We've all experienced being frightened at some point and may even have our own "ghost" story to share. While many paranormal experiences can be easily rationalized away, some remain mysterious and unsettling.
What I’ve always found odd about these peculiar events is their apparent randomness and lack of any meaning. As a result, supernatural occurrences—footsteps in an empty room, flickering lights, doors creaking open, and so on—often seem absurd, even though they can be disturbing at the time.
“Why?”
We all want to know why these experiences occur. I don’t have any answers to offer but don’t refute such phenomenal occurrences. Two of the most incredible experiences I’ve had include my apartment in New York and a home in California, where, on October 8, 2019, my wife, her sister, and I independently had unexplainable and unsettling experiences.
I was sitting at a desk in one of the rooms, looking out onto the driveway where one of our cars was parked. In the car’s reflection, I clearly saw someone walking around the side of the house. Startled, I got up and went outside, prepared to confront an intruder, but found no one. The gate to the backyard was secure. I don’t question what I saw, but I cannot explain the reflection of a person walking in front of the car. As I thought more about it, I realized that, based on the reflection, I should have been able to see the person directly through the window where I was sitting.
Earlier that day, my wife noticed something odd: the papers on her desk had been rearranged, as if someone had been rifling through them. There was no explanation. The real shock, however, came later when we discovered that the eerie events weren’t confined to our home. Just a few miles away, my wife’s sister awoke that morning to find the lights on and a closet door—usually kept shut—wide open. Alarming, given that her security system had not been triggered. Alarming! This happened despite her security system not being triggered.
Each event was relatively mundane yet disturbing. While any one of our experiences could be dismissed, the coincidence of three bizarre events occurring in two locations miles apart continues to give me chills. There is no logical explanation for any of it. Yet, on the same day, we each encountered unsettling, seemingly paranormal occurrences.
My experience in New York occurred years earlier, one morning. I was getting ready for work. It’s important to note that the apartment had no central air conditioning, no windows were open, and there was nothing unusual about the conditions that could explain what happened.
The bedroom door in that apartment was always left open and never closed. Yet, on this particular morning, I left the apartment and, once outside, decided to change my shirt. I went back into the building and entered my apartment. As I rounded the corner to the bedroom, I was stunned to find the door closed. This wasn’t merely a curious occurrence—it was downright frightening.
The event had never occurred before and has not occurred since. There's no rationalizing how it happened in the first place.
Certainly, one of the greatest stories of this sort involves my father—a man known for his logical, skeptical, and scientifically-minded approach to mysterious events. Normally, he would be the one to discover an explanation. Yet, during a period of his life, he encountered an event that occurred regularly over several weeks and under varying circumstances. To this day, he remains unable to make sense of it.
For a while, my father had an interest in the scholarly pursuit of understanding God. He found a church that offered the depth of teaching his intellectual mind sought. The church, like the company where he worked, was a considerable distance from where we lived. One morning, as he prepared to drive to work, he discovered that his rearview mirror was completely knocked out of position, as if done deliberately. Was it a prankster in the neighborhood? Perhaps, until a similar event occurred at his place of work, a 45-minute drive from home. The following is my father's account of this story, in his own words.
The Rearview Mirror
There is no shortage of stories about strange events—ghosts, alien abductions, Sasquatch sightings—but most of these stories I classify as nothing more than entertainment. My story, however, is different—it’s true.
The time was the mid-eighties. I had become involved with a church I discovered through a UHF channel owned by the ministry. I was drawn to the pastor, a Stanford graduate with a doctorate in the philosophy of education. His approach to biblical teaching appealed to me, though he was controversial for smoking on live television and for his critical views of fundamentalist church members.
The first time it happened, I was dismissive. It was curious but not worth a second thought. Over time, however, the event repeated. I was never startled, but I found it puzzling and amusing. I’m referring to the adjustment of my car’s rearview mirror. When properly adjusted, the mirror frames the rear window. If not adjusted correctly, it fails to serve its purpose.
There was no obvious pattern. It didn’t happen every day, nor did it occur on consecutive days. Typically, I noticed the change at the end of the workday, with rare exceptions when I readjusted the mirror at noon. In the mornings, there were no issues.
Despite this, I speculated about the cause. The mirror was firmly in place; any orientation change was not due to vibration. The parking spot was not covered, so I wondered if the heat of the day had caused expansion in the fittings. Yet, the change in position was always noticeable—never slight, always obvious.
One evening, I thought I might have solved the mystery. Back then, we wore a suit and tie to work. I never drove home in my suit coat; instead, I would drape it over the passenger seat. One evening, I accidentally bumped the rearview mirror while draping the coat. I initially thought this might explain the changes, but this explanation was short-lived.
The series of incidents ended one Sunday before church services. After a forty-mile trip without any mirror adjustment, I parked on the street and began writing a check for my donation. I placed the check in an envelope, ready for collection during the service.
This is where things took a turn.
While sealing the envelope, I cut my tongue. My reaction caused me to flinch and pull my head back. When I looked at the rearview mirror, I saw that it had rotated downward a full ninety degrees! This was impossible.
At the time, there was no way to know this would be the end of the mirror adjustment events. Only in retrospect does it seem to provide an ending punctuation.
Was I merely an observer, or was this series of events intended to deliver a message?
Conclusion
Recent revelations are shedding light on mysteries once considered speculative. The U.S. government confirmed UFOs are real, displaying advanced technology. NASA’s 2021 data revealed water on Mars, hinting at past life. The 1977 "Wow! Signal" might be extraterrestrial, while Skinwalker Ranch and the Enfield Poltergeist case show documented paranormal activity. The Dyatlov Pass incident remains unexplained, with theories suggesting supernatural causes. The Bermuda Triangle's disappearances are linked to unknown forces, and encounters with "black-eyed children" are increasingly verified. Items at the Haunted Museum and the Perron family haunting are also supported by recent evidence. These developments suggest our understanding of the supernatural is being challenged, so, too is our perceptions of reality and truth.
What does this say about reality, this life? How does it impact your thoughts on what is actually true and our purpose here?
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