LIAM
I didn’t know Liam’s last name. Perhaps when I interviewed him I might find out. Liam was discovered by two of my guests who had come for a ghost communication lesson. Before the lesson they took a tour of Poquetanuck Cemetery #17. (I don’t know why the number 17 is attached to the cemetery’s name. It is the first village cemetery and dates back to the 1600s. I do know that Poquetanuck has belonged to three separate towns over the centuries. Perhaps it was the seventeenth cemetery in Groton.)
When everyone was assembled around the big table in the dining room, one of the guests said, “There is a grave in the old cemetery marked with the name ‘Liam.’ Have you ever communicated with him?” I hadn’t. The guests were eager to see if the discovery of Liam’s grave would lead to finding his spirit. It would be quite an accomplishment for them. When the session began, I made it a point to ask if there was a spirit named Liam in the house. The rods spread wide and a definite yes was seen by all. Everyone at the table was quite satisfied.
I welcomed Liam to our gathering and asked him if he would speak with us. He said yes. Then we started. It turns out that he was born and died in the eighteenth century. He was in his twenties when he passed away. During the session I passed the rods around the room. I noticed that Liam did not move the rods for any of the women. This is not unusual, since the rods work for very few people. They did work for two of the men. This was unusual. The spirits in the house don’t like to communicate with men and very seldom do.
This dislike of men was caused by an accident that occurred in the 1700s. A young girl was pushed down the grand staircase by a man and died. I believe she may have been the daughter of a runaway slave. Several psychics who have visited have concurred that this is true. So currently only Liam and Mercy will communicate with the male guests.
Putting two and two together made me think that there was something about Liam that I was missing. So I asked him to point to a person at the table that he did not like. He pointed to a woman on my right. “Is there anyone else that you don’t like?” He pointed to another woman.
Well, this is interesting, I thought. “Okay, Liam, would you please point to the person that you like the most at the table?” He pointed to a young man at the end of the table. “Hmm, are there any women at the table that you like?” Liam answered no. “How about the men. Do you dislike any of them?” Again, he answered no.
Here is how the conversation went for the next few minutes.
“Liam, did you ever spend time with a young lady when you were alive?”
“No.”
“Did you like to spend time with men instead?”
“Yes.”
“Did you fancy men in a sexual way?”
“Yes.”
So there was the answer. Liam was gay. I was happy to hear this. It made the spirits of the house even more interesting. They were reflecting the very human aspects of who they were when they were alive.
Liam did one very scary thing to a guest who was staying at Captain Grant’s. There was a production studio filming a show for a television series on finding historic artifacts. The cast had been with us for four days. In the morning one of the crew members came down to breakfast looking a little more than distraught. The rest of us, film crew included, were really curious and coaxed him to spill the beans. After a few minutes of being teased, he finally said okay and began to tell his tale of the night before.
“There was a ghost hovering over me in bed last night. He was stretched out right over the top of me, right there above me. Oh God, I couldn’t move or scream or anything. I was terrified! I don’t ever want to experience anything like that again. He was right above me looking down at me. I think he wanted sex or something. I’m not kidding you. It was scary as hell.”
“Can you describe him?”
“Yes. He had dark hair and sideburns. The sideburns took an L-turn toward the bottom of the cheek. He had on a white shirt.”
“He wasn’t naked then?”
“No.”
My guest was visibly shaken. In fact, he was shaking. It was his last day at the inn and I think he was grateful that the shooting was over. There had been other incidents while the film crew was at Captain Grant’s, and they all believed that this man had had a ghostly experience. It was Liam, of course, just trying to get some attention from a man. He more than succeeded. I have also seen Liam, and he does have L-shaped sideburns and wears a long-sleeved white shirt and black pants.
Synopsis of My Interview with Liam
I started the conversation by asking questions regarding Liam being gay. I wanted to know how people treated him and what he thought of himself. I then attempted to learn what his last name was. I went through the alphabet trying to find out the first letter of his last name. He came up with a G. There are Geer family members in the back cemetery, so I asked if that was his name. He answered yes. With that response I went on to find out if Liam had had past lives, been married, or had children. It turns out that he had been a female once, but in none of his lives as either a man or a woman did he ever have children. I asked him if that was his task to allow him to ascend to heaven, and he answered in the affirmative.
Things seemed to be going well, so I decided to ask some questions about God. That is where the conversation didn’t make any sense. I had the feeling that I might be experiencing some sort of game that Liam was playing. It seemed that a direct approach might work best, so I said, “Liam, are you teasing me?” The rods opened wide with a big yes. I ended the conversation at that point. Liam was unhappy and sent the rods spinning like helicopter blades.
Three days later I attempted another interview with Liam. I started by asking him if his last name was Geer. It was not. I then went back through the alphabet and he answered no to every letter. I began to think that he might be illiterate. When asked if he knew his letters, he said no. I discovered through several questions that Liam also had a learning disability. I brought Mercy into our conversation and was told by her that Liam was known as a kind soul but he was also called names and made fun of.
I felt sad for Liam. Perhaps in his new reincarnated life he will have more opportunities to learn and enjoy what he could not enjoy in his last life.
“I hope that when you are reborn you have a better life. And thank you for talking to me.” With that I ended the interview, and I decided to explore the cemetery to see if I could find Liam’s grave.
A month after my interview with Liam, I went to the cemetery. It was a beautiful October day and I thought there could be no time better to visit the old graveyard. The sky was a brilliant blue, the summer humidity was gone, and the sound of migrating birds filled the air. I took my time, savoring the fresh air and the honking geese overhead. The meadow was still a vibrant green and it felt as if all my senses were going to burst.
I hadn’t been to the graveyard in a couple of months and was surprised to see how much vegetation had grown up over the summer. I started in the north end, making my way from grave to grave. My heart sank at the decay that was occurring on a yearly basis.
It took time to search. The headstones that were readable lay forward. If they were made of sandstone, they might be unreadable no matter how they lay. To check out a stone meant getting on the ground to read the name of the person who was buried there. Most of the stones were damaged beyond repair, their heartfelt inscriptions long gone. A few of the wealthier families of their time had marble or granite headstones that were still legible all of these years later.
I made my way to the south end of the graveyard and discovered that it was sliding down a deep slope. Some headstones were now tilted at an angle. The high stone wall at the south end was now only a couple of feet high. I knew in my heart that if I didn’t make this known to someone, it would only continue to decay. I just didn’t know who that someone was. I gathered my thoughts and decided to call city hall the following day, all to no avail. The town wasn’t interested in the cemetery’s upkeep.
As I rounded the southeast corner, the brush became difficult to maneuver. I found myself trying to step on the bases of plants to bend them over. I hadn’t put on a jacket. In fact, I was in short sleeves. “How stupid,” I thought. Finally about twenty feet later I was able to look again at gravestones. There were no readable stones where I had been that I could see. I searched each stone until I again approached the entrance. There were several Williams. With Liam being the end of that name, perhaps my guests hadn’t read the entire headstone. If it was spelled in all capitals, which was likely, the end of William would look like LIAM. Could his name be William?
I decided that I should have another short talk with Liam. I returned to the bed and breakfast and got out my rods. With no one in the house, I figured the session would go well. I prepared myself and then called for Liam.
“Liam, this is Carol. Are you here?” The rods opened wide. “I’ve been out to the cemetery. I couldn’t find a gravestone with the name Liam on it. Could your name be William?” Again the rods opened wide. “So you recognize the name William.” The rods again opened up. “Should I call you William then?” Another yes answer appeared. “Okay, then was your last name Gallup?”
The rods flew open and shook. It was obvious that I had chosen the last name correctly. “William, there is a rather large stone in the cemetery with the name William Gallup. Could that be your father or grandfather?” William answered yes.
Finally, one mystery was solved.
I now rarely converse with Liam. I can’t count on his answers being true, and not being able to see his face when we talk is a distinct disadvantage for me. I think of him as my innocent ghost, a naive and friendly spirit. Yet there is an exception to this assessment. Liam is very attracted to men, especially gay men. On occasion we have spirit events involving Liam. We recently hosted an event coordinator who specializes in ghost hunts. This coordinator and his team were on their way to the old cemetery when a couple of men in the group started feeling someone pat their behinds. The sensation of being patted went on throughout their visit to the gravesites. No one mentioned it to me until the next day. We were sitting at the breakfast table and I was talking about the different spirits that live in the home. I mentioned Liam and then added that he was gay. The room came alive with guests talking, several at once. “I was touched on my backside.” “So was I.” “I was too.” “At first I thought it was my imagination, but then I got patted two more times.” I said it must have been Liam. It would be just up his alley to do something like that.
I have talked quite a bit about the poor condition of the cemetery. We have a groundskeeper whom we have occasionally sent out to the cemetery to whack down the undergrowth. I called the Boy Scout troop in town, and they came and cleared out the trees and brush, but it all returned the next year. Then the cemetery commission spread vegetation killer all over the ground. That didn’t work either.
The cemetery needs professional cemetery historians to put the stones back up, and the south end needs shoring up before caskets roll onto the ground and down into the stream and out to sea. It doesn’t stay clean very long and would require yearly maintenance. I don’t think that will ever happen.