In Pursuit of the Unknown

It is a weird, wide world that we live in. I have spent a large part of my life tracking down and investigating things that a lot of people would routinely dismiss as fairy tales or delusions of the insane.

Ghosts, monsters, UFOs, the paranormal and other things that go bump in the night have been my siren call for years. The odd thing is that often I do not seek this shadowy world of the bizarre, it comes looking for me.

It would be nice to say for the sake of interest that my fascination with the paranormal was the result of some early ghostly experience or the unexpected sighting of a flying saucer over my house, but when it comes down to it, my life has been frustratingly boring. Oh I have had my share of glimpses into the beyond; an odd noise in the night or something that moved when it should not have been moving - but nothing spectacular that I could say changed my life forever and sent me down that long mysterious road looking for answers where there were none to be found.

I suppose the best answer for my interest in the paranormal is that I just love a good mystery.

One of the things that I noticed early on was when people found out that I was interested in ghosties and ghoulies they would make fun of me in public, but then, later on when there was no one else around, they would come back to tell me of their own weird encounters with the unknown.

Because of this, I would say that practically everyone has had something unusual happen in their life that they have chosen to ignore because they cannot easily classify their experience into something safe and familiar. Others tend to simply forget their peak behind the curtain of reality due to the usual hectic life that this modern age demands from us.

I can think of one excellent example of this tendency to forget when I was at a group dinner with my wife. Someone who was familiar with my interests mentioned to the others that I had recently investigated a local "haunted bridge" that had been a popular hangout for teenagers for several generations. This prompted others at our table to relate their own incidents at the bridge, usually first time kisses or awkward gropes in the backseat and we all had a good laugh.

However, afterwards, one woman approached me with a story of how she and a car full of friends had been terrorized at the bridge by a ghostly figure that had rushed their car out of the darkness and had actually thrust a glowing hand through a closed window to grab the hair of one of the frightened girls.

The kicker of this story was that this woman told me that despite the fear she felt over the occurrence, she had completely forgotten it until the conversation at the table had brought the memory flooding back. Like others who have been in similar situations, she begged me not to tell anyone what she had confided in me lest she become the brunt of teasing and jokes.

It is not so much the fear of the unknown but the fear of being singled out, teased, and worst of all, thought that possibly something is wrong with them that keep many people from relating their paranormal experiences. Because of this, anything that is outside of our normal range of understanding is often forgotten.

Another fascinating aspect of doing this sort of research is just how universal people's paranormal experiences are. For many years I worked as a television photographer and had many opportunities to travel all over the world. Any chance that I would get during my travels I would be on the lookout for unexplained events and as a consequence, got to meet many interesting people along the way.

I learned that no matter what country you were in, the events were basically the same. A haunted house in Turkey was the same as a haunted house in England or the United States. There are the same weird noises such as footsteps and taps, often accompanied by shadowy figures and household items mysteriously moving about.

In fact, if someone were to report something that deviated too far outside of the pattern, such as photographs that come alive to move and talk, I would view this as suspicious and possibly a hoax. What is different from country to country is how ones cultural upbringing determines how someone was going to interpret their encounter.

For example, in the western world if someone were to see a strange flying craft land in front of them and disgorge glowing humanoid creatures, it would be considered a visit by a spacecraft with its extraterrestrial occupants. On the other hand, if someone raised in Africa were to have the same experience, it would be thought of as a meeting with their deceased ancestors. The experience is the same, but how one is brought up determines how they comprehend it.

So if you have ever seen a ghost one dark and stormy night, or spotted a UFO flying over your car, I would love to hear about it. But if you are afraid of being made fun of, not to worry, your secret is safe with me.