chapter 24 Haunted Inn
My assistant and I were
invited to attend the Joshua P. Warren Paranormal Conference at a majestic,
historic, and very haunted, hotel in Asheville.
I was to be a guest speaker, offer readings, and participate in the
ghost-hunting activities taking place at night.
Although I heard some unexplained footsteps while I was putting my
things in my room, the first part of the event was quite enjoyable. We listened to several speakers and partook
of the nice buffet provided for us. It
was later that evening that things got a little hairy.
Several guests, including
my niece Lisa and I, rode a little bus over to an abandoned clubhouse on the
grounds. Lisa is a beautician by day and
is responsible for keeping my hair looking good in addition to accompanying me
on paranormal investigations. She was
never happier when she learned that big hair was coming back into style since
that is her own preference. Lisa is the
only person I know who had to buy a bigger car just to accommodate her
hair.
Also in our group was a
very tall and muscular police officer, Jerry. I was glad to have him along because he had a
powerful energy about him that inspired confidence. In our conversations, I found that he had
experienced several paranormal occurrences in his life, including receiving
phone calls from something that seemed demonic in nature. He had tolerated it at first, but once he
realized that it’s manifestation in his life and the lives of some members of
his family and their friends was having a negative effect, he took control and
commanded it to leave. It did depart,
which further increased my confidence in him.
His lovely wife, Andrea, was along, eager to see if she might capture
any wayward entities with her digital camera.
Often, a spiritual presence will create orbs of light that can be
photographed best digitally.
The atmosphere was dark
and creepy when we arrived at the clubhouse, but we gathered our courage and
entered the deserted building. Almost
all of us immediately began to experience one type of frightening episode after
another, such as having feelings of oppression, sensations of being touched,
etc. As we entered the second floor,
Andrea commented that her camera had gone totally dead. Others in the group noticed that the same
thing had happened to their equipment as well.
It is a common occurrence for spirits to drain energy from the
batteries. They also draw energy from
humans, and this action creates a sensation of fear.
It was at that moment
that I felt an extreme presence, that of a man.
The man seemed to be dressed in attire common to the early 1920s. He appeared to be very well off, and amused
by our growing panic. I also felt the
presence of many others emerging from their realm into ours at this point. They seemed to be having sport with us,
laughing and pointing as they gathered around us. Then a caretaker presented himself. He was angry.
He said that we were uninvited.
He said that we made the floors muddy with our dirty feet. At this point, I felt a sudden and intense
pressure to my belly. I felt that I had
been punched. What I experienced was not
painful, but the force forced my breath from me, and I felt that I might throw
up. I could not speak. Again, and again, the force struck me. At this point, Jerry wrapped his arms around
me and guided me down the hall and to the lower level. The rest of our group followed.
We left that building
and went back to the main part of the hotel.
Not ready to give up our ghost hunting, we walked to another area of
known haunting, a former nightclub. As soon
as we stepped from the elevator, I felt overwhelmed and turned to go. Unfortunately, the elevator door had already
closed. Immediately I felt the presence
of the woman known as the “Pink Lady” by those familiar with the Inn’s
history. I felt that she was accompanied
by another spirit, that of a man. Just
as suddenly, I felt the spirit of an elderly woman. She got right in my face, laughed, and said
that she was a witch and that she kept company with the others that were
there. Her energy was overwhelming. I explained excitedly to our entourage what I
was feeling. I told them she was
touching my face. Andrea, who remained
calm under every circumstance, snapped a photo.
Sure enough, an orb was photographed touching my cheek. Finally, the elevator door opened, and I left
the group to proceed without me.
The next night, we
ventured out again. I decided to cut the
evening short, however, and returned to my room. My daughter Jayme, my assistant for the
second night, was eager to go to the clubhouse.
She reported that when the group entered the building, they all agreed
that the energy of this night was much lighter than the night before. My daughter thought it was all a hoot and
said later that she felt intoxicated.
Another guest also reported experiencing similar sensations. Jayme felt so frivolous, in fact, that she
stood under a dust cover and pretended to be a ghost. Oddly enough, while doing her Casper
imitation, several photos were taken that showed her to be covered in orbs.
Later that night, I had
my most frightening experience of the trip, though not of the type that might
be expected. Jayme and I were both in
our room in our respective beds. The
accommodations were very nice, with beautiful furniture, full-length mirrors,
and even a little kit to shine your shoes.
I was just dozing off when I realized that I had forgotten to brush my
teeth. Although the room was dark, there
was just a tiny bit of light coming through the door, so I decided to leave the
lamp light out so as not to wake my daughter.
As I went toward the
bathroom, I caught a glimpse of some movement directly in front of me. It became a little clearer as I neared it,
and seemed to be a figure, yes, a female figure dressed in a filmy white gown. I looked closer in shock at the advancing
figure, and saw an expression of terror gazing back at me. I grabbed my heart and stumbled
backwards. The figure in front of me did
the same. A scream began to escape from
my throat.
Just then, I realized
that the horrifying apparition was actually my own reflection in the
full-length mirror on the bathroom door.
I clasped my hand over my mouth and leaned against the wall for a while
until I was calm enough to quietly go back to bed. The next day, Lisa reported hearing unearthly
moans and muffled screams that seemed to be coming from right inside our room,
but had felt so unnerved that she had pretended to be asleep in hopes that
whatever evil was lurking there would pass over and leave her unharmed. I agreed that was the best course of action,
and decided to just keep my little episode to myself for a while. Some mysteries are better left unsolved.
I “saw” a spirit
and told those who were with us that the spirit was touching my face. This orb was photographed in the place that I
felt my cheek being touched.
Chapter
2 Nautical Adventure
Jayme and Lisa, with my
son’s girlfriend Kim, were also along for another one of my misadventures. It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon, and we
girls pooled our money and rented a pontoon so that we might have a carefree
day of floating about the lake. Lisa was
piloting the boat, and we were having a grand time traveling the full length of
Lake James.
Jayme and Lisa decided
a swim would be fun, but we had not brought swimsuits, as this had been an
impulsive trip. They figured it would
not matter, since they were wearing tee shirts.
They dropped their shorts and went into the water wearing only their tee
shirts and undies. They were having a
ball. They were having so much fun that
I decided to join them. I was wearing a
button-up shirt, however, and I did not want to get it wet. Therefore, I decided to just go in my
underwear and bra. I was wearing my
favorite “granny” panties that boast a lively zebra design, so I hoped that
from a distance they might be mistaken for a sporty swimsuit. However, because the boat was anchored in a
private cove, and since the ladder going down into the water was facing the
embankment, I felt safe from prying eyes.
The girls were greatly amused by my attire and
began heartily laughing as soon as I began my descent. Jayme in fact, became so overcome by the
whole situation that she began sinking, all the while yelling that she was
drowning, between gasps and giggles. I paid
no mind, however, and dropped into the water.
I have gained a little weight and am not as active as I once was, so I
was a little startled at how quickly I dropped and how deeply I sank. I fought back panic as I sank for what seemed
to be an eternity. I felt water enter my
nose as I continued my downward plunge.
I kicked my legs, and waved my arms and tried to stay calm as I reminded
myself that I would float if I would relax.
Finally, I breeched the surface only to face the contorted faces of the
girls, who said I went a full inch under the surface and bobbed straight back to
the top like a cork.
I turned my back to
them and swam away only to be promptly caught in a current that began dragging
me away from the boat and toward the shore.
I floated on my back and worked very hard to move toward the boat without
making much progress, so I donned a life vest that was tossed to me in order to
rest a bit. Soon, I decided to climb
back into the boat. Lisa and Jayme did
the same. Lisa began to climb the
ladder, but had a terrible time since it was barely in the water. She stuck one foot over the railing and hung
nearly upside down while struggling to gain control and get on board. Finally, after flailing about for several
minutes, she managed to get her feet under her.
I looked at the ladder, horrified that I might not be able to repeat
Lisa’s success, when I realized that with the quick snap of a latch the ladder
would extend several feet further down and thus be within easy reach. Joyous with my discovery, and even more
joyful that the discovery was made after Lisa’s escapade, I advanced on the
pontoon. It was not an easy climb and I
had to pause several times before righting myself. I then got dressed, secure in the knowledge
that my display had gone unnoticed except by my companions.
It was at this point
that the old man in his fishing boat pulled away from the edge of the cove and
went speeding by. He stared at us
intently with a huge grin on his gnarly face.
I am thinking he caught not only a fish, but also an eyeful.
Play is important to
maintaining balance in your life. As
usual, my playtime resulted in yet another embarrassing moment.
Play is an important
balancer. By allowing our inner child
out to play, we keep that child contented, our mind rested, and our body
healthy. When we see life through the
eyes of a child, we often see through the complexity of life and experience
more of life's simplicity.
Chapter 3 Journey
in Spirit
As an exercise in
spiritual development, I decided to take a walk outside myself and into the
spirit world. I chose a tarot card, that
of the “world”, to assist me in this endeavor.
The world card is a card of abundance and shows an image of an unclothed
woman, a mother figure, who is literally standing in blue sky. This card seemed to pull on me for reasons
that I did not understand, so I chose this card and the figure on it as my
guide. I sat in a comfortable chair,
relaxed, and closed my eyes.
I imagined that the
card was the size of a door and that it was standing alone in the middle of the
room. I imagined that I stood up in my
spirit, leaving my body in my chair, and I walked into the card. As I entered that realm, the cardboard image
became a three-dimensional world. I felt
so excited, but when I realized that the woman was unclothed, I was suddenly
embarrassed and averted my eyes. She
laughed, and I realized that it is true that fairies’ laughter sounds like the
tinkling of bells. When I looked at her
again, she was clothed in a sarong, as was I.
She took my hands and
we began to fly through space. I felt
light and filled with excitement. We
stopped, stood in the air, and held hands while we faced each other. We begin to spin and I remembered how it felt
to be a child again. Suddenly, she
released one hand, pulled me through space by my other hand, and headed
straight for the sun. I became afraid
and tried to pull away, but she held tight.
As we neared the sun, we flew even faster and, although I was terrified,
I did not feel heat. In a matter of
seconds, we were in the sun, but were not consumed. I looked at her and then at myself. We were both part of the sun, and existed as
pure light. Once again, she took my hand
and pulled me in order to leave, but I did not wish to go. I wanted to stay, as I was completely at
peace and filled with joy. Again, she
proved too strong and pulled me back into space. I saw that we were now composed of millions
of particles of light. While we had
regained our forms, we had retained the light.
I felt overjoyed, and again she laughed.
She took my hands and we began a slow spiral descent, back to blue sky,
and back to the door way. She smiled at
me, and released my hands as I stepped back into my room. As I turned to look at her, she was once
again an unclothed image in a mere drawing.
I returned to my body, breathed a deep cleansing breath, and opened my
eyes.
I am certain that
although I was again in physical form, the essence of the light was still part
of me.
If you would like to
step out in spirit, you may try the following exercise. First, find a comfortable and quiet
spot. Take deep calming breaths and
allow your body to relax. You might like
to have soft music playing and perhaps burn incense and /or candles. Imagine that you are glowing with light and
that your angels are surrounding you.
Next, Imagine that you are so heavy that you slip right out of your body
right down to the floor, or that you are so light that you touch the
ceiling. Then imagine that you are
walking through a doorway that has opened right in the middle of your room. As you pass through the doorway, pretend that
you are walking into a beautiful garden where flowers are growing, birds are
singing, etc. You can also “walk” into a
favorite painting or into a place you have visited or remember from childhood. Imagine that you experience a shower that washes
away any bad feelings that you have been experiencing, and then feel warm
sunshine on your face. Pretend that you
meet a rabbit that talks, a white unicorn, or a ladybug that is really a lady. You might also imagine that you are walking
through a tunnel toward a light. As you
travel through the tunnel, you allow yourself to see visions of yourself as you
may have existed in a past life. Remind
yourself that you are safe from the emotions of that time and allow yourself to
merely observe.
In time, you may have a
guide approach you, in whatever form you choose, to help you with challenges
you may be facing. If you are given
information that you do not later remember, or are given gifts of any kind, you
will retain the essence of that so that you have what you need when you need
it. You may not comprehend what is
imparted to you at first, but in time, you should acquire the necessary
insight.
If you feel
uncomfortable at any time, simply stop.
In time, you may wish to wrestle inner demons by envisioning them as
characters that embody your emotions or aspects of your own personality. Remember, you are in control, and never do
anything that makes you uncomfortable.
When you are ready,
imagine yourself walking back into your body.
Focus on your breathing again.
Feel yourself fitting back into your environment, relaxed and refreshed.
Imagination is a
powerful tool, and perhaps it is its’ own reality. Through your imagination and imagery, you can
affirm what you wish to believe, and through your beliefs you can often
manifest the reality you wish to create.
Through imagination, you increase your creativity, which in turn
enhances your intuition. Simply
daydreaming is a wonderful way to open doors in your mind and experience the
magic of imagination.
Chapter 4 Dear
Diary
Dear Diary: It has been just another day as usual. I cannot say that I slept very well last
night as I was awakened in the middle of the night only to see the specter of a
man standing beside my bed. He was
unshaven, had long curly hair, and was wearing a tank top undershirt and boxer
underpants. He even had a towel wrapped
around his neck. His expression
indicated that he thought that I was the one in the wrong place. Though startled at first, I decided that
tonight I was not going to be bothered, so I rolled over and went back to
sleep. This was very different from my
experience the night before. I had
fallen asleep with the phone on the bed only to awaken to what I thought was it
ringing. I picked up the phone and said
“hello.” There was no answer, but I
heard what seemed to be a sound similar to what a fax machine or computer, but
soon realized that the sound did not come from the phone but from beside the
bed. I was very groggy, and very calm as
I saw the shadows of two very thin man-like creatures standing beside the
bed. One being was about three feet tall
and the other was perhaps about four feet tall.
The taller being carried a small box hanging by a strap from his
shoulder. They both seemed to be looking
at me, but I did not feel afraid. I felt
curiosity instead. As the fax sound
continued, I thought, “So that is what they sound like.” Immediately after that thought, I fell into a
deep sleep and remained asleep until the next morning.
I saw a new client this
morning, dear diary: a woman who was worried about her husband, as she was
uncertain of his love for her. I
reassured her that I felt he loved her.
This made her so happy that she decided to ask about her relationship
with her boyfriend as well.
Wren, my evil attack
Chihuahua, engineered an escape from the porch today, and stealthily began to
make her way across the road. She spied
a neighborhood child making his way home riding a “Big Wheel.” If there is anything that Wren likes less
than a child, it is a child on a Big Wheel.
She also spied her nemesis, the dreaded black lab, lying in his front
yard. Wren took one look back at me,
calculated the distance, and figured I did not stand a chance of catching her
before she made her move. Her decision
was not whether to attack, but rather whom to attack. She decided her best bet was to go for the
lab. I took off in hot pursuit and
caught her within two feet of her attacking a very startled-looking
canine. Wren was very angry about being
captured and the hair stood up on her spine for several minutes.
I did receive some
interesting phone calls today. Someone
in Taiwan was lost, and fortunately, I was able to help his family locate
him. I described a certain area and,
since it was a place familiar to them, he was found alive and well.
A mother brought her
daughter by earlier. It seems as if the
child has vision problems and asked that I share healing energy with her. I had done this before, and it had helped
her. Naturally, I was happy to be of
assistance and to do that again.
A woman came by who
wanted help in communicating with her loved ones whom had passed on. Though it took quite a bit of energy, I was
able to comfort her and she felt satisfied with the information she received. A very creative woman also came by and I
mediated for her spirit guide. She was
an interesting woman, an old soul I am sure.
Finally, a man visited and discussed his financial concerns and property
dealings. I do feel that things will
improve for him soon.
I received word that a
client’s father had passed away quite suddenly.
She said that I had told her in her session that she needed to spend
time with her father, as he was not well.
She did not believe me and had felt her dad was fine. Three days later, her dad died unexpectedly
from a heart attack. It is very sad.
Oh, I also received a
message from a client who attended a group session and wrote down some of my
comments. It seems that before the
presidential election in 2000, I had been recorded saying the following: “An
imposter will take the White House. A
great explosion will occur in the northeast and will reverberate throughout the
land. A man in a white turban will be
behind it all.” Oddly enough, I had
forgotten having said any of that. That
reminds me too of the vision I had and that my friend recorded just before
going on the air with my radio show. I
had envisioned a wall of water coming into a city. Panic-stricken people were everywhere, and I
had felt a dam might have given way. I
am assuming, of course, that I had perceived the levy break in New Orleans that
occurred shortly thereafter.
All
in all, dear diary, it was just another day.
Maybe tomorrow, something truly amazing will happen. Until then: good night.
