Mind Over Matter?

I have had many experiences with things that go bump in the night. Personally I do attribute these encounters as encounters with the supernatural. However; when I watched THIS video it did make me realize that the mind certainly can play tricks on you.

The most terrifying experience I have had to date with the phenomena of the unexplained was when I was visiting my friend Al in Maryland. He was staying in a very old house with 5 roommates. None of them really knew each other that well; it was more like a convenient living arrangement based on fiscal needs.

When we arrived at the house he said that his room was down in the basement. There was a front area like a living room, a bedroom where another guy’s room was and then Al was at the very back. The living room was carpeted and had no furniture. I asked about the lack of furniture and he said that the girl who recently lived in the room left the house abruptly. I immediately felt a cold chill when I walked into the room and asked him if the girl had displayed any weird habits. Right as I was asking the guy Steven who lived in the middle room before Al’s and his boyfriend came in. He gave his b-friend and Al a funny look and said to me why would you ask? I was like well this place feels a bit haunted to me.

Steven then told me that this girl Allison went from being a really normal bubbly sorority type into spending hours in the room standing at an ironing board ironing clothes that were not existent and fastidiously vacuuming the room, but never turning the vacuum cleaner on... Apparently when she started chanting she freaked the other roommates out so much that they asked her to leave.

That night I settled in on my air mattress and started reading my book. I could not shake the feeling that someone was in the room with me. When I finally got tired I turned out the light and closed my eyes. Not more than 20 seconds later the whole room went frigid and I felt something breathing in my face. There was no sound, just breath. I jumped up and turned the lights on. It was the weirdest thing – because the carpet in the room which was cream shag had been completely dry when I went to bed, and now it was all wet.

I decided that I was letting my imagination play tricks on me so I went to the window to see if it was raining out or if there was a logical reason for the wet carpet. The full moon was shining brightly outside and ‘there was not a cloud in the sky’. I was kind of not feeling as scared with the light on, and had gotten over my fright even though the carpet was now not only wet, but it had suds on it, like a carpet would be if you were shampooing it. I decided that I was being stupid, so I turned off the light by the mattress and tried to go back to sleep. This time I not only felt the breath on my face I felt someone literally trying to smother me – like I had to push against what ever it was to make it go away. I turned on the light again. It was the really weirdest thing this time because I could see a set of foot prints in the sudsy carpet that led from where the ironing board and the vacuum were that came directly over to my air mattress.

I was literally paralyzed. When I regained by composure I decided that I could not possibly go up the stairs to the main house as I did not know any of the room mates and did not know how they would feel about me sleeping on the couch upstairs.

I could not go and get Al because Steven and his boyfriend were bopping in the room that I would have to go through to get to Al. So I made an executive decision, grabbed my blanket and pillow and headed to the bathroom and slept in the shower. As soon as I got to the bathroom I knew that I would be safe from whatever/whoever possessed the basement living room. A big sense of relief swept over me.

I will admit that when Steven and his Boyfriend walked buck naked into the bathroom the next morning and we all met with a scream that I was rather embarrassed and wondered if I had made the whole thing up. By the way the carpet was completely dry in the morning looking as if it was professionally steam cleaned and vacuumed.

My friend Al did think I was rather batty, but all was confirmed by another roommate Jenny, who before hearing my story, told Al and me a similar experience that she had in the basement. Let us not forget poor Allison who went bonkers...

Who knows if it is the power of suggestion or an actual ghouly thing, all I know whether it is real or not it sure feels real at the time.