The Search for Bridey Murphy (24 page)
Read The Search for Bridey Murphy Online
Authors: Morey Bernstein
… Uh… My mother.
Yes?
My mother… she… made me a beautiful dress.
What for?
We were to have guests.
Remember who the guests were?
’Twas a friend of my father’s… his family.
Uh-huh. What was their name?
It was MacCarthy.
How do you spell that name?
… It’s M-a-c C-a-r-t-h-y.
M-a-c C-a-r-t-h-y?
Uh-huh.
All right. Now, how many MacCarthys were coming to visit you?
[Here she seemed to be counting while images were apparently appearing in her mind.]
One… two… two.
Who were they?
There was… a young man and his father. Young man and his father. The young man’s last name was MacCarthy. What was his first name?
His name… it started with a B.
Well, all right now, relax, relax. What was the father’s name?
His father’s name was John.
John MacCarthy?
Uh-huh.
And his son… what was his first name?
… Ah… it was Brian.
It was Brian?
It was Brian.
You’re sure of that?
Yes… it was.
All right. Now see yourself getting a little older… see yourself getting a little older. Now tell me how is your trance, is it light, medium, deep, or very deep?
Deep.
All right. See yourself getting older… see yourself getting older. Can you see yourself, can you see yourself at the time of your marriage? Can you see yourself at the time of your marriage?
Yes.
All right. Are you in a church?
No.
You’re not in a church?
No.
Where do you get married?
We were married in a cottage. … I couldn’t be married in the church.
Couldn’t be married in the church? Why not?
Because I just couldn’t. Father… Father John said, “You can if you go over to the church,” but I didn’t want to go over to the church.
Oh, I see. All right, now you say Father John married you?
Father John.
Uh-huh. Father John. Now, what was Father John’s last name?
Father John… Oh, it started with a G… started with aG…
Did you ever see it written? Did you ever see it printed? Must have been printed in the papers.
I saw it… I saw it on the papers… I saw a G… G… G… G-o, G-o-r, G-o-r-a-n… G-o-r-a-n.
Father John Goran?
Yes, Father John Goran.
Is that what it was?
Uh-huh.
Do you know what kind of priest he was?
He was a priest of St. Theresa’s.
St. Theresa’s Church?
Yes. Yes.
Uh-huh. On what street was St. Theresa’s? What street was it?
It was on the main way.
What was the name of it?
… It was… it was…. it was off Dooley Road.
It was off Dooley Road? It was off Dooley Road on the main way.
Well, what was the name of this road, the one St. Theresa’s was on?
… Brian used to say it’s on the main way… I don’t re
member the road… or the way… off Dooley Road on the main way.
Off Dooley Road on the main way?
Yes.
Uh-huh. Was it on the same street that your house was on?
No.
It wasn’t?
No.
Uh-huh. What was the name of the street that your house was on?
… We… lived… we had no road… we lived at the back of a house in a little cottage that… the big house was on Dooley Road.
The big house was on Dooley Road?
Yes. We used to walk to the main way. It wasn’t very far to the…
About how far was St. Theresa’s Church from that house?
Ah, it would take… Brian would just leave about five minutes before the bell. And he would be there in time.
Five minutes before the what? The bell?
The bells. He knew… every day.
He did, huh? All right, now just rest and relax and be perfectly comfortable and you’ll find that you’ll slip into a deeper and deeper trance. Deeper and deeper all the time. Deeper and deeper all the time. Deeper and deeper. Nothing will bother you, nothing will disturb you. Now you want to be completely relaxed and enjoy this, so that after you awaken you will feel even better than you do now. Now I’ll ask you a few more questions. If you can remember, you just tell me the answers. If you can’t remember, tell me that you do not remember. Now, how did Brian spell his name? How did Brian spell his name?
… ’Twas B-r-i-a-n.
B-r-i-a-n? It wasn’t with a y?
No.
All right. Now what did Brian do? What kind of work?
He was a barrister.
And where did he work?
And he worked… with his father.
He did?
Yes.
Where at?
… He… worked part time at Belfast. He taught… at Queen’s University… and he helped his father. He didn’t ac
tually work in his father’s office, but his father would tell him people… in that country, that part, that he could… that he could help with. I didn’t know too much, you know, he didn’t want to tell me, but I know he… he just would write to his father. He would get a very small amount from him, but he worked hard.
I see. All right. Now, you realize that the kind of information we want, the kind of information we want is something in writing, something in writing, some way that we can prove that you lived that particular life. Now, can you think of anything that would be in writing or records that would prove that you were there?
[Tremendous sneeze from Bridey Murphy.]
[And this is the point where everybody in the room was petrified for a few appalling moments. Ruth, who had been in a reclining position, was brought to a sitting position by the force of her explosive sneeze; and now her eyes were wide open. Directing a subject to open her eyes during a trance, particularly a good subject like Ruth, is not uncommon. But I had never seen—or read about—a subject’s spontaneously popping her eyes open as a result of sneezing. Consequently my first reaction was to suppose that she had been awakened by the violence of the sneeze. We were soon to realize, however, that Ruth was still very much in a trance; and when this fact dawned upon us, we were all scared stiff.]
Relax. Relax. Relax. How do you feel?
Could I have a linen?
A linen?
[Now confusion really broke loose. When she asked for a “linen,” Rex stood up and stared at his wife; Hazel started hunting anxiously for a cover, as she misinterpreted Bridey’s request for a “linen.” The other witnesses were alarmed, too, as they instantly sensed that something was wrong. And while I finally deduced that what she wanted was a handkerchief, my composure was falling apart so rapidly that it was several moments before I finally took a handkerchief from my pocket and handed my subject her “linen.”]
Now relax. Relax. How do you feel?
… I need a linen.
Yes, we’re getting a linen… Close your eyes… relax… close your eyes… go back to sleep. Later I’ll awaken you. In
a few minutes I’ll awaken you… All right, relax now, close your eyes. Relax and close your eyes. Relax and close your eyes. Now, do you hear my voice?
Yes.
All right, now we’re coming back to the present time. We’re coming back to the present time. We’re coming back to the present time. Do you hear me?
Yes.
Do you hear me?
Uh-huh.
All right. Now, do you know where you are?
I’m in Cork.
You’re Mrs. Ruth Simmons. You’re coming back to the present time, and you’re Mrs. Ruth Simmons. You’re in Rye, Colorado. Do you hear me?
Uh-huh.
Do you hear me?
Uh-huh.
All right. Now, I’m going to count to five, and when I do, you’ll awaken at the count of five and be Mrs. Ruth Simmons. You will be back at the present time and place. Do you hear me?
Uh-huh.
You understand what I’m saying?
Uh-huh.
All right. Number 1… Number 2.
[Sneeze again.]
… Oh…
How do you feel? How do you feel? Are you awake?… Brian said I had a chill.
[I can’t deny that I was badly frightened by now. No use trying to deny it, because the tape recorder at this point plainly indicates that my voice was cracking. It seemed as though she was going to insist upon retaining her identity as Bridey. Had I kept my presence of mind at this stage, I could have continued with the questioning. I was less than half finished, and this might have been an especially opportune time to quiz her. But now there was only one thing on my mind—getting my subject out of that trance and back to the present time and place.]
You’re going to forget about Brian! You’re going to forget about Brian. By the time I reach the count of five you will awaken and you’ll be Mrs. Ruth Simmons. Do you hear me? Do you hear me?
Uh-huh.
Number 1. Number 2. Number 3. Number 4. Number 5. You will awaken and you’re Mrs. Ruth Simmons. You will awaken and you’re Mrs. Ruth Simmons. Ruth, how do you feel? Ruth? How do you feel? How do you feel, Ruth? Do you feel all right?
Uh-huh.
[As Ruth was visibly once more herself, my sigh of relief could be heard all over the room.]
1
Vol. I, Number 2, April 1953
CHAPTER 14
“Bridey” sneezed again during the fifth session. But this time we had a “linen” ready for her, so it didn’t disrupt the making of the tape recording. This session, which took place August 29, 1953, proved to be one of the best. Ruth seemed to fade away, and in her place was a saucy, rather flippant Irish girl named Bridey, who manifested a distinct personality, talked back, registered moods ranging from suspicion to gaiety, and in general appeared to thoroughly enjoy the whole thing. As usual, the session took place in the presence of half a dozen witnesses.
I want you to go back, back, and back to your last lifetime on earth. I want you to go back to the end of that lifetime. You’ve already told us about that lifetime… that lifetime in Ireland… You’ve already told us about that. I want you to go back to the end of it—after, just after they had ditched your body. Do you remember that? Can you remember? Can you remember that scene? Can you drift on back to that scene? When they were ditching your body?
Um-hmm. Um-hmm.
Do you see it all right now, do you?
Um-hmm.
All right. Is Father John there?
Um-hmm.
Father John is there?
Um-hmm.
Who else is there?
Brian… ’n Mary Catherine, and the man who played the pipes.
The man who played the pipes?
Uh-huh… the Uilleann pipes.
The what pipes? The Uilleann.
Oh, I see. Who else was there?
Uh… uh… uh… Mary Catherine’s husband… n…
You told us his name was Kevin. You told us his name was Kevin. Is that right?
Kevin Moore.
Kevin Moore?
Yes.
All right. Now, as to Father John, you say he was there?
Uh-huh.
What was Father John’s last name?
Oh… ’twas… G… Father John… Joseph…
John Joseph?
John Joseph. He spelled it once… G… G… o… G. ’Twas G-o or G-a… r… m… m-a-n…
Could it have been Gorman?
Yes.
Gorman? G-o-r-m-a-n?
Yes. It was G-o-r-m… o or a-n.
All right. That’s all right. Now, where they’re ditching you… Can you read that tombstone and see what it says? Your tombstone… where they’re ditching you there. Can you read it and tell me what it says?
It’s… uh… Bridget… Kathleen… M…. Mac- Carthy.
What does the M stand for?
For Murphy.
For Murphy. All right. What about… what about anything else on the tombstone? Are there any numbers on the tombstone?… One… seven… and I think it’s a nine… and an eight… And there’s a line.
[When she referred to the line that separates the two sets of numbers—“And there’s a line”—she made a motion with her finger, indicating the drawing of a line.]
There’s a line. All right.
And… a one again.
One again?
Yes. And an eight.
Um-hmm.
And there’s a… let’s see… a six… there’s… And… Brian said you didn’t do it very plain. It’s a four, though.
[When she came to the last number, the four, she seemed to be remembering a scene during which Brian had complained—after Bridey’s death and the making of the tombstone—that the last number was not sufficiently clear. “It’s a four, though,” Bridey assured us.]
Brian said they didn’t do it very plain?
… He was upset about it.
He was?
It was a four, though.
All right, now rest and relax. You’re going to feel very comfortable. You’re going to enjoy this session more than any previously. You’re going to enjoy this session very much. Because it’s going to be comfortable, and it’s actually going to be fun remembering all those things. And your memory will be sharper and clearer tonight. Your memory will come back very, very sharp. And after you awaken, you’re going to feel fine… you’re going to feel just fine… you’re going to feel very relaxed and refreshed. Now, at the time that they ditched you… at the time of your death… did they make out a death certificate? Did they make out any kind of death certificate or publish anything in the newspaper? Oh, why don’t you ask Father John?
[She asked this plaintively, almost painfully. It was as though she could not understand why I bothered her with the matters of official records when Father John was the obvious person to approach in such cases.
Many who have listened to this line on the tape recorder have asked why I did not further pursue the point by rebounding with a question such as, “Where can I find Father John?”But such a query might have resulted—although I don’t know for sure—in undue confusion or uneasiness, which I had assured Rex I would always try to avoid.]