Friday, August 10, 2007

Things That Go Bump In The Night!

I'm a coward, I really am. I won't deny it, especially when it comes to all things ghostly and the supernatural! I've always had this fear of the supernatural since I was a young boy but strangely I'm extremely fascinated by it in some weird way. Funny, ya?

When I was growing up, my mom and me lived in the same house with my grandparents and my cousins. We were kind of a big family back then. Normally after dinner, we'd all sit outside the porch and my grandmother would start her daily grandmotherly stories (pun intended). Somehow the topic would always drift towards the supernatural. The house we lived in back then was in this pretty old area (the house itself was kinda spooky) and there were lots of trees outside and when nightfall came, the surrounding area got pretty dark and deserted. I'd normally curl up as close as I could to my mom as my grandmother related all those horror stories from her time. Well, most of the time I'd end up falling a sleep half way through it, not that the stories were boring mind you, but I'm a sleepy head and I could fall asleep anywhere (but that's a story for another post).

But all these stories somehow played havoc with my young mind and whenever I'd wake up in the middle of the night, I'd always be in some kind of frightened state (told you I was coward ... LOL!) I wouldn't even get up to go to the toilet. I'd hold it in till morning if I could but normally I'd end up wetting the bed (hey, I was just a wee little 5 year old boy, ok!) I owe my fear for all things supernatural to my grandmother (and btw, I was grandma's little pet grandson and all my cousins just hated me ... hehehe)

I'm 40 years old now (yes, you heard me, 40 whole years old!) and I'm still afraid of ghosts and all things associated with it. I've had my fair share of ghostly encounters to last me a lifetime. I remember once long ago, I was working in the design department of a printing company. I used to stay back really late (as late as 12 - 1am) at night finishing up my work. Normally there would be 3 or 4 other designers who would also stay back and we would all leave about the same time. But there was this once when everyone wanted to leave but I decided to stay a little longer cos I was kinda swamped with work.

So there I was all by myself not bothered about anything except getting my work completed. Suddenly the phone on my table buzzed. I was startled of course and when I looked at the blinking light it indicated that the receptionists phone was buzzing me. (I'm all alone here remember). I thought it was strange but I didn't give it much thought. So, I continued my work. Then a few minutes later, the phone buzzed again, only this time it indicated that the call was coming from my colleagues table which was 4 tables away from me. Ok, this was where my streak of cowardice and my imagination starts working overtime. But I persisted and thought maybe the phones were acting buggy. Then a few minutes later the bloody phone buzzed again and this time it showed that the call came from the table in front of me. I was seriously freaked out by now! This couldn't be normal. I looked at my watch and it showed the time as 11.58pm. A coincidence? I think not!

This was where it got totally mind blowing freaking scary. Immediately after that phone buzzing (and I swear on this till today) The mouse pointer on my PC screen started to shut my PC down by itself. It actually went through all the motions that I would manually do to shut my PC off only this time I wasn't even touching the mouse and it wasn't moving, only the mouse pointer on the screen was moving. By now, I'm totally freaking out, I could feel every bit of hair on my body stand on end! I looked at my watch and it's exactly 12.00am. I think whatever it was was trying to tell me something, so I got up, I run like a stark raving lunatic out of the office (it would be funny if it wasn't so scary!). I didn't bother to look back, I didn't bother to switch off the light, the air-conditioning and the what-nots, I just ran for my life. (gee, my hair is standing on end just writing this down).

So, the next day, my production manager who was always the first to get to the office (and also the most longest serving staff here) came up and made a fuss about who left all the lights and stuff on, not even bothering to lock the doors. I told him what happened and that was when he sat down with me and told me not to ever work late alone. Apparently the damn place has this ghostly spirit and it doesn't like people working late (my kinda ghost ... LOL!). Some of the people who worked late here have experienced this weirdly encounters and they just didn't bother to tell me. I could have died of fright! Damn, I even felt sick for three whole days after the incident.

That was one of many other encounters I've experienced in my lifetime. I've heard my name being called, seen a man lie on the road while driving, only to disappear after avoiding him (my buddy Adrian can testify to this cos we both saw the same thing), seen swings that move on its own, the list could go on and on and I don't want to bore you, but the bottom line is I'm a bloody coward.

Thank god my wife is braver than me in this ghostly stuff! Even at home, when something goes bump in the night, I'd wake her up ... hehehe ... Once I watched this local horror movie, 'Pontianak Harum Sundal Malam' in the afternoon and I was all alone and I freaked out! (don't worry honey, I'm only afraid of ghosts, spiders, creepy crawlies and snakes, that's all ... LOL!)

So, what about you guys? Does the supernatural do anything to you? I'd sure love to know if there are more cowards out there like me ... :D

54 comments:

  1. That was the freakiest thing! You stuck it out longer than I would have!!.. I would have hauled ass after the second buzzing of the phone!

    Do I beleive..I sure do. Not because I have seen one but I think we learn alot from our parents. My mom believes in ghosts and claims to have heard. Her dad passed away when she was young and she used to have nightmares about him. She says she could actually smell him when she woke up. This isn't out of love..I guess he was a cruel, drunk and nasty man so there was not much to miss.

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  2. Holy crazy scary. That does NOT make you a coward. I think anyone who was at work at midnight with phones ringing and things moving / shutting down on their own would scare the sh*t out of them.

    I have never had any sort of the experiences you have and may I just say that I am glad!

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  3. OMG I'm a fan of supernatural stuff! I even planned to buy an EVP to record voices of the dead too, if it wasn't for my bf that told me NOT to get it or risk losing him. LOL!

    Wow, the cursor moved and shut the PC itself? That was scary and cool at the same time too! Although, I think I would've died of a heart attack myself if it happened to me. :P

    Do you have more ghost stories? Pleeeeeeease share! Tell us more about that guy lying on the road! Or the ghost in your office. :P

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  4. Well Nick, I was thinking about this topic for my post last night, but I went with the sounds instead. I guess tonight, I will take you up on your questions. Cindy, feel free to give my post a read, as it should give you the "ghost fix" you're craving. I've had a LOT of supernatural experiences and, being somewhat of a psychic, am always open to more. I will share a sampling when I post later tonight.

    Excellent post! Thanks for sharing!

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  5. Geeze, youd think something like that theyd have given you a warning on...well lucky for you your manager knew about the spirit, cause it got you out of that jam! hehehe
    Anyway, Ive had some unexplained experiences, but after the first few times, I found myself being more curious than frightened. I think falling asleep during scary stories at such a young impressionable age may have given you some odd dreams that sortve increased the scariness - but thats all ok! Hopefully you can just avoid these type of things, Ill keep my fingers crossed for ya!

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  6. I've just come over from Wolfgangs blog as he linked you. I was fine reading your post until you talked about the cursor shutting your computer down. That was seriously scary.

    I am definitely a believer and have had a few encounters of the ghostly kind when I lived alone in an old house. At first I was terrified but I made peace with "him" and we lived together in relative harmony for about 4 years. Really enjoyed your post.

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  7. Come to think of it, Nick.. maybe the computer got attacked by Spyware, hence why the cursor moved itself. :P

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  8. OMG, why did I read the entire thing?!! Am quite the scaredy cat myself and ur working late story really freaked me out!!! :(

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  9. I'm also visiting through Wolfgang (hi Wolfgang! Hi Gypsy!) to say VERY creepy story and I believe you completely. I have an old beach house and things happen here that NONE of us can understand. The "good" thing? They are nice, a little mischievous, but mostly nice. Much appreciated. I'd hate to sell.

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  10. You really scared me !! I've my hair standing reaiding these post. The sequence on the ringing phone is already freaking me out... More worst when the mouse moved by itself.... OH.. RUN !!
    Thanks for sharing your ghostly encounter :)

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  11. Must be a thing with Grandmothers and elderly aunts. I remember one time we were having a seance with a makeshift ouija board - upturned glass, with letters and numbers written on paper scattered in a circle around the glass on a table. This night with the glass racing around the table and spelling things out, the lights began to flick on and off. And we were all still sitting at the table. That was the end of it for that night - scared the crap out of all of us.

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  12. Diamond, it didn't occur to me to leave after the first buzzing. I was too preoccupied to think about ghosts until the 3rd buzzing when I actually freaked out! I didn't work too long in that company ... LOL!

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  13. Meleah, hope you never have to experience any paranormal stuff. I seriously could do with not having any of this ghostly encounters but I guess it's hard to avoid it a times, especially when you don't know the history of the place you're in ...

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  14. Cindy, you actually want to record voices of the dead? You're freaky ... LOL! I was too scared to think about the PC shutting down as cool. You should have seen how fast I bolted it out of the office! And I don't think it was spyware, that time, internet connection still 28.8 modem only and that PC was the office workstation, no internet connection.

    As for the man lying on the road story, I'll post the whole story of that incident soon :)

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  15. Wolfgang, I would love to hear more about your experiences. I'm a paranormal fan (albeit a really chicken one at that ... LOL!). I've a few more experiences that I'll post later. (I'm sure Cindy would get a kick out of it ... LOL!)

    Lavender, I am curious about these stuff but I am at the same time frightened by it too. I would love to 'see' a ghost but if I actually did, I'd probably freak out. And yes, I do believe those old grandmotherly stories had some effect in me being a coward ... LOL!

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  16. Gypsy, welcome:) Well, my childhood home had some pretty weird stuff going on too. I don't think I could have made peace with whatever was going on like you did. To be honest I'm glad I no longer live there though that place holds many cherished and fond memories of my childhood.

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  17. Marzie, At least I'm not the only coward ... LOL! I was getting goosebumps just writing the post and recollecting the incident. I believe there are definitely weird stuff happening out there.

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  18. Anonymous, welcome to my humble blog :) I'm a firm believer in ghosts. And I don't think I could live in place even if the 'occupants' were nice ... LOL!

    Janice, I think I ran so fast that I probably made a new 100 metre running record or something ... LOL!

    Loz, oh, I've played that ouija board with my cousins in my childhood though nothing of the supernatural sort did happen. Maybe we just didn't know how to summon the 'other' world ... LOL! Come to think of it, I'm glad nothing did happen. I know I would have high tailed it out of there faster than Carl Lewis if the lights did flicker on and off!!!

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  19. Man, that's creepy. I haven't really given much thought to whether I'm really spooked out by the supernatural. I guess I'll only know when it happens to me. I'm the only one in the family who loves Asian horror flicks though. When I was a kid, I used to scare my younger brother by telling him stories about the banana plant spirit (tying a red string around the banana plant etc.). Heh.

    I guess you should be glad you don't know me in person? Ha!

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  20. Oh, my dad played with the ouija board when he was a kid and it really worked. If I remember correctly, he asked about exam results. I've never tried though and have no intention of trying...

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  21. Great post! I absolutely believe in the supernatural! The house I grew up in was haunted. I grew up in Lexington Missouri, and lived in one of the old hoes that belonged to a plantation owner during the civil war! I can NOT count all of the creepy stuff that happened in that house! The lights would flicker, certain rooms would get freezing cold in a moment! Doors would open on there own, creeky noises, I am getting creeped out just thinking about it! I had several friends who would NOT spend the night at my house because every one in town said it was haunted! Take care friend and be sure and NOT work too late!

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  22. Glad I could bring a few of my friends over here. Thanks for visiting my story. I will have more soon and want to read more of your.

    /wave at Gypsy and Boxer

    Hello all!

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  23. Lis, some of those asian horror flicks are downright scary, especially if you're a coward like me and happen to watch it alone. LOL!

    I've heard of that string to the banana tree thingy. Rumour has it that beautiful woman would appear and you would be able to do anything to her (don't even think of trying this guys. LOL!) Don't know if it's true or not but I'm not gonna be the one to find out!

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  24. You know Barrett, it's strange but I know a lot of people who in their childhood days lived in spooky houses (myself included). I'm with your friends on this one, I would NOT have stayed over at your house too ... LOL! Oh trust me, I try my best not to work late anymore ... :)

    Wolfgang - glad to have you and your buddies here. I'm gonna be looking out for more on the paranormal from you :)

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  25. I thought the comment you left on Clive Owen was the funniest thing I've ever heard, little did I know, I had to pick myself up from the floor after I read this post ....

    Nick, I would love *AND I SAY IT AGAIN LOVE* to have a supervisor tell me never to work late again because friendly Casper doesn't like it .... This ghost is looking very good in lifting up company morale don't you think....

    As for things that go bump in the night, I am such a big believer in that, AND I am also a believer that ghosts / unearthly being manifests themselves to the special few. Looks like its you Boss. I'll never want to be driving anywhere with you in deserted roads at night like your friend Adrian.... :)

    Do tell more.

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  26. i had ghost encounter before , when i was in form 2,i was in boarding school before and being a late sleeper at night , i went to the bathroom alone,maybe around 2-3 am..after doing my business,i saw this one kakak who i called kak ayie standing near the kolah(large square pool of water) smiling at me , and as a good adik i smiled back and ask her "eh kak , what are u doing here?" , she just continued smiling..and i went straight to the bedroom and guess what?Kak ayie was sleeping in her bed,snoring...in the morning i ask her what she's doing near the kolah and this is her answer "thats not me shana , i'd never go out alone in the middle of the night"..from that moment , i never went to the bathroom alone during my times in boarding school...yikes!

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  27. Sharon, he didn't say don't work late, he said just don't work late alone and besides, casper, friendly or otherwise, I'd rather not have to go thru it again. LOL! My buddy Adrian and me have experienced quite a few in our hanging out session. Will be posting more on this soon.

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  28. Shana, whoa, now that is freaking scary la. I'd have packed my things the very next day and left the boarding school on the next bus out ... LOL! I've heard of stuff like that happening to some of my friends but thank god it hasn't happened to me. I've heard someone call my name at night before and when I turned around, there was no one there. You should have seen me running ... LOL!

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  29. Dood! My hair was standing on end just reading it!

    Anyway, I'm from the school of scientific proof. But still.... in movies, the non-believer doesn't get it first but gets it worst!

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  30. Nick,

    Wow, you really have some spooky experiences. I would like to read some of those. :D:D

    I am some kind of a coward, too. But I keep my cool sometimes pretending to be brave although my insides are shaking. Hahahaha!

    Oh, I've seen ghosts too but I just ignore them most of the time. I don't want to think they're really there. :D

    By the way, you've been tagged! http://www.donnasonlyhope.com/?p=31

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  31. omg, that's freaky scary! if i were u, i would just froze there. As i read your post, my jaw drops to my table, i can't believe you have had such experiences and the lying man on road? That's creepy, man!

    though i am also a coward, but when i am scare, i'll just recite the bible verses to calm myself down. Most of teh time, it's just my imagination.

    love your post. I love reading ghost stories even though i will freak out after that.

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  32. You sure have loads of scary stories huh? The ghostly thing must love to tease you since you're a coward... LOL!!

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  33. Nick, according to the elders *cough*, whenever you hear people calling your name at night, make sure they called it 3 times, then only answer. Else, it might be ghost calling you.

    I experienced that before, hearing people calling my name at night, I waited till the 3rd calling, then only I decided to answer - only to get scolded by my mom because I didn't answer her calls for dinner. :P

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  34. Hi Nick, when are u gonna put another post up so this scary one won't be the first thing I see when i visit ur blog?! I told hubbs abt ur office encounter and he agreed it was damn scary! Faster replace this post with somethin else! I am the biggest ghost coward Nick.... ;)

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  35. Hui Sen, I'd love to hear the scientific explanation for this one :) But I'd have to agree with you about the non-believers part, that's why I'm a believer buddy. LOL!

    Donzy, wow, you've actually seen a ghost? Cool. Look out for my postings on my other experiences with the supernatural, ya? And thanx for the tag. Will do it the moment I get the chance.

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  36. Jean, no was was I gonna freeze and stay there one second longer, that's for sure. And I can't even remember a single verse from the bible, especially in times like these. LOL!

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  37. sweetiepie, you have a point there, maybe the bloody (pun intended) ghosts just love picking on cowards like me ... LOL! I've always been afraid of ghosts since I was young. Nowadays I try to be a little braver :)

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  38. Cindy, yeah, that's what I've been told too but how to remember la, when someone calls you, automatically you will turn to the source of the sound, rite? Luckily you answered your mom after the 3rd call, if not, sure kena lagi scolding ... LOL! Funny.

    Mariuca, but those casper like ghosts look so friendly ... LOL! Will be posting something else soon, don't worry, I get frightened visiting my own blog too ... LOL!

    Diamond, thanx for the tag. Will do it soon, hopefully it won't have to wait until a new tag marathon ... hehehe ...

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  39. Buddy! You're the biggest devil I know LOL

    Besides the usual eveil spirits we meet at night are usually dispatched with a twist of lime LOL

    Nice post...didn't tell folks that you had your buddies join you one day too! Good thing we didn't encounter anything...either that or it was spooked by us LOL

    Don't forget to tell them about that journey through the back roads that we had and the encounter with "IT"!

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  40. Hey Buddy, yeah, forgot all about that encounter with 'IT'. Man that was freaky alright. I'm gonna post about that and some more of our experiences soon :)

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  41. What?! Posting another scary encounter with 'IT'?! Adrian, why did u have to put ideas into Nick's head?!!

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  42. Yeah Adrian, why do you always set me up for these things, you know I'm a coward ... LOL! It's more funny than scary, Marzie!

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  43. Ok in that case, pls have ur post up soon, but I will read it during the day! Learned my lesson from the other post, no more visiting Nick's blog at night! LOL ;)

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  44. Marzie! It's a funny story you little scaredy cat LOL

    Nick! Don't forget the time we had to follow each other to the bathroom because we were too afraid to go ourselves LOL that was funny also! :)

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  45. Marzie, it really is a funny story. I'll post it over the weekend or next week, kinda busy to post anything just yet. Don't worry I'll be visiting my own blog in the daytime only too ... LOL! Scaredy cat's unite!

    Adrian, who can forget that buddy :) good to have a coward for a best buddy, at least I don't sound so silly all by myself ... LOL!

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  46. He he he Scaredy Cats unite indeed! No more night visitors for Nick for a while now! Hey, I also have a scary encounter that happened to me but of course am too scared to tell the story! Some more the G.... impersonated ME ok!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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  47. You had a Ghost impersonate you? whoa, I'd like to hear that story Marzie. Quick, quick, tell us the story ... LOL!

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  48. Scary la Nick! If I tell u the story, the G.... might come after me AGAIN! All I can say is that, it wasn't me who was staring and smiling at my sister...I was fast asleep! See, just writing this is already giving me goosebumps!!! Enough!! ;)

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  49. That is so spooky...yeah tell me this before I go for my trip and am all alone in the hotel...thanks a lot Marzie!

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  50. Marzie, whoa, now that's freaky. Ok la, no need to tell. I'd be spooked out too ... LOL!

    Adrian, Oh when you're alone buddy, all those ghost stories you've ever heard will definitely come back to haunt you ... LOL!

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  51. soulie read this yesterday, mannnnnn even as an old story, its scary as hell! ahhahah

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  52. Bem - Trust me, it was scarier being there in person la ...

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  53. I have been in that situation though the "spirit" is not as playful as yours la ehehhe

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