Psychic Medium Donna French

05/09/2026

In 1324, Kilkenny, Ireland, became the stage for a terrifying battle of power, wealth, and dark accusations. Dame Alice Kyteler was a wealthy, independent noblewoman who had survived four wealthy husbands. When her fourth husband fell ill, his children—envious of her immense fortune—accused her of using poison and sorcery to steal their inheritances.

It was the first recorded witchcraft trial in Irish history, and it set a deadly precedent.

The Bishop of Ossory, Richard de Ledrede, eagerly took up the case. He accused Alice of leading a heretical sect, sacrificing animals to demons, making flying potions, and sleeping with an incubus. Bishop Ledrede expected to crush the proud noblewoman, but he severely underestimated her powerful political connections. Alice used her influence to have the bishop jailed, buying herself precious time.

When the bishop was released, he struck back with absolute fury. Realising Alice was well-protected, he targeted her inner circle, torturing her loyal maidservant, Petronilla de Meath. Brutally whipped and broken on the rack, Petronilla finally "confessed" that she and Alice were guilty of witchcraft.

This tragic betrayal sealed their fates, but in vastly different ways.

Using her wealth and high-society allies, Alice Kyteler mysteriously vanished into the night. She successfully fled Ireland—likely escaping to England or Flanders—and was never seen again, taking her vast fortune with her.

But someone had to pay. On 3 November 1324, Petronilla de Meath was dragged to the center of Kilkenny and burned at the stake. She became the first person in Irish history to be executed for witchcraft, dying for the crimes of a woman who had already escaped.

Today, Alice Kyteler’s spirit is said to linger around her old inn in Kilkenny, but it is Petronilla's tragic energy that investigators feel most. It is a chilling reminder from history that in the early witch trials, wealth bought freedom, while the innocent paid with their lives.

04/09/2026

Please go and visit my beautiful friend Jennifer's new studio Clinic No5. She has worked so hard to transform this stunning space. Its unbelievable 🙌✨️❤️🤍🖤

Eeeeek…we’re open! 🥹❤️🥂

The day is finally here! After over a year of hard work, Clinic No5 is officially open.

We’re here until 7pm and would love for you to pop in and celebrate with us.

🥙 Persian bites from 12pm
✨ Complimentary Reiki Indian head massages
🥂 Ch*****ne
🎁 Goodie bags
…and lots more!

No appointment needed - just come and have a little nosey, grab a bite, say hello and celebrate with us 🤎

Clinic No5 & The Village Studios is officially OPEN! Eeeek! 🥂

04/09/2026

On March 6, 1873, a brutal act of violence forever stained the rocky shores of Smuttynose Island, a tiny, desolate speck in New England's Isles of Shoals. It was a cold, moonlit night when three Norwegian immigrant women—Maren Hontvet, her sister Karen Christensen, and their sister-in-law Anethe—were left alone in the island’s only occupied house.

What followed was a nightmare that birthed one of America’s most active, bone-chilling island hauntings.

Louis Wagner, a down-on-his-luck fisherman who had previously been shown nothing but kindness by the family, rowed ten miles out through the freezing Atlantic with one goal: robbery. Knowing the men were away on business, he broke into the house. When discovered, Wagner unleashed a savage frenzy. He beat and strangled Karen, then grabbed the family’s own woodcutting axe to brutally butcher 25-year-old Anethe in the snow.

Maren, the lone survivor, managed to escape through a window. Clutched in terror, she hid among the icy shoreline rocks while Wagner hunted for her in the moonlight, his boots crunching nearby. Wagner was eventually captured, convicted, and hanged, but the spiritual trauma left behind on Smuttynose Island never faded.

Today, the island is heavily avoided after sunset. Paranormal investigators and visitors report that the residual energy of that horrific night remains perfectly preserved. The phantom, blood-curdling screams of Karen and Anethe are frequently heard echoing across the ocean waves late at night.

Those who brave the island report intense feelings of dread near the old Hontvet house site, sudden drops in temperature, and the unsettling visual of a woman in white watching from the rocks where Maren once hid. Some even claim to see the dark silhouette of a man pacing the shoreline, forever trapped by his greed. Smuttynose remains a stark reminder that some horrors are too loud for death to quiet.

03/09/2026

The history of modern Spiritualism holds a dark, cautionary tale. In 1848, inside a small farmhouse in Hydesville, New York, two young girls named Maggie and Kate Fox ignited a global phenomenon. They claimed to communicate with a spirit they called "Mr. Splitfoot" through mysterious, ghostly knocking sounds. This sparked the birth of a new religion, turning séances into a cultural obsession and the sisters into international celebrities.

But forty years later, the truth shattered the movement.

On October 21, 1888, a grief-stricken and battle-weary Maggie Fox took the stage at the New York Academy of Music in front of 2,000 people. With Kate watching from the audience, Maggie confessed that the entire movement was born from a childhood prank gone wrong. To prove it, she removed her shoe, placed her bare foot on a wooden table, and let out sharp, loud thuds. Doctors rushed the stage, examined her feet, and confirmed the truth: the "spirit raps" that had comforted millions were nothing more than the sisters cracking their toe joints.

They had graduated from dropping apples on strings to snapping their knuckles, knees, and toes, using the hollow wooden floors of their childhood home to amplify the echo.

The aftermath was pure tragedy. The sisters had turned to severe alcoholism to cope with the relentless pressure of their manufactured fame. Enraged Spiritualists branded the confession a paid lie, while the public abandoned them completely. Desperate and destitute, Maggie recanted her confession a year later to try and earn a living, but the magic was gone.

The movement they birthed grew too massive to care about its creators. Kate passed away from alcoholism in 1892, and Maggie followed just months later in 1893. Both founders of Spiritualism died completely penniless and were buried in pauper's graves. It is a sobering reminder of how easily grief can be manipulated—and how a simple childhood lie can take on a terrifying life of its own.

02/09/2026

Before modern transport, rural communities in Britain and Europe relied on a specialised network of paths shrouded in deep folklore: The Co**se Road (also known as church ways, bier roads, or spirit paths). These ancient tracks were used exclusively to carry the dead from remote villages to consecrated churchyards for burial.For modern paranormal investigators and psychic mediums, these roads remain hotbeds of intense residual and intelligent spiritual energy.

The Sacred Paths

The Purpose: In the Middle Ages, outlying settlements lacked their own burial grounds. Communities had to carry a co**se for miles across rugged terrain to the mother church.

The Custom: To prevent the dead from claiming the land, these paths were strictly separated from everyday agricultural or commercial routes. Folklore dictated that if a co**se crossed a private field, that path legally became a public right of way forever.

👻 The Spirit Traffic

Spirit Traps: Co**se roads were believed to be literal highways for the dead. It was thought that spirits could only travel in straight lines; turning a corner or crossing running water would confuse a ghost.

Physical Barriers: Communities built specific features into these roads to trap spirits and prevent them from wandering back to haunt their living families. Steps were built over walls, and crossroads were intentionally utilised to disorient restless souls.

The Co**se Candle: Locals frequently reported seeing "co**se candles"—mysterious, floating balls of light hovering along these paths at night, acting as eerie premonitions of an upcoming death in the village.

Today, many co**se roads still exist as public footpaths, deeply embedded in the landscape. They serve as a powerful reminder of a time when the physical journey to the grave was as spiritually significant as the afterlife itself.

01/09/2026

01/09/2026

Long before digital notifications, historical communities relied on acoustic communication to share major news. In rural Europe, the tolling of the church bell—known as The Death Knell—did far more than announce that someone had passed away. It used a precise sonic code to tell the entire village the exact gender and age of the newly deceased.

Here is how this fascinating historical code worked:

🔔 The "tellers" or Strokes

The announcement always began with a series of quick, distinct strokes called "tellers" to identify the s*x of the departed. While regional variations existed, the most common English tradition used this formula:

3 x 3 Strokes: Three sets of three tolls announced the death of a man.
3 x 2 Strokes: Three sets of two tolls announced the death of a woman.
2 x 2 Strokes: Two sets of two tolls signaled the passing of a child.

Hearing these initial counts allowed the entire parish to immediately narrow down who in their close-knit community had crossed over.

⏳ Ringing the AgeDirectly following the tellers, the s*xton would pause before ringing the main knell. The bell would then toll slowly, with each individual chime representing one year of the deceased person's life.

If a village elder died at 84, the bell would ring exactly 84 times.

This rhythmic counting allowed neighbors working in the fields or resting at home to calculate the exact identity of the neighbor they had lost.

🕊️ The Spiritual Legacy

For modern mediums and paranormal investigators, the death knell is a profound piece of spiritual history. It wasn't just data; it was an energetic shield. The deep vibrations of the consecrated church bells were traditionally believed to drive away malevolent spirits waiting to intercept the newly departed soul as it began its journey to the afterlife.

31/08/2026

In the folklore of old Europe, the line between the living, the dead, and the natural world was incredibly thin. For centuries, a beautiful yet haunting tradition known as "Telling the Bees" (or Turning the Hives) was practiced to keep the peace between a family and their hive after a death.

Here is the spiritual history behind this sacred custom:

🐝 The Spiritual Messenger

The Connection: In Celtic and European mythology, bees were revered as winged messengers between our physical world and the spirit realm. They were believed to possess deep cosmic wisdom and a direct link to the afterlife.

The Rule: Because bees were considered true members of the household, keeping secrets from them was a dangerous taboo. If a major life event—especially a death—occurred, they had to be informed immediately.

🖤 The Ritual of Turning the Hives

The Announcement: Upon the death of the master or a family member, the head of the house would approach the hives, knock softly, and whisper the news. A common phrase was, "The master is dead, but don't you go."

The Mourning Dress: The hives were physically draped in black cloth or crepe. If a funeral feast was held, a small portion of the food and w**e was left at the hive entrance so the bees could join the mourning period.

The Turning: In some regions, the physical hives were gently turned to face away from the funeral procession as it left the house, shielding the insects from the raw energy of departing spirits.

🍂 The Consequence of Silence

If a family failed to tell the bees, superstition dictated that disaster would follow. It was believed the hive would stop producing honey, sicken and die, or entirely abandon their hives to follow the deceased owner’s spirit into the next world.

For modern practitioners and animists, this tradition is a beautiful reminder of how deeply our ancestors respected the interconnectedness of all living things and the spirits that move among them.

30/08/2026

In the history of the dark arts and folklore, few artifacts are as chilling as The Hand of Glory. Long before modern paranormal investigators tracked residual energy, medieval thieves used this grisly object to manipulate the spiritual and physical planes for crime.

Here is the dark history behind this legendary occult item:

🪓 The Creation Ritual

The Source: The artifact was literally the severed hand of a convicted thief, cut down while still hanging from the gallows.

The Preparation: According to 18th-century grimoires like the Petit Albert, the hand was wrapped in a winding sheet, squeezed of all remaining blood, and pickled for weeks in a jar with salt, peppers, and saltpetre. It was then dried thoroughly in the sun.

🕯️ The Macabre Magic

The Candle: The dried hand was used either as a candlestick or the fingers themselves were coated in wax and lit. The wick had to be made from the hair of the hanged thief, and the fat used for the wax came from a dead murderer.

The Spell: Once ignited, the Hand of Glory possessed terrifying supernatural properties. It allegedly rendered anyone who looked at it completely paralysed and unable to move or speak.

The Sleep: It cast a deep, unbreakable sleep over the inhabitants of a house, allowing burglars to strip the home entirely undisturbed. Furthermore, it was believed that the flame could only be extinguished by milk.

🔍 Folklore & The Modern View

The Metaphor: While it sounds like pure horror fiction, historical records show that real hands were seized from suspected witches and criminals.

The Energy: For modern practitioners, the Hand of Glory represents the darkest side of sympathetic magic—the belief that an object retains the energy, desperation, and bound spirit of the person it belonged to.

29/08/2026

Before modern science and paranormal toolkits, medieval healers and occultists turned to nature's secrets for spiritual protection. One of the most sought-after magical artifacts of the Middle Ages was The Toadstone (or Bufonite).

This strange item blended folklore, medicine, and the supernatural into a single legendary talisman.

🐸 The Myth of the Living Stone

The Source: European folklore claimed that old, giant toads carried a magical jewel hidden inside their heads.

The Catch: According to 14th-century grimoires, the stone could not be harvested after death. It had to be cut from a living toad while the creature sat upon a red cloth, or the stone would lose its magical potency.

🧪 The Medieval Anti-Poison Alarm

Detection: In an era where political assassinations by poison were common, royalty and nobles wore toadstones in rings or amulets. If poison was near, the stone would allegedly sweat, change color, or heat up against the skin.

The Cure: If someone was poisoned or bitten by a venomous creature, the stone was pressed directly against the wound to draw out the toxins and cure the victim.

🔍 The Reality & The Spiritual Legacy

What it actually was: Modern geology has revealed that historical toadstones were not organic gems at all. They were actually the fossilised, button-like teeth of Lepidotes, an extinct genus of predatory fish from the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods.

The Lesson: For modern practitioners and investigators, the toadstone is a fascinating example of how our ancestors sought tangible ways to detect hidden dangers. It shows the deeply rooted human desire to find protective magic within the natural world.