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Irma Slage considers herself to be a human telephone–connecting the living to departed spirits.
It all began one day when she was cleaning the bathroom. Then in her 20s and newly married to Ted Slage, she saw her friend Rose standing in the room, speaking to her.
“I could see her completely as I could see my own hand,” she said. “It was very clear, but I didn’t try to touch her.”
Irma later found that Rose had died that day. In that moment, Irma realized that the voices she had heard in her head, such as telling her where to look for a lost item, were something more and something everyone heard.
“It completely changed my life,” she said. “I was never the same again.”
Some 30 years later, Irma and Ted Slage live in Livermore and have grown accustomed to daily, extraordinary occurrences. The couple tries to take it easy, especially if it means they can spend time with their grandchildren, but the demand for her talent makes it difficult. She is frequently contacted by people from all over the world, wanting to learn more.
Ted Slage’s belief has grown over time as he has witnessed Irma’s interactions with spirits. Although his wife’s gift hasn’t rubbed off, he has been a part of it.
“My brother was 20 years older than I am and died about three years ago. He was a heavy smoker,” he said. “I was lying in bed with Irma and I smelled the smoke of cigarettes, and we don’t smoke. I asked Irma what it was, and found out it was my brother [in the room].”
Irma has the ability to speak with any person or pet as if she were calling them on the phone.
“I can call anyone at any time; if I want to talk with my mom or someone who just died and needed my help,” she said.
They can also approach her, which she doesn’t mind–as long as she’s not sleeping.
One time, she woke up early in the morning when she sensed a crowd of people needing help. The overwhelming number of voices was too much and she asked for a representative.
“I felt a man come towards me,” she said. “He was wearing a three-piece suit that didn’t have one wrinkle and there was no hair on his face. He said to me, ‘We need help. All of us can’t find where we have to go. Can you help us?'”
The date was Sept. 11, 2001, when terrorists flew airplanes into the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon, which she hadn’t heard about at the time. She then called on a man she calls her spirit guide who led them into a wall that she saw open up. She watched 75 to 100 people go out of the room and into what she called “the light,” similar to what people say they see when they die. The businessman later appeared to her, this time wearing jeans and a T-shirt, and thanked her for her help.
In her book “Phases of Life After Death,” Irma writes what happens after death and how it relates to life on Earth. She also speaks to Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe and Roy Orbison, learning more about their lives and their tragic deaths.
“We still have people call us, saying they felt depressed so they go back to her book and it makes them feel really good,” Ted Slage said. “It’s always nice to hear.”
Irma will share her gift at a séance in the Pleasanton Hotel at 7 p.m. next Wednesday. Yet instead of darkness and candles, there will be wine and cheese with the lights on. She will get names from people important to the hotel and the area that have passed on.
“There’s a mob guy who started [the hotel] way back when,” she said of the spirits in the hotel. “There are people who are still in the little area next to the bar.”
She added that people shouldn’t be afraid of ghosts. When they come to her they often just need help.
“People just stay because they feel comfortable and want to be with their loved ones at parties, births even deaths,” she said. “It’s not necessarily unfinished business, it’s unfinished love.”
No one in her family has had this gift so she’s not sure why she is one of the few to be granted a direct connection to the dead. Whether it’s connecting people with their loved ones or Pleasanton residents beyond the grave, she believes she was granted this gift to learn and grow.
“We grow with our experiences and with this gift, I grow much quicker,” she said. “I can feel for other people and I have their experiences too.”
To learn more about Irma, visit www.irmaslage.com. Tickets are $25 for the March 12 event at the Pleasanton Hotel, 855 Main St. Call 846-8106.
Oh wait…I thought I was reading the Pleasanton Weekly, not the National Inquirer or Star Magazine. How bogus is this? I’m very surprised that you have included this type of story in your family newspaper; next we’ll be reading about flying saucer sightings and magic carpet rides.
Aren’t these things always supposed to say something like “for entertainment purposes only”? Not that it stops the foolish or desperate ones from spending thousands of dollars on some of these folks.
Maybe this lady is doing it for fun and keeping it light, but how do we know when she is presented in an article as something other than an entertainer?
As a kid I grew up used to the funnies and the horoscopes put at the back of the paper so we knew where to look for this kind of stuff.
There’s so much more out there that we don’t know about. I can’t wait to see her on Wed. Not everyone is a believer and that’s alright, that’s what makes the world go around. But at least it’s out there for those of us who do believe or want to learn more.
Now let me see….hmmmmmmmm….there’s a pork tamale in your future KFC!
Open comment to the editor:
What’s next on your front page, links to eBay or PayPal frauds?
Better yet, get Irma to channel via your Town Square forum…
Anyone planning to shell out 25 bucks to hear this lady.
Some time ago the lady that has/had the business in the old Kottinger Barn/old Pleasanton Jail spoke on one of the TV 30 channels about seeing and communicating with ghost in that building. Said she’s seen and spoken to several from time to time. According to her, they don’t present a danger to anyone. Her presentation was interesting. Who knows, I’m certainly not qualified to say she’s wrong.
Irma? Did somebody say Irma? Sheeeeeeeesh…
Irma,
You need to repent and follow Jesus Christ…you are being controlled by Satan…and you are leading people astray which you will answer for when you die. Jesus says that every knee with bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord….repent before it is too late.
Consider this scripture in John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
Concerned Christian- I respect Christianity as a religion equal to all others held in our community and this world, but did I just read your posting on this public forum that non Christians are condemned people?
MB – This is correct. Christianity is not a “religion” it is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Please read below….I’m concerned that Irma is leading people astray. If you have a Bible please look up these scripture verses.
The Need for Salvation
READ | Ephesians 2:1-3
Those who don’t have a personal relationship with God through His Son, Jesus Christ, are: spiritually dead. Many people don’t realize there are three kinds of death—physical, eternal, and spiritual. Eternal death comes at the end of the age, when all those who have refused Jesus as Savior are cast away from God permanently. (Matthew 25:41) Spiritual death occurred in the Garden of Eden. Disobedience severed Adam and Eve’s intimate connection to God and caused all of their descendants to be spiritually detached from Him. (Romans 5:12) We’re born as “dead” people in need of new life.
Those who don’t have a personal relationship with God through His Son are also: living a life of sin. Our nature is to rebel against God. That’s called sin. Over and over, we choose what pleases us, not Him. Our efforts to free ourselves from the power of sin are in vain. (John 8:34) Enslaved to sin, we need someone to rescue us.
Finally, those who don’t have a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ are: under divine wrath. Because of our disobedience, we are under God’s judgment, awaiting punishment. All efforts to earn His approval and escape our sentence are insufficient. Sinful man has nothing acceptable to offer holy God. Our only hope of escape is for someone else to take our penalty.
The good news is… the Lord has provided a way for everyone to pass from spiritual death to life, from the bondage of sin into freedom, and from condemnation to intimacy with Him. Jesus Christ alone is the way, and He meets every need. (John 14:6)
How do we know that Irma is not a Christian. Who are we to decide that Irma is being controlled by Satan? I don’t believe it is up to us to pass judgement upon Irma. I don’t believe “Concerned Christian” is a very good proselytizer. It seems rude to tell people what they “need” to do instead of asking people to listen to a message.
Concerned Christian-
It’s nice that you believe all that, but I think you should speak only for yourself. What makes you think that anyone else cares or should care what you think will happen to them after they’re dead? This is the biggest problem with your religion, trying to force it on others who don’t believe as you do. Why don’t you keep your relationship with Jesus between you and him and let everyone else live in peace? Is that too much to ask?
God is the judge, it isn’t me personally. Sorry you took such and offense to the comments….I wasn’t telling you to believe or not to believe just passing on the truth to you. Janna, you don’t have to believe it either…you have a choice to reject Christ or follow him.
I love that! You say that everyone who doesn’t believe is going to hell for sinning. Then you say…”God is the judge, it isn’t me personally.” You are the one speaking for god here so that would be you judging. Isn’t that convenient?
“I wasn’t telling you to believe or not to believe just passing on the truth to you.” Yeah, the truth…as you see it. Not the actual truth because you have no way of knowing what the truth is and neither does anyone else. And your truth cannot be applied to everyone. Are you even reading what you wrote? You are contradicting yourself.
Don’t worry, I always reject delusions that cannot be proven. That’s just common sense and logic.
Tell me something, if you’re not telling others how to live their lives, then why are you quoting passages from a book known for telling people how to live their lives?
Don’t worry, CC, I’m not offended as much as amused by your rantings.
Are you going to see Irma tonight? You seem like a very angry person….Have you ever actually researched the Bible?
CC: YOU ARE THE DEVIL AND DON’T YOU FORGET IT! YOU ARE THE DEVIL CC!
A TRULY CONCERNED CHRISTIAN…
Cholo…..you are troubled…..and very immature….I feel sorry for you….
CC: YOU ARE THE BEAST! YOU ARE VERY IMMATURE AND I DON’T FEEL SORRY FOR YOU. THE BEAST IS AMONGST US AND YOU ARE THE BEAST! BE GONE! LEAVE US, GO TALK YOUR EVIL TALK IN OAKLAND! THE HEALING ANGELS ARE PROTECTING US FROM YOU, THE DEVIL. CC IS THE DEVIL! AND DON’T YOU FORGET IT! PRAY FOR CC’S UGLY SOUL!
BE GONE BEAST!
YOUR SOUL IS DAMNED! BE GONE BEAST!!!
An outstanding and insigtful article. Having a long history of local decedents and friends, sorry to miss your lecture at the Pleasanton Hotel. I am certain some of those characters, I know personally. I hope you are planning another one in the future that I can attend.
I am absolutely appalled at the cruel negativity and outlandish comments by some of the Christian responders. Sadly, their ignorance turned this into a religious spectacle. Not once, in the entire Pleasanton Weekly article, on Page 21, was there a single reference to “RELIGION”. From a fellow Christian, your ignorant comments speak for themselves.
I commend the Pleasanton Weekly for an outstanding job. Would love to see a follow-up story about Irma Slage: How she assists police and detectives in criminal invetigations, missing people, and of course, more ghosts stories.
I heard Ghost Busters is currently making a movie on Pleasanton’s ghosts. Perhaps you could write about this, too.
For the ghost lovers, the Pleasanton Museum 603 Main St., Pleasanton conducts walking tours of haunted buildings in the downtown area.
Thank you for listening.
I personally know Irma and find it sad that anyone who doesn’t know her would spent their valuable time on earth criticizing her. If you’re not interested in what she has to offer, pass her by, don’t criticize her.
At least she is doing something to help her fellow man. She doesn’t criticize you for not believing.
These comments have run their course. Thanks for posting.