What it's like to be... A ghost hunter

From a 6ft solid oak wardrobe falling over in the early hours to a clock continuing to tick without a battery – she has helped in many apparently inexplicable situations.

“People either don’t know what’s happening or they realise they’ve got something in their house.

“They are frightened but they don’t know who to talk to about it because they are worried they will sound crazy. That’s where I can help,” says Sandrea, who has also been working as a medium for the past 20 years.

Ghost hunters identify different types of spirits, Sandrea, who lives in Wombourne, tells us.

“There are the anniversary ghosts – these are the phenomenons that appear in the same place at the same time or on an anniversaries, it could be every year, or every few years.

“It’s basically history repeating itself over and over again. It’s like there is an imprint on the walls.

“You might get soldiers marching through a basement because they are marching in the same place they were before that building was there.

“There are the lost souls. These are the ones that have died suddenly and quickly. They don’t know they’ve died.

“Mediums can sense and communicate with them because they just need easing gently to the other side.

“There are the visiting ghosts. These are ones that just pop back to visit, like taking a look at the house where they used to live. There has to be a connection to either a place or a person.

“These are no trouble at all. They just pop back to check on someone and then they leave again.

“But there are those who haven’t moved on and these are the one that will cause harm and pain. They can’t move on and are trapped.

“Then there are demons – and this where you probably think I sound like a nutter – but demons have been part of mythology for thousands of years.

“They are trapped in our world and wreak havoc. They shouldn’t be here,” explains Sandrea, who has written the book Vanquishing Ghosts and Demons.

So how can she tell when she arrives at a property if she is dealing with a friendly presence or something out to cause trouble?

Sandrea says she will sense love, peace, warmth and light if it’s the ghost of a family’s loved one.

But if it’s an unwelcome entity, there will be feelings of fear and like someone is watching her.

She may also notice that the house feels cold in certain rooms or places even though the heating is on.

It could also be dark no matter how many lights are on and there could be obnoxious smells.

When she goes to help someone she usually works in a team of three or four for ‘safety in numbers’ and she makes sure there are no children in the house, Sandrea tells us.

“We use our combined energies and connection. It’s a bit like staring into the eyes of your boyfriend and feeling a connection, except without the intimacy.

“We are powerful together. We tune in together and then we use that energy and our guides to clear the house,” adds the 56-year-old.

One memorable call-out involved a mother of six in Tipton, who had encountered a number of terrifying experiences and didn’t know where to turn.

“The mother had seen the figure of a man standing in the doorway. They had an old clock under the bed that they could hear ticking but they were no batteries in it.

“They had a huge basket of shoes which would be overturned in seconds when no one was near it. I remember thinking ‘how are they living like this?’.

“Mostly people have had a ghostly experience but either they don’t want to believe it or they find a logical reason for whatever has happened.

“In one house a 6ft solid oak wardrobe just fell over in the middle night. The husband said ‘it must have been a bit windy’. No, I don’t think it was windy in the bedroom.

“Woman are definitely more psychic than men, they tend to sense more of what’s going on and me prefer to try to find a rational explanation for what is happening. “People like a good ghost story but nobody really wants to talk about death and what goes on afterwards,” explains Sandrea, who trained as a medium with the Spiritual National Union.

As well as vanquishing ghosts, she also does psychic readings and demonstrations around the Midlands as well as further afield.

It all started after her mother died and she began questioning if there was more to life.

“I was searching for something and I fell into this sort of work. I enjoy being able to help people in their hour of need.

“They may have had a loss or be desperately searching for something. I can connect them with a loved one and give them reassurance.

“If you came to me you would want to know about your future but I will always tell you about your past and present first,” Sandrea tells us.

“If somebody can not tell you about your past and present, they have no right to talk to you about your future.”

Sandrea is doing a reading of ghostly tales at the Quality Hotel in Dudley at 7pm on Tuesday. For more information see www.sandreamosses.co.uk