Ted, and we finished our evening on an upbeat note.
As I lay in bed that evening, my mind was buzzing with all
that we’d experienced. It still didn’t seem real. It had been a ghost hunter’s dream, with much of the evidence caught on camera.
I was elated yet overwhelmed, and a small part of me
couldn’t help worrying that one of the spirits from the hotel had decided to come home with me. I can’t say I felt frightened, but I wasn’t entirely comfortable either. Needless to say, there was little sleep to be had that night. When I did finally manage to doze off, my bedside lamp was still blazing and my head was
hidden firmly beneath the sheets.
chapter two
R e p e r c u s s i o n s
Three days after the Carinup investigation, I found myself
driving South once again. This time I was heading to the sea-
side town of Mandurah, for a meeting with a medium named
Dot. Dot had come highly recommended and I was eager to
discover whether she and I would pick up on the same spirits.
Sometimes it feels as though I’m on a constant quest for vali-
dation, to seek out confirmation that my clairvoyance is real.
I pulled up outside Dot’s neat brick and tile home just
before 9am, brimming with expectation. I was still very much
affected by my experience of a few nights ago and could think
of little else. I wasn’t so much scared as awestruck, particularly since it had been one of those rare occasions where a paranormal experience had been shared amongst a group. My encoun-
ters with ghosts are usually solitary affairs, whereby they show themselves to me for a brief instant and then move on. So
sharing a protracted paranormal encounter felt somehow spe-
cial, as everyone who was present experienced the same thing.
19
20 Repercussions
Also, as confronting as poltergeist activity can be, it is wonderfully concrete proof of the continuity of life after death.
Dot welcomed me with a hug as she ushered me into her
incense-filled consulting room. She passed me a deck of well-
worn Tarot cards, which I ineptly began to shuffle.
“Now cut them into three piles,” she said.
I did as I was instructed, then leant back in my chair and
waited for the reading to unfold. Dot expertly arranged the
cards into rapid-fire rows; their mysterious, faded images captivating and eerie. Yet of all the cards laid out before me, one caught my attention more than the others. Especially since I
noticed Dot’s small, involuntary gasp as it fell to the table. It was the Queen of Pentacles.
Dot leaned in towards me in a way that put me immedi-
ately on edge. Her face had suddenly become furrowed with
worry. She scanned the cards quickly once again, as if to con-
firm what she was seeing, then looked directly into my eyes.
“Have you had things moving around your house lately?”
she asked. “Any stuff being thrown around?”
I knew where this conversation was heading, and my heart
began to race.
“I have had in the past,” I replied nervously. “Is that what
you mean?”
“No,” said Dot. “I mean now. In the last day or so.”
I braced myself for what I had no doubt was coming.
“You have a poltergeist attached to you …”
After the initial pang of fear, my over-riding emotion was
anger. How had I been so stupid as to have willingly placed myself in the firing line of a poltergeist! After all I’d lived through as a teenager, here I was about to go through it again!
Repercussions 21
I didn’t want to believe it could be true, but sitting there
across from Dot, I knew that she was simply confirming what
I had suspected for the last couple of days.
I thought back to Monday night’s haunting investigation,
and how the thought of possibly being followed home had
occurred to me then. As I was standing in the pitch black hallway calling out into the darkness, I wondered if I was the first person to speak kindly to Ted in all these years. I wondered
whether he would gravitate towards me. The thought was
answered by a gentle touch to my hair. It was almost as if he was stroking it. Tony was also touched, but rather than touching his hair, Ted had given him a little prod to the leg.
Had Ted been reaching out to us, grateful for the compas-
sion we had shown him? I’d tried to put it out of my head,
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.
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
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.
chapter four
M a t t
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
Embracing the Spirits: True Stories of My Encounters With the Other Side Page 3
