Allison DuBois (born January 24, 1972) is an American author and purported medium. DuBois claims she 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. She claims she has visions, of both the past and the future, but it is mainly the dreams that allegedly help the police solve crimes.
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.[3] 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.[4] These law enforcement agencies have since either denied any such cooperation happened or stated the tips provided by DuBois were not helpful.[1]
According to TV Guide, 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.[5] 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.[6]
The television drama Medium, which aired from 2005 until 2011 on NBC and CBS[7] is based on 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 was 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.[3] She does state in both her book and in the January 3, 2005, edition of Sci Fi Weekly that the program closely resembles the truth of her own life.[4] 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.[5] 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.[8][9] 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.[8][10] Schwartz's point-by-point response to Randi's criticisms was published in 2005.[11]
In 2005, Randi offered to have DuBois tested for his One Million Dollar Challenge. According to Randi, DuBois declined his invitation to the challenge.[12] In 2011, the JREF again issued the million dollar challenge to James Van Praagh, DuBois, Sylvia Browne, 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 said in a statement announcing the challenge. "They should be embarrassed by the transparent performances."[13][14]
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 [sic]) 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?"[15]
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.[1] DuBois is married to Joe Klupar and they have three daughters: Aurora, Fallon, and Sophia.[1] DuBois believes that her daughters share her psychic abilities.[16]
