Paranormal Press Issue 19

Issue 19 March 2014

Interview With

Tim Abbott Southampton Ghost Walks

Haunted Southampton: Investigating The Paranormal

HAUNTED SOUTHAMPTON Haunted Southampton arranges and hosts paranormal investigations across the South of England.

Join us for the night , all tickets for our event investigations are available at the website

www.hauntedsouthampton.com

Based in Southampton, England. Haunted Southampton is a team of paranormal investigators undertaking investigations of a variety of locations that have reports of unexplainable occurrences.

Since 2009 we have investigated over 65 locations and still find the experience fascinating , enjoyable and great fun . The majority of our investigations are available for members of the public to join us , using the extensive range of equipment we use and experiments we undertake to try and establish if indeed these venues are as haunted as they claim to be.

You can find out more about our investigations through our website and Facebook group page - with over one thousand pictures posted of investigations by people who have joined us investigating the paranormal we hope you too may want to become part of our work.

Haunted Southampton is (left to right)

Juliet Collins, Patrick Collins, Pete Collins, James Lysandrides & Rebecca Lysandrides

www.hauntedsouthampton.com

Inside This Issue Features Regular Features INVESTIGATION SPOTLIGHT A look at our investigation of South Western House

Paranormal Press Facebook Page

Paranormal Press March 2014 Issue 19

GUEST CONTRIBUTOR Medium Andy Ford . Talks to international medium, author and tutor Tim Abbott

EDITORIAL Content Peter Collins _____ Contributing Articles

JULIET WRITES IT DOWN Thoughts about the world of the paranormal.

Ouija or not Ouija.

—————— THIS MONTHS ARTICLES A Paranormal Project.

Contact The Paranormal Press

Andy Ford Tim Abbott James Lysandrides Juliet Collins

An interview with:

Tim Abbott Andy Ford takes time to find out some more about the life of International Medium , Tim Abbott.

How did you get involved in Spiritualism?

How I got involved in Spiritualism as opposed to mediumship. I come from a Spiritualist family and was very lucky as my mother and my mother’s sister were practising Spiritualists. Although I come from a dysfunctional, broken family, and spent the first eleven years of my life in a children’s home, an orphanage, and when replaced with my mother at the age of eleven it was just a done thing that we would go to the Spiritualist church. So I have been an active Spiritualist since the age of eleven. Spiritualism and spirit communication is very natural and a natural structure of my life.

Regular Contributor to The Paranormal Press Andy Ford Talks to International Medium Tim Abbott

Where did you develop your mediumship?

I have been aware of the spirit world and have memories about the spirit world from the age of seven. Children have these imaginary friends and I had a friend and it wasn’t imaginary, mine was a spirit individual, a young lad who became a good friend of mine. We used to hang out and play games and it naturally evolved from there. Somebody asked me recently, “How did you build your trust of the spirit world”? It was never something that I had to face because it was there naturally. This interaction of the spirit world wasn’t a case of whether I trusted them, it was a natural part of my life. So this interaction with the spirit world was not in a formal way but in a natural sense. I remember one time I was walking down the high street and my Grandfather was stood in front of me and I said “Granddad you will have to move out the way as I can’t get past you and I will have to step into the street”. As I am saying this I am realising that Granddad is in the spirit world, but I could see him clairvoyantly, objectively, very solid standing in front of me.

There were many of these types of experiences that I had. The one that led me to looking into and taking control and developing my mediumship, in a more formal way, was as a young man in my late teens early twenties. I was working for a building maintenance firm because I had learnt the skill of roofing when I left school, maintaining the roofs of a letting agency.

I had to take a young electrician to look at a top floor flat early on a Monday morning. Little did we know that the gentleman that had lived below there, had broken into the flat over the weekend and had sadly hung himself. His mother had sadly passed away and had left him this house, with a sitting elderly lady tenant. We later found out that this man had wanted the elderly lady out of his mother’s house, which was now his house, and she did not want to go as she had lived there for years. So he murdered her and he was out on bail and due to go to the Old Bailey (court) on the Monday morning. He obviously thought or knew that he was going to prison for a long time and broke into the flat that we were working on, and took his own life by hanging himself. So on the Monday morning we arrived and my colleague and I, with him in front, went up to this top floor flat.

I had given him the keys as I was carrying some tools. As he opened the flat door sadly there was this physical body hanging there in the stairwell. The chap I was with emotionally, mentally fell apart and I so took control of the situation, and organised the police. The police came and took statements and were comfortable that we were not involved in a negative way at all. So by about midday we were free to go and went to the pub and got drunk, because of the shock of the experience.

I carried on with my job and about a fortnight later it was in the early hours of one morning. I was lying in bed with my first wife and I was awoken by a presence of somebody in the bedroom. As I sat up and I looked around, I was aware of a figure at the foot of the bed. I recognised him straight away as the spirit of the individual that had hung himself, and he disappeared straight away. Within a fortnight he had appeared in my bedroom three times apologising for the shock that he had given me, and because of the way I and my colleague had found him.

So I had decided that it was one of two things I am either becoming mentally imbalanced or I need to seek out the help of a medium. As I came from a family of Spiritualists, I was more comfortable with the medium option. I sought out a gentleman who was demonstrating in the Fulham Spiritualist church, who was running a circle in the Balham Spiritualist church.

A gentleman called Terry Evans who turned out to be a very good medium and teacher of mediumship. So I had a chat with him and he put at ease, because I was uncomfortable with this spirit turning up in my bedroom. After I had this chat the spirit of the gentleman who had hung himself never appeared again. I phoned Terry one day and said, “I need to thank you. I feel a lot better and lot more comfortable with the situation”.

He said, “Come along, come along to my circle”. I said, “No, no I'm not interested”. He replied, “Well come along and tell my students how wonderful I was”. So I did that and told the story and immediately afterwards Terry got me to give a message. I gave a message to a lady and it put her in tears and I thought that I had upset her. It was because she was so moved by the presence of her son, who had turned up from the spirit world. I turned to Terry and said, “I don’t know what I have done. I did not want to upset her”. He said, “No Tim you don’t understand.

You have just walked off the street and given a message from the platform, and this is what I have been trying to get these students to do for years”.

will come and work with you”. So each day I sat for an hour, for two years, and I never missed a day. When I sat several spirit individuals used to come and give me experiences and exercises. In fact I did sit in a circle but I was the only living individual. There were about seven or eight of us in that circle, and apart from me, the rest were spirit. After two years of each day going to class or circle, I had a very good connection with the spirit world. Then I had to go and learn to be structured, and had to interact with living people, and express my mediumship with living people. So I was inspired to go to the Cambridge Spiritualist church. There I was very lucky as an elderly lady who was the Vice President, saw the potential I had, and formed a circle just for my own develop. This is very rare these days. At the start it was structured just around my development, but eventually I became the circle leader. I was inspired to go the Arthur Findlay College where I studied as a student. I then went through the education system where I became a trainee tutor, assistant tutor and then a tutor. Now I am a course organiser where I run courses, teach and employ tutors to teach at the Arthur Findlay College. I am very lucky that my mediumship has taken me far and wide afield. I have been developing for over thirty years and I accept that it is on-going.

How has mediumship changed in your time and experience?

Very much. As just before my time and early modern mediumship it was very much about physical phenomena. That was needed so the public could embrace it more readily, as opposed to someone saying, “I am seeing in my head your mother”. They would have been locked up. I think that then there was the necessity for physical phenomena. Today people are more educated, so the necessity for physical is not now needed.

So I pursued this and went to Terry's circle about a half dozen times, but a formal circle was not for me. Although I would always recommend someone who is developing to go to a formal circle, a structured circle with a good circle leader. I went to three circles in total and each for about approximately six weeks, but it just wasn’t for me. So I went home frustrated one day and decided that I was not going back. I stood in my front room and screamed at the ceiling, “I can’t find somebody to teach me”. I heard audibly, objectively, “We'll teach you if you want”. I went, “Yeah, yeah, yeah, what have I got to do, what have I got to do”? I recognised it as the spirit world straight away. They said, “Just sit in a mediational state and we

I know that when I first started, sadly the word psychic was a dirty word. I could never understand that. Although as a teacher, I promote that mediums and students of mediumship, should understand the difference when working psychically as opposed to mediumistically. So that they can understand, not so that they can judge one or the other. Just like a driver should know what gear he is in when he is driving his car. A medium can prove the survival of life, as opposed to a psychic.

I think they are both being recognised as beautiful sciences in their own right. If I can give you an example. If you were having a problem in your marriage don’t come to me to find out how Uncle George is in the Spirit World, as it’s not going to do your marriage any good. Yes, if you want proof of survival then come to me. If you want a sensitive and psychic to bring up your marriage during a sitting then go to a psychic and not necessarily a medium. So there is value in both sciences and this is being accepted more so today.

I think that mediumship has become more commercial and I don’t know if that is a good thing or bad thing. People are going into mediumship as a career move, and I myself are a professional medium, and I am hearing of young men and women who are leaving school and taking this up as a career. I am all in favour of that, but my fear is that the financial and pressures of life, sometimes can outweigh the spirituality within the mediumship. I think mediumship has become more commercial by nature and my fear is the spirituality is (Con’t)

getting lost. What I have noticed with a lot of young mediums, and there are some wonderful young mediums out there working in our churches and theatres, sometimes try and put the phenomena of mediumship before the presence of spirit.

What I mean by that is, that they want the telephone numbers within the evidence, the full names and addresses. They want the wow factor, but the wow factor can only come if you have the presence of spirit. So what I try and teach, is although I am a very evidential medium and I try and promote that within my students, firstly they must have the company of spirit. If they have the company of spirit then the phenomena they are looking for will naturally come. So I do try and promote, don’t put the mediumship first and the presence of spirit second, but the presence of spirit first and the mediumship second

One of my favourite places of working is of course at the Ershamstar School, and is the school owned and run by the medium Sheila French. The school is based in Folkestone, down in Kent. For some years now I have been working several courses a year alongside Sheila

So what do you think it needs to develop to?

Well I don’t know that I am the right man to judge that. I think mediumship will always find its own level. When we talk about mediumship we are talking about communication. If we look at the people on the physical plane, then there are many forms of communication today. The mobile phone, television, newspapers and the computers. There are many, many forms of communication, so the spirit world also have many forms of communication.

I do hope that those forms of communication will always evolve. There are forms of communication in the past that are now not used. Scrying for example, where families would sit around the open fire and look into the flames, and clairvoyantly see their loved ones communicating through the flames to them. They could also do the same using mirrors.

Automatic writing, flower reading are beginning to become a thing of the past. which is very sad. I’m sure as the spirit world is a thing of intelligence, they have new forms of communication that are beginning to filter through. We can look at modern technology like computers where audibly voices through recordings (EVP – Electronic Voice Phenomena) can be heard. There are people of intelligence going to the spirit world every second of the day, and some of these people are educated in modern sciences, and the spirit world will use these to communicate. So I think the spirit world within their intelligence will find the right level of communication depending on the needs of society.

Sheila French & Tim Abbott We jointly run the classes and it is a very diverse subject each time. One course may focus on trance, another on philosophy, another on evidence and another on modern style mediumship. So it is always a pleasure to work with a friend and quality medium such as Sheila French.

Do the expectations differ of the students depending on the country you are in?

No too much, but it does depend on the culture. The cultures are different, so their approach to mediumship is different, so their expectations can sometimes differ. I think in certain countries it is hard for some students to grasp and adopt patience. I mentioned earlier that I have been developing for over thirty years now, and we live in an instant world unfortunately. Some people who come into mediumship without Spiritualism, will see it almost like an alternative therapy.

For instance, in some countries it sits alongside things like aroma therapy, massage and acupuncture and fits in with those sorts of therapies. Where in England, and I’m not saying it’s I am very lucky that I have the opportunity to teach in many right or wrong or better or worse, but here it’s an aspect of different countries. I have recently just come back from Calgary Spiritualism. Very much for myself that is how it is. With this in Canada. I teach in Denmark, Norway, Germany, Austria, alternative therapy outlook and in some cultures, the approach Switzerland, Sweden, Iceland, and Scotland and of course on is, well I’ll just do this process and I’ll complete it in two years’ England, Wales and Ireland. I of course love working in England time. When actually the journey and the development and as well as the diverse cultures around the World. unfoldment of mediumship is a life time’s journey, and indeed beyond. So it can be challenging to instil into students to adopt So I am very fortunate that I have the opportunity to work in patience, and know that in two years’ time you won’t be a many different locations. I do work in the famous Arthur medium. Although you are a medium now, the development of Findlay College, which is a great privilege, because that is it is eternal. where I did some of my training. Due to this I have an emotional connection to the college.

I know that you have said that you are a tutor so where do you teach?

What advice would you give anyone who wants to study mediumship?

I would certainly say to go to your local Spiritualist church, immaterial to whatever organisation runs it. You will know if you are comfortable with the running of the church. There are different aspects of Spiritualism, you have the Spiritualist National Union, Christian Spiritualist, New World, and also independent run churches. Sometimes there can be differences in the way that they are run and the format of the services. I would say pop along to your Spiritualist church, and attend some of the services to see if you are comfortable with it. Come to know people who have the same truth as you, and are taking the same journey as you. Find out where circles and education units are being run and hopefully you can be invited into one of them, or to enrol onto one of them.

You will know within that educational system if you are comfortable with the tutor. You can have the best tutor in the world, but if he or she doesn’t express mediumship in a way that you understand it, you are going to be beating your head against a wall. So its finding a tutor that is compatible with you, who suites your needs, it may be a little of trial and error until you find that person.

The important thing is being in the company of spirit, again, again and again under the guidance of a good tutor.

Do you think that physical mediumship will come back to being more prominent and if so in what way?

I don’t think it has ever gone to be honest. I accept that it is not as widely practiced as it was, maybe at the turn of the century.

I think that we are now finding, that a lot of physical mediums are more protective of what they have got. For the fear of the energy or phenomena being disturbed by too many people being involved. I know of several closed home physical circles who are having wonderful phenomena, but they keep it closed. I sat in a physical circle for approximately four years and sometimes there were only two of us, but normally about four of us and we had some wonderful phenomena. We were really careful who we invited in as guests. I think there is physical phenomena out there and I know there are one or two mediums who are beginning to surface. My fear for today’s physical mediums, and I mentioned that I feel that mediumship has become commercial, and I feel that about physical mediumship also. People are going along to séances with the attitude of demanding physical phenomena on tap. We have to remember mediumship is a spiritual science, a natural science, and we cannot demand or expect to push a button and pull a cord and produce something. I think we need to nurture our physical mediums of today, and hopefully they won’t get too caught up in the entrapments of commercial mediumship. I do feel that there are some wonderful physical mediums in current day society, just like there was in the past. It may not be the same sort of phenomena, but the physical mediums are there, we just need to protect them a bit more.

I know that you have recently written a book. So why did you do it and what is it about?

I am very proud of my book and I have to say that firstly. I am proud because of my lack of education. What I noticed, was that are many wonderful books available to people now on the subject of mediumship. However the majority of them tell the life story or experiences of the individual medium who has written the book, and that is fine, because it will inspire us. What I noticed was that very few, if any, exercise books, to help and inspire circle leaders, small home groups, people who are looking to develop themselves but have no real guidance. I have been very lucky because for quite some time, many years in fact, I have been inspired by the spirit world with mediumistic exercises. Receiving these has now become common place with me. I have got to the point where I do trust these exercises, and I introduce my students to these exercises as part of my classroom work. So I thought that it would be nice to share these exercises further afield. I have designed a book and have put a lecture in there, about the process of mental mediumship, and spoke a little about myself and how I got into mediumship. The majority of the book is dedicated to exercises both for beginners, intermediate and advance. You could use it as an educational programme, where you could go from the beginning of the book to the end, as a development programme. Equally you could take one individual exercise out to suite your needs.

The name of the book is ‘Mediumship Raising the Standards – Exercise Book 1’. I have called it exercise book 1 because I am trying to encourage myself, as I do have some ideas logged, for exercise book 2. What I noticed was that in some quarters, some of the teachers of mediumship were very reluctant to share their exercise, yet expected students to come along and pay for their teaching. It didn’t make sense to me. I had heard of a student who had been threatened with a legal action for using his tutors exercise for his own teaching development. Whilst I don’t know the full story about that and I respect both parties, I have to ask where that teacher got those exercises from. Now I’m sure like many teachers he or she was inspired by the spirit world with the exercises. Very freely the spirit world offered up these exercises to inspire this tutor. Now this tutor has inspired this student, surely it is only right that the student use them. This was more common place in the past where tutors would be very reluctant to share their knowledge. I have always been very open with the little knowledge that I have, and have been comfortable to share it.

So I just wanted the students of mediumship, and maybe those not lucky enough to be inspired by the spirit world with exercises, to have a look at mine. Not necessarily to use those exercises, but to allow those exercise to inspire them, possibly with their own exercises.

So where will we be able to buy your book?

Well we are going to put it on Amazon and also it will be available through my website which is www.timabbott.net. It’s at the printers at the moment and the Psychic World have taken it on board, and are working with it, and it should be available within the next few weeks. So if you were to check out my website, you will find out where and when it will be available.

Andy Ford: Interviews International Medium Tim Abbott. 2014

Hau d utha ton d rek lagh of-

nte So mp an De Cal an fer Andy Ford at Rhodes 2013. If you are interested, please let Sheila know you noticed this advert following Andy Fords Interview with Tim Abbott in this months Paranormal Press

The Southampton Ghost Walks

Monday 24th March - Tickets available at;

http://hauntedsouthampton.com/ghostwalks.html The Southampton Ghost Walk takes a journey through the most haunted locations of the city Derek Callaghan & Peter Collins.

Travel through the city and find out about the hauntings and ghost stories: who are the ghostly figures seen leaving the historic Red Lion? Why does Lizzie Loader come back to haunt the Bargate area and what made a young bride scream out in terror at her wedding reception? As the walk takes us into The Undercroft Vault - can we pick up any signs of its resident ghosts using some paranormal detection equipment supplied by paranormal investigation company Haunted Southampton? Maybe you can capture an image of the ghosts using the latest thermal imaging and full spectrum camera.

Haunted Southampton and Derek Callaghan offer you an opportunity to explore the darker side of Southampton, with factual experiences of paranormal investigations within the city and Derek's knowledge of all ghostly sightings; you may not want to walk the streets alone again.

Walks start at The Bargate.

These ghost walks are advance booking only and can be booked here. The price is ÂŁ7.50pp; limited spaces available for each walk. The Ghost walk takes approximately 90 minutes, across uneven pavements and in dimly lit streets it is not suitable for younger children, or people of a nervous disposition. Due to steps into the Undercroft Vault - it is not accessible for those with any mobility difficulties. Not suitable for younger children.

For group bookings or if you'd like to have an exclusive ghost walk with friends ( Minimum of 10 people ) please contact enquiry@hauntedsouthampton.com

Andy Ford Psychic Medium 1 - 1 Mediumistic Sittings

Tarot Readings

Past Life Regression

Group Sessions / Workshops

Skype readings available

Contact me through my website or directly for further details about bookings.

Andy Ford Website 07983 356894

Investigating The Paranormal A mini documentary filmed in Southampton.

In late 2013 I was approached by Rob Goulding a documentary maker based in Southampton, Rob and a few colleagues were keen to explore some ghost story which was a bit different and film the whole process from investigation to review of what was found.

The location we decided upon was to the infamous South Western House , an iconic building within the central city, famous for its Titanic connections, as once a large hotel often referred to The Ritz of The South.

Joining myself for the investigation was medium John Taylor, based in Southampton himself , John was able to offer his insight into the building .

“Looking for room 667” South Western House has always been a venue of interest for me, over the years various accounts and sightings have been reported from a variety of people. There was a time during the 1930’s an incident occurred at the hotel within room 667 , unfortu-

Rob Goulding The whole documentary can be viewed at Rob Gouldings media outlet page.

nately room 667 is no longer listed as the building

The opportunity to undertake an investigation of

has undergone numerous changes over the years , so

this building was a real pleasure , the two days of

for me the hunt was on to try and locate this

filming all about this iconic building resulted in us

particular room - myself and John started

finding out quite a bit more that we bargained

investigating the building with the background

for. Did we find room 667 ?

thought for me of looking for room 667 .

Click here to watch the full documentary

http://vimeo.com/82785305 John Taylor Exploring the corridors of South Western House

A Paranormal Project Solent Sky Museum: Southampton. http://www.solentskymuseum.org/ Want to join the project?

The Haunted Southampton Team will be conducting regular visits to the museum over 2014. As with the majority of our investigations

Why a project ?

are open to the public we welcome your interest

The prospect to undertake an in-depth analysis of a venue over a period of time is something the Haunted Southampton Team have been considering for some time. Paranormal investigators such as Harry Price, Maurice Gross conducted longer term investigations to monitor and analyse the data collected to form opinions whether a Long term analysis could

enable us to undertake a study into such phenomena , to undertake regular visits , conducting experiments upon a regular basis to

continue its purpose and have an interest in the paranormal, whether you are sceptical about such occurrences or maybe have already experienced some form of paranormal activity yourself and please contact us in the first instance at enquiry@hauntedsouthampton.com

What happens upon these The investigation nights will usually run between

Why Solent Sky?

8pm and 2 am . We will be bringing our range of

The museum is part of Southampton's aviation history , it's association with the Spitfire is world known , the location of the museum is within an area that is steeped in Southampton's history and oc-

currences ,that do warrant further analysis and investigation.

To really understand these occurrences and to offer an opinion this project was ideal for such purposes.

event , which the income helps the museum

investigations?

establish if their is a pattern occurring.

it has various reports of unexplained

willing to contribute to the financial costs of this

would like to be part of these investigations

location is in fact experiencing some form of paranormal activity.

into this project. As long as you are over 18 ,

paranormal detection equipment , such night vision cameras, thermal imaging cameras , voice recording equipment, various forms of environmental analysing meters and temperature recording machines just to name a few of the pieces of equipment. We will be setting up various experiments in order to try and record / analyse any possible form of unexplainable activity that is occurring. This data needs to be recorded upon our investigation sheets ,factually so that we can assess each and every experiment to previous investigations to try and establish if a pattern is occurring. We will be supplying refreshments for those attending these investigations as part of the price.

Evenings with Medium John Taylor & Pete Collins What happens when mediumship & science comes together?

The opportunity to try out some new experiments using some of the latest equipment for monitoring potential activity along with mediumship input from ; Medium John Taylor to try and enhance spiritual activity This is an interactive evening , your participation is crucial to increasing collective energy to try and see what happens when: Mediums and Science comes together.

Friday 14th March 2014. 7.30pm Location: Woolston Spiritual Centre , Southampton. £5 pay on the door Directions here: (Google Maps) 261, Spring Road, Sholing. Southampton. SO19 2NZ -------------------------------Tuesday 13th May 2014: Join Pete Collins & John Taylor in the New Forest at this old coaching house for an evening of mediumship & science ‌ Full details to be announced.

Penny Legg. Books Haunted Southampton Explore the darkest secrets of Southampton's past with this collection of stories telling of the inexplicable occurrences and ghostly apparitions that have haunted residents of the city for centuries.

From the Roman soldiers who pervade Bitterne Manor to the Grey Lady at the Royal Victoria Country Park, the site of a former military hospital, the city is host to spirits not yet departed who send a shiver down the spines of the living. No matter where you are in the city, incidents of unexplained phenomena have taken place nearby. The Tudor House Museum is frequently visited by poltergeists, while numerous mysterious figures have spooked the staff at the City College. Southampton is 'alive' with ghosts and, for those who dare, their stories can be discovered in this chilling book.

Under the Queen’s Colours, which is a book of the reminiscences of service men and women who have served under the Queen’s colours in the sixty years of Her Majesty’s reign.

The book raises money for three service charities. Promoting the book has led to my making appearances at the War and Peace Show, several veterans events around the country and at Australia House in London. I have been privileged to meet some super people and it is great to know that the book will, in a small way, go towards helping those who have served their country in both Britain’s and the Commonwealth’s armed forces.

You can find out more about the work of Penny Legg by visiting her website, where also signed copies of her books can be purchased ..

http://pennylegg.com/

JulietWrites It To Ouija, or not to Ouija....

The Ouija board. The very mention of this will send some into spasms of fear - the suggestion being that once you use this and 'open the door', you never know and may not be able to control what comes through it. This however, was not the intention of the original producers of the Board, or the original architect of the idea.

The identity of that first person to use 'spirit' or automatic writing is lost to history, though mediumistic spirit writing examples have been found in Ancient India, Egypt, China, Greece, Rome and Medieval Europe. 'Fuji', or automatic writing is thought to have been part of the teaching of the Quanzhen School of Taoist monks, founded in the 12th century. Several entire texts of their teachings were meant to have been acquired by this method. The use of the planchette, though central to their teachings was banned in the Qing Dynasty, but had spread to other parts of the world and was used by many as a way of not only communicating with the dead but as a method to gain otherwise unknown knowledge. The late 19th century saw planchettes sold mainly as a novelty, or toy. It was in 1890 that a patent protection order was filed in the USA for a board and planchette game

by Elijah Bond and Charles Kennard, which went into production the following year once the patent had been granted, and the Spirit Board, or Talking Board was born. William Fuld took over the manufacturing process, and in 1901 decided instead to call the Talking Board the 'Ouija' Board, a decision he claimed that was inspired by the name coming through the board and being Ancient Egyptian in origin, meaning good luck. However there is a rumour that it was instead in his mind because Fuld's sister in law had a locket with the picture of a young woman on it, and the name 'Ouija' above it, which he would have seen as they sat round the table playing the game. Whatever the true story, the Ouija Board was born - as a parlour trick and a game all the family could play. Fuld fought tooth and nail, claiming he had invented the game and defending it against its many competitors, and did so until his death in 1927. The name Fuld became one with the concept, and was owned by his descendants until it was sold to Parker Brothers in 1966, and then Hasbro in 1991, and there are approximately ten manufacturers of the boards at the present time.

So - the intention of the game was to talk to the spirits. No mention of demons, evil or possession or any harm at all is in the instructions or early history - the average age of death for people at the time of its formal invention was about 50 - people died easily through disease, violence, childbirth - often quickly and unanticipated and grief was often unrelieved and pervasive.

Its popularity gave solace to millions - and slowly a growing awareness of its influence seeped into the collective consciousness of the Church - specifically the Christian Faith, as the board was most popular in Western Society. The Christian church, seeing its use as blasphemous and possibly in contradiction with its teachings, gave advice to avoid the game - in fact Bishops in Micronesia have asked for the boards to be banned, whilst in Evangelical areas in America the boards have been burned alongside Harry Potter books as being 'Symbols' of Witchcraft'. So where does that leave us 'modern day' paranormal investigators? Taoism is a gentle religion, which practices the dichotomy of meditation and martial arts. The makers of the original game thought that they were doing people a service, providing not only a means for entertainment but a way of gaining solace through contacting the suddenly departed. Churches discourage the use of the board to the point of rabid destruction. Common myth and folklore state that they are not to be trifled with - that once you open the door you cannot dictate who or what comes through, and the consequences of this folly are popularised in modern horror stories to the point of banality. Scientifically, the 'ideomotor response', a well documented and researched phenomena that occurs as the reaction of the body to an idea or circumstance that the person cannot control or is not aware of - such as the production of tears, or the jerking away of the hand from a hot kettle before the pain has been felt, has been cited as the main reason for the 'messages ' that are given during the use of the board. Sceptics maintain they are simply a clever but effective way to part fools from their money. The wealth of opinion and literature is dizzying. You can spend hours trying to fathom out the history, the uses, the genuineness of the messages that come through - but personally? Well as I will tell everyone who will listen I categorically do not believe in Demons. If people can exist with their personality and memories intact beyond the physical death, then I believe that they will be the same - so good people are still good, and bad people are still bad. So if ghosts exist then they might well get up to mischief. I also believe that talking to someone or something through a board must be like talking on a telephone. You can make the call - and if someone is around when the phone rings then they will answer it - but as for coming through - well my sister never made it across the Atlantic through the phone no matter how much I might want her to - and I believe the same goes for spirits.

A tool - no more and no less. Not a door. And as with all tools - the skill of the craftsman is what makes the end result a good one. Or to put it another way - a poor workman always blames his tools. Having had no bad experiences with a Board, or knowing anyone who has - well that makes us pretty good eh?