May 24, 2009
Seeing Is Not Believing
by Revenant
I have always been curious about personal paranormal experiences that involve seeing shadows and apparitions. As a skeptic, it is impossible for to me to refute any such story because there is simply no evidence presented to me other than the story itself. I can only go by the word of the person telling me of the event. I cannot prove or disprove it. Yet, because of a very unique personal experience of my own, I am unusually patient and "almost" accepting of these stories. Why? Because I know first hand how incredibly real these experiences can seem. So utterly real…it has to be true. Maybe. Maybe not.
So what was my unique personal experience? Get a drink, preferably something with a little kick, get comfortable and brace yourselves for a very bumpy and very bizarre trip down memory lane…
I was nine years old at the time. I was at Betty's house. Betty was a very kind, older lady who babysat me during the afternoons while my mother worked. She had an old, huge house. Four floors including the basement. She also had a Siberian Husky named Mickey. Mickey and I were inseparable. Where I went, she went. That particular day, I wasn't feeling well. I had the flu. So, Betty gave me the obligatory bowl of chicken soup and almost forced me to take a nap. I wasn't a "napping" kind of kid, but the flu had taken a lot out of me. I didn't argue…much. I laid down on the bed not believing that I would go to sleep. I think I instantly fell asleep. Mickey, of course, sleeping right by the bed.
When I awoke, there was some movement in the corner of the room, near the ceiling. I blinked hard a couple of times just to focus. There was…a man in the corner of the ceiling. Tiny, maybe only twelve inches tall. He began crawling across the ceiling towards the rectangular, frosted glass light fixture. I was shocked at first and then that shock turned into terror. I couldn't come to grips with what I was seeing.
As he got closer, I could see him better. More detail. He was dressed in…green lederhosen with black buckle shoes. His shirt was white and he had sort of a Robin Hood type hat, complete with the white feather. He had a pick-axe attached to his belt and he carried a brown satchel. A few inches from the light fixture, he began placing some of his things into it. I could hear Mickey growling, but I didn't move to look at her. I couldn't. I just stared at the little man. Slowly, he turned his head towards me. His face grew dark. I can still remember his piercing blue eyes. The menacing look shook me. I did what any intelligent nine year old would do…I threw the covers over my head (of course known as the "Ostrich Maneuver"). I could hear him placing more things in the light fixture. I had to look, not sure why, I just did. I inched the covers down just so I could see over the top. I caught a glimpse of his shoe scurrying into the light fixture…and he was gone. Mickey was just sitting by the bed, staring at the light fixture and still growling. Gathering all my courage, I jumped out of that bed and set some sort of land speed record from that room to the front porch. Yes, I literally ran out the back door of the house…with Mickey chasing after me. After that, I never stepped foot into that room again. If there were toys in there, they were dead to me. If there were books in there, the pages were blank. Wild horses couldn't have dragged me back into that room.
Hand to God…a true story. Or was it? I know it wasn't real. It couldn't have been. There are no reports of tiny men crawling about ceilings on the south side of Chicago. Chicago doesn't have a rich history of fairies or gnomes. Rats and mobsters…sure. Fairies and gnomes…not so much. As I grew older, the experience kept with me. I just knew it couldn't be real, but there it was just smacking me in the face. Growing up, if I had taken a polygraph test, I probably would have passed it. It was that real.
Now, why did I bring up that embarrassing personal experience? Let's get back to those reports of shadows and apparitions. If I had seen just a shadow or a full bodied apparition at the foot of the bed, I may not have questioned it as much as a tiny man. Seeing shadows and apparitions are accepted in the paranormal community. I may have just chalked it up to a weird paranormal experience and left it alone. But, I dug a little deeper and discovered a few things along the way.
Was I truly awake? Some will say no, that I simply dreamt the entire thing. Perhaps. Another possibility is hypnagogia. It is the transitional state between wakefulness and sleep. You're not asleep, but not really awake either. This is when you can start incorporating things around you into your dream state.
So how did I come to see the tiny man? Looking back, I can answer it now. The image of the man and the style of dress most likely came from watching the cartoon version of "Gulliver's Travels." Of course, Lilliputians were only six inches tall, half the size of the man that I saw. How did I manage to change the scale? I was big into GI Joe action figures (Not dolls! Action Figures!). At that time, GI Joe was…twelve inches tall. Now I had the proper scale. I only needed the odd crawling movement. Enter…the Amazing Spider-Man comic books. Add all these things together, I have the concept, size, and movement.
But, you ask now…how do you explain Mickey growling at the light fixture at the same time? Good question. Betty's house, as I stated, was old. For some reason, and the only real mystery left to me, is that she really had a problem with moths. Rather large, kind of beige moths. And these moths were Mickey's natural enemy. She looked like a Great White Shark jumping out of the sea when she'd wildly bark and snap at them in mid-flight. If the moth flew too high, she would sit and growl at it until it came down. So not only does the moth theory explain Mickey growling, it also explains the noises I was hearing from the tiny man placing things in the light fixture. It wasn't the tiny man, but a moth attracted to the light and stuck in the light fixture.
Now all this was well and good. Decent explanations. But, for some reason, I still wasn't 100% sure. Yes, it defied all rational thought, but it was still there…smacking me in the face as some sort of truth. Until…I found the "smoking gun." I found my answer in where many of us find the answers to life…in a video game. One day I was playing "Resident Evil." Decent game, they made a movie based on it, actually several movies now. The gameplay was ok, but what struck me was how the game looked. As you moved your character, the position of the camera would change so it looked like you were in a movie. The game featured monsters that crawled on the ceiling. That got me to thinking about the tiny man that I once saw. And it hit me. I was a victim of hypnagogia and I could now prove it.
As I watched the tiny man crawl along the ceiling, my perspective of him would change as if watching a movie. I distinctly remember details of what he wore. I could see the embroidered flowers on his suspenders. I could see that the feather in his cap was crisp and new. How could I have seen that? The distance between my head on the bed and the light fixture was probably a good seven to eight feet. The answer is because I had seen "close-up's" of him. From watching television and movies, my mind had learned to switch perspectives to gain a better view. It became so natural for me to do so, that I never questioned the event in that manner. Case solved. I had a very unusual and bizarre experience, but it wasn't paranormal.
Now, when I watch paranormal TV shows, I listen carefully to people's personal experiences pertaining to the shadows and apparitions. Were they in bed when they saw these things? Were they on the couch or in a comfortable chair? If so, could hypnagogia be to blame? It does become a pretty good possibility. The experience is so utterly real and believable, I find it hard to blame people. I mean look how completely ridiculous my experience was. I'm a rational, somewhat logical kind of guy and even I questioned it for years. So the lesson of the day, if you've experienced something that you can't explain, look at every angle. Examine every possibility. Question everything. And especially question the way that you preceived the event and how you literally remember it. Perhaps you can solve your own "tiny man on the ceiling" experience.
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Comments on Seeing Is Not Believing »
alicat @ 10:57 am
Thanks for sharing your experiences. It's amazing what a storage house our brain is and how it takes in the every day normal things we do and see in life while amassing all the corresponding sights and sounds. A certain sound or a sense of deja vu can trigger a jumble of feelings and normal experiences we thought we had dismissed but yet our brain stored. As much as we think that a tv show, movie or a story told by someone does not impact us, it does. Our brain is a sponge listening and storing it as a positive or negative experience and when a related sound or experience happens, even while sleeping, it triggers the good, bad or both and it becomes real to us at that moment.
My sister and I both had strange experiences and to this day, my sister remains terrified to a degree. I can put a finger on mine and once I gathered the facts, I realized the truth and was fine with it. But, there was nothing physical that happened to to my sister or anyone else. We were together 24/7 and shared a room growing up. All she would later say was it was something she saw in the midst of sleep or while awakening but to her it was truly real. She was the tough kid, the tomboy, absolutely nothing seemed to bother her except this. Thankfully she did share her experiences and thoughts with my parents which helped her a bit. But as young kids do, when we found the raw nerve and realized the key that set it off, we would push the envelope a bit. After a few times, a few shadows and sounds and many warranted apologies later, we came to the realization of how truly serious she was about it. We stopped the teasing and she accepted our apologies. As sisters we became best friends as life progressed. Yet, even as close as we are, I can still see the terror on her face if someone unknowingly touches on a related subject. She's gotten good at diverting conversations and so have I as I can see the discomfort it presents. I tend to think it was a combination of tv, movies, books, stories kids tell and school all jumbled together which formed an experience she was afraid might happen. Maybe sometime she will share it with me maybe not.
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Hannah @ 11:37 am
Thanks for your story Revenant, a nice read on a rainy Memorial Day weekend. When I read you had the flu, I thought, high fever, hallucinations. When I run fever, 101 or higher I tend to hallucinate, or I suppose it probably is closer to "fevered dreams" much to my embarrassment.
Years ago, I had the flu, ran a high fever and kept insisting gnomes were under the house tapping on the floors. I could hear the little suckers and wanted them routed out. Knowing my history of vivid dreams with fever, I was humored. Yes, my husband would take care of the noisy little b*st*rds and let me rest.
Once well, my family had a good time teasing me about the gnomes, especially on how could they be under the house, when we are on a concrete slab not a pier and beam foundation? I have a very logical family. At the time, one of my children had a lovely illustrated book on gnomes. Very detailed on their dress, housing, appearance, etc. So I know where the gnome idea came from. To this day, if I get sick, I am asked if the gnomes have returned to torment me.
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blinddog50 @ 12:47 pm
Rev,
Wouldn't happen to have Ol' Betty's chicken soup recipe around? Do ya'?
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Oubliette @ 1:09 pm
Wow, Revenant, that's an amazing story! Equally amazing is your analysis of it. Our brains are simply marvelous things, and seem to make up reality as we go along. How frightening that experience must have been to a little boy. Especially being able to see the tiny little details that you did. But your analysis is no doubt correct, and I applaud you on discovering what was the source of this strange vision.
Hypnagogia is a fascinating subject. You have inspired me to look more closely into it. There must be neuro-scientists who study this fascinating phenomenon.
I have a tentative explanation of the dog's reaction. You were staring at the light fixture, correct? We all know the marvelous senses of dogs and especially those who become attuned to us (and vice versa). I think your dog may have noticed that you were staring at the light fixture and, in the canine mind, that meant something must have been going on there which frightened you (knowing that dogs can actually smell fear). Hence the animal's reaction. Just my thoughts.
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Revenant @ 1:57 pm
Oubliette- "Equally amazing is your analysis of it. Our brains are simply marvelous things, and seem to make up reality as we go along. How frightening that experience must have been to a little boy. Especially being able to see the tiny little details that you did. But your analysis is no doubt correct, and I applaud you on discovering what was the source of this strange vision."
I agree with both Alicat and yourself. The brain is an amazing thing. Yet, when it comes to the paranormal, I feel at times that many people are not looking objectively at their experience. That's really why I wrote the article. Many people seem to describe their experience and look for rational, worldly explanations. I commend them for it. But I feel that they may not be looking at the actual perception of the event.
Like I stated in the article, that playing a video game helped me to realize how I perceived the experience. My perspective had changed while I remembered it. This aspect is rarely considered when it comes to the paranormal. It's odd. When something happens, we ask for all the possible facts. Perhaps a key in ruling out things like hypnagogia or hallucinations as Hannah pointed out is to ask one how they actually remember the event. Did your perspective change at all? Did the actual distance between yourself and what you saw actually change at some point? When you remember the event, is everything in the room where it should be? If you are seeing something, does it cast a shadow? Is the angle of the shadow correct in accordance to the light source?
It's questions like these that may lead to a few answers for people. Trust me, I know how real some experiences can seem. I mean really, a tiny man crawling on the ceiling? How insane is that?
And I think the only reason that I finally figured it out is because I kept questioning it. I just didn't accept it as paranormal and leave it alone. So like I said in the article…question everything!
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Janet @ 6:56 pm
I think as adults we all can look back on dreams and how active our minds were as children and more or less we had our imaginations running away with us. But how do you explain tanagable experiences as in pictures or events? I, am like many folks, when it comes to the paranormal, need to have common everyday proof. Do we see things that are not there, in our minds do we try to justify or expaain what we see? Is any paranormal just something we don't understand so we try to explain it?
I do know that both my husband and I have had expeiences (not together),are these because of what was going on in our lives at the time or was it something in out minds that was playing tricks on ouselves? If it is a Gnome/Leprchaun/apparitions/mist/shadows/ just plan things that go bump in the night. What if it isn't in the night or durring sleep? Is this something that is just "all in our minds"? The mind is a terrible thing to waste but it also has a way of making events of out lives make sense and then there is the unexplainable that we will never be able to prove? How do we explain "things"? I don't know if I made myself clear because as I said before we both had experiences and we don't know how to explain it. So does that make an event not happen?
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Revenant @ 1:40 am
Janet- Nice post and I do understand what you're asking. The "short answer"…no clue. But in this case, the short answer shall not do…so…
First and foremost, I wrote the article to show how hypnagogia played a role in a very unusual experience for me. I do believe that it may explain or at least be a possibility for some seemingly paranormal events. Yet, the actual number of cases that this would solve, I think, would be relatively small. As you stated, most people claim to be fully awake when they experience something.
So, the first step should be to take each experience as individual events. After all, one explanation cannot possibly explain everything. This is no "theory of everything" when it comes to the paranormal. Once we start to separate the events, we can only then begin to form some sort of hypothesis as to what actually occurred.
The next step, try to write down everything that you remember about it. Even seemingly unimportant aspects. What was the current temperature? What time of year? Were you under a great deal of stress at the time? Were you using any medication and if so, what type? The list goes on. The more information that you can give, the better picture you paint of the experience. From that portrait, someone may be able to see something that perhaps you didn't. If you are looking for "common everyday proof" then you've come to the right place. Take a look at the "Possibly Paranormal" section in the Forums. People talk about their experiences and others try to look for rational explanations. Sometimes we do. Sometimes we don't. I think it's as good as you get when talking about the paranormal.
Lastly, as for "Do we see things that are not there, in our minds do we try to justify or explain what we see? Is any paranormal just something we don't understand so we try to explain it?" Um…yes, no, maybe, and I'm not sure. We, as in mankind, are still trying to figure out particular mechanisms in the brain and why we think the way that we do. Are there particular "paranormal" events in which I think can be explained by pareidolia (matrixing)? Yeah, I sure do. There are many other things the brain can do to lead one to "think" they are experiencing something that is not truly there. Yet, again, this doesn't solve every case. To say "you were just seeing things" is, I feel, the easy way out and not very helpful to the person who just experienced something unusual.
So, my friend, you are asking some pretty big questions there. And unforunately, questions that I, nor anyone else, can answer yet. Maybe one day, but not today. Oh, and this link can provide you with another view on a possibility. In the podcast, Stephen discusses a theory about how the brain works according to Jeff Hawkins:
http://www.skepticalviewer.com/2008/05/11/sv-podcast-006-the-third-option/
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Learjet @ 7:01 am
Good post Revenant. I find I can relate very well as I also had my first hypnagogic hallucination (HH) at age 9. I also did the same ostrich maneuver and pulled the sheets over my head!
In my case I drew a picture of a vampire earlier in the day. When I was trying to sleep I saw the image "materialize" on the ceiling. It had a green shade of colour to it, something that I would encounter a lot at a future time.
Health problems and sleep deprivation do seem to make "HH" (as we call hypnagogic hallucinations on the lucid dreaming forum) more common. I must have had hundreds by now and have come to enjoy them for the marvelous creations of the mind that they are.
When I'm sleep deprived, there is a period of a few minutes after I awake where they can still be seen. While I consider myself to be fully awake, obviously it takes a while before all brain functions raise to that level.
At one stage I kept a HH diary with drawings and descriptions, some of which I'm still trying to wrap my (waking) mind around they are so bizarre.
But enough of me, I can see how many HH sightings can be mistaken for paranormal things like ghosts or aliens, that's for sure.
One has to wonder though if ghost hunting people that are up all day and night, being sleep deprived, that the shadows or apparitions they claim to see on an investigation are possibly Hypnagogic hallucinations. One doesn't have to be in bed to see them if they are over tired.
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Oubliette @ 12:56 pm
Janet, you may note that many of us have had strange experiences that we simply can't explain, myself included. There are some under the "Possibly Paranormal" thread as well as sprinkled throughout the posts.
There are things that eventually have a valid explanation-like Revenant's-and others that aren't even remotely explainable.
Both my husband and I have had separate experiences. My hubby's were witnessed by others (it was a nursing home). He has not put it up here yet as he simply does not have the time at the moment. But what happened one time was so real that the police were called as it was believed there may have been a prowler around the facility. The image was of a man who had recently passed away and was seen by several patients who never even knew he existed. He had a distinct look (I'll have to let my hubby relate the whole story) so there was no question whom they had been seeing.
My husband and I both saw what may have been an apparition of an orthodox monk during an exhibit of the Romanov family and their terrible massacre. This was a brightly lit room with other people around. IF he was an apparition (and he may not have been) he was as real looking as anyone else. Have to put that one up here for others to consider as well.
In summation, Revenant did an excellent job of putting together the pieces of what he saw. Some other events, however, are still a mystery, especially when the same thing is experienced by other people in the same area but at separate times. The things that make you go hmmm….
We will probably never be able to explain away all these occurrences. And I for one prefer it that way. Life should hold mysteries for us. We live in a wonderful Universe!
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Janet @ 2:38 pm
Thank you Oubliette, I do agree with things being a mystery, it is what keeps most of us searching/thinking. I have enjoyed reading everyone's thoughts on the subject that was brought up. I thnk that is what keeps viewers watching GH and Ghost Adventures, however, having been in situations, I sometimes think that the old saying "be careful for what you wish", could cause problems for many people who are not able to understand what they see or think they see. Having a long time friend who is a nurse will tell you that it is not so uncommon to have strange vistors in the halls of the hospital or visit the very sick, or patience who have passed return to visit and it is not always in the middle of the night. But it does make things clear about what happens with dreams or sleep adventures or stress of everyday life. I am glad to learn something new everyday.
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Harry @ 11:24 am
My disdain and contempt for obvious frauds like the GH and GA crews does not extend to the vast majority of people who think they have had a paranormal experience. The latter are invariably sincere, are telling the truth as they genuinely believe it, and are not just puzzled but often troubled by what they experienced. That's why I think everyone on this thread claiming a possible paranormal experience is honestly recounting what they perceived.
But never underestimate the ability of our brains to play tricks on us.
How many of you have read this book by Raymond Moody?
http://www.amazon.com/Elvis-After-Life-Experiences-Surrounding/dp/0934601402
In it, Moody interviews normal, successful people who sincerely believe they interacted with Elvis after his death (like encountering him in a grocery store). The parallels between those "paraElvis" experiences and paranormal experiences are striking, and that's because I believe both originate from the same place, namely the still poorly understood functioning of the human brain.
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Chopper @ 2:04 pm
Recognizing the flu was a pretty cool insight. I had ear infections as a child and ran fevers of 104 degrees. I remember having vivid hallucinations, the most interesting was a straight "line" that morphed into a "lion" on my chest-of-drawers ("line" and "lion" are homophones in the native language of Georgia).
If the hallucinations had not been so cartoonish, I may have thought them to be paranormal. Until just now, I never thought about people mistaking hallucinations for "ghosts". Well, outside of peyote charged rituals, that is.
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blinddog50 @ 2:32 pm
Harry,
http://www.honorelvis.com/sightings.htm
The sighting in Miami is the best.
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Janet @ 6:35 pm
Harry If I read you correctly, you feel that any paranormal is just in anyone's imagination? I will agree that GH, GHI & GA have gotten out of hand. I think they forgot where they came from, and I think the Spaulding Inn just confirmed it. Steven Hawkens once said that he speculated that there is another universe on the other side of the black hole, I feel that with his wisdom he may have something, but, I don't know for myself,AND, I would hate to think that we are the most inteligent beings in the universe with what is going on in our world. I feel that the those who respond on this site are not folks who don't believe in make-believe, but they are people who question and are thinkers.
I agree that many things can be explained but when photos and others events occur that cannot be "debunked", it is not my place to disagree with anyone. Just because I can't touch it, smell it, and place it under a microscope doesn't mean that it is just "all in the imagaination".
Myths & Legends have always had some sort of spirits or after life suggestions for many years, I would hate to dispute something that might be and miss out on something that could be.
I had something that both my husband and I cannot explain and we both have second guessed ourselves thinking that we are having our imagainations running away with ourselves. I really would like to think that we have joined the ranks of those who have experienced the same and if so, I feel lucky to have the opportunity to have had the experience and hold the proof in my hand - so to speak.
Harry if I miss read you, I apologize if I didn't….. thank you for making me think more.
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Harry @ 7:54 pm
Janet, thank you for your thoughtful response. I'm going to quote from your post and comment.
"Harry If I read you correctly, you feel that any paranormal is just in anyone's imagination?"
Not at all. But there is abundant evidence our brains can play big tricks on us, and we need to exhaust all mundane explanations before resorting to the paranormal. My problem with many believers in the paranormal is that an attitude of "it was weird, so it must have been paranormal!" is their default assumption.
"Just because I can't touch it, smell it, and place it under a microscope doesn't mean that it is just 'all in the imagaination'."
But how can you know anything whatsoever, including whether or not something even exists, if you can't record evidence of it for independent, objective examination? Something that you can't touch, smell, or place under a microscope sounds like the textbook definition of something that is "all in the imagination."
As a skeptic, I am not saying there is definitely no such thing as the paranormal. In fact, nothing would delight me more than for someone to present rigorous, scientific evidence for the existence of ghosts.
But so far no such evidence has been presented, and no amount of sincere accounts of personal paranormal experiences can substitute for cold, hard factual data.
I don't want to "believe" in the paranormal; I want to know it exists based upon scientific facts and data. I hope I live long enough to see such evidence presented to the world.
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Janet @ 10:25 am
Harry
I couldn't agree more with you when we need more evidence, I also stated that I would hate to not believe in something also just because some feel that it just does not exist. What kind of proof do you need, pictures?, you/yourself expereince something? What data is needed? Do you have proof that paranormal is not real? I for one have proof of something, I am sure that it could be explained more by a skeptic than someone who does believe in the paranormal: I guess it is all in perspective.
I appreciate your views as they do have virtue and how great would it be to be able to (as silly as it sounds) be able to speak or connect with a ghost/spirit. This is the actual proof we all would need. I also have a feeling with all the GH that this could take some people to places that they should not go.
But I for one do believe in something and being the opposite of you, I will continue to believe until someone proves to me that there isn't anything paranormal.
It is always good to hear other views so that it can bring some people back to reality and not get carried away with things. I can't compete with people who are more logical than me, but, I can't accept not believing. I don't believe in taking things overboard to the point that it also consumes me.
I do enjoy your views. Now, how do we "do this proof thing?"
PS Harry, I also believe in angels.
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Learjet @ 8:34 pm
"Do you have proof that paranormal is not real?"
Janet, no one can prove a negative. It's like proving that God doesn't exist. However there are some aspects of the "unexplained" where smoking guns billow smoke like a steam train.
Hypnagogic hallucinations, while well documented in the medical world are not so well known to the general public. Only in the last few years have I been able to find a name for many of my experiences.
The scientific community will write papers if they think they discover something for peer review in journals like Nature. Then fellow scientists test that hypothesis to see if it's repeatable and from there study it further. Most of this goes on behind the scenes making progress without knowledge from the general public, unless your studying a particular science. Even then I must admit I find it difficult to keep with the latest discoveries.
Sporadic or transient phenomena is one of the most difficult things to study. But sooner or later someone will come along with the right equipment at the right time and place and find something that has been hiding under our noses all along. Here's hoping.
With all this I still believe there's room for keen amateurs to contribute to furthering that knowledge. Eventually we will come to better understand what is going on.
Debunking the hoaxters or those that misuse equipment is part of that. Many of the ghosts are in not understanding how the equipment works. Also many ghosts are in not understanding how our minds work. Our equipment and our perception can be fooled. To come to a true understanding of the paranormal, that has to be taken into consideration, which is why Revenant has made this enlightening post.
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jack @ 10:52 am
As we age we learn that some things are simply 'impossible'. Like the 'little folk'. So we don't see them.
And yet, these 'little folk' appear all over the world, in hugely disparate cultures. Why?
It may be exactly as you said, Revenant, a creation of your mind. But I would always put a question mark with that explanation. The world is a better place with wonder in it.
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