“Witness to the Afterlife”: A Review of Absent Witness by Karl Petry, with Karen McLean

 

 (Visionary Living Publishing, 2016). ISBN: 978-1-942157-04-5

A quick disclaimer to start. As many of you know, I am married to a talented psychic medium, and we have been an investigative team in the field of the paranormal for nearly a decade. My daughter is also a gifted psychic medium, and I have worked with and met several others over the years. The publisher of this book is also the publisher of a book that my wife and I wrote, Watch Out for the Hallway: Our Two-Year Investigation of the Most Haunted Library in North Carolina.

That said, I believe that my experience with psychic mediums and with this publisher, whom I know to be highly respected and honest, makes me more—rather than less—qualified to give an equally honest review of this book.

The first item of note about Absent Witness is that it goes into more detail about the author’s childhood/family life than many books by psychics. Having spent a good bit of time in Newark and Kearny, New Jersey, in my youth, I found these chapters of special interest. For the general reader, Petry’s experiences with realizing he had these gifts and how they affected his childhood—in school, work, and among his family—might be eye-opening if you have little personal experience in this area, or even educational should you know a young person with these gifts. When I’m lecturing and doing workshops, concerned parents with a gifted child are afterward always the first in line to seek advice.

The book opens with two provocative case studies: “The Soul-Eating House” and “The Lost Love of Daisy.” Petry shares his philosophies and methods in detail, and the placement of these cases is both strategic as far as hooking the reader as well as introducing the main character, as we say in storytelling, “in the weeds”—in the field and trying to overcome obstacles/solve problems. The two cases run the spectrum from the kind of edgy, at times chilling, elements that those who like the so–called Reality TV shows (a total misnomer) will enjoy, while the second is the type of case that Tonya and I most enjoy working. The first is much larger in scope, and the central “character” is not identified, for her privacy and protection. The second is far more personal, with a strong attachment to the property. Petry includes several photos, adding further personalization. There is a similar case in chapter 7 that is equally moving.   

With so many psychics (and professed psychics) on the airways and social media, Petry’s humility and honesty are appreciated. Similar to James van Praagh and Craig McManus, Petry talks openly about how draining and painful the work can be. During the two years Tonya and I spent in the Webb Library (a public investigation with upward of 25 guests a night), she took every fourth night off to rest and recover. Those who think speaking with the dead and navigating their energies is easy should think again.

Petry also discusses the social pitfalls of being a well-known psychic. Like those mentioned above, he is often asked, “Do you see anyone around me?” and other inappropriate questions. After all, one wouldn’t (or most wouldn’t) approach a doctor at a party and ask them to look at a red spot on their thigh. To make matters worse, Petry is often privy to personal information, such as at the wake of a strong-willed man who was commenting rather derisively about some of the attendees. Petry’s description of what happens around him and to him when a psychic episode is about to unfold—sometimes in places like crowded restaurants—is articulately and movingly described. When he learns details and dark truths about family members that are difficult for others in the family to believe—even when he’s proven correct—we can all relate… at least to a point, which is probably for the best.

Chapter 6, “The Ghost at the Lodge,” is a must read for those interested in hauntings at Masonic Lodges. Tonya and I have been in many over the years, both still operating and vacant; they are always full of residual and active hauntings. They are the places where she, like Petry, can see what the building used to look like. I believe Petry’s assessment is correct—there’s so much ritual it’s bound to leave an imprint.

It’s no surprise, being that the esteemed (and much missed) Rosemary Ellen Guiley was also Petry’s friend, fellow investigator, and publisher (something else we share) that Petry is a consummate professional who educates the reader about Reality TV not being real. As did Rosemary and I, he also takes to task the term “ghost hunting.” Although he is an accomplished lecturer and documentary filmmaker, Petry is not given to taking cases because of their potential to be winners on the Share, Like, and Subscribe Meter. For those who aspire to this work, he’s an excellent example of how to undertake it with humility and respect.

One of the highlights of the book—given my long-time interest in the Stanford Research Institute and CIA remote viewing program—is Petry’s chapter on his friendship with Ingo Swann. Swann’s book, Penetration, changed my worldview, my approach to paranormal investigation, and my mounting personal experiences. If what he said in Penetration is true (and I believe it is), then most of what the public believes about almost every aspect of humanity’s relationship to the cosmos is viewed through the distorted lenses of the Corporate Oligarchy Military–Industrial–Intelligence Complex.

The penultimate chapter is a heartbreaking case of a forgotten cemetery (a “pauper’s graveyard”) in Newark, New Jersey, that had become a mass of junk and weeds—a literal garbage dump. Tonya and I have encountered similar atrocities, and the torment of the dead is real (to say nothing of the feelings of their living relatives). A few years ago, at the request of the director, we were investigating a very active historical museum that was a former poor farm. We stopped for a rest at a covered pavilion while touring the grounds. In the middle of a sentence, Tonya stopped, tilted her head, and, with great emotion said, “There are people buried beneath this concrete slab. They are crying out.”

Turns out, their remains had been moved from the construction site of what would be a Super Walmart and interred where we now sat. We were later told that the remains had been moved more than once.

This continued disrespect for the dead—be it from municipalities, corporations, or click-and-like “investigators”—needs to stop. After all, there is more than enough evidence from those like Karl Petry for us to be assured that consciousness survives the death of the body.

The final chapter is the poignant story of an encounter that Petry had with his deceased grandfather after a visit to his gravesite.

If we are going to subvert the dominant paradigms, as Pulitzer Prize–winning psychiatrist and paranormal researcher Dr. John Mack committed to doing throughout his career, then honest, humble, talented psychics like Karl Petry should be our leading voices.

Reading Absent Witness is an excellent start to making it happen.