Ever had some freaky unexplained shit happen in your life?

[Limey]

Very boring and explainable sounding, but I was once reading a book in my back yard as a teen and put the book down for about twenty seconds and the book was gone. There was no-one there and no animals other than our old bulldog and any book stealing critters would have been shredded as she was already a cat killer.
Never did find that book, even after the neighbour died and his back yard and house were cleared out. It was "Vintage stuff" by Tom Sharp. I'm sure there's an explanation for it, but it's annoying to have something seemingly disappear into thin air when you turn your back.

Then there was the story I was alluding to on the old forum of how the Kitchen was always cold in a house we spent just a few years in. I found out just recently via social media that the girl next door knew the old man who died in the kitchen. He would always say "I saw that" to her when she would feed his dog through the fence. She said she heard him say it one more time a few days after they took his body away.
The movie, the sixth sense freaked me out a bit because it showed the exact feeling I would get, like there was something behind me when I would have to go up to the top floor to wash my face. As soon as my face was covered I'd be sure someone was behind me.
My older brother says his door would swing open every night and that one night he saw the handle turn, but when it opened there was just the hallway and staircase in the dark.
Weirdly creepy for such a new house.

Oh, there's also a tree right outside that house that I watched when I was five or so years old, uproot, cross the street and replant. We lived on the 13th floor of an apartment block and I could see the house/tree about half a mile away.
It was a trippy time for me. I think my imagination was beginning to become very active as I also saw...what I would now call a mud golem merge out of the ceiling above me while lying on the couch.
I also dreamt while there of a giant robotic arm on the roof of the nearby Lucas' [auto parts] factory telescoping out and reaching for me, much like this chemical brothers video, which was coincidentally filmed at a car factory in Birmingham (Rover Longbridge)

[Limey]

oh! one more and more recent.
During the 2016 elections, Mitt Romney's wife was giving a speech and right as she said the words "move heaven and earth" the video feed glitched and her face looked like a demon with black eyes.
I checked every feed after and the part is now either a skip or a green screen "blip". That one I'm pretty sure is just explained by interrupting an MPEG stream for a fraction of a second, resulting in loss of a key frame leading to image corruption, but damn, I thought I was seeing something crazy at the time.

[Light Leak]

I label it as coincidence and confirmation bias, but several members of my family (including myself) have had 'prophetic dreams'. Usually something like dreaming of someone saying goodbye, only to wake up and find out that the person died in the night.

My grandma had dreams like that. The only similar experience I've ever had is when my grandpa died. When my mom called I felt like I knew she was calling because he died before I even answered. He wasn't sick or anything beforehand so it was weird that I had that thought before I picked up the phone, but that's exactly why my mom was calling.

[Mashy]

Not quite "freaky unexplained shit," but having my dad living and with his entire brain functioning intact is nothing short of a miracle in my book. Dead for twenty minutes and brought back using these principles.

The writer of the article straight up pretending no one clicked the article just to read the method of resuscitation. Put it in the first paragraph and move on god damn. Let me read about the doctor's philosophical orientations afterward.

Very boring and explainable sounding, but I was once reading a book in my back yard as a teen and put the book down for about twenty seconds and the book was gone. There was no-one there and no animals other than our old bulldog and any book stealing critters would have been shredded as she was already a cat killer.
Never did find that book, even after the neighbour died and his back yard and house were cleared out. It was "Vintage stuff" by Tom Sharp. I'm sure there's an explanation for it, but it's annoying to have something seemingly disappear into thin air when you turn your back.

Some classic glitch in the matrix stuff, I love these stories. I don't see how this is explainable. Did the book fall in some tall grass? If something swiped at it surely you would hear it?

I had 3 super important diaries disappear from my life, I'm talking thousands of journal entries. It was in my room one day, hidden in a box in the corner, then it wasn't. Still pains me to think about it. I'd rather lose $10k than those diaries.

[Madrigal]

The movie, the sixth sense freaked me out a bit because it showed the exact feeling I would get, like there was something behind me when I would have to go up to the top floor to wash my face. As soon as my face was covered I'd be sure someone was behind me.

I lived in a house like that too, where going up the stairs always felt awful, and I would start skipping up the stairs faster and faster. It was also a house that had some weird stories. Actually, I learned much later, when I was no longer living there (although my father still does) that the house had once been the site of a brothel which was frequented by some of the most famous mafia in Buenos Aires, in addition to the tango icon Carlos Gardel himself (who had links to the mafia). The link to my family was that one relative on my father's side (Italian side) was a driver for a mafia capo.

One thing that happened to me in that house all the time was crossing very cold patches of air or feeling something icy on my arm. It would happen to my sister too, and one day, when we were talking about it, wondering whether it was our grandfather, I began to feel the iciness on my arm just then. I looked at my arm and you could see goosebumps forming the outline of four fingers on my arm, as if marking the place where someone is clutching me. I started shouting and telling my sister to look, and we were both really creeped out.

What bugs the hell out of me is that, one day long after it happened, I said to her (in front of other people), "Hey, remember that time I got the goosebumps on my arm in the form of a hand, when we were talking about grandpa?" And she was like, "No, what are you even talking about?"

[Light Leak]

My sister and I used to get freaked out when we were kids because the bedroom doors on the top floor would sometimes slam shut when no one was up there. Once I got older I always figured it was just the wind. I don't know if it ever happened when the windows weren't open. I never thought to check that when I was a kid.

Maybe it wasn't the wind though because I don't ever remember the doors slamming shut from the wind when I was in one of the rooms.

[Utisz]

Not sure that a 1/2400 event counts, but here we go.

When I was young, we only had 2 or 3 channels on TV, and there was this gameshow called "Winning Streak" on Saturday nights that was all the rage among young and old alike (though unlike the old, the young would never admit it). Basically there were these scratch cards you could buy in almost any shop where you could win money, or if you got three wheel symbols, you could enter into a draw to appear on the TV show. On the TV show, the contestants would then choose random options, and get random amounts of money. So one contestant might say "give me the blue triangle", and the blue triangle would be picked up accordingly by the host, opened, and £5,000, the maximum possible for that round, would be revealed and added to their winnings. Other options might have only £1,000 or £500 you see. Now £5,000 was a lot of money back then and it was not one of those shows where you could lose all your winnings at the end; folks seeking that level of drama would have to switch over for the Saturday Night Movie on the other channel.

Naturally enough, people had their favoured options, depending on the situation, and there were always strong opinions and theories on which of the completely random options was the right one to go for. Some of the more basic of these theories were based on information in the moment, like the lady wearing the yellow dress should obviously opt for the yellow triangle, but the more advanced theories would span episodes of knowledge, like that the orange square hadn't been selected in about a month, while the blue circle had historically given low returns in autumnal months. At the start of the show, the contestants introduced themselves so the viewers were fully informed. Information like how many children they had, what they worked as, maybe their age, if revealed, could prove crucial later for figuring out which random option would yield them the highest returns.

I guess it must be one of the longest running series in Ireland, and I guess it's still running.

The grand finale of this show has remained constant throughout its decades: one lucky contestant gets to Spin the Wheel. This is both the centrepiece and the end of the show. The wheel is a massive multicoloured wheel taller than a human, mounted vertically like a clock. You see it in the background while all the other minor rounds are going on, towering there like Chekov's gun. The wheel is closed off by a glass pane and inside is a small white ball that rolls around when the wheel is spun by the contestant. The wheel has maybe around 100 amounts marked, which correspond to how much money you will if the ball lands in that segment when the wheel stops spinning. The largest amount is marked in black distinguishing it from other options, and appears only once. Lower amounts appear several times in less definitive colours. The contestant spins the wheel and it has to rotate completely at least twice, but some contestants take the opportunity to assert their physical might, prolonging the suspense. As the wheel slows, the ball slows, the options narrow, and so too the dreams (in most cases). You can see this catharsis in action here in 2019. This finale is so anticipated that many people in Ireland, particularly the older generation, actually call the show "Spin the Wheel", rather that it's official name "Winning Streak", as mentioned before. They might have observed that although a winning streak is not guaranteed, someone will always spin the wheel.

My parents call it "Spin the Wheel".

So we ended up watching this on Saturday nights, and I used to like the show, especially when someone from our county was on because
Ireland has 32 counties, or 26, depending on whom you ask, and our county is the 19th most populous, or the 14th most populous, depending on whom who ask, so it was not common at all so see someone from our county on the show, and you could feel their feels and understand their hopes more fluidly when they speak in a similar accent and know some of the same places as you. But independently of whether or not there was some on from Clare, most Saturday nights, all seven children and both parents would be gathered, in a familiar configuration, around a small 14" TV with a dodgy aerial fashioned out of a metal clothes hanger sticking out the back, which only added to the precariousness of the situation.

Now my father was a part-time farmer and a full-time airport security guard, but most importantly he was as a bit of a theorist regarding this show. He correlated all sorts of data in his head towards choosing the best random option: patterns revealed by the options that had already been selected; historical gains for various options by gender, county or gait; options that had been wrongly snubbed in recent times; and so on. He would weave these theories and observations into predictions made known at the crucial moment. Others then had to choose between agreeing loudly and propounding further evidence supporting the option, or mumbling dissent under their breath.

Now perhaps the most underrated part of the show, and a major reason for its success that I suspect few have grasped, is that, in some rounds, the results for many options are not revealed. Only those chosen by the contestants will be revealed, and often there are more options than contestants. I guess it was designed this way to give the last contestant some options rather than having to accept (heaven forbit) whatever was left. This way they had agency in realising, or not, their own dreams. But it had a much more important side-effect, which was that, in certain rounds, one could make a prediction for an option and that prediction would never be validated or invalidated, nor could it ever again be validated or invalidated. At the end of the round, that option would expunge its secret from existence. Naturally enough, strategies for these rounds were the most hotly debated.

So jump forward a decade or two, and I'm maybe in my early 20's at the time, and I have recently made the 40 mile pilgrimage on bus to visit my parents for the weekend. My youngest (but not younger) sister was there too, taking a break from whatever it was she was doing at the time. And on Saturday night we turn on the much improved television and arrange ourselves with a drink around it. Everyone but me knew what was coming next.

So the show had changed since I had last seen it. There was a new introduction. There were new rounds with new options. The colours looked dimmer than I remembered, though they were probably more vivid. The image was sharper. The host has changed. The contestants were more modern. But unlike the ship of Theseus, it was without question the same show.

Unfortunately I don't remember the details of the opening rounds of the show, as it was largely unremarkable until the last-to-final round. You may recall that only one contestant got to Spin the Wheel. To choose the most worthy, in this penultimate round, unbesmirched by money, the contestants were presented with 6 numbers: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Behind 3 numbers there was a wheel symbol. Behind 3 numbers there was no symbol. The contestant who discovered all three wheel symbols first would earn the right to Spin the Wheel. The first contestant obviously had a big advantage here. The round thus started with the contestant with the lowest money earned thus far, moving onto the next lowest, and so forth, as was only proper. Now when a contestant got their turn, they chose a number between 1 and 6; if they found a wheel, that remained revealed, and they got to go again; otherwise, it moved on to the next contestant.

So this middle-aged lady was first up. Though I forget the details of the earlier rounds, I do remember that my father felt some connection with this contestant: that they were on the same wavelength. The fact that she was up first implies that she has not done well, and looks a bit defeated.

But each round is a fresh start and people are rooting for her. "4" resounds around the room. Soon after, there on the television, she calls 4, with less confidence. The host obliges and reveals a wheel behind 4. "I said it, I said, it. She needs to keep even: 2" More cheerily now, she calls 2. The host, trying to corral her rising spirits, obliges and reveals a wheel behind option 2. My sister and my mother are now staring at my father. "They're never all even though and they won't be in a run. 5" She calls 5 as my armpits itch in unison. The host first makes the most of the moment, and then reveals a wheel behind 5. A screech emerges from one or more guts.

I keep my composure and resort to trying to calculate the odds, hardly noticing as she spins the wheel. The numbers are hard to hold firm, but eventually I figure it at one-in-two-thousand-four-hundred. Has he watched this show for 48 odd years? Even then, I knew better than to ask him. He looks the happiest I have seen him in his life.

[Utisz]

Also, I once had a pair of socks that was unique in that they were the only two socks of the same pattern, and you know the way you can tell which sock is the one you wear on the left and which is the one you wear on the right based on how the bit toe stretches on one side and fits snuggly when you put it on, well one day both of them were clearly left socks even though I hadn't been wearing odd socks at all.

[starjots]

My wife and I finish each other's thoughts. I'll be on the lookout for a concrete example, but I take it for granted by now. The thing is, if it's real, I don't know who is doing the broadcasting and who is doing the receiving, if you know what I mean. She has a lot more 'spooky' stories than I do in this regard.

The logical explanation is we've been together 20 years. Maybe so. But the frequency and oddity of the coincidences make me wonder. I definitely can't get away with lying to her. The best I can do is change the subject.

Another thing I've always believed in was my own ability to blend in and not be noticed. Like I could watch people from out of the way and blank my mind, so to speak, so they never looked over at me. People normally locate other people quite quickly as they are glancing around. So what I'm asserting here is a general belief in some sort of low level telepathy and mental influence. No real proof.

[SomeInternetBloke]

Door #2: I once was in a darker phase of my life. I'd been contemplating evil things, the occult. Watching lots of scary movies. Um, I was around 15 years old. I recall removing the TV power cord on two occasions. First time the TV picture remained on for a few seconds. The second time I was bored and since I needed confirmation of it being just an aberrance I got all hopped on adrenaline after watching scary movies and a bit of porn. Then I yanked out the TV power cord and instantly the dendritic connections surged with insight. I began to realize that prayer works both ways. As the picture remained on I both counted up to 30 seconds and I simultaneously started asking questions. Then I commanded the TV shut off. It waited a moment, as if to assert I'd not spent enough time getting to know 'it' to make such a request... like a scientist theorizing - sort of thing. It hit me. My awareness permanently bifurcated. It was then I became a self-professed wizard. I recalled how Ozzy Osborne, Anton Levey, et al. were all once SDAs and decided my inherited religion put me on the right track. After that I started using telekinesis to excite women in the nethers.

Door #1: Real story. One time I was in bed and closed my eyes and something invisible pounced shoving my face into the mattress. I knew what it was. Those things react differently when you know what they are. I talked to God, "I like doing evil things. But it attracts unwanted attention". Then I felt impressed that I needed to be a bit less, as the good book says, "luke warm". I decided that I would be honest about myself. I stopped trying to be a saint. I started being more genuine. I started reading my Bible more - think metaphysics-wise. And it helped me get a better 'autistic' grasp on this, our, reality interface, as it were. I'm not sure this makes sense but it's the sentiment that I hope resonates. I assure you, truths are out there...



I've probably seen more shit than anyone on this website (for brain reasons). Well accept for the real wizards, that is. But the point is we're just having fun.