One of the main goals of the BrideyMurphy.com website is to connect to people around the world who have an interest in Bridey and are willing to help us with the many projects that we have started designed to preserve Bridey’s place in American history and to update the Bridey research. Soon after the book was published Morey Bernstein began to ask in his personal correspondence if a Re-Search for Bridey Murphy should not be undertaken, with the goal of publishing the results of new search. No one, not even Bernstein himself, every pursued this course. A few researchers have added items of interest to the controversy, but there are many areas that need to be explored. If you have an interest in helping us, the following areas will give you an idea of what we are looking for and how you can be a part of this amazing story in American history.   MISSING ITEMS               There are many things relating to the Bridey Murphy story which remain lost. The photographer for The Denver Post took hundreds of pictures when he accompanied William J. Barker to Pueblo before Barker and the Post published the first newspaper series about Bridey. My Pueblo colleague has searched for years trying to find these photos, but they may be lost forever. The newspaper purged its old photo collection a few years ago and even the negatives have disappeared. If someone could give us a lead on who may still have these photos, or even a small portion of them, it would be a terrific historical find.   1.  Morey Bernstein material               We know that Morey kept a diary or journal while he was doing his 10-month hypnotic research with Virginia Tighe. This has never surfaced and we have no leads. Bret Bezona observed that numerous boxes of files and other papers were simply thrown away into a dumpster and taken to the city dump after Morey Bernstein’s death. It may well be lost forever, along with many more Bridey-related items. We know that Morey maintained a very active life of correspondence. We have hundreds of these in the collection, but we would be very interested in any letters that people have kept from Morey. We would not try to impose on any personal matters, but if there some still out there that relate to Bridey, please contact us.   2.  Newspapers and Magazines               Bridey was wildly popular in both newspapers and magazines. We have a large collection of original magazines and newspaper clippings, but coverage in smaller papers and magazines are hard to find and there were so may that were published that it is impossible to find them all. If you kept any Bridey stories, please let us know because we would like to have copies of these stories, at the very least. If you have a rare item and would be willing to donate it to the Pueblo County Historical Society for inclusion in their Bernstein Collection, we would be overjoyed! The Society can issue a receipt for any donated item as a tax-deductible donation.              We would also be interested if you are willing to do local research in your town’s newspaper archives, for example, and obtain good quality copies of Bridey-related stories. Many of the clippings and copies that we have are not in the best condition, and some are missing the name of the paper or magazine, date of publication, page number, etc. Dr. Pettit will coordinate with anyone willing to help with this project. We are not trying to find every reference to Bridey because we know it would be too difficult. She was mentioned in thousands of articles, interviews and stories, but we are only interested (for the most part) in stories that featured Bridey, Morey Bernstein, The Search for Bridey Murphy, etc. If a famous or somehow notable figure in American life talked about Bridey, the way Jackie Gleason did, for example, we are interested in that story or interview, even if Bridey was not the main focus of the piece.   3.  Virginia Tighe Material               We have leads on at least two of Virginia’s three daughters, but we know that she also kept an active correspondence with people around the country. We are very interested in any Bridey-related letters or letters from the period of the hypnotic sessions and the publishing of the book, the 1965 reprint and the 1974 paperback. Any photos would also be welcome.   4.  William J. Barker Material               We are very interested to find any notes, journals, photos or rough drafts of any of the writing of Denver Post editor William J. Barker. If anyone has a lead on Barker’s family we would be very grateful if our readers would ask these family members if we could approach them about any of Barker’s personal effects that relate to Bridey. Now that the permanent collection has been established in Pueblo with the Pueblo County Historical Society, we hope the family will consider donating items that relate only to Bridey to the collection. We would love to find his research notes on his trip to Ireland, for example, or anything else that would help to preserve the Bridey Murphy legacy.   DONATIONS               This BrideyMurphy.com website and the many activities behind it are being funded by members of the Bridey Murphy Board of Directors. We get no financial support from any source other than our own resources. Please consider helping us to keep this website active and to help us in our plans to upgrade the site to include a blog, audio and video, and other upgrades. The research behind what we are trying to do has also been expensive, and it has been a labor of love, but we are also limited in some of the things we would like to do because of a lack of independent support. We are not yet a 501c3 non-profit organization, but would still appreciate any financial gifts. We can only accept checks or money orders at this time, not credit cards, and please do not send cash. Bret Bezona has agreed to accept your gifts and place them into a special bank account we have set up for this purpose. Please use the Bernstein family home as the address for your donations: 1819 Elizabeth Street, Pueblo, CO 81003.   VOLUNTEERS               Are you interested in helping with the new search for Bridey Murphy? Certain parts of the United States and Ireland are connected to the story of Bridey Murphy, Morey Bernstein, Virginia Tighe and William J. Barker. We would appreciate volunteers to do research into local history archives in many places, but especially Chicago, New York, Miami, St. Louis, San Francisco and Southern California. WE would also greatly appreciate anyone from Ireland who can help in Belfast, Cork, County Cavan and County Down. Experienced genealogists would be especially welcomed as would professional grant writers. We in Pueblo believe with Morey Bernstein himself that there needs to be a Re-Search for Bridey Murphy in Ireland. We are exploring the possibility of obtaining a research grant for this purpose and need the help of a qualified professional. E-mail Dr. Pettit at [email protected] if you can help.   SKEPTICS CORNER               We mention in our Welcome section that this site is neutral on the issues of reincarnation and hypnotically induced past-life regressions. We offer this section as a place where those who are skeptical of the Bridey Murphy phenomenon can ask questions and bring negative evidence up for discussion. This promises to be one of the liveliest parts of the website, and as we begin to discuss the evidence that argues against reincarnation and hypnotic regression we will be open hearing from skeptics and fans alike of Bridey.