ghosts
Jimmy – A True Ghost Story
When I first moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico, I lived in one of the three old stage coach depots located here. The two others were owned by Burl Ives and the French Consulate, respectively. I can’t speak for those, but I can tell you about my experiences in the one where I lived.
I lived there for five years and it was totally charming. It had been designated as a guest house on the property, next to the main house. It was built with grey native stone and it looked like a painting by Currier and Ives. The perfect Santa Fe retreat, right? Or, anywhere, for that matter!
But a ‘caretaker’ came along with the place, although I did not know that until after I moved in.
The first fine morning at 4:00 a.m. he announced his presence, although I would soon learn that his appearances were anything but rare. This particular morning, I noticed that the lamp in the living room was flickering a bit. As I had been traveling extensively, I was on Australian time and, fortunately, felt quite alert at 4:00 a.m.
I, promptly, began to investigate. Wondering about the condition of the electrical current, since the house was such an old structure. I turned on other lights to see if they would also flicker. They didn’t, so I checked the relatively new lamp.
Jiggling it, shaking it and using various, and assorted other manipulations, to make it flicker, didn’t do the trick. Hmmm, I thought. Is this possibly an otherworldly entity? I was soon to find out that, indeed, it was not of this dimension, when for several consecutive mornings at the same time, 4:00 a.m., the same lamp would flicker a few times.
Finally, I introduced myself, and the lamp flickered! The lamp was in the front window next to my wingback chair. And, then, I was having a conversation with my chair. It went something like this, “Well, you seem quite benevolent, but what are you doing here?” The lamp flickered again. Although I could feel a presence, I had no fear. So, I became bolder. I asked, “Do you live here?” Again the lamp flickered. Finally, in exasperation, I said “Well, for now I guess you can stay, but you eventually need to move on. Oh, and don’t bring any of your friends here.”
Discovering My Supernatural Heritage At Grandma’s
Sometime around the year 1967 my parents told me one day that I was going over to grandmother’s house so that she could watch me while they were going somewhere for the day. I begged them not to take me there, because the place was haunted. I felt like something was always watching me at that house… and it was not my grandmother! But my parents told me my cousin Alan was going to be there too, and I would have someone to play with. So I reluctantly agreed.
When we pulled up my aunt and uncle were just driving off, so at least I knew my cousin was there and we could play with our trucks. When I walked in there was a little girl beside my cousin. My grandmother introduced her as Sally. She also watched Sally while her mom and dad went to work.
While my cousin and I where playing, Sally was happily playing all by herself. She was talking to an imaginary friend and they were playing with her dolls. At lunchtime I remember feeling like someone was tickling me at the table. Sally told me that I was sitting in her friend’s chair and asked me to move.
There was an empty chair across from me and I asked Sally why her friend could not just go and sit over there? Then I felt something pulling on my ear really hard, and I jumped! I quickly moved over to the other chair. I looked at my cousin, but he didn’t say a word. He just looked at me with his eyes really wide open.
When my grandmother returned to the kitchen, I told her that I wanted to go home. I wanted to call my mom and dad to pick me up. But she had just finished talking to my mom, who asked for me to spend the night at my grandmother’s. They would pick me up the next day. I was not impressed.
Spirit Signs From Loved Ones
Did you know that the spirit of a deceased loved one can give you signs that they are around and looking out for you? There are many possible signs: anything from an orb of light to the smell of perfume or cigar smoke, or shadows, or a personal object being moved from one place to another. Music is another way that loved ones can communicate with you.
There is always a reason why a departed loved one tries to let us know they are around us. It can range from being a warning of future danger, to simply letting us know that they love and miss us. For many generations in my family our loved ones have let us know they are around being.
I feel my mother is still helping me with life issues. Growing up with her she would not encourage my psychic abilities. She could have helped gain a better understanding of what gifts I had, because she was also psychic.
After she passed away many years ago, I feel now that she does try to help me understand my gifts, even though it really does not make sense, because she never helped me much when I was younger. I guess since she passed on, she now looks at it in another way. When she is around she gets my attention with the smell of flowers.
My mother was a really great psychic in my eyes. She passed away on St. Patrick’s Day on March 17th, 1997. The time she passed was 12:12 exactly, and when we got home all our clocks were flashing 12:12. My mother still visits me. Every so often the clock will flash 12:12, and I know she is around.
Today, I went into the bedroom and I saw this very bright light with the shades down. Once again the clock was flashing 12:12. I have two alarm clock stacks on top of each other. The clock on top was tipped over, while the one on the bottom was flashing 12:12.
My Paranormal Encounter With An Iconic Dog
Do our dearly departed pets also cross over to the other side, and do they still communicate with us from the afterlife? As a psychic medium I have indeed had contact with the spirit energies of animals in readings, and more recently an especially profound encounter during a paranormal investigation.
The investigation site was a privately owned property that is rich with history. It is not accessible to the public, as it is used by a corporation. The paranormal investigation team that I am a member of explored every room in the historic home, as well as other areas of interest located on the land around it. We would rotate in split teams to various area in order to investigate all the possible locations on the property.
Having already been in the home on several occasions, the group I was with decided to investigate the sitting room adjacent to the kitchen. Upon entering we got some response with little consistency. Other investigators had previously reported some activity in the same room, so we decided to see if we might be able to add to those experiences.
I generally don’t carry any equipment for these expeditions, except a pen, notepad, and a flashlight. While the other members of the group were doing an electronic voice phenomenon (EVP) recording session, I felt drawn to an area to the left, closest to the door through which we entered. At first it seemed odd, as I was being drawn to two porcelain figures of dogs: one of an adult Great Dane, and a smaller figurine of a puppy.
I picked up the puppy statuette and intuitively asked if I could ‘take it home with me’. Almost immediately one of the investigators got a response on one of our devices. She then asked if the responder was male or female, and she got a response. I handed her the puppy and she continued.
Sitting on the floor next to the other porcelain dog, I began to feel a very cold wave of air around me. There were no vents or drafts, as all outside doors were closed. I asked the others to verify the temperature change, which they did.
Haunting Tales From The Condo Complex
There is a condo building with a paranormal reputation in my area that has been around since the early 70’s. It was originally a rental apartment complex, which meant occupants constantly came and went. As a result much negative energy has been imprinted in the walls over the years.
For almost three decades this complex would often attract unsavory inhabitants, including drug dealers, criminals, and all sorts of disreputable individuals. Local law enforcement often had to intervene and escort many of them out with court orders and arrest warrants.
There have been many reports of a prevalence of dark, negative energies over the years, especially in the front of the building. Several people also died here and the earthbound souls of some still haunt the complex. I have been asked a few times to do some shamanic work to help release these restless souls and clear the unwanted energy there.
For example, a woman was brutally murdered in one of the units in the early 90’s, before her lifeless body was transferred to a car in the parking lot of a nearby local business. Some residents had seen her standing near their beds on the night she was murdered, asking for help.
I was subsequently asked to perform a cleansing on the building, and since then her spirit has not been seen again. I felt she had been released and have since moved on to the Other Side. The thing I heard her say clairaudiently at the time was, “I will choose my company better in the next life.” The man who murdered her had asked her out at a local chain restaurant that she would frequent, and she thought he was attractive. She regrettably said yes.
Frank, an 80-year-old gentleman who lived in the front of the building used to be a ‘busy body’ who felt it his duty to enforce the rules of the building. He would religiously be outside in the parking lot, instructing those who drove through which area was not meant to be used as part of the road, since it ended in a cul-de-sac. But some would stubbornly continue to use this area as a shortcut through the parking lot to get to the main road, which was not allowed.
Cleansing Unwanted Spirit Energies In Your Home
Benevolent spirit energies are everywhere. Whether it be a loved one who has crossed over, or your spirit guides and angels. Spirit is simply around in every moment of our daily lives. However, there are also earthbound spirits who have passed, but not yet crossed over. They have unfinished business in this world, or they have difficulty leaving the people and physical spaces that they had a connection to in this life.
These restless, earthbound spirit energies can wreak havoc in our homes and families. When I was a child, I had horrible nightmares. While we only lived on the main floor in my childhood home, I was fine. However, after my father had built the upper level of the house and I was moved into my pretty, girly bedroom, the nightmares began.
I never felt comfortable or secure in my new bedroom. Also, whenever I had to go into the basement, I would have to run down and back up, because of the ominous, icy cold feeling I would experience through my entire body. The rest of the house however was never an issue.
I later inherited this house, after both my parents had passed. I did not really want to own it, because even as an adult that same feeling in the upstairs and the basement was still haunting me, while the main floor felt warm and comforting. I refused to go there alone at night, and rarely alone even in the daytime. It was confusing and frustrating to say the least.
Then I learned how to sage and energy cleanse a home properly. My method involves white sage and a small white candle. I go into each room of a house, starting at the furthest room from the door and smudge each corner of the room. I slowly cleanse each corner and ask all unwelcome spirit entities present to follow the light of the candle as we progress through the house, room by room, towards the outside door.
Lessons Learned From Paranormal Investigation
Paranormal investigation and ‘ghost hunting’ has become very popular in recent years. Due to many television shows and video channels dedicated to this subject, there are many new fans exploring the field. As a psychic medium and empath, as well as an amateur history enthusiast, I also enjoy investigating the paranormal as a matter of both professional and personal curiosity.
How do I associated my passion for history with the paranormal? Well, in my view ‘official’ history is mostly written by the wealthy and influential, but I personally wish to learn the true history and stories behind the official narrative. And what better way than to get the truth from those who actually lived and experienced those events personally. And since they are generally no longer present in this life, I need to seek them out in the afterlife.
I am currently a member of a local paranormal group in my area. I became interested in working with a paranormal investigation group especially because I wanted to obtain documented, technical evidence of what I have been seeing and hearing in my mind all my life. In return, I believe my gifts also enhance the investigations for the other members of the group.
I have noticed many other groups do not often get good leads on hot spots that are more ‘active’ than others, nor many significant results, even with all the modern technological devices available. But with our group I have had the privilege and good fortune of getting some decent voice recordings and photos, and profound experiences that I wouldn’t have been able to without the efforts and support of the group.
If you are keen to get to become a ‘ghost hunter’ too, there are several things I would suggest before you get started. Firstly, learn to meditate at least on a basic level, simply because it allows your spiritual or psychic ‘senses’ to better pick up on paranormal energies.
