Haunted London

48 Doughty Street to 13 Portsmouth Street WC2: When he was 27 years old, Charles Dickens, moved into this imposing house in 1837 with his new wife, Catherine. They lived here for three years during which time his sister-in-law, Mary Hogarth died here. Mary was the inspiration for the character of Little Nell, who worked in the little 'odds and ends' shop in his tragic novel, The Old Curiosity Shop. The concerned ghost of Charles Dickens, wearing top hat and tails, has been seen rushing along this route.
University College Hospital Gower Street NW1: The first operation with the use of a general anaesthetic was performed at this hospital in 1846 when a leg was amputated in just thirty seconds. In 1890, a young nurse, Lizzie Church, attended the bedside of her lover who was a patient here. She accidentally administered an overdose of morphine and he died. It is said she committed suicide in remorse and her ghost is seen to this day by hospital staff when morphine is administered to patients.
Lincoln's Inn Fields off High Holborn WC2: This is the largest public square in London and was one of the major sites of public executions that were carried out in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. In1586, Anthony Babington was hung, drawn and quartered for his part in a plot to remove Queen Elizabeth I from the throne of England and replace her with Mary, Queen of Scots. His ghost roams the grounds.

Like Wake Vigil

In a communication to Wendy Stokes from Philip Lewcroft. October 7, 1999.

 "This is one of Yorkshire’s oldest songs, used by the poorer people for their funerals, especially those taking place on high points of the moors. This tradition is thought to go back to the Norsemen, or even further, to the Bronze Age. The tune is mentioned by the diarist John Aubrey in 1642. Its last recorded use for a funeral was at Kildale around 1800. The Lyke is the lych gate, where the coffin would wait for pallbearers to take it to the church for the service, the Wake (wake meaning vigil) was a dirge provided for the corpse on the night before burial. In recent years, the same name has been given to a pilgrimage ‘walk’ from Cleveland Hills to the coast at Ravenscar, 40 miles, which is undertaken by thousands annually, sometimes taking 24 hours)." 

The History of Hauntings!

The historian, Tacitus documents an early haunting that occurred 2000 years ago. It happened to the philosopher, Athenodorus, who bought a house and discovered, one evening whilst at work, a ghost shaking chains at him. Dismissing the spectre to return to his work, the ghost eagerly beckoned the philosopher into the courtyard where he vanished. Marking the spot where the spectre stood, Athenodorus dug into the ground and discovered the corpse of a man in chains. The philosopher carefully separated the bones from the chains and conducted a dignified burial. The ghost was seen no more.

The story describes a typical ghost, a person who died with unfinished business and who cannot gain eternal rest until an act of restitution is supplied, in this case, release from the chains that we presume were placed unjustly. When the chains were removed and a proper burial was provided, justice and peace were restored.

In ancient times, many specialised angels were assigned the task of safely helping the dying to find their way into the regions of the spirit world. Many creatures are also said to perform this midwifery role. When people have been revived after clinical death, they frequently tell of a dog they had owned many years before which they see running towards them, tail wagging with delight, then running ahead and looking back to beckon the newly deceased forward on their transitionary journey. 

Dead or Alive! Burial Customs!

Burial Customs to prevent the dead from rising to haunt the living! In 2004, two extraordinary skeletons were discovered in a ditch on the perimeter of an ancient cemetery on the west coast of Ireland. Both skeletons had large stones wedged into their open jaw and had large stone slabs placed over their grave; their limbs were broken and bound. These skeletons were carbon dated to the seventh century when Ireland was becoming Christianised and new stories were told to the pagan people about what would happen in the Afterlife. Traditionally, Christian corpses were buried facing the eastern horizon, so that when the sun rose on the last day, all would stand and immediately see Jesus rising in glory with the dawning of a new day in Heaven. These two bodies, with their head in a ditch, would not greet their saviour along with all others in the cemetery, as they were buried to lie in a NW-SE direction.

Who Stole the Witch's Bowl? - A Story

I was celebrating Beltane 1996 at The North Lodge, Monks Walk, Waverley Lane, Farnham where I was told this extraordinary story that I wrote down that night. When Dr Kathleen Anne Ball read the story on Facebook, she was captivated yet saddened by the ending at first, but then realized, one was free to create any ending they’d like, so she did:

In the sixteen hundreds - so this ancient tale relates - a lone woman, gripped by appalling poverty, strayed onto the Waverley Estate and there took shelter in the ivy covered cave. She had no known family and hence no persons or property to protect here in her infirmity, and gossip quickly arose about her mysterious past. In the local inn, the farm folk spoke in hushed tones, saying that she was a witch who had murdered her husband and children, and that she carried the plague as a punishment for her sins. Within days, farm hands drove her from the cave, accusing her of blighting their crops. Children threw stones at her, many causing open wounds that failed to heal. Warts spread across her unwashed face and lice tormented her days and nights, and she thought maybe their taunts were true. She gleaned what she could from the footpath verges, collecting hazel twigs to make a broom to sweep away the leaves from the entrance to her den within a hedge of thick hazel. A small cat took shelter with her and they huddled together for warmth and companionship. Occasionally, the cat brought a gift of vermin, frog or bird to add to her gruel and prevent total starvation. Her comb broke under her matted hair and her skirt became torn and tattered exposing her scratched legs. The humiliation of such deprivation and her solitary situation gave her much distress. She longed to attend St Andrews church but she had no clothes, money or status, so she watched from afar and she got to know the townsfolk and those who worked and raised their family and livestock in the surrounding hills. She knew the fancy lives of the Lord and Lady who owned the great estate, though she would never trespass on their extensive and rich pastures or she would have been shot by the gamekeeper without question. One evening, she collected earth from the Downs that she fashioned into a small vessel and in this bowl she collected water from the river. Over a small fire, built of fallen twigs, she warmed meagre fayre. In the cold and dark abode she kept a few windfallen fruits which fermented and made a drink to aid sleep - for the pain in her bones was fierce and sleep was always fitful.

Soul Rescue - Spirit Release - Exorcism book extract

Soul rescue is occasionally conducted in selected Spiritualist and mediumship groups and is the expertise of the Brazilian Spiritist movement. Not all earthbound spirits move quickly into the light. Some need help crossing over. There is a threshold area between this world and the next. It is a transition sometimes described as a tunnel, a bridge, a doorway, a stairway or similar. When a spirit is unaware that they are in the spirit realms or unable to let go of an attachment to the physical world, they seek a host person to live vicariously through. This makes soul rescue necessary. Many lost spirits are  disorientated and confused. They have often had a shock and returned to Spirit very quickly, without any preparation. Victims of traumatic violence, such as murder, accidents, war victims, etc., commonly need rescue, as do distressed children, elderly people who are upset, the mentally ill, or those who did not want to leave the physical world due to unfulfilled plans.

Ancient Spirit of the Crossroads

In the days of ancient Greece, crossroads were dedicated to Hecate, Goddess of the Underworld, who was said to have 3 faces, each to observe the three way crossroads. Representations of her as a pole with 3 masks were placed where 3 roads met and cakes with candles were left so the ghosts that followed her would be fed and not haunt the living. Diana, Roman Goddess of the Witches was also Goddess of the Crossroads and a small altar was placed there for the protection for travellers who left gifts in return for good luck. In India, Rudra, the God of the Crossroads also ruled ghosts and evil powers, in Africa,  Elegua opened and closed all paths and carried a forked stick made of the guava tree. In Russia, vampires were said to lurk at crossroads, in Sweden witches were reported to dance at the crossroads in order to summon the devil.

World Superstitions

The Latin root of the word ‘superstition’ means ‘to stand over in awe’ and relates to irrational belief that defies a logical explanation. Many primitive beliefs date back a thousand years and more. They were created to try to overcome fear of the unknown and the loss of control over life and death events. Many people believed that the future was influenced by ordinary, everyday mistakes and that the future could be foretold by carefully watching simple actions of daily living. These odd ideas were deeply embedded in the minds of people across the globe. Once a belief becomes part of the tradition of a country, it is almost impossible to remove it. Education has eliminated many of these customs from our culture as we now live in a society that requires demonstration, proof, argument and understanding, for belief to survive.

Famous Superstitions - Part 1

The root of the word ‘superstition’ is Latin and means ‘to stand over in awe’. It relates to an irrational belief that defies a logical explanation. Many primitive beliefs date back a thousand years and more. They were originally created to try to overcome fear of the unknown and the loss of control over life and death events. Many people believed that the future was influenced by ordinary, everyday mistakes and that the future could be foretold by carefully watching simple actions of daily living. These odd ideas were deeply embedded in the minds of people across the globe. Many superstitions in North America were taken by early settlers from Britain and Ireland. Once a belief becomes part of the tradition of a country, it is almost impossible to remove it.

The Hole in the Boat - A Story

A man was asked to paint a boat. He painted the boat a bright red, as the owner asked him. While painting, he noticed a small hole in the hull, and repaired it.

When he finished painting, he received his money and left. The next day, the owner arrived and gave the painter another cheque for more money. The painter was surprised and said “You've already paid me for painting the boat!”

“But this money is not for the paint job. It's for repairing the hole in the boat.”

“Ah! But it was a small service... it's not worth paying me such a high amount for something so insignificant.”

“But you do not understand. Let me tell you what happened:

“When I asked you to paint the boat, I forgot to mention the hole.

“When they children took the boat out this morning, they did not know that there was a hole. I was not at home at that time and when I returned, and noticed they had taken the boat out and I was desperate because I remembered that the boat had a hole in it. Imagine my relief and joy when I saw them returning from fishing.

Then, I examined the boat and found that you had repaired the hole!