YESTERDAY woo-woos everywhere were in their element, revelling in the news that Texas police – acting on a tip-off from an unidentifiedÂ psychic – had uncovered a mass grave containing 30 bodies.

Today, disappointment set in like cement when the local plods admitted they had been duped.

According to the Telegraph, all the police had found at the scene of the alleged crime was some rotting rubbish but no bodies. Said one official:

There’s nothing that matches what the psychic said.

Joe Bankston, the bemused man whose home was raided exclaimed:

This is like something out of a novel. Finding out that the police are in my yard for dead bodies? That’s kinda panicking me. I ain’t killed nobody.

Commented the Telegraph‘s Brendan O’Neill:

On the back of one phone call by someone who claims to be able to read people’s minds, a massive police operation was launched, a man’s privacy was violated, and around the world breaking news alerts informed millions of people that 30 dismembered kids had been discovered in Texas.

He added:

You couldn’t have asked for a better snapshot of the astonishing credulity and weakness for crankiness amongst people in positions of power today. Police are now trying to track down the psychic. But when one psychic can impact on the world in this way, it is quite clear that the problem is *us*, and our capacity to believe the worst and our penchant for hocus-pocus, rather than them. It’s a daft world indeed that can allow itself to be led astray by an eccentric on the end of a phone.

One alarmed woo-woo, identifying himself as IgonikonJack left this comment beneath O’Neill’s piece:

This psychic has damaged the credibility of psychics. Next time when a psychic issues a premonition, the public are unlikely to listen. In a world where scepticism still looms in the field of parasychology, extra-sensory perception, esotericism and transcendental mysticism,Â anti-psychic Crying Wolf Syndrome would likely descend on Texas and other places regarding the role of psychics …

While on the subject of barminess, we learn that one Christopher Anthony Roller has applied to patent Godly Powers in the US.

The holy Roller says in support of his application:

Christopher Anthony Roller is a godly entity. â€˜Granters’ had been given my powers (acquired my powers) (via God probably). These â€˜granters’ have been receiving financial gain from godly powers. These â€˜granters’ may be using their powers without morals. Chris Roller wants exclusive right to the ethical use and financial gain in the use of godly powers on planet Earth. The design of godly-products have no constraints, just like any other invention, but the ethnic consideration of it’s (sic) use will likely be based on a majority vote of a group, similar to law creation. The commission I require could range from 0-100% of product price, depending on the product’s value and use.

Hat tip: Pete H (psychic report) and Simon Butler

