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My Own Encounter With The Grey Man

 

For those who haven't read my first story, the Grey Man is the apparition of a man wearing all grey, specifically trousers, a wide-brim hat, and a waistcoat. He has been seen by both my mother and my father, and we like to believe that he is a former owner of our farm who checks in periodically to see how we are treating his land. Now, I think I might have had my own encounter with him.

November 2nd, at around 7 am, I woke up and sat up in my bed. I looked out the widow, and, for a brief second, saw a man standing in the soybean field outside my house. The soybean field lies across the front yard and our driveway. I would estimate that the Grey Man was standing about 50-75 yards from my bedroom window. The figure I saw met the descriptions given by my mom and dad, with the man wearing grey. In a second, the man was gone. After sitting and blinking my eyes in a stupor for a few moments, I lay back down and sat up again in the same way, wondering if what I saw could have been explained by a trick of the old glass in the window and the early morning light. I did not see the apparition again.

The field is perfect deer habitat, being surrounded by a mix of forest and thick brush. So, my first thought after I determined that it couldn't have been a trick of the light was that I had seen a deer. After some more thought, I ruled that out too. I have seen deer in the same field before, but they were always in groups, I have never seen a lone one. Furthermore, deer are brown, not grey, although with the lighting conditions the two colours could have been confused. Finally, a deer would not have been scared off by me sitting up in bed in my second story bedroom, 50-75 yards from where he was. And even if he had, I would have seen him bounding across the field and towards the woods; he wouldn't have vanished into thin air.

Here are some environmental conditions for anyone that might be interested:

The sun was not over the trees yet, there was just the soft light of dawn. There were no clouds in the sky, though we have recently had a large rain. Finally, we had our first frost several days ago.

I would like to hear what explanations everyone has to offer. Thanks for reading!

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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, Mountaineer, has the following expectation about your feedback: I will read the comments and participate in the discussion.

DARKNESS (3 stories) (2022 posts)
 
12 years ago (2011-11-14)
The Ol Grey Man he reminds me of the shadow man and the hat man aswell lol, Mountaineer seems like you did witness a residual event but, you never know it may be intelligent. You mentioned Dimensional Shifts this may very well be the case, a lot has to do with the current environment and geomagnetic fields, solar storms etc, I also think that these events also sometimes give us the feeling of deja'vu, definitely a plausible scenario mate.
Good luck with finding out the history, keep us informed.

Thank you for sharing.

Dan
Argette (guest)
 
12 years ago (2011-11-12)
That's right, Javelina! Many families also give copies of their family histories to local museum or libraries. And they include photos! Plus city directories, fire maps and even oral history collections.

The research can be more fun than the actual sighting!
Javelina (4 stories) (3749 posts)
 
12 years ago (2011-11-12)
[at] Argette,
Wow! Finally someone besides me to holler about all the reasons for using the local Historical Society for research.
Oh yeah! The photographs!

Jav 😉
Argette (guest)
 
12 years ago (2011-11-12)
Javelina read my mind! I was going to suggest your county historical society - not only might they have records or museum artifacts, but also local history buffs who collect and store amazing bits of information and love to share it. Board members or museum volunteers might be helpful. Please keep us posted - this is fascinating!
Javelina (4 stories) (3749 posts)
+1
12 years ago (2011-11-12)
Mountaineer,
Don't forget to check your local Historical Society!
Have you ever used a metal detector when you go out wandering the land? I love mine. I have found some very interesting "artifacts" myself, it's a blast.

Jav 😊
Nysa (4 stories) (685 posts)
 
12 years ago (2011-11-12)
I was thinking more along the lines of trying to get in a quick "hello?" before he disappeared to see if he lingered or made any sign he heard you.

Not so much a "we call upon the spirit of the gray man" kind of thing. 😆
Mountaineer (4 stories) (176 posts)
 
12 years ago (2011-11-12)
[at] Javelina: Thanks for the suggestion. Unfortunately, the nearest university is several hours away, but I would still like to try out the library there. In the meantime, I plan to look into county records to see what I might be able to dig up.
Javelina (4 stories) (3749 posts)
 
12 years ago (2011-11-12)
Mountaineer,
From what you say, about the land having belonged to a logging tycoon, I would think your assumption of the Grey Man being happy that your family now owns it, is a very good one.
I do have a suggestion about your researching the history of the land. If you have a University nearby, try the Agricultural Dept... They should have a wealth of information, including plot maps and possibly what all has been grown on the land. My daughter received her Masters Degree in Library Sciences last December, and while she was still attending classes I would go over and visit her in the basement of the library. Talk about research Heaven! I used to hate leaving. But it was amazing what they have on local areas.

Jav 😊
Mountaineer (4 stories) (176 posts)
+1
12 years ago (2011-11-12)
[at] Javelina: My grandad bought the property around twenty years ago, from a logging tycoon and his partner. Unfortunately, they decided to bulldoze most of the historic buildings on the farm into dust, a fact which still irks my dad to this day. If we had only gotten it a bit sooner, there would be at least three other houses and several barns to explore. Thanks for reading!

--Mountaineer
Mountaineer (4 stories) (176 posts)
+1
12 years ago (2011-11-12)
I have toyed with the time slip explanation myself, but with other similar events, on the same property, with the same man, I can't help but think that if these are time slips, the time space continuum is seriously screwed up here and I'm standing on some kind of spectral black hole right now. Not a very attractive idea. But still within the realms of possibility, I suppose. Yes, he obviously loved this land, and, having lived here my whole life myself, I can't blame him. Round here, ouija boards and seances are taboo, so I'm afraid I won't be dabbling in that region (sorry to those that suggested them). And I can't say that he was looking into my window, but he could have been. Given that we only see him for a split second, but on several occasions, I wonder as to whether he intends for us to see him or not. Thank everyone for reading and commenting!

--Mountaineer
Javelina (4 stories) (3749 posts)
+1
12 years ago (2011-11-12)
Mountaineer,
I can't recall, and there is nothing in your previous story and comments, if you have ever mentioned how long your family has owned/lived on the land you occupy now. Could you possibly give us a little history into that?

Thank you,
Jav 😊
Nysa (4 stories) (685 posts)
+2
12 years ago (2011-11-11)
I think we would all be interested in the outcome if Mountaineer got the opportunity & chose to speak to the grey man. Thanks for clarifying reptilian.
Javelina (4 stories) (3749 posts)
 
12 years ago (2011-11-11)
Pardon the interruption here but I need to strike down something I wrote in my previous comment.

" he had looked up from the field, directly at you through the bedroom window"

This was a mistake by me and it does not belong on this thread.
Sorry Mountaineer, it was a leftover thought I had from a previous experience I had read on another site that I had somehow woven in with yours.

Jav 😕
reptilian (45 posts)
+1
12 years ago (2011-11-11)
You guessed right Nysa. I think there's a very small chance it might be something sentient, so by seeing if you can interact with it or not you'd find out if it's just a memory or something more. It wouldn't take long to find out.
Perhaps even if it is just a memory it might have enough depth to it to possess a small amount of character, I've never tried talking to one of these things so I'm interested in the outcome.
Nysa (4 stories) (685 posts)
 
12 years ago (2011-11-11)
But talking to something like a footprint would have zero chance of working. Are you saying there is a small chance it could be something sentient, but you expect it is not? Or is that just an "anything is possible" sort of comment? Sorry to keep on it if you don't want to expand. I have noticed some of your responses are a bit different & I find them interesting so I would like to hear more if you care to share.
reptilian (45 posts)
 
12 years ago (2011-11-11)
Nysa, that's why I said it probably wouldn't work:) But you don't know until you try.
grimmind (3 posts)
-1
12 years ago (2011-11-11)
its probably just a residual spirit and won't do any harm unless you try to talk to it with a Ouija board or something stupid so don't do that:)
Nysa (4 stories) (685 posts)
 
12 years ago (2011-11-11)
Reptilian, why would one attempt to speak to something that is nothing more than a footprint. I can't help but feel I misunderstood what you are trying to get across. Are you suggesting that a mere imprint could interact intelligently? Wouldn't that, by definition, make it more than a footprint-like imprint? 😕
Javelina (4 stories) (3749 posts)
+1
12 years ago (2011-11-11)
Mountaineer!
You've come home, and bearing gifts as well. Yay!

There was only one word that kept running through my mind as I was reading through your experience.
"Validation"
That's what it would mean to me had I finally caught a glimpse of the Grey Man. This is your validation that the family legend is no myth. It's one thing to "believe" it is true, quite another to be provided with an honest to goodness sighting. And though it creeped me out when you reported how he had looked up from the field, directly at you through the bedroom window, it was still totally cool!
Glad to have you back Mountaineer, and in rare form too. 😁

Jav 😊
reptilian (45 posts)
 
12 years ago (2011-11-11)
Argette, I like the explanation that he must have really loved his land. You made me realise something about one of my own experiences so thanks for that.
I saw something similar at an ancient sacred place, a couple of beings that hadn't lived there for a few thousand years. I was so surprised I almost fell off the top of the structure, then wondered if it was a trick of the light. I later had enough other things happen to make sense of it.
Mountaineer, trust in what you saw. But remember that this is not an actual person or their spirit. It's just an energy imprint that's been left behind, no different that a footprint. A footprint that takes the form of a person wearing grey.
You should try talking to it. It probably won't work but you never know.
Jay21 (1 posts)
-2
12 years ago (2011-11-11)
I am utterly shocked... My mother encountered this man in our house. As she described: She woke up at morning, went on with usual morning routine and at the time was making herself some coffee when she saw a man standing right infront of the window of our kitchen. She didn't accidently notice him, she felt his supernatural presence and went to the window. He was standing still and just looking at her. Was wearing a completely grey nice looking, altough obviously oldschool'ish suit, a coat and oldschool'ish hat, the wide brim one...
It happened about a year ago, maybe a year and a half. She didn't get scared, but his presence was upsetting to her, so she told him to go away, told him she doesn't want him around etc. And in couple moments he walked away and dissapeared.
I took it as a ridiculous nonsense as I was non-believer in any sort of paranormal activity at that time, nor in god or any other that sort of things. But soon enough everything changed. I have encountered it more than anyone else in the house, as I would spend much more time in. It's a wooden house built on probably what at WW2 was sort of a peat mining camp, not sure whether for jews or for germans held as war prisoners as we were in Soviet Union zone. I always believed this to be just a tale, although we do live right infront of huge pools of peat. And a mining camp was most likely to have been here, but a water source was dug up and now we got a HUGE swamp instead of it.
After a couple weeks I started experiencing something absolutely disturbing. At first, all the time I felt like someones watching me, just frikin staring at me, watching every move of mine, expecially in the living room. Then I started hearing floors cracking as if someone was walking around, wich totally freaked me out. But it was nothing compared to what I've experienced in couple weeks later.
I was sitting in my room at PC at the time, had my cat in lying on my bed and no one but us was in the house for the rest of the evening. I was chilling on my PC chair, looking at my cat and then she just swiftly got up and started staring at the doors. I heard the doors of room aside mine slowly open, then someone took a couple hard, manly steps through the corridor and stopped at my door. I swear my blood froze up in my veins and I thought I was going mad. The door handle started to slowly move down, as if the person opening it didn't want me to notice it. As it went all the way down, my cat would just stay frozen, watching it, just as me. The doors started opening bit by bit, I freaked out - and when I freak out I get filled with enourmous rage and tremendous strenght, that's my reaction to fear and same when I'm pissed off, kind of Hulk-type reaction. I just start to feel like I'm the more superior, sometimes even more evil one and attack the fear object. I rushed towards doors, hit it with my foot as hard as I could, It slammed and I shouted out: GET OUT OF MY HOUSE! I felt like a total idiot after doing so, because if I was told couple weeks ago about this, would have laughed my as s off at myself. And that shout made me admit to myself that I believe in paranormal. However, now I wish I had opened the doors instead and kicked the shiat out of whoever was there:D I didn't hear that thing/person or w/e it was walk away, it just dissapeared. I sat in my room for couple hours, fearing to go out and meet whatever it was, trying to figure out what happened. Finally after those couple hours passed I really had to go to the toiled wich was a few steps away to the other side than the room from wich "it" came. I gathered myself, calmed myself as if nothing happened and opened the doors, went to the toiled and then it has hit me again... At the most helpless moment it could - while pissing >.< I heard a woman whispering something in the corner of the room in a language I couldn't understand, it was almoust exactly same as the sound from game, but I know it wasn't my imagination recreating it, I'm completely sure. Heres the sound: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-Bzyq-Xag8, I swear - I thought I will die there, I completely froze up and was about to just lose it and freak out, start screaming and get the hell out of the house. But I gathered myself, and completely calm walked back to my room, back to my cat wich I saw as sort of a guardian. I sat down in my chair, and my brain completely turned off, couldn't understand wth is going on. About 40 minutes later I heard a woman sobbing in the living room, as It's a wooden house you could hear even what people say when ure upstairs and theyre downstairs in the living room. She was quietly crying, and no... It wasn't my mother - I was the only one home. Then my mother returned and I felt relieved. However a million times found the doors of room aside mine opened, alghough none of us go there. A week or two later, I was talking to my girlfriend on the phone in our library room downstairs when I heard hard, strong steps walking down the stairs, and the room wich I was in was right infront of it with doors open, alghough you couldn see the stairs unless you were in the doorway. As if I heard my stepfather walk down, and hes a massive fella. But my inside just went nuts, I knew its not him, I felt it. When that thing got down the stairs, it just stopped. Didnt hear it move any further. Again, I charged in - but there was nothing there. I walked up to check if my stepfather was awake, and found him in a hard sleep, he barely managed to answer me that it wasn't him walking down. Sometimes I would hear someone walking in living room, or in room aside mine and the corridors. It's freaky, and now I'm glad I've moved to GB and don't experience it anymore. Another thing about that house is - when my mother drinks atleast some alcohol, even a bottle of beer or more than a glass of wine (wich gets her drunk...) she would completely change to a sort of mad possesed woman, screaming with voice wich you could only hear in horror films, cursing me and everyone around her, swearing and so on, completely raging. And she is one calm type of woman. It's like alcohol unleashes a demon within her, she turns into a possesed one... My girlfriend once heard her do that epic scream of hers when we were chatting on the phone, she said that her heart stopped for a second, as if devil itself was shouting. Scary stuff. Still can't get that sound out of my head, It was horrifying, and undescribeable.
Nysa (4 stories) (685 posts)
 
12 years ago (2011-11-10)
That is an interesting thought what if he is really there but not really now? That is hard to word effectively. But if there were something about the area that caused "rips in time" it might explain some of the other people sighted on the land (if I am remembering the earlier account right). I was thinking that if it was his habit to check up on the land regularly he might have been too attached to let it go when he died, so he keeps to the same routine. I suppose it could be residual if he was passionate about keeping an eye on things. But I don't know, can a residual imprint pop up in different areas of the property?

I think since you were awake & writing for a few minutes we can rule out dream "residue" & bleary eyes. That pretty much leaves you with having spotted the grey man.
Argette (guest)
+2
12 years ago (2011-11-10)
Mountaineer, I do the same thing after I wake and before I rise: I grab my iPad and read my morning e-mail, Facebook or the local news headlines. That way I can gradually wake up before I face the day. I like your analogy: Get the pistons moving.

Anyway, on to the story: Your gray man must have really loved the land to visit as often as he does.

What if his appearance is a sort of time slip? I mean, what if time really does run parallel and when you see him, he sees the house and land in his own time.

I am not explaining this well. I think Nysa will know what I mean.
Mountaineer (4 stories) (176 posts)
+1
12 years ago (2011-11-10)
[at] Nysa: As your second question, which I forgot to address, we think he owned the property, but didn't do any work there. There were many hired workers, and before that slaves, that worked on the property back when it produced vegetables, which have to be harvested by hand.
Mountaineer (4 stories) (176 posts)
+1
12 years ago (2011-11-10)
[at] Nysa: I agree, fleeting sightings are hard to be sure of. However, it was so similar to what my parents have told me they have seen that I couldn't pass it off as my eyes playing tricks on me. And no, I'd been awake for several minutes, but I hadn't gotten out of bed yet. I usually read or wright down my dreams for a few minutes after I wake up, to help get the pistons moving in my brain.
Nysa (4 stories) (685 posts)
+1
12 years ago (2011-11-10)
Such fleeting sightings are hard to be sure of. I don't see any obvious mundane explanation. If you feel confident that you saw it well enough to make out features like clothing, gender, etc. You can, in my opinion, reasonably say you probably saw a spirit, likely one that has been spotted there before. I am assuming you did not look out the window seconds after waking, right?

I have a question about the guy that your family thinks it might be the ghost of. You say he owned the land, did he also work the land or did he have someone else work it? It just interests me that he is seen in nicer clothing rather than work clothes.

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