“I moved into a three bedroom apartment with two other roommates. I would start to fall asleep and suddenly, everything would get very loud (the noise from the fan would increase substantially). Then I would hear the voice. A somewhat demonic voice would say my name right in my ear. There were times I could feel the depression of someone sitting on the bed next to me as well. This happened on occasion for months. My cousin came to stay with me for a few days and stayed in my room with me. She also had an odd experience like she was floating in the room. When I was out of town, a friend of my roommate’s stayed in my room. She bolted up in bed to see herself walking through the door. Later, a psychic friend of my roommate’s told us my bedroom was a vortex for spirits. She said the next time I heard that voice, I should scream loudly (in my head) ‘No! Go away!’ or something to that effect. Eventually that voice finally went away.”

Context: The informant, 61, grew up in western Washington. These were some of various events leading her to believe that the supernatural may exist.

Interpretation: This seems to be a case where it is easier to connect strange sensations and treat them as supernatural rather than trying (without success) to explain them with logic. Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, a popular setting for folk tales and legends, may also have primed the informant to sooner attribute these strange experiences to the supernatural rather than a realistic phenomenon.