Have you had any odd experiences with spirits or ghosts?  Or maybe just events that can’t be explained in rational terms?

“Haha actually I have one odd event from when I was younger where I saw a spirit or ghost.  So I was lying in bed one morning and I was in a deep sleep, and it was like 6am and I fell out of my bed and woke up on the ground.  When I woke up, I saw what looked like a spirit in front of me with their hand outstretched in front of my face.  I was so surprised I couldn’t move or make a sound, I was just staring at this figure in front of me in complete shock.  I was around 9 at the time, and it is just vividly burned into my memory.  The spirit was almost like a white glow of human, like a glowing cloud in the shape of a human.  In the midst of this cloud was a very prominent human hand, just directly in front of my face.  I couldn’t make out the spirits face or the rest of the body, just the hand in front of me.  But ya that is what I vividly remember.  I feel like this spirit was trying to save me from something that could have happened when I fell off the bed, so I refer to it as my “guardian angel”.  It was just too coincidental for me to have fallen from my bed, which was pretty high up, at such a young age for something to have not happened to me.  I mean, I remember expecting to see a cut or maybe have my head hurting, but the spirit must have taken care of whatever I injured.  I could have also just hit my head really hard and imagined the whole thing, but my belief that it happened is too strong and I already have a strong belief in spirits and ghosts… also my head is already too hard for something like falling out of bed to hurt me hahaha.  It was something that lasted only a few seconds, but I am positive that I saw a ghost or spirit.

How do you interpret what happened in the story?

“I already have really strong beliefs that ghosts or spirits exists, so I definitely think it was an encounter with some spirit form.  I have always had weird things happen to me or just odd experiences that I can’t explain in any other way except that I had an encounter with a ghost.  My family is also super into connecting with our ancestors who have passed on and believe they connect with us again in some ways… I guess like having the clock stop on a certain hour or feeling a breeze when all the windows or doors in the house are shut.  I don’t know if it was like a familial ghost that was trying to help me or if it was just some random spirit, but my honest interpretation of what happened is exactly what the story is.  I fell out of bed and was visited by a ghost or spirit, end of story.  No one can tell me any different or cause me to believe something different.  I was the person who experienced this, so no one can change that. “

Context:

My teammate is the one who had the above experience with a guardian spirit or ghost.  She was 9 years old at the time and the encounter occurred inside her bedroom in Orange County, CA.  She was in a deep sleep when she fell off the side of her bed, which was located maybe 4 feet off the ground.  Upon waking up from the fall, she noticed a glowing, cloudy figure standing in front of her with a hand directly in front of her face.  This encounter lasted maybe a few seconds, and then the spirit vanished from her view.  She felt a sense of alarm and shock, however was also oddly calm with the situation, almost as if the spirit was meant to be there for her.  This occurred at around 6am in the morning, which is not considered a liminal time frame where ghosts are normally seen.  After laying on the floor for a few minutes, she went running to her parents to tell them she saw a spirit, and being believers in the divine they didn’t rebut her claims.  Their family has strong beliefs in familial ghosts guarding over them, so the fact that she fell off her bed at a young age and came away from it with zero scratches or pain could explain that it was a guardian spirit protecting or healing her.  For years that spirit has been engrained in her memory and to this day she still considers it an encounter with a ghost or protective spirit.

My interpretation of the story:

I agree with my teammate that she was visited by a ghost or spirit whose obligation was to protect her from harm.  There is no definitive description of what a ghost should or shouldn’t look like or when is appropriate to see them.  Although they are most present during liminal time periods, 6am in the morning isn’t liminal.  However, she did fall out of her bed and at a young age she could have come away with some injury or head pain, but she felt completely normal afterwards.  I believe that the ghosts hand she saw directly in front of her face was in that moment healing or preventing an injury, which would explain why she woke up on the ground without any pain or soreness.  Also, I found it interesting that she referred to the ghost as a “guardian angel” and that her family has a large belief in connecting with their ancestors.  Since they have the belief that those who have passed on are always with them, it is plausible that she had an ancestral ghosts watching over her in that very moment she fell out of her bed, knowing that she may end up injured and was there to protect her.  I am also a believer of those in your family who have passed on being spiritual guardians, so I agree with my teammates reasoning.  People could state that since she fell and hit her head she may have been seeing things, but since she was so adamant that it was a ghost and due to her beliefs, it was easy to accept and agree.

“So basically there was this one night me and my roommate were getting ready for bed. We talk about the witching hour, and it just so happened that we were getting ready for bed during that hour. So, I was like “I’m gonna go wash my face.” I open the door and I just feel this chill, and there’s a shape that goes past me in the hallway. We had just learned that someone had died on the sixth floor a long time ago so we were like “Thats a little…. sketchy.” So, I say, “[Roommate’s name] did you see that?” She said, “See what”? I said, “I saw a shape pass me in the hallway.” My roommate said “What shape?” I said, “I don’t know. It was like a human figure that just passed.” My roommate was looking down the hall and she said “There’s no one here…” We tried to forget about it and went to sleep, but that night we both had the exact same dream that there was someone standing in the middle of the room. In both of our dreams, we woke up and saw this person in the middle of the room just standing there watching us. My roommate also talks in her sleep and I woke up that night and she was saying “Get her out of our room”… “She’s standing in the middle of our room”. I got really panicked so I got out of bed and locked the door. Now, my roommate and I have reoccurring nightmares every time we leave our door unlocked that there is someone that is just standing in the middle of the room. We lock our door a lot more often *laughs*… but yeah… that’s my story.”

This was the first time that the person who was telling this story had told it. The person that who told this story didn’t believe in ghosts before she came here but because of her roommate, she started to question it and finds it interesting now. She never believed in ghosts but she did believe in the Jinn. She is from India and she says that the Jinn is an incredibly evil spirit within her culture. It’s like a genie-esque spirit that preys on impoverished people. Her grandmother and father actually both have told her stories about their experiences with the Jinn, since they were incredibly poor. I find it interesting that when she was describing the Jinn, it reminded me of a ghost, except just a lot more evil. Not all ghosts seem to be evil, but every Jinn is. It seemed to have the same qualities, though. She described it as a shadow presence that you can see with the naked eye. It’s an example of how some cultures don’t necessarily believe in ghosts, but they have their own experience with a spirit of some sort, and they believe in that.

I 100% believe the person that told me this story. We live in the same dorm on the same floor, and I know both her and her roommate very well. Now, I feel like I’m going to have to watch out for this, to be honest. I haven’t ever felt a presence or seen anything suspicious, but I really do believe my friend is telling the truth.