Derek’s Most Haunted Experiences

Our columnist shares his terrifying encounter of ghosts in an old bookshop

Almost on a daily basis I am contacted by people who fear that they have an entity in their premises – whether it is their home, their shop or workplace. Obviously, I cannot spend my days travelling the country investigating here, there and everywhere, but on occasions I feel drawn to responding to the person who has requested my help. On one occasion, I was contacted by a lady who was convinced that her shop was haunted by several spirits, some of whom were children who had died in a fire.”

“As soon as I entered the premises, I was aware that the atmosphere was far from pleasant, and I don’t mind admitting that I felt apprehensive from the moment I stepped through the door. I was more or less immediately aware that I needed to go to the upstairs section of the shop, but I knew that my presence was causing a disturbance. As I mounted the stairs, the energy hit me and I was aware of a spirit man who was intent on pushing me away. I could smell burning – he began shouting, and it became evident that he was shouting not only at me in an effort to stop me ascending further, but at some spirit children who were cowering away from him further along the landing. I felt an enormous pressure on my shoulders, as though the man was physically attempting to stop me from climbing any further up the stairs. Strangely, I felt that the man was shouting through fear and anger. I felt that he had passed away due to an accident of some kind, and the owner of the shop repeated to me that there had been a fire in the premises many many years ago.”

“With great effort, I achieved my climb and stood on the landing prior to going into a room to my right. It was almost empty, save for some empty cardboard cartons, but I was immediately aware of much spirit activity in the room. I could see the spirit forms of a couple of small boys and a small girl dressed in clothes that I would imagine dated back to around 1800. I knew that they were in some 42 soulandspiritmagazine.com way afraid of the man in spirit. It was my interpretation that the spirit man’s anger was not directed at anybody in particular. He was attempting to prevent people from being burned alive. I did not feel that there was a family link between the children and the spirit man, but for some reason they had all been in the building at the same time and had perished together. I was determined to do something to help them at the end of the investigation.”

“We descended the stairs and entered the cellar area of the shop and again, I was hit by an atmosphere – but this time it was truly dark and upsetting. Immediately, my head began to throb, and I knew that I was entering an area where dark arts had been practised. The temperature in the cellar dropped dramatically. You could feel the cold air swirling around and the smell in the room began to turn putrid. The residual energy was pure hatred. I knew that this had been the place where a witches’ coven had been held, but that the people involved were not kind and helpful, but were intent on wreaking havoc wherever they could.”

“I did not wish to investigate further or make closer contact with the bad spirits, but I was determined not to leave things as they were. The people I was with, together with the shop owner, gathered in a circle as we joined our positive energies. I prayed to the world of spirit for a cleansing of the building and the rescue of the poor tortured souls in the upper floor. Gradually, the heavy atmosphere began to lift and feel lighter. The terrible feelings and stench began to dissipate, and Sam assured me that the spirit man and the children had been led into the light. It is not often that I have come across situations where such nasty energy was evident, but this was one of those cases. It took me two days to restore my vibration.”