Meet Ron Bowers - the spiritualist and real life ghost buster hunting the paranormal for over 20 years

Essex spiritualist discusses his paranormal work as Halloween dawns upon the UK.
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He’s made it his life’s mission since the death of a family member to hunt down the things that go bump in the night. Spiritualist Ron Bowers has been a freelance paranormal investigator for 20 years and has offered advice this Halloween on how to best contact the dead, having had experience at several historic sites across the country.

The Holland-on-Sea, Essex resident has travelled all over the UK carrying out paranormal investigations in places where ghosts are said to congregate. He became fixated on apparitions and spectres after the death of his father in 1988. “Since the day my dad died, I decided spiritualism was the way forward for me - but I wanted to wait until my kids were grown up to start ghost hunting.”

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His paranormal work has seen Bowers invited to speak at venues such as the College of Psychic Studies in Kensington, and the Sanctuary at Arthur Findlay College, but feels like people still don’t take his work seriously. "I’ve spent a lot of time and money going to places all over the UK, and I do it because I love it - it’s a passion, not a hobby. If I was faking anything, I wouldn’t be faking it for 20 years- but I’m still not widely believed, otherwise I would have been contacted by now.”

But his discussions about experiences with the other side are far more involved that a mere sheet with eye holes blowing in the wind. It is Bower’s belief that ghosts are just a form of spiritual energy. “In the spirit world,” he explains, “I like to think they’re the energies of the person they used to be. You can sense these energies anywhere, including in modern day homes. It just depends on what was there before."

Bower has had spiritual experiences in a number of historical sites in the UK, two of which occurring at Highclere Castle in Berkshire and Redoubt Fort in Essex. "In 2009, the very first time I visited Redoubt Fort, I heard French being spoken while I was exploring the fort. "There was no one else there apart from me, yet I could hear these faint foreign voices,” he explains, "the fort was dug out by French prisoners of war back in Napoleon times, and I’m convinced it was their spirits communicating with one another.”

His preferred method of contacting the other side stems from another passion of his; meditation. “Meditation is a great way to interact with them,” he says. “You can sense these energies anywhere, including in modern day homes. It just depends on what was there before.”

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Despite some of the guffaws Bower has faced, he believes the journeys his ghost busting has taken him on have all been worth the mocking as he begins to slow down his paranormal activities. “Spiritualism will always be a huge part of my life, but now that I’m getting older I feel my time ghost hunting is coming to an end. That being said, I’ve had an incredible journey and some amazing experiences that I wouldn’t change for the world."

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