A Liverpool dad who says he can speak to ghosts has opened up about his experiences of contacting the spirit world.
John Allan has been a medium for over 40 years but realised he had the gift of speaking to entities from the other side since he was only eight.
Now in his 60s, he says his 'gift' has sometimes proven to be a 'bloody nightmare'.
He said: "My two sisters used to be scared of a man at the top of the stairs.
"The first time I saw him I told my mum and I described my grandfather to her.
"I had never met him, he died when my mum was eight-years-old and he was buried in a cemetery in Tunisia.
"My mum had the same gift but she didn't use it.
"Everyone is born with this 'gift' as they call it, but it isn't sometimes - sometimes it is a bloody nightmare.
"And some people are able to use it, some people are not."
John, from Vauxhall, said his clairvoyance ability has never frightened him, yet he said it is "not easy" speaking to spirits.
He added: "They do make your life hell. They test you and that goes on continually.
"There are forceful spirits. I have been dragged out of my bed on two occasions.
"Because if these people were forceful and abusive in life, then they are also like that in death.
"So they have to learn how to change and you do have to discipline them."
The dad-of-two and step-dad-of-three said he didn't choose to be a medium "the spirits chose him".
To prepare for a reading John said he would usually meditate for an hour, which would cleanse him before engaging with the spirits of people's loved ones.
'Spirits do make your life hell'
There are however boundaries he said he will not cross, regarding the information that may be passed to him through the spirit world.
He said: "I am told certain things by spirits and you have to learn how to rephrase them in a way to pass on to their loved ones.
"You can't predict illness and when you read you must not diagnose.
"The only person who can diagnose is someone with a medical degree.
"When you go to do a reading you are supposed to be able to give people four things that they can relate to."
John said he hears, sees and senses spirits of people and also the spirits of animals.
'It is a weird world to understand'
He added: "When you get something from spirits, you don't see it through your eyes or ears it comes in from your solar plexus.
"It is like a build up of energy that gets bigger and bigger."
As well as being a medium, John worked as a clinical specialist for over 30 years in the NHS, a role he retired from in 2002.
In 1985, John started doing medium readings in churches and would given 'open circle' readings.
He has also done private readings for groups and individuals at his home and at other address around the country, which usually last 45 minutes.
John said: "Over the years I have seen some things.
"As I started my nursing training - I started seeing people walking out of the wards and things like that.
"It was something I just got used to.
"With 38 years as a nurse with that knowledge I do have spirits coming through showing me how they where when they had their accidents but I tell them to come back how you were before, not like that.
"You can get people who have died in the morning and they come through to me in the afternoon.
"There are others who can take 25/35/45 years to hear from."
John said he understands that there are sceptics regarding what he does but refutes any suggestion that he looks at social media or does any background checks on a person before a reading.
He said: "It is a weird world to understand.
"And it takes up a lot of your time."
He continues: "You will find that a lot of mediums have major health problems because from what spirits give you, they take something away too.
"My son is starting to go through it now, and he is 13 - he is starting to be spiritually aware.
"I have never been frightened of a spirit.
"It is the living that you have to be frightened of."
