Helena B Scott, author of Loftus, The Hall of Dreams, talks to ANN MASSEY about her supernatural love affair with Ireland and her drive to unlock the doors into the spirit realm.
Interview with Helena B Scott
ANN MASSEY: Writer, Historian, Medium, Psychic Investigator, Spirituality Coach, Psychical Researcher are just a selection of the roles you have and the expertise you bring to the paranormal field. Underneath all of this, who is Helena B. Scott?
HELENA B SCOTT: An empath, sensitive and old and awakened soul; someone who is very much aware of everything. And much like a mermaid, in tune with my surroundings, be it the land, seas, rivers or even when in the company of animals. (I was involved in conservation for over a decade, working/diving with sharks in a shark research association for almost five years, as well as big cats and hawks).
I’ve lived in many different countries and various continents due to growing up as the daughter of a former diplomat (now a semi-retired history research fellow and lecturer at the University of Texas at Austin who lectures worldwide and has a phD in philosophy and European history from the University of Edinburgh).
He infused me with his passion for history and research, travel, love of poetry, philosophy and literature, but also the sea as well as healthy lifestyle habits (ocean swimming and even jogging on the Appian Way Roman road, when we lived in Rome, Italy!).
Living abroad all my life allowed me, like a sponge, to soak up the culture, appreciate the history, traditions and peoples of these places and learn their languages (I speak six modern languages and understand a few dead ones – hieroglyphs, Latin and old Norse).
My life back then in my childhood already lay the foundations for the fields I currently work in – anthropology, archaeology, history, mythopoetics, ancient energies & sacred geography, esoteric architecture, Gothic literature/art, Jungian psychology but also the paranormal, mediumship and spirituality/wellbeing.
When did you discover you had psychic abilities and the existence of the spiritual realm and what made you decide to pursue this path?
Before age 7, I was always an odd child and in trouble because of this, well ahead for my age and reading the classics at age 7-8 (that’s when I received my first copy in old Italian of Dante Alighieri’s “Divine Comedy”, known as an occult book, but perhaps lesser known for its connection with the Knights Templar, the occult and mysticism.
I still have a copy of that book given to me by a friend of my father in Rome, Italy, when I was just turning 7 and went to school for two years. This book travels with me everywhere and never leaves my side.
Shortly before moving there, my grandmother Mona died. This was a turning point for me as not only did I inherit my skills from her (my father’s mother) but they became much, much stronger after her death.
She has often been by my side as a spirit guide and guided me back then. I could sense things others couldn’t always, whether spirits, messages from the universe.
I just knew and felt things (claircognisance and clairsentience) and while the Otherworld always attracted me. It wasn’t until age 21 that I became professionally involved with the paranormal when at university for extra-credit, when together with a classmate, then a police inspector, I volunteered to work with my Criminology teacher, who was an out of hours On Duty Judge at the Magistrates Court No. 13.
I was then exposed to death in many forms and to what lay beyond it on a weekly basis, having to assist with the coroner and my colleague, as well as the Judge not just in court but also with the legal paperwork required with suicides, murders, etc. Often assisting in actual investigations, which is where I noticed my intuition was more than that. I also felt the deceased near me and they began communicating with me through my clairs, which helped understand the real causes of death in a way I could not explain.
Consensus would be that chakra and aura healing would be to find grounding and peace in one’s self in a physical, mental and spiritual way, whereas paranormal and psychical research are about pushing boundaries and opening doors. How do you find a balance between the two?
Hmm, so they both are necessary and go hand in hand because to do psychical research and work with the paranormal properly you must be proficient in energy. Not just to ground properly, which most people don’t do as they don’t even know the right location of the chakras which is mostly due to misinterpretations of the late 19th and early 20th centuries plus new age, what is out there is incorrect.
But to protect mind, body and spirit on a daily basis and also in historic sites or sites affected by ancient energies such as sacred geography sites. (I never get ill and recover quickly from any injuries) because safety of not just body but mind and spirit is also essential in investigations.
Understanding our chakras which is our own energy healing system within, made up by the 7 main chakras together with the 7 layers of the aura (subtle bodies) which match the chakras is essential not just for healing but also in psychical research and when working with the paranormal.
You cannot separate these and this is why I am offering my workshops as most people in the paranormal don’t see the relationship.
Our chakras are energy points that pick up and radiate energy, energy being also memories and information of our surroundings, the universe and, of course, anything that is in it.
Our clairs or psychic senses, which anyone can develop, are connected to this energy system within which is used by mediums when communicating with spirits (mental mediumship through the clairs, while physical mediumship through the heart chakra as in trance or astral travel).
This is how I often find clues or documents in my work whether in a haunted/historic place or in a library because I can read energy (psychometry which is part of mental mediumship) and anyone can, I teach this. I even taught my father last week when he came to one of my workshops much to his amazement, but it allows us to notice the unnoticed. I honestly feel it should be mandatory for all paranormal teams to study the occult and how energy works, because it is much more than healing.
Science now tells us that everything is made up of energy and that includes our souls and the souls of those no longer here.
Without this knowledge we are really blindfolded, which is why I have tailored some of my workshops for paranormal teams and would be lovely to see some attend.
You have written on Loftus Hall and seem completely in tune with both the history, folklore and hauntings associated with the location. What drew you here and what did you discover during your investigations of the infamous landmark?
My colleague in that book, photographer Steve Meyler (former head of Forensic Photography at Scotland Yard) and I both actually moved from abroad, not knowing each other, to the same location, down the road from each other, in the summer of 2015. I don’t think that was a coincidence… we have now established, even though he was always a big sceptic, that something drew us here. I didn’t know anyone and just put my finger on a map, although I do have a love for old lighthouses and rough seas.
Regarding the investigation, you’ll have to read the book, which has sold out and did very well but I will be releasing a paperback and ebook format soon on Amazon so stay tuned.
What I can tell you is that the real story has little to do with the story told by Loftus Hall, or the countless pages on the internet and is in fact a much darker, haunting tale which goes back to ancient times and has all to do with the land, but also ley lines, the Knights Templar and more. I can also tell you that I didn’t write the book entirely on my own as “they” (the spirits of the Hall) were with me all the way and parts of the book were written through spirit writing.
Ah, and the exorcism never happened as I was able to verify with research through the archives of the bishop of Ferns. Psychical research with the help of the dead is great but what is even better is combining it with traditional historical research through primary sources.
One of your services is property profiling. Tell us a little bit more about that.
So this is a little like what I did in Loftus Hall, where I combine psychical research through my clairs with mental mediumship as well as physical mediumship (trance) with traditional historical research but first and foremost let the land and the location speak.
This is a service I offer for those who wish to learn more about a potential property (whether historic or not) they may want to buy or have just moved into, to those who wish to sell their homes.
They can uncover its past and learn about ancient energies and other factors that may be affecting their home or themselves (body, mind and spirit) including spirits, elementals and house-keepers, and also energies of sacred geography (leys, etc).
Often energy is left behind in a property or sometimes people struggle to sell an attractive home, so I aim to help with this by in-depth research to allow a property to tell its own story.
You have a penchant for and expertise in archaeology, anthropology, sacred geography, ancient energies and the occult. Ireland of course, is renowned for a deep and rich affiliation for all these fields. What keeps you drawn to Ireland and what excites you the most?
Ireland has the world’s oldest, undisturbed energies and by many is considered the hub of the paranormal.
But if we go back to history, it was once considered as the edge of the known world, a liminal place, a threshold between what was known and the unknown. And as such, like all liminal places be them the underworld, it offers great wisdom and healing.
It is no coincidence that Ireland is named after Goddess Eir, the Norse Goddess of healing, also known as Eiru by the Celts.
Interestingly enough, healing is another aspect of one if the most ancient goddesses we know, Goddess Hekate – goddess of witchcraft, magic, necromancy, ghosts and spirits ruler of the underworld and thresholds but also goddess of the Earth, Sky and Seas. She is also known as the saviour of the world in her Soteira aspect and created the world’s fate. Her energy and wisdom, as she is known as the wise one, is without a doubt present in Ireland.
It is no doubt a place of healing and wisdom, but also the land of poets, scholars and mystics with whom I can identify. The “force” is strong here as Yoda would agree, no coincidence why star wars was filmed here but I’ll leave that for my upcoming two books on the Knights Templar…(yes there is a connection, google “Star Wars and History”) – wink!
I was always drawn to Ireland and even gave my son an Irish name before I ever had any idea I would move here, when we lived abroad.
But having family and friends in the US where I spent my first childhood years (my father is American) but also in continental Europe, I am in the middle, or threshold and at a great distance to travel to either. But also for world-wide travel.
And I actually like Ireland although I am still waiting for some acceptance by the locals which has not yet happened. But the Emerald Isle definitely lives in my heart and I adore the culture, its people, even the language which I hope someday to learn… and it’s amazing land that speaks to me in ways that no other land has. I think this is what it excites me the most, the raw, limitless ancient power and its potential but also how easily I can revisit history and its memories.
If you could only wear one of your many hats for a year, what would it be and why?
Hmm, I think the hat of taking time out! Just kidding – but perhaps the hat of magic as this year I am exploring magical practice much more in depth and have been working with Goddess Hekate, Artemis, Morrigan and Freyja so it has been a very highly charged feminine year.
I think I would wear the hat of a Nordic wise woman, a volva or Norse seeress (Freyja was the first, also commonly known as a witch though that really means wise woman). I am, however, missing scuba diving and sailing which I did for decades (I am PADI licensed), also semi-professionally as well as underwater archaeology so I need to return to that somehow, but in warmer waters! Egypt perhaps someday though Cayman Islands too (Spanish treasure fleets).
You have many paranormal and academic irons in the fire! What are you working on and how can we find out more?
I am currently working on offering more online lectures and talks through various places, as well as working on two upcoming books on the Knights Templar, which led me to discover a family connection.
Also a very unique project which only concerns Ireland with a website and book but which I cannot say more for now. And of course continue to offer my private consultations.
All this while I finish an almost year long course at the London Imperial College on the history of magic, witchcraft and the occult with historian Thomas Waters (which I highly recommend).
I’ll also be doing a course a few months at the London College of Psychic Studies to add to my Norse foundation on magic, this one on Seid and Runic magic which I’m very much looking forward to.
All this while also being a single mom to a teen who loves history and working on more articles, translations and a possible documentary series.
Thank you to Helena for sharing so much with us!
If you want to learn more about Helena’s work, please follow the links below.
- Website: https://www.helenabscott.com/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HelenaBScott
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/helena.bscott/
