Mediums

Ghost Friends

~ Tara Theresa Hill ~ 2 Comments

Thanks to Holly Bell for this story! 

One of the warnings that is given to paranormal investigators and ghost hunters who are just starting out in the field is never to invite spirits to follow you home.  This is so that the spirit does not become attached to the person.  The idea is that you would not invite a total stranger into your home without caution and since ghosts are the souls of people who have passed on, you do not want to encourage them to take up residence with you either.  Unless you know the spirit well or have a previous relationship with the person from when they were alive, it’s generally not considered wise to let them into your sacred space.  However, just as with everything, there are some exceptions to this rule.

Holly Bell is a clairaudient paranormal investigator.  Although she has seen apparitions, she mostly hears whispers and collects EVPs.  Holly started her paranormal investigation group about five years ago with another friend of hers who is also an empath.  You can check out her paranormal videos on YouTube.

A couple of years ago, Holly was investigating her former professor’s home.  The professor had lived peacefully in the building for years.  When he became empathic and psychically aware after a near-death experience, he started noticing that his old house was full of ghosts.  Unfortunately, he was terrified of them and decided to sell the place.  Before the deal was closed, he asked Holly to come over and investigate.

After Holly had been in the house a few minutes, the professor asked, “Well?  Why are they here?  What do they want?”

“They want to know why you hate them.  They don’t mean you any harm,” Holly answered.  “Even though they’re dead, they’re just peacefully living out their afterlife here.”

As she continued to explore the house, a young female spirit approached Holly.  The spirit said her name was Sarafina.  She wore a dress that looked like something from the Little House on The Prairie books.  Holly estimated that she was from the 1800s.  The little girl ghost had played with the professor’s niece when she visited, but since he was going to be leaving soon, she was going to be all alone.  The spirit did not seem ready to move on to the light.  During the visit, Holly took a liking to Sarafina and invited her to come home with her instead.

Another time, Holly was doing an investigation in Sacramento Historic City Cemetery in California when she came across the spirit of a cavalry soldier.  He introduced himself as John.  When she was leaving the area where he was, he called for her to come back.  Perhaps he wasn’t stuck haunting the cemetery and might have just been passing through because he decided to follow her home.  Holly has had readings with two other psychics who have confirmed this spirit by name.  John is not ready to cross over and has taken up the role of protecting Holly.

If you have a real ghost story that you would like to share with The Ghost Post, send me an email to theghostpostreporter@gmail.com to set up an interview.  I’m always in the mood for a good ghost story! 

For more ghost stories, paranormal phenomena, and updates, follow Tara Theresa Hill on Facebook and on Twitter at @TaraTheresaHill.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The Back Room

~ Tara Theresa Hill ~ 1 Comment

When I was a little girl, Grandpa Freddie lived in the basement apartment of my Aunt Marianne’s house.  I knew that Grandpa’s wife, Tessie, had passed away three years before I was born.  Grandpa Freddie wasn’t happy talking about Grandma Tessie, so I would pester my mother for stories about her.  Mom told me that Grandma Tessie loved reading, bird-watching, singing, and helping people.  Tessie was a family nickname for Theresa.  Mom said it was too painful to name me after her mother, so she gave me “Theresa” as a middle name instead.

Grandpa Freddie watched me after school and on weekdays during summer vacation.  For some reason, I was always scared of the back room by the kitchen.  The bathroom was located at the end of the small room where they kept the washer and dryer.  It was almost always dark in the back room and I was convinced that something was waiting to grab me.  I would come out of the bathroom and rush through the archway to get back to Grandpa’s kitchen.

At some point, I concluded that if there was a ghost there, it was probably Grandma Tessie.  If that was true, then I shouldn’t be afraid of her.  She was an ancestral spirit and if anything, she would be protective of me.  I stopped running out of the bathroom area, but there was still a sad atmosphere about the place.  Sometimes I would even get the sensation of being watched.

I later learned that the watched feeling might have been an electromagnetic field caused by the washer and dryer, but somehow, I was not convinced.  Years after Grandpa Freddie died, I told my mother about the strange vibes that I would get in the back room.  Then Mom told me this story.

One day, when she was already sick with cancer, Grandpa found Grandma Tessie passed out in the bathroom.  When he tried to pick her up, he saw that she was dead and in his fright, he started shaking her and calling her name.  Miraculously, she came out of it and he took her to the hospital.  She eventually passed away some months later.

Residual hauntings occur when there is no consciousness behind the paranormal activity.  It is the remaining energy imprint from either a repetitive event or a tragedy that took place, not an individual soul that can interact with people.  I did not know that my grandmother had almost died in the bathroom by the back room and yet, I always felt odd in that area.  I think that I picked up on the intense energy that my grandfather must have left behind in that room when he found his wife dying.

What do you think?  Could this be a type of residual haunting?  Have you or someone you know ever experienced a residual haunting before?  Let me know in the comments.

If you have a real ghost story that you would like to share with The Ghost Post, send me an email to theghostpostreporter@gmail.com to set up an interview.  I’m always in the mood for a good ghost story! 

For more ghost stories, paranormal phenomena, and updates, follow Tara Theresa Hill on Facebook and on Twitter at @TaraTheresaHill.

The Haunting of The Royalton Hotel

~ Tara Theresa Hill ~ 4 Comments

Lady Rhea was contacted in 1991 to do a séance for the Royalton Hotel in New York City. They had had complaints about an aggressive spirit haunting the hotel and the staff were curious if she could make contact with the spirit. Rhea agreed to look into the matter and enlisted her two close friends, Tony and Raven, to help her.

On the assigned date, Rhea, Raven, and Tony arrived at the Royalton Hotel to conduct the séance. They were led to a small hotel room on the second floor. Rhea and Raven worked the Ouija Board, while Tony recorded the responses. Nine staff members joined them for the séance making a total of twelve people in the room.

At first, they had sporadic contact with several energies. The spirit of a little boy came through the board asking if anyone had seen his mother. After the young boy left, heavy footsteps could be heard walking outside the door in the hallway. Then they felt the presence of a male spirit enter the room. Rhea got the impression that he was a finely dressed, tall man with dark hair. He had a gruff voice and a tough guy attitude.

“What is your name?” asked Rhea.

“William Rose,” he spelt out on the board.

One of the hotel staff jumped up, “As in Billy Rose?”

The pointer circled the word “YES” rapidly. “Ooh, he’s cranky,” said Raven. “Do you know him?” asked Rhea. The staff member swallowed. “We know of him. He used to live here back in the days when the place was a residential hotel.”

Rhea turned back to the board. “Are you the ghost haunting this floor?” The spirit moved the pointer to “YES” again. Now that the spirit had fully established his presence, he started calling out staff members in the room and asking them questions.

“Where’s Red?” he asked. Red was the nickname for a manager who was supposed to be on call that night, but had called out of work. “Why do you want to know?” asked Rhea. William responded back smartly, “I wanted to talk to him.” The room fell silent.

Next, William indicated a female worker that was in the room and said, “I’ve seen you taking a nap in room 307.” The woman’s eyes went wide. “Well, I’ll never lay down in there again,” she said.

“Okay. I have some questions for you now. Would you be willing to answer them for me?” asked Rhea. William said that he would. “Why do you push people in the hall?” asked Rhea. William smirked, “Cause they’re stepping on my newspaper. Next question.”

“Why aren’t you moving on to the light? Are you stuck? Do you need help?”

William answered solemnly, “I’m waiting for Edie.”

It was around one in the morning by this point, so Rhea wrapped up the séance. On the way home, Rhea, Raven, and Tony were questioning what had happened that night. Raven was driving, Rhea was up front in the passenger seat, and Tony was in the back. They were driving by the side of a cliff on Wendover Road when all three were overwhelmed by the scent of roses and the car went into a 360-degree spin.

“Stop it, Raven!” screamed Rhea, thinking Raven had spun the wheel too hard on the turn.

“It’s not me,” shouted Raven.

Just as quickly as it started, the car stopped. The scent of roses disappeared. There were no roses growing along the highway. It was a clear night. The roads were clean, there wasn’t any ice or rain, and they hadn’t driven over an oil spill. Rhea felt that William Rose had spun the car and made it smell like roses to show them that he was real. A few months later, Rhea mentioned the incident to one of her clients. The customer said that she knew the Edie who William Rose was referring to. Edie was elderly and had recently moved into a nursing home. William was waiting for her to pass on, so that they could move on into the light together.

Picture for Royalton Hotel Article - Public Domain Archive
Public Domain Archive

If you have a real ghost story that you would like to share with The Ghost Post, send me an email to theghostpostreporter@gmail.com to set up an interview.

I’m always in the mood for a good ghost story! 

For more ghost stories, paranormal phenomena, and updates, follow Tara Theresa Hill on Facebook and on Twitter at @TaraTheresaHill.

 

 

 

Adventures with Ghosts

~ Tara Theresa Hill ~ 3 Comments

Thanks to Gafyn from Swansea, Wales for this story!

Gafyn has seen spirits ever since he was a little boy.  Walking down the street with his mother, he would do his best to maneuver around the ghosts passing by them.  Sometimes they even walked right through him.  When people asked if her son was okay, Gafyn’s mother would reply, “Yes, he just sees a lot more than you or I can.”

At one point, his mother decided to bring Gafyn to see his great-aunt, Phillis Mules, who was also a Medium.  She was well-known between the 1960s to 1980s and even helped with police investigations.  Aunt Phillis led Gafyn and his mother into a room and asked them to sit down.  Next, she called a friend in to talk to Gafyn.  Gafyn started talking to the person as if everything was completely normal.

When he looked at his mother, he noticed that she was tearing up.  His mother could not see the other person in the room like Gafyn and his aunt could.  At his aunt’s request, the spirit had entered the room and struck up a conversation with Gafyn to test if he had the gift of seeing and hearing spirits.  The ghost disappeared after a brief talk with Gafyn.  Aunt Phillis had been standing with her back to the door the whole time.  She nodded, smiling at Gafyn’s mother, “Oh, yes.  He has it.”

One time when he was in school, Gafyn saw a little boy standing by his classroom door.  The teacher gave no sign that she had seen him.  Thinking the little boy wanted to join the group, Gafyn started looking around the room to find him a seat.

“What are you doing, Gafyn?” asked his teacher.

“Trying to find a chair for that little boy.”

“What little boy?” she asked.

“The one standing over there by the door,” said Gafyn.

Of course, when he turned around to show the teacher, the boy had vanished once more.  The classroom door had been closed the whole time.  Gafyn wondered how the boy had been able to go through the door without opening it.  Years later, he realized that the little boy had been a spirit visiting the classroom.

As he grew, Gafyn became more accustomed to telling spirits apart from the living.  Seeing spirits almost everywhere he looked, he had to figure out how to manage his abilities.  Sometimes the ghosts scared him because they were “unusual, transparent, or ghastly.”  Aunt Phillis acted as a mentor, helping Gafyn master the basics of working with spirits.  She advised him never to welcome any spirits to follow him home.  Over time, he learned to look past their appearance and began to view spirits as people.  To read more about Gafyn’s adventures, check out Gaf’s Other Interests on Facebook.

If you have a real ghost story that you would like to share with The Ghost Post, send me a message via Twitter or Facebook to set up an interview!

I’m always in the mood for a good ghost story! 

For more ghost stories, paranormal phenomena, and updates, follow Tara Theresa Hill on Facebook and on Twitter at @TaraTheresaHill.

 

Too Many Ghosts

~ Tara Theresa Hill ~ 1 Comment

Thanks to Jodee DeSimone from Grand Junction, Colorado for this story!  Jodee also shared some of the pictures that she had of her house and the surrounding neighborhood.

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Old Dance Hall – Grand Junction, Colorado

There are many theories about what causes a haunting.  Some think a person’s immense unhappiness, unfinished business, or a refusal to detach from material objects can cause a soul to become earthbound.  Sometimes the circumstances surrounding the death, especially if it is sudden or particularly violent, may influence a spirit to stay behind.  In other cases, a spirit may not even be aware of the passage of time or that they have died.  Perhaps they may fear punishment for things that they have done or worry that they will be alone when they cross over.

Paranormal investigators, ghost hunters, Mediums, psychics, and other ghost fanatics are still trying to figure out what exactly causes a haunting and how to help spirits find peace.  Another answer they are seeking is why some places seem to attract more hauntings than others?  One possible reason is that certain areas may be portals for spirits to pass through during their travels.

Jodee DeSimone is a psychic Medium who lived in such a place for three years.  Built during the 1800s, the house was teeming with spirit activity.  It had three stories, but only two of them were accessible, as the entrance to the attic had been closed off by a previous owner.  All the bedrooms were located on one side of the house.  The house also had a creepy, unfinished basement where the family found a cat’s skeleton.

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Possible Image of Little Girl Ghost, Anna

Two specific ghosts made their presence known to Jodee and her family.  One ghost was a little girl named Anna.  She liked to follow Jodee’s young granddaughter around.  The second ghost was a male who appeared as a tall, dark spirit wearing a top hat.  The little girl ghost, Anna, was afraid of him.  The tall man seemed to have some sort of control over the other spirits in the house as he would stop them from talking to Jodee whenever she tried to question them about why they were still there.

Things only became worse when the house next door to Jodee’s family was condemned and eventually knocked down.  The ghosts that were haunting that house moved into Jodee’s home.  Doors and cupboards would open and slam shut every night.  Lights would turn themselves on and off randomly.  The scents of coffee brewing, cigarette smoke, tobacco, and cooking would permeate the house at night, along with the echoes of ghostly conversations.  Sensing the spirits, the family dog would growl and bark throughout the night.

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Close Up of Apparition by Christmas Tree

During their time in the house, the family was sick or got injured often.  Jodee even once felt someone push her off a chair while she was trying to hang a screen.  The house never stays rented for long.  Jodee has tried doing research on the house’s history, but is unable to find anything about its background.  For now, the reason for the hauntings remains a mystery.

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If you have a real ghost story that you would like to share with The Ghost Post, send an email with your contact information to Tara Theresa Hill at theghostpostreporter@gmail.com to set up an interview. 

I’m always in the mood for a good ghost story! 

Follow Tara Theresa Hill on Facebook and on Twitter at @TaraTheresaHill for more updates and paranormal phenomena!

“I’m still here.”

~ Tara Theresa Hill ~ Leave a comment
merlin-photo
Merlin

I’m always amazed by the ways that spirits choose to communicate with us.  Read the story below and let me know what you think.  Do you think it was a true spiritual communication or a happy coincidence?

Merlin was a spunky, mischievous, little dog.  A mix of Westie and Maltese, he was my mother’s faithful companion for fourteen years.  She and her wife, Sandra, found him running across Fordham Road, an extremely busy area of the Bronx.  I was in high school when they brought him home.  The first time I saw him, he was a filthy, shaking bundle wrapped in a towel in my mother’s arms.

Mom and Sandra gave him a long bath to wash all the muck off him.  They had thought that he had dark-colored fur, but then Mom said, “I think he’s actually lighter than we thought.”  They gave him another bath to discover that his fur was white with an apricot tinge to it.  I knew from the start that we were going to keep him.  Sandra and Mom were always rescuing animals.

“What should we name him?” asked Mom.

“How about Merlin?” I suggested.  His curly, white fur reminded me of Merlin’s beard from Disney’s Sword in The Stone.  Plus, being Pagan, we always chose magickal names for our pets.

They fed Merlin and then went to take him out with our other dog, Bambi.  Being the friendly soul that Bambi was, he bonded with Merlin immediately.  I think Bambi was thrilled to see another dog instead of a cat, although he was well-behaved with cats, too.

About ten minutes later, I heard a buzz at the door.  Mom sent Bambi up to me.  “Where’s Merlin?” I asked, but Mom was already gone.  I fed Bambi and went back to my homework.  Almost an hour later, Mom and Sandra came back looking bedraggled and carrying Merlin, who was once again covered in dirt.

“You chose the right name for him,” said Mom.  “He did a disappearing act on us.  Slipped right out of the leash!”  As she carried Merlin back to the tub for his third bath that night, she said, “Tomorrow, we’re buying you a harness!”

Merlin and Mom bonded in the same way that Bambi and I did.  He followed Mom about the house, was always giving her kisses, and was extremely protective of her.  He was so possessive of her that sometimes I couldn’t help teasing him about it.  I’d put my hand on her shoulder, look him right in the eye, and say, “My mommy.”  He’d start growling at me.  I thought it was because I had my hand on her, so I tried it without the gesture.  He still told me off.  Then I would start arguing with him, “But Merlin, she is my mother.”  He would keep on barking at me until I relented, “Fine.  She’s your mommy.”  Then Mom would pick him up and say, “See?  He’s a real little boy, Tara!  A real little boy!”  Then he’d cover her with kisses.  Even though I joked about it, I loved how close they were and felt thankful that Merlin was there to watch over Mom.

Years passed and Merlin started to show signs of illness and aging.  Mom constantly fretted over him.  Then one day, shortly after Christmas, the inevitable happened and Merlin passed away.  I was on my way to my old job in the city when I got the call.  Mom was hysterical for days.

Two weeks later, she told me that she was going to go get another dog.  This wasn’t a surprise to me.  My mother always handled a pet’s death by going to get another.  That night she came home with two dogs, Jimmy and Hachi.  She didn’t want to separate them since they were related.  Jimmy was raised as a breeder dog and Hachi is his grandson.

Of course, even with a new puppy and senior dog to bond with and take care of, Mom was still mourning the loss of Merlin.  She knew that I sometimes see Bambi around my house.  One morning, she called me and I could sense that she was more depressed than usual.  “Why doesn’t Merlin come visit me?” she cried.

Holding my phone to my ear and stirring my coffee, I said, “Just because you can’t see him doesn’t mean that he’s not there.”

“Yes, but I wish he would find a way to let me know that he’s still around.  Just give me a sign of some sort, so that I can be sure that he’s okay.  I want him to know that I still love him.”

“I’m sure he knows that.”

“I don’t want him to feel replaced just because I got Hachi and Jimmy, now.”

“Knowing him, he probably sent them to you to make you feel better.”

Mom laughed.  “Yeah.  He probably told God that he couldn’t take my crying.  Make her stop, already!  Here!  Give her two dogs!”

We talked for a bit longer before getting off the phone.  Thinking about Mom, I said aloud, “Merlin, if you can hear me, I wish you’d find a way to let Mom know that you’re still there.  She misses you so much.”  I didn’t think much about it after that.

A little while later, Mom called me back.  “The strangest thing just happened!” she said.  “I was sitting on the couch with Jimmy and Hachi when one of Merlin’s sticks landed by my feet.”

“You mean, you had it on the couch and it rolled off?”

“No.  It fell on the floor directly in front of me out of thin air.”

By this time, Merlin had already been gone for months and Mom had cleaned up all his old chew toys.

If you have a real ghost story that you would like to share with The Ghost Post, send an email with your contact information to Tara Theresa Hill at theghostpostreporter@gmail.com to set up an interview. 

I’m always in the mood for a good ghost story! 

Follow Tara Theresa Hill on Facebook and on Twitter at @TaraTheresaHill for more updates and paranormal phenomena!