Experiences with the supernatural

[Luke49783]

My wife is a huge fan of the various "ghost hunter" type shows. They were never something that I watched until we met, but I've grown to enjoy them quite a bit. I've never had any supernatural experiences, though my wife has had a few, as have her parents.

I'd be curious to hear what experiences others have had.

 

[Vespasian]

Total non-believer here. But my late ex-father-in-law, an Anglican priest, did have to perform an exorcism in the attics of the ancient school he was headmaster of in England.

In the 1700s, a drunken headmaster had locked a recalcitrant boy in the attic; the head then went out fox-hunting, fell off his horse, and broke his neck. The kid starved to death locked in the attic.

For two hundred years, no-one could stay up there. Cold winds, doors shutting for no reason, windows opening for no reason, anything piled or stacked scattered across the floors. Loud noises at night, frightening the boys in the dorms the floor below.

My ex father-in-law sought and received permission from the Archbishop of Canterbury to perform an exorcism to placate and drive off the poltergeist. The order for the ceremony used to be in the back of the Book of Common Prayer.

Reported to me as a very difficult service for him to perform. Bell, book, and candle, etc. Peace and quiet ever after.

I still don't really believe it, but maybe… Certainly less strange than μετουσίωσις.

 

[Eaaqas]

I was abducted by aliens.. One time I woke up because they didn't drop me off in bed.. They put me on the floor then at my desk. I've been abducted a few times since.

Nothing too big

 

[Senshi]

Finally getting to eat NY Pizza after living in Japan is supernatural.

 

[Luke49783]

Finally getting to eat NY Pizza after living in Japan is supernatural.

How does American food treat you when you come back, Andrew?

When I came back after the couple of weeks I spent in there, the first thing I ate was Little Caesars. My stomach was messed up for days after.

 

[jamesspo]

All claims of the supernatural that I've ever seen are easily explained by basic (or sometimes complicated) science, plain misinterpretation of the observer, or fraud. That doesn't mean there aren't phenomenon that we don't understand. However, it's rare to discover something truly new, and as mentioned..all of the claims I've seen are explainable with current understanding of the physics of our universe.

Humans have an insatiable curiosity (and that's a good thing), but sometimes it gets the best of us. We long for pattern as well, and we're extremely good at finding it - but those patterns are often just the result of random chance, rather than some sustained processes.

That said, I keep an open, but skeptical mind .

 

[J. Roger]

Lets say you see a ghost, you have two options: the first believe that the place is haunted, the second is to believe that you might be going crazy. It is human nature not to blame one's self, so most folk go with the first explanation.

I've never seen an alien, ghost, bigfoot or a UFO, wouldn't mind though

 

[Ulricus]

All claims of the supernatural that I've ever seen are easily explained by basic (or sometimes complicated) science, plain misinterpretation of the observer, or fraud. That doesn't mean there aren't phenomenon that we don't understand. However, it's rare to discover something truly new, and as mentioned..all of the claims I've seen are explainable with current understanding of the physics of our universe.

Humans have an insatiable curiosity (and that's a good thing), but sometimes it gets the best of us. We long for pattern as well, and we're extremely good at finding it - but those patterns are often just the result of random chance, rather than some sustained processes.

That said, I keep an open, but skeptical mind .

+1

I'll only rule something out when I have definitive proof of a different cause. At the same time, Occam's razor still rules in my mind, and ghosts are rarely the simplest answer. [emoji6]

 

[YetiDave]

No one has won it yet http://web.randi.org/the-million-dollar-challenge.html

 

[abragus]

I worked with a guy who worked in a building that was one of the original US Life Saving Service buildings way back before it was absorbed into the Coast Guard. He said that he'd seen an old man with a beard looking out the window. He was wearing a slicker and looked like he was sopping wet. When my buddy called out to him, his flashlight flickered and the guy disappeared.

Some time later, he had a friend swing by late at night. Upon arrival the guy asked him about their Halloween decoration they had out by the window on the top floor. My buddy asked what he was talking about and his friend described a bearded man in a slicker looking out the window.

Pretty cool story while we were on watch at 0200. The guy telling the stories often hyperbolizes his stories but they always kept us awake for the 4 hours we were driving the boat.

Not a big believer but if I feel something "off" about a place I don't really mess with it.

 

[mikewood]

I can't offer you any proof or physical evidence of something that is not physical. Some people seem to be able to articulate they have a spiritual experience into a physical perception. It's like an echo you can see. It's difficult to describe let me give it a shot. I saw a shadow that was inky black standing in a dimly lit room. It certainly was not there in any real way but it wanted me to see it and wanted me to know it meant no harm. It sounds scary but it was not.

Clear as mud?

 

[abragus]

Clear as mud?

I'm smellin' what you're steppin' in.

 

[mikewood]

I'm smellin' what you're steppin' in.

That's about what I get from most people but the OP asked a question and I thought I might give an honest answer vs poking fun.

 

[jason10mm]

When I was a kid I had a few friends homes that had odd things happen. Stuff like electrical toys/appliances turning on for a brief moment, doors closing by themselves. Sure, could be A/C drafts and power surges.

Best (worst?) one was a motion sensitive Santa that would "ho ho ho" when someone walked in front of it. Damned thing would go off at odd times of the night. Maybe those older motion sensors (light senors? however they work) were not the best, but wow, was it creepy to hear it going off in a room you KNEW was empty.

 

[Mr. Scruffy]

Being in the presence of Ouch.

 

[Luke49783]

I can't offer you any proof or physical evidence of something that is not physical. Some people seem to be able to articulate they have a spiritual experience into a physical perception. It's like an echo you can see. It's difficult to describe let me give it a shot. I saw a shadow that was inky black standing in a dimly lit room. It certainly was not there in any real way but it wanted me to see it and wanted me to know it meant no harm. It sounds scary but it was not.

Clear as mud?

Yeah, I follow what you're saying. Very similar to experiences people I know have had and things I've seen on various shows.

Was the location where this occurred known to have this sort of activity?

 

[auk1124]

Had someone, or something, whisper "Hey _________" (my first name) in my ear one morning, a loud, breathy whisper that sounded as close to me as if someone were standing right behind me. I turned around, no one there. Then the same person or thing started laughing. Loudly.

That happened to me over twenty years ago and I still can't explain it. Nothing like it ever happened to me since. If someone was playing a joke on me, it sure succeeded.

 

[mikewood]

Yeah, I follow what you're saying. Very similar to experiences people I know have had and things I've seen on various shows.

Was the location where this occurred known to have this sort of activity?

No. But then I don't mention it so I don't get a lot of feedback from other folks. I use to notice a lot more "stuff" (people, animals and things) as a kid and in my teens. But the "girl in black" happened a few months ago.

 

[Commander Quan]

When I was in Jr. High myself and a few friends would camp out and play Dungeons and Dragons. One weekend it had snowed, so instead of camping outside we set up a tent in a friend's barn/storage shed. After a couple of hours of killing orcs, and once that got old, then beating the crap out of each other we settled down and decided to get some sleep. A short while after, we were laying there and all 4 of us saw a blue/green light zigzag outside the tent right over the roof. After 30 seconds of silence someone yelled some expletives, and all of us agreed we saw something. It was the middle of the night, there was no light from anything inside the barn, and we hadn't even smuggled any Carling Black Label out that night. It was weird.

 

[Borderdog]

In 1999 I spent some time in the service standing guard in an allegedly haunted watch tower. It was set up with stairs that went almost all the way to the top. The last 10' or so was ascended by a ladder and you went through a floor hatch in the floor of the tower. The door to access the tower was locked and alarmed. 10 years prior to my arrival at that command a LCPL had closed the floor hatch, sat on it, and shot himself in that tower. I later ran into another Marine that had been at that particular command and he verified the story. It was a bloody mess (pun intended).

While standing watch strange noises were common, and I could debunk most of them. Squeaky windsock bracket, etc. The one that I couldn't debunk was the sporadic footsteps on the stairs of the tower. It wasn't present during every post, but when it was present it was creepy as hell. I'd hear footsteps climbing the steps of the tower. They'd get closer and closer until they reached the top of the stairs where the ladder started, then they'd stop. A little while later they would start again at the bottom of the tower.

Another guy was whistling a song that was popular at the time (Smash Mouth, Allstar) trying to keep awake. A few minutes after he stopped somebody or something whistled the same song at the bottom of the tower.

Just to reiterate the tower was locked and alarmed. An alarm panel in the tower would show if the tower alarm had been remotely accessed to let someone in.