348: Half a Life of Weird – Part 2

[00:00:00] Tonight's episode is made possible by listeners like you. Thank you for your continued support. Tonight, I'll be returning with part 2 of Clint's Experiences, as we discuss multiple types of animal spirits, as well as unidentified flying objects. I'm your host Nick Ryan, and this is Paranormal Mysteries.

[00:00:46] Welcome once again, and thank you for being here. I hope everyone is having a great week. If you haven't listened to part 1 of Clint's Experiences, he's shared some fascinating accounts involving the Hat Man, prophetic dreams, and a white Bigfoot in Tennessee.

[00:01:03] I highly recommend listening to it when you have the time. Tonight, Clint begins with an experience that he calls UFOs. I Want To Believe. I've seen a bunch of lights in the skies before, but nothing that couldn't likely be explained away as known aircraft.

[00:01:20] I even saw a B-1 Spirit Stealth Bomber take off from 29 Palms Air Force Base before it was officially revealed to the American public. But even seeing that strange stealth aircraft, it was fairly obvious it was just an airplane, albeit a funky looking one.

[00:01:38] But eventually I did see something I couldn't write off as just another airplane or satellite. In March of 1999, I found myself at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. I had just arrived to the base to begin my career in the Army.

[00:01:53] Before starting basic training in the Army, all new arrivals go through what's known as reception. It's where the Army has you finish all the final paperwork you didn't sign before leaving the MEP stations.

[00:02:05] They also evaluate each recruit to make sure they are physically able to join a basic training unit and give a basic understanding of what is expected from everyone during training. Soon after arriving at reception, I found myself standing in formation outside with 200 other recruits at 0400 in the morning.

[00:02:25] It would take about a half an hour for each group to be assigned for the day, take roll call, and then start our introduction to physical training. So while I was standing there in the dark waiting to hear my name called, I looked up.

[00:02:38] At 0400 in the morning, not only was there no light, but the light pollution from on-base sources in the nearby off-base town was minimal and I could see thousands of stars. I remember how pretty I thought it was, and I would just stare upwards for minutes at a time.

[00:02:54] I saw the flashing lights of passing airplanes at high altitude and the streaks across the sky of shooting stars. Then I saw something I couldn't figure out. It was the same size, color, and brightness as the stars in the sky behind it, but it was moving.

[00:03:11] In a straight line, it slowly made its way across the dark sky. I finally decided that it had to be a satellite, as it was very similar to one I had seen a few years earlier when skygazing. But then it stopped.

[00:03:25] At first I thought I just lost sight of it, but then after a couple of seconds, I saw it moving again, from right where I originally thought I lost sight of it.

[00:03:33] As I watched it, it moved a little ways more, and then once again came to a complete stop. After pausing for about 5 seconds, it again began moving in another direction. I then thought to myself, satellites don't stop or change direction, do they?

[00:03:50] After watching a bit longer, I noticed a few more had joined the first out of nowhere. I saw a handful of these small but bright white lights, all appearing just like the stars they were hiding among, and were moving across a section of sky directly above me.

[00:04:05] They didn't appear to be coordinated, just moving on their own, but they all behaved similarly in that they would slowly move in one direction for 10 seconds or so, then stop for about 5 seconds, and then continue on in a new direction, never moving too fast to

[00:04:20] draw attention to themselves. I wouldn't have noticed them at all if I hadn't been bored and staring straight up. I then got the attention of a few others around me, and I pointed it out.

[00:04:32] Once I pointed to them, everyone else was able to make them out too, but when I said it was really weird and I didn't know what they could be, everyone else just agreed it was odd, but then went back to absently standing in formation.

[00:04:45] Maybe it was because everyone was super tired or had no interest in these things. I was the only one that seemed to be interested. Shortly after, physical training began and other matters took front and center in my

[00:04:59] mind, but I was in reception for about a week before being assigned to a training unit. Every morning during that week, I was able to spend a few minutes watching the lights slowly crawl across the sky and hide among the stars.

[00:05:13] Once I joined my platoon, I didn't have time to sleep, let alone stargaze, so I never saw them after that, but I did eventually ask questions and look up some info, and I can't find any reference to satellites, let alone multiple satellites, that stop and change direction.

[00:05:31] After spending seven years in Army aviation, I know there are no unclassified aircraft that match that description with that flight pattern at that altitude. I don't know their origin, but they were the very definition of unidentified flying objects.

[00:05:50] Of all the weird crap that I've encountered, I think the majority of them would fall under the banner of ghosts or spirits. I'd like to tell you about a few of my more interesting encounters. Clint calls this next experience, Ghost Horse.

[00:06:08] Around 2008 or 2009, I decided to take a solo camping trip to the Land Between the Lakes, or LBL. As you touched on in a previous episode of your podcast, LBL is a national recreation area that sits on the border of Tennessee and Kentucky.

[00:06:25] It's a 170,000 acre wooded recreation area situated between Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley. It has abundant wildlife, off-road vehicle trails, backcountry camping, and even a working 19th century living history farm to explore. At this time, I had camped there with friends on many occasions, and never had anything

[00:06:46] odd happen. I was unaware of the different phenomena reported in your previous episode about LBL. On a previous trip, my friends and I had discovered a perfect camping spot. Taking one of the many forest roads that branch off of the main paved highway that runs north

[00:07:02] and south through the heart of the LBL, you enter under the tree canopy. Following this dirt road for about a mile, there is another road that branches off again to the south. This road is little more than a primitive trail, barely wide enough for a vehicle.

[00:07:17] Only 100 yards or so in, it meets, and then runs parallel to a small dry creek bed. At this point, you turn off the trail, drive over the dry creek at a point where the banks are fairly shallow, and pop up through a space in the timber line.

[00:07:32] After you go a few yards, you suddenly leave the shade of the thick forest, and find yourself in an open meadow. Turning off the trail is technically a no-no outside the OHV area, so I don't want to give

[00:07:44] the exact location, but if anyone has ever stumbled on the place, you will know it. This meadow was perfectly round in shape, and approximately 100 yards across. It's completely surrounded on all sides by the thick wall of forest.

[00:07:59] The grass was only about 6 inches deep, and there was almost no sign of other human occupancy. Like the previous times I camped there, I set up camp along the north rim of the clearing, about 5 to 10 yards from the woods edge.

[00:08:13] This kept my camp mostly in the shade except for midday, but also clear of any falling branches from the tall trees that ring the clearing. If you enter the woods directly near camp, about 10 yards in was a branch of the dry

[00:08:27] creek bed that runs near the trail road further downstream. Out here, the creek banks were a lot steeper, with about a 3 foot drop down to the bed. There was also a little residual water pooled up in sporadic puddles, left over from the last rainstorm.

[00:08:43] An important part to remember is that the woods here are thick. I mean, you cannot walk more than a couple steps in any direction without having to walk around a tree. Almost every tree near the banks of the creek bed and heading back further into the woods

[00:08:56] had to be within 3 feet or less to another tree. Most of the trees weren't actually that large, maybe only 6 to 10 inches thick, with some larger, more mature trees scattered throughout. The area probably had a fire within the last 20 years or so, prior to this incident.

[00:09:14] After spending the day exploring the surrounding area and generally just relaxing in camp, night time came. I stayed by the fire for a bit until I got tired, and then I went into my dome tent.

[00:09:27] It was probably close to 11pm, and I was in my sleeping bag when I heard hoof beats approaching from the far side of the clearing. As a side note, at this time I owned a horse, and my brother and sister-in-law were partners in a horse boarding facility.

[00:09:42] I'm no cowboy, but I've spent a lot of time around livestock, and horses in particular, so I was 100% sure the hoof beats I had heard approaching were from a horse. The trees here in the area are just way too light to make the loud, distinct thuds I

[00:09:56] heard moving across the field, and even the larger elk that were in the LBL had softer hooves that are different than a horse's hard hoof. The animal making these hoof beats was large.

[00:10:09] Several miles away off the main highway in the center of LBL, there is an equestrian center for people to bring their own horses and ride trails, so my initial thought was that someone was camping with their horses nearby, and the horse got loose and was running wild in

[00:10:23] the clearing. I was about to get up and go out of the tent and try and see this horse, but then I realized the hoof beats were getting louder and approaching quickly. I thought that maybe the horse was spooked and just blindly charging in the night.

[00:10:37] I've been on the bad end of a horse in the throes of a panic a couple of times, and I knew that there was a good chance of getting trampled. I could actually feel the impacts of the hooves on the ground as they thundered towards me

[00:10:49] at full speed. Thinking that I only had seconds until this animal ran into my tent, I pulled my rifle close to my body, covered my head with my arms, and tried to sink as far into my sleeping

[00:11:00] bag as I could, bracing for a 1200-pound horse to barrel into me. I heard the hoof beats right next to my head and felt the tremors right under me. I could even hear the animal breathing with each stride at this point.

[00:11:14] Anyone who has spent time around horses knows how loudly they breathe and snort when running, but the impact never came. In a split second, the thundering beats that approached from one side of my camp felt like

[00:11:27] they went right through the middle of my tent and then continued on the back side of my camp and into the woods. After being grateful for not being trampled, it took me a second to realize that I could still hear the horse running at full speed.

[00:11:42] It should have been impossible. There were thick woods, trees bunched close together, and a wide creek bed with steep banks, but I never heard the hoof beats change pace or stride. I then rolled over to the tent door and stuck my head out.

[00:11:57] I could still hear it for almost another minute coming from the forest, still full speed ahead, getting further away until I couldn't hear it anymore. It took a few minutes for the adrenaline to calm down, and I ran the scenario through my head. It was a horse.

[00:12:14] One hundred percent. No doubt of that. Did it jump over my tent? No, it's a large dome tent, six feet tall at the center and almost ten feet wide. Also, the hoof beats were continuous, with no pauses for a jump. Did it just run next to my tent?

[00:12:30] As large as my tent was, the closest it could have gotten to me without hitting the tent and support ropes was six to ten feet away. No, I heard and felt the hooves right under my head.

[00:12:42] How did it continue at full speed through the tree line, across the deep creek bed, and into the deep woods with no change of pace the whole time I could hear it? There was no crunching or crashing of branches and underbrush.

[00:12:54] No clamor of a large animal barreling through the woods at night. Just steady hoof beats and deep breathing. I finally went back to my tent and went to sleep, a little freaked out, and keeping my rifle close.

[00:13:09] In the morning, I spent a bit of time looking for tracks in the grass around camp and across the clearing. I couldn't find anything except my own tracks and that of my truck tires.

[00:13:20] I spent the rest of the morning tearing down camp and preparing to head back home. I kept playing the scenario over and over in my mind. I couldn't come up with any mundane explanation that fit everything that I knew.

[00:13:32] I eventually had to admit that the event was paranormal in nature. It had to have been some ghost or spirit in the form of a horse. Given my previous experiences, this wasn't hard to believe. I just wanted to eliminate any other possibility first.

[00:13:48] I didn't feel any dread or bad feelings over the incident, aside from the fact I was convinced I was about to be trampled by a runaway horse. After accepting that it was probably a spirit, I kind of felt happy for the experience afterwards.

[00:14:02] It was one of those extremely rare things that most people will never get to participate in. After going home, I told a couple of friends and family about it. Most of them said that it was a normal horse or other animal running through my camp.

[00:14:16] When I asked why it didn't make any other noise running through the woods or going over the creek bed, I just got shrugs before the subject was dropped. I went back and camped at that exact spot a couple more times over the next few years.

[00:14:29] But I never had another experience there. Before I continue with tonight's episode, please consider showing your support by subscribing, sharing, and giving the podcast a positive review. You can also visit me on Patreon, BuyMeACoffee, or PayPal, where you can make a donation

[00:14:51] or become a member for as little as a dollar a month. Membership benefits include ad-free episodes and early access to select shows. And if you've had a paranormal experience, you can share it with me through email or voice message on my website.

[00:15:06] You can also get involved by joining the forum, subscribing on YouTube, and following me on social media. All of my support and contact information can be found at paranormalmysteriespodcast.com, as well as in the show notes.

[00:15:23] And with that being said, I'll be right back after these brief messages. Clint's next experience is called... Ghost Pig Staying in the same vein as spirit animals, I have one other odd story.

[00:15:42] My brother and his wife lived on some acreage in very rural Tennessee back in the early 2000s. Their home was actually a two-bedroom apartment that was built into an old large red barn. On their property, they had a bunch of animals, including horses, goats, dogs, and one pot-bellied

[00:16:00] pig. The pig actually belonged to an acquaintance of my brother's who dropped it off at their barn one day for my sister-in-law to take care of while they went on vacation. Two to three years later, the pig was still around, but the acquaintance was not.

[00:16:15] This pig was supposed to be a pet, but it was very mean. It would not only be aggressive toward the other animals on the property, but it would also try to bite any person who let their guard down around it.

[00:16:26] It particularly liked to try and bite people in the butt when they bent over to fill the feed bowls. Needless to say, I didn't care for this pig. At the time, I was still in the army, but would often make the two-and-a-half hour drive

[00:16:39] from base on Friday evenings to spend the weekend at my brother's. I would stay in the spare bedroom at the back of the apartment. This bedroom was built directly over the stall where this pig would sleep.

[00:16:51] Many times I would be lying in bed close to sleep, and then I would hear the loud rooting and snorting of the pig as it rummaged around in the stall or tried to get into the feedroom.

[00:17:01] As neat as having an apartment in a barn was, the walls were fairly thin, and pigs are loud. Pretty much every night that I spent there, I would at least once be startled awake by that pig's rooting. I would yell out, Shut up, pig!

[00:17:15] Then I'd roll over and fall back asleep. Over time, the pig's health declined. It got old and sickly. Since it was so mean, it wouldn't let a vet get close enough for a thorough checkup, but it was generally accepted that the pig wouldn't live too much longer.

[00:17:32] One weekend I was visiting, my sister-in-law asked me to be the one to put the pig out of its misery and put it down humanely. I agreed to do the deed. Sparing you the details, I herded the pig down the trail around the back of the hill

[00:17:46] near the house. After dispatching the animal, I collapsed an outcropping of dirt and rocks over the body so the coyotes wouldn't get it. Believe me when I said this pig was now dead.

[00:17:58] That night as I was dozing off to sleep in the spare bedroom, I heard that damn pig rooting around down in the barn again. I rolled over and shouted, Shut up, pig! But as I lay there about to fall asleep again, it suddenly clicked.

[00:18:13] That pig was not supposed to be there. It was dead. I rolled back over and listened again. I figured it might have just been a dream or one of those phantom memories that goes through your mind just before sleep overtakes you.

[00:18:27] But as I sat there in the dark, I heard it again. The distinct porcine grunting and squealing of a pig rooting around in the stall. There was a back door from this bedroom that opened up directly into the upper loft of

[00:18:40] the barn where hay or drying tobacco would usually be stored. I opened the door and turned on the barn's upper light. Stepping onto the loft, I leaned over and peered down into the lower stall. There was enough light for me to see by, but there was nothing there.

[00:18:56] Yet, I could still hear the pig rooting around right below me. I yelled down, Quiet, pig! And the snorting immediately stopped. I then waited another minute or two, but the sounds didn't return.

[00:19:11] I went back to bed, but before going to sleep, I had to laugh that that damn pig with whom we shared a mutual dislike of each other still found a way to bother me. Even after death. The next day, I told my brother and his wife about it.

[00:19:26] They were both a bit skeptical of the event, but when I returned the next weekend, both had reported that they had each heard that pig at night during the previous week.

[00:19:36] They lived in that barn for another two years or so after that, but none of us ever heard that pig again. I hope you enjoyed tonight's episode, and before I leave you, I'd like to once again thank Clint for coming forward with his experiences.

[00:19:54] Also be sure to join me in my next episode for part 3 and the conclusion of Clint's Encounters. If you'd like to submit your experience or learn more about supporting what I do, you can find all of my contact and support information at paranormalmysteriespodcast.com, and of

[00:20:11] course in the show notes. Until next time, thank you again for tuning in, and I'll see you back here in my next episode of Paranormal Mysteries.