Cracked Pictures On The Wall
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“I was watching my parents’ dog while they were out of town. My sister had passed away in their house about a year prior. While I was there, I witnessed a picture of her fall off the wall. Then I discovered that EVERY picture of her in the house had fallen off the wall, seemingly at the same time. They didn’t keep many pictures up in general, so it was only four different pictures. I chalked it up to something shaking the house, even though we live in Ohio and I felt nothing.
I went home to my apartment. Face up on my desk was a picture of my sister and me that I knew I had packed away. I don’t believe in things like this but this occurred at a time where I was still very much actively grieving the loss of my sister and it hit me hard. I still can’t explain it.”
American Gothic Nightmare
“So much paranormal stuff happened to me when I was a kid. One story that has always stuck was when I was about three or four years old. Back then, I used to randomly wake up in the middle of the night really for no known reason. I was still sleeping in my parents’ bed at the time, so I would just lay in bed and look around. I swear, every time I’d look at the doorway to the living room, I would see two really tall figures standing there. They looked like the old farm couple in American Gothic. Except they had hollow eyes and they were thinner. They never really did anything else but stare back at me, at least at first.
One night was especially weird. I woke up as usual and saw them standing there in front of the doorway again. Only this time something felt a bit more off than usual. The ceiling fan was on high and the blades were going so fast that the entire fixture was moving back and forth. I looked back at the figures and they had some really dark, creepy grins on their faces. I got scared and buried myself in the blankets, hoping they’d go away. Then all I heard was the ceiling fan spinning even faster, somehow… the beads at the end of the switches were tapping against the glass light cover furiously, so I peeked up out of my covers and the two figures were right next to the bed standing right over me with their ugly smiles.
I screamed bloody murder and the glass cover on the light came off and shattered on the ground. My dad jumped out of bed immediately and turned on the light to see what happened, but the two figures were gone already. I was crying hysterically and it took my mom a long time to calm me down. So much other stuff went on while I lived there. That was the worst house I ever lived in.”
A Nighttime Visitor
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“My girlfriend and I were visiting my sister, who lived in a 200-year-old home in western Massachusetts that used to be a brothel. We were staying in her guest room, which recently had new carpet installed that was rather tall and stiff. This made it quite difficult to open and shut the door. I recall using my body weight to force it shut and needing to yank it open.
As I was trying to fall asleep, I heard something bump the door from the hallway. I assumed this was my sister, her boyfriend, or their dog. A few minutes later, I heard something at the door again, but this time the knob turned. I froze as I saw the knob slowly turn and the door begin to open. Then I saw a shape resembling the silhouette of a young girl. The only child in the house is an infant. I immediately rolled over onto my side, closed my eyes, and attempted to convince myself that what I saw was the silhouette of the dog. I didn’t mention this to my girlfriend or my sister, because I didn’t want to alarm anyone.
A few months later, my girlfriend and I were returning to western Massachusetts to attend my sister’s wedding and we would be staying in the same room. On the plane, my girlfriend said, ‘I have something I feel I should tell you about your sister’s house.’ I immediately knew where she’s going with this. As it turns out, she was awake when the door opened, but she got a better look than I did. She describes seeing a girl of about five or six wearing a Victorian-styled nightgown open the door and stare her in the eyes with a penetrating intensity before my girlfriend looked away. I told her my story and we decided to make sure we drink enough to pass out every night so we wouldn’t be awake if we were ‘visited’ again.”
Grandpa Had One Last Message
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“This past Monday, I started to worry about my grandpa. The moment of worry passed and I went about my day. Later on, I posted an article about automated lawn mowers and wrote that my grandpa would love this since taking care of his yard was his hobby. Literally right after I hit share, my dad called me.
We all know that feeling. It’s that drop in your stomach when you know something terrible has happened, or it’s about to. The feeling that your world has changed and there’s nothing you can do.
Anyways, he told me that my grandpa was rushed to the hospital with a bladder infection followed by several heart attacks, but he was still alive. I didn’t think anything about worrying earlier, at least until I woke up the next morning.
My dream that night was what made it click in my head I guess. In the dream, I was sitting in my grandpa’s shed watching something and he sat down next to me. Without any pretense, he started talking.
‘The next few weeks are gonna be hard and they will test you. Don’t worry about me, in a few hours I won’t have any use for it.’
We ended up spending what seemed like hours talking about a lot of personal things, things I honestly didn’t know or didn’t remember about my grandpa. Most of which my dad and his brother have confirmed to be true, although a little exaggerated apparently.
Grandpa didn’t die until around noon on Tuesday, pretty much just a few hours after my dream.
I’m not religious, nor will I be, but this shook me. I know the subconscious mind can do things like this, but some of the details he told me about his life are things I wasn’t there for, or even alive for.”
There Was No Way She Could Have Imagined That Detail
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“My mom’s first husband was a Navy pilot during the Gulf War. The carrier was about ten days into its cruise and operating with complete radio silence. She hadn’t heard anything from the ship since it left but that was to be expected, this was a war.
On that night about ten days into the cruise, my mom woke up suddenly in the middle of the night. She saw her husband standing in the room. It wasn’t an ethereal form either, he appeared solid and utterly the same as the last time she saw him. The only thing different about him was that his head was shaved. He only had one thing to say, ‘Goodbye.’
This whole experience startled my mom and she couldn’t get back to sleep. She went to the kitchen to get some water when the doorbell rang. All military wives know what the late night doorbell means. Her husband had suffered a massive heart attack and died aboard the carrier. She was grief ridden but reasoned that the apparition had been a hallucination born of the stress of having a spouse deployed. Besides with his head shaved, he didn’t even look that familiar.
Her mother and mother-in-law flew out immediately to plan for the funeral and receive the body. She stayed strong until the first viewing of the body. Her lifeless husband was bald. In a letter from his Naval Flight Officer, the shaved head was explained as the result of a lost bet. There had been no way of knowing that his head had been shaved and my mom suffered a minor mental break from the trauma.”
He Was Puzzled Over Her Strange Outfit
“When I was young (probably around 8-10), I caught chickenpox. I woke up in the middle of the night one night and called for my mom because little kids can’t do anything for themselves when they’re sick.
A woman came into my bedroom and sat on my bed and stroked my hair until I fell asleep. For whatever reason, I thought it was my grandmother, but she was dressed funny.
When I woke up the next morning, I went downstairs for breakfast and asked where my grandma was, and (naturally) my mom told me that she was at her house, like she always was.
I told my mom she’d been in my room the night before, and my mom laughed and said that I’d just been dreaming.
However, my aunt (who tended to believe in the paranormal) was babysitting me that day and I told her the story.
She asked me to describe the weird outfit, and it was a nurse’s outfit from the 50’s/early 60’s. My family knew the previous owners of the house. The wife was a nurse in the fifties and had died a few months previously.
Can I say with 100% certainty that I had an encounter with a spirit? No. But it’s certainly a spooky coincidence.”
It Was Like He Became An Entirely Different Person
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“During most of my life, my mother ran a daycare. One of the kids was named Dylan. Dylan was really smart and somewhat rebellious, but not a jerk kid. We all liked him, but he was always a bit off.
So one day, he was sitting at the kitchen table eating his snacks. The other kids were done and it was just him and my mom. He had some carrots left but was out of juice. My mom asked him if he wanted more. His response still freaks us out today, almost 20 years later.
Keep in mind, he was around seven years old when this happened. I was visiting and making a sandwich and then this incident happened.
‘Well, miss, I’d prefer some Jameson, if you wouldn’t mind obliging me,’ said Dylan.
‘What? Jameson? no,’ my mom replied. (With a laugh.)
‘Beggin’ your pardon, miss, but it’s been a long day. I’ve come a long way. I’m going to turn in soon and am not here to cause any trouble. I’ve heard you have spirits and I’m more than happy to pay for it. I’m having a good week.’
This made no sense — this was a little kid. Our family certainly had no spirits in the house (we were teetotalers). His parents rarely let him watch TV, let alone old-timey westerns. But here he was — accent and all! — sounding like Jeff Bridges in True Grit.
My mom, though just reacted. ‘No, Dylan, no Jameson for you. Orange juice.’ She set down a sippy cup of the OJ goodness.
‘Ma’am, that’s just not going to cut it. I came all the way down from Wyoming and by tarnation, I’m a man who wants some Jameson. If you can’t provide it then I’ll find someone who can!’
He stood up, made for the front door, and got it open before my mom grabbed him.
Presto: He was back to normal.
‘Can I have some juice?’
Nothing he did during this time was ‘him.’ His body language was different, his voice was way lower, and he was totally into what he was doing.
It happened a few times after that. At some point (later, when I wasn’t there), my mom asked him who he was. He gave a name that was something along the lines of ‘Thomas Jeremy Armstrong.’
She got really into it and started asking about his life. He was apparently a lumber prospector and trader who lived his later years somewhere north of Sacramento (we were in Washington State) and had a wife who died from a fever.
This kid was in the first grade.
My mom then asked when he was born and he said, ‘December 14th, 1856. It was a Sunday.’
Sure enough, IT WAS A SUNDAY.
This kinda stuff has always held a mild fascination for me, but this kid was something else. I have no idea how this works, but it’s freaky to this day.”
All She’d Seen Was That She “Didn’t Feel Good”
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“I used to work as a 911 operator in a relatively large metro area. One night at about 3 am or so, I answered a call from an elderly lady who said she didn’t feel well. I tried to get more info about what was wrong, whether it was chest pain, trouble breathing, headache, was she diabetic, etc. I got her address and phone number and she said no one else was home but the door was unlocked so they could go in. No matter what else I asked about what was wrong, all she would say was, ‘I don’t feel good, can you please send someone to help me?’
After a few minutes, she said, ‘I’m going to put the phone down for a minute, I need to go to the bathroom.’ I tried to get her to stay on the line with me and I told her she can do whatever she needs to do to get ready but I’d like to be able to stay in contact in case there’s a problem. She said, ‘I’m going to put the phone down, I’ll just be a minute.’
A couple of minutes passed, then the fire department called on the scene, so I just disconnected and didn’t think much about it. I told them the patient advised that the front door was unlocked and that she was in the bathroom. A couple more minutes passed and one of the firefighters called over the air with a weird tone and said: ‘Fire alarm …uh how exactly was this called received?’ I told them that the call was first-party from the patient’s home phone approximately eight minutes ago. He didn’t respond over the air but called the desk from his cell phone, which usually only happens when something weird is going on that they don’t want to be broadcasted since anyone can listen to the radios.
On the phone, he said, ‘Are you sure this wasn’t a third party call from a family member or something?’
I said, ‘Negative, caller advised, “I don’t feel good” and said no one else was home. So to the best of my knowledge, the caller is the patient…have you made contact?’
He said, ‘Yeah, she was in the bathroom like you said, but she’s been dead for about 12 hours. Cold to the touch, fully livid, full rigor, we’re gonna need a deputy out here.’
Afterward, we pulled the tapes of the radio and phone calls and checked the timestamps, address, phone number, and went over everything a few times to see if I missed something. I called them back in the morning after the shift to see if they had any more information, but they were just as weirded out as we were. The phone was in the living room and the patient was in the bathroom, but the call was definitely from that phone. I still have no idea what the most likely explanation is.”
Ding Dong Ditch Gone Wrong
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“I was spending the night at a friend’s house as a kid when I was 12 or 13. His parents weren’t home so we decided to go out, do some ding dong ditching, and get into some young, angsty debauchery. We got home around 1 or 2 in the morning.
The doorbell rang and naturally, we thought it was the cops or a peeved neighbor. My friend had a small window that looked out onto the front porch that you couldn’t really see into from outside, so we took a peek at who was calling at such a late hour. Standing at the door were an old woman in a dress and a young boy in a weird newsie outfit. Both were dressed EXTREMELY out of period, as this was the 90’s, and my friend had never seen either in the neighborhood before.
We ducked away from the window because we were freaked out, but look again 10 seconds later and they were both gone. There was nobody on the street walking away, no cars driving away, they were just gone without a trace. We did not sleep well that night.”
The Mysterious Case Of The Stuffed Bunny
“My grandpa, who was a tough as nails World War II Marine vet, had a little-stuffed bunny. He kept it out in the open and when he would walk past it and thought no one was looking, he would pet it. He was this big old tough guy petting a little-stuffed bunny in adorable secrecy. It was an ongoing family joke.
He unfortunately eventually committed suicide and we all went to the house to deal with the police and Medical Examiner. We stayed in the house that night and it had an overall creepy vibe because of what had happened.
We were all naturally upset and struggling and doing dumb things to try to make ourselves laugh to try to deal with it. Then we realize the bunny had been moving. Like it would be on the dining table and then we would see it in the den an hour later. I thought someone was doing it as a joke. But everyone swore they wouldn’t do that and we never caught anyone doing it. I kept an eye on that bunny the entire week. Never saw anyone touch it but it would still be moved! I think granddad was playing jokes on us.
His cell phone also called his landline multiple times that week, even though it was away in a drawer. That was weird. No one could explain any of it.”
The Talking Plant
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“I am Muslim. My entire family tree is Muslim. One of our beliefs is that there are spirits called ‘Jiin.’ They don’t inhabit the living world, but they visit. They are unseen spirits. Spooky, right? Sometimes kids can see/speak to them. Now, the story.
I was visiting my cousins (on my aunt’s side). They have two 18-year-old boys and a 7-year-old boy.
We had just come back from dinner. The little boy, John, walked in first after his mom unlocked the house door. He turned and waved at a plant in a dark sitting room. We thought nothing of it.
Later on, his siblings went into the living room to watch TV while he stayed in the sitting room. I left but watched him from behind a door. He turned and started talking to the plant. It was a full conversation with replies and body language.
I was getting creeped out, so I told one of his older brothers. He told me, and I quote, ‘Yeah, he does that sometimes.’
I woke up late at night to use the bathroom a couple times and saw him talking to the plant. Once, I walked in and asked him who he was talking to. He said, ‘A friend.’ When I told him to go to sleep, he turned to the plant and said, ‘Bye! I’ll see you tomorrow!’
His brother and I were creeped out. Then, a thought arose. ‘What if he was talking to the plant to help it grow?’ I said.
His brother replied, ‘Once, he brought some candy and put it on the couch near the plant. He told me it was for his friend who sits by the plant.’
His brother and I decided to move the plant for one night. We don’t tell him. He wasn’t even home! We find him on the couch later. We put down a recorder to see what he says to his ‘friend’
Here’s what John says:
‘Hello. I’m good, you? Why? Who moved it? But why would they? I’m sorry. I’ll try to get it back for you. Did you like the candy? Sorry, I didn’t know. I’ll go ask them for the plant.’
He comes up to us (in the other room) and asks why we moved the plant. We didn’t tell him we moved the plant. No one else was around to tell him. How did he figure it out we did it?”
Losing Its Color
“I was in a room that lost its color and this was witnessed with another person. I’m a nurse who works night shift with a mostly geriatric population. One night it was just me and my younger nursing assistant. She wanted to look something up on the computer so she was sitting beside me at the desk. Suddenly I noticed a paper on the counter with colored lettering that look ‘dim.’ As in the color wasn’t strong. Like there was a haze in the air. I looked across the room and there was a sign (it’s still hanging there as of today) that said ‘Pressure Points’ in red and again, the colors were muted. It was like my eyes were losing the ability to see color. There was a general grayness filling the space, not like a shape, just everything appeared muted and the colors were ‘dim.’
I started to quietly freak out and worry that I had a brain tumor or multiple sclerosis. I didn’t say anything, though, because I didn’t want her to think I was crazy. Suddenly Tara, my nursing assistant, looked up and out to the hallway and said, ‘Do you notice that the hallway looks gray?’ I was immediately relieved because that meant I wasn’t suffering from some mysterious disorder because she saw the grayness too. We watched this grayness that seemed to saturate not only the hallway but our entire surroundings. It then seemed to concentrate in the hallway and near the ceiling and we watched as it slowly disappeared. It moved to the left and then just left.
Afterward, it was like someone turned on the lights and the colors were back to full saturation. Surprisingly, we didn’t really freak out but that’s probably because as healthcare workers, we are just conditioned not to. To this day, I have zero explanation for what this was and nothing like this has ever happened since then nor have I ever heard of anyone experiencing something like this. I have heard of people seeing clouds or fog but this wasn’t like that. This was like being inside a fog that filled the entirety of our space.
I have had other strange happenings but nothing this odd. The fact that my nursing assistant saw it reinforces the experience. I had no plans to say anything about it because like I said, I thought I was being anxious and a hypochondriac, but obviously, I wasn’t.”
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