Robbers use 'psychic powers' to 'get into' clerk's mind, safe

By CAROL ROBIDOUX
New Hampshire Union Leader Staff
Wednesday, Sep. 26, 2007

MARLBOROUGH – Police are looking for help in solving a convenience store robbery Monday in which two men used distraction techniques and what the clerk described as "psychic powers" to "get into his mind" and somehow make off with a large amount of cash.

http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?ar...fc-b4dc131bb509

Well unless there is audio for this you will never be able to fully know. Interesting though.

It could have just been a plan. 3 men set this up and then the cashier blames it on their psychic powers, no1 will know that they never. Seems fishy to me ...

I am unsure what more we would know if we had more evidence.

That the traveling conmen really have psychic powers? Please. The schtick with the lion recounted in the story disposes of that.

That the store owner made all of this up? The better lie, and the obviously better lie, would be that the travelers threatened the store owner or his family, in which case the insurance company would pay. As it is, the insurer will (and should) likely disallow any claim for recovery, since it is on its face a voluntary religious donation. Perhaps after a brief exchange of lawyerly letters, the insurer will settle for a fraction of the loss. Or not.

My purpose in posting the story is as a reminder that claims of unusual "powers" often involve the claiminant wanting something from people disposed toward uncritical belief. Money is a popular something.

Although some of the story is unusual (that the claims play the role in this convenience store holdup usually played by a pistol), other parts of the story are typical. For instance, there is the reluctance of the victim to come forward, feeling foolish to admit he was conned.

I was also mindful of the perennial "revelation of personal information" trick in this con. A few weeks ago, a member here at UM reported having been rattled by just this trick. It is unsettling when it works. Maybe this story will help that person place her experience in better perspective.

I have a hard time believing that someone can use their psychic abilities to crack safe codes and use their abilities for negative purposes. just like the saying goes "if the person is psychic why could he not use that ability to win the lottery"..it just does not happen I'd bet that the clerk had something to do with the robbery..I do believe that psychics are real though. because everyone has intuition some people are more in tune with it than others and can pick up on things better than others...

The Clerk may have called it 'psychic powers' for lack of better terminology at the time. What he experienced is "Waking Hypnosis" and can be preformed by anyone who has learned the skill. It's best used on weak-minded people.

Now would be a good time to say that when I posted this long ago, I was being ironic. The shopkeeper was conned, plain and simple. The conmen had an authentic skill, but that skill was not paranormal.

The link originally pointed to a full story, from which the character of the situation was obvious, I thought. Now it points to the first paragraph only (the rest of the article is pay-per-view), and the character of the incident may be less clear.

I do object, however, to calling the clerk "weak minded." What he was is a human being. Nor will it do, in my view, to invent some non-phenomenon like "waking hypnosis" that suggests something different from the ordinary course of human experience happened here.

Every human being, each and every one of us, harbors beliefs that are false. Every false belief we hold is a lever by which we can be exploited.

The clerk handed over the money wide awake, because doing so was the deductive consequence of false beliefs which he consciously held. The conmen, having presented their credentials as "holy men" according to the beliefs in question, needed only to ask for the money. They did, and it was handed over.

It really is as simple as that.

Nice one , eight bits !

You are entitled to you opinion;and I agree nothing paranormal happened here, however, I must clarify, that I never called the clerk 'weak minded', it was just a subliminal suggestion which you obviously fell for. When you say: "In my view" it is a definate statement of opinion. Again to clarify; saying that "Waking Hypnosis" was some invention,please do your research on different types of hypnosis, you'll find "waking" as one of them. It is not a belief but a fact. Hypnosis is used daily by Certified Hypnotherapists in regressing people to find their 'root' emotional problems. Again, do your research before you allow yourself to make statements as facts based only on your mere opinion. It is really as simple as that.

(Hey, Sama.)

SilverRain Queen, this thread is about a specific event.

The local TV station still has its version of the story online

http://www.wmur.com/news/14212889/detail.html

Hypnosis is an interesting subject, too, and the store clerk discusses that. Since he claims no expertise in the subject, however, I take his opinion about his being hypnotized on a par with his other opinions about the psychic powers of the conmen.

Well, not quite on a par, because his invocation of hypnosis plays an interesting role in the story.

"From him telling me, I wouldn't believe it," Detective Steve LaMears said. "Seeing the video, saying he's hypnotized, it makes it a little stronger."

One needs little imagination to see how the police interview played out. Initial scepticism elicits further elaboration. Hypnosis seems to enter the picture as a way to bridge the cultural divide beween the believing victim and the initially disbelieving, and still guarded, detective.

I stand by my statement that the clerk was wide awake when he handed over the money, and that he acted consistently with his beliefs. Other views are, of course, possible, and some of those already expressed by others in this thread are much darker than yours or mine.

Thank you also for clarifying your remark about weak-mindedness. In the same spirit, please allow me to clarify that I do not claim that you personally invented the term waking hypnosis.

I appreciate the above, and also appreciate your opinion on the topic, after all diversity makes for an interesting world.
Please do note though, that on my previous post, the underlined words are links to each subject. I like to backup my statements that way.