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How, then, did National Pschic Week begin? And is it all a scam?

Hard-driving Hollywood press agent Richard R. Falk dreamed up National Psychic Week in 1965. But Chase's Calendar of Events and similar references don't explain why. It's a mystery Falk apparently took to his grave in 1994, after half a century of outlandish PR.

Falk had a talent for bombastic publicity stunts. One of his specialties was dreaming up spicy names for aspiring starlets — such as Suzie Sunshine, Sugar Cane and Hope Diamond. One client modeled an edible bikini made of frankfurters. Needless to say, none of those ventures hit it big.

To ballyhoo the arrival of a flea circus, Falk booked a room for the star flea — "The Great Herman" — in New York's Waldorf-Astoria. Such antics inspired New York Mayor Robert Wagner to dub Falk "The Mayor of 42nd Street."

50 Percent of the Truth

"You need a press agent when you have something that's 50 percent real," he told The New York Times in 1991. "You make it a little fantastic or humorous, bring in enough pseudo-facts and the papers will buy it. I always say that everything I write is guaranteed to be 50 percent true."

With that sort of resume, you'd think Falk instituted National Psychic Week in 1965 as another publicity gimmick. After all, one of his clients claimed to be a "Psychic to the Stars."

But the truth behind National Psychic Week remains murky. Fortunately, back in 1998, a psychic belonging to Summer's association offered The Wolf Files a telephone séance to communicate with Falk and ascertain his intentions.

"I have a clear picture of him. I see a man with a great smile and intense eyes," said Barbara Gable, a Baltimore medium. "This man has a great sense of humor. But he tells me he believes in National Psychic Day. … He is a believer in the paranormal."

My Future in Song

Summer said she founded the psychic association in 1992 to certify psychics such as Gable and make sure they are ethically serving the public. The association, incidentally, has trademarked the term "Certified Psychic" and issues "accuracy certificates" to its members.