Extraordinary claims. Ordinary investigations.

Click to see how to talk to the dead . With Nicole Zapruder, who “has been communicating with the dead since she was 4 years old.”

Zapruder introduces the “Grey Walter-Berger Construct”, a video with flashing lights and an Australian voice speaking. After watching it you would contact the dead. It’s interesting, and the references to Hans Berger and William Grey-Walter were actually erudite. Something was odd with that website. Nicole isn’t selling anything. That, and something like the not so subtle mention to the movie “The Orphanage”. Wait, maybe she’s selling something.

A quick look at the registrar information for the website domain didn’t reveal who was responsible for it, but it did reveal that it is hosted on the same server as the website of a company called “The Topia Project“. There it was.

Topia is an Australian advertising agency, and the movie “Orphanage” will be released there on May 29. Zapruder’s website went on line this past May 7, and there seems to be no reference to anything a psychic with that name ever did before. Zapruder probably doesn’t exist.

I emailed them asking for confirmation that the website is a viral to promote the movie. I congratulated them for the amount of creativity and research they must have put on it. It would be actually interesting if there were people promoting this “Grey Walter-Berger Construct” (what a name!).

It would still be despicable exploitation of those missing their deceased beloved ones, via self-hypnosis and pseudo scientific mumbo-jumbo, but it would be something slightly new and with a cooler name. Walter and Berger were real scientists, who were actually involved with psi research, as well as having contributed to mainstream science.

Besides, you have to love that detail about how “Nicole’s next project will be the website ‘Communicating with your deceased pet‘.” Using that “Grey Walter-Berger Construct” you would probably hear annoying barks and meows in your head.

“I took this photo on April 29, 2007, the day of my engagement, with my cell phone. This black ghost appeared on the background. When I took this picture there was no one on the back, and note how the background looks normal, it’s not dark. The photos are originals which I took with my Nokia 6235 phone”, João Ricardo Ferrer told when he sent us the image.

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Watch above the alleged phenomena produced by the Brazilian “medium” Jose Medrado, on a short clip from an European documentary.

Medrado describes, in Portuguese, how unexplained things happened, like a cactus appearing from nowhere, and more surprisingly, the “materialization” of the “bride”, covered by a white gown and veil. He even shows the light dimmer that the “bride” could manipulate to adjust the red light intensity to her liking.

Yes, materialized spirits dealing with light knobs. No wonder some claim that spirits send emails.

But those are not things from the 19th century. Though the video was recorded some years ago, and Medrado no longer claims to produce such “extraordinary” feats, he’s still very active as an alleged medium.

There are still a lot of Chesterfields in Brazil. Oh well, the original one still exists in America in any event. The will to believe in the afterlife is very understandable, which only emphasizes how despicable the hoaxers and quacks who explore this weakness are.

Check above a series of reasonably spooky photos of spirits and ghosts… all computer generated, obviously. It’s a preview of a rental DVD — i.e., they’re in for the money.

To see how easy it is to create such images, watch the following educational video:

Still unconvinced? Well, as a boring skeptic I would tell you about burden of proof and all of that, but you may find the following terrifying video more interesting:

Funny commercial from Thailand, with many local folkloric ghosts. And a transvestite.
[via Neatorama]