What Keeps You Up At Night?: Our Paranormal Experiences Or Insomniac Stories

[bilgistic]

Adam bought a ouija board. Everyone told him not to, and he did it anyway. Everyone told him to get rid of it. He's going out of town this week, and I'm legitimately scared for his cats. I've followed his comics for a few years now. He's so silly.

He has a book coming out next year, so there's some speculation that this is a publicity stunt, but that would REALLY piss off his followers, which are primarily in their 20s, I'd guess. I logged into my years-old, barely used Twitter account so I can follow the story. I'm kind of embarrassed about that, but in the immortal words of Fox Mulder's poster, "I want to believe".

Edited August 12, 2017 by bilgistic

[harrie]

I'm super cynical, so think Dear David will end up being a performance piece by Ellis, but I'm really enjoying the ride. 

[bilgistic]

At least it got me to start watching all of my unwatched recorded episodes of "Supernatural" from this last season.

[harrie]

Oh, I don't hold it against Ellis if this is a creative exercise; and I've had plenty of weird stuff happen to me, so I definitely believe in paranormal phenomena. For his sake, I hope Dear David isn't hunting him down. Imagine if Ellis moved entirely out of the building and DD followed him around until he did him in.

[Petunia13]

You can read tweet without logging onto a twitter or having a twitter account. You just google such and such name and twitter. 

[bilgistic]

Adam has added more to his story/has had things "happen". I'm fairly skeptical about it at this point, and the fact that he hasn't done (or had anyone do) any research is bugging me. Census records are relatively easy to research, and a librarian can help. He could find out if there was ever a child named David that lived in his building or on his block, etc.

I just keep thinking about his book being released next year. He's gotten a fair amount of press for this. (And could theoretically get help with this problem, if it's real--there are paranormal investigators that work for BuzzFeed, as does Adam.) The past few things (another dream, "unknown number" phone calls, a couple of things moving on motion-sensor camera) can be explained by logic. I love ghost stories and absolutely believe in ghosts, but this...I don't know anymore.

[methodwriter85]

Oh yeah, Dear David is fake. I can't picture this being remotely real. Nobody who was really going through this would think it was a blast.

My story about a classroom talk with a ghost using a flashlight was recounted by Unit 522 on YouTube. Still a bit creepy to think about.

[walnutqueen]

I believe other people who believe in ghosts & such, but honestly have never encountered anything even approaching a spiritual experience.  :-(

I was scared of all things eerie most of my life; then I bought a creepy old house in the late 80s, and have never been afraid of the dark again.  I also was magically cured of my aversion to scary movies.  Go figure.

The only thing keeping me up at night is chronic pain.  I haven't slept soundly since the 90s.  Does that count?

[bilgistic]

2 hours ago, methodwriter85 said:

Oh yeah, Dear David is fake. I can't picture this being remotely real. Nobody who was really going through this would think it was a blast.

Adam said in his last thread that he lives above/adjacent to a subway line. I am highly skeptical now. Things are falling off the walls (one thing each time...two isolated indents days apart)... His rocking chair rocked another time. My neighbors shut the door hard enough in my apartment building and that happens here. Come on, now.

[RedheadZombie]

Can anyone recommend a site that has more traffic?   I'm just a little obsessed with the paranormal, as well as sharks and other animals.  I need a more frequent fix. 

[methodwriter85]

21 hours ago, RedheadZombie said:

Can anyone recommend a site that has more traffic?   I'm just a little obsessed with the paranormal, as well as sharks and other animals.  I need a more frequent fix. 

The Reddit paranormal sub is pretty active.

[RedheadZombie]

1 hour ago, methodwriter85 said:

The Reddit paranormal sub is pretty active.

Thank you!

[bilgistic]

I know sleep paralysis isn't paranormal (though people try to say it is), but it's frightening and "keeps me up at night". I experienced it this week. I've had it several times in the past few years, and it's so terrifying. I was asleep, but I could hear the local news that was on TV. I couldn't fully wake, and could hear myself trying to scream. I felt something brush my left knee, and that sensation was enough to force me awake. So scary!

[Quof]

Nah, that's just your brain waking up before your body does.  It's like coming out of anaesthesia. 

[MrSmith]

On 9/16/2017 at 6:53 PM, walnutqueen said:

I believe other people who believe in ghosts & such, but honestly have never encountered anything even approaching a spiritual experience.  :-(

I was scared of all things eerie most of my life; then I bought a creepy old house in the late 80s, and have never been afraid of the dark again.  I also was magically cured of my aversion to scary movies.  Go figure.

The only thing keeping me up at night is chronic pain.  I haven't slept soundly since the 90s.  Does that count?

One of my brothers-in-law is battling cancer right now (leukemia) and he has previously beaten stomach cancer (and he's not yet 40). Last week we got the news that his current treatment is no longer working and they have to ramp down the medication he's on in order to possibly get him on chemo. (I should know more today or tomorrow the verdict on that.) Anyway, that was last Thursday night that I found out about that. I'm actually quite close with him and the news upset me quite a lot. So, I prayed because I needed to do something and that was the only available action. After what seemed like a couple of minutes praying (and probably wasn't that long because humans are terrible at perceiving the passage of time), I could feel a presence in the room with me. It felt like it touched me on the head and a sense of calm immediately swept down my body. The way it felt is how it looks in the scene in Beauty and the Beast (animated) where the castle interior lights up. (I haven't been able to find any decent gifs of this.) Then it felt like my father-in-law was there in the room with me (he passed away in 2003), and that he told me that everything is all right and things will turn out the way they're supposed to. I didn't get a sense that my brother-in-law was certain either to survive this or not; just that whichever happens is supposed to happen and that my father-in-law will be there for him either way.

I still get upset thinking about what might happen, but I'm not as emotionally disturbed and off balance by it as I was that night.

[RedheadZombie]

On ‎9‎/‎30‎/‎2017 at 1:17 PM, bilgistic said:

I know sleep paralysis isn't paranormal (though people try to say it is), but it's frightening and "keeps me up at night". I experienced it this week. I've had it several times in the past few years, and it's so terrifying. I was asleep, but I could hear the local news that was on TV. I couldn't fully wake, and could hear myself trying to scream. I felt something brush my left knee, and that sensation was enough to force me awake. So scary!

I've experienced sleep paralysis since I was a teenager, and while I now understand it, it doesn't make it any less sinister when it happens.  They say perception of what's suppressing you depends on your beliefs, and as many believers in God, my suppression is an evil omnipresence.  The one that seemed most real and was the hardest to justify away occurred one night:  I looked at my alarm clock, closed my eyes, and immediately felt a hard slap to my leg.  A male voice said, "hold her down", and I felt there mere multiple people in my room.  I struggled to awaken.  When I finally did, I looked at my alarm clock and it was only 2-3 minutes later.  Most events I wake up and feel immediate relief, this one lingered for a while.

It seems like many people report that they're sensing what's really occurring as they're also experiencing the paralysis - such as your hearing the TV.  I had an experience that was quite the opposite.  I was laying in bed in the dark, and I sensed the evil bearing down on me from above.  I could hear my mom in the bathroom with the faucet running.  My arm was over my head and I was trying with all my might to rap my head board to get my mother's attention.  I found it difficult to breathe, and I was trying to call out to my mom.  I felt my eyes were open the entire time.  Suddenly, I could breathe and I screamed out to my mom.  I remember asking her - were you just in the bathroom???  And when she said no, I realized it must have been a dream.  It reminds me of that scene in The Exorcism of Emily Rose, when she's first attacked in her dorm room.  And I wasn't influenced by the movie, as my experience happened years before.

Something I've always found very interesting is I worked the night shift for years, and I've never had one event occur when I slept during the day.  I've also never had it occur when I've taken a nap during the day.  That adds to the sinister feel of the whole thing. 

[RedheadZombie]

On ‎9‎/‎30‎/‎2017 at 4:00 PM, Quof said:

Nah, that's just your brain waking up before your body does.  It's like coming out of anaesthesia. 

It's actually the opposite.  In sleep paralysis, your body is paralyzed but your mind is alert.  I've been a recovery room nurse, and occasionally people come out with fists flying and minds still sedated.  And believe me, the doctors always stay at a safe distance as the nurses are getting their asses kicked, and shout - watch the IV!

What you may be referring to is Anesthesia Awareness, where the muscle paralysis is working properly during surgery, but the mind becomes aware, can hear what's occurring in the OR, and even feel severe pain from the surgery.

[Zola]

Mirrors!

There's something I really don't like about mirrors, and have had this "dread" since childhood. I really can't put my finger on exactly what this dread is, or where it came from, but whenever I look at myself in the mirror I either feel that my reflection isn't the real "me", and that at any time it might "come alive" and grab me by the throat or just turn its back on me and walk away. Or when I look at myself my reflection is a fraction of a second in front or behind me. So for example, if I raise my hands my reflection does the same but a touch slower or quicker!

Perhaps this "fear" came from watching "Poltergeist" as a kid. There was a scene when a scientist looked at himself in the mirror and his face started to fall apart into big chunks of bleeding flesh. So perhaps it a residual memory of that which lingers whenever I look into the mirror.

Not exactly terrifying, admittedly, but i do sometimes have restless nights because of it.

[MrSmith]

16 minutes ago, RedheadZombie said:

It's actually the opposite.  In sleep paralysis, your body is paralyzed but your mind is alert.  I've been a recovery room nurse, and occasionally people come out with fists flying and minds still sedated.  And believe me, the doctors always stay at a safe distance as the nurses are getting their asses kicked, and shout - watch the IV!

What you may be referring to is Anesthesia Awareness, where the muscle paralysis is working properly during surgery, but the mind becomes aware, can hear what's occurring in the OR, and even feel severe pain from the surgery.

LOL. I had to have my appendix out in 1999/2000. While in the ER, the hospital finally gave me morphine. I woke up just a little after I had been taken to the room where they prep you for surgery. I remember thinking how beautiful the nurse/CNA/LPN/whatever was and telling her so. I promptly lost consciousness again. She was probably glad for that!

[RedheadZombie]

47 minutes ago, Zola said:

Mirrors!

There's something I really don't like about mirrors, and have had this "dread" since childhood. I really can't put my finger on exactly what this dread is, or where it came from, but whenever I look at myself in the mirror I either feel that my reflection isn't the real "me", and that at any time it might "come alive" and grab me by the throat or just turn its back on me and walk away. Or when I look at myself my reflection is a fraction of a second in front or behind me. So for example, if I raise my hands my reflection does the same but a touch slower or quicker!

Perhaps this "fear" came from watching "Poltergeist" as a kid. There was a scene when a scientist looked at himself in the mirror and his face started to fall apart into big chunks of bleeding flesh. So perhaps it a residual memory of that which lingers whenever I look into the mirror.

Not exactly terrifying, admittedly, but i do sometimes have restless nights because of it.

When I was in middle school, maybe early high school, I would do this strange thing in front of the mirror, but not often.  I would stand in the bathroom and stare into my eyes in the mirror.  I would think to myself - who am I, who am I, who am I.  And I swear, it was almost an out of body experience, where I actually felt like I wasn't "her", the image in the mirror.  I have no idea why I did it, and I haven't done it in adulthood (I'm too afraid).  Maybe it's because I was an only child, thus had a vivid imagination.  Or maybe it was because I was adopted, I don't know.  But after I did it the first time, I'm pretty sure I was going for that feeling each subsequent time I did it.  It was bizarre, especially because I was afraid of many things in my house, especially the dark.  It just seems a more brave/bold thing to do for someone like me who was practically afraid of their own shadow.

And now that I'm remembering this, there have been a few times in adulthood, where I've genuinely thought about my thinking/actions in a quiet moment, and briefly felt detached from "that" person.  Not for a game now, but silent reflection.  And for a moment, it's as if my thinking mind wasn't the person in my body and performing my life.  Too weird.  All of these experiences free of any mind altering substances, by the way.  And I'm certainly not into transcendentalism, existentialism, meditation, or any philosophies involving the mind.  Not that I have anything against them.

[MrSmith]

15 hours ago, RedheadZombie said:

When I was in middle school, maybe early high school, I would do this strange thing in front of the mirror, but not often.  I would stand in the bathroom and stare into my eyes in the mirror.  I would think to myself - who am I, who am I, who am I.  And I swear, it was almost an out of body experience, where I actually felt like I wasn't "her", the image in the mirror.  I have no idea why I did it, and I haven't done it in adulthood (I'm too afraid).  Maybe it's because I was an only child, thus had a vivid imagination.  Or maybe it was because I was adopted, I don't know.  But after I did it the first time, I'm pretty sure I was going for that feeling each subsequent time I did it.  It was bizarre, especially because I was afraid of many things in my house, especially the dark.  It just seems a more brave/bold thing to do for someone like me who was practically afraid of their own shadow.

And now that I'm remembering this, there have been a few times in adulthood, where I've genuinely thought about my thinking/actions in a quiet moment, and briefly felt detached from "that" person.  Not for a game now, but silent reflection.  And for a moment, it's as if my thinking mind wasn't the person in my body and performing my life.  Too weird.  All of these experiences free of any mind altering substances, by the way.  And I'm certainly not into transcendentalism, existentialism, meditation, or any philosophies involving the mind.  Not that I have anything against them.

This reminds me of "Where Your Eyes Don't Go" by They Might Be Giants:

"Every jumbled pile of person has a thinking part 
that wonders what the part that isn't thinking isn't thinking of"

[RedheadZombie]

On ‎9‎/‎30‎/‎2017 at 1:51 AM, methodwriter85 said:

The Reddit paranormal sub is pretty active.

Thanks again!  I just signed up over there, but someone took my name.  I wanted to share this little story from yesterday, and because I'm tired and lazy, I am copy/pasting.

Years ago my aunt told my mother that after she died, she would appear as a butterfly at her shoulder. We've seen many butterflies since then, and acknowledge them with a "hi Mary!", but there's been no true interaction. Yesterday, there was a butterfly trapped within our screened-in porch, and my mom gently cupped it in her hands to take it outside. Once outside, she opened her hands thinking it would fly away with the mild breeze. Instead, it clung to her finger for several minutes - it's wings moving gently, but clearly clutching my mom's finger. As it happens, it was the same day that my mom learned her cancer surgery was successful, and her lymph nodes were clear. We spoke to "Mary", and told her she was free now. The butterfly then flew straight up in the air 3-4 feet, and disappeared. My mom, a complete skeptic, is absolutely convinced it was her sister and became very choked up. I've seen butterflies fluttering around all my life, but never watched one fly straight up and disappear. Out of the few paranormal experiences I've had, this was the only one that was purely peaceful.

[bilgistic]

Here's a great forum about workplace hauntings:

http://www.askamanager.org/2015/10/have-you-ever-had-a-spooky-experience-at-work.html

Another Reddit thread--this one about creepy things kids said. Lots of seeing ghosts, predictions, etc.

[Anela]

On 9/29/2017 at 4:13 AM, RedheadZombie said:

Can anyone recommend a site that has more traffic?   I'm just a little obsessed with the paranormal, as well as sharks and other animals.  I need a more frequent fix. 

https://jezebel.com/c/scary-stories

There are links to so many scary stories in articles, followed by more in the comments (I'm slowly working my way through them).

there was also a thread on a nursing site, although a lot of the stories were the same. http://allnurses.com/general-nursing-discussion/whats-your-best-108202.html

oops. can't delete the quote below.

On 10/3/2017 at 2:41 PM, MrSmith said:

 

[MrSmith]

@Anela, I've had that happen, too. I figured out that what you have to do is to grab the quote box you want to delete by it's draggable handle (upper left corner, four-way arrow), and drag it up so there is one line of text below, and then you can delete the quote box. So, just hit enter to create an empty line above the quote box, drag the quote box above that line, put your cursor on the empty line that is now below the quote box and you can backspace to get rid of the quote box. Hope that helps. :)

[Anela]

33 minutes ago, MrSmith said:

@Anela, I've had that happen, too. I figured out that what you have to do is to grab the quote box you want to delete by it's draggable handle (upper left corner, four-way arrow), and drag it up so there is one line of text below, and then you can delete the quote box. So, just hit enter to create an empty line above the quote box, drag the quote box above that line, put your cursor on the empty line that is now below the quote box and you can backspace to get rid of the quote box. Hope that helps. :)

Thank you! I will try that next time. :)

[RedheadZombie]

8 hours ago, Anela said:

https://jezebel.com/c/scary-stories

There are links to so many scary stories in articles, followed by more in the comments (I'm slowly working my way through them).

there was also a thread on a nursing site, although a lot of the stories were the same. http://allnurses.com/general-nursing-discussion/whats-your-best-108202.html

oops. can't delete the quote below.

Thank you!

[walnutqueen]

14 hours ago, Anela said:

Thank you! I will try that next time. :)

Or, try putting your cursor in the upper left corner of the quote box, just above the outline.  When a 4 square icon appears, backspace or delete on the square; this should remove the quote box and anything in it.

[bilgistic]

My current phone (Nexus 6P) won't delete the box no matter what I do. My old one did (Samsung Galaxy something or another). Makes no sense.

[Random Noise]

For about 10 years, I was a field investigator for MUFON (the Mutual UFO Network), interviewing witnesses of paranormal activity and visiting the sites of unusual activity. I recall as a new investigator, I was talking to the national director on the phone one evening and he told me "if you search long enough, it will come looking for you!". I never forgot that.

It was many years later, I was investigating a group of crop circles. I did the usual measurements, took photographs, and collected samples from the flattened crop. When I got back home, I had an animal mutilation case I was following up on, so I boxed up my notes and samples and put them in my bedroom closet.

Late that night, I was laying in bed and the room was dark. I noticed flickers of light coming from underneath the closet door. I'll let you know right now that the closet did not have a light inside. I flipped on the bedroom light and peeked in the closet, my immediate thought at the time being that I had left a flashlight in there. Nope. No flashlight or any other source of illumination. Just a stack of books, clothes, and the box of material I brought back from the crop circles.

I turned off the bedroom light again and climbed into bed. A short while later the flickering resumed and I had this very odd feeling something was at the foot end of the bed. I grabbed my flashlight beside the bed and flashed it around the room but nothing was there. I was sufficiently freaked out enough that I turned on a small lamp and left it on all night. The next night, the same thing happened. The flickering under the closet door and the sensation of a presence at the foot of the bed. I got up and took the box out to a storage shed in the yard. When I turned out the bedroom light after that, the flickering light had ceased, but the feeling of a presence in the room continued. For about a month, I slept with a small light on in the room for my own sanity.

Eventually I got tired of the whole thing, packing up all my notes, collected samples, photographs, and anything having to do with paranormal research and shipped them off to another investigator I knew. I got an email from him a few days later, thanking me for all the goodies I sent him. He mentioned it was rather odd, because he received a huge collection of stuff from 2 other investigators as well wanting to get rid of their research.

As for the sensation of a presence in the room, it stopped shortly after I sent away all my research and books and never returned.

Edited November 1, 2017 by Random Noise

[bilgistic]

Nope, nope, nope. Glad you got rid of the stuff! I can do hauntings all day long, but UFOs and aliens, no thank you!

Edited November 1, 2017 by bilgistic

[Random Noise]

8 hours ago, bilgistic said:

Nope, nope, nope. Glad you got rid of the stuff! I can do hauntings all day long, but UFOs and aliens, no thank you!

I guess it depends on your experiences with hauntings.

If you're referring to the apparition or things falling off shelves for no apparent reason type of haunting, then sure, you can feed your curiosity all day long.

On the other hand, I was following a series of incidents not quite so innocent. It was focused primarily around one woman and began during her first pregnancy. She was knitting in the living room one night when she spotted a shadowy figure walking down the hall and disappear into one of the rooms. The appearances began happening more frequently but she became so accustomed to them that she barely paid any attention. Eventually things would begin to fall off shelves or off the kitchen counter for no apparent reason.

She had 4 children, all of them growing up experiencing unusual phenomenon in their lives. She eventually divorced and moved to the town where I live, and the strange occurrences began happening in her new home but with a more alarming nature. She would awaken at night with her oldest son screaming in his room. Running to see what was happening, he would be in a cold sweat claiming that something had been sitting on his chest and he couldn't breathe. After several such occurrences it intensified to scratch marks appearing across his chest that would bleed out. It was enough that he went to live with his father.

I wish I knew the current status of the family. She had gotten into a relationship with someone with a bad drinking problem ending in the relationship failing and her moving away again.

My experiences following the crop circle investigation actually happened within months of the teenage boy experiencing the scratch mark incidents. It was a little too much and still too fresh in my mind so I chose to back off and live a non-paranormal life.

[bilgistic]

I should clarify that I mean stories and movies, whether true or not. I am terrified of aliens, not that my threshold for a haunting is especially high either, but I've had only a few experiences, and they were extremely mild--knocking sounds in the wall night after night at the same time, fresh batteries draining when taking pictures in graveyards.

I won't watch a movie or read a story about alien encounters but I am so intrigued by ghost stories. I'm sure I'd feel differently if I'd had more personal experience.

[Random Noise]

I totally get that. Movies or TV shows you can turn off or change the channel. Stories are always fun.

As the saying goes, "Fools tread where angels fear to go," and I kept treading until I began to realize that I was getting into some stuff I didn't feel all that comfortable with. I know other researchers that continually boldly go where no other investigator has gone before, so I leave it to them to investigate and they can tell me all about it afterward.

Oddly enough, I'm currently staying by some relatives in the northwestern region of British Columbia and this place is a literal goldmine for haunted areas. The old gold-rush trail passes through here, and historically it was a common trading area for at least 5 different native nations. Although the natives for the most part peacefully co-existed with each other, traded, and inter-married, there were times when they had some extremely violent and bloody wars between them. Some were known to chop up the bodies of their victims and hang the body parts from the tree branches.

There are of course, sightings of Bah-diks, or what you would commonly call 'Big Foot'

[Random Noise]

I'll just add, there's a book called "Tampa Triangle; Dead Zone" written by Bill Miller, a former Coast Guard captain. He includes a lot of fascinating true accounts of ghost ships, and apparitions. I heard an interview with him once that was quite riveting.

[Mindthinkr]

I was chatting with a fellow poster tonight. About a stunt that my ghost pulled tonight. I have a ghost that has lived with me for over 20 years and we are on our third home together. He (I call him the Captain) was here and bugged (well she's not so certain...maybe gone after? She's met up with him before.) my friend staying here. At least 5 people have seen him and even a few more than that have witnessed his mischievous deeds. My cats know him. They hate when he spooks them for fun. There's nothing like seeing a cat go from a curled up sleep to in the air, arched back, and hair standing straight up on end. I guess I am dumbfounded because I kind of took it for granted that others would realize that he exists if I gave an explanation. Meaning good person fellow poster, who now probably thinks that I have a few screws loose, and thinks I might have just spun a really good 'the fish was this biggggg' story. Ah well. I know I'm speaking the truth but it can be unsettling. Does anyone else live with a spirit...somewhat copaceticly? 

[riley702]

I'm not sure I would be OK with a ghost following me around and pranking my guests and cats. Does he mess with you, too? Can you chat with him? Do you know why he has followed to you to different homes?

BTW, I totally believe you.

Edited November 3, 2017 by riley702

[Mindthinkr]

The Captin does not follow me around per se and sometimes he can disappear for months. He just likes to show up and check in or occasionally stay a few days. I guess that depends on his moods (ha, whatever they are). There are no set patterns but every now again he's adamant about making his presence known. I have learned that it's easier to recognize him right away so that his antics don't exacerbate into naughtiness. As stated I'm polite to him and asked him if there's something that I should read or do to help him. I tried asking him to move along a la Sylivia Brown method but he didn't leave. I think he showed up last night because earlier in the day I was talking about him. Not that he congers up. Also my friend is here and he seems to like picking on her. She talks back to him and hence why I believe that she gets the brunt of his not so funny pranks. He has gone after her more than anyone else; they have a bit of a contentious relationship. He rarely spooks the kitties but I see them startled at times and then see that he's in a room. He stopped making them jump after they got older. Big boy growls at him. As in don't mess with me.  Thank  you for believing in me. I'd hardly believe these words myself save about 5 people have seen him and enough have witnessed something that has made them a believer. Sane people. Professional people. I actually trust that if something bad was to happen that he'd intervene on my behalf. I don't invite him to come but when he does I do my best to be a good hostess. Not everyone that comes here sees him. Some people think I'm full of sh#t. I do agree that the darndest thing is that he has moved twice with me, maybe I need to move off of the ocean to get rid of him. Nah, I'd rather deal with him than set him loose on someone else. 

Thank you for listening. 

[emma675]

What does he look like when you see him? I don't know if that would make me feel comfortable or nervous that a ghost is following me around! Is he maybe attached to an object you own?

[Mindthinkr]

He wears a puffy white shirt which is why I thought he might be of sea faring origins. Think of the shirt from the Seinfeld episode. Sometimes he's just a dark shadow. Sometimes I see nothing but note what he does. He is not spooky to me. I'm not scared. He just blows in and out like the wind. I can go months where nothing happens. I never considered that he might be attached to an object that I own. I'll have to give that some consideration. Please let me repeat that this is far from an everyday thing. I even feel odd putting it out there that I experience this. 

[bilgistic]

No judgement here. I totally believe you and other people who have paranormal experience. Just because I haven't had a "real" experience doesn't mean they don't exist. That's just a naive worldview IMO. I think there's a lot to this (and other) worlds that we don't understand.

I'm glad for you that you can coexist with the entity somewhat peacefully and don't feel endangered. It's got to be unsettling to say the least, but that you seem to have made a sort of peace with the situation is admirable.

[Random Noise]

For curiosity, do you have an old family antique such as a chest, or perhaps a rocking chair that has been passed down over the years?

Sometimes there are various pieces of furniture that end up in the attic or stored in the basement that tend to be forgotten about until it's rediscovered by the children or grand children who may not necessarily know the history of the object. Same with buying something at an antique store, or more commonly, at a pawn shop or second hand store. If it belonged to a now-deceased person, there are occasions that a spirit may attach or be associated with that object and if you take that object with you to a new home, the spirit comes along with it.

A spirit can attach to a living person although it happens less frequently than to a place or thing. Serious ghost investigators will tell whatever spirits there may be that they have to stay where they are. Occasionally ghosts like to hitch hike with their new investigator friends.

[Mindthinkr]

24 minutes ago, Random Noise said:

For curiosity, do you have an old family antique such as a chest, or perhaps a rocking chair that has been passed down over the years?

Sometimes there are various pieces of furniture that end up in the attic or stored in the basement that tend to be forgotten about until it's rediscovered by the children or grand children who may not necessarily know the history of the object. Same with buying something at an antique store, or more commonly, at a pawn shop or second hand store. If it belonged to a now-deceased person, there are occasions that a spirit may attach or be associated with that object and if you take that object with you to a new home, the spirit comes along with it.

A spirit can attach to a living person although it happens less frequently than to a place or thing. Serious ghost investigators will tell whatever spirits there may be that they have to stay where they are. Occasionally ghosts like to hitch hike with their new investigator friends.

I was just reading through a lot of the other experiences posted here as well as considering if there was an object in my home that might be a magnet for the Captain. Here's why I don't think so. He came in with Hurricane Fran in 1996. I have moved, changed furniture (tho I do have a few family things but he, if attached to those things, would have logically appeared before the hurricane). He really does give the impression of a pirate. I live in the Capr Fear area. Notorious for all of the wrecks that have happened off of our coast. Frankly I just think he likes me. I don't give him a hard time (oh yes I will call him out to return something when I know darn well that I didn't misplace it) and try to give him some respect. Last night my friend (the one who bore the brunt of the fridge incident) asked him to lead her to his booty/treasure. I've never thought to ask him that. Hmm...don't think that I will. It's a nice fantasy but what might he want in return? I don't want to know and happy enough that right now my cats and I are well. I'm not a flashy person and don't need to be rich. I'm happy with comfortable. Didn't see him post dinner or today. Maybe he and my friend have a contentious relationship. Don't know. The new guy I'm dating (and heard the fridge incident and had to admit that the nuts, bolts and washers don't just all undo off of multiple shelves all at once and fly off) thinks I'm full of it. Umm...without trying to look like I'm on the crazy train, I want to tell him that might not be the best way to get along with my Captain. 

[MrSmith]

I plan on being a ghost when I die. I want to haunt someone the way @Mindthinkr's ghost haunts her, except a bit more persistently and less mischievously. That may not be the way it's supposed to work, but then I've not really been too keen on being told what to do, either. Maybe my angel will be able to persuade me to leave. Maybe a more powerful one will show up and induce me to follow instructions. If not, then I'm going to hang around a while after I die.

[bilgistic]

I remember saying in eighth grade honors English that I was going to come back and haunt my teacher. I've moved on from that. What a dork I was.

I like to think I'll go be with my kitties who have passed before me and achieve some sort of piece that I've never had in this life. I believe that I/we are in some version of "hell" (the constant suffering concept of it, though I'm not religious) as earthly beings now. Certainly not everything is horrific, but shit is pretty terrible a lot of the time. My mental health struggles have made my life really exhausting and challenging. If we come back to this plane repeatedly until we "get it right", I certainly hope this is my last trip.

Edited November 3, 2017 by bilgistic

[Mindthinkr]

16 minutes ago, MrSmith said:

I plan on being a ghost when I die. I want to haunt someone the way @Mindthinkr's ghost haunts her, except a bit more persistently and less mischievously. That may not be the way it's supposed to work, but then I've not really been too keen on being told what to do, either. Maybe my angel will be able to persuade me to leave. Maybe a more powerful one will show up and induce me to follow instructions. If not, then I'm going to hang around a while after I die.

You are welcome to come haunt me. I'm not bossy so I won't be telling you what to do and can handle living with ghosts. Let me know what you'd like me to leave out for you. The Captain likes shiny things, "borrows them" but is a good sport and eventually returns them. 

[Random Noise]

@Mindthinkr, the investigator in me totally believes your account. I've interviewed enough people over the years who have had similar situations, although the unusual appearance after a hurricane is a new one on me.

Incidentally, the frilled shirt (actually a neck piece) is called a "cravat" and commonly worn by men during the 18th century, and definitely worn by men of status during colonial times. Although Hollywood likes to romanticize the pirate character, I'm not so sure they actually wore impractical clothing like that which would interfere in their looting and raiding activities. I could be wrong in that respect.

[Mindthinkr]

Ok. Another Captain story and then I'll stop bugging y'all. One time the ex and I were discussing going back over to Scotland so that he could take a job out in the North Sea. Next thing the stereo turned on, the 6 CD changer went to the 4th CD and Dido came on loudly with "I will go down with the ship...". Needless to say that job was passed on. I have lived a spooky life for most people's taste beginning with an incident that happened when I was 9. If anyone is interested in that one PM me so as to spare everyone from me droning on and the fact that it's a sad story. 

@Random Noise I hadn't considered someone from the Colonial age. It could be. I googled cravats and he isn't wearing one. The shirt was open where the cravat would be. Then I googled colonial men's dress and it looked

something like this 

similar but not as long and I don't know that I can recall ever seeing his legs. He's an enigma, that's for sure. Thanks for everyone's patience while I shared my phenomenon. 

[bilgistic]

I'm pretty sure we all live for this, hence the thread! More stories!

[Random Noise]

37 minutes ago, bilgistic said:

I'm pretty sure we all live for this, hence the thread! More stories!

I'm in full agreement.

Incidentally, @Mindthinkr, you just opened the door mentioning an incident at the age of 9. Girls prior to or entering puberty are well known to have paranormal experiences which sometimes remain throughout their lives. There are several theories about why this happens but no satisfactory explanation.

My next question, if you don't mind, is whether you have seen shadow people? That's a shadowy figure you can't see looking directly at it but is in your peripheral vision. Typically you'll spot something out of the corner of your eye, but when you turn your head there's nothing there.

Edited November 3, 2017 by Random Noise
Hyperactive mind