Ouija 81
It was apparent that Anthony had been harassing his sis-
ter to come and see me, as he was desperate to reassure her.
Although Vee suspected that this was the case, it was gratify-
ing that Anthony was able to come through so strongly and
confirm that everything would be fine.
That night as I lay on my bed reading, I was overcome by
a crushing fatigue. I felt as though the spirits and I had worked together by combining our energy during the séance, and now
I was well and truly drained.
“Is anyone still here?” I asked. “Kalamunda crew? Are you
still sucking up my energy?” I joked.
My camera was on my bedside table so I took a quick
photo. Surprisingly, it showed nothing.
“What about you Anthony? Are you still here, darling?”
I took a photo and was rewarded with a small, vivid orb.
“So you are here! How about we do one last thing together before I flake out? Try and make your spirit light as big and
bright as you can … and then I’ll send the pic to Vee.”
On the count of three I took the photo, and was thrilled to
see a big, beautiful orb shining on the curtains.
“You’re gorgeous!” I said, and true to my promise, immedi-
ately sent the photo to Vee.
I said goodnight and turned out the light, but not before
throwing a small lace tablecloth over the Ouija table beside the bed.
“Just in case any of you get any ideas in the middle of the
night!” I joked.
I fell asleep quickly, and slept a solid dream-filled sleep. I was soothed by the knowledge that Anthony’s message had
been delivered, and the Kalamunda ghosts would soon be in
82 Ouija
the light. I was embarking on a new phase of my spiritual
journey, and it couldn’t come soon enough.
Upon asking Anthony to appear in a photo for his sister, Vee, he immediately showed himself as a beautiful orb.
chapter eleven
T h e G i r l
i n R o o m O n e
For reasons I don’t fully understand, the spirits of those who have taken their own lives always seem to gravitate to me. It
is a privilege to be able to pass on their messages of love and apology, as quite often there are things which need to be said before they feel they can move on.
I suspect that those who have suicided are compelled to
make amends for their actions; actions which are quite often
impulsive and made under severe emotional stress. In a split
second they can find themselves existing in another dimen-
sion, and are often plagued by regret. This is never more
true than when they see the pain that their death has caused
their loved ones, and consequently they will often go to great lengths to ensure that their messages get through.
The spirits of those who have suicided may also linger out
of fear-borne reasons. Perhaps they feel safer remaining in the familiarity of the earth plane, rather than crossing into the 83
84 The Girl in Room One
light. Many believe that the light represents judgement, and
choose not to cross over lest they are punished for taking their own lives. Whenever I encounter souls such as these, I assure
them that love, forgiveness and healing await them in the light.
They have already endured enough without having to con-
tinue to exist in limbo between the living and the dead. Of all the souls who pass prematurely, these people are amongst those who need healing the most. I encourage them to cross over and
claim the nurturing and love which is rightfully theirs.
And of course, there are also many suicided souls who
have made the transition to the higher realms effortlessly, as that particular life-plan was part of their prearranged journey.
These souls are still able to check in on their loved ones, but for the most part they are continuing to progress on their spiritual journey. For me, these spirits are particularly inspiring.
Despite their earthly trials and hardships, they have risen above the negativity which plagued them in life and have embraced
their spiritual existence. Some even go on to support others
who have suicided, guiding them towards the healing that they
so desperately need and deserve. They have evolved to the
point where they have turned the tragedy of their passing into something positive; by continuing to grow and evolve spiritually despite the circumstances of their death.
I came across one such soul whilst conducting a seance
at the Kalamunda hotel; the last of a series of three I had
arranged to help its many ghosts cross-over. His name was Jus-
tin, and meeting him filled my heart with positivity and joy.
Although the seance was conducted specifically with the
hotel’s ghosts in mind, young Justin did not waste the opportunity to come through. He had come along with his sister-in-law, and was determined not to waste an opportunity to speak to her.
The Girl in Room One 85
Justin’s sister-in-law was similarly keen to make contact
with him, and before the session began, she asked me my
opinion on suicides. As I expressed my thoughts on the matter, the young woman smiled at me excitedly. It seemed as though
she was expecting her much-loved brother-in-law to speak to
her all along. Despite knowing that the purpose of the séance
was to connect with the ghosts of the hotel, Kellie couldn’t
help but hope that Justin would nevertheless come though.
As I closed my eyes and white-lighted the table, a cheeky
male presence was quick to take over. Given his strong and
vibrant energy, I was hardly surprised that he’d managed to
hijack the table. For now, the hotel’s ghosts didn’t stand a chance!
At this point, no one but Kellie knew his name. He quickly
addressed that, spelling out J-U-S-T-I-N with apparent ease.
His energy was confident and strong.
I looked towards Kellie who was seated directly oppo-
site me, whose tears confirmed that Justin was indeed her brother-in-law’s name. He had taken his own life over twenty
years ago, and Kellie had continued to feel a connection with
him ever since. What followed was message after message,
confirming that Justin had been beside her all along. Kellie
laughed with embarrassment as he referred to her speaking to
his photo, and confirmed that he is beside her listening when
she does so.
Quite obviously a bit of a larrikin, Justin made references
to his affection for smoking marijuana. He referred to enjoy-
ing smoking bud, which is indeed the term he favoured with regards to his favourite pass time! He was a jovial, vibrant
presence, and assured Kellie that he was happy.
Once he had convinced his sister-in-law of his presence
and had raised the vibration with his joking disposition, things 86 The Girl in Room One
took on a more serious tone. Justin’s kind and caring nature
was about to shine through.
On a previous visit to the hotel, I had been made aware of
the ghost of a young woman lingering in one of the hotel’s
guest rooms. As the story went, she had taken her own life
some forty years earlier; in reaction to the demise of her relationship.
The young woman had remained in Room One ever since,
feeling trapped and confused by her sudden, untimely passing.
; I felt sure she was the girl who had appeared in Jacqui’s photo.
I asked Justin if he was aware of the spirits occupying the
hotel, to which he emphatically replied YES.
Over the three weeks that I had been connecting with the
hotel spirits, it was the girl in Room One who concerned me
the most. The others spoke to me freely, and were happy to be
guided towards the light. Although they initially came across
as sad and confused, they began to thrive on the attention that my friends and I were lavishing upon them. What began as an
ominous feeling of heaviness pervading the hotel, progressed
to a light-hearted sense of joviality. The ghosts were relishing the attention they had been deprived of for decades, and they
were obviously touched by our efforts to help them. As our
connection developed each week, their awareness of the light
became more and more apparent. They assured us that they
were happy to cross over.
That is all of them except for one spirit; the girl in Room
One.
Although she did briefly step forward during the first seance, her connection was not particularly strong. Her manifestation
was fleeting, just long enough to identify herself as Bev and tell us that she was the young woman from Room One.
The Girl in Room One 87
Disturbingly, she suggested that rather than taking her own
life, she had actually been murdered. When asked who it was
that killed her, she told us that it was her boyfriend. She said that he then made it look as though she had killed herself.
Naturally we were all taken aback by this, and before we
had time to ask her more questions, Bev’s energy faded and
she was gone. The thought of her trapped at the scene of her
death filled me with despair, so I asked Justin if he could possibly connect with her.
He told us he had already done so. Both being in their late
teens when they passed, the two seemed to gravitate towards
each other. Justin confirmed that her name was Bev, but he
preferred to call her Bub!
Bev had obviously been reaching out to us, but for reasons
I can only guess at, she seemed to have trouble fully connect-
ing. Perhaps she was confused and disoriented by the abrupt-
ness of her death, or maybe she couldn’t be at peace until her alleged killer was brought to justice.
In addition to her initial communication at the seance, I
also had two photographs of her. It seemed she wanted to be
noticed and was reaching out for help.
The first was taken by my friend, Jacqui, when she stayed
at the hotel a couple of years earlier. The image of the distraught young woman is so distinct that if one didn’t know
any better, the presumption would be that it was a photograph
of a living person. The giveaway, however, is the fact that the young woman’s face seems to be distorting, almost as though
she is having trouble trying to maintain her visible form. And of course, Jacqui assures me that no living being was standing before her at the time.
88 The Girl in Room One
Being very sensitive to spirit presences, Jacqui could feel an energy shift in the room and started snapping photos. She had
hoped to capture some orbs to confirm her suspicions that she
was in the company of a ghost, but what she got was much
more than she could possibly have expected.
Two years later, Bev saw fit to appear in someone else’s
photo. In fact it was the same evening that I conducted the first seance at the hotel; the night she first identified herself by name.
A lady named Lidia (who had been one of the sitters at
the seance) took it upon herself to visit Room One before she
went home for the evening. She emailed me first thing the
next day, to ask my opinion of the image she had captured.
My friend, Jacqui, was astounded to capture this photograph. We later discovered that the ghost in the photo is that of a teenage girl named Bev, whom many believe took her own life in Room One.
The Girl in Room One 89
“I had been in Room One before,” Lidia told me. “I sup-
pose it was over a year ago. I’d connected to Bev then, so
thought I would see if I could do so again.”
Lidia told me that upon entering the room for the first
time, she had been immediately assailed by a sense of constriction around her throat.
“She was showing me how she died,” said Lidia. “And you
know what else? She told me back then that her boyfriend had
killed her. Having her repeat the same thing last night seems
more than coincidental …”
Is the face peering from around the door jam,
that of our teenage friend, Bev?
The attached self-portrait shows Lidia standing in the door-
way of Room One. It seems she took the photo by accident as
she was leaving the room. Although grainy and out of focus,
the face peering from around the doorway is unmistakeable.
Lidia’s face dominates the bottom left hand side of the shot, yet over her left shoulder is the distinct image of a face. It has 90 The Girl in Room One
the same plump cheeks as the woman in Jacqui’s photo, and
looks as though it could well be the same woman.
Bev was definitely trying to reach out to us.
So of course, when Justin told us he’d been in contact with
Bev, I wondered if we had finally found a way to help her. I
suddenly felt optimistic.
Justin assured us that he had been speaking with her, and
that she was finally ready to cross over. He told us that he was taking Bev to the light.
Justin’s whole energy was uplifting, and I wondered if
Bev was being bolstered by his positivity. He, too, had suf-
fered during his lifetime, and seeing him so evolved and happy was nothing short of inspiring. Perhaps he made Bev feel
that way too. Justin was a shining example of joy overcom-
ing heartbreak, and epitomises the beauty of a new beginning.
Through Justin’s example, Bev was able to start healing. He
showed her that no matter how tragic one’s earthly history,
there is still happiness, fulfilment and purpose to be found
within the light.
As I write this, I can’t help but feel that we have a moral
obligation to investigate Bev’s claims that she was murdered.
It’s highly likely that the undisclosed circumstances of her
death are the reason she remained earthbound for almost forty
years. Surely she deserves justice after all this time.
So even though I feel that Bev has at last crossed into the
light, the situation still warrants final closure. If Bev’s boyfriend did indeed kill her, surely he needs to be brought to justice. And if he too has already passed, the score will need to be settled on the other side.
chapter twelve
T h e B o y s
To say I just happened to chance upon another haunted house
would be a lie, as I admit I was deliberately in search of fodder for future chapters. I trawled the internet in search of a suitably haunted-looking building; somewhere with a rich history and the possibility of ghosts. The Ellington School House looked perfect. I booked my family in for a two night stay,
eager to discover whether the old school house would deliver
as much as it promised.
Built in 1885, the school serviced the farm children from
the district. It was op
erational sporadically until 1944, depending on how many children were living in the vicinity at the
time. The schoolhouse had been restored in keeping with its
nineteenth century character, with wide rustic floorboards and the original blackboard still intact.
I caught my breath as we first entered the white-washed
classroom. I immediately recognised the dense atmosphere
which alerts me to the presence of spirits. There is an unmis-91
92 The Boys
takeable heaviness which often characterises a haunting; a
heaviness that I felt as soon as I walked into the room.
The proprietess, Evelyn, dropped by shortly after we
arrived. In keeping with her country hospitality, she welcomed us with gifts of fresh eggs and cake. She told us a little about the building’s history, from where I managed to steer the conversation towards the topic of ghosts.
“So …” I asked casually. “Any possibility of the place being
haunted?”
“Not that I’ve experienced,” said Evelyn. “Although a cou-
ple who stayed here some time ago thought so. They reckon a
vase walked across the top of the cupboard and then smashed
onto the floor.”
“Really?” I asked excitedly.
“Well they were pretty weird,” said Evelyn. “So I’m not
really sure what to believe!”
She left shortly after, leaving us to settle in. My sister,
Vlasta and brother-in-law, Michael were planning to join us
some time in the evening.
What had been the schoolmaster’s quarters were now the
two guest bedrooms, so the seven of us had to squeeze in as
best we could. We decided we would move one of the mat-
tresses into the classroom area, so that Eloise would have the schoolroom to herself.
It was as I was making up Eloise’s bed that I came across
the first presence. I felt a sudden brush against my right arm, after which an intense warmth proceeded to travel down
towards my elbow. I looked to my right and saw a flash, and
immediately went to grab my camera.
“Hello!” I said. “Would you like to show yourself in my
photo?”
The Boys 93
With one quick snap, he was there; a fist-sized orb posi-
tioned just in front of the fire.
Embracing the Spirits: True Stories of My Encounters With the Other Side Page 8
