Karl Petry: He Sees the Dead

By Rosemary Ellen Guiley

c. Visionary Living, Inc.

 

 

[This article first appeared in FATE magazine, March 2007.]

Karl Petry hesitated in front of the big saltbox colonial house before him as a queasy feeling rose up in his throat. A psychic, he had been called to check out reports of strange hauntings at a private residence in New Jersey. But now, as he stood here looking at the brooding house, he wondered what he’d gotten himself into.

The "Angela Webb House," as the home became known, plunged him into to a world of bizarre ghostly events and violent poltergeist phenomena – all of which unfolded before him in his psychic vision.

Exceptionally gifted with psychic ability since childhood, Petry was no stranger to the unseen. In fact, he has always seen invisible worlds far better than many psychics. But the Angela Webb House proved to be a most unusual case.

"There were a multitude of entities in the house – more than I’d ever seen in one place before," said Petry. "I could see them walking around. They were aware of me and of everyone living who came into the house. They conveyed to me in no uncertain terms that it was their house."

As details about the house unfolded, Petry learned that it had an extensive haunted history. Built in 1789, it had been the scene of a suicide, an accidental death, possibly a murder, and other unhappy events. At least one ghost was sexually active, molesting both men and women. And poltergeist activity plagued whoever lived in the house.

An even more bizarre aspect to the hauntings revealed itself. Somehow, the house had a curse upon its owners. If an owner died while owning the house – not matter where or how they died – they were sucked into the house and trapped as a ghost. And the Angela Webb House, more than 100 years old, teemed with spirits.

The woman who owned the house and contacted Petry is identified by the pseudonym Petry gave her, Angela Webb. Petry was so affected by what he experienced there that he made a docu-drama film based on it, The Ghosts of Angela Webb. As he got to know Angela Webb and see what was happening to her, he kept asking himself, "Why would anyone want to live in a haunted place like this?"

The search for meaning

It’s a question Petry faces over and over again in his many investigations of haunted places. He’s seen ample evidence of how the spirit world – ghosts of the dead and other entities – invade the world of the living. Sometimes effects are minimal, as in hauntings that seem to be nothing more than "imprints" of past events and personalities. Other times, the invasions wreak havoc upon the living.

"As a psychic, I try to put closure on troubled places," Petry said. "I try to discover explanations that put the paranormal into perspective, and put people at ease."

For example, a typical request comes from people who feel their house is haunted, and they are frightened by the idea, or by things that happen that they can’t explain or control. More often than not, Petry finds imprints. These recordings are not active and self-aware – they simply co-exist in space and place. For whatever reasons, they are experienced by the living, but they don’t act out and harm people.

Families have called Petry to help them with cases of murder, kidnaping and missing persons. He often sees events through the eyes of the victims. He feels their pain and knows their thoughts. If they met a violent end, he knows their final moments of fear and terror. He gives information to the families that only they know, and often is able to corroborate information known only to law enforcement.

"Such investigations can drain me mentally and physically for up to a week," said Petry. "They rob me of sleep for days. But the ends –helping people in severe distress – justify the means."

What distinguishes Petry from many other psychics is that he literally sees the invisible. Many psychics sense it, and get mental impressions. Petry sees with his physical eyes, as though curtains to other realms – and other times in history – have been pulled away. He sees ghosts in great detail, and hears them talking as though in real time conversation. He can walk down a street in any city or town, and often he will see it as it looked in times past.

What’s more, he is adept at psychometry. Give him a photo or an object, and it’s like rolling a psychic movie to him.

A psychic "poster boy"

How did he get such an ability? Like most exceptionally gifted psychics, he probably was born "wired" to perceive things that the average person does not. In addition, he suffered harsh physical and mental abuse in childhood. The result, say parapsychologists, is a "poster boy" for psychic.

Petry was born on October 28, 1952 in Newark, New Jersey. His father, Walter Petry, was the son of a Polish immigrant, and his mother, Lottie, was a native of Newark. He was the youngest of two children. The family lived in the Ironbound section of Newark, so-named because of three railroad lines surrounding the neighborhood.

From childhood, Petry saw ghosts of the dead, and also scenes from the past that played out in front of him as though in real time. He did not confide in his parents, who were conservative Catholics. Petry would feel himself transported to distant locations, where he sometimes saw retrocognitive visions of the past.

The visions were difficult to comprehend, and he did his best to either ignore them by keeping busy in jobs and activities. While still in high school, he cleaned and stacked iron pipes for a plumbing company, delivered numbers for a local bookie, and dispatcher work at a trucking company. Inspired by the Beatles, he formed his own band. His musical writing style got the attention of an agent for the rock band, Gary Lewis and the Playboys, who invited him to come to Los Angeles. His parents refused.

After high school graduation, Petry enrolled in an automotive technical school. In 1972 he enlisted in the United States Air Force. He served in the Vietnam War, was injured and was hospitalized for five months. After his discharge, he returned to Newark. After a series of jobs in New Jersey, he formed his own company, Metro-Video Productions, for commercial and forensics videography and photography. He lives in Kearny, New Jersey, with his wife, whom he met in high school and married in 1973.

Petry began making independent films in 1985. Besides The Ghosts of Angela Webb (2004), several have paranormal themes: Ironbound Vampire (1999), The Larksville Ghost (2005), and The Haunting of Danbury House (2007). He now works in partnership with director and producer John Orrichio; their company is Goldcastle Films.

Petry was in his forties before he started talking publicly about his psychic ability. For years, he gave informal readings to friends and associates. He assisted families in crime cases. He sharpened his ability with training provided by Ingo Swann, the New York City psychic who created the foundation for the U.S. government’s classified program in remote viewing.

Helping lonely ghosts find a voice

When Petry tunes into the past via retrocognition, the sounds of the present fade and images of the past appear in the place of what exists in the present. He is able to describe details from the past with a high degree of accuracy. Similarly, when he experiences ghosts, he sees and hears them as though in real time. If they are imprints, they replay scenes from the past that he observes and hears.

When other psychics "feel" something at a site, they look to Petry for more information, for he is able to see the entities with a high degree of clarity. He is able to communicate with some of the entities via telepathy. Some resist communication, while still others gesture and point, or just stare as if lost.

"The strongest thing that often comes through is a deep sense of loneliness," Petry said. "Many ghosts were lonely in life. They are still lonely in death."

Spirit releasement is not necessarily the answer, he said. "It’s helpful in some cases, but it’s not a universal fix. I’m a conduit between the living and the dead. Sometimes the dead just want us to know certain things. Prayer for them is always helpful."

Do tech and ghosts really mix?

Petry has mixed feelings about the use of high-tech gear in ghost and paranormal investigations. Tech, he said, is a double-edged sword. Its successful use depends on the people using it and understanding the true nature of the paranormal. He is careful who he works with.

"A psychically troubled area is very delicate," he said. "Ghosts are like cats – they can disappear quite easily. Some teams go in with lasers, recorders, flashing cameras, ringing cell phones, humming motors. They disturb the area with excessive noise and light, and the phenomena take a powder.

"In one investigation I did with a group of tech people, I could literally see the ghosts disappear in front of us. When I visited the same area five hours later with no tech people, the ghosts reappeared.

" I believe that high tech doesn’t always work well in the psychic world," Petry said. "Psychics have a human connection with the other side. A laser or thermometer doesn’t have that."

Psychics bring a valuable perspective to paranormal investigation. "They bring the human element into the equation," Petry emphasized. "They obtain information and subtle details that can be researched in historical records, or in eyewitness accounts. An investigation without a psychic misses a big part of the picture."

Petry can be contacted at petryks@aol.com. For information about his films, go to www.goldcastlefilms.com.

[Personal note -- I love working with Karl.  He is exceptionally accurate.-- REG]

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