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Jack Rourke is an American author, spiritual teacher, and self-described psychic advisor based in Los Angeles, California. He is the author of The Rational Psychic: A Skeptic's Guide to Extraordinary Perception, published by Sounds True and distributed by Macmillan Publishers in 2012. His work as a public educator on extrasensory perception and paranormal phenomena has led to consulting engagements with CBS, Summit Entertainment, and Lionsgate, and media appearances including CNN, TV Guide, ABC News, NBC, the BBC, the History Channel, and the Associated Press.

Rourke pursued a career in acting, appearing on American television in programs including The Young and the Restless and the WB series Jack & Jill, and performing in theatrical productions in Los Angeles. He retired from acting in 1999 to pursue work in paranormal research and consulting, subsequently establishing a professional coaching and advisory practice.

In 2012 Rourke published The Rational Psychic: A Skeptic's Guide to Extraordinary Perception through Sounds True, a Boulder, Colorado-based publisher whose catalog includes works by Eckhart Tolle, Pema Chödrön, and Michael Singer.^[1] The book was subsequently distributed by Macmillan Publishers.^[2] Sounds True founder Tami Simon^[3] described Rourke as "a skilled and compassionate professional" with "a genuine desire to serve" whose work presents "a detailed, thoughtful, and often surprising examination of seemingly supernatural and psychic events."^[4] The book presents a rational framework for understanding extrasensory perception, addressing the scientific, psychological, and spiritual dimensions of psychic ability without requiring readers to adopt specific metaphysical beliefs. The foreword was contributed by Dr. Barry E. Taff, a parapsychologist and former research associate at UCLA's Parapsychology Laboratory whose 1974 investigation of an alleged haunting in Culver City, California became the basis for the book and 1982 film The Entity.^[5][6] Endorsements were contributed by Loyd Auerbach, a parapsychologist who served as Public Information and Media Consultant to the American Society for Psychical Research,^[7] and Dr. Andrew Nichols, director of the research division of the Psychical Research Foundation.^[8]

Rourke contributed a professional endorsement to Kids Who See Ghosts: How to Guide Them Through Fear by Caron B. Goode (Red Wheel/Weiser, 2010), in which he is identified as a parapsychological researcher.^[9] He also contributed to What Wags the World: Tales of Conscious Awakening edited by Miriam Knight and Julie Clayton.^[10]

The Rational Psychic proposes that extrasensory-like mental functioning is the result of stress-induced conditioning — an adaptation of the fight-or-flight response that Rourke argues may account for reports of paranormal perception.^[11] Rourke contends that mystical metaphors are insufficient for explaining such experiences and advocates instead for psychological and environmental frameworks.

Rourke has served as a subject matter expert and public educator on paranormal phenomena for multiple film and television productions. CBS Television featured him in Cracking the Crystal Ball, a documentary short film produced for the Season 1 DVD release of The Mentalist, in which Rourke was presented alongside former FBI agents and parapsychologist Dr. Barry E. Taff, examining the use of psychics in criminal and missing persons investigations.^[12]

He served as subject matter expert during the theatrical press campaign for Summit Entertainment's Push (2009), providing expert media interviews to national outlets including ABC News.^[13] He consulted on Lionsgate's The Haunting in Connecticut^[14] and Insidious.^[15] In 2009 Rourke appeared alongside Dr. Barry E. Taff in Mind Over Matter: The Truth About Telekinesis, a documentary featurette directed by Daniel Farrands and produced for the Deluxe Edition DVD release of Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood, examining the real-world basis of the film's telekinesis premise.^[16] In 2016 he appeared alongside Raymond Moody and James Van Praagh in the documentary Ghosts and the Hereafter.^[17]

In 2006 and 2007 Rourke provided predictions distributed by the Associated Press.^[18]

In 2009 Rourke was quoted by CNN staff writer Lisa Respers France in an editorial feature on the psychological impact of Michael Jackson's death, in which CNN identified him as a psychic consultant who had worked extensively in paranormal research and consulted for major Hollywood studios.^[19]

In 2019 TV Guide selected Rourke as one of three national experts — alongside a University of Southern California mathematics professor and a professional analyst — to predict the outcome of the final season of Game of Thrones.^[20]

Rourke has made multiple appearances on Coast to Coast AM,^[21] including a live broadcast from the Ghost Fest Expo 2006 aboard the RMS Queen Mary hosted by George Noory,^[22] and a 2012 appearance with host John B. Wells discussing psychic perception and parapsychological research.^[23]

He appeared on NBC's The Trisha Goddard Show, an American talk show hosted by British television presenter Trisha Goddard and distributed by NBCUniversal Television Distribution, which ran from 2012 to 2014.^[24][25] He appeared on the FOX broadcast of The Ricki Lake Show, on which he appeared alongside Lisa Williams. ^[26][27] He appeared on Weird or What?, the Syfy network series hosted by William Shatner.^[28] The Travel Channel featured him in the 2010 program Ghostly Lovers.^[29]

In 2018 BuzzFeed featured Rourke in a produced segment in which he coached a BuzzFeed producer in finding a romantic partner, directed by Aria Inthavong.^[30]

In 2006 Rourke executive produced the first annual Ghost Fest Expo in conjunction with the RMS Queen Mary in Long Beach, California. Additional assistance was provided by Beyond Investigation Magazine and co-producer Erika Frost. The event featured guest speakers including George Noory, Loyd Auerbach, Dr. Andrew Nichols, and Jeff Belanger, and included a live broadcast of Coast to Coast AM from the Queen Mary.^[31]

• The Rational Psychic: A Skeptic's Guide to Extraordinary Perception (Sounds True / Macmillan Publishers, 2012) ISBN 978-1-60407-804-6
• Contributing author: What Wags the World: Tales of Conscious Awakening (O-Books, 2014)
• Endorser: Kids Who See Ghosts: How to Guide Them Through Fear (Red Wheel/Weiser, 2010)

• Official website
• Sounds True author page
• Macmillan Publishers
• Wikidata entity Q139681639

Category:American writers Category:Living people Category:People from Los Angeles Category:Paranormal investigators