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People Describe Their Weirdest Paranormal Experiences

People Describe Their Weirdest Paranormal Experiences
Image by Stefan Keller from Pixabay

I think everyone has gone through an explained paranormal experience, whether they realize it or not. I know I have--my dad died at a haunted hotel which was then featured on Ghost Adventures. Weird flex, but I couldn't not mention it in this article.

Anyway, whether or not you believe in the paranormal is up to you, but I'm pretty positive that every single person has questioned their beliefs on the matter at least once. Here are a few pretty wild examples of paranormal happenings, courtesy of our friends at Reddit.

U/andrebotelho asked: What is your best ghost/paranormal experience story?

​First up, you can’t go wrong with haunted houses. They’re number one on the creepy list for sure.

You should’ve left the moment you saw clown paintings.

Camping at a friend's family property with a group of friends. They had a huge dingy shop full of old tools and old furniture that was super creepy. Dirt floor, clown paintings in the loft (not even kidding). We stayed up late drinking by the fire and I was the last one awake. Went to go pee on the side of the shop and stood about 5 feet away looking inside through the window.

There was a florescent light on and I noticed what looked like a piece of paper or dollar kind of floating around. I thought it was a moth at first but it was moving in a very flowing figure 8 pattern that was very rhythmic. It reminded me of dangling a carrot. I watched it for maybe 20 seconds, which felt like forever. Then it quickly floated back to the corner of the shop where it was dark. There was also a wood chair near the corner that added to the creepiness. Could have been a moth though.

I sat back down by the fire to finish my beer and have a smoke. No one else was awake so I played robot unicorn attack 2 on my phone for a while. I noticed my friend Mark pop out of his tent to pee, then go back in to go to sleep. I decided sleep sounded good, so I went to my tent and feel asleep.

The next morning, we were having breakfast and Mark said," I saw you guys sitting by the fire super late, how late did you stay up?" I told him I was probably 2 or 3 am. Then he said," who was up with you?" I told him I was the last man standing. He said," I got up to pee and saw you on your phone and 2 people over you're shoulder watching you play". He said one person looked bigger so he thought it was one of our friends, who was a bigger dude. He said the other person was taller and skinny, but none of us are noticeably tall, or skinny.

Freaked me OUT!! We still camp at that property once a year, but I don't go in the shop, and I go to sleep whenever my wife decides she's tired.

Pork_9

Sounds like someone is a skeptic....

laugh lol GIF by SpongeBob SquarePantsGiphy

My brother's bedroom was next door to mine growing up. One afternoon, he asked me what I was doing the previous night that made me laugh so much. Confused, I pressed him for details.

"About 3 am last night, your laughter woke me up. It sounded like you were pacing your room, too. Pacing and laughing."

At this point, I told him that I wasn't home last night. I'd been at a friend's house. He went pale.

To this day he swears blind that it was my laugh. I have a very distinct laugh, apparently.

Pugnator48

As a New Englander, I can confirm that all the ghosts check you out.

Small but weird: I rented a room in a New England farmhouse, grad school. First night, about two in the morning, I had a very, very clear feeling I was being checked out by some sort of house spirits but they approved. I went back to sleep.

First time my girlfriend came over, she sat up in bed. I asked what's up, and it was almost word for word, something was checking her out but there was no threat. A few weeks later my brother came over, next morning, unprompted as he came downstairs he said he felt like something was checking him out at night but it was OK. A new housemate, later, said the same thing his first morning. None of them knew each other, it was weird.

TL;DR: four guests in an New England farmhouse said spirits checked them out the first night.

CapeAnnimal

​A lot of times, people can sense ghosts just by the energy of the space.

See, this is the real reason why we work from home.

I had just started a new job. The building I worked in was really old, definitely pre-war. I had to stay a bit later than I normally would to get something done, and by the time I was packing up to leave, my floor was pretty empty. I needed to use the restroom before I left, so I walked over there, and as I approached the door I saw someone else open the door and go in. I remember vividly that they were wearing a pink shirt and khakis, because that's what I was wearing, too. I was also mildly annoyed, because I don't like being in the bathroom when someone else is in there.

After deciding I still definitely needed to pee before the commute home, I entered the bathroom. But when I got in, it was completely empty. I don't know how to describe the energy in the room, but it was very tense. Completely silent. I remember being able to hear my heartbeat. After standing completely frozen for what felt like 10 minutes (it was probably like 15 seconds), I turned right around and left.

I had nightmares about that bathroom for weeks. It seems so simple and uninteresting compared to a lot of other peoples stories here, but it really shook me. There was something definitely off about the whole thing. Glad I work from home now!

Assasameal

Definitely LARPers.

civil war reenactors GIF by South Park Giphy

I've got a few from my grandparents ranch, the original house was built in the early 1800s and the graveyard from the original family is still there.

When my family first bought the property the previous owners were still living there for a few weeks until they moved. My grandpa was out riding around and saw a guy from a distance dressed in slacks and a white shirt/suspenders, my grandpa assumed it was the previous owner so he drove up to say hi. As he got closer the guy walked behind a bush and seemingly disappeared into thin air. He told the previous owner about it and he asked "was he wearing a white shirt and suspenders?" Apparently they've seen him a lot wandering around in the evening, almost always where my grandpa saw him too.

A few months later when I first visited, me and my cousin were playing PS2 in the living room around midnight. There is a huge sliding glass door facing the backyard & barn. I notice two people walking around outside with what looks like rifles and civil war caps. It looked like they were marching almost, eventually they kept going into the darkness while me and my cousin were shitting ourselves in silence.

Nothing really happened for the next few years besides footsteps and weird feelings. I would hear super loud footsteps at night and assume it's someone walking into the kitchen, I got creeped out so if someone else was awake I would take that opportunity to go get food. When I realized no one else was awake I ran back into my room lmao.

Fast forward to when I lived there during college, I had my own little cabin down the road and it was really creepy, but cool. One night I had a friend over and we were up pretty late. We heard some footsteps on the gravel outside and then louder footsteps on the front porch. Then I saw a silhouette of someone through the window walking around. I jumped up to go make sure it wasn't some methhead but when I walked out front there was nobody there. And it's an open area so there would be no place for anyone to run or hide. Safe to say we didn't get any sleep that night.

That's about all the super creepy stories I have but plenty of your typical paranormal things have happened over the years. This was on the Devils Backbone in Texas btw, if you know the stories of that area you know it's a creepy ass place.

TLDR my families ranch is either haunted or civil war LARPers keep fucking with us

Travmakesmusic

This is actually kind of sweet.

In 2012, my grandmother suffered a major stroke resulting in hospice in her home with her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren by her side. Friends and family were able to come by freely and spend time with her.

I was very close to my Grandma and was lucky to be able to share much of this time with her. For anyone that has ever been through hospice with a loved one, you will understand how hard this type of thing can be.

One night I was sitting at home in my office catching up on some work, when all of a sudden the room filled with the scent of perfume. I'm not talking about a faint smell, I'm saying it was very distinctive and strong throughout the entire room. I stopped everything I was doing and said out loud (to myself) "Something is wrong, that is Gram!" I had not spoken to my family that day, but felt an urgent need to send a text message to my uncle (whom was staying with her) to ask "you guys ok?" This was at 11:20PM. I got a response right away saying "might want to come say goodbye. Not ok." I quickly rushed over.

Upon arrival, the living room where my family was congregated was very silent filled with blank faces. Without saying anything I walked straight to my grandmother and kissed her on the forehead, saying I love her. She was still warm ... but no longer breathing.

I told my uncle that I was there because Grandma had brought me there. I asked when she passed and he replied saying 5 minutes before I sent my text. This puts the perfume in my office at nearly the exact same moment.

Now, I'm going to say that I was born into an Irish Catholic family, but I am in no way a religious person. I would have been the first person to discount this type of story if you told it to me. But, I must say, this experience had me thinking that there really is something more out there.

I felt it.

Gr1ml0ck

Confirmed: babies can see ghosts.

Back in 2001 there was a show called The Amazing Race, and my then wife and I were watching the first ever episode. While my son played on the floor. As the episode ended I thought to myself that my mom would have loved this. (My mom had passed away about a year earlier.) As soon as I had that thought, a cold chill ran up through my body starting at my feet and up through my head.

At the same time my wife said "this is something you and your mom would have done, and probably won." We both laughed partly because we both had similar thoughts and partly because it was a sad reminder that she was gone.

Right then my son, who was about a year and a half old started waving at the ceiling saying bye and bye-bye. He often talked to the "ceiling" and would stop playing and sit and look up at it, so we started asking who was there and what were they saying, just kind of playing along with his game. He wasn't saying real words yet but we wanted to encourage talking so we'd listen and ask questions that he'd "answer".

This time when he started saying bye-bye we asked who was there and where were they going, just kind of normal play-along stuff and he was saying something that the closest I can spell of what it sounded like was annel or anyul. "Ok tell anyul to be safe."

A few months later I had out an old photo album and was laying on the floor looking through it. My son came "walking" over saying hi hi and laughing . I said hi back but he wasn't talking to me. He started chatting with a picture in the album and was waving and "talking" to it. The picture was my moms official graduation picture from nursing school. He had first met my mom when he was six months old and only a couple of times between then and when she passed, but he was carrying on a conversation with the picture.

I asked him "Do you know who that is? Who is that?" He put his finger right in the middle of the picture and said "Anyul... ANYUL!" and started laughing and talking to her again. He knew what angels were... is that what he was saying? I don't know.

True story.

DancesWithElk

​You ever meet a mean ghost? How about a ghost that’s just plain petty?

It was HIS room.

angry get out GIFGiphy

When I was young, I lived in a broken town called Uniondale, in the outbacks of the Karoo in South Africa.

The house I lived in had several long corridors.

One day, I went to my room to play with my toys, and when I walked in, this random guy was just sitting on a chair in my room, he told me to get out, and he told me that this was his room.

So I ran to my mother and told her about it, but when she stormed into my room, the man was gone.

Fast forward a few months, I was in the kitchen baking a cake with my mom, when several potatoes literally rolled into the kitchen from the corridor. No joke, they rolled into the room as if they had their very own momentum, but my mother and I were the only ones in the house at the time.

Fast forward a few more months, my gran came to visit.

After a few days of staying, she ran into the living room telling us she saw a guy walking down our corridor, she described him, and I noted that her description fit the guy that was in my room.

We moved out not long after.

Complete_Dilemma

Can confirm, this is the best way to get rid of ghosts.

My mom has tons. But I'll just tell one that makes me laugh.

We lived in a pretty haunted house. Many people heard/felt stuff. Actually the first 3 houses on our street were haunted but that's another story.

Anyway, my brother and I were gone to our fathers for the weekend and my mom was watching Jerry springer in the living room. She hears the tap in the upstairs bathroom turn on and after dealing with this sh!t for years at this point, she just yells "you can turn the water off cause you're not f*cking scaring me!".

Water shuts off. Haha

I don't know how she stayed alone in that house but I laugh at the thought of my mom telling the ghost to knock it off. Lol

Canadianabcs

Ok, this ghost definitely had a bone to pick.

We lived in a haunted house and my friend and I both 12 year olds at the time. We were playing in our living and in the coffee table stood an artificial plant. I set my soda down and all I see is drips of what I assumed to be blood coming from this plant. I immediately ran to tell my mom and to not scare us she told me that it was paint.

A priest came and a couple of her friends to see the plant. My mom was hysterically crying and the guy grabbed the vase and looked inside the vase only to find ripped up pics of me and my sister covered in blood. No one lived with us so this was unexplainable. Also, my mother would wake up early for work and see a woman in a white gown go to our room and disappear when she followed.

Dreamkiller_


Honestly, my best advice if you experience a ghost sighting is to just treat them like human beings. Don't be scared of them, just let them do their thing. And if they start to bug you, then smoke cleansing is your friend (just don't use white sage- it's endangered).

Or you can just tell them to f**k off. That works too. Either way, paranormal experiences are bound to happen. Brace yourself for these experiences- they'll surprise you.

Things People Secretly Love But Would Never Admit To In Public

Reddit user sweet_chick283 asked: 'What do you secretly love that you would never admit to in public?;

Collection of VHS tapes
Bruno Guerrero/Unsplash

What makes us all unique is our passions and the things we love, whether it's singing in the shower, reading books, or listening to specific music artists.

Unfortunately, we live in a world where we are judged for our various tastes and interests thanks to social media, and it makes us consciously selective about sharing the things we love on the internet.

Curious to hear about people's personal desires under anonymity, Redditor sweet_chick283 asked:

"What do you secretly love that you would never admit to in public?"

These aren't really chores for the following Redditors.

Good Clean Fun

"Mopping, im a janitor and generally hate my work... but damn mopping is so good."

– MrDDog06

"When you have a great rhythm going it is something special. I get the same feeling while I vacuum, but won’t let my wife know I enjoy it."

– Bogus_34

Act Of Unwrinkling

"Ironing clothes. A dozen of them. Can’t explain how it relaxes me. I told one person and they looked at me like I’m crazy."

– eerie_white_glow

"My mum misses the days when dad would be out on a Friday night, my brother out with friends and me upstairs quietly playing PS1. She would pour herself a Bacardi & Coke and do the ironing while watching her TV shows."

"I'm sure she doesn't really miss it now that we've moved out and they've retired but it was her wind-down after a busy working week so I can see how people can find it relaxing."

– xdq

Our solo actions can spark joy.

Big Brother Is Watching

"pretending to be on the Truman show and whenever im in my house i act all inconspicuous so they dont know that i know that they’re watching me."

– Bec_121

"C’mon man, you’re not supposed to let him know. You signed a contract when signing up for live views. I’m reporting you."

– doeswaspsmakehoney

The Multi-Tasker

"Playing video games naked at home while eating cheese."

– thickening_agent

Releasing The Kraken

"I love the feeling when you've eaten good fibre and let out a solid long train log in the toilet. That feeling is heavenly."

– therapoootic

"Even better when it’s a clean wipe and not a poo crayon."

– TheWarmestHugz

Ultimate Comfort

"My (male 41) weekend routine is coming home from work, make hot chocolate, start a fire, dress in a ugly pink nightgown made for old ladies and watch forensic files."

– crazyloomis

Some people are obsessed with collecting things.

So Kawai

"Sanrio stationery stores. All those different multicolor pens, a thousand kinds of erasers, spiral bound notebooks galore... my kids sadly have absolutely no appreciation for this wonderland..."

– HavingNotAttained

It's A Staple

"Office supplies have a weird, special place in my heart ever since I was a kid. They don't even have to be 'cute' necessarily."

"Japan's legendary stationery stores is unironically a reason I want to go."

– _CozyLavender_

Not Caring Anymore

"The older I get the shorter that list gets. Not because I love less things, but because I don't care about hiding it."

– Bi-Beast

"YES!! I'm 53 now. I'm working my first job in public since 2006. Today is Halloween and we're allowed to dress up so I am sitting here waiting to go to work dressed as a VERY bad Wednesday Addams. My bf said I'd 'look stupid' because no one else will probably dress up and I'm like, 'WHO CARES!' My makeup looks horrible and not like I practiced, but I DO NOT CARE! I'm having fun with it anyhow and I don't care if my coworkers dress up or not. I'm bein' ME! :)"

– deanie1970

Honorable mentions start here.

The Savior

"Picking up worms from the street and sidewalks when it rains and moving them into the dirt so they don’t burn in the sun, every time it rains I do this."

– sky_kitten89

Hero Of The Moment

"Yoooo I scoot SO many snails and worms. I work as a tech/mechanic at an automotive shop, I had a peoject car towed to my house the other day and it was covered in snails. I saw them when the tow guy/coworker was unloading and I was like, 'oh! It comes with free snails!' and began moving them. He laughed then realized and said, '... Oh, you're serious. Uh... Okay.'"

"I don't care who knows it. These little things barely can look out for themselves, why shouldn't we if we can take a moment to help? I don't care what happens next, it probably doesn't matter overall but I can help this moment."

– chris14020

Why should some of the hidden desires mentioned above have to be secret?

Redditors opening up about some of these would make them a hit at parties–no shaming.

As a matter of fact, I'll totally be down for a Forensic Files viewing party where we all make hot chocolate, light the fireplace, and cozy up together in our respective pink ugly nightgowns for old ladies.

historical reenactors
Sigmund on Unsplash

We've probably all heard some variation of the saying "Truth is stranger than fiction."

Real life isn't just strange, it can also be downright ridiculous.

History is riddled with moments of absurdity.

So ridiculous that people have a hard time believing real life is, well, really real.

Keep reading...Show less