Reader Submission: Paranoid or Paranormal?
“When I was little, I lived in an old house that was haunted. My older sister used to sleep over and wake up with scratches on her arm. My sister and my brother got so scared they refused to stay over. My mum called a priest, but we eventually moved out.
My first weird experience was when I was about 10 or 11 years old. I was in the house on my own, sitting by the fire and watching TV, when a reflection in the golden plate around the fireplace caught my eye. I saw what looked like a pair of little girl legs run across the room. The girl had on white tights, like a ballet dancer. I looked around and started to panic when I saw nothing there. When my mum returned, I told her about the girl, but she said it was nothing.
When I was 11, I was asleep one night when my stuffed dog Teddy, a toy I had as a child in the haunted house, started barking in the middle of the night. This was weird as its bark hadn’t worked for years, not since I dropped the dog in a puddle when I was four. That night, Teddy kept barking repeatedly. I was so scared that I started sleeping with my mum.
A few nights later, I worked up some courage and returned to my own room. I was in bed asleep when I woke up to the feel of something grabbing my foot. I looked around but saw nothing. I was so scared I shot into my mum’s room, screaming. I was truly terrified.
After a few months of sleeping in my mum’s bed each night, I felt brave enough to sleep in my room again. So I did, only to one night wake up and see a dark female figure standing above me. I was so scared I didn’t sleep in my room for ages.
When I was 12, I found out that my older sister (the one who used to wake up with scratches) was now waking up and seeing a black woman figure looking at her in the middle of the night. She went to the doctors and got tablets, but when she moved out of her home she was fine.
After my dad came back to live with us, the scares all went away…almost. It was if whatever it was did not want to show itself because my dad was guarding us or something. The only thing is that my dog will randomly stare at the sofa as if something is sitting there. It freaks me and my friends out so they don’t like staying round at my house. Yesterday I was in the house on my own when I saw the figure of a really tall blonde woman shoot past the kitchen door. It really freaked me out. I feel mental.
I have recently been watching a psychic medium on TV, and the woman on the show made me realize some of the things she experiences also happen to me. I’ll be walking somewhere and it’ll feel like my chest is tightening up and I can’t breath, or I’ll be in a room and suddenly get really bad shivers down my spine. Occasionally, I’m really scared in my own home. When I’m alone, I’m always looking around. It feels like I’m being followed even though I never see anything. Do you think I could be a medium or do you think I’m just paranoid?
When I was a toddler, my mom had all kinds of spiritual crystals and spiritual healing books. Do you think growing up with these things could have anything to do with the activities? Is it just paranoia? I would love to hear feedback as I really need it. Thank you.”
I have the same experiences. You might be a psych (not psychic). A psych is a person who can see things that are not see able to the naked human eye. Your sister get scratches at night cuz it might result as someone had thought of her or she scarred herself on something and she didn’t feel it.
You’re not mental. I have had experiences very similar to yours my whole life. We’re just sensitive to the paranormal world. It’s nothing to be afraid of. These spirits are probably just trying to communicate with you and you have the choice of engaging or not. I’m 28 now and if a spirit is bothering me a lot I’ll just ask what it wants. Don’t be scared, you’re going to be just fine.
Well, I don’t know if you’d be interested but there are Paranormal groups I work with that may be able to help you. I’m a Mage, and I as well as the others I work with maybe be able to help you. Should you be interested get in contact with me
hi their i just checked my emails and found out by the person i emailed my experiences to has emailed me back so i found it had been published, i checked and saw everybodys replies, thankyou ever so much! all your advice and opinions really helped me realise what i need to do. just to update you all i have found out my old house that we have recently moved out (where most the activity took place) a woman and her young daughter had moved in and it was fine at first but she is moving out because of cupboards slamming and a cup got thrown when her dad came to visit the house they got a medium out and a priest they confirmed it was a poltergeist and there was a Ouija board in the attick and a brass key, the Medium said there was a port hole or something to the spirit world open in the attick. When i found out i was shocked i knew i was not going mental all along, i found out this about 1week ago and i was so shocked even though i kinda knew something was there with me all along. Hopefully i can take away the experiences as not a negative but a positive about gut feelings, thankyou for all your support really means alot!