Joe Power

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"I sense the kidnapper nearby"

Putting the psycho in Parapsychology

Men who stare at goats

Derek Ogilvie Gary Schwartz Piero Calvi-Parisetti Brian Inglis

By the powers of tinfoil

Prophecy Telepathy Extrasensory perception Ra Material Psychics Helen Duncan Explore: The Journal of Science and Healing Hans Bender Dream interpretation v - t - e

Joe "I just need to use your bathroom" Power (1966–) is a particularly aggressive Scouse psychic medium who was featured on one of Derren Brown's programs.

Techniques

Aside from the usual cold and hot reading tricks, Power appears to have a weak bladder and insists on using the bathroom at a client's house before readings in order to glean information about the household, such as noting the presence (or lack of) male grooming products when performing a reading for a single woman.^{[citation needed]}

Detective Fail

In February 2008, 9 year old Shannon Matthews disappeared, sparking a nationwide missing persons hunt with much media attention. Power met with Shannon's mother, Karen Matthews, and made a prediction about the kidnapper being "a man driving a car with a baby seat and a brown cushion in the back, and a religious card hanging from the rear-view mirror." This prediction turned out to be false when it was discovered that Karen Matthews had planned the kidnapping of her daughter for financial gain, and had instructed her boyfriend's uncle to keep her locked in his bedroom. He has retrospectively changed his story claiming he was correct despite not noticing he was standing next to the masterminds of the operation at the time of the prediction.

Derren Brown Investigates

Power was the subject of one episode of Derren Brown Investigates titled "The Man Who Contacts the Dead". His tricks were exposed and he became agitated when Derren (openly stating he was cold reading) performed a more accurate reading on an actor from Hollyoaks. Power then jumped in and stated that the actor drove a Mini, which was correct, but it was later revealed that he was standing outside when the actor drove past and parked up at the studio. He has since claimed that he could not have seen the car, as he was talking at the time. It would appear men are indeed incapable of multitasking.

Since the show aired, Power has claimed that he was set up and has provided various other excuses for his actions.

Skeptics are paedos!

In an awesome example of an ad hominem attack, Power claimed that skeptics are just as bad as paedophiles, adding:

[...] Because [skeptics are] there festering, at 3am, plotting to get at me, in the same way that paedophiles fester and plot to interfere with children – you both have to be sick in the head to do what you do. I think most sceptics probably are paedophiles. I mean you’re sat around at 3am, plotting, aren’t you? Do you deny that?

Power also made false claims to the police about death threats from the Merseyside Skeptics Society.

Further Reading

• Merseyside Skeptics — Joe Power portal