Embracing the Spirits: True Stories of My Encounters With the Other Side (22 page)

the land, or perhaps they once dwelled in the buildings which

stood on the property before the current house was built.

There is also the possibility that for whatever reason, a

ghost has attached itself to one of the home’s occupants, following them home from who knows where. This is more

The Interactions of Others 179

likely to be the case for people with mediumistic abilities such as myself. Ghosts and spirits thrive on attention and acknowledgement, and as such, they are more likely to gravitate to

those who can see them. Such a scenario is invariably more

attractive than placing themselves in a situation whereby they are likely to be ignored.

Other circumstances which can give rise to hauntings are

related to the geographical location of the house itself. Under-ground water sources, in particular, are thought to provide an energy source necessary for paranormal events to occur. The

archaeologist and occultist, T.C. Lethbridge, first suggested the link between subterranean, running water and apparent haunting phenomena, and his theory has continued to gain momen-

tum ever since. Lethbridge suggested that the running water

acts as a battery, thereby providing disembodied entities with a power source which allows them to manifest.

This seems to be the case with a house owned by a local

hills couple, Sylvia and Lawrence. Although they built the

house themselves over twenty years ago, it has been consis-

tently plagued by paranormal activity. Electrical appliances

consistently turn themselves on and off (particularly newly-

acquired ones; it’s as though the ghosts are excited to be playing with a new toy), there are frequent disembodied footsteps

and voices, and apparitions have been seen wandering through

the property on numerous occasions.

On the day my husband, Stuart and I went to visit, I noticed

a figure lurking in the hallway as soon as we walked through the front door. Sylvia showed me an area of the house that the family had deemed to be a ghostly thoroughfare, so frequent were

the appearance of figures and flashing lights.

180 The Interactions of Others

As I stood in the area Sylvia indicated, I felt the surging

energy at once. Upon taking a photograph, we saw numerous

orbs, the most striking of which floated just a foot away from me on my left.

Although Sylvia suspects that many of the household’s spir-

its are deceased loved ones, she believes that there may be some

“blow-ins” as well. Sylvia pointed out that there was an under-ground aquifer just to the front of the house, which had proven to be an abundant water source. Perhaps this was the power

supply which was allowing the departed to manifest.

Despite the strong and regular paranormal activity within

their home, Sylvia and Lawrence do not find it in the least bit disturbing.

“Standing in the ghostly thoroughfare at Sylvia’s house … the most
vivid orb sits just to my left.

The Interactions of Others 181

In many ways it’s comforting,” says Sylvia. She tells me

that even when she is alone in the house, she feels very safe

and protected. “It’s company!” she smiles.

Houses built on ley lines are also likely to be subjected to

hauntings. Ley lines are invisible lines of energy which are

believed to connect geographical points of interest. Signifi-

cant structures such as Stonehenge and The Great Pyramid,

for example, are thought to have been built upon the points

of intersection of this invisible energy grid. It is this energetic power-source which has the potential to fuel a prospective

haunting.

Lastly, a haunting may be little more than an energetic

replay of past events. It’s thought that if an event occurs often enough (e.g. someone walking up and down a staircase repeatedly over the course of several years) or is emotionally-charged enough (such as a suicide or a murder) the event imprints itself on a given location. One theory suggests that past events can

be recorded within the structure itself, particularly within the matrix of certain types of rock. Perhaps that’s why centuries old castles are quite often reported to be haunted, as their rich and varied histories are imprinted within the fibre of the castle itself.

It’s important to appreciate that this is not an intelligent

haunting, whereby there is an actual entity present. It is merely a snapshot of past events, similar to a replay being projected onto a theatre screen.

Hauntings are indeed as unpredictable and diverse as the

ghosts themselves. Although many are little more than ener-

getic events, some hauntings are as interactive as that expe-

rienced between two living beings. Many hauntings are

harmonious (as in the case of Sylvia and Lawrence’s home)

182 The Interactions of Others

whereby the living and the dead dwell peacefully side-by-side.

Others can be so be so disturbing that they shatter any possi-

bility of living a normal life.

Whilst ghosts may often frighten us, the gift they bring is

precious. Ghosts remind us of the eternal nature of the human

soul, and embracing this reality is nothing short of magical!

A u s t i n

I’d long been planning to join a development circle, so I

decided to finally commit to putting my plan into action. Since the Spiritualist Church had been so instrumental in reawaken-ing my clairvoyance, I decided that it would be a good place

to start. By now it had been almost ten years since I first saw spirit guides, and since they seemed to effortlessly manifest in the church environment, I knew that it was time to go back.

For some reason I was drawn to the Maylands Spiritualist

Church, which although not the closest to home, it was the

one to which I felt the most affinity. Perhaps it was because I had lived in Maylands all those years ago, and had treasured

memories of the neighbourhood I had once shared with Deni.

Or perhaps it was something else. Either way it was time to

find out.

On a whim I called the church early on a Tuesday morn-

ing, little expecting anyone to be there. I was hoping to per-

haps hear a recorded message listing the service times.

183

184 Austin

I was a little taken aback when a mature gentleman

answered the phone and introduced himself as the minister.

I asked if we could arrange a meeting, as I was curious to discover more about him, and wondered whether his paranormal

experiences even vaguely mirrored my own.

Despite attending the Forrestfield Spiritualist Church sev-

eral years earlier, I still had very little understanding of the running of the church itself. I wanted to know if all the ministers were mediums. Did they believe in both good and evil

manifestations of spirit? I wondered if he would concur that poltergeists were real?

Less than ten minutes later I was heading down the hill

towards Maylands, with the unmistakeable feeling that some-

thing eventful was about to happen.

I was met by a diminutive, grey- haired gentleman who

smiled warmly as he extended his hand.

“I’m Austin,” he said. “Nice to meet you!”

We moved off to sit in his office; a small nondescript room

at the back of the church hall. As soon as we were seated I

could see the room buzzing with energy, the familiar fog inter-spersed with transient bursts of bright flashing lights.

There was one spot just above Austin’s left shoulder which

was particularly active, flashing repetitively to ensure it had my attention. When I glanced up I noticed the head and shoulders of a glowing masculine figure.

“Your guide!” I said.

“That’s right” smiled Austin. “I’ve been seeing him for

years.”

Austin told me about the first time he’d seen his guide

manifest, many years ago when he was a young bachelor liv-

ing in a tiny two bedroom house.

Austin 185

At the time Austin had kept greyhounds, and he was woken

by the dogs’ relentless barking. As he made his way down the

hallway, he passed the lounge room and reeled back in shock.

Calmly sitting in an arm chair was a man, and Austin gasped

at the realisation there was an intruder in the house. The man looked completely solid and addressed Austin by name.

“Come and sit down, “he said.

Strangely, the dogs had become completely silent by now.

Austin felt as though they had successfully fulfilled their mission by summoning their master and had gone back to sleep

after a job well done.

Austin edged nervously into the lounge room and sat across

from his visitor. There he remained for over an hour, engaged in conversation with his spirit guide.

“And I’ve seen him beside me ever since,” finished Austin.

I glanced up towards where Austin’s guide was hovering,

and he shone his spirit light at me as if to concur.

Throughout the course of our hour-long conversation, I

also repeatedly saw a small figure peeking over Austin’s left

shoulder, and I asked myself why I hadn’t come to visit here

earlier. There was no doubt that the Spiritualist Church was a magnet for spirits and I couldn’t wait to experience more.

Austin spoke of how he regularly saw the spirits of his

deceased parishioners, as they invariably hot-footed it straight back to his parish knowing that they would be seen. Some of

the spirits manifested as filmy, ethereal figures, whereas others were so corporeal that Austin was able to physically touch them. Sometimes they were fleeting presences, sometimes

they lingered for hours, happy to be in the environment they

felt so comfortable in during their lives.

186 Austin

Austin went on to tell me that despite only meeting his

guide in adulthood, he had seen ghosts and spirits since he

was a small child. He was raised by his grandparents, both of

whom had strong mediumistic abilities which heavily influ-

enced young Austin’s day to day life. Spirits were a natural and expected aspect of life.

He has vivid memories of making the long trek across

lonely paddocks to get to school, and the insistent voices who would repeatedly call his name as he passed by.

His grandfather had warned him about the presences in

the paddock and told Austin that he was under no circum-

stances to respond to their calls.

“You are only to speak to those who approach you cor-

rectly!” his grandfather would say.

So the young Austin kept his head down and trudged on

towards school. As time went on he experienced more and

more, and found that as long as he remained prayerful and

trusted in the protection of God’s golden light, he didn’t feel threatened by the visions before him.

I told Austin about my frightening experiences at the hands

of a poltergeist, and asked him whether he had any frightening paranormal encounters of his own.

“Oh yes!” he said, and told me about one time in particular

when he had forgotten to say his prayer of protection prior to investigating a haunting. “It was years ago. I know better than to do that now …”

A woman called the church sounding distraught, con-

vinced that there was a negative entity overtaking her home.

She asked if someone would come to the house to see if

they could help, as the presence was systematically destroy-

ing her family’s lives. It appeared that the family were expe-

Austin 187

riencing an endless spate of illness and bad luck, objects were being thrown around the house and precious possessions

seemed to be disappearing. Family members had been physi-

cally assaulted and the woman’s young son had been forcefully

ejected from his bed.

The woman sounded so desperate that Austin agreed to

visit the house to see what could be done. He went together

with Mrs Perkins, a long-standing church member and tal-

ented medium who was also a respected teacher in the Spiritu-

alist Church movement.

The family greeted them on the front porch and whilst Mrs

Perkins stood outside talking to the family, Austin ventured

inside alone.

He was only a few steps down the hallway when he was

violently struck to the back of his head.

“Get out!” hissed a female voice in his ear.

Wasting no time, Austin bid a hasty retreat to the front

porch, and told Mrs Perkins what had happened. Despite his

long history of paranormal encounters, it was the first time

Austin had been attacked by an entity. He was visibly shaken