Vanished

[CryptKeeper]

Post your comments on this episode here.

[SpiritChaser]

This was a terrific show.  I loved Chris Fleming in this role.  He is very kind and patient and supportive of the kids.

I was extremely impressed with what was done for the two of them and how they handled situations which helped them moved past their fears.

I think this show is such a service.  It sounds to me like the young man is deceased though, which I felt bad about for the parents.  I do hope they find closure. 

[LightSpirit13]

It feels to me like the missing young man is also deceased.  At first, I wondered about the weight it put on the kids but my thought is now that they are going to get insights anyway.  Why not channel them in an organized, supported way.

We also see the young lady went back to help with a second case.  Kudos to her.

[lynne]

Chris Fleming did an excellent job of launching the season Premier of Chip Coffey's Psychic Kids: Children of the Paranormal. Chip, who is the driving force behind the show had other commitments and asked Chris to step in.

As usual Chip Coffey stuck to his insistence on approaching the paranormal with the highest of ethics in his selection of Chris to pinch hit. I first encountered Chris Fleming in the autopsy room at Waverly Hills and was impressed with his medium skills and desire to help everyone in the room have a paranormal experience, not just the handful of sensitives who happened to be there. He was completely upfront at one point when his tech equipment wasn't picking up anything and asked if anyone else in the room was getting anything. I know darn well as a medium that Chris could have talked all night about what he was getting, but he didn't. Instead he opened the floor to everyone in the room. That is what I call an honest, class act.

Two teens were the focus of the season opener. Vicki, age 16 of Cupertino, California had long struggled with her ability to not only see spirits but also as an empath, feeling the emotions of spirits and people around her. She had no control over her gifts which meant inadvertently experiencing any passing emotion or spirit. Everyone needs down time, and Vicki had not experienced much of it in her young life. Constant experiences she couldn't understand, control or turn off for a time resulted in acute anxiety attacks whenever she sensed a spirit near her.

Vicki's parents, Bernice and Ken confirmed her sensitivities, explaining the history of the home the family lived in. Long before Vicki's birth the home she grew up in had been owned by a couple whose teen son had drowned at home. Vicki often felt the presence of this deceased teen ghost in the hallway. She happened to share the bedroom the dead boy once had. She was so afraid of his ghost that she couldn't make her self walk down the hallway he frequented. That is a lot of daily fear to experience in ones home.

Ken and Bernice felt helpless because they had no idea how to help their daughter. Ken commented that having a teen who picked up on others emotions all the time created a lot of drama in the home. As if being 16 wasn't drama enough!

Being different is the cardinal sin of teen years and Vicki's friends couldn't relate to her experiences. So she often felt lonely and that she didn't fit in.

Travis and his parents Sherry and Tim of Sandy, Utah were having similar experiences. While Vicki seemed to have been born with her talents, Travis's gifts kicked in following a near death experience at age nine. Travis had fallen out of a tree in his yard, hitting his head on a rock on impact. He remembered looking down on his body. A week later he started seeing spirits.  Since then his life has been overshadowed by fear of possession by evil spirits.

Dad Tim shared how challenging his son's uncontrolled gifts have been on the family. As a child Travis often woke screaming from night terrors. His parents realized he was telling something to leave him alone, that their son's experiences were much more than nightmares.

Tim said Travis had been a happy, bubbly boy before his near death experience. In fact Travis's nickname was "smilely eyes". Tim missed the joy and positive outlook that was his son's birthright.

Like Vicki, Travis can sense spirits in his own home and found them deeply disturbing. He strongly felt evil spirits in in the downstairs bathroom of his home. Fortunately he felt here was some help in the form of Native American spirits who resided in a home office. Travis believed these Native spirits helped protect his family from the dark spirits in the bathroom.

Being an empath was hard on Travis. Tim saw the negative energy of spirits around Travis reflected in his attitudes. Travis has had a hard time of it in school, laughed at by his friends for his experiences and feeling deeply isolated.

In an effort to stop living in fear and anxiety both Vicki and her father, Ken and Travis and his father, Tim, joined Chris Fleming  at the Concord Colonial Inn. This Concord, Massachusetts inn was first built in 1716 and served as the first Revolutionary War hospital.

Prior to the teens arrival Chris did a walk through the Concord Colonial Inn. The current dining room is the oldest part of the structure. He immediately picked up the presence of a woman in the dining room. I saw her as young, upswept brown hair wearing an elegant, brocaded purple gown.

Chris sensed something scarier upstairs on the second floor of the inn. He felt residual energy from both a woman and child spirits.

The innkeeper shared that a former modern day guest had seen a ghostly female figure in room 24.

The first thing Chris did after meeting Vicki and Travis was to ask them what were their worst fears about their paranormal experiences? This was absolutely the right way to start, confront their fears.   Vicki was afraid of the unknown. The only thing she did know about the spirits she saw is they were dead which she found frightening enough, but not to know anything else was worse.

Travis shared his fear of possesion by evil spirits and how overwhelming he found his empathic abilities. He was terrified of experiencing emotions that were not his and what they might drive him to do.

Ken's goal for his daughter Vicki was for her to be able to separate others emotions from her own. Tim just wanted his son to be happy and upbeat again instead of afraid and isolated.

Chris did a second walk through, this time with Travis and Vicki to see what they would pick up. It was clear to me that Chris was deeply grounded and ready to assist in any way needed if either teen felt overwhelmed. I think his deep calm and confidence in his ability to handle come what may helped Travis and Vicki open up about what they were experiencing.

Both Travis and Vicki were pulled upstairs to the second floor. Vicki felt a presence standing in the hallway of the second floor landing, right outside room 24. Travis felt cold, a common experience when spirits are close.

The group moved into room 24 and Vicki was hit by an anxiety attack when she saw a woman in the corner of the room. Chris acknowledged her fear, but gently insisted she tell him what she felt and saw. Vicki said she saw the woman in the bed.

Travis felt both male and female presences in room 24, but the male presence more strongly. He not only felt cold, but a strong energetic vibration from the ghosts.

Vicki then experienced someone elses physical symptom of shortness of breath. Almost simultaneously Travis felt the spirit was ill and felt terribly sick. Chris asked Vicki if she knew where in the room the female presence was. Vicki responded the spirit was standing right next to her and started shaking with a cold chill.

In total I sensed four spirits in room 24. The male presence, Travis picked up. The young woman both Vicki and Travis picked up on, her child and the ghost of an older woman in the room's overstuffed chair. I think these two women were from different time periods. The elderly lady died in the chair, or at least in a chair in the same location, of heart failure. I think she was a resident at one time and passed alone at night. She was discovered within a few minutes by those tending to her.

Travis was spot on in feeling the male presence was angry and negative. He also picked up residuals of soldiers from the late 1700's which was consistent with the structures history as a Revolutionary War hospital.

Once Travis got the ball rolling, Vicki was drawn to the overstuffed chair near the window but was afraid. Chris gently but firmly told Vicki to sit in the chair. The shade of the woman Vicki saw standing next to her shared a lot about the male presence. Vicki relayed the information to Chris and Travis saying he was a doctor, accustomed to being in charge. She said he had a habit of taking energy from a living person in the room and using it to expell them.  Chris matter-of-factly confirmed everything Vicki said.

The group called it a night. It wasn't a particularly restful night for Vicki or Travis who were deeply frightened by their experiences and concerned about what else they might have picked up on in the history rich inn. They talked about their fears and discomfort to in room diary cameras.

Psychotherapist Edy Nathan, the other half of the Psychic Kids team, talked to Vicki and Travis individually the next day. Edy asked each of them what was the hardest part of their paranormal experiences?

For Vicki it was the nonstop anxiety that kicked in whenever something spirit based was around. She had a rough time feeling others pain and was afraid of being overwhelmed to the point of not having control of herself. Edy explained it was critical that Vicki learn to look at herself without fear before she could deal with her experiences.

Travis said the hardest part for him was isolation. He kept to himself, found it hard to talk to friends and desperately wanted to learn how to separate his emotions from those of others. As a training exercise Chris suggested Travis people watch in a crowd and focus on just one of them, feeling the emotions of that single person. Chris said Travis would notice that as people walked by him their emotions would go with them, fading as their physical distance increased.

I was taking notes at this point, because I have never known what to tell my overwhelmed empath clients. So Chris, fair warning, I am going to borrow your exercise for people I work with who can benefit from it.

Vicki and Travis got some time to hang out and compare notes. Both of them had come to the retreat thinking whomever they were going to meet would be off or not quite normal. Instead they each realized what Vicki said, "I can do that too!" They didn't find each other weird but found some relief in learning they were not alone in their experiences.

Ken and Tim also had a chance to talk about the challenges of raising paranormal children when they had no such gifts or experiences to draw from.

On night two, Chris, Vicki and Travis returned to room 24 to face the spirits that had frightened the teens the night before. Vicki was once again drawn to the overstuffed chair next to the window in the bedroom and sat down in it. Vicki felt the same woman she had sensed the night before present in the room.

Travis again tuned into the angry male presence and got a couple names, John and George respectively. The male spirit felt angrier to Travis than the night before.

Vicki felt her energy being taken by the angry man and experienced sudden stomach pain.

Chris urged Vicki to ask the woman's spirit who she was, why was she in room 24? Vicki was a trooper as her heart made a fair attempt to beat out of her chest. She was terrified but she asked anyway and got detailed results.

Vicki said the woman near her described the angry man as "A Doctor, a family man.... rapist." The woman didn't  like him and told Vicki he was not a good man.

I think the young woman in the bed was raped by the doctor. She was not his wife. She was connected to the Revolutionary War hospital in some way. I am not sure if she was a nurse or a war refugee, but she was there for her own reasons that didn't include the doctor. She became pregnant as a result of the rape and the pain in her stomach and her subsequent death was caused by his botched attempt at a forced abortion. I saw the doctor in two sets of clothing. One was a civilian black suit, complete with doctors bag and the other was that of a Redcoat officer. I think he was a local doctor pulled in by the needs of the military, so he joined up.

As Vicki was channeling the woman's impressions of the doctor her right leg started bouncing up and down. This frightened her terribly, but Chris told her she could ask it to stop. Vicki asked the woman's spirit to "Please stop moving my body." Immediately she felt her body tense up and then release as her leg went still. This was a teachable moment, letting Vicki know through experience that she has control over who uses her body or her emotions. She can set boundaries and insist they be respected.

Travis was picking up on another part of the female spirit's story. He felt the presence of the woman's child, a little boy. As Vicki's leg started bouncing, Travis saw the little boy climb up into Vicki's lap, perceiving Vicki  as a motherly figure.

Edy worked with Vicki and Travis again. She asked Vicki if she honestly believed anything paranormal could hurt her. Vicki said the expected no, but confessed she didn't believe it yet. Edy told her to believe it. That night Vicki confided to her diary cam that she heard footsteps and felt someone behind her. Travis told his diary cam that the little boy he had encountered that evening haunts the upstairs of the inn.

Edy asked Travis what he was now most afraid of with his paranormal experiences. Travis replied he was afraid of loosing himself in his psychic abilities.

[lynne]

Chris took Vicki and Travis to Boston University to meet Program Director Tom Shamshak who trains private investigators. The teens were also introduced to police psychic Michelle Rosmarin to see if they could assist in an open missing person's case.

Ken, Vicki's Dad expressed deep concern to Edy that Vicki might be overwhelmed by working on a real missing persons case. Edy explained to Ken that what Vicki needed was not avoidance of intense emotional situations but better walls to maintain her own mental and emotional space.

Travis and Vicki were told that Charlie Allen Jr. went missing on October 12, 2007 in Dartmouth, Massachusetts. The trail had gone cold and police were at a standstill. Psychic Michelle asked the teens to sit down and write a list of all their impressions about Charlie without any further factual information provided.

While the teens were writing Chris was given the facts of the case. Charlie was known to be manic depressive and was last seen running into local woods with this shirt off. Charlie's father knew his son was manic at the time of his disappearance.

Next, Vicki and Travis met Charlie's parents, Ann and Charlie Allen. The Allen's confirmed Travis's impression that Charlie was involved in tennis and lived in Massachusetts.

Vicki felt the sadness of Charlie's parents as a sense of congestion and waves of sorrow washing over her. Ann Allen confirmed that is how they have felt since Charlie went missing.

Chris introduced Vicki and Travis to psychometry, the practice of picking up information about a person from items they owned or had contact with. A small selection of Charlie's belongings were presented to Travis and Vicki separately so they would not influence each others impressions.

Chris encouraged Travis to pick up and touch Charlie's things. Travis talked about a bracelet Charlie wore that was a sign of a special friendship he had. Travis also picked up on Charlie's feelings of depression.

When Chris showed Vicki Charlie's things a flood of information rushed through Vicki. She felt weird, off kilter. She felt vibrations and shortness of breath as she felt Charlie running. She noticed he wore a string bracelet on his wrist. She was creeped out when she saw his eyes roll back into his head.

The next step was to have Vicki and Travis respectively hold a photograph of Charlie and to share what they saw. Vicki saw a gravel path and said Charlie was last seen in a big green field. Although she felt drained, she insisted the experience was not too intense. She said that Charlie's mom often holds his shirt and smells it to try and feel close to her son. Vicki said "The girl knows." She further saw Charlie on the ground at the base of a tree, looking up into the limbs.

When Travis held Charlie's photo he saw a girl with short blond hair. Focusing on Charlie's fate, Travis said, "It is almost like he (Charlie) was jumped."

Travis remarked that holding Charlie's photo made him feel close to the missing boy, almost like a brother. Travis said he almost felt as if he was part of Charlie's family when he met the missing boys parents.

Based on Travis and Vicki's impressions the teens are taken to the wooded area Charlie's father last saw him running into. There was a gravel path Vicki recognized. She instantly felt a terrible headache upon seeing the gravel path. Travis saw Charlie running scared, fleeing from someone following him. Both teens pointed to a tree deeper into the wooded area. Vicki saw Charlie laying on the ground, his head on a rock looking up the trunk of the tree.

Travis saw Charlie unconscious, being pulled through high weeds in a large grassy field.  Travis and Vicki were drawn to walk further into the woods and emerged in a big grassy field both of them said EXACTLY matched their visions of Charlie's location at one time. Detective Shamshak  stated that particular field had never been searched in the initial investigation. Vicki told the detective, "I  guarantee you will find something here. " Chris had been following along and when the group entered the field he got confirming chills that the teens were on the right track.

Based on Travis and Vicki's impressions about the field, the area was searched by volunteers and K9 units for the first time.

The teens talked to Charlie's parents after the field trip, both talking about a young woman who was a friend of Charlie's and knew more than she was telling. Charlie's Mom Ann confirmed there was a blond girl who was a friend of her son. Vicki added that this girl had an older boyfriend, perhaps one prone to jealousy who had something to do with Charlie's disappearance. She shared her vision of Charlie laying on the rock at the base of the tree she and Travis had identified.

In a final meeting, Edy asked Vicki what was it like, trying to find a missing boy so close to her in age? Vicki said she was able to put her anxious emotions aside and push through Charlie's parents emotions so she could help the family out.  

Travis told Edy he was learning to separate others emotions from his own and was feeling more confident. Tim was delighted to see a bit of his "smiley eyes" son's personality return.

Follow up found Travis not overwhelmed by the spirits in his home as he had been before. He reported feeling happier.  Vicki was relieved to find her anxiety had gone down significantly after her experiences with Chris and Edy. She has gone on to assist Detective Shamshak with another case. Travis and Vicki remain in contact.

Psychic Kids: Children of the Paranormal provides a desperately needed service not only to the kids and families the show helps directly but to the viewing audience who need the information that comes out in each episode.

I have personal friends with psychic children who honestly have no idea what to do when their children see things they cannot or have paranormal experiences. You would never know meeting them that paranormal talents run in these families. They are normal, respected members of their community who are in over their heads. They are good parents, they believe in and love their kids, but they have no idea how to comfort, guide or teach their children what to do with their abilities. I get periodic phone calls saying, please look into this, my kid said, or did whatever and I don't know what to think or do! I do the best I can, but I am learning a lot from Psychic Kids myself and want to express my gratitude to Chip Coffey, Edy Nathan and Chris Fleming for their fantastic and critical work in this arena.

Blessings,

Lynne


Lynne Olson can be contacted for private readings via email at: angelzhands@yahoo.com

[LightSpirit13]

This is a great review and confirms my impressions of Chris both from Gettysburg Orphanage and Waverly Hills, as well.

The teens were handled with the utmost professionalism and sensitivity.  YOu could see the transformation of them before and at the end of the lessons with Chris.  How lucky they were.  Hopefully, other parents/teens can learn from their experiences.

Can't wait to see Chip at work again.