The Paranormal World of Arthur Conan Doyle Pt 2: 'You should know me...' The words were felt, not heard

In the second of a five-part series based on Ann Treherne’s book Arthur and Me, the spirit of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle sets a puzzle for Ann and her group to solve
Sir Arthur Conan DoyleSir Arthur Conan Doyle
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

HAVING saved a colleague from serious injury in a car crash she saw in a premonition, clairvoyant medium Ann Treherne decided to form a Home Circle to further her understanding of her developing abilities.

In her book, Arthur and Me, she writes: ‘I still wanted to know whether I could develop those abilities in order to be of more practical help by warning of pending doom and disaster.

‘I had also set up my own Home Circle, a chosen group of people who sit together for Spirit communication. The practice involved sitting in silence together and after a period of time, telling of any visions, impressions, visitations or messages received whilst in this meditative state.’

It was during in one of these sessions Ann first became aware of a presence attempting to communicate with the Circle, made up of her friend Mayumi who boasted a vast knowledge of all things spiritual from the Far East and Gordon Soutar, a healer. Also in the Circle were healers Mairi Anderson and Gill Muir and Jim Cleary, who had a knowledge of Trance. The group began meeting at the Theosophical Society on Great King Street.

‘Thursday evening at 6.30pm was the best night for all, and so the Thursday Group was born. Our meeting room would have been a bedroom when the building was a private house. It was rectangular in shape with a sash and case window to the far end, with working shutters. There was a fireplace with mantel-shelf on the right-hand wall. The room had a few chairs of different shapes and sizes and a couple of occasional tables, a bookcase full of books and a rather lonely looking plant in a pot. It was rather like an old-fashioned parlour and had a sort of gloomy appearance with a single overhead light bulb... perfect for our small Circle to sit in.’

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‘Then we would sit in silence and then feedback to the Group. In one of the early sessions as I was sitting in silence, I became aware of the presence of a man from the spirit world. I am naturally clairvoyant, so tend to work predominantly with pictures. Now, there in my head, was a picture of a man.

‘A big man, elderly, quite distinguished looking with grey hair and a moustache. He looked like a grandfather. So, in the feedback session, I gave this description and asked, “Does someone recognise this man as their grandfather?”

‘No one did. I could go no further with the communication. The following week the man was back, so this time I took in a little bit more information. He wore a dark suit with a waistcoat and had kind eyes, this had given me the feeling he was a caring man and quite protective. Perhaps this is where I had got the notion that he was a grandfather. Also, now he was showing me Surgeon’s Hall and I realised he had been a doctor. As well as this I got the message, “You should know me.”

‘Strange, but those words were not heard, but felt.’

Again, however, a connection with the group could not be established.

‘I sent him away and another week went by but... “That man is back again,’ I said. “This time, he’s showing me Edinburgh University.” As well as this, there was a second image of a shelf of books and I immediately knew he was an author but again no connection with anyone in the Circle could be made. The following week he showed me a vision of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. He also said, “I’m a knight of the realm.”

‘Well, as I looked at this picture in my head of King Arthur, I was in two minds as to whether I should even share this with the group.

‘The following week he was there again. I liked him, he was nice, somehow familiar and he had those kind, caring eyes. As I looked into those eyes again (in my own mind’s eye), feeling saddened that I couldn’t get his message across for him, he showed me another picture. This was Sherlock Holmes. As I looked at this vision of the famous detective, my heart sank. Why was I once again seeing images of fictional characters? How would I explain this one to my colleagues?

When I did tell them, there was a stunned silence until Mairi said, “I think it’s Arthur Conan Doyle. He was a Doctor, he went to Edinburgh University and he wrote the Sherlock Holmes stories...”

‘You could almost hear the pennies dropping as we all realised she could be right. The following week, we all returned to the group with renewed vigour and enthusiasm. Could it be possible? Was Arthur Conan Doyle really communicating with me? My mind was racing. All the bits fitted. Each piece of information which had been given over several weeks had all been rejected when considered separately. But when applied to Arthur Conan Doyle, each piece of evidence was correct.

'Was this really Arthur Conan Doyle? Or had I somehow just made him up? I pondered this question. What did I know of Arthur Conan Doyle? I did like watching detective programmes on TV, but really did not like Sherlock Holmes, had never read the books, and particularly disliked the films. I concluded that I really didn’t know much about Arthur Conan Doyle, therefore it was unlikely I would have created him as a hero, or even a Guide.

‘To quote that famous detective: “. . . when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.”

TOMORROW: Another Spirit visitor joins the conversation as the paranormal activity in the room increases

Arthur and Me, by Ann Treherne, is available from www.arthurconandoylecentre.com/arthur-and-me/

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