9.03.2013

The Paranormal - To Believe Or Not To Believe...


What does paranormal mean to you? I am sure all of us have a different definition. To me, it means all things science can't explain. This is also close to the true definition of paranormal.

Paranormal: general experiences that lie outside the range of normal experiences or scientific explanation.

"General experiences."

Have you had one?

I write a lot of spec fic. Mostly, I love to write paranormal. I'm not sure why. I guess it's simply because I've always been fascinated with the darker side of our world. Spirits, demons, and magic all captivated me as a child. They still do. I can tell you this, growing up in a strict catholic home made my childish questions about unexplainable things very hard to answer. A majority of the time I was told to not think that way and go outside and play. Not having the answers to those questions only added fuel to the ever growing fire.

As I got older, I not only had more questions, I experienced more things that had no explanation. Now, I'm not saying that I saw ghosts and tapped into some magical power I didn't know existed within me. (I wish).  But, I did see and feel things other kids/teens my age didn't. 

For example…

Starting when I was in high school during the mid to late nineties every time I saw a picture of New York and the Twin Towers, I would get this odd feeling deep in my bones. I can't properly describe this feeling. All I know is that I'd shudder every time. Literally, I'd have the whole body covered in goose flesh and hard shivering experience. Then when tragedy struck on September 11th, 2001, I was rocked to my core with the rest of America and the world.  Afterwards, the feeling was gone. It's never returned. What was it? Why did I have it in the first place? I'm not someone that can tell the future. 

Unexplainable. 

Since I've been writing paranormal novels I've often wondered if we can tap into some subconscious part in our minds. Half way through the second book in my Nether Trilogy, Nether Soul, I saw a ghost for the first time in my life. I'm not lying. I'd been rudely woken up by my allergies and after having a lovely allergy attack of wheezing, blowing my nose, and coughing I rolled over (fully awake) and saw a male apparition at the foot of my bed. I screamed like a little girl, grabbed my husband's arm, and pulled the covers up so far over my head that you could have considered me a snake tunneling underground. I was, quite literally, terrified. 

My husband said I must have still been half asleep. Well, anyone with asthma and bad allergies will tell you, when you have an allergy attack like that you are very wide awake afterwards. I know what I saw. It also made sense that several days before I'd get the odd sensation that someone was watching me. The feeling was so strong that I used to turn around half expecting my husband to be standing behind me even though he was supposed to be at work.  Each time I turned there was no one there. Not even my cats. The sensation went away after I had my ghost experience and I've never seen the ghost man again, thankfully, because I am a huge scaredy cat. I know and I write paranormal.

Do you believe in the paranormal? Do you think we can tap into that part of the world unknowingly? Have you had any unexplainable experiences? If so my UTR friends and I would love to know.
  
Bonnie Rae

14 comments:

  1. Great post! I do believe in the paranormal even though I've not had any experiences myself. Not through lack of trying!

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  2. I have had paranormal encounters before. In fact, I had one about the twin towers too. The last time I was in NYC was in March 2001, and I was looking out at the city's skyline and knew that I'd never see the twin towers like that again. I just knew. It's weird how these things work.

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  3. I saw a ghost once. I'm pretty sure it was my cat, Mr. Sox. He scratched at the window until the day I saw him. Then it all stopped. My husband saw him, too. It was very strange.

    I saw some strange lights on my way home once. Weird is cool.

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  4. Wow, your experiences are fascinating. I love this kind of stuff. I definitely believe there are things that happen we can't explain. Great post, Bonnie.

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  5. I love this kind of thing, and I'm a total believer.
    I've never had an experience myself, but there must be something deep within us that can detect these things.

    Great post.

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  6. Great post. I do believe in the paranormal and have experienced ghosts when I was young in our home. Finally, my mom spoke to someone who told her what to do to get rid of them. I do also believe that people could have premonitions. It's another one of those things we are not meant to understand. I hope you won't get scared any more and that all is well in your home.

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  7. I've always been intrigued by the paranormal.

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  8. To tell you the honest truth, I believe loved ones from the other side come to visit on occasion--to watch over us, encourage us, and try to pass on their love. Not going to elaborate, but yes, I believe in the paranormal. Some of it. Catching a glimpse of spirits can definitely be freaky, but you can feel the difference between a malevolent or loving presence. I've experienced both.

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  9. Hey Gwen, I think humans once had a much more functioning sixth sense which has been subsumed by our life experiences. Probably why in tribes that haven't had much contact with 'civilization' their spiritual side is still operational, for good or evil. I fell into writing paranormal through no intent but really enjoy messing with it in short stories.

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  10. Cherie, I had some weird vibes around the old Twin Towers too. I live in NYC, and whenever I used to go in them, I'd feel totally panicked and want to run out, which is not me at all. When they came down, I remembered feeling that way, and it made sense after the fact.

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  11. I do.

    Ghosts, angels, demons, premonitions... Omens...

    All of the above have been seen/experienced by me or members of my family.

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  12. I come from a line of Scottish witches on one side and (French Catholic) Voodiennes on the other. So bizarre occurrences are pretty typical for me. As a kid, I didn't realize not everyone could see or feel the things I did. Once I came to understand, I started keeping it to myself.

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  13. Great post Bonnie. I have had some very spooky experiences and at University studied a module on paranormal psychology where the lecturer researched trapped energy passed from humans on collision. We saw images of the energy leaving a tree which had been left by a woman who died in a car crash when her body smacked against the tree. That energy leaves the tree and crossed the road freaking out traveller even now, decades after the crash. His argument is that 'ghosts' are human energy left after death - or their spirit. Fascinating.

    I have seen more than my fair share of 'ghosts' in my life-time. I've been also told by several mediums that I have a dark spirit on my right shoulder, and my sister and I have been encouraged to tune into our own psychic abilities. I admit, I'm not tempted to grab a set of Tarot cards yet, and I know there are more fakes than talents out there. But I do believe the world offers more than we see, and that something happens to our spirits after they leave our bodies.
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