"Tuned In" to the Supernatural

This is not something I’ve talked much about with anyone, but here it goes!

I believe in things that are unexplainable. I believe in the supernatural. Growing up, I never really thought there was anything too unusual about my family, other than the fact that we were a group of seven in a community of small families. My parents had “normal” jobs, us kids had “normal” interests. However, it wasn’t too long before I began to realize that our ability to “tune in” to the supernatural was a bit odd.

Some people call it a gift. Some people call it a curse. I call it weird, sometime awesome, and usually pretty freaky. My whole family believes in… spirits, I guess you could call it. Angels, ghosts, demons, whatever it happens to be. These are difficult things for many people to believe in, because we always want proof. It’s hard to believe in something we can’t see, hear, or feel. Perhaps that’s why my family does believe in spirits – because, between the seven of us, we can see, hear, feel, or sense them.

My dad is the least “tuned in.” Only once has he heard the smooth rock music that comes from a corner of the house when the building is quiet. Then there’s my brother, who has heard the music just a bit more than my dad. My mom and one younger sister have both witnessed many sounds in the house, convincing them that the building may be haunted... even though it’s only about 15-years-old.

Then there’s me. I’ve never actually seen a spirit, but I have heard and felt them. I’ve heard them playing the piano, rummaging through a closet shelf, and, of course, playing the smooth rock music. Perhaps my most dramatic interaction with a spirit (I call it an angel) was when I was a child of about nine-years-old. I was climbing around the construction site of my family’s new house. I was playing on a huge mound of dirt above the newly dug basement. Suddenly, I lost my footing and started to fall. I was sure that was it for me. However, I felt someone or something push me back up to my feet. I was very shaken up, and that was the very moment I started believing in angels. There is no other explanation for why I didn’t fall into the hole.

Another very unexplainable thing that has happened to me was when I was at my parent’s house alone. The dog was outside and wasn’t very happy about it. She was barking and whining, and I was just finishing an email and then was going to let her in. A few minutes later, the dog was happily inside – only I hadn’t moved, there was nobody else at home, and the door was still shut. Now, I believe the dog is smart, but not smart enough (or big enough) to open and close a door.

My older sister has seen an angel twice (the same one both times), and things she considers “dark spirits” or demons numerous times in various locations, including in a church. Once when she saw the angel was when she was about 15-years-old and was driving with my mom to go sign a contract for a modeling agency she had just been accepted to. The angel appeared in the backseat of the car and said two words: “don’t go.” My mom didn’t see it. They didn’t go.

My youngest sister (she’s 18 now) is by far the most “tuned in.” When she was little, she would freak out, acting like she saw something that scared her. However, she wasn’t old enough yet to explain it. As she grew older, she was able to explain more easily. She refused to go into the basement of my parent’s house when she was little, and still refuses today. It’s not because there’s anything strange in the basement – it’s because there’s some sort of dark spirit that “chills on the staircase,” as she puts it. She says it never comes up and never goes down. It just stays on the steps. There is another room in the house she doesn’t like to go because of another ghost that “lives” in the corner of the room. It stays in the corner, she says, but the way it looks at her scares her. She claims she can see spirits or demons around people, too, which explains why she seemingly irrationally disliked some people when she was young.

Another weird thing… my mother and I both have a difficult time with watches. She has finally found one that worked for her, and the same with me. However, growing up, I could never wear watches because they always stopped working. I would wear one for a few days, and it would quit. I would try a different one, and it would quit. My mother had the same problem. I gave up wearing watches for years, before I finally found one that lasted. I don’t know if it’s something about the watch, or if something about me changed. It’s completely bizarre.

Several of my family members (including me) have also had prophetic dreams on several occasions. I’ve been told that I could possibly “develop my abilities” to become even more in-tune to dreams, spirits, and the supernatural. However, I find all this stuff a bit scary, and I don’t think I want to bring more upon myself.

So those are some stories about why I believe in the supernatural. I don’t know why my family is the way it is, and it’s not something we usually talk about. We're perfectly normal (whatever "normal" is) people who have been successful in schools and careers. Our supernatural encounters could be seen as weird, but I suppose it could be special, too.