In recent years, I've experienced some events, for which, I have no natural explanation. I'll present them here, and would you please be the judge of what you think they are, and whether you think they're related?

1. I lived in a two-story house, in which the kitchen and the master bedroom suite were in the back and a long, high staircase was in the front. On a Sunday afternoon, I was napping in the master bedroom and my husband was washing up in the kitchen. We had three teenagers between us, all of which were away at friends' homes at the time (we're 100% sure of that). Suddenly, I was awakened by a loud thumping commotion as if someone was running down or falling from the top of the staircase. I jumped out of bed to investigate and saw my husband running in the same direction from the kitchen, and looking up at the top of the stairs. No one was there. We shrugged and said it must have been one of the dogs, and were then shocked to immediately find both animals in the back yard, asleep.

2. In the same house, on another occasion when the kids were all at the neighborhood pool and my spouse and I were in the back of the house, we heard a loud commotion in my study (front of the house, next to the staircase). Both dogs were in the room with us at the time. We went to check it out and found a framed photograph of me that had been resting on the floor, up against a wall, pushed out into the center of the room. Here's the weird part: a heavy fountain that was in front of the framed photo had been pushed to the side, its rocks scattered across the room. A stack of heavy books that was also in front of the photo had been pushed to the side and knocked over. It looked as if a hand had come from behind the photo and shoved it, along with the other things, out into the center of the room.

3. Again, same house, I frequently heard someone walking upstairs when I was home alone. It wasn't just footsteps -- I could hear a pressure on the floor and the boards squeaking. It usually occurred after my husband had left for work and the kids were on the school bus.

4. Same house but years later, my husband and I were separated and I had been living alone in the house with my loyal dog for two months. The November weather had just turned unusually cold (temps in the teens and below), and my dog, who had previously been mostly an indoor dog and a complete couch potato, suddenly decided that he would not set foot in the house, anymore -- not even for his favorite food or treats. He acted very nervous when I would put a favorite treat just inside the door to draw him in.

5. Fast forward, years later, I was in a flat with my boyfriend, watching a very moving film about a lost little boy. As the film reached its crescendo and the boy was reunited with his lost parents, I was overwhelmed with emotion and the tears just shot out of my eyes. At that very moment, a heavy candle in a glass candle holder, about the size of a large grapefruit, came straight toward me off the shelf, hovered for just a brief instant, and then crashed & shattered in the middle of the carpeted floor. it was about six feet from its original location. If it had simply slipped off, it would have landed much closer to the shelf. My boyfriend and I just looked at each other like, "Did you just see that?"

I should mention that I was not drinking or otherwise impaired at the time of any of these occurrences, and they all happened in broad daylight (except for the dog refusing to come in, which was around the clock). The house was only seven years old when I bought it, and had only one previous owner, and no deaths had occurred there. So, what do you think? I have a pet theory but I would rather hear yours.

Well the first thing I noticed from what you wrote was that all incidents seem to have happened when you were alone or just with your husband so it appears to centre around you for some reason. To me that's typical poltergeist activity that you read about all the time. Perhaps maybe you were under stress or over emotional or something similar? They do say that certain states can create such phenomenon.

Originally posted by phyllida
Well the first thing I noticed from what you wrote was that all incidents seem to have happened when you were alone or just with your husband so it appears to centre around you for some reason. To me that's typical poltergeist activity that you read about all the time. Perhaps maybe you were under stress or over emotional or something similar? They do say that certain states can create such phenomenon.

Good observation. I was actually under a great amount of stress and angst during all the incidents except the last one. We were trying to raise three teenagers, one of whom had serious chronic medical and behavioral issues, and the other two, who had just lost their mother in a horrid accident. My husband started drinking heavily and began to take out his frustrations on the kids and me, so i kicked him out. You could say it was a rough time.

I'm not that familiar with poltergeists. Aren't they usually psychic phenomena projected from a young person into the environment? If so, that would fit occurrences 1-4 very well. The last occurrence with the candle happened after the kids were all grown and moved away. Gulp. What if it's me?

Originally posted by graceunderpressure

I'm not that familiar with poltergeists. Aren't they usually psychic phenomena projected from a young person into the environment? If so, that would fit occurrences 1-4 very well. The last occurrence with the candle happened after the kids were all grown and moved away. Gulp. What if it's me?

It would seem that poltergeists are created by some type of Shadow Person (either they are seen, or choose to not be seen).

As a test, try to focus on something (like an object) try to put some feelings to that object. Then emotionally relax (or let your guard down). I'm betting that you can move that object.

If you do find out that it is you, don't fret. If you're aware that you can do this, try to hone the skill. If nothing else knowing how you cause these event will help you prevent them in the future.

As too the sounds of people running and the stairs making noises. What were you thinking at the time?

As for the Poltergeists, have you ever seen a Shadow person out the corner of your eye, or have you seen or felt that somebody was watching you when you knew there wasn't anyone around.

Originally posted by Guyfriday
As too the sounds of people running and the stairs making noises. What were you thinking at the time?

As for the Poltergeists, have you ever seen a Shadow person out the corner of your eye, or have you seen or felt that somebody was watching you when you knew there wasn't anyone around.

Thank you for your response. I must confess that I was secretly wishing that the two teenagers who had come to live with us (the ex's kids) would go back to their grandparents' house. That's awful, I know. We had opened our hearts and home to them, and I really felt for them because they were bereaved, but these two kids were the most rude, openly hostile, sullen people that I've ever encountered. I "sucked it up" and did my best to be nice to them but it was just hard, and I was in a daily state of turmoil.

Re: seeing a shadow person, I can't say for sure that I have. But when I was a child, I used to feel presences in my room, outside the window, and in the hallway. They so terrified me that I would only sleep for 2-3 hours at night. And later, as an adult, just after my father passed away, my mother swears that she saw me walking through her house one late night, checking on my son (who was staying with her at the time) and checking out all the rooms. I was 350 miles away at the time.

I will try your suggestion about moving objects and report back.

Originally posted by graceunderpressure
Thank you for your response. I must confess that I was secretly wishing that the two teenagers who had come to live with us (the ex's kids) would go back to their grandparents' house. That's awful, I know. We had opened our hearts and home to them, and I really felt for them because they were bereaved, but these two kids were the most rude, openly hostile, sullen people that I've ever encountered. I "sucked it up" and did my best to be nice to them but it was just hard, and I was in a daily state of turmoil.

Re: seeing a shadow person, I can't say for sure that I have. But when I was a child, I used to feel presences in my room, outside the window, and in the hallway. They so terrified me that I would only sleep for 2-3 hours at night. And later, as an adult, just after my father passed away, my mother swears that she saw me walking through her house one late night, checking on my son (who was staying with her at the time) and checking out all the rooms. I was 350 miles away at the time.

I will try your suggestion about moving objects and report back.

If you haven't seen any Shadow People in your current home, I wouldn't worry too much about them.

It will be interesting to hear if you can move an object.

Originally posted by Guyfriday
If you haven't seen any Shadow People in your current home, I wouldn't worry too much about them.

It will be interesting to hear if you can move an object.

I read some excellent threads about telekinesis here on ATS and gave it a shot. I attempted to move three lightweight household objects (one at a time, of course!) They didn't budge. Not a whiff of movement, despite my intense concentration, emotional projection and spiritually "opening up."

But something else did happen. Maybe as the result of opening up spiritually, or all the meditation and focus, last night (all night) I had a series of lucid dreams, in which, I was channeling situations of other people. It was like a membrane with a series of gaps. I would enter a gap, live a part of person's life that was not my own, and then move on to the next one. It was very strange and very real.

I actually saw, touched and experienced things from somewhere else -- things that I would never think of. Also, it was not all positive. There were some very dark things there! For example, I saw a semi truck driver lose control of his vehicle and wreck it violently. The accident beheaded him. This was experienced from the viewpoint of someone driving a car behind him, who was deeply horrified by what she witnessed.

All throughout the night, sometimes only by a thin thread, I knew that I had a choice of whether to stay in the situation or leave it. But I usually had to (for want of a better term) "flex my will" to get out of a scenario.

When I read what I just wrote in this reply, I couldn't help thinking that this is the kind of New Age hooey that I just don't believe in! My logical side tells me that it was nothing more than dreaming more deeply than usual. But, it was like the difference between picturing yourself meeting a friend at a cafe and actually going there. I'll leave it unanswered with a little Shakespeare:

"If we shadows have offended, think but this; and all is mended that you have but slumbered here while these visions did appear..."

Originally posted by graceunderpressure
I was overwhelmed with emotion and the tears just shot out of my eyes. At that very moment, a heavy candle in a glass candle holder, about the size of a large grapefruit, came straight toward me off the shelf, hovered for just a brief instant, and then crashed & shattered in the middle of the carpeted floor.

Originally posted by graceunderpressure
Good observation. I was actually under a great amount of stress and angst during all the incidents except the last one.

It's not a spirit, it's you! Or if it is some sort of spirit, it's one that feeds on your emotions, so either way, you're the one who's ultimately responsible.

Get your emotions under control, because that's what's causing all this. I can put out streetlights, lamps, and generally mess up anything electronic when I get a good rage going. Learn to control your emotions, don't let them control you. When you read about crap like this happening, it usually happens to women because society has taught us that it's ok for women to indulge in emotional bull#.

Strong emotions have a huge impact on your surroundings, even if it doesn't manifest as poltergeist like activity.

Originally posted by The Cusp

It's not a spirit, it's you! Or if it is some sort of spirit, it's one that feeds on your emotions, so either way, you're the one who's ultimately responsible.

Get your emotions under control, because that's what's causing all this. I can put out streetlights, lamps, and generally mess up anything electronic when I get a good rage going. Learn to control your emotions, don't let them control you. When you read about crap like this happening, it usually happens to women because society has taught us that it's ok for women to indulge in emotional bull#.

Thank you so much for your reply. While I agree that the occurrences do seem to be connected to my emotions in some way, I never said that I lack control of my emotions. Quite the contrary, in fact. Emotions are what we naturally experience as humans. Our ability to control emotions is not controlling we feel -- but rather, how we act on those feelings.

When I was experiencing all the trauma and angst over the teenagers' invasion, I dealt with it in healthy ways like daily hard exercise, talking to friends and journaling. I never threw a fit or went into a rage about it. It wasn't the kids' fault, really, and besides, it wouldn't have accomplished anything except to further alienate them and make me even angrier.

I believe that both men and women in today's society are taught to supress their emotions. That's a different thing, and usually a very harmful one. Typically, the person goes the other way and turns a negative emotion outward into a rage or crime. Sometimes, particularly we women, stuff the emotion down and suppress it. It then turns into self-sabatoge, overeating, anorexia, and any number of not-so-nice outcomes for us. Sorry to go on about this point, but I see a lot of people suffering and inflicting suffering needlessly because they don't know how to master emotional control or they have a misconception of what it is.

How all this relates to my OP is this: I do agree that the extranormal occurrences are connected to what I felt in some way, but it was on the "input" side, rather than something I was willfully projecting outward. 'Make sense?

Originally posted by graceunderpressure
Our ability to control emotions is not controlling we feel -- but rather, how we act on those feelings.

I can only speak for myself as a recovering rage-a-holic, but back in my rage days I was indulging in that emotion. It was a choice I made to feel that way because it made me feel good, empowered. And strong emotion you are feeling has an impact on any people around you, even if you are not outwardly expressing it.

Sorry picking on women in my last post. Just got out of a relationship that ended badly with lots of emotional shrapnel flying around.

5. Fast forward, years later, I was in a flat with my boyfriend, watching a very moving film about a lost little boy. As the film reached its crescendo and the boy was reunited with his lost parents, I was overwhelmed with emotion and the tears just shot out of my eyes. At that very moment, a heavy candle in a glass candle holder, about the size of a large grapefruit, came straight toward me off the shelf, hovered for just a brief instant, and then crashed & shattered in the middle of the carpeted floor. it was about six feet from its original location. If it had simply slipped off, it would have landed much closer to the shelf. My boyfriend and I just looked at each other like, "Did you just see that?"

Hi again. I note that you say you are normally very much in control of your emotions, however, you said in the above paragraph how you were overwhelmed with emotion and tearful, and that's when the candle moved. I feel very much that all your events as it were, are linked to you and it seems you have an amazing ability for telekenesis. I knew someone a long time ago who had the same ability but alas try as he might he couldn't get it under control, it only appeared when he was extremely angry.

Shame really as I truly believe these "powers" are completely normal, or at least were, before we became so bogged down with the modern world and technology and all the day to day worries we have now How wonderful it would be to be able to control and use such abilities, although I suspect those that could would soon be rounded up and used by certain agencies for less than harmonious activities!

Take care and have fun with it!! Life is supposed to be fun and joyful!

Originally posted by graceunderpressure
But something else did happen. Maybe as the result of opening up spiritually, or all the meditation and focus, last night (all night) I had a series of lucid dreams, in which, I was channeling situations of other people. It was like a membrane with a series of gaps. I would enter a gap, live a part of person's life that was not my own, and then move on to the next one. It was very strange and very real.

Sorry for taking so long to think about this, but I think you were right in believing that the Lucid Drerams were a product of meditation you were doing.

I will congradulate you on that; good job, but it doesn't helpout your issue.