jumping on beds, they had been heard laughing and running
up and down the hallways. Jason was devastated.
He was further affronted to discover that one of the guests
in the neighbouring room had seen a black, shadowy figure
purposefully going about its business.
“You should have knocked on the wall!” Jason told the
bemused guest. “I would’ve run in … I had my camera ready
and everything!”
Once he got over the disappointment of missing such an
eventful night, Jason reasoned that there would be plenty
more opportunities to fraternise with Monte Cristo’s ghosts.
And in accordance with his promise to himself, he continues
to visit his favourite haunted house year after year.
178 The Interactions of Others
The grand old lady herself; Monte Cristo Homestead,
believed to be Australia’s most haunted house.
Unlike Monte Cristo, not all haunted houses bear the clas-
sic appearance of looking old and creepy. And by the same
token, even those houses which look positively ominous can
draw a blank as far as ghostly activity is concerned.
The most sinister-looking mansions can be entirely ghost-
free, whereas their non-descript suburban counterparts can be
crawling with ghosts. It would be remiss to assume that only
old homes with chequered histories are likely to be haunted,
as it’s just as likely that a newly-built modern house is home to unseen occupants. It may be that the ghosts are connected to
the land, or perhaps they once dwelled in the buildings which
stood on the property before the current house was built.
There is also the possibility that for whatever reason, a
ghost has attached itself to one of the home’s occupants, following them home from who knows where. This is more
The Interactions of Others 179
likely to be the case for people with mediumistic abilities such as myself. Ghosts and spirits thrive on attention and acknowledgement, and as such, they are more likely to gravitate to
those who can see them. Such a scenario is invariably more
attractive than placing themselves in a situation whereby they are likely to be ignored.
Other circumstances which can give rise to hauntings are
related to the geographical location of the house itself. Under-ground water sources, in particular, are thought to provide an energy source necessary for paranormal events to occur. The
archaeologist and occultist, T.C. Lethbridge, first suggested the link between subterranean, running water and apparent haunting phenomena, and his theory has continued to gain momen-
tum ever since. Lethbridge suggested that the running water
acts as a battery, thereby providing disembodied entities with a power source which allows them to manifest.
This seems to be the case with a house owned by a local
hills couple, Sylvia and Lawrence. Although they built the
house themselves over twenty years ago, it has been consis-
tently plagued by paranormal activity. Electrical appliances
consistently turn themselves on and off (particularly newly-
acquired ones; it’s as though the ghosts are excited to be playing with a new toy), there are frequent disembodied footsteps
and voices, and apparitions have been seen wandering through
the property on numerous occasions.
On the day my husband, Stuart and I went to visit, I noticed
a figure lurking in the hallway as soon as we walked through the front door. Sylvia showed me an area of the house that the family had deemed to be a ghostly thoroughfare, so frequent were
the appearance of figures and flashing lights.
180 The Interactions of Others
As I stood in the area Sylvia indicated, I felt the surging
energy at once. Upon taking a photograph, we saw numerous
orbs, the most striking of which floated just a foot away from me on my left.
Although Sylvia suspects that many of the household’s spir-
its are deceased loved ones, she believes that there may be some
“blow-ins” as well. Sylvia pointed out that there was an under-ground aquifer just to the front of the house, which had proven to be an abundant water source. Perhaps this was the power
supply which was allowing the departed to manifest.
Despite the strong and regular paranormal activity within
their home, Sylvia and Lawrence do not find it in the least bit disturbing.
“Standing in the ghostly thoroughfare at Sylvia’s house … the most vivid orb sits just to my left.
The Interactions of Others 181
In many ways it’s comforting,” says Sylvia. She tells me
that even when she is alone in the house, she feels very safe
and protected. “It’s company!” she smiles.
Houses built on ley lines are also likely to be subjected to
hauntings. Ley lines are invisible lines of energy which are
believed to connect geographical points of interest. Signifi-
cant structures such as Stonehenge and The Great Pyramid,
for example, are thought to have been built upon the points
of intersection of this invisible energy grid. It is this energetic power-source which has the potential to fuel a prospective
haunting.
Lastly, a haunting may be little more than an energetic
replay of past events. It’s thought that if an event occurs often enough (e.g. someone walking up and down a staircase repeatedly over the course of several years) or is emotionally-charged enough (such as a suicide or a murder) the event imprints itself on a given location. One theory suggests that past events can
be recorded within the structure itself, particularly within the matrix of certain types of rock. Perhaps that’s why centuries old castles are quite often reported to be haunted, as their rich and varied histories are imprinted within the fibre of the castle itself.
It’s important to appreciate that this is not an intelligent
haunting, whereby there is an actual entity present. It is merely a snapshot of past events, similar to a replay being projected onto a theatre screen.
Hauntings are indeed as unpredictable and diverse as the
ghosts themselves. Although many are little more than ener-
getic events, some hauntings are as interactive as that expe-
rienced between two living beings. Many hauntings are
harmonious (as in the case of Sylvia and Lawrence’s home)
182 The Interactions of Others
whereby the living and the dead dwell peacefully side-by-side.
Others can be so be so disturbing that they shatter any possi-
bility of living a normal life.
Whilst ghosts may often frighten us, the gift they bring is
precious. Ghosts remind us of the eternal nature of the human
soul, and embracing this reality is nothing short of magical!
chapter twenty-one
A u s t i n
I’d long been planning to join a development circle, so I
decided to finally commit to putting my plan into action. Since the Spiritualist Church had been so instrumental in reawaken-ing my clairvoyance, I decided that it would be a good place
to start. By now it had been almost ten years since I first saw spirit guides, and since they seemed to effortlessly manifest in the church environment, I knew that it was time to go back.
For some reason I was drawn to the Maylands Spiritualist
Church, which although not the closest to home, it was the
one to which I felt the most affinity. Perhaps it was because I had lived in Maylands all t
hose years ago, and had treasured
memories of the neighbourhood I had once shared with Deni.
Or perhaps it was something else. Either way it was time to
find out.
On a whim I called the church early on a Tuesday morn-
ing, little expecting anyone to be there. I was hoping to per-
haps hear a recorded message listing the service times.
183
184 Austin
I was a little taken aback when a mature gentleman
answered the phone and introduced himself as the minister.
I asked if we could arrange a meeting, as I was curious to discover more about him, and wondered whether his paranormal
experiences even vaguely mirrored my own.
Despite attending the Forrestfield Spiritualist Church sev-
eral years earlier, I still had very little understanding of the running of the church itself. I wanted to know if all the ministers were mediums. Did they believe in both good and evil
manifestations of spirit? I wondered if he would concur that poltergeists were real?
Less than ten minutes later I was heading down the hill
towards Maylands, with the unmistakeable feeling that some-
thing eventful was about to happen.
I was met by a diminutive, grey- haired gentleman who
smiled warmly as he extended his hand.
“I’m Austin,” he said. “Nice to meet you!”
We moved off to sit in his office; a small nondescript room
at the back of the church hall. As soon as we were seated I
could see the room buzzing with energy, the familiar fog inter-spersed with transient bursts of bright flashing lights.
There was one spot just above Austin’s left shoulder which
was particularly active, flashing repetitively to ensure it had my attention. When I glanced up I noticed the head and shoulders of a glowing masculine figure.
“Your guide!” I said.
“That’s right” smiled Austin. “I’ve been seeing him for
years.”
Austin told me about the first time he’d seen his guide
manifest, many years ago when he was a young bachelor liv-
ing in a tiny two bedroom house.
Austin 185
At the time Austin had kept greyhounds, and he was woken
by the dogs’ relentless barking. As he made his way down the
hallway, he passed the lounge room and reeled back in shock.
Calmly sitting in an arm chair was a man, and Austin gasped
at the realisation there was an intruder in the house. The man looked completely solid and addressed Austin by name.
“Come and sit down, “he said.
Strangely, the dogs had become completely silent by now.
Austin felt as though they had successfully fulfilled their mission by summoning their master and had gone back to sleep
after a job well done.
Austin edged nervously into the lounge room and sat across
from his visitor. There he remained for over an hour, engaged in conversation with his spirit guide.
“And I’ve seen him beside me ever since,” finished Austin.
I glanced up towards where Austin’s guide was hovering,
and he shone his spirit light at me as if to concur.
Throughout the course of our hour-long conversation, I
also repeatedly saw a small figure peeking over Austin’s left
shoulder, and I asked myself why I hadn’t come to visit here
earlier. There was no doubt that the Spiritualist Church was a magnet for spirits and I couldn’t wait to experience more.
Austin spoke of how he regularly saw the spirits of his
deceased parishioners, as they invariably hot-footed it straight back to his parish knowing that they would be seen. Some of
the spirits manifested as filmy, ethereal figures, whereas others were so corporeal that Austin was able to physically touch them. Sometimes they were fleeting presences, sometimes
they lingered for hours, happy to be in the environment they
felt so comfortable in during their lives.
186 Austin
Austin went on to tell me that despite only meeting his
guide in adulthood, he had seen ghosts and spirits since he
was a small child. He was raised by his grandparents, both of
whom had strong mediumistic abilities which heavily influ-
enced young Austin’s day to day life. Spirits were a natural and expected aspect of life.
He has vivid memories of making the long trek across
lonely paddocks to get to school, and the insistent voices who would repeatedly call his name as he passed by.
His grandfather had warned him about the presences in
the paddock and told Austin that he was under no circum-
stances to respond to their calls.
“You are only to speak to those who approach you cor-
rectly!” his grandfather would say.
So the young Austin kept his head down and trudged on
towards school. As time went on he experienced more and
more, and found that as long as he remained prayerful and
trusted in the protection of God’s golden light, he didn’t feel threatened by the visions before him.
I told Austin about my frightening experiences at the hands
of a poltergeist, and asked him whether he had any frightening paranormal encounters of his own.
“Oh yes!” he said, and told me about one time in particular
when he had forgotten to say his prayer of protection prior to investigating a haunting. “It was years ago. I know better than to do that now …”
A woman called the church sounding distraught, con-
vinced that there was a negative entity overtaking her home.
She asked if someone would come to the house to see if
they could help, as the presence was systematically destroy-
ing her family’s lives. It appeared that the family were expe-
Austin 187
riencing an endless spate of illness and bad luck, objects were being thrown around the house and precious possessions
seemed to be disappearing. Family members had been physi-
cally assaulted and the woman’s young son had been forcefully
ejected from his bed.
The woman sounded so desperate that Austin agreed to
visit the house to see what could be done. He went together
with Mrs Perkins, a long-standing church member and tal-
ented medium who was also a respected teacher in the Spiritu-
alist Church movement.
The family greeted them on the front porch and whilst Mrs
Perkins stood outside talking to the family, Austin ventured
inside alone.
He was only a few steps down the hallway when he was
violently struck to the back of his head.
“Get out!” hissed a female voice in his ear.
Wasting no time, Austin bid a hasty retreat to the front
porch, and told Mrs Perkins what had happened. Despite his
long history of paranormal encounters, it was the first time
Austin had been attacked by an entity. He was visibly shaken
by the physical assault.
Mrs Perkins reminded Austin that they needed to pray for
protection prior to entering the disturbed household, and thus armed with their spiritual armour, they entered the house
once again.
The feeling of oppression was evident at once, and a sense
of negativity overcame the pair as they entered the house. A
menacing-looking old woman lingered down the hallway,
a ghostly apparition who identified herself as the woman’s
mother-in-law. She hated her son’
s wife whilst she was alive
and death had done little to assuage her venom. In fact she
188 Austin
hated her all the more as the daughter-in-law had taken pos-
session of her most prized possessions; her jewellery and her china.
The ghost made her intentions very clear. Unless the fam-
ily relinquished her possessions, she would continue to make
their lives a misery until they conceded to her wishes.
Surprisingly, the family didn’t agree to the old woman’s
terms immediately, as the pieces in question were very valu-
able. Austin was incredulous that they would even contem-
plate keeping the contentious items, and reminded the family
that their safety and peace were infinitely more valuable than any monetary value.
Finally a compromise was reached and they agreed to get
rid of the jewellery and the china, sharing them amongst fam-
ily members rather than destroying them or just randomly
giving them away.
Whilst the troubled household resumed normality shortly
after, the recipients of the old woman’s possessions began to experience similar disturbances within their own homes. Austin and Mrs Perkins were summoned once again.
Mrs Perkins made contact immediately and the dead
woman made herself very clear. As bitter and attached to her
belongings as she was, she was adamant that no one should
have her things! She was completely earthbound and fixated
with her material possessions, and couldn’t bear to see anyone, not even her own family, taking ownership of her earthly treasures. It was beyond her comprehension that she was dead and
had no use for tea cups, dinner sets, necklaces and rings. She refused to be convinced.
It was eventually decided that the dead woman’s posses-
sions had to be destroyed, as she would undoubtedly follow
Austin 189
the items to whichever house they were taken, and wreak her
jealous havoc accordingly.
Under the supervision of Austin and Mrs Perkins, the old
woman’s belongings were gathered up and taken to the rub-
bish tip. To ensure that no junkyard scavengers found them
and took them home, they were bundled up in boxes and then
destroyed. The family paid one of the tip employees fifty dol-
lars and watched as he crushed the boxes with his bulldozer
Embracing the Spirits: True Stories of My Encounters With the Other Side Page 16
