“My childhoodbest friendwill sometimes just know things she should have no way of knowing or guessing.
She said, ‘I know, and that’s who sings it.
And then she answered before I ever spoke the question.
“My husband and I were visiting Nashville, Tennessee.
We were walking on a main street with our very young daughter in a stroller, browsing shops.
We came to a corner, watching traffic lights change to permit walking.
Without looking at my husband, I heard him say, ‘Lets cross the street.’
It potentially could have been deadly.
He replied, ‘I didnt say anything,yousaid to cross.’
We both insisted the other had said something and swore we hadn’t.
Whoever did might’ve saved our lives.”
R. Merrill, Fort Myers, Florida
3.
I was probably 9 or 10 at the time.
She was an only child, so it was just the girl, her parents, and I. I couldnt fall back asleep, so I went to the bathroom to get a drink of water.
It didnt look human it was unnaturally tall and skinny and didnt have any color.
I was terrified and just stood in the hallway, frozen.”
“It turned, looking at me, and started moving toward me.
I screamed, and then my friend woke up, saw it, and started screaming, too.
We both ran into her parents’s room.
They went to check, and there was nothing there.
Still, everyone was shaken up and I never slept over again.
To this day, I dont know what it couldve been.
But since my friend saw it too, I know it had to have beensomething.”
Anonymous
4.
“Many years ago, I was a flight attendant for the largest airline in the world.
I was sitting quietly in first class, eating my lunch, and nobody else was on the aircraft.
It was so peaceful and quiet.
Then, I heard a person step onto the plane.
“I got up immediately and turned to walk after him, but he was gone.
I couldn’t believe my eyes!
I could see the entire length of the aircraft, and he had just disappeared.
He was not on that plane.
I did not ever see him again.”
Mary Robinson, USA
5.
“As a teenager in the ’90s, we were just starting to rely on pagers.
There were teenagers coming and going from it all the time.
My boyfriend was ahead of me and already at the house.
I pulled into the driveway, where many cars parked up and down the street and in the driveway.
I walked to the house and knocked to go inside, but no one answered.
As we normally do, I just let myself in.
But there wasn’t a single person there.”
“I looked everywhere, thinking they must be hiding from me.
I walked around yelling ‘Hello!’
I pulled up to again a driveway and street full of cars.
Kim, Fort Collins, CO
6.
“I occasionally have dreams that seem to come true, usually after having multiples of the same dream.
Back in the ’90s, I repeatedly dreamt that I was in a particular building and the elevator fell.
Soon after that, I accompanied my husband on a business trip.
As we entered the hotel lobby, I turned to him and said.
‘This is the hotel where the elevator falls.’
I had never been there in my life.
He laughed it off.
The next day, he went to his meeting and I decided to explore the city.
We were staying on the 30th floor.
I had to crawl out as it was stuck between floors.
My husband never laughed off my dreams again.”
“My daughter was 5 and a perfect sleeper.
She was so good that she inspired jealousy among friends and family.
She slept from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m. every night without fail, unless she was sick.
One day, my wife bought an antique bookshelf at an auction.
Our daughter’s bed was against the other side of this wall, in her bedroom.
When I brought the bookshelf in, I was overcome with sadness.
I mean, I got arealbad feeling about it.
That night, though, our daughter couldn’t get to sleep.
She said something was tickling her or she that she was itchy.
We suspected itchy pajamas so we changed them and comforted her to sleep.
The next night, the same thing happened, and she was getting really upset about it.”
“Again, we changed her pajamas and comforted her to sleep.
On the third night, things got real.
She was yelling in her room, ‘Leave me alone!
Stop tickling me!’
Stop tickling me!’
She told us there was a man in there tickling and teasing her!
My wife stayed in her room with her that night while I took the bookshelf outside.
We sold it the next day.
We saged the house, placed crystals under her bed, and asked the spirit to leave us alone.
We told him he could move on now and that there was nothing left for him here.
The next night, our daughter went back to sleep like an angel.
Hopefully, he was able to move on.
I didn’t hear anything from the couple I sold it to.”
Will, Montana, USA
8.
“When I was a little girl, I stayed at my grandmother’s house one summer.
My grandma had plastic on the ceiling because some ceiling panels were missing.
I was already asleep, and my sister stayed outside late, as usual.
I heard her come in and remove her shoes, then walk around.
She didn’t say anything.
Then, she jumped onto the recliner with surprising agility.
I soon realized this was not my sister at all.
“My new husband and I moved into a house built in 1908.
When we first arrived, my 8-year-old said, ‘Oh!
I know this house.’
Wed never lived in this area before.
A lot of strange things happened in that home.
I often heard voices, some calling my name, when I was home alone, too.
We never felt scared, though.
I’m glad these were good spirits.”
Sheila, Huntsville, TX
10.
Most of the homes had been built in the early 20th century and belonged to the upper crust.
Many times, I would stay over while the parents were out of town.
This beautiful home had all hardwood floors, including the stairs.
I knew the sound of the children coming down the steps well, and I heard it that night.
I checked to see if they were alright, but there was no one there.
I went up to their bedrooms, and both kids were asleep.
I don’t know why, but I said out loud, ‘OK, goodnight house.’
It seemed to give the night some closure and peace.”
But that’s not all.
They had a maid, who was a self-proclaimed medium, that would come in once a week.
It all finally seemed to make sense…even if it didn’t make sense!
20 years later, I was having a glass of wine with the now-25-year-old I used to nanny for.
Britt, Seattle, USA
11.
“My daughter (12ish) and I moved into a new home.
During the first few months, she spent most nights sleeping with me.
One night around midnight, loud music woke us up.
I thought it was a car outside with the music cranked, but it continued.
I went downstairs and our stereo was playing a CD.
This happened a couple of times, always around midnight.”
Since these occurrences, I bought a different house.
My husband swears he didn’t do it, and I believe him.
I feel like I am being followed by a ghost.”
Jacquie
12.
“One day, when my mom was home alone, she was in the basement doing laundry.
She had locked all of the doors, as my dad was gone for the day.
She checked all of the doors, and they were all still locked.
To this day, we have no idea how he got back inside the house.
We like to think it was my granddaddy saving him from something outside.”
ericaf4da49a96b
13.
My wife also noticed it right away and thought it was freaky, but we played it cool.
The older couple left after getting their order.
My wife and I were left stunned and freaked out by the occurrence.”
“My neighborhood runs parallel to a busy road.
Aside from late at night, traffic is steady all day.
It caught my attention but didn’t seem all that weird at first.
Nobody there, either.
Definitely felt like a glitch in the simulation.”
Japanese kitchens dont have big stoves and ovens like Americans do.
These appliances arent hooked into a gas main, but instead have their own detachable can of propane.
The flame was controlled by a slide dial that would go from left to right.
I very clearly heard someone say, ‘DONT DO THAT!'"
Every hair on my body stood on end.
I slowly moved the dial down to zero and tried finding where the voice came from.
It wasnt a voice I recognized.
My dad was upstairs doing computer work, oblivious to what I was doing.
All the windows were shut, and there was no one around the house or outside.
She looked me dead in the eyes and said, ‘It could explode!
Dont ever do that!’
I could tell she meant it.
That incident convinced me that paranormal entities do exist, and sometimes look out for us.
Maybe thats where the notion of Guardian Angels came from?"
Kristin, Oakland, USA
16.
“When I was in high school, my parents went out to dinner with some friends of theirs.
I could hear them greet the dog, too.
Having them home so early was a bit strange, so I got up to see what had happened.
No one else was in the house.
The dog was still passed out in her bed in the living room, silent.”
To this day, I still can’t explain it."
torbielillies
17.
“MANY years ago, my husband accepted a new job in a different city in South Africa.
I never used to believe in ghosts, but the first house we lived in changed my perspective.
Our boys were 3 and 6 at the time and shared a bedroom next to ours.
On multiple occasions, I’d say something like, ‘What the…?
Get back to bed!’
Within seconds of this happening, our youngest would start fussing and then cry.”
On several occasions, I was also woken up by the sound of footsteps going down the hallway.
Then I’d hear someone open and shut the cabinets in the kitchen.
Often, I’d walk into the kitchen the next morning and find some of the cabinet doors open.
I decided to just live with whatever was going on in the house.
Six or so months later, we managed to find another house in the city and moved.
“We have a motion light in our family room.
One day, I was trying to get out of the house to get to work on time.
I had my work bag, coffee, lunch, and my purse to grab.
It was a frantic morning.
The automatic light was off, and I was ready to leave for work.
I had grabbed everything, or so I thought.
I started walking to the door, all my bags in hand.
As I passed the sensor, the light came on, as it should.
Strangely, though, it started flickering on and off.
I dont know who I was talking to.
The lights suddenly stopped flickering and just stayed on.
I walked across the room, grabbed my coffee cup, said, ‘Have a great day!’
and continued out the door.”
Lisa, San Ramon, USA
19.
“I had a fight with my boyfriend and made him give me back his key to my apartment.
When we made up, I went to the table for the key…but it was gone.
My first thought was that I lost it, but I know for a fact I never touched it.
We looked everywhere for it: under the furniture, in every drawer, under every sofa cushion.
We couldn’t find it.
I picked it up, and as I stood, I noticed something on the table by the door.
It was the key, lying in the exact spot I left it originally.
I still can’t explain it.”
“My best friend was returning home from Europe after he finished his studies.
We had not seen each other in years.
Since I was sleeping in their living room, they kindly offered their bedroom to us.
One night, my best friend and I were sharing the bed and I was having this strange dream.
In it, my friend and I were in this dark place by a pitch-black cliff.
I was urging him to trust me and just jump, even though we could not see the bottom.
The dream was intense and woke me up.
It was 3 a.m..”
“My friends rushed into the room.
My best friend walked back to bed, startled.
I asked what had happened, afraid of telling him about my dream.
He said we should talk in the morning, and everyone went back to bed.
My other friends do, too.”
Roberto, Lima, Peru
21.
One of the weirdest incidents happened to me when I was in seventh grade.
I came home from school one afternoon and when I entered my room, something felt off to me.
After looking around, I realized that a cassette had been pulled off my shelf.
The case was left out, and the tape was still in the tape deck."
When I pulled it out, it had been stopped mid-side, halfway through side two.
Steve, VA, USA
22.
“My family moved a lot when I was growing up.
There was one house that always had this otherworldly feeling about it.
My parents, sister, and brother all slept upstairs while I had my own room downstairs.
My sister and I were really close, so often she would sleep in my room with me.
One night, we were having a hard time sleeping.
It was late, and everyone else had been asleep for a few hours.
She didn’t believe me, so I told her I would go upstairs and check.”
“When I left the room, I didn’t hear a sound.
I went upstairs and looked in my brother’s room, where he was asleep.
I then went to my parents’ room, and they were also both asleep.
It was pitch black and dead quiet.
I quickly went back downstairs.
When I got to my bedroom, my sister asked if it was, in fact, our mom.
I really didnt want to scare her, so I told her it was.
She quickly fell asleep, and as I lay there, the singing started up again.
The woman was making these comforting sounds and saying, ‘Everythings going to be alright.’
I dont know how long it lasted, but I lay there paralyzed for what felt like forever.
I know what I heard, though.
While we lived in that house, I continued to have these weird experiences.
I heard the man laughing a couple more times and it was always followed by the singing.
After we moved out, all the weirdness stopped.
Seeing everyone fast asleep that night still haunts me to this day.”
Louisa, Vancouver, Canada
23.And finally, “This sounds wild, I know.
My sister still does not believe it.
But here’s the story anyway.
It was New Year’s Eve in 1989, and I was 12.
I was home with my dad in Nova Scotia.
My dad and I were leaving the next day to join them.
I woke up at about 3 a.m., and my whole room was as bright as day.
I checked the clock, and it was, in fact, the middle of the night.
I couldn’t find a source of light at all.”
My dad went out in his jammies in the backyard and walked around.
After a few minutes, it started to dim slowly.
Over about 10 minutes, it became pitch black again.
The whole thing was maybe 20 mins, start to finish.
We shrugged and went back to our beds.
I simply cannot come up with an explanation.
Dad thinks it may have been aliens, although he won’t admit that to anyone else but me.
He said it was like the vegetation was glowing from within.
Note: Submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.
