Presumably, whenever some warm sunshine penetrated the narrow aperture between the walkway wall and the floor above, the Fisher Stokes liked to sit outside their front door, catching the rays (for all the world as if they were on the beach in Blackpool).

By using this Web site, you confirm that you have read, understood, and agreed to be bound by the Terms of Use. As a sceptic of all things paranormal, it was hard to remain so after reading Ms Stokes's account of her life and how her gift had affected her and the people around her. Linda continued: “As time passed, I thought I was walking further and further away from the Doris Stokes phenomenon only to discover years later that I’d been going round in a circle.

In the wave of interest that followed her appearance, she played to three capacity audiences at the Sydney Opera House.

Following Doris’ death, Linda chronicles how cynics tried to torpedo the Stokes legacy with accusations of cheating and dishonesty, but how those closest to Doris never believed she was anything other than genuine. In Innocent Voices In My Ear, Doris tells of her special relationship with children and her psychic communications with children of every age; from the heroic young men of the Falklands War, to the sixteen-year-old hostage of a . Throughout all this, Doris Stokes never became anyone other than who she was: a kind, generous, and down-to-earth woman with an extraordinary gift, and a fondness for a nice cup of tea. Other participants included "camp followers", who regularly attended the shows and repeatedly received messages from the same people. One of the world’s most celebrated mediums, Doris Stokes brought joy, comfort, and fascination to thousands of people during her lifetime.In later life, Doris became quite frail, but back then she was a tall, strong-looking woman – taller than her husband – with a halo of thick, springy grey hair that she was forever trying to subdue. Yet, strangely, no amount of intellectual scorn, disapproval, and – occasionally – insult appears to dent the stubborn enthusiasm for all things psychic. I know what you're thinking There is, says the US 'mind reader' Marc Salem, no such thing as reading minds.

However, she always wanted to give of her very best and not to disappoint people with a poor demonstration of mediumship. On TV too, shows such as Most Haunted, Ghost Story, and Paranormal Adventures seemed to be multiplying daily, presumably because they were finding an eager fan base. A few weeks later, passing through a town some distance away on a Sunday morning, I noticed purple balloons bobbing around the entrance of a community hall, and a queue of people stretching all the way up the road.A book leaves our collection of over seven million titles and begins a new chapter every two seconds, enabling more goods to be reused. Stokes had spoken to Dawn by telephone, offering commiseration and asking to be updated with the results of the tests that would determine whether Dawn's husband lived or died. It was almost as if there really were voices everywhere, so I added that title to my list of suggestions and sent it off. She first came to public attention in 1978 during a visit to Australia, when she appeared on The Don Lane Show.