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

“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!

24Repercussions

“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.

chapter three

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

26Matilda

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