While some folks collect stamps and coins, Louisville’s Thomas Freese collects stories of the other-worldly sort.
“I collect the true tales of folks’ encounters with angels, spirits, ghosts, UFOs, Sasquatch, witches and creatures from other dimensions.
Freese, a storyteller, author, intuitive, and artist, who has authored 11 books — many of them collections of uniquely Kentucky ghost stories — will present at 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 9, at the Victory of Light Expo at the Sharonville (OH) Convention Center.
The event runs from Saturday, April 9 and Sunday, April 10, from 10 am to 7 pm.
The event, which is one of the longest running metaphysical festivals in the country, has a Northern Kentucky connection. It was founded in 1992 by Victor Paruta who, at the time, owned the Victory of Light Bookstore in Covington’s MainStrasse Village. This year’s event features 80 seminars and 250 exhibitors.
Spirits and ghosts have held Freese’s interest since childhood.
“I’ve had an interest in spirits and ghosts since I was a child and I actively began collecting ghost stories in the 1990s, writing my first book, “Shaker Ghost Stories from Pleasant Hill, Kentucky” in 1998,” says Freese. “I have so many ghost stories collected that I offer, as a performing storyteller, many programs that are sub-categories including Shaker Ghosts, Civil War Ghosts, Animal Ghost Stories, and more.”
He performs as a professional storyteller in libraries, schools, private parties, corporate events, churches, and camps.
For more than two decades Freese has worked throughout Kentucky and beyond as an artist, and teaching artist, by way of Kentucky Arts Council grants and other funding resources. For ten years, he sang and danced with the Pleasant Hill Singers at Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill.
He says audiences of all ages love the ghostly tales. He has stories collected from personal interviews, research, and from fellow “Light” workers.
“I also help clients connect to loved ones who have passed on, sometimes using photographs as a connector to those spirits,” says Freese.
His presentation at 2 p.m. on Saturday – “Spirit Photographs” – will focus on that topic.
“This week’s Victory of Light will see me giving a talk on Spirit Photographs, as I have collected very intriguing photographs of orbs, misty figures and more,” says Freese. “Folks who come to my talk will see amazing photos and hear some eye-opening back stories about some of the pictures taken and their circumstance.”
Freese says visitors who come to metaphysical events are particularly interested in his wood wands, that he works into straight, serpentine and spiral shapes using a range of local and exotic woods. He says the properties of the wands can be traced back to the metaphysical meanings of the trees from which they’re carved.
“The wands are really fascinating not only because folks love them and find diverse uses for them but all of the woods, the trees, have metaphysical meanings, just like all stones and crystals have meanings,” says Freese.
The wands, he says, can be used for energetic work, healing and protection.
Freese has co-authored a book with Becky McCleery, to be released next year, which includes a chapter on wands. He’s researched 75 woods and their meanings. As part of his research, he sent three sets of samples to psychics throughout the country asking them to tune into the tree spirits and channel the meanings.
“It’s fascinating,” says Freese. “I have testimonials from folks who use the wands.”
Freese is a member of the Kentucky Arts Council’s Arts Education Artist Roster and of the Kentucky Storytelling Association.
In addition to his presentation on spirit photographs, visitors to his table on Saturday – at Booth #910 – will find Freese and his “booth buddy,” Angie Small, doing readings and craft metaphysical art.
Admission to the event is $15 per day, $25 for both days. Children under 12 attend free. Seniors, students and active duty military receive a $2 discount with ID. For more information visit www.VictoryofLight.com