By Rosemary Ford
Staff writer
Some kids fear the boogeyman. Lisa Williams feared the bloated, clown-like faces that tried to talk to her when she was 3 years old.
The dead guy at the dinner table, on the other hand, could work in her favor when he told her to refuse to eat her peas. (It wasn't until later, Williams said, that she and her parents came to believe that the ghost delivering that advice was none other than her great uncle, who choked on a pea and died.)
"I grew up thinking it was normal," until the age of 7, said the 35-year-old celebrity psychic who, after realizing that she possessed clairvoyant skills, would hide them until much later in her life.
"It was for me to accept that I could be normal and have a life and do this work," she said.
Ultimately, Williams would accept her calling. Today the British psychic who was discovered by the late media mogul Merv Griffin has gained worldwide acclaim through her Lifetime television series, "Lisa Williams: Life Among the Dead." The show features Williams with clients in her office, visiting haunted places and stopping random people on the street when she feels a departed loved one is trying to get them a message.
She also recently published "Life Among the Dead," her first book. It hit stores this month, and hundreds of people have turned out for her signings, sometimes waiting hours in line to see her, she said.
Between projects, Williams performs large-audience readings, one of which will bring her to Lowell Memorial Auditorium on Thursday, May 8, where she will work with the crowd to channel their dead loved ones.
"They may not get personal readings, but most people come away with closure," she said.
It's not easy being open to the spirit realm, Williams said. It can be tiring, both mentally and physically, whether working with a person individually or in a crowd.
"The spirits are there, and they want to communicate," Williams said. "I am like a little Energizer Bunny (in group settings), in fact more so than my one-on-one readings, because I can get to more people in the same amount of time."
It wasn't so long ago, however, that Williams wasn't "getting to" anybody. She was ignoring the things she recalls seeing and feeling and had a hard time coming to terms with her clairvoyance, she said.
"I didn't realize it was an ability. I thought everybody could do it. When I really started to embrace it ? when my grandmother died ? I was about 22."
Her grandmother was renowned English medium Frances Glazebrook, who read regularly for Britain's royal family.
Williams said her grandmother, who believed Williams shared her abilities, never taught her what to do. Rather, she gave her granddaughter a simple piece of advice: Follow your intuition.
"It's not about seeing dead people, it's about giving people closure," Williams said.
Over the years, Williams has seen celebrities ? both living and dead. However, the case that sticks in her mind the most is of a little girl who died in an accident. Her mother came to Williams for a reading, and Williams said she made contact with the girl who was trying to comfort her mother by telling her "she'd be back."
"The mother said to me, 'She can't come back, I can't have more children,'" Williams said.
Over time, Williams read for the mother frequently. On one visit, she could not make contact with the girl. The mother told her she wasn't surprised ? her daughter had kept her promise.
"The mother adopted a newborn," Williams said. "She said, 'Every time I look at that child, I see her.' "
Though not everyone believes Williams can see dead people, she isn't concerned about convincing the masses. She points to the success of "The Secret," the New York Times best-seller by Rhonda Byrne, which advises people that they get back from life what they put into it.
"Whatever we project out into the universe, it will happen," she said. "We've started to become a lot more aware."
If you go
What: "Lisa Williams: Life Among the Dead"
When: 8 p.m., Thursday, May 8
Where: Lowell Memorial Auditorium, 50 E. Merrimack St., Lowell
How: Tickets range from $38.50 to $68.50. Call the theatre box office at 978-454-2299 or online at www.lowellauditorium.com.
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