I was fascinated to read that socialite author Santa Montefiore has had paranormal experiences since a child. Surely with her high ranking pedigree, her accounts must be credible!
In yesterday's Sunday Times Style magazine, Santa describes seeing shadowy people shuffling about in her bedroom in the middle of the night for as long as she remembers, and her accounts have not dismissed as outlandish by her highly educated and distinguished historian husband, who is surprisingly open-minded, quoting our wise sage Shakespeare:
"There are more things in heaven and hearth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy."
Only recently, a close family member of mine described seeing figures in his bedroom which came from under the floorboards. Although quite young, he was not alarmed at all. Like Santa, he felt perfectly at ease, while I think I might have freaked out!
These accounts reminded me of Dennis McKenzie, the extraordinary psychic from Soham. I was the ghost writer for his book, Being the Soham Psychic, which reached No 1 on Amazon for True Crime and Murder after a huge splash in the Daily Express.
Dennis was a close ally to Kevin Wells after his daughter Holly and her friend Jessica went missing 10 years ago. Dennis said nothing about his psychic readings for Kevin, but Kevin later described them in his book, Goodbye Dearest Holly, saying "Dennis does indeed possess an extraordinary gift," and, "I have to accept that I am in the presence of a most extraordinary man."
Kevin suffered a double ordeal as police kept him in the dark about their investigation, and he turned to Dennis, who broke the shocking news to him and his distraught wife Nicola that their beloved daughter and her friend were dead at their first meeting, days before their bodies were discovered.
Dennis can only say it one way, and that is the truthful way, and I can't imagine the terrible pain and despair the Wells' family must have felt at that moment.
It was an extraordinary experience learning about Dennis' paranormal life, someone who has faced death threats from an irate husband after telling his wife he was having an affair, working with bereaved families from sink estates in Limerick whose lads were murdered in drug gangland feuds, and the serial killer in America who Dennis knew he had something in common with, but what?
Dennis was interviewed for an ITV programme to mark the 10th anniversary this week of the shocking Soham murders, a village close to where I live. It will be broadcast at 9pm this Friday.
In Dennis's book, the chapter on the Soham murders concludes by describing a reading Dennis which was giving to a young woman in Finchley, miles away from Cambridgeshire. Ian Huntley and Maxine Carr were both on remand at the time awaiting trial.
Dennis wondered why, when he was in Finchley, he should suddenly pick up Holly's spirit.
Dennis asked her why she was connected to the Soham murders.
"I'm Maxine Carr's wardress," was the reply.
I remember a shiver going up my spine as he told me this. It was so chilling......
My ghost writing services.