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Am I Cursed? Or Is My Mind Playing Tricks On Me

 

Last spring I went on a road trip to Deadwood, SD, with my best friend and his girlfriend. On the way there we drove through Badlands National Park, which is one of the most incredible places I've ever seen. We spent a good 3 hours driving through the Badlands, taking pictures and having a good time before we decided to get back on route to Deadwood.

Before leaving the park, I spotted a very cool overlook that I thought would be perfect for some pictures. My friend stopped the car and we all got out and took some more photos.

I do have to mention it was very cold out this day. My friend and his girl started to head back to the car while I stood there looking out into the vast prairie, taking in all of the Badlands natural beauty one last time before we left. As I was heading back to the car, I spotted a cool looking rock and decided to take it with me. I can't explain it but I had an uncontrollable urge to take this rock.

So, now I'm back in the car with the rock, and as we start to leave, I immediately start to feel uneasy and uncomfortable, something just wasn't right. I felt like I needed to put the rock back from where I got it. I contemplated telling my friend to turn around, but I didn't want to cause any trouble or make him think I'm crazy or something. I didn't know what to do and the feeling got worse.

I didn't feel sick, I just felt like I took something that belonged to someone or something and they were pissed off so this was their way of letting me know.

This sounds crazy but there were two words cycling through my head the whole drive to Deadwood, and they were, "You're cursed". I started to envision dark/disturbing thoughts which made this whole situation even more uncomfortable. I won't get in to detail but these envisions were pure disgusting and involved my friends, but I just tried my best to shrug it off and act like everything was okay as I was battling tears.

I know this sounds crazy and you might think I'm being dramatic, but this was reality for me. This feeling, these envisions, this level of discomfort is totally unlike me. My friends could also see that I was clearly bothered. They asked me what was wrong, but I just said "nothing" and kept quiet. This whole situation felt so disturbing and still bothers me to this day when I think about it.

When we got to Deadwood, I started to feel better. I tried my hardest to forget about the rocks and what happened. I didn't know what I should do with the rocks so I just left them at the hotel we stayed at.

As of now, I haven't gotten that uncomfortable feeling again nor have I felt or experienced any sort of effects from this.

Did I dodge a bullet? Was taking that rock a mistake? Why did I have those disturbing thoughts and envisions? Am I overthinking all of this?

So many questions with so little answers. Please let me know you're thoughts on my experience and comment any advice, questions, or theories about this.

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, EJ3the1, has the following expectation about your feedback: I will read the comments and participate in the discussion.

EJ3the1 (guest)
+2
4 years ago (2019-12-17)
LuciaJacinta
I do regret not doing anything about the rocks and just leaving them at my hotel, not smart on my end.
EJ3the1 (guest)
+4
4 years ago (2019-12-17)
WisconsinLady
Wow, thank you for sharing that with me!
My family has a history of ADHD and OCD and I was diagnosed with ADHD at a young age but I believe I have overcome most of it. I am unsure if I have OCD but it will definitely be something I look in to.
The feeling that you encountered at culvers is very similar to what happened to me, straight up disgusting and uncalled for. I am thankful that I haven't that feeling lately.
Thanks again for you're feedback!
EJ3the1 (guest)
+3
4 years ago (2019-12-17)
Thank you all for the advice and theories! I truly appreciate your input
MrsRamsay (guest)
+3
4 years ago (2019-12-17)
I know this is off the subject of rocks (and I did really enjoy this story about taking the rocks and kudos to South Dakota, home of my great grandparents!) but did you all know there is an actual registry for shoes found in walls in Great Britain? Interesting article here:

Https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-northamptonshire-41507752
MrsRamsay (guest)
+3
4 years ago (2019-12-17)
Wisconsin Lady, Just three days ago I watched some show about a girl renovating a house in Georgia who'd found a pair of shoes in her walls. Though I didn't stick around for the whole show, I believe something spooky was happening relating to the shoes. Just cannot remember which show it was (one of the "ghost guy shows" as we call them).
silverthane61 (4 stories) (344 posts)
+3
4 years ago (2019-12-16)
Similar to the other posts to your story, I lived 5 years in Hawaii. The State Board of Commerce regularly receives many rocks from tourists who feel they have been cursed for taking these objects. There are tourist ghost towns in the western and southern regions of the USA that also claim to possess a curse for any tourist who takes a item away from the place. Do I believe it? I don't know, really. But why poke a sleeping lion? If you felt better after leaving the stone, then nothing more need be said. Good for you!
WisconsinLady (1 stories) (52 posts)
+3
4 years ago (2019-12-14)
Lealeigh,
Right now, Hawaii gets a lot of lava returned. 😁
The ghost town of Bodie, CA kind of cheated, because their legend was started by the California Department of Parks and Rec to keep people from stealing! But they still get little pieces of metal returned in the mail about once a week. 🤔 I believe that if enough people think something is real like that, it could become real. But that's completely off topic for this story!

There's also this superstition about shoes in walls...Don't get me started on removing old shoes found in walls! That's a real thing!... And they need to stay where they're found! 😆

I'll look up some words in the search box and see if I can find some of these stories. There has to be at least one more. ❤
Lealeigh (5 stories) (512 posts)
+3
4 years ago (2019-12-13)
WisconsinLady,

I have today off and when I saw LuciaJacinta's post I attempted to find what she was looking for. I gave up; the task was far too daunting. Apparently, the words "rock" and "national park" factor into far too many stories. 😜

It makes me smile to know that the national parks of the world get rocks in the mail!

It's information like yours that helps me to progress happily through the day.

- Maria ❤
WisconsinLady (1 stories) (52 posts)
+3
4 years ago (2019-12-13)
LuciaJacinta, there's many parks around the country (and world) that get rocks mailed back to them. The reasons are usually: negative energy coming from the rock, a string of bad luck after taking it, or a new haunting in their home after bringing it home. Also, I like your idea of putting it back in the ground! I didn't think of that.

I'm sure there's probably another story on here about it. Now you both have me interested in finding more stories about this on YGS! ❤
LuciaJacinta (8 stories) (291 posts)
+2
4 years ago (2019-12-13)
For some reason I swear I remember reading a very similar story on here concerning taking a rock from a national park. I'm not sure it was Badlands though. Might have been another park. Does anyone who has been around here for a while remember a story like this about a rock?

Regardless, I totally believe this one. I'm not sure how or why to explain this phenomenon.

I personally wouldn't have left the rocks. I would have returned them. Or at least buried it in the earth where I was if I couldn't return it.
WisconsinLady (1 stories) (52 posts)
+3
4 years ago (2019-12-12)
Hi EJ3the1! Thanks for sharing your story. I have been to the Badlands many times. I love it!

I feel like I can relate to your story in 2 ways:

1. I have definitely felt feelings of "don't take that rock" from certain parks. I've gotten that feeling at the Badlands. I'm not sure why. I'm a geophysics, so I'd sure love to take home as many new rocks as possible. But sometimes it feels wrong.

2. I immediately thought of Pure O OCD when you described the thoughts and feelings you had. I'm not diagnosed with Pure O OCD, but I have had a few episodes of it in my life. I had one for sure in middle school and then I didn't really have another Pure O experience until I was about 31. My friends and I had been up north in WI doing fieldwork around a rural lake for a few days, and stopped at a Culver's on our way back to Madison. As I was giving my order to the girl at the counter, I got (what I can best describe as) tunnel vision concerning reaching over the counter and doing something to that girl. I could barely tell her my order. My brain focused on this awful thought. Focused. After we left with our food and got back to the vehicle, I slowly began to feel better. I'm intrigued that we were both passengers in cars and adventuring in nature around the time our experiences happened. I'm not sure if you had a Pure O OCD experience, but I know mine was. I thought I'd share this with you, just in case you can find it useful. ❤

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