Romantic Encounters of the Ghost Kind
Women Who Fell In Love With a Ghost
The True & Bizarre Tale of Two Women Who Fell In Love With the Supernatural. Literally.
Please note that this, and all episodes of Thrice Cursed have been adapted from their original spoken form to text by myself, and some additional ad-libbed content may have been omitted. All content within is the sole property of Thrice Cursed Podcast. Please don't plagiarize. Plagiarism sucks.
Hello. I’m Rebekkah Rosewood, and this is Thrice Cursed.
To start this episode, I would just like to thank everyone for the kindness and patience you’ve offered during my absence. My mental health took a bit of a dive back in November, and I wasn’t able to deliver quality content. Due to the nature of the topics that I cover, I felt it best to hold off rather than provide subpar research or writing as well as send myself deeper into my spiral. I truly apologize for the wait, and honestly appreciate all of you from the curse to my hearse.
Now, I think you’ve all waited long enough, so I’m just going to jump right into this one. This episode is sponsored by the word wild, because I’m about to take you on a ride. I’m honestly not even sure how to begin this episode, because I can’t even begin to fathom what I’m about to be telling you. So, buckle up, grab your sage, your broomsticks, and your grimoires, and get ready for the weird.
In classic February style, this episode is dedicated love; both lost and found. Till Death Do Us Part is a phrase most of us have heard: whether it was in a movie, at a family member’s wedding, maybe even your own wedding. It’s a vow to be together until death’s embrace inevitably closes in, forever parting you. But what if it didn’t part you? What if there was a reality where the spirits of those who have passed can remain? Together with their loved ones until their time comes? It’s almost comforting to imagine.
The stories you’ll be hearing today… well, they aren’t that. Today, you’ll discover that dating life is SO bleak out there that women are actually swearing off of their human partners in lieu of a more spectral being. That’s right, you heard me. Ghost partners. Some days, I’m not too sure I blame them, but then I haven’t drunk the flavor-aid just yet. And Luke, since you listen to my non-murdery episodes… take this as a warning. The competition just got bigger. I could date a GHOST. Gives a whole new meaning to “Just here for the boos.”
And dating a ghost is precisely what Amethyst Realm did. In fact, many ghosts. According to an interview on ITV’s This Morning in 2017, the then 27-year-old from Bristol, England described a time period in her life when she had been engaged. Not to a ghost, but to a human man. Her fiance would often work away from home for weeks at a time, and upon one of his returns, he discovered that his soon-to-be bride had been unfaithful. The tale is as old as time. Man goes off on a work trip. His partner uses that time to explore her affair. Man comes home a day early, and sees a spectre in the window of the spare bedroom. Okay. Maybe not QUITE as old as time.
Amethyst had never expected her fiance to catch a glimpse of her new lover. Not because they’d planned carefully to avoid him or anything like that, but rather because she herself had never seen him. She theorized that this ghost, like her fiance, had fallen in love with her. In a bid to have her all to himself, he appeared to her fiance. Whether this appearance was to scare him off, or to confront him with the affair, no one can be sure.
So, how does an affair with a ghost even start? It’s not like spirits spend the afterlife swiping right on some app called Find-a-Boo. I mean I guess they could, I’ve personally never died, so I really wouldn’t know. For this particular love interest, however, there was no app. Instead, Amethyst said that the affair started off simply as an energy she noticed in her home. Over time she became used to the sensation of the energy around her. That’s when she said things became more physical.
Direct quote here, “I started to feel pressure on my thighs, on my arms, as well as breath on the back of my neck. It always felt safe.” Over time, the relationship with this particular spirit fizzled out, and Amethyst moved on. Not once, not twice, but several times. She claims to have had relationships with as many as 20 ghosts in 10 years.
She spoke of enticing spirits to visit her by dressing only in lingerie. Note to self -- If I ever try to do a séance, screw the candles, the salt, the rituals, and all that other shit. I just have to wear lingerie! Damn Hollywood always making things appear more difficult than they are. Then again... Finding good lingerie is also difficult. Why is life so hard?
In the 2017 interview, Amethyst declared, “I have got no interest in men now.” It would be a spirit that she would spend the rest of her life with. Now, she just had to find the right one. Which shouldn’t be too difficult, right? It’s super simple to find your lifelong match when you can actually see the person, so adding invisibility to the mix should just speed up that process! No biggie!
Within 3 years, Amethyst was engaged once more, and planning a wedding. Her husband-to-be was a spirit she named Ray. She said that they never bothered with names, as it just wasn’t very important. However, when he appeared as a ray of light in a photo, it clicked. And names just make it easier.
The pair met when she traveled to Australia on a business trip in February of 2018. According to her, it had been a while since her last “Phantom Fling” and she hadn’t been searching for another at the time. In regards to finding him, Amethyst said while [she] was walking through the bush, enjoying nature, [she] suddenly felt this incredible energy. A new lover had arrived.”
As they say, love comes when you least expect it. And apparently, it’s instantaneous.
Despite being unable to see him, Amethyst said his energies and emotions form almost an emotional shape. She also stated that he feels strong, very solid, and there. --All great qualities in a partner, I suppose.
Surprisingly, Amethyst said she only knew that Ray was a man after getting a reading from a psychic, where she was told some information about his prior life. Apparently, it was so unimportant to Amethyst what he looked like, that she didn’t even know what his gender was, nor did she care.
Their connection was so intense that he followed her from Australia to the UK. So… moving in after a first date? Clingy much? Damn, Ray.
Ray popped the question on a trip to England’s Wookey Hole caves, where they were celebrating their 9-month relationship. “There was no going down on one knee --he doesn’t have knees. But for the first time, I heard him speak,” she told The Sun during an interview. “His voice...was beautiful. Deep, sexy, and real.”
Sidebar here… How much do you have to love hearing yourself talk in order to be in a 9-month-long relationship with an entity that cannot communicate with you? And I’m no longer impressed that the relationship lasted 9 months. I know 90% of the arguments in my relationship are because someone said something dumb. Eliminate 1 side of the conversations, a relationship could go on forever.
Apparently, on the way back from this celebratory trip, the newly engaged couple joined the mile-high club. Which… can we briefly just talk about how UNPLEASANT the mile-high club sounds? In my mind, an airplane bathroom is like half a step above a porta-potty, but equally as small? And then every person on the plane knows what you just did. I understand exhibitionists are a thing, and hey, let your freak flag fly I’m not here to kink-shame. But is the tiny porta-potty-adjacent restroom not even the slightest bit of a deterrent? I don’t know. If you’re a perv and listening to this though, don’t @ me. I’m not interested in you showing me how lovely it can be. Thanks.
The two were planning a spring wedding based on a hand-binding ceremony. Because of Ray’s lack of hands, or physical body in general, she referred to it instead as a “soul-binding” ceremony.
What’s more surprising, is the two had also discussed --in whatever way they communicated-- the possibility of children. Don’t worry though, she knows it sounds crazy, BUT, she’s been looking into it, and she doesn’t think it’s totally out of the question for a human and a ghost to conceive a child. She’s of the belief that phantom pregnancies are ghost babies that are unable to go to full term. Figuring out how to bring the pregnancy to full term would be a bridge she crossed when they got there.
In October of 2020, Amethyst once again made headlines. She and Ray had called it quits. Apparently dating in the spirit realm is just as cursed as dating the living. Now 32, Amethyst stated that her fiance changed during a vacation they took to Thailand in May. She began to suspect Ray of engaging in heavy drinking and drug abuse.
Apparently, ghosts can fall in with the wrong crowd, too. He began bringing other spirits back to their hotel room and disappearing for extended periods of time. Fed up with his behavior, as the constant crashing, banging, and weird noises from the partying ghosts, as well as constantly being ghosted, Amethyst was forced to kick him out of their shared home by cleansing with sage. --When in doubt, smudge it out, am I right?
When discussing what could have possibly changed Ray’s behavior so drastically, Amethyst revealed that like all of us, ghosts too, have to social distance from one another in order to avoid getting sick. She believes the stress of the pandemic was just too much for him to handle, and he turned to drugs and alcohol.
While Amethyst was sad to lose Ray, she says that now she’s happy to be free and single at the moment, but that another ghost could be in her future, when she’s ready. Amethyst’s sister is said to have been sad about the split, and Ray’s family, whom Amethyst has apparently been in minimal contact with were also sad to hear about the wedding being called off. I could find zero information about Ray’s family, and believe me, I looked.
Christopher French, the professor of Psychology at Goldsmiths College, University of London believes that Amethyst’s experiences, as well as many others’ with ghosts, can be easily explained by sleep paralysis. He states it is far more likely for these experiences to be tied to sleep paralysis rather than mental illness.
Possibly lending credence to the commonality of this phenomenon, is the existence of a woman by the name of Amanda Large Teague. Like Amethyst, Amanda Large Teague claims to have had sex with a ghost. Could it be something in their names? If you listen to this and your name starts with an A, can you just email me and let me know if you’re hooking up with ghosts on the reg? I honestly need to know. I don’t need details, but I’d like to get to the bottom of the name discrimination among ghosts choosing their partners. Do they only choose people who have names starting with an A, or is this merely a coincidence? Seriously. Email me. Amy? I know you’re listening. Let me know.
Amanda Large Teague of Belfast said she was meditating when she first met the spirit that would eventually become her husband. She thought the ghost was rude to interrupt and told him to leave. He did so, but eventually showed up again. On the third time he appeared, the woman decided to give him a chance. After all, persistence is SO attractive. --It’s not. If you ask someone out, whether you’re male, female, non-binary, what-have-you, and the person tells you to disappear… off you fuck. Don’t do this to people.
Anyways, the two began chatting with one another. --I guess this ghost talks? They had been speaking for several months when Amanda became unshakably convinced that this ghost was the spirit of Jack Teague, who was apparently a Haitian pirate and, according to Amanda, the inspiration behind Captain Jack Sparrow in “Pirates of the Caribbean.” --I would like to note here that Amanda Teague herself was a professional Jack Sparrow impersonator. And when I say professional, I mean she changed her physical appearance, got replica tattoos, dreadlocks, and fitted gold teeth to appear more like Captain Jack himself. Jack’s father in Pirates of the Caribbean was also known as Edward Teague. Whether or not either of these things are relevant, I’ll let you decide. Jack had allegedly died in the 1700s when he was executed for the typical pillaging behavior one might expect from a pirate in the 1700s.
After a lengthy two year relationship, the couple had a proper pirate’s wedding: at sea off the Irish Coast in international waters by a Shaman. A medium spoke for Jack in order to give his consent to marriage-- Now she can’t understand him? Or is this more of a ‘need an official witness’ sort of situation? A candle was used to represent Jack in the ceremony, and his ring was placed upon it. As mentioned earlier… no hands. Teague also said that she and Jack also had a separate pagan “handfasting” wedding ceremony, where two Wiccan practitioners wrapped cord around the couple’s joined hands. --I just don’t get this since, as mentioned 5 seconds ago, he doesn’t HAVE hands. Did they use a candle… multiple? Candles in this situation? Or was the cord wrapped around only her hands with his non-existent hands supposedly present? I couldn’t find answers to any of these questions, and it’s honestly destroying me. But it is what it is.
Teague said her mother eventually came around to her relationship and attended the wedding on the open seas, but did not attend the handfasting. Her father, however, went to neither one.
Prior to the wedding, Amanda had made headlines for a video series in which she gives tips on how to best have sex with ghosts. Apparently, ghosts are very versatile in positions, but to start, she recommends missionary, as it’s “easier to feel their weight and…. Take it… from there.” I’m trying so hard not to make a ton of unnecessary sexual jokes. Truly, I am.
Despite their lengthy courtship, the marriage was doomed from the start. Within two weeks Amanda said she began experiencing severe health problems. This ranged from recurring abscesses of the rear-end variety… it’s just not a good enough reason to say anal. Well, shit… all the way to cirrhosis.
Amanda’s health continued to decline, and four or five months in, she began to suspect that Jack was possessing her, as a common symptom of possession is ill health. According to Amanda, those who also knew Jack swore that he would never hurt her, so she returned home to be with her partner. However, her fears resurfaced when her dog Toby died, and spirit Toby refused to go near Jack, becoming increasingly aggressive toward him.
Despite this, they stayed together, but her health problems just kept growing more severe. In an attempt to ease some of the symptoms, she stopped having sex with her husband. According to her, this helped. In fact, she said, “that was literally the best three weeks [she’d] had since [they] got married.” Upon their next sexual contact, the abscess returned.
An indeterminate amount of time later (I tried to find dates, but no article I could find includes them), Amanda was rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery. She had developed sepsis. Her ring had to be removed for the surgery, and she attributes the severing of her connection to Jack with that. She said she felt different after the operation, and felt reconnected with her spiritual team. --I’m assuming this means other spirits that watch over her and guide her.
Upon confronting Jack with her realization, Amanda said the spirit threatened to kill her should she attempt to sever their spiritual union. She stated he refused to leave. She had an exorcism despite his threats, and said her health had drastically improved since then, even saying that a perforated bowel managed to heal itself. She also says she hasn’t had any problems since then.
Amanda now cautions everyone against dabbling around in spiritual work, and refrains from doing so herself due to the potential dangers.
I’m going to just add a trigger warning here, because this has been a lighter episode. There will be some discussion of child death going forward.
Since sharing her story, Amanda has been targeted by some of the biggest garbage humans on the planet. Many have threatened her, and she’s even had to leave her home and change her appearance to get away from the abuse. Probably worse than being threatened is the traumatic ammo being hurled at her. In 2010, Amanda lost her 3-month-old son to sudden infant death syndrome or SIDS. Many of the people targeting her have made horrifying comments about how he was better off. Which frankly, if you’re the kind of person who says shit like that to anyone who’s lost someone, please stop listening to my podcast, because you’re gross. Thanks.
Amanda has stated she doesn’t mind, and honestly expected, people to have a laugh at her experience, but the hatred, threats, and abuse have had a profound impact on her. She has started a facebook page called Stand Together Against Online Trolling, Abuse & Bullying with the hashtag zerotoleranceforonlineabuse. The group is open for all who wish to support others, who require support themselves. She said, “We want to offer support to people as well because they are not alone.”
It’s believed by anthropology professor at Stanford University, T.M. Luhrmann, that rather than sleep paralysis, “Teague’s trauma of losing her son may have caused her to enter a dissociative, trance-like state that can facilitate dreamlike experiences.” He then went on to say that these instances can remain alive, and people can develop ways to perceive that an invisible being is actually talking back to them.
Making her marriage even more unlikely is this account by an expert told to The Post.A history professor at the University of Central Florida who studies pirates, David Head, said he could find no references in history to a real pirate named Jack Teague. Not to mention that in the 1700s Haiti was a French colony called Saint-Domingue, and “Teague” is also a generically Irish name.
If you’d like to learn more about Amanda’s experiences, she wrote a book in 2017 called “A Life You Will Remember.” Amethyst Realm also stated she would be writing a book about her encounters, though I could find no proof to suggest she’s done so yet. Keep your eyes peeled though, I’m sure it’s bound to be a thrill.
This has been a cursed tale about dating today, and why you may or may not want to get ghosted. Now that means 3 things. You’re welcome.
For more cursed content, merch, and direct links to my sources, you can go to ThriceCursedPod.com. You can also find me on all socials at ThriceCursedPod. And I’d love to start doing some listener episodes, so if you have a tale about crime, cryptids, ghosts, or aliens that you think the world needs to hear, send it over to Thricecursedpod@gmail.com.
Until next time, keep your curses hexy, and your hexes sexy.
Sources:
Amethyst
https://nypost.com/2020/10/14/woman-calls-off-wedding-with-ghost-after-he-kept-disappearing/
https://nypost.com/2018/10/30/woman-who-had-sex-with-20-ghosts-is-now-engaged-to-a-spirit/
https://dangerousminds.net/comments/my_interview_with_amethyst_realm_the_woman_engaged_to_a_ghost
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-8839065/Woman-32-calls-wedding-GHOST-changed-holiday.html
https://www.thesun.co.uk/fabulous/7604807/psychic-soulmate-ghost-proposal-halloween/
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/ryan-reynolds-blake-lively-ghost_n_5bdc236be4b09d43e31dd042
https://nypost.com/2018/10/30/woman-who-had-sex-with-20-ghosts-is-now-engaged-to-a-spirit/
Amanda Large Teague
https://www.irishcentral.com/news/irish-woman-married-pirate-ghost-kill-her
