The Search for Bridey Murphy (30 page)

To be sure, the doctrines of heredity, no matter how they are stretched or twisted, are strained in any attempt to account for these enigmas. On the other hand, the reincarnation principle fits the picture rather neatly: The reincarnating entity, having already molded these capacities, characteristics, and tendencies in previous experiences, could carry them forward into the present life.

What about the other side of the argument—the similarities found within a family? Here, let us borrow a quotation from Dr. John McTaggart:
⁶

In short, the argument against heredity as the whole story in
explaining character and ability is a compelling one. In the words of the New Testament, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh; that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”
⁷
And it is interesting to note that this statement follows almost immediately after the counsel to Nicodemus that, “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Can the Bridey Murphy type of experiment be repeated with everyone? This question is asked by a surprising number of persons eager to explore their own past. And it is a curious fact that a preponderant majority of those who volunteer as subjects are women. Why women are especially interested in prenatal regressions I don’t know, but their interest is definitely keener than that of men.

Someday—and perhaps that day is not so far distant—it may be a simple matter to probe the depths of the psyche of almost any subject. At the moment, however, it must be recognized that Ruth Simmons is an uncommonly good hypnotic subject, and this capacity, as has been already explained, simply is not present in everyone. Consequently, “Bridey Murphys” are not likely to be unveiled every day of the week. Even so, now that many investigators are beginning to delve into this field, there will undoubtedly be forthcoming, from time to time, experiments which will make the Bridey effort seem amateurish.
⁸

I have no idea, furthermore, how much can be accomplished with the assistance of drugs. If sodium amytal or sodium pentothal, for instance, were to be used in conjunction with these experiments, it would be interesting to learn what could be achieved with otherwise poor subjects. I am hoping that doctors will investigate this phase.

How about the population problem, the vast increase in the population of the earth? Here a moment’s reflection discloses at least two basic considerations. In the first place, the
total
number of entities both in this and the astral world can remain the same while the balance shifts between the number of entities on earth
and the number in the unseen world. As the population on earth increases, the number of individual entities in the unseen world might be decreasing.

Then, too, the history of modern man goes back only a few
thousand
years. But geologists assure us that our earth is a few
billion
years old. Archaeological discoveries in the Orient, Egypt, Cambodia, and Mexico establish the fact that great civilizations once existed where there is now scarcely more than wasteland. So it is even possible that there was at one time a larger population than we supposed.

Does a previous existence account for our sometimes finding ourselves in a scene or circumstance which seems oddly familiar? Nobody can answer this with certainty; the reincarnation hypothesis is merely one possibility. The French have a term for this:
déjà vu
.

And Sir Walter Scott had something to say about it too:

What happens to the race, nationality, and sex of a person during this evolution through lifetimes? Obviously the nationality must change at times. As to sex, my own experiments—and I have had a total of only three subjects in prenatal regressions—have not disclosed any change of gender experienced by subjects recalling prior lives on earth. Besides Bridey Murphy, I had a female subject who claimed to have been a spinster schoolteacher in nineteenth century America, and a male subject who (under hypnosis, of course) related an interesting previous experience in which his sex had not changed.

Other investigators, however, report that they have encountered changes of sex from one incarnation to another. They contend, moreover, that there have been racial changes as well. (These findings, incidentally, are supported by the readings of Edgar Cayce, who maintained that race, nationality, or sex might alter from one life experience to the next.)

Naturally there have been plenty of questions put to me that I am far from qualified to answer: At what point does the “high
frequency electromagnetic charge” (or psyche) enter the human embryo? Is there any observable pattern in the lapses of time between one lifetime and the next? What determines whether the psyche reincarnates again quickly (as claimed in the case of Shanti Devi, the Indian girl) or delays the process for a half century or more? What are the mechanics of reincarnation—just how does the psyche become infused into the embryo? And, as I asked Bridey Murphy, “Who takes care of all the details?”

While admitting my own ignorance, I must comment that those studying reincarnation, including scholars with minds much more perspicacious than my own, have attacked all these issues, and more, head-on. Their conclusions are plausible and appear, what’s more, to fit all the facts. There are a surprising number of volumes
⁹
dealing with these topics, and I am reliably informed that there are even now several more being written, soon to be published.

Naturally I have made many mistakes as I have stumbled along. As I look back now, I can think of a good many things that should have been done, of questions that should have been asked. But I am not a professional at this business. Then, too, my experience in this field has all come so suddenly.

Besides, I had nothing to steer me, not even a textbook. In almost any other sphere, some guidance would be available. On hypnotic age regressions, for instance, there are “how-to” books, complete with suggested techniques, some even quoting entire sessions verbatim. But what is the best method, after regressing the subject to infancy, of going on back “over the hump”? There were no printed instructions on this phase, and so I simply had to plunge in as best I could.

As to questioning a subject, my first session presented a really perplexing problem. How does one interrogate a young woman who abruptly announces that she spent the previous century in Ireland? Perhaps she knew where
she
was, but I was lost!

And subsequent meetings were no easy matter, either. I had the help of some keen thinkers, including lawyers, in framing questions, but we were all beginners at this sort of thing. One attorney told me that he had called in his whole office staff and
posed the problem for them: “If a woman walked in here today and claimed that she had lived in Ireland from 1798 until 1864, what questions would you ask her in order to prove conclusively that her statement was either true or false?” They were stumped.

The interrogation of Ruth Simmons was also encumbered by other limitations. The whole experiment would have collapsed without the co-operation of Rex Simmons, and so his recommendations—he never issued commands—had to be scrupulously observed. After the first time he asked, in order to make certain that Ruth would not be unduly fatigued, that no session take longer than one hour. Since this included the time required for the hypnosis and the ordinary age regression, there was not too long a period left for the interrogation of Bridey Murphy.

Rex had other concerns too. He reminded me that every time the New Amsterdam episode had been mentioned during a trance his wife had been noticeably seized with pain. So after that I avoided the subject of New Amsterdam. Moreover, I tried to avoid any type of question that might possibly result in his wife’s anxiety or discomfort.

There was also another brand of questioning that had to be deleted. Anything of a very personal or intimate nature was avoided. While it could be especially interesting—and might possibly even develop significant factual material—still it might result in disclosing incidents of an embarrassing nature.

And everything happened so quickly! I finished chasing down the Cayce story in October, recorded the first tape in November, the third tape in January, and then left for New York four days later. I had been in New York less than one week when an editor suggested that I start putting it all down on paper.

The search for Bridey Murphy, the editor decided, should be conducted by independent investigators on the spot in Ireland. The editor took note of the fact that neither I nor my subject had ever at any time been abroad, and it was deemed best that this status be maintained until after the final manuscript had been turned in. Consequently, the matter of the search was put into
the hands of an Irish legal firm, various librarians, and other investigators whose names were not even revealed to me at the time. In this way I could in no manner influence the investigator nor could I even communicate with them. It was to be, in short, a wholly independent project.

It early became clear that the search for Bridey would be far from the simple matter that we had at first presumed. It soon became evident, in fact, that the search would easily be a major research project in itself. A Cork librarian reported, “Ordinarily, no registers of births, marriages, or deaths were kept before 1864.” The representative of a London newspaper, which had become independently interested in making its own search, wrote, “Apparently the records for that period are extremely rare.”

Another expert on such matters reported, “In my opinion you will find no immediate nor easy solution to the problems set out.” He added, “You have a lengthy search ahead of you.” And he took pains both to underscore and double-space the word “lengthy.” The problem was further complicated by the fact that Murphy was the most frequent surname in Ireland.

It became obvious, therefore, that a full-scale search for Bridey would be a truly formidable undertaking. It might actually necessitate my going to Ireland, running down every possible lead, interviewing anyone who might have information, and even advertising in Cork and Belfast newspapers in the hope of finding significant facts. Indeed, it looked as though this were a job for a detective agency.

But all this would take considerable time, and the final manuscript had to be turned in five months before date of publication, which was already scheduled for late fall 1955. Accordingly, it was decided to publish those findings which had developed by the spring of 1955. Several points of interest had been uncovered, and some of the facts were especially interesting.

In regard to Bridey’s father-in-law, the barrister, an Irish solicitor made the following report: “We have heard from the Registrar of Kings Inn regarding the barristers in Cork, 1830, and we understand that there was a John McCarthy. … He was from Cork and was educated at Clongowes School. He would therefore be a Roman Catholic.” The facts as reported would fit Bridey’s allegations, and at that time there was only one barrister of that name.

On one tape Bridey told us that Brian had bought “foodstuffs”
from a greengrocer whose name, she said, was John Carrigan. She gave us both his first and last name, and even spelled the last name. A statement from a Belfast librarian discloses that, indeed, there had been a John Carrigan who carried on a business as a grocer at 90 Northumberland Street. And since there was only one such John Carrigan in that business in Belfast at that time, this fact would seem to be noteworthy.

On another tape Bridey had told us that she had purchased “foodstuffs” at Farr’s. She did not give us the first name, but she spelled the last name. Research in Belfast brought confirmation, William Farr, the report said, was a grocer at 59-61 Mustard Street, which lay between Donegall Street and North Street. Here again there appears to have been no other Farr in that business at that time in Belfast.