Embracing the Spirits: True Stories of My Encounters With the Other Side by Barbara Parks (best ereader for graphic novels txt) 📗

Later that evening, I armed myself with my headphones

and settled down to listen to Jacqui’s EVP recording of the

hotel. Jacqui had stayed at the hotel with her sister two years earlier ; a girls’ ghost hunting trip scheduled to coincide with her sister’s visit from Ireland.

72The Kalamunda Hotel

Upon asking Paddy Connolly to appear as an orb in a farewell photo, Jacqui and I were amused to see that he had placed himself upon Jacqui’s lips!

A lump formed in my throat as I heard the imploring voices

pleading for release.

“Help us!” called a voice with a gentle Irish brogue, I won-

dered if it belonged to the Irish stockman. I was to hear him repeat his plea three times in the space of ten minutes.

“Stuck in!” cried a very young girl. Her voice was as clear

as a bell, as though she had positioned herself directly in front of the microphone to ensure her voice came through.

And then, more ominously, a rough, angry voice belted

through my headphones.

“Shut the door!” it hissed.

Jacqui told me earlier that she thought the angry voice

belonged to Paddy, and that he seemed to dominate the rest of

the hotel’s ghosts. Perhaps he still thought he owned the hotel and had authority over its occupants.

The Kalamunda Hotel 73

“He’s keeping them in the hotel to control them,” Jacqui

said. “He doesn’t want to cross over, so he doesn’t want them

to either. They’re all trapped. I think he got angry when he

realised the Irishman and the little girl were trying to communicate with us.”

The sinister, guttural voice didn’t seem to gel with the

spirit we had been speaking with that afternoon, but it was

possible that Jacqui was right. And if she was, I hoped that by showing Paddy love and compassion, we had gone some way

towards convincing him that it was indeed time to move on.

We told him that sixty six years of lingering within the hotel’s walls as a ghost was quite long enough, and that love, light and happiness awaited him on the other side.

We assured him that crossing over didn’t mean he’d have

to leave his hotel forever, and that he’d still be able to call in whenever he saw fit.

“There’s so much more to experience.” I said. “You all

deserve to move on!”

Since I had scheduled three spirit contact evenings at the

hotel in the coming weeks, I felt confident that Jacqui, my sitters and I would be able to help the ghosts move on. Espe-

cially since in the space of an afternoon, we had been able to connect with Paddy and appreciate the man he once was; a

scared, vulnerable man who made mistakes in life but did not

deserve to be eternally punished. His self-imposed exile was

most probably borne from guilt and fear, a fear that I would

try my hardest to eradicate.

I couldn’t wait for the following week, and I hoped that the

Kalamunda Hotel’s ghosts felt the same. Whether he liked it

or not, Paddy was stuck with me. I was coming back with rein-

forcements to see the job through.

chapter ten

O u i j a

A week before the Kalamunda Hotel investigation, I decided

that it was time I found myself a Ouija Board. Since I was still struggling to develop my clairaudience, I was hoping to use

the board to facilitate clearer communication with the hotel’s ghosts. I had long resisted taking this step, as I was well-versed in the board’s inherent dangers. There are countless horror stories involving inexperienced Ouija use, whereby lower vibrational

entities have seized upon the opportunity to interact with the living. Doors to other dimensions have been indiscriminately

opened, thereby creating a portal which allows both positive

and negative energies to come through.

I reasoned that my sessions of table tipping (which I was

now doing on a regular basis) were really no different to working with a Ouija Board. Both involved inviting disembodied

entities to manifest, whether it be by moving the table or controlling the glass. I have always been mindful of spiritual protection, and spend a great deal of time preparing for spirit

75

76Ouija

contact sessions beforehand. I raise my vibration with music,

meditation and prayer, and white light the table before I begin.

I also ask that my spirit guide and those of my sitters draw

in close and act as gate keepers, ensuring that no nasty, low-

vibrational energies can get through. Burning a white candle is also a good idea, as it’s believed to attract positive energy and repel negativity.

As such, I have only had positive and uplifting experiences

with the table. I felt confident that approaching the Ouija

Board with the same level of preparation and respect would

keep me and my sitters adequately protected.

After a day spent hunting through countless antique stores,

I finally found the exact type of table I was looking for. It was a carved Victorian side-table, inlaid with a plate of clear glass.

I also bought some Victorian-style stickers depicting cherubs

and flowers, together with a selection of large black letters. I would use these to customize my Ouija table, sticking them

beneath the glass to ensure the surface remained uniform and

smooth. In no time at all, I was ready to test it out.

My friend, Vee had called me earlier in the week, asking

if she could come and see me. She didn’t tell me as much at

the time, but apparently her deceased brother had been pester-

ing her to visit me. Vee, who has always been in tune with spirits, decided to concede to her brother’s wishes, as she felt she wouldn’t be able to get me out of her head until she did so!

It seemed more than coincidental that I had bought and set

up my Ouija table the previous day, so I asked Vee if she would like to sit at the table. Armed with a handful of tissues, she came and took her place.

Ouija 77

My customized Ouija Table, which I found in an old antique store.

Although I was expecting Vee’s brother to be the domi-

nant energy, the table was quickly hijacked