Ghostly experience....

[Floppit]

Well, not exactly but I felt the presence of someone not there, a very strong feeling too.

I always have my Munchkin in the back seat, except when I'm at work, I only ever really glance at her while I drive. Today I had my large dog in the car to get to the vets and no munchkin but the feeling she was behind me was incredibly powerful. My dog was creating flashes of motion inside the car and my brain seemed to be doing the rest.

Don't worry - I'm well aware nothing super natural was going on, but I was surprised and curious about how odd the sensation was. I think it was a combination of a habitual presence (munchkin in car), movements in peripheral vision (the dog), and an unusual setting (+dog/ -baby!). Had something similar occurred re someone dead I doubt I would think it a ghost but I couldn't go further than to say 'doubt'. I can understand why people 'feel' convinced.

[Pebble]

I find that getting into the car after midnight I have to remind myself that there is nothing/no-one in the back. The feeling remains, logic however prevails. I have no idea why one should suddenly have such convictions, but I suspect that a general paranoia of potentially vulnerable situations has survival benefit.

I think a movement behind you would heighten such awareness, but if so the sensation would be disconcerting rather than reassuring as would be the case if memories of munchkin were the source.

[PaulW99]

Here's my ghostly experience:

I was sitting at home, in my living room, it was dark outside and not all that well-lit inside. I looked outside and saw a ghostly apparition, a number of them in fact. There was no mistaking them, at least in my mind. They were ghosts! I remember thinking, huh, they do exist after all. Well how about that.

That's not the end of the story. I was glad to discover, when I thought about it later, that confronted with (in my mind at that time) absolute proof of something I absolutely don't believe in, I was still able to adjust my opinion to fit with the facts. Of course, I was dreaming, and woke up, and ghosts of course don't exist in the real world.

I think a lot of people have "ghostly" experiences, just little mis-perceptions that startle you, when you see something in a shadow that isn't there. Mix it with a coincidence and it can have an extra strong effect. My brother was once rushed to hospital for what turned out to be a minor thing, but he thought he was close to kicking the bucket. That night our father (who knew nothing of this) receved a phone call in the middle of the night. All he could hear was a faint voice saying "daddy daddy". I can only imagine what he would've thought if one of his children had died that day!

[chaggle]

There used to be a chap around here called Mulder who reckoned that ghosts did exist - what you call a "Ghostly Experience" he called a ghost. People thought that that terminology was confusing because the majority of people associate "Ghost" with "The spirit of a dead person". Here is a thread (http://www.ukskeptics.com/showthread.php/2993-Do-we-know-ghosts-don-t-exist?) (there were others) where it is discussed. Shame he's not around any more...

[DrS]

I thought he was Harry Price now. :undecided:

[Floppit]

I think a movement behind you would heighten such awareness, but if so the sensation would be disconcerting rather than reassuring as would be the case if memories of munchkin were the source.

It wasn't so much the feeling itself that was disconcerting, it only felt as though she was there. What left me feeling strange was how strong and how persuasive the feeling was. Prior to that experience I would have said that 'knowing' nothing supernatural was happening, that it was just a trick of the mind, would remove the illusion of a presence and yet in reality, although rationally I knew it was a trick of the mind, it was extremely tenacious. Had it been someone dead I was experiencing as there I can understand how it would appear compelling through the strength of feeling alone. I would never have imagined saying that!

[Rose]

No ghostly experiences but has anyone else reached out of the shower to get a towel and quickly pulled your hand back because you had the sudden feeling that someone might hand the towel to you? Creeeepy. :smiley:

[PaulW99]

No ghostly experiences but has anyone else reached out of the shower to get a towel and quickly pulled your hand back because you had the sudden feeling that someone might hand the towel to you? Creeeepy. :smiley:

Uh, no.

Any paranormal experiences?