Kyle Brandon Smith, Staff Writer

            Students lined up to have their futures unveiled during the University at Buffalo’s annual Psychic Fair last Friday.

            From 12 p.m. to 5 p.m., the fair took over the Flag Room in the Student Union and offered UB students a peek at their future through the arts of palm reading, tarot cards and runes – an ancient Germanic alphabet used for magic and divination.

            The event was fit for the day before Halloween – the faint glow of lights filtered through the sheer black curtains that lined the perimeter of the Flag Room.

            A long line wrapped around the room as students peered through the black curtains to steal a glimpse at what was ahead. All that was visible through the dark drapery were the spheres of light that were illuminating the psychics’ tables.

            Caroline Stocker, a senior art major, had visited a few psychics before and only had good experiences.

            “To an extent, it all depends on a few factors,” Stocker said. “Every psychic is different [and] every person is different, so of course every reading is going to be different.”

            Nine psychics sat at tables along the edge of the room, shrouded in darkness except for nine small lamps.

            Ann Karpiake, a psychic, waited patiently at her table with her tools – seashell runes and tarot cards.

            “I went to school in Hawaii to learn how to be a psychic, essentially to learn tools to enhance my spiritual awareness,” Karpiake said. “I met the director of this program through my mother, and that is how I began giving readings at universities across the country.”

            Psychic fairs at colleges are one of Karpiake’s favorite events because students have a great deal of questions and are eager to hear their predictions.

            Kelsey Bradbury, a sophomore psychology major at Penn State, had travelled back to Buffalo to spend a weekend at home. When she heard about the psychic fair, she knew she wanted to attend.

            “I had never gotten a reading done before,” Bradbury said. “It was very straightforward. I’m glad [the psychic] didn’t pretend she was having visions or something. That would have really thrown me off.”

            As a psychology major, Bradbury was skeptical. She knew some of the tricks that the psychic was using, but despite this, she still found the experience entertaining.

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