Peter Hurkos; Detective Who Used Psychic Powers

Peter Hurkos is considered by experts to have been the world's foremost psychic. Born May 21, 1911, in Dordrecht, Holland (died June1, 1988 in Los Angeles, CA), he acquired his psychic gift in 1941 after falling from a ladder and suffering a brain injury. He was in a coma for three days at the Zuidwal Hospital. Upon regaining consciousness, he discovered he had developed an ability to pierce the barriers that separate the past, present and future. With stunning accuracy, he was able to see into the unknown.

Hurkos gained worldwide acceptance as a psychic detective, working on cases involving missing planes, persons, and murder victims after his fall. Some of his most illustrious cases were "The Stone of Scone" [London, England], "The Boston Strangler Multiple Murders" [Boston, Massachusetts], "The Missing Thai Silk King, Jim Thompson" [Asia/Thailand], "The Ann Arbor Co-Ed Murders" [Ann Arbor Michigan], and "The Sharon Tate Murders" [Los Angeles, California].

In 1956, Hurkos was brought to the United States by Andrija Puharich, MD (died 1994) to be tested at his Glen Cove, Maine medical research laboratory. For two-and-a-half years he was tested under tightly controlled conditions. The results convinced Dr. Puharich that Hurkos' psychic abilities were far greater than any he had ever tested (before or thereafter) . . . a remarkable 90% accuracy.
 

Hurkos' forte was psychometry, the ability to see past-present-future associations by touching objects.

"I see pictures in my mind like a television screen. When I touch something, I can then tell what I see." - said Peter Hurkos.

Decorated as a war hero by Queen Juliana of The Netherlands (there is a statue commemorating Hurkos and seven other Dutch Underground war heroes in the Center Square in Rotterdam).

He had been a consultant to every President of the United States from Eisenhower to Reagan. Hurkos received countless police badges from police chiefs around the world, including one from the International Police Association, and INTERPOL. His Holiness, Pope Pius XII, decorated Hurkos stating; "I hope you will always use your God-given Gift for the betterment of mankind. Use it as an instrument to touch the people, to help them."

Hurkos made numerous television and radio appearances, both here and abroad, among them: "The Merv Griffen Show," "The Johnny Carson Show," "Breakaway," "The Phil Donahue Show," "The Regis Show," "Ed Sullivan Show," "Geraldo," "What's My Line," local and national news programs, and "One Step Beyond" [a two-parter on ABC/ emphasizing the highlights of Hurkos' life]. He guests starred on ABC's "Matt Houston," as himself.
 

Hurkos astounded international audiences with his amazing psychic demonstrations, and is credited with more than fifteen primtime hours of specials which have achieved unprecedentedhigh ratings: Japan/ six hours for TV-TOKYO and NET-TV "The Greatest Psychic in The World . . . Peter Hurkos" (-a two-parter, film at Dr. Puharich's lab in Dobson, NC where Hurkos was specifically tested for this special, and also on location in Japan, where Hurkos gave a live unrehearsed demonstration which included finding one person), The Netherlands/nine hours for TROST-TV "Peter Hurkos"( - four-part special highlighting Hurkos' finding the kidnapped Dutch millionaire, Maup Cransa), Canada/two and a half hour special for CBC "Psych-Out with Peter Hurkos" (-which created a circuit overflow when Hurkos began speaking with the home audiences by telephone).

He also appeared in several motion pictures as himself: "The Amazing World of Psychic Phenomena" [Sunn International]; "Mysterious Monsters" [David Wolper]; and "Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep" [Paramount]. 20th Century Fox highlighted his abilities in the motion picture "THE BOSTON STRANGLER" which starred Tony Curtis, Henry Fonda and George Kennedy and directed by Richard Fleisher.

Various prominent, worldwide publications reported his exploits throughout his lifetime: TIME, NEWSWEEK, OMNI, LIFE, TRUE, READER'S DIGEST, PLAYBOY, THE NATIONAL ENQUIRER, LADIES HOME JOURNAL, etc.
 

Hurkos published three books: PSYCHIC [Bobbs-Merrill], THE PSYCHIC WORLD OF PETER HURKOS [Doubleday], and PETER HURKOS: I HAVE MANY LIVES [Doubleday]. His achievements have been the focal points of more than seventy-five books [see lists of some of the books attached].

Over his lifetime Hurkos proved to be a top-draw headliner at Night-Clubs and on the Concert stage. Hurkos explained why he was able to demonstrate with such ease before audiences anywhere anytime: "When you have a gift, you don't have to be afraid to prove it. Sometimes people try to trick me, but I touch their object . . . I see pictures in my mind about what is happening . . . then I tell them."

Peter Hurkos believed there were (are) a lot of charlatans, and counseled: "If you ever go to a psychic, don't ask any questions or give any clues. If they are psychic, they should be able to tell what the problem is."
Hurkos resided in Studio City at the time of his death, with his wife, Stephany Hurkos, a personal manager, and their daughter Gloria. His hobbies were gardening and painting (oil painting). One of his paintings is currently on display at New York's Museum of Modern Art. Some of his other paintings adorn the residences of former President Ronald Reagan, and The General Omar N. Bradley Museum in Carlisle, Penn.

So he was . . . Peter Hurkos: the man . . . the artist . . . the psychic . . . A gentle man with a warm heart . . . giving to all . . . Peter Hurkos.