Do You Believe In The Paranormal?

[SoulBlazerFan]

Simple question. Does anyone here believe in anything paranormal? I'm not talking about what you see on TV- a lot of those paranormal TV shows are crocks.

Has anyone here ever had a paranormal experience? Heard/seen something unexplained? Doesn't have to be just ghosts... UFOs or anything else of that nature.

[inferiare]

Sure do, and I have in the past, yep. It was enough to freak me and my old dog out, that's for sure.

[EverPhoenix]

Never had an experience myself, but I'm open-minded enough to not completely discount the fact that there are things out there that we haven't found yet. Hungry, creepy things.

[psychokind]

sometimes, when i see the koreans play league of legends, i think they're aliens.

but seriously, i really hope we get to see something out of the ordinary in my little lifetime. would make things pretty interesting.
i don't know if it counts as believing in sth paranormal, but i really believe we're in for some f...cked up steampunk future (you know, like bladerunner), just because i can't think of anything positive coming out of this degenerated humanity i come in contact with on a daily basis

[SoulBlazerFan]

Just about everyone in my family has had some sort of paranormal experience. Both of my parents told me about things that happened to them (My father's childhood home was filled with paranormal activity, my mother experienced several things there too)

My sisters told me the house my father and step mother moved into was haunted. I personally didn't believe them. When my father passed away and they moved out, myself, my brother, his girlfriend, and my cousin Bob moved into that same house. I never experienced anything- and so far as I know no one else did either.

That was until we decided to move out. One of the last days we were living there, I was doing laundry in the basement. I heard a voice- a girls voice- say something from one of the other rooms in the basement. Thing was, that room only had one door, no one was home but me, and the window was permanently sealed shut.

I checked the room and nothing was there. The creepiest part? The voice only said one thing- my name. "Rob."

I've never spoken about that to my brother, but I did mention it once to my cousin, who I still live with in a new house. He told me that was freaky, because just before we moved out, he too heard someone speaking to him when he was home alone. Once again, one word, this time, "Why?"

I had another experience a few years prior, but it isn't something I feel really comfortable discussing. Sorry.

[inferiare]

That is pretty damn creepy, SBiF.

One was recent, though it could be tricks my eyes were playing on me, but one night I woke up (which is not uncommon) pretty early morning - 3-4am, still dark out and I could have sworn someone was standing in front of my door staring at me. Even after blinking a few times, image was still there which... shouldn't be if it were my eyes. After staring for a few minutes and then blinking it left, but that was not what I wanted at 3ish in the damn morning.

[SoulBlazerFan]

That is pretty damn creepy, SBiF.

One was recent, though it could be tricks my eyes were playing on me, but one night I woke up (which is not uncommon) pretty early morning - 3-4am, still dark out and I could have sworn someone was standing in front of my door staring at me. Even after blinking a few times, image was still there which... shouldn't be if it were my eyes. After staring for a few minutes and then blinking it left, but that was not what I wanted at 3ish in the damn morning.

That is really freaky. Do you have these paranormal experiences at your place? Or was this just a one time thing?

I do find it incredibly frustrating at times when you try to discuss this with someone and they either don't believe you or they blow you off. There are several people I've tried to talk to about some of these who were just completely dismissive. I guess unless you're opened minded or have had some experiences yourself, you can't really understand.

[psychokind]

That is pretty damn creepy, SBiF.

One was recent, though it could be tricks my eyes were playing on me, but one night I woke up (which is not uncommon) pretty early morning - 3-4am, still dark out and I could have sworn someone was standing in front of my door staring at me. Even after blinking a few times, image was still there which... shouldn't be if it were my eyes. After staring for a few minutes and then blinking it left, but that was not what I wanted at 3ish in the damn morning.

humans have evolved over a long period of time. we have certain instincts of what is dangerous. a bitter fruit, the roar of a predator, the smell of sulfid or the sight of an animal running at us.
if these are all warnings learned over a lot of time and incidents, valid since thousands of years until today... why do we sometimes look into the dark, see the silhouette of a person just standing there doing nothing - and instantly feel afraid, often so much we can't stop staring? what happened in our past that programmed this inherent fear of the man standing in the dark?

so much for the urban slenderman legend you guys were just tricked by your minds, in all seriousness.

[inferiare]

It likely was my own mind/eyes playing tricks, especially since I had been asleep before that. Can't say it wasn't though, I can keep my mind open to say it might not have been.

@SBiF: one time thing. Haven't had anything else happen that was super weird here. Last time anything happened was at my parents house, and that was a one-time thing too - room got considerably colder than the rest of the house, dog refused to come in to the room even when I tried physically pushing her into said room. Once the room was normal again she was fine and would walk right in.

[SoulBlazerFan]

It likely was my own mind/eyes playing tricks, especially since I had been asleep before that. Can't say it wasn't though, I can keep my mind open to say it might not have been.

@SBiF: one time thing. Haven't had anything else happen that was super weird here. Last time anything happened was at my parents house, and that was a one-time thing too - room got considerably colder than the rest of the house, dog refused to come in to the room even when I tried physically pushing her into said room. Once the room was normal again she was fine and would walk right in.

I've always been in the belief that other worldly events happen in every day life. Actual "hauntings," persay, exist in certain places, or sometimes, someone living somewhere attracts the spirit there.

The more open you are to the idea of the paranormal, the more likely chance you will have to experience it in your life.

This kind of stuff used to terrify me- I remember when I was younger feeling... presences in a house I used to live in. I felt really in tune with something back then- but ever since I left that house, I haven't felt anything remotely like that since. While I have had these other strange and unexplainable events in my life, and nothing actually happened in that house, it was just very strange to flash back to that place and remember the things that went on there.

[Manibrandr System]

I don't believe in the paranormal or the supernatural, but it's fun to explore the possibilities.

[psychokind]

if, although unlikey , you want my advice: keep your beliefs for yourself in public. some weeks ago i was on a summer barbecue of my gf parents, and their new neighbours were there. they were an absolutely normal couple, when after some beers the man told that he goes around the house taking pictures to experience "foto blobs" or whatever. he seriously believed that random white light reflections on the pictures were some sort of ghosts. the tension was so awkward that several adults had to leave

[SoulBlazerFan]

if, although unlikey , you want my advice: keep your beliefs for yourself in public. some weeks ago i was on a summer barbecue of my gf parents, and their new neighbours were there. they were an absolutely normal couple, when after some beers the man told that he goes around the house taking pictures to experience "foto blobs" or whatever. he seriously believed that random white light reflections on the pictures were some sort of ghosts. the tension was so awkward that several adults had to leave

So? What is so wrong about having a belief in the paranormal? How is it any more ridiculous than say... believing in an almighty power? Christians believe in a God, Heaven and Hell, and that leads into spirits, angels, and demons. Catholics take it one step further and believe in a purgatory. How is believing in spirits/ghosts any different than those, given that, you would have to believe in supernatural forces likes angels/demons/spirits and God.

If you don't believe in it that's fine. I just don't agree with people who just completely outright deny it. A level of skepticism is fine, but putting someone down for the things they believe or have experienced really does irk me some.

Same goes for extraterrestrials as well. It really is ignorant to believe that, in the vast expanse of our universe, that there isn't so much as a microbe of life that exists elsewhere. While I won't say we've been visited by them per say, I will say there has to be something out there. I mean hell, Voyager I just left our solar system last year, after 36 years of space flight, traveling over 16 BILLION miles. Think about that for a second.

[psychokind]

if, although unlikey , you want my advice: keep your beliefs for yourself in public. some weeks ago i was on a summer barbecue of my gf parents, and their new neighbours were there. they were an absolutely normal couple, when after some beers the man told that he goes around the house taking pictures to experience "foto blobs" or whatever. he seriously believed that random white light reflections on the pictures were some sort of ghosts. the tension was so awkward that several adults had to leave

So? What is so wrong about having a belief in the paranormal? How is it any more ridiculous than say... believing in an almighty power? Christians believe in a God, Heaven and Hell, and that leads into spirits, angels, and demons. Catholics take it one step further and believe in a purgatory. How is believing in spirits/ghosts any different than those, given that, you would have to believe in supernatural forces likes angels/demons/spirits and God.

If you don't believe in it that's fine. I just don't agree with people who just completely outright deny it. A level of skepticism is fine, but putting someone down for the things they believe or have experienced really does irk me some.

Same goes for extraterrestrials as well. It really is ignorant to believe that, in the vast expanse of our universe, that there isn't so much as a microbe of life that exists elsewhere. While I won't say we've been visited by them per say, I will say there has to be something out there. I mean hell, Voyager I just left our solar system last year, after 36 years of space flight, traveling over 16 BILLION miles. Think about that for a second.

believing in a higher power is culturally acceppted, and nobody thinks of it as having a physical impact/exist on earth - at least in europe. believing in paranormal things goes along with believing in existing evidence or using it as an explanation for certain happenings.

extraterrestrial life is a good example: it's fine to state "there must be more out there", but not "there's that ufo in area51 you know".

[EverPhoenix]

I'd say it should be the same for both. I do sometimes get a bit uncomfortable when someone starts talking about their belief in God, for example. Although, to be fair, it's usually because the only people who start up on that topic are the ones who I least enjoy talking to about that kind of thing.

It's like that quote - "People who share their beliefs with you rarely want you to do the same". Or maybe it's just me.

On the topic of the supernatural though, it's almost guaranteed to be a more interesting conversation than religion.