Accidental Crossing Over

I don't believe I've told the following story before, but it remains pretty vivid in my mind. Looking back, I've come to understand this was the first crossing over I did alone, and it was entirely by accident.

It happened shortly after I'd met Timmy, my equipment tech. One dark, very active night out at Goshen Cemetery, we heard a car stop in the parking lot on top of the hill. A few minutes later, a light bobbed down the long drive and towards us, through the gravestones. We could tell it was a person holding the light, not an apparition. J And as the person got closer, he kept flicking the light up into our eyes.

Impatient me, I finally yelled, "Keep that light down!"

The person turned out to be Timmy, and that night was the beginning of a long friendship.

A couple months later, Timmy called me. "I've got a friend who has a ghost in her house that she'd like you to come see about. It's not bothering her too much, but it seems to be getting more and more active. She's afraid it will start causing trouble, more than the few little things it's done so far."

"Sounds like a good investigation," I replied. "You can tell her I'll come. If they aren't handled, ghosts can get pretty darn disruptive. Intelligent hauntings, anyway."

"Well, she really doesn't want it to leave," he said. "She likes telling people she has a ghost in her house."

"Not a good idea," I said.

"Would  you be able to just give it a dose of discipline?"

"We can go see," I said without making any firm promises.

At this point in my paranormal career, I'd only dealt with one other crossing over. It was in Keller, Texas, when I was studying under another psychic, who did the actual crossing of two ghosts. So even then, I knew that's where ghosts should go, although not that I could accomplish it the same way she did. It would be a couple years or so before I started really developing my gift for helping lost souls go into The Light. This investigation sent me on that path.

I met Timmy over in East Texas one beautiful afternoon on a spring day. No one else came with me on this investigation, just Timmy and me. The house was a beautiful, neat home in a spacious subdivision with lots of land around each house versus each place right on top of the other. It appeared to be a one-story, older, restored house, although not one of those historical mansions we have here in Texas. The landscaping was well-tended and gorgeous with azaleas and other flowers.

The homeowner came out to meet us. She introduced herself (I will withhold her name, since I can't find my notes and I don't recall if she gave permission; let's call her Ms. Jones.) The first thing I said to her after our introductions was, "Who is the person named Johnson around you?"

"That's my maiden name!" she said, and I could tell that if she'd had any doubts, she now thought maybe I knew what I was doing.

"Cool," I said. "My grandmother married a Johnson. We might be roundabout related."

Inside, we toured the house. Timmy had decided to film this investigation, so he followed me with his video camera. It was attractively decorated. Each room had a theme, and although there were numerous items crowding the spaces, it seemed to fit. I could tell, however, that there was someone invisible following us around. We eventually settled in the living room, and the ghost seemed stronger in there. However, she still hovered just out of communication range.

I sat down on the arm of a huge leather couch and closed my eyes. I was speaking to her telepathically, but also trying to let the homeowner and Timmy's camera know what was going on.

I'm not here to hurt you. "She's very upset about something. I’m not sure what her problem is." Do you want to talk about it?

At last she floated over closer to me. What are you so sad about? I asked her.

She was a small woman, with dark brown hair. She wore a dark blouse and skirt, but the skirt wasn't floor length. Her hair was shoulder-cut, and she appeared to be perhaps in her fifties.

"She still seems reluctant to communicate," I told Timmy and Ms. Jones.

You probably can't help me, the ghost said at last.

Quietly, I said aloud, "She's speaking to me."

I can help you, I told her. At least, I think I can, if you'll tell me what your problem is. However, I do have to warn you that you must behave around here and not cause trouble.

"She's asking me if I can help her," I whispered.

It's Jeffrey, she said. I miss him so much!

"Do you know who Jeffrey is?" I whispered to Ms. Jones.

"No," she whispered back. "But there was another woman who lived her before I bought the house. She'd never been married. They used to call them spinsters."

"Has she passed?" I asked.

"Yes. I bought the house after that."

I'm getting the sense that Jeffrey is your nephew, I told the ghost.

Yes, yes! she said with a show of emotion. He died when he was so little. Five. I thought I'd see him when I died. But he's not here!

"She knows she's dead, and she's looking for her nephew. His name is Jeffrey," I said.

Jeffrey probably crossed into The Light, I told the ghost. Did you see that bright white light in the east when you died?

Yes, but I didn't see Jeffrey!

He was on the other side of that Light, I told her.

She whirled and I recall her looking behind her, toward the east. The next thing I knew, the house was peaceful, no more ghost.

Uh oh, they didn't want their ghost gone. Too bad, but that's where lost souls belong.

All I said to Ms. Jones when I opened my eyes, though, was: "She won't cause you any trouble from now on. She's peaceful."

I didn't even tell Timmy what had happened … at least, right then. We talked a few days later and I asked if he'd heard from Ms. Jones.

"Yes," he answered. "She says there's been no sign of any trouble. In fact, she says the ghost seems to be really quiet."

"Don't pass this on to her, please, but…." I went on to explain what had happened. I told him that her ghost was gone; that she had passed into The Light to be with her nephew, Jeffrey.

We've heard no more from Ms. Jones over the years, and I don't feel a bit guilty over my first "accidental crossing over." It gave me a foundation to build on from there, and since then, I've helped dozens of lost souls home to where they will find peace. Nothing over the years has made me change my mind that this is where they belong, that they will be much happier over there. So anyone who has a ghost in their house they don't want to leave, needn't call me. If the chance occurs, I'll point the ghost east.

I'm not sure how many of you know that my sister has been living with me the past couple years. Now, however, she's heading home to Minnesota next week. I'll miss her like crazy, but she plans to return in January. During that time, I hope to finish another set of diaries, a new Dead Man Mystery, and also Silent Prey, the companion to Winter Prey. I should have lots more time to write now, and I've resolved for 2013 to get back to my disciplined writing life! Of course, I'll still be hunting ghosts, too. Lots on the 2013 to-do list.

Boo!

T. M.