(A) Possession, Shadow People & Sleep Paralysis | Archive Ep44

[00:00:02] [SPEAKER_02]: I was sleeping in my bed and there was a presence in the room.

[00:00:09] [SPEAKER_03]: I was paralyzed in the bed. He seemed like a shadow.

[00:00:13] [SPEAKER_02]: Probably about six foot high.

[00:00:20] [SPEAKER_02]: In my chest.

[00:00:21] [SPEAKER_03]: Sitting on a skateboard.

[00:00:45] [SPEAKER_02]: In the midst.

[00:00:48] [SPEAKER_03]: The first time it happened, I was sleeping and woke up because I felt a hand on my leg and I realized that I couldn't move.

[00:00:59] [SPEAKER_02]: And he'd come across this object on the ground which was the shape of a flying saucer.

[00:01:03] [SPEAKER_02]: So he jumped out of his pickup and went down there and there were four beings laying on the ground.

[00:01:09] [SPEAKER_01]: When I raised my head back up, I was turning my head and out of my peripheral vision I seen something hop to a tree.

[00:01:16] [SPEAKER_01]: It was tall, about seven, eight foot tall. It was black, real hairy, like a gorilla.

[00:01:38] [SPEAKER_00]: Welcome to the show. I'm your host, Nick Ryan.

[00:01:40] [SPEAKER_00]: As we work on our upcoming episode for next week, I wanted to bring you a few more listener stories to start off your Monday.

[00:01:48] [SPEAKER_00]: The calls that you heard in the intro was a clip from a 2016 documentary called The Entity, a sleep paralysis documentary.

[00:01:57] [SPEAKER_00]: And you can watch the 48 minute long movie on the YouTube channel Real Stories.

[00:02:03] [SPEAKER_00]: I'll put a link to the documentary in the show notes.

[00:02:05] [SPEAKER_00]: I believe this documentary has some interesting information regarding shadow people and sleep paralysis.

[00:02:12] [SPEAKER_00]: And after watching it twice, I thought it might hold some value to our listeners as well.

[00:02:17] [SPEAKER_00]: A couple of our stories today do involve both of these phenomena.

[00:02:21] [SPEAKER_00]: And since we began incorporating listener stories into our show almost two years ago, the resounding theme has been sleep paralysis and shadow people.

[00:02:29] [SPEAKER_00]: When compared to other topics, it seems as though these two phenomena resonate with a majority of our listeners.

[00:02:37] [SPEAKER_00]: All over the world people seem to be having similar experiences. And just like all of you, I want to know why.

[00:02:44] [SPEAKER_00]: I understand the scientific explanations regarding sleep paralysis.

[00:02:48] [SPEAKER_00]: But at some point I have to admit that the answers that we're getting don't always correlate to what people are experiencing.

[00:02:55] [SPEAKER_00]: As always, though, I want to know what you think and I'd like to hear about what you've experienced.

[00:03:02] [SPEAKER_00]: Our first story today comes from Crystal, and she calls it sleep paralysis.

[00:03:07] [SPEAKER_00]: Crystal says, Hi Nick, I've been listening to all of your podcasts this past week and just finished listening to your one on the Mandela effect.

[00:03:17] [SPEAKER_00]: In it, you touch again a bit on sleep paralysis.

[00:03:20] [SPEAKER_00]: I have had this happen to me once in the past.

[00:03:22] [SPEAKER_00]: I woke up to the feeling of something on my chest holding me down.

[00:03:27] [SPEAKER_00]: I felt as though there were two or three entities in the room with me.

[00:03:31] [SPEAKER_00]: Along with being held down by my chest, I felt as though something was also holding onto my legs as well.

[00:03:37] [SPEAKER_00]: I didn't see anything in the room with me.

[00:03:39] [SPEAKER_00]: I tried to yell and scream but wasn't even able to do that.

[00:03:43] [SPEAKER_00]: The only thing that released me was repeating the Lord's Prayer in my mind over and over and telling whatever it was holding me to leave in the name of Jesus Christ.

[00:03:52] [SPEAKER_00]: Sounds crazy I know, but it worked.

[00:03:55] [SPEAKER_00]: I told my friend about it the next morning and she thought that I had been hagged.

[00:04:00] [SPEAKER_00]: I don't think it was a hag, but felt more like demons and his minions.

[00:04:05] [SPEAKER_00]: I just wanted to share my experience as I have been listening to you tell other people's experiences and for the most part can relate, but with a little bit of a twist.

[00:04:14] [SPEAKER_00]: Crystal.

[00:04:19] [SPEAKER_00]: Our next story comes from Caroline.

[00:04:20] [SPEAKER_00]: Caroline says,

[00:04:50] [SPEAKER_00]: Since it was for sale, that we would stay there temporarily until we found a new home of our own.

[00:04:55] [SPEAKER_00]: And then we decided to buy it.

[00:04:58] [SPEAKER_00]: Now the first few months only small things happened.

[00:05:01] [SPEAKER_00]: Like the front door was always coming open.

[00:05:04] [SPEAKER_00]: It was so bad that we kept it constantly locked.

[00:05:06] [SPEAKER_00]: We figured that weather had warped the door and that it just comes open.

[00:05:11] [SPEAKER_00]: It wasn't until we mentioned it to grandma and her response was that that never had happened during the 10 years that she lived there.

[00:05:17] [SPEAKER_00]: The next thing that happened during the same time period of the door incidents is I would constantly wake up at night to use the restroom and the lights in the living room and dining room would always be on.

[00:05:29] [SPEAKER_00]: I assumed my kids or husband left them on.

[00:05:32] [SPEAKER_00]: After some time of this, I started verbalizing my annoyance to them, always leaving on all the lights to which they all denied doing.

[00:05:40] [SPEAKER_00]: At this point, I'm coming to the conclusion that it could be Frank, the grandpa, doing this.

[00:05:46] [SPEAKER_00]: Because of my family history, I had no qualms about speaking out loud to Frank.

[00:05:51] [SPEAKER_00]: Frank was a very reclusive man.

[00:05:53] [SPEAKER_00]: He was cranky and never came to family events, but overall he was kind.

[00:05:58] [SPEAKER_00]: I started asking if he was here with us.

[00:06:01] [SPEAKER_00]: A door started opening right in front of my husband and myself.

[00:06:05] [SPEAKER_00]: I joked that it was his way of telling us to get out of his house.

[00:06:09] [SPEAKER_00]: Now those were the small things.

[00:06:11] [SPEAKER_00]: One night, me and my husband and our older daughter were in her room playing crazy marbles.

[00:06:16] [SPEAKER_00]: My husband's phone rings.

[00:06:18] [SPEAKER_00]: He picks it up, looks at it, and ignores the call.

[00:06:21] [SPEAKER_00]: The curiosity gets the better of me, so I ask him who it was.

[00:06:25] [SPEAKER_00]: It was you, he said.

[00:06:26] [SPEAKER_00]: I laughed, thinking he was joking.

[00:06:28] [SPEAKER_00]: Soon I asked him again.

[00:06:30] [SPEAKER_00]: You, he said more seriously, and then showed me his call log.

[00:06:34] [SPEAKER_00]: I called into the living room to our two younger daughters that I did not want them playing on my phone.

[00:06:39] [SPEAKER_00]: They yelled back, we aren't.

[00:06:42] [SPEAKER_00]: Thinking they are lying, I get up to go check on them and my phone.

[00:06:46] [SPEAKER_00]: They are sitting and watching TV.

[00:06:48] [SPEAKER_00]: My phone was in my room exactly where I left it.

[00:06:51] [SPEAKER_00]: I checked my call logs.

[00:06:52] [SPEAKER_00]: Nothing.

[00:06:53] [SPEAKER_00]: So a few days later, my husband and I are lying down in bed at night.

[00:06:57] [SPEAKER_00]: Both of our phones are plugged into the same outlet, charging, across the room from us.

[00:07:02] [SPEAKER_00]: My phone rings.

[00:07:04] [SPEAKER_00]: I get up to answer it, and it shows that it's my husband calling.

[00:07:07] [SPEAKER_00]: I look over to his phone, and it's black.

[00:07:10] [SPEAKER_00]: I instantly show my husband that he is calling me.

[00:07:13] [SPEAKER_00]: Then I get a voicemail.

[00:07:15] [SPEAKER_00]: It was just static though.

[00:07:17] [SPEAKER_00]: Unfortunately, about one year ago, I was erasing all the voicemails on a deleting spree and deleted it.

[00:07:23] [SPEAKER_00]: I didn't even think about it until about three weeks ago when I started listening to paranormal podcasts in general

[00:07:29] [SPEAKER_00]: and realized I had forgotten about the voicemail when deleting it all.

[00:07:33] [SPEAKER_00]: Now, the final and kind of scariest experience.

[00:07:37] [SPEAKER_00]: My husband and I were home alone.

[00:07:39] [SPEAKER_00]: It was daytime, but I had dozed off in bed, and I was kind of half asleep, half awake, and I could hear this banging sound.

[00:07:48] [SPEAKER_00]: It took me a few moments to fully wake and realize it was my husband banging violently on the back door.

[00:07:54] [SPEAKER_00]: I run back to the door and unlock the deadbolt and open the door to let him in.

[00:07:58] [SPEAKER_00]: This was a deadbolt lock and a handle on the inside.

[00:08:02] [SPEAKER_00]: No doorknob.

[00:08:04] [SPEAKER_00]: He comes in madder than hell at me and asking why I slammed the door on him and locked him out.

[00:08:09] [SPEAKER_00]: He said, at first, I thought you were just trying to be cute, but then you just made me mad when you wouldn't let me in.

[00:08:15] [SPEAKER_00]: I was banging on the door for like two minutes.

[00:08:18] [SPEAKER_00]: I said, babe, that was not me.

[00:08:20] [SPEAKER_00]: I was in the bedroom dozing off.

[00:08:22] [SPEAKER_00]: No one else was home.

[00:08:23] [SPEAKER_00]: The deadbolt was locked when I got to it.

[00:08:26] [SPEAKER_00]: That was the last time anything at all has happened in our home.

[00:08:30] [SPEAKER_00]: That all took place between November 2016 and April 2017.

[00:08:39] [SPEAKER_00]: Our next story comes from Tamra in Australia.

[00:08:42] [SPEAKER_00]: Tamra calls their experience Shadow Person.

[00:08:46] [SPEAKER_00]: Tamra says, Hi Nick, I would like to share an experience I had one night about 12 years ago.

[00:08:51] [SPEAKER_00]: I was sleeping in my bedroom, and my husband at the time was also fast asleep next to me.

[00:08:56] [SPEAKER_00]: I woke up due to the feeling that someone was watching me.

[00:09:00] [SPEAKER_00]: When I opened my eyes, I saw a tall, dark male figure standing at the end of my bed.

[00:09:06] [SPEAKER_00]: The apparition didn't last very long, but it literally dissipated in a blink of the eye.

[00:09:11] [SPEAKER_00]: I was so shook up that I gave a little scream and switched the bedside light on.

[00:09:16] [SPEAKER_00]: My husband awoke and asked me what was wrong.

[00:09:18] [SPEAKER_00]: I told him what I saw and he calmed me down, but I didn't switch the light off.

[00:09:22] [SPEAKER_00]: As a matter of fact, I slept with the bedside light on for another two weeks afterward.

[00:09:27] [SPEAKER_00]: It truly rattled me to my core.

[00:09:30] [SPEAKER_00]: It hasn't happened again since, which I am relieved about.

[00:09:33] [SPEAKER_00]: It makes me wonder why that dark figure appeared.

[00:09:36] [SPEAKER_00]: I wonder if it came because of the negativity happening in our family home between my ex-husband and I.

[00:09:42] [SPEAKER_00]: We divorced the following year.

[00:09:48] [SPEAKER_00]: Our next story comes from Terry in Oklahoma.

[00:09:51] [SPEAKER_00]: Terry calls their experience Possible Possession.

[00:09:54] [SPEAKER_00]: Terry says, Hello Nick, I have a story to share with you and your listeners.

[00:09:59] [SPEAKER_00]: It might be a little long, but please bear with me.

[00:10:02] [SPEAKER_00]: This is a recollection from my wife because I have no recollection of the situation.

[00:10:07] [SPEAKER_00]: One night I got home from work and like usual, I stopped by the store and bought a six pack of beer.

[00:10:13] [SPEAKER_00]: I got home and sat in my recliner and was playing my video game, and I had been drinking the six pack.

[00:10:19] [SPEAKER_00]: At the time we were living in Greenfield, Oklahoma, in my mother-in-law's house.

[00:10:23] [SPEAKER_00]: We had converted the garage into a one bedroom, where we had our bed, couch, and a recliner.

[00:10:29] [SPEAKER_00]: We also had a dog named Bear.

[00:10:31] [SPEAKER_00]: My wife was talking to me and all of a sudden I slowly turned my head toward her and had a sinister grin on my face.

[00:10:38] [SPEAKER_00]: I stared directly at her and said nothing as she continued to holler at me with no response, as I just stared at her.

[00:10:44] [SPEAKER_00]: She also stated that our dog reacted to the situation as he went from my feet to beside the bed

[00:10:50] [SPEAKER_00]: and started growling and barking at me, which had never happened before.

[00:10:54] [SPEAKER_00]: Then my wife started to freak out and hollered at my mother, who was in the kitchen right off of our bedroom.

[00:11:00] [SPEAKER_00]: And as she reached the door, my wife said I snapped out of it.

[00:11:03] [SPEAKER_00]: And at that point in time, I was oblivious to what had just occurred.

[00:11:07] [SPEAKER_00]: But I could tell that my wife was distraught and my dog would not have anything to do with me for the next two, maybe three days.

[00:11:14] [SPEAKER_00]: About a week later, I was sitting in the living room in the armchair watching TV.

[00:11:18] [SPEAKER_00]: No lights were on in the house, just the light of the TV.

[00:11:22] [SPEAKER_00]: I could see down the entire hallway, which led to three other bedrooms and two bathrooms, as well as a closet at the end.

[00:11:29] [SPEAKER_00]: And it was pitch black down through the hallway.

[00:11:32] [SPEAKER_00]: I saw a figure that seemed to be floating in the middle of the hallway with faint red eyes,

[00:11:37] [SPEAKER_00]: as if it were covered by a fog or mist of some sort.

[00:11:41] [SPEAKER_00]: And it seemed as though it was staring at me.

[00:11:44] [SPEAKER_00]: I'm sorry if the length of this story is a little long, but I figured I would share it with you and your listeners.

[00:11:50] [SPEAKER_00]: As I am an avid listener myself, I had found your podcast this past December, and I am totally caught up to the latest podcast.

[00:11:57] [SPEAKER_00]: Do with this story as you wish, and continue the great work that you put out.

[00:12:02] [SPEAKER_00]: Thank you so much. Sincerely, Terry.

[00:12:20] [SPEAKER_00]: You can also visit me on Patreon, buy me a coffee or PayPal and make a donation,

[00:12:25] [SPEAKER_00]: or become a member starting at just a dollar a month.

[00:12:28] [SPEAKER_00]: You can even join my Patreon membership for free and get access to all of my future updates.

[00:12:34] [SPEAKER_00]: And of course, just listening to the show is the best support of all, and I'm grateful to have you here.

[00:12:40] [SPEAKER_00]: Now please stay tuned, and I'll be right back after these brief messages.

[00:12:45] [SPEAKER_00]: Our next story comes from Skyler. Skyler calls their story, The Real Boogie Man.

[00:12:56] [SPEAKER_00]: Skyler says, Hi Nick, I've mustered up the courage to tell this.

[00:13:00] [SPEAKER_00]: I've had a countless number of paranormal experiences, and the one I'm about to tell you is the most horrific experience I've had.

[00:13:08] [SPEAKER_00]: If people haven't heard of John Ken, he draws creepy pictures on sticky notes.

[00:13:13] [SPEAKER_00]: But before I tell you the story, I'm sending a warning that it's pretty creepy.

[00:13:18] [SPEAKER_00]: So anyway, I'm not sure if I was dreaming it or if it was reality or just my childish imagination.

[00:13:24] [SPEAKER_00]: It happened when I was about three years old.

[00:13:26] [SPEAKER_00]: By the way, I'm 15, almost 16, so I still remember most events that have happened to me in the past.

[00:13:33] [SPEAKER_00]: At the time, I was still sleeping in a crib.

[00:13:36] [SPEAKER_00]: I was playing with a little toy train standing and leaning on the fence or bars on the crib

[00:13:41] [SPEAKER_00]: when I dropped my toy and was calling for one of my siblings to help me.

[00:13:45] [SPEAKER_00]: Even though I could climb out of the crib like most toddlers might do,

[00:13:49] [SPEAKER_00]: I didn't want to climb out because I had this feeling that I wouldn't be able to get back in.

[00:13:54] [SPEAKER_00]: My crib is right by the door to my bedroom, so if someone walked in they had to look to the right just to see me.

[00:14:01] [SPEAKER_00]: I couldn't look out of the room or see anybody come in and the hallway light was on,

[00:14:05] [SPEAKER_00]: so there was a little light flooding my room.

[00:14:08] [SPEAKER_00]: Like my other story, I had to try to relate whatever it was to something from reality.

[00:14:13] [SPEAKER_00]: In the movie Toy Story, the one where Woody gets trapped by that creepy neighbor boy

[00:14:18] [SPEAKER_00]: where he would take apart the toys and make them into disturbing variations of objects.

[00:14:23] [SPEAKER_00]: I call them objects because at the point when he made them they wouldn't become toys any longer.

[00:14:29] [SPEAKER_00]: One toy or monster the neighbor boy would create is this baby doll head with metal spider legs.

[00:14:35] [SPEAKER_00]: That's what came into my room.

[00:14:37] [SPEAKER_00]: After a while of calling for someone in a hushed tone,

[00:14:40] [SPEAKER_00]: I don't remember yelling for someone because at this point I was scared,

[00:14:43] [SPEAKER_00]: but I don't know why until I heard shuffling on the wooden floor and carpet.

[00:14:48] [SPEAKER_00]: I froze and turned my body toward the door and saw this thing come in.

[00:14:53] [SPEAKER_00]: I'm getting massive chills just typing this part down.

[00:14:56] [SPEAKER_00]: It had the head of one of my family members and it had at least 10 legs or less.

[00:15:01] [SPEAKER_00]: I wasn't counting at the time because I was so scared and I couldn't count at all really.

[00:15:06] [SPEAKER_00]: The legs were like chicken legs but without the feathers.

[00:15:09] [SPEAKER_00]: By the time it had got into my room I wanted to scream like a girl but I couldn't.

[00:15:14] [SPEAKER_00]: All that came out was forced out air from my lungs.

[00:15:18] [SPEAKER_00]: It had the head of one of my three brothers,

[00:15:20] [SPEAKER_00]: so the body consisted of the head and the legs coming from beneath the head.

[00:15:25] [SPEAKER_00]: It used three legs and picked up my little toy train

[00:15:28] [SPEAKER_00]: and pushed it near my feet into my crib and smiled at me.

[00:15:32] [SPEAKER_00]: What makes it even scarier is that I felt it push it and felt the pressure on the mattress

[00:15:37] [SPEAKER_00]: like when someone sits on the couch next to you.

[00:15:41] [SPEAKER_00]: But the smile wasn't warming or comforting.

[00:15:44] [SPEAKER_00]: It was like it was mocking me but wasn't.

[00:15:47] [SPEAKER_00]: When it left it paused near my door and gave me a dark smile and left.

[00:15:51] [SPEAKER_00]: I'm still scarred from that experience and will forever remember it.

[00:15:55] [SPEAKER_00]: When it left I could still hear it shuffling away for a few seconds,

[00:15:59] [SPEAKER_00]: but then I couldn't hear it anymore.

[00:16:01] [SPEAKER_00]: Thank you for your time Nick and I have many more experiences

[00:16:04] [SPEAKER_00]: that I'd like to tell you and the listeners. Thank you.

[00:16:12] [SPEAKER_00]: Our last story today comes from Cassandra.

[00:16:15] [SPEAKER_00]: Cassandra calls for story, Denver.

[00:16:18] [SPEAKER_00]: Cassandra says,

[00:16:19] [SPEAKER_00]: I have a few experiences and given the blending of my druidic and Native American blood

[00:16:24] [SPEAKER_00]: it shouldn't be a surprise.

[00:16:26] [SPEAKER_00]: When I was little I used to be able to see the future in small glimpses.

[00:16:30] [SPEAKER_00]: I would dream on a Thursday night what the answers to my spelling test on Friday morning

[00:16:35] [SPEAKER_00]: were going to be, for example.

[00:16:37] [SPEAKER_00]: It was all well and good, the little peeks into the future I got here and there.

[00:16:42] [SPEAKER_00]: It was never anything big, nothing that was in any way significantly beneficial.

[00:16:47] [SPEAKER_00]: It came to a head in the weeks leading up to November 5th, 1990.

[00:16:51] [SPEAKER_00]: Let me tell you about Denver.

[00:16:54] [SPEAKER_00]: My best friend Denver worked at an all-night adult video store in Henderson, Nevada.

[00:16:59] [SPEAKER_00]: He was a total nerd, the kind you can't help but love.

[00:17:01] [SPEAKER_00]: Always loyal, always wore a suit, tie and fedora.

[00:17:06] [SPEAKER_00]: There whenever you needed him, that sort of thing.

[00:17:09] [SPEAKER_00]: He'd help me through a really rough patch in my teens,

[00:17:12] [SPEAKER_00]: pulling me out of a place of darkness that no one should ever fall,

[00:17:15] [SPEAKER_00]: or in my case be pulled into.

[00:17:18] [SPEAKER_00]: I loved him with all that I was, and my feelings were returned.

[00:17:22] [SPEAKER_00]: He used to believe that his family was cursed though,

[00:17:25] [SPEAKER_00]: and after all that happened I can't help but believe him.

[00:17:27] [SPEAKER_00]: I woke to what I thought at the time was just a horrible nightmare,

[00:17:32] [SPEAKER_00]: the kind that leaves you shaking and your sheets soaked with sweat.

[00:17:35] [SPEAKER_00]: Taking time to catch my breath, I realized that what I had seen wasn't just some horrible dream.

[00:17:41] [SPEAKER_00]: It was a premonition.

[00:17:43] [SPEAKER_00]: Now, my friend knew that I am a full empath, with minor precognitive ability,

[00:17:48] [SPEAKER_00]: and so he trusted me when I called him the following day to give him the warning I had seen.

[00:17:53] [SPEAKER_00]: Hearing him promise not to work on the night in question,

[00:17:55] [SPEAKER_00]: I believed him and went about my day as usual.

[00:17:59] [SPEAKER_00]: November 4th was a rough day, and I went to bed early.

[00:18:03] [SPEAKER_00]: Working with horses and birds of prey is more exhausting than one could imagine,

[00:18:08] [SPEAKER_00]: but that was my day today.

[00:18:10] [SPEAKER_00]: Again, the dream haunted me, waking me early in a pool of sweat.

[00:18:14] [SPEAKER_00]: Going to the bathroom, I splashed some cold water on my face

[00:18:17] [SPEAKER_00]: and chided myself for thinking he'd ignore what I'd told him.

[00:18:21] [SPEAKER_00]: Making my way to the kitchen, I heard the phone ring.

[00:18:24] [SPEAKER_00]: My stomach sank, and I knew it was his sister on the other line.

[00:18:29] [SPEAKER_00]: Cass, I'm so sorry, she began.

[00:18:31] [SPEAKER_00]: Please tell me he's okay, I answered.

[00:18:34] [SPEAKER_00]: She went on to tell me that my best friend Denver had been murdered while at work.

[00:18:39] [SPEAKER_00]: When she began telling me what had happened,

[00:18:41] [SPEAKER_00]: I interrupted her and finished what she was about to say.

[00:18:45] [SPEAKER_00]: He'd been forced into the store's back area, where they kept the extra snacks and tapes.

[00:18:50] [SPEAKER_00]: VHS took up a lot of room, and they needed shelves for all the videos,

[00:18:54] [SPEAKER_00]: rewinders, and machines that they rented out.

[00:18:56] [SPEAKER_00]: The man and woman had come in with the intention of robbing him,

[00:19:00] [SPEAKER_00]: just as I'd seen in my nightmare.

[00:19:02] [SPEAKER_00]: He wasn't planning on working that day, as he knew I often had prophetic dreams.

[00:19:07] [SPEAKER_00]: He'd been called in by his boss, who told him that if he didn't come to work,

[00:19:11] [SPEAKER_00]: he wouldn't have a job.

[00:19:12] [SPEAKER_00]: Nevada is expensive, and so he reluctantly went in.

[00:19:15] [SPEAKER_00]: He'd been conned into working a double against his better judgment and my warning,

[00:19:20] [SPEAKER_00]: which was when it happened.

[00:19:22] [SPEAKER_00]: He'd been murdered November 5th at 5.15 in the morning for a measly $533.36.

[00:19:31] [SPEAKER_00]: They found the couple in Washington state after they'd stolen a car

[00:19:35] [SPEAKER_00]: and kidnapped the woman's daughter from her parents' place.

[00:19:39] [SPEAKER_00]: I was devastated.

[00:19:40] [SPEAKER_00]: Having such a gift brought me such pain that I never wanted to see

[00:19:44] [SPEAKER_00]: what was going to happen again.

[00:19:46] [SPEAKER_00]: That's not how things like that work, though.

[00:19:48] [SPEAKER_00]: You can't just turn them on or off.

[00:19:51] [SPEAKER_00]: A few weeks after the funeral, I was visiting his grave

[00:19:54] [SPEAKER_00]: just to try and feel some semblance of peace.

[00:19:57] [SPEAKER_00]: I'd been taking pictures with my 35mm Canon camera,

[00:20:01] [SPEAKER_00]: as the old cemetery was beautiful at sunset.

[00:20:04] [SPEAKER_00]: I snapped shots here and there,

[00:20:06] [SPEAKER_00]: getting the old monuments and massive tombstones against the dying light.

[00:20:10] [SPEAKER_00]: Taking a few more from where my friend was buried,

[00:20:12] [SPEAKER_00]: I went home and began developing the film.

[00:20:16] [SPEAKER_00]: When I pulled a photo that I hadn't thought would turn out from the solution,

[00:20:20] [SPEAKER_00]: my jaw hit the floor.

[00:20:22] [SPEAKER_00]: My friend was casually walking past my camera in full identifiable apparition.

[00:20:27] [SPEAKER_00]: I took the negative and redeveloped it,

[00:20:30] [SPEAKER_00]: just to prove to myself that I was just seeing things.

[00:20:32] [SPEAKER_00]: He was in that one as well.

[00:20:34] [SPEAKER_00]: I called his sister and told her what had happened,

[00:20:37] [SPEAKER_00]: and she came right over.

[00:20:38] [SPEAKER_00]: Looking at the picture together, we both couldn't help but bawl.

[00:20:43] [SPEAKER_00]: There was our guy, smiling rakishly at us as he strolled by the lens.

[00:20:48] [SPEAKER_00]: I gave her the second copy and I kept the first.

[00:20:51] [SPEAKER_00]: She showed everyone and was told it was a trick of the lens.

[00:20:55] [SPEAKER_00]: Time-lapse photography leaves a signature on the negative,

[00:20:58] [SPEAKER_00]: something to define it as such.

[00:21:00] [SPEAKER_00]: My negative showed only the gravestones with my friend's ghostly form walking by them.

[00:21:05] [SPEAKER_00]: It was truly a once-in-a-lifetime shot,

[00:21:08] [SPEAKER_00]: one that most paranormal investigators only dream of getting.

[00:21:12] [SPEAKER_00]: I got it by sheer dumb luck.

[00:21:14] [SPEAKER_00]: It was like my friend was still trying to tell me that he was still there,

[00:21:18] [SPEAKER_00]: still trying to comfort me.

[00:21:20] [SPEAKER_00]: My copy and negatives of the ghostly picture were destroyed in a fire,

[00:21:24] [SPEAKER_00]: and I'm not sure what happened to Julie's copy.

[00:21:27] [SPEAKER_00]: Almost 30 years have passed since his murder,

[00:21:29] [SPEAKER_00]: and while I don't think of him as often as I should,

[00:21:32] [SPEAKER_00]: I know he's still watching over me.

[00:21:34] [SPEAKER_00]: He's been that soft voice in the night when I've felt hopeless,

[00:21:37] [SPEAKER_00]: assuring me that better things are on their way.

[00:21:42] [SPEAKER_00]: As to the curse he told me about,

[00:21:44] [SPEAKER_00]: all of his siblings have passed away, each before they turned 25.

[00:21:48] [SPEAKER_00]: His younger sister Julie died of a stroke at 23.

[00:21:52] [SPEAKER_00]: His brother Robert died of a drug overdose at 21,

[00:21:56] [SPEAKER_00]: and his baby sister Lori died of celiac disease when she was 24.

[00:22:01] [SPEAKER_00]: His half-siblings also met a similar fate, passing away at 12 and 19.

[00:22:07] [SPEAKER_00]: His dad and I are still friends,

[00:22:09] [SPEAKER_00]: though it's been almost 20 years since I last saw him.

[00:22:12] [SPEAKER_00]: It's hard for me to visit him, as he looks like his son,

[00:22:16] [SPEAKER_00]: and it's hard for him to see me,

[00:22:18] [SPEAKER_00]: as I was the last woman that his boy truly loved.

[00:22:22] [SPEAKER_00]: It was because of Denver that I met my ex-husband and started a family.

[00:22:27] [SPEAKER_00]: While he and I are no longer together,

[00:22:28] [SPEAKER_00]: we speak often and know that we met because of the influence that Denver had in our lives.

[00:22:35] [SPEAKER_00]: We both knew what a wonderful human being Denver was

[00:22:37] [SPEAKER_00]: and cherished the brief time he was in our lives.

[00:22:42] [SPEAKER_00]: Thanks again for listening, and thanks for hosting your podcast.

[00:22:46] [SPEAKER_00]: It's been a real treat to listen to.

[00:22:50] [SPEAKER_00]: I want to say a huge thank you again to Crystal, Carolyn, Tamara, Terry, Skylar, and Cassandra

[00:22:58] [SPEAKER_00]: for writing in and sharing your stories with everyone.

[00:23:01] [SPEAKER_00]: Please remember that if you have a story to share with us,

[00:23:04] [SPEAKER_00]: you can email me at ParanormalMysteriesPodcast at gmail.com.

[00:23:08] [SPEAKER_00]: You can also get involved by joining our forum and by following us on social media.

[00:23:12] [SPEAKER_00]: If you're wondering how you can support the show,

[00:23:14] [SPEAKER_00]: you're doing it right now just by listening, and we truly appreciate it.

[00:23:18] [SPEAKER_00]: You can also help by subscribing to the show and sharing it with your friends.

[00:23:22] [SPEAKER_00]: If you're looking for other ways to show your support,

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[00:23:31] [SPEAKER_00]: New episodes of the podcast are available on all of your favorite podcast apps,

[00:23:35] [SPEAKER_00]: including Spotify, Apple podcasts, and iHeartRadio.

[00:23:40] [SPEAKER_00]: From all of us at Paranormal Mysteries, thank you for listening.

[00:23:43] [SPEAKER_00]: And remember, don't wait for the unknown to come to you.

[00:23:47] [SPEAKER_00]: Get out there and find it.