Embracing the Spirits: True Stories of My Encounters With the Other Side (3 page)

made way for awe. I couldn’t quite comprehend what had just

happened. I had read about this type of phenomenon before,

but to experience it myself was another thing altogether.

And to think, the night had barely begun!

Once we’d composed ourselves, Tony set up the Ouija

Board. It was the very thing I had sworn I’d never be involved with. I’d heard too many stories of séances gone wrong. Yet

here I was, seated in the old dining room of a haunted hotel, about to initiate contact with its resident ghosts.

Tony’s Ouija Board is a converted fold-out table, and judg-

ing by its well-worn appearance, it has obviously seen much

use over the years. It had probably once been a pristine white, but was now looking battered with age. The letters and numbers were arranged around its periphery, with a large “YES”

and “NO” in the middle.

I reassured myself with the knowledge that Tony was an

expert in the field of spirit contact, and I knew that he wouldn’t start proceedings without protection being in place first. In an effort to further strengthen my spiritual armour, I said a quick prayer and white-lighted myself, then braced myself in preparation for the séance.

There were five of us seated around the table; Tony, Karen,

Rob, Heidi and myself. Heidi’s friend Sophie sat slightly apart 14 The Night of the Poltergeist

from us, taping proceedings on her hand-held tape recorder. We were ready to begin.

Tony asked us to place our hands flat on the table, with

our little fingers extended so as to touch those of the person next to us. He warned us that it was likely nothing would happen for quite a while,
if
it happened at all. If we did make spirit contact however, Tony told us we’d feel a drop in temperature

and the tips of our fingers would start to feel cold.

The wheels were set into motion when Tony asked the

spirits to draw close to us. He made it clear that only ener-

gies coming from the light were welcome to make contact,

and asked for us to be shielded from lower-vibration entities.

Tony then told us that he needed to
leave us for a little while,
and began to zone out. He said that he needed to make sure

that the energy around the table was not threatening. If Tony

felt an increase in energy, it meant that we were dealing with positive, crossed over spirits. If however he sensed a drop, it was possible that negative energies were around us. If this was the case, we would have to end the séance.

We watched as Tony allowed himself to drop into a semi-

trance state, and smiled nervously at each other across the

table. I couldn’t believe I was really about to do this, was I really inviting contact from the other side? It wasn’t long

before Tony opened his eyes, and announced it was safe to

begin.

The room was in darkness except for the greenish glow

emanating from the exit sign, just enough for us to see each

other’s faces and the board before us. We were surprised by

how quickly the spirit contact was initiated. As our fingertips began to get cold, we looked at each other across the table.

The Night of the Poltergeist 15

Rob, seated directly opposite me, couldn’t hide his awe at what was happening.

“I feel it!” he said. His eyes grew wide as the table started

to vibrate.

Heidi made a pained noise as the table began to shake

more forcibly, the uninitiated amongst us staring fixedly at the table as it seemed to take on a life of it’s own.

“I feel sick!” said Heidi. “Ohhhh … it’s under my hands!

There’s tapping coming from under my hands!”

Tony’s composed voice restored some semblance of calm

as he addressed the spirits.

“Would someone like to make contact with Heidi?”

The table began to seesaw back and forth, tipping towards

Heidi as if in response to Tony’s question.

“Can you lift the table off the ground?” he asked.

Heidi looked as though she was about to pass out.

“Oh no …” she muttered, desperately trying to maintain

control. “Guys, I’m really freaking out here …”

We tried to comfort her (and thereby reassure ourselves) by

telling Heidi that everything was fine. Despite the indisputable evidence that we were in the presence of ghosts, the over-riding feeling was one of awe. This was more than just a fleeting visitation, we were actually in the company of spirits!

The table continued to rock. Heidi’s side seemed to be

straining to get off the ground.

“It’s certainly trying to lift off,” said Tony. “Let’s see if we can get some messages through with the glass.”

A moment later an upturned glass was in the middle of the

table, with each of us lightly resting a finger on top of it. We didn’t have to wait long before the glass started to move.

16 The Night of the Poltergeist

Tony immediately tuned into a murder victim. He told us

it was someone who had “died as he had lived,” and had been

caught up in a crazy, full-on lifestyle. He told us the murder happened interstate, and asked if any of us could place him, as he was definitely connected to one of us.

“I know who he is,” said Sophie from where she sat record-

ing the séance. Tony said she’d better join the table, and her deceased friend proceeded to deliver his message.

On numerous occasions he tried to communicate with

Tony telepathically.

“Stop talking to me!” said Tony light-heartedly. “We want

you to use the glass!”

It wasn’t long before Heidi’s insistent spirit friend returned, and as soon as she identified herself, Heidi’s fear vanished in an instant. She was delighted to make contact with her best friend who passed away six years earlier, firing off one validation after another. By the time she stepped back to allow another spirit to enter, Heidi was positively glowing.

The glass continued to move steadily around the table.

This time it spelt out R-A-Y.

“Anyone know Ray?” asked Tony.

“He was my husband, “answered Karen.

Before poor Ray could even begin, the glass was seem-

ingly hijacked by a more insistent presence. The glass moved

quickly and forcefully towards me, stopping abruptly at the

edge of the table.

Once it had my attention, it skimmed across the table,

spelling out FEB 2.

“I think I know who you are!” I said excitedly, as I imme-

diately recognised my close friend, Deni’s birth date. Deni had

The Night of the Poltergeist 17

passed away thirteen years earlier as the result of a plane crash; the Tiger Moth joy flight being a thirtieth birthday gift.

My dear friend, Deni, all dressed up for a cocktail party (circa 1995.)
Deni was quick to come through the first time I used an Ouija Board.

“Can you give me your initials?” I asked.

I can do better than that!
He must’ve thought, because he quickly spelt out his entire first name D-E-N-I.

“Deni!” I gasped. “It
is
you!”

I could scarcely believe my best buddy had stepped for-

ward. Despite seeing his spirit for the first few years after his death, I hadn’t seen him or sensed his presence in over five

years.

18 The Night of the Poltergeist

“U- NO- C- ME”

“You no see me?” read Rob. “
You don’t see me
perhaps?”

“Oh Deni!” I said. “I know I don’t see you any more. I

thought you might have come back as my son Danny …”

The glass wasted no time in whizzing across to NO.

I told Deni I loved him and that I was so very grateful for

his visit. Before he left, I had one last question.

“Do you love me?” I asked.

The glass began to move slowly towards the “YES.”

“Ummm … you’re not very convincing,” I joked. “Glad to

see you feel so strongly about me!”

With that, the glass sped straight towards the YES, which it

then proceeded to circle as if to prove a point.

“I know you do,” I said. And then as quickly as he had taken

charge of the Ouija board, he stepped back and was gone.

At this point Ray managed to find his way back in, and we

continued our séance with broad smiles and lighter hearts.

It was the perfect counterbalance to our encounter with

Ted, and we finished our evening on an upbeat note.

As I lay in bed that evening, my mind was buzzing with all

that we’d experienced. It still didn’t seem real. It had been a ghost hunter’s dream, with much of the evidence caught on camera.

I was elated yet overwhelmed, and a small part of me

couldn’t help worrying that one of the spirits from the hotel had decided to come home with me. I can’t say I felt frightened, but I wasn’t entirely comfortable either. Needless to say, there was little sleep to be had that night. When I did finally manage to doze off, my bedside lamp was still blazing and my head was

hidden firmly beneath the sheets.

R e p e r c u s s i o n s

Three days after the Carinup investigation, I found myself

driving South once again. This time I was heading to the sea-

side town of Mandurah, for a meeting with a medium named

Dot. Dot had come highly recommended and I was eager to

discover whether she and I would pick up on the same spirits.

Sometimes it feels as though I’m on a constant quest for vali-

dation, to seek out confirmation that my clairvoyance is real.

I pulled up outside Dot’s neat brick and tile home just

before 9am, brimming with expectation. I was still very much

affected by my experience of a few nights ago and could think

of little else. I wasn’t so much scared as awestruck, particularly since it had been one of those rare occasions where a paranormal experience had been shared amongst a group. My encoun-

ters with ghosts are usually solitary affairs, whereby they show themselves to me for a brief instant and then move on. So

sharing a protracted paranormal encounter felt somehow spe-

cial, as everyone who was present experienced the same thing.

19

20 Repercussions

Also, as confronting as poltergeist activity can be, it is wonderfully concrete proof of the continuity of life after death.

Dot welcomed me with a hug as she ushered me into her

incense-filled consulting room. She passed me a deck of well-

worn Tarot cards, which I ineptly began to shuffle.

“Now cut them into three piles,” she said.

I did as I was instructed, then leant back in my chair and

waited for the reading to unfold. Dot expertly arranged the

cards into rapid-fire rows; their mysterious, faded images captivating and eerie. Yet of all the cards laid out before me, one caught my attention more than the others. Especially since I

noticed Dot’s small, involuntary gasp as it fell to the table. It was the Queen of Pentacles.

Dot leaned in towards me in a way that put me immedi-

ately on edge. Her face had suddenly become furrowed with

worry. She scanned the cards quickly once again, as if to con-

firm what she was seeing, then looked directly into my eyes.

“Have you had things moving around your house lately?”

she asked. “Any stuff being thrown around?”

I knew where this conversation was heading, and my heart

began to race.

“I have had in the past,” I replied nervously. “Is that what

you mean?”

“No,” said Dot. “I mean
now.
In the last day or so.”

I braced myself for what I had no doubt was coming.

“You have a poltergeist attached to you …”

After the initial pang of fear, my over-riding emotion was

anger.
How had I been so stupid as to have willingly placed myself
in the firing line of a poltergeist! After all I’d lived through as a teenager, here I was about to go through it again!

Repercussions 21

I didn’t want to believe it could be true, but sitting there

across from Dot, I knew that she was simply confirming what

I had suspected for the last couple of days.

I thought back to Monday night’s haunting investigation,

and how the thought of possibly being followed home had

occurred to me then. As I was standing in the pitch black hallway calling out into the darkness, I wondered if I was the first person to speak kindly to Ted in all these years. I wondered

whether he would gravitate towards me. The thought was

answered by a gentle touch to my hair. It was almost as if he was stroking it. Tony was also touched, but rather than touching his hair, Ted had given him a little prod to the leg.

Had Ted been reaching out to us, grateful for the compas-

sion we had shown him? I’d tried to put it out of my head,