Fifth question: On the paranormal

[scarlettina]

dthon asks:
Have you ever witnessed your own ghost sighting, experienced a haunting, or was involved in an instance of 'paranormal' phenomena?

Um, sort of, yes. My definition of "paranormal" is pretty broad. I suppose I should take a step back here and place some of this into context.

In case readers of this journal haven't figured it out yet with all my chatter about "Ghost Hunters" and the occasional mention of "Most Haunted," I kind of have a fascination with the paranormal. My mother fostered this interest in me. Amongst the many books in the house when I was a kid was an assortment of books about ESP and UFOs and ghosts.

My clearest early memory of interest in the paranormal is attending the Montreal World's Fair with my family and exploring the Pavilion of the Unexplained. I specifically remember looking at one of the UFO displays that talked about swamp gas as an explanation and thinking how ridiculous that sounded. It left a deep impression on me and I was hooked. Since then, I've been interested in all of these things pretty thoroughly. I've read far more books on UFOs and alien abduction than one ought to admit in polite society. I edited a couple on the subject when I worked at Bantam. I've talked to (alleged) abductees and researchers [one of whom was fairly convinced, because of an incident I casually mentioned, that I might be an abductee who has repressed memories; I chose to forgo investigation for two reasons: 1) I'm far too contaminated a witness given my interest in the subject and 2) if I am an abductee, given all I've read, I really don't want to remember.]. I even wrote a little book on the subject for middle-grade readers. I have long since become a skeptic on the subject due to my experience with one particular and quite prominent abductee, which I won't go into here. It's unfortunate, because I long felt that certain incidents bore more than a whiff of credence about them. It would take a lot to get me back to such a point, given my experience with this one abductee.

With regard to ghosts, well, I'll preface all this by saying, "Your mileage may vary," and I respect anyone who's got a different opinion. We all have different experiences of the world.

I used to read tarot cards. I did this on a daily basis and became very good at it. I got to a point where, when I'd read cards, I'd get flashes of images that I'd relate to the people whose cards I read who later told me that what I'd described either was true or came true later. I once did a reading for a close friend in the family room in the house in which I grew up. About halfway through the reading, my friend's face went completely white. I asked her what was wrong. She asked if we were alone in the house and I replied that yes, we were. She said, "There's a woman in a white dress standing in the door behind you. It doesn't look like your mother but I think it's her. It feels like her." I couldn't move for a moment, and then slowly I turned around. I didn't see anything, at which point my friend said, "She's gone." Until that point, I'd had a strong sense that my mother was still in the house; that experience didn't help dispel the notion. My brother, to this day, disagrees with the idea.

Another time, shortly after I moved to Seattle, I was at a friend's home, one of the older Queen Anne houses in the area. She was showing me the place and through a door, I saw a dog go by. I said, "I didn't know you had a dog," and she said, "I don't." I said, "But I just saw one go by there." I then asked, "Did the previous owners have a dog?" She said, "Yes, but it died...."

And something happened about a year ago, but I'm not prepared to talk about it. It was intensely personal, absolutely genuine, and something I'm not sure I'll ever be able to share with anyone.

I've never gone on an investigation of a haunting, though I'd like to.

So I guess my basic answer to your question is "Yes" but I had a bit more to say. ::grin::

Comments

[mevennen.livejournal.com]

You might want to check this out at some point -

http://www.nowthatsweird.co.uk/fusion/news.php

It's a digital show run by a friend of mine (nomadrush, who is a psychic investigator (among other things). IIRC he used to do the UK version of Ghost Hunters on TV. He takes a rational approach to all this stuff and won't fake phenomena.

[mysticalforest.livejournal.com]

Forget being frightened by ghosts—that site is horrific. It's going to give me nightmares.

[neutronjockey.livejournal.com]

When (my)Liz starts complaining that the Glastonbury radio is being piped too loudly throughout the apartment...

[ramblin-phyl.livejournal.com]

Yes. I've had a few experiences. How do you think I come up with all the weird stuff in my books. It's real.

[steve98052.livejournal.com]

We go to movies at the Harvard Exit fairly often, but we haven't seen the ghost there. Maybe she only comes out when the place is fairly empty.