Embracing the Spirits: True Stories of My Encounters With the Other Side (4 page)

but now with Dot’s confirmation, the possibility was suddenly

very real.

“You need to move him on,” said Dot firmly. “If you don’t

he’s going to start disturbing the children.”

I was feeling increasingly anxious. I had lived through a

five-year poltergeist haunting before and was terrified at the thought of having to do so again. I was especially worried for my children.

Since I’d seen a fleeting black figure at the periphery of my

vision numerous times since Monday night, I just knew that

what Dot was telling me was real. Further evidence of Ted’s

presence came from my husband Stuart, who told me he’d

heard footsteps and banging in the hallway the night before.

The noises were loud enough for him to think that one of the

children had gotten up, but when he went to investigate, the

hallway was empty.

22 Repercussions

Whilst Dot assured me that Ted didn’t mean any harm,

she couldn’t stress enough that his presence would have an

ill-effect on our household. She told me that he’d been a vio-

lent alcoholic in life, and was now fearful of progressing to the light to face the consequences.

“You need to go home and cleanse yourself and your

house,” she said. “Do it today.”

She advised me to scrub myself with rock salt and to

smudge every corner of every room in the house, whilst

mindful of the intention of moving Ted on. She told me to

use a smouldering bundle of white sage, and to ensure that its smoke permeated every inch of the house.

“That’s all you need to do to smudge,” she said. “And if he

refuses to leave, make sure you let me know. If he’s stubborn, I’ll just move him on remotely …”

“Can’t you move him on now?” I asked. “Why don’t you

just do whatever it is you do now, and be done with it?”

“You’re a channel,” said Dot. “I have every faith you can do

it yourself. Just go home and try!”

I was unconvinced and was feeling increasingly panicked.

“Please Dot,” I asked. “I really want you to do it now …”

Knowing that I wouldn’t take no
for an answer, Dot took my hand and dropped into a trance. The energy around us

was palpably buzzing within the room.

After a few minutes she slowly opened her eyes and I held

her gaze with mine.

“Is he gone?” I asked.

“Gone!” she smiled.

She continued the reading but my attention was elsewhere.

Although it seemed as though Dot had moved Ted on, I couldn’t

wait to get home and start smudging the house. I wanted to

Repercussions 23

make sure I took every precaution to prevent a resurgence of

poltergeist activity. The five year disturbance I had endured in my teens had been more than enough.

As I write this, I can’t categorically state that I’m convinced that Ted has moved on. It’s just over a week since I saw Dot

and there have still been signs that he may still be around.

Whilst the heaviness has certainly lifted, I still catch glimpses of a figure darting around our house.

Three nights ago, whilst Stu was on nightshift, I went to

bed at 9.30, drained and in need of an early night. No sooner had I settled myself under the covers, that I heard a male voice whisper loudly from across the room.

“Get up!” it said.

“Get out!” I replied.

Knowing that poltergeists thrive on fear, I am refusing to

allow myself to succumb to feeling scared. If I start to falter, I have a technique that unfailingly calms me. Instead of

thinking of Ted as some kind of malevolent entity, I have been thinking of him as the little newborn he once was. It really fills my heart with compassion to think that an innocent little baby can somehow end up being a poltergeist … how on earth did it

come to this?

I would love to help Ted go to the light, and have been

praying for him to do so. I say my prayers out loud so that

he can hear them, and remind him that peace and love await

him, rather than the judgement he so fears. Surely he has been lonely and in limbo for long enough.

Two nights ago I had another visit, and again it wasn’t

as threatening as it may have been had I allowed fear to take

hold. I was woken by someone breathing gently in my face,

the breath warm and redolent with the smell of red wine!

24 Repercussions

“Ted,” I whispered. “You need to go!”

I rolled over towards Stu and pulled the covers over my

head, and amazingly, fell quickly back to sleep.

As I reflect on the situation now, I don’t regret crossing

paths with Ted at all. We need to remember that ghosts, pol-

tergeists and spirits were all once like us and we need to treat them with love and compassion. Are poltergeists
really
evil?

Or are they just desperate for the attention they’ve been lacking for so many years? And remember, these entities can only

scare you if you let them, and it’s your heightened emotion

which helps them manifest.

Remind yourself that the power is yours, remain calm and

centred. Surround yourself with positivity, light and love. And if you have some to spare, send it along to those like Ted. Pray for the souls who are stuck, they deserve to be at peace.

M a t i l d a

Not long after the Carinup investigation, I was driving home

from a meeting when my phone rang. The young woman on

the other end introduced herself as Matilda, a reporter with the West Australian newspaper. Matilda is the niece of one of my

dearest friends and had heard of my recent poltergeist expe-

rience in Carinup. I promised to call her back as soon as I got home.

“I’d really like to meet with you,” she said. “I think your

Carinup haunting investigation would make a great story!”

I spoke to Matilda for quite some time and provided her

with a brief rundown of my ghost-rich history. She listened

intently, seemingly blown away by what she was hearing.

Her reactions were peppered with gasps and
Oh my God’s a
nd it wasn’t long before I began to suspect that the subject was

very confronting for her. Her fear was confirmed when I sug-

gested that rather than simply writing about my recent expe-

riences, she should visit Carinup herself. I suggested that her 25

26 Matilda

story would gain considerable credibility and substance if she were to join me for a follow-up investigation.

Matilda’s attitudes to the paranormal were very similar to

how my own had been as a young woman. As much as she

was intrigued by the prospect of contacting spirits (especially since she had lost her father, Matt four years earlier) she found it hard to shake her fears.

I assured her that I didn’t want to frighten her or coerce her into taking part if she had any reservations. So rather than just barrelling straight into the path of a poltergeist, I suggested that we meet up to discuss things before taking matters further.

As such, we met up a fortnight later for a chat over lunch.

Matilda’s journalistic bent was apparent, as she fired off an endless stream of questions. The paranormal was obviously a sub-

ject that held great interest for her and for now at least, her inquisitive mind was far outstripping her fear-based reservations.

As we sat in our downstairs family room (without a doubt

the most spiritually active room in our house) it wasn’t long

before the spirit lights around Matilda started flashing. I

reached for my camera and was happy to see a pair of bright,

glowing orbs positioned exactly where the spirit lights had

been showing themselves. The spirits had provided their first

piece of validation.

I showed Matilda the photos, which made her feel a little

anxious.

“Can we work out who they are?” she asked nervously.

By now the lights were fleetingly showing themselves as

figures. They were vague, masculine outlines, and were obvi-

ously intent on letting Matilda know that they were there.

I suggested that we could use a pendulum to try and estab-

lish contact with the persistent spirits. Matilda offered her mother’s ring, which I tied to the end of a length of fine cotton.

Matilda 27

I asked Matilda to hold the pendulum. That way she would

be able to feel that it was moving of its own accord.

“Right,” I said once she was holding the ring steady. “Can

you please show us a
YES?”

All at once, the pendulum began moving in a slow and

steady circle, becoming larger with each subsequent revolu-

tion.

I asked it to stop, after which I asked for the pendulum to

indicate a
NO.
At this request, the pendulum began moving back and forth; in a straight, deliberate line.

“Great,” I said. “Thank you! OK Matilda, you can start ask-

ing questions …”

Matilda was a little uneasy to begin with, but as the conver-

sation began, she became increasingly bolstered.

We discovered that the spirit sitting on Matilda’s left was a

young man named Gary, the brother of an ex-boyfriend. Gary

was an eager communicator and his replies came through

strongly. He was also quick to comply with requests to appear in our photos, and repeatedly showed himself as a small, vivid orb.

Meanwhile, the spirit to Matilda’s right waited patiently

beside her, occasionally wandering towards the staircase, but

never straying far from Matilda’s side. Once we’d promised

Gary that we would arrange for an opportunity for him to talk

to his brother, he was happy to step back and allow the other

spirit to take over.

We had thought Gary’s energy had been strong, but this

presence was even stronger.

“Are you related to me?” asked Matilda.

The pendulum began to go around in an ever-increasing

circle, spinning faster and faster with each turn.

Yes!

28 Matilda

Matilda asked the pendulum to stop, after which she asked

if she was communicating with her father. The large circles

started up again.

Another Yes!

By now Matilda had cast her fears aside and was well and

truly savouring the moment. She asked question after ques-

tion, all of which validated Matt’s presence. Matilda took

things one step further as she asked for a physical sign.

“Can you make a noise for me Dad?” she asked.

A small
bang
came from the ceiling above us.

“Umm … can you do it a bit louder?” she asked cheekily, “I

really want a sign Dad!”

A louder
bang
came from
the same spot on the ceiling, and the pendulum (which I was now holding) began to go berserk.

The circles it was transcribing were getting bigger and bigger, the pendulum was moving so rapidly it was beginning to look

like a blur. And then, as part of the grand finale, it flung out of my hand, flew across the length of the table where it landed with a triumphant clatter.

Matilda and I looked at each other, with eyes as wide as

our excited smiles.

“Thanks Dad!” she said happily, the fears she had walked in

with replaced by excitement and joy. She could barely contain

her excitement and wasted no time in getting on the phone to

tell her mother.

I knew then, that this was just the beginning of Matt and

Matilda’s story. Matt had a wonderfully strong energy and I

had no doubt he would put it to good use by proving to his

family that his spirit lived on.

Less than a week later, Matilda came by for another visit.

This meeting was arranged specifically with the aim of mak-

ing contact with Matt; and as such Matilda was joined by her

mother, Sue and two of her aunties.

Matt had been making his presence felt for the few days

since Matilda’s first visit and I was convinced that he wanted to make further contact with his family. I mostly saw him sitting on the downstairs lounge as a vague, luminescent figure;

but he would also catch my attention by periodically flashing

his bright spirit light.

On one occasion I saw him standing behind the bar; so

vividly that at first glance I thought it was my husband, Stu

preparing for
drinks o’clock!
Another time I was sitting in the kitchen with my son, Danny, when Matt suddenly appeared

above the island, radiating an intense purple light.

“Danny!” I exclaimed. “Look! Can you see the spirit with

us?”

29

30 Matt

Dan looked towards Matt and smiled, then continued eat-

ing his breakfast.

“Yep,” he said casually.

“What colour is he shining at you?” I asked equally flip-

pantly.

“Purple!” he laughed.

I was consumed with happiness. Firstly, it’s always wonder-

ful to share your visions with someone else; it validates the

experience and nullifies any doubts. I was especially delighted that I was sharing the experience with Danny, as I’ve always

tried to nurture my children’s sensitivity to spirits. Embracing the existence of the spirit world has enhanced my life beyond

measure and I wish the same sense of joyousness for my chil-

dren.

I was also delighted by the fact that Matt was radiating a

purple, positive energy. This confirmed that he was well and

truly advancing on his spiritual path and was only dropping by in the hope of a visit with his family.

I couldn’t wait to try and facilitate contact between him