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Is It Real: Shadow Encounters

 

Shadow people are a peculiar type of entity. I believe they can either be human or nonhuman and perhaps they are not able to manifest entirely so we see them as a blur generally with no or few discernible features. When I first begun seeing shadow people, I was a child in the evening fully awake and preoccupied with myself. Of all the first four I had seen in my childhood, I had laid eyes on them for a full minute and studied them recognizing that what I was seeing would not fade away and felt conscious. They had walked, took notice of me and expressed themselves, or simply stood there with eyes glued on me. So, for most of my life I could never empathize with those who had seen shadows in their sleep or from the corner of their eye. I did not feel unsure, I felt more certain than anything in the world with what I saw. Over time, I lessened in seeing entities to very rare instances to having dreams, hearing people talking to me, and feeling a room change. Recently, I have become more uncertain and skeptical as my experiences have changed and I have gotten older.

Sensations such as feeling touched or hearing breathing have been disregarded by me as having anatomical origins. When our muscles flex, it can feel as if we are being poked or touched, so I now disregard those for me. The sound of breathing in your ear can be your body hearing its own internal noise. Unless, the feeling is unbelievably human-like or I see an entity touching me, I ignore it. Perhaps I also want to distance myself because over time, the paranormal can drive you mad and you must step back into the land of the living and regain a sense of sanity.

A while ago, I had an encounter that startled me. I was sitting on the sofa preoccupied with my own thoughts when out of the corner of my eye I saw a shadow person gliding across the floor. It went from the hallway to the foyer, so I could no longer see it because of the wall. My mother was sitting next to me watching a show on television and did not notice it, but I did. This is the first shadow I have ever seen that I wasn't staring at directly. It shook me because I was convinced I saw a shadow person, but I am not sure if maybe it was just my brain trying to fill in the gaps of what it saw.

Coupled with this, a couple months ago, I was dreaming and could feel as if my soul was being slowly pulled from my body and into my brother's room. In the dream, my brother's door was open, and I could see a light on in the living room that shined on this dark, cloaked entity. The shadow person had a hood and what appeared to be wide sleeves. Hidden inside of its sleeve was a reflective curved blade almost like a giant fish hook. Naturally, I started thrashing in this dream state and trying to pull away from this shadow being. I woke up my heart beating violently. After this, our neighbor downstairs had a fire in her apartment. So, I connected the two as perhaps a warning, but I don't know if I even believe that.

Then, something happened to L, my boyfriend, that made me feel a little more certain but also with good company regarding the paranormal. Recently, I had a sleepover with L at his house. He is fascinated by my paranormal encounters and had never had one until now. We woke up in the morning around 8 am, and after talking a little it, I went into the bathroom to brush my teeth. He was laying on the bed fully awake waiting for me to return. He was laying down, facing his window, and thought he heard me walk back inside the bedroom. When he glanced up, he thought he saw a "head-shaped shadow" around my height from the corner of his eye.

Thinking it was me, sneaking back into bed, he turned his head around but saw nothing, and he went back to facing the window. He felt a presence sit down on the bed, as if somebody had actually sat on it. The weight shifted to that spot, and he felt the bed sink slightly. He did not look around this time because he was confused by what was happening. Over the course of a couple seconds, he felt this weight move towards him, as it lifted up and down again. Almost like someone was crawling towards him. Then it was gone.

After this happened, L, told me that in the moment, he understood what was happening to him, and the sensations of the entity moving around. But as time went on, even as he was describing what had happened, he felt like it wasn't even real after the fact.

For many of us seeing and hearing entities when wide awake and sane is evidence to us. Being pushed down stairs or having premonitions come true or having knowledge we couldn't possibly have is a given. But some of us, regardless if an experience is head-on or vague, we can't help but have a hard time wrapping our minds around it. We have bred our minds to be as skeptical, lucid, and scientific as we can. Maybe I am too young to be comfortable with my personal beliefs. I don't know. But it is still comforting that my boyfriend understood not only my experiences but how they made me felt. Thank you 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, DirtCreature, has the following expectation about your feedback: I will read the comments and participate in the discussion.

Awake1111 (18 posts)
-4
6 years ago (2018-08-22)
I know exactly who shadow ppll are and its something youd never expect. You are in contact with the same entities as myself they are extraterrestrials they go in and outa dimensions so in the non physical realm youll see them as shadows and sometimes wear hooded cloaks. They are the watchers they observe you study you and sometimes will abduct you and you won't remember a thing. That blade thing you seen was most likely a device they use. They have great technology millions of years ahead of us they even have wonds that make them levitate and knock you unconcious by touching the back of your neck w it.
Cups (7 stories) (159 posts)
+1
6 years ago (2018-08-18)
No worries, DirtCreature! There has been so much static here lately, it's easy to miss comments. 😉 I agree with your notion that western society equates blackness with negativity. The "warning" message I allegedly got from the figures was so mundane at the time, I don't even remember what I had said "that must be it" about... So as I mentioned, I've yet to prove that theory. The room I saw them in was once my grandmother's bedroom. She, at times, was not a very nice person. One theory I have is perhaps it was a manifestation of her energy showing itself.

It's an interesting & brain-hurty experience nonetheless.

No questions right now, but I may be back! Thank you for your openness.
DirtCreature (guest)
+2
6 years ago (2018-08-18)
[at] Cups, I'm so sorry, I did not see your comment until now! Lol.

Ask as many questions as you want. Every time I have seen shadow figures I always felt a feeling of foreboding even if I wasn't "scared". Something always seemed off about them but I think maybe that is due to the Western symbolism of black as darkness and negativity. White is the color of death in some cultures. So I'm not sure. We fear what we do not understand. The shadow people I have seen have ranged from being pitch black to looking translucent, dark gray.
Cups (7 stories) (159 posts)
+2
6 years ago (2018-08-11)
Wow! I'm just seeing this & will need to get back to you, DC, I may have some questions for ya... I've seen shadow people myself, and I'm still not sure how to explain them or if I even *saw* them to begin with. A sensitive friend once told me they are a warning, but I've yet to find anything to confirm that. I relate to your paraphrased comment about having to step back into the land of the living for the sake of sanity. I go back & forth myself, and try very hard to debunk my own experiences before throwing my hands in the air... 🤔
CuriousDee (8 stories) (631 posts)
+2
6 years ago (2018-05-21)
DC,

Gotcha. Well, try to come out of lurk mode a little more, I enjoy your thoughts and comments. 😊 Hope all is well with you!

Dee
DirtCreature (guest)
+2
6 years ago (2018-05-20)
Hey Dee,
I tend to lurk more than comment if I don't have much input:).

I am calmer than I used to be so I am observing my environment more.
CuriousDee (8 stories) (631 posts)
+2
6 years ago (2018-05-20)
Dirtcreature,

Where have you been? It's good to see your name pop up. 😊

As far as spooky experiences having a non paranormal explanation, I've encountered this in my home. I *thought* I was catching shadow figures out of the corner of my eye at night, but after going through possible causes, I determined it was the TV light reflecting (scenes changing) that caused it. I admit, at first, I was spooked, but calmed down and went through the possibilities. I proved to myself that it was not paranormal in nature.

I think, in the moment, our adrenaline kicks in, but then the rational side takes over for most of us. I think attempting to debunk the incident, helps with that 'flight or fight' mode and leaves us feeling empowered no matter the end result. We are stronger and more powerful than we realize. I wish more people would understand this. 😕

Great topic, thanks for bringing it up. 😊

Dee
DirtCreature (guest)
+3
6 years ago (2018-05-20)
Thanks for sharing, everyone. Having a calm and observant mind is so inportant with these experiences.
DarkStar (1 stories) (25 posts)
+3
6 years ago (2018-05-20)
Hi, DC...

I haven't yet had any experiences that seemed paranormal but were actually not, as I've only had one and I'm still puzzled by it. However, I recall reading about an experience on another site that would be very hard to debunk without knowing the secret about the floor in a particular building.

Apparently this building dated from the early part of the last century, and for some reason the floors were made of metal sheets. The old hands at this business would send the new guy to fetch parts from deep inside this building, so he would have to walk a long way on these metal floors, usually in the dark.

As the new guy gets deeper and deeper into this building on his errand, he begins to hear footsteps on the metal floor, following him. When he stops, so do the footsteps, yet nothing at all is visible. At some point, he starts running as fast as he can, and the footsteps keep up with him! Terrifying, right? If it were me, I would swear that I was being followed by something not of this world.

Às it turns out, the explanation is unique to the unusual flooring of this building. When you walk on the metal sheet floors, in certain areas the metal flexes slightly under your foot when you put it down, kind of like making a dent in an aluminum can with your finger. And as you walk on and lift your foot up, the metal pops back up after a slight delay. So it's dark, and the building already has a spooky/creepy feel to it, and then the footsteps start following you...

I think my head would separate from my body and fly around like a balloon with a hole in it if this happened to me! So, even though the explanation may be obvious later, some things can seem really hard to debunk at the time.

DarkStar
DirtCreature (guest)
+2
6 years ago (2018-05-19)
Thanks for responding 😊. After my hiatus on the site, I spent a lot of time thinking about my own experiences and have some I don't believe were paranormal anymore, being dreams I've had. Or there were personal conclusions I came to I don't believe. That's what I like about this site though, is the emphasis on analyzing our experiences and ruling everything out first. The cricket story you linked is funny and basically sums up how I feel about encounters now. I have saved myself some sanity by ignoring sounds and shadows. I'm at the point where I need to see something right in front of me again.
Rex-T (5 stories) (288 posts)
+2
6 years ago (2018-05-19)
DirtCreature,

From my perspective, I've always tried to look for an explanation in this world before looking further afield.

The story that lady-glow has referenced now seems like a rarity on YGS, as most of the accounts I've read are from posters that truly believe in their experiences.

In a way, it is a shame that there are not more stories (like Val's) on the site, even just to let people know that 'all is not what it seems' but there is a fine line to walk in maintaining the integrity of the YGS site.

What is concerning is how many genuine experiences have not been written and published, because people are too sceptical to give them credence.

To answer your question, yes, I had an experience of a bush with eyes. I was on holidays with my wife, staying in a self-contained house on a winery. Once it got dark, we started hearing thumps on the lounge room windows and shrill high pitched squeals.

I 'bravely' ventured outside with the flash light to confront the noisy spirits but everything fell silent. As I was about to go back inside, the flash light landed on a bush and I saw unblinking eyes staring back at me. I started backing away from the bush, and then turned to get through the front door to safety. I heard another thump and shone the torch in the direction of the noise. I was confronted by nothing scarier than a large green tree frog which had jumped onto the window to eat the insects. The penny dropped! I turned around and shone the torch on the bush, which revealed that the eyes belonged to another frog, perfectly camouflaged in the branches of the bush.

I turned the flash light off and the high pitched squeals returned - the frogs were having a dinner party at the insects' expense. I went back inside, ghost story debunked. 😁
valkricry (48 stories) (3257 posts) mod
+2
6 years ago (2018-05-19)
DirtCreature,
Personally, I can say that 'in the moment' many experiences may seem paranormal, but when we back up and investigate what we saw/felt/heard we often also debunk the experience. Not every bump in the night is a ghost. It's that simple.
I can give you an example. For a bit it seemed as though we had a poltergeist like entity on our hands that loved slamming cabinet doors. I'd walk into the kitchen to find the sink counter's cabinet wide open when I knew just a minute ago it was closed. We'd be in another room and hear the bathroom vanity's doors banging shut. No matter how many times I ran to see, there was never anything to see. No rational cause what so ever. Unless I physically pulled the doors open and let them go, I could not replicate the banging.
This went on for several weeks. Then one day, I was just entering the bathroom as the cabinet door banged shut and saw our cat dive under the tub. I stood very quietly, and watched as he crept back out, and using his paw tried to open the vanity door again. The weight would prove a bit too much and the door slammed, startled by the noise he'd run and hide under the tub. Mystery solved. Nothing paranormal there.
But, we can't always investigate what we think we saw/heard/felt. Not in the moment and not later. It all boils down to your own belief.
lady-glow (16 stories) (3149 posts)
+1
6 years ago (2018-05-19)
DirtCreature:

More than once I have questioned if some of the stories published in the site are real paranormal encounters or only the poster's fears inventing ghosts/monsters/mysteries where only appearances exist.
As a reader, sometimes I wonder if the outcome of some stories would have been different if the author had had the courage to go and see what could be the cause of whatever was frightening them.

The following story is a nice example of such behavior:
Http://www.yourghoststories.com/real-ghost-story.php?story=17924
DirtCreature (guest)
+2
6 years ago (2018-05-19)
Has anyone on here ever had experiences you thought were paranormal but later deemed to be of non-supernatural causes?
DirtCreature (guest)
+2
6 years ago (2018-04-11)
I understand, Dee. I think it is also possible that he's just more aware of everything around him. Most people tend to shut things up and ignore them. He's also very agnostic like I am but he is still skeptical and thinks that it's possible that he just misheard something in his car. Unfortunately, he had a recording of that night on his dash cam but it gets overwritten so now I guess we'll never know. Better luck next time.
CuriousDee (8 stories) (631 posts)
+2
6 years ago (2018-04-11)
Hey Dirtcreature,

I wouldn't say hallucinations or the power of suggestion (in some cases anyway), but maybe opening someone's eyes and ears to the unknown. Your boyfriend listening to your experiences and believing you is important. I think people come into our lives for a reason (or two, or three...) and maybe one of the reasons you are in your boyfriends life is to open his mind to possibilities. Just my opinion though.

😊
DirtCreature (guest)
+1
6 years ago (2018-04-10)
And by power if suggestion, I meant auditory hallucinations. 😁
DirtCreature (guest)
+1
6 years ago (2018-04-10)
Recently, I had a conversation with my boyfriend about hearing disembodied voices. After he dropped me off, in the passenger seat, he heard a female voice say "hello". A few nights ago, he heard a disembodied laugh. I don't believe personally that he is suddenly hearing ghosts. I think there must be some power of suggestion and perhaps that is influencing him. But on the other hand, I don't think people should ban philosophical conversations just because they might influence someone, but it's so strange. Is there any information on this kind of phenomena, YGS? I didn't bother to google. I didn't want to fall down a rabbit hole.
DirtCreature (guest)
+2
6 years ago (2018-04-04)
Aww thank you Tweed! I am glad I am not alone with my crisis lol.

No, the apartment that went on fire is next to the apartment under us. Also, my boyfriend has had the cat in his room multiple times and she likes to go on the bed but he described the sensation as much heavier like a person scooting over.
Tweed (33 stories) (2475 posts)
+3
6 years ago (2018-04-04)
Hi DirtCreature, great account very well written and thought provoking. Thanks for sharing, glad you're still around. I noticed your account was greyed out for a while, so it's nice to see you back. 😉

It sounds like you've reached a point of figuring out your limits with the paranormal. I think all 'sensitive' folk do this at some point. I went full on non-believer for a few months in my early 20's. I think Miracles managed to block a lot of 'contact' out for a lot longer and I know there are many others who have similar to tell. Well, there aren't any right or wrong amounts of exposure to these things. It's individualistic. So go with the flow, your own flow of what makes sense to you. Doesn't seem like you need anyone telling you that though. 😉

A couple of questions about these occurrences. Would your brother's room be directly above the source of this fire? Perhaps there's a connection there.
Also the crawling on the bed sensation, could it have been a cat? Like a ghost putting another ghost cat on the bed? Thought maybe that might make sense to your b/f.

Thanks for sharing.
DirtCreature (guest)
 
6 years ago (2018-04-04)
[at] Dandy, I deleted my old account a while ago. But I saved my stories in my favorites on my profile. Not all of my saves are mine. I think I have 5?
DandK (11 stories) (344 posts)
+2
6 years ago (2018-04-03)
Thanks DirtCreature. I hope you will submit some of your other experiences; they must be pretty intense to cause you to try to shut things out.
DirtCreature (guest)
 
6 years ago (2018-03-31)
Well, when my boyfriend experienced the shadows we had a great sleepover and the morning was peaceful. When I saw the shadow in the hallway, everything was good that day. I am not sure about the dream. I'm still not sure if that was really a paranormal encounter. But, I'm at the point in my life where I just want to shut out most stuff. I don't want to communicate with anything that isn't a deceased family member. I've had weird encounters with the paranormal. While I find it fascinating, I don't want to engage it. 😨 😟
DandK (11 stories) (344 posts)
+3
6 years ago (2018-03-31)
Dirtcreature, thanks for sharing your experiences. I am wondering if you had any tension, negativity, depression, or other negative events or experiences in the days following your sightings of these shadow men?
Thanks.
CuriousDee (8 stories) (631 posts)
+2
6 years ago (2018-03-30)
Woah, that horned shadow figure sounds creepy. I can't imagine seeing that as a child; You poor thing! It does sound like you're sensitive and aware of spirits, especially as you mentioned your mother experiencing things too. Sometimes it's in the genes. My mother also had many incidents in the house I grew up in, right up until she passed in 2001.

I've only experienced shadow people as ghosts, so I can't say about non human, but honestly, just the thought scares me. I'm sorry you've had negative encounters, I imagine that would make you want to shut off that sensitive side.

Thanks for reading my stories too, I appreciate that 😊
DirtCreature (guest)
+2
6 years ago (2018-03-30)
I agree CuriousDee. I think most shadow beings are deceased people's energy. I defintely forgot to acknowledge in my already too-long account that some manifestations of Shadows are definitely non-human because I've seen one when I was a child that had pointed horns. It shushed me in the middle of the night. But most have resembled people in my own experiences.

Maybe I am sensitive. It's what I came to believe about myself over time. Either that or my brain is broken and manifests images and sounds. Maybe it's in the water:P. But my mom also shares experiences similar to mine.

I love the George accounts I have read on here. Really fascinating. 😊
CuriousDee (8 stories) (631 posts)
+2
6 years ago (2018-03-30)
I agree with the theory that shadow people can be the result of a spirit not being able to manifest completely. However, there are so many accounts of shadow people, that it seems they need their own category. I guess it depends on one's experience (s).

If someone is repeatedly encountering shadow people coupled with other paranormal activity; It may point to that person being sensitive to spirit. That's just my opinion. My family and myself have had experiences in my childhood home which is still active. Myself, my one brother and parents have encountered "George" (our resident ghost's nickname) as a shadow person and as a black mist. I've been out of the house for about 20 years but family still lives there (I've written a few stories on here).

It sounds like you might be sensitive to spirit if you commonly experience strange things. Especially if this has been happening over a number of years and in different locations. You would know best. You're right, it is a relief and validating when someone else shares the incidents. This is a great place to share and know you're not alone. ❤

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