Paranormal investigators give live demonstration at mocktail bar 

As Kim Moser and Amy Murphy walked into the dimly lit mocktail bar one evening in late February, they were greeted by a man wearing a hand-made aluminum cap.

“I know tinfoil hats are for aliens, but I thought it couldn’t hurt,” said Soberish Mocktail Shoppe owner Jay Hiltz.

Hiltz hugged the pair hello before putting their bags behind the counter. 

Moser and Murphy met working on Eastlink TV’s Haunted, where they and several other paranormal investigators traveled around Nova Scotia searching for spirits.  

Moser is a friend of Hiltz’s. When he asked her if she wanted to host a talk at his Agricola Street shop, she jumped at the opportunity. 

“We really love doing free events and events in the community where we can talk to people,” Moser told The Signal. “If people have questions or they want to know more, or they just want to share their stories, it’s the best way to talk about this really, almost taboo topic.” 

Murphy’s connection to the paranormal has been with her since birth, though she mistook it for anxiety at first.  

“I just thought I was sick or didn’t feel good, (I) had anxiety attacks,” Murphy said. “It wasn’t until I started actually working on the show where I put two and two together that it was me channeling spirits.” 

When Moser was 21 her grandmother came to her in a dream, telling her she was “leaving.” The next morning, Moser’s mother told her that her grandmother was dead. 

“That, to me, was too much for me to not say there’s probably an afterlife,” Moser said.  

Murphy goes into her investigations without knowing anything about the location. Her main technique is mirror scrying, a process where someone looks into a reflective surface to look for visions and symbols.  

“The mirror is a way that I can communicate and (spirits) show themselves,” Murphy said. “My face will manipulate into what they’re trying to show me. I get feelings, I hear things, I see things.” 

Moser uses research to make sense of Murphy’s visions. 

“I’ll look at town records. Even the next day, I will contact the local museum to see if they can go through the archives and help me, and then I’m able to piece the story together.” 

Before their demonstration, Murphy explained why they wanted to discuss their “substance-free approach to paranormal investigating,” as per the event’s poster. 

“Whenever I go into investigation, I’m clear-headed. I’m able to feel all the senses and really tap into things. And I can go even deeper if I need to because I’m not under the influence of anything,” said Murphy, who lives totally sober. 

Moser said that people with substance abuse issues “are a little bit more susceptible to having negative entities attached to them.”  

“Yes, we work on a TV show and we do that for entertainment, but it is actually something we take very seriously,” Murphy said. 

After introducing themselves to the audience of seven people, they set up a mirror for Murphy to demonstrate her scrying skills. 

Murphy stared unblinking for several minutes into the mirror.  

“Are my eyes black?” Murphy asked, voice shaking. 

“Nope, you’re still beautiful Amy to me,” Kim said, holding Murphy’s shoulders and watching her in the mirror.  

Murphy said that she saw a woman’s face in place of her own reflection.  

“It’s almost like I can see the veins, or I want to say burns,” she said. “Her face is veiny but the skin…” 

Murphy trailed off, putting her fingers to the mirror and breathing heavily.  

She said that the woman’s name was Jeanie, and she was looking for her husband. 

Murphy spoke into the mirror, telling Jeanie that her husband was gone, and that she was free to move on into the next life. 

After Murphy turned away from the mirror, she opened the floor for people to talk about their own experiences with the paranormal. 

“We have no idea what happens to our energy or our souls when we pass away,” Moser said. 

“None of us really have answers. We’re just going on the things that feel right to us.”