by Unknown
There was my dad with his back to me, moving papers & loose change around on the table, in his nightly clothes of tighty-whiteys and socks.
I was about to call him when I went numb; there was a single problem.
In the light from the lamp above the stove and the moon through the window, I could see he had no head. I gasped loudly, but it didn't turn around or acknowledge me in any way.
I hid under my covers, listening to the rummaging on the table for what felt like hours. I lay motionless until sunrise, afraid to cross the kitchen to my parents' bedroom.
My door stayed shut at night until we moved.
The Bedroom Visitors
Houston, Texas
I will make my first contribution here a combination of my very first experiences with the paranormal.
I grew up in Spokane, Washington. My grandmother raised me. We lived in a typical 1970's home. My bedroom was on the far end of a long hallway and it faced the living room. From my bed I could see down the hall and I could see the back of a comfy chair. Everything else was blocked from my view by a doorway/wall.
I had a great fear of bedtime due to the things that would happen during the night.
On several occasions I would wake up to the "dancing hands" as I called them. They were hands with full-length opera gloves on. They would appear between my bed and the wall. They seemed to have a spotlight on them that made them appear different colors; sometimes pink, sometimes purple and sometime blue.
They would sway in unison and move around, and I've wondered recently if they were communicating in sign language. That would be ironic, because I am in deaf education now.
Of course as a small child I was petrified and would scream out for my grandmother, who would come in and try to put my mind at ease.
This combined with re-occurring instances where I would wake up to billions of fat black ants crawling all over my pillow was pretty traumatic for a 5 year old but the memory that has stayed with me as if it was yesterday is this one.
I was in bed and had been asleep. I woke up with a start, but as strange as it seems I didn't open my eyes. This was not a conscious decision although I still connect "waking up" with opening one's eyes. However that wasn't the case here. As my mind awoke, three things happened simultaneously; first, an audible sound coming from the living room. It sounded like someone rifling through a shopping bag full of tissue paper. In fact I remember thinking that my grandmother must be unpacking a bag. Next, there was an inaudible voice in my head that said, "Do not open your eyes or he will get you," and, with that voice appeared the outline of two red eyes staring at me through my own closed eyes.
I remember lying there totally overcome with fear. Knowing full well that the voice was telling me the truth, but being even more afraid of what I couldn't see beyond my eyelids. The sound continued to get louder and louder until I couldn't control the fear I felt at not knowing what was happening. So, I opened my eyes!
In an instant of opening my eyes I saw a man run full speed and dive from my doorway across my bed. I felt his weight on the bed and I even felt some part of him hit my toes when he landed.
For years I called him a clown because I didn't have any other way of describing him. I still don't, but today some 39 years later, I know he was not a clown.
He had short slicked-back, shiny black hair. His skin was extremely pale and his lips seemed unusually pink or red.
I don't remember much about his lower half but he wore a sports jacket in black and white tweed or black and white plaid. The elbow on the arm facing me had an oval patch.
He didn't say a word and frankly I'm not sure he was aware of my presence.
Of course all of this happened in an instant and was followed by my bloodcurdling scream. My grandmother came in and searched everywhere for "the clown" but he was long gone and he never returned.
His memory has stayed with me my entire life, and I'm sure there was a purpose for his visit. I just have no idea what it was.
Forgotten
Allen, Texas
When I was about four years old, I lived in a small, old house with my parents. It was in that old house that I had my first imaginary friend. Oddly enough, his name was “Ghosty.”
Ok. No big deal really. Except for a few things...
First, Ghosty, from what my mom tells me, was always concentrated around two basic areas in the house: The bathroom, and my closet.
Second, odd things would happen around the house, like pictures taken out of the frames, sinks being left on. You know, stuff like that.
When I was under suspicion for these things, I would always blame it on Ghosty. I'm not saying that it was my "friend" but you never know. Especially when my parents have no proof, and I hardly remember the truth myself.
Third, My mom, who accepts the idea of paranormal activity remembered once seeing a mean looking old man in my room by the closet. Next to him was an old woman with unclear facial expressions. I don't remember this at all.
A year later, my sister was born. We had to move to a larger house, and Ghosty disappeared.
Several years later, I hardly remember anything about my "imaginary friend." Most of the things I have explained on this story have been what my mom has explained over the years.
Could I have been interacting with a spirit in my home as a young girl, and simply not remember him now? Are things like that even possible? I'm looking for answers.
An Evil Presence
Censored, Texas
My dad was poor as a kid so instead of having his own room and space, he had to share with his other four siblings with only two rooms in the house. So, to have some independence and privacy, he created a bedroom in the separate garage. It had no windows so it was extremely dark at night, but he liked it.
One night in his room he awoke for no reason. He didn't hear a thing, see a thing because it was so dark, smell anything, but he felt some presence. An extremely evil presence.
As he lay awake in his bed pondering on what he should do, he was petrified and didn't want to move, he was so frightened. All he could do is try to hide under his covers.
The presence was so evil it made him sick to his stomach and he felt so small and helpless, alone in the pitch-black garage. He could just imagine the creature or demon approaching him to harm him.
It was such an eerie silence and he couldn't even see his hand six inches away from his face.
The feeling of such an ugly, horrible being grew more and more until he felt so sick and scared he prayed to God even though he was not so religious. He said, "Please help me God, please!" And then all of a sudden the evil presence vanished just as fast as he said those words. He felt such relief and warmth and fell asleep so easily as if he was being cradled by God.
Ghost Girl, Are You A Friend?
Snyder, Texas
It started after my 8th birthday. I am 20 now and I've seen her about 40 times since then.
Every time I have seen her she is in a blue summer dress and white socks. She is always very calm but very pale. She always gives me the feeling of despair and discomfort. I always think she is trying to hurt me.
The first time I met her it was midnight and I couldn't sleep. I got up to tell my mom I didn't feel good. Then I saw a flash of blue and heard a giggle. I went into the kitchen and there was this 8 year old girl just standing there watching me. I was completely mortified because I was in my boxer shorts and that was it. I tried to cry out to my mom but the girl did a shushing motion and my cry caught in my throat.
Then I said, “Who are y...y...you?” She smiled, but said nothing.
That's when I got the feeling I was in danger. She smiled again and nodded, as if she was acknowledging my sudden thoughts of danger.
I asked her, "Ghost girl, are you a friend?" She just looked at me and just stood there. I turned to go to my mom's room when suddenly I felt this agonizing pain shoot through my body.
I was so angry with her I turned around and yelled, “Stop!” But
, she wasn't there. My mom came into the kitchen and asked what I was yelling stop for, and I told her I must have been sleepwalking.
Since then I have seen her several times and several times I have told her I'm too old, go away. It never really worked but she has never tried to hurt me ever again since the first time I saw her.
She shows up more often, but that first meeting was the most physical she has ever been. She seems to be less corporal as before, but when I am scared or worried she is very corporeal.
So that's my story and there it is like it or not and she never changes except for how physically there she is.
The Good and the Bad
Odessa, Texas
My experiences with a certain ghost began when I was six years old. I had been asleep in my room (in a mobile home) when I woke up because I could feel something watching me. I looked around the room and my closet door was open.
I never shut it before this incident, and I saw something sitting in the corner of the closet. It had moved my clothes on the bar so that they would not hide it. I think it wanted me to see it because it began to laugh at me.
I began screaming and my mother ran into the room but she never saw it.
I didn't have another sighting until I was 9. We had moved to Kermit, TX and I spent most of the afternoons alone until my dad got home from work.
I always felt something around me but nothing ever really happened. I always made sure to shut my closet doors for obvious reasons.
So, when I woke up one night with that feeling I remembered so well, I looked toward my closet and the door was still shut. I rolled over and saw it looking at me from outside my window.
It was not as clear as before and it did not laugh. I rolled over again and told myself that it had to be a dream, but I could not return to sleep and I could feel it was there all night.
This happened on and off for some time. The occurrences did not get really bad until we moved to Monahans, TX when I was 10.
I had gotten to where I could sleep through the presence of the thing, and after a few months of peace (for me at least) I think that it began to get angry.
One night I was asleep on the top bunk of the beds my sister and I shared, when I woke up because something had grabbed my ankles and was trying to pull me off the bed.
I began screaming and my stepmother ran in to help me. I told her what happened. I was crying so much that I don't think she understood much of what I was saying.
She said that it looked as though my ankles were caught in the sheet and she left. I felt like an idiot until I tried to free my ankles and I realized that the sheets had been looped around my ankles and tied in a knot. That's when I knew that it would not let me ignore it.
Now I think it had more confidence because it began to follow me everywhere. Only now it would walk around our house and stare at me from my bedroom door and sometimes it would sit on the edge of the bed while I slept.
It got so common that I really didn't care anymore. Then when I got into high school it came out more often.
I was on my way to the basement of the auditorium with another girl when I was pushed down the stairs. The girl beside me didn't fall and I know she didn't push me because the others would have seen her. I wasn't hurt except for a couple of bruises.
Another time I was walking up the stairs to the stage when I almost fell backwards off of them. Something stopped my fall and held me still until I regained my balance. This was when I started talking to it. It never really answered me. It saved me from several accidents in the auditorium but never failed to knock me down if it was angry.
I think the worst feeling I ever had was when I was early for a meeting at the auditorium and no one else was there. I tried the door to see if it was open and it was. The work lights for the stage were on and I went down to the basement to see if anyone was there. That is when I got the feeling that I needed to run. So I turned around and walked as quickly and calmly as I could to get out of the place. When I got to the front door my teacher was unlocking the door to get in and it was gone.
Those are the worst things that have happened to me but it follows me everywhere and the feelings are always shifting. I wonder sometimes if there are two or just one with wildly swinging feelings toward me. I just wish that I could be alone for a little while in my life.
Normanna's Bridge
Normanna, Texas
Being 18, with a bunch of new friends, in a whole new town, and a new car sounded exciting. The problem was, I lived in Beeville, Texas. There was absolutely NOTHING to do, but cruise or go bowling. I never liked bowling, and cruising got old fast, especially with gas price on the rise.
One night, after watching a ghost video my friend's aunt
recorded in her home, we decided to go ghost hunting. I was always a believer in ghosts, and the idea of having a chance at seeing one excited me. After hitting up a few cemeteries and supposed haunted houses, we started to get bored.
Then, a friend of mine shouted, "The Normanna Bridge!"
I never had heard of the bridge, so I was glad to hear about something new. Then, before I knew it, I was following directions on how to get there.
Normanna was about 10 minutes away from Beeville and very easy to miss. It doesn't look like much on the highway, but if you make the right left turn, and you'll see the small town.
It had to have been around 9 p.m. when we got there, and VERY dark. I couldn't see the bridge, but a friend of mine said, "We're here!"
That's when I saw the vine covered, old wooden bridge. It was creepy just looking at it.
I parked around the back, where the bridge was, and saw it was blocked off by a thick, metal rail. My friends and I
crossed the bridge, and that's where we all saw red eyes looking right at us from the bushes, below the bridge!
Instinct kicked in, and we all ran to my car. As were trying to climb in all at once, I saw this dim light south of where my car was parked. Then, I realized I was not the only one seeing it.
All I heard was, "Are y'all seeing what I'm seeing?" and, "What the hell is that?!"
I then made out the mysterious light, as a small fire. The fire was not your ordinary flickering, orange, reddish looking fire, but white, with one tall flame right smack in the middle. I had seen it start, and realized that it had started all by itself, and so did the others.
Before I knew it, I was in the backseat of my own car, and scared out of my mind worse than when we saw the eyes. Red eyes can be explained, (maybe a cat) but a fire starting all by itself, and looking like that, was unnatural, and unexplainable. We drove off, silently. That's when the driver suggested we go back, and see if it was there. All of us agreed. We had not driven very far, not even a block.
As we drove up, there was absolutely no fire. Not one trace of there being one. Come to think about it, the air never filled up with the smell of burning grass, or timber. We just asked ourselves if we had actually saw what we had saw, and just couldn't believe that in just a few seconds that we had drove off, it had completely disappeared!
Then, all of a sudden, there it was. We watched in shock, as the same mysterious fire started taking its form of white, with one flame in the middle. This time, something else in the background was forming out of the same color of white as the flame.
My friend turned the car around, and we all slept in the same room that night. My cousin Erica and I still speak of that night, and wonder what the mysterious flame might've
been, but we come up empty handed as far as explanations go.
We've gone back and seen some strange bright lights in the woods behind the bridge, but we've never seen that flame, or the mysterious object around it.
One time, we even heard a man screaming bloody murder, as if it were right next to us, and just a couple of seconds later, a woman screamed the same way.
The woman’s scream sounded like it came from the other side of the new bridge they built, right next to the old one. Her scream was this terrified, screec
hing scream like in horror flicks, and I haven't gone back since.
Some say that slaves were hung on that bridge, and some say a young girl killed herself off that bridge. One thing's for sure, there is something, or someone, unnatural lurking about that place, and I hope someday a crew whom specializes in that criteria, would come and investigate, and see what it could be. Maybe someone is in need of peace, or maybe it's something just downright evil.
The Growling Ghost
Spring, Texas
A few years ago I became very interested in the paranormal and immersed myself in learning about everything from astral travel to energy healing. This ferocious curiosity was a result of some bizarre happenings that lasted approximately a month or more. I'm going to save that story for another time and move forward to 2004, approximately three years later.
My husband and I had been invited by another paranormal enthusiast and her family to a beach home they rented. There were some cemeteries nearby and an abandoned house that had quite a history... so I packed up my camera, digital recorder and sage (my personal method for protection) and headed to Galveston!
The night of investigating was uneventful and we came back to the beach house and headed for bed. My husband as usual went to sleep immediately and I decided to read. Before long I began to feel sleepy, so I placed my book upside down and open on top of my suitcase, which was beside the bed on the floor. Before long I drifted off to sleep.
At some point during the night I awoke to a huge CRASH! I naturally had my heart in my throat but decided that my book must have fallen from the suitcase and I went back to sleep. In retrospect I realize the noise was much too loud to have been a book falling such a short distance but it worked for me at the time.
I was awakened again that night and this time there was no crash... this time I heard growling. Low, deep and gutteral, and it seemed to be coming from under my bed. Now, this is a perfect example of how the human mind attempts to rationalize what it can't understand. I decided the sound was a coming from my friend's tiny Yorkshire terrier. I assumed she'd gotten locked in our room and wasn't happy about it. So, I hopped out of bed and opened the bedroom door to let her out. I called her and made smoochy noises in hopes of coaxing her out from under my bed. However she never made an appearance so I finally gave up and crawled in beside my husband and went to sleep.