Have you ever experienced something out of the ordinary? Sensed a presence from the spirit world, perhaps? Minckee from Ghosthunters Berlin would wager that most people have, if they are being really honest with themselves. She has been communicating with spirits since she was just a girl, and now it has become her life’s work. Minckee speaks to Sensa Nostra, allowing us to accompany her on a mystical journey as a real life ghost hunter.
Since I was a little girl, I’ve always known that there is more to this world than what we can see. I was able to sense future events through dreams, communicate with spirits and mentally ascertain the circumstances of strangers. Now, as an adult, I have developed these skills from studying Reiki, and can use them to help passed spirits move on. A few years ago I met Alex, and together we formed Ghosthunters Berlin. We make the perfect team: I take care of the spiritual side of things, and he has the equipment to measure paranormal activity and capture evidence of ghosts. We have both followed perfectly normal career paths; he’s a chef and I am a businesswoman. But now we’ve come to the point when we are really starting to make a living from hunting ghosts.
It’s amazing that my circumstances have led me to experience these incredible phenomena. As I said, I grew up believing in the paranormal. It was just a part of my life. I would get strange feelings of deja vu, and then I’d remember that I’d dreamt the same thing happening a few days before. I knew exactly who would walk through the door just before they did. Once, my mother didn’t let me have a nail polish. I was so angry that the polish simply fell to the floor and smashed. I was certain that there was a greater power beyond ourselves and took a great interest in Egyptology, which embraces the idea of reincarnation and cats being holy creatures. And yet, many years went by when I had nothing to do with it; I just lived my life. Then I moved into my first flat on my own. I started to experience strange things, but didn’t react. Then suddenly, I heard very loud footsteps walking straight through me. My cat sprang to my lap, my heart beat fiercely in my chest and I struggled for breath. Even my neighbour heard it! And so I started to do my research. Later, I saw a figure standing at the door while I was showering: a Russian soldier looking every bit as baffled as I felt. He’d been looking for his mother and wasn’t expecting to stumble across me of all people! He showed me his story in dreams. And so I sought out a Reiki master to teach me how to use my powers properly, and this allowed me to communicate with the soldier. It took me three months to show him the light – it was an incredible experience.
Despite my ghost hunting profession, I consider myself a great sceptic. We only find ourselves dealing with actual ghosts in about two out of ten cases. Teenagers who have obviously been watching too many films will call us up asking how to kill vampires. When people claim to have really experienced something paranormal, I always ask them if they’ve been messing around with the occult, or whether they’ve taken any drugs. Then I go into meditation. I am able to practice Reiki remotely, which means I can usually already tell whether there’s a presence while I’m on the phone to a person. If I get goose bumps on my back, I know I’m sensing something from another plane.
We once had a case of child abuse. Even though the mother didn’t tell me, I could feel that something was up over the phone. I told her there and then that it wasn’t about her, but rather her daughter. When we arrived, she confirmed everything I had already sensed: She’d married a diplomat and he was playing games between the mother and daughter. Sometimes it’s the emotional energy that haunts someone, and it has nothing to do with ghosts.
Another scenario where we might encounter a false alarm is if someone lives on the ground floor, above a cellar containing all the electricity for the house. This creates electromagnetic fields, which can lead to hallucinations or the television turning on and off. Alex can measure electromagnetism with his equipment. A positive reading can point to paranormal activity, but often it’s just because of the electricity flowing through the house. In this case we’d advise our client to move out, because constant exposure can lead to brain damage.
Of course it’s really exciting when we’re on the trail of real ghosts. We recently visited Beesenstedt Castle, where we stumbled across quite unexpected ghostly activity. While investigating the castle, we suddenly became aware of running water behind a door, like someone taking a shower. I was angry, because who would have the cheek to take a shower at that time of night while we were doing a paranormal investigation? But the owner assured us that there was no shower behind the door, and the castle staff slept in completely different quarters. We opened the door, which revealed a simple laundry room. There was a sink, but it was bone dry – not a drop of water in sight. Amazingly, we caught the whole thing on tape.
All this has been getting us quite a lot of media attention during the past year especially, and I’ve noticed people looking at us oddly or fearfully on the street. But what we’re doing is something completely neutral. I’m personally honest about the fact that I believe in a higher power, but we’re not bible bashing or insulting Allah. Most people are interested in what we do, and those who are honest about the fact that they have experienced something themselves would agree with our beliefs.
What we’re doing is nothing new. People used to be so much more spiritual. Believing in ghosts, as well as a supernatural God, is perfectly normal. Now they have been manipulated by commercialisation – but they are slowly turning back. They take yoga classes; they meditate. I also hold meditation groups, and it can bring out so much in people. I had one person who made contact with their grandma who’d been dead for three years. They were finally able to say goodbye. It makes me glad to see people who would otherwise have nothing to do with the spirit world making contact through meditation.
The main thing our team wants to do is inspire people. We want to explore the paranormal and open people’s eyes to it. Above all we want to show them that there is so much more to the world than meets the eye.
 |  |
| 92% | 7% |
