fey
adjective

- giving an impression of vague unworldliness or mystery

- mysterious and strange, or trying to appear like this

Oxford Languages / Cambridge Dictionary

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WORD ORIGIN

“Fey” derives from Old French feie meaning "fairy”, ultimately derived from Vulgar Latin fata "one of the Fates, a goddess of fate”. This gave rise to the meaning of "fey" referring to fairies or supernatural folk associated with fate and destiny.

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FAMOUS & FEY

Peter Hurkos, born Pieter van der Hurk on May 21, 1911, in Dordrecht, Netherlands, was a Dutch psychic who claimed to have developed extrasensory perception (ESP) after a head injury from a fall in 1941. Before his psychic career, he worked as a merchant seaman and was involved in the Dutch underground movement during World War II.

In 1956, Hurkos moved to the United States for psychic research and became a professional psychic, performing on stage and television.

Hurkos gained fame for his alleged psychic abilities, particularly in the field of psychic detection, and was involved in high-profile cases such as the Boston Strangler and the Manson Family murders.

Despite some claims of success, his contributions were often controversial and disputed. For instance, his description of the Boston Strangler did not match the actual perpetrator, Albert DeSalvo.

Hurkos also faced legal issues, including a conviction in 1964 for impersonating an FBI agent to gather information for his psychic claims. He continued to perform and make public appearances until his death from a heart attack on June 1, 1988, in Los Angeles, California.

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SYNONYMS

arcane, baffling, bewildering, bewitching, bizarre, cryptic, deep, enigmatic, esoteric, fathomless, FEY, hidden, impenetrable, incomprehensible, inexplicable, inscrutable, mysterious, mystical, mystifying, obscure, perplexing, puzzling, secretive, shadowy, shrouded, sphinx-like, spooky, strange, supernatural, uncanny, unknown, veiled, weird

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SMUGGLE OWAD into a sentence, say something like:

“As much as I’d like to believe the claims of Peter Hurkos, it’s unlikely that he possessed genuine FEY abilities.”

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