Linville Manor: Sarah Bowie

The red room, where I found the ghost of Sarah Bowie

When we returned to the house, I made a pit stop to use the restroom. When I finished, I found Tom and Winn in the parlor reviewing Tom's notes from the earlier possession and crossing activities. I had intended on informing them of my plan to go find Sarah Bowie, but they were so focused I decided it was better not to disturb them. Instead, Emily and I set off upstairs. As I got to the top of the stairs, I could feel her presence. I paused and gave myself a moment to release any tension and know where to go. I found her in the red room. She was sitting in a chair, and obviously in distress. "He's my son," she said to me. She didn't so much talk to me about her story as I received a download of what happened. As I got the info and was telling it to Emily, Sarah got up and started walking about the room. I turned on the spot, originally facing away from the door and Emily, to pivot and watch Sarah pace about the room. 

        The download I got from Sarah was that her son had somehow gotten wet from being outside. It was winter, and it wasn't clear if he fell through ice and got wet or how it seemed to happen. I sensed Sarah didn't really know. Either way, the result of this was that her son got extremely sick. I saw Sarah tending to him beside the bed, day and night. This went on for weeks. She called in a pastor to pray over him and make him well. Despite pouring all of her energy into making him better, he succumbed to his illness. I got the sense that he had pneumonia. Sarah was deep in grief. Although she lost other children, this was the first child she lost. The shock of his death was overwhelming to her. She blamed herself. "I did everything I could!" she repeated over and over. And right then I knew why I was the one who was meant to help her. I looked up at her and took both her hands in mine. "Sarah, I understand how you feel. I am a mother too. I lost two babies to miscarriage. The first one was just so overwhelming. I realized not only was I grieving my child, but the shock of it actually happening made it worse. You never think it could happen to you," I said to her. "But I tried everything! If I had just had better eye on him he wouldn't have gotten wet and sick." I told her I understood how she felt, but it was just his time to go. I don't know why the universe chooses such things, but nothing she did could have prevented his passing. She told me John came to her and asked her to leave, but she just couldn't. I stayed with her while she processed her grief and guilt. Her emotions started running through me. I felt Emily's hand on my shoulder as I began to cry Sarah's tears. 

    "Sarah, your son is waiting for you on the other side. You have to let go of this guilt so that you can see him again." With that, she started to calm down. I asked her if she wanted my help to finally go home, and she said yes. I called on the spirits to help open a portal. Not 5 feet away in the corner of the room, a portal opened. Immediately her son came bounding out of the portal and into her arms, exclaiming "mommy!" I cried Sarah's tears of relief and joy. John appeared as well, though he stood just on our side of the portal, looking over the reunion. Sarah and John both thanked me for helping them. "It's my job. It's what I'm called to do." With that, they all walked back through the portal, and it began to close. I sat for a moment, processing what had just happened and regaining my composure. The whole time Emily's hand never left my shoulder. Finally she grabbed my hands and said "Mom, your hands are *freezing!*"  "Yes, baby. That's because I was holding Sarah's hands in mine," I replied. 

    We both made our way downstairs and found that Winn and Tom had finished reviewing notes. They were in the dining room when Emily and I joined them. "Well, I found Sarah," I told them both. "She was in the burgundy room." "Oh, the red room!" said Winn. I filled them both in on what had just happened. I said "she was reclusive. she didn't really make herself known to many people." Winn then said something that once again validated the experience. "Oh there have been reports in that room of a woman pacing back and forth." I just looked at Emily and said "what did I say she was doing?" I looked back and Winn and said "yes, that was Sarah. She was pacing while we were there." Interestingly, there had been another household member named Gladys from a different generation that occupied the red room prior. Evidently this woman was incredibly imposing. The reports of the pacing woman only began after Gladys was crossed over to the spirit world. Winn surmised that Sarah took advantage of the void left by Gladys to occupy the room and resume her lamenting over the loss of her son.