(A) Passed Relatives, Missing Time & a Possessed Minivan | Archive Ep81

[00:00:19] Welcome to Midweek Mysteries and thank you for being here. I'm your host Nic Ryan. We appreciate all of you for listening and of course a big thank you goes out to our supporters on Patreon and on BuyMeACoffee.com. If you're new

[00:00:43] to the show, Midweek Mysteries is a shorter version of our full-length Sunday episodes where we also enjoy giving a personal shout out to our newest supporters so please be sure to tune in. Today's first Midweek Mystery comes to

[00:00:57] us from Jessica. Jessica says, Hi my husband and I live in the same house that his great-grandparents lived in. His grandfather passed away in the house many years ago. I believe my three-year-old stepdaughter, June, sees him

[00:01:13] in our home sometimes. For example, my mother-in-law often tells us that my husband looks like his great-grandfather and one day June and I were home alone and she was pointing towards the hallway and said, look it's dad. I told

[00:01:29] her, no dad is at work, no one is there but she insisted and said, yes it's dad he's standing right there and again she pointed towards the empty hallway. A few days later June was singing and dancing to the Head Shoulders Knees and Toes

[00:01:44] song in the kitchen. I stood in front of her and started singing and dancing with her. She suddenly stopped and said, you can't stand there, he's standing there. I asked her who was standing there and she said, the man, he looks like dad. I believe

[00:02:00] that children are often sensitive to paranormal events and I think that my husband's great-grandfather is still in this house keeping an eye on things. Thank you. Jessica. Our next Midweek Mystery comes to us from Addison. Addison's story

[00:02:17] is called The Little Man. Addison says, hi I've been listening to your podcast since June 1st and I would like to tell you a story about my mom's friend. For personal reasons I'm going to call her Megan. Megan and her mom had just moved

[00:02:32] into their new apartment and her aunt had recently passed and it was very hard on her. One day she was sad and she asked her aunt to give her a sign that she was

[00:02:42] there. Megan went to bed and the next day she woke up to all of her cupboards open. She thought that this was weird but she didn't think anything of it so she continued her daily stuff and then she went to bed. She has really expensive

[00:02:56] paintings on her wall and when she woke up she found that all of her paintings were upside down and moved. She put them back and then she did it the next day and the next day until one night she woke up and saw a little Irish man

[00:03:11] standing at the end of her bed with a top hat and a beard. She called her sister to come over and she came by and she saw the man too. She obviously moved but the thing was the little man was never there when her husband was home.

[00:03:26] Thank you and I love your podcast. I hope this finds you in good health. Sincerely, Addison. Our next midweek mystery comes to us from Ben. Ben's story is called, My Loss of Time. Ben says, When you told your personal story in your

[00:03:45] 2017 podcast it reminded me of mine. I grew up in Southern Ontario in a big old house. In the summer of 1997 I had one of those bunk beds with a futon on the bottom and a single bed on top. I didn't have to share my bedroom as my

[00:04:01] brother had his room down the hall. What I loved about that room was its big window that looked out into the backyard. One warm summer night I could hear the wind in the trees around the house and I was trying to sleep on the

[00:04:14] top bunk but I couldn't. I rolled onto my side to look at the only light in the room. It was the red light coming from my alarm clock reading 1016 p.m. That is when it happened. A blinding white light filled the room. It was so bright I had

[00:04:31] squeezed my eyes shut very hard. I remember vividly a heat that came with the light. It was like the heat of a summer sun that you can feel deep in your skin. I remember taking a deep breath and feeling confused. The light was gone. I

[00:04:46] was now lying on my back and I realized that the air was gone from my lungs. I kept thinking about it. What had happened to all the air in my chest? Looking back at the clock it was after 1 a.m. I realized that the blinds on the window

[00:05:02] were now open but I was too afraid to move and I just hid under the blanket. Now more than 20 years later I still remember it, especially the feeling of going from my lungs full of air to nothing at all. Thank you for your

[00:05:18] podcast and finding these strange and fascinating stories. Benjamin. Our next Midweek Mystery comes to us from Evelyn. Evelyn's story is called The Warning. Evelyn says, Before I tell this story I'd like to share that I've been able to see

[00:05:36] and hear the paranormal since I was a little girl. I have had less experiences as I have aged but I will never forget the one that I'm about to share. This story takes place at my mother's home in California. I was about 20 years old and

[00:05:49] I lived with my brother and three younger siblings. On this evening I happened to have the house to myself. My mother had gone to the local casino and my siblings were hanging out at the beach with friends at a bonfire. That

[00:06:02] night I took advantage of having the home to myself and I went to bed quite early. I left the living room light on, closed my bedroom door and went to sleep. At around midnight I was awoken by the telephone ringing. It rang for several

[00:06:17] minutes. I remember that I was so tired there wasn't a bone in my body that wanted to move. Five minutes later the phone began to ring non-stop. I remember a surge of fear ran through my body. I knew it was bad news but I was too

[00:06:31] afraid and too tired to get up and answer the phone. This is when it all happened. I laid in bed with my eyes wide open. There was an alarm clock that gave off a lot of light so my eyes had adjusted to the darkness. The head of

[00:06:45] the bed was positioned against the only window in the room. The alarm clock sat on a dresser at the foot of the bed and there was a full-length mirror to the

[00:06:52] right of the bed next to the door. It was while I laid in bed annoyed that I saw this apparition. In the mirror appeared a woman. I could only see her reflection in the mirror. She was tall, had long hair and I couldn't really make out facial

[00:07:08] features but I knew that it was a woman. I saw her turning side to side as if she was checking out her outfit or admiring herself. After several minutes of this she put her hands behind her hair, lifted her hair and turned her back to

[00:07:22] the mirror. She showed me her back for several minutes before she disappeared. I laid in bed frightened, my heart feeling like it was going to jump out of my chest when I heard a loud whisper coming from outside the window. I still remember

[00:07:36] the panic that I felt. The voice sounded like my younger brother and he had said my name. I immediately thought that he was outside my window and was probably suffering from some sort of a diabetic symptom and I needed to help him but I

[00:07:49] held my ground and remained in bed holding my covers right at my eyes. I didn't know what to think and was afraid to look anywhere else as I stared at the ceiling in disbelief. It was then that six to eight small figures, dark shadows

[00:08:05] really, manifested and began to fly and move at rapid speeds above my face. They would circle above me taking turns leaning towards me in a taunting manner. This is when I heard the front door open. I knew it was my mother coming home from

[00:08:20] the casino and I mustered up the courage to get out of bed and run to her. She saw me run out of the bedroom in a panic and asked what was wrong. I told her

[00:08:29] the phone had been ringing non-stop for the last hour and I was afraid that something was wrong. My mother proceeded to check the messages only to find out that my sister was in the hospital. When we finally arrived at the hospital, my

[00:08:42] sister was undergoing surgery. My brother was the one calling attempting to get a hold of us. It turns out my sister was a victim of random gun violence and had been shot in the back. I am convinced the entities I saw and heard were warning

[00:08:58] me. The woman was telling me that my sister had suffered a back injury and my brother's spirit somehow found a way to get my attention. Our last midweek mystery of tonight comes to us from Kimberly. Kimberly's story is called No Ordinary

[00:09:15] Minivan. Kimberly says, Hello Nick. This story is shared by my daughter and me and we hope you and your listeners will find it interesting should you choose to share it. Perhaps someone in your audience will recognize a similar event

[00:09:29] and share theirs as well. We live in the outskirts of the Northern Virginia region about 50 miles southwest of Washington DC. Our location is not quite rural but we were only about 20 minutes from the Blue Ridge Mountains and the

[00:09:44] Appalachian Trail. Our home is located in a small town steeped in Civil War history. A few years ago our family acquired a minivan through a large reputable used car vendor. It was a common ordinary model manufactured by a

[00:10:00] well-known American auto company and we bought it when it was only two or three years old. We were told that it came from a fleet of well-maintained rentals. It was clean, had no accident history and was exactly the kind of thing we needed

[00:10:13] for our family of four, my husband, our two teenage children and myself. From the very beginning it was clear that the alarm system in the van was sensitive. It would go off during thunderstorms in particular. We knew this was fairly common

[00:10:28] so while we found it annoying we didn't think much of it. However within a few months the van would start honking and flashing lights in the middle of the night for no apparent reason. When the frequency reached several times in a

[00:10:41] month we knew there must be some kind of electrical problem. We had the van system checked out by the experts who could not find any issue causing the episodes. None of us were surprised when next the van started going off during the day. It sort

[00:10:55] of became a joke because then we had realized that usually as soon as one of us got to the van to remedy the situation it would go silent. We all lightheartedly started describing the van as being possessed. After we had the

[00:11:10] van for a couple of years the problem seemed to fade and things were generally fine. That's when something of a more sinister nature happened. I was getting into the van one day while I was parked in our driveway. The day was sunny and

[00:11:23] clear. As a habit I always adjust my rearview mirror when I get into drive and when I did so this day what I saw in the mirror was completely unexpected. I saw what I can only describe as fur. The entire mirror was reflecting something

[00:11:39] behind me that was various shades of gray such as textured fur or hair of some sort and whatever it was moved from left to right. I was fascinated and stared at what the mirror was showing me. I was so startled that I didn't react with fear

[00:11:55] but with immense curiosity. I had heard nothing in the seats behind me nor did I smell anything. I experienced no other sensations other than the visual scene in the mirror. Before I knew it whatever it was had passed out of the frame of

[00:12:09] the mirror and then I was looking at what I would normally see. Of course I quickly looked around me inside and outside the van. Nothing was there. Nothing was nearby. Nothing out of the ordinary. The mirror event must have

[00:12:24] lasted about four or five seconds. This happened to me a second time a few months later. This time the same thing appeared in the side mirror of the driver's side. Again I was alone and I was getting into the van which was

[00:12:38] parked on a street in front of a friend's house. At that moment a powerful thunderstorm was moving in and the wind was really gusting. When I saw this thing in the mirror I immediately recognized it as what I had seen before. A mass of

[00:12:52] fur. The thing was moving slowly and deliberately like it had a lot of weight. If it had been lighter the wind would have whipped it along but it seemed completely unaffected by the environment. I quickly whirled around to see what it

[00:13:06] was thinking it must be huge and that time I was pretty freaked out and again saw nothing behind me. Just like the first instance whatever it was passed from left to right. It took up the entire mirror for several seconds and then it

[00:13:21] was gone. I quickly got out and ran around the car knowing that the thing had to be outside the van this time. Nothing was there or anywhere nearby. I later found out that my teenage daughter had experienced the same type of

[00:13:35] event within months of my second event. Her experience was almost exactly like my first one occurring in our driveway when she was alone getting in the car. Without my volunteering anything she described what she saw in the rearview

[00:13:50] mirror as gray textured fur. Sort of something you'd expect to see on a large wolf or an enormous dog. Again the movement was from left to right and it took up the entire surface of the rearview mirror and again like me she

[00:14:05] could find nothing around her that could have created the image. This was getting disturbing. When I approached my husband about it he seemed curious but not overly concerned. The van no longer spontaneously started honking and

[00:14:19] beeping and as long as it was getting us to where we needed to go he didn't see any reason to make any changes. I reluctantly agreed though I could not explain what my daughter and I had witnessed on those three occasions.

[00:14:31] Thankfully the situation took care of itself. I am a choral singer. During the spring season of our fourth year with that van I drove it regularly to rehearsals for a concert slated for Holy Week leading up to Easter. The rehearsals

[00:14:47] were held in an old historic church and I would park in the church's parking lot for about three hours each Saturday during rehearsals. One weekend I ended up staying longer going out to lunch after rehearsal and leaving the van parked in

[00:15:00] the church lot for about five or six hours. That day when I got back to the church parking lot to drive home I was greeted by my choir director before entering the parking lot. She wanted to warn me that instead of finding my van I

[00:15:15] would find a burned-out shell. The van had spontaneously caught fire sometime after the rehearsal had ended. In fact I had heard sirens while at the restaurant earlier and I then suddenly realized that my van was the cause of

[00:15:28] the commotion. When I saw the van it was as if someone had blown it up with a bomb. Shattered glass was all over the place. The body was charred and melted. Nothing inside was salvageable. Fortunately no one was hurt and no

[00:15:43] other property was harmed but the van itself was completely totaled. Later when I spoke to the firefighters I learned that they presumed I had been a smoker and that it had caught fire from a cigarette butt but I don't smoke. On

[00:15:56] closer inspection an investigator suggested that it looked as if the entire ignition mechanism was melted suggesting that that may have been the cause of the fire. Our reaction to the van's demise was shock followed by

[00:16:10] relief that no one was driving the van when it caught fire. However after we thought about it this seemed to be an appropriate ending for that particular vehicle. We knew there was something very strange about that van just what it was

[00:16:23] we didn't know and we still don't. Whatever the problem was however sitting in that church parking lot for so long that day may have proved just a bit too much. Thanks for sharing our story keep up the good work Nick. Kimberly. I got in

[00:16:42] touch with Kimberly and asked her a few questions regarding her and her daughter's experience. I wanted to verify where exactly they had seen the strange fur and I was also curious if they had noticed more or less activity when the

[00:16:54] van was being driven to or from the church and if there was any negative feeling or vibe. Kimberly had this to say, yes you are correct about what we saw in the mirrors both times when we were in the car and were viewing the image

[00:17:08] in the rearview mirror. Both my daughter and I saw the image as if it were in the car in the backseat area theoretically. The entire mirror was covered with the fur. The time I saw it in the side mirror the image was

[00:17:22] definitely outside the car. There was no strong feeling on my daughter's part when she saw the fur except that she was a little intimidated by the indicated size of this thing as was I especially the second time with the side mirror

[00:17:36] which then made her curious as to what it could possibly be. Also I checked with my daughter about her experience to be sure that I'd captured it correctly. She corrected me about the location. She was actually getting into the car after

[00:17:50] coming out from the grocery store, our local Safeway, so the car was at that point located in a public parking lot not in our driveway as I had originally reported to you. However, I felt this aspect is important as it might make a

[00:18:03] difference to your listeners in that the store location would have been populated by other people. It also took place during the day or mid-afternoon. Neither of us felt that there was an increase of activity or feelings at any particular

[00:18:16] point. I didn't notice anything while leaving the church rehearsals though I am usually in a good mood after singing for three hours so that may have interfered with my ability to perceive much. When I was en route to rehearsals

[00:18:29] the music I sang with was the rehearsal CD of classical sacred music, usually several selections we were learning. On the way home I generally tuned into pop radio and sang along with the songs I enjoyed or with my own CDs. I was always

[00:18:44] singing in that van. Just for the record, I'm a classically trained singer and am often recruited and paid to sing for weddings, funerals, and other events along with teaching music in public and private schools. Please let me know if you have any additional questions. Stay healthy and safe.

[00:19:02] Kimberly. As we come to the end of this edition of Midweek Mysteries, I'd like to say thank you to all of you for tuning in and supporting the podcast and a special thank you to Jessica, Addison, Ben, Evelyn, and Kimberly for

[00:19:18] writing in and sharing their experiences with all of us. Until next time, if you or someone that you know has witnessed something unexplainable and you'd like to have your story shared on the podcast, please contact me at paranormalmysteriespodcast at gmail.com or visit paranormalmysteriespodcast.com

[00:19:36] and click on the tell your story link. Please remember, no matter how insignificant or outlandish you believe your experience may seem, I'd like to hear about it. You can also connect with us by joining our forum and by following us

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[00:20:17] paranormal mysteries podcast, thank you so much for listening and remember, don't wait for the unknown to come to you. Get out there and find it.