I've had a quite a few possible paranormal experiences throughout my life, starting when I was as young as three. Most of which can be easily explained away by some mundane explanation or other. But the story I'm about to share is one that I have yet to find any rational explanation for, and that is why I'm posting it here. I'm hoping someone reading this will be able to tell me exactly what might have happened. Don't get me wrong, I think I may already know what happened but I'd like to get some sort of a verification from someone who knows more about the paranormal.
Before I begin I'd like to mention that I've changed the names of everyone in this story, including my own, because I don't want this story to haunt me 'til the day I die (pun not necessarily intended).
The beginning of my senior year of high school I had a falling out with my group of friends. Even though I had been close to those girls for roughly seven years, I didn't mind the break;it was a long time coming. So I kind of did the independent thing for a few months and it was incredibly liberating, but ultimately I decided I didn't like being a complete loner. But instead of crawling back to my old clique I started hanging out with another group entirely.
These new friends were a better fit for me, I was able to be myself around them. One of the girls - I'll call her Rachelle - was a kindred spirit. Rachelle, a junior at the time, was new and said she was an exchange student from Canada (I kid you not. And yes, I live in the States) and, as it turns out, incredibly popular. Everyone wanted to be friends with the very pretty, outgoing and hilarious Rachelle.
Like I said, Rachelle and I were BFF almost from the first time we met, so we were always together. We even rearranged our class schedules so we could have a few classes together. Anyway, it became apparent that she wasn't telling the truth about the whole exchange student thing. Yes, she was from Canada, but not with any official exchange student program. The couple she was staying with were actually long time friends of her parents, and they arranged the whole thing. She told me that she just had to get away from her hometown for a while but was somewhat evasive as to why. And though she never expressly asked me to not mention it to anyone, I could tell that she didn't want me to so I never did.
One time when we were on our way to meet up with a few of our friends - across town - we started talking about scary stories. Right before we got to where we were going she told me the oddest thing. She told me to never see a certain scary movie that I'm not going to mention for reasons I'll explain later, because it messed with your head.
I hadn't seen the movie she was talking about so I asked her how it messed with your head, but she didn't answer immediately. After an uncomfortable pause she finally said "I don't know... it's just messed up. It makes you want to practice witchcraft." And then abruptly changed the subject, but not before a creepy feeling set in around us (I'm talking the hair on the back of my neck standing on end, chills, a general feeling of unease).
Of course I thought it was a weird comment because it's not like we were even talking about witchcraft, per say. And even then, it's not like a preppy-type like Rachelle would be into that sort of thing. And because of the weirdness of the whole situation, I never brought it up again.
Fast-forward a week or two and Rachelle and I are on our way to a party. It's Friday night and we're ready to have a good time. The thing is we were having a difficult time finding the street the party was on (this is before everyone had cellphones. I don't even know if map quest was invented back then - it was 1996-1997), so we were just driving around the area the party was supposed to be, looking for a street lined with familiar cars.
I don't know what we were talking about at the time - something totally mundane I'm sure, since it became clear she wasn't cool with talking about anything out of the ordinary - but all of a sudden I get the feeling that someone was watching us. And it's not like we were driving in a creepy neighborhood where we would be in any danger - we were smack dab in the middle of the 'burbs, we were safe. But just the same, I was glad the doors were locked and the windows were shut.
All of a sudden an immense feeling of dread engulfed my car - like pure evil - and because I was driving at the time I slammed on the brakes, look over at Rachelle and start screaming. Funny thing is she looked over at me the exact same time I looked at her and she was screaming too. The most terrifying part is that she didn't look like herself, exactly. Sure, she had a look of terror on her face, but there was something else, something not her--almost alien, is how I can best describe it. We literally sat there, in the middle of a residential street, just staring wide-eyed at each other, screaming - like a couple of banshees. It was insane.
We did that for approximately thirty seconds, and then suddenly, as quickly as the immense feeling of dread set in, it disappeared. Nothing like that had ever happened to me, I was terrified!
I asked her what had just happened and she said she didn't know. But to this day, I wonder if she did know but just wouldn't say. Also, even though I wasn't aware of it, I had a death grip on Rachelle's arm. I didn't remember grabbing her arm, and I certainly don't know why I would grab her arm, but I did. Anyway, it was weird. We were both really shaken-up afterward and I told her to forget the party; I wanted to go home.
So I took Rachelle to her house and I sped to my home so I, a semi-rebellious seventeen-year-old, could spend a Friday night with parents - I needed to feel comfort and warmth.
This same thing happened one other time in my life, and of course Rachelle was the only one with me at the time. Except the second time it happened Rachelle got out of the car and ran away from me. Later I asked her if she was running from me but she said she hadn't been. She said she didn't like the feeling in the car at the time, but that there was nothing wrong with the car. I was confused. I didn't understand, and of course, she didn't really offer more information. But it didn't matter because nothing scary happened again, until the night before our Junior/Senior Prom.
We were totally psyched for the Prom, had been excited for months, and we decided to have a huge sleepover at a mutual friend's house - one of the girls I had a falling out with at the beginning of the school year. At that point I'd made nice with my old friends and there wasn't any bad blood between us anymore, but things were never the same between us. Anyway, like I said, a group of girls - some old friends of mine, some new ones - met up at my old friend's house (I'll call her Francesca) to get ready for Prom; Put our hair in curlers, do facials, paint our nails. Whatever.
Rachelle and Francesca thought it would be fun to watch a scary movie and so, at their request, I brought over The Shining.
In all, six of us stayed the night at Francesca's house. And at first, we had a lot of fun. Things got weird right after I put in the movie, approximately nine o'clock. That's when I suddenly got incredibly tired, all of a sudden. This is weird because I was the night owl in the group. I was the one who stayed up the latest, every time we had a sleepover. So yeah, me falling asleep around nine at night was odd, to say the least. The weirdest part is I passed out on a wood floor, in front of the fireplace. Apparently I was curled up like a cat. What happened next is hard to describe since I wasn't necessarily conscious most of that time. The story I'm about to tell you was pieced together through what I can remember and the little Rachelle told me, and what I eventually got Francesca to tell me (two years after the fact).
About halfway through the movie Francesca and Rachelle found that they were the only ones still wide awake. They were giving themselves French manicures and not even paying attention to the movie. I guess they were just talking. One of them commented on how weird it was that I had passed out so early and then the other mentioned that it was weird that everyone else was already asleep too. And, the way Francesca put it, out of nowhere Francesca felt like someone was watching them. Rachelle turned to Francesca and, out of nowhere, asked if she (Francesca) 'knew how to cast out evil spirits, just in case'.
Obviously this is an odd question, for anyone to ask 'just in case', but Rachelle asked it. Francesca, coming from a religious background, said that yes, she knew how. She told Rachelle that in Jesus' name you demand the spirit to leave. Apparently that reassured Rachelle and she continued to paint her nails. Francesca felt more uneasy after that; the feeling of dread only growing stronger. This is when I started to wake up.
What I remember is waking up feeling really frightened - no, not just frightened, I was completely terrified. I heard Rachelle and Francesca talking to me, saying "Leia, what are you doing?" and they were giggling as if I was doing something funny, and it was their talking and their laughter that woke me up. Since I was in the fetal position on the floor I got up on all fours. Before I could get up on my feet, or even open my eyes, that feeling of dread - complete evil - surrounded me. I was drowning in it. And so, with my eyes still closed, I quickly crawled across the room over to where I - strangely enough - knew where Francesca and Rachelle were. Halfway there I started emitting a very loud, high-pitched squeal, that, even I knew wasn't natural sounding. I remember reaching the couch but after that I lost time. What I mean is, I don't know what happened for a period of time.
When I gain awareness, I'm sitting on the couch Francesca and Rachelle were sitting on. I'm sitting up with a freakishly unnatural posture (I've never had good posture, particularly when I'm sitting) at one end of the couch. Francesca and Rachelle are huddled together at the other end of the couch, both obviously horrified. Both of them are looking at me as if I'm some sort of monster. At the time I was thinking something scary was right behind me, so I tried to scoot closer to them since I was scared. I remember Rachelle lurching away from me and huddling in close to Francesca, sort of screaming. I lose time again.
The next thing I remember is standing by the other end of the couch - the side Rachelle and Francesca were huddled previously - and I'm looking down at the two of them still huddled together, but on the opposite end of the couch (so it's sort of like I switched places with them). Rachelle is turned away from me, huddled into Francesca and shaking. Francesca is looking right at me, but not in the eyes.
I may or may not have said something to them - I really can't remember. The point is, something happened to make Francesca try to meet my gaze and ask, "Leia? Are you there? Leia?"
I don't remember responding, but I must have since Francesca proceeded to peel Rachelle off of her then got up and walked over to me. She stood right in front of me, studying me, as if she was trying to find some indication everything is alright. She even touched my face, trying to get me to open my eyes wider. And the last thing I remember is her face right in front of mine saying, "Leia?"
The next morning I woke to an unnerving silence. And I was laying on the couch (the same one my friends where huddled on the night before) covered with blankets, with a pillow under my head. Francesca and Rochelle are no where in sight. The other girls that were at the party are all still asleep.
I felt... To this day I really can't explain it, but I guess the best way to describe how I felt would be peaceful. But see, that isn't the right description, exactly. I was still really terrified, but I felt like everything was okay. I don't know...
Francesca and Rachelle ended up sleeping in Francesca's room on the second floor.
Because I knew some weird crap went down, and that I was involved somehow, I pretty much left as soon as I could. I was freaked out, and I didn't want to talk about it with anyone. Later that night, however, me, Francesca, Rachelle and one of the other girls that was at the party the night before, were in the bathroom together (freshening up for our prom dates or whatever) and talking.
By that time I had convinced myself that it was all just a weird nightmare, but I just needed to make sure, so I asked them what happened the night before. Francesca and Rachelle look at each other and then at me and then Francesca asked me why I was crawling around on the floor like a cat - kind of a graceful kitty-type crawl and stretching, they said - and why did I suddenly scream and crawl towards them. I told them I don't remember crawling or stretching like a cat - just regular crawling - and that I didn't know why I was even doing that to begin with. I told them that it was their talking to me and giggling that woke me up, though.
When I said that, Rachelle and Francesca looked at each other again, confused expressions on their faces. Then Rachelle asked, "What do you mean?" And I told her that I heard them talking to me, saying stuff like, "Leia? What are you doing?" and giggling, a lot. Rachelle's face went white and Francesca said "We didn't say anything to you. Nothing at all, at least not at that point. And we definitely didn't giggle." At that, we all ran out of the bathroom needing to be around other people.
We didn't really speak about it again after that. What I mean is, I did attempt to bring it up a couple of times, and so did some of the other girls who slept through the whole ordeal, but Francesca and Rachelle just flat-out refused to talk about it.
At the end of the school year, Francesca and I graduated and Rachelle went back to Canada. We stayed in contact with Rachelle for a few years but she eventually disappeared off the radar.
It wasn't until a few years later - almost three to be exact - that I was finally able to get Francesca to talk about it. She was crying the whole time, totally freaked out. Other then my memory of them giggling and talking to me, Francesca totally confirmed the parts I just shared. She also said it felt like a spell was on her house that night, that there was no other explanation for all that happened.
First off, her parents were extremely light sleepers and she said that she didn't understand why my screaming didn't wake them up, because it really was insanely loud. But she also didn't understand why any of the other girls didn't wake up. They were right there in the room with us, sleeping like the dead.
She said that I was acting strangely for hours, doing really weird things. She said that I was me, but obviously not me. And she said that I wasn't sleepwalking (and anyway, we've been friends since we were ten, so she knew that I don't sleep walk, let alone go to sleep early at any sleepover party).
She said that there was a feeling of evil in that room, while I was acting strangely. She said that things, like picture frames, were falling off shelves by themselves.
That's all I could get out of her. She said she was purposely being vague about what happened exactly because she said she didn't want to invite evil spirits by talking about it too much. She hasn't talked about it since. Nor, do I think she ever will again.
What do I think happened? Possible possession? I guess. But you see, nothing like that has happened to me since. Not entirely - I mean, there was a period in my life (for three or four years following this incident) when I had really hideous (demonic) nightmares but I don't have them anymore. And anyway, how would such a thing happen - the possible possession, I mean. We didn't mess with things that shouldn't be messed with. And I've only played with a Ouija board once in my life (when I was thirteen. And no, nothing super evil/totally freaky had happened to me between the time I was thirteen and seventeen). I wonder if Rachelle's presence had anything to do with what happened to me. Like maybe she was messing with stuff that she shouldn't have and it somehow attacked me? Is that even possible? Does anyone know?
Please, I really want to understand what happened to me and I'd like some answers. Thank you.
Sent in by Leia, Copyright 2010 http://www.ghost-space.com/
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