Ghost Hunting with Derek Acorah

CHAPTER 6 Ghostly Communication

I am fortunate. I am both clairvoyant and clairaudient, which means that I can both see and hear spirit people. If a person who has passed into the world beyond wishes to speak to me, they can do so. However, I cannot command or demand that they do so. I cannot order a spirit person to suddenly appear and speak to me. I can only ask, and if they wish to do so, then they will. I communicate with them either directly or through Sam. If it happens that a spirit person has not been over on the other side long enough to learn how to communicate with me directly, they will tell Sam what they want to say and he will pass on their messages to me. As I have said, I am fortunate.

If a person in this world does not have the gifts I and other mediums possess, then the people in spirit have to show their resourcefulness by communicating using other methods. A common method of bringing themselves to the attention of those in this world is through the sense of smell. How many times have you been in a room and thought that you smelled the aroma of pipe smoke or the scent of a flower? How many times have you fancied that you have smelled the perfume of a loved one who has passed on to the spirit world? This is your family members communicating. They use familiar smells to bring themselves to your mind—maybe the smell of a pipe smoked by a grandfather, of the cigarette brand used by a favourite uncle, of a newly baked pie brought by a grandmother whose house always smelled of cooking. They all evoke our memories and bring to mind the loved one who is trying to let us know that they are around us always.

Another method commonly used by people in the spirit world to draw our attention to them is the movement of objects. So an ornament that was once the property of a loved one may have inexplicably moved, a curtain may twitch in a draughtless room or a framed photograph may fall over. These are all ways in which our loved ones in spirit let us know that they are still around, caring for us and guiding us.

There are also times when a spirit person who is unknown to us may wish to let us know that they are around. This is often experienced in hotel rooms, especially when the hotel was once a home. A kettle may suddenly switch itself on or a wardrobe door may swing open for no apparent reason. It is merely a former resident letting you know that they are still visiting their home or a special place which holds a particular memory for them.

Séances

The word séance (French for ‘a sitting’) is used to describe a group of people gathered together for the sole purpose of invoking a spirit or spirits from the world beyond ours. I consider it important that such a group is headed by an experienced medium, though this is not absolutely necessary.

The people involved, usually six to eight in number, arrange themselves in a circle. I find that better results are achieved if the same people take part each time. A table may be used. This is not a necessity, though it is preferable.

The people taking part must place both feet on the floor—there must be no crossed legs or ankles. This is to ensure a clear channel for spirit communication. The physical body is surrounded by an energy field known as the aura, or auric field. In order to help a spirit person to communicate during a séance it is important that there are no restrictions on that energy field. If a person crosses their legs or ankles whilst taking part in a séance this would result in what I would call a ‘crossed energy polarity’. Any person taking part in a séance needs to be in tune and in balance to receive the best spirit communication.

The people involved should either join hands or, if a table is being used, should place their hands palms down upon its surface with the little finger of each hand touching the little finger of their neighbour on either side, thus maintaining a chain of energy. Everyone should be relaxed and comfortable.

The people should then close their eyes and empty their minds of all thoughts, whilst the medium, as head of the circle, recites a prayer of invocation and protection for both themselves and the people taking part in the séance. It is imperative that this is done. When invoking the spirit realms it is impossible to predict the nature of the spirit or spirits who will come.

Once contact with the spirit world has been established through the medium it is no longer absolutely necessary to maintain physical contact with the neighbouring person and people may rest their hands on their lap or on the tabletop, but with the palms upwards. This is also so that there are no restrictions on the auric field. Sitting with the palms of the hands facing upwards keeps the energy field of the physical body open. If a person were to sit with their hands clasped together or arms crossed, then that is again a crossed energy polarity.

The first sign of spirit presence is usually a noticeable drop in the temperature in the room, or even a cold draught which can be felt passing around the circle of people. The medium will then attempt to communicate with the spirit entity.

A séance should end with the head of the group thanking the spirit communicator(s) for their presence and efforts. It is at this time that any spirit entity should go back to the spirit realms that they inhabit. To help them achieve this, a prayer of thanks and protection should be offered. This could be the Lord’s Prayer or any other prayer which is considered appropriate.

A séance should not be confused with the ‘circles’ held in Spiritualist churches or meetings. These are held for the development of mediumship. There are also ‘rescue circles’, which are when established mediums try to bring peace to earthbound entities and enable them to pass into the light of the higher side of life, and ‘healing circles’, when members of the Spiritualist church community gather together to request healing for people who are sick or needing the help of the world of spirit in overcoming the difficulties that are sometimes brought onto our life’s pathway.

Many years ago I used to sit regularly in circles, one of which was a development circle for up-and-coming mediums. There were seven of us, four ladies and three gentlemen. We sat once a week on a Thursday evening in a room at my home. After a couple of weeks together as a group we started having very good results with our spirit communications.

One particular evening one of our sitters did not arrive and we decided to go ahead without her. We were ten minutes into our communication before one of the group, John, sank into a deep trance, allowing his spirit guide communicator to transfigure him. It was a sheer joy to experience—that is, until his guide informed us that Susan, the lady who had not arrived that night, had been travelling to my home when her car had skidded off the road, ending up in a ditch in the countryside.

I asked John’s spirit guide whether he could give us any more information. He said that Susan had been badly injured and had been taken to hospital. Alice, her grandmother in spirit, had watched over her in the ambulance. He also told us the name of the hospital.

I asked one of the sitters to leave the circle to get in touch with the hospital. They confirmed that Susan was there and said that she had been taken straight through to the operating theatre. We decided to check that her family had been informed. I thanked the spirit guide for talking to us. He told us that on the way to the hospital Susan’s heart had ceased beating on two occasions. The ambulance crew had done a good job and resuscitated her successfully. He then informed us that it was not Susan’s time to leave this physical life, that she had a lot of years left. I thanked him again and closed the circle for the evening.

In the coming days we all went to the hospital to sit with Susan, who was still unconscious, and her family. We tried to reassure them that she would pull through and return to full health, although I appreciate that at the time this may have been difficult to believe. Susan had a badly fractured skull, two broken legs and a fractured pelvis. Her lungs had also been punctured by a number of broken ribs.

Weeks later, when she was conscious, she told me that she had seen her grandmother Alice walk up to her. She had taken hold of her hand and they had walked together in a beautiful garden where the flowers were large and vibrant. Alice had explained to Susan that she could stay for a short while but then she would have to leave. She told her that she would be safe and would return to full health, but one day they would meet again.

On another occasion, we had grouped together once more for a night of communication. Again John’s spirit guide joined the circle to offer encouragement to all the developing mediums. Suddenly John began swaying to and fro. I became aware that a spirit person other than his guide had entered our circle. It was a male spirit. He started speaking through John. He said that he was a sailor and seemed to be in a very distressed state, depressed because he had lost his money and his livelihood.

I asked him if he knew that he had passed over to the world of spirit. He replied that he didn’t know, but that he had visited his house recently and been extremely upset to find his wife and family totally ignoring him. They hadn’t seemed to notice that he had arrived home.

I continued to question him about what he could remember. He informed me that he had decided to go on a trip for the day and had bought a ticket to the Isle of Man. He had boarded the ferry and gone down to the public bar for a drink. He had consumed a few drinks and then become very distressed over his finances and the fact that he had lost his job as a cabin steward on the ship he had worked on for the past 11 years. He had been frightened to go home and tell his wife, as he felt that she would be very angry. Also, he couldn’t believe that a court case had gone badly wrong for him the previous day. He had expected a sizeable amount of money to be awarded to him, but now he was faced with legal fees amounting to many thousands of pounds. With no job and therefore no salary, he had no hope of being able to pay them. It was all too much for him.

I asked him why he had decided to board the Isle of Man ferry and he told me that he had planned to throw himself overboard. Then he said, ‘Oh God! I did throw myself over! It didn’t hurt, though! It was like going into a deep sleep.’

I told him that we could help him to go to the light, where he would be received by other members of his family in spirit, and with his agreement we successfully assisted him in reaching the heavenly light of the spirit realm. He would go in to a state of sleep and restoration there before taking his true place in the world of spirit. All of us in the circle were overjoyed that we had been able to help this poor man.

A few days later I received a shocking telephone call from my mother. She told me that a friend of my aunt’s had gone missing from the Isle of Man ferry. No body had been found, but they had found a pile of neatly folded clothing, together with a watch, a ring and some money wrapped up in a towel, hidden behind one of the lifebelts. The man had been known to everyone as ‘Percy’. My mother informed me that he had been a really nice man who had spent his life at sea working as a steward but had recently lost his job.

I was shocked! I told my mother the events that had occurred in my circle.

‘D’you think it was Percy?’ she whispered.

To this day the authorities have still not found Percy’s body, but we know exactly where he is—safe in the world of spirit.

There were many, many occasions when I experienced wonderful demonstrations of spirit communication whilst sitting in the circle with other mediums and occasionally I would be called upon by the spirit world to be used as a channel for them.

One evening, when we were settling into our seats to begin our meditation, I began to experience an amazing amount of mental imagery. I seemed to be walking along a pavement when suddenly I was felt an irresistible urge to look down at my feet. I could not believe what I was seeing. I was looking down at a pavement which was full of gold stars with famous names inscribed upon them—Greta Garbo, Cary Grant, Marilyn Monroe, John Wayne—they went on and on and on. I had the impression that a man was approaching me. I could not believe my eyes! He looked like Tony Curtis and he was asking me for a cigarette. I was vaguely wondering why somebody like Tony Curtis would be approaching me and asking me for a cigarette when I became aware once more of my surroundings and the people in the room. I remarked to the head of the circle that I had just had the oddest experience.

The head medium had begun giving messages to different members of the circle. When it was my turn to receive a message, he told me that his guides and inspirers were telling him that quite soon I would receive an invitation. This would come out of the blue. I would have to travel a great distance by aeroplane to a country which would allow me to stand up and demonstrate my mediumship. I asked for more details. The medium’s guide said Hollywood Boulevard was just the right setting for people to sit up and take notice. This was just too much to hope for. Here I was, a medium who had only demonstrated in Spiritualist churches and conducted private sittings for people. Now I was being informed that I would travel to Hollywood. I was confused!

I asked once more whether a little more information could be afforded to me and also for the identity of the communicating spirit. I was informed that he was the person who had taken me to the pavement to show me the stars a few moments earlier. His name was Michael and he needed to come back to tell people close to him that he was doing well in the world of spirit. There the message ceased. No more information was forthcoming. I left the circle later that evening feeling more than a little bemused.

Three days later I received a letter from a friend named Geoff, who was an established medium, telling me that he had agreed to take a trip to California. He told me that if I could afford the airfare, I could accompany him. I immediately thought of the message I had received in the circle and wondered whether this could be what Michael had been talking about. Unfortunately, my finances did not allow me to accompany Geoff on his journey to California, but I asked him to call me upon his return.

Geoff returned from America couple of weeks later and we met up for lunch in Liverpool. He informed me that he had received an opportunity to demonstrate his mediumistic gifts whilst visiting the country and had been very well received. He showed me photographs of himself with the people he had met in California.

I commented that it looked as though he had had a wonderful time. ‘Oh I did, Derek!’ he replied.

After lunch had finished, we parted company and I returned to my office feeling slightly disappointed that I had not been able to afford the trip.

Time went by and I continued within the development circle. After a year or two, it disbanded, as we had all begun to go our separate ways, following our own different destinies. By now I had almost forgotten the message I had received from Michael.