SOuL Searchers -July2011- Issue 1

8/6/2019 SOuL Searchers -July2011- Issue 1

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2/36SOuL Searchers eMagazine Issue 1 1

This online magazine was developed from SOuL Searchers Investigations as a way ofcommunicating our experiences and to further our explorations into the realms of thesupernatural and the unexplained. The SOuL Searchers online magazine is produced on abi-monthly basis and provides topical information to keep you up to date on news and thelatest developments happening in the Australian Paranormal community. In addition to ourannouncements on upcoming activities and events, the SOuL Searchers Magazine willcontain articles, photos and information on the paranormal, parapsychology, ghost tours,mysterious locations, psychics and mediums, etc. Your suggestions, comments and

contributions are welcomed .

Janine Donnellan is the founder of SOuLSearchers Investigations and the editor ofthe Paranormal online Magazine. Janine hasbeen conducting house clearings andinvestigations for over 15 years andestablished SOuL Searchers ParanormalInvestigation Team in 2006. Janine has acertificate of Advanced Achievement inParapsychology (1998) Australian Academyof Applied Parapsychology and her interestin the occult was developed as a young childthrough her spiritualist Grandfather.

The mission of this magazine is to includearticles and information on our investigationsand from the Paranormal community and toendeavour to provide logical explanations ifapplicable on environments and events that

are associated with paranormal activity.
http://soulsearchers.spheresoflight.com.au/index.php?page=mainhttp://soulsearchers.spheresoflight.com.au/index.php?page=main


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SOuL Searchers eMagazine Issue 1 2

SOuL Searchersis a sub-group of

Spheres Of Light (SOL)ABN 46 385 794 818

For general inquiries or to request aninvestigation and clearing in yourhome please contact our CaseManager at

[email protected]

To assist us in our investigationsplease answer our questionnaire tothe best of your ability. Click on thelink below to download thequestionnaire.

SOuL Searchers Questionnaire

The initial interview process isconducted by phone using ourQuestionnaire that goes over detailedquestions with the client, includingdates and times of occurrences, who

was present, description of what wasexperienced, and location informationetc. All information received is keptstrictly confidential.

It is SOuL Searchers' mission toprovide the best service possible toour clients, by listening to their needs,providing solutions and beinginformative every step of the way.

SOuL Searchers are based inAustralia, in the southern Sydney,Sutherland Shire & Illawarra areas ofNSW.

Website built by PackRat & Jenwytch. Design,content addition & site maintenance byJenwytch. Unauthorised use of the SpheresofLight & SOuL Searchers logo is prohibited.Logo Copyright 2006-2011 Spheres Of Light.All rights reserved.

Welcome page 1

What is unique about SOuL Searchers team? page 3

So you want to be a paranormal investigatorPart one page 4

Paranormal PhotographyDigital Camera Illusion page 5

Monte Cristo ~Junee page 7

A Residual Haunting page 9

Liz Vincent Ghost Tour stopped page 10

Who are the Shadow People? page 11

What are Psychopomps or Death Walkers? page 13

Queen Victoria Hospital page 15

Hag Phenomena page 17

Animal Communicator page 20

Book Review page 22

Electronic Voice Phenomena page 23

Haunted Cemeteries page 24

Central Railway A Deadly Secret page 25

Mortuary Station page 27

Introducing Access Paranormal page 28

Workshops, Courses & Events page 29

Friendly Businesses page 32

SOuL Searchers Advertising & Deadlines page 34
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://soulsearchers.spheresoflight.com.au/content/SOuL-Searchers-Questionnaire.pdfhttp://www.facebook.com/SoulSearchershttp://www.facebook.com/SoulSearchershttp://www.facebook.com/SoulSearchershttp://www.facebook.com/SoulSearchershttp://soulsearchers.spheresoflight.com.au/content/SOuL-Searchers-Questionnaire.pdfmailto:[email protected]


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What is unique about the SOuL Searchers Investigation Team?

The SOuL Searchers team is composedof individuals with a variety of talents bothscientific and psychic, including scepticsand believers. What is unique about theteam is that our investigations areconducted from a shamanic perspective.SOuL Searchers team members act asintermediaries between the physical andthe spiritual realms.

The majority of our investigations areprivate client investigations and theyincorporate house clearings and can alsoinclude geopathic stress assessments.

The SOuL Searchers team conducts allinvestigations in a professional manner,adhering to the wishes of the client; weare also compassionate to the needs ofthe souls that are causing the problem. Inaddition to utilising our various psychictalents, we use common sense scientificapproaches to all our investigations aswell as having an open mind to all beliefsystems, theories & methodologies.

Click banner to see Team Bios.

Each investigation is conducted confidentially in a professional manner, addressing any concernssuch as privacy, safety and security. It is SOuL Searchers' mission to provide the best servicepossible to our clients, by listening to their needs, providing solutions and being informative everystep of the way. We conduct ALL investigations free of charge and therefore all members arevolunteers. For general inquiries or to request an investigation and clearing in your home pleaseemail us at [email protected]
mailto:[email protected]://soulsearchers.spheresoflight.com.au/index.php?page=team-membershttp://soulsearchers.spheresoflight.com.au/http://soulsearchers.spheresoflight.com.au/index.php?page=team-membershttp://soulsearchers.spheresoflight.com.au/mailto:[email protected]


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All too often you hear the horror stories ofghost hunters trespassing on properties ordeliberately provoking a spirit in order to getthat great picture or experience thatadrenalin rush. They care very little aboutthe poor soul that is stuck between theworlds and very often they dont consider the health & safety aspects of the peopleconducting the investigation.

So if you are conducting an investigation ata site it is good practise to do an initial siteinvestigation in daylight hours so you cansee the actual landscape and can notepossible hazards. Also this site visit cangive you clues regarding possible hot spotsfor paranormal activity. If you only conductnight time investigations then you aremissing out on vital phenomenon, becauseparanormal activity can occur throughout the night and day.

Give the site a thorough once-over. Note any bushes or tree limbs that have contact with thehouse and could cause banging or scraping noises. Look for visibly loose boards, loose roof tiles,rain gutters, or shutters. Note also the position of any street lights etc. that could be reflectinginside the house. While outside, stand in several different locations and observe if there are anysound amplification points. House angles, trees, and terrain changes can affect how sound travels.Check all the windows and doors for drafts and look for any animals that could be nesting in theroof and walls.

Ground Rules for Paranormal Investigations

Do not conduct any investigations alone

Always beware of where other membersof the team are, in case you need to make ahasty retreat

Know where the exits are

Do not conduct any investigations if youare intoxicated or ill

Do not conduct s ances unless youknow what you are doing

Do your homework before theinvestigation

Know the history of the place of investigation

Know where the nearest hospital is incase of an accident

Always be prepared for the unexpected

Investigating Picton Viaduct


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To the average paranormal investigator the digitalcamera has become an essential tool for theirinvestigations. Using digital cameras in an investigationis an easy and time effective way of getting the rightimages for research purposes but often there is aquestion on the authenticity of the images that arebeing photographed.

Digital cameras are no doubt an excellent tool fordocumenting a location and the investigation procedure;however a problem arises when the digital camerabecomes the primary source of the investigation

justifications which can lead to some questions beingraised on the credibility and integrity of the paranormalinvestigation.

Unfortunately with the technology available and the ability to Photoshop images it makes it moredifficult to prove that the image is authentic. Even with all of the technology that we haveavailable, digital cameras should not be used as the single tool in an investigation. Investigationsresults should include detailed research and corresponding activity incorporating reputablephotographs, video, evp and substantiated witness reports.

Basic Guide for Paranormal photography

Flash : Use a digital camera that allows you to adjust the flash strength. Turn it up all the way toincrease your depth of field.

Night scene or night sho t: cameras with this function should be used with a tripod. Without oneyou stand a great chance of blur or light trails because night scene gives your camera a longerexposure time. Do not use a long exposure unless you are shooting off a tripod. The longer theexposure the more movement in your picture becomes see through. See through apparitions andlight trails all could be movement with long exposure.


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ISO : ISO speed affects the shutter speed / aperture combinations you can use to obtain correctexposure. The higher the ISO the more pixilation you get. If using a flash at night you want anISO that is appropriate. 400 to 640 are good all-around settings. If you have a 12 mega pixel orhigher camera you can even go up to an 800 ISO. Do not go higher unless you are shooting off atripod without a flash. Also do not drop to a 200 or 100 ISO unless you are shooting off a tripodwith flash.

Foreign objects/Orbs in your picture : when using a flash any foreign particle, from lint to pollento insects, even moisture appear as objects in your picture if they are near your lens, they oftengive the illusion of being further away from the lens. Remember you are shooting in 2D.

Shadows : Many times a dark shadow or spot is misperception. A finger blocking a portion of aflash will appear as a dark shape. When taking pictures an object off the side can appear as alarger shape when the flash creates a shadow.

Paranormal Mist : Are they spirits? They must be paranormal as I dont see it with my eyes.First look at exposures on your digital camera. A long exposure can create a mist like appearance.Also look around the environment, there might be lots of highly reflective surfaces from windows,mirrors, chromes, glass tables, vases. A flash off many of these can create what looks like a miston your digital camera.

When outside mist captured on the camera can be anything from atmospheric haze, yours oranothers breath, to temperature changes. When its cold out we can see our breath, even when itswarmer we dont see our breath but it still can be accentuated by the camera flash. Often these

anomalies can be easily explained with critical thinking and common sense.http://www.prairieghosts.com/digital.htmlhttp://grou.ps/wwps/blogs/item/paranormal-photography-tipsPhotos:http://soulsearchers.spheresoflight.com.au/index.php?page=investigations


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On the 1st May 2010 the SOuL-Searchers Paranormal Investigation team headed off for aSamhain weekend at Monte Cristo, a homestead which has the notoriety of being the "mosthaunted house" in Australia. With the veil between the worlds being especially thin at this junctureof the year what better time could there be to conduct some serious paranormal research. Armedwith cameras, handycams, and a variety of paranormal testing equipment the SOuL Searchersteam departed Sydney early in the morning with great expectations and perhaps some trepidation.

Monte Cristo is situated in the quaint country township of Junee which is approximately 470 kmsSouth West of Sydney. It was built in 1884 by Christopher Crawley, a wealthy local farmer. He wasmarried to Elizabeth, a hard and ruthless woman who was rumoured to have ruled the householdwith an iron fist.

Christopher Crawley died at Monte Cristo on December 14, 1910,at age sixty-nine from a gangrenous abscess on his neckdeveloped from constant rubbing of his starched collars. Followinghis death, Elizabeth retreated into deep mourning, converting anupstairs box room into a chapel that she rarely left. Elizabethbecame a recluse only leaving the homestead twice in the twenty-three years between her husband's death and her own death,from a ruptured appendix, at age ninety-two In 1948, the last ofthe Crawleys left the homestead, and Monte Cristo fell intodisrepair.

In 1963 Reginald Ryan, a tailor from Wagga Wagga and his wife,Olive, and their three children moved into Monte Cristo, andrestored the residence to its former glory.Mr Christopher Crawley


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This infamous mansion over the years has beenthe scene of numerous appalling incidents andhorrific deaths: a maid fell to her death from thebalcony in a somewhat dubious tragic accident, astable boy was burnt to death; and a maid droppeda little girl down the stairs after being pushed by asupposedly "supernatural force". To add to thedramatic list of events, a young woman died after aparticularly long and tortuous labour, a mentallyretarded son of a housekeeper had been tied up ona short chain by his mother for more than 30 years.

It is rumoured at least ten ghostly residents arereputed to be at large in both the house and thesurrounding grounds and probably a lot of othersupernatural beings from portals left opened fromnumerous sances conducted by irresponsible

visitors over the years.

The strongest ghostly presence in the homestead isthat of Elizabeth Crawley. She is most often seen inthe converted chapel , wearing black and carrying alarge silver cross.

Attention All Investigators!! If you wish to conduct aprofessional investigation at Monte Cristo the followingterms and conditions apply: You must have currentliability insurance. The cost for the investigation is$500 per day location fee on top of normal tour cost.The use of Ouija boards, crystals or sage will not beallowed and all investigations will be fully monitored bya staff member.

Mrs Elizabeth Crawley

Old Monte Cristo Homestead
http://www.montecristo.com.au/http://www.montecristo.com.au/http://www.montecristo.com.au/http://www.montecristo.com.au/


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I have been conducting paranormal

investigations for several years now and overtime I have observed that each investigationcomes with its own unique paranormalactivity experience. The categories of"Grounded, Active and Residual" energygoes to explain the various types ofparanormal activity one could encounter at aparanormal site but within each of thosecategories there are unlimited possibilities ofphenomenon.

My most profound encounter was during theweekend at Monte Cristo where Iexperienced the effects of a residualhaunting. There is a theory called Stone TapeTheory which is based on the suggestion thatbuildings and materials are able to absorband store an impression of living beingsexperiencing a traumatic event which thengets projected back into the environmentunder certain conditions and or triggers.Researchers speculate that the paranormalrecording is laid down during times of highemotional and traumatic stress such asmurder, grief or intense pain. This energy canbe stored for an unspecified amount of time in

the surrounding building materials or the

environment and then the replay is triggeredby a number of variant factors such as theanniversary of the event, particular weatherconditions, or the phase of the moon etc.Witnesses of this paranormal replay mayexperience these events differently andaccording to their own level of psychic ability,stress or emotional levels. The replay cantake a multitude of forms varying from fullmanifestations, sounds of voices or footstepsor as in my case an actual physical

experience.

On arriving at Monte Cristo the team wasshown to our rooms for the night, I hadchosen room 3 which was being shared withteam members Heather and Zoe. On retiringfor the night I could see that Zoe who hadchosen the canopy bed was having an issuewith the bed and I suggested sleeping in thebed as well. It had been a particularly full onday and I succumbed to sleep very quickly.However in the early hours of the morning Iwas awoken with severe pains in my back. Inoticed that Zoe was also awake and shealso was complaining about back pain. Over

By Janine Donnellan


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the next couple of hours I kept dozing off but Iwas reawakened by an ever increasing backpain which I started to think was a kidneystone. By the time everyone was getting upfor breakfast Zoe and I were feeling veryexhausted by our somewhat bizarreexperience. Zoe had mentioned that she hadalso felt something touching her head duringthe night. Fortunately Heather (who wassleeping in one of the single beds) wasspared this uncomfortable experiencealthough she was being disturbed by ourconstant complaints and numerous trips backand forth to the toilet.

On going downstairs for breakfast Reg theowner mentioned that the bed we had slept inwas the only original bed of the homesteadand that it was in that bed that a young maidhad died in child birth after a particularly longand tortuous labour. Evidently visitorssleeping in that bed often reported feelingsimilar experiences of pain. I had neverexperienced residual energy to that level ofdiscomfort before and it took a couple of daysbefore my back was fully recovered. My heartgoes out to that poor woman who died duringchild birth; experiencing her pain as aresidual haunting was definitely anexperience I will never forget.

Over the years I have been to a few of LizVincents ghost tours in Picton. Well if youdont know much about Picton it is a veryquaint town south west of Sydney, the area issaid to be ghost central. There is someinteresting paranormal activity in Pictonespecially at the Mushroom tunnel and theviaduct.

Liz Vincent was involved with the history ofthe Picton, Camden and Campbelltown areasfor over 20 years. Her interest in the historical

aspects of the town and area grew into a verypopular ghost tour business.

Sadly, Liz passed away in May, 2009 but herhusband and daughter have been continuingthe tours in her honour until recently whennew restrictions required by Wollondilly ShireCouncil has stopped the tours awaiting theoutcome of a development application. Thissomewhat short sightedness of the council isnow putting businesses in the area undereconomic stress due to the reduction invisitors to the town and now the town is indanger of becoming an economic ghost town.

The Liz Vincent Tours was forced to shut itsdoors after residents complained the toursattracted hooligans. One wonders why thepolice and council could not have devised aproactive plan for dealing with this issue.Lets hope that common sense eventuallyprevails, it would be a shame if these tourswere permanently stopped due to thenegative and narrow attitude of WollondillyShire Council staff.

Picton Viaduct


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I woke up suddenly and saw a darkshadow at the foot of my bed. It seemed tomove away as soon as I saw it. I alsosensed a lot of negativity or negative typeemotions at the same time.

Over the past few years SOuL Searchershave received many emails with similarstatements regarding the mysterious shadowpeople.

Shadow People are usually seen as a darkshadow that resembles the form of a human.The figures do not have facial features andthey are often noticed as a movement fromthe corner of the eye, sometimesdisappearing when the observer turns toinvestigate. Shadow people can move quicklyand have been seen disappearing throughthe wall or a closed door. Many report afeeling of extreme dread or fear

accompanying the sighting and becomeimmobilised by fear and report a feeling ofnegative emotions at the sighting.

The make-up of shadow people appears asdense, light-impenetrable, black static, mass.While some people see a shadowy formwhich is human like, others see formlesstranslucent black splotches and twirlingcolumns of murky smoke. Some people haveeven reported being attacked and chased bythese horrifying shadows.


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So are these Shadow people ethereal spiritsof dead human beings or some alien non-human being? No one has yet come up withany substantiated explanation. Someparanormal enthusiasts believe that shadowpeople are a demonic spirit that embodiespure evil. There are even reports of a shadowpeople who wear a hat or cape. Shadowpeople have also been observed in daylightand many have observed them in full vision.

There have been several scientific principlesexplaining reports of shadow people, rangingfrom optical illusions or hallucinations broughton by psychological circumstances to the sideeffects of drug use and the interaction ofexternal agents on the human body. A state,known as hypnogogia could explain many

instances of people reporting shadow people,this a physiological condition when a personis half way between sleeping and waking.During hypnogogia, the individual can beaware of the environment and at the sametime be in a dreamlike state where they canreceive images from the subconscious thatthey perceive to be real. In this waking-sleepstate, similar to sleep paralysis, the individualoften reports the sensation of dread that maybe accompanied by shadows or flickeringlights or other visual hallucinations.

Sceptics attribute shadow people to nothingmore than overactive imaginations andneurological disorders or visual disturbances.This may be true in some cases, but does notexplain images caught on film or shadow

people who have been observed by morethan one person.

Many people experiencing shadow peopleseek the help of paranormal investigators,psychics, and even the clergy. If you haveexperienced a sighting of Shadow peopleSOuL Searchers would like to hear aboutyour experience or if you would like us toconduct an investigation and a clearingplease contact us at:

[email protected]

For general inquiries or torequest an investigation andclearing in your home pleasecontact Steve, our CaseManager at 0449 121 171

Referenceshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadow_peoplehttp://nrichford.wordpress.com/hauntings-what-are-

they/what-are-shadow-people/ http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/362588/hauntings_what_are_shadow_people_pg2.html?cat=72
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


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Many religious belief systems have aparticular spirit, deity, animal totem or angelwhose responsibility is to escort newly-deceased souls to the afterlife. Thesecreatures are called psychopomps or deathwalkers. The term psychopomp from theGreek word psychopompos, literally meaning

the "guide of souls". They were oftenassociated with animals such as horses,whippoorwills, ravens, dogs, crows, owls,sparrows, harts, and dolphins.

In Mythology a psychopomp was primarily agod or goddess of the Underworld. Well knowpsychopomps are Anubis, Hermes, andHades. The role of the Underworld was toguide the souls of the dead to the afterlife or

underworld.

In Jungian psychology, the psychopomp is amediator between the unconscious andconscious realms. It is symbolicallypersonified in dreams as a wise being, or ananimal called totems or power animals. Apsychopomp is one of the main functions of ashaman. This could include not only

accompanying the soul of the dead, but alsovice versa: to help at birth, to introduce thenewborn's soul to the world.

Psychopomp, means "soul conductor". Thesoul conductor uses various techniques toassist spirits no longer in body to cross to theLight and join the Source. The psychopompalso waits with and comforts the soul of aperson who is dying and guides them acrossat the moment of death. The psychopompalso has the ability to search for lost souls,find them and guide them home. The soulcan become lost when death occurs, the soulis caught unprepared. Depending on theperson's spiritual or religious beliefs, the soulmay not remember where its spiritual homeis.

Psychopomps may have varying degrees ofpsychic abilities. There can be a differencebetween being a medium and having theability to communicate (seeing, hearing,


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talking) with the spirits and being apsychopomp. Many people have the gift ofcommunication with spirits. A psychopompmay not be a medium but can cross over intothe spirit realms, travels all over these realmsand assists those who may be lost or trappedfor whatever reason and helps, shows,guides them to their Spiritual Home.

When a dying person loses consciousness apsychopomp will wait on the other side tomeet them when their soul emerges there.The psychopomp can at this stage ask thesoul where it wants to go, and then showthem where this place is, so they have anidea about which way to go after death. It isthe psychopomps duty to stay with this soulthat has made the final crossing and guidethem all the way home.

A shaman is a conduit to the spirit world. Theshaman's world is one populated by spirits ofancestors, of plants and animals and of theother astral beings who share the physicalworld and the other realms of existence.Through will, the shaman journeys into thespirit worlds and returns, communicatingneeds and desires in both directions: walkingbetween the worlds.

The paths into the Otherworld are notdefined; through our own powers ofperception we can use different routes, somemay use traditional tools of trance or

meditation or some will develop their ownunique method to move through the worlds.Shamans working in a modern society wherethere is no clear surviving tradition to tap intomust find new ways of building those bridgesbetween the worlds. We may find threads ofconnection to our past, links to our ancestors,and traces of ideas that we can pick up fromother systems.

The world of the modern shaman is dealingwith a world that is continually changing. Notall of us are considered Shamans in thetraditional sense but we can relate tosituations in a shamanic way. Our role is tobe the mediators between the physical andthe spiritual worlds and to bridge the gap thatremains between those worlds.

During a paranormal investigation the DeathWalker is focused and totally aware of what ishappening around him or her. The DeathWalker needs to know the types of spirits thatare encountered in the journey and be able todeal effectively with them.

The paranormal exist in the between world,that space that merges between the threeworlds. Once the Death Walker moves intothis space the spiritual energies take on aclearer perspective and the Death Walkershould be able to communicate moreeffectively with astral beings. The DeathWalker can guide the investigators to various

areas where the paranormal activity ishappening. The Death Walker can providehealing and also assist the grounded soulmove into higher realms.

References: Painting -Psychopomp" by Rachael Mayohttp://www.elfwood.com/~rachaelm/Tremorworks-Psychopomp.3536817.htmlhttp://www.angelfire.com/moon/fae/psychopomp.htmlPsychopomp http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychopomphttp://encyclopedia.farlex.com/Psychopomposhttp://www.lyberty.com/encyc/articles/psychopomp.htm
http://www.elfwood.com/~rachaelm/Tremorworks-Psychopomp.3536817.htmlhttp://www.elfwood.com/~rachaelm/Tremorworks-Psychopomp.3536817.htmlhttp://www.elfwood.com/~rachaelm/Tremorworks-Psychopomp.3536817.htmlhttp://www.elfwood.com/~rachaelm/Tremorworks-Psychopomp.3536817.html


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Queen Victoria Hospita l ~ an Impression from the Past Recently I took a trip into the city ofMelbourne. When you look beyond thestructure of this modern city, you can see the

remains of what used to be; small remindersof the town that once was Melbourne. I couldnot resist the temptation to visit a couple ofreportedly haunted locations; mainly theremains of the Queen Victoria Hospital inLonsdale Street.

When I say remains, this is literally whatstands now. This was once a hospital forwomen that stretched over an entire cityblock and all that is there now is one solitarybuilding, perhaps one used for administrationpurposes. Bizarrely, it now looms betweenmodern office buildings, a shopping centre,and parking garages. Still beautiful, butbetween the other buildings it now looks outof place.

As I stood across the road from this lovely oldstructure, I could not help but wonder whetherany ghosts or spirits remained on the

grounds. It does seem, quite often, that oldhospitals are classified as haunted. But werethey really? Or did the remaining structures

retain memories of past events that werereplayed every now and again? Seeing thatmost of the building was now used as offices,which limited access, I walked across thepedestrian crossing to approach the building.I wasn't quite prepared for what happenednext.

Suddenly I was in the midst of a vision; I wasa woman named Elizabeth, who was perhapsin her early 30's. It appeared by the clothing

and surrounds that it may have been in the1940's. And Elizabeth was being pulledacross the road to the hospital...by herhusband. She did not want to go.

The story unfolded in the briefest of seconds.Elizabeth did not know she was going to thehospital; in fact, her husband tricked her intocoming with him with the promise ofsomething else. I could feel her confusion,and then her anger as the realisation kickedin; she was about to be committed. Sheresisted all the way across the road, andpossibly more once inside the grounds of thehospital. I felt so incredibly sad for her. Ireached the other side of the road, and gazedup at the building. Elizabeth seemed to havevanished as fast as she appeared. Maybe Iwas misreading the message; perhaps thememory of this event was programmed intothe road and by me walking on it, somethingwas unlocked. I wasn't sure, so silently Iasked for confirmation that Elizabeth hadbeen real.

Trace van Lieshout is a Psychic Medium, Author, Artist, andParanormal Mediator from Rosebud, Australia. One of herpassions is to write about her experiences in order to explainthe world of the paranormal. Spirits so often come throughwith messages for us to learn from, and she is honoured tobe able to share their words of wisdom with the generalpublic. For more about Trace see her website atwww.ghostsbegone.org
http://www.ghostsbegone.org/http://www.ghostsbegone.org/http://www.ghostsbegone.org/http://www.ghostsbegone.org/http://www.ghostsbegone.org/


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Laying my hands on the bluestone cornerbricks, I tuned in to read the energy...and wasrapidly interrupted by a male security guard.Once I explained what I was doing, he rolledhis eyes and said Oh, you're one of those'spiritual' people. And the way he said it waslike being spiritual was one of the worstthings one could be. Seconds later, he waswalking all over my husband and myself bystating firmly his opinion on what happens tothe spirit after physical death. And on hewent, to the point where I walked away.What is with this arrogant man? He's notlistening to us, and he is convinced that he isright. Suddenly Elizabeth flashed in myhead again briefly; she was trying to show methat this man was exactly how her husbandhad been.

Just as soon as he appeared, he was goneand I felt annoyed. He did not belong here,and I resented his presence, and hisinterruption. I felt like the energy of womenwas firmly imbued into this building and theland underneath, and men like him simply didnot belong. I think I was feeling thecombination of resentment from the land andfrom Elizabeth. Appreciating that she hadtried so hard to show me how awful her

husband had been, I redirected myself to dowhat I came to do.

Laying my hands on the bricks once more, Icalled in Archangel Michael, and said aprayer for any wandering souls to be led tothis mighty Archangel so he could lead theminto the Light. I visualised the entire sitebeing bathed in white, and I felt a sense ofpeace surround me. And then it was time tomove on...leaving me wondering whether ithad been real, and if so, had I helped at all?

I couldn't help but wonder why Elizabeth hadspoken to me. I felt she wasn't a ghost,simply a spirit on the other side who wantedto chat briefly. She must have felt someresonation with me; perhaps we were thesame age, or had similar natures? Theanswer would come when the time was right.

As we were walking back to our car, Isuddenly got the urge to stop outside an oldbuilding and lay my hands on a randombluestone brick, just like the one at the QV.As soon as I did, my eyes were directed to

the top of the brick...and there sat a shiny fivecent coin with Queen Elizabeth on one side.Considering I had been at the QV, and hadconnected to Elizabeth, I knew this to be nocoincidence and a five cent piece? Was sheonly giving me her five cents worth? Could itbe that simple? Most of us need someone tolisten when we have experienced some kindof trauma. Did she just need a sympatheticear?

Doing some research later on, I was shockedat the reasons for institutionalisation in thepast; depression, OCD, schizophrenia, bi-polar disorder....going as far as infidelity. Infact, the more I read, the more horrified Ibecame. Some women were put intoasylums because their husbands didn't want

them anymore, or they annoyed them. Backthen little proof of a disorder was evenneeded; if a man said a woman was crazy,and then off she went...sometimes neveragain to emerge. It made me shake my headin disgust at the treatment of women all thoseyears ago.

So, was it a simple disorder like that whichprompted Elizabeth to tell me her story? Ifeel I know what it was that drew her to me;

she had psychic abilities. Not being able touse them would have made her unbalancedand depressed, and her husband was all toohappy to get rid of this burden that was oncehis wife. Again, I felt sadness...but at thesame time, incredible relief that times havechanged. Because I hate to think what wouldhave happened to me if I'd been born backthen. So, for Elizabeth, lets all take a secondto fully appreciate our lives in the 21stCentury. For you see, we are free....and shetells me that makes it all worth it.


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by Jenny Taylor

Sleep paralysis is a frightening form ofparalysis that occurs when a person suddenlyfinds himself or herself unable to move for afew minutes, most often upon falling asleepor waking up.

Physiologically, it is closely related to thenormal paralysis that occurs during REMsleep, also known as REM atones.

Sleep paralysis is due to an ill-timeddisconnection between the brain and thebody. Sleep paralysis occurs when the brainis awakened from a REM state intoessentially a normal fully awake state, butwith the bodily paralysis still occurring.

This causes the person to be fully aware, butunable to move. In addition, this state isusually accompanied by certain specific kindsof hallucinations.

What happens in the brain during sleepparalysis?

During sleep, we go through different stagesof sleep. Rapid Eye Movement (REM) stageis the stage where dreaming occurs. In thisstage, a mechanism is created that protectsus from acting our dreams; this is called"muscular atonia".

Muscular atonia basically means that all themuscles in our body will be suppressedduring REM sleep (except the diaphragm andmuscles of the eyes). This atonia comes toan end when we move to another stage ofsleep or upon awakening.

But at times something goes wrong; theperson wakes up during REM sleep and thisprotective mechanism "atonia" does not cometo an end. This creates an incapability tomove (paralysis), and as the brain was justdreaming, this may result in terrifyinghallucinations.

There are two major types of sleep paralysis:common (typical) also known as CSP and

hallucinatory (hypnagogic) sleep paralysisknown as HSP.


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Common Sleep Paralysis (CSP):

The Common Sleep Paralysis for mostpeople happens, during REM state, when thebody releases hormones that paralyse thebody to keep it from acting out dreams,thereby reducing any chances of physicalharm during sleep.

These hormones usually wear off before thedream ends and the person will then wake upwith full use of all body functions. Forsomeone who suffers from Sleep Paralysis,the body's hormones are still activelyrestraining the motor functions and musclegroups of the body.

So the person wakes up to find that he/she is

temporarily paralysed and does not knowwhy. The Common Sleep Paralysis usuallyonly lasts from few seconds to a minute ortwo in total, though sometimes it can go alittle longer.

Hallucinatory (hypnagogic) SleepParalysis (HSP):

The Hallucinatory Sleep Paralysis is differentfrom Common Sleep Paralysis because it can

last up to 8 minutes long.

Sometimes it runs in families. It is notharmful, although most people report feelingvery terrified because they do not know whatis happening, and within minutes they slowlyor rapidly are able to move again; the event isoften ended by a sound or a touch on thebody. People who tend to sleep on theirbacks can also experience sleep paralysis.

In some cases, when 'hypnogogic' (inability toperform voluntary movements during sleep)hallucinations are present, people often hearfootsteps and feel that someone is in theroom with them - usually a fearful presence oran evil entity. Some go further and feel asthough someone or something is actuallysitting or lying on them and they feel like theyare going to suffocate or die. This has beencalled the "Hag Phenomena" or "Old HagSyndrome" and has been occurring to peopleover the centuries.

"Hag Phenomena" or "Old Hag Syndrome"

The name of the phenomenon comes fromthe belief that a witch - or an old hag - sits or"rides" the chest of the victims, renderingthem immobile. The perplexing and often very

frightening nature of the phenomenon leadsmany people to believe that there aresupernatural forces at work such as ghosts ordemons.

The experience is so frightening because thevictims, although paralysed, seem to have fulluse of their senses. In fact, it is oftenaccompanied by strange smells, the sound ofapproaching footsteps, apparitions of weirdshadows or glowing eyes, and the oppressiveweight on the chest, making breathing difficultif not impossible. All of the body's senses aretelling the victims that something real andunusual is happening to them. The spell isbroken and the victims recover often on thepoint of losing consciousness. Fully awakeand well, they sit up, completely baffled bywhat just happened to them since now theroom is entirely normal.

Confronted with such a bizarre and irrationalexperience, it's no wonder that many victimsfear that they have been attacked in theirbeds by some malevolent spirit, demon or,perhaps, an alien visitor.


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The phenomenon, now known and explainedby medical science as Sleep Paralysis,occurs to both men and women of variousages and seems to happen to a largepercentage of the population at least once ina lifetime. It can occur while the victim issleeping during the day or night, and it is aworldwide phenomenon that has beendocumented since ancient times.

These things cause people much anxiety andfear, but there is no physical harm. Patientsshould know that this disorder is benign anddoes not put their life at risk.

Symptoms of Sleep Paralysis :

The sleep paralysis symptoms includesensations of smells, levitation, paralysis,noises (e.g. footsteps), terror, and images offrightening intruders, including thoseperceived to be evil entities or ghosts. Onceconsidered very rare, about half of all peopleare now believed to experience sleepparalysis sometime during their life.

Presence of brief episodes of partial or complete skeletal muscle paralysis

Happens before falling asleep or just after waking upEpisodes can be associated with hypnogogichallucinations or dream-like use of the brain.A complaint of inability to move the body(except for eye blinking and breathing) atsleep onset or upon awakeningInability to move or speak for 30 seconds - 3minutesScreams out for help but is not heard byanyone (the sleep paralysed person believesthey are really screaming out loud but toanyone near them they are only making oddlittle noises)Can be hereditary Can be brought on by stress Sleep paralysis diagnosis

The sleep paralysis diagnosis can be donewith a polysomnography or sleep recordingtest which will show at least one of thefollowing:A sleep onset REM period Dissociated REM sleep Suppression of skeletal muscle tone Cure for sleep paralysis

The main cure for sleep paralysis is to reducestress and to get enough sleep as sleepdeprivation may cause sleep paralysis.Irregular sleeping schedules or frequentnapping may increase the occurrence ofsleep paralysis, so as is the case for mostsleep disorders, a regular sleeping scheduleis important.

Medications can also be administered as acure for sleep paralysis in severe cases, andsometimes simple routines can minimize theeffects of Sleep Paralysis.

To minimize the number of episodes, patientsare advised to do the following:

Get enough sleep

Reduce stress Exercise regularly, but not before bedtime Sleep at a regular schedule Don't drink/eat caffeine type products beforebedtimeTake a hot bath before bed, it will relax you. People who take medicines and drugs foranti-anxiety such as "Xantax" or "Valium" willhave a greater chance of suffering from SleepParalysis. For others, the problem is oftentied to sleep deprivation, a consequence of

being overtired.

All people with sleep paralysis need medicalattention and treatment. Patients with sleepparalysis need to be assured that they do nothave a mental illness or serious medicalillness.

It's a very terrifying experience and leaves thesufferer feeling helpless about how to stop itfrom occurring again. The best treatment isknowledge. By knowing what causes thisdisorder, we can reduce our fear.

References:Image: "Nightmare" by Steven Stahlberg, fromhttp://www.fantasygallery.net/stahlberg/art_3_nightmare.htmlInformation adapted fromwww.sleepdisordersguide.com/sleep-paralysis.htmland paranormal.about.com/od/humanenigmas/a/Old-Hag-Syndrome.htm
http://www.sleepdisordersguide.com/sleep-paralysis.html%20and%20paranormal.about.com/od/humanenigmas/a/Old-Hag-Syndrome.htmhttp://www.sleepdisordersguide.com/sleep-paralysis.html%20and%20paranormal.about.com/od/humanenigmas/a/Old-Hag-Syndrome.htmhttp://www.sleepdisordersguide.com/sleep-paralysis.html%20and%20paranormal.about.com/od/humanenigmas/a/Old-Hag-Syndrome.htmhttp://www.sleepdisordersguide.com/sleep-paralysis.html%20and%20paranormal.about.com/od/humanenigmas/a/Old-Hag-Syndrome.htmhttp://www.sleepdisordersguide.com/sleep-paralysis.html%20and%20paranormal.about.com/od/humanenigmas/a/Old-Hag-Syndrome.htmhttp://www.sleepdisordersguide.com/sleep-paralysis.html%20and%20paranormal.about.com/od/humanenigmas/a/Old-Hag-Syndrome.htm


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Heidi Meissl was born in Austria andmigrated with her family to Australia in 1999,where she lives in SE Queensland. Raised aRoman Catholic it wasn't until her late teensthat she could finally embrace her Pagan life.An ability she was born with is tocommunicate with animals, which she usesnow to help and heal animals. Heidi hasdeveloped a range of crystal elixirs to aid inthis quest as well. Her other passion iswriting, which resulted in several articles forvarious magazines, a non-fiction self-helpbook for European migrants in Australia, two

children's books and a young adult novel,which are published in German.

Being born with a gift is not always as obvious asone might expect. Especially growing up in astrict, catholic household with every movecarefully watched. No wonder it took me until mytwenties to finally piece it together. My affectionfor animals was way more than just that.

Even though my ability should have been very

obvious, at least to myself, it is amazing how areligion, I personally could never identify with,kept it suppressed and hidden from myconsciousness. It took quite an intervention to getme on my way. After almost drowning, my life

finally started to make sense. In retrospect I cansee why my mother panicked and certaincomments were made she must have been wellaware of what was going on with me and animals.

I wouldnt have been much older than 4 years oldwhen I brought home a neighbours pet. We livedin a typical apartment block with lots of green

around and said neighbour kept his 20 or moreguinea pigs outside, with a little fence just highenough to keep them in but not me out. Theparticular guinea pig was as lonely as I was andwe would have made great friends. That at leastwas my point of view, which needless to say,neither my mother nor the neighbour shared.

Maybe if I had been allowed a pet my questwould have been slowed down. But in thetraditional way the evil had to be kept far away, sono pets. The next animal I carried home was a

rat. No, not from a pet store. I wrangled it off thenurserys cat, under a lot of screaming and yellingfrom the other kids. I felt the rats fear and justplain had to help. I carried it home, happy to nowhave a companion. Our friendship was very shortlived though, because wild ratty was not allowedto stay. During my childhood I had many moreencounters with wild animals, which had noproblem with me touching them.

Incidents like this happened on a regular basisbut it was one particular that had me realisesomething profound. Walking home from the girlsscouts I felt an animal was in trouble. Followingthe lead I found an injured dove. Cradling it intomy jacket I carried it home when I was stopped byan old man. Very sympathetically he wanted toknow what I was carrying and I proudly showedhim the bird. His face immediately changed todisgust and a triad of rude words showered boththe bird and myself. It was then that I realisedmost people put a worth on other living beingsand this felt very, very wrong. Well, this time I putmy foot down and kept the dove on our balconyuntil it was healed. And to my amazement it keptcoming back for a couple of years after. I was theonly one it allowed it to touch and we hadconversations without words. But as I said, it tooka near death experience to finally realise that.

Like the dove, injured animals I found got betterquickly with a little love, as I figured. While lovereally was the main ingredient in their recoverythere was something else. After having beenattuned to Reiki in my adult life I recognised the

flow of energy again and with a bit of fine tuning Inoticed I did something else all along. Ifsomething comes naturally you usually dontwander around confirming it with other people.


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You simply think everyone is doing it. When Icome across a distraught or injured animal I knowwhere in the body something is wrong. Forexample I once had a dog brought to me whohadnt eaten in a day, which worried the owner.She seemed fine on the outside but I felt therewas something poisonous in her blood streamand sent them to the vet straight away. And just in

time, as it turned out. If I see an animal like on x-ray I know it wont live longer than two weeks.When a sick animal needs help I open a channelbetween the two of us and give it permission todraw healing whenever it needs it. Needless tosay I prefer working with animals to people asone could never do this with another humanbeing. We are just too greedy! Helping petsusually involves their owners too. No surprise, butin my experience 99% of their suffering comesdirectly from the owner. So when I tune in andsee whats happening, the pets are always very

talkative and tell me whats going on in their owners lives. From that point, I work my wayback, giving the human at the end of the leash ahealing hand too. I could go into very lengthyexamples but I wanted to just give you a glimpseof what it can be like to communicate withanimals.

It is not only sick animals I can communicate with.They can be enormously helpful when it comes tomaking important decisions. Not surprisinglyanimals have a different point of view to us and

decide accordingly. Making a choice between twodifferent jobs, they will for example always guideus towards the benefit of our soul purpose, notthe monetary gain. If we, in the course of areading, stumble upon a problem the pet cantrelate to, something extremely interestinghappens. The animal links itself into a realm,where all animals are interconnected, and sendsthe question out. Animals who dealt withsomething of the sort before report back, and theanimal I am communicating with at that time willfilter all that info and tailor it for its owner's needs.I connect most easily to this web of info with ananimal. That's why I call it animal readings. Iconnect most easily to this web of info with ananimal. Thats why c all it animal readings. Once inthat link I can ask and receive information aboutpretty much anything. When I go looking for a lostanimal or there is no physical item that allows meto establish a link to an animal, I step into thisstream to make sure I connect with the right one.

Even without this web, information I receivethrough animals is astounding. If I had not been abeliever in reincarnation beforehand I would havebeen convinced after consciously working withanimals on a regular basis. Especially cats,possibly because they can more easily escapethan lets say dogs, can show up in a persons life

when a companion is needed most and disappearagain after the crisis. I did notice a pattern, whereit would not be feasible to incarnate into a fullhuman life to assist a loved one in need, so thequick option of assisting as a pet is chosen. It iscertainly debatable whether or not we as evolvedhuman beings can revert backwards to be ananimal, so I can only speak from my personal

experience where I have seen it happeningcountless times, for various reasons. Some toassist during a particular time, some to learnimportant traits they have forgotten being humanfor too long, some to fulfil a promise giventhousands of years ago. So it wont proba blysurprise you either to hear that some people evenchoose to be a plant for a while, but this is gettingus too far away from my initial subject.

Communicating with animals is never dull, andinteresting viewpoints are a daily given if we care

to ask. But it is no coincidence why a pet is ourpet or an animal appears in our life. I was able toestablish four reasons why they join us. As myspace here is limited I will tell you more about thisin the next issue.

SPACE CLEARING & PSYCHIC PROTECTIONWORKSHOP

Saturday 9th July 2011

At this workshop you will learn the basic techniques toconduct a space clearing on your home or business You willlearn how to clear negative or stagnant energetic imprintsbuilt up over the years from the accumulation of day to dayliving and from previous occupants. You will also learn how

to remove unwanted entities that may be attached to yourhome and to protect yourself from psychic attack.

Janine Donnellan from Spheres of Light & SOuL Searchers willbe the facilitator of this workshop. SOuL Searchers is aparanormal investigation organisation that regularly assistsindividuals who are experiencing paranormal phenomena intheir homes. SOuL Searchers has been featured in the DailyTelegraph, Mania Magazine, The Sun and the St George &Sutherland Leader.

Where: Lotus Health & Wellbeing Centre246 Crown Street, Wollongong NSW 2500When: Saturday 9th July 2011Time: 1:00pm - 3:00pmCost: $45Bookings: 02 4226 4740 oremail [email protected]


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A Beginners Guide toParanormal InvestigationBy Mark Rosney, Rob Bethelland Jebby RobinsonISBN: 9781848682344

The book is divided up into separate sections.The first one covers general equipmentrequirements and provides suggestions for arange of useful bits of gear suitable for everypocket. After equipment is covered, then thebook is separated into sections covering the

five main areas of the paranormal, ghosts,electronic voice phenomena (EVP),cryptozoology, unidentified flying objects(UFO), and photographic anomalies.

Each section gives some fascinatinghistorical information about the phenomena,and then talks you through how to set up aserious scientific (and that doesn't meanexpensive) investigation so that if anythingstrange happens then your evidence will

stand up to scrutiny. There is some excellentadvice on how to sensitively interviewwitnesses, and most importantly, this bookguides you on how to formulate 'open'questions rather than questions that wouldtend to influence the witnesses memory ofthe event and maybe even provide answersthat the investigator wanted to hear - ratherthan the truth of what happened.

The section on photographic anomaliescovers things like 'making your own orb'photos, misidentifications of things like fast-moving birds, hair, breath, and even fingers &camera straps. It also looks at ways ofdistinguishing between fake and reality.There's enough information for you to spenda pleasant afternoon or two playing at making'paranormal' photos and in the process learna lot about how your camera works.Invaluable if you want to be able to spotcommon errors and interpretations in photospresented to you for analysis.

The book makes it clear that mostinvestigations produce no evidence and that

a lot of witnesses misinterpret the ordinary forthe extraordinary. Nevertheless, the authorsgently lead you through all of that and leaveyou, the reader, in no doubt that theexploration of the 95% of everyday eventsperceived incorrectly as paranormal, is initself a fascinating journey into the workingsof the human mind. It is also the verynecessary training ground that lets you know,on an intuitive level almost, when somethingreally odd is taking place and well worth athorough investigation. Paranormalinvestigation is not the glamorous activity thatsome TV shows might suggest it to be. It issomething that requires a dedication that the

authors clearly possess and the strongestsense that I got from the words of this bookwas that they wanted to make it very easy forme to do what they love doing. Their passionis clear, and I love being taught by thosepassionate about their subject.

If you have a hankering to explore the worldof the paranormal, this book needs to be onyour bookshelf. And if you take the advice onequipment, it will probably save you far more

than the cover price on your first few piecesof kit.Review by M. Hadfield on Amazonhttp://www.amazon.co.uk/Beginners-Guide-Paranormal-Investigation/dp/1848682344


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I have always been fascinated by theparanormal. Ever since dad would wake meup late at night to watch the regular Saturdaynight horror or ghost film on television. I havehowever, been somewhat of a scepticregarding the existence of an afterlife andshunned all things remotely religious orspiritual.

This began to change when I began taking aserious interest in Electronic VoicePhenomena (EVP) and Instrumental Trans-Communication (ITC). The EVPS I have

collected first hand have changed my outlookin a profound way.

For those who do not know or who have notexperienced EVPs in the past they are thealleged disembodied voices of the departed.They are generally not heard at the time butare discovered later when reviewing audiotapes. This type of research has become verypopular in recent years due to televisionshows like Ghost Hunters and Ghost

Adventures.

In the 1890s Thomas Edison thought thatscience could prove the existence of anafterlife and stated If our personality doesindeed truly survive after death, then it isstrictly logical or scientific to assume that itretains memory, intellect, other faculties andknowledge that we have acquired during ourtime on earth. Therefore, if we can evolve aninstrument so delicate as to be affected byour personality as it survives in the next life,such an instrument, when made available,ought to record something.

In 1949 Marcello Bacci recorded the firstunexplained voices on a vacuum-tube radioand attracted people from all over the worldwho were keen to experience his claims firsthand. Below is a later picture of Marcello withthe radios he used.

Today digital recorders can be easily

obtained and the technology is available foreveryone to use. Most serious investigationteams will now conduct EVP sessions in thehope of catching unexplained sounds andvoices.

The sceptical opinion must be taken intoaccount and certainly alternative explanationsmust be explored. Because Marcello Bacciwas using radio then a sceptic may say thatstray radio waves were responsible or that it

was deliberately faked. This must beconsidered although responses to directquestions are always a little harder todismiss.


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Deliberately faking data seriously underminesthe work of legitimate investigation teams andmakes validating the data a lot harder.

The work of NASA speech researcherAlexander Macrae is discussed by Rosney,Bethell and Robinson (2009). In 2006,Macrae managed to obtain voices on arecording device in the laboratory setting inan environment that was completely insulatedagainst radio and sound waves. This wouldcertainly suggest that there is more to EVPsthan meets the eye. The sceptics howeversuggest that most of the alleged voicescaptured are as a result of Apophenia, whichis the ability of the human mind to hear whatis perceived to be a human voice but isactually the result of stimuli and does not

actually exist.Choosing your recording equipment for aninvestigation is purely a matter of personalchoice. Some prefer the older style taperecording Dictaphone as some suggest thestatic background of the magnetic tape onplayback can enhance EVP results.

Disadvantages of this method include therecording time on each tape meaning that

tapes require changing more frequently. Notalways convenient when working on site andin the dark.

The computer chip in the latest recordingdevices means that hours of recording timeare at your disposal and they can usually beattached directly to a computer or onsite laptop for reviewing data.

For my money and personal choice I haveopted for the DAS RT-EVP recorder. This isthe first of its kind in being purpose built for

recording EVPs. It has twin processors whichallow the user to listen for and then reviewpotential phenomena simultaneously withoutinterrupting the recording session. It can alsopick up sounds from a much lower frequencythan can be heard by the human ear or otherstandard recording devices. Many hours ofdata can be recorded and logged in separatefiles ready for download onto a pc.

While conducting an EVP session you needto nominate one person to ask questions.This avoids talking over another person andmissing possible sounds as well as validatingresponses to questions asked. Being in asquiet an environment as possible is essential.Everything from planes, passing cars andwildlife can conspire to ruin your session.This is certainly true of my RT-EVP recorderwhich is so sensitive it can pick up sounds along way away.

Since being a member of an investigationgroup my thoughts have changes in a bigway. Taking into account all things that asceptic can present to me I have difficultyrationalising some of the voices I have heardwhen I know in some cases I am the onlyperson in an empty room.

I will finish off this article with a quote fromWinston Churchill who himself was fascinatedby the subject of EVPs and sums up for mewhat is the most fascinating phenomena ofthe paranormal world.

The truth is incontrovertible, Malice may attack it,Ignorance may deride it,But in the end. The re it is! Winston Churchill.

Reference:Bethell, R, Robinson, Rosney, M (2009) A beginnersguide to Paranormal Investigation. Amberley.


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I have visited many cemeteries over theyears, and would often wonder why any ghostwould want to haunt a cemetery, but evidentlysome do. One can only speculate about thereasons for these types of haunting, mostsouls cross over on death and perhaps thesouls hanging around the cemetery have astrong attachment to their physical body.

Most cemeteries are peaceful places butoccasionally when you walk through a graveyard you might feel an uneasy energy whichcan become a potential hotspot for furtherinvestigation.

Cemeteries are a good common starting pointfor most people interested in the paranormalinvestigations and although day visits dontalways deliver the results you desire, nightvisits without permission are illegal and mostcemeteries have security cameras andsecurity guard patrolling the area.

Some cemeteries organise daylight or twilighttours which usually provide some interestinginformation that can assist you with historicalresearch for your investigation.

aunted cemeteries in Sydney There are many old and fascinatingcemeteries in Sydney that have interestinghistories and are worth a visit. Here are a fewthat are well known for paranormal activity.

Rockwood Necropolis - opened in1867, is the largest cemetery in the SouthernHemisphere, and the worlds largest 19thcentury cemetery. There have been many

different sightings of apparitions in RookwoodCemetery, by both people who work thereand members of the public and it has been atthe centre of much paranormal speculationfor decades.

(Ponds Rd,t Bartholomew's Church Prospect). The historic cemetery attached tothe church contains the graves of many earlysettlers, including explorer William Lawson.There is reported to be one particulartroublesome ghost at the site. Some peopleclaim to have had a sensation of beingunable to move when they've approached histombstone, while others have complained of

nausea.

St Stephen's Anglican Church is alandmark Newtown building. Its picturesquechurch grounds include a historic cemeterywhich is considered to be one of the mosthaunted cemeter ies and contains amonument and burial site for the victims ofone of Australias worst maritime disasters the shipwreck of the Dunbar on South Headin 1857.

- is situated onWaverly Cemeterydramatic coastline and has some amazingocean views. Dominated largely by whitemarble headstones this graveyard is home tomany famous Australians, such as HenryLawson, Victor Trumper, Lawrence Hargrave,Henry Kendall and many more. Guided toursare conducted at various times.

References:http://www.onlysydney.com.au/sydney-nsw.php?id=13367http://wall.alphacoders.com/big.php?i=94940http://urbantwilight.net/displayimage.php?album=2&pos=165


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Did you know that Central Railway Station

hides a deathly secret? It actually stands onthe site of the old Devonshire StreetCemetery. Established in 1820, the cemeterywas the principal burial ground for Sydneyuntil the 1860s. Bodies were exhumed in1901 to make way for the railway.

The station was built over a number ofinteresting sites including the DevonshireStreet Cemetery, a convent, a female refuge,a police barracks, a parsonage and aBenevolent Society. The remains exhumedfrom the cemetery were re-interred at anumber of other Sydney cemeteries includingRookwood Cemetery and WaverleyCemetery.

When a decision was made to demolish the

hospital and cemetery to build CentralRailway Station, newspaper advertisementswere placed by Sydney City Council askingrelatives of the deceased to come forward ifthey required their ancestors' remains to bemoved, either to Botany Cemetery orRookwood. This was done at no cost to therelatives. However if no relatives cameforward, headstones were demolished andthe graves were left undisturbed.

This could explain the supposed 'haunting' ofPlatforms 26 and 27, the 'ghost platforms'.Maybe the dead of Devonshire StreetCemetery were not happy at being disturbed.These platforms were built years ago buthave no tracks and have never been used.

Trains, buses and beggars are what manytravellers associate with Central Station asthey walk through its labyrinth of tunnels andwait on the platforms. But beyond the yellowlines there's an intriguing place, hidden fromthe public.


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Platforms 26 and 27 were finished in 1979but have never been used. They are mirrorimages of platforms 24 and 25, directlybelow. Look closely through the cracks in thefalse ceiling above the escalators leaving 24and 25 and you can see the shadows of theunused area. Once in the cool dark ofCentral's own "ghost", it is instantlyrecognisable as a CityRail platform. Even thestairs and escalator pits have been built. Alayer of soot covers every surface.

At the end of the platform are the black holesof a typical train tunnel, but when the lights upone end of platform 26, it becomes apparentthe digging went on for about 50 metresbefore it hit a cement wall.

Another of the station's hidden features is anarrow staircase that leads to the station'slandmark: the 75-metre sandstone clocktower, built in 1921.

Tours are occasionally conducted to some ofthe railways hidden features so if you areinterested direct your enquiries to: 02 9749 5280 .

When the new 15-platform Central station

opened on 4th August 1906 it incorporatedthe previously built Mortuary Station whichwas built in 1869 and was designed totransport funerals to Rookwood Cemetery.

Funeral trains left Mortuary Station forRookwood Cemetery on a regular basis untilthe late 1930s. The special train would steamfrom here out to Rookwood, and droppedpeople at 5 different railway stations, eitherfor a funeral, or a day out with the "passedon" relatives, within the cemetery itself.Victorian society had an entire etiquettearound the subject of dealing with grief. It wasa fairly common thing for people to spendtime at the grave site, and part of popularculture was to be re-united with loved ones indeath.

Mortuary Station Central

Rookwood Mortuary Station

References:http://www.sydneyarchitecture.com/cbd/cbd7-003.htmhttp://www.eidolonparanormal.net/apps/forums/topics/show/2898672-sydney-central-railway-stationhttp://www.franceskeevilart.com.au/Jane_Bennett.htm


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IntroducingAccess Paranormal

Beth - Creator and Manager

I've had a passion for the Paranormal for aslong as I can remember with everything fromghost stories to personal experiences, andalways curious of what I could not explain.

In 2007 I decided to move to the UK to workand travel for 2 years and found theparanormal industry to be much larger andmore established (I was in heaven!). I thenbegan to join investigations with a fewparanormal groups based in London (notablythe London Paranormal Society) and havingthe chance to investigate venues like theLondon Dungeons, Middleton Hall, WinstonChurchill War Rooms, London Tombs,Eastbury Manor and (one of the most active Ihave come across) the Ragged SchoolMuseum.

When I came back to Australia in 2009 I wasoriginally disappointed that I couldn't do the

same here, nor could I find just one websiteor place of information that had paranormalgroups I could contact or where could findofficial training or courses.

Luckily with more interest growing in Australiain the last 12 months (partially thanks toprograms such as Most Haunted on pay TV)the paranormal industry has grown inAustralia. I have since been able to attendinvestigations again, and even complete an

investigator course!

After my experiences within a larger industryand knowledge gained from working within it,I decided to form Access Paranormal as theone focal point for Australian Paranormalindustry.

So feel free to look around, submit anyevents, job adverts, and courses or submityour own paranormal group in the directory,as the vision of this website is to help buildthe paranormal industry in Australia, and getlike-minded people talking!

Mission Statement:

To provide an informative and up to dateparanormal website

For all queries, questions, feedback andinformation on anything on this website,please email:[email protected]

http://www.accessparanormal.com/
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.accessparanormal.com/http://www.accessparanormal.com/http://www.accessparanormal.com/mailto:[email protected]://www.accessparanormal.com/


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WORKSHOPS

Space Clearing & Psychic ProtectionWorkshopDate: Saturday 9th July 2011Time: 1:00pm - 3:00pmPrice: $45.00Venue: Lotus Health & Wellbeing Centre, 246 CrownStreet, Wollongong NSW 2500Bookings: Phone: 02 4226 4740 or email:[email protected]

This is a 2 hour workshop to learn how to conduct aspace clearing in your home or place of business andalso learn psychic protection. Sometimes a house oroffice can feel uncomfortable, and there is no apparentreason to explain your uneasy feeling. There may beinstances when you moved into a space and just feltlike someone else was there, or the space just didntfeel right.

At this workshop you will learn the basic techniques toconduct a space clearing on your home or business.You will learn how to clear negative or stagnantenergetic imprints built up over the years from theaccumulation of day to day living and from previousoccupants. You will also learn how to removeunwanted entities that may be attached to your homeand to protect yourself from psychic attack.

Janine Donnellan from Spheres of Light & SOuLSearchers will be the facilitator of this workshop. SOuLSearchers is a paranormal investigation organisationthat regularly assists individuals who are experiencingparanormal phenomena in their homes. SOuLSearchers has been featured in the Daily Telegraph,The Sun, Mania Magazine and the St George &Sutherland Shire Leader.

COURSES

ValidateParanormal Investigators Course

Date: Saturday 24th SeptemberTime: 8:30amPrice: Early Bird (by 31st August) $140.00, Standardprice: $180.00. Discounts available on multiplebookings.Venue: Camden Golf Club then Studley Park HouseWant to be an investigator of the unexplained? Haveyou ever wondered what an investigator of theunexplained does? Maybe youve always dreamt of becoming one but didnt know where to start? Theseone-day workshops are designed to train and lead youtowards a path of research and investigations with a

critical eye. This all day and night program will offeryou a chance to network with researchers andenthusiasts from the field and an opportunity for you toconduct your own investigation with other participantsfrom the course.

Validate member, Attila Kaldy, has run numerouscourses on paranormal investigations and UFOresearch over the years. For over a decade he has ledcountless field investigations and expeditions as wellas running public meetings and numerous conferenceswith national and international speakers. Regardless

whether youre an already operational group or juststarting out, you cannot afford to miss this event. Buildyour team to endure and succeed. Certificate ofAttendance provided at the conclusion of the day byValidate. A full schedule of the day will be forwardedwhen your booking is confirmed.http://www.paranormalnation.com.au/investigators_course.html

The School of Parapsychology- by Dr Ciaran O'Keeffe

Foundations of Parapsychology

Date: Start 26th SeptemberVia web with the guidance from Dr Ciaran O'KeeffeDuration: 10 weeksPrice: Roughly around $380.00 Australianhttp://www.theschoolofparapsychology.org/course.php This is a broadly focused course that introduces you touniversity-level study in Parapsychology across arange of subject areas including history (history ofpsychology and of science), psychology, magic,psychical research, spiritualism, critical thinking andother sciences. The course is presented in threethemes that guide you through some of the basicconcerns and interests of parapsychologists.

Intermediate ParapsychologyDate: Start 26th SeptemberTime: Via web with the guidance from Dr CiaranO'KeeffeDuration: 10 weeksPrice: Roughly around $380.00 Australianhttp://www.theschoolofparapsychology.org/course.php A more in-depth look at parapsychology and for thosewho have completed the Foundations ofParapsychology course.

EVENTS & GHOST TOURSAustralian College of MediumshipGhost Tours & Investigations Date: Saturday 27th August 2011

Workshops, Courses and EventsIf you are conducting a workshop, course or an event on the paranormal and you would like them listed then send an email to: [email protected] [email protected]
mailto:[email protected]://www.theschoolofparapsychology.org/course.phphttp://www.theschoolofparapsychology.org/course.phphttp://www.theschoolofparapsychology.org/course.phphttp://www.theschoolofparapsychology.org/course.phphttp://www.theschoolofparapsychology.org/course.phphttp://www.theschoolofparapsychology.org/course.phpmailto:[email protected]


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Time: 7:30pmPrice: $52.00http://www.psychicmedium.com.au/categories/20110523 ACOM Ghost Tours offer something a littledifferent.... Your tour guides are Mediums! You haveaccess to the locations with some investigativeequipment available for use. Private & CorporateTours are welcome so come along & enjoy aninteractive Ghost Tour experience. Discounts apply for

ACOM Members & Members of the SouthernHighlands Ambassador program.

Paranormal Investigator Tour

Date: Saturday 17th September 2011Time: 7:30pmPrice: $70.00http://www.psychicmedium.com.au/categories/20110523 This tour is designed for those who are a little moreserious about their investigations. Experience being aparanormal investigator under the guidance of Kerrieand her team.

Newcastle Ghost Tours

East End Tours

Dates: Friday 9th September, Friday 2nd October,Friday 18th November and December date TBA.Time: 6:15pm for a 6:30pm start. You must be atMuster Point (in front of the Lock Up in Hunter Streetnext to the old Post Office top of mall). Allowapproximately 2 and a half hours for this tour. Price:$45.00

http://www.newcastleghosttours.com.au/?page_id=55This tour includes entry into the old Newcastle LOCKUP. Group bookings available! This tour is a walkingtour please be aware that you will be walking up hillsand need sensible footwear. We will operate the tour inMOST weather conditions if it is drizzling (slightlyraining) then please be aware that the tour will begoing ahead so bring an umbrella/ raincoat as theseare not supplied. Bring a torch and camera you maycatch one of the poor souls that still haunt this end oftown by surpriseor they might just follow us aroundfor the night wanting to see what we get up to (ithappens all the time). Afterwards, share a drink with us

at the Great Northern! You will be standing on the veryspot the first settlers got their rum at the first Inn in thesettlement The Ship Inn. The Great Northern haskindly offered us a half price drinks voucher for all tourparticipants to use on the night! *Tour charge includesentry into all heritage listed buildings, staff memberpayments (not employees of Newcastle Ghost Tours)and any council fees that are incurred

Weekly Tours

Date: Every Friday (available for small groups-Minimum of four people).

Time: 6:00pm to 8:00pm. Please allow 2 and halfhours for this tour.Venue: The Lock Up on Hunter street, Newcastle(Between Bolton street and Watt street).Price: $45.00 which includes admittance into OldCouncil Chambers (United Serviceman's Club)

http://www.newcastleghosttours.com.au/?page_id=64 Join us on our Friday night walking tour during thewinter months of the historic and ghostly East End.Join our tour guide in a walk around the first streets ofthe settlement of Newcastle. Maybe you will encounterthe ghost of James Hannell, publican and auctioneeron Hunter Street! We might also take you up to the siteof Gaol where public hangings took place. We couldwalk past the site of the old Royal Hospital where the

ghost of the matron can still be seen walking the oldcorridors. We will definitely be visiting the oldCathedral cemetery! You never know what old soul weshall encounter along the way. Have your cameraready! We also finish our weekly tours with a drink atthe United Servicemans Club on Watt street this willgive you an opportunity to look inside the old CouncilChambers and also view the amazing collection ofWW1 and WW2 artefacts as well as supporting theclub. This site a real gem and we are sure you willfind it totally amazing!

Minmi Cemetery Tour

Date: Saturday 9th July, Saturday 13th August,Saturday 10th September, Saturday 8th October.Time: 6pm to 8.00pm (weather permitting), 6.00pm to8.00pm, 6.30pm to 8.30pm and 7.00pm to 9.00pm.Venue: Muster Point is in the Car Park area directly infront of the entrance gates to the Cemetery Meetingtime is 5.45pm (please be on time).Price: $35.00 (group bookings welcomed)http://www.newcastleghosttours.com.au/?page_id=45 Join us in an investigation of this most hauntedcemetery. Your tour guide will fill you in on the historyof the site helping you to understand why this spot is

such a valuable asset which should be looked after forfuture generations.Watch out for the spectral form of the lady on thebridge and feel the touches from ghostly forms whoselives and contribution to the village been longforgotten. Have you heard the story about theheadless horseman? Let us tell you more. On this tour,we strongly suggest covered in shoes. You are oncemetery grounds and as well as ghosties there couldalso be creepy crawlies... so lets stay safe! Pleasenote that these tours are run during the colder monthsto avoid the mozzies which are ferocious duringDec/Jan believe us! Please also note that these tours

are historic in content as well as a safe learningenvironment for those wishing to possibly experience abit of the paranormal. We only feature the oldest of grave sites (we do not encourage any visitation ofnewer sites) and expect the highest levels of respectand proper behaviour while on tour. A percentage of allof our tour charges go back to the community! Wemake donations to the Heritage Trust which thenforwards the money on to help with the immenseexpense of keeping these historic sites in order andwell maintained for our enjoyment and for that of futuregenerations.

Civic Theatre NewcastleDate: Friday 16th SeptemberTime: 7:30pm - 10:30pmVenue: Civic Theatre, 375 Hunter Street, Newcastle,NSW
http://www.psychicmedium.com.au/categories/20110523http://www.psychicmedium.com.au/categories/20110523http://www.psychicmedium.com.au/categories/20110523http://www.psychicmedium.com.au/categories/20110523http://www.newcastleghosttours.com.au/?page_id=55http://www.newcastleghosttours.com.au/?page_id=64http://www.newcastleghosttours.com.au/?page_id=64http://www.newcastleghosttours.com.au/?page_id=45http://www.newcastleghosttours.com.au/?page_id=45http://www.newcastleghosttours.com.au/?page_id=45http://www.newcastleghosttours.com.au/?page_id=64http://www.newcastleghosttours.com.au/?page_id=55http://www.psychicmedium.com.au/categories/20110523http://www.psychicmedium.com.au/categories/20110523http://www.psychicmedium.com.au/categories/20110523http://www.psychicmedium.com.au/categories/20110523


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Price: $65.00http://www.newcastleghosttours.com.au/?page_id=87 This is a very special opportunity to see this amazingtheatre in a totally new light! The tour will take usthrough the stalls, ladies room, below the stage anddressing room areas our special guest guide is aveteran of the premises having worked there for over30 years he has some great ghostly stories to share!We will have the Theatre ALL TO OURSELVES!

Colonial Paranormal InvestigationDate: Saturday 6th AugustTime: 8:00pm - 3:00amVenue: Girdlestone Street, Ararat, VICPrice: $50.00www.colonialparanormal.comCome join the team at Colonial Paranormal on an

investigation of J Ward in Ararat about 200kms fromMelbourne. Originally J Ward was the county gaol andlater became part of the Lunacy Department. It was

used to house the "criminally insane" and closed in1991. Colonial Paranormal have made arrangementsto go back to J Ward to see if we can debunk theresults from the last visit. Supper and equipment isprovided but participants are also welcomed to bringtheir own gear. Local hotels for overnightaccommodation are also available on request. Visit thewebsite or Facebook page too book. You can alsoemail [email protected]

_______________________________________

W.S.P.R - Western SydneyParanormal Research

The Bridge, The Rocks and The Hill

Date: Thursday 4th AugustTime: 7:30pmPrice: TBA (Members only)Venue: Sydney, NSWhttp://www.eventbrite.com/event/1823579375/?ref=enivtefor?amp;utm_source=eb_email&utm_media=email&utm_compaign=invitefor&utm_term=readmore Have you ever wondered if the iconic "Sydney HarbourBridge" is haunted? Well... You're about to find out! -Join W.S.P.R - West Sydney Paranormal Research ona journey back through time. Back to a time whenSydney & Australia were in its infancy. We hope totake you back over 80 years, to a time where youngmen battled to build an engineering wonder. Astructure that was to become the face of a nation. Wewill be joined by a Climb Leader from BridgeClimb,who will share with us her experience on the Bridgealso. After our time investigating the Bridge, we willmove up Lower Fort Street, as Team W.S.P.R showsyou famous 'Haunted' locations along the way. We willfinish the night at the very haunted, 'Observatory Hill',where again Team W.S.P.R will share the history ofthe location, and show YOU how to perform your veryown 'Ghost Hunt' in a public location such as this. This

is a night not to be missed. This event is for OfficialW.S.P.R Members only. Places are limited! Pleaseensure that you are an Official Member beforepurchasing the ticket. Membership cards MUST beshown on the night! Membership is $15 a year whichcan be purchased through the websitewww.westsydneyparanormal.org

Ghost Hunts at The OaksDate: TBATime: TBAPrice: TBA (Members only)Venue: The Oaks, 54 Hyatts Road, Oakhurst(Plumpton), NSWhttp://www.westsydneyparanormal.org/ghost-tours.html W.S.P.R will soon be holding mini-investigations of 'The Oaks' Historic Homestead. Theowner of the property is warmly opening his home tous and our members. The proceeds of the mini-investigations will go towards raising much neededfunds in renovating and maintaining the old home.You will be briefed by Team W.S.P.R Researchers onthe history of the property. Lead Investigators will thengo through the run of vigils and the equipment beingused. Join one of Team W.S.P.R's Mediums on awalkthrough of the property, before being split up intosmaller vigil groups. You, will then be the investigator,in search of paranormal activity within the walls of thehomestead and outside in the property itself.Enjoy investigating in a non-crowded, more personal

environment, as there will be a maximum of 10 peopleonly! Further details and prices will be listed here onthe website and also via our Facebook page. W.S.P.Rplan on starting the mini-investigations in July / Augustof this year. WSPR MEMBERS ONLY!!! And guesswhat. only costs $15

The Rocks Ghost Tours

This month's Paranormal Location on The RocksGhost Tour is "PARBURY RUINS"Sceptic Andrew sensed a strong presence in thecorner next to the fireplace, gave him a bit of a CHILL.A customer diagnosed the illness of Amelia the ghostwho haunts the site. Max smelt a bad odour whenstanding near the washbasin and felt something

touching his back.BOOKINGS ESSESTIAL PHONE 02 9241 1283Next Paranormal location "Australia's FirstHospital"

THE ROCKS TOURS

Office Hours Mon-Fri 9.30am-4.30pm,Sat-Sun 10am-5pm.http://www.ghosttours.com.au/

http:/ /www.therockstours.com.au
http://www.newcastleghosttours.com.au/?page_id=87http://www.newcastleghosttours.com.au/?page_id=87http://www.colonialparanormal.com/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.eventbrite.com/event/1823579375/?ref=enivtefor?amp;utm_source=eb_email&utm_media=email&utm_compaign=invitefor&utm_term=readmorehttp://www.eventbrite.com/event/1823579375/?ref=enivtefor?amp;utm_source=eb_email&utm_media=email&utm_compaign=invitefor&utm_term=readmorehttp://www.eventbrite.com/event/1823579375/?ref=enivtefor?amp;utm_source=eb_email&utm_media=email&utm_compaign=invitefor&utm_term=readmorehttp://www.eventbrite.com/event/1823579375/?ref=enivtefor?amp;utm_source=eb_email&utm_media=email&utm_compaign=invitefor&utm_term=readmorehttp://www.westsydneyparanormal.org/http://www.westsydneyparanormal.org/http://www.westsydneyparanormal.org/ghost-tours.htmlhttp://www.westsydneyparanormal.org/ghost-tours.htmlhttp://www.ghosttours.com.au/http://www.therocksto

SOuL Searchers -July2011- Issue 1

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