14 thoughts on “Your Paranormal Stories”

  1. I’m going to start a new series of paranormal stories that happened to me. Since this will be about both the living and the dead I will use only initials to represent who and where the events happened. Most will be in parts to make it easier for me to relay the story. I hope you all enjoy them and feel free to give feed back or to at least rate them using the ‘thumbs’.

    This first one happened to me when I was around 17. I was working a summer job and a friend of mine “S” told me her aunt had just purchased a very large old house but that she was terrified to actually live in the upstairs area. At the time I was super sensitive to spirits and really into the occult (like things have changed that much LOL) and “S” asked if I would be willing to go to the house and look around (a very early investigation before it was cool). I told her yes and S, myself and a good friend “P”, who was also into the occult – she was extremely sensitive, made plans to visit the house.

    When we arrived S’s aunt showed us around the first floor but told S to show us the upstairs since she would not go up there. My first impression in the kitchen was that I was being watched and I could sense something in or behind this wall. I mentioned it only to my friend P as we were showed about. The house was really beautiful and the upstairs was just as amazing although the atmosphere up there was considerably different. It was up in the back bedroom that S pointed to what looked like a pocket door. When she slid it back she showed us that it was actually a staircase that went down to the kitchen. I asked if I could see where it came out and with her ok I descended the steps. It opened up to the exact location where I had gotten the feeling of being watched and had pointed out to P. P and I exchanged looks but said nothing. We went back upstairs and S continued to show us around. Then we approached a chain hanging and S pulled it down. It led to the attic. The moment the attic opened there was a very disconcerting feeling and P and I both became very uneasy. We climbed the stairs. S asked if we were ok (I guess I had a weird look on my face) and I told her I didn’t like the feeling I was getting up here.
    The attic looked ribbed like the inside of a ship. All the beams seemed to be held in place by wooden pegs or square nails. There sounded like wind blowing through (sort of like wind howling) although there was no wind. We pressed further into the attic. There were all sorts of boxes up there, left by the previous owner. I marveled at this wonderful looking dresser and expressed what a wonderful piece it was. The overhead light only lit the area directly under it, casting shadows everywhere. In the corner was a very old Singer sewing machine. The kind that uses a foot peddle to operate. I really wanted to to look at it but I got a weird feeling from that corner and it was far from the light so I couldn’t see the area well.
    It was at this time that P said she didn’t feel well and couldn’t stay up there. We walked her downstairs and asked if S’s aunt had a flashlight. She did not but gave us a candle (in a candle holder) and told us to be careful with it. She didn’t want us to burn the place down. LOL. P did not want us to go back upstairs. We told her we’d be fine and left.

    Once back upstairs S and I started to look through the boxes. We put the candle on the dresser since that was the most stable place. The boxes had run of the mill stuff. Suddenly we heard this weird sounding version of “how dry I am” and we exchanged looks. What the hell? We walked over to where the sound was coming from. It was a box and we rummaged through it until we found a decanter with what appeared to be a music box attached. It was the type you wind and it has a metal drum with spikes that trigger metal tines to play music. We both smiled figuring that we must have disturbed it and that was why it was playing. The music stopped immediately as I touched it and when I flipped it over we discovered the actual mechanism was missing. We both couldn’t believe it and went through the box thinking the mechanism had to be in there and just fallen out when I picked it up. It was not. I remember saying to her, “You heard that right? It was playing when I touched it, wasn’t it?” We were both a little freaked to say the least and I kept getting this very weird feeling we were being watched from the corner. At that moment we heard something fall down the stairs. It sounded like it hit every step. We both peered over the edge and it was some kind of round wooden puzzle toy. I said, “where the hell did that come from?” We both knew we had not hit anything to cause it to fall. In fact we had not even seen that anywhere. A cold breeze blew past us giving us both goose bumps when suddenly from downstairs we heard P scream out for us.
    We bolted from the attic down 2 flights of stairs to the living room. We pretended that it was just to see what was happening but honestly we were afraid of the attic and what was starting to happen up there.
    We asked P what the problem was and she said she felt like we had been in grave danger. She started to cry and we consoled her saying “ok we won’t go back up.”
    Then S’s aunt asked us where the candle was. We exchanged looks. “It’s upstairs and it’s lit.” We knew we had to go back upstairs.
    We both climbed the wooden stairs and I reached out for the candle on the dresser except it wasn’t there. I looked at S. What the? She shrugged and we scanned the attic. Over on the Singer sewing machine sat the candle. There was a plume of smoke coming from the wick as if it had just been blown out. We exchanged frightened looks. I said, “I’m not getting that. Hell you couldn’t pay me to go over there. It’s out. I say leave it and let your uncle get it.? She nodded pulled the string to turn the light off and we flew down the stairs. I don’t think I actually touched the stairs. I was so frightened once the light went out that I was sure something was gonna grab us. We didn’t even put the ladder up. We figured S’s uncle could do that too.
    When we got downstairs we told P and S’s aunt what had happened. S’s aunt said, “that settles it I’m telling my husband we have to sell this place.”
    We left and took several polaroid photos of the outside. The next day the photos showed what appeared to be a figure in the attic window. S asked if she could take the photos and show her aunt & uncle. I said yes but the next day when she came to work she showed me the photos and the “figure” had mysteriously disappeared. I remember S telling me that after months of her uncle trying to convince her aunt it was ok that he relented and sold the house.
    I always look back at this event as one of my very first ‘ghost hunts’. Long before it was cool and popular to do so we had been brave enough to conduct an investigation.

    Look for my next experience story very soon – Barb

  2. Thinking about lore and legends– You may recall my mention of witnessing the apparition of the black dog in the Catskills. It wasn’t until after I’d seen it that I remembered and was reminded that it’s a Catskills legend like the old man in the mountains. So I’m wondering now… if I saw it does that make it a legend, which are generally fictions, or factual, as in this thing really exists, it really happened, and to more than one person. I believe that the more time one spends in the area of activity the more likely one is to witness the claims if they are true and accurate. It’s sort of like luck–there’s really no such thing–just those who are more observant (as in finding money on the ground) or more active (such as winning at Bingo).

    • So now you got my wheels turning on this. When does a “legend” cease to be a legend? Or are all legends factually based in some fashion and just not verifiable? When each person or generation shares the experience and propagates the legend is that what transforms it into “lore”?

      The concept of spending more time in an area increasing ones chances of activity is interesting. Do you think that it just makes you more in tuned to the energy or that whatever is there becomes more comfortable and is more likely to allow itself to be heard/seen?

      I’m just thinking about people who work/live in some of these locations we visit (like tour guides or residents) seem to have more experiences. Do you think it’s because they become like ‘family’ or more familiar to the ghostly inhabitants? Or do they just be more susceptible to the possibility of something occurring because they sort of spread the lore/legend of the place? If being familiar increases activity then would that mean if we visited a ‘haunted’ location again and again we would begin to get more or better evidence?

  3. Hi everyone,
    I’ve been very interested in the paranormal for years. Always a big fan of shows like unsolved mysteries and many other shows on tv. My Friend, Michael Todd, was even featured on an episode of “The Haunted.” I surely have enough encounters to write a book, but I will start with some local ones, since this site is geared towards Rockland County.

    I live in an old house, circa 1935 on S. Middletown in Pearl River. We were in between TVs, so I hooked up my projector to the cable box to watch TV. Me and my wife went to watch an episode of the Waltons that I had recorded on DVR. This episode was the one where Elizabeth was growing up, and she had discovered that she had some type of powers that encouraged the ghosts to do crazy things around her – things would act weird like the stereo would go on and off, things would levitate, etc. Towards the end of the show, there was a scene where she was looking out at the camera, anticipating something to happen again. At this moment, the projector shut itself off by itself!! It had never done that before!

    A few days ago, I was home alone, in my office room, when I heard a metallic sounding crash! I called out my wife’s name to see if she was home – no answer! I went looking around the house, and noticed the curtain rod in the living room had fell down on it’s own! Not sure how this could have happened because it wad up there quite secure on 2 nails, and there were other nails in the center of it for support too! Very Strange!

  4. New City … part 3

    Now you can imagine after months of all sorts of crazy things happening we, the roomates that is, were blaming and accusing each other for all sorts of stuff happening.
    One thing that happened right from the beginning was the back door would be open, it seemed all the time. From my perspective I would get up in the am and it would be open. I’d get home from work and it would be open. If I went out and came in late evening it would be open (room mates would all be in their rooms).
    My assumption always was that someone had let the dog out and forgot to close the door. My roommates had the type of job where they could stop home during the day and they did in fact come home from time to time to let the dog out. That was why I attributed the open door to them when I would get home at around 5pm. Their lack of consideration annoyed the hell out of me. I mean how hard is it to make sure the door is closed and locked. I felt it was a robbery waiting to happen.
    Before I go on I have to explain we all left the house at different times and went to bed at different times all based on our job schedules. This sort of scheduling helped contribute to the confusion.
    What I didn’t know was that each of the other 2 roommates had the same thing happening to them. They believed that I wasn’t closing the door before I went to bed or that I didn’t close it before I left for work.
    Missing items and what we believed were inconsiderate actions began to take its toll on us and pretty soon we were fighting all the time about it. Each of us denying the ‘action’ but each of us sure it was one of us. The worst part was it seemed the guilty party was getting worse and all the things were happening with increased frequency.
    Until one night…
    I was sitting in the living room watching TV. One of my roommates was in the shower. The other was not home. The dog was sitting on a bean bag chair in front of me (I know I’m dating myself). The dog was a pretty good watch dog in that she would bark at noises. She wasn’t aggressive but would run to the door barking when someone came to it.
    And so on this particular evening as I was watching TV I heard the back doorknob rattle. Leaning forward for a better view I could see the knob moving. I looked at the dog and said, “Who’s there girl?” but instead of her running to the door barking as normal, the fur at the gruff of her neck was all ruffled and she wouldn’t move off the bean bag. I asked her again “Who is it girl”, which would always make her run to the door in full bark, but now she just looked at me and back at the door.
    I stood up looking at this doorknob moving and then the door swung open. No one was there. The outer storm door which opened the opposite way was firmly closed. I had not heard it close or open for that matter. It would have been impossible for someone to open the inner door without first opening that outer door first. And yet here I stood looking at this door swinging open. A coldness slid down my spine as every hair on my head and arms went up. The dog was riveted to that bean bag. No barking, no movement from her. She just sat there, fur up with a little frightened look.
    At that exact moment my roommate exited the bathroom and saw us both staring into the dining area at the door. She said, “what’s wrong?”
    I looked at her. “You’re not going to believe this but I’m telling you I just saw the back door open all by itself and no one was there. Now don’t tell me it’s my imagination…”
    She cut me off. “Oh thank God you saw it happen. I saw the door open 2x this week and didn’t want to tell you for fear of you thinking I’m busting your chops about the ghost stuff and all.”
    We both went into the room and examined the door. We closed it and tried to rattle the knob and see if it would open, thinking maybe the house was settling and it opened that way. Forget that we saw the knob turn for a moment. We were trying to console ourselves that we couldn’t possibly have seen what we saw but no matter what we did from either the inside or out, we could not get the door to open up.
    That’s when I mentioned again about finding the door open all the time and that I really believed it was either her or the other roommate. She confided that she had thought it was me. Now we considered that perhaps it was none of us. There was only one person left to discuss this with.
    When the third roommate arrived home we told her our tale. That was when she confirmed again that she had found the door open on occasion and again thought it was us. We discussed all the incidents and realized that what we had attributed to each other was not us. Something else was at play here and all of this had pitted us against each other. It put a whole new perspective on the situation.
    We moved shortly after but I have to tell you that we slept with the lights blazing every night until we did and that I would block the light from the bottom of my door with a towel for fear of actually seeing movement there. I knew if that had happened I wouldn’t have been able to wait out the move. Bad enough the missing items continued and so did finding the door open. I never saw it open again but then again I didn’t sit by myself too often in the living room. If I were home alone I went to my bedroom. The place was way too creepy for me.
    I drive by the location from time to time. Over the years the house would be occupied and then empty frequently. I don’t think anyone stayed for a full term lease. Eventually the house was knocked down and a professional building built. It always had vacancies then one day it too was knocked down. A series of condos was then built there. I don’t know what their vacancy rate is but then again I don’t ride that way very often.
    All I know is that this New City location seemed to have paranormal problems that went beyond the physical residence.

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  6. New City … Part 2

    Well as you know there is a lot to do when you first move in to a new place.

    Movement…

    One of the first things we wanted to do was repaint the living room area and remove all the mirrors from the back wall. The mirrors were 12×12 inches. Our thought was to remove all but the corner so it would give the room a larger appearance.

    As we began working on removing the mirrors we noticed we would catch movement behind us. I can tell you that it happened so many times we began to question what was happening in this house. Even after we reduced the mirrors to the corners we would catch a glimpse of movement in this area. We could never determine what we were exactly seeing but even guests commented on seeing it when they visited.

    The cold spot…

    We also noticed there was a distinctive cold spot that moved about the living room. There was no rhyme or reason to where it was other than it always seem to settle around people. There was one person specifically that when ever they were at the house this spot would just follow her. Not only was this odd but our dog, normally a very placid individual, would bark and react to this woman and not go near her. This dog went to everyone but her. It gave us pause to say the least.

    Disappearing items continue…

    One other odd happening was things were constantly disappearing. All sorts of things. With 3 people in a house it took a long time before we realized it wasn’t one of us. One specific thing that seemed to disappear on a regular basis was a brush from the downstairs bathroom. (I can’t tell you how many brushes were bought between the 3 of us)

    At first we blamed each other until one day I had just exited the bathroom and used the brush. My roommate went in and within seconds she came out and asked if I had the brush. Of course I knew I had left it in there and got up a little annoyed thinking ‘if you would just look around’. I entered the bathroom and pointed down at the sink and to my surprise it was ‘gone’. That was crazy. It was just there. We had literally passed each other going in and out of the bathroom There had been no opportunity for it to be moved and yet it had vanished.

    Crashing sounds…

    Then there were the times we would hear this loud crashing sound from upstairs. It sounded like someone took a vase or chandelier and threw it to the ground with force. You could hear the shattering and scattering of the glass and yet when we would go upstairs nothing was broken. Absolutely nothing. There was no glass shards, no broken vase.

    In fact the only thing out of place or disturbed was the cats. There were terrified. They would look at us like ‘did you hear that’ or ‘you’re not leaving us up here are you?’ Also the dog would never just go upstairs. She had to be physically pulled up or coerced to go.

    I think it was about this time that I realized something ‘spooky’ was happening. I didn’t know the word paranormal in those days. This was before all the shows on TV brought such things into our homes and made discussions of paranormal a common place discussion. In those days when I brought it up and suggested that maybe the house was ‘haunted’ my friends, roommates included, thought I was nuts and the victim of an over active imagination. I had told ‘ghost’ stories to them before and now it seems the stories took away from my credability. They laughed and said, “you need to stop watching all those horror films cause it’s having its affect on you”.

    They said there was a rational explanation for it all and I just needed to find it.

    I suggested they tell me what that ‘rational’ explanation was since the key incident, broken glass sounds and the brush disappearances defied explanation. They had no answer for me.

    The next thing we were to discover would finally convince us we were living in a haunted house.

  7. I was 9 when my parents spent every last penny to buy our first home the summer of 1970. It was a beautiful lake front home with 200 years of history. It was the first telephone building in our town, our bay window was where the switchboard once sat. And before the house was built the local railroad ran through our back yard, it was magical.

    My sister and I shared the pitched roof attic as our bedroom, it was fun, like having my own apartment away from my brothers. The first few months in the house was busy with cleaning, unpacking, and settling in with nothing unusual to note. Then one evening in early January, the plaster board ceiling in my brother’s room collapsed and my ghost story began.

    My father used this event as an opportunity to completely renovate the room. He completely gutted the room and rebuilt it. During the renovation his tools went missing and at first thought it was one of my brothers taking his tools. Then one day he was alone in the house, put his hammer down to answer the phone and when he returned it was gone and never seen again!

    That evening the house was quiet, everyone was in bed when I first heard the footsteps climb the stairs from the first floor to the second floor landing, I was frozen sitting straight up in bed looking at the stairs to the attic. Then I heard two steps to the left and our door to the attic stairs opened and the footsteps began coming up into our attic room!

    Before I could react, my father came running out of his room and up the attic stairs to find me wide eyed, scared and confused…this was how the intrigue began for me….I’ll post more another time.

  8. Over the years I have had many experiences with the paranormal. At one point I lived in a haunted house in New City, NY. The house in question was a 4 bedroom place. Of course I didn’t know it was haunted till I moved in. I will tell of my experiences here in parts.

    The very first thing!

    Things started right from the beginning. There were 3 of us moving in and on that first night we made several trips back and forth to bring boxes. All the boxes were placed in the spare 4th bedroom, placing the first load all the way in and working our way out. All other loads just kept piling up slowly filling the area. Our thoughts being that it would be easier to move the furniture in if the boxes were not in the way. After multiple trips we sat around relaxing before returning to our present residence. When we were ready I went to my car and realized I couldn’t find my keys. This was odd because I made several trips already and was sure they were in my pocket but I searched inside the house thinking maybe I had laid them down or they had fallen from my pocket. After about 30 minutes I decided to use my spare set and went home.

    We moved in and began to relocate the boxes from the spare room. It probably took us a few days to get it totally empty. As I lifted the last box, which was the very first box we put down, there sat my keys. I stared at them in disbelief. How could that be? I had made several trips after this box had been placed. I called to my room mates and showed them my keys. They stared at me and shook their head. We were perplexed by what we had found but soon we’d begin to realize there were many more strange things to happen.

  9. Hello all! This is my first encounter with the paranormal.

    When I was 11 years old my grandmother passed away. I had been very close to my grandmother and back in 1963 you had to be 12 to visit someone in the hospital so I never had the chance to see her before she passed. All through the wake I remember being upset and crying. I remember vividly standing by her coffin crying and thinking about how much I loved her and how much I was going to miss her and that I wanted her to know that. I felt so sad that I hadn’t been able to visit with her and that she would never know how much she meant to me.

    We stayed with my uncle and aunt during the wake and funeral. On the night before her funeral I was laying in bed crying when I heard her voice. I looked up and there was her image in the mirror on my aunt’s vanity. I couldn’t believe my eyes.
    I said, “Grandma I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to say goodbye. I love you.”

    She smiled at me and said, “It’s ok Bobbie. Grandma knows you love her and I love you too. Grandma will always be with you so don’t worry.”

    I smiled and just as I was about to say something my mom entered the room. I looked at her and said, “Mommie I just saw Grandma in the mirror.”
    My mom told me I was just dreaming but I know I wasn’t. I remember looking at the mirror that night and feeling at peace.
    To this day I still have dreams of my Grandma and when things are tough she consoles me and reminds me that she will always be here to take care of me. She was and still is an amazing woman. Love you Grandma. Barbara

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