Natasha Demkina -- the 17-year-old Russian girl said to have an uncanny ability to visualize patients' internal organs and pathology without the aid of imaging equipment -- is seeing red over her treatment at the hands of a well-known debunker of paranormal phenomenon.
In a story published in today's Pravda, Demkina complained about the way the tests were conducted earlier this year by Richard Wiseman from the New York City-based Commission for Scientific and Mental Health.
Wiseman, a professional skeptic who exposed the spoon-bending Uri Geller as a fraud, put Demkina in a room earlier this year with seven patients at once, six of whom had pathologies or operations that could be easily seen on x-ray.
The commission said that Demkina's so-called skills amounted to no more than "parlor tricks," and that she failed to even qualify for further testing. However, Demkina told Pravda that the procedures were unfair and biased against her by professional debunkers plotting to discredit her. Demkina was compelled to examine the patients together rather than separately, and was not permitted to examine their medical records after the session ended, Pravda reported.
The newspaper said its report was Demkina's first media interview following a six-month gag order that was part of her deal with the Discovery Channel, which aired a special on the Saransk, Russia teen's story in "The Girl with X-Ray Eyes" this fall in the U.K. One report suggests that the show will be aired in the U.S. before the end of the year. However, a spokesperson for the Discovery Channel could not immediately confirm the U.S. broadcast schedule.
By AuntMinnie.com staff writers
November 8, 2004
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'X-ray vision' girl takes on fractures, January 29, 2004
Girl with 'x-ray vision' raises eyebrows in Russia, January 16, 2004
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