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Woman And Horse Drawn Carriage

 

This happened in Scotland, Drummore on the B7065, New Years Eve 2014.

Four of us, my best mate and our now ex girlfriends, stayed in a cottage for new year. New Year's Eve came around and we got very drunk and a bit high and at one point I mistakenly had Codeine instead of paracetamol. This concoction made me quite sleepy so I fought it off and got up to wake myself up a bit and get another beer and see midnight, by this time it was around 11pm.

Another hour of music and beers had passed and I was feeling good and midnight arrived so we decided to go for a walk down the road (B7065) Me being a bit pissed and on a dark spooky road with not much around really wanted to run ahead, hide and jump out on the other 3 walking behind me, so that's what I did, I took off to find a bush to hide in but what happened in those few minutes was really strange...

The night is very foggy for me as I was having affects from the codeine, beer and weed and I don't remember a lot, apart from this one very clear moment where I think my body and brain sobered up for 10 seconds when I saw it appear on the road.

I just remember being stood still, I don't remember stopping and suddenly there it was, a horse drawn carriage, 2 black horses and a woman in classic Victorian white dress and big hat walking in front of the horses, she may also have been carrying flowers. She then looked my way, smiled and waved, I waved back in utter bewilderment. It all felt like I was moving in half speed and I tried to say something but nothing came out.

I was more fixated on the woman and paid close attention to her, she was about 2-3 meters away from me, I didn't look at or notice any driver but in the space of 10 seconds I seem to remember a black shape that looked like it could have been the carriage driver slightly hunched over but my eyes didn't move from her. She was very clear and kind of glowing but not a huge glow and gave off a very friendly energy.

When my friends caught up, which I don't recall, I had forgotten about hiding because you know, I'd just literally seen a ghost, they saw me looking around in the road and they asked me what I was doing and I asked my mate Garry "did you see that woman and the carriage go past?" I think we all went back home at that point.

My research on this has told me that a woman walking in front of a horse drawn carriage like that is mainly for funerals processions for her husband.

Hope you liked reading my encounter.

Sam.

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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, Sjn85, has the following expectation about your feedback: I will read the comments and participate in the discussion.

Sleeping-with-steve (guest)
 
2 years ago (2023-02-08)
Hello Snj85/Sam,

You said in your post, 'It all felt like I was moving in half speed and I tried to say something but nothing came out'. Do you think you fell asleep for a minute or 2? You said early in your post you tried hard to stay awake as a result of taking a combination of pills, alcohol and weed.

Sleep paralysis can cause a person to freeze up, or so it seems.

Looks like my sister/Crimson has been busy chatting away on YGS. I'm glad she's enjoying all the posts and comments as much as I do.

Did you ever find out who the lady was who you saw that night Sam? Did you look up events in your local library of possible connections to what you saw? I'd be interested in knowing more, like who she was. The way you describe her, she sounds regal and mysterious. I enjoyed reading your post.

Best wishes,
Linjahaha (24 stories) (161 posts)
+3
2 years ago (2023-01-27)
Hi S-85, Very fascinating encounter. Especially for you. I'm 'sure' that you completely sobered up rather quickly after seeing 'that'.
I have no doubt that you saw a vision. Quite possibly what is called a 'residual haunting'.
Her waving 'might' have been a conscious recognition of 'your' presence. Then, again. It could be, as a previous post noted, her waving [at] an attending crowd that was there in 'her' time period when the actual event occurred. Just a theory mind you.
I enjoyed reading about it. Best wishes to you 😉 😉!
matrix899 (1 stories) (67 posts)
+3
2 years ago (2023-01-17)
Yes Sjn85, reality is indeed very strange, and that may be because our perceiving apparatus is limited. If we understand this fact, we can avoid many errors in perception.

We do not fully understand the nature of life and reality, this is evidenced by the fact that humans continue to make scientific discoveries, and the science of physics is continually evolving.

Nevertheless, there is an ever present perception by the average person that we know all that there is to know, and science and knowledge has reached its zenith. I guess this fact helps to explain why some are impatient with the idea of the paranormal.

There is no doubt that many current day puzzles exist because we have not yet discovered the science behind them.

Matrix899
lady-glow (16 stories) (3197 posts)
+2
2 years ago (2023-01-16)
Welcome to YGS.

My one and only experience with codeine was after the birth of my first child, by C-section.

I had a dream in which Queen Elizabeth II, wearing a large, flowery hat, was growling and chasing me through some creepy and solitary streets. I woke up and, to my horror, still could hear her growls and saw her shadow standing by the side of my bed.
Only after I was fully awake, realized that the shadow of the queen was the bouquet of flowers my husband had presented me with, and the growls were the snoring of another patient in the room.

As we say in Mexico "cada quien habla de como le fue en la feria" (meaning that each person will base their opinion upon their own experience), in my opinion, it's hard to say if this was a paranormal encounter or if it was only a hallucination.

Regardless, I think it was something nice to witness and has opened a door to an interesting and informative feedback.

Thanks for sharing.
aussiedaz (19 stories) (1566 posts)
+4
2 years ago (2023-01-16)
Hello Sjn85, I'm not surprised your friends didn't see her, nor would I expect them to, if what I'm speculating is closer to the truth.

Several years ago, I watched a mini-documentary on a medium psychic who was being studied by a research team in earnest to see if there were any biomechanical changes during his readings. What I found extremely interesting, was the discovery of his brain pattern whilst in a waking state.

The brain pattern study concluded: The medium was basically in a rem state or even deeper whilst awake, although they never made the bridge between the two states of mind and how it enabled him to communicate with the deceased, I'll throw my hat into the ring and state this.

Consciousness is fundamental to our reality, so when we are in a sleeping state, the frequency pattern from our brains descend into the wave function (Higgs field) pretty similar to what atoms do in the double slit experiment. We know through hypnosis they can lower their subjects into a deep theta state of mind where reportingly they can remember their past lives etc. I would further speculate, most genuine mediums would probably have similar patterns... Keep in mind, probably 70 per cent of the stories on this website happened in the bedroom where I suspect the rem-state is more active in the process of what they experience and in relation to young children and how they can see more than others that too may have something to do with their brain wave pattern?.

So it's why I feel your state of mind was a receptive one due to a combination of sorts, where you picked up on this woman going about her business with such clarity.

Anyway, just some more food for thought and thank you C.T. For your kind thoughts, It's nice to hear some folk take aboard my theories and other thoughts.

Regards Daz
Sjn85 (2 stories) (3 posts)
+3
2 years ago (2023-01-16)
Thanks for the welcome and comments Crimson. Yes they already seem very knowledgable and interested, I never expected it, it's a great ghost story site!
Sjn85 (2 stories) (3 posts)
+3
2 years ago (2023-01-16)
Hi Rajine. No, nobody else saw what I saw, but all people who were there that night, were maybe a minute walk behind me past a bend in the road. They all did confirm that I was asking if they had also seen the woman in question.
Maybe it wasn't a funeral procession after all, my light research came back with that but from reading replies on the story it might not be the case. She was definitely smiling though, not a big smile, just a friendly one. Also, no offence taken my friend.

Hi Aussiedaz. I have never ruled out a hallucination but at the same time I don't think my brain would conjure up something so perfect to be perceived by my brain in the correct way. What I'm trying to say is my apparition appeared to be perfectly on the road surface and moving normally, no weird stuff or glitches or anything that seemed out of place if that makes sense? I do believe what was in my system helped me see that other level.
I don't know much about Higgs field, sounds like something I'm going to be reading about very soon!

Hi, Valkricry. You might be correct. All I noted about the carriage was that it was big and dark but the woman was my main focus. I would say she was late 30, s early 40,s, about 5'8", her hair was up and probably tucked under her hat but I didn't notice any specific hair colour. When I mention how she was dressed, I'm talking very traditional Victorian style that people are generally used to seeing, the hat I would describe as a bonnet type maybe or possibly a fascinator of some kind and not very broad.

Hi Matrix. Yes it is so so strange. Everything is just light, energy and mass. The other thing about her waving, she didn't look confused or concerned about my presence, totally calm and a lot more prepared with this encounter than I was hahaha. I was just stood there like a lemon and thinking "what the...?!" I truly hope I see something like that again in my life.

Hi Biblio. I think are right about it being just an innocent walk by a lady who just so happened to had access to a carriage and thought it was a lovely day to pick some wild flowers. She was definitely carrying something under her arm on the left side of her body while waving with her right hand, but I don't recall what she was carrying. Thanks for all the info and other possibilities Bilbio, it's making this encounter very interesting and hopefully I can find something out.

Thanks for the help, replies and interest in my experience. I've been thinking about posting this story for a long time now and I never expected so much interest!

Sam.
Bibliothecarius (9 stories) (1091 posts)
+3
2 years ago (2023-01-16)
Greetings, Sam.

This is an interesting narrative with several points that really made me wonder.

Val is, as usual, quite correct in her fashion history. "Big" hats were popular in the Georgian period and the Edwardian period, but seldom worn in the Victorian era; in fact, some that were called "fascinators" were so small that they resembled elaborate hair clips more than hats. That point aside, I cannot for the life of me imagine what she was doing walking *in front* of the carriage.

Her style of clothing would suggest her experience occurred in summer weather, as that is the time of year people who could afford contemporary fashion traditionally wore lighter colors. Brides wearing white no matter the weather, for example, wasn't normal until Queen Victoria started the fashion. (Brides used to buy white silk and then have it dyed to a specific color of their choosing; Victoria wanted to show that she was being frugal during an economic downturn by not paying for the dye.) I doubt this woman was a bride, as she'd have been escorted by her father, or another gentleman of the family, to her wedding and would be highly unlikely to want to walk to the church and risk her dress getting soiled.

As for this being a potential funeral procession, no one but the funeral director would walk directly in front of the hearse or carriage; a formal postilion rider might ride one of the lead horses, but the chief mourners would follow *behind* the hearse, either in their own carriages or on foot. (In the Georgian era, the only mourners allowed to travel with the coffin and to attend the funeral would have been men.) Additionally, her smiling and waving at you would have been a massive breach of decorum for a funeral procession; indeed, we'd still think it peculiar or disrespectful behavior today.

I'm basing these thoughts on the responses of several other commenters, obviously, in addition to the fact that the B7065 runs through Kirkmaiden, giving some weight to the idea that this woman may have been heading to (or from) the church for some reason.

It is, I suppose, entirely possible that the woman you saw was simply eccentric, whimsically desiring to go for a walk--possibly to pick flowers--and doing so in front of the carriage for safety's sake.

It is great that she interacted with you, suggesting that she was as aware of your existence as you were of hers. The fact that she was neither frightened nor frightening in any way is also compelling.

I confess, this is my favorite kind of ghost story: it raises more questions than it answers while giving room for lots of speculation.

I do hope that some of my rambling commentary proves useful.

Best,
Biblio.
matrix899 (1 stories) (67 posts)
+3
2 years ago (2023-01-16)
Hello again Sjn85,

Your response was thought provoking. Your friend felt "he believes that the woman could actually see me and waved and was wondering what I was also". This conjures up the idea of "overlapping realities".

As we all know, "the theoretical framework of Superstring Theory posits that the universe exists in ten different dimensions." This seems to imply that the idea of overlapping dimensions may not entirely be fantasy. The string theory physicists certainly don't think this is fantasy.

When we see something outside our normal range of experiences, we of course struggle to explain what we saw by using our known frame of references: memory, knowledge of the past, etc.

What you saw may not be explainable in terms of known history or experiences, especially if this is a case of overlapping realities.

Matrix899
CrimsonTopaz (1 stories) (239 posts)
+2
2 years ago (2023-01-16)
Sjn85, Such a fascinating encounter you've shared. I have no idea about historical fashion and usually miss things in stories that others like ladyglow, Bibliography and Val pick up. Our members are sleuth, highly intelligent and experienced people who I'm learning so much from. AussieDaz for one offers so much insight into different realities that I can sit and read his comments all day and learn something new each time. You've come to the right place to get help. YGS members will help you work out what you need to know. I on the other hand just want to say, nice read and thanks.
valkricry (49 stories) (3286 posts) mod
+4
2 years ago (2023-01-16)
I don't believe what you saw was a lady in mourning. Large, or 'big' hats weren't in fashion until the early 1900's, and by then black was the color for mourning. And then there's her smiling and waving - no 'decent' Victorian would do that at a funeral. Funerals were very somber times (widows were expected to mourn the loss of a husband for about 2 years, whereas a widower 3-6 months).
Traditionally, the widow might ride atop the hearse, next to the driver, or walk with the other mourners behind. However they would not walk in front of the carriage.
You did not give a description of the carriage, so it may well not been a hearse at all.
The white dress, with a 'big hat' (assume you meant a broad brim hat) and her cheerfulness suggests more of someone attending a party or some other gay affair. Did you happen to take in more details about her? Like approximate age?
fineandmellow (3 stories) (11 posts)
+3
2 years ago (2023-01-16)
Suppose she smiled because, wherever she was, she saw you and thought she caught a glimpse of her deceased husband? Probably not likely, but I find this thought quite sweet and comforting!
Rajine (14 stories) (904 posts)
+4
2 years ago (2023-01-15)
Hi Sjn85

Were you the only one who saw that? You didn't mention if your friends saw what you saw, I just read another story on here that said that intoxicated people are more prone to supernatural encounters, although I'm not sure (no offense).
You mentioned that those types of processions are for funerals, you would think that the lady would be a bit more... Sombre 🤔
aussiedaz (19 stories) (1566 posts)
+6
2 years ago (2023-01-15)
The fact that you were a bit high and in a sleepy state due to the codeine, I would surmise your brain pattern was in a semi-rem state which for most is stage one of light sleep. As you were able to push yourself to stay awake you most likely hovered in and out up and over the new year.

I think I did the same thing when I was a young lad except for mine, the only experience I ended up with was a spinning room.lol

I don't want to jump on the obvious and suggest it was a hallucination because some of the chemicals we take can interfere with our perceptions and that is what most will think. I would be inclined to go with your intuition on this one as what you witnessed was a glimpse of another time period.

Our reality is one big old ball of energy known as the Higgs field. Our brains are receivers of that inherited frequency field, your state of reception for the 10 seconds was like a dial on a radio transmitter jammed between two stations.

Just my thoughts, thank you for sharing.

Regards Daz

.
Sjn85 (2 stories) (3 posts)
+3
2 years ago (2023-01-15)
Thanks for the comment Matrix. I was telling my friend this story for the first time yesterday and he believes that the woman could actually see me and waved and was wondering what I was also.
Yes, I wanted to be honest and also let people kind of feel what bodily state I was in. I forgot to mention I have never hallucinated from weed and alcohol.
I agree that the the beer and other things made me open to another realm in way.
matrix899 (1 stories) (67 posts)
+6
2 years ago (2023-01-15)
Hello Sjn85,
I appreciate your honesty about being inebriated when this happened. It was quite a profound experience, and I wonder if your altered state allowed you to get a glimpse into the "unknown", and somehow allowed you to see this apparition or whatever it was.

"She smiled and waved"; this is an interesting detail, maybe she was waving at the line of mourners who would have lined the route.
Take care.
Matrix899

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