Tyler Henry - Here & Hereafter: How Wisdom from the Departed Can Transform Your Life Now

America has seen its share of fraudulent spiritualists and psychics throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, and Tyler Henry is among the most infamous. Henry hosts a series called Hollywood Medium on the E! network, in which he provides psychic services to a wide range of celebrities. Most of his psychic readings incorporate basic tricks from a mentalists handbook. Hes specifically very good at giving his guests a cold reading, which is when a clairvoyant will say something vague and hope that it gets an emotional hit.Psychics who lie arent a new phenomenon; hucksters and snake oil salespeople have been bilking people out of money since the first person claimed that they could speak to the dead. But the fraud committed by Tyler Henry on Hollywood Medium feels especially cynical because hes interviewing easily researched guests and asking viewers to believe that he isnt simply using Google.Tyler Henry Claims To Know Nothing About Pop Culture: Henrys purported lack of pop culture knowledge forms a cornerstone of his backstory. He says that hes from a small town, but Hanford, CA, has a population of over 50,000 - hardly a rural farm hamlet. But in the internet age, does the size of your town even matter? Now that hes meeting famous people for readings, its hard to believe that the 22-year-old doesnt perform even a cursory Google search before he sits down with a star. In his reading of Carole Radziwill from The Real Housewives of New York City, Henry makes sure to say, I dont know what you do for a living. I dont watch much TV. By saying this, hes admitting he knows Radziwill is on television. And this isnt the only time he says this: Its repeated slip-ups like this that give Henry away. He Shies Away From Asking Big Questions: Henry deploys a classic clairvoyant move as part of his arsenal: telling his clients facts they already know or offering comforting generalizations. For instance, when he spoke to the Kardashians, he didnt provide any answers from the other side about Robert Kardashian, but he did talk about the tree-trimming business owned by Caitlyn Jenners father. By tossing off easily researched information and nice sentiments, Henry can get away with sounding like he knows more than he does. He Lets People Tell Him What He Needs To Know: Tyler Henrys MO is to sit back and let people tell him all the information he needs to perform his readings. For instance, when someone hands him a gold ring and explains how it was a gift, hes able to intuit the person who gave the ring probably isnt alive anymore. Once Henry confirms that whoever gave the gift has passed on, he can pause and let his client feed him more information. After his client tells him what he needs, he can say he was receiving that information from the other side.He Gives Cold Readings: A cold reading is a technique used by psychics who dont know anything about their clients before meeting them. They use vague statements and cast a wide net to get a hit on the person to whom theyre speaking. If they notice a specific mannerism that continues to pop up when they ask a question, then the psychic knows theyve hit on something important. In Henrys interviews, he makes broad, incredibly vague statements, asking questions about someone who might have died tragically at a young age. But the fact of the matter is that nearly everyone on Earth is connected to someone who died young, which is tragic regardless of how they died. He also frequently mentions dead pets, which is another easy move because nearly everyone has had a dog, cat, or fish that passed away.His Clientele Is Easily Researchable: If Tyler Henry dealt with clients who werent on television, an argument could be made that he may have a genuine psychic connection. But the hook of Henrys whole setup is that he deals specifically with famous people, hence the name Hollywood Medium. Working with famous people doesnt just mean his show has a great hook, it also means he (or a producer) can easily research the people who appear in his segments. His greatest trick is convincing the viewing public hes never watched television. Theres No Evidence For His Psychic Science: Its nearly impossible to test someones psychic ability, but there are a few ways in which someones clairvoyance can be measured. Tyler Henry has never undergone any of these psychic tests, and its not like hes doing anything you can test anyway. When he met with Moby, he told the artist his mother doesnt want him to feel guilty about not visiting her grave. Arguably, this is something that he could say to most people. But Moby didnt see it that way, responding, theres a lot of baffling legitimacy to this.His First Premonition Has Two Backstories: Before he was the Hollywood Medium, and even before he was giving readings at a New Age shop in Hanford, CA, Henry was having psychic visions. Henry claims his first vision came when he saw his grandmother pass away. Hes told two slightly different versions of this story. In an interview with Real Housewife Heather Dubrow, he said he told nobody about his vision; in his autobiography, Henry wrote about telling his mother and warned her they should visit his sick grandmother right away. According to both accounts, Shortly after his premonition, his mother received a call saying his grandmother had passed away.He Tells His Clients What To Tell Him: Tyler typically gleans information from his clients by simply asking them a half question. For instance, when interviewing Ross Mathews from RuPauls Drag Race, he asked, Theres very distinctly a father reference has your dad actually passed? This was somehow accepted by Mathews, who didnt see it as an obvious admittance Henry wasnt receiving any information from a spiritual realm. It makes one wonder what would happen if one of Tylers clients simply made up their personal history rather than giving him the answers he needs to produce his readings. He Got His Start In A New Age Shop: Where does one get into the world of psychic readings? If youre lucky enough to live near a New Age shop like Henry did in Hanford, CA, you, too, can train to work as a psychic. In 2012, he began working at Cosmic Corral, a New Age shop thats since closed its doors, where he wowed locals with his psychic gifts. It also may have helped that he was 16 years old when he began working as a psychic. His youth, combined with his earnest wisdom, brought a level of authenticity to his readings. People see its authentic - its something Ive done professionally since I was 16 years old, Henry said in an interview. The fact that Im at where Im at for my age brings credibility to the readings.He Takes A Lot Of Notes: Henrys readings are particularly recognizable in part because of notes he scribbles while working. He essentially draws a bunch of circles while people talk to him, but it would be crazy to think he wasnt keeping some kind of rough impression of the person he was talking to. These notes typically wouldnt fly during a psychic reading, but Henrys clients dont seem to care. They see it as a harmless affectation - rapper Lil Jon even kept the notes Henry jotted down during their meeting. He Wanted To Be On TV From A Young Age: In interviews, Henry has alluded to having hit a rough patch in high school and dropping out to finish his education via homeschool. When he graduated, he reached out to a talent agent in Fresno. Its clear from this canny move Henry knew he had a specific set of skills to sell - made more marketable by his youth. He Loves To Use Props: The Grief Vampire loves to use props. He encourages clients to bring props to the reading and uses them to glean context clues. For instance, when he gave Matt Lauer a reading, the former NBC host brought a pocket knife. Henry immediately brought up Lauers father, who had passed away. While this might seem like an amazing feat, its not absurd to think a pocket knife would be a gift from someones father. Also, considering Matt Lauer is 60, it would arguably be more surprising if his father were still alive. The point is, the visions Tyler intuits are not uncanny enough to be considered feats of psychic prowess. If you meet with Tyler Henry, dont bring him a prop - instead, make him work for his psychic reading. Hes Made Some Particularly Dangerous Predictions: Making bland accusations shrouded in the belief that you have a spiritual gift borders upon fraud. Giving medical diagnoses as a television psychic is not only fraudulent (if proven incorrect), but also very dangerous. In one episode, Henry offers Kris Jenner lackluster health advice. But with his lack of a medical degree, he could be supplying her with false confidence about her health, which could lead to problems down the line. He also told NFL defensive end Michael Sam that his long-lost brother was alive and well, which could be traumatizing to an individuals psychological health. In addition, he told E! television presenter Maria Menounos that she would have to wait years before her IVF process yields any results.