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

and establish a reliable mode of communication with the spir-

its who seem to be perpetually around me. My clairaudience

still remains muted, so I have focussed my attentions on dows-

Introduction 3

ing with a pendulum, orb photography and table tipping. The

stories within these pages document my journey towards

developing these skills, and the wonderful spirits who have

helped me along the way.

I have been privileged to meet the delightful twenty year-

old Gary, who managed to redeem himself after our “shaky”

start. Gary first commandeered my attention by waking me

up by shaking my bed, an unacceptable trick I was quick to set him straight on!

I was touched to meet a very active spirit gent named Lau-

rie, who was desperate to make amends for the pain he had

caused his family by taking his own life. Laurie wasted no time in physically manifesting; first by placing his hand on his niece, Lane’s shoulder. He went on to move my pedestal table, all

the while presenting himself as a glowing, iridescent orb. His grand finale came when Lane asked for something undeniable;

an irrefutable sign that he was really there. Lane’s request was met by a shattering of broken glass, as the glass candle holder on the table beside her spontaneously shattered with a loud

crack.

Not quite as endearing was the poltergeist, Ted, who

announced his presence by pelting me with a smattering of

small gravelly stones. His angry banging and accompanying icy

chill were almost enough to send me scampering for cover. I felt as though I could easily revert to being the terrified girl I once was, and that all my hard work of the past few years would be

undone. It took all my courage and resolve not to allow this,

and turn a potentially damaging experience into something pos-

itive.

As recently as a few years ago, these same experiences would

have paralysed me with fear, whereas now I know enough to

4Introduction

realise that the spirits mean me no harm. They still have the

ability to set my heart pounding, but I can retain enough presence of mind to calm myself and work out what it is they want.

I have discovered that spirits are reaching out to me for good reason. I feel it’s my responsibility to establish what that is and to do my best to help them.

I would like to think that as time goes on, not only will

my abilities become more honed, but the last remaining sker-

rick of fear will be eradicated forever. Maybe then the spirits’

voices will finally manage to come through.

So from my earliest memories of the ghostly entourage

who surrounded my cot, to the terror of my teenage haunt-

ing, I find myself purposefully marching forward on my jour-

ney towards connectedness with the spirit world. So even in

those times when I falter, there is no choice but to continue

moving forward. And as I keep marching onward, I trust that

you, my readers, will continue the journey with me.

chapter one

T h e N i g h t o f t h e

P o l t e r g e i s t

To conquer one’s fears one must face them; it’s something I’ve known for as long as I can remember. Putting the theory into

practice however, is another matter altogether.

Of all the entities I’ve come across in my lifetime, it’s poltergeists that scare me the most. I know too well how vio-

lently they can manifest. I’ve been on the receiving end of

their attentions often enough to know that the phenomenon

is terrifyingly real.

Fortunately for me, I didn’t have to consciously decide to

go head-to-head with a poltergeist. The opportunity to do so

sprung up at me unannounced. And as it did so, I realised that if I wanted to continue on my path of spiritual growth, it was time to face my demons.

As with all of life’s pivotal moments, this one began inno-

cently enough. The chain of events which placed me in

Carinup the following day began with a quick scan of my

5

6The Night of the Poltergeist

Facebook page. A post by Tony G immediately caught my

attention. Tony is reputed to be Australia’s Ghost Whisperer and

is a highly regarded medium. His recent appearance in a high-

rating TV show further cemented his reputation as one of the

nation’s best.

Tony was looking for two volunteers to join him on a

ghost hunt, scheduled to coincide with Halloween which was

the next day. Despite a flicker of trepidation, I decided to put my hand up. And somehow from the throng of eager would-be ghost-hunters, Tony chose a lady named Karen and myself.

In less than twenty four hours we’d be joining him on an investigation which would prove impossible to forget.

Our destination was the 105 year-old Carinup tavern,

which was reported to be attracting the attentions of an irate poltergeist. Although almost two hundred and fifty kilometres from home, its reputation suggested that it would be well worth the drive.

I met Tony and his wife at our arranged meeting point in

Bunbury, so that we could travel the last fifty kilometres to

Carinup together. The half hour we spent in the car set the

scene for the rest of the evening, as Tony told me about some

of his previous experiences with poltergeists.

He spoke of an investigation he’d conducted a couple of

years earlier, set in a lonely old farmhouse which was home to three teenage girls. Amongst a steady litany of ghostly manifestations, the image of a pair of crucifixes would repeat-

edly appear on the benches and tabletops. It looked as though

they had been burnt deep within their surface. The teenagers’

mother had tried scouring the effigies off, but no matter what she used and how hard she scrubbed, the crucifixes remained

fast. Yet when Tony gently ran his thumb over them, the

The Night of the Poltergeist 7

images instantly faded from sight. It was as though they were

reacting to Tony’s powerful psychic energy. When he looked

at his thumb there was no sign of the blackish colour which

had defined them, his thumb