Paul Roland - Hauntings: True Stories of Unquiet Spirits

Introduction

Behind every man now alive stands 30 ghosts, for that is the ratio by which the dead outnumber the living.

ARTHUR C. CLARKE , 2001: A Space Odyssey

The dead are all around us. We are surrounded by ghosts, but most of us are unaware of their presence because we are preoccupied with our daily routine and our physical needs. In a world of constant and often violent change we seek stability; we need to be grounded in the here and now.

I was fortunate in having my first paranormal experiences when I was very young, so when I began to sense the presence of spirits in my twenties and later, when I lived in a house that was haunted, I just accepted it as a fact of life and not as a fearful experience.

The haunted house that I lived in was not the customary crumbling ruin associated with chain-rattling apparitions but a very ordinary, modern bungalow and the ghost was not a vengeful spirit but the former owner who, presumably, was simply curious to see his old home again. Neither my wife nor I saw him in the ten years that we lived there, but we sensed his presence on many occasions and it was always in the same location the former garage which had been his workshop and which we had converted into an office. His presence was so palpable that my wife would frequently look up from her desk expecting to see that I had entered the room. Such incidents suggest that the dead might exist in a state similar to sleep and that their visitations are simply the result of them being drawn back to a location while recalling their former lives. This would account for the fact that most ghosts do not acknowledge the living, but merely drift through the site in a somnambulant state.

The ghost writer

That ghost was not the only one that has made its presence known to me. I have sensed others on many occasions and almost always when I am writing on an esoteric subject, which suggests that it is the theme, or my frame of mind which attracts them like a lighted match in the darkness. In fact, it is often more than a mere sense that I have. I have felt a gentle caress on my cheek on more than one occasion and the touch of a disembodied hand lightly on the top of my head like that a loving parent or mentor might give to confirm that what I am writing meets his or her approval. Occasionally I have even been quite forcibly prodded in the chest, perhaps playfully or to reprove me for writing something they dont agree with, but I find it reassuring. I have no fear of phantoms as I am a firm believer in the old saying, like attracts like, and my own considerable experience as a teacher of psychic development and meditation has appeared to confirm that.

Of course, my invisible visitors might not be ghosts at all, but guides or guardian angels, but I dont think that the name we give disembodied entities is of importance. Sensing their presence is sufficient to signify that there is another reality beyond our physical world, a belief that appears to be confirmed by the countless number of near-death experiences reported by people of diverse beliefs and backgrounds around the world from ancient times to the present day. I have personally experienced the out-of-body state several times since childhood and found it a liberating and exhilarating experience. In fact, it stimulated my interest in investigating all forms of paranormal phenomena. So for me at least, ghosts are not something to be feared, but a fascinating anomaly.

Other people have been less fortunate, as the stories in the following pages will show, but it is my understanding that spirits are essentially the same personalities that they were during their lives. So I would attribute all unpleasant or disturbing experiences to encounters with malevolent personalities who resent sharing their possessions or personal space with the living. There is, however, another and more dangerous category of ghost and that is the addictive or psychotic personality who seeks to indulge its addiction vicariously by latching like a parasite on to a like-minded individual with whom it has an affinity. Any type of addiction will attract these individuals; drugs, alcohol, violence, excessive greed, unnatural lust and even an obsession with dangerous pursuits. But I believe all of these malevolent spirits are human. Despite anecdotal evidence to the contrary I cannot accept the existence of evil spirits or demons. The section on modern exorcists that I have included is by way of acknowledging how willingly we project our fears on to mythical and imaginary entities in a desperate attempt to explain what we cannot comprehend. By giving these imaginary entities power over us we are stifling our development and understanding of the greater reality of which we are a part. Ignorance, in this case, is not bliss but a backward step into the mists and superstitions of the Dark Ages. Just as the more open-minded scientists and some of the more serious parapsychologists have shown, many incidents of poltergeist activity are kinetic disturbances generated unconsciously by adolescents experiencing the conflicting emotions of puberty, so similarly many of the supposed victims of demonic possession can be diagnosed as being psychologically disturbed. Attributing their disorders to the work of demons and subjecting these impressionable individuals to what must amount to physical abuse is reprehensible to say the least. However, after reading the evidence, you may disagree.

My personal experiences have provided ample evidence of the existence of the soul and its survival after death, but that does not mean that I, nor anyone sharing my convictions, can afford to make definitive statements regarding any form of phenomenon. Each experience only reveals one piece of the puzzle, one fleeting glimpse into a greater reality which we cannot grasp with the limited processing power of the human brain. We must also be acutely aware that as human beings we all share the unfortunate tendency to jump to conclusions when we think that doing so will confirm our personal beliefs and prejudices. In this respect, I am as guilty as anyone and offer the following story as an example of how easily we can deceive ourselves.

The ghost who wasnt there

Recently my family and I moved into a new home. Shortly afterwards we were awoken one morning at 3 am by what sounded like a bookcase or some other piece of heavy furniture being overturned. I crawled bleary-eyed out of bed and systematically searched the house from top to bottom but found nothing untoward. The next night it happened again. And again the next. Each time it startled me out of my sleep. Convinced that it had to be a ghost I was seriously considering performing some kind of clearing rite when I discovered the source of the disturbance.

On the fourth morning I happened to wake up shortly before 3 am and went to the second-floor bathroom which overlooks the street. As I stood by the window I heard footsteps approaching and then that unmistakable clattering sound which in my sleep had sounded even louder. It was the sound of a thick bundle of newspapers being dropped through the letterbox! Such an explanation would never have occurred to me. Who could imagine that some old man with insomnia would take it upon himself to deliver newspapers at 3 am and that the noise would be amplified in a silent house to such an extent that it could be mistaken for falling furniture?

As I said, we are all prey to making assumptions especially if they confirm our beliefs or justify our prejudices.

A scientist who values their name and reputation will be wary of stating any facts regarding a phenomenon for fear that they may be proven wrong when more facts come to light and this, I believe, should be applied with equal vigour to the paranormal as we cannot measure or quantify any aspect of a world we cannot see, but only sense. The only thing we can state with certainty, to paraphrase Shakespeare, is that there are more things in heaven and earth than we might care to know about. Whether these are friendly or not, you can decide for yourself after reading this book.