Scotland has a longstanding tradition of spontaneous psychic experiences – so-called ‘second sight’ – and of mediumship. Lest we imagine such communications from the Beyond are things of the past, the story of Ann Treherne of Edinburgh over more than a quarter of a century is both fascinating and instructive, not least judging by the results.
The story begins with a traumatic psychic vision and culminates with the foundation of a remarkable and flourishing spiritual establishment, the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Centre in central Edinburgh.
In early 1996, Ann Treherne was a dynamic careerwoman immersed in the finance world, eventually commanding the post of chief executive in that industry. At that time, she was head of business development of a major Scottish building society. She was responsible for retailing within the chain of business branches, an altogether unlikely background for psychic adventure. Even more improbable was the actual location of her first traumatic psychic impression, the M8 motorway between Edinburgh and Glasgow. While behind the wheel of her car, Ann was hit by the first of a series of intense and disturbing mental visions showing slaughtered “dead bodies strewn around”.
Over the next few weeks, these profoundly troubling images repeatedly rose up into her consciousness. Curiously, they manifested while she was at work, but never at night during dreams. They were increasingly accompanied by an urgent sense that she was being compelled to “tell someone” or “do something” in response. By Friday, 8 March 1996, this urge had become so overwhelming that she felt forced to confide in a colleague at work.
By this stage her disconcerting images had crystallised into a powerful vision. The scene was somewhere
