Ghosts and the Paranormal

I was watching Fox Family Channel's "Scariest Places on Earth" and I was wondering, have you had any experiences with the paranormal?

When I was younger my family and I lived in an apartment complex where I would hear funny noises at around 10 at night. Of course my parents just passed it off as the plumbing.

A class project led me to a Hawaiian church across the street and I spoke with many of the church's elders who lived in the area who knew about the area history. The land I lived on was once occupied by many native Hawaiians who lived in small homes. In the 1930s an arsonist had set fire to the homes, killing hundreds of people. In the 1960s the apartments were built on the land and many people have complained of odd occurences. In my unit, I heard pounding on the walls (very much like hammering). In other units I heard of levitations, apparations, and in one case, child possesion. When I lived there, I never felt threatened in any way, but it was odd living amongst restless spirits.

I'm curious to hear your stories!

------------------
"Talk doesn't cook rice."--Someone smart

Visit Alpha Gamma Delta-Delta Sigma chapter!

[amycat412]

ooo when I was really little-- like 4. we had a poltergeist in the house. My brothers were newborn and 1 year old, and my mom says all this freaky stuff happened. Like Scott (the 1yr old) and I would be napping and stephen (newborn) would be in his playpen and she'd go into the kitchen, come out, and he'd be on the couch. Or one nihgt, she got up and all the liquids-milk, juice, champagne,etc in the fridge were poured on the floor, again we were all too young to have done it. It was all harmless stuff.

She called the preist to come out and bless the house and it never happened again.

Later she found out the couple that had lived there before -- had a nephew who had lived with them die when he was like 7.

Spoooooky.

[shopgirl]

Hi there OTW!!!
What an interesting topic to have started...very brave. Well, I'm a psychology major and have studied everything from Abnormal Psychology to Animal Psychology to The Psychology of Religion and Spirituality. In fact, in the fall of '00 I took the The Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, The Psyc of Death and Loss, and Health Psychology. All three classes focused on paranormal activity, etc. My professor, Dr. Schwartz was on Dateline during that semester about a study he has been conducting here at the U of A to prove/disprove psychics and the like, such as John Edwards. Anyway, the information that was shared with the class makes for a convincing argument that spirits are among us. Do I believe this? I'm always skeptical.

Ironically, during the semester I experienced my first real death. By real I mean that it was someone I knew for many years and who was a significant person in my life. I had experienced something (in hindsight)that may have been connected with the death. It really threw me for a loop. As you can tell I'm still not comfortable sharing this story (I'm reluctant to tell exactly what happened). Nevertheless, I'm open to the idea that it (the experience of paranormal activity and the like)is real.

Wow..see, if that happened to me and I saw stuff flying around I don't know what I'd do. That's why I've had a priest come in and bless every new place I've moved into (including my dorm rooms and apartments). I know it's extreme, but I come from a religious family and I take after my mother when it comes to superstition.

[amycat412]

I agree OTW. I'm totally freaked by stuff like this. I woke up once last year and I'd swear I was awake, not dreaming, and saw a "ghostly" vision of an elderly woman in a house dress in my kitchen. It was so real I screamed! I also, unfortunately, am very sensitive to changes in energy--do you know what I mean? Like chills on the back of my neck kind of thing. I'm not nuts! ha ha I just believe that spirits exist, and if you're "prone" to seeing them, well you always will. Anyway. my mom gave me a chant to say that is supposed to "banish" any spirit or energy that is not Light and Good and I say it when I get that creepy feeling and it works. Psychological? Maybe.

Phonetically - its -- kadosih kadoish kadoish, atanoy, savayo -- loosely translted (I believe its Latin?) -- that which is not of God is banished.

OK.

A

[This message has been edited by amycat412 (edited March 27, 2001).]

[shopgirl]

amycat412...just some info I learned

Poltergeists are very interesting. I learned in my class (The Psychology of Religion and Spirituality) that most potergeists occur in homes that are occupied by teenage girls. At least this was one common factor that was found in the homes that claimed to have a potergeist. Another common factor was that the teenage girl was troubled (the troubles varied). These two common factors have led to theories that the poltergeist is actually the energy of the teenage girl. Meaning, their energy is what causes the strange occurences that are usually reported.

[amycat412]

that IS interesting. makes sense in a way too, given the harmless and 'annoying' nature of them.

OK, see even this much talk about the paranormal is freaking me out.

I am such a wuss. I have nightmares though, so anything I can do to avoid them, I will. Don't know if you all saw the Dateline NBC episode on night terrors. Ack. Yeah. Me. Hate them!

Amy

I agree. This talk about poltergeists is giving me the chills too. What have I started!!??!?!

I have another question. Have any of you ever experienced a choking sensation when you slept? I remember many times when I'd feel as if I were awake and aware of the things going on around me...yet when I tried to move I could...when I tried to open my eyes or speak, I couldn't. At first I thought it was just psychological (i.e. my body wasn't ready to get up yet), but I remember when I was 13 I felt someone breathing in my ear. I also noticed that those sensations were more prevalent when I slept on my back.

The Japanese have a term for this "choking ghost", and it's called Kanashibari. Every since that breathing episode I started sleeping with Hawaiian salt, vinegar, and garlic in a dish on my nightstand (superstitions again).

I still get those feelings, but not as much as I used to. When I moved back home nothing really has happened to me..thank GOD!

[amycat412]

YES!
That is part of the symptomology of night terrors.

You wake up and are choking, or can't breath, or can't move and something is going on around you-- the sense of an evil spirit, or the feeling like you're being hailed on...

I usually feel someone holding my hand reallllly tight--to the point of it hurting. Now, under the possibility that I could be holding my own hand I sleep with my arms as far apart as poss. and still it happens sometimes.

I usually end up hurling myself onto the floor in my intense effort to wake up, usually screaming.

Now I am nightmare free for almost 5 months...

[This message has been edited by amycat412 (edited March 27, 2001).]

Good lord I thought I was the only one.

[amycat412]

Me too!

I'm sorry you go thru this too, but I do feel better knowing its not just me.

and when you wake up do you just want to talk to someone, wake someone up?

when mine are acting up I go and stay at my parents house. gotta love having mom or dad rush in when you wake up at 3am screaming. even when you're 30.

Amy

[amycat412]

oh, and when I saw the dateline episode on night terrors-- i started shaking and crying cause what they were describing was absolutely 100% what i experience.

[Allie_XO]

My home was haunted. Really haunted, but in a harmless way. The walls of two rooms are hugely think because the original logs from the logs cabins are still in there! There is an upstairs to the house, but no stairs to get there and it isn't finished. There was an accident and someone died while trying to build it! We moved in there after my great-grandmother died and immediatly stuff started happening. Random toilet flushings, things disappearing and showing up later, drawers being open, TV turning itself on, stuff being knocked over, etc... harmless really. We joked about it more that anything. Then one night I was lying in bed reading when my cat came streaking out of the bathroom and hid in my closet. I looked up and there was a woman standing in my bathroom. Let me say how strange that was - my brother was visiting his dad, and my mother was on a date. I was alone in the house except for my cats! Well, I saw her clear as day - she was facing the mirror so that I could see her back and then see her face in the reflection. I looked down to prop myself up, and when I looked back up she was gone!!! I grabbed my cat and my blanket (I was cold), turned on every light in the house, and played Solitaire until my mother came home.

Another thing that happened before this that really freaked me out was I woke up and there was sobbing in my brother's room (he's in one of the log cabin rooms). I though that it was him crying, so I walked over to his door (the bathroom is between us) and listened for a few minutes, finally deciding to knock. When I did, the crying stopped. I opened the door and Matthew was completely asleep. No tears on his face, nothing. I woke him up to see if maybe he was faking, but he was very asleep.

The more I think about it the more I know that the ghost must be centered in the log cabin area! Creepy huh?

About sleeping, I have narcolepsy, so I never pay any attention to my sleep. It's all strange!

Allie

[Miami1839]

These are some great stories I myself majored in Administration of Justice but I had to take a core of psychology courses(one being abnormal) and another core of sociology courses. I remember a class where we watched this documentary about paranormal activity and I think it had that same professor speak that shopgirl mentioned. I dont really know what to make of paranormal activity myself. Its really difficult when your mind is open to suggestion, at least those that have a great imagination. Being that sometimes there can be more than one reason for an occurence. Dont get me wrong I'm not saying what you guys experienced wasnt what it was. I dont ever discount anything. I've never experienced paranormal activity in okinawa, japan as a kid or even here in Virginia. One Halloween when I was an undergrad at GMU some of my brothers and I went on a ghost tour in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia. This lady was dressed up in a colonial dress and she took us around the town and told us of all kinds of revolutionary and civil war paranormal activity. Some of it sounds like the stuff Allie_XO spoke of. Like there this one building that had a spining wheel in it and for some reason it would randomally go by itself every spring when the building went up for sale. Or something like it. I'm not sure if it was the whole story. There were some pretty freaky stories, but it was a fun night

Kevin

[This message has been edited by Miami1839 (edited March 27, 2001).]

[Billy Optimist]

Okay, i have a couple of experiences. The first isn't a ghost story, but I think it fits paranormal criteria. I used to work as a "courtesy clerk" at grocery store. That is basicly the same as a bagger, but we take out the groceries for people too. Well, one day it just happened, I started hearing peoples thoughts. Like this one guy was really impaitent, not short tempered or anything, just didn't wanna be at the grocery store, so I'm walking with him to his car and he's thinking to him self "god I can't wait to be home" and I said "yeah, me too" and he said "excuse me?" so I reintereated "me too" and he was like " I didn't say anything." So the next customer comes through line and is balanicing her check book, and carring the three or whatever, so I blurt out the answer, and everyone just looks at me and she says "wow you must be psychic." This happened a few other times, but i never said anything about peoples thoguhts cuz, ya know, that's private. It went away though. I wish I still had that power.
Ghost Story- One time I was in 7th grade and I saw a ghost. At first I was kinda freaked out, but then she didn't leave, and I calmed down. This was right after my grandfather died. She looked really sad and gave out this sigh and I was like, whats wrong? She was said she was waiting for a boy who never showed up, and that she'd been waiting for what seemed like forever. I asked her what year, and then I was like um....this is 1995. Well, she said she had to leave, and I told her to say hi to my grandfather. She came back about a week later and said he was fine.
Night Terrors- I hate those things!!! I have one where it feels like I'm strugling against something, and sometimes there is mettalic scratching, high pitched erroowwoerrroowweeerrrooowwww sound.