Embracing the Spirits: True Stories of My Encounters With the Other Side (7 page)

“Awww come on Nan!” said Lou. “You’ve done so well, but

maybe now you just need that little bit of extra energy. Why

don’t you just let somebody help you?”

Just then I noticed a flash on the lounge, in the seat where

my spirit friend, Matt likes to sit.

Lover Girl 49

I asked Ivy if Matt was there, and if she would allow him

to help her move the table. After a minute or so hesitation, the answer came back as a small, reluctant “YES.”

I decided to act quickly before Ivy had the chance to

change her mind.

“Right,” I said. “Come on you two, let’s see what you can

do!”

Almost immediately, the pedestal table began to forcefully

shake. It was as though someone had grabbed its by its middle

and was waggling it back and forth. Within a minute, the table was knocked over and laying on its side.

Lou and I cheered, thanking
Lover girl
and Matt for their impressive display. We said a prayer of thanks, closed down

the session and went to sit on the lounge. Our spirit friends

were quick to follow, with Matt assuming his customary posi-

tion on the two-seater sofa.

I suggested to Lou that we should offer Matt and Ivy one

further opportunity to show themselves, by inviting them to

appear in a photo. Lou agreed and went to stand in the cor-

ner of the family room, a position I have found to be consis-

tently charged with spirit energy. Lou invited her grandmother to come in close, telling her she would be delighted if she would show herself in the photo.

We weren’t disappointed, as there above Lou’s right shoul-

der, a large and brilliant orb dominated the photograph.

Despite only passing away the week before, Ivy had no prob-

lem manifesting her spirit energy. She had surpassed my

expectations and I was more than impressed!

Now it was Matt’s turn. I sat on the lounge beside him, put-

ting my arm around where I sensed his shoulders would be.

50 Lover Girl

“Come on Matt,” I said. “How about you and I have a

photo together?”

With one quick snap he was there, shining a radiant, beau-

tiful light right from his middle. Although I didn’t need fur-

ther proof of his presence, I was delighted that he appeared in what is now a much-treasured photograph.

I did briefly wonder why Matt was suddenly visiting me,

as I hadn’t seen him in weeks. Once I’d facilitated contact

between him and his family, his presence had receded.
So why
was he suddenly back?

It didn’t take me long to work out what was going on, and

speaking to Matt via the pendulum confirmed my suspicions.

Matt’s beloved sister-in-law, Slim, was due to commence chemo-

therapy the next day and Matt wanted her to know he would be

by her side. Since Matt had travelled the same journey himself, he empathised with what she was going through. He wanted to

offer comfort and the reassurance that all would be OK.

Feeling Matt’s spirit beside me, I put my arm around his shoulders.

It was lovely to see the small, bright orb confirming his presence
beside me on the lounge!

Lover Girl 51

I promised Matt that I would contact Slim that night, to

remind her that she wasn’t alone in her journey. Not only did

she have a throng of friends and family alongside her, the spirit world was providing loving support as well. I had no doubt that Matt’s photo was intended to add to her armoury, to ensure a

positive outcome in her journey towards good health.

As I emailed Slim the photograph later that night, I was

instilled with the unwavering conviction that everything

would fine. And every time I look at that photo, I believe it all the more.

R o b e r t

The more I initiated spirit contact, the more spontaneous spirit interactions I seemed to attract. I also found that my clairvoyant abilities were becoming significantly enhanced. Not only

was I seeing more spirits each day, but I was beginning to experience physical phenomena to complement my visions.

As a result of my frightening experiences as a teenager, I

still find it difficult to sleep in complete darkness, and feel vulnerable if my head is exposed. I am the classic ghost-fearing chicken, and rare is the night the sheets aren’t covering my

head as a barrier between myself and the figures lurking in the darkness.

When I’m brave enough to expose myself to the dark (usu-

ally only if my husband is tucked up in bed beside me) I’m

usually overwhelmed by the images which spring up before

me. At the very least I see what looks like energy flooding

through the room. It’s difficult to put into words, but I sup-

pose the best way to describe it is that it looks as though it 53

54 Robert

is raining indoors. The energy appears white and fuzzy, and

peculiarly, the “rain” seems to be falling in all directions at once. I also see bright flashing lights within this energy field, and if I’m brave enough to keep looking, the lights sometimes

transform into figures.

I am well aware that in order to develop my abilities it’s

vital that I shake these residual fears, and that I need to drop my barriers (and indeed the ever-present sheet!) to indicate to the spirits that I am open and receptive.

It was with this thought in mind that I lay in bed one eve-

ning, head exposed and concentrating on my breathing, as I

tried to make contact with a spirit I could feel in my bedroom.

I suspected that the spirit of a young man had followed

me home from my clinic, as his mother had been in for an

appointment earlier in the day. I had known Robert several

years ago, as he was a friend of my then-boyfriend and our

paths often crossed. I had always found him to be vibrant and

gregarious, and was profoundly saddened to hear that he had

passed away the week before.

His parents had spent the day with him as he wasn’t feeling

well and he didn’t want to be alone. They stayed with their son until his partner returned from work, at which point they left to go home. By the time they pulled into their driveway half

an hour later, Robert had suffered a massive brain aneurysm.

As expected, his devastated family were in shock, as Robert

had been devoted to the gym and appeared to be in the best

of health. I expect that Robert was similarly shocked to find himself suddenly dead, as I strongly felt his presence and knew that he was still around.

It is at night that I’m at my most receptive, as the children

are in bed and the house is quiet and still. On the night in ques-Robert 55

tion, Stuart was downstairs quietly watching TV, and I ven-

tured upstairs, determined to allow Robert to make contact.

I got into bed and turned out the lights. I fought the urge

to pull the sheets over my head, knowing that to the spirits this would be interpreted as “go away!”

As I lay in the darkness concentrating on my breathing, I

suddenly felt a weight on the bed beside me, and a hand fall

gently onto my leg. I kept telling myself to breath, to relax, that I owed it to Robert to allow him to make contact. I

couldn’t still my internal dialogue, and kept telling myself

there was no need to be frightened and that I was very lucky

to be experiencing this visit. After all, how scary could Rob-

ert be? The energy he gave off was a little sad and imploring, but his intrinsic loveliness was also shining through. He wasn’t even remotely frightening, and any niggling fears were quickly quelled by his positive, gentle energy.

“Is that you Robert?” I asked.

Almost immediately, I felt pressure on either side of my

head, as though someone was pressing a thumb in each tem-

ple. After a few moments, the pressure on each side alter-

nated, it was firm but by not unpleasant, and felt distinctly

as though someone was giving me a head massage! At first I

found myself over-analysing what was happening
Did Robert
try to alleviate his headache before he died this way? Is he just trying to draw attention to my head to identify himself? What if it’s not
Robert at all, and I’m just experiencing some kind of surge in psychic energy?

I forced myself to stop the internal chatter, and allowed

myself to relax into the experience. It really felt as though I was being massaged, the thumb pressure could not feel any

56 Robert

more solid or real. It lasted for almost ten minutes, unfaltering in both its strength and rhythm for the entire duration.

By the time it stopped, I felt extremely relaxed, and con-

gratulated myself on not bailing on a wonderful experience.

It showed me what I had known all along, there is nothing

to fear from the spirit world. Why should someone suddenly

become scary just because they had shed their earthly shells?

The fear is so unwarranted.

I felt the weight lift off the end of the bed and in its wake I was left with a sense of happiness and progress. I ran downstairs to relay the experience to Stuart, but not before thanking Robert for the lovely massage, and for helping me further conquer the barrier of fear.

T h e H e r i t a g e H o t e l

It’s long been known that old hotels are often hives of para-

normal activity. Those who have passed through their doors

in days gone by are sometimes loathe to leave their favou-

rite watering holes. Ghosts are believed to linger in places to which they have strong emotional attachments; whether they

be borne from happy memories or painful ones.

Rose is a cosmetic dentist, who bought the
Heritage Hotel
to convert into consulting rooms. Built in the 1920’s, it is an elegant example of Art Deco architecture, and boasts over 800

square meters of floor space. Although it required extensive

remodelling, Rose knew it would be perfect for her new clinic.

The first inkling that
The Heritage
may have been haunted began during renovations. First one, then several of the con-tractors, refused to work in the building alone. They spoke of strange noises, a sense of being watched and most unsettling

of all, the sensation of someone blowing in their ears.

57

58 The Heritage Hotel

My sister-in-law, Hayley is one of Rose’s nurses, and told

me about the strange goings-on. She asked if I would be will-

ing to visit her new workplace, to ascertain whether their

suspicions that
The Heritage
was haunted were correct. We arranged to conduct an on-site investigation the following

Thursday evening.

There were to be five of us in attendance; Hayley and

Rose, my friends; Kelly and Karen, (who would record the

night’s events on infrared camera) and myself.

Armed with my trusty pendulum and pedestal table, we

arrived at the
Heritage Hotel
a little after eight o’clock. I picked up on several presences as soon as I walked through the front

door. It felt as though I was being followed into each room as Hayley took me on a tour of the building. As stylish as the new fit-out was, I had the distinct feeling that the ghosts were less than impressed. The new look office space bore little resemblance to the hotel rooms they had once been.

After touring the operating theatres and consulting rooms,

we made our way back to the reception area. It was as we

passed the imposing main staircase that I caught a glimpse of

a small, fleeting figure. It dashed down the stairs in a matter of seconds, pausing briefly on the landing. Camera in hand, I took a quick snap. I was pleased to see a beautiful, bright orb exactly where the figure had been.

I showed the photo to Hayley and Rose, explaining that

orbs are manifestations of spirit energy. I told them that each time I saw a spirit I’d try to capture the presence in a photograph, as verification of what I was seeing. The ladies excitedly told me that if I wanted to photograph orbs we had better go down to the basement. As far as they could tell, it seemed

to be the focus of the haunting. They told me that whoever

The Heritage Hotel 59

went down there reported feeling distinctly uneasy from the

moment they set foot in its musty darkness.

We navigated our way down the steep outdoor staircase, as

we made our way to the basement. Rose unlocked the heavy

wooden door and stepped back to allow us in; the dense atmo-

sphere of ghostly presences immediately apparent.

“Hello …” I said into the darkness. “Would anyone like to