Ghosts?  Who’re You Going to Call?

Afraid of ‘spirits of the past’? It seems that some USA businessmen, particularly in San Francisco, do have a fear of the ‘spirits of the past’ – especially of past failures.

A real estate area in the city has been labelled the ‘dot-com graveyard’. It is an area where numerous companies associated with the Internet technology and commerce (e-commerce) had ‘congregated’ during the early heady days of the predicted Internet commerce boom. But then came the bust, and businesses folded up and, one after another, disappeared, leaving empty premises in a significant area of San Francisco.

Efforts to find new tenants for the many vacant properties included significant reductions in rent. Now, slowly, businesses are returning to the area – many attracted by better rental deals. From marketing companies to medical groups to movie production companies are moving in. Some are finding that there are all sorts of left-overs from the companies which rented the properties before closing shop – even photos in their frames on desks.

Knowledge that they were moving into premises vacated by companies that had been forced to close down led some to regard this as a ‘spiritual issue’ with the ‘dot-com ghosts’ of the past having the potential to negatively affect their own business.

So they called in the ‘dot-com ghost clearer’.

For a price, Kathleen Monroe arrives at clients businesses armed with incense, bells and flowers. Ms. Monroe runs a business called, Space Sacred – a so-called geopathic stress business (a new twist on geomancy).

Her procedure is to roam around the premises with a dowsing rod, searching for negative energies and emotional residue from the past. She then arranges flowers on disposable plates, with a small votive candle in the centre, surrounded by incense. She then spends about 20 minutes ringing a bell. She directs those who have called her in to change the positioning of plants and metal objects to improve the flow of energy.

She claims that part of what she does is ‘to honour the guardians and spirits that may inhabit the space’. That apparently creates a ‘ceremonial atmosphere’, in turn creating ‘a better stage for doing the clearing work.’

Usually the clearing ceremony will last about two hours. It is not known what guarantees Kathleen Monroe provides that the newly ‘cleared’ premises will definitely prosper and not go under, as previous tenants may have done.

The managing director of a marketing company, in rooms adjoining those where Ms. Monroe was busy doing some ‘clearing’, stated that the flimsy makeshift walls do nothing to keep the smell and noise of her activities out. He said they didn’t complain, but did make one request:

‘We asked her not to take away the revenue-generating spirits.’

Another development in New Age (and ancient geomancy) fascination with spirits and supposed hidden powers. And where there’s a market, there’s sure to be someone who will develop a ‘suitable product’ – as long as someone will pay for it.