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This is a serious discussion thread I would like to start concerning your personal paranormal experiences, particularly concerning:
Poltergeists: Large-scale psychokinetic/telekinetic phenomena largely attributed to spirits and sometimes associated with the influence of adolescents and younger children.
Hauntings:Recurrent phenomena reported to occur in particular locations that include apparitions, sounds, movement of objects, and other effects. (Cited, Wikipedia - Parapsychology)

I had a class concerning some different parapsychological experiences, and I would like to know your experiences and thoughts concerning them. Considering the religious and lifestyle diversity of the people in this community, the responses should be well-rounded and very educational.

Feel free to include positive and negative experiences of spirits and poltergeist, including anything that may relate to the, being part of a haunting as well. Again, I would like for everyone to discuss where you believe or think the apparitions and experiences originate: e.g. real outside haunting, personal apparition, special quality attributable to certain people?

I'll be happy to start the first post recounting my only 2 "haunted experiences," both I think, fitting technically into the category of poltergeist.

Let the stories and explanations begin!

When my boyfriend and I were living in Georgia, there was frequent reference to a possible spirit living in the back closet of the apartment. The room was generally shut up, rarely open (but clean), and usually very dark. We had a cat that spent a lot of time in the room.
I've never been one to put much stock into spitirs or hauntings, but over the last two years, I've opened my mind a lot and I'm a lot more understanding of these types of things now.
My particular experience occurred while me and my boyfriend were in our bedroom, concerned with something unrelated. The cat was running around, and the closet door was open. It was late at night, the lights were out, and so it was very dark in the whole apartment. I happened to look up and to the left to the bedroom door, and saw a very tall (we're talking 8 ft squished against the ceiling tall), definitely dark but defined grotesque figure with distinctly red eyes float past the bedroom door - float as in very quickly rush by. One second there, the next vanished. I noted the incident soon afterward, and was surprised to hear that such a "spirit/poltergeist" had been seen or dreamt about in this apartment and his last apartment before.
That was the first time I got the low down on this particularly spirit. I found it interesting that I described the spirit exactly as others had without ever hearing about it before. That definitely took a load off my skepticism.

Since then (and a little before) I have done some parapsychological research, and I personally think this spirit/poltergeist was goetic in nature and somehow related to a particular person's belongings who no longer lived in this apartment, since it had been in his last apartment (when this person lived there) and it has not shown up yet in our place in Wisconsin. The reason I assume it's goeticis because of its stature, long standing presence attached to particular person interested in the goetia, and it's appearance looking similar to some goetic demons (particlularly Accoles).

The last experience I had was not at all as casual as the first. It was in our place in Wisconsin. I was alone except for our cat. I was on the other side of the house with the cat, and just happened to look up at a suspicion of movement, and saw a thin, human shadow cross my bedroom, distinctly visible from the hallway. Suddenly filled with unexplainable panic and disarray, I called my boyfriend, grabbed my coat and shoes and left in a rush to get out, since I could not stay in that presence anymore. It was the weirdest experience I have ever had - and I've had some weird ones.
That spirit felt more menacing for some reason. AS if it didn't want me tere. And I think that messed with my head, because after that, I felt an urging desre just to leave that apartment, and ended up moving about 2 months later. Hate to let spirits win like that, but circumstances seemed convincing enough... would love to hear your experiences like this.

I have had both. It depends on the spirit and the death. The cause of death and the timing seems to show more in anger for a majority of spirits. I guess death did not become them... :(

Sadly of all of the paranormal experiences that I've had none have been strong enough to turn on the microwave or throw glasses against the wall. it would be an interesting thing to see i'll bet

Aurelia, I bet it would be interesting to see a spirit that was either powerful enough to do that, or if we were open enough to allow them to do that. Ever think that might have something to do with it?
I've always been curious - are some just more powerful than others, or do they vary, or does it solely depend on how much power or energy we give them, or how open we are to such experiences? It's an interesting question, and I'd love to know more about it.

Titan, I have to admit some ignorance here, I don't know much about how death influences poltergesits or hauntings. I do know that it seems to be an ever present variable in this equation. Whenever dealing with spirits, they tend to reflect those of someone already passed on, or at least bring up those types of feelings in the people surrounding it. And of course, hauntings are generally stuck to a particular place, usually concerning the death or unsolved / unaccounted for fatal wrongdoing of another. Often hauntings can apparently as well include beginnings in broken hearts or unfinished business as well.

Like I said, my knowledge is lax in this area, so anyone putting any input in would be appreciated!

i do not know a lot on this subject but would love to hear some more stories from members

i am sure there must be more members with stories or knowledge on this subject

I had both, the poltergiest was when my son was 3, and there was spiritual phenomen around him,till I have deal with it and got ride of it. As for the hunting, I had 4 places that were hunted, and it was since the age of 7 I seem to be able to find places that have hunting in it.

i had a a haunting there was a girl who whould sit on the end of my bed and id wake up with cold feet she followed me around the house and never said a word untill about 3 mounths after i saw her all she said was be carfull and she went away i got in an accident i was able to survive through about a week later but she came back the next day in my mirror and i never saw her again

From my experiences with in-field investigations, I've come across different types. Some were nice and others were quite unhappy and did not want us there. Some of the EVP's we got were pretty cool. One that was interesting was an unearthly growling. The odd thing about that was one of the other investigators was actually hearing the growling DURING the evp session. No one else was able to hear it. I really believe that the spirits maintain the same personality after they die as they had when they were alive.

I've only had one experience with a haunting in the first house I bought. The womans mother had died of cancer in the house 6 months prior to when I purchased it. I didn't believe in ghosts so I was no worried about living in the house at all. The first two weeks, little things would happen such as walking past the kitchen and the shutters would be closed, then walking back by shortly after and the shutters were open, and the same with curtains in different rooms. I never actually saw any part of the transition (opening or closing) just the end result. At first I thought I was crazy, then lillies bloomed in the middle of the winter outside my bedroom window which is where she passed away, and my mother told me it was a sign that there had been a death in the house at some time. After that, called her daughter to find her grave, cut the lillies and took them to her, then introduced myself to the house and never had an activity after that. I believe in ghosts, but I don't believe that can be harmful.

Hmmmm.... seeing such an apparition would call for a double quick de-assing of the immediate llocation!

But I have never had an experience such as you describe only the hair rising on my arms, or the movement of curtains. From time to time though I have experienced the feeling that I'm not alone

I think it's great that most people seem to keep very open minds about this kind of thing, as opposed to assuming the worst and having a place destroyed or something. Rash motions like that could make someone even more upset. I do wonder if all hauntings and poltergeists are people who have lived before, or if some simply come into existence without previous attachment. I'd think it would be silly for us humans to assume that that we're the only sentient/able beings on earth, and who's to say some form of spirit isn't the next step to our evolution? I mean, to step away from traditional view for a moment here (just came up with this), being a spirit give you possible immortality, great protection, but still interaction and cognitive thought. There's just no need for food nourishment or physical protection. It's a possibility.

Some people think that things like this aren't necessarily real, but instead hauntings of our own minds, sometimes not as individuals, but even as people in general - maybe all humans, maybe just different groups concerning different things. So then, if this person or these people make adequate and sufficient meets for demands, since they *think* it will pass, the experience passes. Just another option.

However, it does seem a little arrogant to assume our reality is the only one and everything outside of us is somehow due to our cognitive thought processes...

well my most recent experience was actually last year, I usually get at least one a year... sometimes more.. but anyways here we go...

I was actually living with my ex gf Tara in her apt, and we were in the bedroom, the alarm was set to wake us up so she could send her kids off to school, well.. we were making love that night, and the CD player started to play a Keith Urban song...(i hate country) but it was a sad sad song... and no one else was in the house, and she was on top of me. The radio turned on all the time, so we didn't think anything of it until I looked in the doorway, the best way I can describe what I had seen was if you have ever watched white noise, the black figures, well it looked kinda like that it was a tall black figure of a man, I just kept staring at him pacing through the hallway in front of the doorway, and Tara asked me "what wrong baby" and I told her, that she didn't wanna know, but she was very persistant, and I told her, and she looked, and didn't see it at first, I told her to look beyond the doorway, when she seen it she got really freaked out. At this point the sex stopped, and as we both just kept starring, it growled at us, it sounded like it came from above, below, up, behind, all around us.. I couldn't beleive it, so we got up and Left the house pretty quick, the next day I called my friend Anthony who is a into alot of spells and such, I asked him and he told me what to do... (kind of a secret) I did that and all the wierd things stopped, the radio ended up working fine... and yeah

so thats my experience.

lol that is freaky

i bet you looked at the door all the time after that

i know i would of lol

Yeah I did actually, and the next day before I got rid of it, you felt a really erie feeling in the apt.. it was crazy and I'll never forget it

Very cool. I'm trying to do some more research on this, but if anyone else is interested, the official associations web-site is http://www.parapsych.org/index.html.

hanks for all the great input, everyone!

My mom has had both positive and negative experiences growing up. In one house she lived in she had a ghost that watched over her and her sister while they would sleep. In another house however, even though she never saw this ghost (she had seen the first one) she knew it was there. They could never keep any pets alive in this house, my mom told me that one day when she left to go to the store she locked all doors and windows and when she came back the front door was wide open and her dog was in the street dead.

Quite interresting. Sounds like more of a demonic haunt than a Poltergeist with all the growling experiences.

in the house i live in i did my job attempting to catch the paranormal on a mini-recorder. needless to say i picked up strange things that resembled someone entirely to close to the recorder, yet only a cat was in the basement where i was recording. i set the recorder to conference to pic up further away sounds as well. it picked up something alright, something breathed near the recorder ( no this is my honest answer, nothing made up for those who never believe ) i have seen shadows now and then, going through a room into a wall to another room. now im not insane and i have done my research on spirits so i have some experience. even today i still see the things that religion doubts and says are just demons ( im really tired of things being blamed on demons by religion ) anyways feel free to ask anything you want about these things i have seen, you may be surprized to have seen the same....anything is possible.

Spirits themselves do they haunt us or are they just trying to get us to acknowledge them does this make then more powerful?

a positive experience is all i can claim to have tho very differant ones they were!

At the age of 2, i was put on life support and my parents told i had seventy two hours to pull out of my coma or i was dead..there was nothing to do. Lying in a hospital bed across town was my grandfather recovering from cancer...to be sent home he had two or three years left... he would have a good quality of life during this time he was mending.

At exactly 2:30 pm, my mother travelling between hospitals recieved dramatic and bizarre calls from both wards....my grandfather had died smiling and calling my name, i awoke sat bolt up right and completely freaking all the ward out by screaming for my grandfather. Scepticle you my be as i myself am. however i still now he is around when in danger his image flashes before me and i know i am in danger....he has saved my life many times and now my two year old daughter has "seen" him and calls him by name even tho i have no pictures of him they were destroyed when my house burned down before she was born!!

As most children i had an imaginary friend, how cute right?! My friend joseph would read to me and eat with me travelled to school with me we were inseparable...he once pushed my sister out of his chair,i was at the other end of the table, my mother saw this occurance and became scared. There followd many attempts to persuade my to talk to "someone" about my friend, i refused. Eventually i was able to talk to the my grandmother type babysitter, there was many concerns that i was mad! i explained he was nice i told her all about him the clothing he wore(knickerbockers and blazer and a funny hat) he had ginger hair and was eight a year older than myself. the old lady started to cry and left she did not come back for many months, which distressed me greatly, though joseph said it would all be ok. Finally she came back and with her she carried a photograph, she sat me down adn asked me if i knew the little boy in the picture? IT WAS joseph, her grandson, they had lived next door for years until he was hit by a car and thrown into my garden where he perished. unfortunatly for me once he was known he started to fade, i still miss him and occasionally wish i could talk to him......

ok so you may not believe any of this, but this is how it was for me, there are other stories but these are the large ones and this is very long(sorry).

be open to these experiances tho they are scary many are completely harmless

Damned I have heard of spirits that help people that they like strangely enough I have had this experience as a child. We lived in an apartment that was haunted by an elderly man called Sam, he saved my brother from drowning in the bath tub and saved me from being abducted from my bedroom window. He would also wake up my parents if either myself and my brother were sick. Previous tenenants complained of more poltergist behaviour in that he would destroy things and physically attack the occupants of the apartment. I think because he missed being a grandfather that he was 'nicer' to us and wouldn't let us leave. When ever my parents got the money together to move out of the apartment something would go wrong and they would have to spend money fixing things. It was all because of a puppy my parents got us that he eventually let us go. Then landlord told us the puppy or us had to go and because my brother and I were attached to the puppy he made sure my parents had the money to move to a house with a big yard for us to play in.

So yes I think you can have a positive experience.

i have seen a few spirits in my life but havent had a positive or negative experience. all my dealings were in the same house. sometimes things would fly off benches even though they were near the wall and other times i would see a figure but was never threating and tended to stay a distance away.

I've had a few experiences though I don't know wheter they were postive or negative.
One was my mom in I in our apartment when I was 10. We were sitting on the bed, watching the tv when the bathroom light came on, the Shower started running, steam billowed up and the door shut and locked itself. it stayed like that for about 5 mins. Then the water turned off, the door opened, and steam billowed out. It was just really werid.

Another was I was home alone in my room, sitting up, playing with my dog. I saw something big, bout 6 ft. pacing the foot of my bed. I thought my dad had come home. I called "dad" and the thing stopped pacing, and leaned over, put its "hands" on my bed, stared at me, then went back to pacing. the next night I saw "it" watching me do the dishes.

I've had "things" hurt me and my friends in the graveyard. It made me learn to stop doing my "callings". I got slapped and had blood drawn on my throat and shoulder by absolutely nothing. My friend started crying and choking, and my other friend's face had welts accross it from a hand that hit him.

Had a few other experiences but not going into detail.

I'd love to think all poltergeists are trying to help us, or that they're all evil, but it probably isn't too far off to assume that they are as varied and numerous in ability, will, and intention as humans.

I'm still curious to know if they can *pop up* out of nowhere, or if they should be directly tied to previous living things (I've heard of people's experiences with animal spirits, any examples of these?)

I've never had a run in with a poltergeist and I hope that doesn't happen anytime soon either. I don't know if I'd be ready to deal with it or not.

I have never had any Poltergeists experiences or any other type of occult experiences, but i would think that they all would be bad experiences...

I've had very few experiences and those which did occur were not things that I care to remember. Just knowing that there were spirits present was enough to make me frightened.

in 17 years of studying the paranormal, i have encountered may poltergiests as well as ghosts...i can say i have had some pretty traumatic encounters with poltergiests , but have also had the ones that just follow one around and just make thier presence known.

i have had a few exsperiences in my time its kind of spooky but its also kool in a way. dont know if it was ment for negative or positive approach but i am fine its something that u do not forget