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Pressure On Torso, Numbing Sensation, Possible Banshee

 

I am currently seventeen years old. This story occurred a year ago.

I have always believed in ghosts, but I am not gifted. I do not get special feelings or have experiences often.

My experience occurred the night after I reconnected with my younger sister Amy. At the time she was twelve and I was sixteen. I have never been close to her for various reasons. From the time I was six until I was fourteen I mistreated her with insults, pushes, hits, and seldom kicks. She was always a forgiving person but at the time of this story we hadn't had a substantial conversation in many years.

When out to dinner with our grandparents and still younger sister, age ten, Amy and I chose to sit together at a two person table while the other three sat at a booth. This is when the conversation turned to her beliefs and experiences with the paranormal. We finally made a connection when she described a visual experience in our home that I too had experienced in a different time and place. She did this without my ever mentioning to her my experience. Through the course of this conversation it became clear that she is much more sensitive than I am or want to be.

In order to continue our lengthy conversation she and I took a walk around the block at nightfall in late fall. That night we were to sleep over our grandmother's house. As we were ending our journey we were passing a lawn surrounded by a crisp white plastic fence. Beyond the fence the yard was black. As we passed it we began to feel scared. For approximately ten footfalls we pretended that our fear was nonexistent. Amy then spoke of her uneasiness. I confirmed that I felt the same and we booked it out of there to our home. Refusing to go inside, as I wanted to continue our conversation in privacy, we talked about the experience on the front porch. Amy told me that she felt something "bad" swirling around us, waiting. I refused to believe her. I didn't want to face the fear that came with believing.

Amy went to bed soon after while I stayed awake in the reclining chair of my living room, reading and watching videos on my laptop. The uneasiness did not go away.

Between ten O'clock and midnight I went to my room with my MP3 player. For the next three hours I stayed awake listening to the audiobook "The Dragon Factory" by Jonathan Maberry until the book ended. The book had unsettling themes relating to human dignity but I would not classify it as a horror. At this point I decided to try to sleep. I could not, as I was afraid. As I lay under the covers on my right side I would hear noises coming from the hall. They were normal everyday noises, like a dog moving around, people moving. My grandmother does not own a dog, there was no dog in the house. It was too late for anyone to be up and moving about. Even though I had been losing my faith, I prayed constantly to Jesus for protection and to make the fear go away. I didn't know who else to pray to, and I still don't know the answer. The fear did not subside.

As I laid there I felt an immobilizing sensation come over me like thick tingling starting in my lung area and spreading up through my neck and down through my stomach and stopping between my navel and inguinal area. I could feel an even pressure from head to toe. I kicked my legs and the sensation stopped. I prayed more. Then I felt the sensation again. I allowed it to happen longer and therefore the sensation was stronger. It was like a thick, thick heavy blanket was laid over my body. It was a lightheaded sensation spread from top of head to fingers and my trunk. The following detail is hazy, I think I was unable to breathe for a moment. I am sixty percent sure that it was difficult to draw in a breath. At this point my fear got the best of me and I threw off the covers, as soon as I moved the sensation disappearing. I ran to my sister's room and slept with her in her bed for the night.

A curious thing has happened since. Whenever I feel very scared or alarmed the same sensation will grip my thorax, but without the heavy pressure. Until that night I had not experienced that sensation. It has happened approximately three times since, after I scared myself by thinking too much about frightening topics. This has led me to believe that my experience was only due to my body reacting to false fear and stress. But because of Amy sharing my spontaneous fear outside of the fence, and the noises I heard I want to believe that I did truly have an experience. I think something followed us from that yard. Since then I have not had that experience for felt unsafe in my grandmother's house.

Later while speaking to a younger person interested in the paranormal she told me that this was a banshee. However, after reading about banshees on wikipedia, it does not seem to match up.

Was this an experience? Was it a puppy looking for attention? Was it a Banshee? Why didn't God make it go away when I asked?

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

Ningyo-kun (1 stories) (3 posts)
 
10 years ago (2013-12-03)
Wow Simon115, that's exactly how I feel when looking at this. For me, I'd rather believe my tired mind played a trick on me. That makes me feel safe. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
simon155 (18 posts)
 
10 years ago (2013-11-29)
Why really knows for sure. You won't get a real answer here. The answers you most accept will be those you most wish to believe. It is human nature. Your inbuilt filter working in the background, shaped by your wishes and longings.

In the one hand, reason and logic may tell you there is nothing there. You have no lasting evidence that suggests anything. Perhaps just a dream / your tired brain at work.

On the other hand, perhaps there's a measure of truth in it. There do seem to be a vast number of these things reported. Now common sense tells you that some of them may be fabricated, or enhanced by those wishing to believe. Others may be rooted in fact. As for what such reports are based on, that's another question. The living, the dead, human, animal, alien. It's hard to be sure sifting through the reports. Yet there are commonalities to "most" of them. Darkness and quiet for one. Responses that seem to match the state of mind of the witness, suggesting a reaction to emotional state. Adverse reaction to loud noises, movement or light. If there is something there, I'd be inclined to continue a friendly positive reaction if you can manage it, and try to make sense of it:)

Ultimately though that's your call, and your inclinations probably already steer your course.
clarencetuvera (7 stories) (41 posts)
 
10 years ago (2013-11-26)
I'd like to improve on a statement I wrote below:

Like in the physical world, some of these spiritual beings are friendly, even helpful at times, while others tend to be hostile.

Some provide guidance for us and help us to grow and mature, others deceive and mislead us.

Moreover, there are some who are so dangerous, and desires to harm, if not destroy us.

So don't be adventurous and so prematurely deal with spirits. Don't treat the spiritual world so trivially. Like we do in the physical world, respect is also a rule of engagement in the Spiritual realm.

If you are on a spiritual path, learn everything you can and grow/ mature. Your time to engage with them will come when they know you are ready.

Peace 😆
clarencetuvera (7 stories) (41 posts)
 
10 years ago (2013-11-26)
[at] Ningyo-kun: About your question on whether God wants you to discover the unknown - God created people with what some refer to as preternatural gifts.

A Wo/Man is both a Spiritual creature (like God) and a Physical creature. The physical body relates empirically to the physical environment we live in through our five senses i.e. Sight, sound, smell, taste and touch.

As Spiritual creatures, we also exist in a Spiritual reality inhabited by other living intelligences: they may not have a body like ours, but they are no less real.

God Him/Herself is a Spirit, and S/He gave us these preternatural gifts so we can all relate to Him/Her i.e. To sense His/Her presence and commune with Him/Her, to hear His/Her guidance, discern His/Her will, cooperate with His/Her continuing work, among other things.

The Christian Bible actually give us a list of these preternatural gifts (I Corinthians 12:7-11.) This partial list include:

1. The WORD of WISDOM - the ability to receive guidance from the Spirit of God (Holy Spirit), especially during times of trials or testing; and similarly, to receive wisdom that would help/counsel others during their times of testing;

2. The WORD of KNOWLEDGE - the ability to discern: (1) what a person is dealing with in his/her private life esp. If s/he is keeping it a secret (like a secret sin); (2) what may be happening in a person's life that s/he may not be aware of (like an unknown disease or cancer); (3) what God is doing in that persons' life e.g. Dealing with the secret sin, healing the unknown illness, so that the one who discerned it can prophetically declare it (causing the person who is sinning secretly to repent, or the person who needs healing to receive it with joy); (4) what God is doing among the nations so the one who discerned it can prophetically declare it and cause people to cooperate with God.

3. Extra-ordinary FAITH - this will allow the believer to become a conduit of God's miracles e.g. Healing, for example.

Among Christians, it is believed that the Prophets were able to write their history with Spiritual insights - literally allowing God to "breathe" Spiritual insights into the written word - and we have that history today as the Bible. This was made possible because mankind is created with preternatural gifts.

One way of understanding preternatural gifts is to refer to them as Psychic abilities e.g. Clairvoyance (extra sight), clairaudience (extra hearing), and clairsentience (extra feel, or that goose bump feel.)

Unfortunately, other than God, there are other spirits out there - angels, demons, elemental spirits, nature spirits or disembodied Nephilims, and ghosts or disembodied human spirits.

Like in the physical world, some of these spiritual beings are friendly, even helpful at times, while others tend to be hostile.

A person who is spiritually developed (through prayers, meditations or through other forms of spiritual exercises) also becomes sensitive to these other spiritual forms.

The faith or belief system that you have chosen (unless, of course if you are an atheist) trains you on how to engage the other inhabitants of the spirit world.

I guess what I'm saying - and like what spiritwaiting already pointed out - God does not test us by leading us to discover the spirit world. God wired us to become sensitive to the spirit world, because S/He Him/Herself is a Spirit, and that is how we are able to relate to Him/Her. That is how S/He expresses His/Her love for us, and how S/He guides us, and commune with us.

Hope this helps.
Ningyo-kun (1 stories) (3 posts)
 
10 years ago (2013-11-26)
Thank you lady glow.
Yes, I thought from the beginning that something from the dark yard had followed us. But thanks to Rich73 and spiritwaiting I'm more convinced now that what happened was my reaction to fear of the possibility that what had scared me had followed me.
Rich73 thank you for sharing that with me, I feel validated in a way.
Rich73 (1 stories) (67 posts)
+3
10 years ago (2013-11-26)
Ningyo-kun, I live with a ghost, but it's friendly. When it first started haunting my house, I was very fearful of it. As I was going to sleep, I would feel the same heavy feeling on my chest. It felt to me like those lead blankets that the dentist puts on you before taking an x-ray, only much heavier. I would sometimes feel like I was being strangled. I would wake up struggling and gasping for air. Once I got over my fear, these things stopped happening to me. Like you, I believe I was doing these things to myself. I don't believe God gives you tests. I believe God puts you on an adventure, and that adventure is called life. It can be really strange sometimes. Good luck on yours, my friend.
spiritwaiting (42 stories) (843 posts)
+1
10 years ago (2013-11-25)
Ninyo-kun, No God doesn't give tests. I believe God wants you closer to knowing there is one. Maybe it sparks your interest in some way. Knowing there is more out there than just what meets the eye. And yes your already thinking more of it, than you were before right? There you go. Maybe its your calling for life. Human affairs is an absolute great start. And I don't believe there's Different Gods, I believe its the same God, just different ways of reaching in prayer,etc,due to religions and backgrounds. More of a comfort for others all over the world.
lady-glow (16 stories) (3149 posts)
+2
10 years ago (2013-11-25)
Ningyo-kun: this is an interesting story.
Have you considered the possibility of a lurking person looking at your sister and you from the dark yard and perhaps following you on the street? It wouldn't need to be a person with bad intentions towards you, but sometimes we can "feel" when someone is watching.

I agree with spiritwaiting about stress causing you this symptoms and with her advice.
I'm glad you are getting closer to your sister, remember, you both are two branches from the same tree. 😉

Thanks for sharing your story and welcome to YGS.
Ningyo-kun (1 stories) (3 posts)
+2
10 years ago (2013-11-25)
Thank you spiritwaiting. I suspected that this was nothing more than a reaction to fear.
As for your suggestion of easing myself into paranormal knowledge, I used to watch Ghost Hunters, read many stories on this site, and jump at every opportunity to hear ghost stories. I think seeing and feeling something is the next step, if God wants me to discover an unknown that I'm terrified of, did I just fail her test? This makes me think, Does the christian God want me to face the unknown in a more earthly sense, so that I can more easily accept her, who seems to have little to do with human affairs?
spiritwaiting (42 stories) (843 posts)
+1
10 years ago (2013-11-25)
Ningyo-kun, This may Gods way of leading you towards the unknown. This sounds to me, like hyperventilation. Because fear strikes us in different ways. Mine was truly to be scared stiff,literally. The thorax being in sorts grabbed, is a sign of it closing. Because you are this terrified of the paranormal, start with smaller things, like a tv show or books, with family memebers with similar interests. Also, though it sounds also very similar to sleep paralyses. Which doesn't necessarily mean you were asleep, just that you on your way there.

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