Who You Gonna Call? Mary Ann Winkowski!


	Who You Gonna Call? Mary Ann Winkowski!

Release Date:

October 23, 2009

Press Release:

TV Guide

Mary Ann Winkowski, the real life Ghost Whisperer opens up about her gift---and how to shake pesky spirits this Halloween....

"By the time I was a teenager, I realized that I could use my gift to help both the living and the dead."
Whispering Belles: Jennifer Love Hewitt with Mary Ann Winkowski

by Mary Ann Winkowski

For most people, Halloween is the one day of the year that is associated with hair-raising hauntings. But for me, every single day brings the potential for a face-to-face encounter with a ghost. As many fans of CBS' Ghost Whisperer know, Melinda [Jennifer Love Hewitt] can't get through her day without encountering a spirit or two in crisis-and neither can I. The fact is I've seen earthbound spirits (those souls that don't cross over when they die) ever since I can remember.

Growing up in Cleveland, my Italian grandmother would often take me with her to funerals. And just like in the opening scene of Ghost Whisperer, when a confused young Melinda gives a message to a grieving widow as her grandmother proudly looks on, I, too, would relay information from the deceased to various family members gathered at the funeral home. By the time I was a teenager, I realized that I could use my gift to help both the living and the dead. Since then, I have been on radio and TV, made personal appearances and written several books with the aim of better understanding the world of earthbound ghosts.

When someone I met at a dinner party in Hollywood suggested that my life story would make a great television show, I assumed they were just making polite conversation. After all, the spirits I see aren't your typical "horror movie" ghosts.

They don't drip blood or rattle chains. (Well, sometimes the ones i that live in drafty old castles in Ireland and Scotland do make a bit ~ of noise, but they tell me that it's because the tourists expect it!) a They're just regular folks, like you and me, who happen to be dead.

So I met Ghost Whisperer's executive producer John Gray in a coffee shop in Los Angeles arid spent a few hours telling him stories from my past encounters, describing the ghosts hanging out in the cafe with us. John immediately recognized that the emotional dramas of human beings, whether dead or alive, are truly compelling. And in the hands of the talented writers and amazing cast of Ghost Whisperer, the work that I so often think is mundane becomes loaded with dramatic potential.

But there are simple things ordinary folks can do to protect themselves from the negative energy that can gather where an earthbound spirit is present. In my memoir, When Ghosts Speak: Understanding the World of Earthbound Spirits, I explain how to determine whether the flickering lights in your living room mean you have a ghost-or if you need to call an electrician. I explain the benefits of sprinkling salt over newly acquired antiques, using a smudge stick to clear the energy in a home and how to practice visualizing the white light of protection. With a little knowledge and some common sense, most people realize there is no reason to fear these spirits.

And so, on Halloween, I'll be happy to hand out candy, but you won't find me out looking for spooky thrills. For me, it's a night just like any other, because whether we're aware of them or not, ghosts are always among us.

Mary Ann Winkowski's first novel, The Book of Illumination: A Novel From the Ghost Files (Three Rivers Press), was released earlier this month. Visit her Web site: MaryAnnWinkowski.com.