Ok, I have one measly UFO story that took place in none other than Parker City, Indiana, the capital of my negative, paranormal experiences. This experience was not negative, and it probably wasn't even paranormal. However, the object my mom and I saw is as yet unidentified, and I have yet to hear a similar description in any known aircraft sighting OR any UFO sighting.
We saw it over the tree in our front yard one night. It was silent, not too terribly high up (I can't judge distance specifically), and appeared to be floating somewhat aimlessly. It was a glowing square. To this day, my mom describes it as looking like a paper bag with a candle in it. But the paper bag imagery throws me off because there was nothing thin or papery looking about. It was definitely square, but solid, and had a light source inside it. We got in the car and followed it down the highway until it disappeared. As it grew more distant, all that was visible was its light, so that now it looked like nothing but a glowing ball in the sky.
That was all. I suspect it was something man-made that was unidentifiable to the untrained eye.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Missing Memory
This is kind of an embarrassing story, and probably nothing more than a memory retrieval issue, but it was just so odd I want to include it in my paranormal accounts.
This took place in my early twenties when I was working at a day care. It was right after naptime, and I was sent to retrieve 2 children from the naproom and deliver them to a classroom downstairs. I went to the naproom, helped the kids get their shoes on, then left the naproom with them following.
Suddenly I was in the ladies' bathroom downstairs, washing my hands. I thought to myself, "Wait, where are the kids? What did I do with them while going to the bathroom? Did I have them wait for me in the hall?" In a panic, I rushed into the hallway. There were no children.
I hurried to the classroom where I was originally supposed to have delivered them, and there they were, safe and sound. Their teacher saw me approach, and I asked her, "Did I bring them here?"
"Yes," she said.
I stared her a moment, trying to gather my thoughts. "Did I say anything?" I asked.
She looked concerned. "Well, you just looked kind of spaced out."
There was nothing more to be said. I don't recall now if I admitted to her that I had no recollection of my actions. I tried from that moment on to reconstruct my steps from the upstairs naproom to the downstairs woman's bathroom, but was never able to remember the steps inbetween.
A psychologist friend of mine once told me that he didn't think I had actually disassociated during the time in question, because I had carried out my duties. I had to have been aware of what I was doing to do so. He thinks I had a memory retrieval problem. Whatever it was, it was very odd and I'm glad to say it hasn't been repeated since (that I remember - lol).
Many people over the years have compared this story to the common experience of driving somewhere and having no recollection of the drive upon arrival. I think that is something entirely different. Most of us go on "autopilot" when we drive, and have the luxury of thinking of other things, daydreaming, listening to music, etc. But to have just 2-3 minutes of blank when you are at work carrying out a specific errand -- with children involved, no less -- that, in my opnion, cannot be compared to the all too common driving experience.
This took place in my early twenties when I was working at a day care. It was right after naptime, and I was sent to retrieve 2 children from the naproom and deliver them to a classroom downstairs. I went to the naproom, helped the kids get their shoes on, then left the naproom with them following.
Suddenly I was in the ladies' bathroom downstairs, washing my hands. I thought to myself, "Wait, where are the kids? What did I do with them while going to the bathroom? Did I have them wait for me in the hall?" In a panic, I rushed into the hallway. There were no children.
I hurried to the classroom where I was originally supposed to have delivered them, and there they were, safe and sound. Their teacher saw me approach, and I asked her, "Did I bring them here?"
"Yes," she said.
I stared her a moment, trying to gather my thoughts. "Did I say anything?" I asked.
She looked concerned. "Well, you just looked kind of spaced out."
There was nothing more to be said. I don't recall now if I admitted to her that I had no recollection of my actions. I tried from that moment on to reconstruct my steps from the upstairs naproom to the downstairs woman's bathroom, but was never able to remember the steps inbetween.
A psychologist friend of mine once told me that he didn't think I had actually disassociated during the time in question, because I had carried out my duties. I had to have been aware of what I was doing to do so. He thinks I had a memory retrieval problem. Whatever it was, it was very odd and I'm glad to say it hasn't been repeated since (that I remember - lol).
Many people over the years have compared this story to the common experience of driving somewhere and having no recollection of the drive upon arrival. I think that is something entirely different. Most of us go on "autopilot" when we drive, and have the luxury of thinking of other things, daydreaming, listening to music, etc. But to have just 2-3 minutes of blank when you are at work carrying out a specific errand -- with children involved, no less -- that, in my opnion, cannot be compared to the all too common driving experience.
Monday, December 29, 2008
Pointless Psychic Moments
I say pointless because when most people have premonitions, they are meaningful in some way or other. They convey important messages or warnings. My friend Jamie, who is a fellow lover of all things unexplained, has twice been the subject of my three very pointless, recent psychic moments.
First story: This was last summer. I was getting ready to go walk with Jamie. I've always thought Jamie is pretty cool and I guess somewhere in the back of my mind, I'm always worried I'll make an ass of myself somehow and she'll think I'm not cool. That's the only explanation I have for this sudden scenario that flashed through my head of my accidentally driving my truck into Jamie's garage door, busting it to smithereens, and forever ruining our friendship. Well, minutes after this heart-stopping scenario rushed through my mind, my phone rang. It was Jamie. She was upset because her garage door had just broken and she couldn't get it closed. She was going to have to cancel our walk because she didn't want to leave the house with the door wide open.
Second Story: Last spring, I had a dream one night that Jamie bought a flux capacitor. That's the device that enabled Marty McFly to travel back in time in Back to the Future. I woke up amused and emailed Jamie about my dream. She emailed me flipping out: the very night before, while at the school play rehearsal, Jamie had joked with some of the students that the rehearsal was going too slow and they needed to buy a flux capacitor. I had no way of knowing about that, as I wasn't at the rehearsal. Furthermore, neither Jamie nor I have ever discussed a flux capacitor nor, to our recollection, even mentioned the device since the movie was in theaters.
Third story: This past fall, I dreamed that Jamie had a whole room in her house of nothing but church pews. In another room, she had so many easy chairs that it looked like a furniture store. There was also some sort of party going on at her house with sand -- a beach theme or something. The next day I (amused, of course) told her of my dream. She kind of rolled her eyes and mentioned all the family she had had to take in the night before due to the hurricane. She had put up more people than her house can hold. I found it interesting that I had dreamed she had had so many seats in her house (when only she, her husband, and her baby live there), unaware that she had actually had to take in about enough people to fill those seats!
So that's the extent of my recent psychic experiences. Pretty benign.
First story: This was last summer. I was getting ready to go walk with Jamie. I've always thought Jamie is pretty cool and I guess somewhere in the back of my mind, I'm always worried I'll make an ass of myself somehow and she'll think I'm not cool. That's the only explanation I have for this sudden scenario that flashed through my head of my accidentally driving my truck into Jamie's garage door, busting it to smithereens, and forever ruining our friendship. Well, minutes after this heart-stopping scenario rushed through my mind, my phone rang. It was Jamie. She was upset because her garage door had just broken and she couldn't get it closed. She was going to have to cancel our walk because she didn't want to leave the house with the door wide open.
Second Story: Last spring, I had a dream one night that Jamie bought a flux capacitor. That's the device that enabled Marty McFly to travel back in time in Back to the Future. I woke up amused and emailed Jamie about my dream. She emailed me flipping out: the very night before, while at the school play rehearsal, Jamie had joked with some of the students that the rehearsal was going too slow and they needed to buy a flux capacitor. I had no way of knowing about that, as I wasn't at the rehearsal. Furthermore, neither Jamie nor I have ever discussed a flux capacitor nor, to our recollection, even mentioned the device since the movie was in theaters.
Third story: This past fall, I dreamed that Jamie had a whole room in her house of nothing but church pews. In another room, she had so many easy chairs that it looked like a furniture store. There was also some sort of party going on at her house with sand -- a beach theme or something. The next day I (amused, of course) told her of my dream. She kind of rolled her eyes and mentioned all the family she had had to take in the night before due to the hurricane. She had put up more people than her house can hold. I found it interesting that I had dreamed she had had so many seats in her house (when only she, her husband, and her baby live there), unaware that she had actually had to take in about enough people to fill those seats!
So that's the extent of my recent psychic experiences. Pretty benign.
Housesitting Haunting
This happened in Huntington, WV when I was 26. I lived for a brief time by myself in my Uncle Gavin's house, a lovely, contemporary, 2-level home. My uncle's neighbor Michael asked me to housesit for him for one week while he vacationed in Florida. He paid me 200 dollars up front to sleep over there and to keep his 37 plants watered. (I counted.)
Michael's house was larger and old, as are many of the houses in Huntington. I was a little spooked at having to enter through the backway only every night, as it required climbing up the deck stairs first. That's why it greatly disappointed me when the deck light burnt out the first night I stayed there. But I'm a big girl and I just resigned myself to entering in the dark. I was annoyed either that day or the next when the light over the kitchen sink also burnt out, but old house wiring sucks like that sometimes.
The next evening, I came home and had just gotten seated in the living room, which faces the kitchen, when I noticed a kitchen cabinet was wide open. I didn't use the kitchen, at least not that part of it. I only used the kitchen for the same reason I use any kitchen -- to make coffee. And that cabinet was nowhere near the coffee. I knew that cabinet had been shut earlier. I shut the cabinet and tested to see how firmly it stayed shut. Very firmly. It was not the type to swing open for any reason, and if it wasn't latched, it would not appear shut at all. But OK, whatever, there must be some explanation.
The next evening, I came home to find the cabinet at the hutch at the top of the stairs was wide open. Again, this cabinet had been closed previously. I shut it, of course, and was wondering what was going on.
That night, I was pretty spooked, so I decided to sleep in the living room instead of the bedroom. (Not sure why this felt safer, other than the fact that it was closer to the exit.) I turned the overhead living room light on and dimmed it so that I could sleep, but would still have light. I went to sleep and awoke 45 or so minutes later. When I opened my eyes, the light was completely out. The room was dark. I lay there frozen in fear (not paranormally-induced paralysis, but just plain "I'm too freaking scared to move" fear) for maybe 20 minutes. Finally, I forced myself off the couch and over to the dimmer switch. I turned the switch, and the light came back on. It had simply been turned down.
I wasn't such a big girl that night. I went home and slept. I persuaded a friend to stay over for the remainder of my time there, and there were no more strange occurrences. When Michael got home from vacation, I told him of the strange activity and he said that nothing like that had ever happened to him there -- no opening cabinets or lights being turned down. All I can assume is that the ghost or whatever did not like me there.
Michael's house was larger and old, as are many of the houses in Huntington. I was a little spooked at having to enter through the backway only every night, as it required climbing up the deck stairs first. That's why it greatly disappointed me when the deck light burnt out the first night I stayed there. But I'm a big girl and I just resigned myself to entering in the dark. I was annoyed either that day or the next when the light over the kitchen sink also burnt out, but old house wiring sucks like that sometimes.
The next evening, I came home and had just gotten seated in the living room, which faces the kitchen, when I noticed a kitchen cabinet was wide open. I didn't use the kitchen, at least not that part of it. I only used the kitchen for the same reason I use any kitchen -- to make coffee. And that cabinet was nowhere near the coffee. I knew that cabinet had been shut earlier. I shut the cabinet and tested to see how firmly it stayed shut. Very firmly. It was not the type to swing open for any reason, and if it wasn't latched, it would not appear shut at all. But OK, whatever, there must be some explanation.
The next evening, I came home to find the cabinet at the hutch at the top of the stairs was wide open. Again, this cabinet had been closed previously. I shut it, of course, and was wondering what was going on.
That night, I was pretty spooked, so I decided to sleep in the living room instead of the bedroom. (Not sure why this felt safer, other than the fact that it was closer to the exit.) I turned the overhead living room light on and dimmed it so that I could sleep, but would still have light. I went to sleep and awoke 45 or so minutes later. When I opened my eyes, the light was completely out. The room was dark. I lay there frozen in fear (not paranormally-induced paralysis, but just plain "I'm too freaking scared to move" fear) for maybe 20 minutes. Finally, I forced myself off the couch and over to the dimmer switch. I turned the switch, and the light came back on. It had simply been turned down.
I wasn't such a big girl that night. I went home and slept. I persuaded a friend to stay over for the remainder of my time there, and there were no more strange occurrences. When Michael got home from vacation, I told him of the strange activity and he said that nothing like that had ever happened to him there -- no opening cabinets or lights being turned down. All I can assume is that the ghost or whatever did not like me there.
An accidental invocation
Yet another dark story from the dark little town of Parker City, Indiana. I was about 16. My best friend Lana, at that time 19, had seen a light in her parent's room one night. It was a supernatural light that occasionally appeared when she needed comfort. Her parents room, oddly enough, had no windows, and this light appeared to Lana in the dark. My friend Toby and I showed up for an impromptu visit, and Lana excitedly told us this light had appeared. We decided we would try to get it reappear, and that the best way to do this would be to hold a little sort of worship service and create a holy atmosphere. So we all three gathered in the bedroom, shutting the door and turning off all the lights so that we were in complete and utter blackness. That way, if and when the light appeared, we would know for sure that's what it was.
We began singing hymns and praying, earnestly endeavoring to draw this light back. It never showed up, but at one point I saw the most interesting thing: this black figure (amazingly enough black on black, since the room was already black) with wings right in front of me. I saw the wings slowly dip down and rise again, and I saw a head with sort of a ... maybe a gargoyle type snout turn to the side. I honestly thought it was imagination, and I said nothing. I wasn't even scared because Toby and Lana were right there with me. We were all huddled on the bed. Finally, we all got bored and quit the service. We decided to go somewhere (out to eat or something) and as we exited the doorway, either Toby or Lana suddenly said, "Did anybody see like a black winged creature..?" And the two of us exclaimed yes, we had, and then somebody else (not me) said, "Did it have like a long, beak-like snout?" We all agreed that is what it had looked like. So, apparently, what I had seen was real. And that is how I learned not to try summoning things, because you don't know what will show up.
We began singing hymns and praying, earnestly endeavoring to draw this light back. It never showed up, but at one point I saw the most interesting thing: this black figure (amazingly enough black on black, since the room was already black) with wings right in front of me. I saw the wings slowly dip down and rise again, and I saw a head with sort of a ... maybe a gargoyle type snout turn to the side. I honestly thought it was imagination, and I said nothing. I wasn't even scared because Toby and Lana were right there with me. We were all huddled on the bed. Finally, we all got bored and quit the service. We decided to go somewhere (out to eat or something) and as we exited the doorway, either Toby or Lana suddenly said, "Did anybody see like a black winged creature..?" And the two of us exclaimed yes, we had, and then somebody else (not me) said, "Did it have like a long, beak-like snout?" We all agreed that is what it had looked like. So, apparently, what I had seen was real. And that is how I learned not to try summoning things, because you don't know what will show up.
Dog alerts me to some unseen evil
This took place in Parker City, Indiana, but not in the spooky house. My parents were out of town for a couple nights, and I was sleeping in their room with the family dog, Caity. (There wasn't room for her in my twin bed.) In the middle of the night, Caity woke me up barking and snarling ferociously, as she would always do -- much to our mortification -- when visiters would come. She was going ballistic, as usual, and at first I thought she had heard someone in the house, at the door or something. But then I realized she was standing by the bed, looking up into the air over my parents' chest of drawers. I knew instantly, innately, there was something dark there. I lay there in fear, unable to even pray. To pray would be to acknowledge there was something to pray about, and I refused to acknowledge that there really was something in the room. I ordered Caity to get back in bed and be quiet. She reluctantly complied, but was still furiously growling. She continued this until I finally worked up the nerve to say, "Plead the blood." (Pleading the blood -- calling on the power of the blood of Christ.) The minute I said it, Caity went dead silent. Her whole demeanor became peaceful. She then began looking, calmly, from the foot of the bed to the side of the bed, back and forth, back and forth, and I knew angels had come to my defense. I was, however, still too scared and still somewhat in denial. I wanted nothing in the room, not demons, not angels, nothing but me and Caity. I kept pushing her head down, but she would always lift it back up and continue staring peacefully from the edge to the foot of the bed. I lay uncomfortably for probably 30 minutes before I was able to fall back to sleep. That was the only negative experience I had in that house.
Invisible Hand
This took place in Cincinatti, Ohio at a Waiting upon God, a sort of three day church fest that the church organization I was involved in held about once a year. Again, I was around 14, and I was eating lunch with my best friend, my boyfriend, and my boyfriend's sister. We were sitting at a booth, and I was on the edge with my boyfriend to my left. My best friend and my boyfriend's sister were across from us. As I took a bite of soup, I felt a finger rest heavily on my shoulder. Assuming it was my boyfriend, I simply tried to shrug it off so I could eat in peace. It wouldn't budge and I continued shrugging in annoyance, only to look up and find everyone staring at me. It was then I saw that my boyfriend wasn't touching me. I slowly turned to see what was on my shoulder, and just as I established there was nothing there, an electrical surge shot into my shoulder, jolting me. I lurched forward with the impact. (Of course, by now I was really getting some odd stares.) I never knew what it was. I confided the experience to one of the more deeply spiritual ministers at the gathering, and he prayed for a few minutes, then said that God's hand had been on me and wanted me to do His will.
A similar but less poignant experience took place a year later when I was living in West Virginia with my godmother. I was rearranging my bedroom -- as I did about every two weeks -- and I stepped back into a corner to assess my work. As I did, something draped over the top of my head. It felt like a web or sheet of some sort. In a panic, I reached up to feel for what it was, and there was nothing. I looked for signs of a spider web or anything, but never found anything at all.
A similar but less poignant experience took place a year later when I was living in West Virginia with my godmother. I was rearranging my bedroom -- as I did about every two weeks -- and I stepped back into a corner to assess my work. As I did, something draped over the top of my head. It felt like a web or sheet of some sort. In a panic, I reached up to feel for what it was, and there was nothing. I looked for signs of a spider web or anything, but never found anything at all.
Evil, unseen presence
I am long overdue to journal the paranormal experiences I have had, and as few as they are, it's really not a tall order.
I want to start with the most terrifying experience, as it has always stood out among the other memories. I was 14, and we had just rented a house in Parker City, Indiana. (Incidentally, Parker City was darkest feeling place I've ever lived and all my negative paranormal experiences took place there.) There was something wrong with this house; I was always scared. At the time, however, I didn't have the knowledge to pray over or bless the house.
One night I had just gotten in bed, and lay awake waiting for sleep to come. Unlike some people, it has always taken me a good 20 minutes to go to sleep and I have never been able to drop off without realizing it. So I was wide awake and suddenly I became afraid. Although I couldn't see it, I felt there was something at the foot of my bed. As I considered this, my fear grew to an unprecedented level, growing still until it felt like something physical that enveloped me and coursed through me. I became literally paralyzed -- not "too scared to move," but literally physically, paralyzed -- and I felt completely weightless. My memory is that my vision went dark or entered some fuzziness; I could see nothing. All I know for sure is that I was in some other state in which it seemed sheer horror had manifested itself as an entity that physically possessed me. After what was probably a few seconds of this feeling, in which I lay in a state of terror and paralysis, the feeling left. I felt my weight again, I could move again, and I bolted out of my room. I crashed in my parent's room for the rest of night.
In discussing these things with my parents, I learned that they too had felt uneasy in the house. A couple that had visited one week reported something bumping against the bed in the night. We never knew what was wrong with the house, and fortunately, we did not stay there long.
I want to start with the most terrifying experience, as it has always stood out among the other memories. I was 14, and we had just rented a house in Parker City, Indiana. (Incidentally, Parker City was darkest feeling place I've ever lived and all my negative paranormal experiences took place there.) There was something wrong with this house; I was always scared. At the time, however, I didn't have the knowledge to pray over or bless the house.
One night I had just gotten in bed, and lay awake waiting for sleep to come. Unlike some people, it has always taken me a good 20 minutes to go to sleep and I have never been able to drop off without realizing it. So I was wide awake and suddenly I became afraid. Although I couldn't see it, I felt there was something at the foot of my bed. As I considered this, my fear grew to an unprecedented level, growing still until it felt like something physical that enveloped me and coursed through me. I became literally paralyzed -- not "too scared to move," but literally physically, paralyzed -- and I felt completely weightless. My memory is that my vision went dark or entered some fuzziness; I could see nothing. All I know for sure is that I was in some other state in which it seemed sheer horror had manifested itself as an entity that physically possessed me. After what was probably a few seconds of this feeling, in which I lay in a state of terror and paralysis, the feeling left. I felt my weight again, I could move again, and I bolted out of my room. I crashed in my parent's room for the rest of night.
In discussing these things with my parents, I learned that they too had felt uneasy in the house. A couple that had visited one week reported something bumping against the bed in the night. We never knew what was wrong with the house, and fortunately, we did not stay there long.