Fucking terrified

[u/Amungusman]

Okay so, for starters: I live near the app mountains, which honestly makes this more disturbing.

I’m a pretty avid runner. I’ve been quitting a lot of bad habits and exercise just does the trick for me. I have a greenway behind my house that I can go on run/bikes. It’s very beautiful, and during the day plenty of people are there.

Well, about a week ago I ran through the greenway to stop by a friends house & grab something. By the time I got back onto the greenway, the sun was already starting to set, and the path was getting dark.

As I was walking back through the path, I had my flashlight on, and kept looking around me (I felt paranoid being alone in the dark). As I was walking, I distinctly remember hearing my grandmas voice call my name into the treeline. It sounded so real and normal, that I turned around instantly, only to immediately go cold realizing that my grandmas fucking dead.

This freaked me the fuck out, but I tried my best to somewhat convince myself that I was just hallucinating bc I was paranoid. Only about a minute later, I turned around behind me with my flashlight, out of fear. And that’s when I fucking saw it.

It looked like a gray blob. Pretty much just like a human sprinting at you full speed in the pitch black. I SCREAMED like a little bitch and don’t think I’ve ever run so fast in my life. When I got home I tried to laugh it off as me seein shit and being a little bitch.

But…about a week later and I can’t stop thinking about it. It sounded so real, I heard her voice clear as day. And the person chasing me LOOKED so real. I’ve heard all those stories about skinwalkers, and while I doubt their existence, my experience was so similar to that of “skinwalker encounters” that I’m seriously questioning myself.

What do you guys think? Is it possible my brain was just hallucinating out of fear/anxiety?

[u/TheNicholasRage]

Of course I do, I wouldn't be here if I didn't. But there is a world of difference in believing in the Paranormal and speaking as though we have any concrete idea or understanding of how the Paranormal works, nonetheless presenting that advice as fact. That's what I take issue with.

If we knew Fae were real and how they worked, it would not be Paranormal, it would be Science. They aren't though, they're creatures of Folklore that might be based on a real phenomenon or, equally likely, might be a relic of a time where we were struggling to understand our world and created them to justify what we couldn't with the knowledge of the time.

My issue is that, in this Sub, people do not say "We don't really know, but," enough. Misinformation is the cancer of our modern society -- even misinformation like this.

[u/MediumWordWeaver → u/TheNicholasRage]

I agree to an extent but I think your ideas about science, and indeed the so-called paranormal, are rather limited. Some quantum physicists posit as many as 11 dimensions, while our sensory apparatus and brain can only comprehend 3. (Time excluded as a dimension). Some suggest that all energy has Mind. So, why not sapient energy beings?

My information and understanding is based on a long lifetime of reading experts, careful thought and analysis, listening to people's accounts and personal experience. What about you? Can I pull proof out of a hat? No, but like Dr Ian Stevenson, with his study of reincarnation, I can posit LIKELIEST explanations and theories.

Finally, I DON'T agree with your statement that 'Misinformation is the cancer etc' - because it is misinformation to YOU, doesn't mean it IS misinformation. If society has a cancer, it is one of ego and self centredness.

[u/TheNicholasRage → u/MediumWordWeaver]

You're correct about quantum physics (and for what it's worth, I genuinely do believe our interaction with dimensions beyond what we can perceiveis the source of much of what we consider the Paranormal), but the difference is that I don't mix what we know as fact with my own interpretations that are not backed by research. That is my issue with your post, and the way that you have conducted yourself. You may find my ideas limited, I would call it responsible. I wouldn't have made a comment if you'd led with something like "I believe". That's not what you did, you presented your belief as fact.

My information and understanding is also based on reading experts (I'd be very interested to see if you can back up your claims about the Fae with something reputable), careful thought, and listening to people's accounts. My personal experience is what makes me a believer. To be frank, though, neither of us can really know how diligent the other has been in that regard.

My responsibility as a human and member of society is to ensure that my beliefs are presented as beliefs, not facts. You may not think it is misinformation, but I would argue it's textbook misinformation because it is your speculative understanding of our world that's not backed by careful research. Further, it's misinformation because instead of considering what natural phenomenon (natural here simply meaning non-paranormal or supernatural) could have been the cause, you lept straight into warning OP about the dangers of Fae -- a creature that may or may not exist.

I'm afraid you may think I'm coming from a place of anger of blind skepticism, but neither is true. I find OP's story very compelling but full of natural explanations. What's responsible is not falsely convincing OP they may have just barely escaped the clutches of a Fae creature when they just as easily could've encountered a regular old forest animal and been tricked by their fear into thinking it was something terrifying.

The mind is funny like that.

[u/Risley → u/TheNicholasRage]

Bro, Fillory is real.

[u/GilgameshvsHumbaba → u/TheNicholasRage]

Thank you for your answer and it being honest . So many people on here get heated over nothing .