I’ve had some weird encounters in my life and I’m going to share with all of you.

1) This happened during my 1st or 2nd year in uni hostel. We were either having darts practice or inter block darts games in the canteen, can’t remember since it was so long ago. I was sitting facing one the dart boards watching my friends play since it wasn’t my turn then i heard distinctly my friend asking another friend whether she smells a stench of something rotting. The second friend replied yes. my friends were about two tables away from me and i swear, at the exact same moment, i smelt a scent, that wasn’t even unpleasant. In fact, what i could smell, was the sweet-smelling scent of flowers. What immediately came to my mind was this saying that when those “things” are nearby, you can actually smell different things based on how far they were from you. I didn’t tell anyone but somehow i wasn’t afraid. Maybe because there were so many of us in the canteen. but luckily nothing happened throughout my years in hostel.

2) When i was still staying in hostel, i only went home during the weekends. There was one particular weekend, i experienced the immobilization thing that i realize by now, should be quite common. i remembered that night i was feeling very awake, though it was already very late in the night. But since it was late, i decided to go to bed anyway. After tossing and turning for a while i decided to sleep sideways with my bolster covering my head. then suddenly, i felt this pressure on my bolster, pressing my head downwards. It was as if someone was sitting down or pressing hard on the portion of the bolster covering my head. (i was hugging the other half of the bolster) i was quite shocked and i tried to get up but, as familiar to all, i realized my body was stiff and i couldn’t move. I couldn’t even open my eyes. but what is strange is that although i couldn’t move, the pressure was only on my head and no other part of my body. so i thought to myself: “calm down, everything is alright, you’re just imagining things. i CAN move.” after which, i gathered all my strength and straightened my left leg. and at that exact moment, the pressure was relieved and i could sit up and all. My room was as quiet and empty as any other night.

The theory behind “being pressed by ghosts” is that sometimes when one’s body is too tired and the mind is still awake, the body goes to sleep while the mind drifts between awakening and sleep. The brain is still semi-conscious and able to process thought but at the same time, losing the ability to control our muscle contractions. Hence, the “stiffness” and inability to move. the “pressure” we feel is attributed to involuntary muscle contractions. I’ve read about this theory even before i had the experience itself so i used this to convince myself to go back to sleep. Even when i told my friends, they told me that i was just too tired and dream about it.

But my question is, if it was really just my imagination, why did i feel that the pressure was actually coming from above my bolster and not any other part of my body. The bolster can’t contract right? lucky it never happened again. Else i think i wouldn’t want to move home ever.

3) When i was still in primary school, i used to go to my grandparents’ house after school since it was within 10 minutes walking distance from my school. Since i was always there, my uncle got me a desk and put it at the staircase landing on the second floor facing the wall so i had a quiet place to study (though i mostly used the table in front of the TV downstairs to do my homework ) but anyway here’s the rough layout of the second floor of my grandparents’ home:

Friday nights are family dinner nights so my mum used to get my tuition teachers to go to my grandparents’ house on Friday evenings and we’ll be having our tuition sessions upstairs at my desk. ok here’s the weird part. as you can see, if i was using the desk, I’d be back facing the stairs and my grandparents room. I used to always sense/see from the corner of my eye someone’s shadow walk up the stairs and into my grandparents’ room. and sometimes I would sense that “someone” watching us for a very brief moment before moving off. I don’t know why but i always assumed it to be my auntie’s bf (her husband now). But the lights in my grandparents’ room is always left switched off. And when i get up to check/ use the bathroom, nobody’s there. Creepy. But nothing’s happened so far and that desk has long been removed so i don’t let it bother me anymore.