to medium, sitter or anyone present, who appears without warning and without an invitation at a séance. Sceptics argue that drop ins are constructs of the medium’s unconscious but many psychical researchers who have investigated drop in cases believe them to be genuine. They are seen as possible evidence to support the belief that mediums do actually contact the spirits of the dead and are not simply manifesting secondary personalities or demonstrating their powers of clairvoyance or telepathy.
On rare occasions drops ins are accompanied by phenomena such as table tilting, mysterious lights, apports and strange sounds and smells, and occasionally they speak in a language the medium is not fluent in. Many cases are inconclusive but in the best cases the information a drop in communicator brings is personal and has never been made public, but can be verified by a small group of friends or family members.
Some drop ins are said to be very talkative, revealing personal information that can be verified upon research. One of these was ‘Harry Stockbridge’, who dropped in on a Ouija board séance of a group meeting in Cambridge, England between 1950 and1952. Stockbridge claimed to be a second lieutenant in the Northumberland Fusiliers who had died on 14 July 1916. The information he gave was verified through old military records.
Other drop ins have a motive or task they are intent on accomplishing. One of these was the case of Runolfur Runolfs-son who, according to reports, dropped in on medium Hafsteinn Björnsson in 1937. Runolfsson was a rough, hard drinking Icelander who had drowned in 1879; his corpse was picked apart by birds. After several sittings Runolfsson revealed that he wanted to find his missing thighbone. Runolfsson’s identity was verified and his thighbone discovered and buried.
DRUGS
The use of drugs and the visions they induce in religious ceremonies is an age-old practice. Opinions vary greatly as to whether certain drugs can stimulate genuine psychic experiences or not. Some believe that drugs can duplicate mystical experiences and heighten the emotions, and are of value to psychotherapy. Others believe that drug-related experiences are simply illusions.
There have been a number of tests on drugs and their effects on psi ability since the 1920s. Both caffeine and alcohol have been shown to both improve and depress test results. Marijuana and other strong psychedelic drugs, such as LSD and mescaline, which loosen the boundaries of ego generally, trigger too much instability to yield meaningful conclusions. In general results have been largely inconclusive as drugs affect each person differently.
Most psychics would discourage the use of mind-altering drugs, believing that true insight and power can only be created or raised from within, not from without.
DRUIDS, DRUIDRY
A Celtic priestly class in Britain and Europe during the first centuries BC and AD, the Druids were widely known as visionaries and prophets. They were also thought to preach a doctrine of reincarnation believing in the immortality of the soul, which, after death, travelled to the underworld, entered a new body and lived again on earth.
The Druids followed pagan traditions of nature and goddess worship and possessed knowledge of magic, healing, astronomy and sacred geometry. Druid means ‘knowing the oak tree’ in Gaelic and the robust oak tree was sacred to the Druids. Their reverence for tree wisdom is expressed in their alphabet, the Ogham, which consists of different tree symbols each embodying the elemental wisdom of the particular plant.
The Romans feared the Celts and found their rituals - some of which may have included human sacrifice - ignorant and barbaric. In AD 43 Druidism was banned and the sacred oak demolished, plunging the European Celts into decline (although those at the margins of the Roman Empire, for example in Ireland and Scotland, survived). Interest in the Druids was not renewed until the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, when they were romanticized in literature. The Ancient Order of Druids was formed by British carpenter Henry Hurle in 1781 and other groups followed. There are modern Druids in the UK and US today.
Becoming a Druid means a lifetime of study through three levels to reach spiritual awareness. The first level is that of the Bard. Bards learn to understand the creative and magical power of sound. The second level is that of Ovate, where the student learns to alter their consciousness using methods such as astral travel. The third level is that of the Druid, and when this level is achieved the student is considered a master of his or her craft with the power to divine the future and access the power of nature.
DRUMMER OF CORTACHY
Ghostly drumming said to portend the death of a member of the Ogilvy family, the earls of Airlie and owners of Cortachy Castle, Scotland.
According to lore, which dates back to medieval times, it is said that a messenger who arrived one day at the castle with unpleasant news was stuffed into a drum and tossed over the castle walls. Just before he died he vowed to haunt the family forever, and for hundreds of years after it was said that whenever ghostly drumming was heard a member of the family died.
One of the most famous drumming cases happened during Christmas in 1844, when a guest staying at the castle triggered a panic when she heard the drumming and asked the Earl and his wife where the sound was coming from. Lady Airlie died six months later, leaving a note saying that she knew the drumming was for her. Some believe that panic and fear about the curse brought about her death.
The drumming stopped in 1900 when the then Earl died in the Boer War and nobody heard the drumming - or admitted that they had heard it.
DRUMMER of TEDWORTH
In 1661 in Ludgarshall, Wiltshire, an anonymous drummer annoyed residents with his constant drumming. Eventually the drummer was arrested and his drum confiscated.
The drum eventually ended up in the house of John Mompesson who lived in the neighbouring village of Tedworth and was responsible for the arrest of the drummer. During Mompesson’s absence on a business trip in London violent poltergeist activity erupted in his house terrifying his family and servants. For days on end drumming was heard both inside and outside the house, objects were moved about, voices spoke and the younger children were levitated in their bed.
The disturbances went on for two years and drew widespread interest from curious visitors. Aside from the constant beating drum other phenomena included the sound of footsteps, floating candles, disembodied voices, animal noises, chamber pots emptied on to beds, knives found in a bed and money turned mysteriously black.
Meanwhile the drummer turned up in custody again and was put into Gloucester gaol charged with theft. During this time he claimed to be responsible for the activity at Mompesson’s house, as revenge for taking away his drum, and this lead to his trial for witchcraft. He was condemned to transportation and forced to leave the area.
Many years later the drummer returned to Tedworth from time to time, and whenever he did the disturbances began again. The house was only quiet when he was gone.
DRURY LANE theatre
The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, is the oldest theatre site in London (save the rebuilt Globe), the original theatre having been built in 1663. It has a long history packed with intrigue, romance and murder, and there have been numerous sightings of ghosts.
