Arthur Conan Doyle still believes in life after death. I know... because he told me
Ann Treherne was a self-confessed workaholic with an all-consuming job in finance.
From starting as an office junior with the Royal Bank of Scotland, she worked her way up and was in senior management at a building society until, 20 years ago, she gave it all up.
The reason why, she says, wasn’t burnout, or the need for a change of pace. Instead, Ann claims the spirit of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle came to her during a clairvoyance and asked her to set up a spiritualist centre in the Scottish capital.
And, she adds, the Sherlock Holmes creator, who was a high-profile advocate of the afterlife, remains in touch with her today. “I know that sounds fantastical and weird, or that I’m crazy,” she said. “I can understand all those thoughts and I would have had them myself, but I hope by demonstrating I come from a corporate, no-nonsense background, it shows I look at things with objectivity.
“When this all happened, my career trajectory was upwards. I was giving monthly reports to the board and racing around the country visiting branches.”
Ann’s interest in spiritualism began after a series of visions she believed foretold of a major incident.
She felt guilt at not acting on the visions and developed post-traumatic stress disorder.
“I was traumatised and sought out some authoritative people to explain premonitions.
I met with Archie Roy, emeritus professor of astronomy at Glasgow University, who was a psychical investigator in his spare time and was president of the Society for Psychical Research.”
Ann set up a circle with like-minded people and it was during these weekly sessions that, she says, the vision of an elderly gentleman came to her.
“I thought it was the grandfather of someone in the group, but he kept coming to me, dripping information by showing me pictures of the surgeons’ hall, a bookshelf and, eventually, Sherlock Holmes,” said Ann.
“It took me a long time to accept it was Arthur Conan Doyle. He instructed me to find a building to set up a spiritualist centre for mind, body and spirit, to be named after him.
“His ultimate aim, I believe, as it was when he was alive, was putting out the message that there is life after death. I think he’s still doing that.”
Ann has just released a book, Arthur and Me, about her life since finding spiritualism.
“Everyone is entitled to their opinion and I don’t try to convince anyone,” she said. “I encourage people to inquire and investigate.
“I always had a healthy investigative mind, but I was brought up in the Church of Scotland
– my dad was an elder, my mum the president of the Woman’s Guild, and I went to Sunday school, Bible class and was married there – and mediums were regarded as charlatans and you were accused of dabbling with the devil.
“So, again, I treated it with suspicion.”
Ann added: “Spiritualism generally has a poor perception and I wanted to change its reputation through the Arthur Conan Doyle Centre.
“I wanted to make it approachable for the general public, who generally avoid anything like it, and I think we’ve succeeded through presenting music, arts, room hire, yoga, tai chi and so on.
“I wanted it to be a professional place, not something to be mocked. Since opening, in 2011, it’s been a success.”