Jim Callahan (magician)
Jim Callahan is a magician and self-proclaimed paranormalist from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he also owns Applied Thought Technologies. His act includes automatic writing as a purported means of channeling the spirit of a dead person named Raymond Hill, a late author.
At age seven, Jim Callahan watched a movie AbOUT Houdini and his obsession with magic began. Years later, he started his career by combining Houdini's art of escape with his interest in the paranormal. Callahan claims to be followed by the spirit of a deceased man named Raymond who communicates through a pendulum. His most prized paranormal feat is called The Déja vu Experiment where he asks one person to think of a city, another person to think of a number and another to think of an object. He then shows a DVD recorded four days earlier where he had predicted exactly what the people said. Jim is married to his 8th grade sweetheart and has a teenage daughter.
He was a contestant on the Phenomenon television series judged by Uri Geller and Criss Angel. On October 31, 2007 he achieved media attention after Criss Angel criticized Callahan's alleged paranormal performance. Angel called the act "comical" and then challenged Callahan's claims and also challenged fellow judge Geller by showing an envelope and saying "I will give you a million dollars of my personal money right now if...you can tell me specific details of what’s in here right now." Callahan called Angel an "ideological bigot". Angel and Callahan then confronted each other. Callahan was restrained by the show's host, Tim Vincent. Callahan did not take Angel's challenge. On the following episode Callahan was eliminated.