Communication with the dead

This was his home at the time of his death. About a decade after Einar’s death, the Icelandic Society for Psychical Research purchased a portion of the house. This was the very society which Einar founded at the beginning of the Century.

You may remember from previous  blog that Einar invited the 22 year-old Hafsteinn Björnsson into his home. It turned out that Hafsteinn had heightened para-psychological abilities and his visions during Einar’s funeral were only a fraction of the things he witnessed on the other side.

When the Society moved into the house, Hafsteinn had been working as their medium for a decade. He continued working as their medium in the house, holding countless séances for whoever desired to take part.

Sólvallagata 12

In 1950, a man by the name of Halldór Sigurðsson (1902-1961), came to Sólvallagata 3 for a séance with Hafsteinn. He had never been to a trans-meeting with Hafsteinn before, but he had heard rumors about it. Halldór already believed in life after death and didn’t need any proof of its existence.

Nonetheless, he had some expectations of what was going to happen, but since there was nothing to prove, he didn’t believe there would be anything specific directed towards him.  He didn’t see a reason why anyone would feel the need to prove their existence to him. It wouldn’t be necessary.

Halldór Sigurðsson

Halldór is from Borgarnes and worked as a bank director. He was one of the most pro-active individuals in the building of the Borgarnes church.

He was active in the music community. He was naturally gifted in the field of music, but the severity of his family’s poverty, the unfortunate loss of his father and siblings limited his exposure to music and robbed him from the opportunity to go to music school.

Instead, he focused on being a part of the musical community where he lived. He was active in many different ways, among other things, he lead the men’s choir, was a music teacher and a church choir director.

A husband and father of three, he was considered to be an extraordinary man. He was compassionate, kind, honest and sincere towards everyone. The care and concern he put into his family unit impressed many.

When he entered the séance, there were six other people present. He didn’t know any of them and none of them knew him. The séance was led by Ingimar Jóhannesson (1891-1982). Halldór and Ingimar had never before met.

It was the norm to keep the identity of the guests a secret from Hafsteinn, so by the time the séance started, he had no idea who the guests were.

The meeting started as any other séance. Hafsteinn came out after everyone had sat down and the lights had been turned off. In the darkness, Hafsteinn fell into a trance. Once he was in a trance, the lights were turned back on, but kept slightly dim. The séance started and Hafsteinn’s spirit-guides took over. One of them was named Ragna.

The way a spirit-guide communicates with the séance sitters, is by talking through the mouth of the medium (Hafsteinn).

After Ragna had described to the sitters some of the people who were with her on the other side, she turned the conversation over to Halldór. She told him there was a man standing next to him. He had only recently arrived on their side of the veil.

After describing his appearance and personal characteristics, she told Halldór that while he was still on earth, they often engaged in serious discussion. She finished by telling him that this person was Þorkell Teitsson (1891-1949). The description of  Þorkell was spot on.

Hafsteinn Björnsson (1915-1977) is possibly Iceland’s most known medium. In addition to his regular séances, he was also a healing medium. Author, Dr. Erlendur Haraldsson has studied parapsychology in-depth for decades. In 1972, together with others, he performed scientific studies on Hafsteinn’s mediumistic abilities. The conclusion was in favor of his abilities.

Then Ragna said that another man was there with her as well. He was tall, happy and diligent. He had been with them for 19 years. He arrived in August 1931. She continued explaining that he loved music and played the organ very well. In his earthly life, he conducted music and wrote songs as well. Halldór thought this sounded just like his brother, Pétur. He had died at age 32 from pneumonia.

All of a sudden, Halldór felt like he was under some type of influence. While Ragna was describing his musical abilities, Halldór’s hands, which he had kept resting on his knees, were pulled back, then up against his sides and then straight forward. At last, his hands fell back down.

Not quite sure what just happened, Halldór tried shaking it off. This experience was so odd that he now wanted further proof. He asked Ragna if she could name some of the songs this person had written.

After a short silence she told Halldór that this person was showing her a landscape. Trying to interpret what she saw, she said, “towards the mountains in the spring”.  She said it was spring and described a beautiful spring-filled landscape. She then concluded that she saw the mountains where the fog was like the forest.

Pétur Sigurðsson (1899-1931) was Halldór’s brother and a promising lyricist. By the time of his death at age 32 he was a husband and a father of four children. He was tall, strong and competitive. He was very sensitive, temperamental, high-spirited, and generous. Although he was considered temperamental, he was able to control it appropriately. Because of this, he became extremely productive and was able to use all his energy and strong-will towards achieving quality outcomes in all his endeavors. As a young teenager, he had the opportunity to learn how to play the organ and was considered exceptionally talented and ahead of other organ players.

Halldór finally understood what Ragna was trying to say and decided to help her out. He also  wanted to see if she could finish the song.  He gave her a hint by telling her the song started with  above glaciers –.

As soon as he uttered the words, Ragna immediately added, towards the mountains, gently falls forest-like fog. Then she finished the two first verses of the song. When she was finished, she told Halldór that the man was his brother Pétur.

Ragna turned her attention to the other sitters at the séance. Then towards the end, Pétur returned and was able to speak through the medium. Pétur and Halldór had a good discussion together. Then all of a sudden it seemed like the medium was about to wake up from the trance. He started making a type of a humming sound.

It wasn’t like any humming Halldór had ever heard. It then went from humming to full out singing. It was like it was coming from the top part of the medium’s head. Halldór himself entered a slightly altered state, where his mind honed in on the singing. All of a sudden, he came to again. The song his brother sang through the medium was the third and last verse of the song that Ragna had just sited. The song was called Spring (Vor).

The likelihood of the medium knowing who his brother was, let alone the song he had written, was next to none, so there was no doubt in Halldór’s mind that Hafsteinn was a true medium and that it was indeed his brother, Pétur, he was communicating with.