(The author of this story is Fred Welling, a spiritual medium who resides in Adelaide, South Australia.)

Like many children, I was scared of the dark and things that go bump in the night. In the 1940’s my parents and I lived in a two-storey home in Southampton, England. My bedroom was at the top of the stairs. As a young boy of 5 or 6 years old, when I climbed those stairs, I felt that someone or something was standing at the top of them. Terrified, I would jump into bed and pull the clothes right over my head. I heard scary noises and felt that someone or something I could not see was in the bedroom with me.

My parents were both psychically aware and used to tell me that I had much more to fear from humans with Physical bodies than from spirits/ghosts. They told me not to be afraid of the unseen presences in my room as they would not harm me.

However, I was not too sure of this. We were often downstairs in the living room talking or listening to the radio when we heard crashing sounds from upstairs. My father and I would run up the stairs and find out that dozens of fragile ornaments on the mantelpiece in my parent's bedroom had been scattered all over the floor. It was amazing that none of these ornaments ever broke.

Eventually my father, a professional boxer, became completely frustrated with these activities. In a strong and authoritative voice, he said: “We do not mind you visiting but do not do that again!” From that time onward, to our relief, the ornaments were not scattered.

"You will be a good priest, but you will help more people if you do not become a priest."

During my teenage years I met a young man called “Buck” who became a friend. Buck was training to become a priest in the Roman Catholic Church. He was fully aware of the unseen world of spirit and could have conversations with those in the spirit world as clearly as with a group of friends in this world. Buck’s Spirit Guide told him: “You will be a good priest, but you will help more people if you do not become a priest.”

One evening Buck was visiting the family and went upstairs to use the toilet. He was away a long time. When he returned, with my dry sense of humour, I asked if he had “fallen in the toilet?” Buck ignored my question and asked if we had ever noticed anything unusual at the top of the stairs. We all replied “yes”.

He told us that he had seen a young woman at the top of the stairs holding a baby. Buck had talked with her and found out that many years ago, this young woman had committed suicide in my parent’s bedroom. Her young baby also died in that room.

The mother had become “stuck between the worlds” and for many years had tried to get someone’s attention. Even though my parents were psychically/spiritually aware, they had not been on the same wave length as the mother and baby and therefore unable to help.

Fortunately, Buck was able to tune in to the mother’s energy level, recognize and assist the woman and child to move on to a more fulfilling life in the spirit world.

To our relief, we no longer felt a sad presence at the top of the stairs. Also, the ornaments no longer flew around the room. They stayed in place on the mantelpiece. It was wonderful that Buck had been able to converse with “our ghost” and help her.

I realized that life did indeed continue beyond physical death. And now I know that “ghosts” are not bad. They are souls who at times need our love and assistance to help them move into the realms of light/spiritual worlds where they are met by their loved ones.

When I finished school and started work, I thought no more of these psychic experiences. However, Spirit had only just started with me!

My Wife’s Death: How I was Drawn to Spiritualism

I was in my early 20’s when my beloved wife Doreen became ill with a heart condition. The doctors said that she would not survive without surgery.

I gave permission and signed documents for the surgery to be performed.

Tragically, Doreen died on the operating table.

For many decades I felt extremely guilty for having signed the papers and irrationally believed that I had killed my wife.

At the time I was living in Shirley, Southampton UK and heard about a Spiritualist Church within walking distance of my home. During my grief period I visited this church on a number of occasions.

On my first visit, I was intrigued and really enjoyed the service, so I returned the following week and sat near the back. The medium on the platform was an old lady who was almost blind. During the demonstration of evidential mediumship she said: “I want to come to the young man who is hiding near the back.” I was stunned, as she could not have physically seen me.

The medium gave incredible details of the relationship between my wife and me. This information was known only to me. She also emphasised that Doreen did not hold me responsible for her death. It was her time to leave the physical world.

So began my lifelong commitment to Spiritualism. I ended up Vice President of that church in Southampton. Over the years I became an evidential medium both in the UK and later in Australia when my second wife (another Doreen) and our two daughters, Patricia and Barbara migrated in 1969.

Before leaving the UK, I had heard about a closed Physical Mediumship group at Lances Hill. There were about 10 – 12 sitters in this group. After waiting several years, I was invited to attend as a visitor to see if my vibrations were suitable to sit in this group. To my delight I was accepted. I went on a weekly basis, catching two buses there and back.

Physical Mediumship

Physical mediumship involves spirit entities using the energies of a medium to produce tangible physical effects which can be witnessed visually and audibly by everyone in the room at the same time.

The spirit entities manipulate the energies and substances of a medium to form physical manifestations such as spirit 'bodies' which enable a spirit to speak directly from their world of spirit to ours.

Other physical phenomena that can be produced include physical smells, hot or cold drafts, levitation, apportation of objects from mid-air, transfiguration, spirit lights, raps or knocks, direct voice communication and physical apparitions.

Tales From a Closed Physical Mediumship Group

When I joined the group, the medium at the time had leukemia and was not expected to live for long. However, we were told that he would continue his work until it was finished and then he would leave the physical world. When I left for Australia in 1969, the medium appeared to have recovered and was still active in the closed group.

The format for the group was as follows.

Each week we met in a private home in an upstairs room that was reserved solely for the purpose of physical mediumship. The room was lit with candles.

Members of the group, referred to as “sitters”, would enter quietly and always sit in the same position and the same chair. This was to ensure that the energies in the group were harmonious and balanced.

The medium would enter and sit in his chair and ask people to talk quietly about spiritual topics. He would then go into an extremely deep trance. Suddenly there would be a change of energy and we knew that a spirit being was about to manifest physically in the room.

For about thirty minutes, the spirit would speak on a spiritual topic such as life beyond the physical world, karmic events affecting individual lives here and what we could do to mitigate the negative effects. He emphasised the need to open our hearts to The Divine Force and to work in service to humanity.

Questions were permitted to be asked and answered. However, if the spirit being felt it would not be in a person’s best interest to receive the answer, it was not given.

On the rare occasion when there was a visitor hoping to be accepted into the group, the spirit would proceed to tell the person a few of the things they had been doing during the day as a means of confirmation and validation that their arrival had been anticipated. They were assured that this would not be an ongoing practice and there would be no interference or intrusion in anyone’s private life.

At times the spirit would move close to a sitter and hold their hands. This experience was like an electrical current passing through the body.

We were not aware of the physical manifestations or smells as described in the above definition. Emanation of etheric substance was not perceived.

We were aware of a change in energy and listened intently to what was being shared.

Those major life experiences began my search for truth.

Australia Bound

After my arrival in Australia and subsequent move to Adelaide, South Australia, I joined various psychic development and self-awareness groups.

For over 40 years I have gained the ability to tune into the spiritual worlds and, like the old lady who was almost blind, I have worked on platforms in Spiritualist Churches. I have been able to bring comfort to many people by giving them evidence that their loved ones are not dead but alive in a wonderful spiritual dimension.

I am still doing this in 2020 at the age of almost 86 years young.

Author, Fred Welling