to pull the sheets over my head, knowing that to the spirits this would be interpreted as “go away!”
As I lay in the darkness concentrating on my breathing, I
suddenly felt a weight on the bed beside me, and a hand fall
gently onto my leg. I kept telling myself to breath, to relax, that I owed it to Robert to allow him to make contact. I
couldn’t still my internal dialogue, and kept telling myself
there was no need to be frightened and that I was very lucky
to be experiencing this visit. After all, how scary could Rob-
ert be? The energy he gave off was a little sad and imploring, but his intrinsic loveliness was also shining through. He wasn’t even remotely frightening, and any niggling fears were quickly quelled by his positive, gentle energy.
“Is that you Robert?” I asked.
Almost immediately, I felt pressure on either side of my
head, as though someone was pressing a thumb in each tem-
ple. After a few moments, the pressure on each side alter-
nated, it was firm but by not unpleasant, and felt distinctly
as though someone was giving me a head massage! At first I
found myself over-analysing what was happening Did Robert try to alleviate his headache before he died this way? Is he just trying to draw attention to my head to identify himself? What if it’s not Robert at all, and I’m just experiencing some kind of surge in psychic energy?
I forced myself to stop the internal chatter, and allowed
myself to relax into the experience. It really felt as though I was being massaged, the thumb pressure could not feel any
56 Robert
more solid or real. It lasted for almost ten minutes, unfaltering in both its strength and rhythm for the entire duration.
By the time it stopped, I felt extremely relaxed, and con-
gratulated myself on not bailing on a wonderful experience.
It showed me what I had known all along, there is nothing
to fear from the spirit world. Why should someone suddenly
become scary just because they had shed their earthly shells?
The fear is so unwarranted.
I felt the weight lift off the end of the bed and in its wake I was left with a sense of happiness and progress. I ran downstairs to relay the experience to Stuart, but not before thanking Robert for the lovely massage, and for helping me further conquer the barrier of fear.
chapter eight
T h e H e r i t a g e H o t e l
It’s long been known that old hotels are often hives of para-
normal activity. Those who have passed through their doors
in days gone by are sometimes loathe to leave their favou-
rite watering holes. Ghosts are believed to linger in places to which they have strong emotional attachments; whether they
be borne from happy memories or painful ones.
Rose is a cosmetic dentist, who bought the Heritage Hotel to convert into consulting rooms. Built in the 1920’s, it is an elegant example of Art Deco architecture, and boasts over 800
square meters of floor space. Although it required extensive
remodelling, Rose knew it would be perfect for her new clinic.
The first inkling that The Heritage may have been haunted began during renovations. First one, then several of the con-tractors, refused to work in the building alone. They spoke of strange noises, a sense of being watched and most unsettling
of all, the sensation of someone blowing in their ears.
57
58 The Heritage Hotel
My sister-in-law, Hayley is one of Rose’s nurses, and told
me about the strange goings-on. She asked if I would be will-
ing to visit her new workplace, to ascertain whether their
suspicions that The Heritage was haunted were correct. We arranged to conduct an on-site investigation the following
Thursday evening.
There were to be five of us in attendance; Hayley and
Rose, my friends; Kelly and Karen, (who would record the
night’s events on infrared camera) and myself.
Armed with my trusty pendulum and pedestal table, we
arrived at the Heritage Hotel a little after eight o’clock. I picked up on several presences as soon as I walked through the front
door. It felt as though I was being followed into each room as Hayley took me on a tour of the building. As stylish as the new fit-out was, I had the distinct feeling that the ghosts were less than impressed. The new look office space bore little resemblance to the hotel rooms they had once been.
After touring the operating theatres and consulting rooms,
we made our way back to the reception area. It was as we
passed the imposing main staircase that I caught a glimpse of
a small, fleeting figure. It dashed down the stairs in a matter of seconds, pausing briefly on the landing. Camera in hand, I took a quick snap. I was pleased to see a beautiful, bright orb exactly where the figure had been.
I showed the photo to Hayley and Rose, explaining that
orbs are manifestations of spirit energy. I told them that each time I saw a spirit I’d try to capture the presence in a photograph, as verification of what I was seeing. The ladies excitedly told me that if I wanted to photograph orbs we had better go down to the basement. As far as they could tell, it seemed
to be the focus of the haunting. They told me that whoever
The Heritage Hotel 59
went down there reported feeling distinctly uneasy from the
moment they set foot in its musty darkness.
We navigated our way down the steep outdoor staircase, as
we made our way to the basement. Rose unlocked the heavy
wooden door and stepped back to allow us in; the dense atmo-
sphere of ghostly presences immediately apparent.
“Hello …” I said into the darkness. “Would anyone like to
come out and say Hi?”
I took a photograph which revealed absolutely nothing;
surprising since I was sure that the basement was swarming
with ghosts.
Just then, I saw the familiar little figure from upstairs dart into a small anteroom, and walked over to the doorway to
take a look.
“Don’t be scared darling,” I said. “We just want to make
sure that you’re OK.”
I took a photo of the doorway of the small room, and
was rewarded with the same glowing orb I’d captured on the
upstairs landing.
“Lovely!” I said, thanking the little soul for appearing. “But I do know there are many more of you down here. Now’s
your chance to make yourselves known to us.”
I encouraged the ghosts to come out from where they were
hiding, telling them we would love it if they’d appear in our photos. It didn’t take much persuasion for the basement ghosts to comply, and before long before we had camera full of amazing photographs. The orbs seemed to be everywhere!
So from the first photo which showed absolutely nothing,
we went on to capture photo after photo of literally dozens of beautiful orbs. The atmosphere suddenly began to feel joyous;
we could palpably feel the presence of spirits.
60 The Heritage Hotel
Our little spirit friend from upstairs followed us to the basement
“This is where they used to store the kegs of beer, you know,”
laughed Rose. “I think they might be down here partying!”
I entirely agreed, as the vibe in the basement was one of
merriment and joy. I also suspected that since the basement
was the only part of the hotel which hadn’t been renovated,
the spirits were gravitating to the place which remained as it had been when they were alive.
Wis
hing to develop more of a rapport with the hotel’s spir-
its, I asked if I could have a photo taken with them. Kelly and I stood with our backs to where we could feel the most activity
and asked them to step forward into the photo.
“And …” I joked, “I want whoever likes me the most to
come and stand next to me so I can put my arm around you!”
I extended my arm as if there was someone beside me, and
Hayley took the shot.
When we saw the orbs beside me, we couldn’t help laugh-
ing. It seemed I had two ghostly admirers . One had positioned itself on my extended arm, and the other was sitting just
The Heritage Hotel 61
beneath the fur collar of my coat. There were also at least a
dozen more orbs floating around beside us, eager to show them-
selves. It really felt as though we were partying with friends.
With arm outstretched to embrace the spirits, I am pictured with my friend, Kelly (and my new friends from the basement!)
We opened the door to a storeroom, which housed a pair
of striking throne-like chairs. Although they were falling apart with age, they were still breathtaking. Their beautifully carved golden frames were upholstered with striped gold and white
velvet.
“Wow!” I said. “Who wants to come and pose in these
chairs?”
It seems there were quite a few takers, as when I snapped
the photo, the chairs were surrounded by glowing orbs. Again,
we began to laugh. It really felt as though we were hanging
out with a group of eager-to-please friends.
62 The Heritage Hotel
Eager to please, the spirits gather around the old chairs.
A moment later I saw a large ball of light zip across the
basement. It flew right in front of us and then seemed to disappear through the wall. Most amazing of all was the fact that Kelly saw it too. She was thrilled to have experienced her first ghostly sighting, and by seeing the light with her naked eye, it validated our orb photos all the more.
Meanwhile Karen’s infrared camera was of course going
berserk, as it captured a dazzling display of darting, iridescent spirit energy. We were totally surrounded!
After half an hour or so, we decided to return upstairs to
conduct a séance. We invited our new friends to join us if they wanted to connect with us further.
Since the new clinic was yet to be furnished, we scoured
the storerooms for makeshift chairs. Finding an esky and some
large boxes, we proceeded to seat ourselves around the table.
In no time at all, the little child who had been following
us around took the opportunity to come through. Although
she seemed a little guarded at first, she became increasingly
The Heritage Hotel 63
bolstered as the communication went on. Since she had con-
nected with me from the moment I arrived, it seemed she had
assumed the role of spokesperson for the rest of the hotel’s ghosts.
In addition to putting on an impressive display of table-tip-
ping, our young friend was also a wonderful communicator.
She held nothing back, answering our questions with candour
and aplomb.
She told us that her name was Mary and that she had been
in the hotel for more than seventy years. Many of her fam-
ily and friends were there also, so she had no desire to leave.
When asked how many of them there were, Mary responded
that there were ninety five people in the basement, most of whom were hanging around for the beer! It was obvious that
we hadn’t imagined the party atmosphere, the bowels of the
building were well and truly buzzing.
When Rose asked Mary if she thought the renovations
were pretty, she responded with an emphatic no; she had preferred the hotel as it had been in the 1920’s. Mary also con-
fessed to blowing in the workmen’s ears, but rather than trying to scare them, she had only been trying to get their attention.
We asked Mary if she and her friends would like help to
move on, but the young ghost assured us that they were all
more than happy. I suggested that perhaps we could at least
show them the way to the light, so that they could consider
crossing over when they felt ready. Mary half-heartedly agreed, perhaps more to humour us than as a result of any real intention to move on.
As the evening drew to an end, we were all filled with a
happy sense of accomplishment. Not only had we given Mary
the attention she was craving, but we’d managed to estab-
64 The Heritage Hotel
lish a rapport with a large group of delightful ghosts. Nights like these go a long way in reinforcing my belief that there is little to fear from the spirit world. The dead are no different to ourselves; their personalities, attitudes and passions don’t suddenly alter just because they’ve died. It’s a life-enhancing realisation, and the more I embrace it, the more my clairvoyant abilities grow. Life, and death, are indeed incredible journeys …
chapter nine
T h e K a l a m u n d a
H o t e l
Built in 1902, the Kalamunda Hotel has long been believed
to be haunted. It is a grand expression of Victorian architecture, with its upstairs balcony coursing the entire length of
the building. It boasts a gracious, central staircase which dominates the foyer, and its ceilings are decorated with intricate plaster work. Crystal chandeliers add a further touch of opulence, harking back to a time of elegance and style. It’s a privilege having such a fine old building as my local hotel.
Despite its beauty, the Kalamunda Hotel hides a sinister
history. Given its advanced age, it’s perhaps not surprising to discover that it has been the scene of many a premature death, including suicides and murder.
65
66 The Kalamunda Hotel
The Kalamunda Hotel
Adding further intrigue to its chequered reputation, are the
dramas surrounding its most notable owner; Mr Paddy Con-
nolly. Paddy was already well-known throughout the State
when he bought the hotel in the 1920’s. His racehorse, Blue Spec, was the first West Australian horse to win the prestigious Melbourne Cup. Paddy was extremely wealthy as a result of
the 1890’s gold rush, and also had the dubious honour of win-
ning the state’s first Ugliest Man competition.
Despite his apparent ugliness, Paddy still had a certain
charm with the ladies. This led to a clandestine love affair with one of the hotel’s young chamber maids, which resulted in an
unwanted pregnancy. Paddy was quick to deny any involve-
ment, prompting the young lady to throw herself to her death
down the hotel staircase. She is thought to still roam the
hotel’s corridors to this day.
Paddy soon found himself to be the focus of an unrelent-
ing campaign of intimidation, to the point where he feared
for his life. Threatening notes began to mysteriously appear
almost daily; on the bar, in his letter rack or on Paddy’s desk.
They contained messages such as “Tonight you die … Slowly”
and were signed The Black Hand Gang. It’s unsure whether the The Kalamunda Hotel 67
threats were from disgruntled business associates or related to his unsavoury reputation with women. Regardless, Paddy was
terrified.
Paddy became so obsessed with his safety that he hired
a body guard. He felt increasingly vulnerable in his beloved
hotel, which prompted
him to build a bullet-proof hovel a few
hundred meters away. It was secured by a padlocked gate and
surrounded by a barbed wire fence. Paddy was determined to
stave of his tormentors at all costs, even if it meant forfeiting his quality of life.
Paddy ultimately passed away at eighty years of age, dying
from natural causes in 1946. Despite the Black Hand Gang not actually killing him, they certainly destroyed any semblance of peace and normality in the last years of his life. It’s thought that the fear-ridden angst that tainted Paddy’s final years is now keeping him earthbound. Paddy did his utmost to avoid
death whilst he was living, and in death, he is continuing to
fight it. It seems he is resisting the natural transition to the higher realms of the spirit world, preferring to inhabit the
rooms and hallways of the building he held so dear.
Also notable is the ghost of Room 24, the scene of a murder
in the 1940’s. As the story goes, a woman had arranged to meet her secret lover for a romantic rendezvous and was caught in fla-grante by her boyfriend. The enraged boyfriend hurled himself at the poor woman, throttling her until she was dead.
The unfortunate woman’s ghost is reported to linger in an
upstairs hallway, clad in a long, white nightgown. So palpable is the haunting, that Room 24 has been permanently locked
and hasn’t been rented out since.
An unsuspecting cleaning woman chanced upon the dis-
traught ghost early one morning whilst going about her duties.
68 The Kalamunda Hotel
The cleaner was so disturbed by the encounter that she handed
in her resignation the next day. Current employees report that footsteps, apparitions and the clinking of glassware are com-monplace. Sometimes an errant glass spontaneously shatters;
it’s something they’ve just all learned to live with.
Whilst sitting in the hotel’s foyer sifting through the archives, I was struck by a case of synchronicity. My mobile phone rang; a young lady wanted to speak with me regarding the ghosts of
the Kalamunda Hotel. Katinka had worked at the hotel for five
years, and wanted to know whether I was interested in hearing
about what she had experienced during this time.
We met up later that day, and Katinka told me what she
Embracing the Spirits: True Stories of My Encounters With the Other Side Page 6
