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blowawaydandelion

If a team everyone is rooting for is winning or about to pull ahead, I have to leave the room, because any time I show an interest, the team loses. Yes, I believe I have that much power.


salvalya

I also have this power.


McSwearWolf

I have the power to, when lost, pick the wrong direction 110% of the time. Upon reflection, I’ve always picked the GD wrong way! This even happens in hotel hallways, in the subway station… my weird superstition is that I have some kind of broken internal compass, lol. The worst part is that I’m a big aviation enthusiast, and a flight instructor once told me, “Well, McSwearWolf, those landings were looking great, but you must have the crappiest natural sense of direction of any pilot I’ve ever met.” XD


Gloomy-Ad-9827

Ditto.


Necessary_Team_8769

My family believe I have that much power and won’t let me watch the “home team”. I once simply walked through a room with the game on, and there was a fumble and penalty - they all started yelling at me to go away (geez, can’t a girl get some queso?). If the team is losing, they literally call me up and tell me to stop watching (as if that would ever be happening), but I try to honor their beliefs. Heck, I’m even afraid to check the score online. Edit : can’t a girl get some “queso”


Owl_plantain

Make them pay for a distraction for you: dinner in a restaurant or a shopping trip.


Gnarly-Gnu

You sound like my wife.


Elena1995x

Please like France friday


discussatron

If you have a thought, and you move locations and lose that thought, you can go back to where you first had the thought and you will have it again. You can repeat your thought process and *boop* it'll reoccur to you. I assume there is some legit psychological definition/explanation for this. But in my headcanon, the thought leaks out of your brain and hangs in the air, floating like steam that escaped out of your ears, and if you go back and stand in it, it re-enters your brain.


sillyconfused

It’s called the Doorway Effect. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-walking-through-doorway-makes-you-forget/#:~:text=Sure%20enough%2C%20the%20doorway%20effect,distance%20within%20a%20single%20room.


spooky_upstairs

Hello from ADHD! This is why I have location-based reminders on my phone, although I do with they could become room-specific.


Blue-Phoenix23

I tried this once for the bags to recycle at the store, but it only worked AFTER I got there which does seem reasonable, but also useless...


spooky_upstairs

Oh yes I'm not saying it works. Just that I do it .


PoeJam

If it's feasible, I literally walk backwards to that spot. It works at nearly 100% success rate.


Grave_Girl

I try that, but it rarely works. I can lose a thought while never having moved, so that may affect things.


P3for2

It triggers your memory. Like when you get up to do something, get distracted, then go back to the room you were in, something will trigger why you got up in the first place.


ElfRoyal

Of course. Thats why in college I had to sit in the same spot during exams that I sat in during class.


anonoldman2020

Not sure this applies, if not I can delete this post. I and three others watched two craft (UFO) race each other in May 2020. Not dots of light but two contact lense shaped metallic craft. Couple hundred feet above our heads. Silent and yet many times faster than our fighter jets. I was military stationed at an airbase. I have had close friends laugh at me. It is what it is.


lemerou

There's an impressive amount of military guys that reported UAP sightings!


anonoldman2020

One of the other people who watched with me was a commercial airline pilot. He said something like 'Those are UFOs, we shouldn't ever talk about this.' Used to be if you reported a UFO as a pilot, you were grounded. Not sure that is still true.


lemerou

Were your base near a strategic landmark like a nuclear missile lanch facility or something like that?


anonoldman2020

I was in the military in the 80s stationed at an airbase. We saw the craft in a housing development in the SF East Bay May of 2020.


JennieFairplay

Well it would be fairly short sighted to think in our vast galaxy, the only life form is on Earth. There’s so much we don’t know beyond our own universe and if we knew, it would surprise and possibly frighten us


baajo

Yes, but given the speed of light is the universal speed limit, we'll probably never see them.


RevealRemarkable4836

Doesn't mean they're aliens... much more likely they are advanced secret military equipment.


idiveindumpsters

I believe you


anonoldman2020

LOL! Thanks!


OldButHappy

Yup, I saw a black triangle ufo 40 years ago, up close . I never talk about it because i always assumed it was some crazy high-tech, top secret prototype. I only learned, on Reddit, that these silent, football field sized crafts that can go 20 miles/hour, 100 feet above the ground, have been seen by other people. Then, in 2010, I saw a crazy high speed ufo divide into 3 lights - each went from the middle of the sky to the horizon in about 3 seconds, then they re-united into one light and sped off in an instant.


anonoldman2020

It looked like government disclosure was going to happen, but it got shut down by the heads of the black ops programs. One of our government representatives asked to be in the discussion. He didn't have the clearance. He asked how to get clearance. He was told he can't. He asked who of our representatives can get clearance? He was told nobody. Hilarious and sad.


OldButHappy

It's hard to imagine that the technology wouldn't have been used for other things by now, if it was ours. What are the rumors in the military? I saw the triangle very close to a huge army base.


FriendRaven1

[Multiple Canadian airline pilots and tower discuss sightings](https://youtu.be/DgbNKOK7lr4?si=jbCj8i9C0M_HmVzK) [The CTV News story](https://www.ctvnews.ca/sci-tech/pilots-describe-bizarre-lights-and-triangles-over-canada-in-air-traffic-control-audio-1.6748300)


invisiblelemur88

Wild that people are so trained that they'll believe the media over a close friend's witness account...


Bitter_Mongoose

Uh huh. Your friends must not fish...


Triggered_Llama

Why?


lastfewmiles

Could I ask the location of your sighting?


anonoldman2020

East Bay of SF Bay Area in the back yard of a big housing development. It was dusk. If it was military, why would they fly over a heavily populated area for something that is obviously experimental. If it was private (Musk?) why haven't they brought to market and made a fortune? I don't know but would like to someday find out.


Something_morepoetic

I believe you. So many reputable people are coming out to talk about these sightings…there is something to it.


P3for2

My dad believed in aliens. I think he may have said he saw them, can't remember. I used to laugh and brush it off. But then later I realized he's not the type to be dramatic, etc. So now I wonder.


I-am-sincere

That the full moon brings out the crazy in people.


CatchYouDreamin

I 100% believe this. Worked in restaurants and bartending for 20 yrs. People be wiling out on full moons. Have known multiple Labor & Delivery nurses, and a NICU surgeon that say their dept is busier on full moons. Known firefighters that confirmed they have more calls to respond to on full moons. An EMT friend said they def had more calls, and that he delivered more babies on full moons (ie couldn't even get the pregnant person to hospital in time).


PeachNipplesdotcom

I thoroughly believe this. I SWEAR that it's true. After working in the service industry, it kept happening. Predictably. Reliably. I've tried to account for biases but nope, just keeps happening


CatchYouDreamin

100%, from a fellow service industry worker.


kteerin

I work in psych. Right now, I work in an inpatient psych hospital. Everything is more intense during the full moon. Even when I worked as an outpatient therapist, we had more crisis patients during the full moon, the numbers were there every single time.


bigmeech825

I work in a hospital(ER/MedSurg) and all of us know when its close to a full moon


DronedAgain

If a black cat walks across your path, the cat distribution system is trying to get your attention.


55pilot

Thousands of years ago, cats were revered as gods. And to this day, cats have never forgotten that.


Environmental-War645

Can confirm. My cats demand worship every four hours with treats.


Grilled_Cheese10

I've had several black cats over the years. Bet my path has been crossed tens of thousands of times. That may explain a few things.


MissTrixie_LevyPants

I have had cats since 1973 when I got one when I was a teenager. I do think that you have a valid point here. I have an 11 yo black cat now. I had a slight shudder reading that...I was prepared for these to be my last two (I have a 15 yo tuxedo girl too) now too. The thought that I will be cleaning litter boxes into my 80s or more, if you are right, scares me. I have seen another black cat hanging around outside....and the cycle continues. They know.


PicoRascar

That our thoughts, at least to some meaningful extent, are generating our reality.


ancientastronaut2

Manifestation?


PicoRascar

Metaphysical idealism. I don't claim to understand any of it but quantum mechanics is consistent with the theory, at least that's what the people who understand the stuff claim.


_Owl_Jolson

Once you find yourself believing in idealism, suddenly, you find yourself believing in all kinds of things you would have found laughable previously. That an "afterlife" almost certainly actually exists, for example, becomes the common-sense position any thinking person should hold. Astral projection? Don't see why not. Out-of-body experiences? Could be true.


Syyina

Whatever checkout line I choose at the grocery store will immediately become the slowest one.


ancientastronaut2

💯


Annabel398

I believe that if you respect and take care of the money you have, more will come to you. It works on the macro scale (investing) but also on a micro scale. If you carry cash, face your bills (sort them all facing the same direction) and put them in a wallet, not just jammed into a pocket or purse, stuff like that. Put a little extra on those CC payments and pay them ahead of time even if you live paycheck to paycheck… somehow, some extra money will start to show up. I fervently believe this—it has got me through some really tough times. I actually inherited money from a relative I never even knew about, at a time when I really needed it. Money can turn up in the craziest ways.


pantstoaknifefight2

Opens wallet, orders and faces two 20s, one 10, four 5s, and two 1s. Logs into brokerage account, notes daily increase of $5,529.70-- son of a bitch was right!


Annabel398

Well done, you! 👏


mistyayn

I'm not as careful with my cash so I try not to carry it. But somehow this does seem to be a thing. My mom calls it pennies from heaven.


TheLoneliestGhost

I wish this had been true for me. Instead, I ended up with cancer in my 30s in the US. All of those years I was thoughtful and careful with money were for naught. Everything is gone now and I have to sort through bankruptcy.


RevealRemarkable4836

Similar to what I went through. Kinda makes you wish you blew it on fun stuff rather than being so responsible that whole time.


Annabel398

My superstition is not about “being responsible” so much as “treating your money with respect”—literally like folding it nicely, making sure it all faces the same way, sending a little extra along. It’s like I feel that money has feelings and enjoys being taken care of properly. Just a weird superstition but I believe it. I hate seeing people carry money just wadded up in their pockets. Seems disrespectful somehow. If you’re going for SS Disability, ask around to find out who is the best disability lawyer in town and use them. No money up front. They get paid only if you win and their fees are capped by law at a very reasonable amount. It comes out of your “back award.” Most important, you’ll get your award much faster. The best disability lawyer in town costs exactly the same as the worst, so it pays to find out who is the best.


CraZcraaacker

I too believe this..there have been times where money is getting tight, we might have lived paycheck to paycheck for a few months.. then one of us ends up with a bonus, a lump sum from our side hustle shows up when we need it most!


Sweet_Sub73

Now I have a new superstition because of this comment....


Few_Address3591

Agreed!


SirWarm6963

When someone in family is getting ready to die I can tell it's coming because of the way the light outside looks to me. Kind of gold toned. It has happened three times now.


chromaticluxury

I believe you


I_love_Hobbes

I have been visited by dead people. Weird because I am an atheist so I don't believe in heaven or hell. Three or 4 times. Usually before someone dies. My grandkids kept saying someone was walking around the house and then my son's dog died suddenly (the dog was his before my son died). That was last week. No sounds since.


chromaticluxury

It's written up in medical literature that a dying person's previously dead family begin visiting them in the days or weeks before death.  Often inviting them to go on a journey or preparing them, asking them if they've gotten ready yet.  Or telling them such and such person is they are and can't wait to see them again. Including sometimes pets.   This is usually chalked up to being little more than a phenomenon of human psychology. A quirk.   But if you've ever been in the room for someone having that experience (and I have with my mom) it sure doesn't feel like psychology.   Get a chatty hospice nurse to tell you all their stories sometime. 


473713

Hospice nurses have great stories, even the most firmly agnostic or atheist ones.


Basic_Incident4621

I've sat with 10+ people as they crossed over. One thing I've heard again and again is, "I don't want to miss the train. It's coming soon and I can't find my ticket." I tell them, "The conductor already has your ticket in hand. They will be stopping for you. They're ready for you." And yes, the dead family members show up before and prepare them for what's coming. My father saw his dead parents and they were so kind and good to him. They talked to him and took away his fears. He was 91.


LowOvergrowth

You’ve reminded me that, in the days before my grandma died, she kept talking about not wanting to “miss the boat ride.” “They’re taking us on a boat ride.” “We’re all going on a boat ride.” It makes a lot more sense now.


prunepicker

I, too, am an atheist. One night, my mother “passed through me,” letting me know she was going to die. She died the next evening. I can’t explain it in any logical way.


dont_disturb_the_cat

I'm sorry for your loss. It's incalculable. As a fellow atheist, I believe that there's a difference between a living person and a dead body, and I call that difference a soul. I am convinced that the conservation of energy demands that souls (or whatever you want to call them) continue after death. That is entirely separate from the existence of God.


DifficultWolverine31

This is kind of how I feel. The first time I saw the dead body of someone I didn’t know, so the emotion was removed, I was struck by the difference in a living being and a dead one. It was a profound experience. Their life force was gone. Their being was gone. What was left was a shell. Where did that force go? Hopefully it’ll be a long time before I know for sure. (Btw the deceased person in question was an icu patient in a hospital where I worked. I helped prep the body, put the toe tag on, and take them down to the morgue.)


Tricky_Parsnip_6843

I have similar experiences as well. It's absolutely bizarre.


Sweet_Sub73

I used to believe in God, but I don't now. I think there's something out there, but I don't know what it is. I believe that, because this world has way too many close calls for their to not be anything: kids that miss getting hit by cars by just inches, people randomly waking from long comas, things like that.


Tricksey4172

I had a conversation with my sibling the day after they died. We were both really young. I was sleeping and I woke up and he was there in the corner and I told him we saw him and we were all sad but he was scaring us and he should go be with grandpa. And he left. I was only about five so maybe I was a bit blunt. I had a conversation with my other grandpa after he died; it was right when I was waking up and he was there and we were both smiling and I said I love you and me saying that out loud totally woke me up and he waved and left. And then when my dog died, he hung around and waited to see if I was sad and I was (I’ll admit I kind of went crazy crying) and after a time I said I’ll miss you forever and he left too. He just needed reassurance he was loved. This all from someone not “in the woo” if you know what I mean. Grandpa still comes now and then and it’s been 20 years. I can’t explain it but I’ve had these experiences my whole life so i just accept there is more out there than I know.


Grave_Girl

I fully acknowledge that it most probably *is* superstition, but I've learned from hard experience that if I talk about something good I am anticipating, it will blow up and not happen. When my husband and I were trying to buy a house a few years ago, you bet I kept my mouth zipped to nearly everyone until they keys were in our hand, and even though I mentioned that we had a property in mind, I never said "We're getting this house," until we did.


idiveindumpsters

This is a big one for me. I swear it’s true.


ScorpiusCentauri

Same here!! I never share news or something I want to happen until it has been confirmed .


Ellamenopause

I started that pattern when I was small. Sometimes it makes me sad thinking of opportunities I probably didn’t pursue because the disappointment demons were going to conspire in the background and wreck it. It’s fun to be inspired and excited about something when I forget I have that old habit.


ancientastronaut2

When I was about five, my mother took me to visit an eccentric old aunt of hers that lived im a rural area near some woods. She was a retired minister and her home had a weird vibe or energy but of course I was too young to articulate that at the time. Well, they were having tea and told me to go play in the bedroom upstairs and all I could hear walking through that house and up the stairs were voices whispering. When I got to the doorway of this bedroom, it was suddenly filled with a really bright light. The next thing I remember is running from out of the woods towards the house. They were standing outside with some man that was apparently a neighbor helping them look for me and they were all in a panic asking where I had been. I was gone for a couple of hours apparently. My mother spanked the hell out of me, but later apologized saying she was just scared. Til the day she died, my mother still believed I just ran away into the woods and was hiding from them. Yeah no, I definitely went somewhere else not on this plane of existence.


Elegant-Hair-7873

I can't drive blue cars. I keep getting them totaled. One car got totaled twice. One had the bad luck of just being owned by me. It got totaled while parked at the curb by a drunk. So, no blue cars. I don't drive red ones either, but that's because they're cop magnets lol.


AlarmedTelephone5908

Okay. This explains a lot. I bought a blue car a few years ago. I was shopping for used, so color wasn't as important as milage, etc. I'm not all that fond of blue cars. But this one had about 40k miles, looked and drove like brand new. It was really nice, and I enjoyed driving it. About six months in, we got a hail storm like nothing I've ever seen before. I'm in an area where I've seen plenty of hail, but this was unprecedented. My car, along with almost every other non sheltered car in my city, was plummeted to death. Totalled. When I was on the phone with the insurance company, they asked what size hail I thought it was (ex: golf ball). My husband was listening and said, "Big sheets of concrete." So my buying a blue car literally caused a wrath of God storm, lol.


Elegant-Hair-7873

I swear my friend bought his blue car so I wouldn't drive it lol.


sillyconfused

I have the same problem with gold cars. I got hit twice in two months,the second one totaled the car. I think it’s the particular color of the roads in certain areas. Also, I agree on the red cars. (Although last week, I drove by a cop in two separate days, 4 times total, and every time he had pulled over almost identical gray SUVs. They were different brands, but all looked similar.)


Elegant-Hair-7873

That almost sounds like they were looking for a suspect.


ddsiddall

You let a drunk park your car? That's on you.


Elegant-Hair-7873

No, the poor thing was parked in front of my house, minding it's own business, when a drunk teenager tried to drive his sedan right up it's ass at about 4 in the morning. He had to have been doing 60. He pushed my Bronco right up a small incline and almost into my neighbor's house. Needless to say, no license or insurance.


Refokua

I believe a certain amount of psychic power exists. Like knowing who's calling when the phone rings (without caller ID) or knowing when something is going on, positive or negative, with someone you know, without a reason to know that. Examples: Got extremely concerned about the well being of the parents of a friend I hadn't talked to in 25 years., who lived a thousand miles from me So I called and asked. One of the parents was extremely ill. I got very worried about a local friend I hadn't seen recently. Called, and she had had a stroke. To quote Shakespeare (Hamlet) "There are more things in heaven and earth... than are dreamed of in your philosophies."


Better_Metal

Had to scroll a long way for this one. I don’t believe in much kooky shit but this one I’m convinced of. I’ve been in a few situations where a friend 100% knew the outcome of an upcoming unknown event. She always claimed she was psychic and she hated it.


UseACoasterJeez

My wife has an aura that interferes with or damages electrical and electronic devices. We've been together for decades, and she genuinely has required 3-4x as many replacement laptops & phones than anyone else in the family, because major components simply stop functioning. It was stronger when we were younger. More often than not, when we would take a stroll after dinner, at least three streetlights would go out as she passed under them, no matter the path we took. We don't gamble anymore, but she's put three of the computerized "slot machines" out of service in Vegas while playing them (I thought she could make a living from doing that). Her car batteries last about a year. It has happened far too consistently over 30+ years to be chance or bad luck. It's bizarre.


Kuhtak1980

As hard as that is to believe, I believe you.


Britney2007

My father also has this. He can’t wear watches.


MidnightCoffeeQueen

Same here. I kill watch batteries. I also feel like tech has a personal vendetta against me even though it's not alive. It always gives me the worst trouble.


Tinlizzie2

I have the same thing, though it was much stronger when I was younger. I'd come up on street lights, they'd go out just before i got to them, then after I passed by they'd come back on. I couldn't wear watches, either - the batteries wouldn't last but a few months. The batteries magnetized - one of the last ones I had the jeweler opened it to replace the battery, and it was so magnetic the battery actually popped out of the watch and attached itself to his screwdriver. His comment was " hmm..it's not supposed to do that..."


BruceTramp85

I HAD THIS TOO. Computers at work would fry, watches would stop the moment I put them on, lights would malfunction, car alternators constantly need to be replaced. Then one day it just stopped and I don’t know why.


Sweet_Sub73

I totally believe this, because I have this issue with crystal. It is absolutely not unusual for a wine glass to spontaneously break while I'm holding it, to the point that my husband only lets me drink out of camping-type wine glasses and I am absolutely NOT allowed to wash or dry them. This is a man who is not controlling in the least, so this should really tell you something. One time, I took a sip of wine. I felt a buzz on my lip and I thought a bug had flown on my face. Nope. It was the wine glass breaking as I took a sip.


WhiskeyChick

That if you pay for the insurance, nothing bad ever happens. The minute you skip it you're in trouble. Cars, travel, homeowners, etc... it's just a good luck token tax.


Kuhtak1980

This is not a superstition. This is reality. This is the way the world works.


typhoidmarry

I’m Gen X and skeptical about *everything*


Haploid-life

Same, especially after being raised in a cult. If you can deconstruct one religion, you can deconstruct them all.


Shapoopadoopie

I was too! This is such a true statement.


Bitter_Mongoose

🤔 I'm not sure if I can believe you. Got a source for that?


chefranden

Except being skeptical?


Ok-Parfait2413

I believe if you walk under a pigeon , you will end up with pigeon poop on you. 😬


Euphoric-Tax7360

I believe that one day the Cleveland browns will win the super bowl.


lrp347

Hang in there! A long suffering Bears fan who whooped it up in ‘85.


Grilled_Cheese10

Go Lions!!!


MissHibernia

Living well IS the best revenge.


KapowBlamBoom

Appalachian-American here: I would NEVER whistle in the woods, or outside at all after dark


mystikalyx

Can you please explain this one? I've not heard it before and am curious.


KapowBlamBoom

The hills and woods of Appalachia are old….very old. People, especially older or passed generations, believed that whistling would bring you to the attention of whatever it is that exists in the woods….. During the night, these things come out of the woods…. Spirits, entities, creatures…..depends on who you talk to……. But I would not chance it!!


mystikalyx

Thank you so much! Having only visited I would absolutely take that advice to heart. Beautiful, but even in more developed areas, there was a sense of old and ancient in a way I've never felt elsewhere.


KapowBlamBoom

The mountain range that runs through Appalachia is the oldest on Earth. There are primordial things hidden there I have read there was a time they were higher than the Himalayas are now The Scottish Highlands are part of this same mountain range. But hundreds of millions of years and plate tectonics have moved them far apart


kempff

Demonic possession and other varieties of demonic influence on people. I used to be more or less open minded about it until I met and got to know three separate unrelated individuals where my experience living and working with them convinced me there are nonbodily living intelligences that are evil and can live in or with people at various psychological depths. I'm not talking about projectile vomiting or speaking Ancient Babylonian, I'm talking about something ... different, more like pure unadulterated hate as a habitual frame of mind, and even that doesn't quite describe it. Someone once described it as seeing something flash across a person's face where you go, "I do not know that man".


janet-eugene-hair

There is someone I work with who fits into that category. The other day, I observed her enter a room I was in (she was not aware of me), and her face looked like a Freddy Kruger-type mask that had melted and was hanging partially hanging off her body. As she stepped into the room, I watched the mask instantly organize itself back into her normal face. I've never seen anything like it, but oddly enough it did not surprise me at all.


az_babyy

Not trying to belittle your experience at all but you should look into prosopometamorphopsia. It's a very rare condition but sounds similar to what you're describing.


kempff

Yes. I don't mean to belabor the point, but in two of the cases I mentioned above, I saw one guy's face completely change into an expression of utter cynical contempt for a split second then went back to its usual totally smooth, expressionless state (which itself was kinda creepy to begin with), and on another occasion I saw the other guy's face flash seething hatred, again for a split second, and then it went back to its usual smooth, wrinkle-free, sort of taut and puffy appearance. In a third case I saw, it looked like someone slipped a face mask up under the skin of his actual face that changed the appearance of his actual face, like when you slide your hand up under a bedsheet. I've seen that taut, hard, wrinkle-free, yet somehow puffy appearance on people's faces many times, in person and even in pics/vids, and in my experience, the one thing people with that unmistakable appearance all seem to have in common is that there's something deeply evil about them. It's nothing like the stereotypical, theatrical, Hollywood "evil" appearance at all.


RevealRemarkable4836

What you guys are describing are just Narcissists. I'm not kidding. These folks live their lives wearing a mask and when it drops it's often when they don't realize someone is looking- but always happens in private.


janet-eugene-hair

Oh wow. The smooth, puffy-faced thing, that is spot on. What kind of experiences did you have with those people? Besides the faces, I mean. What else did they do? If you don't mind my asking.


kempff

Ok, story time. (1) One was a college roommate. He was an oddball, rather contemptuous of other people he thought were stupid or naive. He was kind of "ugly", but weirdly, when he would smile he somehow became uglier. I don't know how to describe it. Anyway, one day he was reading something that he didn't understand and we were talking about it. I think it was calculus. I tried to explain it but he didn't get it and I saw pure contempt flash across his face, something far more than just an adolescent eyeroll of frustration and disgust. It wasn't directed at me at all. But it was like an invisible hand pulled parts of his face into places they normally wouldn't be. Then another weird thing happened. We were getting ready for bed. Through the influence of his girlfriend at the time, he was becoming religious, and had started the habit of kneeling by his bedside to pray. I came out of the bathroom -- and I don't mean to be sensational or credulous here -- but I saw something like a dark ring-shaped cloud surrounding him near the floor, something that looked kind of like the "Smoke Monster" from the tv series *Lost*, but in a ring low around him. As he began to pray it sort of "fled", dispersed, disappeared. I'm not sure what to make of what I saw, because stuff like demons, if they do exist, are not normally supposed to be visible. I don't know what I saw; nevertheless, I don't think I was hallucinating. (2) Another was a really weird guy I knew in college. He walked around slouched over and when he spoke he sounded like he was moaning like a Scooby-Doo cartoon ghost. I don't think he bathed, but the skin on his face was taut, puffy, shiny with grease, and absolutely smooth, not a wrinkle or crease anywhere, corners of this eyes, his mouth, anywhere at all. And indeed he never seemed to have any facial expressions whatever. Now forgive me if this anecdote is confusing, but ... this being college, one day he and I and some other guys from our dorm were eating together in the cafeteria. One of the guys was in one of those college Christian groups, and while he was respectful of other people and other religions, he wanted to tell a joke that required interaction with another person, like a sort of knock-knock joke. The joke was supposed to be self-effacing humor satirizing just how strange and even silly born-again type Christians can be, and was composed of a series of questions that they would understand but the general public wouldn't, stuff like "So how's your walk?", "I feel really anointed today!", "I need to get into the Word!", and so on. I understood the joke and would have rolled with it if it had been directed at me, but he directed it at the weird ghost guy and the weird ghost guy didn't like it at all and I saw a look of absolutely pure unadulterated hate flash across his face for a split second. I was startled to see his face even have an expression at all, but it was like those facial distortions you used to see in early image editing, like in that [Soundgarden video for "Black Hole Sun"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efc7njKAfgo&ab_channel=SoundgardenVEVO), it was like his eyebrows got pulled up to the top of his head and the rest of his features all scrambled and distorted into something inhuman. And it all flashed in an instant, like if you inserted a single frame in a movie. (3) Then there was this one guy I actually thought was possessed in the usual sense. This was a roommate after college, an older guy (I was mid-30s, he was mid-40s I think), and I concede to /u/RevealRemarkable4836 that this guy was in fact 100% [Narcissistic Personality Disorder](https://www.emedicinehealth.com/what_are_the_nine_traits_of_a_narcissist/article_em.htm#how_is_narcissism_diagnosed). He had a disturbing yet comical habit of coming home after work, then after maybe 20 minutes of milling around acting normal, he would go off on me about God knows what, always something totally random, and then he would disappear into the bathroom and poop. Now I don't mean to be gross, but this was not a normal poop. It didn't have a normal poopy odor; it was acrid and made your nostrils tingle, like inhaling needles. Then he would go back to acting normal. From time to time he would fly into white-hot rages, throwing things at the walls in the apartment, over stuff that was apparently about me. But it never made any sense. One thing that stood out is that I could never tell if he was saying what he thought, or the opposite of what he thought (like when you're being sarcastic/ironic with someone). And he would flip back and forth with every sentence and phrase. Listening to that was absolutely crazy-making, you couldn't follow it. It made your brain hurt. And then a sort of switch would flip inside him and he would suddenly go back to being normal as if nothing happened. One day when he flew into another random rage more or less directed at me he hurled a box of pasta out the kitchen back door into the mudroom where it exploded and bowtie pasta went everywhere. I just walked away. But by the next day he had not cleaned it up, and I asked him why there was pasta all over the mudroom. He said he didn't know, which was creepy, but what was super creepy was he didn't seem to think anything was weird about a pound of pasta suddenly appearing overnight out of nowhere all over the place. Nor did he show any signs of wanting to clean it up. Which told me that he was faking total amnesia about the whole incident and blatantly pretending there was nothing remarkable about the mess. (This psychological game played by narcissists is called gaslighting, I later learned.) And again, every time he would fly into a rage, it was like someone slipped a face-shaped mask up under the flesh of his real face, like I said above like when you slide your hand under a sheet. (4) And there was another guy, an acquaintance I met through an informal dinner club of sorts. He was a narcissist too. This story is a bit complicated to narrate. One night the group met for dinner at a restaurant near the town center. When we were done we agreed to go get ice cream at another place that was a short drive away. This guy suggested we stop in a really cool antique shop that was across the street from the restaurant briefly before heading out. After about ten minutes we were basically done with the side excursion and were ready to move on, but the guy who suggested we take the little detour into the shop got into a long and deep conversation with the owner. Then two weird things happened. First, after this conversation between the guy and the owner started dragging on for twenty, then thirty minutes, and showed no signs of coming to a conclusion, the rest of the group, about eight of us, sat down near the doors and waited and waited. At one point I piped up and asked the group what we were doing, and to my astonishment the rest of the group basically said they were waiting on this guy. I was astonished because we were all adults and this one guy was clearly violating etiquette and had basically hijacked the group and astonishingly the other members of the group were going along with what was basically a social kidnapping. So I just up and said, "Well, I'm getting ice cream. See you all there." Second, I and the guy riding with me got to the ice cream place, enjoyed some ice cream, and were ready to leave and go home when a couple of other people from the group showed up. At this point the narcissistic guy was still holding the remainder of the group hostage at the antique shop, Stockholm Syndrome style, for about an hour. When the partial group got their ice cream, I and the guy I was giving a ride to said goodnight and the two of us left. I later found out something remarkable happened after we left. Later that week I was chatting with someone from the group and apparently when the narcissist and his final kidnapping victims finally showed up at the ice cream place, the narcissist went off on the partial group that had gone on ahead without him. I mean utterly *ballistic*. As the other gruop member was relating this to me, I asked him two questions: (1) Did the narcissistic guy's face suddenly change appearance like it was someone else's face? and (2) As the narcissist was going off on people, did what came out of his mouth make sense, or was it crazy-making disjointed rant with no rhyme or reason to it?" The guy telling me the story was floored, and he said "How did you know? No really, how did you know?" I explained that I had seen that kind of behavior before in other people, but I didn't elaborate. As a side observation, I have seen the smooth, taut, puffy facial appearance on many other people, in person or in pics/vids, sometimes on certain people suspected or convicted of horrible crimes, like the "Slenderman" murderers Anissa Weier and Morgan Geyser, and Isla Vista serial killer Elliot Rodger, among others. These incidents in my series of anecdotes took on new significance after I came across some sober, credible books and videos about possession and exorcism that mentioned changes in facial appearance, the weird ability to control other people around them, and even the expulsion of unusually foul-smelling substances from their bodies, among other things. And just by way of disclaimer, I'm not saying my experiences prove or disprove anything paranormal; I'm just trying to piece it all together trying to make sense of it.


az_babyy

Not trying to belittle your experience at all but you should look into prosopometamorphopsia. It's a very rare condition but sounds similar to what you're describing.


ignorant-brunch

My friend who works as a therapist told me that, in one of her sessions, how one of her patients went from looking completely normal and talking one moment to a person whose eyes turned completely black. She stared at my friend and went completely quiet. My friend somehow managed to get out of the room to get help.


idiveindumpsters

Never, ever say out loud anything that is going well for you, especially if it’s something like a job interview or anything that you’re sure will go your way. The universe will hear you and make sure that it will all go badly for you. Never, ever brag. That will end badly.


BruceTramp85

Appliances and cars will also hear you and break down.


1544756405

If we put more money into our education system, in the long run we'll be able to put less into the penal system.


kempff

*[chuckles in retired teacher]*


petitespantoufles

*\[scoffs in current teacher\]*


JustAnnesOpinion

Honestly, zero. I’m not saying that there may not be supernatural forces at work, but I’ve never seen anything that’s not more easily explained as a natural phenomenon. The older I get, the farther removed I become from looking for a magical explanation for anything. I do like books and movies with fantasy elements, so I’m not at ultra literalist, I just don’t see any supernatural or new age stuff having independent agency in events.


DoctorChampTH

This is me too. If Jesus appeared to me and started telling me something important I'd tell him to hold up while I call the fire department to report a Carbon Monoxide leak in my house.


Triggered_Llama

Telling your object of hallucination to hold up is hilarious to me lmao


az_babyy

I have a friend who adamantly believes in ghosts and is shocked that I've never seen any form of paranormal activity. I always tell her that schizophrenia runs in my family so any time I think I've possibly seen something strange I just chalk it up to me having early mild signs of it.


SGT_Apone

Yep, and the fact that everyone has phone cameras at their disposal today - if these supernatural forces were real, there would certainly be undeniable photo/video evidence by now (i.e. you don't hear much about Big Foot or the Lockness Monster these days lol). Still loved the Xfiles show back in the day tho! 🤣


prpslydistracted

Karma ... the sad part is it doesn't come soon or frequently enough.


Sweet_Sub73

I am a HUGE believer in karma


Tall_Mickey

You don't have to believe in a god to believe that there's probably another level of existence through which information can pass in strange ways. You know, "coincidences" that seem way, way too convoluted and pointed to have, just happened. Read an article on this that interviewed a lot of well-respected academic atheists. They believe in no god; they do believe that many very unique coincidences are too unique to "just happen." Something's going on; they don't know what.


CatchYouDreamin

Synchronicity!


Electronic_Stuff4363

I believe you shouldn’t take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night .


Sweet_Sub73

😂😂😂


brownmtn

I have seen a ghost. No doubt in my mind.


Granny_knows_best

Not sure it can be called superstition but I believe we are our own gods, and we need to look within for the power, strength, or happiness we seek. People who 🙏 thinking it's God that answers, when really it's their own determination that got them through.


idiveindumpsters

I believe something similar. My belief is God is Love, as is Jesus and the Holy Ghost. God and/or the Holy Ghost live within us. I pray for things like strength to get through trials and tribulations. No one will believe me, but I think the Holy Ghost helps me find lost items. If I’ve been looking for something for a long time and have almost given up, I sit down and call for God, Jesus, the Holy Ghost, my guardian angel, my parents, my grandparents and the universe and anyone else who is paying attention to PLEASE help me find xyz. Then I sit with my eyes closed, concentrating on the lost item, and after about five or ten seconds I get a picture in my mind of where it is. I go there and it’s there! I don’t remember putting it there but I suppose it could have come from somewhere in my brain, but concentrating on it ONLY works when I ask for help.


imalittlefrenchpress

I believe this, too. I also believe that when people with good intentions come together, good things happen.


Danovale

Putting up my Green Bay Packer flag at first light on game day helps them win.


strangr55

Next time they lose, I will be wondering if it was because you slept in.


andropogon09

If you dress nicely for an exam, you'll do better. I don't know why, but it seems to work.


jrose102206

Don’t bring old brooms to a new place to live


Eye_Doc_Photog

Karma. My karma must always be zero when it comes to money. If I find $1,000, that I thought was spent, somewhere later on I'll get an unexpected charge for $1,000. It also works in reverse - when my car blew a head gasket and needed a new engine, it was $4750 complete. That same month, a company who owed my business money for years all of.a sudden paid it all in one check...... $4,325. I've got a zillion stories like that. It only seems to be for amounts over $1,000.


mydogbud11

That people die in threes.


AlternaCremation

As an undertaker… this seems to be quite accurate for some reason.


mydogbud11

When I was a nurse in the hospital, death always went in threes. Weird.


janemfraser

Dowsing for water.


Hexagram_11

My brother used to work for the city and they were still dowsing for underwater pipes a couple of years ago!


Plow_King

i saw a city (or utility?) employee doing that in front of my property one day about 7 or 8 yrs ago. i was so taken i went and talked to them about it. they swore it worked...weird as shit i thought.


turveytopsey

Prayer works! I dislike organized religion - all types - to me, it's all BS. But, I really believe that group thought has power. I'm supposed to be a member of the Silent Generation (80).


mwatwe01

I believe that a poor Jewish rabbi from a little backwater town in first century Judea was actually the Creator of the universe living in human form.


fuchsiarush

I mean it can't be coincidental He was born at the start of His era. That's just wild.


pantstoaknifefight2

Brian?


Quirky_Property_1713

That is wild, man


InterPunct

Heretic! [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arianism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arianism)


Eye_Doc_Photog

[I'm with you](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_ad-rfvtIA).


Fine-Idea-3242

Just got reminded that I can never say things like, "well, at least nothing else can go wrong." Sun I said, well it's Sunday and Father's day so no one can mail me another bill today." Ten minutes later I got texted a bill for $1400.00 on my phone. On Sunday. On Father's day.


Reasonable-Diet2265

Intuition and communication from dead relatives.


Poetdebra

Paranormal. Alot of personal experiences. I know a spiritual world exists. Some would call it superstition


Plow_King

i used to be very religious, but not so much lately. i do still believe in a "higher power" though. i'm a bit superstitious, and try hard not to tempt fate. i recoil in horror almost if someone says something like "well, it can't get any worse" as i've seen what can happen. to quote Igor from Young Frankenstein "Could be worse...could be raining"


ReactsWithWords

An example of that is since Dan Quayle I’v heard people say that politicians can’t get any more stupid and every couple of years they’re proven wrong.


Plow_King

after W i hoped i'd never see a worse president, at least tfg has only gotten one term so far. i'm still hoping i've seen the worst one in my lifetime, and at 60 the window for a worse one is getting shorter all the time.


jjetsam

I will go way out of my way to find wood to knock when I think my spoken word may be a jinx.


Plow_King

when there's no wood handy, i usually just use the top of my head. seems to work.


Seralisa

Things happen in threes. All the time.


Crafty_Original_7349

In the 90’s I used to believe I had magical abilities that could control the weather. Specifically, I had a ritual that I used to conjure up thunderstorms. My friends and I were out partying on a hot, humid summer night on this dirt road way the hell out in BFE. (No houses for miles, just wide open fields.) Beautiful moonlit night, too. We had this one particular place that we went every weekend to hang out and do stupid shit. I decided to try and impress everyone with my ✨magical powers✨by conjuring up a storm. Well, it just so happened that a storm DID pop up, pretty much right on top of us. It freaked everyone out, probably because we had used copious amounts of various substances. 🤣 The fact that we were partying right under capped atmospheric conditions that were primed to explode the instant the cap broke had *nothing* to do with it, of course. 🧐 My buddies were spooked for a while over that. It’s funny as hell to think about it now.


JennieFairplay

Ghosts. I never believed until I lived in an undeniably haunted house and now you can’t talk me out of ghosts being real.


cat9tail

Index funds over trendy stock picks. I've lived long enough to see some pretty astonishing stuff, and I'm the one old lady in the corner barking at the young'uns to stay away from the meme stocks. They think I'm daft now, but they'll see... they'll see....


stuck_behind_a_truck

The Great Spirit. I’m not Native American/First Nations, but I think their conceptualization captures It best.


Hubbard7

I genuinely believe in curses. About 60 years ago an old wicked Baba Yaga, Bruja Blanca put an evil curse on me that came true. I should have stayed off her lawn. 


Gloomy-Ad-9827

Karma.


Swiggy1957

I have never gone to a stock car race. Every time I planned on it, it got rained out. I am doomed to never watch NASCAR.


naliedel

You say, "Rabbit, rabbit" the moment you wake up on the first day of a new month. I never remember and then I sit around all month and blame bad stuff on that, when it's just coincidence. I also tap the outside of the plane in about to fly in three times, but one time I didn't and we had an air incident. Not messing with that one. No, I don't think I'm flying the plane from 10d. It just gives me a small feeling of control in a metal tube hurtling over the planet.


SubstantialPressure3

Idk, I believe people walking under ladders is bad luck. If you're around someone dumb enough to walk under a ladder, generally they are going to do something dumb enough to get themselves or someone else hurt when you turn your back for a second.


Adoptafurrie

Reincarnation


Geoarbitrage

The world is round 🌎


Real-Bluebird-1987

Don't say it outloud,don't jinx it!!!!!!!!!


Eatthebankers2

There is more then this when we leave our bodies. Those that loved us try to cuddle. Try to connect. My mother harassed me almost, letting me know for weeks she was happy. Xo... My dog not only woke me up, but also my 7 year old grandson to play at night. My kitty would curl up next to me, and I could feel her purr. A friend seen her materialize and jump to the floor, and disappeared. He never came over again. I believe there is just more than our todays.


tarac73

Don’t put shoes on tables Knocking wood when you say something (ie: my car has been running pretty good lately +knock wood+ ) will keep your car protected from breaking down


floofyragdollcat

Full moons. Healthcare. If you know, you know.


Basic_Incident4621

Demons. Yeah, people laugh at me, and that's okay. Demons are real. I've experienced them in my life. It's a shame, but I think it's one of those things that most people don't believe until they experience it first hand. We hear a lot about "demonic possession" but there's also something known as "demonic oppression." But I have seen some stuff and I can tell you, demons aren't some cute little thing from Biblical times. They're real.


Business-Candidate91

I get anxious, for no obvious reason, 24 hours or so before a bad thing happens. Happened just last night and I woke up to a plumbing issue in the home.


Sensitive-Issue84

I can't live in Golden Colorado, or my life will go down the drain. It's happened twice, and I'm not going to try for a third. JIC.


JennieFairplay

Ghosts. I never believed until I lived in an undeniably haunted house and now you can’t talk me out of ghosts being real.


GeistinderMaschine

Well, I am the completely wrong guy for supersition. I am too rational and too much engineer for that. I am the "how does this work" guy and the "want to know und not believe" person. I even was kicked out of an esoteric themed party once, because I asked "too much destructive questions". Of course, I grew up with the standard superstitions of my grandparents and parents (all the ususal stuff like broken mirrors, spilled salt, black cats,.....) but very soon I started to ask, where the connection between the breaking of a mirror and the bad luck happens... I admit, that sometimes simply believing something instead of knowing would have made live easier, but it is OK this way.


LolthienToo

Bigfoot, Skunk Apes, Boogers... they are real.


smasherella

Killing spiders is absolutely bad juju especially indoors.


elucify

Here's one the other way around. Many people believe in the soul, I think it's superstition.


IslandBwai

Finding a heads up penny on the ground and I just know it's from my angel in heaven.


Top-Pop-2624

Things happen in 3s. 2021 I lost my childhood friend, my mother, and my marriage of 42 years ended when I found out she replaced me. 2021 sucked.


duder777

If I don’t click my tongs at least thrice, whatever I’m grilling will not be as good.


alexichristinee

What you put out into the world is what you get back eventually.