Allison DuBois

Allison DuBois (born January 24, 1972) is an American author and purported medium. DuBois has claimed to have used her psychic abilities to assist U.S. law enforcement officials in solving crimes, forming the basis of the TV series ''Medium''.

Her powers as a medium were tested by Gary Schwartz of the University of Arizona. Schwartz claimed that his research supports DuBois's psychic abilities, while skeptics have pointed out flaws in both DuBois's claims and Schwartz's research. A show called ''Medium'' was based on Allison's experiences, and she was a consultant for it. She claims she has visions, of both the past and the future, but it's mainly the dreams that allegedly help the police solve crimes.

Early life

DuBois was born in Phoenix, Arizona, where she attended both North High School in Phoenix and Corona del Sol High School in Tempe. Despite dropping out, she obtained her GED at the age of 16.Irwin, Megan (June 10, 2008)
"There's no good proof the real Medium, Allison DuBois, has ever cracked a case, but her fans don't care"
''Phoenix New Times''. Page 3. In college, she worked as an intern at the district attorney's office in Phoenix. She received her B.A. in political science with a minor in history from Arizona State University.

Career

DuBois refers to herself as a medium and profiler, rather than a psychic, because of the negative connotation she feels is associated with the term "psychic". She claims that she became aware that she had the ability to communicate with departed souls when she was 6 years old. DuBois claims she uses this ability to connect deceased loved ones to the living, and also to help law enforcement agencies solve crimes, such as the Texas Rangers and the Glendale, Arizona, police department, and that she used these abilities as a jury consultant."Patricia Arquette channels real-life psychic Allison DuBois—and the dead—in NBC's Medium"
/ref> These law enforcement agencies have since either denied any such cooperation happened or stated the tips provided by DuBois were not helpful.Irwin, Megan (June 10, 2008)
"There's no good proof the real Medium, Allison DuBois, has ever cracked a case, but her fans don't care"
''Phoenix New Times''.

According to ''TV Guide'', Allison DuBois spent four years participating in various tests at the University of Arizona to assist with their studies of mediums and psychic phenomena. Gary Schwartz, director of the VERITAS research project, claims that DuBois has psychic abilities, arguing in the March 6, 2005 ''TV Guide'', "Anyone who's looked closely at the evidence can't help but come to the conclusion that there is something very real going on here." At their first meeting, Schwartz says DuBois accurately described a friend of Schwartz's who had just died. Impressed, Schwartz conducted a series of interviews, including one in which DuBois stated she contacted the late husband of a woman in England, knowing only the woman's name. The woman, after reading a transcript of the session, affirmed that 80% of what DuBois said was accurate."Is Medium's Psychic the Real Deal?"
''TV Guide'' Schwartz published his research in a book titled ''The Truth About Medium''. According to a statement by DuBois, she does not endorse the book or Schwartz.
Internet Archive, Retrieved February 9, 2007

''Medium''

The television drama ''Medium'', which aired from 2005 until 2011 on NBC and CBS is based on Allison DuBois's book, ''Don't Kiss Them Good-Bye''. The show was created by Glenn Gordon Caron, creator of ''Moonlighting'' and other television shows, who is also one of the writers for the series. It is produced by CBS Television Studios (having acquired the TV production arm of original producer Paramount Pictures) and Grammnet, the production company owned by ''Cheers'' and ''Frasier'' alumnus Kelsey Grammer. Patricia Arquette was cast to play the role of DuBois, at the suggestion of Caron's girlfriend. DuBois stated in the January 9, 2005, ''TV Guide'' that she initially thought Arquette was too liberal to play her, remarking, "I mean, I have a gun, I have put people on death row. I wanted to make sure that was something that didn't bother her. But she assured me that she believed some people may have that coming."

"Every episode is not a biography of my life, it is simply based on my life experiences. It is an accurate portrayal of my life and the people who share it with a little Hollywood magic thrown in", DuBois has said. She does state in both her book and in the edition of January 3, 2005, of '' Sci Fi Weekly'' that the program closely resembles the truth of her own life. Several details of Arquette's character match DuBois's life, such as the name of her husband on the show (Joe) and the fact that he is an aerospace engineer. Both the character and the real-life DuBois have three daughters, and the first case the character "consults" on in the show's pilot is with the Texas Rangers, the law enforcement agency with whom the real-life DuBois alleges she first worked.

Criticism

Skeptics such as Paul Kurtz and Ray Hyman say that DuBois does not have psychic powers. Skeptic James Randi says that people such as DuBois give the appearance of psychic powers through cold reading techniques. For example, DuBois, when doing her first reading of Schwartz, told him that his deceased friend was telling her, "I don't walk alone", which Schwartz understood to be a reference to his friend's confinement to a wheelchair, which DuBois could not have known about. Randi says that Schwartz leapt to an unsupportable conclusion, since the notion of "not walking alone" can mean any number of things, and "certainly ''does not'' describe being in a wheelchair". Randi also asserts that experiments that allegedly yield positive results of psychic powers, such as the ones done with DuBois, are not conducted using proper scientific controls.Commentary of the JREF
March 30, 2001 In light of Schwartz's assertion that "some" of his experiments with DuBois were performed under such conditions, Randi questions why the rest of them were not, and points to a report demonstrating that a few of Schwartz's experiments were ''not'' performed according to standard scientific protocol.
January 21, 2005 Schwartz's point-by-point response to Randi's criticisms was published in 2005."A Reply to Randi, by Dr Gary Schwartz"
''Daily Grail'', April 15, 2005

In 2005, Randi offered to have DuBois tested for his One Million Dollar Challenge. According to Randi, DuBois declined his invitation to the challenge.Commentary of the JREF
April 8, 2005 In 2011, the JREF again issued the million dollar challenge to James Van Praagh, Carla Baron, John Edward, and others to prove their abilities in controlled experiments, commenting, "James Van Praagh and Allison DuBois have turned the huckster art of 'cold reading' into a multi-million-dollar industry, preying on families' deepest fears and regrets", he says in a statement announcing the challenge. "They should be embarrassed by the transparent performances."

Former FBI profiler, behavioral science expert and MSNBC analyst Clint Van Zandt challenges statements about psychics helping law enforcement arguing, "If psychics were truly successful and if their results were not simply the consequence of trickery (at worse ic or good interviewing skills (at best), then why don't law enforcement agencies have psychic detective squads, a real X-Files Unit, or other ways to integrate these paranormal investigative capabilities?"

Personal life

DuBois's parents, Mike Gomez and Tienna DuBois, divorced when she was young. Tienna remarried and divorced again when Allison was 12. In her first book, DuBois writes about seeing her stepdad in public with his new family. DuBois is married to Joe Klupar and they have three daughters: Aurora, Fallon, and Sophia.Irwin, Megan (June 12, 2008)
"There's no good proof the real Medium, Allison DuBois, has ever cracked a case, but her fans don't care"
''Phoenix New Times''. DuBois believes that her daughters share her psychic abilities.

In 2010, DuBois made a one-time appearance on ''The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills'' at a dinner party hosted by Camille Grammer (now Camille Meyer). While inebriated, she made vicious remarks about the other women, and instigated a major confrontation with Kyle Richards and Faye Resnick.

Books

DuBois is the author of six books dealing with mediumship.

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References

External links

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CBS.com's ''Medium'' TV show
(No longer active)

Netflix's ''Medium'' online streaming
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{{DEFAULTSORT:DuBois, Allison
1972 births
Living people
American occultists
Writers from Phoenix, Arizona
American psychics
American spiritual mediums
Arizona State University alumni