Most people have had a moment where they felt like they weren't alone when they should have been. These people have made a profession of this feeling, and invite it into their lives regularly. Thanks to these paranormal investigator (and the one dispatch officer) who shared their eerie stories.
1. 'Everything went quiet, then I saw her.'
The year was 2012. I was younger, unmarried with a hopeful eye on the horizon. It was in that year that I officially joined a paranormal group. Let me apologize in advance for keeping some information deliberately vague. I value my privacy but most importantly, Im uncertain if what Im telling you may cause me to run afoul of the other people that were involved.
Theres a particularly haunted location close to where I used to live when I stayed with my parents. The history of that spot was one filled with sadness and anger. A lot of horrible stuff happened there but the perpetrators were never found and therefore never brought to justice. There have been rumors since then of a white figure fleeting about in the dark. Some people claimed to have heard a girl crying but there would be no one there when they turned to look. A previous group had investigated this spot and they came away with some strong evidence, chief of which were footprints in powder (a trick I used when I investigated my house in the previous post).
When we arrived at the place, the six of us broke up into groups of two. I will only cover what one of the groups experienced because they had asked a question directly relevant to what I had experienced. The strongest activity, however, happened with me and my partner. And we were the first to go up, all gung-ho and excited.
Between us, we had an EMF meter each. Below and pointing at the structure we were investigating at, there was a regular camera and a camera that had thermal imaging capabilities. Our investigation happened on the uppermost floor of the structure, where the dense trees grew wild and made the entire area darker than it was, even with a full moon overhead. We were ready to start so we powered on the meters and began.
The responses came almost immediately.
With the EMF meter, we set a precedence for the entity. Light up the bulbs if the answer is yes, leave it alone if its a no. So all our questions, therefore, cant be open-ended since they would need to be answered in the affirmative or negative. The first thing we asked was, are you here with us. The meter had four bulbs with the fourth being the strongest. The first one lit up with the second flickering.
EMF meters cant lie and it takes quite a lot of energy to produce such a reaction. That were getting a hit on two EMF meters no less - while we were nowhere close to any power lines or electrical boxes is in itself an indication of something. But we do not rely on just one tick.
We kept asking and repeating our question. Are you here, if you are, light up the device again so we know it wasnt a fluke.
This repeated itself four times.
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Prior to coming here, we unearthed in our investigation a possible name for a girl who could have possibly been haunting the place. So we decided to put that to the test. We went through several names. For a long time, it was quiet until we mentioned the name that turned up in our research. This time, the meters went up to three bars. That got our attention.
Three bars require a strong blast of energy. For example, standing near a power box wouldnt even get you three bars. Its only when you press the device right up to the power box that you get four bars.
We deliberately went with a different name after getting the hit to see if it were a fluke. The device was quiet. When we mentioned the right name again, it lit up strongly.
After this, my partner went to answer a call from one of the people from the other group. In that time, I was left alone with the device and seemingly this spirit that was next to me. And I, being the polite one, told her we were sorry for disturbing her and if she were okay we were here? The device lit up to three bars.
I followed that up with, Do you feel lonely?
Three bars.
So, youre happy with our company?
Two bars.
(The number of bars does not indicate level of interest, merely the strength at which the entity can answer the question.)
Well, were happy to be here talking with you so thank you for being accommodating.
My partner was still on the phone so to whittle away at the time, I stuck out the EMF meter around me to gauge where the spirit might be standing. It was strongest in front of me. It lit up to a solid four. There was nothing to the left or right or even behind. But in front was when it would always light up. I traced the air up and down and the device stayed lit all the way until I brought it just inches from the ground. Then, the EMF meter, previously buzzing with activity went to zero. It was at that point when I realized the female spirit was hovering in the air in front of me.
Then, from my peripheral of the ground floor, I saw a dark shadow zip past quickly. It startled me and for a moment I wondered what I might have seen.
With no means now to investigate that, I tell her, Ill be moving over there, do join me.
I did this in part to test if the EMF meter was indeed working properly. Part of what made me good at this was my healthy dose of skepticism. As I left the spot where I stood, the constant two to three lit bulbs died. It remained quiet when I arrived at the new location, which was just ten feet away. I turn this way and that, attempting to pick up any EMF fluctuations in the air around when suddenly, it lit up.
(Continue this story on the next page...)
The meter was pointed toward the railing so I asked, Is that you? Are you here now?
Two bulbs.
Are you on the railing?
Two bulbs.
Is this your favorite spot?
Three bulbs.
By this time, my partner had rejoined me. We asked many questions. There was a certain feeling that crept into the air around us. It was a mixture of sadness and yet happiness the sort of happiness you felt when someone unanticipated comes to visit.
We decided then that we were going to ask some specific questions about the crimes that happened on the grounds.
If we had pictures, would you be able to recognize them?
No lights.
Have you made peace with what happened?
Two bulbs.
Arent you a little angry?
Two bulbs.
The crime occurred sometime in the 1990s.
But youve still made peace?
Two bulbs.
Here, we were overwhelmed with emotion. It was bittersweet. I think I even teared up a little. We went quiet for a while but the entire time, she stood there, next to us, as evidenced by the lit bulbs. We didnt know how else to continue and since it has been over 40 minutes, we decided that now was a good time to bow out and let the next group up. So we said thank you, told her that we really appreciated her doing this and shes been real fun to talk to and that we hope she would extend the same friendship she showed us to the next group.
The second team (and the third) apparently received very little activity. We guessed that this was due to the spirit having used up plenty of her energy to converse with us. Either that or the two groups failed to engage her in the way that we had. But while the second group was up there, I hung around at the bottom, excited at what I had experienced first-hand. Though it was far from my first brush with the supernatural, it was the first one where it was in a more controlled environment.
So anyway, there I was mulling about and chatting with the other members when once again something caught my eye. I turned to look and there, on the second floor I saw something that to this day I recall vividly. (Continued)
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It was only for a split second I saw a face of a girl. Eyes, nose, ears, lips even her hair that framed her face was all visible. The face was a little off like it was swollen. And as soon as it flashed before me, it vanished. My hair stood on ends and my sudden quietness drew the attention of everyone near me. When I told them what I saw, the message was quickly passed to the group still up there and they asked the spirit then if it were indeed her that I had seen twice once the shadow and the other the face.
Both times, the bulbs lit up to a strong four.
We packed up and left, eager to go through the recordings. Someone else handled all of that so it was a few weeks before we heard anything. One night, though, he called me up and asked me if I was indeed certain of what I saw on the second floor. I told yes, I knew what I saw. He then sent me a picture. It was an infrared shot of the entire structure.
And there, on the second floor, hovering just above the railing, was a thermal image of a round object.
It was a face.
2. 'The door slammed on my friend.'
The craziest thing I have seen with my own two eyes was a door slam on my friend. We were in an old asylum and he was walking out of a room when the door just swung back really hard out of nowhere and knocked him on his bottom. It was just me and him as well. Needless to say he left the building right after that.
3. We thought he was crazy, but we couldn't have been more wrong.
About 4 years ago I was working the dispatch desk. Around 11pm I received a call from a resident that stated he had just seen 6 diamond shaped objects fly over his house at only a couple hundred feet, making no noise and had mirrors of thousands of lights glowing from underneath.
No big deal I think. Another alien conspiracy theorist calling in. But he prefaced his whole call by saying, "listen, I'm not nuts, I know you get calls from crazy people but I'm not one of them. I have this on video and my whole family saw it." He gave me their approximate height, their travel direction, the times. It was weird and it sounded unbelievable but there was something about it that sounded different so I decided to dispatch someone out and check this guy out, and more importantly, to see the video.
So the officer goes out, sees the video and writes a report. He comes back to the station and I jokingly say as soon as he walks in, "So how crazy are they over there?" And with a straight face he goes, "That was something." (Continued)
Continue this story on the next page.
I had to then call the nearest military air base and ask to speak to a supervisor at their flight control center. I gave her the time and area it occurred and she stated that nothing had been in that grid for hours. Then, feeling like a complete fool, I had to tell them that I had to report a UFO. They took the information and I faxed them a copy of the report and they said they'd look into it.
I didn't think anything of it for two years since we only got that one phone call and I hadn't heard anything about it. Sure enough though, two years later, I had a friend going through county wide training who called me and asked if I had been the one who had dispatched that call. When I said yes and told him the story he explained that at his training they had gone over how to handle unusual events and calls and that my dispatch had been played and he recognized the voice. He told me that later that night that exact report was called in over 6 times throughout the county in various areas.
To this day I have no idea what those lights were. The investigation was out of our hands.
4. 'I had to investigate my own house.'
I needed to investigate my own house, after some suspicious activity. I didnt have any of the regular equipment I used, like the EMF meter, so I went old school. I recharged the batteries to my old camcorder, dusted off the voice recorders and got some powder. I set the camcorder out on the far wall of my living room where most of the apartment, including the bedroom door, dining area and entrance to the kitchen can be captured. One recorder I left by the bedside table. As for the powder, I sprinkled a generous amount near the main door, at the entrance to the kitchen, the entrance to my bedroom and across the perimeter of my bed, from wall to wall. I also sprinkled large amounts of powder in critical areas just in case.
As most paranormal investigators are intimately aware of, many investigations are spent whittling away the boredom for hours only to be hit by a sudden explosion of activity that, more times than not, disappear just as quickly. Its like ghosts are trained guerrilla fighters. Great with making little disruptions, but not so great when you want them to sit down and chat.
The same thing happened of course. I started my business soon after midnight when the wife had fallen asleep. The first hour was purely for me to get into the right mood. I sat quietly in the dark in the living room, occasionally asking questions but largely leaving the digital recorder to run.
Other than the sounds of traffic caught during playback, I didnt get any response to the questions I asked. There werent whispering, strange sounds or shadows moving around my apartment. At around 2am, I decided it was time to retire to bed. While I was used to holding investigations right up until 5am, I dont do that anymore. I had work to wake up for in about five to six hours. So I left one of the recorders on the dining table since it was closer to the bedroom door and went to bed.
At about 3:30am, I awoke suddenly.
The room felt noticeably darker but it was deathly quiet. Even the low drone from my air-conditioner seemed to have stopped. I turn over and my wife was in deep sleep. Yeah, that woman sleeps like the dead. The first thing I checked was the thick line of powder I drew to separate my bed from the rest of the room. It was intact. I got out of bed and left the room, careful not to disrupt the line of powder in front of the bedroom door. I checked the camcorder and it was still running. Thats good. Ive had situations before when in lieu of activity, fully charge camera batteries and flashlights were completely drained. Anyway, the powder at the main door was also intact and the random blotches of powder in the bedroom and the living room were undisturbed.
But then I came to the kitchen.
Granted a gust of wind could have caused the line of powder to be broken but my apartment is like a vacuum. On stormy days, with all the windows and the door opened, not a gust of wind makes it way in, which was why we resort to air-conditioning constantly. The air-con in the living area was turned off but there was a clear break in the powder line as if someone stepped out of the kitchen into the living room.
Still not much to go on so I went back to bed, once again careful not to step on the powder. I understand that all of this is terribly boring but hey, its not like I could choose a method of preferred haunting.
Anyway, when I awoke in the morning, it was to my wife roughly shaking me. She wanted to know why I tracked powder all over the house. I was in a daze, having just been rudely awakened and with less than my ideal hours of sleep so it took a while before I understood what she asked.
I jumped out of bed and there, to my utter surprise, were footprints all over.
(Continued)
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Some of them had been disrupted by my wife but the line I drew was broken and there were footprints all around our bed and in the connecting part of the room where the computers were. I rushed to open the bedroom door and the powder there wasnt broken but there were footprints leading up to the door.
I checked the camera and the battery was completely drained. Well, that wouldnt do. I didnt have time to check the footage now let alone clean up the mess. So while my wife went off to work, I took a shower, dressed and hopped on a cab to work. I was late but I really wanted to spend the next 30 minutes or so on the way to work uninterrupted by commuters while I listened to the recording taken by the recorder on my bedside table.
Much of it was of my wife snoring. Wow, that woman is loud. I had no idea I was sleeping next to a bulldozer. I might have missed something but I fast forwarded quite a bit right up to the point I was awoken at around 3:30am. Her snoring had stopped and the quiet I heard and felt when I was awake at that hour was somehow captured on the recorder. I thought that the recorder had malfunctioned because there literally was an absence of sound.
It was only when the sounds of me moving to check the area came through the recorder, that I knew the device was working. I fast forwarded a little bit more but stopped at the one-hour mark when a strange sound caught my attention.
It was footsteps.
And it wasnt just one person walking around. There was audible running. Like a bunch of people racing around my room. Somehow this didnt wake me or my wife. I listened closely, more intrigued than scared but what I heard next tipped that scale almost immediately.
The running slowed to a walk and the sound of feet moving quite deliberately toward my side of the bed could be heard. I knew this because the footsteps got louder as it reached the recorder. Then there was silence, quite like what I had heard earlier. This time, though it felt pregnant, like something was waiting to happen.
And then, I heard it. In broad daylight in the cab, my hair stood on ends and I wanted to trash the recording.
Im here.
It was loud. And by loud, I mean speaking-directly-into-the-recorder loud. Over the sound of that male voice, I heard my own breathing and the snoring of my wife so I knew that I wasnt speaking in my sleep. I dont sleep walk either and neither does my wife.
I have yet to listen to the recorder left on the dining table or reviewed the footage from the camcorder. Hopefully, therell be more information I can extract.
Thanks for reading!
Experiencing death is a fascinating and frightening idea.
Who doesn't want to know what is waiting for us on the other side?
But so many of us want to know and then come back and live a little longer.
It would be so great to be sure there is something else.
But the whole dying part is not that great, so we'll have to rely on other people's accounts.
Redditor AlaskaStiletto wanted to hear from everyone who has returned to life, so they asked:
"Redditors who have 'died' and come back to life, what did you see?"
Sensations
Happy Good Vibes GIF by Major League SoccerGiphy"My dad's heart stopped when he had a heart attack and he had to be brought back to life. He kept the paper copy of the heart monitor which shows he flatlined. He said he felt an overwhelming sensation of peace, like nothing he had felt before."
PeachesnPain
Recovery
"I had surgical complications in 2010 that caused a great deal of blood loss. As a result, I had extremely low blood pressure and could barely stay awake. I remember feeling like I was surrounded by loved ones who had passed. They were in a circle around me and I knew they were there to guide me onwards. I told them I was not ready to go because my kids needed me and I came back."
"My nurse later said she was afraid she’d find me dead every time she came into the room."
"It took months, and blood transfusions, but I recovered."
good_golly99
Take Me Back
"Overwhelming peace and happiness. A bright airy and floating feeling. I live a very stressful life. Imagine finding out the person you have had a crush on reveals they have the same feelings for you and then you win the lotto later that day - that was the feeling I had."
"I never feared death afterward and am relieved when I hear of people dying after suffering from an illness."
rayrayrayray
Free
The Light Minnie GIF by (G)I-DLEGiphy"I had a heart surgery with near-death experience, for me at least (well the possibility that those effects are caused by morphine is also there) I just saw black and nothing else but it was warm and I had such inner peace, its weird as I sometimes still think about it and wish this feeling of being so light and free again."
TooReDTooHigh
This is why I hate surgery.
You just never know.
Shocked
Giphy"More of a near-death experience. I was electrocuted. I felt like I was in a deep hole looking straight up in the sky. My life flashed before me. Felt sad for my family, but I had a deep sense of peace."
Admirable_Buyer6528
The SOB
"Nursing in the ICU, we’ve had people try to die on us many times during the years, some successfully. One guy stood out to me. His heart stopped. We called a code, are working on him, and suddenly he comes to. We hadn’t vented him yet, so he was able to talk, and he started screaming, 'Don’t let them take me, don’t let them take me, they are coming,' he was scared and yelling."
"Then he yelled a little more, as we tried to calm him down, he screamed, 'No, No,' and gestured towards the end of the bed, and died again. We didn’t get him back. It was seriously creepy. We called his son to tell him the news, and the son said basically, 'Good, he was an SOB.'”
1-cupcake-at-a-time
Colors
"My sister died and said it was extremely peaceful. She said it was very loud like a train station and lots of talking and she was stuck in this area that was like a curtain with lots of beautiful colors (colors that you don’t see in real life according to her) a man told her 'He was sorry, but she had to go back as it wasn’t her time.'"
Hannah_LL7
"I had a really similar experience except I was in an endless garden with flowers that were colors I had never seen before. It was quiet and peaceful and a woman in a dress looked at me, shook her head, and just said 'Not yet.' As I was coming back, it was extremely loud, like everyone in the world was trying to talk all at once. It was all very disorienting but it changed my perspective on life!"
huntokarrr
The Fog
"I was in a gray fog with a girl who looked a lot like a young version of my grandmother (who was still alive) but dressed like a pioneer in the 1800s she didn't say anything but kept pulling me towards an opening in the wall. I kept refusing to go because I was so tired."
"I finally got tired of her nagging and went and that's when I came to. I had bled out during a c-section and my heart could not beat without blood. They had to deliver the baby and sew up the bleeders. refill me with blood before they could restart my heart so, like, at least 12 minutes gone."
Fluffy-Hotel-5184
Through the Walls
"My spouse was dead for a couple of minutes one miserable night. She maintains that she saw nothing, but only heard people talking about her like through a wall. The only thing she remembers for absolute certain was begging an ER nurse that she didn't want to die."
"She's quite alive and well today."
Hot-Refrigerator6583
Well let's all be happy to be alive.
It seems to be all we have.
Trying to lose weight is a struggle understood by many people regardless of size.
The goal of reaching a healthy weight may seem unattainable, but with diet and exercise, it can pay off through persistence and discipline.
Seeing the pounds gradually drop off can also be a great motivator and incentivize people to stay the course.
Those who've achieved their respective weight goals shared their experiences when Redditor apprenti8455 asked:
"People who lost a lot of weight, what surprises you the most now?"
Redditors didn't see these coming.
Shiver Me Timbers
"I’m always cold now!"
– Telrom_1
"I had a coworker lose over 130 pounds five or six years ago. I’ve never seen him without a jacket on since."
– r7ndom
"140 lbs lost here starting just before COVID, I feel like that little old lady that's always cold, damn this top comment was on point lmao."
– mr_remy
Drawing Concern
"I lost 100 pounds over a year and a half but since I’m old(70’s) it seems few people comment on it because (I think) they think I’m wasting away from some terminal illness."
– dee-fondy
"Congrats on the weight loss! It’s honestly a real accomplishment 🙂"
"Working in oncology, I can never comment on someone’s weight loss unless I specifically know it was on purpose, regardless of their age. I think it kind of ruffles feathers at times, but like I don’t want to congratulate someone for having cancer or something. It’s a weird place to be in."
– LizardofDeath
Unleashing Insults
"I remember when I lost the first big chunk of weight (around 50 lbs) it was like it gave some people license to talk sh*t about the 'old' me. Old coworkers, friends, made a lot of not just negative, but harsh comments about what I used to look like. One person I met after the big loss saw a picture of me prior and said, 'Wow, we wouldn’t even be friends!'”
"It wasn’t extremely common, but I was a little alarmed by some of the attention. My weight has been up and down since then, but every time I gain a little it gets me a little down thinking about those things people said."
– alanamablamaspama
Not Everything Goes After Losing Weight
"The loose skin is a bit unexpected."
– KeltarCentauri
"I haven’t experienced it myself, but surgery to remove skin takes a long time to recover. Longer than bariatric surgery and usually isn’t covered by insurance unless you have both."
– KatMagic1977
"It definitely does take a long time to recover. My Dad dropped a little over 200 pounds a few years back and decided to go through with skin removal surgery to deal with the excess. His procedure was extensive, as in he had skin taken from just about every part of his body excluding his head, and he went through hell for weeks in recovery, and he was bedridden for a lot of it."
– Jaew96
These Redditors shared their pleasantly surprising experiences.
Shopping
"I can buy clothes in any store I want."
– WaySavvyD
"When I lost weight I was dying to go find cute, smaller clothes and I really struggled. As someone who had always been restricted to one or two stores that catered to plus-sized clothing, a full mall of shops with items in my size was daunting. Too many options and not enough knowledge of brands that were good vs cheap. I usually went home pretty frustrated."
– ganache98012
No More Symptoms
"Lost about 80 pounds in the past year and a half, biggest thing that I’ve noticed that I haven’t seen mentioned on here yet is my acid reflux and heartburn are basically gone. I used to be popping tums every couple hours and now they just sit in the medicine cabinet collecting dust."
– colleennicole93
Expanding Capabilities
"I'm all for not judging people by their appearance and I recognise that there are unhealthy, unachievable beauty standards, but one thing that is undeniable is that I can just do stuff now. Just stamina and flexibility alone are worth it, appearance is tertiary at best."
– Ramblonius
People Change Their Tune
"How much nicer people are to you."
"My feet weren't 'wide' they were 'fat.'"
– LiZZygsu
"Have to agree. Lost 220 lbs, people make eye contact and hold open doors and stuff"
"And on the foot thing, I also lost a full shoe size numerically and also wear regular width now 😅"
– awholedamngarden
It's gonna take some getting used to.
Bones Everywhere
"Having bones. Collarbones, wrist bones, knee bones, hip bones, ribs. I have so many bones sticking out everywhere and it’s weird as hell."
– Princess-Pancake-97
"I noticed the shadow of my ribs the other day and it threw me, there’s a whole skeleton in here."
– bekastrange
Knee Pillow
"Right?! And they’re so … pointy! Now I get why people sleep with pillows between their legs - the knee bones laying on top of each other (side sleeper here) is weird and jarring."
– snic2030
"I lost only 40 pounds within the last year or so. I’m struggling to relate to most of these comments as I feel like I just 'slimmed down' rather than dropped a ton. But wow, the pillow between the knees at night. YES! I can relate to this. I think a lot of my weight was in my thighs. I never needed to do this up until recently."
– Strongbad23
More Mobility
"I’ve lost 100 lbs since 2020. It’s a collection of little things that surprise me. For at least 10 years I couldn’t put on socks, or tie my shoes. I couldn’t bend over and pick something up. I couldn’t climb a ladder to fix something. Simple things like that I can do now that fascinate me."
"Edit: Some additional little things are sitting in a chair with arms, sitting in a booth in a restaurant, being able to shop in a normal store AND not needing to buy the biggest size there, being able to easily wipe my butt, and looking down and being able to see my penis."
– dma1965
People making significant changes, whether for mental or physical health, can surely find a newfound perspective on life.
But they can also discover different issues they never saw coming.
That being said, overcoming any challenge in life is laudable, especially if it leads to gaining confidence and ditching insecurities.