years that beliefs can overwhelm the rational mind. And both the atheist and the religious and indeed all of us can be affected the same way by this condition of my belief is valid and truth.
I sincerely hope that these séances are proven to be valid as this will help to validate William Crookes as I feel he may have been falsely accused for his efforts to find that hidden energy that can cause physical manifestations.
We humans will grab and believe almost any thing to support our materialistic paradigms just as sitters will sometimes believe anything to support their paradigms. This I suspect is especially true if someone is in grief. I saw a psychic read a couple recently on TV and they had lost a son. The reading was a sham and they bought in lock stock and barrel. I did not detect one hit.
I still believe there are certain types of night goggles that do not emit dangerous rays or whatever that could help to validate these séances. Some will never believe in spite of the evidence.
Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof I suspect. Let me grey tape Thompson that would do it (kind of could have an accomplice) and put fluorescent strips on the grey tape with several wax seals. What would the world be without grey tape?
Posted by: william | September 14, 2007 at 03:43 AM
I would say all claims require proof... extraordinary or ordinary lies in the taste of teh pudding...
To me it could still go eitehr way, cause we don't understand the mechnaism enough to frame protocols of testing...
and for the reecord it the woo-woo folks are the ones who have constantly strengthed the protocols... the pSkeptics just keep taking silly potshots...
Posted by: Satya | September 14, 2007 at 07:37 AM
I would say all claims require proof... extraordinary or ordinary lies in the taste of teh pudding...
To me it could still go eitehr way, cause we don't understand the mechnaism enough to frame protocols of testing...
and for the reecord it the woo-woo folks are the ones who have constantly strengthed the protocols... the pSkeptics just keep taking silly potshots...
Posted by: Satya | September 14, 2007 at 07:39 AM
Satya,
Not fully understanding the mechanism for how consciousness survives or communicates is true, but that has nothing to do with setting up rigorous protocol for testing mediums.
There are so many errors and mistakes at play in the protocol set up by the Circle of the Silver Cord, that nothing that comes from those séances can be taken seriously.
I cannot name one respected Psi researcher who has taken any of Victor Zammit's or David Thompson's claims seriously. In fact, for the last 5 or so years, no one has ever taken David Thompson seriously at all.
David Thompson is an embarrassment to consciousness studies. As a medium devoted to the science of consciousness survival, I dream of the day when charlatans and frauds like David Thompson are only a footnote in some history book.
Posted by: Marcel Cairo | September 14, 2007 at 11:26 AM
Michael i wonder what you think of artifical intelligence advocates they got a toy called zeo a boy there hoping in a few years to get him to answer questions and display the human emotion love.
Posted by: Leo MacDonald | September 14, 2007 at 11:29 AM
One flaw in the escape theory is that flexi-cuffs make a fairly loud and unmistakable noise when they are closed {and presumably when they are teased open). However DT insists on sudden bursts of loud singing during his seances - this would provide a useful cover / distraction for escape related activity (and probably other stuff too). I think Michael's theory may have legs...
Posted by: MickeyD | September 14, 2007 at 01:22 PM
Marcel Cairo,
Words have consequences, you should use them wisely.
You commented that you are a medium, and that DT does not use a rigorous testing protocol and that no respected psi researchers take him seriously.
Could you tell us about the rigorous testing protocol you use to prove you are a medium, and which respected psi researchers take you seriously?
Should we conclude you are a fraud if you can't?
Your fees are on your web site but I didn't see any qualifications there.
You also quote the proverb "Truth fears no trial" and other commenters seem to agree with this sentiment. Maybe you all haven't heard of trial by ordeal.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trial_by_ordeal
Shouldn't everyone devoted to the science of consciousness research be familiar with the historical facts that make that proverb absurd when applied to mediumship?
You are trying to promote yourself through your online radio show. However no one is dependent on you to get their message out. You are not Larry King. Anyone can create their own web site and publish exactly what they want to say without your help. Why should anyone attacked on your show lend his much more well known name to help an unknown like you to promote yourself?
Just,
Curious
Posted by: curious | September 14, 2007 at 04:15 PM
"David Thompson is an embarrassment to consciousness studies. As a medium devoted to the science of consciousness survival, I dream of the day when charlatans and frauds like David Thompson are only a footnote in some history book."
Marcel you are judging Thompson before we have enough data to know if he is a fraud a partial fraud or maybe he is for real.
This is the exact type of response the ultra skeptics do. They are so closed-minded don’t be like them for your own sake.
I hear mediums are like that when another medium purports to do something they cannot do they call him or her a fraud. Homes did this with Florence Cook and others.
The evidence will come in patience before judgment. I think there is a chance it could be real. Hope so for Crookes sake. I think he got a bum deal. Remember Crookes invited his fellow scientists that only lived a few miles away to attend the séances and they refused. Why? They had already made up their materialistic minds the séances were fraud.
Why do we humans think everything is fraud that we don’t understand?
Posted by: william | September 14, 2007 at 05:06 PM
Dave Thompson does not deserve the benefit of the doubt here, his continued refusal to submit to impartial scrutiny is the reason why, it screams "I have something to hide!"
And now that professional escape artists claim to be able to free themselves of DT's "iron-clad" seance restraints I'm considering it even more likely that he is a fraud.
Another in a very long line, I might add.
Posted by: Markus Hesse | September 14, 2007 at 06:20 PM
Curious & William,
Under normal circumstances you both would be right about jumping to conclusions or making rash judgments with respect to Mr. Thompson's claims.
However, the picture of Mr. Thompson with cheese cloth coming out of his mouth, the ridiculous audio files, and the total lack of a credible, scientific protocol in the séances of the Circle of the Silver Cord's experiments all add up to one big, fat egg for Zammit and Thompson.
In short, Zammit and Thompson's appeal to believe their experiments is akin to them building a house of cards on the side of a volcano and asking us to ignore the rumbling underneath the floorboards. It's intellectual suicide.
As for Curious' query to me submitting to scientific scrutiny, I would direct him to the interview I just did on the popular podcast Skeptiko.com.
I am also putting Mr. James Randi in my scope and hope within the next year to challenge his challenge. I am not hiding from anyone, nor do I claim that ectoplasm runs from my ass.
You don't have to cling to the ridiculous to hope in the improbable. Psi researcher doesn't need Mr. Zammit, Mr. thompson or their apologists. We will do fine with out you.
Posted by: Marcel Cairo | September 14, 2007 at 11:35 PM
Hi,
Thought I'd drop by and introduce myself in person.
My name's Roslyn Walker and I'm an escape artist and variety performer.
I've been training in the art of escapes, sideshow and circus for the past 12 years now and I've had an interest in seances, mediums and psychics since I was a kid.
As a child I used to be fascinated mainly by the physical phenomena produced by psychics, and for years I used to rub that spoon wishing it would bend... it never did.
Until I started practicing the art of deception that is. Now I can make that spoon bend anyway I want... but its all just a trick.
Since learning how to bend a spoon using magicians techniques I've tried to discover other possible methods to duplicate what mediums claim they can do by getting in touch with spirits.
I've never publically exposed any medium or psychic in the past as being fake mainly because I never saw the harm in what they do... however, what really got my goat about Thompson is the fact that on his UK tour he's going to be demonstrating psychic surgery.
This I absolutly HATE!
Not only is he taking the gulible for a ride, but he's claiming he can heal them. I strongly believe this to be the most evil thing a person can do to another.
It disgusts me.
So I decided to make it known that I can free myself from zip ties AND resecure myself without the aid of spirits (although I am partial to a G & T now and then), trained assistants, fake chairs, fake zip ties, fake arms... I think you get the message.
Thompson claims to use borrowed chairs and all real stuff to hold him down, so I have done the same and I can still get out.
So, anyway, that's who I am and that's my position with the whole David Thompson thing. If he or anyone who knows him reads this I would be honoured to meet him when he comes to the UK, swap ideas and share escape techniques. In fact, it would be an honour to witness what he does and for him to see what I do.
Let me know, I'm contactable through the site.
Roslyn Walker
Posted by: Roslyn Walker | September 17, 2007 at 09:16 AM
The thread on the Magic Cafe site has mysteriously disappeared! WHY?
Are the escapologists running scared?!
Posted by: David Craig | September 18, 2007 at 09:06 PM
>The thread on the Magic Cafe site has mysteriously disappeared! WHY?
They appear to have had some kind of major server meltdown. The whole site was offline for about a day. Then it came back, but with large pieces missing. Among the missing (for now) are all of the "All Tied Up" threads for the last six months, including the one on David Thompson.
So it's either a routine technical failure ... or the spirits are angry!
Posted by: Michael Prescott | September 18, 2007 at 11:37 PM
It now appears that all of those Magic Cafe posts are gone for good. I can't even find cached versions on Google.
However, the discussion continues on this forum, under "Physical Mediumship." (You must sign up to view the thread.)
Posted by: Michael Prescott | September 19, 2007 at 12:57 PM
It's back! The Magic Cafe thread has been recovered.
Posted by: Michael Prescott | September 20, 2007 at 10:57 AM