Jock Brocas On Spiritual Life

Friday, 26 June 2026

Energy-Based Physical Phenomena - Is it Really New?

Ever since the energy-based work of our 1993-1998 ‘Scole Experiment’ (with its unique physical phenomena) became well-known within the realms of Psychic Research and Spiritual Science, the connections with ‘energy’ seem to have caught on and now seems to be the ‘in thing’ – this being a very popular expression used within both mental and physical mediumship alike.

The majority of newer groups and circles who sit for physical phenomena, often follow advice from Spirit as outlined in the Scole Experiment’s ‘Basic Guide’ and use the specially blended mix of three different sources of natural energy which Spirit refer to as ‘Creative Energy’. I personally know of a number of experimental groups who have already achieved excellent energy-based phenomena developed in this way.

However, what I do find surprising (and what worries me to a certain extent) is that a number of bloggers, writers, authors and mediums themselves have begun to refer to their work, and that of groups seeking to develop energy-based physical phenomena, under the general heading of having been engineered by Spirit using ‘new energy’.

Whilst it is quite correct to describe most of the energy-based physical phenomena witnessed during the Scole Experiment as ‘unique’ and ‘incorporating brand new types of physical phenomena’ which had never, to our knowledge, been previously witnessed anywhere else in the world at that time, it would not be accurate to state that the work and phenomena could be accredited simply to the use of ‘new energy’.

As we were told by our Spirit Team, many other circles, groups and physical mediums in the past also worked in this energy-based way, right back (way beyond modern Spiritualism) to time immemorial and the days of Atlantis! The difference at that time was that few of them actually understood that they were working with ‘Creative Energy’. We were extremely lucky at Scole, in that our own wonderful Spirit Team (many of them scientists and engineers during their earth lives) chose to discuss their methods and spirit technology with us in as much depth as possible so that others might gain a clearer understanding of exactly how energy-based phenomena worked. We were also led to believe that for the first time in decades, the work at Scole enabled our Spirit Team to control the use of energy-based phenomena in better ways than were previously possible.

Let us look at some examples of physical mediumship and its phenomena and why I believe that ‘Creative Energy’ played its part – just as it did for us at Scole:

Henrietta ‘Etta’ Wriedt

Arthur Conan Doyle, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Henrietta “Etta” Wriedt (1859-1942) of Detroit, Michigan, was described by some researchers as the ‘best ever physical medium’. She was studied and validated by esteemed researchers such as Sir William Barrett, a physics professor who co-founded the Society for Psychical Research (SPR), Sir Oliver Lodge, a physicist remembered for his pioneering work in electricity and radio, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the physician who created Sherlock Holmes, Dr. John S. King, a physician who founded the Canadian branch of the SPR, and Vice-Admiral William Usborne Moore, a retired British naval commander turned researcher.

Wriedt was not a trance medium. Her mediumship came under the heading of ‘Independent Voice’ mediumship, where Spirit Communicators were able to speak independently of the medium’s vocal cords, with the voices appearing to come from ‘mid-air’. While skeptics claimed that direct voice mediums were expert ventriloquists, Wriedt was observed by researchers talking to people sitting next to her at the same time as spirit voices came through. It was reported that as many as four spirit voices would be talking simultaneously to different sitters and, although Wriedt knew only English, spirits communicated in French, German, Italian, Spanish, Norwegian, Dutch, Arabic and other languages.

Usborne Moore, who had investigated a number of mediums in England before sailing to the United States, first visited Wriedt in Detroit in 1909 and then again in 1910 and 1911. He arranged for her to visit England in 1912. Moore noted that the spirit voices came through in broad daylight or gaslight, but they were louder in the dark. Moreover, Wriedt was open to sitting anywhere in the room so that the investigator could watch her and rule out fraud.

Moore further observed that Mrs. Wriedt spoke ‘Yankee,’ yet the voices of his English relatives and friends came through in ‘pure English,’ while discussing ‘very evidential’ personal and family matters. There was never any talk of Etta Wriedt using a cabinet for her work, or of any direct observation by sitters of any form of ectoplasmic substance. These are indeed the classic conditions ideal for Energy-Based Physical Phenomena, and I believe that Etta Wriedt’s work was therefore, energy-based.

Pearl Judd

For me, this is yet another case of early Energy-Based Physical Mediumship and ‘Independent Voice’ Phenomena. Pearl Judd was a young girl who sat with her uncle Clive Chapman in a family home circle at Dunedin, New Zealand during the 1920’s. The ‘Independent Voice’ phenomena occurred in the light and was very strong. Full details are in a (now rare) book published by Clive Chapman in 1926 called ‘The Blue Room’, which I can thoroughly recommend to anybody who has not yet read it! Once again, there was no cabinet, no trance and no mention of ectoplasm. Classic Energy-Based Physical Phenomena.

The Elmer Browne Home Circle in Leicester

I joined my first home circle in 1973 which proved to be a ‘Physical Circle’ run by local businessman Elmer Browne in Leicester in the UK. There was no cabinet in the circle; trance was not allowed, and nobody ever witnessed ectoplasm, as such. Elmer (‘Bill’ to us) ran the group under similar conditions to Pearl Judd’s Dunedin Circle – aiming for ‘Independent Voice’ in the same way, and using ‘The Blue Room’ as his ‘Bible’. In the two years I sat with that circle, I did indeed witness several examples of ‘Independent Voice’ during sittings, along with being ‘poked in the back’ by a ‘teleported’ Spirit Finger! Looking back, I have no doubt that the phenomena I witnessed there at Leicester was indeed energy-based.

The Rita Goold Circle in Leicester

There were a number of reports in the Psychic Press during the 1980’s of the ‘new type’ of physical phenomena that was being witnessed at that time in the home circle of Physical Medium Rita Goold. The circle was experiencing materialization in a ‘different’ way, so it was said. The Spiritualist Community was suspicious that the phenomena was not genuine, as ‘everybody who was anybody’ in that community argued vehemently that materialization could only come about through the use of ectoplasm. In the Goold Circle, ‘solid’ Spirit personalities were visiting the circle every week, including the very solid Spirit boy Russell Byrne who acted as a guide and Spirit ‘compere’ within the circle. Another regular prominent Spirit helper in that circle was the famous materialization medium Helen Duncan. In life, Helen had been a large lady. When she manifested in the circle, she occasionally sat down on a settee during a séance and her heavy weight was felt by other sitters in a physical way!

Russell Byrne’s parents attended the circle at the invitation of Rita, and were able to verify absolutely 100% that the solid visitor Russell was indeed their son! The Spirits of Russell and Helen spoke in their own voices during sessions (see the book ‘Russell’ by Gwen Byrne – Janus Publishing). Our friend Alan Crossley (medium and experienced psychic researcher regarding physical mediumship) who knew Helen Duncan well and used to organise some of her séances when she was alive, also stayed with Rita at one point and attended her séances. Alan was able to confirm totally that the solid visiting Spirit of Helen at Rita’s séances was indeed Helen herself, and that Rita’s mediumship was genuine. On more than one occasion (not during a séance), Alan actually watched stuffed toy animals climbing up the wall in full daylight!

It is still a mystery to me as to why, but Rita was dramatically vilified by much of the Psychic Press because leading Spiritualists could not understand how her phenomena was produced. Shamefully, Rita even received a number of ‘death’ threats at the time, which eventually led to her abandoning her amazing, successful and absolutely genuine mediumship! I do not think that it was ever explained to Rita’s Circle during sittings that the materialisation and independent voice phenomena they were experiencing, was actually energy-based and was similar to our own Spirit Team worked at Scole. I have no doubt whatsoever that Rita’s phenomena was indeed an earlier manifestation of our energy-based phenomena at Scole a decade later, and that the materialisations of spirits who visited Rita’s seances were in fact teleported into the room in exactly the same way that was used during ‘The Scole Experiment’.

The Streatham ‘Theatre School’ Circle

This was another amazing circle in the 1990’s where energy-based physical phenomena was prevalent. During a seminar by the Noah’s Ark Society, which I founded in 1990, Sandra and I were approached by a delegate who was sitting in this circle (which apparently had no medium as such), but which was nevertheless experiencing amazing phenomena including Materialisation and Independent Voice. We agreed to sit with the circle for a while to assess the situation and offer advice if necessary, which led to our sharing several sittings with the group over a period of time. It was a few months before we were able to conclude that a young French man in the circle was actually the medium, as the initial assessment seemed to point to the fact that the group as a whole supplied the ‘Creative Energy’ for their Spirit Team to operate.

On the first occasion, we climbed the stairs to the third storey room and (in full light), I was again ‘poked in the back’ by a solid Spirit finger urging me up the stairs. We were able to verify that the phenomena was unusual in the way that it was engineered by the Spirit Team, and comprised of everything that the delegate had originally described – and more! This group had a tea and cake break in the middle of the sitting and we all left the room and moved across the corridor to a kitchenette. An Independent Spirit Voice’ would tell us when it was time for the break and if we stayed too long, would inform us that it was time to return to the séance room as they were waiting for us.

There was no cabinet in the room in which the circle sat, nobody went into trance and there was no suggestion whatsoever of ectoplasm but with everybody wide awake, the phenomena happened! The Spirit Visitors amongst us were quite solid to the point that – on more than one occasion – a large and heavy male Spirit person gently pulled up one of the ladies in the room and danced with them! This happened to Sandra, and she was quite blown away by the experience. Knowing what we do now, and after the later sessions we held at Scole, it is quite obvious that the superb phenomena was energy-based, and that the solid Spirit visitors were teleported into the room in exactly the same manner as we later enjoyed at Scole.

So you see – in my own mind – with all these examples to draw upon, I am absolutely certain that energy-based phenomena is not new, but has been ongoing for over two centuries, if not longer.

Note: This article was originally published in the Afterlife Magazine by The Otherside Press which has since joined the PDN group.

Thursday, 25 June 2026

‘New Energies’ Are Creating Mediumship For the Masses

I first became aware of new energies in 1987, and the idea that appropriately trained and developed mediums would be able to utilize the new energies without the restrictions of applying older physical mediumship methods. This would give them the ability to not only speak about the spirit communicator but for the communicator to transfigure (transform outwardly) on the medium’s face - in lit conditions. When the right amount of energy is produced, and with enough audience participation, materializations of form would be produced within demonstrations in lit conditions that are good enough for all or most to appreciate.

Learning to produce phenomena such as ectoplasm, apports and materializations is usually a slow process that takes on average eight to nine years to develop. It requires the right conditions and one or more gifted, experienced mediums. Essential traditional conditions for producing phenomena, first and foremost, include harmony, darkness, a real willingness to persevere and take instruction from spirit to produce phenomena and that a specific room be set aside for this purpose. Energy can take a long time to build and is of a quite delicate nature, so no one sitting can guarantee results in the short term. But over time, repeated experimentation is known to produce results on a more consistent basis, as we saw in the Noahs Ark Society and Scole Experiment.

Ectoplasm is withdrawn from the body of the medium and on occasions, from sitters. Ectoplasm has been studied under the microscope and while it does not exist per se in its “ectoplasmic form” in the body, its constituent parts are gathered and produced in the body when a séance is to be undertaken. Ectoplasm is extremely light sensitive and in extreme cirsumstances, dangerous to the medium if stringent conditions are not adhered to, such as in the case of Helen Duncan who died after police intervened duing a séance. I suspect that she is not the only victim of intervention.

Physical mediumship training today is largely based on ‘old traditional methods’ which often produce great results after many years and only when conditions are exactly right, and on rare occasions, a crack of light can be introduced. These conditions have made it harder for modern technology to produce satisfactory recorded results of such phenomena but some have had success in this higly sensitive environment.

In places like Africa, full daylight materializations have been witnessed and of course, we have slightly different daylight materializations called ‘ghosts’. There are two forms of the apparition. One is technically a ‘recording’ which is triggered and replayed; the other comes under the heading of ‘interactive’ and is often labelled as poltergeist activity such as objects being moved and images captured on CCTV in all kinds of locations throughout the world.

The question then arises, as this type of activity does not seem to rely in any way on ‘séance conditions’, how is phenomena produced in such a contradictory manner when such strict conditions are otherwise imposed, and that any counterbalance to those conditions, however great of small, can void a séance?

The reason must be in the ‘age-old method of working’ and by this, I mean that once spirit and a medium embark on a particular development strategy, it is hard for those structures to be altered or indeed replaced. To do so from a logical standpoint is to throw away all that you have learned and become attuned to.

What are the New Energies?

The new energies encompass ‘new technology’ and enable mediums to demonstrate in lit conditions and a much safer and less restricted environment, we may start to see the emergence of new energy-based demonstrations in spiritual churches (as happens in places like Africa). I firmly believe that ‘Mediumship is for the masses’ and needs to be brought home to as many people as possible. At some point, with extra preparation, a transfiguration demonstration will be broadcast on TV. A wide reaching broadcast will enable more people who are unable to attend a physical demonstration in person, the advantage of a similar experience that is bound to expand their world view.

The significance of this is huge, not only in scientific terms but also in relation to the number of people who will be able to see new energy-based mediumship demonstrations firsthand, and better quality recordings of phenomena will reach more people than ever before. This is the aim of spirit.

Three primary benefactions:

1. Physical manifestations can be produced in ordinary light

2. They are safe to produce

3. When successfully achieved, phenomena can be photographed, filmed and reproduced to be shared around the world

This will have a profound effect on anyone who experiences this even remotely, and will begin to sweep away doubts and encourage not only a thirst for knowledge, but a true understanding of the spirit world and spirit communication in its many forms.

Preparing to work with the new energies

Neither I nor spirit are saying that the old methods have had their day but bringing the new energies and methods to the public in a different way will certainly not only grab attention but will inevitably, over time, naturally evolve into common mediumship practices. We already know that materializations can and do occur naturally, and usually spontaneously, but they are generally limited to those who ‘know’ and are steadfast in their Spirit World knowledge and experiences.

Spirit is aiming for trained and developed mediums to not only to give messages, but for transfiguration and materializations to also take place to confirm the communicator as real, whether remembered by the recipient or not - in broad daylight or in the light of a church or hall. I have transfigured at times when giving demonstrations and sometimes, mediums have confirmed that ‘mother’, for example, had come through but full materializations have not yet happened under those circumstances. To me, and I feel spirit too, what is most important is that not just mediums and ‘believers’ see and acknowledge the materializations and transfigurations, but people in the wider community who have never witnessed such an event. That, to my mind, and supported by spirit, is the way forward.

The role played by white light ‘technology’

Brilliant white light is the true expression and highest form of spirit, the primary energising and cleansing force, and its transformational power supercedes violet. In spirit, those who are highly evolved, unless they dim themselves, cannot be looked at because they are brighter than the sun. A specific form of white light comprised of blended chakra colours from both individual and group energies, plays a significant role when working with the new energies. Whereby a prism breaks white light into its basic colors, spirit guides use a reversed prism to transform the chakra colors into white light. This forms the basis of the ‘technology’ which is key to bringing higher abilities forward to harness the new energies.

In a development circle, each individual’s energy/light is used during the blending process and the seven chakras are linked horizontally through each sitter, forming bands of color which connect each sitter. A concentrated column of vertical energy also connects each individual within the circle and is focused on by spirit helpers and guides above the circle.

Spiritual development on all levels takes time and involves purifying and healing ourselves not just involve our physical, emotional and mental ‘bodies’ but also our astral (desire) body and etheric (life) body. Spiritual work inevitably results in the surfacing blockages caused by old traumas and wounds that need to be cleared. Clearing chakras assists in the healing process but a commitment to one’s healing path, preferably with the assistance and support of a qualified and experienced holistic practitioner, is recommended rather than trying to heal alone.

With practice, chakras can be opened simultaneously and instantly, and when the crown chakra is fully open, brilliant white light is drawn down through it and flows through the chakras which are connected to different areas of the physical body. A ‘plug’ or cap is set in place to stop any excess overflow from the crown and this energy can be used for self-healing and manifestation as it soothes, cleanses and energizes all of our ‘bodies’. It also begins to cleanse and remove blockages from this life and past lives it is a very powerful energizing and one that is undertaken every time we sit.

Consistantly cleaning, energizing, purifying and strengthening ourselves with the new energies ‘fills us with light’ and is a necessary practice for both aspiring mediums and practicing mediums alike, as we all need to be as best an instrument as we can be.

Tips for Mediumship Mentors

For me, the only way to help people develop their mediumship skills is through channeled teachings. Those who want to learn about spiritual history should do so of their own vocation. I feel that those who read from, or follow a curriculum too closely, restrict the real meaning of development.

We also need to be aware of and keep tabs on the spirit guides of each student and also connect with these communicators. There can be up to six or seven guides with each student and it’s important to connect with them before a message is given in order to assist with interpretation where necessary.

We all have an individual “personal code” in our heads in relation to certain things. For example, a red door would have a particular personal meaning or connection for us. A student getting this image needs to be able to make the right sense of it. Essentially, a teacher’s job is to:

~ make sure students understand what they get and their own personal, connective meaning

~ capture the feeling directly given from spirit at that particular time and be aware that it can have different meanings at other times

~ help them ‘join the dots’

This direct connection method cannot be taught from a book. It is something that is instinctive and channeled. Writing about just one example of this and explaining every possible outcome and connective meaning, cannot be covered in book. Teachers should be able to instinctively channel to each individual within the circle accurately, every time, for every occasion. That to me, is real teaching.

When new students join a circle, it is essential to scan them for any possible attachments and screen them for mental health issues or overburdening problems that could interfere with development. It is a very sad thing to say, but some institutions do not do this and that to me, is very dangerous.

It is also important to connect with newcomers and give them a short history of how they are spiritual. This is not to impress. The reason for this is to give them confidence in you as a teacher. There is one thing to be said about understanding that a person can teach you, but it is quite another to say “I have a certificate”.

Another difference in my teaching is this - the meditations are not restrictive. There is a very good reason for this. It differs on the night for each individual, and their guides, or more likely a companion, may take them on their own individual experience. Sometimes they are completely taken out of it and to me that is fine because I am not wise enough to know what they need; it can be they need healing etc.

After the meditation, depending on how many are in the group, give each individual a detailed review of what they have seen, felt, touched, smelt and experienced within that meditation time. For me, this is a very important function, as it allows me to see how they are progressing, what needs to be tweaked (along with the message giving later) and sets up a particular way of working and fine-tuning for the session.

Finally, the closing down procedure is a reverse of the opening but here again, I do teach everyone, especially those who may attend for only one night, a quick way of closing, and the reason why it has to be taught. There are times when we walk into a place and it might be the place itself, the people or spirits who are around, and feel uncomfortable. If, for whatever reason you don’t feel comfortable, closing down immediately is the best thing to do.

So many people, especially the untrained, reach out to understand what it is they ‘don’t like’ and go against their inner warnings. What we should teach is a way to close and reinforce protection. One method is to see the seven chakras as seven doors or padlocks, and slam them shut of them by a clap of the hands and ask our guides to be there.

In reality, of course, opening and closing are instigated in the mind, and we do not have to clap our hands. It can be done quite inconspicuously by just rubbing our hands or gently slap our thigh to initiate a fast closing down for protection, if needed.

I hope this short introduction to working with the new energies is helpful and interesting.

Light to all, always, Leo.

Note: This article was originally published in the Afterlife Magazine by The Otherside Press which has since joined the PDN group.

Wednesday, 24 June 2026

Who is to Blame For Suicide and Are They Punished?

My friend committed suicide many years ago and I was amazed to hear what many people thought about the subject, and how much fear and suffering this belief caused amongst families. My job as a medium is more than providing evidence of the life hereafter. Like many other mediums, I am privy to information that non-mediumistic people can’t normally perceive; information which reflects the reality of our lives here on earth and the interaction of spiritual forces within our lives.

I have also seen the other side and walked in the garden of the spirit and while it may be easier for me to deal with the process known as death, losing a loved one never becomes easier, no matter how much you know and understand.

I am often asked if I believe in the afterlife, to which I retort, “Of course I don’t believe in the afterlife, that’s absurd.” I smile enigmatically when I see the glee in their faces when they think they may have got one over on me. Then I clarify what I actually mean by that: “I don’t believe in it because belief suggests that it may not be real. I know it’s real, therefore I know it’s true.” And that’s when I see the smile wiped from their faces. The reality that I know allows me to interact on a level that creates a communion with the other side.

Suicide Reality

Now to the act of suicide, why it happens and whether it can be influenced. The turmoil that one must experience before they finally take their own life is tremendous. To reach the point of no return where it feels as though there is nothing left to live for, even though loved ones may be nearby, and being unable to express their sadness and hopelessness, or see the wood for the trees, ending one’s life feels like the only way out.

Personally, I feel there are many reasons for suicide, but two reasons are probably more fundamental than others. One problem is the financial status or indeed the financial pit they may have fallen into, and the other is the lack of love in their lives or the lack of forgiveness. This is a type of grief where an individual feels so alone and unloved that they may not realize that loved ones are near to them. It is a sad fact that men in particular often find themselves in a such a stressful financial pit that the inability to provide for themselves or their families drives them to attempt suicide which appears to be ‘an easy way out’.

Loneliness is yet another facet of a loveless life. No one can really understand why or what it takes to push a human being over the edge. Many who attempt suicide, or think they are doing it – are merely crying out for help. Obviously there are times when this cry for help can go wrong and the individual passes by accidental means. No matter what, we will never really understand the state of mind of someone who is suffering so badly that they wish to end their life, thinking it an easier way out.

Potential Suicide Influences

Another disturbing and sad aspect of taking one’s own life, is that it’s cause can actually be at the feet of a negative influence. I would like to break down this aspect into to hypothesis of thought. One school of thought is:

Peer and Group Influence

In this case, an individual can be influenced by a group or cult pressure such as the mass murder-suicide in Jonestown, South America:

“On this day in 1978, Peoples Temple founder Jim Jones leads hundreds of his followers in a mass murder-suicide at their agricultural commune in a remote part of the South American nation of Guyana. Many of Jones’ followers willingly ingested a poison-laced punch while others were forced to do so at gunpoint. The final death toll at Jonestown that day was 909; a third of those who perished were children.” (history.com)

Order Of The Solar Temple

The Order of the Solar Temple was an attempted revival of the Knights Templar and is best known for the murder-suicide of 74 of its members in 1994–97. Established in 1984 in Geneva, and still inexistence today, the temple’s religious teachings incorporated a belief that the Earth would face a worldwide catastrophe in the mid-1990s and in anticipation of this apocalyptic event, members were led to believe that it was necessary to enter a higher spiritual plane. (Brittanica) These tragic events, of course, was clearly planned with the promise of a better life on the other side, as suggested by the farewell letters that were left behind.

The other school of thought is:

Malevolent Influence from Discarnate Beings

Information about malevolent influences has been gleaned from the other side of life with testimonies from esteemed pioneers such as Edgar Cayce, Carl Wickland, Red Cloud, Silver Birch and many more. There are also examples of evil influence in the Bible, Talmud, Quran and many other religious texts.

Evil influences, whether it be from a discarnate being or a malevolent intelligence, have the same parallel of the wanted outcome, that of the destruction of the human form and controlling the will of the individual under that influence. It can, therefore, be argued that many suicides could actually be at the hands of another being or intelligence and not the real will of the subjugated individual.

I know from two of my own cases in the past, that spirit influence was at the root of the desire to commit suicide. Both cases exhibited similar modus operandi from the discarnate intelligence, who I am glad to say, were rebuked and failed in their attempts.

Man-made doctrines Vs divinity

I am not going to discuss all aspects of the spirit world here, and for those of you that want to know more, it’s all in my book, “Deadly Departed – The Do’s, Donts and Dangers of Afterlife Communication.” But I do want to make a point so that you may feel a little comfort.

I mentioned before that many individuals who have sat with me privately or in groups have had a deep-rooted fear that the individual they love may not be in the place they call heaven or wherever else you believe exists. The turmoil and anguish they put themselves through are tremendous and I can’t help feeling that false doctrine is at the bottom of it all. After all – doctrine is of man and not divine in any way.

I have news for you; those who commit suicide are taken into the loving arms of spirit people in the spirit world who love and care for them until they reach their own awakening. Of course, those that are left behind often do not understand this and fear their loved one has gone to hell or a holding place, which can often cause great distress. You can be assured this does not happen, and if you can envision your loved one in the arms of a beautiful angel or your own loved ones who have passed over, you can rest peacefully, knowing that your loved ones are safe and well.

Ok, so now you are going to ask how I know this and I don’t blame you. There is a plethora of information that has come from beyond the grave time and time again – not only in readings but in trance séances where the evidence has been irrefutable. Scientists who investigate the afterlife have so much intelligence at their fingertips that skepticism in pseudo form is no longer valid. But where the divide exists is between the ignorance of science that has no idea about the mechanics of the afterlife and tries to fit a square peg in a round hole.

Probably the most satisfying evidence is the evidence that one witnesses in a private sitting when the loved one comes back and tells how it is from the horse’s mouth – along with the evidence required for the sitter. Often our loved ones will return to try to allay the fears of those they left behind by little telltale signs they are still around. Much of the time, these signs are missed or ignored because of the deep grief that one may be experiencing or indeed because of other perceptions based on doctrines or other man-made theories.

Loved ones will often visit in your dream state just to let you now that all is well but sadly, the individual receiving the message will often put this down to their grief and need to feel they are alive. Other small signs such as hearing them calling you or manipulating energy in your environment are also often missed or dismissed. If you could only know – not believe – what I know, you would take comfort in knowing that your loved ones are not in a terrible place if they took themselves over. They are in loving arms and will let you know they are well.

In closing, what you must know is that suicide is not the easy way out, as one still has to work through things in the spirit world. This will be featured in a further article.

Tuesday, 23 June 2026

Afterlife Recording: Are the Dead More Alive Than the Living?

This is a slightly humorous, Direct Voice afterlife recording of George Frederick Olsen who, as the title points out, felt more alive than he did during his life on earth. Recorded during a Leslie Flint séance in 1967, whilst it’s a good recording, it perhaps shouldn’t be shared publicly, as we do not wish to encourage suicide. The reason being, that in his joy and unbounded enthusiasm in what he finds on the other side, and in talking amongst friends, Mr Olsen shows how wonderful it is to be ‘dead’, and many of us know they are much more alive in that sphere than we are here. Better to take heed of the core message that knowledge of the afterlife is a saving grace when our time comes to transition from this earthly life.

With regard to suicide, as with everything else in spirit, it is a matter of degree. In a general sense, taking one’s own life is not considered a good thing but there are often many different mitigating circumstances surrounding this decision, and they are all taken into account on an individual basis when a person crosses over to the Spirit World. Some examples:

~ Those with severe mental illness and who are unable to comprehend reality, or terminal and extreme physical illness are treated very differently from those who either haphazardly cause their own demise or do it to escape consequences.

~ Those who give their lives for another under widely differing circumstances such as war, rescuing someone etc., are treated in yet a different way.

~ Those who take their own life for other reasons, know immediately upon crossing over that they have done wrong. They will have to make amends for their wrong doings, as will we all. None of us are perfect, otherwise we would not be here.

~ Those who perpetrate vile acts upon others including mass killings, will find themselves in a far different environment than they may have envisaged through their religious indoctrination.

Afterlife Recording with George Frederick Olsen

This Leslie Flint séance communication recording is one of thousands that were recorded by researchers Betty Greene and George Woods who worked together for over 20 years. Mr Olsen was an old friend of George Woods and they used to attend direct voice mediumship séances hosted by renowned British medium Leslie Flint (1911-1994) in the 1950s. Olsen’s passing was very sudden and after his first, rather short, direct voice communication, he returned on November 15, 1967 and provided far more detailed and insightful communication. On both occasions, the voice was identical.

During the recording he confirms many thought provoking things; in particular, something that spirit has always stated: that knowledge of spirit, however little, is of great help to those who pass. Even a small spark can help immensely because our loved ones and others can use that spark to help us, should we become confused or stuck momentarily. He also speaks of how religion can interfere with perception and progress, and how it can hold things up in spirit and how a strong sense national identity remains for a while but soon passes.

This particular recording ends abruptly, so I do apologize.

As always, light to all, Leo.

Transcript Excerpts

Betty Greene: Hello. Who’s that?

George Olsen: Good Lord, Olsen here!

George Woods: Oh, Mr. Olsen.

Betty Greene: Hello, Mr. Olsen.

Mr Olsen: How are you both?

George Woods: Oh, very well.

Betty Greene: Fine, thank you.

George Woods: And how are you getting on?

George Olsen: Very well, no regrets. I’m very happy, I wouldn’t come back if you offered me all the gold in China. I’m perfectly well, and perfectly happy, and I can’t tell you how marvellous it is to be dead!

George Woods: Well, I never!

George Olsen: I’ve never known – well, you know I was very interested in all this and I used to go to meetings –

Betty Greene: I’ve sat with you in this room…

George Olsen: I know, that’s a few years ago! My goodness me, people should think themselves lucky the day they kick the bucket!

George Woods: What are you doing Mr Olsen, on that side?

George Olsen: Oh I’m not doing anything in particular… Just, I s’pose everything is a matter of adjustment… and time but, I’m perfectly well and perfectly happy in my own way of life over here… Met all my people, lots of me old friends and companions y’know… I find it everything here so stimulating, so int’resting. You feel fit and well, and be able to get about, take an int’rest in things and people, and so many int’rests, George. Oh, you wait till you come here… I don’t know what you are waiting for… I don’t know what your staying there for…

George Woods: Well I have to do a lot of work…

George Olsen: Well, you’ll do a few years probably!

Betty Greene: Mr Olsen, what were your first feelings when you found yourself there?

George Olsen: Well, fortunately I knew quite a bit about it before I came. That was a great blessing and a great help, believe me it was… I was a bit, erm…. I s’pose like everyone must be... at first a bit… er shaken… in a way I s’pose, we have our own ideas… things what we been told… one way and another… I think the reality of it all, the naturalness of it all… was the thing that surprised me... I s’pose it shouldn’t have done but… it did.

Betty Greene: What sort of condition did you find yourself in? What sort of place?

George Olsen: Well, as far as I’m concerned, the place in which I found myself was, the nearest one can say, is like some country place. It could be anywhere in a sense. I mean, there were trees and the birds, and just as if one was waking up in a country village, although I realized in a sense, that very soon afterwards, thousands and thousands of people. Many, many I s’pose what you’d call apartment houses... vast buildings housing thousands of people – all sounds rather like a large council estate, but nothing like that really. They’re very beautiful, an extremely beautiful setting, a sort of wooden setting, beautiful scenery everywhere, even lakes, I mean... It was just as if you were waiting, as it were, in a kind of country setting, in the late summer… mmmm everything was… very quiet and peaceful and yet… once I realized there was a great deal of activity going on… there was no noise of any description. And the animals… you see many, many animals… particularly in regards to domestic animals… cats and pets that people have had on earth, y’know, they still have over here… They live in communities…

Arrival in the Spirit World

Things seem to come, as far as I can make out, to people… ermm through time… they don’t necessarily have them all at once… they are probably in sections… it was pretty obvious when a lot of people, when they first come, they need help and care and attention. They need to be sort of helped through, I s’pose, for many people a difficult situation or difficult period… they don’t all take to it I s’pose, in the beginning, the realization that they’re dead and that they’re separated from the certain people they’re close to and fond of on earth… and when they realize that although they can return, they seldom do.

They have an opportunity to chat or to comfort them - the people they know and love on earth. They soon begin to realize that they’re not acknowledged, they’re er, not welcomed and a’course that’s a great distress to people, I s’pose one of the greatest distress to people; that’s why they do have these reception stations… where there are very high souls in attendance who know how to deal with these... more difficult cases… and erm, in consequence, they’re soon ushered into the new way of thinking that for some people, it’s very difficult at first.

Why spiritual knowledge helps

That’s why if you have this knowledge… that it’s a tremendous help… so that you realize very quickly er, the whole situation... and you have the advantage that you can make contact. And those people near and dear to you, if they are sufficiently interested and invariably they are because through one’s knowledge of it oneself when on earth, one’s near ones are usually aware. You can usually get back with a communication, “I’m alright don’t worry about me and everything in the garden’s lovely” sort of thing. That cheers them up, cheers us up, and of course we settle down. Probably more quickly than the average person. I think the most difficult cases are these who have strong convictions, religious convictions... they find it much more difficult… sometimes they’re ‘quite problems’...

Children

Children are one of the greatest joys. I’ve seen so many children who live with their people over here. Of course, many of them – their parents are still on earth, but they’re taken in charge by people usually if possible related to them, like perhaps a grandmother and so on, but if there is no close tie or relationship, there are always souls here who’ll take charge. And we have schools for them, and then they learn all sorts of things... more important than they learned at school on earth. Here it’s a vastly different life altogether and yet one takes to it like a duck to water… at least I did… course some don’t… I s’pose at first, as I say, some find it very difficult.

Nationalities

Do you know that there are vast cities here... tremendous cities... and initially you do get communities of peoples who possibly because of nationality when on earth, and possibly because of their colour even, have this habit of clinging together, or being together. This is usually, of course, a temporary thing with most of them but… this is soon lost and there is no bad feeling or anything like that. You do get these groups who cling together and live as a community, who are possibly, when at least when on earth, were one nation, you know but er, they soon disappear. Oh, we have vast, vast cities and all manner of interest served, great halls of learning, and of music…

Materialism, filth and pollution are absent in the Spirit World

One can study any particular thing that appeals to one, err mostly of an artistic endeavour, because seems to me, I can realize that much more now, that art and the things of the mind and of the spirit are the things that are the most lasting, obviously. I mean, certain material abilities... have been very necessary and wonderful for the individual when on earth but here they’re not of much value. Those things are not necessary, they don’t exist. You see, this is a real world, but it’s not a material world. Therefore we don’t have the material aspects like you do on earth.

You don’t get vast factories, for instance. You don’t get railways and stations, and thank God, you don’t get all the noise, the filth and the dirt. Here it’s a world of absolute beauty, and there’s the joy of progress in everything, the feeling of elation that comes with the realization that all the time, you’re stepping forward. It’s so subtle, I suppose, that you’re not fully aware of it but there is this realization that nothing can ever be, well, too much of an effort. Everything will come gradually. There is progress of every sense, every kind, it’s a must. I mean, you can’t avoid it... it depends on you.

Always something news

You receive help and encouragement but it stills falls back on the individual and of course erm, there’s this realization that when it’s something which builds up, it is not something that just… you achieve something and that’s it. It’s the top and bottom of it. There always something new, something fresh, something more int’resting, some new experience, some new place to go to, some new people to visit, fresh arrivals coming who get over from the earth. People who we have known and loved, helping them to settle, getting them interested in all sorts of things over here, all things, err...

A real existence on a vibration far removed from earth

It’s very difficult… I realize of course now, more than I ever did… I don’t know what it is, to impart knowledge that is knowledge appertaining to this sort of life; life which is so far removed in some senses from earth and yet at the same time... it is vitally important that they realize what a reality of life it is… It’s not a wishy-washy affair over here. It’s not some sort of vague something. It’s a real, real existence, and we are in our own way as physical as you are. And yet it’s not a physical body as you have it. To all outward appearance it may look the same, but it isn’t, the construction is different. I mean we are living on a vibration that is so far removed from earth, and everything is rarefied in consequence and everything that we do has a meaning and purpose. At first, of course, one doesn’t really appreciate and one doesn’t really understand it, and no one can only understand and appreciate what would seem the purpose of so many things… I mean, when I look back on your side, I think, my God how did I ever get through it?

Your world to me, seems – well, it is as if there’s a dark, dreary foggy atmosphere. Of course the thought forces emanating from your world en masse are so terrible. There’s all this upset, hatred, bitterness and malice and goodness what else. And coupled with all the other issues and complications of life, it amazes me now looking back, of course, one doesn’t, course one doesn’t know any better when on earth. It seems almost such a remote thing, the old life… I wouldn’t want to come back to it.

George Woods: Could you tell us something...

George Olsen: (Interrupting) I don't know George, why you didn't come when you had the opportunity.

Leslie Flint/George Woods/Betty Greene: (Laughing).

George Olsen: You were as near as coming over as... I don't know what, you know.

Betty Greene: He was, wasn't he Mr. Olsen.

George Olsen: What you wanted to hang on for, I'll never know.

George Woods: I've got more work to do here... Can you tell me about the colours? The colours on your side, what you see?

George Olsen: Colours? Huh! Colours - we've got every colour that you can imagine and millions more I should think. There's so many varieties of colour. Colour of course plays a very important part in our lives. But, you know, thought is a predominating factor. We can think and by our thoughts we can create. I don't want you to think that everything is just done by thought from the point of view that you just think of something and there it is. That does happen of course. But there are creative people. I mean people who create and design; design interiors of houses for those who come along who enjoy using their hands to construct.

Communicating through mediums

It's only for a fleeting second or two of Earth time that we can hold on to that thought sufficiently for it to be... picked up by a sensitive or a medium. But, you see, it is important, I think, to differentiate between clairvoyance - that is, what is received from a person, say, on Earth clairvoyantly from a person over here... and received and picked up by the medium on your side... In a sense, I think it's true to say that although we obviously do communicate... really, what you are receiving is a sort of mental clairvoyant picturization which is directed to Earth, to individuals, from the individuals on this side who are anxious to communicate.

Vocal and mental afterlife communication

This is a transmission of my thought via this artificial vocal voice box, call it what you will, which transmits it into sound. It is artificially created because after all, we can speak over here – we can communicate if we wish by the vocal effort. We learn very quickly that the best form of communication is a mental process... The more one sort of develops mentally and spiritually here, the more conscious and aware you become of other places, vistas and people. It’s just a matter of tapping the source and becoming, as it were, tuned into it. That seems to me the whole solution of everything.

There is nothing new... nothing that isn’t already there

In a sense, I think it is true to say that all the worlds are one - but the only thing that separates it all is the lack of experience, the lack of development within the individual. I think it depends and falls back on the person every time. Everything is there - same as, in a sense, it is in your world. Science discovers certain things over a period of time but it was always there, waiting to be discovered...

There's nothing new, in a sense. Everything that's going to happen has already happened and everything that one desires eventually comes into place, comes into being. It doesn't happen so much probably in your world but, my goodness me, it does here. It's all waiting. It's all there, ready. It's just a matter of tapping the source and becoming, as it were, tuned into it.

The fact is that everything is there. It's just that we ourselves are not yet ready to receive or we haven't developed or evolved sufficiently to make it possible to sort of become part of it or become conscious of it. But it's there. There's nothing that isn't already there - there's no doubt about that.

Betty Greene: Mr. Olsen, how do you spend your time now?

Mr Olsen: Oh my goodness me, time! You see that's a thing that doesn't exist for us. You see that's another thing that must become very puzzling to people. They say, 'Oh well, what do they do with their time?' Time, time, time! Well, we’re not conscious of time. Time does not mean anything to us. By coming back to you, we’re conscious of time to some extent. People say, ‘Oh well, I’m sure so-and-so will come and speak because it’s his birthday.’ Well, we couldn’t care less in a sense about birthdays. In fact we probably wouldn’t even remember it was our birthday if it were not for the fact that we pick up the idea or the thought from the consciousness of the individual near and dear to us on earth.

Conclusion of afterlife recording

Further Information

The Leslie Flint Trust website includes recordings with many historical figures including Arthur Conan Doyle, Mohandas Ghandi, Oscar Wilde, Charles Dickens, Winston Churchill, Rudolph Valentino, the Cook Sisters, Victoria and John Brown.

Book: Leslie Flint: Voices in the Dark - As told to Doreen Montgomery (2020 edition) https://www.leslieflint.com/voices-in-the-dark

‘Leslie Flint became a famous British spirit medium, not because he stood on a platform and gave messages from the deceased, but because countless thousands of spirit communicators spoke for themselves at his séances.

The spirit voices were independent of Flint, he even spoke with them himself - and many of the voices were recorded.By the time Voices in the Dark was first published in 1971 Leslie Flint had been a medium for over 40 years - and he continued with his séances for a further 20 years.’

Betty Greene explains Direct Voice (12 mins)

Note: This updated article was originally published in the Afterlife Magazine by The Otherside Press which has since joined the PDN group.

Monday, 22 June 2026

You Are A Miracle Worker

You have the ability to create profound change in your life through a combination of spiritual tools such as daily prayer, healing affirmations, meditation, contemplation and metaphysical study. However, it’s important to know that transformation of consciousness for such radical shifts can take time. In this sense, you can limit and block yourself if you lack patience and tolerance in your desire and ability to shift those nuances, non-beneficial behaviors, and addictive patterns before breaking through the darkness and moving into the Light.

Through regular dedication to a daily spiritual practice and your own devotion and surrender to a Higher-Power, whether this divine source for you be known as God, the Light, the Creator, or even the Universe, will help you to build a great spiritual momentum towards real beneficial change.

When you take charge of your energy by becoming more self-aware and by paying attention to the subtle energetic shifts you experience through utilizing daily prayer power, and from the likes of regular meditation and visualization, these subtle energetic shifts begin to create profound miracles for you. A miracle is simply a shift in consciousness and a transformation of one type of energy into another. For example, transforming the non-beneficial energy of the feeling of fear into the beneficial energy of feeling safe and secure.

This energetic shift becomes a mini-miracle for you because when you shift your perspective from one of fear to feeling safe, then you also immediately help to rebalance your physiology and calm your nervous system. You are a miracle maker in the broadest spiritual sense as you are naturally imbued with creative power. It is your birthright and divine origin.

You also have the free will to transform what no longer serves you into something more appropriate. When you co-create with the Light through the act of spiritual surrender (prayer power), then you magnify your soul’s Light with a Source of Power that is greater than your own. You plug into the Creator and you Light-Up your health, life and the world around you.

Becoming a Mighty Miracle Maker

A miracle of the divine kind is the transformation of one kind of energy into another, such as when Jesus turned water into wine. You are capable of creating many miracles right now in the present moment, and whilst you may not be able to transform water into wine just yet, this phenomenal divine example is to show you that you really are unlimited in your potential for becoming a mighty miracle maker. You do so as you expand your spiritual consciousness and evolve your soul’s Light through spiritual growth to help you magnify your greater creative expression.

When you begin to perceive things differently and are able to let go of the emotional pain in your heart and soul, resentments that you carry, judgment and criticism of self and others, then you will naturally as well as intentionally start to shift old patterns, stories and limitations. You will begin to transform your consciousness from one of separation and fear into one of connection, compassion and unconditional love.

From this standpoint, life will begin to flow for you. Your health will become more vibrant and you will feel more peace and joy. Some things may shift quickly for you, while others may take more time. It really isn’t about speed and the quantity of shifts that you can experience. It’s more about the journey of spiritual growth, understanding and spiritual unfoldment.

Supernatural Potential Sits Dormant Within Us

Your daily spiritual practice and devotion to the Light enable you to expand your heart energy so that you can lead a miraculous life. So that you can make the most of your life by overcoming earthly struggles and gaining the spiritual muscles you need to support you through the tough times and manifest your heart’s desires.

Spiritual freedom is the result of many miraculous shifts in consciousness leading us to unlimited spiritual growth. We all have remarkable supernatural potential that sits dormant within us, and spiritual growth takes us one step closer to unfolding this hidden potential.

Freedom comes from allowing the Light to lead us, and from aligning our soul’s Light within the Larger Light of the Whole. The truth being that the more spiritually awake we become, the more powerful the Light within us emerges. This power within is able to align with and withstand a stronger vibrational current from the Universal Light of Creator. We can then draw on this supernatural power current to create heaven on earth. To help aid others in their own miraculous shifts, to help direct Light to the suffering of the world, and to bless our beautiful planet.

Three Spiritual Steps to Conscious Miracle Making

When you find yourself needing the miracle of a shift in consciousness to help you transform your energy or the energy of a difficult situation that’s bothering you, use the following three spiritual steps to help you become a conscious miracle maker.

Step One: Become Aware & Measure

Become aware of any limiting thought, action, or behavior you have without self-condemnation. Simply notice when you are out of alignment with the energies of unconditional love, peace or joy. These are the three ‘high-vibe’ energy frequencies to measure any of your thoughts, actions, and behaviors by. Ask yourself, are any of them in harmony with the high-vibe energies of unconditional love, peace, and joy. If not, then you have the power to transform them and to halt the negative effects from manifesting.

Step Two: Select Something

Select one low-vibe issue at a time that you’ve become consciously aware of. Let’s say it’s a self-critical thought such as ‘you hate your body.’ You may even come to realize that you think about this particular negative thought most of the time, which just locks in the low-vibe energies about your body and constantly triggers you. When you measure this, you obviously realize that it doesn’t measure up with the energies of unconditional love, peace, and joy (step one). The purpose of this measurement reference is to help you know that the limiting thought isn’t real. It’s simply false and is coming from the unhealed parts of you. Truth, however, is always in alignment with the energies of unconditional love, peace, and joy, which are aspects of the real divine you.

Shifting your perspective to the high-vibe truth energies can bring healing. Simply stated, if any of your thoughts, actions, and behaviors aren’t in harmony with the energies of unconditional love, peace, and joy, then you will know that they are false and not spiritually true for you. It is in this understanding of truth and of contemplating the real you, that you create miracle minded shifts in consciousness.

Step Three: Choose Anew

Choose a new thought, action or behavior that is in alignment with the energies of unconditional love, peace, and joy. In this example, the thought of ‘I hate my body,’ now can be transformed due to your understanding of truth (step two) into a more supportive thought, such as, ‘I love and accept myself.’ Whilst this may initially be weird for you to say after never thinking it previously, it is due to your current understanding of what is false and what is real – that the energy shift you’ve experienced will now help you to transform this new thought into being.

This is the time that you don’t give up on this practice, as the old low-vibe thought can present itself until the power of transformation has completely shifted. Remember that you need to get that momentum flowing towards to the high-vibe thoughts of truth, so you keep on using this three-step process to help you create long-lasting change. Continue to exchange any old negative thoughts with new ones you choose that are in harmony with truth.

Spiritual growth is easier than you think if you are willing to take the necessary steps to help yourself with some loving patience and compassion. You will expand your soul’s Light and your creative power in doing so and this is so worth the effort. You will bless your life and the lives of others in many ways by simply doing so!

Joanne Brocas is a world-renowned healer, intuitive and the number one bestselling author. Joanne’s spiritual purpose is to help people align with the Light and to expand their unlimited creative potential so that they may heal in all their ways. Visit Joanne’s website: www.joannebrocas.com

Note: This article was originally published in the Afterlife Magazine by The Otherside Press which has since joined the PDN group.

We All Have a Latent Ability for Afterlife Communication

With regard to afterlife communication, over my many years in being of service to those who are grieving, and to spirit, there is one thing that I feel many mediums miss: “When does the medium’s journey end and the sitter’s begin? Many mediums will continually read for a sitter, believing they are always helping and while an aspect of this is true, much of it is self-serving.

Communication between grieving individuals and their loved ones in the Spirit World is a divine right and it must be recognized that the gift of communication with Spirit World is not only bestowed upon individuals who are destined to serve in that capacity. There is a latent ability in everyone to connect with their loved ones in spirit and this is why I believe that the next step in the grieving process is to learn the language of the soul - the subtle nuance of spirit language, tone and vibration that will allow you to receive that wonderful communication from your loved ones on the other side.

Whilst some of us can play a symphony it does not mean that you can’t learn the tune.

Our divine right to afterlife communication

A medium plays a role as an intermediary between those that have journeyed to the spirit world and those individuals left behind and lost in grief upon the earth plane. However, mediums also have the outstanding job of being the catalyst – not to the healing, but to the next stage in the grief journey. It is my opinion that a sitter would give anything to be able to move forward in their grief and learn how to communicate with loved ones on their own. What may seem impossible to many is entirely possible and is, in fact, your divine right. Though many proponents of mediumship would have you believe that it is such an extraordinary ability, the truth is that you have it, too. And yes, some of us have a unique mediumship ability but are no more special than you are as a divine being with divine power at your fingertips. This is the power that you need to become aware of and understand. Now.

The first step that you must take is to become aware of your afterlife communcation ability, which does not necessarily mean joining meditation groups, courses, and circles. All of this has a place, and is dependent on what your destiny is and the lessons you have to learn or teach. These days, there are many researchers and people advancing afterlife communication studies in leaps and bounds, including my good friend Dr Craig Hogan with his ADC (After Death Communication) and Dr Gary Schwartz’s Soul Phone work. This alone tells us that there is a need for people to awaken to the reality that afterlife communication is more than possible. Naturally, not everyone will be able to take part in these programs, but there are various steps you can take, the most important being to learn to be aware of being aware.

Learning to be aware of being aware

Now, that may sound rather far fetched and I hear you saying, “Jock, how can I become aware if I am aware or learning to be aware?” The answer is in between. It is the space between the words, between the letters, between the thoughts. It has always been there and always will be. If you hold your finger in front of your eye and move it, you complete a circle of events, such as motor neurons firing and the material aspect of the brain responding to that given stimuli. Contemplate this - what about the time and space between the intention and that action, the energy that evolves the thought process?

Afterlife communication is simple, all be it that we often drive ourselves away by allowing our ego to take control. The ego, rather like a crying child, needs to be loved and pampered. It is a part of you and a necessary aspect of Yin and Yang. But learning about the reality of you and recognizing that you have divine power, is the first stage of learning awareness.

The rest is as natural as breathing, and understanding that harnessing and cultivating our inner power is very much a part of the breath aspect. When you see something beautiful or listen to a song that makes your heart sing, breathe it in and capture all the wonder of that moment in your soul. Feel every rhythmic movement of your breath and its connection with nature. From opening your eyes in the morning and other simple things that you may take for granted.

The more you concsiously breathe it all in, the more aware and centred you will become. This is an integral part of learning the language of the soul; it calms you at a deep level within and without, and over time, you will feel ready to start connecting loved ones. Spirit responds through nature and not in words; it is in feeling and breathing; the energy of awareness is your language. Take up the art of soul language today, as it will soon have you on your way to a beautiful discourse. Enjoy exercising your divine right to communicate with the Spirit World and harnessing your inner power. Let us know about your experiences in the comments.

Links

Awareness is our forgotton power of divinity within.

The key to finding blessings in times of darkness lies in cultivating true awareness and harnessing our forgotton power of divinity within.

paranormaldailynews.com

Altered States of Conscious Awareness

Using our innate ability to enter altered states of conscious awareness leads us closer to knowing who we really are and co-creating life on our terms.

paranormaldailynews.com

Sunday, 21 June 2026

‘Watch out or Annis'll get you!’ - Who Was Witchy Black Annis?

Black Annis ‘Kali’ - in Leicestershire?

Notwithstanding the large post WWII influx of immigration from the Indian subcontinent, Leicester is not the place that would boast a centuries-old legend of witch ‘Black Annis’, described as possessing the blue features mirroring the Hindu Goddess Kali.

Black Annis (also called Black Anna or Cat Anna) was said to live in a cave in the now urbanized Dane Hills Housing Estate on the outskirts of Leicester. The first official mention of Black Annis was in 1764, in legal documents referring to an area of land ‘known by the name of Black Anny’s Bower Close’, where she has used her iron claws to dig a cave out of the side of a sandstone cliff.

By the mouth of the cave grew a pollarded oak in which the witch hid to pounce on local kids. After capture, she sucked them dry of blood and ate their flesh, before draping their flayed skins out to dry on the oak's branches. The old oak tree is also recorded as having stood over the entrance, as was noted by local historian, William Kelly, quoted in The Leicester Mercury back in 1999:

“On my last visit to the Bower Close, now several years ago, the trunk of the old tree was then standing, but I know not if it still remains," he said. “At that time, and long previously, the mouth of the cave was closed, but in my school-boy days it was open, and, with two or three companions, I recollect on one occasion snatching a fearful joy, by crawling on our hands and knees into the interior, which was some seven or eight feet long by about four or five feet wide, and having a ledge of rock, for a seat, running along each side.”

“Watch out or Annis'll get you”

Black Annis wore skirts sewn from these skins and also preyed on animals to such an extent, local shepherds blamed any lost sheep on the hag. Generations of Leicester's boys and girls, if either naughty or out after dark, were told, “watch out or Annis'll get you”.

Tales will tell you that when when Black Annis ground her sharp fangs, local people could hear her, giving them just enough time to bolt their doors and to keep away from the window. Cottages in Leicestershire were purposely built with tiny windows so that the witch could only get one withered blue arm inside. According to folklore, when Black Annis screeched, she could be heard from up to 5 miles away. On hearing her howl, villagers would fasten animal skins across the windows and place protective herbs above the sills.

Today, the cave is thought to be in a back garden of a home in Dane Hills, filled in with earth and turfed over - although the deeds to the house reportedly mention the land is named “Black Anna’s Bower Close”.

An ancient account of Annis was supposedly told by a WWII evacuee to folklorist Ruth Tongue in 1941: Three children were sent out by their wicked step-mother to collect fire-wood. As night descended they feared to see Black Annis who only came out after dark for, it was said, 'daylight would turn her to stone'. They heard a snuffling and, through a hole in their witch-stone, saw Black Annis. Unable to escape her whilst carrying the faggots, they dropped them and ran. Annis bloodied her legs on the bundles and, mumbling and cursing to herself, went to her bower to rub her legs with salve. Then she came back for the children and caught-up with them at their cottage door. Their dad came out with an axe and hit Annis full in the face. She began to run for her cave shouting 'Blood! Blood!' but just then the Christmas bells began to peal and she fell down dead.

Leicestershire poet, John Heyrick Jnr wrote of Black Annis in the 18th century:

“Vast talons, foul with human flesh, there grew In place of hands, and features livid blue Glar'd in her visage; while the obscene waist Warm skins of human victims close embraced.”

Black Annis apparently confronted King Richard III on his way to the nearby Battle of Bosworth in 1485 When the King’s spurs struck a stone pillar on Leicester’s Bow Bridge, the crone declared his uncrowned head would hit the post on the way back.

After Richard lost the battle to usurper Henry Tudor, the late king’s bare-assed body was thrown across the saddle of a horse and his head, hanging down as low as the stirrups, hit the very same stone.

A tablet was put on the re-rebuilt bridge in the nineteenth century saying “his head was dashed and broken as a wise-woman had foretold, who before Richard’s going to battle being asked of his success said that where his spur struck his head would be broken”. If it indeed existed, the tablet is no longer there.

Kerry L from London, UK, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Black Annis and the Blue Boar

Black Annis featured in a Victorian Melodrama called ‘Black Anna’s Bower, or The Maniac of the Dane Hills’ about the murder of the landlady of ‘The Blue Boar’ pub.

Leicester has had a Boar Inn since the Middle Ages; its latest incarnation is a micropub selling craft ales situated down a side street. The original White Boar was a much grander establishment and played host to Richard III as he made his way to Bosworth Field, possibly chosen because the castle was in a ramshackle state and, importantly, the White Boar was also Richard’s personal symbol, or sigil, as called in Game of Thrones.

The King would not sleep in strange beds and so brought his own, and had it set up in the White Boar. When Richard left Leicester, his bed remained, ready for his expected return. This, of course, never happened. After his death, the bed stayed at the re-named Blue Boar, passing from tenant to tenant until it was eventually acquired by Leicestershire Museums Service, where it is today on display at Donington Le Heath Manor House.

In 1604, the tavern’s owner, Mayor’s widow Mrs Clarke was strangled to death because of a hoard of gold coins found hidden in the bed, which had partially funded her late husband’s mayoral campaign. The criminals, Thomas Harrison and Edward Bradshaw, aided by Mrs Clark’s servant, Alice Grimbold, were quickly apprehended and Bradshaw was hanged for his crime in 1605, whilst Alice – found to be an accomplice in the robbery and murder of her mistress – was burnt at the stake for ‘petty treason’. After the murder, the bed became notorious and in 1611, ‘King Richard’s bed-sted I’ Leyster’ was on the list of English sights and exhibitions to be seen for a penny.

The thieves’ 1604 haul was worth between £300-£500. Today, it would have been valued at between $98,853.68- $164,756.14 or £76,000-£126,000.

Shortly after Agnes Clarke’s death, the new owners and the locals noticed a white, misty apparition that resembled a woman manifesting about the Inn, presumed to be the restless spirit of Agnes Clarke. Agnes’s ghost remained peacefully enough in the Blue Boar until in 1836, when Leicester’s authorities decided the old timber medieval building was out of place in the vibrant new Leicester and demolished it.

The Blue Boar, Leicester by Stephen McKay, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Another Blue Boar Inn was built a few streets away down Southgate Street, an ordinary, everyday tavern that became very popular with the locals. However, the ghost of Agnes Clarke appeared to be haunting the new Blue Boar Inn, becoming a fixture of the pub, that is until 1958 when landlord Fred Mason took over. Mason didn’t believe in ghosts and pooh-poohed the stories, chalking up various accidents he experienced to bad luck and clumsiness.

But when he woke one night to the sight of an eerie white figure moving towards the foot of his bed, Fred Mason instantly became a firm believer in the supernatural. Agnes was apparently happy that the new landlord had acknowledged her and never bothered him again.

By the 1960’s, a post-war desire to modernize Leicester saw much of Southgate Street designated for demolition/redevelopment. By 1965, the Blue Boar was abandoned and boarded up, but Agnes’s ghost remained there in the shell of the pub.

A patrolling policeman paused outside the inn but was suddenly attacked by a volley of stones from the empty building. Doesn’t really sound like Agnes though; more likely to be local yobs. Her spirit never relocated to the other Leicester pubs that have taken up the name of the Blue Boar Inn, but the misty figure of a woman continues to be seen in Leicester’s Southgate.

At the Dane Hills, Easter Monday was also known as Black Monday, an occasion when Leicester’s Mayor and the dignitaries set off for a ‘mock-hare hunt’ at noon. The hare was in fact a dead cat, soaked in aniseed (hence the cat annis?), and tied to the tail of a horse, which dragged it from Bower Bridge, through the town streets to the Mayor’s residence. Charming.

In later years, the hunt gave way to an annual event known as the Dane Hills Fair, which lasted until the 1920s.

Black Annis is still believed to haunt the area of the Church of St. Mary de Castro and Leicester Castle specifically Prince Rupert’s Gate, where she sleeps in the castle cellars, reached from a tunnel in her cave.

Richard Nevell, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Black Annis identities theories

Black Annis could be related related to pre-Christian winter goddesses, faces blue with cold, who heralded cold, dissolution and death. She may be a less appealing side to Mother Goddess Anu/Danu worshipped in the cave where she supposedly dwelt. Others posit her being an aspect of Brighid or Brigantia, who took the souls of human children into her care. The Dane Hills [possibly from Danu] being the nexus of her cult. Black Annis may then represent the crone goddess who brings on winter; the dark lady holds the souls of the dead in her cold embrace.

One fifteenth century woman might just be the origin of Black Annis. The Dominican nun Agnes Scott was a religious recluse described as a 'hermit of the forest'. Nearby Swithland village church boasts a brass plaque in her memory and a three foot veiled statue of her. Agnes is surmised to have lived in a cave near the Dane Hills, running a leper colony. The connection between her and Black Annis was made by Robert Graves (1895-1985), writer of I Claudius.