Read The Search for Bridey Murphy Online
Authors: Morey Bernstein
The Search for Bridey Murphy (28 page)
All right
John Lawe….
Now how about the Forster Greene and Company? Forster Greene and Company?… Do you remember the Robert Williamson triplets?
… I don’t remember that.
How about the name John Craig? John Craig? Remember that name?… John Craig…
Uh…
Hardware?
Hardware? John Craig Hardware?
Um-hm.
Are these places in Belfast?
Yes. Yes, that’s in Belfast.
That’s in Belfast. I… Have you been looking at Brian’s books?
No.
Where did you get the names?
I got that name from the Belfast
News-Letter
.
[Murmurs.] Ah, yes.
Now, how about—What did you say?
I believe some of those names are in Brian’s books.
Well, they might be. Now you don’t… Just… just listen to the names, and if any one name means anything in particular, you tell me about it. Now, here’s some more names. Thomas Edward… Cliff Leslie… William Nielson Hancock…
Oh…
James Gibson… Richard Homer Mills…
Oh…
Ecklin Molyneaux, Molyneaux… Ecklin Molyneaux? And then in Cork maybe you knew Michael Barrie or Sir Robert Kane…
No…
Now in Belfast, you know the name of the large tobacco company in Belfast?
[She herself had told us on an earlier tape that there was a tobacco company and a rope company that she remem bered, although she could not recall their names; I hoped that she might now be able to remember the names.]
The tobacco company?
Mm-hm.
I know there’s a big tobacco company, and there’s a big rope company because they… Brian has them in his books too. But I don’t remember the names.
Don’t remember the names. All right.
There’s a tobacco house, and there’s a rope place. They make rope.
All right. Now, now, let’s go on back to Cork. Let’s drift on back to Cork. Let’s drift on back to Cork. Now, you had a good time in Cork. You enjoyed your life in Cork. Now, we’ll enjoy talking about it tonight. We’ll enjoy talking about it. Now think about your brother in Cork. Think about your brother. You told us his name was Duncan.
Mm-hmm.
Now, what’s his whole name? His full name?
… Duncan… Duncan…
Did he have any other names?
I had a few for him.
You had a few, yes. Did he have any?
… Duncan…
Was it just Duncan? Or did he have any other name?
He had… yes… On his… record in the Bible… Duncan… Blaine… Murphy.
Duncan Blaine Murphy?
Duncan Blaine Murphy.
Did Duncan ever get married?
Duncan… Yes, he did.
Did he have any children?
… I—yes, he did.
Did he write you about this when you were in Belfast? Did he write to you about it? Did he write you about… Or did he…
He married. He married Mrs. Strayne’s daughter.
He did?
… She was a beautiful girl.
What was her name?
Amy.
The daughter’s name was Amy?
Amy.
All right.
A-i-m-e-e.
A-i-m-e-e?
E-e.
Mm-hm. All right. Was Duncan a cropper? Like his father?
[This question was purposely slanted to explore further Duncan’s occupation. It is to be noted that here Bridey made no reference to her former allegation that Duncan was also a barrister.]
Yes… He was… he was supposed to be. That’s the way it went.
All right. Now, what kind of crops?
Well, there was… oh… it was divided off. There was… flax… and there was hay… and there was… some… Way in the back, there was some tobacco. And there was… hmm… corn… and… Did I say flax?
All right. How did you take up those crops? How did you harvest them? What kinds of implements or tools?
I didn’t do it.
No. I mean how did they do it?
They cut them down. They had a… long… I don’t know what they called it.
All right.
Long handle, and it had a… funny blade.
All right. Do you remember your address in Cork? Do you know your address in Cork?
… Just the Meadows.
Now how about… how about the Morning Jig that you told us you danced before? Can you see yourself doing the Morning Jig?… Can you watch yourself in your mind doing the Morning Jig?
Mm-hmm.
Can you see yourself?
Yes.
All right. Now watch yourself carefully doing that Morning Jig. Watch yourself doing the Morning Jig. Watch yourself doing that Morning Jig… in your mind. See yourself.
Mm-hm.
After you awaken, I’ll ask you to do the Morning Jig. Ill ask
you to get up and do the Morning Jig. And you will want to do it. You enjoyed it so much, you will enjoy dancing it again.
Mm-hm,
And tonight, after you awaken you will do the Morning Jig twice. You will go through the Morning Jig twice. After you awaken. After you awaken. I’ll ask you to get up and show you where to dance the Morning Jig. And you will be glad to do it. You will enjoy doing it.
Mm-hm.
All right. Now do you remember your little brother? Do you remember your little brother, the one that died? The one that you told us died when he was very young? Your little brother.
I don’t remember very much.
Do you remember what he died from?
[No answer.]
… Some kind of… black-something.
All right.
Or something…
All right. Now tell me, can you sing? Can you sing?
Mm-hmm.
What song do you like? What Irish song do you like?
Mm… mm… I like “The Londonderry Air.”
Can you sing “The Londonderry Air?”
… I’d rather not. I don’t like to sing very well.
Is there any other song, any other real short song that you would like to sing?… Just some little short song… Perhaps some gay little song that you liked.
Mmm… [Sings] Father’s girl’s a dancing doll.
Father’s girl’s a dancing doll.
Sing around and swing around.
Father’s girl’s a dancing doll.
Very good. And did you sing that in Ireland? Did you sing that at Cork?
Uh-huh.
All right. What was the date of your birthday? That is, the month and the day. The month and the day of your birthday?
… Mm… I was… mm… ’twas in the holidays. ’Twas in the holidays.
Do you remember the month?
’Twas the twelfth month.
Twelfth month?
Uh-huh.
What about the day?
It was the… twentieth day.
Twentieth day of the twelfth month?
Uh-huh.
[This does not correspond in any way to Ruth Simmons’ birthday—neither the month nor the day.]
All right. I want you to take any one day in Cork… any one day that was very pleasant. Recall any one day that you particularly liked. Recall it to your mind, and tell me about that whole day. Just tell me about that day, what you did that day from the time you got up till the time you went to bed. Tell me about that day.
… Mm… Got up for a fitting. And I… had… one, two, three… new… slips. And they had wide sashes. And… my mother spent the whole morning… making me… three pretty slips with sashes. And I had… slippers…. They were sent to me. White slippers. And I went to… Mrs. Strayne’s… for a… tea and cakes… for… Geneviève. Tea and cakes for Geneviève, and I wore my white slips with the… green sash… and my new shoes. And they said… “You’re… a… ve-ry pretty little girl.”… But she was with her hand out for what I brought her, too.
[Chuckle.] All right, what else?
And I had tea and cakes, and I spilled… And I… I had to… take the slip off, and I had to stay back in the back parlor till it dried.
All right. Did anything else happen that day? That was a pleasant day. The party. Tea and cakes, and three new—slips. Did you do anything else that day?
[No answer.]
And what was the fitting for? Why was there a fitting?
For my three new slips. I had to have the one done for Genevieve’s tea and cakes, and… my mother said, “We will just make three while we’ve got you on the board.”
All right.
… A little girl likes pretty things.
Now can you tell me… what was your word for ghosts? What’s your word for ghosts?
A banshee.
Is there any other word for ghost?
… If you want to know the Gaelic words, you’ll have to ask somebody else.
All right.
A banshee… or a… a… ghost is a spirit, or a…
All right. Now while you were there in Cork, while you lived at that house in Cork, did you say any prayers or blessings before you ate? Did you say any prayers or blessings before you ate?
Yes.
Can you say one now? We said… Bless… bless this… mm… this… Bless this food… Umm… Bless this… Keep us happy, bright, and good…. Bless this… bless this…
[It is interesting to note that on the very first tape Bridey delivered this blessing without any hesitation. But here she stumbles and is unable to recall all the words. This is possibly an indication that a deeper trance was achieved during the first session. In regard to the recall type of ordinary hypnotic age regression, Le Cron wrote (in
Experimental Hypnosis
): “Such memory recall may be only partial and rather vague; at other times it may be clear and remarkably redundant.”]
You said that prayer for me once before. You said that for me once before. Are you having trouble remembering it now?
Bless… I know it. Bless this house…. Bless the food. There’s more. Bless… Keep us happy, bright, and… good. But there’s some more.
All right. Don’t worry about that. Did you ever hear of Killarney? Did you ever hear of Limerick, or Galway, or Clare?
Limerick. There’s a County Limerick.
Limerick was a county?
There’s a county, Limerick.
All right.
And there’s a… Galway. Galway.
What is Galway?
Tis a port.
A port?
A port.
All right. Now, let’s for just a minute… let’s for just a minute drift back to Belfast. Drift back to Belfast. Now, tell me, on the street in front of St. Theresa’s Church, in front of St. Theresa’s Church… what was the road made of? Was it a dirt road or a brick road? What was it?
[During the fifth session, you may recall, Bridey was di
rected to draw, as a post-hypnotic suggestion, a simple sketch showing the respective locations of her house and St. Theresa’s Church. At the end of the session she responded to the post-hypnotic direction and made the drawing.Several days later, however, Hazel looked over the “map” and noticed dozens of tiny circles that our subject had sketched in what was supposed to be the street. “I bet she meant these little circles to be cobblestones,” Hazel suggested. So I decided, without saying anything to the subject, to find out whether these could have been cobblestones. Hence the question above. And it should be observed that I did not refer to a “stone” road; I asked whether the road was dirt or brick.]
’Twas a stone road.
Stone road? What did they call those stones?
Cobbles.
All right. Now did you ever receive the last rites or the Extreme Unction before your death in that lifetime? Did you ever receive the last rites or Extreme Unction?
[Positively.] No! But they ditched you in the… in the… They ditched your body in the… St. Theresa’s churchyard?
[Suddenly.] Are you a Catholic?
No. No, I’m not.
… They ditched me. … I wasn’t on the
hallowed
ground. Oh, you… you weren’t on the hallowed ground. I see. All right. All right, now rest and relax. Be perfectly comfortable… perfectly comfortable. Be very, very comfortable. Now, what was the name of your family… there in Belfast—what was the name of your family surgeon?
… I don’t know what you mean,
Chirurgeon?
1
Ch… ?
The man who took care of you when you were ill?
Yes.
What was his name?
I
was
ill. I caught a terrific chill.
[The reference to the “chill” will probably lead the mind of the reader to flash back to earlier sessions, when she had also complained of a bad chill experienced during the
Bridey Murphy lifetime. Since many researchers in this field contend that some current afflictions have their origin in past-life experiences, several of the people working with me on this matter wondered whether Bridey’s “chill” could in any sense be germane to Ruth’s present allergies.There was never sufficient time, though, adequately to look into this possibility. Nor did the following direct suggestion result in any substantial improvement.]
Now, you’ll never have that chill again. That chill will never bother you again. That chill will disappear. In the future you will be free from all the effects of that chill. That chill will never bother you. That chill will disappear, it will vanish, it will leave you. The chill will leave you. Now and forevermore, the chill will not bother you. The chill will go away. The chill will leave you. And after you awaken, you will be free from the effects of the chill. The chill will never again bother you. You will be free after you awaken. And now your body is becoming warmer and pleasantly comfortable. Your body will become warm and pleasantly comfortable. You’re feeling fine… feeling just fine. And your head will be clear, and your nose will be clear. And you’ll feel fine after you awaken. You’ll feel fine after you awaken. Now relax. Relax, because you’re going to awaken. In a little while you’re going to awaken. In just a few moments you’re going to awaken. After you awaken, you will want to dance the Morning Jig. After you awaken, you will want to dance the Morning Jig after you awaken. After you awaken, soon after you awaken, I will ask you… I will ask you to take a spot on the floor and do the Morning Jig. And you will do it twice, and you will feel fine. Now, I’m going to count to five. I’m going to count to five. I’m going to count to five, and you’ll awaken at the count of five. You’ll be back at the present time and place. You’ll be back at the present time and place. You’ll be Mrs. Ruth Simmons. You’ll be in Colorado, and you’ll feel fine. You will feel comfortable and warm. And the chill will never again bother you. You will never again be disturbed by the chill. Nor will you be disturbed by any allergies, if the chill caused the allergies. You will never again be disturbed by them. You will be free from them. And you’re feeling more and more comfortable all the time as I begin to count. Number 1. Number 2. Number 3. Number 4. You’ll awaken gradually. When I reach the count of five you’ll be at the present time and place,
and you’ll feel fine. Number 5. Now, you’re going to awaken and feel fine. You’ll open your eyes gradually. Open your eyes gradually to get adjusted to the light. And you’ll feel fine and very, very comfortable. You’ll feel just fine. Now… the lights too bright? Lights too bright?
