Favourite Haunts :: Ghostly Spectres at Oxford Castle



St George's Tower, Oxford Castle
© Ghost & Girl

But, soft; behold! lo, where it comes again!
I'll cross it, though it blast me.—Stay, illusion!
If thou hast any sound, or use of voice,
Speak to me...

- William Shakespeare (Hamlet)

 

Oxford Castle: Famous for many reasons, but the Black Assize is what comes immediately to mind.

 

It was the year 1577, and England was divided by the Reformation. Rowlande Jenkes, a Roman Catholic bookseller, was brought before the assize court for being 'saucy and foul mouthed'. When the verdict was given, and it was ordered that he should lose his ears, Jenkes cursed the court, jury and city.
 

Oddly, townsfolk began to drop like flies shortly after. The dead included two Judges, the Coroner, the Sheriff, a clerk and many members of the court and jury. As no women, children or the town's poor befell the illness, it was rumoured that Jenkes used black magic to bring about the deaths. However, the contemporary opinion is that it was probably an outbreak of Gaol Fever, and due to the close proximity and heat within the courthouse it had spread like wildfire.

Oxford Castle is an important example of a motte and bailey castle. The history of the castle is well documented as it played a key role in the history and development of Oxford itself. The motte survives well and contains a rare well chamber as well as the archaeological remains from the stone keep built on it.

It is one of only two surviving towers within the city of Oxford. After the Civil War, the castle, like many town castles around England, was converted for use as a prison, a purpose it served until 1996 when it was closed due to its unsanitary conditions.

The most dramatic moment in the military history of Oxford Castle was in 1142, at the height of the Civil War between King Stephen and Empress Matilda. The Empress' army was besieged within the castle, and it seemed that surrender was imminent. Legend has it that the Empress was lowered over the castle walls in the dead of night, wrapped in a white cloak so as to camouflage against the snow. She crept through King Stephen's camp and across the frozen Thames to safety.  



Oxford Castle Unlocked is a truly unique tour experience. On a bitterly cold December morning, we were greeted at the entrance by the truly terrifying Executioner, who led us directly into St George's Tower where our tour began.





Julia Ann Crumpling, Oxford Castle
© Ghost & Girl

Whilst hearing grisly tales of its previous occupants, we then proceeded to climb the steep Saxon tower. As we stepped into the "water tank" room, I sensed a male presence towards the right end corner. Our tour guide then explained that the room was supposedly haunted, but never mentioned as to whom, or what might be haunting it, nor of any reported experiences associated with the room.
Next we were shown into the crypt, which lies beneath St George's Tower. The crypt is thought to date back to the Saxons, making it the oldest standing structure in England. It is within this crypt that the Executioner proceeded to tell us about the spirit of a little girl, who is most often felt by women. The girl, a former inmate of the Victorian prison, is thought to be Julia Ann Crumpling. She was only seven years old when she was sentenced to seven days hard labour for the crime of stealing a pram.

 

Julia is reported to have been seen throughout the prison. She likes to place her hand in visitor's hands, and tug on their clothing. She is  also often seen weeping in the crypt, asking for her mother. 

The crypt is also haunted by a monk known as Bernard. Visitors often report feeling a heaviness in the air, a hand on their shoulder, hair being tugged, and even the smell of beer.

We then walked onto D-wing, part of the later prison built in the eighteenth century. Here  our tour guide 'processed us' (mug shots and all!), allowing us to be admitted to the prison. We were then free to  take in the atmosphere and read up on prison history from the displays, or return to any part of the castle to explore further on our own.

As there were still no other visitors about, I decided to head back down to the crypt to take some photos. Whilst with the tour, I felt quite at peace within the crypt, but as I ventured back on my own the atmosphere seemed to change, and I found myself constantly looking over my shoulder. I was fighting with the voice inside my head and the flight instinct that were telling me to high tail it back up to the prison where the rest of my family were.

 

But I stuck it out, and I took the photos I'd gone there for, using my iPhone5 (no flash).



It was a few days after the tour that I finally had the opportunity to review the photos I'd taken that day at Oxford Castle. It was this photo (below), that I took in the passage between the crypt and the lower prison, which has left me with more questions than answers. 

 

Do you see what I see?
Passage between the crypt and the lower prison at Oxford Castle.
Original photograph. No filter. No edits.
© Ghost & Girl



Every single photo that I took prior to this one does not share the same anomaly, nor anything like it. I have shown the photo to several friends - some keen on the paranormal, others not - asking what they see. Each can make out the same image as I: A women dressed in a high-waisted skirt and white blouse. Her hair is parted in the middle, and it appears as though she is leaning over the railing, her gaze directly on me as I took the picture.



I'm the first to admit that this image may be no more than pareidolia (matrixing), brought about by the construction of the stonework, the angle of the light, or a combination of both.

 

And yet, this is the only photograph in which I can see her. I'll leave it to you to draw your own conclusion.


Close up: A ghostly encounter or no?
© Ghost & Girl

Have I captured one of the ghostly spectres of Oxford Castle, or is my mind merely playing tricks?

 

 

 

For more information on Oxford Castle, visit these websites:

Oxford City Guide: Oxford Castle

Oxford Castle Unlocked

Oxford Castle: History and Photos

 

 

To learn more about pareidolia, try this link:

Live Science: Seeing Faces in Unusual Places 

 

 

Laura  

[Find out more about your hosts here]

 

Favourite Haunts :: Edinburgh South Bridge Vaults & Greyfriars Kirkyard



A city beneath the city: Edinburgh Vaults



"There are mysteries which men can only guess at, which age by age they may solve only in part." ~ Bram Stoker

 

 

Scotland loves a ghost story. The country has all the key ingredients necessary for one: Dark, gloomy skies; a dark and bloody past; old stone towns with old cobbled streets; and an abundant ancient folklore.

 

It is easy to be consumed by the possibility that ghosts abound as you walk down the Royal Mile, with the fog settling in around you...

 

 

SOUTH BRIDGE VAULTS - NIDDRY STREET SOUTH

 





Notice by the entry to the Niddry Street Vaults

The history of the Edinburgh vaults is somewhat sketchy. The vaults were initially used as storage for the businesses above, all of which vacated in the 1700s due to the increasingly poor conditions.

 

When the industrial revolution swung into motion, they became dwellings for the city's poor. Prostitution, murder and other atrocities were rife, and then, rather mysteriously, at some point during the 1800s the residents abandoned the vaults and the whole place was sealed with rubble, and promptly forgotten. It wasn't until the 1980s that they were uncovered, completely by accident.

Edinburgh was a superstitious place at the turn of the 18th century, both of real and imagined harm. The citizens' fear of what the unearthly and supernatural could inflict was exacerbated by their inherent mistrust of the invading English, which resulted in the building of the defensive Flodden Wall, part of which is still visible in the city today in Greyfriars Cemetery.

 

The enclosed city forced residents to live virtually on top of one another: Rather than expanding out, Edinburgh went up.

When the South Bridge was finally completed in 1788 it was deemed to be an appropriate and fitting honour that the Bridges’ eldest resident, a well known and respected wife of a local Judge, be the first to cross. Unfortunately, she passed away prior to the opening and crossed the bridge entombed in her coffin. Naturally, the superstitious locals pronounced the bridge cursed and subsequently refused to cross it.

 

Some of the paranormal experiences reported in the vaults include sightings of a man known as "The Watcher"; disembodied footsteps and voices; a small boy referred to as "Jack"; unexplained cold spots and the feeling of unease; and let's not forget the infamous "Mr Boots".

Inspired by these reports, on 30 October this year, the night before Halloween, I booked a City of the Dead tour for both the Niddry Street Vaults and Greyfriars Kirkyard. After weeks of rain, the night was completely clear and calm, and our tour was fully booked with around thirty adult participants.

 

Whilst the tour was informative from an historical perspective, I was surprised to find the time spent within the Niddry Street Vaults short, uneventful and somewhat disappointing. This may be influenced by my having recently watched the Ghost Adventures paranormal investigation of the Edinburgh Vaults, though: I had imagined them more vast. However, I now know that there are two underground vaults: Blair Street and Niddry Street. In addition, there is also Mary King's Close (an underground close), so I suspect most paranormal investigation shows encompass parts of all three.

Our tour guide was both knowledgeable and humorous, but I found our tour lacked the telling of the ghost stories that you come to expect from a well-organised ghost tour. We did hear one or two, but I found our guide spent more time on Edinburgh's historical past rather than on its ghosts, which I found perplexing since it was almost Halloween.

 



Niddry Street

However, well before our guide had even mentioned the little boy ghost known as Jack, I had picked up on an unseen presence standing to the back of the group, which I felt to be a child. I could not tell if that child was male or female, only that it was a child of around 5 or 6 years of age.

 

Was this presence Jack?

 

GREYFRIARS KIRKYARD & THE COVENANTER'S PRISON

 



On a fine day, Edinburgh's Greyfriars Kirkyard is a peaceful place with a fine view of Edinburgh Castle. It houses a well-preserved section of the Flodden Wall, and is surrounded by ornate and impressive mausoleums.

 

It is also a popular haunt for tourists on the trail of Greyfriars Bobby, a somewhat famous little terrier in Edinburgh's history. A statue of the little canine is located just outside the Kirkyard gates, and it is local belief that touching the terrier's nose will bring good luck.

 

Greyfriars Kirkyard Gates

Greyfriars Kirkyard dates back to the 1560s. The land, formerly a monastery garden, was given to the city by Mary Queen of Scots to be used as burial grounds to cope with the overcrowding in St Giles churchyard. 

 

In 1679, following the Battle of Bothwell Brig, 1200 supporters of the National Covenant were brought to Edinburgh. Four hundred were held in Greyfriars Kirkyard in an area now known as the Covenanters Prison. They spent more than four months there, awaiting trial. During this time they had no shelter, and were given a daily food allowance of just 4oz of bread. Conditions were so inhumane that the Covenanters Prison is often described as the world’s first concentration camp.

Greyfriars Kirkyard has also received attention in recent years due to the Harry Potter phenomenon. It is believed that the grave of Thomas Riddell, who died in 1806, and nearby William McGonagall were the inspiration behind JK Rowling's Voldemort and Professer McGonagall. The nearby George Heriot's School is also said to be the inspiration for Hogwarts.

 

Greyfriar's Kirkyard

Paranormal experiences seem to be confined to the Covenanters Prison and the Black Mausoleum. The majority of these seem to be poltergeist activity: Visitors have passed out for seemingly no reason; they have been punched, scratched or tugged.

 

There have also been reports of shadow people, of cold spots and a feeling of unease upon entering the Covenanters Prison. It is alleged that the malevolent activity started when a homeless man stumbled into Mackenzie's tomb one night seeking shelter, and desecrated the sealed tomb.

Our tour entered Greyfriars Kirkyard after having toured the vaults. The cemetery was still quite active - generally churchyards tend to be a place to avoid late at night, but not so Greyfriars! 

 

The City of the Dead tours are reportedly the only tour group given access to the Covenanters Prison; due to the alleged poltergeist activity, the council has closed this particular section off from the public.

 

Our tour guide led us through the prison directly to the Black Mausoleum, which is resting place of George Mackenzie, the man responsible for imprisoning the Covenanters. His mistreatment of the Covenanters led to his nickname "Bluidy (Bloody) Mackenzie". I noted the sudden change in mood of our tour guide, who seemed almost afraid to tell any of the experiences in this particular location. He seemed to be on guard, and the air was decidedly tense.

 

However, is the ghost reported there really a spirit or poltergeist? Could it be possible that the majority of experiences are actually due to psychokinesis (an alleged psychic ability allowing a person to influence a physical system without actual physical interaction)? I do wonder.

 

Regardless of who or what is haunting the Covenanters Prison and the Black Mausoleum, our tour group had no disruptions, although I did pick up on a restless energy within the Covenanters Prison upon entering through its gates. Otherwise, I felt quite at peace within the walls of the Black Mausoleum, and whilst I find the mistreatment of the Covenanters to be truly appalling, perhaps this sense of ease had something to do with the fact that I am of Mackenzie blood, after all...

Whilst I could think of nothing more exhilarating than to investigate these locations for myself, by myself, it must be noted that for anyone interested in the ghostly and historical aspects of Edinburgh's past, you need to book a tour to explore its underground vaults, as well as the Covenanters Prison. If I were to go back, I would book a tour that explores the Blair Street vaults and Mary King's Close as well. 

 

A visit to Edinburgh Castle is also highly recommended, as is Saint Giles Cathedral.

 

Edinburgh is definitely a city worth visiting, for its ghosts and its history.

 

Further reading:

The Ghost that Haunted Itself by Jan Andrew Henderson (filled with visitor experiences at Greyfriars)
City of the Dead Tours
Real Mary King's Close

Laura  

[Find out more about your hosts here]

 

Making the Paranormal Normal :: Halloween as a Ritual of Inversion - An Australian Perspective

© Ghost & Girl

"For a while, we pull these fearful and painful realities into a relatively contained and public context. We share them with our children. We create a special and safe moment during which danger and death, skeletons and strangers can safely be part of our existence...Halloween reverses the usual order of many things in many ways". ~ Ken C. Erikson, Anthropologist

 

 

Here's the deal: I have never celebrated or participated in Halloween. Ever. I can muse about ghosts, and theorise about life after death, but Halloween presents me with a difficulty: How does one write about something one has no experience of?

 

You see, in southern Australia (where I have lived all my life), October is spring. Here the days are getting longer and warmer. It hasn't rained solidly in at least two months. The ground is dry, the grass is beginning to crunch underfoot, and the plants are finishing their spring bloom in preparation for summer shut-down.

 

October 31 in Australia bears no relevance to the ancient Celtic calendar that brought about Samhain, which lead to All Hallow's Eve and, in time, Halloween. In Australia, the first day of November marks the beginning of summer: Beltane. If Australians wanted to be serious about Halloween and keep in line with its history and traditions, then the reality is that it would need to be celebrated not in October, as it is in the Northern Hemisphere, but on the Southern Hemisphere's Samhain, which falls on April 30.

 

There is limited information as to why Australia, despite its shared cultural and religious history with Europe and the Americas, never adopted the tradition of Halloween. There are suggestions, however, that the seasonal differences may have played a major part, or perhaps the religious influences at the time of settlement had something to do with it as well. It might even be that the arduous life of a settler (whether a free one or not) simply couldn't accommodate the traditions of the Old Country.

 

However, whatever the reasons for its initial absence from the Australian calendar - an absence that existed for more than two hundred years, I might add - in recent times, Halloween has been creeping its way into our lives.

 

Or, at least, into our supermarkets and department stores.

 

The arrival of Halloween to Australian shores is the result of clever marketing techniques from the big-brand, American-owned companies that influence all our purchasing habits. But despite this, the introduction of Halloween might be just what Australia needs.

 

In the past decade or so, Halloween has become a thing in Australia. People throw costume parties and children go trick-or-treating in their neighbourhoods. I was surprised to learn during my own investigations (read: intense questioning of local residents), that even in a small town situated on the edge of the desert, Halloween has been the thing to do for the past fifteen years. And not only that, but with each passing year it gets bigger and better, with more people becoming involved.

 

But don't think for a minute that this is your typical, Northern Hemisphere Halloween event. There's no history behind the existence of Halloween in Australia. It's only cultural influence is American pop-culture.

 

So, why then do we do it, if we have no seasonal, cultural or historical ties to the tradition?

 

I asked this question of a parent whose two teenage daughters have dressed-up and gone trick-or-treating for the past ten years. Her response was this:

 

"You'd think it'd be about the candy, but it's not. It's about the make-believe, about being a kid. It's the experience of it that has them wanting to do it again, year in and year out, no matter how old they get".

 

When I first decided that I would write this post, I wanted to write about Halloween as a ritual of inversion. A ritual of inversion (or reversal, as it is sometimes referred) is an event that permits people to participate in something that goes against the accepted norms of one's society.

 

Halloween is the time of year when it is okay, in fact acceptable for people to dabble in danger and death. It's the time when ghost stories are encouraged rather than scoffed at; when monsters and strange events become the topic of conversation; when one can dress up as a mythical creature without ridicule; and when all the things that make up the paranormal become the normal. All those things we'd rather not think about, let alone discuss or participate in at any other time of the year, become accepted practice during Halloween.

 

This is what makes Halloween a ritual of inversion, and perhaps it is the reason why Australians seem willing to adopt it and make it a part of their annual calendar. There was nothing like it before. When I was growing up, one didn't talk about death, or ghosts, or monsters. It was either taboo, or didn't exist. Now children make up songs about ghosts on their way to school in the morning, and choose out costumes for trick-or-treating, and attempt to scare each other silly with the scariest story they can come up with. 

 

And since it's Halloween, that's perfectly okay.

 

From an Australian perspective, Halloween presents one with the perfect excuse to become involved in the paranormal. Australia needs Halloween, simply because it is a ritual of inversion. It's cultural influences, and even its seasonal irrelevance seem unimportant in light of the fact that Halloween acts as a social pressure-release valve.

 

That is, Halloween makes it okay to talk about and participate in those things that might otherwise raise eyebrows; to celebrate not only the make-believe, but shared experience with death - and what comes after it.

 

Sarah  

[Find out more about your hosts here]

Samhain :: Ancient Festival of the Dead

"A gypsy fire is on the hearth,

Sign of the carnival of mirth;

Through the dun fields and from the glade,

Flash merry folk in masquerade,

For this is Hallowe'en!"

(Author Unknown)

 

 

Most academic scholars believe that Halloween is simply a Christianised feast influenced by the Pagan Samhain.

Samhain (pronounced sow-en) has been celebrated in Britain for centuries as it marks an important date on the Pagan calendar: the Festival of the Dead and the Celtic New Year. However, many countries, such as Australia, do not recognise Halloween, whilst for other countries, Halloween involves dressing up, trick or treating, carving jack-o-lanterns and participating in themed games such as apple bobbing.

Mischief and jovial aside, Samhain also represents the thinning of the veil; the time of year when it is believed that the Otherworld can be reached more readily.

The idea that Samhain is a juncture between our world and the Otherworld led to a popular belief that on this night, time would stand still. During Samhain the natural order of life was thrown into chaos and the earthly world of the living became hopelessly entangled with the world of the dead.

The world of the dead was itself a complicated place. Here roamed not only spirits of the departed, but also a host of gods, fairies and other creatures of an uncertain nature. An unwary traveller might expect to encounter any one of these creatures during this time, and it was advisable to stay indoors. Ghosts were everywhere. They may or may not have been harmful to the living.

Superstition states that all fires on this night must be extinguished and could only be relit from the great flames of Tlachtga. This, of course, is not to be taken literally; rather, it symbolised the brief and temporary ascendency of the powers of Darkness at this time of year.



Tlachtga, where the great fire of Samhain would be lit

There are many superstitions surrounding Samhain, some of which include:

~ If you hear footsteps behind you, don’t look back as it may be the dead following you.

~ Carry a lump of bread in your pocket, so that if you come into contact with a ghost, it will serve as an offering.

~ A child born on this night will have the gift of second sight.

~ If you come across a spider, don’t kill it as it may be a dead relative.

~ Bridges, crossroads and burial sites are areas to avoid, as the dead mingle freely with the living.

~ Don’t sit underneath a Hawthorn tree or you might be kidnapped by the Little Folk.

~ If you look into a well, you might see twelve months into the future.

~ Oatmeal and salt placed on children’s heads will protect them from evil.

~ Go to bed early in the event you encounter something from the Otherworld.

Although the spirits were thought to be benign, they needed some sort of appeasement in the form of ritual offerings. So long as the offering was forthcoming the spirits were happy and benevolent. However, bad luck would descend on the household if they weren’t appeased.

Some remnants of this tradition may have survived in the modern celebration of Halloween, in the custom of "trick or treat". Children, dressed in costume, invite the household to make a donation or face the consequences. The 'treat' may represent the ritual offering, whilst the 'trick' (nowadays a harmless prank) may have, in antiquity, represented the malevolent consequences of inadequately appeasing the ancestral spirit on this night.

Queen Maeve by J C Leyendecker

Irish mythology is littered with references to the magical significance of Samhain. It marked the end of the fighting and hunting season for the warrior troop known as the Fianna. At Samhain they retreated into winter camp, quartering themselves on the general population until the return of Summer at Beltainne (Beltane).

Fionn mac Cumhaill chose Samhain as the time to present himself before the court at Tara, while it was also during Samhain that the god Lugh made his dramatic entrance to the same court. In the legendary Irish poem Tain Bo Cualigne, Queen Maeve waits until Samhain before setting out on the great Cattle Raid of Cooley in order to capture the prized bull of Ulster.

It is interesting to note that when the early writers wished to impart a magical quality to events they were depicting, they choose the Festival of Samhain for the occasion.

How do you celebrate Halloween?

 

 

Further reading:

A Pocket Guide to Superstitions of the British Isles by Steve Roud

Tlachtga: Celtic Fire Festival by John Gilroy

 

 

Laura  

[Find out more about your hosts here]

 

Past Life Regression :: True experience or mere suggestion?

Khepri, Egyptian God of rebirth

Past life regression is a process that involves hypnosis or deep meditation techniques in order to recall what practitioners believe are memories of past lives or incarnations.

 

The question, however, is whether these "recollections" are indeed past life memories, or simply a matter of suggestion. Are they evidence of a true experience, or simply  mere fantasies brought to life?

 

I have actually undergone a "past life regression", and yet I'm still not convinced as to the answer.

 

Many years ago I booked myself in to see a professional therapist. By way of a disclaimer, I was already a firm believer in reincarnation, and felt that I had had many past lives prior to seeing the therapist, yet I decided to do it anyway as I was curious to see how regression therapy worked. Even more than that, I wanted to discover if, under hypnosis, I would be able to recall specific dates or names (geographic or other), in order to carry out my own research to validate my previous experiences.
 

Yet whilst being a believer in reincarnation, I must admit that I was sceptical of the entire regression process. I often wonder if this niggling doubt affected the outcome of my session.

 

My past life regression happened like this:

 

The therapist was a lovely, older lady who carried out these regressions in her home. The house reminded me of my grandmother, both warm and welcoming, so I had no problem reclining in the chair whilst she talked me through the first phase of the regression: relaxation.

 

It was during this stage of the hypnosis that I was asked to walk down a winding stone staircase into a hallway, and then stand in front of any door. I then had to enter that door, through which was a room of wood panelling. A study. It was dark in this room, apart from the lighted candle I was holding, dressed in a white smock, I could feel the cold wooden flooring beneath my feet. I told the therapist my name was Josephine - the first appearance of a possible past life, which had not been a happy life at all. I knew that I had been married with two children, that my husband was a rogue and had many a mistress. The therapist fast tracked me to the end of this life. My family was struck by the plague. My two children died in my arms and I openly cried during the regression session.

 

The process of walking down a winding staircase and selecting a door was then repeated, several times, and behind each door was revealed to me another, apparent past life.

 

The first 45 minutes of the session revealed no dates, nor any specific name/surname combinations that would facilitate further research to prove, once and for all, the existence of past lives. However, the final fifteen minutes of the regression were, for me at least, the most revealing.

 

As I walked through the final door, I found myself in a sandy alleyway in Egypt. I explained  to the therapist that I was a priest of the god Amun, before going on to explain several everyday events in my life. This included the existence of a young nephew that I treated as if my own son. This life was not glamorous; it was one that involved hard work and much loneliness.

 

It became apparent during this final regression that I had a great aversion to black snakes (specific to this colour only). My reaction was not one of fear, per se, but of superstition. I knew that black snakes were a dark omen.

 

It was particularly interesting to me that Egypt featured as the location in this final regression, since I had studied Egyptology at University. Even more than that, though, my interest in Egypt was focused on the religion of the Ancient Egyptians, even though in my current life I would not identify as being a particularly religious person.

 

Yet whilst there were certainly correlations between my interests in this life and the past life regression, I remain unconvinced that the regression experience I had was not brought about by some kind of suggestion, either by the therapist, or by my own subconscious.

 

In truth, I believe that the evidence of our past lives is all around us, and we don't need to engage therapists to discover them. Deja vu is a phenomena experienced by most people; that sense of familiarity and conviction that the current situation that one finds themselves in has actually occurred before.

 

Why is it also that certain people seem to be drawn exclusively to certain periods in history?

 

Or why the sense of “home” is found somewhere other than the town, city or country one was born in?

 

Or why  people seem to excel in certain subjects but fail in others?

 

So, whilst my own past life regression was not a convincing experience for me as a whole, I'm disinclined to dismiss the results of it entirely, and write them off as nothing more than simple fancies.

 

What I believe is that certain past life experiences leave an emotional imprint on our being, and then, occasionally, reveal themselves to us.



 

Laura  

[Find out more about your hosts here]

 

Children who Remember :: A personal experience with reincarnation

 

Painting depicting Reincarnation
 

"I am confident that there truly is such a thing as living again, that the living spring from the dead, and that the souls of the dead are in existence." - Socrates

There have been numerous cases of children remembering another life. From the moment they can talk, they begin to describe people, places or dead relatives of whom they had not known in this life. They insist they were someone else, some going so far as to recall their death.

Children who remember their past lives without any prompting are very matter of fact when talking about it.  Past-life memories, particularly those in children, are a phenomena with far-reaching implications for every person who is curious about the truth of reincarnation.

 

I've experienced this phenomenon myself: One day whilst driving home, my son, who was about 3 years old at the time, blurted out, “Mummy? You are Breena”. I looked at him in the rear-view mirror as he was looking out the window. He continued: “You were Bree-nah. But you had long dark hair. Why did you cut it? Can we go back? I miss our dog. Do you remember him mummy?” I replied, “I am not Breena. My name is Laura", but this made him a little agitated, reiterating: “No, Mummy. You were Breena before, not now!”. He went on to describe in detail, a round dwelling where we lived and what we wore, what we ate and a dog we owned. He never described a father figure or any siblings.

I was shocked, to say the least. I had to pull the car over to compose myself as it dawned on me his descriptions mirrored a dream I had had, many years prior.

Initially, I thought my son had called me "Breanna", as I had not heard the name "Breena" before. It was only later that, upon investigation, I discovered that the name Breena is a real one, old Irish Celtic in origin, and means “dark haired” (my son had said I had had dark hair), or “Fairy Palace”. My son made a point of correcting me, pronouncing it “Bree-nah”.

 

Roundhouse Dwelling
 

Then not that long ago, our family visited a Neolithic site, which consisted of roundhouse dwellings and a museum devoted to this period in history. My son, who is now 7, was absolutely fascinated by it. Whilst he has never mentioned Breena again, on this occasion he made note of "remembering" certain artefacts that he was being shown, and commented that “it was different; not that exactly”. When  queried about what he had meant, he shrugged his shoulders and replied, “You wouldn’t understand”.

Roundhouses, such as the one in the picture above, were built from the Bronze Age, throughout the Iron Age, and into the sub-Roman period. How is it possible that a child the age of seven can identify and familiarise with them, and other artefacts from a period in history he couldn't possibly know anything about?

There seems to be a growing number of cases in the public sphere these days of children that seem to recall, in astonishing detail, the lives of people who have lived before. Some are able to recall these events well into adulthood, whilst for others the details fade with time. It makes me wonder if this is something we all can do in childhood - if, perhaps, those fears, fascinations, and wild fancies have less to do with imagination than, as adults, we'd like to believe.

Of course, I’m sure many children (especially as they grow older) are influenced by what they read and see on television. But when your child describes in detail a life they couldn’t have possibly made up, you do have to wonder…

 

 

For anyone interested in reading about the past lives of children, I suggest a visit to Carol Bowman’s Forum where you can share your own experiences, and read those of others.

Laura  

[Find out more about your hosts here]

 

A Case in Point :: Reincarnation & the Cathar Perfect

The Cathars were a Christian sect that lived in Europe between the 11th
and 14th Centuries, and who held a  strong belief in reincarnation, one of the
many facets of their religion that made them so unpopular in Rome, and which
would ultimately lead to their demise.

"Kill them all. God will know his own."

- Arnaud Amaury, Cistercian Abbot, 13th Century

In our last post, Recycled Souls, we considered the Hindu and Buddhist belief in reincarnation and past lives. It is not particularly surprising to hear of cases of reincarnation amongst societies such as the Hindus of India, the Buddhist Sinhalese of Sri Lanka, or even the Dalai Lama of Tibet. These are, after all, present, existing religions and cultures, and if we were to consider the "evidence" for past lives from these alone, there'd be undeniable proof of it.

 

Yet, that is not how we consider the world, or the people in it. One's willingness to accept, well, anything is strongly influenced by one's cultural impressions and societal pressures. Perhaps it is no wonder, then, that in a non-Hindu, non-Buddhist society, reincarnation and past lives remain on the fringe of what is considered acceptable belief. The claims of same are few and far between, and those that are brought to light are generally viewed with caution and suspicion.

 

However, there are some (in)famous reincarnation claims. Take, for example, the case of reincarnation made by Dr Arthur Guirdham in the 1960s and 1970s. Dr Guirdham, a British psychiatrist, was working in a mental hospital in Bath when he encountered a female patient suffering the terror of a recurring dream that Dr Guirdham was astonished to discover resembled his own - one that had haunted him for more than thirty years.

 

Upon further investigation - and without the aid of drugs or hypnosis, it is said - the woman went on to reveal to Dr Guirdham the details of her past life as a 13th Century Cathar, a life which she had shared with Dr Guirdham, when he was known as Guilhabert of Castres, a Cathar Perfect.

 

Over time, Dr Guirdham came to know other patients in Bath who also claimed to have lived past lives as Cathars, with Dr Guirdham supposedly substantiating their claims through historic references. Dr Guirdham went on to write and publish a series of books that spurned a cult following, inspiring many from the UK to travel to the Languedoc in south-west France, lands that were once home to the Cathars. Previously a forgotten medieval Christian sect, Dr Guirdham's claims of reincarnation thrust the Cathars into the spotlight more than 800 years after their annihilation by the Church in Rome, and not necessarily for all the right reasons.

 

But who were the Cathars, and what were their thoughts on reincarnation?

 

In his book The Perfect Heresy: The Life and Death of the Cathars, Stephen O'Shea writes about the Cathar Christian beliefs, and why they were so at odds with the Christian Church in Rome:

 

"The god deserving of Cathar worship was a god of light, who ruled the invisible, the ethereal, the spiritual domain; this god, unconcerned with the material, simply didn't care if you got into bed before getting married, had a Jew or Muslim for a friend, treated men and women as equals, or did anything else contrary to the teachings of the medieval Church."

 

What was important to the Cathars was how one chose to live their life. The consequence for failing to follow 'the good' was plain and simple:

 

"It was up to the individual (man or woman) to decide whether he or she was willing to renounce the material for a life of self-denial. If not, one would keep returning to this world - that is, be reincarnated - until ready to embrace a life sufficiently spotless to allow accession, at death, to the same blissful state one had experienced as an angel prior to having been tempted out of heaven at the beginning of time. To be saved, then, meant becoming a saint. To be damned was to live, again and again, on this corrupt earth".

 

So, the Cathars, although Christian, had a strong belief in reincarnation. Whether or not they believed one could remember the details of a previous life is unknown; however, there is the distinct impression that a Cathar, no matter their status, had no control over whether, or how, or when they might be reincarnated, which begs the question: How was it that Dr Guirdham and his Cathar patients all came to be in Bath at the same time? Even if reincarnation is possible, the chances of this occurring seem remote at best.

 

So, why then, the Cathars? Dr Guirdham and his patients could have lived previous lives in a multitude of cultures, societies, and religions stretching right back to the first humans, but they didn't. Was it pure coincidence that the doctor's claims of past lives were rooted in a religion that harboured a core belief in reincarnation? In this writer's opinion, probably not.

 

What is most interesting about reincarnation, from my perspective at least, are those cases that appear from time to time outside of those societies, religions and cultures from which we expect it. It poses the question that if one has no previous knowledge or belief in past lives, and has no comprehension of what it means to be reincarnated (such as in children), then where does this sensation of having lived before (and all the ideas and memories attached to it) actually come from?



Curious to know more about the Cathars? Try these links:
Cathars & Cathar Beliefs in the Languedoc
Cathar Country

Or read this book (highly recommended):
The Perfect Heresy: The Life and Death of the Cathars by Stephen O'Shea

Dr Arthur Guirdham's Cathars:
Reincarnation: Fact or Fallacy?
UK Mind Manipulation: Research Update - Bailbrook
Books by Dr Arthur Guirdham at Amazon.com

 

Sarah  

[Find out more about your hosts here]