Now relax. Relax. How do you feel?
… I need a linen.
Yes, we’re getting a linen… Close your eyes… relax… close your eyes… go back to sleep. Later I’ll awaken you. In a few minutes I’ll awaken you… All right, relax now, close your eyes. Relax and close your eyes. Relax and close your eyes. Now, do you hear my voice?
Yes.
All right, now we’re coming back to the present time. We’re coming back to the present time. We’re coming back to the present time. Do you hear me?
Yes.
Do you hear me?
Uh-huh.
All right. Now, do you know where you are?
I’m in Cork.
You’re Mrs. Ruth Simmons. You’re coming back to the present time, and you’re Mrs. Ruth Simmons. You’re in Rye, Colorado. Do you hear me?
Uh-huh.
Do you hear me?
Uh-huh.
All right. Now, I’m going to count to five, and when I do, you’ll awaken at the count of five and be Mrs. Ruth Simmons. You will be back at the present time and place. Do you hear me?
Uh-huh.
You understand what I’m saying?
Uh-huh.
All right. Number 1… Number 2.
[Sneeze again.]
… Oh…
How do you feel? How do you feel? Are you awake?… Brian said I had a chill.
[I can’t deny that I was badly frightened by now. No use trying to deny it, because the tape recorder at this point plainly indicates that my voice was cracking. It seemed as though she was going to insist upon retaining her identity as Bridey. Had I kept my presence of mind at this stage, I could have continued with the questioning. I was less than half finished, and this might have been an especially opportune time to quiz her. But now there was only one thing on my mind—getting my subject out of that trance and back to the present time and place.]
You’re going to forget about Brian! You’re going to forget about Brian. By the time I reach the count of five you will awaken and you’ll be Mrs. Ruth Simmons. Do you hear me? Do you hear me?
Uh-huh.
Number 1. Number 2. Number 3. Number 4. Number 5. You will awaken and you’re Mrs. Ruth Simmons. You will awaken and you’re Mrs. Ruth Simmons. Ruth, how do you feel? Ruth? How do you feel? How do you feel, Ruth? Do you feel all right?
Uh-huh.
[As Ruth was visibly once more herself, my sigh of relief could be heard all over the room.]
1Vol. I, Number 2, April 1953
CHAPTER 14
“Bridey” sneezed again during the fifth session. But this time we had a “linen” ready for her, so it didn’t disrupt the making of the tape recording. This session, which took place August 29, 1953, proved to be one of the best. Ruth seemed to fade away, and in her place was a saucy, rather flippant Irish girl named Bridey, who manifested a distinct personality, talked back, registered moods ranging from suspicion to gaiety, and in general appeared to thoroughly enjoy the whole thing. As usual, the session took place in the presence of half a dozen witnesses.
I want you to go back, back, and back to your last lifetime on earth. I want you to go back to the end of that lifetime. You’ve already told us about that lifetime… that lifetime in Ireland… You’ve already told us about that. I want you to go back to the end of it—after, just after they had ditched your body. Do you remember that? Can you remember? Can you remember that scene? Can you drift on back to that scene? When they were ditching your body?
Um-hmm. Um-hmm.
Do you see it all right now, do you?
Um-hmm.
All right. Is Father John there?
Um-hmm.
Father John is there?
Um-hmm.
Who else is there?
Brian… ’n Mary Catherine, and the man who played the pipes.
The man who played the pipes?
Uh-huh… the Uilleann pipes.
The what pipes? The Uilleann.
Oh, I see. Who else was there?
Uh… uh… uh… Mary Catherine’s husband… n…
You told us his name was Kevin. You told us his name was Kevin. Is that right?
Kevin Moore.
Kevin Moore?
Yes.
All right. Now, as to Father John, you say he was there?
Uh-huh.
What was Father John’s last name?
Oh… ’twas… G… Father John… Joseph…
John Joseph?
John Joseph. He spelled it once… G… G… o… G. ’Twas G-o or G-a… r… m… m-a-n…
Could it have been Gorman?
Yes.
Gorman? G-o-r-m-a-n?
Yes. It was G-o-r-m… o or a-n.
All right. That’s all right. Now, where they’re ditching you… Can you read that tombstone and see what it says? Your tombstone… where they’re ditching you there. Can you read it and tell me what it says?
It’s… uh… Bridget… Kathleen… M…. Mac- Carthy.
What does the M stand for?
For Murphy.
For Murphy. All right. What about… what about anything else on the tombstone? Are there any numbers on the tombstone?… One… seven… and I think it’s a nine… and an eight… And there’s a line.
[When she referred to the line that separates the two sets of numbers—“And there’s a line”—she made a motion with her finger, indicating the drawing of a line.]
There’s a line. All right.
And… a one again.
One again?
Yes. And an eight.
Um-hmm.
And there’s a… let’s see… a six… there’s… And… Brian said you didn’t do it very plain. It’s a four, though.
[When she came to the last number, the four, she seemed to be remembering a scene during which Brian had complained—after Bridey’s death and the making of the tombstone—that the last number was not sufficiently clear. “It’s a four, though,” Bridey assured us.]
Brian said they didn’t do it very plain?
… He was upset about it.
He was?
It was a four, though.
All right, now rest and relax. You’re going to feel very comfortable. You’re going to enjoy this session more than any previously. You’re going to enjoy this session very much. Because it’s going to be comfortable, and it’s actually going to be fun remembering all those things. And your memory will be sharper and clearer tonight. Your memory will come back very, very sharp. And after you awaken, you’re going to feel fine… you’re going to feel just fine… you’re going to feel very relaxed and refreshed. Now, at the time that they ditched you… at the time of your death… did they make out a death certificate? Did they make out any kind of death certificate or publish anything in the newspaper? Oh, why don’t you ask Father John?
[She asked this plaintively, almost painfully. It was as though she could not understand why I bothered her with the matters of official records when Father John was the obvious person to approach in such cases.
Many who have listened to this line on the tape recorder have asked why I did not further pursue the point by rebounding with a question such as, “Where can I find Father John?”But such a query might have resulted—although I don’t know for sure—in undue confusion or uneasiness, which I had assured Rex I would always try to avoid.]
All right, now relax. Relax. Now, relax. What did you say your husband’s name was?
Brian.
Do you remember the name of Brian’s mother?
… I… would have to look in the Bible. … I don’t re member.
All right. Do you remember the name of Brian’s father?
… Brian’s father was John.
All right. How about Brian’s uncle?
[Here Bridey did something which she repeated at various stages throughout all the tapes. Instead of directly replying only to the question, the nature of the query sometimes prompted her to think of something additional which pertained to the same
general subject. This time, for instance, the mention of Brian’s uncle did more than effect the recollection of his name; it spurred Bridey to remember something else, an incident involving the uncle’s marriage.]
… His father was upset but he married an Orange. But he wasn’t upset when he married me! Let’s see… you mean his uncle that married the Orange?
Married what?
The Orange.
Married the Orange?
Mm-hm.
Yes. What was his name?
His name was Plazz. Plazz.
How do you spell that?
… P-l-a-z…
All right.
Z.
Two zs?
Two z’s. All right. Now, does Brian have any brothers or sisters?
No, his—That’s it!… His mother, his mother… his mother died. He had a brother… he had a brother. … It was a still child, and his mother died. He went then with his grandmother. … It was a still child.
Well, was this still child born before Brian or after Brian?
Oh, after!
Oh, I see. Then Brian would have been the oldest?
Brian wouldn’t have been born if his mother had died!
[Chuckling.] All right, all right… Brian would have been the older. Yes, that’s right. … All right, now you told us before that Brian taught at Queen’s University.
Um-hmm.
Well, now Queen’s University… Queen’s University was a Protestant school… and Brian, Brian was a Roman Catholic.
I know.
Well?
I know. He taught law. He didn’t teach religion.
And they had some… they had some Roman Catholics teaching there, did they?
Yes. Several.
Several, hmm?
That I knew.
Several that you knew?
Yes.
Can you name just one?
Um-hmm.
Who?
There was a fellow there. His name was William McGlone.
William McGlone?
Um-hmm. McGlone.
McGlone.
Do you want me to spell that?
Yes.
M-c… G… That’s a large G.
Yes?
L-o-n-e.
Uh-huh. Do you remember anybody else at Queen’s University there? Anybody… either Catholics or Protestants?
Well… hmmm… I think it was, it was Fitzhugh or Fitzmaurice. There was a Fitzhugh and a Fitzmaurice.
All right.
Mm-hm… Fitzhugh… Fitzmaurice.
All right. All right, tell me something else. Queen’s University was called Queen’s University after about 1847, which means that Brian was about fifty or maybe even a little older.
Mm-hmm. He worked with his father, you know. And that was what he had to do… had to let down, you know…
Well, didn’t he…?
He wrote, too.
He wrote, too?
Mm-hm. He wrote for the News-Letter.
He wrote for the Belfast News-Letter?
Yes, he did.
Well, you told me before that Brian had several articles in the Belfast News-Letter. Did you mean they were about Brian, or were they…?
Oh no. He wrote about… just different cases, and you know… the things… that the… oh, that were recorded in different…
Oh, he just wrote about them?
Oh yes.
Did he ever sign his name to them?
Oh, I’m sure he would.
Did you read any of them?
… Oh, they were above me.
They were above you?
Mm-hm.
I see. Did you ever read the Belfast News-Letter?
Mmmmmmm… Oh, a bit.
Now, what about… what about… what about these articles by Brian when he wrote for the Belfast News-Letter? About how old was he at the time he wrote for the Belfast News-Letter?
… Mmmmmm….
In other words, it’s very important that we find the year or about the year that he wrote those articles for the Belfast News-Letter. Do you think you can give us that year? Go ahead and think out loud, if you want. While you’re thinking about it, you can think out loud.
… Ah… it was… it was after we were married and had our… let’s see now… we had been married for… hm…
[Big sneeze from Bridey.]
Relax. Relax, relax. Relax completely. Now, when you were back… You’ll be very comfortable now. You’ll be very comfortable. Do you feel comfortable now?
Mm-hmm.
That’s good. Now after you awaken, you’ll feel still more comfortable. You’ll feel fine after you awaken. You’ll feel fine after you awaken. You’ll feel fine. Now, when you were in Belfast, when you were in Belfast—
Twenty-five years…
[At first I didn’t realize that she was still answering the same question that I had asked her before she sneezed. The sneeze had thrown me slightly off the track, as I was a little concerned about it—but not nearly so scared as I had been during the fourth session. And I was not the only one who was concerned. Immediately after the sneeze, Rex came forth with a handkerchief; he was making certain that his wife would not this time be forced to wait for a “linen.”
In any event, it was a few moments before I realized that Bridey had picked up the question just where she had left off before the sneeze.]
Hmm?
You asked me when he wrote.
Oh. You’re still answering that. All right. You say… What was twenty-five years?
We were married. That’s…
You mean you were married about twenty-five years when he started writing for the Belfast News-Letter?
Yes.
Is that right?
Yes.
All right.
More, maybe more. But ’twas after we were married that long.
All right.
Mm-hm.
Now, when you were in Belfast, when you were in Belfast… did you do your own shopping?… I… did some of it. Did some of it? You see… I… Brian wouldn’t let me do it all. But I did some of it. Uh…
Can you name some of the things you bought and some of the places you bought them at? Some of the things you bought and some of the names of the stores that you traded… where you traded? Some of the names of the stores where you traded?
Uh… uh… I went to Farr’s. [Broadly Irish here.]
To where?
Farr’s.
How do you spell it?
… Uh… F-a-r-r. F-a-r-r.
F… a-r-r?
Um-hm.
What did they sell?
Oh, they sold the foodstuffs.
Food stuff?
Foodstuff,
Do you know what firkin butter is? F-i-r-k-i-n? Firkin butter?
Firkin butter…?
Do you know what it is?
Firkin butter… It’s a spread.
You know what caper sauce is?
Yes.
What’s caper sauce?
It’s a sauce with… It has the small capers in it. … They’re little, tiny black…. They look like a… clove… are capers… And you put them on fish….
I see.
Capers…
Did you ever buy any camisoles?
Um-hmm.
[The whole point of this question was to lead her to mention the denominations of the money she used at that time. Realizing that the currency would be different from ours, we were anxious to see what Bridey would have to say on this topic. But we had decided to approach the matter obliquely. Rather than ask for the currency denominations point-blank, the question was designed so as to ask her about some item she had purchased—and then inquire as to how much money she had paid for that item. Knowing she had purchased camisoles—she had told us this previously—we employed this tack.]
Where did you buy your camisoles?
… Oh… I… ah… hmmm… I went there two times. That’s a—ladies thing. You know, that’s a…
&nbs
p; Um-hm.
I know… that… place. Oh….
What’s the name of it?
… Hm… I tried…
Your memory will get clearer and clearer, your memory will get clear and sharp, and you’ll be able to tell me….
Oh dear. I know it.
You told us the name was Cadenns House. Is that right?
That’s it! Is that right?
[With wonderment.] How did you know? That’s a ladies’ place, you know.
Yes. But you told me once before.
Cadenns House is it Uh-huh. About how much money did you pay for a camisole?
… Ah… It… it was… tch [clucking tongue against teeth]… Oh, it was… Oh, it was less than… Oh, I don’t… It wasn’t… It was over a pound.
It was over a pound?
Oh… I can’t….
A pound and how much?
You see, we had a… a… an arrangement where Brian, he handled things for them, and it was not the same for anything he got. That’s why he did the shopping…. He had places there where he had to buy the things because he had an arrangement with the proprietors.
I understand.
You know, and I can’t remember…
A pound and about how much?
Hm… tch… hmmm… tch… I’d say…
Just about how much?
Hmm… sixpence. ’Twas over a pound, and I’m not…
About a pound and sixpence?
About… Maybe. I wouldn’t want you to tell them that I said they… that I paid that much, though.
All right. All right, we’ll forget about that. Now, let’s just talk about money in general. What were some of the… What kind of money do you have? Did you have any paper money?
I didn’t have very much. I—
The Search for Bridey Murphy Page 19