Ghosts I Have Seen, and Other Psychic Experiences by Violet Tweedale — Summary & Review

Ghosts I Have Seen, and Other Psychic Experiences is a richly detailed narrative-prose work by Violet Tweedale, recounting her lifelong encounters with the supernatural and psychic realms. The book blends personal memoir, historical anecdotes, and spiritual reflections, offering a window into the mysterious borderlands between the material and spiritual worlds.

Tweeddale begins by recalling her childhood experiences with ghostly phenomena she called 'Silk Dress' and 'Rumpus,' sounds and presences that were felt but not fully understood. Alongside her father, she explored reputedly haunted places such as Broughton Hall, witnessing ghostly apparitions like a silent woman in white and a wandering old woman in a garden. These early experiences set the tone for a life marked by openness to psychic phenomena.

Her narrative moves through encounters with mediums and seances, including those with notable figures like Marie, Countess of Caithness, where genuine mediumistic phenomena such as trance-induced weight loss were observed. She also describes meeting Prince Valori and his supernatural 'Familiar,' a satyr-like figure linked to occult traditions of witchcraft and devil worship, illustrating the complex social acceptance and intrigue surrounding psychic matters in her circles.

Tweeddale’s journey is not only about ghosts but also about spiritual philosophy. Influenced by theosophical ideas, she recounts meeting Madame Blavatsky and exploring doctrines of reincarnation and Karma as frameworks for understanding justice and the soul’s evolution. She shares vivid ghost stories from Scotland, including Jacobite apparitions and tragic hauntings tied to family histories and violent deaths.

The book includes accounts of astral projection and out-of-body experiences, such as her own vision of an astral self and past-life memories triggered by art and places. She describes haunted houses with persistent supernatural disturbances, including the notorious 'Castel a Mare' in Torquay, where violent spirit possession of a medium revealed a tragic murder. These investigations are balanced with reflections on the dangers and difficulties of psychic research.

Throughout, Tweeddale offers compassionate portraits of spirits with unfulfilled desires and explores the aura as a visible manifestation of spiritual and emotional states, describing the auras of public figures and friends alike. Her tone is reflective, serious, and occasionally suspenseful, inviting readers to consider the unseen dimensions of existence without demanding belief.

The final chapters express a mystical vision of life as a soul’s pilgrimage, emphasizing mystery as the presence of the divine and encouraging the pursuit of mysticism as a path toward spiritual enlightenment. The book is both a collection of ghostly tales and a thoughtful meditation on the soul’s journey beyond death, blending personal experience with broader spiritual insights.