253: Lifelong Doppelganger, Seeing Slender Man & Santa Muerte (Holy Death)

[00:00:00] Thank you all for joining me, and welcome to Paranormal Mysteries. I'm your host, Nic Ryan. On tonight's episode I'll be discussing a Slender Man sighting, lifelong experiences with a doppelganger, encounters with the Holy Death, and much more.

[00:00:29] But before we start tonight's show, I want to say thank you to everyone for their support and generosity. Whether following and sharing the podcast, or donating through Patreon, Buy Me A Coffee, or PayPal. Every type of support that you give is greatly appreciated.

[00:00:45] And if you have a paranormal experience that you'd like to share with me and the listeners, you may contact me through email or voicemail at paranormalmysteriespodcast.com. You can also find all of our support and contact information within the show notes.

[00:01:02] And now, let's start the show with our first listener story of the night, which comes to us from Wilbur. And Wilbur says, Good afternoon. I have two short stories of what I have seen in my doorways. Story number one is called, Slender Man.

[00:01:21] I was about eight to ten. It was midnight and I woke up feeling like someone or something was watching me. I sat up and looked around, seeing nothing, till I looked at my doorway. And there I saw it. An outline of Slender Man.

[00:01:37] I could see its body was black and its head was white. Being so young I laid back down, rolling around so that my back was away from it. I never saw it again. Story number two is called, The Twins.

[00:01:53] I had moved towns by this time and I was thirteen. I was just chilling on my bed watching some videos on my phone, till I saw something move. I looked up at my door and saw two little kids standing there.

[00:02:07] As soon as I looked up and saw them, they ran to the right which was toward the top of some stairs. I got up and walked to my door and looking around I saw nothing.

[00:02:16] I then shut my door and sat on my bed ignoring what had just happened. Since then so many other things have happened, like seeing things I know aren't there, and creepy chills when walking around. Thank you for reading my stories. Wilbur

[00:02:37] Our next story of the night comes to us from Matt. And Matt's story is called, Doppelganger. Matt says, Hey Nick, I would first like to thank you for all that you do. I have only been listening for a few months now and I'm all caught up already.

[00:02:54] I have three of my more interesting stories that led up to me believing that I've been followed by or had a doppelganger around me for most of my life since I was a child.

[00:03:03] The first story is actually told from my mother's perspective and the last two are told from my perspective with picture evidence of what I believe to be me sitting in the backseat of my car.

[00:03:16] I never connected any of the dots before listening to your podcast and hearing other people's stories of doppelgangers. The first story took place when I was young, maybe 8 or 9. My mother only ever told me this story years later as I'm now 20.

[00:03:32] My mother used to be a very heavy smoker to where she would have to sit on the basement stairs to do it. She was always too afraid to go fully down into the basement and even outside to smoke.

[00:03:43] She was up one night unable to sleep, so she decided to go and have a smoke and then try to sleep again. As she sat on the basement steps, she heard a noise from behind her.

[00:03:54] She looked up to see what it was and saw a little boy walk by the cracked open door. She swiftly put out her cigarette, got up and opened the door, but there was no one there.

[00:04:04] She looked around and in the corner of her eye saw the little boy walk up the stairs. As any mom would do, she followed thinking that it was either me or my brother and we

[00:04:14] needed something for being up at such a late hour and came into our room. But both my brother and I were fast asleep, yet she swears that it had to be one of us and it even looked like us.

[00:04:27] As a little more backstory, my brother and I are identical twins. Fast forward to when I was 18. I suffer badly from sleep paralysis for as long as I can remember. Normally when I wake up with it nothing happens, just the usual fast heartbeat and thoughts

[00:04:43] going a thousand miles a second. One night I wake up and see the clock and it's 3am. I close my eyes and pray that it'll stop. I had this overwhelming feeling to open my eyes and look around as much as my eyes would allow.

[00:04:58] I could feel my heart beating out of my chest when I see this little boy sitting on my chair about ten feet to my left. He seems to be maybe ten years old. He was just staring at me. He looked so much like me.

[00:05:12] He had blonde hair, blue eyes with a bowl cut and was wearing a flannel shirt and blue jeans. I dressed like that all the time and had the same haircut as a kid. I then tightly closed my eyes until I fell asleep, waking the next morning and forgetting

[00:05:27] about it. This final story takes place about a year later when I was 19. I had finally gotten a stable job at the time and had to wake up at the painful hour of 5am every morning to head to work.

[00:05:40] As a usual morning, I got up, brushed my teeth and got ready and set out for my car. It was a bone-chilling 20 degrees that morning, so as any other person, I rushed to my car to get it started and feel the sweet relief of warmth.

[00:05:55] My car is pretty old, so I have to let it run for a few minutes to have the car run at its most efficient. Now, I must've lost track of time and was about to run late to work, so I quickly pulled

[00:06:07] out my phone to send out my Snapchat streaks. I pulled up my camera and pointed it over my shoulder and snapped a picture of my back seat to send. I had this compelling feeling that something was wrong and the picture didn't feel right

[00:06:21] to me, so I saved it to my camera to check it out later. I must've forgot about it because I didn't check to see for a few days. But when I saw it, I couldn't believe my eyes. It looked like me, but at the same time, not me.

[00:06:36] It had my face and nose, but not my eyes. It's hard, piercing black eyes with red pupils. I then enhanced the photo to try to see if I could see it better, and sure enough, you could.

[00:06:50] Now, I wear a hat every day, and you can clearly see a forehead without a hat. My windows have zero tint on them, and there is no street light outside my house, ruling out a reflection of some kind. I've shown people, and they are baffled by the photo.

[00:07:05] I will attach both the original and enhanced photos here. I felt that all the details and context was necessary, and if you decide to share this with all the other listeners, thank you truly. Have a wonderful day, and rest of your year. Matt

[00:07:23] I'll be sure to post Matt's pictures on our forum, and you can find a link to our forum in the show notes. Our next experience of the night comes to us from Donnie, and Donnie's story is called Feeling of Presence. Donnie says, Great podcast!

[00:07:45] I was recently listening to the episode from October 25th, 2020, entitled Listener Stories, Sleep Paralysis, Strange Entities, and Midnight Stalkers. I was particularly intrigued to hear Kelly's story called Strange Man, which occurs at time marker 21 minutes and 35 seconds.

[00:08:06] After hearing this, I decided to write to the show because I too have experienced what Kelly described. Since early childhood, I have occasionally experienced this strange phenomenon. It would always happen when I'm alone, often when I first walk into a room, or strangely,

[00:08:23] just like Kelly, when in the shower. What happens is, out of the blue, I suddenly feel like someone else is there in the room with me. I feel a sense of a presence, like another person or entity is in the room, watching or observing me.

[00:08:37] I guess it's the age-old phenomenon of feeling like you're being watched. It's honestly pretty much exactly the feeling you get when another person is in the same room with you. You even get a sense or impression of their personality.

[00:08:51] Of course, in this case, there is no one actually in the room with you that you can physically see. What's so intriguing and stirring about the experience is that the presence has such a palpable sense of personality all its own.

[00:09:05] It's as if I get a sense or impression of the presence's own unique personality, or sentience. Kind of like when you meet a person for the first time. So much so that it's somewhat unsettling.

[00:09:17] What's more is that it feels as though the presence usually has this paradoxical familiar yet unfamiliar quality to it. It's almost as if you know them somehow from somewhere, but haven't seen them in a very long time.

[00:09:30] My first thought all these years has always been that it's maybe a ghost, spirit, extraterrestrial, interdimensional being, angel, or some other type of being. Although sometimes I get the sense that it could be a distant ancestor, or maybe a time traveler.

[00:09:47] The other possibility is that it feels as though it could be some past, present, future, or otherwise separate aspect of myself. And I'll have more on that in a minute. Otherwise, again, it just feels like a very alien presence of some otherworldly being.

[00:10:04] Until now I had never really thought much of it. I guess I had always just thought that either I was a bit psychic and was just picking up on a ghost or other spirit. Or that it was just a weird brain glitch.

[00:10:16] However, in addition to Kelly's story, another reason I felt compelled to write to the show is that about a year ago I experienced this phenomenon in a way that was the strongest that I have ever experienced it. It happened at night, after watching some TV.

[00:10:32] I walked into the bedroom to get ready for bed. On the wall to the right we had a large, sort of bohemian tapestry hanging. The phenomenon seemed to be triggered after I walked into the room and looked at the tapestry.

[00:10:45] Again, just like in the past, and in this occurrence as well, I cannot stress enough the feeling of how the presence had such an extremely palpable sense of its own personality about it, to such a degree that I felt like it could almost speak or become visible at

[00:11:00] any moment, or that I could reach out and touch it. I could even sense which area of the room it was coming from. It was near the tapestry, by the door to the bathroom.

[00:11:11] This time, just as with other times in the past, I mostly felt a sense of mystery and curiosity about it, with a slight uneasiness or fear, but mostly curiosity. Eventually after about 10 minutes or so, the sensation passed, and I felt normal again.

[00:11:30] After that very stirring occurrence, I decided to finally do an internet search on it. After seeing the results, I started to worry a little that it could be a sign of what doctors consider schizophrenia, or some other schizophrenic spectrum condition.

[00:11:44] According to a major science magazine, Scientific American, it is somewhat of a known phenomenon in the psychology and psychiatry world, known as Feeling of Presence, or FOP. A few days later I saw my psychiatrist and told them about it.

[00:12:01] They confirmed that yes, medically it is considered a type of hallucination from various conditions, including mild psychosis from severe depression, bipolar disorder, or Alzheimer's disease. They also said that it can be caused by a certain type of epileptic seizure, and yes,

[00:12:20] schizophrenia, if distressing enough, is typically treated with antipsychotic or anticonvulsant medications. I concurred, but at the same time I do not feel that the scientific explanation necessarily has to negate the possible paranormal nature of it. That is, to some of us, it is paranormal in nature.

[00:12:41] Doctors just call it psychosis, and it is a way to describe what is happening in the brain during these experiences. From what I read, some consider the Feeling of Presence phenomenon to possibly be aspects of ourselves that we usually don't experience.

[00:12:57] Aspects of ourselves that we usually don't have access to due to various psychological or paranormal reasons. Aspects of our personalities that are not often encountered, and when we do, it has this sort of foreign yet familiar nature to it. Estranged personality fragments.

[00:13:15] Maybe it's just the feeling we get when we retrieve previously lost soul fragments. And so, I wanted to share this interesting bit of information about this phenomenon, especially after hearing Kelly's account that hit home with me so much.

[00:13:31] Thanks Kelly, and thank you again Nick, and others for this platform, and wonderful show. Thanks again. Donny Our next experience of the night comes to us from Ramirez. And Ramirez's story is called, Encounters with Death. Ramirez says,

[00:13:54] Hello Nick, it is a great pleasure to finally be able to tell you my story. I have been a huge fan of your show for about a year now. I would like to start off by saying that it is really hard for me to talk about these

[00:14:06] things now, since I don't really have much time to sit back and think about them. When I mentioned death in the title, I used quotation marks because my encounters with death were not about almost losing my life.

[00:14:20] When I was about 12 years old, I lived in Mexico with my mom. I was originally born in California, but I moved to Mexico with my parents at a very young age. During that time, our dad left us and my mom struggled financially and emotionally

[00:14:34] to take care of me and my four siblings, which eventually led to her looking for help in some unusual places. She began to worship Holy Death, which is essentially the Grim Reaper. She would ask her for favors and provide offerings to her in return.

[00:14:52] Everything began to look up for her and us included. The only reason I remember all this clearly is because she began to decorate her room with statues and images of the Holy Death.

[00:15:03] This gave me, a 12 year old at the time, mixed feelings about it, but as her son, I had to respect it. She once asked me to not fear her, but to embrace her, because death is the only thing

[00:15:15] that is 100% certain for everyone in this world, regardless of race, class, or religion. My first encounter with the Holiest Death was when I spent the night in my mom's room because I was comforting her after a really big fight over the phone with my dad.

[00:15:34] That night I woke up to a big laughter coming directly from her biggest, holiest death statue in her room. I knew it was her because I had the feeling that she acknowledged my presence in my mom's room.

[00:15:47] I was really scared because my mom was deep asleep and I turned around to my right side and immediately froze to my bones when I saw the Holiest Death's shadow in the dark. It was really inexplicable how even in the deep dark you could see her darkness create

[00:16:03] a void that is impossible to miss. I told my mom the morning after and she said that the Holiest Death became jealous of my mom and needed for us to ask permission to spend the night in my mom's room.

[00:16:16] This completely shocked me and I did not fear her, but I respected her and I thanked her for looking over my family. Shortly after my first experience, I moved back to the United States with my dad.

[00:16:29] My second encounter with the Holy Death was when I was 18, also in Mexico, but only this time it was in a different house and I was only visiting my mom for the summer before starting college here in California.

[00:16:42] I was out drinking and up to no good with my old friends from elementary school for about two days straight. When I returned to rest at my mom's new house, I didn't realize that everyone but me had

[00:16:52] gone to the beach that was three hours away from my mom's place. So that meant I was home alone. My mom's new house was now a little bit bigger and had two stories.

[00:17:03] The set of stairs came directly into the living room where the TV and the internet router were. This was me and my siblings' favorite place to hang out because the wifi was faster in that specific spot.

[00:17:16] I was on my cell phone scrolling through Instagram when something caught my eye coming down the stairs. I turned up to look and all I saw was the end of a long dark gown and two bone feet.

[00:17:29] This froze me once again, and when I came back to myself, I was simply asking myself if what I saw was true or if maybe I was drunk. But my last beer had been exactly 12 hours before that.

[00:17:42] I left almost immediately after without any of my usual carry items like my charger, my shoulder bag, and my wallet. When I returned, I told my mom all about it, and this time what she told me still marks me to this day.

[00:17:57] She said that both times I have been lucky not to see the Holy Death's face because when I finally get to see her face, that would mean that my time in this world is over.

[00:18:10] Since my first encounter with the Holy Death, I still see her in my dreams occasionally. I am 23 years old now, and I've always been interested in the paranormal since then, and listening to people's stories on your show really comforts me.

[00:18:24] One more thing before I go, I would like to mention that I am not afraid of the Holy Death. I respect her, and I am thankful for every day of my life that she has spared me.

[00:18:34] I wanted to share my story and encourage anyone else with similar experiences to not be afraid, and to tell their story. Our next story of the night comes to us from William, and William's story is called The Shadow Man or Demon. William says,

[00:18:58] Nick my man, I binged your whole podcast in like a week. I love it. It gave me some peace of mind knowing that I am not the only one experiencing weird things. Here's my story.

[00:19:10] In 2013, when I was about 22, I still lived with my parents in a room that we called a family room. It was very large, and just to show you how much space I had, I'll give you my layout.

[00:19:22] I had one side with a couch for gaming, and the other side my king-size bed, and I still had enough room for activities. It led out to the backyard, and the entrance was through the garage.

[00:19:34] I loved it because I was young, and could party with my friends in peace. One night after watching some ghost adventures, I checked my phone for the time, and it was about 210 AM.

[00:19:45] I always try to fall asleep before 3 AM, and I fell asleep with the TV on, only to be woken up by this tall black shadow man hovering over me with red eyes, and with his left arm extended over my chest area.

[00:19:59] I couldn't move, and I was trying to break free, shaking left and right, trying to scream for my dad. But I only made out the DAH! DAH! part. And this is the weird part.

[00:20:12] I look down to my legs, and I see my knight in shining armor, a tiny little chihuahua. My dog, Chico, was going insane, barking like a madman, and I blacked out from all of this.

[00:20:23] When I woke up, it was still night time, and Chico was still growling and barking. There was an entrance to the garage which I had closed before bed, but it was now open, so I got up and closed it, and checked the time while holding Chico tight.

[00:20:37] It was now about 328 AM, and I covered my head, praying hard and loud, hoping that I would never see the shadow man again. Fast forward to 2015, my girlfriend at the time, my now wife, had given birth to our first baby boy.

[00:20:55] I set up his crib and fell asleep on the bed with my wife and newborn, only to be awoken by this head with red eyes peeking out from the crib, looking at me with his fingers grasping the crib.

[00:21:07] I could see his pitch black body through the crib's divided pieces. It looked like it was checking up on me. I then got a sort of sad feeling from it, like it was depressed. My wife woke me up and said that I kept repeating,

[00:21:21] head, head, head, and pointing to the crib. I told her that while she was waking me, I was still looking at it, so she must have seen it, but she told me that there was nothing there, and I just prayed out loud.

[00:21:37] 2010 to 2015 was a really hard patch in my life with drugs and alcohol, and I noticed it was getting bad when I wasn't using the drug. The drugs were using me. I'm thinking the shadow man was telling me to get my life together quick, or I'd be taking

[00:21:54] a ride with him. I hope this makes it on the podcast, man. I appreciate everything you do, and thanks for a safe space. Our next experience of the night comes to us from Jason, and Jason's story is called My Personal Experience. Jason says, I live in Nashville, Tennessee.

[00:22:19] For ten years, I worked in the funeral business. In that time, I made many connections with funeral homes and groundskeepers at different cemeteries. Here in Nashville, there is a cemetery named Mount Olivette. It's very old, so old that it has Civil War soldiers buried in it.

[00:22:36] One day, I was setting up a funeral and talking to one of the grounds crew guys. He was an amateur ghost hunter, and had gotten permission to stay overnight in the cemetery to see if he could record any activity.

[00:22:48] I asked if I could join him, and he told me that if I got permission from the manager, that I could join him. Well, permission was granted, and we set a time to meet at 10pm that night.

[00:22:59] The only equipment my partner brought was a camera and a digital voice recorder, and for the first couple of hours, there wasn't much going on. We started in the old sections of the cemetery, but nothing of importance was recorded, so

[00:23:12] we decided to move to the newer sections around 1am. And that's when things got interesting. Less than an hour after moving to a new section, we noticed cold air around us. It was early June, and it's not usually cold, especially in the south.

[00:23:29] We started looking around and noticed orbs of light floating about 50 yards away from us. There were a couple of them. While watching these two orbs, my partner's buddy turned around quickly because he felt like he was being watched, and there were three orbs right behind him.

[00:23:45] Before we knew it, there were seven light orbs surrounding the three of us. The whole ordeal lasted around five to seven minutes. Then they disappeared. We stayed there for about another two hours, and then decided to move. And this was the move that I'll never forget.

[00:24:02] We moved to a little cave-like area that was in the side of a hill. This cave was used by confederates during the Civil War as a small field hospital. We stayed on this area for an hour before we called it a night.

[00:24:14] In that whole time, we didn't see anything. But when we checked the voice recorder, we caught something very interesting. After going back over and listening to what he had recorded, we heard three distinct kids' voices. One, which sounded like a little girl, yelled,

[00:24:32] Another little girl's voice could be heard saying, I'm cold. And then there was a little boy's voice saying, I'm gonna tell mom. This is probably the most exciting thing that has ever happened to me. We left as the sun was starting to come up.

[00:24:47] We had stayed up all night, and what snacks we had brought were just about gone. It is a night that I will never forget, as long as I live. Thank you for your time.

[00:25:01] I contacted Jason and asked him if he still had this recording of the kids' voices, and he told me that he would get back to me if he could find them. I'll be sure to post them in our forum if he does.

[00:25:14] As tonight's edition of Paranormal Mysteries comes to a close, I appreciate all of you for listening, and a special thank you goes out to Wilbur, Matt, Donnie, Ramirez, William, and Jason for sharing their experiences. And if you've encountered something unexplainable,

[00:25:32] you may contact me through email or voicemail on our website, and via the links in the show notes. Until next time, I hope you all have a safe and healthy rest of the week, and I'll see you back here on Friday as we uncover even more experiences

[00:25:48] involving paranormal mysteries.