The Healing Revival began in 1946, with the emergence of Pentecostal pastor and faith healer William M. Branham as one of its catalysts. What was special about his appearances was that he not only prayed for the sick, but also acted as a clairvoyant. He explained his clairvoyance as his gift of discernment and fascinated the masses with it. In the same year, 1946, the novel Nightmare Alley was published, in which the clairvoyant Zeena uses a trick that is strikingly reminiscent of William Branham's prayer cards, which were used during his healing campaigns. In 1947, William Branham made his breakthrough as a faith healer, the very year the novel Nightmare Alley was released in theaters. A coincidence that is worth mentioning.

Author Roy Weremchuk is 41 years old, of German-Canadian origin, and is married with two children. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in psychology while training at the police academy and is the deputy head of an investigative unit at the Rheinpfalz police headquarters in Ludwigshafen, Germany.