Otherworld — Episode 136: The Spiritist Pt. 2

Release Date: September 22, 2025
Host: Jack Wagner
Guests: Cecilia, Cecilia’s mother

Overview

This episode continues the remarkable, personal account of Cecilia and her family's encounters with spiritism, following an intense and unexplained spiritual episode years prior in Cuba. It explores the emotional aftermath of that experience and chronicles a new, even more complex occurrence years later, as Cecilia’s mother once again becomes the channel for spirit communication during a family gathering. The story examines grief, connection, forgiveness, and the transformative effect of paranormal experiences—whether one believes in them or not.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Recap: The First Incident and Its Impact (01:40)

• Jack summarizes part one: Cecilia’s mother, a skeptic and engineer, was overtaken by the spirit of her own grandmother during a family crisis.
• The grandmother, unexpectedly, offered hope about a gravely injured cousin — a prophecy that proved true.
• Cecilia describes how this event united and strengthened her family, providing comfort amidst helplessness.

Quote:
“That incident changed the dynamic … it kept us united… we had something to hold on to, which I think is important when you’re going through something so painful.” — Cecilia (06:19)

2. Life Progresses — A New Chapter (06:40)

• Cecilia relocates to New York for graduate school and later meets her future husband, Noah.
• In 2022, after traveling across South America, Noah meets Cecilia’s family in Chile and proposes in Patagonia.
• The mood is celebratory when Cecilia, her mother, grandmother, and cousins gather to give thanks via a family spiritist prayer.

3. The Second Encounter: An Unanticipated Spiritual Event (09:45–34:00)

The Setting and Atmosphere Change (09:45)

• The gathering begins lightheartedly, with laughter about the family’s “spiritist book.”
• Suddenly, a dense, charged atmosphere falls over the group. Cecilia’s mother, as before, slips into a trance-state: head down, eyes closed, physically rocking and unresponsive.

Attempts to Communicate (11:50)

• Family members, believing it could be the same great-grandmother’s spirit, try conversing—but the responses are incoherent.
• Cecilia’s mother speaks unfamiliar names, finally identifying herself as Manolo Lopez, Cecilia’s great-grandfather.

Quote:
“It was names that we didn’t know… But then she finally said a familiar name… I am Manolo Lopez. That’s my great-grandfather.” — Cecilia (13:15)

Messages from Spirits (14:55–16:40)

• The spirit comments on changes ahead and the need for family unity.

• Notably, he gives Noah (Cecilia’s fiancé) his approval:
  “Noah, he’s a good man.” — (15:42)

• The possession grows more chaotic; Cecilia’s mother seems besieged by a crowd of voices, some unfamiliar, her body wracked with tremors and twitching.

Quote:
“There was a crowd in her head… I could see that there was a struggle there, that this wasn’t like, a peaceful experience… She was trying to get out of the trance, but she couldn’t.” — Cecilia (17:55)

The Spirit of the Grandfather — A Plea for Forgiveness (21:15)

• A new spirit identifies as Cecilia’s mother’s estranged father (grandmother’s ex-husband).
• Emotional and physically taxing, he apologizes for abandoning his family, expresses regret for not knowing his grandchildren, and pleads for forgiveness to move on.

Quote:
“He needed them to forgive him so he could move on, because he was stuck… in this feeling.” — Cecilia (22:51)

• The family repeatedly offers forgiveness, but the spirit lingers, unable to accept or depart.
• The episode intensifies; Cecilia and her cousin physically help her mother outside, hoping fresh air will break the state.

A Personal, Unexpected Visit: Cecilia’s Own Father (27:50–32:30)

• As the trance wanes, Cecilia’s mother momentarily channels yet another spirit—Cecilia’s own father, whom she never met.
• He briefly congratulates her on her engagement and asks for a hug—a first and profoundly moving encounter.

Quote:
“I just want to give you a hug.” — Spirit (Cecilia’s father, through her mother) (31:16)

• Cecilia hugs her mother, feeling it as an actual embrace from her departed father, describing it as “the only time where I really got the privilege to experience my dad in a direct way.”
• After this, the possession ends, and both mother and daughter are left emotionally spent and wordless.

Quote:
“I just wanted to enjoy whatever that was… if I think about it, I’m gonna try to find an explanation. I just want to be in this moment.” — Cecilia (33:00)

Processing the Experience (33:10–36:40)

• Humor and relief return as Cecilia and her family recover from the ordeal, joking about potentially alarming her fiancé with the commotion.
• The next day, Cecilia explains the night to Noah, who responds with acceptance and curiosity, reinforcing their relationship.

Quote:
“It’s not something that we are actively looking for or trying to do… I consider that it’s more of like, a strength… these spirits surrounding us… we can also have an impact on them.” — Cecilia (34:59)

4. Cecilia’s Mother’s Perspective: Science Meets the Unexplainable (43:35–47:29)

• Cecilia's mother (an engineer) reflects on her initial skepticism, the physical sensations of trance (tingling, loss of memory, exhaustion), and how the event opened her to new understandings of reality.
• Describes the sensory overload of channeling spirits—heaviness from some, comfort from others—often corresponding to the nature of their deaths.

Quote:
“…it opened a whole new world for me. I definitely became more open-minded after this first experience.” — Cecilia’s mother (47:00)

• Emphasizes that anyone can access intuitive answers within themselves, advocating self-trust over seeking external psychic advice.

Quote:
“We all have answers inside of us… this is a way of honoring my ancestors.” — Cecilia’s mother (56:10)

5. Processing Grief and Redefining Connection (58:30–62:22)

• Cecilia, never having met her father nor recovered his remains, describes how this experience brought her peace and a sense of relationship, replacing fear with comfort:

Quote:
“This experience kind of added a body to it, even if it was my mom’s… I feel more complete… That fear became a sense of like home and peace. It transformed the way I thought about my relationship with him.” — Cecilia (59:33 & 62:00)

6. Host’s Reflections (62:47)

• Jack Wagner shares how this story illustrates the profound and often unexpected effects of supernatural experiences on people's lives, regardless of belief.

Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• “It kept us united… gave us strength… something to hold on to.” — Cecilia (06:19)
• “Noah… he’s a good man.” — Spirit of Manolo Lopez (15:42)
• “I forgive you, too… we are thinking about you… just please move on.” — Cecilia, to her grandfather’s spirit (23:40)
• “I just want to give you a hug.” — Spirit of Cecilia’s father (31:16)
• “For me, it really felt like that has been the only time where I really got the privilege to experience my dad in a direct way.” — Cecilia (32:16)
• “Now I look at it as something positive because it opened a whole new world for me. I definitely became more open-minded…” — Cecilia’s mother (47:00)
• “This experience kind of added a body to it… I feel more complete.” — Cecilia (59:33)
• “That fear became a sense of like home and peace. It transformed the way I thought about my relationship with him.” — Cecilia (62:00)

Memorable Moments

• The crowd of spirits: Cecilia’s chilling description of her mother as tormented by “a crowd in her head,” unable to escape, visibly exhausted and in pain. (17:55–20:00)
• A father’s first embrace: Cecilia’s father possesses her mother briefly to congratulate her on her engagement and share a long-desired hug. (31:16–32:16)
• Family resilience through humor: In the aftermath, the family’s relief and jokes bring warmth and normalcy back to a night of intense supernatural drama. (34:40)

Structure

• [00:00–05:43] — Opening, recap of Part 1, setup for Part 2
• [05:44–43:35] — Cecilia narrates her story, second spiritist experience, reflections and impact
• [43:35–62:22] — Cecilia’s mother shares her firsthand sensations, change in perspective, and lessons
• [62:47–end] — Host’s closing thoughts

Closing Takeaway

This episode not only details a harrowing and intimate supernatural encounter, but also reveals how such experiences—however they are interpreted—can reforge family bonds, foster intergenerational forgiveness, and help the living find closure with those long gone. Whether viewed through a lens of cultural practice, skepticism, or open-minded wonder, the lasting impact is one of unity, healing, and the endurance of love across boundaries both seen and unseen.