Has anything supernatural ever happened to you?

[150249]

Something happened to me while I was in London for a weekend back in 2021.

It was 4th December 2021 at around half eight in the evening. I was in London with my Mum. I was going to change from the Piccadilly Line to the Northern Line at Leicester Square. We got to Covent Garden when the train stopped because of an incident further up the line at Knightsbridge. A fair few people got off and me and my mum decided to too because it was only a 4 minute walk to Leicester Square. We got to the lifts and they were packed. My mum has bad claustrophobia and asked me if we could use the spiral staircase. We must have been about half way up when some of the lights went off. Only half of the lights were left on and some were flickering; I assume there was a powercut of some sort. Then, suddenly we heard footsteps and heavy breathing coming from behind. They passed us while we were slowly walking up the stairs and no one was there. After about 10 seconds the lights flickered back on.

I probably missed out some details because I am tired but that is the most unexplainable thing that's happened to me.

 

[ChiefPlanner]

Something happened to me while I was in London for a weekend back in 2021.

It was 4th December 2021 at around half eight in the evening. I was in London with my Mum. I was going to change from the Piccadilly Line to the Northern Line at Leicester Square. We got to Covent Garden when the train stopped because of an incident further up the line at Knightsbridge. A fair few people got off and me and my mum decided to too because it was only a 4 minute walk to Leicester Square. We got to the lifts and they were packed. My mum has bad claustrophobia and asked me if we could use the spiral staircase. We must have been about half way up when some of the lights went off. Only half of the lights were left on and some were flickering; I assume there was a powercut of some sort. Then, suddenly we heard footsteps and heavy breathing coming from behind. They passed us while we were slowly walking up the stairs and no one was there. After about 10 seconds the lights flickered back on.

I probably missed out some details because I am tired but that is the most unexplainable thing that's happened to me.

Covent Garden has some "previous" - a prescence to do with an Edwardian actor - Google it...

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 7 Sep 2023 ==

Covent Garden has some "previous" - a prescence to do with an Edwardian actor - Google it...

William Terris ........

 

[najaB]

Would it do any harm, just for this thread, to not jump in with the straw man scientism?

What the heck is 'scientism'?

I personally don't believe in ghosts, but I do believe in God, and in fact I think you can't believe in God and ghosts if you are Christian, but more to the point why not just let people in this thread, write about their perceived experiences?

Where and when did I say that people can't write about their experiences? More to the point, why do you think I have the authority to stop anyone posting? I clearly stated that what I was posting was my opinion - why is that any less valid or worthy of posting than yours?

As I said, I have had experiences that I can't explain. For example, I once clearly saw what appeared to be a person standing where there was no possible way for anyone to be standing in a building that is supposedly haunted. Can I explain exactly what it was I saw? No. Was it supernatural? Nope.

 

[Parjon]

If you can't explain what it was, how can you definitively say it wasn't supernatural.

 

[Ashley Hill]

Our old cat still makes his presence felt despite having died naturally 10 years ago. Now and again a cat can be felt jumping on the bed,you put your hand out to stroke it but there’s nothing there. Putting on the light will find our current two cats either asleep or perhaps one staring intently out onto the landing whilst the other sleeps.

 

[Matey]

Many years ago I was stationed on Unst in the Shetlands. I had only been there a few days when I found myself alone late evening in the ante-room, although there were others around in the single story building. Something made me look up from the book I was looking through and I saw a pale grey outline of a man standing with his back against the wall. The vision lasted only a second or two. I did not mention this to anyone, but a week or two later someone returned off leave and at dinner casually asked, "has anyone seen the man in grey lately?" I said nothing in the hope of hearing more. It seems he had been seen by different people when alone in various public places within the building, always motionless and very briefly.

 

[Sad Sprinter]

Have things happened to me that I can't explain? Sure.

Has anything supernatural happened? Well no, for the same reason that I don't believe in a god or gods. Ascribing something to the supernatural not only means that you are saying it's there's no explanation for it now, it's also saying that there is no possible way that anyone will ever be able to provide a naturalistic explanation for it, and that you've given up on trying to understand it. A thousand years ago there was lots of room for gods - how and why does lightning happen? Gods did it. Why did that flood happen? Gods did it. Why did that plague happen? The gods did it. Eventually we filled each of those gaps with science and reason and the gaps where a god can live have gotten smaller and smaller.

Will we ever fill all of the gaps? Probably not. But we'll fill enough of them that, to my way of thinking at least, it's "Sorry, God, the position is no longer vacant since we've decided to go a different way."

But what is the point of all this knowledge at the end of the day? We’re alive for god knows how long on this earth so we may as well believe in something whilst were here

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Would it do any harm, just for this thread, to not jump in with the straw man scientism? I personally don't believe in ghosts, but I do believe in God, and in fact I think you can't believe in God and ghosts if you are Christian, but more to the point why not just let people in this thread, write about their perceived experiences? I'm sure many members are chomping at the bit to give rational explanations about situations they weren't faced with, but have chosen to let it slide for the sake of their supernatural-believing chums on these fora.

When I first saw this thread, I was going to post pouring cold water on any suggestion that either ghosts or deities are real (or at least provably real)... but I decided against it because I didn't want to be "that guy".

Though the bit of your post I've bolded is a bit confusing. For example don't most Christians believe in the Trinity, one third of which is actually called the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost? Also as I understand it most Christians believe in some sort of afterlife- which at least suggests that "souls" exist outside of the brain of the individual. I'm not trying to pick holes in your belief system, I'm just curious as to how exactly it works.

 

[156421]

When I first saw this thread, I was going to post pouring cold water on any suggestion that either ghosts or deities are real (or at least provably real)... but I decided against it because I didn't want to be "that guy".

Though the bit of your post I've bolded is a bit confusing. For example don't most Christians believe in the Trinity, one third of which is actually called the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost? Also as I understand it most Christians believe in some sort of afterlife- which at least suggests that "souls" exist outside of the brain of the individual. I'm not trying to pick holes in your belief system, I'm just curious as to how exactly it works.

I meant I don't think Christians can believe in BOTH things... the notion of an Holy Spirit is the Hypostasis of God which remains active in this universe, rather than an apparition of a deceased specific person/animal.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

I meant I don't think Christians can believe in BOTH things... the notion of an Holy Spirit is the Hypostasis of God which remains active in this universe, rather than an apparition of a deceased specific person/animal.

Ah, I think I understand the position a bit better now. It does seem to me that a belief in ghosts (in the sense of being the "soul/spirit" of someone deceased) would be incompatible with how I understand Christian theology to work.

 

[172007]

If you can't explain what it was, how can you definitively say it wasn't supernatural.

Because extraordinary events require extraordinary evidence to back them up.

You can't run to the supernatural as a default position just because you don't understand something.

 

[Busaholic]

Seen them both. The one on the second floor is silent and doesn't move. The one on the stairs is more active. It's never spoken, but is prone to moving things. It's really not keen on me cleaning. I never mention them to any visitors to the house, but on one occasion a visitor came back from the bathroom and asked if I knew there was a ghost on the stairs.

I am normally a sceptic, and have spent much time trying to get pictures to move by jumping on the stairs etc, and to get the ghost to "appear" by moving lights, but to no avail. Until someone comes up with a better explanation, they are supernatural.

I've never seen one, but the two Siamese cats I had years ago certainly did, from their astonished reaction. We had an old cottage, lived in for ninety years by a woman who was both born and died there, never marrying. There was an old, coal-fired Aga with a very heavy knob that controlled the heating. We'd go out to work leaving it so the place would be nice and warm when we came home, to find it cold because the knob had been turned right down. This happened loads of times in four years. Nobody else had access to our property.

 

[Lucan]

A thousand years ago there was lots of room for gods - how and why does lightning happen? Gods did it. ... Eventually we filled each of those gaps with science and reason and the gaps where a god can live have gotten smaller and smaller.

We have science and reason that fit the phenomena we perceive around us, but we cannot prove or disprove anything outside that bubble. For example I cannot prove that I did not materialise into existence only an instant ago (complete with all my fake "knowledge" and "memories"), nor that I will cease to exist in another instant, nor that anyone but myself actually exists (a philosophy called solopism), not that God (or gods) exist or not. Nevetheless, I am pragmatic and act in accordance with the majority of what I perceive; so I go along with the science, and don't believe in God or ghosts but cannot argue with those who do.

 

[156421]

We have science and reason that fit the phenomena we perceive around us, but we cannot prove or disprove anything outside that bubble. For example I cannot prove that I did not materialise into existence only an instant ago (complete with all my fake "knowledge" and "memories"), nor that I will cease to exist in another instant, nor that anyone but myself actually exists (a philosophy called solopism), not that God (or gods) exist or not. Nevetheless, I am pragmatic and act in accordance with the majority of what I perceive; so I go along with the science, and don't believe in God or ghosts but cannot argue with those who do.

Presumably you mean solipsism

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 8 Sep 2023 ==

We have science and reason that fit the phenomena we perceive around us, but we cannot prove or disprove anything outside that bubble. For example I cannot prove that I did not materialise into existence only an instant ago (complete with all my fake "knowledge" and "memories"), nor that I will cease to exist in another instant, nor that anyone but myself actually exists (a philosophy called solopism), not that God (or gods) exist or not. Nevetheless, I am pragmatic and act in accordance with the majority of what I perceive; so I go along with the science, and don't believe in God or ghosts but cannot argue with those who do.

Did you "go along with the science" or "follow the science" as they called it in the daily death toll broadcasts in covid unjustifiable restrictions?

 

[172007]

We have science and reason that fit the phenomena we perceive around us, but we cannot prove or disprove anything outside that bubble. For example I cannot prove that I did not materialise into existence only an instant ago (complete with all my fake "knowledge" and "memories"), nor that I will cease to exist in another instant, nor that anyone but myself actually exists (a philosophy called solopism), not that God (or gods) exist or not. Nevetheless, I am pragmatic and act in accordance with the majority of what I perceive; so I go along with the science, and don't believe in God or ghosts but cannot argue with those who do.

I can argue with people who enforce their religious supernatural beliefs on everyone whether we like it or not even though theu are a minority . Sunday shopping hours for a start

 

[DynamicSpirit]

You can't run to the supernatural as a default position just because you don't understand something.

I agree. And my instinct is always to first think whether there might be a scientific explanation for whatever has happened. But the flip side of that is that you also shouldn't rule out 'supernatural' just based on prior prejudices: When you can't see the explanation for something, an open mind is normally best.

Reading through the reports in this thread, there are a few that I can imagine possible non-supernatural explanations for, and a few might be rare coincidences. But there are also others which, if we take at face value, seem very unlikely to be explainable from physics.

 

[156421]

I can argue with people who enforce their religious supernatural beliefs on everyone whether we like it or not even though theu are a minority . Sunday shopping hours for a start

Banning alcohol on scotrail being another example

 

[DynamicSpirit]

Banning alcohol on scotrail being another example

Uh? That's surely nothing to do with any religious beliefs, and everything to do with the tendency of many people who've consumed too much alcohol to behave in anti-social ways that cause other passengers to feel uncomfortable or even unsafe.

 

[172007]

Uh? That's surely nothing to do with any religious beliefs, and everything to do with the tendency of many people who've consumed too much alcohol to behave in anti-social ways that cause other passengers to feel uncomfortable or even unsafe.

Playing devil's advocate. If a member of clergy decided to hold mass on a moving train would the red wine fall foul of the bylaw or is there something written in to cover it. Arguably the bylaw is against the consumption of alcohol so I guess through the process of transubstantiation it is actually human blood they are drinking.

 

[156421]

Uh? That's surely nothing to do with any religious beliefs, and everything to do with the tendency of many people who've consumed too much alcohol to behave in anti-social ways that cause other passengers to feel uncomfortable or even unsafe.

We all know that puritanical sabbatarianism still has an hold in parts of Scotland. SNP looking for votes in Highlands/Islands communities with these token gestures.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 8 Sep 2023 ==

Playing devil's advocate. If a member of clergy decided to hold mass on a moving train would the red wine fall foul of the bylaw or is there something written in to cover it. Arguably the bylaw is against the consumption of alcohol so I guess through the process of transubstantiation it is actually human blood they are drinking.

We need a legal case like this to overrule the pointless ban which harks back to early 1900s temperance movement. It's time to move on.

 

[Mag_seven]

We seem to be drifting off topic somewhat - can we get back to discussing supernatural experiences please.

thanks

 

[kristiang85]

When I was young I had an awful dream that my grandmother died, and we went to see her and she was lying in her bed, dead. It was also the only black and white dream I've ever had, and I'm usually a very vivid dreamer.

The next day I was out with my parents when my dad's phone rang, and it was my uncle saying my grandmother had passed. And we went to her house, where she was lying in bed where she had died.

We were close, so I've always seen it as her way of telling me she was going.

 

[Sad Sprinter]

When I was young I had an awful dream that my grandmother died, and we went to see her and she was lying in her bed, dead. It was also the only black and white dream I've ever had, and I'm usually a very vivid dreamer.

The next day I was out with my parents when my dad's phone rang, and it was my uncle saying my grandmother had passed. And we went to her house, where she was lying in bed where she had died.

We were close, so I've always seen it as her way of telling me she was going.

When I was 9 years old I had a dream part of my hometown was on fire. When I got to school the next morning they told us a building in that part of town burned down overnight.

Perhaps I heard the flames deep in my subconscious or something

 

[The exile]

Could this just be random brain firing? I sometimes think I 'hear' vague voices when falling asleep or feeling sleepy, which seems to be a fairly well-established phenomenon.

This is vaguely linked to what convinced me that some kind of ESP exists. Quarter to two one Friday morning a few years ago (oddly enough the equivalent of today!)- mobile phone starts ringing in other room. Of course, by the time I’ve come to properly it’s stopped. No one ever calls me at that time so I turn over to go back to sleep - but t that voice in my head says “that’s xyz - call back” I did and sure enough it was exactly that person -in great distress and needing to talk. I hadn’t set up a special ring tone for them and the event came (to me at least) out of the blue. At that point I stopped being quite so sceptical.

 

[Lost property]

Numerous times during my life. some on RAF stations, some as a civilian. The only one that has ever worried me was in the gliding workshops at Dishforth in the early hours when I was sleeping there...a very strong sensation of being looked at....others had reported similar at an adjacent office.

With regard to the spiritual aspect. both my late lady and myself believe only the body dies, the spirit remains. A few months after she passed away, the white feathers began to appear....inside the house. Then, the dogs cool mat in the lounge started to move, a few ins at a time, parallel with the rug...it covered a distance of about 6ft before it started to try and go up the wall.

So, i moved it through 90 degs to where her chair formerly was...once again, it moved, gradually, of it's own accord. Now madam is a very clever and intelligent dog, but, even she couldn't move the mat parallel to the rug, evenly.. and...it moved when she was away from the house for a few days....also, she has numerous times now suddenly looked up, and stared, fixedly in the way dogs do when they look up at you. I've also smelt the occasional scent of perfume.

I do believe people are either receptive or they aren't. I also believe, if, you empathise with nature, other species, and respect Mother Nature, you do stand more chance of such experiences...

I am not in the slightest bit concerned as to my late lady's spiritual presence.. in fact, I welcome it

 

[150249]

Covent Garden has some "previous" - a prescence to do with an Edwardian actor - Google it...

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 7 Sep 2023 ==



William Terris ........

Yes I've heard of that! Couldn't find anything about an invisible person climbing the 193 stairs though. I wonder if it was a hallucination but both me and my mum heard it.

 

[Trackman]

Something happened to me a few weeks back, but it wasn't to do with ghosts anything like that.
I was contemplating posting about this on the forums but I thought people would think I'm a crackpot or something. People think I've got the story muddled up, I can assure you I've not - plus I have evidence.
I think I will post on a separate thread about this as it's not really supernatural, well.. you can decide.

 

[DustyBin]

I don't recall experiencing anything that I'd describe as supernatural myself, however around ten years ago a friend told me (in strictest confidence) that he had. He'd tried to call another mutual friend at around 8pm, but he did't answer. Now, there's any number of reasons why a young, fit and healthy man may not answer his phone, but the first friend described a very deep sense of unease and apparently struggled to sleep. In the morning he was so unsettled that he was going to drive over, but thought he was being silly (as would I to be honest) so didn't. Later that day we both received a call to say that our friend had been found dead in his house, having died suddenly the previous evening. I really don't think he was making the whole thing up, he's generally a man of few words and rarely displays much in the way of emotion, but this had really shaken him. I suspect you need to experience it to appreciate it, but he said he knew something was wrong, which is quite strange under the circumstances.

 

[nw1]

Not supernatural, just coincidence, but:

In February 1989 I had a very vivid dream about experiencing the Northern Lights. I had not done so up to that point in my life.

On March 13 1989 I actually saw them, on one of only two occasions in my lifetime that I had - the other being November 1991.

One factor here could be that around that time I started getting interested in astronomy. Even still, the March 1989 display was so vivid that even a casual observer would notice, and as I said I've only seen them since on one other occasion.

 

[Strat-tastic]

Readers here may be interested in this old thread:

Are our railways haunted? (ghost stories)

I see many of the forums users are railway workers, and i wondered if anyone had any tales to tell of mysterious happenings/hauntings while on duty, or if anyone has any railway ghost stories. I appreciate this thread may not be everyones cup of tea, but i would love to hear any...

www.railforums.co.uk