One late evening, not so long ago, my son and I were watching a Ghost Hunters marathon on TV. Needless to say, we were already spooked, but we didn't dare turn to another channel, as this episode was one of the better ones. We were cuddled together on the couch, relaxing in our pajamas. Other than the light emanating from the TV, we were in complete darkness.
The first noise we heard went almost unnoticed. I quickly dismissed it as the sound of a neighborhood cat prowling around our front deck, searching for a mouse or cricket to snack on. Then we heard another noise and yet another, each one louder than the first. Was it really a cat? Maybe it was several cats or perhaps even a mountain lion (I live in the desert and outside city limits). There was no wind that night, not even a breeze I could lay any blame on. It couldn't have been one of my dogs, as they were in the back yard in their kennels sound asleep. Could it have been a stray dog who wandered onto my property? No, as I had shut and locked the main gate before sundown. What could it be?
In less than a minute since hearing the first noise, my son and I simultaneously jumped off the couch, we were both literally shaking in our pants. My front deck is raised a few feet off the ground and it's quite large, about 12 x 12 feet. Whatever had stepped onto my front deck was gaining strength, it sounded like a rumble, an earthquake, a storm, a stampede! Whatever was outside making all that noise was massive, not a dog and nor a cat. Whatever it was had just now crashed against the door with a lot of force. This was the moment that I wished I had taken my father's advice and bought a shot gun to keep in case of emergencies. I'm currently not married, so situations such as these fall into my lap by default. My son grabbed onto me and asked me what was making all that noise. "I don't know..." is all I could manage to say.
I could have easily opened the blinds in the living room window to peer out onto the front deck to find out who or what was at my door. However, I didn't want to let whatever it was to know that there was anyone inside shaking in their pajamas.
A shot of adrenaline surged through me and "Super Mom" emerged. I grabbed my cell phone from the table, grabbed my son and ran into his room. From his room, I could peer outside his window in the cover of darkness and find out what was going on outside.
What I saw was unbelievable. It was a stampede alright. A goat stampede to be more precise. My goats, Maddy, Lucy, Sissy, Blondie and Ricky had somehow opened their pen and decided to pay my son and I a late night visit. As we spied them for a few moments, Ricky raised up on his hind legs and crashed against the door with his front legs in hopes of getting our attention. Perhaps they wanted a late night snack. The others were scampering about my front deck with no care in the world.
I was more relieved than angry at them. I went outside, took one by the collar and the rest followed in line back into their pen. That was enough of their shenanigans for one night. Luckily, we managed to catch the rest of the Ghost Hunters episode before it ended.
The moral of my story is that no matter how paranormal your circumstances may be, it could still very well have a natural explanation.
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