Psychic

Psychic is a person who professes an ability to perceive information hidden from the normal senses through extrasensory perception (ESP), or who is said by others to have such abilities. The word "psychic" is also used to describe theatrical performers, such as stage magicians, who use techniques such as prestidigitation, cold reading, and hot reading to produce the appearance of such abilities. It can also denote an ability of the mind to influence the world physically using psychokinetic powers such as those professed by Uri Geller.

Psychics appear prominently in the science fiction genre, as well as other subgenres that deal with paranormal phenomena. On the TV series Medium, the main character of Alison Dubois receives psychic visions via dreams, which portend possible future events. Another character with this ability is Johnny Smith from Stephen King's The Dead Zone, though his ability occurs during an awakened state and often come unbidden. Another psychic of note is Sookie Stackhouse from the HBO television series True Blood. Sookie does not receive visions of the future, but is a psychic receiver for the ambient thoughts and feelings of those around her. When in the presence of another who shares her gifts, she can also communicate with them telepathically. Sookie's psychic abilities are a result of her mixed heritage. She is half-human and half-faerie.

Less well-known psychics found on television include characters like Sebastian Shaw, a hippie psychic played by Christopher Pennock on the original Dark Shadows'' television series.

Of course, for every allegedly "real" psychic that exists in the world, there are also a dozen of imposters. The most famous fake psychic in scripted television is probably Shawn Spencer - the main character from the USA Network television series Psych. Shawn has extremely keen observational skills, but plays them off as psychic visions. On the CBS television series The Mentalist, the main character, Patrick Jane, was a con-man who once pretended to be a psychic. Like Shawn Spencer, Jane is gifted with ultra-keen perception.