Real-life medium stars in creepy Christmas classic » Communities » 24dash.com

A clairvoyant actor who’s had extraordinary encounters with ghosts will star in a ic creepy Dickens play in Broadstairs this Christmas.

“People say spirits can’t harm you,” said Sean Southerland, star of “A Christmas Carol”, “but they can lash out at you sometimes.”

Most disturbing was an encounter with a man called Harry who died in an industrial fire. “That was horrible,” said Sean. “I can still remember the smell of burning hair.”

Since he’s been staying in Thanet, Sean has encountered two ghosts. “One was lovely – a children’s nanny who lived in Victorian times. She wants to look after everybody, especially younger people.”

But another visitor from the “other side” hasn’t been so friendly. “It’s a man who keeps waking me up at night at 12 minutes past the hour for some reason,” said Sean.

Other people have seen this ghost too, claimed Sean, and one of them said the ghost even tried to push her out of a window!

Clairvoyance runs in Sean’s family. His father was a clairvoyant and his great grandmother was a psychic medium in the early 1900s.

“When I was very young I had a number of experiences, like seeing myself in bed, and I had these imaginary friends. When I was eight my father took me aside and told me they were actually spirits of the deceased. I was petrified!”

“A Christmas Carol”, based on the ic story by Charles Dickens, has a ghost story at its heart – but Sean believes the situation is an entirely believable one. “Many cultures have spirit guides who appear to the living. I think Jacob Marley is Scrooge’s spirit guide and is there to look after him as he has these fantastic experiences.”

As well as playing Bob Cratchit, Sean is also the musical director for the show. There will be traditional Christmas carols in the play, he said – but he’s planning to give them a “gospel twist”. “I like gospel because I think it speaks to the soul more,” said Sean.

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