(See also Channelling)

Most people have either seen a ghost or sensed a presence or know someone in their immediate family or circle of friends who has witnessed an apparition, heard inexplicable footsteps or smelled a deceased grandmother's perfume.  

The Sorceress by John William Waterhouse

We can say that at the moment of death the magnetic field will imprint itself on the surrounding matter.  An old Provencal tradition says that in a room where death has occurred all containers should be emptied of water, as the water will be contaminated.

Physics gives us an answer.  We know that matter is composed of neutrons and protons which are in perfect equilibrium with their surrounding electrons.  Biologists say that at the destruction of cells all  the genetic material disperses, causing the release of a great quantity of energy which can resonate with the energies which compose other bodies, living or otherwise.  Compare this with nuclear fission which releases a great quantity of energy which becomes residual radioactivity.

At the moment of death everyone gives off a magnetic field, intensified by emotions, which can penetrate the surrounding matter and modify the biochemical functions of molecules.  The result will be to impregnate the matter with the magnetic field of the deceased.  This field is also charged with the emotion felt at the time.

This force, says Mr Attard, could explain why clocks often stop at the moment of their owner's death.  But this theory does not entirely explain the continuing communication between a presence and those who move into his or her home.  

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Communicating With Ghosts

• If you do sense a presence of see an apparition, treat the encounter as you would any other communication on an earthly plane, maintaining the same politeness and respect for privacy.  It is a privilege to see, hear or sense a ghost and you are in his or her home.  To the ghost, you are the visitor or perhaps, if their world is till in motion, you are the apparition.  (A woman who saw a Victorian ghost in the Assembly Rooms in Norwich, UK appeared to startle the phantom.)

• If the ghost is set on a particular path, do not try to chase him or her.  Follow discreetly and see where the phantom disappears, often through a wall.  If you examine the wall carefully afterwards, you may see traces of an old door at the spot.  Apparitions tend not to be aware of changes to their original homes.

• Note any details of their appearance and clothing which may give clues to their age and identity.  Study a map of the place and ask about the history if you are in a stately home or ruined abbey.

• Do not worry if you cannot match your phantom to a great lord or lady, or even to the ghosts recorded at the place.  You may well have seen a servant whose dress was rather indeterminate.  The majority of ghosts are ordinary people who lived out their lives within the walls.

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Finding Ghosts

You are unlikely to see a phantom on a ghost-hunting weekend or at a famous haunted castle or palace, although some people do encounter apparitions on a UK Bank Holiday in the Tower of London.

• Choose a less popular location, perhaps an industrial museum or a manor house, preferably one that is inhabited so that it is still a focus of domestic life.

• Visit in the early evening, just before closing, on an autumn day; or in the morning, as the property opens in the spring,.  These are times of the year when life is at a change point and so the dimensions move close.  When it is quiet and the atmosphere fresh and unhurried, you are more likely to see or sense something.

• Choose a property or place that you can visit without a guide so that you can wander slowly, pause in alcoves with window seats, and let the atmosphere envelope you.

• If you cannot see or sense anything, study a picture of a former member of the family in the house or grounds and try to find their favourite spot.

• Choose a portrait of someone with whom you share emotional links.  Perhaps you are both mothers of young children.  Or, if you choose a servant holding a horse in a picture, you may see in his eyes a love of animals that you share.  Read or ask about the person and you may find that, although separated by centuries and perhaps wealth and social class, you can identify with his or her joys and sorrows.  The more you identify with the chosen character, the greater the bond and the easier it is to bridge the ages.

• Stand in the spot, or one like it, with your eyes closed, and recreate the painting in yoru mind's eye.  Build up, especially, the image of the person you saw in the portrait, beginning with a vivid colour on a dress or tunic and expanding outwards until you are within the picture.

• When you open your eyes, you may see the person or someone else from the same time, perhaps a shadowy form, an outline or a mist.

• Extend a positive thought across the ages and you may find the picture clears slightly.  Let it go when it begins to fade and spend a few moments allowing yourself to return naturally to the present.

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Being Close to a Deceased Relative

As a general rule it is not advisable to try to call a deceased person back to you, since we do not understand the nature of the after-life or how it is that loved ones seem able to return at certain times and in certain ways.  When the time is right, or you are sad or worried, you may find yourself seeing a strong picture of the deceased person or hearing in your mind a special phrase that he or she used as an endearment.

At the same time you might spontaneously detect a faint perfume or see a shadowy form and feel yourself enveloped in love.  It has been described as being cuddled in a blanket of caring.  If you want to feel close to a deceased relative, there are several steps you can take:

• Choose a place where you were happy together (rather than the cemetery) and visit at a time of year or a particular date that had significance for you both.  This is a more positive setting than the anniversary of the death, although many apparitions of family members are seen spontaneously on such anniversaries.

• Go with a sympathetic friend or family member who also knew the deceased person an 'recall' the person by talking about previous happy occasions, the minor disasters that occurred, and the jokes and eccentricities of the loved one in order to recreate the whole picture.

• Wear or carry a momento if possible, use a favourite perfume or carry a pouch of tobacco smoked by the relation, and wear his or her favourite colour.  If you have photographs taken at the place, bring them along.  Visit a favourite tea shop and order a familiar meal.  Slowly you will become aware of the presence of the person, perhaps a shadow, a faint laugh or just a vivid picture in your mind's eye that seems achingly real.  Do not dismiss these inner visions as mere imagination.  You may hear the familiar voice in your ear or half-see out of the corner of your eye a fleeting familiar action.

• Place a little of the perfume on your pillow and you may dream a positive, happy contact.  If not, be patient, for, in time, you will receive a hint, perhaps more, that death is not the end.

• Do not be afraid to talk to the dead person when you are alone.  Many people do this and it is not a sign of madness but part of the gradual loosening of the physical bonds that, with a married couple, may have lasted more than half a lifetime.  Make sure you have plenty of earthly contact and you will find that the conversations will diminish or even cease of their own accord, except in times of stress or sadness.  However you may always want to say goodnight and you may hear in your mind's ear, or externally, your words returned.

• Finally, if you do get an opportunity to talk to a ghost, whether a family member or a stranger, he or she may look quite ordinary and three-dimensional.  It is only when the person disappears into thin air that you may notice a slight chill in the air and feel the hairs rising on your neck.

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