Do You Believe?

[Tiffany]

Okay, I'm skeptical even writing this because I typically don't believe in paranormal/supernatural activity. I don't know if I don't believe, or the fact that the entire subject scares the livin' bejeeebers out of me so I'd rather think that it wasn't real.

So last night my OH and I went to dinner at a nice restaurant in a small town south of us. He took me there for my birthday back in February and last night was for his friends (who are twins) birthday too. Anyways, the place is built into an old Inn that was built back in the 1800s. It's lovely, and has been restored over the years. The place is sectioned off into rooms, and last night was the first time we sat in the 'main' dining room, as opposed to the front room

There's a mezzanine on the 2nd floor so you can see up it. Now normally I am *NOT* like this. I was looking up at it (and forgive me for being cheesy) and got the worst feeling. Like total unease, goosebumps and a general feeling of "something isn't right up there". I dismissed it and went back to talking to my OH and waiting for other people to show up.

Near the end of the dinner, one of the twins saw me looking up at the mezzanine and asked if I knew the history of the building. I didn't, in fact I didn't even know the place existed until my birthday this past year. She said that the place is supposedly haunted and called the waitress over to explain. When the waitress came she confirmed that a woman who had an abusive husband died on the fire escape that used to be on that side of the building (where the mezzanine is) and now she supposedly haunts the staircase and the window/area that I was looking at.

I just about had a heart attack. I've never had that happen before, and I certainly didn't know the history of the building before I went! The twins were talking about going up there (there is a private dining room up there) and said that it was really neat. Just the thought of going up there scared the living daylights out of me. I am not like that, at ALL! I've never seen a "ghost", and am skeptical at times if they even exist. I'm cringing writing this because I'm sure that you guys are going to be like 'get a GRIP, Tiffany!!!" lol.

So this morning I did some google searches and came up with some info about the Inn.

In the village of Thornton, a former hotel serves up fine fare under the watchful gaze of a tragic female spectre. The Thornton Village Inn [238 Barrie Street] is a beautifully nostalgic Victorian building and a fine dining establishment, its pleasing appearance and excellent food masking the dark stains of a terrible crime.

During the 19th century, the building was host to many travellers, but among the masses one pair, a young couple, stood out. She was beautiful and gentle, he abusive and unfeeling. One night, the woman and her cruel husband began to quarrel, and as it often did, the fight soon turned violent. The woman fell under a rain of insults and punches that left her body and spirit bruised. She was either thrown down the stairs from the second floor or fell as she ran from the assault. In either case, by the time her body had come to rest at the bottom, it was broken and lifeless.
Since then, “The Lady of the Stairs” is said to haunt the second floor of the restaurant. She can be seen standing atop the staircase, walking along the second-floor mezzanine, and looking mournfully down upon the village below from the second-floor balcony.

According to the waitress, they tend to not seat people in the main dining room because many people get the heebie jeebies and need to leave. Granted, I don't know if those people have read about the Inn's history and are reacting to it, or people like me who didn't know, but still get that awful feeling.

Here's the Website. If you go into the Picture Gallery, click "Pictures from the Steakhouse". One of the pictures is "View from the Mezzanine" and you can see the table we were sitting at last night. The only difference is that we had a large party, so the table was flipped horizontally with other tables added to it.

It's ridiculous that I am totally creeped out by it. I just want to reiterate, I do NOT do stuff like that. I don't get weird vibes, creepy feelings unless I've just watched a suspenseful movie or something.



Has anyone else had something like this happen? Or should I just drink more when stuff like this happens to me?

[Dodie16]

Wow... That's a pretty creepy story... I never had anything like that happen to me, but I do get freaked out about stuff pretty easily.

I used to watch "The Celebrity Paranormal Project" that came on VH1 a couple of years ago, and they would get a few celebrities to go to all kinds of creepy places and try to contact the ghosts that are supposed to be there. These places would have some interesting backstories (like that restaurant did) and usually these places would have some tragic events that happened, like all the horrible "treatments" that patients had to go through in Waverly Hills Sanitorium, or what the prison guards did to the inmates at "The Walls Maximum Security Prison".

Do I believe in stuff like this? Well, I am not totally sure, as I have never came into any sort of contact with ghosts, but I guess it could be true. I don't think I would want to be around a place that gave me those vibes, so I will steer clear of that restuaurant.

[Pete]

That's pretty strange Tiff. You probably should've had a few more beers.

I don't really believe in anything like that. The vibes I get aren't usually of the haunted nature, but are more of the "something is going to go horribly wrong" variety. Then again, that could all be a self-fulfilling prophecy type of deal, but who knows. One time I decided to walk home from a park instead of going with my friends cousin. The kid was a low-level dealer, and they got pulled over. I think they fired up a joint, and all got in some kind of trouble, even my friend who doesn't smoke.

Another kind of related thing that did freak me out happened maybe a year ago. I was in the bathroom, shaving, and I wiped off the mirror so I could see. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my grandfather. I turned to face where he was and he was gone. He's been dead for 8 years. And I was perfectly sober!

[Cheesevixen]

I've never had that happen to me in the public eye. However, when I was 14 I had to spend 4 month in a juvy while awaiting a room at the home. The set up of the juvy was that of a block. All four sides had a cells, and only one person was allowed in each cell. One day everyone got out of their cells for church in the middle of the block. The only people who did not come out were those who had been bad that day. I sat there during the service when suddenly I felt someone watching me. I turned to see a young girl with dark hair smiling at me from the cell next to mine. I had assumed that she has been in trouble, and that was why she was in there. So I gave her a smile and continued watching the service. When the service was over we were directed to go back into our cells. As I returned to my cell I saw someone begin to enter the cell I saw the girl in. I protested, and grew a bit angry. No one is allowed in your cell but you, and trying to trick the staff usually results in the entire block being locked up for the day. So I told the staff that there was a girl in there already. The staff went into the room, and came out with nothing. There had been no one in there. I was in utter disbelief. There was no time for anyone to have snuck in there and out without someone noticing. The doors open with a staff right beside you so there is no way she could have gotten past them. I was freaked out. I will never forget the way she smiled at me.

I believe that when people see ghosts or get those creepy feelings; it is because they are close to a thinning of the dimensions. Chances are you are too a "ghost" for those people. I also believe that ghosts may be an imprint in our reality. Like a scratch on a record. I have a lot of different theories on it, but those are my top two. It's the only way I can explain seeing someone that was never there.

[GypsyElder]

I'm kind of in between, but until I actually know I saw or felt something, I will say no. I have had a few strange "experiences" though I'm not gonna lie, but still not enough to make me believe in the paranormal completely.

I told my brother the other day,(we had the same discussion in the car) that is "If I ever tell you I saw something, I mean it so you'd better freaking believe me". Don't be like those stupid people in movies who don't listen and then it's too late. "If I say I saw something, I saw it".

[Che]

Sometimes I get creepy feelings but I really just think it's my mind playing tricks of me.

What do ghosts do though?

I've never seen one. I've never heard of ghosts harming anyone. If there are ghosts, I feel bad for them. Wandering around and everyone's all scared of them. Poor little ghosts.

[Violet]

I haven't seen a ghost before.. ever. Although, I have had a few freaky occurrences happen to me before.

I had a dream that I was in my backyard, and it was dusk. I went inside and it the door was open (the gate part shut) and I saw a shadow move by the window. So I went to look to see who it was and I saw a man's sillhouette, just standing there. I asked him what he wanted but he didn't respond.. so I turned the porch light on and he was glaring at me. It was this intense look of hatred.. scared the bejeebers out of me, so I closed the door, locked it, and leaned up against it. I waited.. then I woke up.

I sat up in bed for a few seconds.. it was 2a.m. The door rang.. I was scared shitless T_T. I didn't want to look out of my window at first. I woke up my mom and told her all about it, so we went to look out the window together and there was a cat sitting there.. and it saw me looking at it. My mom's like "the cat rang the doorbell. It was trying to get a moth".. but I still have a feeling that's not the case >_>.


Another creepy thing that happened was when I was standing in the hallway, talking to my parents before I went to bed. The lights were off completely. I suddenly saw this ball of light (size of a baseball) drift across the floor at the end of the hallway, and disappeared on the other side of the wall. My parents were like "what was that? There was a flash in our window just now." There were no thunderstorms.. it was a clear sky out and there were no helicopters, either. I think it may have been a ball of lightning, but they don't even know what THOSE are, so.. who knows. It could've been a wandering spirit .

[Taco-Calamitous]

One time earlier this year, at my house, I woke up, and a black cloaked, shadowy figure was standing over me. When I reached up to touch it, it disappeared. It's a newer house, so there shouldn't really be any history behind it. I also had a dream just before that with a similar looking character (and I was that character.) In any case, that freaked me out.

There was also this other time when I was like in 4th or 5th grade that I was sleeping upstairs on the couch, and when I woke up, a girl in a white nightgown was standing over me, and told me to go to bed. She disappeared, and when I got up, she reappeared in the doorway, leading to the kitchen (and the stairs) and told me to go to bed again. So I went downstairs and woke up my mom. And I didn't really feel comfortable about sleeping upstairs again, after that.

I figure both incidents may have just been my imagination; a product of my sleeping brain not being fully awake yet. My friends also have a lot of stories like that, however. All kinds of creepy stories. At least two others have seen something similar to that shadowy, cloaked figure from my first story. Being a spiritual person, I think it may be demons trying to scare us. Or our imagination. Anyhoo...

Wuv, Yer Mom

[Tiffany]

I know what you guys mean, its like Did I or Didn't I just see that?

See I'm the type of person who is totally chickenshit about this sort of thing. If Ghosts are actually real, I do NOT want to know. I totally am fine with my ostrich head in the sand mentality (I don't see you, therefore you are not there!!!) and its pathetic, but its true.

I suppose for me it is the fear of the unknown. I'm spiritual, but not necessarily religious. While I'd like to believe that my soul will go to heaven when I die the practical side of me argues all the counter-points to religion. So I guess at times I believe because it is better than the alternative of just becoming dust.

I think the thought of being 'trapped' per se between two worlds does a number on me too. Why does it happen? Is it really unfinished business? Just what classifies 'unfinished business' anyways, or deep regrets? What if someone's unfinished business/deep regret was not fixing the leaky pipe before they died? Would they really be doomed for all eternity to be forever fixing it? Is the universe really that cruel?

Gah, too many questions!

[Yuffie]

OH SHIT SON I love this stuff but I hardly believe it. It reminds me of that movie Paranormal Activity (Which is so not scary man what the hell I felt ripped-off)

I wouldn't call myself a skeptic, more so that well -- you get it. If you can touch it and see it etc etc, whatever.

But still, last year before I moved. Me and my dude were living in this small cottage in a isolated area, it was actually pretty nice. And we were both idiots who slept during the day and stay up during the night.

Well anyway, it was something like 3am and we were just chilling and watching some Alien and all that good stuff, (The cottage is two-story, upstairs is nothing but a huge bedroom with doors leading to inside the ceiling, both on each side, both padlocked) but during the night we would hear footsteps running up and down the stairs and we'd freak out. Though we didn't see anything and checked everywhere. Still though, it was freaky.

[Alpha]

I haven't had any experiences like this, but I enjoy watching the 'ghost' shows that come on TV.

However, I had this discussion with my gf a few months back, and she told me a story that chilled the bejesus out of me, and made me strongly open-minded.

It was when she was about 8 or 9, and her and her friend were playing in the back paddock of my gf's farm (which she no longer lives at). They were just mucking about, playing on a hill in the grass, when her friend started screaming. My gf stopped, and looked in the same direction; she too started screaming. What they had BOTH seen was a "shadowy" figure (she says; "There's no other way to describe it; a figure without features, but a definite shape and mass") climbing over the back wooden fence, and moving directly towards them. They got up and ran straight back to the house. When they were about halfway back, my girlfriend looked back, but nothing was there anymore. They still kept running, and were freaked out for awhile that it had moved out of view, but remained. Nothing else transpired, but they never went back to the back paddock.

She has no reason to lie about the story, and I could sense the genuine fear in her when she told me this story. The bit which is so convincing, is that they both saw the figure, without needing to say anything to each other. The only conclusion that we can reach is that there was something there. As to what it was, I have no idea and really don't want to find out.

[GypsyElder]

Here's a freaky story for ya,

This probably was the creepiest experience of my life, I don't know why I didn't mention this earlier..

So there's this hill/cliff thing where my friend used to live by that supposedly, a school bus crashed and all the kids died. I thought "oh just another silly story to scare kids" well, a group of us decided to go out there one night because someone else from our school made a big deal out of it saying the ghost were pushing the car. What you're supposed to do is park in the hill and put the car in neutral, to make sure you know that no one in the car is actually moving it, or it's not moving itself.

So, we took our happy selves down there and did what they said, car in neutral and we all sat with our legs up on the seat, with hands in the air, so everyone could see them. It was all quiet and giggles until the car started shaking Violently, Im not talking a little nudge here. Like a group of people on either side of the car rocking it back and forth. I almost peed myself. We all freaked out, then it actually started , very slowly moving forward. I s*** you not. We broke out and went to a near by gas station. We were all pretty scared and started coming up with possibilities for it.

But then, this is why I couldn't sleep that night. Someone noticed that on the bumper there were like tiny smudged hand prints!! I know you don't believe me but they were there, and we know no one made them because they were way too small. They were smudged downward as if someone was pushing really hard. Like the finger part streaked down. O_O I like to think it was all a coincidence....that was a long time ago anyway haha.

still not enough to convince me completely for some reason, probably because it was so long ago. I'm not asking you to believe me.

[Unknown Entity]

I'm a believer. When you've seen/heard/experienced the paranormal to the point it's frightened you and/or others around you, it makes sense to continue believing in it.

Apparently, when I was younger (as in... I'm just learning my first words), there was this one night I was crying constantly. Nothing would shut me up, and I left my mother and father very stressed, tired and worried. They put me down on their bed with them to see if that would work. Next thing they know I've burst into laughter, and I'm pointing at the ceiling, and my eyes appeared to be following something flying around the room. If my parents thought that was freaky, I followed what ever it was to the door with my finger, and then said: "Gone," and I was calm again.

I scareded them.

After my nan died when I was four, apparently I used to have conversations with her loads, and talked/asked about stuff that there was no possible way I could have known unless I had spoken to her. It made sense because we were close too. Even to this day I still saying something to her every now and then. My fifteenth birthday went really bad, and by bed time I was in tears. I started talking to my nan again, and asked if she'd wish me a happy birthday. A feather fell down from the ceiling, landed on my cheek and absorbed a tear. ;-;

While I was at primary school, I went on the Year Six trip to Kench Hill, which is an education centre in a Georgian manor house in the middle of the country side. Beautiful place, with a bit of history behind it. Anyway... we were all sent up to bed one evening, but none of us could sleep. Everyone was talking or listening to their music on their CD players. Eventually, most of us drifted off. I was leaning over my bed to put my CD player under it, and noticed something in the corner of the room. Someone was going through the draws on the other side of the room. The next thing I noticed was that this "person" was wearing what looked like an old maid/nurse uniform. I wasn't the only person who saw it - one of the girls on the other side of the room noticed me looking over there, and asked "Can you see her too?"

o_o

My mothers friend lives in some massive Victorian house in Lincolnshire, and joined on to it is the maids quarters, which is like a small cottage. That's where the visitors stayed. One evening, I was reading a book (Goosebumps, no doubt - seriously lol) to my mother, and we both heard the chairs moving down stairs. My mum went down to check it out, giving me her phone and a blunt object in case anything happened. Nothing was down there but my poor dog frightened out of his wits, and a couple of moved chairs (moved as if two people were sitting at the table).

At the same cottage a few nights later, we all heard three loud bangs. It sounded like someone had fired a gun downstairs in the kitchen. We didn't sleep at all that night. We had breakfast in the main building with my mothers friends parents, and my mother asked if they had heard it. Of course they did - it was that loud, it would have been difficult for them not to. They didn't seem all that bothered by it, and went on to tell us about it. It happens once a year, every year on the night a maid was murdered in the basement. She took three bullets - three loud bangs.

o_o

So yes, I believe lol. I've had other experiences too, but for now that's enough. x__x

[Satoko]

I'm pretty spiritual in the sense of believing in the supernatural and the parnormal, but like you Tiffany, I would rather favor the "Ostrach with my head in the sand" mentality about stuff like this. it scares the shit out of me, but I can't help but believe it. Several members in my family have had paranormal experiences, and at least three of us are considered psychic. My mother does Tarot on occassions, not for money just when she feels like picking it up again, and none of her predictions have ever been wrong. Maybe it has something to do with our family's Native American Heritage? I don't know.

That being said, I myself have had several experiances. So have a few of my friends. I've been know to have a small gift of forsight, I say small because it only happens in my dreams or with a "weird" feeling. Not like full ob visions or anything. XD Anyway, one of my most recent experiances happened about a week ago. I fell asleep in my room with my cat at about 11:30. While I was asleep I had a dream. In that dream me and my boyfriend were in an apartment. We were watching a little kid, a boy, about 7 years old. He had blonde hair, and he seemed like a regular kid. He was playing with dinosaur toys in the living room floor, my boyfriend was in the kitchen making something to eat, and i was watching him from the couch. Suddenly, he got real quiet and stopped playing. I went to him and asked what's wrong and he turned to look at me and told me he was going to kill me. In the dream, I was scared shitless. And I ran to the kitchen to my boyfriend. The little kids eyes were what had creeped me out. They had looked lifeless.

The little kid followed me and grabbed a knife from somewhere in the kitchen. In the dream, we ran out the door and some how ending u in a conveinance store. At the end of the dream, we were at one end of the all, the little boy at the other, and he was just staring at me. there was blood on the end of the knife now.

I woke up and looked around my room. My cat was still on my pillow and he was awake too. It was about 3:30 in the morning. I started petting my cat to calm myself down and he started hissing. I lokked around to find what he was hissing at, and saw nothing. He was just staring at my wall. I felt like there was something there, even though there obviously wasn't. But my cat didn't calm down, he was growling and hissing, just glaring at my wall. I even thought I heard someone say something, but I can't remember what.

It may have just been an overactive imagination, or it may have actually been something. I don't know. All I know is that for the next 3 nights, my cat diligently came up to my room at 11:30 and wuld lay on my pillow watching the wall. I felt like there was someone watching me, and couldn't sleep. But, every night at around 3:30, it would just go away. My cat would curl up and finally go to sleep, and I didn't feel any sort of presence anymore.

i know it sounds ridiculous, but I kept myself calm by telling myself there's no such thing as ghosts. XD If they do exist, i'm like Tiffany, I'd rather not know.

[OnOneRyder]

Instead of going into a story of similar situations (I have them) I'm gonna touch on something else, my personal belief that explains some of these things. I for one believe in multiple dimensions. There are a lot of scientific theories which I also believe in that require the existence of multiple dimensions, but more so because it makes sense to me that there is more out there than which we are capable of perceiving.

The majority of weird things we see can most definitely be dismissed as our mind playing tricks on us. Neil Tyson referenced optical illusions once referenced optical illusions as "brain failures". This is because we see what we want to see a lot of the time, and don't see whats really there! This is especially true about stuff that frightens us, our mind is so focused on being afraid of something that we're telling ourselves it's in fact there. Now, back to dimensions. Carl Sagan had a beautiful demonstration for this by describing the norm being 2 dimensions, and the indescribable being the 3rd. He used an everyday common object visible in 3d, an apple. To show it's appearance in 2d he stamped in on an ink pad and blotted in on a piece of paper. It went from this very recognizable object, to 4 odd dots on a page which would be extremely puzzling for anyone living in 2d! So, perhaps the same is true for us witnessing events in other dimensions. These shadows we see, objects in the sky, encounters we don't quite understand...perhaps they are simple our perception of an imperceptible thing which naturally....we fear.

[Alpha]

But why do these 'hauntings' often have connections to history? The three gun shots that Unknown Entity heard, etc etc?

[Unknown Entity]

But why do these 'hauntings' often have connections to history? The three gun shots that Unknown Entity heard, etc etc?

It's unclear. Maybe what we see as ghosts is like a memory of someone's soul. But then there is no possible way anyone could have remembered that maid because no one in the house had been alive long enough to know her. So I guess the memory of that person is trapped in the house, making people remember every single year. *shrug*

Now I was brave enough to go into the basement after hearing that story just to be nosey, and there was in fact a very large boiler down there that could have made the noise. However, there was a murder at that house, and for the boiler to make gun shot noises on the day the maid was murdered is a teeny tiny bit of a coincidence.

[Maridia]

Yeah I do believe in paranormal stuff. One time I was walking with someone I knew from here through a cemetery (long story) anyway we were walking and it was pretty late at night. She was just ahead of me and I turned around cause I heard a noise and kept following her. After a few more seconds I heard her start to speak and she was about 15 feet to my right. But there was that girl I was following right ahead of me sooo yeah that was weird. I turned to listen to where she was and looked back and the girl was gone. I was told the place was weird and that solidified it right there.

If you want to go in a maybe happier route I do believe in spirits too. Last winter I was praying (I rarely do but feel the need) but as I did I saw a glowing aura in the corner of my room. It was pitch black but one part of my room lit up. It lasted only a few seconds and faded but I know what I saw.If you know what the Wisp looks like in the Elder Scroll series it was almost exactly that. And finally one more time I was at my friends house and similar situation where I was laying on the couch at night. I was praying again and looked up to see the same light. It faded but this time it came back several times in different areas of the room. Both times I guess you could say I was as confused as I had ever been.

So yeah, not that I'm one to get real into that sort of thing. I don't watch ghost hunters. But I do like the Ghostbusters. In the end I don't see why not.

[Josh_R]

I often have feelings like i'm being watched or that someone is in the room with me. Could be I am finally coming down form all my years of drug abuse...

I have many friends that have had things happen to them but nothing like this has ever happened to me. If something was to happen to me I would be forced to believe but nothing has happened yet...

[Tiffany]

Yeah, I can see that.

I've had friends who have claimed to see really crazy things too. One set of sisters were ADAMANT that one of the houses they lived in was haunted. Their stepdad was a **** and while he was there they'd hear people walking up the stairs, doors closing, etc etc. Once the abusive prick was out of the picture the house calmed down.

I guess because I've never seen anything like that its hard for me to relate. Everyone sees things differently, which is why you can have two people witness the same car accident yet their versions have glaring differences.