Mediumship and Beyond

There is no short answer to this question, but I will tell you about the event and what we did become aware of.  You can make up your own mind too.

We first had the guided tour led by Peter, who works for the Sheffield Markets.  Peter is very knowledgeable about the market and its origins.  Along with Peter we had a local historian, Dave.  Between them they were a font of knowledge and could answer most of our questions.

There were health and safety issues which had to be obeyed, so we were limited in where we wandered.  For instance, there are tunnels underneath the markets (and also under a lot of the buildings in central Sheffield) but the public are forbidden entry via the manholes because of these health and safety issues.

We had an agreement with Peter not to divulge any information which would get in the way of our experiments.  Once you have all of the information in your mind it tends to block off the inspiration from spirit.  Peter agreed not to tell us about any market events unless we ‘picked them up’ first.  Then he would fill in the details for us.

We first went to the ruins of the early castle wall.  This was remarkable and made me feel a great sense of history.  Whilst John, the healer, picked up a lot of shivers, his hair standing on end and other things, I picked up nothing, but I was over awed by the sense of history.  John is clairsentient and does pick up feelings etc, whereas I am more clairvoyant and tend to tune into spirit.

We next went on a tour of the market itself.  Two of the mediums, Kevin and Andrew, used dowsing rods and the rods did start to quiver and cross whenever we were in an area where Peter later told us that there had been a death.  Again, John picked up the ‘feelings’, which were on these same spots.  Sue and Gill also felt the energy in these areas, as did Keith.

We all seemed to pick up things in the same areas and it was good that Peter could fill in the details for us later.  It reassured us that we were not imagining it all.  Plus, as they were items of recent history it is possible to check on some of them.

Sue, picked up information clairvoyantly and made notes. Kevin and Andrew were working clairvoyantly as well as using the dowsing rods.  We would all state aloud what we were feeling and picking up as we went along and ask if others were aware of the same thing.  If the energy was strong we would all stop and try to tune in.

There were three areas in particular where we all picked up feelings and information which was linked.  It was at these three places that we decided to use the table tappings to try to get more information.  Three sat at the table whilst the rest looked on.

Although the table did rock and tap and spell out letters, bringing information for us, it was of recent history rather than Elizabethan history.  We noted the information and Peter agreed to look into it for us.  This was information previously unknown to Peter.

There was one spot in particular where we all picked up things.  I recall telling Peter that I was clairvoyantly picking up on someone who was panicking and gasping for air.  He later told us that a lady had had a heart attck at that same spot.  She panicked because she could not get air.  Sadly, she later died.

Most of us used recorders and cameras as well as note books.  Power of suggestion can be overwhelming, so we kept some things to ourselves until later.  It was quite interesting that often some of the notes were the same.

Whilst the evening was interesting and exciting, it was also very tiring ,but that did not stop us from having one last visit to the castle walls in darkness.  Again, it was awesome but we saw no ghosts.  John picked up the energies again.

I have search my camera images looking for anomalies or maybe some orbs, but I found nothing.  Although John picked up orbs on his camera but not on his camcorder.  Both John and myself left recorders in one area in the hope of picking up ghostly noises but to no avail.

My personal verdict is no ghosts but lots of spirit energy.  The energies seemed to come from the spirits of those who had died during the market’s history.  I will keep you informed of any feedback we get and as usual look forward to your comments and questions.

HAPPY EASTER TO ALL!  A big thankyou to the market management and to Peter and Dave. And a very big thankyou to Linda, a market cafe owner,  who kept us fed and watered throughout.

In 1184 the first mention of Castellum de Sedfield was noted in history documents and in 1266 the original wooden Sheffield Castle was destroyed. The wooden castle was replaced by the stone castle in 1270.

In 1570, the castle’s most famous ‘guest’ was Mary Queen of Scots.  Mary was imprisoned for 15 years, mainly in the Turret House in the grounds of Sheffield Manor Castle, but she also spent time in the Sheffield Castle, Chatsworth Hall  and  Hardwick Hall.

In 1927, ruins of Sheffield Castle were discovered during building excavations, which were being carried out prior to building on the site of the now Castle Market.

Most of what was found, was unfortunately lost when building of the ‘modern’ market took place.  A lot of the excavations undertaken by archaeologists unearthed remains, but they disappeared into archives somewhere in Sheffield, never to see the light of day again.

Sheffield Castle was one of the four largest in the country, in its time.  What a waste of our heritage!  All that can now be viewed is part of a very thick castle wall.  Still very much worth seeing. The market gives guided tours to anyone interested. 

On our visit, we were shown around by a gentleman named Peter, who was very protective of the history under his care.  He expressed his regret at the lost chances to save our heritage and turn it into a visitor centre.  He has lots of ideas about how to rescue and promote what remains of Sheffield Castle.  They get visitors from overseas as well as local folk.

Under ground are lots of tunnels which lead to other areas in the city.  Areas which were of importance in the castle’s heyday.  These tunnels are no longer usable due to health and safety issues, but  nevertheless, they are still there.  The tunnels apparently go under Castle House and other large buildings.

The Time Team would have a field day working on Sheffield Castle!  They could help save our heritage. Most cities would have utilised such heritage and attracted many visitors, who in turn would help finance a tourist industry.  It is not too late.

The present market is due to be demolished in about three years time.  The city could use this last chance to rescue and restore some of the best parts of the walls and tunnels, and whatever else is unearthed during modern day excavations.

Just being in the same space as the castle wall ruins was a treat.  Our group toured the market as well as the ruins and I will tell you more about our findings in my next post.  In the meantime, here are some links to information:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheffield_Castle

http://www.northeastengland.talktalk.net/SouthYorkshire.htm

http://www.northeastengland.talktalk.net/SouthYorkshire.htm

http://homepage.mac.com/philipdavis/English%20sites/3040.html

Good Hunting!

My title should remind you of my feelings on the difference between spirits coming close, and the images of a traumatic event trapped in time.  Those of you who read this blog regularly will know how I feel very strongly that these are indeed two different events.  The ghost replaying the same trauma over and again, draws the attention of the public, who seem to become aware of it at the same time of day or night on each occasion.

The spirits however, draw close to prove that there really is a continuation of the human consciousness and therefore, life after death.  The spirit will not only bring comfort but will bring advice and give a brief history of their earthly existence.  Some more than others of course.

Yesterday we experienced more of the latter, spirits rather than ghostly hauntings.

I am not dismayed or unhappy, as it is what I personally expected.  Others of our group were hoping to see ghosts and therefore they are probably a little miffed.  For me, being a spiritualist, I enjoyed the contact of spirit and would have enjoyed holding a spiritualist type seance there, as I am sure we would have received greater proof of their existence, if we had.

Overall, it was a very interesting experience, during which we used table tilting and dowsing rods along with tape recorders, cameras and camcorders.  We often all picked up similar things along the way around the modern part of the building.  But for me, the best part was when we toured the very historical part of the building.

Apart from my spiritual and mediumistic interests, the history of the place really got to me, and I urge you to take a tour of the place yourselves.  Especially as the whole historic place may soon disappear, thanks to those concrete monsters which local buiders put in their stead. 

Please, don’t let this happen.  If enough people take an interest, the city council may decide to have a visitor centre and make the most of our heritage.  Meanwhile, a more in depth write up will be posted here tomorrow along with links to websites that have more information about this and other local sites.

On Tuesday I am joining a ghost hunting group at a secret location.  I am going with an open mind and lots of curiosity.  My next post will be about the event and our findings.  There are other mediums and psychics and also my favourite healer who will be there.

It is just a small group, as we need to know we are surrounded by those who we can trust.  It is no good going to an event like this with people who make things up or exaggerate.  It is not a TV programme.  We have no one to prove anything to except oursleves.  We are seeking only the truth.

We are taking along cameras and recorders etc in the hope there is something to capture on tape and film. As usual, I will write with honesty and you will get a true picture of the event.  Until then……………

Halloween is celebrated on October 31st.  Halloween activities include trick or treating, ghost tours, and costume parties.  Visiting so called haunted sites, carving lanterns out of pumpkins or turnips and  watching horror films are also popular.

 Halloween is celebrated in many countries of the Western world, mostly in the USA, Canada, Ireland and the UK.  In the UK it is only in the recent past that it has become popular. We seem to have copied the Americans.

There is often a lot of fun put into the event but sometimes there is mischief. I don’t mean the sort created by ghosts either, it seems to be the human element that sees it as a cause for mischief making.

I would like to know your opinions on this subject. Do you see any obvious reason why ghosts or spirits would see the 31st of October as a reason to come out and haunt earthlings?

There is no time in the Spirit World, so why would they mark this particular date? Or any other date for that matter, except perhaps dates which have a personal link to their time on this Earth. 

I know there is folk lore about the event but there is no natural reason. I cannot envisage the spirits in the Spirit World suddenly saying ‘Oh, its Halloween, we had better get out and start haunting the humans’!

You of course are welcome to your beliefs just as I am and therefore, I look forward to your responses on this subject.

Of real interest would be any personal experiences of halloween hauntings. Or any hauntings, on any dates, if you have some evidence to share. I of course will share all interesting comments with all my readers.