People share their own 'ghost stories' that made them believe in the paranormal
Spooky entertainment for believers and cynics alike.
Haunting the human psyche since days of old.
Ghosts have been haunting stories across human culture since ancient times. Even in our modern age, with a scientific explanation for nearly every phenomenon once considered supernatural, many still believe specters of the past float among us.
Perhaps it’s a way to make sense of the unexpected, cope with loss or to create a universe that isn’t random and chaotic. On the other hand, no one really knows what awaits us on the other side—it’s all conceptual theories in the land of the living.
But whether or not ghosts are actually real, they can help us make meaning of life’s fragile existence and perhaps take a different view on death, reminding us that sometimes our legacy lives on long after we are gone.
Reddit user u/pyotrfojti asked people on the online forum to share experiences that made them believe in the paranormal, and the answers were certainly compelling. Even the biggest skeptic might get a kick out of these spooky stories. 'Tis the season, after all.
Here are nine of the best, most bone-chilling tales of the paranormal:
1.
“While working overseas, the office we would normally work in was being renovated. The building was once part of a series of palaces [which] was later used by the Nazis as an interrogation and torture center.
I personally saw two stories come to life.
- The harpsichord piano in the grand ballroom began to play on its own. I know because I was the only person in the building at the time. Plus, it was missing several strings.
- The windows to the bedroom where a royal stayed were known to fog up and then open on their own. Saw the fog. Looked at them again a half-hour later and they were open.”
– @JQuest7575
2.
“I was alone at home with my 2 year old who was sleeping in his own room. An arm and hand of an adult human pushed open my bedroom door and it creaked loudly, waking me up. I saw the arm and the hand holding the doorknob. It then let go and retracted. I was afraid that it might be a burglar and then I smelled smoke and burning. I got the courage to leave my room and noticed smoke coming from my son's room. His window curtain was inside his night lamp and had just caught fire. I could put it out in time, thanks to whatever had woken me up.” – @Niqga4PolishBabes
3.
“I haven't really had any super intense experiences, mostly just hearing my name clearly being called when I was a kid while everyone else was asleep. That and hearing a constant loud sound in a specific area of a known haunted park at night that had nothing to do with bugs flying nearby. There were no other people at the park and there wasn't anything electrical nearby. Just in the middle of a park near a willow tree.” – @WumboWings
4.
"I was six when I first saw her, in the woods. I followed my friend John even though he told me not to. I followed at a distance, watching my feet, making sure not to step on the bevy of fallen leaves…The first thing I saw was a small hut. Raw, bloody, and nailed into place. The second thing I saw was her on the stoop, eyes all white, lips red. John ran to her. She reached down and embraced him, and looked at me over his shoulder with her all white eyes.
I ran like hell. I ran, screaming like bloody murder, all the way to my father, who swooped me up in a way he never had, and hasn't had to do since. He asked me what happened and I told him about John.
‘Who?’
I described the kid I had met at the playground weeks ago. The kid I had played with three times before all this. Even now, John's face is crystal clear in my mind. I could count his freckles from memory.
My dad tells me: I was playing alone the whole time.” – @sentient_luggage
5.
“When [my mom] died I couldn't be there for her, I was away in another state for work. Thank God that I could come to her funeral (this was in November of 2020). I was in the house of my mom, [and] one night I was in my bed sleeping and I woke suddenly and saw her in pajamas, like she was alive. If I didn't see her body early that week being buried, I would have thought that she was alive.” – @Upbeat-Ad-3316
6.
“I was at my choir director's house to practice a solo. I started my recorder and when I got home to practice the song there was a voice on the recording that wasn't from either me or my choir director. I have let everyone listen to it and they always miss it the first time because it is so loud and clear they assume that it was someone in the room. Freakiest thing ever!” – @Euphoric_Device11
7.
“It was late at night, like 1 am or so, [and] I was walking home till I heard a lot of noises. The street was empty and the whole entire neighborhood was silent. The lights of the lamp posts started flickering. Then I saw a black dressed, dark eyed lady with a black robe and black fingertips standing in front of my house ‘Hello? Are you okay ma'am?’ She then left and walked away towards the back of the house. My house lights started flickering. I quickly ran to my next door neighbor. Thankfully they were there and they rang my parents and all the lights started to stop flickering.” – @sleevlyboring
8.
“I did not believe for most of my life, until about 4.5 years ago. I worked in a very old hospital that used to be run by nuns in 1880-1940. My office was in the basement (next to the morgue) and strange things that could not be rationalized away started happening. Daily. Whispering, footprints thru newly waxed floors (angry janitor swears he checked the camera to see who ruined his work and saw no one) papers flying off my desk with zero draft etc. I don’t work there anymore, thankfully.” – @glass_heart2002
9.
“My dad died a few years ago. I had been living with him to give him assistance as he needed full time care and couldn't afford a nurse. He always, always, freaking always complained about being cold, even during the summer. I came home several times to find the heater cranked up to 80, no matter the time of year. We used to fight about it often. A couple weeks after he died, I would wake up hot and find the heater turned up to 80. It only persisted for a few weeks and stopped after I woke up again sweating and yelled out ‘Damn it dad, you're dead, stop fucking with the heater!’” – @DeaconStGone
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"Now your fishes will be warmed."
"To have one’s eyes lined with ham."
"To lay your head in water."
"Repetition teaches the donkey."
"I only understand train station."
"To speak directly from the liver."
"Horse horse, tiger tiger."
Beaver in water. Photo by 
An actual beaver dam on the now-thriving Price River
Medusa image of giant squid in Gulf of Mexico off of Mississippi Gulf CoastPhoto credit: 
Sign warning against feeding alligators next to alligator in Mississippi marshlandsCourtesy of Jacalyn Wetzel
Mississippi Gulf Coast beach in BiloxiCourtesy of Jacalyn Wetzel
2009 photo of giant squid caught in Gulf of Mexico near Mississippi GulfPhoto credit: 
Thank goodness this story has a happy ending.
There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."