chronovisor
Timekeeper
So, for most of my 39 years, I've been more or less a believer in the paranormal, if for no other reason than a) I was raised Christian, b) I had no compelling evidence one way or another, and c) I had heard so many "true" ghost stories from relatives, friends (and friends of friends) that it seemed feasible. Still, I had never had a true "ghostly experience" until fairly recently.
The first was actually a few years ago (maybe five), when I was working as a security guard at a Midwestern university. The oldest building on campus was about 150 years old, but I had patrolled it (and others) late at night many times, with no sightings, sounds, smells, etc.
One night, my Sergeant and I got a call to a campus house, which, if I had to guess, was no more than 75 - 100 years old. It was adjacent to the main campus, and had been bought by the university some years earlier. It was a modest, single-story dwelling, one or two bedrooms, with a full basement. We got a call from the residents; a small group of students who had no reputation for troublemaking. They said that, shortly after they arrived home that evening, someone or something started banging and scratching on the basement door from the other side.
They thought at first that a feral cat or other animal was trapped down there, but that the shaking of the door (they said they thought it would come off its hinges at one point) was something much larger in scale. They had remained in the house, but called us immediately, and we came over right away, so whatever had been making the noise had no opportunity to slip out unnoticed.
The Sergeant and I went into the basement, flashlights drawn. The basements are kept unoccupied (and are usually sealed to keep the students from going down there and partying--it's a supposedly dry campus). I think the seal was broken, but then it usually is during the course of the semester because of tornado warnings.
Anyway, we checked around the basement, which was about 20' by 30'. The rafters were exposed, and the place was empty, apart from an old stove (also thoroughly checked and empty). Under the stairs was a tiny, walled-off room constructed from simple sheets of wood. A hooked door allowed access. We opened it up. Inside was a single chair, a bare, red bulb hanging above, a spilled bag of birdseed and a few sundry bits of junk.
This was creepy, but we had checked every square inch of that basement to our satisfaction. There was nothing down here, and nothing could have gotten out (the small windows were sealed up). We were taking one last, silent look around when we heard a low, menacing growl. It was unlike anything I had heard. It didn't even sound like lion or tiger sound effects. It sounded inhuman--demonic.
I got out of there fast, with the Sergeant behind me. We wrote in the report that we found nothing.
So, there's that. However, I've had a couple more incidents much more recently.
First, I just moved back to this area after having lived out West. I'm spending time between my parents' house and sister's house (I'm at the latter place now, typing this). My sister and her sons have lived here for ten years, and have, since the beginning, known of a spiritual presence that makes noises, moves things, opens drawers, etc, but is relatively benign. I never experienced anything until a few weeks ago, when a dish in a cabinet behind me suddenly moved on its own, making a distinctive clinking sound. I figure if that's as bad as it's going to get around here, that's fine.
The other incident came when I visited a friend in Southwestern Illinois. It's an old, Teutonic town with a lot of paranormal history. He lives in an old, two-story home with his three daughters, aged 12, 10 and 8. They had been telling them of hearing voices, being poked and grabbed from time to time, but he dismissed it for the first three months.
One day, alone, he lay down for a nap in the front room. He awoke to find his legs suspended in the air, almost to the ceiling (he has a bad back, and this was not the sort of thing he could do unconsciouly on his own). He tried to yell out, but he felt a hand clap down over his mouth. He felt his wrists pinned at his sides. When he finally was able to move, he reached for his cell phone, and it flew across the room. A heavy dresser then lifted and moved a few inches away from the wall.
I was reticent to spend the night in this house, but eventually did. He said that it had been relatively quiet since then. I spent the night in an upstairs bedroom, and I was awaken in the middle of the night by the bed moving. It felt as though the bed had been grabbed at the end and pushed and pulled quickly. I just kept my eyes shut, prayed and tried to get back to sleep.
I spent the second night downstairs, on the couch, and nothing happened.
So, that's that. I just found it odd, that, after all these years, I should have my paranormal experiences so close to one another (within a couple months, not counting the one from a few years ago). Just wanted to put it out there.
The first was actually a few years ago (maybe five), when I was working as a security guard at a Midwestern university. The oldest building on campus was about 150 years old, but I had patrolled it (and others) late at night many times, with no sightings, sounds, smells, etc.
One night, my Sergeant and I got a call to a campus house, which, if I had to guess, was no more than 75 - 100 years old. It was adjacent to the main campus, and had been bought by the university some years earlier. It was a modest, single-story dwelling, one or two bedrooms, with a full basement. We got a call from the residents; a small group of students who had no reputation for troublemaking. They said that, shortly after they arrived home that evening, someone or something started banging and scratching on the basement door from the other side.
They thought at first that a feral cat or other animal was trapped down there, but that the shaking of the door (they said they thought it would come off its hinges at one point) was something much larger in scale. They had remained in the house, but called us immediately, and we came over right away, so whatever had been making the noise had no opportunity to slip out unnoticed.
The Sergeant and I went into the basement, flashlights drawn. The basements are kept unoccupied (and are usually sealed to keep the students from going down there and partying--it's a supposedly dry campus). I think the seal was broken, but then it usually is during the course of the semester because of tornado warnings.
Anyway, we checked around the basement, which was about 20' by 30'. The rafters were exposed, and the place was empty, apart from an old stove (also thoroughly checked and empty). Under the stairs was a tiny, walled-off room constructed from simple sheets of wood. A hooked door allowed access. We opened it up. Inside was a single chair, a bare, red bulb hanging above, a spilled bag of birdseed and a few sundry bits of junk.
This was creepy, but we had checked every square inch of that basement to our satisfaction. There was nothing down here, and nothing could have gotten out (the small windows were sealed up). We were taking one last, silent look around when we heard a low, menacing growl. It was unlike anything I had heard. It didn't even sound like lion or tiger sound effects. It sounded inhuman--demonic.
I got out of there fast, with the Sergeant behind me. We wrote in the report that we found nothing.
So, there's that. However, I've had a couple more incidents much more recently.
First, I just moved back to this area after having lived out West. I'm spending time between my parents' house and sister's house (I'm at the latter place now, typing this). My sister and her sons have lived here for ten years, and have, since the beginning, known of a spiritual presence that makes noises, moves things, opens drawers, etc, but is relatively benign. I never experienced anything until a few weeks ago, when a dish in a cabinet behind me suddenly moved on its own, making a distinctive clinking sound. I figure if that's as bad as it's going to get around here, that's fine.
The other incident came when I visited a friend in Southwestern Illinois. It's an old, Teutonic town with a lot of paranormal history. He lives in an old, two-story home with his three daughters, aged 12, 10 and 8. They had been telling them of hearing voices, being poked and grabbed from time to time, but he dismissed it for the first three months.
One day, alone, he lay down for a nap in the front room. He awoke to find his legs suspended in the air, almost to the ceiling (he has a bad back, and this was not the sort of thing he could do unconsciouly on his own). He tried to yell out, but he felt a hand clap down over his mouth. He felt his wrists pinned at his sides. When he finally was able to move, he reached for his cell phone, and it flew across the room. A heavy dresser then lifted and moved a few inches away from the wall.
I was reticent to spend the night in this house, but eventually did. He said that it had been relatively quiet since then. I spent the night in an upstairs bedroom, and I was awaken in the middle of the night by the bed moving. It felt as though the bed had been grabbed at the end and pushed and pulled quickly. I just kept my eyes shut, prayed and tried to get back to sleep.
I spent the second night downstairs, on the couch, and nothing happened.
So, that's that. I just found it odd, that, after all these years, I should have my paranormal experiences so close to one another (within a couple months, not counting the one from a few years ago). Just wanted to put it out there.
