Accidental Crossing Over

I don't believe I've told the following story before, but it remains pretty vivid in my mind. Looking back, I've come to understand this was the first crossing over I did alone, and it was entirely by accident.

It happened shortly after I'd met Timmy, my equipment tech. One dark, very active night out at Goshen Cemetery, we heard a car stop in the parking lot on top of the hill. A few minutes later, a light bobbed down the long drive and towards us, through the gravestones. We could tell it was a person holding the light, not an apparition. J And as the person got closer, he kept flicking the light up into our eyes.

Impatient me, I finally yelled, "Keep that light down!"

The person turned out to be Timmy, and that night was the beginning of a long friendship.

A couple months later, Timmy called me. "I've got a friend who has a ghost in her house that she'd like you to come see about. It's not bothering her too much, but it seems to be getting more and more active. She's afraid it will start causing trouble, more than the few little things it's done so far."

"Sounds like a good investigation," I replied. "You can tell her I'll come. If they aren't handled, ghosts can get pretty darn disruptive. Intelligent hauntings, anyway."

"Well, she really doesn't want it to leave," he said. "She likes telling people she has a ghost in her house."

"Not a good idea," I said.

"Would  you be able to just give it a dose of discipline?"

"We can go see," I said without making any firm promises.

At this point in my paranormal career, I'd only dealt with one other crossing over. It was in Keller, Texas, when I was studying under another psychic, who did the actual crossing of two ghosts. So even then, I knew that's where ghosts should go, although not that I could accomplish it the same way she did. It would be a couple years or so before I started really developing my gift for helping lost souls go into The Light. This investigation sent me on that path.

I met Timmy over in East Texas one beautiful afternoon on a spring day. No one else came with me on this investigation, just Timmy and me. The house was a beautiful, neat home in a spacious subdivision with lots of land around each house versus each place right on top of the other. It appeared to be a one-story, older, restored house, although not one of those historical mansions we have here in Texas. The landscaping was well-tended and gorgeous with azaleas and other flowers.

The homeowner came out to meet us. She introduced herself (I will withhold her name, since I can't find my notes and I don't recall if she gave permission; let's call her Ms. Jones.) The first thing I said to her after our introductions was, "Who is the person named Johnson around you?"

"That's my maiden name!" she said, and I could tell that if she'd had any doubts, she now thought maybe I knew what I was doing.

"Cool," I said. "My grandmother married a Johnson. We might be roundabout related."

Inside, we toured the house. Timmy had decided to film this investigation, so he followed me with his video camera. It was attractively decorated. Each room had a theme, and although there were numerous items crowding the spaces, it seemed to fit. I could tell, however, that there was someone invisible following us around. We eventually settled in the living room, and the ghost seemed stronger in there. However, she still hovered just out of communication range.

I sat down on the arm of a huge leather couch and closed my eyes. I was speaking to her telepathically, but also trying to let the homeowner and Timmy's camera know what was going on.

I'm not here to hurt you. "She's very upset about something. I’m not sure what her problem is." Do you want to talk about it?

At last she floated over closer to me. What are you so sad about? I asked her.

She was a small woman, with dark brown hair. She wore a dark blouse and skirt, but the skirt wasn't floor length. Her hair was shoulder-cut, and she appeared to be perhaps in her fifties.

"She still seems reluctant to communicate," I told Timmy and Ms. Jones.

You probably can't help me, the ghost said at last.

Quietly, I said aloud, "She's speaking to me."

I can help you, I told her. At least, I think I can, if you'll tell me what your problem is. However, I do have to warn you that you must behave around here and not cause trouble.

"She's asking me if I can help her," I whispered.

It's Jeffrey, she said. I miss him so much!

"Do you know who Jeffrey is?" I whispered to Ms. Jones.

"No," she whispered back. "But there was another woman who lived her before I bought the house. She'd never been married. They used to call them spinsters."

"Has she passed?" I asked.

"Yes. I bought the house after that."

I'm getting the sense that Jeffrey is your nephew, I told the ghost.

Yes, yes! she said with a show of emotion. He died when he was so little. Five. I thought I'd see him when I died. But he's not here!

"She knows she's dead, and she's looking for her nephew. His name is Jeffrey," I said.

Jeffrey probably crossed into The Light, I told the ghost. Did you see that bright white light in the east when you died?

Yes, but I didn't see Jeffrey!

He was on the other side of that Light, I told her.

She whirled and I recall her looking behind her, toward the east. The next thing I knew, the house was peaceful, no more ghost.

Uh oh, they didn't want their ghost gone. Too bad, but that's where lost souls belong.

All I said to Ms. Jones when I opened my eyes, though, was: "She won't cause you any trouble from now on. She's peaceful."

I didn't even tell Timmy what had happened … at least, right then. We talked a few days later and I asked if he'd heard from Ms. Jones.

"Yes," he answered. "She says there's been no sign of any trouble. In fact, she says the ghost seems to be really quiet."

"Don't pass this on to her, please, but…." I went on to explain what had happened. I told him that her ghost was gone; that she had passed into The Light to be with her nephew, Jeffrey.

We've heard no more from Ms. Jones over the years, and I don't feel a bit guilty over my first "accidental crossing over." It gave me a foundation to build on from there, and since then, I've helped dozens of lost souls home to where they will find peace. Nothing over the years has made me change my mind that this is where they belong, that they will be much happier over there. So anyone who has a ghost in their house they don't want to leave, needn't call me. If the chance occurs, I'll point the ghost east.

I'm not sure how many of you know that my sister has been living with me the past couple years. Now, however, she's heading home to Minnesota next week. I'll miss her like crazy, but she plans to return in January. During that time, I hope to finish another set of diaries, a new Dead Man Mystery, and also Silent Prey, the companion to Winter Prey. I should have lots more time to write now, and I've resolved for 2013 to get back to my disciplined writing life! Of course, I'll still be hunting ghosts, too. Lots on the 2013 to-do list.

Boo!

T. M.

Cleansings are Amazing

I don't recall the first house cleansing I did, but I've done at least a dozen over the years, probably more. I do remember I first learned about cleansings via some of the reading I did about Wicca. As with any new area that interested me, I did extensive research as to how it worked and what herbs were best for what I wanted them to do. This was a little different than the protection packets I made up after my friend Billy got choked by an entity at Goshen. Some of the elements were the same, some different.

The procedure and herbs I used ended up being totally my own, and I've come to firmly believe over the years that someone guides me. The end result has always been the same, also, and I hope I never lose that sense of amazement I get, both when I am done with the cleansing and when I make the follow-up call and find out the homeowner is delighted with the new peace at the house.

It's always hard to make someone who hasn't dealt with the paranormal in depth understand that yes, cleansings do work. I try to keep the names and locations of these type of work private unless the homeowner tells me it's  all right to talk about it publicly, and I won't reveal the actual location in this latest report. I will tell you the homeowner's identity in a minute. It was another one of those astounding and successful ceremonies, well worth immortalizing in a record of it.

It started out with my friend Angela sending me an email with the subject line: Ghost Emergency!

Call me! I replied back.

It turned out this emergency was happening in Angela's mother Gloria's home. This was a place where I'd been aware for a long while that there was trouble. The entities there were mostly ghosts, who had been feeding off Gloria's energy, as well as that of her husband, Bryan, growing stronger and causing both physical and relationship problems. I was also aware that the former owners of this house had "dabbled in the occult" while they lived there. I felt sure they had left behind something bad and some problematic ghosts.

But Gloria, although she had known me and my work for a couple years or so and actually gone on two ghost hunts with me, was afraid I would "only stir up the ghosts" and it would be worse when I left. No amount of reassurance would work, partly, I was well aware, because the entities there in no way wanted me at that home. I use the word entities because I felt there might be a minor demon there, although nothing as strong as I'd encountered in other places.

Finally, Gloria was alone in her home, with Bryan away on business, and things escalated to the point Bryan insisted she call Angela and me in without further delay.

"But the house needs cleaned," Gloria said when she called Angela.

"Trana won't give a darn about that," Angela insisted. "This has gone on too long."

When Angela contacted me, I was glad to drop everything and go. I'll admit, I also wanted to prove to Gloria that her fears about my lack of powers to resolve the situation were groundless. However, more importantly, I always feel a responsibility to use my gift to help others and to banish troublesome ghosts and any other entity that happens to be involved.

Over the years, I've done cleansings alone and with Aunt Belle and with Angela. Ones I do alone have always been effective, but it's always nice to have someone with me. Then I can concentrate on cleansing with the sage or sweet-grass smoke and the consecrated oil, while the other person follows with the sea salt.

When I picked her up, Angela and I did a short protection meditation in the car before I even started the drive to where we needed to go. I do this when I'm unsure what we are going to run into. This seemed to be a time that qualified.

The moment I walked into Gloria and Bryan's home about a half-hour or so later, I heard the worried chatter about my presence from the entities. There were at least six, perhaps more, and no way did they want me there. Gloria was still extremely agitated and stressed. I could tell by looking at her that she hadn't been resting and was a nervous wreck.

"Are one of you going to stay with me tonight, in case this doesn't work?" she insisted.

Instead of answering her, I said we should all three sit down first. We talked for a few minutes, but she was still nearly as nervous as when we first came in. I knew this would change eventually, so I finally stood and started taking things out of my satchel to prepare for the cleansing. This is also the point where I start talking back to the entities gathering to fight me.

"When I leave here," I said to them, "none of you will be here any longer. You have your choice: you can cross into The Light, or you will be banished and unable to ever enter this house again."

I rose and walked over to a window on the east wall of the house. (I always make sure I know my directions when I am involved in any paranormal activity. It's important.) There was a blind on the window, but I pushed up the slats and stared eastward.

"That's the east," I said aloud. Then I moved my hand and opened a door in the clouds. "And now there's a door open there. I'll leave it open while I work, and it will close itself after I'm done. You have until then to cross over or be banished from here forever."

Unsurprising to me, since this happens a lot, I felt a couple souls move past me and cross through the door. Neither of them spoke to me, which is fine. I just wanted them gone.

I waited a moment, but the rest of the entities were still gathered to try their own powers against mine. So I sat down and finished preparing.

A few minutes later, we walked through the house with the smoke from the turtle shell cleansing things and I secured the areas behind me so nothing could circle around us. We had a little trouble in the bedroom, where Gloria had had the most recent problem herself. In fact, this is what made her agree to our visit: something had crawled into bed with her the previous night, scaring her into a frenzy. Angela told me she saw a nasty little monster sitting on the headboard. I pretty much seal myself off from stuff like that when I'm working, so I didn't see it, but I felt it.

By the time we got back to the living room, everything troublesome was gone, including that nasty little monster from the bedroom. I looked over at Gloria, and her face was now calm and nearly serene. I don't think I even had to say, "Can you feel how different things are?"

"Yes," she replied. "It's … peaceful. I'm not afraid to stay here by myself now!"

"Everything's gone," I said. "You won't have any more trouble."

We did a White Light ceremony, also, before we left. I protected the house and property, as well as made sure anything that didn't cross over couldn't attach to us and accompany us out of there.

When we first got in the car to leave, though, I thought something was there. Then I realized it was only Alan, Angela's resident ghost, who had come along. I allowed him to ride back with us.

I waited until at least twenty-four hours had passed before I checked on the situation. I hope I never lose that feeling of awe on a job well done; the feeling I get when a homeowner confirms his or her house is now peaceful and serene. Gloria had had a good night's sleep and now loves her home again.

Update: Bryan came home and he, too, told Angela how much better the house feels. Although Gloria continues to agree, she is still a bit leery that things won't happen again. So we will probably go back and do another cleansing, just to, hopefully, help her believe. I also found out from Angela that the former owners of the house live nearby. So I don't mind re-sealing that property to keep these unpleasant people and whatever they are dealing with away.

Unless something more interesting happens during the coming week — which happens a lot in my life — I'll talk about crossing souls over next week. In the meantime, the Muse and fingers are working hard on a couple new books. I have to re-interview someone about the Hell House of Horrors story, but I think you'll like that one. Definitely don't read it in the dark, though!

Boo!

T. M.

Ghostly Quiet Week

  You'd think more of my paranormal residents would come around and wish me Happy Birthday, but it's been a quiet week. Y'think maybe they're staying away so they can't catch my nasty head cold? Nah, ghosts can't catch colds … I don't think. Sometimes when days pass with no unusual incidents around here other than the minor there's a ghost nearby feelings, I get suspicious. One incident actually did rouse my concern.
  Sis and I were running errands, and we stopped to pick up a snack and drink. She tried to set her drink in the console cup holder, but it didn't fit. She didn't say anything until we got home. Then she showed me a steak knife in that cup holder! It looked like one of mine from the kitchen, but I couldn't be sure.
  We brought the knife in with us and asked my husband if he'd had it in the car for some reason.
  "No, I didn't," he said. "In fact, I saw it and was going to ask you two about it. But I forgot."
  "Huh."
  I put the knife in the dishwasher, although I'm considering moving it to the garbage. I haven't felt anything bothersome around here, and neither has Sis. But I'll keep an eye out and my senses open. Also, Aunt Belle arrives on Thursday, so I'll have her on lookout, also.
  I did have a query on my Facebook page about a ghostly problem one of my readers was having. We believe she took care of it with the advice I passed on. I always get warm fuzzies when that happens.
  I don't believe in totally banishing a ghost unless it's necessary. You're just sending the ghost off to give someone else trouble. I much prefer crossing him or her over, where they belong. Most of the time, that's doable for me around here. However, although I buy tickets every week, I still haven't won the lottery, so I can't go jet-setting off to corral a bothersome ghost.
  On the writing end, I had a wonderful letter from a fan in Russia! It was about one of my romances, and it gave me an abundance of warm fuzzies. She said the book had helped her through a rough time in her life. That's so neat, and one of the things we write for.
  I also have a couple of the stories for the next set of diaries drafted out. With this stupid head cold, things are going slow this week. However, I'm plugging along.
  One thing I did accomplish was working with a friend's husband on a trailer for my Dead Man mysteries. Her husband retired, and she said she's looking for things to keep him busy. I can relate to that, too. My gain, since he does great work. I can't wait to show it to y'all, hopefully next week, and I'll post info on how to contact him for anyone interested in getting him to do something for them. He's also making one for the Diaries, and that should be cool. I ordered spooky/eerie. I'll let y'all know here and on Facebook and elsewhere when they're tweaked and ready.
  I know I have quite a few male followers, and maybe you enjoy sci-fi. But we females like spooky/scary suspense, too, no matter what the genre. My friend C. L. Smothers just indie-pubbed a great book called The Wormhole Project. Talk about nail-biting suspense. I was privy to the writing of this book, since C. L.'s in my local critique group. I can't tell you how many times my stomach clenched with suspense when he read a chapter. And talk about the nasty, scary monsters on those planets. Nightmares. Right now, the book's only on Amazon, but here's the information:

 http://tiny.cc/24hkqw

  Stay away from that flu bug if at all possible. I have resorted to carrying a face mask in my purse and making hub wear one, also. If I get around someone who refuses to cover their cough, I make no bones (verbal or action-wise) about leaving the area where that person is. In fact, I'll even abandon a waiting line and go to another one.  
  Stay safe and well.
  Boo!
  T. M.

 

Paranormal Phenomena and Writer's Muse

  You would think I'd have trouble coming up with something to write about each week. Granted, some weeks I do have to sit and think, but those times are usually due to the fact I want to tell a tale my readers will like. It has to be a short tale, since anything longer and in-depth is kept in reserve for the diaries I publish. I just don't have time to write a long, involved story every week. Like most of you, I'm still "living" life, not experiencing it from another dimension. (The most comes from the fact, as some of my regular readers know, I have a ghost read my blog now and then.)
  I've mentioned before that paranormal incidents abound in my home. One of the most frequent questions I get when I mention something that has happened around here is: "Well, why don't you know more about the ghost you saw?" These folks don't understand that I don't have time to sit down and chat two or three or more times a day with one of my supernatural residents. See the last sentence in the previous paragraph. J
  Yes, many times I go out looking for ghosts, searching for paranormal occurrences to investigate. Natch, we call ourselves paranormal investigators as well as ghost hunters. I like ghost hunters the best, but I'll go by either. I love doing this, but I want to plan ahead and give the ghost hunt and the ghosts and spirits we encounter the respect and attention they deserve. I believe that's why what my group and I do is rather more successful than what we see on the TV.
  Other times, something will just totally slap me in the face and demand my attention. You can't always predict when the paranormal will intrude into your life, even when you make your plans and open your gifts to communication. Yesterday, January 5, 2013, showed me this year will continue to involve these wonderful occurrences.
  Aunt Belle's granddaughter, Tara, has shown a measure of psychic ability. Since her mother, Sammi, Aunt Belle's daughter, has also experienced the paranormal, I don't believe the adage that psychic ability skips a generation. In fact, many of us descended down Aunt Belle's side of the family have this gift. Some have developed it; some have squelched it. Tara's brother, Cody, another of Aunt Belle's grandchildren, has an extremely vast gift. The story I was working on for my next set of diaries involved Tara, Cody, Sammi and Aunt Belle's other daughter, Shari, as well as another young man who accompanied them.
  I'd asked Tara to come by and help me take down my huge house full of Christmas decorations, and she arrived around ten a.m. The previous day, I'd begun working on the next diary story, which I'm calling Hell House of Horrors. When I write, my office ends up filled with scattered piles of notes and pictures. I left everything where it was, knowing it would be there when I got back to it. No one else cleans in my office, although Tara did sweep for me.
  Along with Annie, my sister, we started tearing down decorations and putting back up the things I use the other ten and a half months of the year. I was standing in the dining room when Tara came up to me with a puzzled expression on her face. One of those extremely strong feelings of paranormal energy accompanied her, and at first, I wasn't sure if it was a resident ghost or something else. We got sidetracked into a discussion immediately, so I'm still uncertain who it was. There are times, however, when I've been led to believe my Muse is "real." Otherwise, why would I feel this energy so many times when I'm writing or researching?
  "I saw the pictures you have spread out beside your computer," Tara said. "They're the ones taken at that horrible house where Cody got attacked."
  "Uh huh," I said. "I'm writing up that story for my next diary. In fact, I wanted to talk with you today to refresh my memory about some of the things that happened that night."
  She shivered. "It was bad. And another weird thing is that just a couple days ago, I was telling my fiancé Josh about that night! I can't believe it. Here I was, thinking and talking about it, then I walk in today and you're working on that very story."
  I laughed. "Believe it. Your psychic ability probably picked up on what I was doing. That happens sometimes, even at a distance."
  She continued to look amazed, which is how a lot of people feel as they grow into their gifts. I was already realizing this was one of those out-of-the-blue incidents that fascinate me.
  "I need to sit down and write out what happened that night," Tara said. "I don't want to forget any of it."
  "That would be wonderful," I told her. "Get me a copy of it, then I'll have all the details for the diary."
  I could see she was still troubled by the memories, and I waited for her to say something else.  Finally….
  "That one picture in there. It's the one where that thing threw Cody up against the wall."
  "Let's go look at them."
  We went into my office and started going through the pictures. I'd always been amazed that a couple people in this group had remembered to use their cameras that night. I don't know as I would have. But they did, although it sure wasn't Cody. He was the subject of several of those photos.
  Tara pointed to one of them. "That one. It had him pinned to the wall."
  There's a picture of Cody with a horrible twist of pain on his face. He's across the floor of this dilapidated old house, arms spread on the wall. No one is around him.
  "His feet are still on the ground in this one," I mentioned.
  "Yeah, but it lifted him up."
  We leafed through the photos, but in the one we wanted, Tara's mother, Sammi, blocked most of the view of Cody. Still, we could see his left foot was off the floor.
  "He was screaming and screaming," Tara said. "Mom and I kept trying to get to him, but every time we'd take a step, the floor would collapse under our feet."
  "You were all foolish to go there against Aunt Belle's orders," I reminded her.
  "I know. On the way over there, I was crying and telling Mom we shouldn't do this. That she should turn around and go back. But she wouldn't."
  "Bet she wishes she had."
  "Maybe," she agreed. "She's never really said. And you know something else that was crazy?"
  "What?"
  "After we'd called you that night, after it was all over, Ocie called from Ohio."
  "She did? I don't remember hearing that."
  "Yeah, the phone rang, and Mom said, 'It's Ocie.' Wonder what she wants?'"
  Ocie is Shari's daughter, and if anyone else in the family has a measure of psychic ability close to Cody's, it's his cousin Ocie.
  "What did she say?" I asked.
  "The first thing she said was, 'What happened to Cody? Something happened to Cody, didn't it?'"
  As you can tell, there's a lot more to this tale. However, it was quite the slap to me for this to happen right when I was working on this story. Fascinating, as my work in the paranormal world continues to be. Was my Muse there with me yesterday, pushing mine and Tara's thoughts and actions toward this story? It was an extremely strong energy, one which both Tara and I felt distinctly. There was no mistake — something or someone was there with us.
  One of the things I'm going to be doing in 2013 is posting some photos along with my stories. The photos will be pertinent to the investigations we do, and will either be in this blog or the new one we intend to start for our group, Supernatural Researchers of Texas (SRT). We hope to have some videos, also. Again, we'll do this as time away from our "living" responsibilities permits. In the meantime, this is a photo of the interior of that hell house:

 

  So I'm working on another set of diaries, and still pondering which other book to schedule. Given my penchant for discipline, I know I need to finish Silent Prey next. It's a story that fascinates me, and also my Muse, since he's the one who gave it to me in the first place. However, I'll continue to work on the next set of diaries in between the fiction novel, carving out time from my "life" responsibilities.
  Enjoy 2013 everyone!
  Boo!
  T. M.