Whatever the truth, on the most charitable assessment, Doris Stokes was not all she seemed, and the most serious question marks hang over her."

Doris suffered health problems for many years,” said Linda. “Apart from having a breast removed due to cancer, her thyroid was also removed. Once they were dismissed as cranks and charlatans but now psychics are gaining credibility, particularly with the famous. We talk to the Celebrity Psychics and people who rely on spiritual help in their lives. I think people warmed to Doris because of her natural mumsy style and the fact that she was exactly the same on and off stage. Another participant was Marilyn Stenning, whose daughter Kerry had recently died in a car accident. She received a personal phone call from Stokes, offering her front-row seats for the Palladium performance. Other participants included "camp followers", who regularly attended the shows and repeatedly received messages from the same people. During the second half of the performance, members of the audience were chosen apparently at random. Wilson described this post-interval performance as "much less convincing... [relying] on intelligent guesswork and 'fishing '". [2] Disputed memoirs and testimony [ edit ]

JUST weeks away from the centenary of the birth of famous medium Doris Stokes, a new book is being released this month about her life and achievements.

Stokes was accused of using various forms of deception to achieve the effect of communicating with the dead. These included cold reading, [12] [13] eavesdropping, and planting accomplices in the audience. [14] [15] Evidence of audience plants [ edit ] Asked how the latest book came about, Linda told Psychic News: “Last year, having written a couple of unrelated books for him, my editor at the publishers asked me to give him some ideas for another title. Bob Couttie. (1988). Forbidden Knowledge: The Paranormal Paradox. Lutterworth Press. p. 42 ISBN 978 0 71 882686 4I bumped into another woman who told me that years before, having been bereaved, she was reading a Doris Stokes book and was completely engrossed in it when she heard footsteps. Stokes co-wrote seven volumes of autobiography, but some of the events she describes in them have been questioned. He then said Doris had "opened the door" and let my father through, and gave an amazingly accurate description of him. He described Dad as a small man who'd had trouble with his legs before he died and said he was quite foggy when he passed over. That was spot on and I was very moved. Stokes was condemned by the Church of England and other Christian denominations, which objected to spirit communication as an offence to God. She countered that her work was done for God, [4] and in accordance with the Bible's injunction to "test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world" (1 John 4.:1). Doris died before our actual wedding, but I blurted out at the church, "Derek, we didn't invite Doris" because I was so used to having her around. He smiled and said, "She'll be here, she wouldn't miss this for the world". He was right about Doris - I felt her come through to me on my wedding day and she was very close.

The book examines the extraordinary phenomenon that Doris unleashed at the time, which is still continuing to this day. Connelly, Michael (11 June 1989). "Who Shot Vic Weiss". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 11 December 2006 . Retrieved 3 January 2007. Ten years later, Weiss' killing remains unsolved and one of the San Fernando Valley's most puzzling mysteries.

Doris Stokes talks on Live TV

That happens a lot - in fact, as I'm telling this story I can feel her putting her arm around my shoulder and it's making me feel very emotional. Craig Hamilton-Parker, 43, is a medium who works in partnership with his wife Jane, 46, from their home in Eastleigh, Hampshire. He says: a b Plummer, Mark (1981). "Doris Stokes Wrong – Police" (PDF). The Skeptic. 1 (1): 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 August 2006 . Retrieved 3 January 2007. They simply could not believe that she gave most of her earnings away. Knowing Doris, she would much sooner have had a Swiss roll than a Swiss bank account any day!”

Asked why the public took Doris to their hearts, Linda said: “It’s an amazing story. Doris was practically agoraphobic and only ever went out to demonstrate or attend a special occasion like a Psychic News dinner-dance. Linda added: “I’m amazed at how many people still remember Doris. Not only that, but they told me that she changed their lives.

References

Innocent Voices in My Ear, Doris Stokes with Linda Dearsley (1983). Publisher: Sphere; New edition. I also met a woman who, at the age of eighteen, was told that she would be the next Doris Stokes. Later, she went on to win Channel 5’s series Britain’s Psychic Challenge. The press couldn’t get over the fact that Doris appeared not to have accumulated the enormous wealth they were certain she must have possessed.