Short story about a journalist and retired rich actress who disclose fake hollywood psychic

Question

I am looking for a short story about a journalist and a retired rich actress who disclose a fake Hollywood psychic.

At first, the journalist heard of an unusual Hollywood psychic and decided to examine it. At the psychic's show, her voice was suddenly changed to an old man's voice, and he said that he doesn't believe in this kind of bullshit. Actually, the owner of the voice is a dead journalist who hated fakery and tricks.

The main character casts doubts on the beautiful actress who voluntarily signed up for helping his work, but eventually understands what happens and embraces the fact that, ironically, the man who never believed in the ghost is the proof of a ghost.

It makes me crazy for over a month. It was in the collection of short stories and I read it in Korean.

Answer 1

Sounds like "Inside Job" by Connie Willis.

A debunker and journalist and his female accomplice try everything they can to disprove and discredit a psychic. The psychic is written out to be an obvious show-business fraud, in it for the money and the stardom.

The debunkers have battles with the psychic at her extravagant shows, without success. (Probably because it is more difficult to definitively disprove a concept.)

One night the fraudulent psychic appears to channel H. L. Mencken. Mencken was a notorious, hard-headed skeptic who would have hated everything about the phony psychic. "Mencken", if such it actually was, blasted everything about her -- and her entire loyal audience heard.

The story leaves it ambiguous whether it was real channeling or not. But that type of "psychic" would never have willingly done a phony channeling job of someone who so strongly showed her up for the phony she was. It is almost like a karmic "she was right for one time in her life."

I can not find it online to quote it the way people on this board like, as if people want to read the story here rather than in its native land. But this should get you going.

Connie Willis, is, of course, her usual brilliant self.