real life ghost stories and other scary tales

[baad bwoy]

Its coming up to halloween, and thought it might be good fun if a thread was started where forum members could share real life ghost stories and other scary tales, which have happened to them or someone they know.

I will start things off.

While this didnt happen to me, I remember when I was much younger that one of my older sisters and her friend were really spooked by something which happened to them.

Im from a village in the suffolk countryside, which while probably quite picturesque, has its share of unusual happenings.

My sister and her friend were in their teens, and had been out with some guys one night, they were going to walk one of these guys home before returning home themselves, the guy lived in the next village a couple of miles away.

The route taken by my sister and her friends was quite an isolated one, and along the way was an old barn set along a deserted country lane.

Apparently as they were all walking in the direction of the barn they began to hear some strange music which sounded very weird to them, as it was late and the music was creepy...a strange drumming noise.

So apparently they started to walk back to go another way, as they were feeling scared, and the music just stopped.
So because the music appeared to have stopped, they began walking back toward the barn as they thought they must have just been mistaken in some way, but as they made their way toward the direction of the barn, the music began again.

I think at this point, they all were so freaked out that they all returned to our house.
I remember my sister being really scared telling everyone about what had happened.

A short while later, this barn was found burned down, apparently it had been used for people involved in occult practices.

[Space Monkey]

Watching Paranormal Activity the other night reminded me of something that happened in my early teens.
I grew up in a big old house that looks like it should have a ghost or two, for years my elder brother had been telling me about how he'd occasionally wake up to hear breathing right in his ear as he lay in bed. He claimed it didn't bother him and says he just went back to sleep. Anyway one night sleeping upstairs in room next door to his I woke up and heard this loud breathing sound in the room near the foot of my bed, I really fooking shat myself big time. I fumbled about in terrified panic trying to put the bedside lamp on, when I got it switched on there was no sign of anything. I thought maybe the dog had been lying against the other side of the door and grunting but he wasn't there.
I've got no idea what it was, I haven't seen or heard anything strange in that house since then. I've got no real belief in the supernatural but when I'm alone there I do find it comforting to keep a hallway light on at night.

[Malc]

Watching Paranormal Activity the other night reminded me of something that happened in my early teens.
I grew up in a big old house that looks like it should have a ghost or two, for years my elder brother had been telling me about how he'd occasionally wake up to hear breathing right in his ear as he lay in bed. He claimed it didn't bother him and says he just went back to sleep. Anyway one night sleeping upstairs in room next door to his I woke up and heard this loud breathing sound in the room near the foot of my bed, I really fooking shat myself big time. I fumbled about in terrified panic trying to put the bedside lamp on, when I got it switched on there was no sign of anything. I thought maybe the dog had been lying against the other side of the door and grunting but he wasn't there.
I've got no idea what it was, I haven't seen or heard anything strange in that house since then. I've got no real belief in the supernatural but when I'm alone there I do find it comforting to keep a hallway light on at night.

You say how your brother wasn't bothered about hearing a breathing voice right next to his ear? Well I would have been pretty freaked out, sounds like your bro' may have been messing with you?

I myself have no belief in ghosts or anything supernatural, but I'm happy to believe if I ever see something which is enough to convince me. I doubt that will ever happen though as I strongly believe their isn't anything after death.

[Space Monkey]

Yeah, at the time and before I heard it myself (at about 3am - no way that lazy git would have gone to the trouble) I thought he was just winding me up but he is 45 now and still sticks to his story.

Even at the time I didn't see it as conclusive proof of anything, I don't know what it was and that is as far as it goes. It kept me on my toes for a few years though

[Adam Stone]

I love all things supernatural, though appreciate firmly that a person's grasp on reality is beyond ignorant... Our minds make us sense all types of weird, wonderful and haunting things that are too easily misunderstood or labeled as something supernatural. Fundamentally, it is human nature to weave a web of meaning where there may be none.

However... that isn't to say that no supernatural occurrences ever arise... I think that our universe (or multiverse, or whatever you want to call it!) holds so many mysteries, so many impossible things made possible that it is mere arrogance to say otherwise.

I don't believe seeing is believing, goodness knows we can't even begin to imagine all the things we don't/cannot see... But i think it's equally unjust to believe in 'ghosts' or the like because our little minds find it hard to comprehend the science... But that doesn't mean nothing lies beyond science... Ha, it all sounds like one big contradiction!

Anyhoo! Sorry to ramble without a story to share (i do have one, but my dinners almost done!) but i find all this stuff absolutely fascinating

[Adam Stone]

Oh, and just to add...

Anyone got any good scary videos from youtube etc? Just whilst we're on it

[PrayforMojo]

I think I would quite like to see a ghost, as long as it was a friendly one like Casper, because at least it would prove the existence of an afterlife. Of course the downside is that I would never be able to masturbate ever again just in case my Aunty Doris is watching.

The closest I've come to a supernatural experience is witnessing an empty glass moving on its own accord on the kitchen counter. It moved a good 5 or 6 inches before coming to a stop. Before phoning for a priest I decided to do a bit of research on teh internet and it turns out it's a quite common occurrence, and can be explained away by science. Apparently all it takes is a bit of spilt water, a light push on the glass or a slight unevenness in the surface and voila, magic. I've never been able to repeat the trick though so who knows.

Not a very interesting story, I'm afraid. Maybe I should ask my cat for some of his. I'm convinced he has the gift of seeing dead people. Either that or he just likes freaking me out.

[kernow]

Oh, and just to add...

Anyone got any good scary videos from youtube etc? Just whilst we're on it

[Robster]

My aunt and her husb and kids live in an old castle in Ireland. When my little cousin was young(under 5) he used to say things my aunt could not understand - words she had never heard before.

She asked him what the words were he was saying and my little cousin would say they are french and the words madame told him. Confused my aunt asked more qustions and my little cousin told her at night an old women who smelt funny would talk to him and teach him her special words.

It turns out these words were french and my little cousin could speak in french, the family who owned the house way back in the 18th century had french servants and it was rumoured the house was haunted.

My little cousin was not at school yet or could not even speak english properly so how do you explain it rationally!.

Imo it has to a ghost of a french servant was speaking to my little cousin in french and teaching him the english equivalent.

In the same house as well just after my little cousin was born my uncle heard him crying at night in his room thru the baby monitor, got up to attend to him and walked past my little cousin who was sound asleep in his rocker at the door. There was only 3 people(inlcuding my little cousin) in the house and all were in the main living room.

All this plus orange balls flying down hall ways and noises at night.

Some of the locals will not go near the place at night.

[Spatial]

I'm a real sceptic, but I tell you, there's tonnes of weird stuff happened to me since I've been living here, including:


- being the only one in my house late and night and upstairs, and hearing someone come in through the front door, through the porch, close the door and walk through into our kitchen. I kept expecting the other half to shout `Hello` to announce she was home after being on the razz, but it never came. There was no one there but I heard someone come in as clear as if they had.


- came home one day to find a vase of fresh flowers had been knocked off the sideboard unit. Except they'd fallen in a really odd way, almost like they'd been picked up out of the vase, moved over to the right and then just dropped. It's hard to describe but the way they were laying was just all wrong for the lengthy distance they'd fallen.


- standing at the sink doing the washing up (under the thumb ftw!) and seeing a shadowy shape pass in the corner of my eye.


- The door handles for all the internal doors in our house are very stiff and have a lot of resistance to them (mostly because they're never closed). Yet the door between the living room and dining room will open on its own.

One afternoon Lady Spatial had actually closed the door when I was sleeping upstairs so not to disturb me. Next thing she saw the door handle actually being pressed down as if someone was about to open it. It stayed like that and when she went to look (expecting it to be me, messing about) there was no one there. I was still sleeping upstairs.


- there's loads of times when it sounds like someone is walking across out laminate flooring in the dining room. Not the usual cracks or clicks you get with temperature changes, but real heavy and defined footsteps.


- we've been woken up in the middle of the night by clear scratching behind out bed's headboard.The cats was put out for the night and it sounded like it was in the wall, like something's caught in there. It could have been a mouse or rat but we only ever heard it that once and it was so defined - moving from left to right far too erratic and quick to be rodent (we had one of those trapped under the floorboard when we moved in due to the place being left open to air and floorboards up - it was very different to what we heard that night).


- the cat constantly goes nuts and starts staring at nothing. Or he sits there and meows loudly at odd places like the bathroom ceiling, front bedroom etc. Sometimes he'll disappear around the house and you'll hear him meowing, almost like he's calling out to someone. He's a very quiet cat and keeps himself to himself but sometimes it's like he sees something and can't figure out what it is...


- I was sitting in the living room reading and heard someone come through the front door. Only to find there was no one there.


- sitting in the living room again, this time watching TV and this time feeling someone breath in my left ear. It was so defined, it was like someone was right there next to me. There wasn't.


- the other day I was sitting at the computer when all of a sudden there was a roaring burst of static. I properly jumped - our bedside alarm radio had just turned itself on for no reason. It was blaring loud and was detuned - odd since it was tuned in to Radio One when it was used last and wouldn't have been set at the volume it was.

I went to switch it off and you could hear the faint sound of words - it could have been the edge of reception of some radio channel but it sounded far too freaky for me to sit and listen to try and make something out.


- weird shadows. A friend visiting swore she saw a shadow come down the stairs whilst we were all sitting in the living room. A couple of weeks ago Lady Spatial saw a shadow in the doorway between our dining and living room.

The shadow was like someone was standing there, and she expected it to be me about to walk through. Thinking I was pissing about she went to go and see what I was doing and as she moved forward the shadow actually moved back out of sight, as if the person casting it was moving away. It wasn't me (I was upstairs on the computer browsing this place).


- Latest one happened just last night. Just falling off to sleep and I could hear talking in the bed room. Lady Spatial thought it was me - it was a definite male voice but it woke me up. I'm willing to believe it might have been me talking gibberish as I started to drift off, but not only did it not sound like me, it woke me up. Every time I've done that before I've always known it's me...

[Space Monkey]

Apparently all it takes is a bit of spilt water, a light push on the glass or a slight unevenness in the surface and voila, magic. I've never been able to repeat the trick though so who knows.

If you run the glass under hot water to heat it up then put it upside down on a wet surface it will move, the expanding air inside the glass lifts it enough to allow it to glide.

[kernow]

Yeah I'd probably move if that ever happened to me. I don't know wether to believe or not but I just hate that feeling where something scares the life out of you and the recovery afterwards. ugh

[elaniel]

Mine's a bit odd.

Myself and 4 friends were walking around a lake around midnight coming home from an event we attended. My friend Rich was between myself and my other friend Zoe. At the exact same time Zoe and myself screamed "What the ****!" and turned away. I turned around and nothing.

I was properly ****ting myself. My friend then burst out with exactly what she saw. A guy leaning over the life-ring holder covered in blood not moving. I really shat myself then as this is EXACTLY what I saw as well. Rich was ****ting himself even more than me I think as he didn't see anything.

Our other friends didn't believe us, but it was far too much of a coincidence for what we both saw.

Later on when we got closer to our houses, a pink ball came flying over a fence of a neighbors house and I swear I heard children laughing.

Weirdest night of my life.

[Malc]

@ Spatial, it sounds to me like you and your partner just have a good sub concious mind to me. We as humans have instincts that date back to when we were hunted by dinosaurs and other threats, this instinct has continued on to modern day as that's how we are programmed, except modern day threats are now burglars, attackers etc. and everyone's subconcious mind is interpretting everything you see, hear and feel into a possible threat and relays the image back to your consious mind. This process is a possible reason as to why you think certain things are paranormal related, when they could be much simpler, such as you thinking the door has been opened when it really hasn't or you seeing a dark figure whilst washing up.

You say your partner has had these similar experiences, now that way of interpretting shadows, noises etc. Could have easily been inheritted from you, but as you say you are very sceptical, then I'm guessing your partner is probably more nervous and as a result has a strong innate defense with a vey active sub consious mind. Because of this her nervousness may have influenced yourself to be more aware of things, even if you don't realise it.

As for freinds coming round and also experiencing things, you or your partner may have once mentioned to them about strange occurences in your house, this would then project the nervousness into your freinds and when invited round to your house they are themselves fearful of what they may experience, causing their sub conscious mind to be more active than usual and interpret simple things into something ghostly related.

If I've bored you then I do apologise but I am confident that most things can be explained by science, and paranormal events strictly occur with the mind, even if youdo not realize consiously that is is your mind as well as other factors effecting your thought process.

[Malc]

Just to add to my previous post, this is why more people experiencing things at night or when they are alone; it's because your pedatory instincts are more alert and you see more things like shadows as a possible threat or paranormal related.

It's an instinct which is good to protect you though.