A childhood experience

[Rock-Star]

Hello all. I just recently came across this site by chance, and have thoroughly enjoyed reading all these great stories! I will begin here by saying that I have always been interested in paranormal activities...I can't say I am totally sold as a believer, but I definitely keep an open mind when it comes to these things. I enjoy seeing the varying viewpoints regarding these topics here on these boards, so I thought I would join and maybe offer some of my own experiences. That being said...

One experience that really stands out happened long ago, probably when I was 6 or 7. To set things up a bit, I was home alone with my mom in the evening. My dad was out of town, and I am an only child, so there was definitely no one else in the house. Mom and I were sitting on my bed reading books and I was wide awake. At this time, aside from the lights in my room, a lamp was on in the living room, which was easily visible through my bedroom door, so it was not very dark. I will also offer that my room was at the far back of the house, and the placement of the windows was not very conducive to catching reflections from car headlights, etc. As my mom was reading to me, I was just sort of staring off into space, looking into the hallway outside the door. At this point, and I can still recall this vividly to this day, a large, totally black, human shaped figure stepped into the hallway, appeared to stop briefly and turn it's head to look into my room, then continued on down the hall towards my parents room and out of sight. Needless to say I was horrified! I could not even bring myself to mention it to mom, and I just buried my head in my pillow and tried not to think about it. Whatever it was had no discernible features, just a clearly defined outline of a hulking, humanoid shape.

After this experience, I never saw this being again, but I was always on edge about both sleeping in my room, and also looking back towards that hallway from the front of the house, especially at night. I didn't move out of my parents house until my 20's, but that feeling of unease never quite left me. I also had other experiences there, such as feeling presences, hearing footsteps at night, etc. Whether it was all simply a product of active imagination or something more sinister is for you to decide! If any of you are interested in more stories I would be happy to post...any questions or comments, I apologize in advance if I do not respond right away, as it is hit or miss how much time I spend online. Thanks for reading!

[sinewave]

I suppose there is a possibility you were asleep and it was just a dream.

[Cynical Sounds]

hypnagogic hallucination

lucid dream

a normal dream

a badly remembered/ completely fabricated event (young memories are often very open to suggestion poorly recalled or completely made up)

[Paranormalcy]

I'd say that was a very distinct possibility, and the OP might be interested in reading some of the resources linked to in my sig, in the Sleep Paralysis/Hallucination link.

[Rock-Star]

I'd say that was a very distinct possibility, and the OP might be interested in reading some of the resources linked to in my sig, in the Sleep Paralysis/Hallucination link.

Thanks for the replies everyone...Paranormalcy, I actually have read a lot of the sleep paralysis material, and in my life I have had several experiences that line up with a lot of those criteria, so I imagine it is possible that the event I described above could very well be related to this phenomenon. Or, as others suggested, something as simple as a vivid dream. I guess it is just that I have such vivid recall of the situation that makes me wonder if if it was something paranormal. Also, maybe having an open mind with this sort of thing very well might make me more susceptible to interpret mundane things as something more bizarre.

[Paranormalcy]

I don't generally discount paranormal explanations out of hand, but I believe mundane explanations should be explored to the fullest extent possible, because I feel people do themselves a disservice by jumping past obscure but real explanations for things in the interest of, what I feel is usually a sense of authentic excitement, difference or even specialness in their life, and I'm speaking in general, not the OP specifically.

At some point, they may come to realize this idea is incorrect and may look back at the possible years they thought otherwise, the people they've talked to and discussions they've had, and decisions they made based on it, and if they didn't turn out well, they could beat themselves up over it.

I know SP seems to be thrown around a lot but as "unlikely" as it may seem to some people, I think there is a reason, and that reason is that people ARE having SP or hypoagogia. Look at it this way - which is more likely? A medically documented episode of hallucination which occurs before the brain fully awakes or is able to go to sleep, or ominous ghosts and demons?

Also, I personally find ANY "memory" of childhood accounts HIGHLY suspect - not from fraud or intentional embellishments, but I've seen enough psychology studies on memory that convinced me that it is possible to greatly alter memories in a person over the course of an hour or two, even if not directly on purpose, that our memories of things that happened are severely clouded and colored and have been changing ever so slightly every day since that time, until now our recollections may bear little resemblance to the actual events - now they MAY still be accurate, but overall, that usually is NOT the case.

[Hamlyn]

Look at it this way - which is more likely? A medically documented episode of hallucination which occurs before the brain fully awakes or is able to go to sleep, or ominous ghosts and demons?

We can only say which one SEEMS more likely, subjectively, because we do not know the frequency at which ominous ghosts or demons occur.

Maybe they are all around us, all the time.

Maybe they don't even exist except in our imaginations.

I love ambiguity!

For the sake of Fairness and Balance, I will say that I think the OP saw a "shadow creature," and that the other spooky experiences he had in that house are consistent with some sort of haunting, for want of a better word.

Whether I am right or wrong, I would love to hear more stories about it.

[Rock-Star]

Paranormalcy,thanks for taking the time to put so much thought into a newbie's post! appreciate it. And Hamlyn, I will definitely post some more stories when I get the chance. Whether or not they are paranormal, they still make for some interesting stories!

Edited February 24, 2010 by rockstar77