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The First Encounter

 

The year, if I'm not mistaken, was 1984. I know because I was getting ready to start kindergarten. I lived in a town called Carolina in Puerto Rico about 30 minutes away from San Juan, the Capital. The house we lived in was shared between my Aunt Mercedes and my Mom. It was left to us by my paternal grandmother Ana. She passed away soon after I was born. I have no early recollection of what her face looked like since the only two pictures of us together are missing her face.

As with any small "barrio", Ceramica had its share of ghost stories and folktale. Unfortunately for me, one was my grandma. She was said to be a strong, tall woman of very dark skin. The neighbor gossiped about how men would fall head over heels for her. I hated all the rumors. Specially since most people claimed I looked like her a lot.

My full name is Zaranie... The last part of it dedicated to her. I never really paid much attention to all the stuff being said until one night, this drunk woman who was the odd ball in town, came to my house and claimed she had my grandmothers nails and hair in a container in her medicine cabinet. She said since my grandma was a witch, she waited 'till they buried her and cut them herself to do black magic or "brujeria".

It made me so mad, I ran out of the house, I went to my backyard. It was a nice night out with a full moon. Often I would sit by the fruit trees and imagine myself in NY. I had just returned and I loved the train. There I was just looking up at the moon when I hear a hoot on a guanabana tree. I stepped closer to see what it was and I nearly screamed when I looked into a pair of yellow eyes. An owl? In Puerto Rico? Weird. But it just stared at me for long minutes. An odd feeling came over me.

I could not move. My jaw was locked in place. My heart was drumming in my ears. I could hear my mother calling me but I could not move. I must've blinked because when I focused again there was the figure of a woman sitting on the branch of that tree. She was quiet... Just staring at me. So I screamed and I kept screaming 'till my mother came running.

My backyard neighbor was shouting at my mother that she had been in the yard when I came out and she saw me look up and that she too looked up and saw something dark sitting on the tree. Together they took me inside, although my legs refuse to work and they prayed over me and practically choked me on holy water.

After that incident, I was forbidden to go outside alone. It didn't stop my problems from coming indoors. I constantly would jump because I would see things walking past doorways. Or looking through the windows. It became almost impossible for me to sleep unless I was with a grown up. One such time, my mother and my aunt told me they had finally got me to sleep when they saw me walk out of the room and start to crawl halfway down the back hallway. When they followed me, they both saw a woman dressed in white crawling ahead of me. This I don't remember. But I'm glad they were there to get me.

A series of events occurred after that, and I feel the need to warn people who are sensitive to this situations. Things started moving around the house. Items would disappear for days, then show up on counter tops. My mom kept getting pinched... Right now as I'm writing, I have a feeling of heaviness around my throat... Difficulty swallowing... We moved from the house because one night, as I lay awake between my mother and sister, I had the urge to go to the bathroom. I kept trying to hold it because I felt terrified of waking mom or my sister Zilkia.

I counted sheep. I sang baby songs. Almost in tears I gave up and closed my eyes waiting for the inevitable embarrassment of wetting my bed. Then I got this feeling again. It's hard to describe... My limbs become very heavy and I get really cold. My skin pinpricked. I could not move. I looked up at the ceiling like a doll. There was a mist that grew heavier until I could make out a face and hands.

It floated on top of us hovering back and forth and I felt breathing near my face. Hands caressed my face and arms. It felt like if a doctor was prodding me for injuries. Then I noticed the eyes; big and dark and I panicked. I have no idea how but kicking and gagging, I woke my mom and sister and they saw me laying there and started screaming.

Whatever it was went under the bed and shook the rooms to the core. Lamps fell and wind... Wind for the love of God! Came rushing from everywhere. But I could not move. I just closed my eyes and prayed as hard as I could for as long as it took and when it was over I peed on the bed and blacked out.

We moved a lot after that. The incident marked all of us. It definitely scarred me because it seemed to open up sensors in me that took years to understand and control. My clairvoyance got very strong. I get premonitions very often. And even though I still can't understand this part... I can see spirits sometimes.

I welcome all honest readers to give me a first, second and even third opinion to what is wrong with me and to refer me to a good psychiatrist if you believe I suffer and illness.

Thank you for taking the time to read the beginning of my life.

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Comments about this paranormal experience

The following comments are submitted by users of this site and are not official positions by yourghoststories.com. Please read our guidelines and the previous posts before posting. The author, Zara_C, has the following expectation about your feedback: I will participate in the discussion and I need help with what I have experienced.

rootwomin (28 posts)
 
16 years ago (2008-01-31)
sounds like your needed to have a misa/spiritual investigation performed on your behalf by a local santera or babalawo or iyanifa or espiritista.

have you done so?
nhouse (1 stories) (9 posts)
 
16 years ago (2007-12-14)
Why would you think that there is anything wrong with you? You are perfectly normal. It sounds like there was a lot of spiritual activity in that house, and you happen to be very sensitive to that kind of stuff. Control the gift,don't let the gift control you. The second you give into fear, whatever is attacking you has control over you.
seraphim (13 posts)
 
16 years ago (2007-12-10)
These are demons and they want to torment you and ruin your life.
You may have a generational curse on you from your grandmother being in the occult (if in fact she was)
The lady with the hair and nails in her cabinet may also have cursed you.
Jesus Christ has all power and authority over demons and you can have that to if you give your life to him.

God bless and I hope you are ok; you're in my prayers.
Edmund (1 posts)
 
16 years ago (2007-12-04)
Grandma must have been powerfull. And the drunk woman must not have liked her much or maybe they were rivals. But anyway she did not want to see your grandma's power passed on to another generation and tried to stop it using black magic. Guess it didn't work because here you are with some great abilities.
luvparanormal (12 stories) (268 posts)
 
16 years ago (2007-12-03)
Zara,
Thanks for sharing!
I have to say that not many people have the gift you do and specialy having background in your family. In PuertoRico there are a lot of witches and many other believes like Voodoo, Hechizeros, witch craft (Brujeria)and it is taken very seriously by many. I believe that what you need is a cleaning. This lady that came to your house drunk might have put someting on you and that is why all this is happening. If you can find someone that knows about this and they will be able to tell you what to do to reverese the effect.
Good luck and I don't think you are crazy at all.
whitebuffalo (guest)
 
16 years ago (2007-12-01)
I get the feeling from your story that you do not believe your Grandmother was a witch. From my understanding, not all witches are evil. I, myself have a friend who proudly holds a high title in her clan and she is the salt of the earth. The Motto "Harm None" is something to live and die by. So I'm not sure any of this came from the suspicion that she may have been a witch.
I do not see your Grandmother, the same woman who gave you your beauty and gift, as being someone to want to harm you. Often times, when people pass on, others tell the stories of what they have seen or heard about that person. A lot of times those stories are bigger than what actually happened.
Perhaps, and this is just a guess, some jealous people got together by a fencepost and created a story so sensational that it continued down all the fence posts until your town had been whispering about it for years. I do not know this is what happened, just a thought here, but our minds are highly susceptible to suggestion. If you believe in something strong enough (through repetitive exposure) sometimes they, for lack of a better phrase, take over.
I do believe that you went through a traumatic experience and it was added to by an intoxicated woman supplying you with a story. I feel this experience that you wrote about was NOT your Grandma. This may be your first memory of a spiritual experience, but not all of those situations are evil.
You do not need a psychiatrist, or any other kind of doctor in my opinion, for this blessing that you have. Just research on how to control your availability. I wish I could help you there, but we are trying to work that out here too. Good luck, and keep looking for the answers.
chunkygut1 (13 stories) (73 posts)
 
16 years ago (2007-11-30)
Of course your not ill don't think like that, you've had a paranormal experience like most people on this site, I feel for you having such experiences at such a young age.
Good luck 😁
Emma (3 stories) (39 posts)
 
16 years ago (2007-11-29)
Zara - you should think about seeing a doctor, perhaps you might have something medically wrong with you. I'm not saying that I don't believe your story, only that you might want to cross "mental illness" off the list of things that could be the cause of the problems that you are having. You were very young at the time and might have memories that were somewhat "embellished" by yourself and your family. It doesn’t help to have superstitious family members, I know I do. Take care.
KimSouthO (27 stories) (1960 posts)
 
16 years ago (2007-11-29)
I do not think you need a physchiatrist. I think you have a gift, whether you wanted this gift or asked for it or not, it is yours. You can pray, pray to control your emotions and not be frightened.

It sounds as if your grand mother may have passed down a bit more than her looks to you. You must also remember that not all of those who practice with craft are bad or evil. She may not have even practiced witch craft, she may have had a similar gift to your that left others suppossing and gossiping about wrong ideas and facts.

Thank you for sharing your story,
God Bless!
Bellissima (12 stories) (792 posts)
 
16 years ago (2007-11-29)
Hi Zara. I can't see why your grandmother would be so cruel to you. Why did the crazy drunk lady come to your house just to tell you nasty things about your grandmother? Cultures are very different but things seem hard to believe since they are so physical and dramatic. Is it possible that your family embellished things somewhat over time? I sort of have a hard time with this one but I can't dispute what you've actually felt. Only you know because you were there and I wasn't. I hope if things are as you say they are, you can get the help you need to get everything straightened up. You may very well have psychic abilities, since you claim to have premonitions, and you may also be open to the more spiritual side of things. The only thing I can think to tell you is to ask the entities or spirits to leave you alone. Maybe someone here can give you the answers you need.
babylon (20 posts)
 
16 years ago (2007-11-28)
gosh what a horrible experience, was she a witch? As the drunken woman said? Do you think maybe she somehow cursed you or the place ?

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