During the day, Vicki Wedd drives a truck.
But at night, the Auckland woman drives ghosts away, as a dynamic paranormal investigator.
Her full-time job as the only female truck driver at a large freight company allows the 44-year-old to fund her exciting and unusual hobby of chasing ghosts and other spooks.
“I love driving and being out on the road, but at nights and on the weekends, I get to do my paranormal work,” says Vicki, who founded the group Auckland Spirit Chasers.
“I’m involved in two diverse worlds. I feel lucky that I get to work in the areas I’m truly passionate about.”
Unlike most people who are entrenched in the supernatural world, Vicki, who’s been a truck driver for six years and has 30 male colleagues, is relatively new to the paranormal.
It was two years ago when she started having visions and began to believe she could actually predict the future – Vicki’s first one was of media personality and Weekly columnist Jeremy Corbett holding a baby girl. A week later, he announced his wife was having their first baby, a gorgeous daughter.
“The visions would normally come before I fell asleep,” Vicki says. “When you have them, you go into a trance-like state and then something comes over you. It was weird at first, but I got used to it.”
It was important to her that these new-found abilities didn’t impair her safety, especially when on the road every day driving a huge six-wheeler truck.
“I had to learn to control them,” she explains.
“I didn’t want to have the visions while I was driving, so now I only have them at night.”
The full-time truck driver had to teach herself how to stop the visions occurring during the day.
Vicki had seen supernatural movies, but never imagined that one day she would have the same experiences.
The visions continued, and eventually Vicki kept seeing herself surrounded by people with similar abilities, which led her to establish Auckland Spirit Chasers. Once a shy hermit, Vicki’s developing skills made her more social and brought
her out of her shell.
“Before, I didn’t have many friends. I never wanted to go out, I just wanted to stay at home and watch TV,” Vicki explains, holding a tabby three-legged cat which regularly visits from next door.
“Now, I’m getting out of the house and have a new group of friends. We have so much in common. We’re like a family.”
The seven members visit homes, workplaces and historical sites across the county, helping people deal with paranormal activities, free of charge.
Using equipment such as video cameras with night vision and a meter to pick up electrical currents, the spirit chasers claims to have encountered poltergeists and have put themselves in many spine-tingling situations.
The group also has a couple of mediums, who specialise in cleansing homes and forcing spirits away. As the lead investigator, Vicki says she’s always learning new skills.
“They don’t have any schools to teach you about this sort of stuff. There are no books, there are no qualifications. You learn as you go,” she admits.
At first, Vicki found it hard telling her family, but they have embraced her passion, despite their doubts.
“I welcome scepticism. I’m a sceptic as well. I always need proof that what is in front of me is real, otherwise it’s a waste of time.”
Vicki says it’s essential to have a tough exterior, in order to be successful in her role.
“Spirits can feel your fear, they can prey on you. It’s important to be happy all the time. Before every job, we say a prayer, asking our spirit guides and angels to protect us.”
Vicki is glad she embraced her supernatural abilities and is using them to help others. She’s also grateful about the positive elements that it has brought into her life.
“Before, I was boring. I was a sad sack. Now, my life has completely changed and it feels great!”
Aroha Awarau
Photos: Michelle Hyslop • make-up: Kate Smith
