Paranormal stories

[easysurfer]

I'm still intrigued by Bryan's story because I've had these strong feelings of anxiety and (seemingly) prescience coming out of nowhere and subsequently something has happened that I (seemingly) anticipated. These sorts of events are not easily dismissed, especially if they are thoroughly and logically examined.

I'd think strong feelings of anxiety coming out of nowhere aren't that uncommon. If you go an amusement park and so happens someone tragically falls out of a ride, I'd bet many of the people attending had a vibe something would go wrong. But when that happens, one's mind can play tricks personalizing things and thinking it's something seen in advance.

 

[Tetto]

Not me but a good friend told me at his brother's funeral (who was also a good friend of mine) that shortly after his brother passed he got a text saying "I'm here and all's good." His brother's phone had been turned off since his passing. Spooky.

That one raised my neck hairs

 

[Silver]

My sister always said that our grandmother's house was haunted by a young girl who was often present but never a threat. We stayed in that house for many summers growing up, and the young girl was always there. I never saw her, but my sister did many times.

Over 20-25 years later my sister was in the area and just parked her car in front of the house to reminisce. A teenaged girl saw the car and was curious so came out just to see what my sister wanted.

They talked about the house for awhile, and then the teenaged girl asked my sister if she ever saw the young girl that haunted the house when we had stayed there many years ago. My sister was stunned, and said yes. The teenager said "Well...she's still here...still very young. I feel like I have grown up in her quiet presence."

 

[jollystomper]

When I was 13, I was home alone in the house, and was reading in the lower level. I thought I heard someone walking upstairs, so I yelled up, thinking some family member had come home, but no one responded. I walked to the bottom of the steps. There was a door at the top of the stairway, it was closed. As I was walking away from the bottom of the stairs, I distinctly heard footsteps in a pattern of someone walking down them. The pattern of step noises continued, speeding up until a couple of feet in front of me - then stopped. I did not feel any fear at the time, just curiosity.

 

[steelyman]

Here’s one of my favorites as a kid (and now, for that matter). The Headless Horseman. At the time, I had no idea who/what a “Hessian” was. Only that I didn’t want to run into one.

https://youtu.be/CdZ1Y92eVfM

 

[COcheesehead]

I stayed a night in the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park CO, supposedly haunted and the setting for The Shining. I heard a buzzing/crackling sound next to my ear, like an old lightbulb that is about ready to burn out. No lights were on. No other sounds around me. I still can hear the noise when I think about that night. That’s about as close of an experience as I have had.

 

[ERD50]

I agree. But I wonder what's the probability?

Something I'd probably never be able to duplicate again. I probably have a better chance randomly picking a horse to win the next Kentucky Derby.

See my post #15 - not that strange at all.

How many horses in the Kentucky Derby? (Google says 20) - So OK, you probably would have a better chance, I estimated maybe 1 in 30 for tuning in when a specific batter is up. But a 1/20 guess is not into unreal/spooky territory at all!

-ERD50

 

[Koolau]

I have enough trouble dealing with normal events, so forget paranormal.

I believe some of the allegedly paranormal experiences (premonitions and the like) are simply due to the fact that our memories are not a continuous stream of events, but rather episodes (flashes) that we put together later when we remember them.
Frequently we put them back together in a different order than they actually occurred. This is well documented, and can be a real problem with eyewitness testimony in a courtroom.

All true, but some "paranormal events" aren't that complicated.

Some things simply cannot be believed by some folks - until they happen to them.

I've reported this in a similar thread a couple of years ago: I was sitting (about where I am right now in the Old Homestead.) DW had not traveled with me to the mainland for some reason - she joined me later. One of us called the other every 2 or 3 days with no set time or date or even frequency.

As I was on this site, I got up to answer my cell phone which was on a table across the room. My DW was calling me from Hawaii. EXCEPT the phone had not rung. I was as sure she was calling me as I am that I'm now typing. When I reached for the phone, it didn't ring and I thought to myself "How stupid! What was I thinking." I laid the phone down and turned toward the fridge for a frosty DP (Diet Pepsi.) I don't think I had taken a step before the phone rang and it was DW.

Paranormal? Who can say. The compulsion to answer a non-ringing phone still makes me wonder. Other such things have happened in my life which are inexplicable. I've heard of people who cultivate such experiences - I do not. I can't say I fear them, but I'm not inclined to encourage them either.

 

[Koolau]

I've always had an interest in the topic of paranormal experiences.

Had one the other day of the ESP variety or pure luck. You decide.

I haven't been following the Cubs much at all since their trades a couple years back. Saw on the news the other day that the Tigers are playing the Cubs and will be first time they face ex-Cub Javier Baez (who no plays for the Tigers).

So, I think to my self, I'll listen to the radio to hear an at bat (The game had already started about an hour ago). Before I turn on the radio, I think to myself, "Watch, he'll be the very batter when I turn on the radio."

Wouldn't you know, as soon I turned on the radio, the announcer goes "Here's Javier Baez stepping up to the plate ..."

Totally random chance or something more? Just odd. What are the chances?

All the time. I'll think about a song several time over hours or even days. I'll turn on the radio for some reason (in the car primarily) and there is that song. Chance? I suppose it could be once, but not 2 or 3 times/year like that.

 

[Koolau]

I'm still intrigued by Bryan's story because I've had these strong feelings of anxiety and (seemingly) prescience coming out of nowhere and subsequently something has happened that I (seemingly) anticipated. These sorts of events are not easily dismissed, especially if they are thoroughly and logically examined.

I do that often when watching TV. People will be talking and I'll finish a sentence for them (which they then "repeat.") That's probably my most common one - and totally useless, I might add. Again, once or twice or three times could be coincidence but not every time I feel certain what they will say next. And, yes, in context, a person might be "expected" to say a certain thing, but not every time. There are too many variables within our language.

 

[MichaelB]

I did have some weird experiences with lucid dreaming but that was way long ago.

So did I, but mine went away when I stopped taking drugs.

 

[Koolau]

I had a friend (now gone) who was taking a class at a university some distance from home. He went once a week for a night class. He said as he was sitting in class, the thought occurred to him that "a tree has fallen on my car." When he left class, sure enough an old tree limb had crushed his car.

This guy had never mentioned such a story before or after this to me. Just one very strange "coincidence" I suppose.

 

[ERD50]

I had a friend (now gone) who was taking a class at a university some distance from home. He went once a week for a night class. He said as he was sitting in class, the thought occurred to him that "a tree has fallen on my car." When he left class, sure enough an old tree limb had crushed his car.

This guy had never mentioned such a story before or after this to me. Just one very strange "coincidence" I suppose.

And again, if a thought like that came to someone, and nothing happened, they forget about it. Nothing weird going on.

I actually had one of these feelings once. We had moved into a new (to us) home, and I ended up being worried about some problems that showed up, and wondered if I had made a huge mistake, and I was stressed out over the move, and work. As I walk down the hall, I get a chill, I mean a really strange feeling, and I'm wondering if someone died in the house, or something spooky.

I guess because I've heard people talk about these things I remembered it. But we got to know the long term neighbors, nothing weird, no 'ghosts' after that. I can't explain the feeling, other than 'stuff happens'. But if I were the type that believed in this stuff, I'm sure I would have tied some significance to it. But there was none.

-ERD50

 

[harley]

DW has had a number of paranormal experiences. When she was a kid she had her great grandmother come into her room, sit in a rocking chair, and look at her for awhile. That would be normal except GGM had died earlier that day, and no one had told DW.

Also, when her own mother died she was sitting with her. She said she saw a small ball of light leave her mom's body, float across the room, and pass through the ceiling.

She's also had experiences where she was treating people with Reiki and had visions? premonitions?, I'm not sure what about the people she was dealing with. Later discussions turned out that they were true. Not sure if that's paranormal, or extrasensory or what. But she's much more sensitive to things like that than I am.

 

[Moparguy392]

When we were young teens my sister and I began "playing" with a Ouija board one summer. Had quite a few experiences with it. The planchette would nearly move by itself. Our family pastor found out sometime later and told us to stop and get rid of the thing. We did eventually. There was one time when we asked "the entity" its name and it spelled our Captain Howdy. Years later, the movie The Exorcist came out and the Regan character mentioned communicating with Captain Howdy thru her Ouija board. That gave me the the chills. Rah Roh

 

[easysurfer]

All the time. I'll think about a song several time over hours or even days. I'll turn on the radio for some reason (in the car primarily) and there is that song. Chance? I suppose it could be once, but not 2 or 3 times/year like that.

Might be that you just notice more. Kind of like the situation when you are looking for a new car. A certain make and model. Suddenly as you walk around you see them appearing often. Didn't seem that way before you were car hunting. Could be the mind playing tricks on you.

When people pass away, some say to look for signs of the one who has departed. If you then drive and see a rainbow in the sky some may say "See, that's a sign!". It really might be a sign. But to another driver, that may just be a rainbow from chance alone.

 

[braumeister]

Might be that you just notice more. Kind of like the situation when you are looking for a new car. A certain make and model. Suddenly as you walk around you see them appearing often. Didn't seem that way before you were car hunting.

When I was a psychology major in college I remember reading exactly that sort of thing in a textbook. When you meet a new girlfriend or boyfriend who drives a particular model and color of car, you suddenly start noticing them everywhere. That certainly happened to me more than once.

 

[Qs Laptop]

I do that often when watching TV. People will be talking and I'll finish a sentence for them (which they then "repeat.") That's probably my most common one - and totally useless, I might add. Again, once or twice or three times could be coincidence but not every time I feel certain what they will say next. And, yes, in context, a person might be "expected" to say a certain thing, but not every time. There are too many variables within our language.

I've had something similar happen to me. I have had times when I see something and it triggers me to recall what will happen next. For example, I'm at a family dinner and my nephew and wife enter the house. Suddenly in my mind's eye I see them taking off their coats, what clothes they are wearing underneath, who they are going to greet, what words they are going to say, where they are going to walk next, where they are going to sit and what they are going to say. All of this happens in a flash in my mind and then it unfolds and turns out to be 100% true.

It's like a very intense, extended bout of deja vu. I know what someone is going to say before they say it. I know what they are going to do next. For example, as my mom is about to place her coffee cup on the table, I get the strong sense that I've see these EXACT body movements before and then the revelation hits that she's going to spill her coffee (which she does) and then what she's going to say (which I get correct.) Yes, this can be put down to familiarity with my mom's mannerisms but I've had this sort of thing happen with random people!

I'm at a ballgame walking down the stairs to my seat when suddenly I know the person in front of me is going to switch to the other side of the aisle, reach for the railing, stumble and fall down. Seconds later it plays out exactly has I had envisioned it. And that guy on the end of the row with the glasses and the moustache helping the fallen person get to his feet? I've seen him before...

Why this happens has perplexed me for decades. The frequency of occurrences has diminished from a handful of times per year to once a year or less. I don't consider it to be paranormal.

 

[braumeister]

I'm at a ballgame walking down the stairs to my seat when suddenly I know the person in front of me is going to switch to the other side of the aisle, reach for the railing, stumble and fall down. Seconds later it plays out exactly has I had envisioned it.

Not paranormal, but rather a good example of how our sensory apparatus can pick up micromovements that we're not fully conscious of.

Another of my favorite examples: I grew up and learned to drive in NYC. Hardly anyone used their turn signals, yet I could always know when someone was about to change lanes. Visitors from elsewhere would be utterly flummoxed at this, but it was just sort of a sixth sense that NYC drivers develop.

 

[Qs Laptop]

Not paranormal, but rather a good example of how our sensory apparatus can pick up micromovements that we're not fully conscious of.

I wish it was so easily explained. But the way the guy falls down, the positioning of his arms and legs on the stairs after he falls, the way the guy on the end helps him up, the expression on the guys face, etc. They are specific things that I've (seemed to have) seen before.

Another of my favorite examples: I grew up and learned to drive in NYC. Hardly anyone used their turn signals, yet I could always know when someone was about to change lanes. Visitors from elsewhere would be utterly flummoxed at this, but it was just sort of a sixth sense that NYC drivers develop.

I can understand how that "skill" would develop over time. But the stuff that I anticipate are flashes of seeming memories that jolt into my head and then unfold as envisioned. When they play out in reality they are snippets of 2 to 3 seconds in length.

 

[easysurfer]

I wish it was so easily explained. But the way the guy falls down, the positioning of his arms and legs on the stairs after he falls, the way the guy on the end helps him up, the expression on the guys face, etc. They are specific things that I've (seemed to have) seen before.



I can understand how that "skill" would develop over time. But the stuff that I anticipate are flashes of seeming memories that jolt into my head and then unfold as envisioned. When they play out in reality they are snippets of 2 to 3 seconds in length.

I used to have feelings of deja vu often but not so much anymore. The feeling of I could swear I've done this before. After I chalked things up to probably have gone through something similar (like if it's my first time in college, my mind remembers that feeling because that's like the feeling of my first time in high school) but not the exact same, that sensation doesn't happen as much for me.

Not totally related, but sometimes I have dreams that I know I've dreamed of before. Kind of like my mind decided to play a rerun tonight in dreamland. During the dream I'm predicting what will happen next but I also am aware that it's a dream.

 

[Love This Community]

There was a long interesting thread on the same topic a while back on our site. I enjoyed reading the stories/ experiences

Mods, if you could merge them, that’ll be great.

 

[Qs Laptop]

I used to have feelings of deja vu often but not so much anymore. The feeling of I could swear I've done this before. After I chalked things up to probably have gone through something similar (like if it's my first time in college, my mind remembers that feeling because that's like the feeling of my first time in high school) but not the exact same, that sensation doesn't happen as much for me.

Sometimes when things happen as I've predicted--like the guy falling down the stairs at the ballgame-- I think maybe I had dreamt it at some point recently. But that opens up a whole new can o' worms regarding dreaming of what happens in the future, and I don't want to go there!

Not totally related, but sometimes I have dreams that I know I've dreamed of before. Kind of like my mind decided to play a rerun tonight in dreamland. During the dream I'm predicting what will happen next but I also am aware that it's a dream.

Having repeat dreams happens to me quite frequently. Being aware I'm having a dream and "playing along with it to see what happens next" happens to me quite frequently. It's kind of entertaining.

 

[ERD50]

.... I'm at a ballgame walking down the stairs to my seat when suddenly I know the person in front of me is going to switch to the other side of the aisle, reach for the railing, stumble and fall down. Seconds later it plays out exactly has I had envisioned it. And that guy on the end of the row with the glasses and the moustache helping the fallen person get to his feet? I've seen him before...

Why this happens has perplexed me for decades. ....

But to make anything of this, you'd need to make a record of every thought like this that occurs to you, and then record if it played out or not. If that were even possible (I suspect these thoughts aren't all that conscious), I'd bet you find that nothing happened, or it was way different than you thought almost all the time.

Or could your mind be playing some sort of trick on you, where you think it happened in that order, but the after event actually gets stuck back in your 'memory' in such a way that you thought you predicted it, but you didn't?

It would take a lot of work to isolate it like that, but w/o that, I would mostly chalk it up to an active mind playing out scenes in your head (which can be a good thing to do, to avoid bumping into someone for example, you try to predict where they are going), and then it actually happens. But those thoughts are playing often, the matching action, not so much.

-ERD50

 

[ncbill]

Not paranormal, but still sort of creepy.

Had access to a relative's large vacation home.

Water damage necessitated gutting of the basement & first floor.

Staircase from first floor led to a wrap-around breezeway to access the upstairs bedrooms, but still open to the first floor.

Carpet on the first floor was replaced with wood because of the water damage.

I'd be up at night reading in a lounge area next to the breezeway & hear the wood on the unlit first floor below creak & pop as it settled.

Sure sounded like someone was walking around down there...sometimes I'd say "hello?"