As emotional as I may seem to people, I am a fairly logical person.
I always defer to established facts and science, even for phenomena that might seem illogical at first glance.
When Melissa and I were discussing paranormal experiences a few weeks ago, I told her, truthfully, that I never had any.
Because I don't believe in the paranormal or spiritual world.
To me, any paranormal experience can be explained away by science.
Seeing faces in the shadows? Pareidolia.
Hearing voices? Audio hallucinations.
Demonic possession? Mental illness.
Still, even though I can rationalize these experiences away, it doesn't make them any less unnerving. And to some people, I may even appear "haunted." And with the frequency I have experienced creepy shit, I can understand why.
So, I present to you, my history of "hauntings."
25-27 Years Old - Shadow People
My sister, her boyfriend, my brother, and I moved from our new and shiny apartment complex to an older home in the Central District of Seattle.
As he always did, my sister's boyfriend hung a pouch in the doorway of our new home, a trinket from his mother to protect our house from spirits. And it worked! It kept the "spirits" out. I never saw anything in our house. But it seemed the protection ended at the doorway. Because every night when I walked the dogs, shadowy figures would follow me, until I went back home.
The shadow people appeared the night we moved in. We had started packing late and by the time we arrived at our new home, it was night. As we drove up in the U-Haul, I saw the faint dark outline of people in some of the cars that lined our street. I assumed they were leaving or arriving. But as we parked our U-Haul and started moving boxes in our home, I realized that the people I saw earlier in the cars were gone. Vanished. As if no one had actually been there in the first place.
You're tired, I told myself, you're tired and your mind is playing tricks on you.
I comforted myself with this logic and the fact that I probably wouldn't experience this again. It was a one-off experience brought on by the stress of moving.
I didn't realize then that these thoughts would become a nightly mantra.
***
I work a 9-5 office job. By the time I get home, it is usually sundown or dark. While living in the Central District home, I would often get home around 6 or 7 PM. Immediately when I got home, I would take my sister's dog, Izumi, for a walk. Despite it being dark, I felt safe walking around the neighborhood at night - at first.
But I started seeing things on these walks. Darkness or shadows from the corner of my eyes. Something behind a lamp post or tree would quickly disappear when I turned around.
The worst thing was the cars. Without fail, every time I walked Izumi, I would see those shadowy figures again in the cars. I thought it was just the headrests or car seats but I realized quickly that they could not create a silhouette of a human head, nose, or mouth. And even though I couldn't see their eyes, I could feel the shadows watching me. Whenever I got close enough, they would disappear.
"It's all in your head, you're just seeing things, it's dark... a trick of the mind..."
Still, despite my rationalizations, I was scared shitless. I found myself either holding my breath or closing my eyes as I walked by the cars. The only thing that kept me sane and calm was Izumi. Pop culture and media always paint animals as being more sensitive to the paranormal or that they have a sixth sense. Izumi was never scared on these walks. She acted like nothing was wrong. So, if Izumi wasn't scared, I wouldn't be scared either.
We lived at the Central District home for almost 3 years. By the time we moved out of home, I almost felt comfortable with the shadows. They were a regular fixture in my life. I jokingly referred to them as my "homies."
When my family and I moved to our new home, I stopped seeing the shadow people altogether. I attributed this mainly to being less stressed.
But...sometimes I stay up at night thinking about the what-ifs.
What if the Central District house was haunted? What if the protective sachet pushed the spirits out? What if the spirits sought refuge in the nearby cars, watching me as I lived in their home?
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