Thread: My house is haunted, please help D:

So a few days ago I was watching the stars through my window in my room, the lights were out though. And I want to go downstairs and saw a shadow moving really fast out of the corner of my eye. It definately wasn't my imagination. It also couldn't have been my own shadow, I'm 100 % sure about that. And I was home alone. I got really scared. My hands were shaking, I got really nervous,.. So I ran downstairs and went to a friends house. I also wake up at 3am sometimes and I feel like something's watching me (That happened before I saw the shadow). I never actually told anyone cause I don't wanna sound crazy. But shit just got real today lol. My mum told me today that the TV turned on by itself. And the lights were flickering for 10 minutes. So we checked if there was something wrong with the electricity, but there wasn't. And the other lights were fine, just not the ones in the living room. I doubt there's any logical explanation for this. I'm not sure if people here on DV believe in entities/beings/shadow people/ghost,.. But on ATS, mostly everyone believes in stuff like that. Could it be a shadow people? Shadow people - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I assure you, there is ALWAYS a logical explanation. Although you may feel that these things are there sometimes, such as waking up at 3am feeling like something is watching you, it's probably just your mind playing tricks on you. For example, you could have just woken up out of one of your sleep cycles and seen your dark bedroom (assuming you sleep with the light off) which made you feel a little uncomfortable and put you in the frame of mind where you might think such things. As for the shadows thing, you probably didn't feel 100% safe with being home alone and saw something which to your rational thinking mind would be easily explainable but because you were in a rather panicked state, you started making these conclusions that it was a moving shadow. I assure you that your house is not haunted. Even if there was the smallest bit of a chance that your house was actually haunted, you should ask yourself this:
If your house is haunted, how come you have lived in it thus far without any harm happening to you? As my mum used to tell me when I was little "If there were monsters in your bedroom, they would have got you years ago".

Originally Posted by Araishu

I assure you, there is ALWAYS a logical explanation. Although you may feel that these things are there sometimes, such as waking up at 3am feeling like something is watching you, it's probably just your mind playing tricks on you. For example, you could have just woken up out of one of your sleep cycles and seen your dark bedroom (assuming you sleep with the light off) which made you feel a little uncomfortable and put you in the frame of mind where you might think such things. As for the shadows thing, you probably didn't feel 100% safe with being home alone and saw something which to your rational thinking mind would be easily explainable but because you were in a rather panicked state, you started making these conclusions that it was a moving shadow. I assure you that your house is not haunted. Even if there was the smallest bit of a chance that your house was actually haunted, you should ask yourself this:
If your house is haunted, how come you have lived in it thus far without any harm happening to you? As my mum used to tell me when I was little "If there were monsters in your bedroom, they would have got you years ago".

Well I heard those negative beings feed off depression and stuff. And I haven't been depressed for that long. But I still hope you're right though. :L

Originally Posted by Crashyy

Well I heard those negative beings feed off depression and stuff. And I haven't been depressed for that long. But I still hope you're right though. :L

There is no proof for the existence of such beings. It's probably just your imagination overreacting because you've read too much into the existence of these so called "beings". I assure you, no harm will come of you.

Originally Posted by Araishu

There is no proof for the existence of such beings. It's probably just your imagination overreacting because you've read too much into the existence of these so called "beings". I assure you, no harm will come of you.

Alright good to know, thanks

I second the opinion of Araishu.

I have also experienced odd sightings that have mainly been the product of visual or audio hallucinations, particularly after waking up or while in a drowsy state. It's a common experience.

The mind is a terrible thing.

What if supernatural beings are real?

Sorry for scaring you Crashy but I'm afraid of them too.

Yeah, it doesn't sound like anything is going on besides your mind overreacting. If something big happened, like a table began levitating off the ground in front of you and others, or if the things that happened really had no other explanation, then it might be time to start looking into the possibility of ghosts. But the things you describe don't seem very extraordinary.

You saw a shadow moving out of the corner of your eye. You also say you were just looking at the stars. Staring at the mostly black sky and then going back into the light of the house could easily have caused this. Sort of like how, when you stare at a bright light for a few seconds and look away, you'll see it in front of you. I mean if you'd seen black fog turn into a man's figure right in front of you, I'd be a little freaked out too that I were hallucinating or there really was a ghost. But this doesn't sound like anything to worry about. I don't know about the TV incident but it doesn't sound like something that would have no explanation either. Same with the light flickering. Light bulbs flicker sometimes if they aren't connected properly, if the wiring is messed up and something is slightly displaced, or if they're dying out.

If something like this happens again, google it and try to find some other explanation first before resorting to ghosts. There's nothing wrong with believing in ghosts if you have good reason to, but I get the feeling that some people just believe in them partly because they want to, because if they existed it would be exciting. Those people are more likely to overlook reason and think anything the slightest bit abnormal was caused by a ghost. Finding out the truth is important, and to do that we need to figure the best explanation without emotional investment.

I have seen the shadow people many times. Many, many times. There is absolutely nothing to them.

From the link you gave:

Originally Posted by Wikipedia

Shadow people are supernatural shadow-like humanoid figures that, according to believers, are seen flickering on walls and ceilings in the viewer's peripheral vision.

Peripheral vision is the first place that your visual system starts to shut off when you hallucinate. Every hallucinogen will cause peripheral distortions more easily than ones that take place in your direct line of sight, and believe it or not, we all hallucinate much more frequently than most people think. The only reason people don't realize it is because the hallucinations are generally so insignificant that they're gone unnoticed unless they're picked out by chance and obsessed about, like the shadow people. I mean, if our brains can generate entire characters in our dreams, don't you think a shadow outline of someone is a little simple of a thing to get worked up about?

If that doesn't answer it enough for you, I can tell you that I've interacted with shadow people before. They're generally the result of low amounts of acetylcholine in your brain, which is what happens during sleep deprivation and from certain drugs, like Benadryl. Don't try this because it's dangerous and very uncomfortable, but I've taken overdoses of Benadryl before with the intention of causing this state to come out very intensely. When it's strong enough the shadow people start moving directly in front of you, become three-dimensional, and take on completely realistic looks. Sometimes they have scarey soulless eyes that can inspire fear from a single glance, and sometimes they just look like regular people, depending on your mood when you see them. Sometimes they even say things to you which sound like speaking in tongues, or like they're rambling nonsense, and if you're hallucinating REALLY hard, they speak in complete sentences. You can completely communicate with them, until you reach out and touch them and they vanish and you realize that they're nothing but a perceptual disturbance. If you listen to the things they have to say eventually you'll realize that they make just about as much sense as a random DC. They're just your brain making you think you're perceiving someone when you're not, just like in a dream. That's all.

Originally Posted by Alyzarin

Peripheral vision is the first place that your visual system starts to shut off when you hallucinate. Every hallucinogen will cause peripheral distortions more easily than ones that take place in your direct line of sight, and believe it or not, we all hallucinate much more frequently than most people think.

Isn't that the truth! Every time I've smoked weed and gone outside, I've suddenly seen shapes, people and movement in my peripheral vision for every single step I take. It's quite fascinating to watch and see the the conclusions that jump to your mind ("people are after me", "the police are following me", "someone just hid behind that tree-trunk"...) when you're know they're hallucinations.

Originally Posted by khh

Isn't that the truth! Every time I've smoked weed and gone outside, I've suddenly seen shapes, people and movement in my peripheral vision for every single step I take. It's quite fascinating to watch and see the the conclusions that jump to your mind ("people are after me", "the police are following me", "someone just hid behind that tree-trunk"...) when you're know they're hallucinations.

I haven't hallucinated that strongly from weed in a while, I'm jealous. >w< When my tolerance is really low I get that in addition to hearing mumbling voices calling my name, and stuff like that. It tends to disappear right around the time tolerance builds up to the point that the high becomes more sedating than stimulating.

Well, i personally do believe in the paranormal and what not, so I might be biased lool. Just try to ignore it if you can. Whenever I get those creepy feelings i just think happy thoughts and try to let go of my fear hahaha. Just try not to take as too much of a problem, you'll be fine.

Originally Posted by Erii

Well, i personally do believe in the paranormal and what not, so I might be biased lool. Just try to ignore it if you can. Whenever I get those creepy feelings i just think happy thoughts and try to let go of my fear hahaha. Just try not to take as too much of a problem, you'll be fine.

^^ Well, I guess I should restructure what I said, I usually try to keep it ambiguous on sites like DV.

Technically, the hallucinogenic mechanisms in the brain are synonymous with those used when dreaming, so it really all depends what your beliefs are on the reality of such things (like how you feel about things like astral projection or the dream plane) when it comes down to whether the shadow people are genuine or not. However, my point was that they won't hurt you, whatever your beliefs.

Originally Posted by Alyzarin

Technically, the hallucinogenic mechanisms in the brain are synonymous with those used when dreaming, so it really all depends what your beliefs are on the reality of such things (like how you feel about things like astral projection or the dream plane) when it comes down to whether the shadow people are genuine or not. However, my point was that they won't hurt you, whatever your beliefs.

No. Your beliefs concerning astral projection, OBEs and similar spiritual experiences is related to your beliefs of how genuine the shadow people are, but whatever you believe doesn't make it true. Either the shadow people are real or they're not, and your beliefs doesn't enter into the equation.

I've never really liked it when people phrase it as "Whatever you believe is true for you, while what I believe is true for me". The truth, whatever it is, is true for everyone regardless.

Originally Posted by khh

No. Your beliefs concerning astral projection, OBEs and similar spiritual experiences is related to your beliefs of how genuine the shadow people are, but whatever you believe doesn't make it true. Either the shadow people are real or they're not, and your beliefs doesn't enter into the equation.

I've never really liked it when people phrase it as "Whatever you believe is true for you, while what I believe is true for me". The truth, whatever it is, is true for everyone regardless.

The only reason I said "...when it comes down to whether the shadow people are genuine or not." as opposed to "...when it comes down to whether the shadow people are genuine or not, in your opinion." is because I figured it was implied.... Anybody who thinks that believing something makes it real is an idiot.

Originally Posted by Alyzarin

Anybody who thinks that believing something makes it real is an idiot.

I can back this up. I kept thinking that I had telekinesis in real life but I'm still struggling to make an impact on an object with my mind. Although I'm still sure I can ...

Maybe a black man was trying to rob you.

Demon. I doubt it would stay in any one place for long. Don't you think it would get bored?