One thing has been consistent in my experience over the past five years of researching and writing these books, and that is, whenever I tell an individual or a group of people what I’m working on, I almost always get a story from one of them detailing a paranormal experience they once had. This is across the spectrum of age, wealth, education, and religious affiliation. It is an experience they stand by, which causes them to believe for the rest of their lives that there is something paranormal, unexplainable, and mysterious at work in the world. These experiences are sometimes frightening and sometimes joyous, both curses and blessings, but the effects are the same—belief in spite of evidence or science or everyday experience.
In the course of my work, some stories have stood out more than others, and it is here at the conclusion that I would like to present those stories in an interview format—in their own words—so that perhaps it will shed light on the fact that the paranormal is not necessarily a supernatural experience, but rather, a uniquely human experience.
PAUL S.
(25, Single, Computer Technician)
MEF:
Where did you grow up?
PS:
I grew up in Hamden, Connecticut.
MEF:
And why don’t you start by telling us about your first experience that you couldn’t explain or understand?
PS:
I was in my early teens to mid-teens at my parents’ house. They often worked late, so my brother would take care of us. We would just do our own thing—watch TV, play on the computer kind of deal. Typically, when my parents came home they would yell for us to come help with the groceries or whatnot, and all of sudden we heard our names being called; we were in different rooms and we all ran downstairs and no one was there. We were looking around and we turned on the lights outside to make sure whether someone was there or not. All of us ran down at the same time because we were trained to do that—to run down and help and then go back to doing our own thing. And when no one was there we all kinda looked at each other and freaked out, locked the doors, and ran back upstairs.
MEF:
Where were your parents at the time?
PS:
They were out with their friends…
MEF:
So they were nowhere near the house…
PS:
No. Typically the dogs would run downstairs to greet them.
MEF:
Did the dogs run down that time?
PS:
No, the dogs didn’t, just us. Which is kind of strange, for it to happen, especially to all three of us. My—they’re not joking around—and when you hear something similar to your mom’s voice calling you, you run down to see what’s going on. For all three of us to do it at the same time is kind of strange for that to happen. I mean you really can’t shrug it off, there’s two other people that heard what you heard … so you can’t just shrug it off, go upstairs, and forget about the whole thing. That was the first initial thing that happened to me. You kinda … You think about it but then you try not to think about it because you don’t want to seem crazy.
MEF:
So you just put it out of mind?
PS:
Yeah, I mean that’s the best thing to do because you really can’t investigate or try to figure out what it was without—I don’t know—professionals or something. There’s no way to prove that it happened, only to have witnesses or somebody that saw or heard the same thing … there is no other thing you can do after that happens, there’s no set of guidelines when something like that happens.
MEF:
Were there incidents after that?
PS:
There were a couple incidents after that, you know … My brothers would be watching TV and I would get the old Super Nintendo to myself in my brother’s room. I would be playing it and about an hour into it all of a sudden, things got really weird … I didn’t lose consciousness, I didn’t feel like I was dreaming, I totally saw what I was doing—playing a video game—but when I looked up I saw a six- to seven-foot shadow figure … I could see a black outline that said, “It’s up there.” That was all it said to me. It was a man’s voice. I responded and said, “What’s up there?” and then I, like, came to; it’s like I got my sense back and realized that there was something going on here that was not right. I ran out the door to other people looking like I just saw a ghost…
MEF:
’Cause you kind of did…
PS:
(laughing) Yeah. My parents were asking what was wrong, do you want to talk? But it was really weird … I didn’t want to seem crazy by telling my parents that something just happened to me in my brother’s room. I didn’t want to tell my brothers about it, I just wanted to forget that it happened.
MEF:
What do you think that meant, “It’s up there”?
PS:
I really thought about that for a long time. It’s up there. Is it in the attic? There’s nothing in the attic. It was a brand-new build of a house, we didn’t have floors in the attic, it was just a narrow space with wires and beams and there is nothing up there, so … I don’t know. Is he talking about a heaven or hell type of deal? I just don’t know.
MEF:
Are you religious?
PS:
My mom is … I’m … Not really. I don’t go to church every week, I don’t read the Bible. But … things like that make you think, “What’s going on?” At the same time, I’m more of a scientific guy; I’m into computers. There’s a logical explanation behind everything, so I don’t necessarily believe that God exists but when stuff like that happens, it’s like, well, scientifically how do I explain this and when I can’t … What’s left?
MEF:
So you don’t have any doubt as to what you saw and what you experienced?
PS:
There’s not a doubt at all. The strange thing is that it has been 10 years since this happened and I recall that perfectly, because that’s what happened. I was younger but I know what happened. If I was dreaming … How long do you remember a dream for? But to remember the same exact thing, the same exact phrase, the same exact voice after 10 years … Something happened. I don’t talk about it because I don’t want to sound crazy but it’s still something that happened.
MEF:
Is this something that you tell other people?
PS:
No. Clearly, I talk to my girlfriend but, to complete strangers or regular people, I don’t like to talk about it, because you don’t know how they’re going to react or how they’re going to judge you or they won’t believe you. I’d rather not have that happen.
MEF:
Both those incidents occurred in the same house. Was there something about the house that may have contributed to it?
PS:
Well, my area, my town is really old … like the 1700s. If you walk a half mile into the woods you’ll see foundations of old houses, you’ll see wells and property markings and stone walls for farmers. There’s evidence that this place is really old. There’s been a lot of people that have lived around there. When I was younger I’d walk around those areas with my brothers. Especially with a new build, who knows what happened to the land.
MEF:
Have incidents happened since you left the house?
PS:
The only thing that has really been happening, which is strange, is that I’ll see shadows whiz by. I’ll be looking down at, like, a piece of paper and I see something go by really fast. I’ll look up and nothing is there. And I know I saw something go by, I know there’s something going on but I try to tell myself that it was just the lighting or my eyes playing tricks on me. But when it happens consistently, it’s like … there’s something that is moving that is not human or physical being, it’s something else. I don’t know. A shadow figure, I guess. I’ve heard of other people and seen news or documentaries about shadow figures and I didn’t really believe what I was seeing until I heard other people say, “Hey, I’ve seen shadow
people.” I was like, “Oh … that’s what that was,” because I had no other way to explain it. When other people say that they have seen the same thing, then you don’t feel crazy anymore.
MEF:
Do you like that any of this happens to you?
PS:
You know … At first I was really scared, you want to get up and run away when you’re younger and don’t know what’s going on. I don’t mind it as long as it’s not negative. If it’s positive or it doesn’t affect me, it’s fine. Just knowing it is kind of unique, but I could certainly live without it. It’s not something that I enjoy. It kind of freaks me out (laughing)—big time. I try to play it off like, “This is nothing, let’s just watch some TV and turn the volume up,” or whatever. It bugs me out. I try to keep cool, but when something like that happens it’s kind of hard to ignore.
MEF:
Has this changed your life at all?
PS:
It’s made me a little more paranoid than usual. I don’t like being in older houses by myself. If I am by myself I like to have the TV on or the news where someone is talking. I don’t like it to be dead silent. Besides that, nothing too negative. I just don’t like being alone that much without some kind of physical media to distract me from being alone, because that is when it usually happens. That is the only thing that is negative. I try to kill the quietness with some kind of activity.
MEF:
Has this made you think at all about what happens after we die or the bigger picture? Does that occur to you in light of this?
PS:
Well, typically, you reach a particular age when you start to ask yourself that question of “What happens when I die?” Seeing that raises questions, but I don’t know … I have no idea. There is something that happens—clearly—but I have no idea. I can’t give you a straight answer.
MEF:
Have you tried to pursue this at all or look into it?
PS:
No. I hear my mom tell stories or my stepdad tell stories of things that have happened to them and it makes me feel better just knowing that it happens to other people. From there, if you don’t feel comfortable with what happened to you, you don’t pursue it. Just let it go and pretend like it never happened. I don’t know what these things are capable or doing or what’s going on and I don’t want to know. I just want to leave it alone because if you mess with it, bad things can happen. I think that is what most people do. They don’t want to seem crazy so they just let it go.
VICKIE B.
(35, Married, Registered Nurse)
MEF:
I understand that you had an experience when you were a teenager?
VB:
It was in my parents’ house—they still live there, actually—I was a freshman in high school, I believe—freshman or sophomore. One of my girlfriends was staying with me and we were—one of us was at the top of the stairs and one of us was at the bottom of the stairs and we were talking and a bright, white sphere came out through the bedroom door. It flew down the stairs then up to the ceiling then down to the floor and then flew out of sight.
MEF:
Where were you standing?
VB:
I was at the bottom of the stairs, she was at the top. It flew over her head and down right past me.
MEF:
And you both saw it?
VB:
Yes. ’Cause I looked at her and I said “Did you just see that?” And she described what I had just seen.
MEF:
How did you react?
VB:
Were just like “Holy shit!” (laughing)
MEF:
Did you tell anybody about it?
VB:
Um … You know there were these strange things that would happen at my parents’ house. There were motion sensor lights that would go on at the same time every night. There were rocks from outside that would end up in the garbage disposal in the kitchen and I tried telling my father once that there was something in the house and they kind of laughed at me. So, after that…
MEF:
Had you ever experienced anything before that? Besides those things?
VB:
Not really. Occasionally afterwards, but only in my bedroom. The people before us had redone the room, it had been a master bedroom and one wall was entirely mirrored and you would be looking in the mirror and you would see it kind of go behind you…
MEF:
The same kind of sphere?
VB:
Yeah, it was more like a bright light, but a couple of times it was a black sphere and I could see it going by in the reflection. It was pretty neat. The room had originally been gray, I believe, and I painted it purple. It was after that that things started happening; the motion sensor going on and the visual spheres going around. After I moved out my parents painted it back to a neutral color and I never heard about anything happening again.
MEF:
Do you have any theory as to why this happened or what caused it?
VB:
Not really.
MEF:
Had you been interested in these things before?
VB:
Absolutely. (laughing) I was actually into witchcraft and stuff for a while, I had an altar room set up in my closet and would do little spells but nothing huge or anything.
MEF:
Where did you learn the spells?
VB:
Oh. Just from my friends, and you could pick up books at bookstores. It was nothing, just kind of a hobby. One of my friends was Wiccan, too.
MEF:
Do you still do that?
VB:
Oh God, no. I haven’t in a long time. It was all little, innocent, white magic spells, you know? I don’t know that any of it ever worked or anything … Though I remember one time I was meditating—I was doing a spell and meditating—and I had an out-of-body experience. I was all of sudden floating over myself, looking down and seeing everything. I was up in the corner of the room looking down.
MEF:
Did that make you think any differently about things, especially after seeing the spheres?
VB:
I don’t think so … I was always pretty open to the possibilities of anything, whether it’s ghosts or spirits or reincarnation or witchcraft … it’s all in the realm of possibilities.
MEF:
Did seeing the spheres confirm your intuition?
VB:
Yeah, I would say that.
MEF:
Are you religious at all?
VB:
Not really. I grew up in a mixed religion household and wasn’t really brought up to practice anything in particular.
MEF:
Have you ever seen anything since that time?
VB:
No, just at that house.
MEF:
Was the experience scary for you at all?
VB:
I don’t know if scary is the right word, or creepy. Really just more unbelievable. I mean, “Oh my God (laughing) what the hell was that?”
MEF:
If I was to tell you that it was a hallucination between you and your friend, what would you say?
VB:
I wouldn’t buy it. For both of us to share the same hallucination?
MEF:
So you know what you saw and you’re sure of that?
VB:
Yes, I’m sure.
MEF:
So you believe in the things that we cannot explain?
VB:
Absolutely.
JESSICA D.
(32, Married)
MEF:
Jessica, why don’t you tell me what you saw?
JD:
Well, I was getting ready to leave, my husband was driving me to work. We were leaving off of our back porch and as we looked over to the left, there was this large light in the sky. It lasted about five minutes and then disappeared … It was a large triangular beam of light coming down and all of Connecticu
t saw it. It was all over the news. There was a white aura around it and it was very bright.
MEF:
About what time of night was this?
JD:
It was about 10:30 at night.
MEF:
What did it look like to you, what did you think it was?
JD:
Well, I’m into all the UFO stuff so I was skeptical … I didn’t know at first. My husband is a nonbeliever and he was like, “Wow,” and was really caught at it. I’m really not sure. It wasn’t something that you see every day. It was bright and it looked just like something in the sky that had a beam of light coming out of it, like a funnel.
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