paranormal – Mysteries, Crimes, Curiosities

Your Paranormal Stories, September 2018.

Time for another set of creepy stories from my readers and Instagram followers.

Huge thanks to everyone who contributed!

Izak:

I was always a rational kind of guy. Never believed things I didn’t see or experienced myself, on my own skin. Even when I was a kid, things like ghosts, aliens and monsters never really got to me. It was just not part of my reality- that is until one day, which I will never forget.

People can call my story BS, a lie… I don’t care. I will just write exactly, as it happened to me.

Date isn’t hard to remember- it was 1st November 2010. I was eight years old at the time. The date really sticks with me, because it’s the day in our country when we remember our lost ones. It’s not really like Day of the death in Mexico, because we don’t celebrate it, we just remember it. On this day, especially for elementary schools and pre-schoolers, it’s nothing unusual going on a field trip to local cemetery, where we go from grave to grave of the families, and remember the ones we know.

So we arrive and we’re walking around, nothing creepy, since it’s daylight, around 10 o’clock maybe. We go from grave to grave, until we stop in front of the grave of a young boy, 15 or 16 years old at the time of his death, called Damjan, (pron. Dam-yan). It struck us all, we were standing in front of this boy’s grave, until the teacher spoke; ,,This boy was just like you. Going to school, field trips… well on one of them, they went to a WW musem, (there are lots of those in our region, because of the impact of the fasciscs), and while they were checking out guns, one of the boys took one and aimed it at him, as a joke… little did he know, the gun was actually loaded. It killed him instantly.”

I’m not the one usually thinking about other people dying but… I know his mother, she is an old lady in our little town. He was her only child, and his death seemed so… bizzare to me, I couldn’t have stopped thinking about it the whole day, even after school. I was the last to leave cemetery… I spoke to him on his grave, I don’t remember what, words of comfort maybe…? And then I left. But I do remember this- I was absolutely certain, he heard me. Something like an invisible force was keeping me at that grave, until teacher called us all to go back. The next part of the day is a black hole. Until the most creepy, horrifying event in my short lifetime.

As everywhere, tradition is to go give flowers for the late ones, so me and my mom went to our local flourist. Another thing I want to mention- she ALWAYS speaks. And so do everyone in that shop. Everyone is constantly chit-chatting. This day wasn’t any different. We walked in, my mom was choosing flowers and talking to the flourist. Then, a man walked in. Big man, in a rain coat, short black hair, but oddly familliar, even though I have NEVER seen him before. Our town is quite small, and people know each other by the names of grandparents, so he nicely asked me, seeing my questioning gaze; ,,Aren’t you a curious one? Which house are you from?” (We reply to that question by naming our grandparents). ,,Ah yeah, I know your dad! You must be a smart kid then!” he said, still smiling, and everyone behind us talking. I suddenly feel something. A call maybe? Something inside me… I didn’t resist, I just said the name; ,,Damjan. Do you know him too, sir?” And suddenly, everything stopped. People weren’t talking anymore, my mom had a terrified look on her face, flourist was quiet for the first time in her life, and he… lost his smile almost instantly. He said, with his voice shaking a bit; ,,W-who?” And I repeated; Damjan. He is the boy who was killed by his friend in a musem many years ago, we learned about him just today… do you know him?” He turned around, slowly, but before that saying, while staring right into my eyes; ,,Where in the world did you find me, boy?” with a deep, dark, now not-so-pleasant voice. He then turned around and left. People were still quiet, trying not to look at me, my mom grabbed me by my hand and took me to the car, and drove home without saying a word. I wasn’t sure, what in the world I did wrong, so I asked; ,,Mommy, did I say something wrong?” She, driving seriously, just said; ,,No, you didn’t. But you should know… that man, you talked to in there… he is the friend from the museum. He killed Damjan.”

To this day, I don’t know why I questioned him. I used to tell people about things I learned in school, and maybe it was all just an insane coincidence. But I don’t think so. I felt a connection with that boy… and I still visit his grave, just so I know he now, when he reminded his killer of his doing, rests in peace.

IG @notdepressedjustreallytired:

One night, very recently, I was in bed. It was dark in the studio I shared with my husband and I have insomnia, so many nights I lay awake with the lights off, simply letting my mind wander and my eyes lose focus as they notice the shapes that form and flicker in the dark.

I did happen to notice a particularly “formed” shape move around and about me and I got sort of scared or thrilled, as I do, sometimes when noticing these things (What is it/are they? Imaginary/real/other dimensional?? Who knows). I closed my eyes to wet them, opened them and then happened to look immediately to my left, when I noticed that the lip of the blanket that was on me had been raised and sort of.. poised, as if someone was lifting it up. It was as if a hand, specifically, had simply grabbed a corner and lifted it up to see what was underneath.

There was, of course, nothing to be seen that could have been lifting it, but as soon as I’d looked and CAUGHT the blanket being raised, it dropped, dead, back to resting position.

I then spent about 5 minutes attempting to prop up the blanket in a million different ways to recreate what I had seen. To see if it was possible that it had simply been standing up, peaked like meringue might do, then dropped when I moved, because I’d disturbed it. It hadn’t been in that shape or position prior to me closing my eyes, though. The blanket was flat on my body.

I couldn’t, for the life of me, seem to make that blanket stand up again the way it did, with the edge of the lip such a few inches that it couldn’t have been what was maintaining the shape. As I attempted to recreate it, I also realized that the tip of the “peak” of the blanket being held up had seemed pinched, as opposed to the fluffy pyramid the blanket would have needed in order to sustain such a position. It hasn’t happened again since.

If I were to explain, very simply, what it looked like (and hopefully without sounding delusional), I would say it looked EXACTLY as if someone had stood at the edge of my bed and lifted a small part of the blanket up to see what was underneath. Minus the hand… And entire body. The way it dropped from having been suspended was the most shocking part. As if the imaginary or invisible hand had noticed it was caught and immediately let go.

Nicole:

When I was younger my parents always told us about when they bought the house I grew up in and the weird occurrences that happened. It was a new construction, but when my dad did a walk-through, he went into the attic and found a baby bonnet. We always had weird things happen growing up. My mom would be putting away clothes, and the hangers would move. The TV would change channels on its own; always change to a children’s show. Closets would open by themselves. My no claimed to smell her grandpa’s pipe smoke before.

And one night, my older sister and I were the only ones home. I was about 16 at the time and we shared a room. Since my parents were out of town, my sister slept in their room, and I slept in ours by myself. I woke up one night with a strange feeling and when I looked over to my sister’s bed I saw a man standing at the end. He was old. He didn’t say anything. He didn’t look at me. I took one look at him and buried myself under my blankets for about 5 minutes before I got the courage to look again. The man was gone. My sister is convinced I was dreaming. My parents are convinced I saw my mom’s grandpa hanging around. Whoever it was, the spirits in the house were harmless and never caused any problems to us while we lived there.

Sarah:

I’ll start off with some background story. I was born in Europe to a European mother who had converted to Islam and a Middle Eastern father. When I was around 5 or 6 we moved back to his home country. According to my mother (she’s been telling me this story since I could remember and she’s quite religious and wouldn’t lie about things like that) that when I was around 3 or 4 years old I told her that I heard a voice whispering and telling me not to listen to Allah. And she’s convinced that it was the Shayten (devil) and I have long stepped out of Islam and moved back to Europe but that story still creeps me out and she said that when I was 6 I told her that I could see clouds in the room and she says those must be angels. I actually vaguely remember the clouds thing, I think. It’s a weird sensation.

Anne:

While growing up I was labeled “the ghost girl”. Why? Ok, this is why.

Somewhere way up north, my parents built a house. Already during construction weird things were happening; tools went missing or they were found at peculiar locations, and none of the builders could explain it. After a while, some of the workers refused to continue, but my parents shrugged it off, thinking they were lazy or just forgetful about their tools.

And then, about three years later, I was born. I’ve always had a vivid imagination, and played well by myself. So when I was about 4, it came as no surprise that I had an imaginary friend. But my parents, mom in particular, found it odd that I’d only play with said friend in the basement. She’d ask me about it, and I’d say that the Angel Girl couldn’t leave the basement. There were always things happening, you’d hear doors being opened and closed, you could hear snoring(!) and you’d even se shapes once in a while. My mom couldn’t deal with it after a while; this being a small, rural town word got around, so she contacted the local priest to come bless the house. He just laughed and said that she shouldn’t care about what the others said about us or our house. But then, some weeks later he called back saying “they won’t leave me alone” and that he’d soon come to bless our house. He wouldn’t clarify who “they” were, but we had our suspicions.

Some days later, I came up from the basement, upset and crying. My mom asked me why I was so sad, and I replied: she can’t play with me anymore! The priest said she had to go home.

I didn’t know the priest had been there that day, and suddenly my mom realized that maybe she wasn’t imaginary after all.

Ghost Hunt in Finland

On an exceptionally hot Summer day, a group of people have gathered on the front yard of a suburban house in southern Finland. Many of these folks are dressed in black clothing, and look like they’re getting ready for a metal concert.

In reality, they’re readying themselves for something way more terrifying and, potentially, electrifying: a ghost hunt.

This piece was written by my friend Oona, who accompanied me to the event. Follow her on Instagram: @sirutar

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(The house where the ghost hunt took place)

The event has been organized by a Finnish ghost hunting team called Paranormal Investigations Group. Established a few years ago by brothers Mika and Markus Nikkilä, Paranormal Investigations Group do investigations into old houses and mansions, mainly using a ”ghost box”, an electronic device that scans radio stations non-stop, the belief being that it enables ghosts and spirits to communicate through the static noise created by the non-stop scan.

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(The Paranormal Investigations Group guys set up their equipment)

Before we enter the house where tonight’s investigation is to take place, the owner of the property where the house stands briefs us on the backstory that has led to this particular dwelling being chosen for a ghost hunt:

”A man and his son used to live here. They were very close, and only had each other. When the man died, his son fell into a deep depression, and ultimately hanged himself in here, using a rope he attached to the top of the stairs leading to the second floor.”

Mika from the Group then gives us the final instructions:

”If anobody feels bad or has anxiety during the session, let us know and we will help you out immediately! Try to concentrate on just this investigation, and leave everything else out of your minds. Relax, breathe deep, and immerse yourselves in the story of this house and this moment we’re about to share together.”

And with these words, we enter the house.

Filled with excitement and anticipation I climb the narrow stairs. The upstairs is hot, and being in the same room with a dozen other people is a good way to cause anxiety by itself. There are some small items on the wall reminding of the past, of the fact that human beings once lived here, but otherwise the room is empty. The place has a moldy smell, that specific aroma of an old house that has been unoccupied for some time.

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(the Paranormal Investigations Group guys and their medium, Sanna)

People gather to the back of the room, as the investigators set their equipment in the middle. Somebody switches off the lights, and we’re ready to begin.

The “ghost box” starts buzzing, and the crowd listens attentively. The investigators’ handheld electricity detection devices flash orange and red, the lights indicating that something is present. The investigators ask: “Has something bad happened here?” The lights flash red, the ghost box gives out some words and beeps which, to me, don’t convey any information. The medium explains that the spirit said ”yes”.

She scribbles things to her notebook, and in a moment says that the spirit feels uncomfortable with all the females in the room. I am not surprised, as the man who committed suicide in the house generally didn’t have female company around. Many of the questions asked get answers through the box and the medium. Some are left unanswered. The investigators ask the spirit to give a sign that he’s present. A couple of visitors inform they feel a burning sensation on their arm at that very moment.

The adjacent room is not as active. For whatever reason, the voice in the ghost box sounds more child-like in this room. The answers aren’t as clear or frequent as they were in the other room. I do notice a couple of people stroking their arms like something had touched them, so maybe this spirit just doesn’t feel as talkative, but instead prefers a different approach in making his/her presence felt.

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(What it looked like with the lights off)

After a short break and some fresh air, we head back inside to see if the downstairs rooms will give us more info. We gather again around the room with more questions in our minds.

This time the lights indicate a spirit being definitely near one person in the room; even when this person is asked to move to another spot, the lights still signal the same thing. According to the investigators translating the ghostly messages to us less familiar with them, there seems to also be a female spirit present in the space. She responds to questions, and guides us towards certain topics. She briefly mentions “a lake” (Finnish “järvi”), possibly indicating some sort of a connection to a nearby body of water.

The folks taking part in this expedition seem to be getting a hang of this, and are more relaxed as we step in the last room of the tour. Our guides decide to let loose, and tell whoever is listening from beyond to use whatever means possible to make their presence known. Several people claim to feel rushes of energy, and dramatic changes in their body temperature. The ghost box is suddenly more active than it was before, but no grand narrative emerges; the ghosts keep their secrets with them.

As we prepare to wrap up this unusual couple of hours, one of the Investigations Group members asks: “Would you like us to leave?” The ghost box answers very clearly this time: “Heippa!” (“Bye bye!”)

As the participants walk out of the house, many of them gather around to discuss their experiences. Some are perhaps skeptical while others have had their deepest convictions fulfilled. One thing is for sure, though: we have all just spent our Saturday night doing something very unusual.

One less item on the bucket list.

1 ) Who are you guys? Tell us a bit about yourselves!

MARKUS: My name is Markus Nikkilä. I’m from the town of Valkeakoski. I’m in my thirties, and have been interested in paranormal phenomena for a long time.

MIKA: I’m Mika Nikkilä, 44 years old. This [paranormal field] has always felt like my “thing”. For the past four years, my brother and I have been delving deeper into paranormal phenomena [through Paranormal Investigations Group]

2) Where did this interest in the paranormal start?

MARKUS: It’s been with me ever since I was a kid, a really long time.

MIKA: Neither of us has ever had a paranormal experience of our own, not before this. That’s a good question, it’s really difficult to say where this started…

MARKUS: Yeah, I can’t really say either.

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3) How do you find the locations you investigate?

MARKUS: We use Google to look for interesting spots: manors, strange buildings, et cetera. We also receive messages from regular people, asking us to come investigate their house.

MIKA: We receive literally hundreds of messages from people. Many of them want us to come over and investigate because they suspect they might be going crazy if they witness paranormal phenomena in their homes, and want us to come over and either confirm or deny the presence of something paranormal.

Over time, this [Paranormal Investigations Group] has gotten bigger, to the point where we’ve done some TV appearances even, but these are only side effects: our emphasis has always been and always will be in investigating paranormal phenomena, not on being famous.

MARKUS: The media has become interested in us because people in general are interested in these types of phenomena.

4) Why do you think that is?

MIKA: The way I see it, I think it’s partly because many famous people have come out of the closet with their paranormal experiences, and thus inspired and encouraged regular people to open up about their own experiences as well. They realize that these experiences are very common, and there’s nothing to be ashamed of.

What has been the most thrilling moment in your investigations so far?

MIKA: We were in a manor in Valkeakoski. Throughout the investigation, we could literally hear someone or something walking upstairs, right above us. This went on for maybe 8 or 10 minutes. But this is just one example – we oftentimes feel touches, hear whispers, those types of things.

And another memorable experience was the Kytäjä manor, because of it’s grim history. I felt like I constantly had to look over my shoulder while we were in there.

[Kytäjä manor has seen several suicides over the decades, and in the 1970s the lord of the manor, Kai Vähäkallio, brutally murdered three youngster who had camped out on the manor’s land. Vähäkallio, too, later committed suicide.]

One thing that’s oftentimes mentioned in connection with the kinds of investigations that you do is the potential danger of it. Do you think it’s possible that something might “follow” you home from an investigation, something malicious? Do you prepare for that somehow?

MIKA: It’s absolutely a real threat! We’re dealing with forces way bigger than us, and totally out of our control. But it’s a chance we’re willing to take.

As for how we prepare ourselves, I’m not a specifically religious person, but I always recite the “Our Father” prayer before we go into a house. Also, if things get too intense inside a house, it’s time to take a break and think about the situation for a while.

MARKUS: You have to be sensitive to your own emotions, and monitor your own feelings throughout an investigation.

Do you guys have a “dream location” you would love to investigate? If you could travel in time and space to anywhere you’d like.

MIKA: I don’t know if it would be appropriate to actually do so, but a part of me would like to spend a night in Auschwitz.

MARKUS: Mine would be an old castle of some sort in England.

Do you have any specific plans for the future?

MIKA: As long as our hearts and minds are dedicated to this, we will keep doing it. There are all kinds of cooperative projects in the works, and they are welcome, but ultimately the inner desire to do this is the most important factor. Once that disappears, Paranormal Investigations Group will stop what it’s doing.

Where will you be this summer?

MIKA: Next week we’ll be filming for a television channel. And in September, we will collaborate with magician Noora Karma on an investigation in a big manor. Those are a couple of certain plans.

But we’re always on the lookout for new houses to investigate, just the two of us, without any cameras or extra partakers.

Thanks guys, and good luck with everything!

Thanks Teemu!

Your scary experiences, Spring 2018

Once again, I made a request to my Instagram followers (instagram.com/mysteries_crimes_curiosities) to send me their creepy experiences. Here they are, presented as they were sent to me, unedited.

Thank you to everyone who contributed!

Jacquie:

So my older sister has a quinsiñera doll and its porcelain so everytime you moved her you hear a little scratch. So one time me and my sister were up till like 3:00A.M and we were laying on her bed playing a game and out of no where we hear the little scratch of the porcelain doll. As we were both scared he went to each others bed and went to sleep.

Kevin:

I was 7 and I went to throw out the garbage at 11 at night. As I was walking back to my apartment door I saw a man following me.

He kept following me for days until I yelled in my squeaky voice that he was annoying and then he simply said “ You will learn that people can be so much worse than annoying!“

I was in fear and I moved with my parents the month after.

Ezequiel:

Last Saturday in Buenos Aires there was a party of electronic music. At 3:30 in the morning a lightning bolt fell behind the stage. If it fell in the middle of the stadium we would be lamenting many dead. My friends and I left when the lightning struck. And outside, a hail storm hit us. We were terrified and I think I never felt so much that I was going to die like that day.

Here’s a video of the lightning: YouTube link

Contributor wishes to remain anonymous:

My husband and I were staying on The Queen Mary one weekend as a short getaway. We love the Queen Mary and have stayed on it before, including once for our honeymoon. This time however, when we checked in the receptionist told us that we’d have a windowless room, and asked if we would have a problem with it. Apparently it makes guests feel uncomfortable or claustrophobic. We told her it would be fine and checked into our room.

We walked around the ship taking pictures to see if we could capture an paranormal activity on film. We didn’t. The next day however, my husband took a shower while I ran to the Starbucks on board to get coffee. On my way back I was walking through the hall and heard footsteps that sounded like high heels, coming up behind me. I got to our door after speed walking, and when I looked around there was nobody in the hallway with me. I got in the room as my husband was coming out of the bathroom. I told him what I had heard. And as he was about to give me a “yeah right” the shower in our bathroom turned on. It wasn’t just a drip or a slow leak. It had turned on and my husband had to turn it all the way off.

I text my sister and mom because they are super into paranormal stuff. My sister asked what room we were in and looked up all the “haunted” rooms online. Turns out we were staying in one of the rooms with the most reported activity. It freaked us out when it happened. But then it was kind of cool to be able to tell the story at the same time.

Josi:

My husband and I have always been fans of the paranormal so when we first started dating our ideal dates involved paranormal/ horror / conspiracy type shenanigans.

I remember we had talked about using a Ouija board but neither of us had one nor had ever used one. A friend had offered up his for us to use and experience. The night we got the board something came up and I had to go home early, leaving the board at my boyfriend’s house.

Later that night I was doing my usual stuff before bed, falling asleep fairly quickly. I usually wake up a few times at night to go to the bathroom so I’m no stranger to wandering my house in the dark, but but this instance was different. I opened my eyes and usually moonlight goes through my window and lights the room up but everything was pitch black. No outline to anything, just pure darkness. The entire room was so quiet and cold.

I tried to move to get my blanket but I was just stuck, petrified. I had heard of sleep paralysis but this seemed much more sinister. My breathing was so heavy, as if someone was sitting on my chest. I couldn’t move, as if I were being held down by heavy chains, and in the corner of my eye, three large figures were at the foot of my bed as if observing me. I couldn’t see their faces but I knew they were three. They seemed to be darker than the darkness that filled my room.

This feeling of dread just came over me and engulfed me with such fear. I felt as if I were doomed, that I was losing everything I’ve ever loved, among other feelings I can not describe. I’m not sure out of all that I had remembered a prayer my great grandmother had taught me as a kid and so I began to say it in my head. I heard a voice in Spanish so clearly whisper in my ear: “Dont use the ouija board, return it”, and I felt this warm hug and this milky light illuminated the room. The feeling of dread was vanishing and I fell into a deep sleep.

When I woke up the next morning, I called my boyfriend to tell him we were returning the board. He agreed because he said when he brought it into his house, his mom flipped out and demanded he take it outside (she later told us her ouija story ) so he took it out and put it in his truck.

Later that night he had to take the trash out, and he lives in the woods so there’s always noise going, so he took the trash out and upon walking back he had a weird feeling someone was in his truck. He said everything got quiet and eerily still and his dog was snarling at his truck showing her full teeth. She’s a fairly docile dog so this was out of character for her. Even weirder: he couldn’t move, he couldn’t look away from the vehicle. He was just standing there in fear. He said he felt so terrified to move, when he finally snapped out of it he turned around to go back in the house. When he stepped foot on the porch the light bulb busted, shattering little pieces of glass everywhere. He locked the doors and didn’t go back out till morning.

Needless to say we did return the board to my friend who insisted he closed it properly but who knows what would have happened if we had used the board.

Contributor wishes to remain anonymous:

I’m [name], I’m from Mexico and I’d like to share what happened to me last February.

It was my birthday on February 24th, I was in a party with my friends. Then I decided to leave the party to go to another place. I went to a friend’s house, and I was waiting for him outside of his house when a guy appeared of nowhere and asked me for a street. I said I didn’t know where it was. He stared at me and I felt uncomfortable so I moved. He pushed me through the wall and I started to scream, I thought he wanted my purse, money or something, so I gave my cell phone to him. He said “I don’t want your cellphone” In that moment he just cut my neck with a cutter and ran away.

My friend arrived and a guy on a bike saw everything so he went looking for this person. The police and the ambulance arrived and they took me to the hospital where I was told it was a miracle I was alive – he cut 15 cm of my neck, 19 stitches were necessary.

2 months have passed and I´m healing. It still hurts but I feel stronger, I feel good. This event opened my eyes in some many aspects of my life but at the same time, sometimes I feel angry, sad, scared, so many things I didn’t think it was possible to feel. So this is what happened, the day I could’ve died, it was the day I started living.

Holly:

So I found out once that you can just use a candle to talk to the dead instead of an ouija board. But that was a really bad idea because my house used to be haunted but a couple years ago my family realized that the ghost may have passed on (the ghost was a middle aged woman, we found out through our neighbors). And also my dad used to be a grave digger so he probably carried many spirits. So once I tried to contact someone through a candle and I forgot to say goodbye before I blew out the candle. Which means I left sort of a portal to the other side open…

The next day I was taking a nap and I thought my sister was clapping to try and wake me up but at the time my mum was up stairs and said that there wasn’t anyone up there, another thing that happened when I was asleep was that it felt like someone was bouncing on my bed but again no one was there, then a few nights later someone was literally pulling my hair and when I turned around no one was there and I was in my bedroom alone, and every couple days I get the worst cramp in my leg and I never had it before I lit that candle. I think the ghost is a child playing around but nothing has happened for a few days now but I’m not sure if the ghost is gone.

Alyssa:

So, my mom went to Wilkes University back in 1979/1980, before the Internet. At the time, there wasn’t enough housing for all the students, so the college rented out a nearby hotel, the Hotel Sterling, built in 1897, finished in 1898.

Now, my mom said there was a ghost in her room. She said all the ghost would do was sit in a chair and watch them, but both my mom and her roommate had actually seen her. My mom said the ghost was wearing old fashioned wear, probably around the 1800’s if she had to guess. They called the ghost Emma, because that was the name the ghost seemed to like. As she had only told me the other day, I decided to google the hotel and see if anyone named Emma had ever died there, expecting to get back nothing. Instead, it turns out Emma E. Sterling was the name of the woman who oversaw the building of the hotel, primarily after her husband passed away.

IG @female_snoop

My experience: was arguing with my 5 year old last week and I told her “No”. She turned around and said to me: “Mom, do you remember when you were the kid and I was the mom?” So of course I tell her “No I don’t, because I’ve always been the mom and you’re my baby. It’s been like that for 5 years.” Her response: “Well you’re wrong because I remember. . . They told you and my dad who wasn’t my dad that you had to go somewhere and when I tried to tell them they weren’t taking you nowhere they chopped all our heads off.”

Ummm… What? So I told her “No one has chopped our heads off and don’t talk like that no more”. Her last response “I didn’t say anything bad. I told you what happened when I was the mom, you don’t remember. And I do.”

That was the end. And now I can’t look at my child the same in a way.

Caroline Hochmuth (IG @carolinehochmuth):

Bro once I was watching the movie Grave Encounters 2 with two of my friends in his basement with all the lights off. During the scene where the ghosts pick up the camera and start recording the characters a light turned on in the closet across the room. Keep in mind the closet door was mostly closed, we were the only ones on that level of the house, and it was a regular light switch just inside the closet. We have no idea how it happened and weird shit still goes down in the basement anytime I house sit for them.

IG @trisarahtops1228:

About 10 years ago I was by myself in my car in traffic about to make a left turn, and out of habit I checked for traffic coming from my right. When I looked, a very good friend, Rebecca, was sitting in my passenger seat where no one had been sitting – because I was alone. She looked right at me and smiled. When I realized what I saw I looked again and no one was there, but this made me think about her and I hadn’t spoken to her in a long time, so I decided to go on her MySpace (okay maybe it was longer than 10 years ago lol) and send her a message and see how she was and what she was up to.

When I got to her page there were all these memorials and RIP messages to her! I was so confused so I contacted a girl who had been her roommate. My friend had been killed in a car accident 3 months before I saw her. I think she was telling me goodbye. I never saw her again.

Claire:

My ghost story definitely isn’t the scariest, but it’s the event that made me really question the existence of the paranormal.

There was nothing special about the night that it happened. My father and sister had gone out for dinner, and I had chosen to stay home and work on homework. To help me concentrate, I had put my earphones in and closed my bedroom door. It was about 30 minutes after my family had left the house that a muffled sound had come from the lower floor of the house (my room was on the second, for reference). I know the sounds that my house makes, and what I heard – or thought I had heard – was the door to the garage slamming shut. I had just assumed that it was my dad and sister. Maybe they’d decided not to eat after all? I yelled out “Hey!”, but there was no response. I found it kind of weird that no one replied but didn’t think much of it.

A few minutes later, I could hear footsteps approaching my room, strong enough to be heard over the classical music playing in my ears. I pulled one bud out and managed to catch the noise with a bit more clarity, and whatever was making the noise seemed to stop abruptly at my door. There were no visible shadows that I could see in the space between the door itself and the floor. When the footsteps didn’t continue on, as they probably would’ve if they belonged to anyone in my family, I began to freak out. I didn’t move from my position until later, when my dad entered my room to announce that him and my sister had come back home. I asked them if they had been at the house for a while, but they had only just arrived.

Months later, I decided to talk to both of them about the incident, and my father disclosed that he had had a similar experience when we first moved into the home. It definitely freaked me out at first, but years later, we make light of our haunted house. We even have a name for the ghost: Linda.

IG @ms.aakrity:

When I lived in Roseville California in 2017, I was always so afraid of this apartment. I don’t know of what or what made me afraid I just had the feeling of being scared, I had the feeling that something was there. My restroom was across the hallway just a few steps away from my room. But I was always so mortified at night to go to the restroom. If I did manage the courage to go to the restroom I would walk in and out as quickly as possible and not even look towards the living room. I was so afraid that something or someone was in the living room.

While living in this apartment I also had nightmares. Some really bizarre and scary ones. I’d be so scared that I would wake up and not want to go back to sleep. But I was awake just shaking in my boots thinking of what was in the living room or outside my door. In our living room we had a chimney. I could always hear noises coming from the chimney specially at night it sounded like wind. One of my dreams was that I had a vision of my living room. In my dream it was dark. The chimney was on and fully lit. There was a little boy very close standing right in front of the chimney. I only saw his back but he was small like 2 years old. I woke up so scared thinking that the little boy got hurt standing that close to the chimney.

Outside the restroom towards the right side there was a wall filled with cabinets for storage. They were very big from the floor to the top. One day at night roughly like at 7 pm I was coming out of the restroom. Outside the restroom door near the cabinets I saw a little boy standing near the cabinets. He was looking down, I could only see the top of his head, the forehead and hair. I thought it was my baby boy. I was looking at him with a big smile thinking that he was waiting for me outside the door. But suddenly I saw my baby coming from the left side. I was so shocked and I look to the right side but the other little boy was gone. This happened so fast in a matter of seconds but it scared the crap out of me. At times I thought it was the little boy from my dream, I thought that maybe he had burned in the chimney.

I remember one time I was in the kitchen cooking. My baby boy was roughly a little bit over 1 year old. He was in the kitchen playing on the floor with his toys. Suddenly I hear him whining, and he starts crying. So, I look at him and he comes towards me really quickly. I ask my baby what’s wrong but he can’t speak because he’s still very young. But I could see that he was scared he was hiding behind my legs he was still whining and peeking towards his toys as if he was seeing something.

One night while sleeping I felt a tap on my shoulder. I woke up and looked towards my husband thinking he had woken me up. But he was sound asleep. I went back to sleep but the days to come I was always so afraid that someone was going to tap my shoulder again. I used to leave the door from my room cracked open just like 1-2 inches so that when my husband left to work he wouldn’t make noise opening the door since the baby was sleeping. Most of the time while living in this apartment I had a hard time falling asleep. At times I would just be on my bed using my phone, other times I’d just be tossing and turning. But I would always stare at the door. I was so afraid that someone would open the door completely. I was afraid that someone was outside the door watching me.

My husband is the type of sleeper that when he goes to sleep he doesn’t wake up at all during the night. He also never remembers his dreams. He says he never dreams. One night while playing on my phone and having a hard time falling asleep. With the corner of my right eye I saw orbs of light towards the side of my husband. So I turn my head towards him and he suddenly wakes up and asks “where is the baby?” I replied “he’s sleeping.” My husband got up and went to the restroom. When he came back I asked him if he had a nightmare. But he replied “something woke me up but I can’t remember what it was.” The next day I asked him about the incident but he had no recollection of what happened or him waking up and going to the restroom.

One night I was in the kitchen washing the dishes. My baby and husband were already asleep. As I’m washing the dishes with the corner of my left eye I saw something moving. I look towards it and saw a bubble of smoke it was small like the size of a quarter. I smelled it and and it had a burning smell and it disappeared. I didn’t think much of it but I did get scared thinking that maybe something in the apartment was burning. But I looked around everywhere specially the electrical outlets but found nothing.

In another incident, it was late at night and I was picking up my baby’s toys. As I’m picking up the toys I hear his train go on. This was my baby’s favorite toy. It was a huge train 3X3 and you press the buttons and it plays music and it says the ABC and numbers. On this day I was a few feet away when I heard it playing music. I tried to calm myself down and kept picking up the rest of the toys but again the train started playing music. I just got so scared left the toys and went to the room.

During the time I lived in this apartment I was studying for an exam I had to take. I used to study at night when my baby was sleeping. I would sit in the living room and study. But I was always so afraid. At times I’d be scared of looking at the reflection on the tv I thought that I’d see someone else sitting next to me. There was always an awkward silence it’s hard to explain. One time my sister came to visit me and after I didn’t live in the apartment anymore. I shared with her my stories and how scared I felt living in that apartment. My sister told me that one day when she visited me she was falling asleep and felt someone sitting on the bed. She said she was so afraid to look but she felt very scared.

Thankfully I no longer live in this apartment. These are the incidents that happened to me in roughly 1 year of living there. At times I think about it and still get the chills. Other times I get sad because I was so uncomfortable living there. I was always tired because of the lack of sleep and my husband is so skeptical he never believed anything I said to him.