My strange day began around midnight in late October.
I was a student at Arizona State University at the time and walking across the campus with my girlfriend. Arizona State University was a lot smaller then, with the main walkway featuring citrus trees and a large round fountain with lights and cement benches.
On this night my girlfriend and I were just returning to our dorms after watching an art film. We were in no hurry so when we reached the fountain we stopped and sat for a while. Despite the late hour, it was a pleasant, windless night. In those days you could still see stars in the sky.
We were holding hands and talking when we noticed something very odd floating overhead. It was like a small cloud – solid white – coming toward us as if pushed by the wind. But there was no wind. It was no more than a few feet above the fountain as it came out of the dark then highlighted by the fountain’s flood lights.
In a few moments it had floated above us and then disappeared again into the night. But before it left I noticed something that to this day is indelibly etched into my memory. Directly overhead I could see that the white blob was actually the shape of a human torso with arms, legs and head. There was no face. But as this inchoate creature passed, I had the chilling sense that it was looking us over, like a predator evaluating its prey.
I never walked at night near that fountain again.
The Non-Ordinary Reality of Fall
Another paranormal anomaly occurred many years later, and again in late October. At this time in my life I was living alone in a Victorian home I owned in Chandler, Arizona. I was sleeping soundly in my upstairs master bedroom. The window was open to permit the cooler night air to enter. But the air wasn’t the only thing to enter that night.
Around 3 a.m. I was awakened abruptly by a flash of lightning and whip-like crack of thunder as a storm approached. Soon my window blinds began banging around nosily as the wind gusted.
I jolted upright with the intent of jumping out of bed and closing the window. But as soon as I sat up I found myself inches away from something I can only describe as a faceless woman with glowing luminescent hair. Before I could even consider what I was looking at, this luminescent being reached back and hurled at me what appeared to be a luminescent pie.
Instinctively I reacted and fell back on the bed to avoid being hit. A moment later the glowing being vanished.
Since then I have had several other non-ordinary ghostly experiences involving people, pets, bodiless voices and other things. The vast majority of these encounters occurred mid-October to mid-November.
Do Worlds Revolve Like Planets?
I’m not the only one who has noticed this correlation between non-ordinary encounters and the October – November time frame. Cultures throughout history have believed that there are many worlds besides our own, each revolving around one another like the moon around the Earth or planets around the sun.
At certain times of the year, these worlds are closer, giving us a greater opportunity for contact. In other words, it’s not just a coincidence that Halloween, Mexico’s Day of the Dead, Haiti’s All Souls’ Day, and Germany’s All Souls’ Week are celebrated between October and November.
The ritual of the Day of the Dead has an especially long and colorful history. It was started by the Aztecs some 3,000 years ago. The Spanish tried to stop it but they couldn’t. Today, many still believe that on Nov. 2 they have an opportunity to be heard and interact with deceased relatives because the worlds separating the living and dead become paper thin.
People set up altars in their homes to commemorate those they have lost. The altars are often decorated with flowers, candles, ceramic skulls and pictures of their deceased loved ones. Treats and favorite foods of the dead are also placed around the altars. Graves and gravesites are cleaned up, weeds are pulled, debris is swept away and flowers are left. Often there are parties in graveyards. Drinks are traditionally placed on the altar to quench the thirst of the dead for their long journey home.
Then there’s Day of the Skulls in early November which could be viewed as Bolivia’s version of Day of the Dead. This is where skulls are decorated and taken to a cemetery in La Paz. Some of the skulls, known in Spanish as “natitas,” are elaborately dressed up in flowers, hats and sunglasses and even given cigarettes. Day of the Skull practitioners believe the skulls give them protection. Some of the skulls are handed down through generations, but others are taken from abandoned graves.
In October, Chuseok (also known as Hangawi) is celebrated in both North and South Korea to give thanks to the dead. During this holiday, Koreans make their way back to their ancestral homes to perform rituals early in the morning including the preparation of a special kind of rice cake called a Songpyeon, which is left out for (and presumably eaten by) dead ancestors.
Stormy Night Fright
There is some evidence that indicates the horror movie special with ghosts on a stormy night might not be so Hollywood after all.
The idea is that thunderstorms stir energy in the atmosphere, and according to those who research paranormal activity, they may also cut a path between our world and others.
Some believe that apparitions, or spirits, need some source of energy to manifest their presence into the physical plane in order to communicate with the living. This could include drawing energy from electrical circuits, batteries – or bolts of lightning.
It’s not that farfetched considering the impact lightning has on physical properties. For example, it’s not unusual for the air to have the sweet, pungent aroma of ozone after a storm. That’s because in stormy weather, lightning splits atmospheric nitrogen and oxygen molecules. These can then combine into nitric oxide, which, with further reactions, forms ozone.
Taking a closer look: Lightning is caused by a buildup of oppositely charged ions in the clouds and on the ground. When the buildup of charged ions is greater than the resistance of the air, lightning occurs. A lightning discharge generates electro-magnetic energy fields (EMF) which have been theorized to be associated with paranormal activity.
The majority of lightning strikes are cloud to cloud – only 20% are cloud to ground. Thunder, then, is basically a supersonic shock wave created when the energy in the returning stroke (temperature and pressure) is higher than the energy in the surrounding air. It is plausible that this charge and subsequent discharge of the Earth’s natural electrical field could make it easier for paranormal phenomena to occur.
And these atmospheric transfers aren’t just related to thunderstorms.
The Law of Conservation of Energy states that energy cannot be created nor destroyed. Energy can, however, be transferred from one place to another and from one form to another.
Weather (and the changes in it) is caused by a transfer of energy. The earth is constantly keeping a balance between the solar radiation energy coming through the atmosphere from the sun, and what is bouncing off the earth and back out into space. If paranormal entities use energy to manifest, then it seems reasonable to think that fluctuations in weather conditions/energy could potentially affect the level of paranormal activity at a location.
Temperature and barometric pressure are both methods of quantifying the energy of molecules in the air at any one time. Temperature is the measurement of the average speed of air molecules: as the average kinetic energy of the air molecules increases, temperature increases. Similarly, barometric pressure or air pressure, is the result of molecules in the air colliding. When these molecules run into each other (kinetic energy), electrons are transferred and electro-magnetic energy is created. The more rapidly the molecules collide with each other and other objects, the higher the air pressure.
Some believe the energy involved in these two processes could influence the energy potentially available to a paranormal entity. Medical science can attest to how changes in air pressure affect some people physically with symptoms ranging from mild headaches to migraines and worsening arthritis pain.
Wind might also be a factor in a face to face with inhabitants from different worlds. Wind is created by a difference in pressure systems causing air to accelerate from areas of high pressure to areas of low pressure, transferring energy from one place to another. Strong winds indicate a significant pressure difference between air masses of different densities, which is why strong winds will usually accompany strong storms.
Many people feel uneasy and “out of sorts” on a blustery day. There are cultures such as the traditional Navajos that believe the wind can be used by witches (especially skinwalkers) to accomplish nefarious objectives. Navajos call this the evil or “dark” wind.
If paranormal activity is related to energy, this movement of energy could create a swing in the paranormal activity at a location.
Traditional Navajos do not throw rocks into the wind. They also never stare at the moon.
The moon, of course, has long been associated with altered states of reality. The ethereal glow of a full moon hung high in the night sky has inspired wild and unusual tales around the world. Paranormal researchers claim that the moon and changing seasons cause an increased frequency in non-ordinary activity.
Several scientific studies have attempted to disprove any correlation between the moon being full and heightened paranormal incidents. However, anecdotally, you would be hard-pressed to find a police officer, ER doctor or help hotline operator disavow the craziness on a full moon night. In fact, a few years ago, England began adding extra police on patrol when the moon was full.
We do know that the gravitational impact on the tides is significant during a full moon. It stands to reason that this same influence applies to humans since we are made up of at least 60% water. Is it possible that this same gravitational pull changes the dynamics between worlds and their inhabitants? Besides how a full moon affects ocean tides, it can even cause a bulge in the Earth’s crust.
Odd occurrences are also associated with an eclipse. Paranormal researchers report an increase in doors slamming and objects moving as an eclipse nears.
Historically, eclipses have been known to be unsettling. Ancient eclipses were associated with dark mysticism or ominous prophecies such as cities burning, the death of kings and the gods just generally being pissed off and punishing humans for moral failings.
Perhaps the most famous modern eclipse resulting in a non-ordinary event happened in Mexico City on one extraordinary afternoon, July 11, 1991, when thousands of people witnessed a UFO simultaneously. So many eyes had been on the sky before the UFO appeared in order to witness the last total solar eclipse of the 20th century. That afternoon, the city plunged into darkness. While many watched the eclipse, they noticed a UFO from many different vantage points around the city.
Similar phenomena was widely reported from Mexico to Kansas in August 2017 when a major solar eclipse covered parts of North America. Before that eclipse, paranormal investigators predicted the possibility of heightened contact between humans and other beings including ghosts. The general belief was that the aligning of the sun and the moon could heighten emotions and behaviors on both sides of the paranormal divide – especially in locations known for paranormal activity.
The next total solar eclipse visible in North America will take place Monday, April 8, 2024, and is being called the Great North America Eclipse.
But the total solar eclipse that the paranormal community will be intensely watching occurs in 2030. This one will arrive during the haunted month of November.
Another entertaining, well researched article. Given your past experiences, remind me to never visit you in November!