Basic Info:
Amy Allan is a physical medium who was born in Colorado in 1973. She began to experience the paranormal at a young age, recalling her experiences with shadow people as early as four years old. Later, she attended the University of Arizona and earned a degree in Psychology.
Before The Dead Files:
Amy is a natural born medium, and while she has experienced the paranormal almost all her life, she did not begin using her abilities professionally until the age of twenty. She has been tested not only by parapsychologists, but by police detectives. She has assisted detectives in their understanding of their own intuition. She studies other people and their abilities, while helping them understand them and serving the public.
Allan has previously worked with the Discovery Channel, TLC and similar networks, both as an on air guest and a behind the scenes consultant.
More Than A Ghost Buster:
On top of her degree in psychology, Allan also practices alternative medicine, including but not limited to the following:
Acupuncture
Asian medicine
Zen Shiatsu
Western Massage
Through these practices, degree and her abilities, she helps people overcome their emotional and physical ailments and issues.
The Dead Files:
TDF debuted on September 23rd 2011 and is still on air. The show revolves around Amy Allan and her partner Steve Deschavi, who investigate various locations. Allan uses her mediumship abilities and Steve, a retired cop, finds historical information about each location and town.
Critics of Allan and the show seem to have common, understandable things to say about both. Some of the issues brought up include accusations of staging, use of scripts, overdramatic reactions, non specific readings and questions like, "Why is EVERY location they go to haunted?" and "Why are there SO many negative hauntings?" "Why the same type of spirits?"
All valid questions and concerns, and I do agree with that to a certain level. While I do understand that some of her readings can get repetitive, viewers need to keep in mind that this is a TV show and does follow a formula of sorts, in order to be successful and retain its viewership. While I don't have an answer for why the same type of entities seem to pop up in almost every location, all I can say is that there are more negative energies out there than people would like to think or admit, unfortunately.
As for "Why is every location haunted?", well, my counter question would be : "Why air an episode where they didn't experience anything?"
I do tend to blame the production here more than Amy or Steve, having dealt with the production and crew myself over the phone. The woman I spoke to seemed more interested in my case fitting specific criteria in order for her to allow Amy to help me. Therefore, I cannot blame Amy for this.
My Own Issues With Amy:
First, I will list my basic, not so serious issues with Amy. First, I do not agree with her idea that everyone is psychic, nor do I personally agree with using that term especially as a public figure, because of the connotation and misunderstanding that comes along with. I also think that some of her readings are a little rough around the edges at time, which is true of all mediums, so this isnt a jab at her by any means, what I do mean, though, is that sometimes I feel she reaches for something to blame for the haunting, such as the presence of "aliens" or "unknown creatures". Could she be correct in saying that the things she's encountering are, in fact, alien or aline like? Perhaps. But I feel she's mentioned aliens a bit too often, as actual alien or alien like encounters are incredibly rare. Public, well known mediums need to be very careful with how and what they put out, in terms of terminology, description, etc. But again, these are just some of my personal preferences and thoughts and dont necessarily discredit her at all.
Now, this next issue Ill get into is much more serious, and has ramifications beyond the show, and beyond the paranormal field. Amy, on numerous occasions, has referenced, mentioned, spoken of and blamed "curses" and Native American spirits for negative occurrences in some of the homes she has investigated.
There are multiple episodes and mentions of curses and the need to bring in a Shaman to cleanse the home and land. These types of depictions reinforce tension and misunderstanding between Natives and Non- Natives. Why is the misrepresentation of us a point of entertainment? Why must we always be shown in a scary or negative light? Why is Amy telling people to have Shamans come to their homes to “fix it”?
This contributes to mystical ideas about Natives. It also tokenizes us and portrays our cultures as watered down and whitewashed. It suggests we don’t have distinct cultures and contributes to others seeing us as something of the past.And it reinforces the idea that we’re all “gone” with the exception of their mystical image of us, aka the Shaman. These types of tropes and depictions contribute directly to violence against Natives, and if I could, I would urge Amy to be very careful of how she's partaking in this problematic practice. She is a great medium, and it saddens me to see her say these things on national, international television.
Eps of The Dead Files that play into the “Native Burial Ground” trope:
Season 3 Ep 11 “Blood In The Bordello”
Season 3 Ep 21 “Deadly Grounds”
Season 3 Ep 22 “Evil Underground”
Season 3 Ep 31 “Battleground” (specific mention of Saginaw Chippewa)
Conclusion and Rating: (rating based on a 5 star system, 1 * = 1 star)To sum up, I think Amy is a wonderful medium and has helped many people. Though I dont always agree with some of the things she says or does, due to personal cultural practices and identity.
Truthfulness: ***
Transparency: ***
Accuracy: ****
Specificity: ****
Client Interaction: ****
Price: (no accurate/specific info found)
Consistency: ***
Ability to help people: ****
Average/Overall rating: 3.5 stars
Do I endorse or recommend her? YES (I endorse her abilities)
