First off, I would like to apologize in advance for how long this story is, these are several events that happened over a few years. My name is Rose, and I am in high school, the first experience happened when I was 5.
I had just moved into a new house in a different part of Indiana, a move that I did not want as I was leaving my friends I might add. When I was a kid I would always take a bath with the door open, so I did not feel alone. My mom would have me bathe upstairs while she was downstairs with my dad watching TV. Sometimes when I was in the bath a shadow man with a fedora would slowly glide pass the door. I would always get this feeling of dread and be terrified. This happened every day in broad day light mind you.
I don't remember when it started happening I just remember being five and noticing it happening. When I told my mom, she said I was just seeing "floaters" and eyes just do that. She said they usually just look like circles and are small but mine could be different. This went for a little while until I was so tired of being terrified all the time and complained to both my parents once more. My dad said draw what I was seeing. When I drew the picture of a black shadow in a trench coat and fedora they started closing my door when I would bathe, and everything was quiet for a while.
Then some years later when I was 12 about to be 13 as I was laying in my bed in the dark with the door cracked I saw a shadow sprint by. Now normally I was afraid of the dark (still kind of am) and slept with my lights on but I wanted to get over it. My mom was up working, so at first, I just thought it was her. I then realized there was no reason for her to be running and she cannot run that fast. Although I did not know what I had seen I was sure it was not my mom at that point. I was very tired however and I felt no real fear this time, so I just went to sleep.
I thought nothing of it but the next day my mom got a panic attack. It had been triggered by seeing a shadow figure sprint down the hall way whilst being in her bedroom. She called my name thinking it was me, but I was still down stairs watching Pretty little liars.
My dad was outside cutting the grass and we have a dog that would have gone crazy if that was a burglar or thief. Knowing all this she went into a panic attack. I talked to her about it after she had calmed down which is how I found out what triggered her, she also said she had seen something running down the hall way the night before but assumed it was me and said my name, but I didn't respond. She thought nothing of it the night before. This made me remember what had happened when I was five, and she got a book of prayers and said them loudly upstairs with me while blessing the house.
Fast forward to now, I'm in high school and some things are happening again. Neither my mom nor I have seen any shadow figures again, but I heard a muffled scream while sitting in my parent's room the other day and my mom heard a muffled cry coming from the same place, their closet, a day or two after. Now only a few more incidents have happened in between 7th grade and where I am now but they are small paranormal incidents and this story is long enough. Funny enough all the things happening now have my mom totally freaked where as I try and not pay much mind to them, I suppose the roles have reversed. I just wanted to share this story but anything any one could give some insight into would be appreciated. My mom feels as though these are demons. I think they are nothing more than a residential haunting. I would love to hear what you guys think in the comments and thanks to everyone who read this far.
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Sorry to be so long in responding! The red circle intrigues me. Perhaps it could be linked to the red dot worn on the forehead of Hindu worshippers - the" tilaka," a "bottu," or "bindi."
"Hindu tradition holds that all people have three eyes, the two outer ones used for seeing the outside world, the third one focusing inward toward God. As such, the red dot signifies piety as well as serving as a constant reminder to keep God in the front of a believer's thoughts." (Snopes.com)
Now, I grant, this refers to a mark placed on the body not on a wall, however, maybe the family chose to use it as a symbol (similar to a cross being marked on the forehead of Catholics on Ash Wednesday vs as an ornament on a wall) as a reminder of God to help them cope with the activity in the home. I also found a book (The Cultural Dialectics of Knowledge and Desire
By Charles William Nuckolls), which references red circles painted on the wall as part of the ritual elements of a family shrine to family gods and ancestors.
In every source I have found, red is a positive, spiritual and protective color in Hindu beliefs. So I don't get the impression that the red circle could be the cause of the haunting but perhaps evidence that the previous residents experienced similar events.
As the haunting doesn't seem to have evolved within the current house, perhaps research on the land before the home was constructed could be helpful. Perhaps there was a previous structure there or perhaps something went on there before anything was ever built. In the latter case, it may be difficult to find any definitive answers but it can't hurt to check!